Are you ready for the exclusive…
*Photo Credit to Russ Rowland*
I'm obsessed with the Food Network and Cooking Channel so I was beyond thrilled to attend Pinnacle's Unexpected pairings with Chef Claire Robinson! If you're not familiar with Claire she has her own show, 5 Ingredient Fix and she also hosts other challenge shows on the Food Network channel. Last week she conducted a live cooking demo of 3 dishes that we were able to taste in a sit down dinner later that evening. Each dish was paired with a cocktail by celebrity mixologist Niccole Trzaska. After the cooking demo were we split up along two tables for a 4th of July inspired cocktail demo. The drink was red white and blue with whatever garnishes your heart desired. Surprisingly mine turned out pretty awesome (you can see it below in my instagram collage)! After that, we all sat down to a delicious dinner featuring the below listed 3 dishes made during the cooking demo. Everything was so good! I don't even like peas, but I got seconds of the snappy ginger garlic peas; lol.
- Snappy Ginger Garlic Peas paired with Pinnacle® Unflavored Vodka in the Sage Vice cocktail
- Mojo Pork Tenderloin paired with Pinnacle® Raspberry Vodka in the Red, White & Blue cocktail
- Sugar & Spicebox Cake paired with Pinnacle® Cinnabon® Vodka in the Cinnabon® Splash cocktail
Left: Niccole Trzaska Right: Sage Vice
1 part Pinnacle®
Unflavored Vodka
1 part Pineapple Juice
1 quarter part Lemon Juice
1 quarter part Dry Vermouth
Mix
ingredients over ice shake and strain over fresh ice in a rocks glass. Garnish with a sage leaf (make sure to tap the sage leaf
between palms or snap in the fingers to release its essence).
Cute tablescapes
Snapshot from the live cooking demo with Chef Claire Robinson
In Claire's words "BYOC" meaning be your own chef. Don't be afraid to make a recipe your own and enjoy the experience of cooking be comfortable and have fun!
Here's the recipe for the peas that I'm obsessed with:
Snappy Ginger Garlic Peas
1 pound sugar snap peas, trimmed
1 tablespoon grated peeled ginger
2 teaspoons seasoned rice vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons garlic olive oil
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
Prepare a bowl with icy water and set aside. Cook peas in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl of icy water to stop the cooking. Drain peas and pat dry.
Whisk together ginger, vinegar, and oil. Add peas and sesame seeds and mix. Season with salt and pepper.
Apron swag with a couple of my friends :)
Post a Comment
Check out this adorable cook wear by Bella Dots! You can easily pick a color from the rainbow and find multiple appliances to add personality to your kitchen. At the event I asked a few of the chefs at different stations how do you feel about the performance and what color would they pick...I heard raves about the even heating and high quality of the products…color wise they loved red, teal and purple (<-- me) lol. See the images below for my fab night in the Bella Dots pop-up kitchen.
Chef John DeLucie & Stacey Keiblier
Kelly Killoren Bensimon & Jill Zarin (both NYC Real-Housewives)
Last week, I had the pleasure to see Todd English cook live! I was lucky enough to meet him once before at the opening of the Ember Room. He was so friendly, smiling constantly and took pictures with everyone. This was a Gilt City event with GQ and Park&Bond sponsoring a live cooking demonstration for the launch of his new cookbook; Cooking in Everyday English. Being that this was all done in a clothing store they couldn't really cook anything in fear of the clothes. So ceviche was on the menu, notice the picture of the gigantic bowl filled with all kinds of seafood. There were oysters, clams, braised octopus, sea urchin, scallops and hamachi. Everything (excluding the hamachi) was still live. I've never see sea urchin up close before, it felt different than I expected; more like straw and sharp spikes. I actually poked a scallop and it almost shut on my finger lol, kind of scared me :) While waiting for the cooking to start we snacked on some apps and refreshing/strong drinks both from his cook book. Everyone started gathering in the back ready to see the show. I had a great view right next to the stage. Todd called up two guys to make it more of an iron chef competition, which was fantastic! I love to cook and actually wanted to go to culinary school. But after getting my bachelors and Sallie Mae taking most of my money, I decided that dream is on hold lol. It was great to see how you prep the seafood and properly open the scallops and sea urchin. I like being able to see the whole process, it makes you have more appreciation for what you're eating. Both guys did really well and requested some of the ladies to come up and sample. Of course, I was one of the chosen; mostly due to being front row and a food lover. Both were soooo delicious, the seafood was so fresh. Honestly some of the best seafood I've had in a while. Well, clearly I had a blast! All I have to say are good things :)
Cutting open the Sea Urchin
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)