shoot&eat
My obsession with food & photography
SAME DAY payday loans
Because I love to cook, Larry and I eat at home most of the time. However, we do go out to dinner for special occasions. Last Saturday was such an evening. We enjoyed an early Valentine’s Day dinner at the Michelin-starred restaurant, Oceana . The dinner party was graciously hosted by Lynne Ryan of Chefs To Dine For. Lynne has a passion for bringing together like-minded people who enjoy a sophisticated dining experience. And this one was a Valentine’s dinner to remember—a magical night.
The evening started off with drinks and hors d’oeuvres in the bar—and Chef Ben Pollinger even came out of the kitchen to mingle with our group. At one of Lynne’s dinner parties, you not only get to meet fascinating food lovers, you also get to meet the executive chef. Chef Pollinger could not have been more warm and welcoming of the Valentine revelers. Chef Pollinger took our group—wine glasses in hand—on a behind-the-scenes look at his culinary wonderland, a VIP tour of the kitchen.
Watching the staff prepare and plate such wonderful seafood made me (and the rest of the group, I’m sure) eager to get to the meat of the evening—a beautiful three-course dinner paired with great wines. We all made our way to the private dining room with great anticipation of the delights that lay ahead. Upon settling into our seats, Lynne welcomed the guests and officially introduced Chef Ben Pollinger, who made everyone feel welcome. Lynne offered a toast, as the wine started flowing and the first course was set before us. From the first bite of the Meyer lemon risotto with crispy New Orleans shrimp and broccoli rabe, the reason Michelin honored Oceana with a coveted star was obvious. It was truly divine, as was the rest of the meal—steamed George’s Bank sole with baby artichoke barigoule and fingerling potatoes, followed by a decadent baked chocolate mousse with spiced pears and vanilla ice cream.
During the course of an evening filled with divine foods and fine wines, lively conversation led to budding new friendships. If you’re starting to feel left out, don’t. There’s another dinner coming up on March 4, 2012. In fact, the next event is sure to be another night to remember, but with a totally different twist—a beefsteak at Beacon. If you are not familiar with a beefsteak dinner, then you will definitely want to read about it on Garlandia, Larry Garland’s blog. After you read about the beefsteak, I’m sure you will want to jump right over to the Chefs To Dine For website and make a reservation to attend the Beacon dinner party.
Richard Rosendale takes home the gold
The Bocuse d’Or World Cuisine contest, the brainchild of Chef Paul Bocuse first took place in 1987 in Lyon, France. Chef Bucose is one of the most respected chefs in the world and his contest is the pinnacle of culinary competitions. The contest is held in Lyon, France every two years. The next one is scheduled for January 29-30, 2013.
One of the commis platters ready for judging
But this year—last weekend to be exact—four chefs converged in Hyde Park, NY at the Culinary Institute of America to compete. The winner will go on to the competition in Lyon, France, and will face chefs from twenty-three other countries. The rules for the competition this past weekend are exactly like the rules in France. Each contestant, along with his commis (assistant), has five and one half hours to create two elaborate platter dishes, one seafood and one meat, along with three original garnishes.The competition was held at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. It was a spectacle of culinary excellence, complete with the heavy bass beat of house music, huge television screens hanging in the air (so the audience could see the details of the chef’s progress), the crowd cheering and ringing their Bocuse d’Or cowbells, and waving balloons and Bocuse d’Or tea towels in the air.
On the big screen Richard Rosendale creates his platter for the judges
RIchard Rosendale (R) seems oblivious of the maddening crowd that surrounds him
The excitement was palpable as the chefs took knives in hand and proceeded to create culinary masterpieces from their kitchen cubicles while some of the most prestigious celebrity chefs mingled with the audience. It was not uncommon to turn around and engage in a conversation with the likes of Daniel Boloud (Daniel, DB Bistro Moderne, Café Boloud/NYC), Thomas Keller (Per Sé /NYC, The French Laundry/Yountville, CA), Barbara Lynch (No. 9 Park/Boston, MA), Grant Achatz (Alinea/Chicago, IL), and fellow Alabamian Chris Hastings (Hot and Hot Fish Club/Birmingham, AL).
Left to Right, Chefs Grant Achatz, Brad Barnes, and Chris Hastings
Chefs Daniel Boloud (R) and Thomas Keller (L) share a plate
The excitement heightened as the contestants started plating their creations and the wait staff brought the plates to the judges for tasting and judging. Saturday’s festivities celebrated the commis. The four of them competed for gold, silver, and bronze prizes. This competition was a warm up for Sunday’s main event.
Rachel Weiss, winner of the commis competition
It was a taste of this grand competition for the four rookies. Rachel Weiss, who is graduating from the French Culinary Institute this week and is an extern at Gramercy Tavern took home the gold for the commis competition with her interpretation of the Paul Bocuse classic dish Poulet Au Vinaigre.
