Great Taste Magazine

Mixologist Joel Black explains how to smoke vodka, bourbon or any spirit.

The weather is warming, spring has sprung, and summer is on its way.  What does that mean for proud Americans across this land?  It’s time to BBQ!  And with hot & spicy BBQ, there is the need for a cool refreshing accompaniment.  BBQ, whether a Kansas City dry rub or my favorite, West Texas “cowboy style,” is truly this country’s first cuisine and is celebrated in various ways from region to region.  Given my Texas roots, I am going to explore a “cowboy style” BBQ inspired libation.

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IPhone apps and a Bento database.

Patrick Albrecht, owner of four restaurants in Atlanta, GA that employs 200, has outfitted his 15 managers with iPhones which they use to access the company’s Bento database, iCal calendars, and enterprise software. They can instantly look up, enter, and revise information about menus, banquets, employee schedules, point-of-sale transactions, and access daily reports—from anywhere.

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Here’s the beef: when it comes to cutting meat, few know what they’re doing. Luckily, Kari Underly does; her talent as a third generation butcher is shared throughout the pages of her guide to protein, The Art of Beef Cutting, a meat professional’s guide to butchering and merchandising. A leading expert in meat education, Underly guides readers through fundamentals to master cuts. Each cut is thoroughly explained in step-by-step fashion and accompanied by a descriptive color photo. International and ethnic cuts are also provided, along with the best cooking methods for each section. Chapters on tools, selling for profit, and safe handling add to the beef cutting experience. This is the ideal training manual for anyone wishing to master this craft, from industry professional to culinary student to ardent home-cook.

To purchase this and other great titles, visit great-taste.net/books

Chicago Style Wine & Food Launches in San Diego

by Frank Mangio

April 30, 2012—A twin launch recently resonated with San Diego diners when Davanti Enoteca and Mia Francesca opened side by side in an upscale food court in the Del Mar Highlands Center next to the renovated movie theatre.  I was surprised and moved by the flavor and friendliness of both operations, which are owned by the same group from Chicago, where several restaurants are thriving, mostly with the same favorite Italian theme. Read more »

Local Chefs David Coleman and Greg Daniels will join chefs from around the state in Sacramento on May 1.

More than 100 of California’s best-known chefs have joined forces to fight the nation’s first state law banning the sale of foie gras.

Read more from the San Francisco Gate

by Linda Mensinga

Well fed ducks and their livers to disappear from California menus.

“I don’t tell people what they can’t eat,” says Playground Chef/Owner Jason Quinn, and most restaurant professionals agree. Yet the California legislature passed a bill in 2004 that essentially tells everyone in the state not to eat foie gras. The bill prohibits, “force feeding a bird for the purpose of enlarging the bird’s liver beyond normal size.” It also authorizes, “…a citation … in an amount up to $1,000 per violation per day.”

This “one-of-a-kind, irreplaceable culinary treasure” foie gras, French for fatty liver, will soon be available in all states but California. Read more »

IRVINE, Calif., April, 2012—The Taste of Orange County™ —Southern California’s five star culinary weekend event—is scheduled for June 16-17, 2012 at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater from Noon to 10pm on Saturday and from Noon to 8pm on Sunday.

General admission is $40, or you can download the event app for a $20 admission fee.  The “per taste” fee is still being worked out. A portion of the proceeds will be going to OC Food Bank.

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This new cocktail from Wolfgang Puck is designed to liven up a romantic or any occasion.

Keep reading for bonus truffle recipe guaranteed to please the chocolate lover in your life.

Raspberry Mocha Kiss

Photo by Doreen Elyassian

4 oz of Wolfgang Puck Double Blend Mocha – 120 calories/cold brewed/organic/kosher

1 1/2 oz Vodka Read more »

This eclectic book of tips and recipes by Heston Blumenthal offers helpful advice on a multitude of different cuisines. Chef Blumenthal is the owner of The Fat Duck, a three-Michelin-starred restaurant in the UK. In his book, he not only reveals his delicious recipes, but explains in detail how they will work. Chapters on soups, salads, pasta, sides and desserts are liberally sprinkled with color photos.

A unique part of the book contains Blumenthal’s thoughts on brining. Blumenthal devotes two separate sections to the art of low-level brining, and explains the advantages, as well as the challenges, of this timeless process. He describes the steps necessary for brining foods as large and tough as porkbelly, to foods as small and delicate as fish. He also explains how adding the right amount of salt to a brine actually moistens the meat, and how to compensate for time with concentration.

Blumenthal’s instructions are precise and easy to follow, and his chapters are prefaced with an explanation of each approach. To order this book and many other great titles, please visit www.great-taste.net/books.

Local Chefs David Coleman and Greg Daniels have joined a statewide chef movement to repeal Senate Bill No. 1520, a bill that prohibits a product from being sold in the state if it is the result of force feeding a bird for the purpose of enlarging the bird’s liver beyond normal size. The bill, scheduled to come into effect July 1, 2012 authorizes an officer to issue a citation for a violation of those provisions in an amount up to $1,000 per violation per day. Perhaps more a deterrent to some is the threat of activists taking violent action against them as families and companies have been threatened by extremists. Read the Law, a law with far reaching ramifications that have yet to be examined.

