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Baltimore Dining Examiner
Showing entries for Category: Daras-Fabulous-Adventures
Showing entries for Category: Daras-Fabulous-Adventures
AGA, Me and Recipes
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It was my first, you can remember your first, you know it was awkward, a lot of fumbling around but the deed got done. As a recently ordained AGA stove demonstrator, I lost my AGA cherry yesterday when I did my first cooking demonstration on the Rolls Royce of stoves at the Appliance Source in Easton. What is unique to the AGA stoves is they are centrally heated and the stove cooks with radiant heat, there are no heat controls or electronic knobs – it is always on and ready to go. You might remember seeing the stove on the Two Fat Ladies television show. It's at the top of my wish list. A picture is worth a thousand words – check out the video. Scallion Cilantro Pancakes I’m writing about my adventure because I adapted two yummy savory pancake recipes that I want to share with you, one being a scallion cilantro pancake that I adapted to an approximate 2 inch pancake to hold thin slices of teriyaki steak. I didn’t make the dipping sauce and I substituted chopped cilantro instead of the small cilantro leaves and sliced scallions instead of the 1 ½ inch pieces of scallions. I like the pancake as a foil to the teriyaki steak - RECIPE As for making teriyaki steak, so simple, get a jar of Kikkoman’s Teriyaki sauce and marinate your steak. Mustard Dill Pancakes with Smoked Salmon Again, I made smaller versions of the pancakes, 2 inch rounds to hold the smoked salmon. The pancakes were full of flavor and the mustard seeds (readily available in the McCormick display – the glass bottle priced out better than the little plastic jar) added a nice crunch. I added some dill to the sour cream topping and didn’t used the caviar. These pancakes look like they would freeze well. Feel free to substitute crème fraiche for the sour cream. - RECIPE |
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Come See Me at the Baltimore Chefs and Wine Experience
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If you love food and wine then you should come to the 2nd annual Baltimore Chefs and Wine Experience, Sunday, July 13th at the Tremont Grand. YUM! I'll be there promoting my co-compiled cookbook, YUM-Tasty Recipes from Culinary Greats. This cookbook has 100 tested recipes from culinary greats from all over the country from Sara Moulton to Charlie Trotter, Norman Van Aken to Susanna Foo, Jacques Torres to Elizabeth Faulkner, Rick Bayless to Susan Spicer, Dorie Greenspan to Susan Hermann Loomis, Nick Malgieri to Steven Raichlen, Michel Richard to Sherry Yard and many, many more culinary greats. This book was a great endeavor for many reasons:
BALTIMORE CHEFS AND WINE EXPERIENCE Enjoy food samples from Baltimore’s finest restaurants and culinary specialists such as Ciao Bella Ristorante, The Classic Catering People, Ixia Restaurant, LaTasca, Lebanese Taverna, Lucy's Irish Pub & Restaurant, Sotta Sopra, Pisce's, Red Maple, Vin, Water for Chocolate Catering LLC, A. Kirchmayr Chocolatier, Cabot Creamery Cooperative, Cake Love, Charles Street Gourmet, Dara Bunjon (aka Dining Examiner), Lindt Chocolate, and Piacci Cheese. Taste delicious and rare wines from regions across the world and speak to winemakers. Select wines will be available for sale onsite.
Event Name: Baltimore Chefs and Wine Experience Where: Tremont Grand - 225 N. Charles Street, Baltimore Date, Time: Sunday, July 13th ~ noon to 6 p.m. Price : $55.00 For more info: http://www.chefsandwine.org/ |
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Cool Soups
 The first item that has caught my eye at the International Fancy Food Show is the Cool Soup. I saw it yesterday when I was checking out tsp spices booth where I will be working for the next couple of days. Both booths are in the New organic and natural food section. Cool Soups are natural soups with 3 flavors at the moment: Rich Vegetable Gazpacho, Carrot Bisque and Creamy Mango Spice. All natural, healthy, tasty alternative for the fast life style - pop a straw and drink your Cool Soups.
