Chefs/Restaurants Archives - Page 37 of 55

A Lesson in Butchery and Cooking

Slow Cooked Lamb Bolognese
Paccheri Pasta, Homemade Ricotta

FA and I had the pleasure of attending a class offered at the Chefs’ Summer Cooking Series @ Terranea Resort where we were invited in to the Mar’ Sel restaurant kitchen for a step-by-step lamb butchering demonstration by the talented and engaging Chef Michael Fiorelli. After the lesson we, along with 8 other guests, were seated in the beautiful dining room overlooking the Pacific Ocean to feast on a fabulous luncheon highlighting lamb.

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Grilled Salmon Dolmades, Pine Nut Lemon Sauce

GRΣΣK MΣZΣ MAKΣΦVΣR
Grilled Salmon Dolmades, Pine Nut Lemon Sauce

Hello and welcome to the 5 Star Makeover Taverna, a unique virtual restaurant specializing in Greek mezes, featuring a twist on classic ingredients and recipes. My contribution to the Taverna is Grilled Salmon Dolmades with a Pine Nut Lemon Sauce. Here, grape leaves are stuffed with fresh Alaska King Salmon that has been grilled on a cedar plank, along with sticky brown rice, crumbled feta, chopped kalamata olives, and fresh dill. The grape leaves are brushed with olive oil and cooked over a hot fire until the grape leaves start to crisp and char. The tangy sauce is make from pine nuts, lemon, red pepper flakes, dill, and olive oil. Grilled lemons accompany the platters.

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Joël Robuchon, Claude Monet & 5 Years of Taste With The Eyes

L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon
A Menu of Small Tasting Portions

Monet’s Table: The Cooking Journals of Claude Monet
(book giveaway at the end of this post, thru July 6)

“Cap Martin, Near Menton”
Claude Monet

“Cap Martin, Near Menton”
Floral Arrangement

On our trip to Las Vegas we “encountered” two ultra-gifted Frenchmen, artists Joël Robuchon and Claude Monet – the Chef and the Painter. It wasn’t until after I returned home that I realized how the two are ultimately connected…

The oil-on-canvas landscape painting “Cap Martin, Near Menton” is from Monet’s more experimental works of the French Riviera in 1884. We were delighted by the ingenious flower arrangement on display at the Bellagio Conservatory which has been modeled after Claude Monet’s painting.

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French Dining Tour of Vegas

French Dining Tour of Vegas

Bonjour!

Not exactly sure how this “dining tour” idea came about. Maybe it had something to do with refreshments at the pool in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower? Anyway, fellow bons vivants (my brother, sister-in-law, and our dear friend Susan from New Jersey) adore Vegas and its impressive collection of world-renowned Chefs. When we plan our trips to Vegas “where shall we dine?” is the first order of business.

Thanks to my brother’s edict that we try new restaurants each visit, on last Fall’s trip we hit the mother lode. We re-discovered Las Vegas’ first celebrity chef, the charming André Rochat. It may have been we were so blown-away by our experience that we convinced Don we absolutely had to go back to André’s, tout de suite. However it evolved, the first “French Dining Tour of Vegas” was born – a trip where we would eat at exclusively French restaurants, or those with French Chefs, and of course we would stay at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino.

French Dining Tour of Vegas Itinerary

Arrival Day

Late Night Snack
Michel Richard’s CENTRAL @ Caesar’s

Day 1

Breakfast
MON AMI GABI @ Paris

Lunch
POOLSIDE below the Eiffel Tower

Cocktails
EIFFEL TOWER RESTAURANT BAR @ Paris

Dinner
ANDRE’S @ Monte Carlo

Day 2

Brunch
FRANCOIS PAYARD PATISSERIE & BISTRO @ Caesar’s

Afternoon Wine & Cheese
PETROSSIAN BAR @ Bellagio

Dinner
L’ATELIER DE JOEL ROBUCHON @ MGM Grand

Departure Day

Breakfast/Lunch
MON AMI GABI @ Paris

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Meyer Lemon Arancini, Flower Confetti, Parmesan

Cocktail Hour @ Ciao Fiore!
Meyer Lemon Arancini, Flower Petal Confetti, Parmesan

It’s cocktail hour at Ciao Fiore! Meyer Lemon Risotto left over from the previous night’s service is formed into balls, coated with panko bread crumbs, and fried in canola oil. We need to watch our food costs so here we transform the day-old risotto into a delightful bar appetizer. Finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and a sprinkling of flower petal confetti make the presentation pop!

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