The Divine Dish

Summer of Bastianich Press Dinner at Shutters on the Beach

Posted on Jul 01, 2011 under Archives, Uncategorized | No Comment

Last week I attended the “Summer of Bastianich” dinner at Coast restaurant at Shutters on the Beach.  The event was a lovely outdoor private dinner hosted by one of my favorite chefs, Lidia Bastianich.  The event showcased wines from the Bastianich family winery that were paired with a special menu prepared by Coast chefs.

I took my friend Nicole as my guest to enjoy the seasonal menu.

The pr folks at Murphy O’Brien did a great job of organizing the event.  Each guest had a personalized place setting and menu.

We started with some nice prosecco before Lidia greeted all the guests.

Our starter course was a warm octopus and potato salad.

Our first wine was a crisp Friulano infused with citrus notes.  It was a perfect pairing for the buttery salad.

Next came a wonderful pear and pecorino ravioli.  Shaves of pear were incorporated into pillows of ravioli.  Our table devoured this dish and wanted more.

This was served with a chardonnay blend, Vespa Bianco, 2008.  Another perfect match.

Next came our main course, a perfectly seared lamb chop with rosemary mint sauce and braised spring legumes.

Our lamb was served with a Vespa Rosso, 2008.  All of the wine was wonderful, this was our fave of the night.

Our table at this point was very happy to have tasted such fabulous wine and food.  Our final course was a yummy cherry jam tart.

The menus for the Summer of Bastianich at Coast restaurant will vary over the next few months but will always be paired with wines from the Bastianich Winery.  Reservations can be made at 310/587-1707.  If you want to purchase any Bastianich wines, the restaurant can provide a list of vendors who offer them.

Universal Studios International Cafe Bloggers’ Tasting Event

Posted on Feb 10, 2011 under Uncategorized | No Comment

Last night I attended, with my neighbor Todd, a very nice food blogger’s tasting event held at Universal Studios International Cafe.  The event was held to celebrate the Cafe’s recent Santé Award for Outstanding Achievement in Culinary Service and Hospitality, Chef Eric Kopelow’s 2010 Chef of the year award by Chef Magazine, and to offer food writers a chance to sample the delicious food offered at the Cafe.

The folks at Universal made us feel like stars from the beginning, leading us down a red carpet to the cafe.  We really thought this was a classy touch.

The cafe was nicely set up with satin napkins and beautiful flower displays at each table.  About thirty food writers/bloggers attended.

The European style International Cafe opened its doors at Universal in 2010, providing a new type of healthy “theme park” food.  The menu offers a wide variety of salads, cheese plates, soups and artisanal sandwiches, as well as juices and mineral waters.

After enjoying some champagne, I posed for a quick picture with Chef Eric Kopelow before the tasting began.  He then greeted all of the attendees and before each course was served came out to describe what he was serving.

Our first course was a trio of soups, included roasted cauliflower with cheddar, chanterelle mushroom and corn bisquue, and New York clam and mussel chowder.  No butter was used to prepare the soups and each one came in under 100 calories.

All three were yummy, our fave was the roasted cauliflower with cheddar. Next was a nice arugula salad with olive oil, buffalo mozzarella and heirloom tomatoes with a balsamic vinaigrette.

Next came a nice trio of sandwiches.  All the bread is made in-house daily at the Cafe.  We were served oven roasted turkey with muenster cheese and a roasted garlic sauce, smoked salmon with pickled onions and cucumbers and a dill sauce, and shaved roast beef with brie cheese and roasted pears with a peppercorn aoli.  My fave was the roast beef, Todd’s was the turkey.  It came with some tasty house made garlic dill pickles and marinated olives, as well as homemade bbq potato chips.

After sandwiches, Chef Kopelaw was awarded two honors, the Santé Award for Outstanding Achievement in Culinary Service and Hospitality for the Cafe and the 2010 Chef of the Year award from Chef magazine.

Our tasting finished with two nice desserts, a chocolate cake and mousse with chocolate ganache and a banana meringue tart.  Both came with chocolate dipped strawberries.

These probably weren’t as figure friendly as the rest of the menu items, but they were delicious.  It is nice to know that the next time you head to Universal you can enjoy tasty and healthy food in between the tram tour and rides.

Interview with Chef Antonio de Livier

Posted on Jan 20, 2011 under Archives, Chefs, Interviews, Uncategorized | No Comment

I recently visited the Pueblo Bonito Pacifica Resort in Cabo San Lucas.  While there I was lucky enough to dine at La Frida, the Mexican-themed restaurant  which celebrates the artist Frida Kahlo at their sister resort, Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach.   Executive Chef Antonio de Livier was gracious enough to sit down with me before he made me an elegant and lovely tasting menu at La Frida.  We talked about his philosophy on cooking, Mexican cuisine, and cuisine at La Frida.

De Livier is Mexican by birth, eclectically international in his approach to food and its preparation. Since childhood he has harbored a passion for the special qualities of Mexican foods—their tastes, textures and abundant variety. At La Frida, he combines the best of local fish, seafood, meats and fresh organic vegetables and spices in his own artistically adventuresome recipes, creating delicious nuances and intricate layers of delicate flavors. The result is a menu that brings elegance and a joyful exuberance to contemporary Mexican cuisine.

De Livier was born and educated in Mexico and speaks fluent Spanish, Portuguese and English. His passion for cooking took him to the U.S. for further study and to work with talented chefs in an international atmosphere. He was formerly with the acclaimed Great Bay Restaurant in Boston, which has lent an authentic Boston accent to his perfect command of English.   He is executive chef at restaurants Fellini’s and Las Palomos at other Pueblo Bonito resorts in Cabo.  Here is our conversation.

 

Booksigning for my new book, The Cheap Bastard’s Guide to Las Vegas

Posted on Dec 10, 2010 under Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Last weekend, Borders Glendale hosted a booksigning for my new book, The Cheap Bastard’s Guide to Las Vegas.  You can buy the guidebook to Sin City at most bookstores and online through Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Noble, and all other online book outlets.  I want to thank everyone who came and showed support.  Here are some pics from the event.

Again, thanks to everyone for coming.  We sold about 35 books!