We have been having full colony’s of bees die because they get each other sick.They are also doing artificial insemination of bees as well. So what does this all have to do with Rober at the Four Seasons. Well he has been stung – with the love of bees and the beauty of honey. He keeps bee hives on the terrace of the hotel and shares it with his guests and uses it for his cooking.

That is my story for now and I am sticking to it.

Here is the menu that we did for the group along with some pictures.

Pura Vida Tapas Bar Welcomes:

Northwest Georgia Oncology

Menu

Amuse ~ Tuna Poke, Porque No?

Soy Cassarep Marinated Yellow Fin Tuna Loin, Coffee Nibs, Pickled Garlic & Ginger, Scallions, Red Habanero, Sour Orange “Caviar”  & Tapioca Flakes

Definitions:

Cassarep:  cassava (yuca) syrup seasoned with thyme, pepper, clove & spices

Cassava:  a starchy root vegetable, also known as yuca; it is high in calcium and vitamin C

Coffee Nibs:  ground decaf coffee, cocoa, agave nectar made into crumbs to resemble soil

Tapioca:  the root of the cassava (or yuca) plant, which is found in tropical areas and is very starchy.  It contains calcium and iron

First Course ~ Salad Course

Hearts of Palm & Guava Salad with Red Oak, Shaved Cotija Cheese, Guava-Sherry Vinaigrette

Definitions:
Cotija Cheese ~ is a Mexican aged cheese made from cow’s milk; it is aged, dry in texture and has a robust flavor

Guava ~ a tropical fruit that is made into pinkish orange jams and jellies. Guava is a good source of Vitamin A & C.

Sherry Solera ~ this vinaigrette is made from 50 year old Spanish Sherry Vinegar. Solera is a method of aging; sherry and other fortified wines are blended and matured to achieve consistency.

Second Course ~

Steamed Coconut Buns with Tamarind Chicken

(Or Steamed Coconut Buns with Smoked Tofu with Tamarind for Vegetarians)

Definitions:

Coconut Buns:  A bun made with coconut oil, which gives it a scent of coconut, and cooked by steaming the dough, so they are light and fluffy.

Tamarind:  A tropical fruit from the pod of the tamarind tree, which has a juicy, fleshy pulp that is sweet and sour, high in acid, sugar, B vitamins and calcium

Third Course ~ Beef Course

Chipotle BBQ Beef Rib 

Mayan Adobo Rubbed Beef Short Rib, Slow Cooked, Served with Carrot Slaw & Orange-Chipotle BBQ Sauce

Definitions:

Adobo:  a dry spice mix

Mayan Adobo:  one of Chef Santiago’s Adobo spice mixes; The Mayan adodo contains ground chipotle and ancho peppers, clove, allspice & Mexican oregano

Fourth Course ~ Vegetable Course

Green & White Asparagus Salad
with Recao, Mint, Hibiscus and Cashews.
Vanilla Bean-Habanero Coconut Vinaigrette

Definitions:
Habanero:  Caribbean floral and very hot pepper.

Recao:  sometimes called culantro, this herb has the flavor of cilantro, but is much more intense, and better for cooking than cilantro, which doesn’t retain it’s flavor when heated

Hibiscus:  A tropical flower from the Caribbean, often used to make tea

Fifth Course ~ Dessert

Churros with Mora Dipping Sauce

&

Chocolate Chile Flan with Kahlua Caramel

Definitions:

Churros:  A Spanish style fried dough, usually served with a dipping sauce

Flan:  a custard dessert very popular in Spain and Latin America made from milk & egg, with a caramel sauce on the bottom.

Mora:  a reddish relative of the blackberry found in high altitude areas in Central and South America, including the Andes mountains. 

Executive Chef: Hector Santiago

Mixologist: Paul Calvert

With a little bit of help from: Claire R. Gould & Leslie Santiago

Well, I am up in PA and really enjoying being up here. The weather is beautiful and seeing some of my friends is so nice. We are in the midst of breaking out the property lines. This will bring down the price of my father’s house enough if we split out the lots. He told me to think about doing this prior to his passing if I had a hard time with the lots.  The time has come to do just that.

Pam is down sleeping the night on Lenny’s boat so I have the place to myself. I had a big dentist appointment today so I slept most of the day.

