wine – Design Your Lifestyle.

May 9th is National Moscato Day: Our Favorite Moscatos

May 2019May 2019Peter Salerno Inc.

May 9th is National Moscato Day: Our Favorite Moscatos

Ah, Moscato. Perhaps no other beverage has created such divisive opinions within the community of wine aficionados as the product of the Muscat grape. Although the classic Moscato D’Anti originated in Italy, derivatives and clones of the Muscat grape are now grown from Oregon to New Zealand as demand for the fruity wine soars.

The Gallo Family created National Moscato Day in 2012 to celebrate the light, sparkling sipping wine that’s taken dinner tables, wine wholesalers and liquor stores by storm over recent years.

A fresh bunch of Moscato Bianco grapes, just in time for National Moscato Day! (Credit: Wiki Commons) — A fresh bunch of Moscato Bianco grapes, just in time for National Moscato Day!

Like it or not, the Moscato craze appears here to stay! But which Moscato wines are really worth drinking?

If you’re a lover of Moscato wines – be they Orange Muscat, Muscat Blanc or Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains – then May 9th is bound to be one of your favorite days of spring. But celebrating May 9th (National Moscato Day) in style isn’t quite as simple as picking up a pedestrian bottle of the fizzy wine.

As Richard Jennings, author of over 45,000 tasting notes, once noted:

America’s in the midst of a much bigger wine phenomenon than the sudden upswing in Pinot Noir sales following the 2004 release of the movie Sideways. Sales of slightly sparkling sweet wines with underlying acidity made from the Muscat grape have exploded over the past two years among younger buyers, especially Millennials — the 21 to 30 age group.

Some of these wines, especially from Italy’s Asti region, are terrific. Others, produced by huge wine conglomerates on an industrial basis looking to cash in on the latest trend, are truly dreadful.

So this National Moscato Day, how can you tell which Muscat to enjoy in your dining room, sitting room or custom wine cellar?

Imagine the custom wine cellar of your dreams. Peter Salerno makes it. (Credit Peter Salerno Inc.)

Here’s a great, short list of fabulous Moscatos to enjoy May 9th (or any day)!

Best Moscatos to Enjoy on National Moscato Day

1. Borgo Maragliano La Caliera Moscato D’Asti, 2014 (Italy)

At between $12-16 a bottle at most retailers, La Caliera is our favorite Italian Moscato D’Asti when it comes to a combination of taste and price. While each edition from 2013-2016 is a real winner, our selection is the 2014 vintage, full of green grape, pear and yet not overly sweet. This Borgo Maragliano Moscato D’Asti is a great pair with most desserts (even chocolate!).

The winemaker describes La Caliera as carrying a “fragrance of candied fruit, acacia flowers and a typical musky but delicate bouquet”.

2. Foris Moscato, 2013 (Rogue Valley)

Foris is a great Oregon-based brand that has a knack for versatile, light Moscato. 2013 is our favorite (2012 and 2016 aren’t half-bad either) for its low alcohol content and intriguing citrus quality. Rated an 87 by Wine Enthusiast, we also love Foris for use in mimosas and other wine-mix beverages – primarily due to the low alcohol content and orange flavor we mentioned.

At a price tag of roughly $15-17 per bottle, this is an affordable, enjoyable Moscato.

Custom wine cellar from Peter Salerno Inc. Man Cave Classics.

3. Stemmari Moscato, 2013 (Terre Siciliane)

This beautiful pale yellow Moscato sits neatly at 8.5% ABV and, unlike many Moscatos, serves exceptionally well as an aperitif rather than a dessert wine. Like its Foris counterpart, the 2013 vintage is exceptional, garnering a rating of 90 at the Ultimate Wine Challenge. (The 2012 is also excellent, receiving a score of 86 from Wine Enthusiast.)

Sweeter than some of its counterparts, you’ll also find the price tag a bit sweeter as well – retail average for this bottle is just about $10. If you feel like venturing out of the Asti region and into Sicily, you’ll be highly satisfied with this effort from Stemmari.

Peter Salerno Cookbook Preview: Eight Pasta Dishes That Will Wow You

January 2019Peter Salerno Inc.

Peter Salerno Cookbook Preview: Eight Pasta Dishes That Will Wow You

We recently reported about a highly anticipated series of cookbooks forthcoming from Peter Salerno, CMKBD. (Peter is the owner and founder of Peter Salerno Inc., the most award-winning custom kitchen and bath design firm of the 21st century – and an exceptional chef!)

“The response was so overwhelming I had no choice but to start putting together recipes immediately, so here we are!” Peter recently explained to us in a phone interview.

Lobster ravioli with Grand Marnier sauce, all made from scratch - to appear in Peter Salerno's pasta cookbook. — Lobster ravioli with Grand Marnier sauce, all made from scratch – to appear in Peter Salerno’s pasta cookbook.

