This weekend Saratoga Springs is holding a Mardi Gras in its downtown area.  There will be great music, a parade and lots of great food.  Many participating restaurants, AND US!, will be serving their best tributes to the food of New Orleans.  All “samples” will be $1 and there will be voting for your favorite dishes.

On Sunday we will be serving Creole Pecan Chicken with a Bourbon Cream and Dirty Rice at Rena’s Flowers on the corner of Beekman and Ash Streets which is right on the Parade route.  Stop by and see us!

 The event will support Saratoga County Economic Opportunity Council and Saratoga’s domestic sister city Waveland, Mississippi.  Waveland was a town about the size and population of Ballston Spa, NY. After Hurricane Katrina, only 35 homes were left habitable.  Coleman Ave, Waveland’s “Broadway” was reduced to a pile of rubble with nearly every business destroyed.

Read more information at www.saratogamardigras.org

I did a cooking spot on WNYT today.  I really tried to impress on everyone to “get out there and grow some herbs!”.  I focused on Basil, Italian Parsley, Cilantro and Mint.  And I made pesto! 

These herbs are so easy to grow.  They can be grown in a window sill or an herb garden and will flourish even if ignored.  This is my kind of herb garden!  My herb garden is not manicured but instead has a used look.  If I need a garnishes, I simply snip off tips of this or that but if I need a lot of something I cut without abandon.  But that’s what an herb garden is for….. so get out there and plant something! 

The following link will take you to my recipes and my video for making three types of pesto and creating a couple of dishes with them.  The Seared Scallops with the Mint Cilantro Pistachio Pesto is my favorite.  What the video does NOT show (because I ran out of time.  I keep telling them I need more time!!) is me adding a drizzle of chili oil and a squeeze of lime to the final dish.  Yum. 

Enjoy! 

Pesto from your herb garden 

One of my favorite things to do is to make scones.  Lately, I was fortunate enough to be able to do this with Sarah Le Duke, a producer and radio personality from WAMC in Albany.  This is not only my local public radio station but also my favorite.  They have a Culinary Corner they feature once a week or so and below you’ll find the link to the audio segment I did on the making of Classic Scones.  You can practically smell the baking aromas wafting through the air. 

I mention in the broadcast that this is a recipe that I’ve kept close for many years but I am finally sharing it.  I use this recipe as a base for any sort of scone I might want to make.  If I want a scone with dried fruits and fruit flavoring I will increase the sugar and glaze the tops.  If I want to add shredded cheddar and chopped scallion I might add a touch of cayenne pepper.   

The recipe as it stands here is perfect for a Sunday brunch served with fresh berries and clotted cream. 

Enjoy and if you have any questions, just ask.  Click the link below and then click on “Listen” under the Classic Scone recipe. 

Classic Scones from Black Diamond Caterers 

Winter is drawing to a close (I am hoping) but the nights are cold and sometimes the days are rainy.  What could be better than baking for your family or friends.  This is a video from the amazing French Pastry School in Chicago.  It features one of their chefs making a lovely Gruyere Cheese Bread that would go great with your best chili or stew.

It’s simple, staight forward and forgiving.  But I know it will be a huge success.  This chef makes his recipe for multiple loaves but you can make only one or two.  If you have any questions at all, just ask me.  If you need a good baguette dough recipe, I can offer that as well.

 On to the video…….

Gruyere Cheese Bread

Well Wed Magazine is so beautiful you might not expect it to be informative.  But as you flip the pages you are very pleasantly surprised by all the wonderful articles and photos.  They feature a Spring/Summer issue and a Fall/Winter issue.  Both brimming with details and ideas. 

On page 129 of the new Spring and Summer Issue you will find an article of one of our events.  It’s a 7/7/07 wedding filled with color, great food and lots of personality.  Check it out!  

If you or a friend are a bride-to-be and would like to pick a magazine up you can get them from us.  Just send us an email!

I have contributed some air time to one of my favorite radio stations, WAMC, located in Albany, NY.  They are amazing and I’m thrilled to be a part of it.  I’m a big supporter of Public Media so anything I can do to help out is OK with me. 

If you would like to listen to the segment of me making Bolognese please click here.  Scroll to “Hearty Bolognese” where you will find the recipe, a photo and a hot link to “listen”.     

Buon appetito!

The culinary knowledge the average person now enjoys is due to the culinary movement of the last fifteen years.  It started with just a handful of people (like Emeril Lagasse) and blossomed into more than the TV, cookbook or magazine media moguls could have ever imagine.

I’m going to test your knowledge.  Whether you like sashimi or not chances are very good you are familiar with or have knowledge of sashimi.  But!!  Do you have knowledge of this?  Take a moment and check it out.

These are Geoducks (pronounced Goo-ee-ducks).  They are a mullosk (clam family) that are prized for their meat in Japan and adored in our Northwest for chowder and other dishes.  They can live to be over 150 years old and they are, well, interesting in shape and size. 

Watch the videos in the order listed. If you’re interested in a cooking class using Geoduck…..let me know!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VmXDTn2-xY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raCUc5A6FHU&feature=related

Two thirds of all avocados sold in the US are purchased within three days of the Superbowl!!  That is over 50 Million Pounds of Avocados. 

Avocados are a fruit, not a vegetable.  Avocados are sodium- and cholesterol-free and have only five grams of fat per serving, most of it the monounsaturated kind.  California produces about 90% of the nation’s avocado crop.   About 43% of all U.S. households buy avocados.  And…………….

they make great guacamole for the Superbowl.

Recently, we had the opportunity to spend time with some of the movers and groovers of the Saratoga Convention and Tourism Bureau.  It was great to hear about all their work and all the projects they are working on.  This organization entices, pursues and pursuades groups (mostly corporations and associations) to bring their people to Saratoga Springs. 

Also known by the name, Saratoga Experience, they are dedicated to bringing people and dollars to the downtown Saratoga area and making the town more of a year round destination place.  It is safe to say Saratoga is well on its way to being a Destination Place for weddings already.  We cater quite a few Saratoga Destination Weddings every year.  Couples come from all over the country to be wed in this town.  

One of the events organized and executed by Saratoga Experience is the ChowderFest.  This event has become very, very popular.  It promotes the great restaurants Saratoga offers and it’s always quite fun.  So, if you have February 2 open……….go!

If you’re not familiar with Saratoga Experience or want to learn more details about  Chowderfest 08, check out their website at:

www.discoversaratoga.org

If you haven’t heard of Well Wed Magazine you are probably not in the market for a wedding.  But if you were……..you would definitely want this magazine.  It is a perfect size, it has high quality photos, great articles, lots of suggestions and unlike most bridal magazines it is not 90% ads.  It focusses on Eastern Upstate NY which is very nice.  Here is the website to get one or you can pick one up at many local bookstores. 

http://www.wellwedmagazine.com/

Why do I bring  this up?  Because on Saturday, tomorrow January 19th, they are at Universal Preservation Hall in downtown Saratoga Springs with a bridal show called New York Wedding Affair.  We will be at this show and we expect it will be a very nice day for everyone attending.  There has been a lot of thought and care put into this show to benefit the bride and groom in as many ways possible. 

And if you haven’t checked out Universal Preservation Hall you absolutely must.  It’s a large, beautiful, old cathedral church that many people have vested in over a number of years to save it from a bleak future.  A large wedding could not find a better venue.  

 http://www.universalpreservationhall.org/