Finding lots of info on products from South Africa that I want to review. I have to hit the show floor now. I have a meeting at the Chilean pavilion with their chef. There is a unique spice I haven't heard of before and will post when I can ...probably from the MAC store tonight. |
Mayor Into The Lion's Den
 There I was at a happy hour get together tonight of the local press, a great number of them from The Sun. It has been a rough week at The Sun with approximately 100 layoffs and buyouts. No one is really feeling secure about their jobs-not a good week there. Talking about having a bad week, let’s take a look at Mayor Dixon – not a good week there either. Now put them all together. Talk about a strong, savvy politico, Mayor Dixon walked into the proverbial lion's den of a bar full of reporters who are drinking at a media happy hour gathering. This was truly a Kodak moment and I got it. I got to chat a little bit with her honor, the Mayor. Being the non-politico and the Dining Examiner, I asked her about favorite foods and restaurants. I can say that the mayor enjoys grilled fish, seems to have a penchant for Italian food, and enjoys a good mojito though she was sipping white wine. It Left a Sour Taste The gathering was at Ixia and I would think that some arrangements would have been made for discounts on the drinks for this group of about 30 but no, and no one behind the bar or hosting was savvy to put discounts together. I had two cocktails and with tip was $30. It’s a beautiful venue, and my yuzu based cocktail was delicious but it soured when I got the bill.
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Tainted Tongue
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It was just less than 2 weeks ago I got an e-mail from Roopa K., writer of Raspberry and Eggplant Blog inviting Baltimore’s food bloggers to a gathering where our taste receptors on our tongues will be altered. The invitation “ Have you heard of miracle fruit? (If so, feel free to skip ahead.) Miracle fruit is an amazing little berry-like fruit that contains a protein called miraculin. Miraculin alters your taste buds' perception of foods such that any sour or bitter foods you eat taste sweet; the effect of each berry lasts anywhere from 20-60 minutes. After you eat one, lemons taste like lemonade; goat cheese tastes like cheesecake, Guinness tastes like chocolate, and vinegar tastes pleasant. It has been written about in a number of publications and on many blogs, and, most recently, the New York Times ran an article on it in Wednesday's dining section - take a look at it for more info on a recent miracle fruit party in NY.” I, in fact, had read the story in the Times and was right there for the gathering just this past Friday night. Meghan, writer of Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme was co-hosting and was on WYPR discussing the Miracle Fruit The Experiment:  There were a number of us bloggers gathered at Roopa’s Mt. Vernon apartment. She spent a great deal of time putting together food items to taste; plates of citrus, pickles, cheeses, vinegars, hot sauces, beer, unsweetened tea – one blogger brought a can of artichoke soda that was already sweet so when tasted the cloying sweet was too much.We were to coat our tongues for about 30 seconds with the berry and .jpg) I actually felt a tingle or numbing on the tip of the tongue. Most of us went immediately for the lemon and grapefruit which rather than being sour were a sweet tart. The vinegars were sweet, the hot sauce if it was sweeter I didn’t notice because the heat took over. The pickled items took on the “sweet bread & butter pickle” flavor profile. I squeezed straight lemon juice in water and it tasted like lemonade and the ice tea, unsweetened tasted bitter but once I squeezed citrus in the tea it tasted sweet. So for me, it didn’t alter bitter it only altered the tart items. I could munch on a fresh piece of rhubarb with no wincing. The Bloggers:  Those bloggers who have posted their Miracle Berry story are linked to their name, the others are links to their sites.
Along with our food bloggers from Baltimore, Rob Kasper of the Sunpapers attended as well. In conclusion: My tongue was challenged, tainted and taunted - it has fully recovered. |
Is There Such a Thing as Too Many Desserts?
