The Divine Dish

Wolfgang Puck American Food & Wine Festival

Posted on Oct 05, 2010 under Archives | No Comment

Once again, many of the world’s top chefs and wine and spirit purveyors gathered on the  lighted backlot of Universal Studios,  to raise a celebratory glass in support of the Meals On Wheels Programs of Los Angeles at the 28th Annual American Wine & Food Festival, hosted by Chef Wolfgang Puck.

I ran into the host, Chef Wolfgang Puck, while we walked around the Universal Backlot.

A huge section of the festival was a staging area for booths featuring chefs from Wolfgang Puck restaurants throughout the country.

All the chefs served great food.  Here are some pics of food  from the Wolfgang Puck booths.

This lamb was our fave of the night.

The Four Seasons Wailea had a nice sampling at their booth.

They served a pork belly and polenta and a snapper crudo plate.

Chefs were working hard in booths throughout the mock Italian village.

It was hot as Hades, but folks were everywhere eating and drinking.

Loads of famous chefs were there, including Charlie Palmer.

Nancy Silverton, master pastry chef, was cooking up dogs and sausages at the Mozza booth.  They also had killer frozen bananas dipped in chocolate.

Picasso at Bellagio, Las Vegas, served up a basil gimlet.

The STK booth served short ribs.

Master Chef Jose Andres played around with my business card.

My friend Nicole came with me and helped sample all the food.

Chefs from Blue Ribbon Sushi at the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas gave us some tasty hand rolls.

Salmon hand roll. Yummy.

The Bouchon booth was incredible, lots of fresh seafood.  Master chef Thomas Keller was on hand, throwing signed beach balls into the crowd.

Chefs at the Matsuhisa booth served up some tasty sushi and fish dishes.

Wraps at Matsuhisa booth.  Marc Peel from Camponile and Tar Pit was also there.

The event was really fun and raised lots of money.

Recipe for Steak with Spice Rub

Posted on Oct 04, 2010 under Recipes | No Comment

I was home from a series of press trips and food festivals and in the mood to cook.  After visiting the Silver Lake Cheese Shop and my local Whole Foods, I made a nice ribeye with spice rub salad and an heirloom tomato, mozzarella and basil salad.  Here is the recipe:

I use this rub mix every time I make a steak.  It’s the perfect blend to enhance a nice juicy ribeye and easy to make.  Just mix 1 teaspoon each of ground mustard, powdered garlic, and kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper.

Here is how it looked on the plate.

I bought a nice ribeye from wholefoods.  Take whichever cut of meat you choose and rub the spice mix all over the steak.  Leave it for about an hour to absorb into the steak before moving it to the stove.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Coat the bottom of a nonstick ovenproof skillet with enough olive oil to prevent the steak from sticking.  Place over high heat and carefully put the steak in the hot pan to sear.  Once a crust forms, turn the steak over to sear the other side.  This usually takes 3 minutes on the first side and 2 minutes on the second.

Place the skillet in the oven to finish cooking, I usually leave it in about 12 minutes for medium rare.

Let the steak rest for at least 15 minutes.

I chopped up the steak and made a mixed salad with what I had on hand, some fresh lettuce, avocados, peppers, olives, cucumber and feta cheese.

I also made a nice heirloom tomato salad with some fresh mozzarella and basil.

I used  pineapple stripped and  green sweet heirloom tomatoes for the salad.

I added mozzarella and basil and topped it with a little olive oil.

Interview with Chef Mark Ferguson from Spago, Ritz Carlton Bachelor Gulch, Colorado

Posted on Oct 04, 2010 under Archives, Chefs, Interviews | No Comment

Mark Ferguson’s passion for the epicurean began as a child while cooking in his mother’s kitchen in Denver, and he used his culinary skills to support himself through Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo.

After graduating with a degree in business, Ferguson moved to San Francisco in 1989 where he worked as a sous chef for the Gilbert-Robinson Company at Houlihan’s Restaurant.  He later joined master chef Jeremiah Tower at his renowned restaurant, Stars.  While at Stars, Ferguson furthered his cooking skill set by training at the California Culinary Academy and  met Chef David Robins.

It was Robins, also a chef at Stars, who asked Ferguson to join him in launching Chef Wolfgang Puck’s famed Spago in Las Vegas, whose opening sparked the city’s dining revolution which persists today.  Ferguson joined the Spago Las Vegas opening team as Chef de Cuisine.

During his eight years at Spago, Ferguson greatly enhanced his education and knowledge, cooking alongside some of the greatest names in the culinary profession, such as Paul Bocuse, Daniel Boulud, Nobu Matsuhisa, Thomas Keller and Alain Ducasse.  Together with these world-renowned chefs, he participated in numerous charitable dinners and events including Wolfgang’s American Wine and Food Festival, Keep Memory Alive and Andre Agassi’s Grand Slam for Children.  In addition, Ferguson prepared private dinners for high-profile public figures, such as President William Jefferson Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

When Chef Wolfgang Puck embarked on his first Italian restaurant concept, Trattoria del Lupo, he called upon Ferguson to spearhead the endeavor.  In preparation for his new role as Executive Chef and Partner, Ferguson traveled Italy extensively, cooking and tasting throughout different regions of the country to develop the restaurant’s innovative Italian menu.

During his eight years at Lupo, Ferguson received the 2002 Las Vegas Life Epicurean Award for Best Italian Restaurant in Las Vegas, and in 2003 he was honored by In Business Las Vegas magazine as one of the top forty rising stars in the city.

Nearly twenty years after leaving, Ferguson returned home to Colorado, where his culinary passion was born.  In 2007 as Executive Chef, Ferguson opened Spago, the flagship of Wolfgang Puck fine dining group at InterThe Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch on Beaver Creek Mountain. The menu features a fusion of sustainable, all-natural and organic ingredients.

While attending the American Wine and Food Festival, I had the opportunity to sit down with Chef Ferguson and chat about his background and cooking philosophy.

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Food and Wine Taste of Beverly Hills, Day 2

Posted on Sep 30, 2010 under Food and Travel News | No Comment

On the second day of the festival, I interviewed Food Network’s “Chopped” host Ted Allen.  It was hot as Hades and he was nice enough to spend a few minutes talking about  “Chopped Champions” and some upcoming projects.  You can view the interview at www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpwV6M6Ib10.

I also got to interview Chef Roger Mooking, star of the Cooking Channel’s Everyday Exotic.

You can view the interview with Roger at www.youtube.com/watch?v=rik9Pzrsb9A.

We went to see the LG Cooking Competition, but on the way we stopped off and sampled some food.

The Bazaar chef made an awesome mozzarella shooter.  Really good.

We headed over to the LG booth to watch  “The Taste of Something Better” culinary competition.  The event was held to determine “America’s Top Amateur Chef” with three finalists making it to the cookoff. Guest judges included Ted Allen, Tim Love, Ludo Lefebvre, and Michael Voltaggio. The event was hosted by Sissy Biggers, who provided a play by play as competitors Lou Kostura, Paula Mannino, and Brett Youmans took their places in the kitchen. After an hour, Pennsylvania’s Brett Youmans was named the winner with his orange scented lamb skewers, securing a trip to Seoul, South Korea, to compete in LG’s annual global cooking competition this fall.

The festival still had a day to go, but we were pretty full so we headed home.  The event will be held again next year over Labor Day weekend.