A Few Spots Left for the Cooking Class at 3030 Ocean in Fort Lauderdale
Next Sunday, May 15th at 11am

Join the 3030 cooking class, Sunday May 15th. Chef Dean James Max will highlight some great recipes inspired by a summer in Spain and share in a few tasty drinks as well. Enjoy a great gazpacho, amazing paella and a fantastic espresso creme caramel. Call Nicole at 954-868-2755 with a credit card to confirm your spot! See you all there.

Every spring the arrival of ramps is anticipated by chefs just like the red carpet arrival at the Oscars is by the paparazzi.  It is awaited with baited breath by the chefs whose menus use the delicacy in a variety of creative preparations.  Over two decades ago Rick Bishop of Mountain Sweet Berry Farms introduced the delicacy to eager chefs who frequented his stand at the Union Square Green Market.  Two decades later the impact is immense as his stand now boasts the proof.  Business cards of the restaurants that purchase his ramps and the dishes that highlight the delicacy.  The board reads like a Who’s Who of the city’s top restaurants: one of  Food and Wine’s Best New Chefs 2011 George Mendes prepares skate wing with “spring garniture,” first of the season ramps, morel mushrooms, and “beurre noisette” at Aldea;  Thomas Keller’s Per Se serves ramp-top “pierogi” butter poached oregon morels, new crop potatoes, fava beans and green garlic with madeira cream; Alex Guarnaschelli boasts sardines with homemade ricotta and charred ramps at Butter otherwise you can dine on ramp ravioli at The Modern, or ramp risotto at SD26  to name a few.  Marco Canora, Next Iron Chef Finalist, even celebrated the arrival on April 12^th with a ramp dinner at his restaurant, Hearth.

If you’ve never heard of them — let alone eaten them — ramps are mountain vegetables, grown most often in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia and North Carolina. They’re a member of the onion family, like leeks, and like so many favorite foods they come around just once a year. Luckily, that time is now, as the season’s first leeks tend to make their way from the mountains to the markets in March and continue to do so throughout April and into May.

Because you don’t have much time to try this delicious piece of green, a quick primer is probably in order. Here’s what you need to know:

• What ramps look like: In the wild, ramps grow from bulbs, like tulips do, and eventually get up to 12 inches tall and 2 inches wide. Like green onions, they have an onion-like bulb of white — about a half inch around — at the bottom, from which sprouts a bunch of leafy greens. The leaves themselves are flat and feather-shaped, with a rash of slender, maroon-colored stalk connecting the white on the bottom to the green on the top.

• How ramps taste: The easiest way to identify a ramp isn’t to see it. It’s to smell it. Ramps smell like a combination of onion and garlic, only much stronger — so strong that kids were once rumored to eat them so that their teachers would send them home from school in order to escape the lingering odor on the children’s breath. Although raw ramps are pungent, cooked ramps are much milder; they smell more like garlic, but taste more like onions — but earthier.

• How ramps are prepared: You can use ramps as a substitute for any recipe that calls for onions, garlic, leeks or scallions. You can use them cooked or raw, in soups or in casseroles. In their native Appalachia, however, they’re most commonly fried along with potatoes in bacon grease, or scrambled with eggs for breakfast. The possibilities are endless.

There’s a lot more one could learn about ramps, but the clock’s ticking quickly away on all things spring. Besides, your palate’s the best teacher there is. So quit clicking and start cooking, before the summer sun melts the ramps away for another year!

Three-Star Michelin Chef Cooking in Las Vegas from April 28 - May 7

Celebrated Chef Pierre Gagnaire returns to his eponymously titled restaurant, Twist by Pierre Gagnaire at Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas April 28 through May 7.  During his visit, Gagnaire will celebrate the new additions on the spring menu.  Chef Gagnaire will also be attending a very special dinner on Saturday, May 7, honoring legendary French, Chef Paul Bocuse.

