YaDa Chef Private and Personal Chefs

Looking for a healthy way to get more from your garden? Like to know your food is free of the pesticides and other   nasties that are often sprayed on commercial crops? Re-growing food from your kitchen scraps is a good way to do it! There’s nothing like eating your own home- grown veggies and there are heaps of different foods that will regrow from the scrap pieces that you'd normally throw out or put into your compost bin. It’s fun. And very simple … if you know how to do it. Just remember … the quality of the “parent” vegetable scrap will help to determine the quality of the re-growth. So, wherever possible, I recommend buying local organic produce, so you know your re-grown plants are fresh, healthy and free of chemical and genetic meddling. Leeks, Scallions, Spring Onions and Fennel You can either use the white root end of a vegetable that you have already cut, or buy a handful of new vegetables to use specifically for growing. Simply place the white root end i

You all know that expression (originally a book): "Everything I need to know I learned in kindergarten." Indulge me as I tweak that to apply to the kitchen. Well, maybe I didn't learn  everything  essential there — but the room known lovingly as the heart of the home surely is a powerhouse of lessons, if you open your mind to them. Following are an even 10. Patience.  I'm a pretty patient person by nature — at least when it comes to tasks, if not so much to people behaving like idiots...or sluggish traffic lights. But in the kitchen, so many things simply cannot be rushed. Yeast dough rising, for example. Or that all-important melding of flavors in soups and stews. That's why so many people shy away from the place — I have no time! they whine. But this is a big mistake. The busier you are, the more critical it is to find ways to slow down. Cooking will do that for you. Precision.  When you're baking, it really does matter if you drop one teas

Remoulade is a French invention and was most likely used as a condiment for meats. Today we see it more as a fish sauce, rather like the English tartar sauce. I like mine with minced cornishon, which you can add to the below recipe. 1 cup/225ml mayonnaise   2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped 1 clove finely chopped garlic 1 teaspoon/5ml dry mustard 1 tablespoon/25ml chopped Italian parsley ½ teaspoon/2ml minced chives 1 tablespoon capers, chopped 1 teaspoon/5ml anchovy paste (substitute 3-4 minced) Juice of ½ lemon 1 teaspoon/5ml chopped dill Mix ingredients and allow to stand for 2 hours before serving to marry flavors. personal chefs and event catering Miami + Miami Beach + Fort Lauderdale + Palm Beach info@yadachef.com | 954-367-YADA (9232) www.yadachef.com

Whether you are a novice in the kitchen or you've been cooking for years and feel like you need some new recipes, YaDa Chef's cooking classes for adults covers all the bases.  We keep them fun - get your apron dirty with YaDa Chef! We offer daytime, evening and weekend classes to suit every schedule. All classes are hands-on (or not if you prefer)! Classes are $75 per person, with a 6-person minimum (groceries are included – luxury items may incur an additional charge) for a two hour class.   Customized classes for individuals or couples are available for $125 with a 2-hour maximum, plus the cost of groceries. For more information please email, info@yadachef.com or call 954-367-YADA (9232).  Gift certificates are available. Give the gift of a wonderful (and educational) cooking experience. www.yadachef.com

Serves 4   Ingredients 1 pound yellow squash 1 pound carrots 1/4 cup ghee, divided 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin 1 tsp. Celtic sea salt 1/2 cup chopped, fresh basil leaves Juice of 1 lemon 1/4 cup chopped, fresh flat-leaf parsley  Directions Using a vegetable peeler, cut the squash and carrots into ribbons. Place them in a large bowl.  Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Add 2 tablespoons of the ghee, let it melt and swirl to coat the pan. Season both sides of the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and place the chicken in the pan. Cook for 4 minutes, until the bottom is just turning golden brown. Using tongs, flip the chicken and cook 3 to 4 minutes more, until cooked through. Set the chicken aside on a plate.  Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons ghee in the pan and swirl to coat. Add the squash and carrots and cook for 2 or 3 minutes, or until just soft, tossing occasionally. Remove from the heat, add the basil, lemon j

Roast Pheasant Most game is delicious on its own.  Nothing is added by smothering or drowning it in sauces or strong flavours.  Classics are classic for a reason.  Bacon, juniper berries, onion, leeks, cabbage and even sauerkraut seem to work best with most game. Roast Pheasant with Cabbage and Turkey Bacon Pheasant is still hunted with good results.  If you are not likely to head into the woods, process and “hang” one yourself, and most are not, find yourself a reputable butcher that keeps a variety of game in stock.  Free range birds are an excellent choice and much less work.  Be prepared game birds in the USA unlike in most countries is a bit expensive and therefore a treat, but we all deserve treats.  Pheasants have a surprising amount of meat.  A 4-5 pound/1.8-2.2kg bird will easily serve 4-6 people. Serves 4-6 1 onion cut into quarters 1 stalk celery cut into quarters 2 carrots sliced in half vertically and horizontally 1 4-5 pound/1.8-2.2kg pheasant 1 ta

No need to salt the eggplant slices. This is done when the eggplants are old to remove liquid and some of the bitterness. The original eggplants where small oval shaped and cream or white coloured,like an egg, hence the name. Later they were bred to be the purple colour and this is why many call them “aubergine” Serves 4 2 large eggs 1 large eggplant, sliced into ½ inch/1.27cm rounds 1 cup/225ml half corn meal and half crisped rice crumbs 1 teaspoon/5ml salt 1/2 teaspoon/2ml ground black pepper 1/2 teaspoon/2ml garlic powder 1 tablespoon/15ml dried Italian Seasoning 1 tablespoon/15ml olive oil Sauce: 1 tablespoons/15ml olive oil 1 clove garlic, minced 2 cups/450ml tomatoes, diced ½ teaspoon/2ml salt ½ teaspoon/2ml black pepper pinch of red pepper flakes 2 tablespoons/30ml fresh oregano or 2 teaspoon dried ½ tablespoon/7ml fresh rosemary, minced or 1 teaspoon/5ml dried ½ cup/118ml/90g vegan parmesan cheese 4 ounce/114g vegan mozzarella chees

...if you do not happen to live on the Mediterranean, you cannot obtain the particular rockfish, gurnards, mullets, weavers, sea eels, wrasses, and breams which they [French experts] consider absolutely essential. But you can make an extremely good fish soup even if you have only frozen fish and canned clam juice to work with because the other essential flavoring of tomatoes, onions or leeks, garlic, herbs, and olive oil are always available." --Julia Child Yes, I know this is December. I know it is holiday season filled with traditions. There is a wonderful celebration, it is Bouillabaisse Day on 14 December.  It is with a tip of my hat that I present my version of this most terrific “French Fisherman’s Stew”. Bouillabaisse is a fish stew that originated in Marseilles, France around 600 B.C.. Yes, B.C.  Marseilles was a Greek colony at this time and being such as known as "kakavia." Bouillabaisse also appears in Roman mythology as a soup that Venus feeds to Vulcan