Earlier this week, Peter Salerno put out a survey on his Facebook account, asking friends and followers to vote on 8 different homemade pasta dishes for his cookbook. The top 4 dishes in the vote were guaranteed to make the cookbook. There was only one problem…

“The trouble was, everybody kept saying, ‘Put all of them in!'” Peter continued. “So we’re going to publish all eight recipes.”

As a result, Peter is now hard at work refining and perfecting all 8 pasta recipes, based on Sicilian tradition, family secrets, and his travels to fine dining establishments, conversations with world-class chefs, and attending CIA culinary classes.

As if THAT wasn’t enough to get you drooling, Peter also announced a partnership with David Hamburger of Acker, Merrall & Condit, wine merchants of New York City since 1820. David is a top wine educator, and will be working closely with Peter Salerno to create exceptional wine pairings for each of these pasta dishes!

Fettuccine with a wild mushroom and cream sauce, topped with black truffles, from Peter Salerno's upcoming cookbook — Fettuccine with a wild mushroom and cream sauce, topped with black truffles, from Peter Salerno’s upcoming cookbook

In no particular order, here are 8 pasta dishes that will appear in Peter Salerno’s debut pasta cookbook:

Lobster ravioli with a Grand Marnier cream sauce (the winner of the vote)
Fettuccine with a wild mushroom and cream sauce, topped with black truffles (2nd place in the vote)
Rigatoni with a puttanesca sauce
Cavatelli with broccoli rabe and sausage
Penne alla Norma (eggplant, tomato,basil)
Pappardelle al Cinghiale (wild boar sauce)
Fettuccine with bolognese and sweet peas
Lobster, macaroni and 3 Italian cheeses

The pasta cookbook will only be the first in a series of installments from Peter Salerno, who states that pasta felt like the most organic place to start the series.

“I wanted to make sure each of the pasta dishes we presented was unique,” Peter explained. “There will be classics like Cavatelli with broccoli rabe and sausage, and then a bit more exotic offerings like Pappardelle with Cinghiale, with is a wild boar sauce.”

Peter Salerno creates homemade pasta with his granddaughter, Jesse.

For Peter Salerno, one of the real joys of creating pasta dishes is the ability to do so with his family. In the beautiful moment captured above, Peter Salerno rolls out homemade fettuccine with his granddaughter Jesse. It’s part of the Salerno family tradition, passing down old-world Sicilian traditions and recipes through generations.

Part of Peter’s appeal as a custom kitchen designer is his expertise in actually using kitchen design to its fullest. For over two decades, professional chefs and avid home cooks have trusted Peter Salerno Inc. to create state-of-the-art kitchen designs that not only look beautiful, but function as a world-class, operational kitchen.

So, we’re curious – which of the eight pasta dishes listed above sounds most appetizing to you? Which one are you most excited to see appear in Peter Salerno’s forthcoming cookbook? Let us know in the comments below!

Peter Salerno's NKBA Best Kitchen of 2012, with a custom hood from RangeCraft. — Peter Salerno’s NKBA Best Kitchen of 2012, designed for two professional chefs. (Credit Peter Rymwid)

Award-Winning Kitchen Designer Announces Cookbook Series in 2019

January 2019January 2019Peter Salerno Inc.

Award-Winning Kitchen Designer Announces Cookbook Series in 2019

Peter Salerno of Peter Salerno Inc. To Debut Cookbook Series

Our mouths are watering already.

Peter Salerno, CMKBD (the founder of Peter Salerno Inc., the most award-winning North American kitchen and bath design firm of the 21st century) has announced a series of cookbooks inspired by his designs, his Sicilian heritage, and his world travels as an ensign in the United States Navy.

Peter Salerno (of Peter Salerno Inc.) has announced a new line of cookbooks. Here's Peter Salerno in his design showroom! — Peter Salerno (of Peter Salerno Inc.) has announced a new line of cookbooks. Here’s Peter Salerno in his design showroom!

The first Peter Salerno cookbook is set to debut later in 2019.

The announcement was made via Peter Salerno Inc.’s official Instagram and Facebook accounts and was received with anticipation and excitement.

Instagram user Stephanie Lee (@stephanie_lee_): “I’d like to preorder ASAP!!!”

Instagram user J. Patryce Design (@jpatrycedesign): “Congrats!… lmk where to purchase!”

Peter Salerno’s mastery of custom kitchen design, both transitional and traditional, stems from two places – his family tradition of cabinetry and woodworking, and his love of cooking. Peter’s friends and family often find him in his home kitchen, as well as the centerpiece kitchen of his award-winning Wyckoff, New Jersey showroom. Peter blends old-world Sicilian family recipes with other Mediterranean fare, and is eager to bring that knowledge from his kitchen to yours.