Also I am back to getting the web site done.  I have all month of July to think it through and get content to the guy who is developing it for me.  This is harder than what it looks that is for sure. But I really want to use this weekend to make some serious headway on it so when August comes we can go ahead and get it going, I also need to think about getting some business on the books.

I went on Tuesday with Pam – we spent the day in Shadyside eating and walking around. Then we went to the strip district.  Went into a great little seafood restaurant. Lucky for us it was Taco Tuesday. They had fish tacos with  a mixture of fresh fish in the taco for 2 @$4.99  They were quite good. Then we went to the famous place that has homemade biscotti in every flavor. I got the bag of broken pieces for $5.00 which turned out to be a good deal.

I am going to bed. Tired – This is my story for now

 It is very rare that I write my column based on meeting someone, but I came across such a “find” while working the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival. I was so blown away by Ashley Hall and her extensive wine knowledge that it would be wrong of me not to share both with you, my dear readers.

Ashley is the wine concierge at H&F Bottle Shop in Atlanta and was responsible for managing the alcohol education program at the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival, which offered 30 educational wine/spirit tastings. Previously, she worked for wine distributors and as a regional sales director for Kermit Lynch, a famous wine importer out of California.

Ashley is very passionate about the trade and educating her customers on wine choices that are in the best interest of the “drinker.” Even after 25 years in the business, my wine knowledge isn’t great, and I know that many planners have difficulty cutting through some of the snootiness surrounding menu wine choices, so I sought Ashley’s help in demystifying this portion of F&B.

Old World vs. New World wines

Basically, Old World means wines of Europe and New World means everywhere else. Personally, I am a New World girl but, luckily, Ashley covers all continents. Ashley quickly pointed out to me that all wine is technically white. In laymen’s terms, red wine is the result of how long the skin of a red grape is pressed in the juice. Think about putting a tea bag into hot water. The strength of the tea depends how long the bag is in the water. It is this same concept for red wine. Ashley’s pet peeve about wine today is that people think a sophisticated red wine has to be big and bold. Not true, she insists, a lighter wine can be just as sophisticated and complex.

Wine for the times

Ashley also recommends planners think about the weather when selecting wines. When it’s hot outside, it’s best to go with lighter wines, whether red, white or rosé. In the summertime we aren’t going to eat heavy foods, she explains, we tend to go with lighter foods. The same goes with wine.

Red, rosé, white and bubbly

So let’s talk about the different types of wine. It is common knowledge that Pinot Noir is a classic lighter-bodied red wine. But it’s not commonly known how difficult the Pinot grape is to farm. Many times it isn’t grown properly, Ashley says, so inexpensive Pinot Noir may not be the best choice for a summertime red. The most cost-effective way to serve a Pinot-style wine for a group is to choose a wine made with a Gamay grape, which is most commonly found in Beaujolais wine. What Ashley likes about the Gamay grape is that it is close in characteristic and flavor to Pinot, but it creates a more consistent quality wine because it is easier to farm. Both of these light red wines are great summer choices for food because they don’t overpower. Heavier red wines like Cabernet and Merlot are a better match with fall and winter menus.

Rosé is Ashley’s current pet project, so she was excited to talk about it. No longer looked at as “cheap or inexpensive,” rosé has picked up a lot of momentum in the last two years, especially among savvy white wine drinkers. What I didn’t know is that rosé’s have been part of an elegant tradition in Mediterranean countries and along the south of France, especially Provence, where a lot of rosé is produced. What people like about rosé is that you get the nuances of a red wine with a much lighter feel.

Ashley says that the widest variety of good, inexpensive wines on the market today are white. The most popular choices for banqueting are Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc. All three of these wines have very different flavor profiles:

• Pinot Grigio is where most wine drinkers start from as it has mineral qualities to it and is very neutral in flavor.
• Chardonnay is the most common wine in the United States and tends to taste “buttery.”
• Sauvignon Blanc has a lot of the citrus tones to it like grapefruit, lemon and lime, etc.

If you are looking for a good across-the-board wine for an event, Ashley recommends going with a Sauvignon Blanc. It is a good wine regardless of the price point, and its citrus tones complement a wide range of food.

