Did Someone Say CHOCOLATE !!

Chocoholics Unite ! Last weekend was the Fairchild Tropical Gardens International Chocolate Festival, and I was lucky enough to volunteer and participate in demo's with some the best chef's in South Florida. Fairchild Tropical Garden's has been hosting this event for the past four years, where they invite South Floridians to come and immerse themselves in all things chocolate, coffee and tea. I had the pleasure to work with two great chef's this past Saturday. Chef Andrea Curto Randazzo, a Top Chef Season 7 contestant and chef and owner of Creative Tastes Catering. She demoed a double chocolate cupcake with a malted buttercream topped with a bacon toffee - ummm everything is better with bacon !!!! Next up was one of my favorite chefs in SoFla - Pastry Chef Hedy Goldsmith from Michael's Genuine. I have engorged on her desserts at Michael's twice now and can still remember the taste of her famous chocolate cremosa dish. Needless to say I was uber excited to work with her. Her, and her mini entourage, were nothing but nice. She, of course, drew the largest crowd and I would be lying if I didn't say that I snagged a piece of her dish for myself to taste later. She decided to make a double chocolate biscotti infused with orange paired with these chocolate jellies (that were almost fudge like). This event would satisfy any foodies dreams, well recognized chefs are like celebrities to the 1% of the culinary community (shout out to La Castra). I was truly in heaven, both chocolate and foodie heaven!

The Girls and Chef Hedy

Chocolate Jellies tossed in Smoked Sea Salt - Mmmm Mmmmm Goood !!

Double Chocolate Biscotti



Dinner in Paradise ...



A few weeks ago I helped out with an event for school, it was an event I had been wanting to do for a while, needless to say it was rather interesting. The event was held at Paradise Farms, a local, organic, vegan farm in the Redlands;  Twice a month the farm hosts dinners where well respected Chefs come and cook a dish (or two), only usually organic and vegitatrian ingredients (seafood is OK) They have a budget to go spend at Whole Foods and are able to use anything from the from the farm. I will admit I have never been on a farm before and maybe in my imagination a farm would have everything labeled, but rather the farm at Paradise was more of a beautiful disarray of micro greens, edible flowers, and local Florida trees; like avocados and carambolas. There were three chefs participating in this dinner, and it was our responsibility to hold down the front of the house fort. I openly prefer the back of the house and found myself sneaking out back to snag pictures of their dishes, while neglecting my tables and potential tips. All in all the farm was "fun" - if anything it was an experience on a farm I won't forget. Maybe the next time I will be one of the chefs hosting the event !



Lets go to Europe !

My latest class was all about braising/stewing and the Traditional European dishes that have made there way onto some fancy smacy menu's. I'm sure most of you cook with these two methods on a weekly basis but you just don't realize the "too cool for school" technical terms. Braising and Stewing are very similar methods, they both involve tougher cuts /or working muscles and typically take a longer time to cook. The main difference between the two; is that Braising involves a larger cut of meat and is finished off in the oven., Stewing, is more often than not cubed (preferably into 1" pieces) and left on a stove top. The "longer" cooking time comes into play because you are using tougher cuts of meat that need more time to break down and become tender. One of the most popular braised dishes now a days are short ribs. Below is a pic of some short ribs I made over white truffle polenta (it was a great dish to have on one of those rare Florida cold nights).

Here are some photo's from class - where we also learned how to make fresh pasta. The photo is of "shower curtain" pasta, where you take two sheets of pasta and add fresh herbs in between.

 "Shower Curtain Pasta"

 Braised Lamb Shanks

 Beef Stew

 Veal Roulades

Redlands RoundUp !!!