We hope Peter salerno shares his secret family homemade cavatelli recipe!

Peter also is an avid wine enthusiast, and promises to bring wine pairing expertise to his cookbooks with every recipe.

“Developing an understanding of wine pairings doesn’t depend on your budget,” Peter notes. “I’ll be pairing recipes with both high-end and affordable bottles of wine so everyone can enjoy.”

We’ve been present in the Peter Salerno Inc. showroom for some of Peter’s culinary creations, and trust us – we made sure to get a sample (or two, or three…). Whenever Peter dons his La Cornue or Miele chef’s apron, you know something special is about to happen.

Now, those special moments are about to be shared with the world!

Keep an eye out for future articles here on Design Your Lifestyle, as we keep track of Peter Salerno’s new line of cookbooks!

Peter Salerno with his father, Rosolino Salerno.

Peter Salerno’s Family Recipe for Homemade Sangria

July 2018Peter Salerno Inc.

Peter Salerno’s Family Recipe for Sangria

The Perfect Homemade Family Summer Sangria Recipe

Peter Salerno isn’t just a master kitchen designer, he loves spending time in his own kitchen entertaining family, friends and guests. This love of cooking and creating recipes filters up and down the Salerno family for generations, and has produced some time-tested, delicious recipes.

When Peter Salerno married his wife Tracy, she brought with her a wealth of delicious recipes, cocktails and other “secret family recipes”. Tracy’s father, Mike Cavallo, was a master of many of these – but one of the family’s favorite creations from Mr. Cavallo was his famous sangria.

July 4th Red, White and Blue Sangria recipes (recipes & photo courtesy Epicurious) — Our family Sangria recipe) photo courtesy Epicurious)

What makes the “Cavallo family sangria” recipe so delicious? It might be the perfect mix of ingredients, or the use of brandy and triple sec at the base. Or it may just be the special amount of love with which Mike made it.

In any event, it’s a sangria recipe that’s sure to please, and we’re sharing it with you. It’s the perfect summer sangria recipe for entertaining guests!

Mike Cavallo’s Perfect Summer Sangria Recipe

Ingredients

7Up/Sprite
Triple Sec
inexpensive brandy (something like christian bros)
a bottle of cheap red wine (barefoot works) either merlot or shiraz
ice
oranges (you can add apples and pears as well)

Preparation

Fill a *large* pitcher with whole slices of orange (leave the peels on), use a wooden spoon to press on the oranges to get a little bit of juice at the bottom.
Fill a 1/3 of the pitcher with ice
Pour even parts 7Up/Sprite and wine (pouring both at the same time is the easiest way) until 2/3 of the way filled
Pour equal parts brandy and triplesec to taste (usually about 1/2 -2/3 a cup)
Fill remaining with the rest of the wine
Stir and let sit for 10 minutes in the refrigerator
Enjoy!

If it comes out too strong for you, it can be diluted by adding more soda.

DON’T add sugar, citrus fruits (lime, lemon, pineapple), or bitters!

Design Your Thanksgiving 2017 By the Pantone Color System

November 2017November 2017Peter Salerno Inc.

Perfect Pantone Colors For Your Thanksgiving Design

Thanksgiving is right around the corner (less than a week away!), and we know you’re hard at work preparing for the holiday. This is especially true if you’re hosting family, friends and loved ones for a day of food, fun, and perhaps a little football.

If you’re hosting, you already have enough on your plate – cooking, cleaning, the list is endless. You don’t want to throw dollar-store napkins on the table, but who can find the time to create a Thanksgiving design for your home or table from scratch?

Leave that to us! We’ve found the 5 very best colors for your Thanksgiving design this year, thanks to the handy Pantone Color System. Each color is beautiful, adaptable – and as an added bonus, directly ties to a food or drink you may already be putting on your Thanksgiving table this year!

So from sweet corn to cranberry sauce, here’s a list of 5 great Pantone colors to utilize in this year’s Thanksgiving design. Whether you like warm tones, earth tones or neutrals, we have the Thanksgiving colors you need!

A Thanksgiving Table Full of Pantone Colors

Cranberry (Pantone 17-1545)

This is a shade of red that really pops! One may expect Cranberry to have a darker hue (like the cranberry sauce or jam on your Thanksgiving table), but the Pantone Cranberry is a festive hue that will spruce up any Thanksgiving design or table setup.

Add a dash of Cranberry (Pantone 17-1545) to your Thanksgiving table this year, or to your home decor. It’s a great choice for accents, statement decor pieces, and table accessories. Try it in throws, pillows, tablecloths and napkins, or anywhere in your place settings for a nice, warm touch.