The Spring Menu features the freshest ingredients of the season including the Printemps appetizer with a tart of peas, beans and celery, carpaccio of grilled cuttlefish, smoked swordfish, an ice cream of asparagus scented with cardamom, corn cream and chanterelles. The Chef has also included more organic and regionally sourced options including Rocky Mountain Lamb, Nebraska Corn Fed, 24 days dry aged New York Sirloin, Idaho Kobe Style Beef and Californian Mishima Wagyu Beef. All options plus a three-course tasting menu starting at USD 105.

“I am always very excited when anticipating my return to Las Vegas as the city is so full of energy and has a tremendous amount to offer,” said Chef Gagnaire.  “I’m especially looking forward to cooking this spring menu for our guests at Twist and to get their reaction to some of the new items we will be debuting.”

Those guests not able to attend during Chef Gagnaire’s visit to Las Vegas will be able to sample the spring menu through early June.   To make a reservation call + 1 888 881-9367 or email molas-twist@mohg.com.

Haulin Balls, Vegas’ newest gourmet food truck, made its debut on Saturday, April 9^th , from 6pm to 2am, at the Vegas StrEats Festival at the El Cortez in downtown Las Vegas.

Kim Farkas, co-owner and operator of the Haulin Balls truck, is excited to join Vegas’ growing community of gourmet food trucks.

“The Haulin Balls team is extremely excited to hit the streets and join the exploding food truck scene in the Vegas valley. Follow us on Twitter @haulinballslv and Like us on Facebook to stay updated with our specials and locations.”

Haulin Balls’ gourmet offerings will introduce several unique takes on the traditional meatball.  This will be a welcome addition to the community of gourmet food trucks currently on the road in the Vegas valley serving up a wide variety of delicious fare. 

According to Gregory Arianoff, co-owner and operator of Haulin Balls, “Our concept will bring one more choice for the residents of Southern Nevada and the food truck fans.  Our menu emphasizes the use of fresh herbs in all of our meatballs, which is key to enhancing the flavors.”

The Vegas StrEats Festival, which showcases many of the gourmet food trucks, premiered in March 2011 at the El Cortez hotel and casino.  The festival’s emphasis on food, music and community is the perfect venue to introduce Haulin Balls’ gourmet meatball fare.

While we await the singing of the birds, blooming of the crocus and the greenery that indicates the arrival of spring the silent shad row have arrived without fanfare.

The shad spend their entire adult lives living at sea. Then, come spring, they swim upstream from the Atlantic Ocean towards the inland freshwater streams and rivers where they were born, and provide us with is a seasonal treat — shad roe — that’s worth looking forward to every year.

It’s hard to go wrong with roe. Sturgeon, salmon, cod and tuna make fantastic roe. While one can usually enjoy caviar or cod roe year-round, the shad roe season is short. Really short, in fact, as it typically lasts just a few months, from March until May, while the shad are making their run as far south as the Chesapeake Bay and as far north as southern New England.

The time is now, therefore, to steal a taste of this fleeting American delicacy. Be on the lookout for it on your favorite fine-dining menus. When you see it this spring, order it … while you still can, that is. You won’t regret it. Although it probably won’t look especially delicious to the shad roe newbie — inside the large, double roe sacs are millions of tiny fish eggs that are held together inside a thin membrane — the taste is fresh like the sea, and pure perfection.

TravelsinTaste talked to some of our favorite chefs about how they prepare the delicacy. Eric Ripert, executive chef and co-owner of New York’s Le Bernardin says he likes shad roe rare, but warm. “I like to sautee or bake them very slowly brushed with butter so they don’t explode, and at the same time they stay rare inside,” he says. “I like to serve them with a sauce that has some acidity in it, like a marinade almost. I use olive oil. some chopped capers, chopped shallots, chopped herbs, some chopped or diced fennel, and then lemon juice and a little bit of smoked salt. Because of the contrast of the acidity and the richness I think it’s very good. ”

What is a good wine pairing for a range of wallets? “It will have to be a white wine, for sure,” Ripert says. He recommends a wine with acidity, such as a sauvignon blanc by Cloudy Bay from New Zealand. For a more expensive wine, he suggests a white Bordeaux, like one by Chateau Lynch-Bages.