C.H.E.F.S., The Coalition for Humane and Ethical Farming Standards is organizing Read more »

Join Great Taste Magazine Tuesday, March 20 at 3pm for an hors d’oeuvre and cocktail gathering to support Eva”s Caribbean Kitchen as they recover from the damage caused by the February 18 fire. Bring a minimum $10 donation and a gift certificate or prize (optional) to raffle or auction. Food and beverage purveyors are invited to donate product for sampling at the event.Contact Teri to rsvp or donate. www.evascaribbeankitchen.com

Traditionally cooked whole and often roasted for several hours, the suckling pig has a rich history across many cultures. Chefs around the U.S. have adapted this conventional preparation to offer guests their signature dish with a contemporary twist. Read more »

This beautifully-photographed coffee table volume by Jeff Morgan, the Domaine Chandon Cookbook, has 224 pages of California wine country cuisine from the venerable Domaine Chandon, French-owned winery of champagne style sparkling wines. The book’s introduction tells the story behind the vineyard’s creation in 1975. Read more »

Citrus is the winter fruit that keeps on giving. These juicy wonders brighten seafood, salads, meats and desserts. Versatile, the juice enhances sauces, the sections perk up any salad and the zests add aroma to any dish. In addition to vitamin C, citrus delivers potassium, folate, calcium, fiber and other nutrients.
Lemons and limes also make beautiful garnishes with their color, texture, fragrance and tartness. Balboa Bay Club Executive Chef Josef Lageder and Banquet Chef Michael Doyle shared some lovely citrus garnishes. According to Chef Lageder, all are simple enough to use in banquets. Read more »

Currently ablaze with 3.6 million lights in a Christmas wonderland, the Historic Mission Inn’s history and architecture make a visit a must for anyone visiting California’s Inland Empire. There’s still time to go, the Festival of Lights runs until January 8, 2012!
The Historic Mission Inn Hotel & Spa, a National Historic Landmark, is about an hour’s drive east of Los Angeles in Riverside.

The annual Festival of Lights in its 19th year beckons thousands of families to enjoy the display of multi-colored bulbs. Disney-like animated elves, angels, nutcrackers and other figures complement costumed carolers, falling snow (weekends) and fireworks.

Please visit The Historical Mission Inn for more information.

The American Beverage Institute Urges Congress to Reject Funding for Invasive Alcohol Detectors in All Cars

Washington—In recognition of the December 5 anniversary of the ratification of the 21st Amendment to the Constitution repealing Prohibition, the American Beverage Institute (a restaurant trade association) urged Americans to push back against anti-alcohol groups seeking to marginalize responsible social drinking.
ABI’s website, TheNewProhibition.com, profiles anti-alcohol activist groups such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Alcohol Justice, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), and the Center for Alcohol Marketing and Youth and the anti-alcohol policies they promote. Read more »

Bad Santa! Santa got drunk on bourbon and tossed an elf into the snow.

The cakes are little snow piles of chocolate bourbon coconut cake, iced with vanilla buttercream and finished off with chopped coconut snow.

The elf feet are hand-sculpted of green and red chocolate, and are then attached to white and dark chocolate striped straw legs with melted white chocolate. After resting for a few minutes, the legs are then gently placed into the snow mounds.

Kimberly Bailey, owner, baker, artist, dishwasher www.thebutterend.com

STACKED: Food Well Built just opened its third location in Cerritos to guests ready to use iPads to stack their own custom made burger, pizza or salad.

CERRITOS, Ca. Nov. 17, 2011—A new fast casual dining option, STACKED, opened today to diners eager to try design-your-own meals. After being seated, servers demo the iPads on each table, then leave guests to play with the rolling menus of burgers, pizzas, salads and sausages; along with endless toppings, sauces and extras. Read more »

Well-respected veteran of Orange County's food scene, chef and restaurant owner Zov Karamardian has published her second cookbook Simply Zov: Rustic Classics with a Mediterranean Twist. Karamardian makes sure that cooks of all levels are comfortable. Read more »

Experience a traditional crawfish boil without leaving the OC this fall at Memphis at the Santora. Crawfish look like miniature lobster, taste just as sweet but are freshwater delicacies now raised commercially in Louisiana where riends and family gather to feast on pounds of the creatures found in the mud of the bayous.
The Crawfish Boil at Memphis includes 1.5 lbs of fresh crawfish, smoked sausage, corn, potatoes, cornbread muffins, salad and one Dixie Lager per guest all served on New Orleans butcher paper for $30 a person. Read more »

For the January/February issue of Great Taste Magazine we are working on a duo feature about marketing through social media; Twitter, Facebook etc. Our experts, Jennifer Morris of AjendaPR, and Genae Girard, have practical suggestions for how and what to email, tweet and post. The word is out that social media is an effective and fast way to reach customers and potential customers. You’ll find practical new ideas to implement right away.

Chef Michael Chiarello’s Bottega Restaurant is one of Napa Valley’s most popular new locations. His book, aptly named Michael Chiarello’s Bottega, has received as much critical acclaim as the restaurant itself with award nominations by the IACP and the James Beard Foundation. Read more »

Newport Beach, CA – Top musicians will perform to raise funds for the “Jeff Golub Medical Fund” on Thursday, September 15 at 7:00 p.m. With all of the entities involved in the production donating their time, resources and talent, 100% of the proceeds will assist Golub with mounting medical expenses resulting from the recent unexpected loss of the talented guitarist’s sight.

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