Chestnut (Pantone 19-1118)

An intriguing shade of brown or green in your home design can augment its inviting nature. And with a name that’s perfect for the Thanksgiving season, why not fall in love with Chestnut this season?

Chestnut is a beautiful shade of brown that arouses images of warmth – wood in a crackling fire, hot cocoa, and – of course – warm chestnuts. It’s a sturdy hue as well, working perfectly with the wood and wood-grain elements in your design. It can also be incorporated in a design that utilizes falling autumn leaves.

Sweet Corn (Pantone 11-0106)

For 2 straight years, neutrals have dominated the Pantone color design landscape. Custom kitchen, bath and interior designers (like Peter Salerno Inc.) love the idea of “flipping the script” and letting the neutrally-colored design elements take the lead.

At first glimpse, you almost can’t SEE Sweet Corn in the graphic below, can you? That’s what makes this shade of off-white so unique. A blush of light, light yellow adds a real sweetness to the color, giving it a “country kitchen” aesthetic. Sweet Corn and Chestnut are a beautiful pairing of “earth tone and neutral” for your Thanksgiving design in 2017. You can also try Sweet Corn with our next color, Vineyard Wine.

Vineyard Wine (Pantone 19-1623)

There is a cornucopia of “Wine” colors in the Pantone color system (yes, we had to get one Thanksgiving pun in there!). Our favorite is Vineyard Wine (Pantone 19-1623). Not too light to be a raspberry color and not so dark that it dulls your design, Vineyard Wine has a rich burgundy feel, evocative of dark red grapes hanging in a French vineyard.

It’s hard to design with purple without it appearing garish at times (or a little girl’s bedroom). Vineyard Wine has an air of class that pairs incredibly well with light and sage greens, earth tones, and light neutrals (like Sweet Corn above).

Harvest Pumpkin (Pantone 16-1260)

A carryover from our Halloween Pantone list that makes a ton of sense. After all, who doesn’t love a nice pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving dessert? Harvest Pumpkin is a spunky, warm Pantone color that adds a bit of spicy brown into traditional orange to create an appetizing hue.

Harvest Pumpkin is more of an accent color than a core shade in your overall design. However, if you’re looking to create a real splash, why not try it on an accent wall to give that old room a little zest? harvest Pumpkin is a great choice for Thanksgiving table accents like napkins, place settings and centerpieces.

Chefs and Wine Lovers – This is YOUR Holiday 2016 Custom Cutlery Set!

November 2016November 2016Peter Salerno Inc.

The Perfect Custom Cutlery Set for Chefs and Wine Lovers

Yes, yes, we’re supposed to be impartial. But if you don’t purchase this custom cutlery set designed for lovers of fine wine soon, we will. (Without hesitation!)

The Sommelier Collection from EDGES Custom Cutlery is a limited edition series of custom cutlery, in which each knife handle is created from genuine American White Oak wood from used wine barrel staves. In other words, every handle of every knife in this custom cutlery collection was once part of a gorgeous, aged wine barrel.

The EDGES cutlery Sommelier collection: the perfect 2016 holiday gift for chefs and wine lovers.

Think of the history of fine wine nestled and stained forever in the handles of these beautiful, unique pieces. Each knife carries inside its handle a rich history of wine making and craftsmanship, not to mention being cut from the finest American White Oak.

The Sommelier Collection arrives just in time for 2016 holiday shopping, and is the quintessential gift for wine lovers, professional chefs, home chefs, and sommeliers alike. The EDGES Custom Cutlery Sommelier Collection includes 4″ paring knives, 6″ utility knives, and 8″ professional chef’s knives. These world-class cutlery pieces are available for individual purchase, or at a special price rate as a 3-piece knife set.

EDGES Custom Cutlery is currently a proprietary brand of Peter Salerno Inc., enriching its status as a world-class mecca of custom craftsmanship. Since its inception, EDGES has quickly established a reputation as a state-of-the-art balance of performance, handling, and looks. The ergonomic design of each custom EDGES cutlery piece is perfectly balanced at the ricasso with meticulously contoured handles.

After speaking with dozens of home-cooks and professional chefs, Anthony Michael Salerno, AKTI, NKBA Member, designed a collection of simple yet elegant designs for both the home kitchen and professional kitchen. Peter Salerno Inc. collaborated with Aldo Bruno (New Jersey Steel Baron) to use only the highest quality materials and ensure that each knife is hand-ground and hand-assembled right here in New Jersey to bring each client a truly custom piece by local knifemakers.

The rest of the active EDGES custom cutlery line currently available for sale can be viewed (and purchased) at BuyKitchenKnives.com, the premier online source for custom-crafted knives, cutlery, and artwork – OR by contacting Peter Salerno Inc. at (201) 251-6608 or via the contact form below.