In New York’s Financial District, where rare commodities are traded with gusto, SHO Shaun Hergatt’s executive chef Shaun Hergatt prepares shad roe “lightly dusted with spice and flour and pan seared, served with lemon dust, fried capers and spring herbs.”  With an extensive wine cellar there are numerous selections and a knowledgeable beverage director, Carl York, to assist you with your special selection

Even shad’s Latin name — sapidissima — is delicious, meaning “most savory.”  Most savory, indeed. If you see us out to dinner this spring, don’t be surprised if you see us crooning the words of Ella Fitzgerald, who sang in her famous standard, Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall in Love), “Waiter, bring me shad roe!”

Today Executive Chef John Greeley will launch ’21’s Spring menu, with the prized Mangalitsa as   its star.  This scarce variety of pig is renowned for its clean taste and high fat content.

For Chef John, bringing Mangalitsa to the table at ‘21′ has truly been a labor of love.  Having learned the tricks of the Wooly Pig trade from an Eastern European master butcher, Greeley hand-selected and even helped slaughter the pigs on a farm in New Jersey last fall. 

The hands-on chef has since worked on curing the meat to create charcuterie items, including bacon, sausage and smoked ham.  Additionally, Greeley will offer a mixed grill dish, featuring Mangalitsa pork loin and pressed shoulder with wild boar chop.

While Mangalitsa is costly, Chef Greeley notes, “We get the most value out of the pig using not just the meat but all of the delicious fat.  We make lardo and we render fat to cook vegetables in and to confit items.  Essentially, the entire pig can be used.  It’s the most versatile animal.”

Pictured above: Mixed Grill of Mangalitsa Pork Loin, Pressed Shoulder and Wild Boar Chop with Spring Onion Mustard Seed Jus.

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Ardesia in Hell’s Kitchen is resuming its popular series: Pig-Out Sunday on Sunday, February 27, 5-10pm.

Chef Amorette Casaus will prepare a hen-inspired three-course menu including arugula and Cameo apple salad with housemade chicken sausage, seared chicken breast with Hen of the Woods mushrooms and gnocchi and pumpkin cheesecake for $40/person. Specialized wine pairings are available for an additional $18. Reservations are accepted by email info@ardesia-ny.com or phone 212.247.9191.

Pig-Out Sunday @ Ardesia
510 West 52nd Street (btwn 10th-11th Avenues)
212.247.9191

Happy Valentine’s Day to All from TravelsinTaste!

There are two things that a heavy snow fall in the city will do to New Yorkers. One, it reintroduces them to nature, as they look up from their blackberrys at snow-covered parks and city blocks and two, they crave hearty, steamy, comfort food.  No menu in the city speaks more to the spirit of Winter than the new Hunter’s Menu at Tocqueville.  Located steps away from Union Square, Executive Chef Marco Moreira has created a four-course menu complete with wine pairings for $125. 

The menu showcases rich flavors of gamey meat and poultry that begins with a Seared Sirloin of Elk Carpaccio with pickled garden vegetables, a soft egg yolk, spicy arugula and horseradish, and continues with a steamy bowl of House-Made Chestnut Papardelle with a ragout of wild boar, porcini mushrooms and twice smoked bacon.  Finally, the Roasted Scottish Grouse Breast and Confit Leg, a more intensely flavored version of chicken, is paired with seared Hudson Valley foie gras, caramelized Seckle pear and beluga lentils.  The meal finishes with the Grand Marnier Souffle, which sets the mood for a Winter wonderland.

Tocqueville offers upscale American cuisine with a French perspective, which is based on the philosophy that purchasing the world’s best seasonal ingredients and enhancing their natural flavors will produce fresh, innovative dishes. Dishes from the Hunter’s Menu as well as the regular Dinner and Lunch Menus reflect Chef Moreira’s dedication to seasonal ingredients, many of which are purchased at the Union Square Greenmarket.