A few weekends ago me and a friend decided to venture out to the Redlands to celebrate "Redland Heritage Weekend". We started off at The Fruit and Spice Market, and honestly that was all that we had originally planned to do. Due to the festival the Spice Market had many different vendors selling fruits and vegetables, fruit and vegetable plants, spices and jewelry (whenever women attend an event there is always some sort of jewelry for sale). We both opted to buy from the Spice Vendor and bought some delicious fruity Strawberry and Hibiscus Tea. Once we had our fill of the Market we decided to "Live and Let Live" and enjoy all that the redlands had to offer. We found ourselves at Schnebly's Winery, doing a tasting and of course buying some wine to take home (I got the GuavaVino and my friend grabbed Category 3- both are delicious), that then lead us to "Robert is Here". This, by far was my favorite place we went, I have been dying to go to a real "farmer market" and this was pretty damn close. Since it was my first time here I tried a shake, something that they are known for. I opted for the Strawberry Key Lime Shake and boy oh boy was it good. This day was definitely one of my favorite days - partially unplanned, enjoying time with a friend and exploring what Miami and the Redlands have to offer.I cannot wait to go back and buy loads and loads of fresh fruits/vegetables and definitely score some of their local/orangic honey!!!

 

 Peppers Growing at The Fruit and Spice Market

 Strawberry Hisbicuis Tea

 Local Honey with the Friendly Bee's

 Strawberry Key Lime Shake - Yum Yum

Lentils - The way to a prosperous New Year !

It is a tradition in my family to make lentils on the first of the year, they say that the lentils represent coins and money, so if you eat a bowl you are sure to have money for the upcoming year. This year we decided to spruce up our normal humdrum lentil soup. Typically our Lentil soup would consist of the basics; carrots, celery and onions, diced ham, and sometimes potatoes. This year we added kale, shredded chicken and chicken sausage for some bulk and added flavor. I was a big fan of this soup although it is more of a "stoup" than soup. Here are some pics of our new and improved Lentil Soup in my new Dutch Oven Pot (which was also a Fab Find!)

I was sure to have a nice big bowl to make sure that my year was going to be a prosperous one !

Stocks, Soups, and Sauces - OH MY !!

Since my latest class was all about Stocks, Soups, and Sauces I thought it would be fitting for me to make a post about soups. Soups are something that my mom and I always make. Typically Monday's are soup making days, the basics on rotation, always including calabaza, are a chicken soup, spilt pea, lentil, some sort of cream of broccoli, cauliflower or any leftover veg we have in the fridge. I of course have learned many new techniques to ensure your soup is extra good and have and have tried to apply to my soup making methods. Here are some tips to ensure the next soup you make is JWU worthy.

1. Start with a good quality stock
2. Saute your mirepoix (onions, carrots and celery)
3. Add any other ingredients you may want to add
4. Add COLD stock
5. Maintain a Simmer (Never Boil)
6. Skim off fat or skum that comes to the surface
7. Finish with a Final Liaison of butter or cream to add sheen and/or help to thicken.


Here is a video one of my former classmate (Quan Kep/Brown Girl) did on how to make the perfect Hollandaise !

Now get to stock, soup, and sauce making !!!!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PKLL5_-ccM

I have found Heaven - at least Food Truck Heaven!

I have been obsessed with Food Trucks for over a year now. It all  started in New York when I used to buy the Best Chai Latte from "Love Truck Coffee". I would send my mom links on all of these different kind of trucks and beg her to help me start a food truck. I told her she could drive and I would cook. Fast Forward to a year later, my food truck obsession/dream lives on. I heard the rumblings about food trucks in Miami, but never knew there were so many! Last Tuesday we were driving down Biscayne and just happen to run into the "food truck triangle roundup" (Biscayne and 109th) Every Tuesday night from 5:30- 10:00 food trucks line up in this undefined culdasac and share some of the best treats you may ever find ! It was our first time, and to be honest I was over excited and nervous at the same time. We ended up eating from a classic Cuban (cubansso) truck and got a pretty decent pan con bistec, the crispy fries are what set it apart. But then I ventured over to the one that originally caught my eye the "Slow Food Truck". It was amazing, I opted for the short rib sandwich, with arugula, crispy shallots and queso blanco. The bread was so soft and warm, with the deliciousness of the juicy short rib, spicy arugula, sweet shallots and mellow queso blanco. They even have dessert, and since I can never turn down a sweet treat, I grabbed three mini cupcakes, mostly excited about the one topped with bacon. All three were great !  If this isn't heaven, then I don't want to go anywhere else but here!