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I must recount a very memorable dining experience at Le Cirque 2000 in New York and if I had camera with me there would be pictures posted here. Jacques Torres, the pastry chef at Le Cirque at that time and star of two public broadcasting series Dessert Circus had extended a tour of the pastry kitchen at Le Cirque when I had visited his TV set months earlier. So with my posse of two women friends, we rode into Le Cirque for luncheon and the pastry kitchen tour. Jacques Torres' girlfriend Kris Kruid said once at the restaurant just walk back into the kitchen. We weren't comfortable with that so we announced we had an invitation and were escorted back past the enclosed kitchen table, the magazine photographer at work, passed the open kitchen stirring with chefs galore to the far hinterlands of the kitchen. Jacques, the handsome and charming Frenchman that he is gave us a wonderful welcome. This was a spotless, specially cooled room with everything a pastry chef would dream of having. We saw parts to desserts, like Lego toys that would be assembled later into great structures. Jacques suggested that we have our lunch and he would send a "Dee~Zert Saompling" (trying to get the French accent in there) to our table. Off we went to dine! Luncheon was kicked off by a glass of Champagne. We started with appetizers and in-between the appetizer course and entree a complimentary lobster risotto from the chef was placed before us. Entrees came and went and everything was wonderful! We were quite full though dessert was on our mind.  One of my two companions suggested we order Jacques trademark Stove dessert. I suggested we wait and see what the "Dee~Zert Saompling" might be. As the same said companion was off powdering her nose, seven, count them seven full-sized assorted desserts were sent to our table. All breathtaking in their artistic glory and assembled yearning to reach the sky, their arrival to our table created a silence in the dining room ~ all eyes were focused on our circus of desserts.Upon returning to the table, my companion looked like Lot's wife, she turned white as salt and frozen in her tracks at the vision of the seven confectionary creations overloading our table. Today's trends with desserts and dining out, a dessert is ordered with 2 to 4 forks and everyone shares the dessert. The ratio had changed that afternoon, 2 1/3 desserts for each of us. Good foodies that we were we would just rotate the plates amongst us and sample everyone. We put a serious dent in all 7 desserts, something I don't think we are proud of but when would this ever happen again ~ we were living in the moment. They cleared dessert plates from our table but why were they taking the centerpiece from the table? It seems we weren't finished. Jacques sent out his own centerpiece, on a mirrored base came a chocolate tree with confections hanging from it armatures and lining the base. It took about five minutes for us from staring at it to munching (only God knows where we got the room) as well as extracting the remaining delicacies from the tree into tissues and then into our purses. The question I ask, "is there such a thing as too many desserts?" For that day, time and place the answer was "no, it was just the right amount!" |
Where Does the Dining Examiner go for her Birthday?
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When it comes to sheer luxury, a birthday celebration, a meal to be remembered where do you go? If you tell me yours, I will tell you mine. Today is my birthday and if you want to know how old I am you can Google me and I'm sure one of the websites have the correct year. (I change the year on all websites who ask age - I think I'm 109 on one of them.) Back to "you tell me yours and I tell you mine." Let me know what restaurant you would go to on your birthday and what you would order. Think of it as your last meal on earth, what would it be? At my age, 109, it probably is my last meal. Being the Dining Examiner, I always feel compelled to write about where I dined, what I ate, edit pictures and I want my birthday off. I have picked up 2, yes 2, steamed lobsters and a box of eclairs ~ it is my gourmet pigout. No butter, nothing foofoo for the lobster, I'm a purist. I'll order a movie "On Demand" and submerge myself in shellfish heaven. As for birthday cake, there is none....109 candles would burn down the house.
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Primal Grill Premieres and I Helped
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Baltimore’s own hometown boy, cookbook author, TV personality, Steven Raichlen premieres his lastest TV series, Primal Grill this Saturday on MPT at 1:00 p.m. and I helped. Yup, Dining Dish was called in at the last minute when Raichlen’s assistant had health issue that kept her from working. The conversations started on Friday and Sunday afternoon I got the go a head to fly out the next day to Tubac, Arizona. I’ve worked with Steven in my past life at a local spice company as well as food styled for him when he did live performances at MPT.  I’ve not worked as a personal assistant before but advised Steven I would do my best. Everything was new; a new location, new production company, chefs who have never styled for TV and a willing, yet inexperienced personal assistant. Challenging to say the least I got through it without being fired and I’m living to write about it.