HUNTER’S MENU

Four-course menu with wine pairing  $125

Available for a limited time at dinner

Monday - Saturday, 5:30pm - 10:30pm

SEARED SIRLOIN OF ELK CARPACCIO

pickled garden vegetables, soft egg yolk, arugula and horseradish

2008 Touraine   Francois Cartier   Loire   France

HOUSE-MADE CHESTNUT PAPARDELLE

ragout of wild boar, porcini mushrooms and twice smoked bacon

2008 Rosso Toscano   Adone   Collemattoni   Tuscany   Italy

ROASTED SCOTTISH GROUSE BREAST AND CONFIT LEG

seared Hudson Valley foie gras, caramelized Seckle pear and beluga lentils

2006 Vin de Pays des Balmes Dauphinoises   Nicolas Gonin   France

GRAND MARNIER SOUFFLE

2003 Vouvray Moelleux   Cuvee de Paradis   Georges Burnet   Loire   France

*Dishes also available a la carte

It’s the end of January - National Soup Month - and no one knows how good a bowl of hot soup tastes than those East Coasters who have put up with the piles of snow this season.  With more to come in the immediate future we thought we’d share some of our old favorites and new finds with you to enjoy throughout the rest of this winter season.

Klee Brasserie in New York always has inventive dishes on its menu - you might remember owner and Chef Daniel Angerer’s Green Pea Soup from this summer which might have  seemed like an ordinary soup on paper, but we can assure you that was not the case. It was served as a series of four shooters and, thus, was presented in glasses rather than in a bowl. The inventive shooters were then garnished with a smoky cheese.  Now he’s upping the ante with his Kapocha Squash Soup with pretzel croutons and his Cranberry Bean Soup with escarole, rosemary, and ham chips.  Chef Angerer can also prepare a vegan take on this soup if you like.

For something a little more traditional we’ve found that a good wonton soup is almost like Mom’s chicken soup - it can cure the winter blues with just one sip.  Roughly translated as ’swallowing a cloud’ those little light wontons are just so delicious.  One of the best that we’ve had was in Las Vegas at the Mandarin Oriental’s MOzen Bistro.  A perfect taste of heaven!

At the W Hotel in Fort Lauderdale Steak 954 serves a truly delicious onion soup.  Although one wouldn’t really think of having a piping hot soup filled with melted cheese and topped with black truffles in South Florida it is simply the perfect accompaniment to their Australian Tajima Kobe beef!  And, the view isn’t that bad either - situated right on the beach  one can dine inside or out overlooking the clear blue Atlantic.

In Chicago, Seasons 52’s executive chef partner John State, a native Chicagoan, knows the power of a steaming cup of soup in the middle of January.   “Soup is a staple food in any culture,” said State.  “No matter where you’re from, soups are steeped in tradition, and eating it on a freezing winter day is the perfect way to enjoy it.”

Seasons 52 has been celebrating national soup month with the following  traditional soups from around the globe, re-created by Chef State, including:

• Chicken Curry (Asia) - Classically called Mulligatawny, this combination of curried chicken, basmati rice and green apples is the perfect blend of sweet, sour and spicy, $5.25
• Chicken Tortilla (Latin America) - Bringing the quintessential blend of Latin flavors, with chicken, roasted chilies, tortillas, peppers, cumin, lime and cilantro, $5.25
• Cioppino (Mediterranean) - Inspired in Italy, this San Francisco style seafood stew is a highly satisfying combination of shrimp, clams, garlic and tomatoes, $5.25
• Chicken Noodle (American) - This classic all-American favorite, with its hearty chicken, noodles and double intense chicken broth will warm from the inside out, $5.25

There’s our round up of soup from the most familiar to the exotic.  Now don’t forget - Mom’s chicken soup is always the best - but if she would like to try something a little more exotic below is a recipe Chef John State has graciously provided to us for Mom to try at home - Seasons 52’s at home recipe for Mulligatawny  Chicken Curry Soup - and a suggested wine pairing.  After all, what fun is soup without a glass of wine!