For summer celebrations, Ashley recommends Prosecco. The charming sparkling white wine has a hint of sweetness that doesn’t weigh drinkers down during the dog days of summer. It’s a good banqueting choice because of its price point and because it’s not as intense as champagne, so it is easier for many people to drink.

Banqueting basics

When ordering wine for banqueting, I have one last piece of advice. Bear in mind that it is your responsibility to remind banqueting of how big the pour will be. If you don’t pay attention and you are buying by the bottle, they will over-pour to go through more bottles of wine. I recommend you take a minute to go over the size of that pour with your banqueting bartenders prior to your events. In general, you should get 4.5 glasses per bottle.

Folks, all the above tips are equally applicable for events as they are for just enjoying a glass at home or on the town. As we wrap up, I thought I would leave you with some wine choices in each category that Ashley would give four stars:

• Red: Colonias de Las Libras Bonarda, Mendoza – $9.99
• White: Pomelo Sauvignon Blanc, California – $14.99
• Rose: Janasse Rosé Principaute d’Orange – $15.99
• Bubbly: Nino Franco “Rustico” Prosecco NV – $21.99 retail

With this, Ashley and I raise our glass to all of you in a “toast” to the wines of the warmer months.

This is my story for now and I am going to be sticking to it.

We ended up having a clients of mine son Hampton who ended up being such a love bug. We had no problems from him at all the entire weekend.  We all played with him and he had a lot of fun being with us. We even had Hampton jumping off the side of Bruce’s wall by the end of the weekend.

Food wise Bruce did babyback ribs off the grill that he bought at Costco. We used Viking’s BBQ sauce that I got a the AFWF and the sauce was good.  If you wanted it a touch spicer then you had  the flexiblity to “add” your own mixture to the very good base.

Sunday night dinner we went to China Cooks which was fabulous. For me that is by far the best Chinese restaurant in Atlanta and probably that I have ever been too. The food is excellent.  We made sure Steve’s kids got to try a variety of foods that are new to them.  Since my nieces are closer and eat with me more often they know the drill.

Yesterday i was a slug and did a lot of nothing. Today my “to do list” is a mile long as I am need to write my monthly morsel as well as finish retweeking menus for Paris for one of my clients.

That is my story for now . . . .

Claire

The most popular classes were the chocolate class, cheese classes, Italian Wine and Tasting Blind.  But there was so much good to choose from that I feel they will have a great turn out for next year. I sincerely hope that I get to be part of this great happening.

I am too pooped and reinspired to dive back into culinary. 

That is my story for now and I will be sticking to it.
Claire

While working in Nevada last week, I went to the final meeting with the off-premise catering company who was catering my client’s customer appreciation event. This party was being held at a museum, and the caterer was from a chain of locally owned restaurants that recently started an off-premise catering division. Their first big contract was with this museum where my client’s event was to be held.

Any alarm bells going off so far? There should be. If you ever find yourself in a similar situation, here is a list of questions that you need to ask the newbie catering company.

• What type of equipment does the restaurant company have for off-premise (e.g., chafing dishes, heat lamps, plates, etc.)? Many times these companies are not equipped properly because their expertise is restaurants not catering.
• What type of equipment does the museum own that is part of the rental fee? For example, this museum did have tables and chairs.
• What type of equipment is included with the cost of food? In this case linens, glassware, plates and silverware were included.
• What type of table decor is provided (e.g., plates rises, floral, fluff cloth, etc.)?
• How many other events my size have they done in the past at this venue? This will give you an idea of their history handling groups your size.
• What was their off-premise kitchen set-up like? What equipment would be coming with them to cook the food for your event?
• Last, but equally important: What’s their staffing plan?

Here is where I hit the snag during my final meeting. When I asked about staffing, they said they were planning on only bringing eight people for a 200-person event. There were three bars and one barback, which only left four people to handle the rest of the room.

Plus, I was using china/glass, which technically requires more staff than disposable place settings. So they had enough staff to run the buffet food and no one to help clear! In the end, we ended up tripling the amount of staff. Because of their lack of experience, it became my job to educate them on why this was needed.

So, what’s the moral of this morsel? Always ask questions. Vendors that are venturing out aren’t always going to be as educated as we would like for them to be. It takes experience. If they’re lacking, they’ll need to borrow from yours.

This is my 3 leaf clover story for now and I will be sticking to it.