Please note the series was filmed outdoors, in a field with very live and vocal cows, mucho flies and other oh mys (javalinas and cow gifts). I was on set before dawn and left after sunset, I never saw my back patio of  my room in the daylight until the last day of shooting when we wrapped early. By the time we got to day 10, I finally got the gig down. The staff and Steven were great and understanding. Steven was a gentleman even when others might have lost their cool, I so respect this man for all that he has accomplished. He’s written 25 cookbooks and is finishing his first novel and is traveling the world for background on his next cookbook.
I’ll stop my kvetching and tell you some behind the scenes stories. I mentioned the flies, they were horrendous. Camera’s rolling and there are flies all over the food so we would spray everything with bug spray…keep that in mind when Steven bites into the food at the end of the shot. Oh, the beauty shots, the finished products for that final shot. I would hear “Dara, there’s not enough salsa in the bowl we need more!!!!”….what. no more salsa—I would dump the salsa, roll up a paper towel and top it with the salsa…the bowl was full, beauty shot complete.
We were 20 miles north of the Mexican US border and at night I heard the helicopters search for the illegal immigrants sneaking across the border. Taking the airport limo back to Tucson we were stopped by border police checking out the van. When I was asked if I was an American citizen I was so tempted to say “si” but good sense took over my need to be funny.
 What does a personal assistant do you ask? We needed extra long cinnamon sticks and we were no where near anywhere to find them. I reached out to an acquaintance in Tucson who owns Flavorbank Spices who had 18 inch cinnamon sticks. I coerced a waitress from the resort to drive 80 miles round trip to go pick them up for that day's shoot (only to have that recipe's filming postponed for the next 7 days). They were used in a grilled fruit kebab which you can see chef putting together in the photo.
I polished plates and bowls. Followed the recipes, caught errors, and noted changes. I would make sure everything for the recipes were on set as well as equipment and made sure it got cleared quickly after the  filming. Worked on the beauty shots set up ( I had a lot of help from the one of the producers). Iron shirts when the PA’s PA disappeared (that is another story unto itself).
The set was not without its injuries. Injuries…ah burns, bloodied toe, smashed hand, head injury due to the boom being blown over in the wind and a sprained knee. Then there was the evening of the escaped cows that got out on the golf course and were corralled by chefs on golf carts.
If you love to grill this is the show to watch – please tune in on Saturday, May 17th at 1 p.m. –Maryland Public Broadcasting Channel 22 and 67 and if you look very closely at the credits and read really fast my name should be up there.
I've posted a couple more photos below:
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Dining Dish
Dining Dish (a.k.a, Dara Bunjon) is founder of Dara Does It, which caters to the food industry everything from PR to food styling to cooking instructions, and more. Enjoy her rants, raves, recipes and food adventures, and let her know yours!
Dining Dish (a.k.a, Dara Bunjon) is founder of Dara Does It, which caters to the food industry everything from PR to food styling to cooking instructions, and more. Enjoy her rants, raves, recipes and food adventures, and let her know yours!
- Light, Cool, Refreshing Italian Salad
- Stomp Over to Great Grapes and Become Uncorked!
- Average Dinner in Baltimore Cost $34.23*
- AGA, Me and Recipes
- Temporary Closing of VIN Restaurant for Remodeling
- Refreshing Basil Lemonade Recipe
- SCORE! 1/2 Priced Dining Certificates and a Restaurant Week Reminder
- Come See Me at the Baltimore Chefs and Wine Experience
- Edible Enlightenment Part 2
- The Best BBQ Ribs Recipe
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