Chef John State’s at home recipe for Seasons 52’s

Mulligatawny Chicken Curry Soup
SERVES 8 GUESTS

INGREDIENTS
4 TBLS POWDERED MILK
2 TBLS ARROWROOT (A THICKENER)
1 TBLS LEMON JUICE
4 TBLS ORANGE JUICE
2 ½ TBLS COLD WATER
1 TSP OIL, EXTRA VIRGIN
½ CUP YELLOW ONIONS, PEELED ½” DICE
¼ CUP CARROTS, PEELED ½” DICE
½ CUP POTATOES, IDAHO, PEELED, 1/2″ DICE
1 TBLS GARLIC, MINCED
2 PINCHES CUMIN, TOASTED, GROUND
1 TSP SALT, KOSHER
1 CUP APPLES, RED DELICIOUS, WASHED, PEELED, ½” DICE
1 TBLS CURRY POWDER
1 QUART + ¼ CUP CHICKEN BROTH
1 ½ TBLS ORANGE BLOSSOM HONEY
1 CUP BONELESS, SKINLESS COOKED CHICKEN BREAST SMALL DICE (OPTIONAL)
1 CUP STEAMED BASMATI RICE

STEP 1
4 TBLS POWDERED MILK
2 TBLS ARROWROOT (A THICKENER)
1 TBLS LEMON JUICE
4 TBLS ORANGE JUICE
2 ½ TBLS COLD WATER

1. IN A MIXING BOWL PLACE POWDERED MILK, AND ARROWROOT.
2. WHISK IN LEMON AND ORANGE JUICE, WITH WATER.
3. MIX UNTIL WELL INCORPORATED.
4. SET ASIDE UNTIL NEEDED

STEP 2
1 TSP OIL, EXTRA VIRGIN
½ CUP YELLOW ONIONS, PEELED ½” DICE
¼ CUP CARROTS, PEELED ½” DICE
½ CUP POTATOES, IDAHO, PEELED, 1/2″ DICE
1 TBLS GARLIC, MINCED
2 PINCHES CUMIN, TOASTED, GROUND
1 TSP SALT, KOSHER
1 CUP APPLES, RED DELICIOUS, WASHED, PEELED, ½” DICE
1 TBLS CURRY POWDER
1 QUART + ¼ CUP CHICKEN BROTH
1 ½ TBLS ORANGE BLOSSOM HONEY

STEP 3
1 CUP BONELESS, SKINLESS COOKED CHICKEN BREAST SMALL DICE (OPTIONAL)
1 CUP STEAMED BASMATI RICE
 

1. In a heavy bottom pot, wider than taller, add olive oil, over medium heat.
2. When oil is hot, add onions, carrots, potatoes, garlic, cumin, and salt. Cook, while stirring, with a wooden spoon or heat proof spatula, about 4 minutes,

until vegetables begin to soften.

1. Add apples, curry powder. Stir. Again, cook for about 4 minutes, softening the vegetables, perfuming the spices.
2. Add chicken broth and honey. Bring to a boil. Then simmer for 20 minutes. Stir at 10 minute mark.
3. Whisk in the reserved ingredients from Step 1 until well incorporated. Cook 2 minutes.
4. Turn off the heat, blend ingredients with a blender or immersion blender until smooth.
5. Taste, adjust seasoning as desired. Stir in chicken and rice. Serve hot.

Seasons 52’s Master Sommelier, George Miliotes recommends a Riesling for the wine pairing with the soup. More specific a German Riesling or an Austrian Gruner Veltliner.

• For the Riesling Seasons 52 offers the Selbach-Oster Kabinett Riesling
• For the Gruner Veltliner Seasons 52 offers the Hirsch.