Sunday was the day for the four chefs to compete for the honor of going to Lyon, France. And also the day of the super large crowds. On Saturday during the commis competition I was allowed on the floor of the competition, mingling among the contestants and the chef judges and quietly making my photos. On Sunday, only press was allowed on the floor to take photos. Where was my press pass? But I did my best to find the right angles to capture the excitement of the day in photos (from a distance).
The winner, Richard Rosendale, has just been announced and receives a congratulatory hug from Dr. Tim Ryan, President of the CIA
The four contestants congratulate each other
At the awards ceremony, I grabbed a seat on the floor in front of the winner’s circle. The excitement mounted as the fourth place winner was announced: Danny Cerqueda, Executive Sous Chef of The Carolina Country Club in Raleigh North Carolina. William Bradley, Chef Instructor at the Le Cordon Bleu in Cambridge, Massachusetts, took the bronze metal. Jeffrey Lizotte, Chef de Cuisine at ON20 in Hartford, Connecticut went home with the silver prize. And the grand prize winner of the Bocuse d’Or USA 2012 was Richard Rosendale, executive chef of The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.
Daniel Boloud applauds the winners
One of the judges takes a first bite
In the twenty-five year history of Paul Bocuse’s competition, an American has yet to win. Will 2013 be the year that Richard Rosendale shows the world that an American can take home the gold from Lyon, France? Tune in next January 29-30 to find out. Or better yet, hop on a plane and experience the thrill of the live competition. It’s bound to offer as much excitement as anyone will be able to stand.
The last touches before serving the plate to the judges
The judges confer with each other between tastings
Many thanks go out to KictchenAid who made it possible for me to attend this event.
I recently ran across this video from Saveur’s Todd Coleman in which he made chilaquiles. His recipe inspired me to make one of the Mexican dishes that I’ve yet to try. It is traditionally served for breakfast or brunch, but I decided to try it for dinner instead. In Todd’s video he said that it’s important to use good tortillas, so I decided to make my own instead of buying them. It turns out that making your own tortillas is pretty simple. It’s actually quite fun, though it can be a bit time consuming if you don’t, like me, have a tortilla press. Two of my heaviest cookbooks did some double duty as a tortilla press.
The beauty of this dish is that it can be reinvented in so many ways. It starts off with a base of roasted vegetables . I used tomatoes, onions, garlic, and jalapenos just as Todd used for his chilaquiles. Roasting the vegetables brings out the natural sugars in the vegetables and creates exquisite complex flavors.
Ingredients
- 2 cups masa harina
- 1 ¼ cups warm water
- Pinch of salt
- Canola Oil (for deep frying)
Instructions
- Put the masa harina into a large bowl, add the salt and whisk to distribute the salt throughout. Add the water and mix until well blended. Add more water if the dough is too dry.
- Take the dough out of the bowl and knead for about 1 minute. Make 12 small balls of dough and cover them with a damp cloth.
- Take each ball of dough and press in a tortilla press between two pieces of parchment paper or, like me, use two heavy books to press the tortillas.
- Place the tortillas onto a hot griddle or a cast iron skillet, cook for about 1 minute on the first side, flip, cook for another minute or two, then flip it back over until done, about another 30 seconds or so.
- After all of the tortillas are done, quarter them and deep fry them in canola oil until lightly golden brown.
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http://blog.rodneybedsole.com/2011/11/spice-up-your-brunch-or-dinner-with-chilaquiles/
Ingredients
- 5 Tomatoes, cored and halved
- 2 Onions, quartered
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 1 Jalapeno, whole
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 lb. Chorizo or Italian Sausage
- ¾ cup Water
- 2 Tablespoons fresh Oregano
- 2 Tablespoons Sesame Seeds
- 2 Chipotle peppers
- 4 Radishes, thinly sliced
- Cotija (or any crumbly type cheese if you can’t find cotija) I used ricotta salata
- Cilantro
Instructions
- Place the tomatoes, onions, garlic, and jalapeno on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Drizzle with the olive oil and toss to coat the vegetables well. Place under a broiler for 7-10 minutes, or until they have charred and softened.
- Take chorizo or Italian sausage out of the casings and sauté.
- After the vegetables have finished cooking, place the tomatoes, onions, garlic, jalapeno, water, oregano, sesames seeds, and chipotles in a blender and blend until this mixture is mixed well—as smooth or as chunky as you like—and then add this mixture to the cooked sausage.
- Add the fried tortillas to this mixture and cook until the tortillas are to your desired softness. Some people like them totally soft and others like them crunchier. You could also place the tortillas on a platter and then top with the vegetable mixture if you like your tortillas crunchy.
- Garnish with the radish, cotija, and chopped cilantro.
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