Sunday, April 28, 2013
There are no rules for a clam bake...
Up until last Saturday my most amazing celebrity moment was definitely meeting David Copperfield last year in Vegas. And although I didn't get to touch his hair, which was kind of an obsession of mine, the fact that I got to be on stage to watch the car disappear and I got to pose with him backstage was pretty cool.
However, as all of you know food is definitely my passion so Copperfield got bumped from the #1 spot by the fact that I had the pleasure of spending the day with Chef Edward Walsh. He was the Chef for Kendall Jackson for many years and he has received awards from the James Beard Foundation and Rolling Stone named him one of the Top 10 Chefs in the Nation in 1987. He is the personal chef of a dear friend of mine and so when I landed in Phoenix last week I spent all day Saturday eating some of the most amazing food on the planet.
Let me just say that not only is "Chef Ed" an amazing chef, he is also by far one of the most down to earth people I have ever met. He cooks in hiking boot style shoes, shorts and a t-shirt. There was seriously nothing better than sitting on a stool, drinking an amazing glass of champagne and watching him cook. The speed and accuracy as he wielded a knife was by far one of the most memorable experiences of my life....lightening fast and no fear of losing any fingers...unlike my personal culinary experiences.
Chef Ed grew up in the New York area and both of his parents were chefs, so not only was cooking his passion it was in his blood. And it definitely shows as he moves around the kitchen. He loves to tell stories as he cooks and he definitely had an avid audience with me in the room. He is super easy to talk to and had no problem joking around with me as I asked him random questions about lobsters screaming, East coast vs West coast lobsters, types of rose, etc. I pretty much peppered him with questions the entire day.
The day started with an amazing cheese and fruit plate. I seriously have never liked jicama but he put lime and chili pepper on it and it made me a believer!!
The next course consisted of grilled vegetables which I could have eaten all day!! The grilled artichokes were incredible as well as the grilled zucchinis and roasted peppers. Yum!!
Then for lunch we had crab hoagies with snow crab!! There was also potato salad with jicama and roasted asparagus. I wasn't even hungry but I ate everything on my plate! The rolls were light, buttery and lightly toasted.
We took a short break from eating to hang out near the pool. I learned how to play with toy dump trucks in the gravel, all of the working parts on a toy helicopter and heard some pretty incredible pick-up lines from a 3 year old...like "You, me and my room." It is a sad day when a 3 year old has more game than most of the guys you date!!
Finally, around 5 or 6 we started to ramp up for dinner...because obviously I was starving to death and wasting away after the lunch we had. We started the evening with this incredible rose champagne. It was light, slightly dry and perfect paired with food.
And for dessert...because I hadn't eaten enough...there were strawberry shortcakes that had whipped cream and grand marnier. Dear god!!
Not only was this the perfect food day it was the perfect weather. We got to have our clam bake outside on the patio in a beautiful backyard on a warm night. I got to enjoy fun company and I got to be blessed by the amazing culinary experiences of Chef Ed. Thank you!! And no I didn't ask to touch Chef Ed's hair either, but it wasn't nearly as creepy as Copperfields.
However, as all of you know food is definitely my passion so Copperfield got bumped from the #1 spot by the fact that I had the pleasure of spending the day with Chef Edward Walsh. He was the Chef for Kendall Jackson for many years and he has received awards from the James Beard Foundation and Rolling Stone named him one of the Top 10 Chefs in the Nation in 1987. He is the personal chef of a dear friend of mine and so when I landed in Phoenix last week I spent all day Saturday eating some of the most amazing food on the planet.
Let me just say that not only is "Chef Ed" an amazing chef, he is also by far one of the most down to earth people I have ever met. He cooks in hiking boot style shoes, shorts and a t-shirt. There was seriously nothing better than sitting on a stool, drinking an amazing glass of champagne and watching him cook. The speed and accuracy as he wielded a knife was by far one of the most memorable experiences of my life....lightening fast and no fear of losing any fingers...unlike my personal culinary experiences.
Chef Ed grew up in the New York area and both of his parents were chefs, so not only was cooking his passion it was in his blood. And it definitely shows as he moves around the kitchen. He loves to tell stories as he cooks and he definitely had an avid audience with me in the room. He is super easy to talk to and had no problem joking around with me as I asked him random questions about lobsters screaming, East coast vs West coast lobsters, types of rose, etc. I pretty much peppered him with questions the entire day.
The day started with an amazing cheese and fruit plate. I seriously have never liked jicama but he put lime and chili pepper on it and it made me a believer!!
The next course consisted of grilled vegetables which I could have eaten all day!! The grilled artichokes were incredible as well as the grilled zucchinis and roasted peppers. Yum!!
Then for lunch we had crab hoagies with snow crab!! There was also potato salad with jicama and roasted asparagus. I wasn't even hungry but I ate everything on my plate! The rolls were light, buttery and lightly toasted.
We took a short break from eating to hang out near the pool. I learned how to play with toy dump trucks in the gravel, all of the working parts on a toy helicopter and heard some pretty incredible pick-up lines from a 3 year old...like "You, me and my room." It is a sad day when a 3 year old has more game than most of the guys you date!!
Finally, around 5 or 6 we started to ramp up for dinner...because obviously I was starving to death and wasting away after the lunch we had. We started the evening with this incredible rose champagne. It was light, slightly dry and perfect paired with food.
So this is the lobster that became my dinner. And I learned that lobsters do not have vocal cords and of course I probably knew that because otherwise they would be talking and I have never heard of a lobster saying," hey how are you?" However, we always hear about lobsters screaming when they are placed in hot water. However, I learned that this is actually just the release of air from their bodies...yes I know a slightly gross thought, but better than actually thinking of them talking as they die, right?
So for the evening meal I got to experience my first "clam bake." And the first thing I learned was that there are no rules for a clam bake. And since I don't do so well with rules I was pretty stoked. Because if there were rules for the clam bake you know I would have broke every single one. This was truly one of the most amazing meals I have ever had...clams, corn, garlic bread, lobster, artichokes and green beans. Heaven!!
And for dessert...because I hadn't eaten enough...there were strawberry shortcakes that had whipped cream and grand marnier. Dear god!!
Not only was this the perfect food day it was the perfect weather. We got to have our clam bake outside on the patio in a beautiful backyard on a warm night. I got to enjoy fun company and I got to be blessed by the amazing culinary experiences of Chef Ed. Thank you!! And no I didn't ask to touch Chef Ed's hair either, but it wasn't nearly as creepy as Copperfields.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments
(Atom)
Visit My Website!
Subscribe To
Posts
Comments
0 comments:
Post a Comment