YaDa Chef Private and Personal Chefs

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

We believe eating is one of life’s greatest pleasure. We believe eating healthy and everything in moderation.  We think that eating the right foods can make or keep you healthy. We think everyone should be able to eat delicious tasty foods regardless of allergies or sensitivities. We believe that everyone should be able to cook without fear of making mistakes. Do you remember the first time you cooked?   Cooking for yourself and being able to cook for others is a worthwhile skill. You save money, control the quality of ingredients, reduce your exposure to preservatives and other chemicals (especially when cooking with whole foods), and you can improve or maintain your health by making sure those meals are healthy ones. How can learning how to cook be good for children? The measurements in cooking  help with their math skills. They can learn the difference between teaspoons, tablespoons, milligrams, cups, grams, ounces, etc. It also helps them learn to follow instructions. If y

Serves 4-6 1 roasting chicken 2kg/4 pounds 1 tablespoon/15ml olive oil 1/2 head of garlic, mashed into a paste 1 tablespoon/15ml/15g Herbes de Provence 1/2 tablespoon/7ml sea salt 1 teaspoon/5ml fresh ground pepper 1 lemon cut into wedges 3 baking potatoes cut into large peices Preheat oven to 475F/ 246C/Gas 9. Pat chicken dry. Rub with olive oil. Mix garlic, Herbes de Provence, oil, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Rub mixture all over inside and outside of chicken. Place the chicken on a wire rack set inside a roasting pan with potatoes scattered around the chicken. Roast chicken until skin begins to brown, 25–30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350F/175C/Gas 4 and roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thigh registers 165F/87C, 25–30 minutes longer. Let rest 10 minutes before carving. Serve with lemon wedges.  personal chefs and event catering Miami + Miami Beach + Fort Lauderdale + Palm Beach www.yadachef.com info@yadachef.com | 954-367-YADA (9232)

3 cups/750ml chopped summer fruit, such as peeled and pitted peaches or nectarines, strawberries or pitted cherries 5 tablespoons sugar 1 1/2 tablespoon all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting 2 tablespoons/30ml heavy cream 2 rolled out 9-inch pie dough Preheat the oven to 375F/190C/Gas 5 On a floured surface, roll out dough until about 1/8-in thick. Cut into twelve (5-inch) circles, rerolling dough as needed.  In a medium bowl, toss together fruit, sugar and flour. (Do this just before filling the pies; if done too far in advance, the mixture can get too juicy. Use less or more sugar, as desired, depending on fruit’s natural sweetness.)  Working one at a time, spoon some filling into the center of a circle of dough; brush edges with water.  Fold over into a half moon and crimp edges to seal, then cut a small slit in the middle as an air vent. Brush top with heavy cream. Bake on a large, parchment-paper-lined baking sheet until golden brown, about 35 minutes. pers

You can pretty much cure anything at all. The common cold is somewhat elusive, but pretty much all fleshy fish can be cured. Gravadlax, or gravlax, is what I’d call a soft and loose cure. The salmon remains moist and almost raw in the middle and the curing process can take anything from 24-72 hours. The salt and sugar mixture is usually just flavoured with dill, although beetroot is becoming a popular addition. Adding toasted caraway seeds gives it a hint of Nordicness (which is also becoming more popular) but crushed toasted coriander seeds give a more pleasant citrusy result. You can add grated ginger, chopped lemongrass, chilli or lime leaves, and various spices from star anise to vanilla to good effect. The chemical reaction that happens when you cure a protein in salt or sugar (or more commonly, both) is that the moisture is literally sucked out of the protein by the salt and sugar crystals. They love nothing more than moisture (that’s why a meringue will go soggy if

INGREDIENTS 1 pound/450g chicken livers, gizzards or boneless thigh meat ½ cup/120ml dark soy sauce or tamari ¼ cup/60ml mirin 2 tablespoons/30ml sake or dry sherry 1 tablespoon/12.5g brown sugar 2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed ½ teaspoon/2ml grated fresh ginger Scallions, thinly sliced, for garnish PREPARATION Cut chicken into one-inch pieces and place in a shallow dish. In a small saucepan, combine soy sauce or tamari, mirin, sake or sherry, brown sugar, garlic and ginger. Bring to a simmer and cook for 7 minutes, until thickened. Reserve 2 tablespoons sauce for serving. Pour remaining sauce over chicken, cover, and chill for at least one hour (and up to 4 hours). If using wooden or bamboo skewers, soak them in water for one hour. Preheat grill or broiler. Thread chicken pieces onto skewers, and grill or broil, turning halfway, for about 3 minutes for livers, 10 minutes for gizzards and 6 minutes for thighs. Serve drizzled wit

The crowd that buys the sickly sweet blush wines are turned off by the dryness of most Rosé wines and the wine snobs are too busy ignoring good Rosé wines because they do not take them seriously. In my mind there is no question that Europeans are the best Rosé wine producers, especially the French. The Bandol region is located around the fishing village of Bandol in Southeastern France just outside of Marseille. The region is mostly known for the production of rosé.  Domaine Tempier's rosé in particular is considered by many to be the finest in France, is fuller and creamier on the palate and shows dimensions not often found in rosé such as vanilla, red berries even leather and herbs. Prices can range from the mid 20 dollar range to the mid 40’s. Some of the best rosé wines come from the southern Rhone region in France just across the river from the famous Chateauneuf du Pape, which is the only AOC (Appelation d'Origine Contrôlée) that produces rosé exclusively.  Tavel i

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

Preparing the Chicken There is no consensus on the best way to prep a chicken for roasting; it’s all a matter of personal preference and tried-and-true experience. But here are some suggestions for where to start. Try each and then pick your go-to method. And note that there’s nothing wrong with leaving the bird as is, salting it and just putting it in the oven. SPATCHCOCKING   To spatchcock a chicken, take a pair of kitchen shears or a very sharp knife and cut along one side of the chicken's backbone. Open up the bird so it lies flat. Cut along the other side of the backbone to remove it entirely. Then cook the chicken breast-side up. The only disadvantage to this method is that you’ll lose the classic Norman Rockwell presentation of the whole bird. But the speediness and great flavor make up for it. A tip: Don’t toss that backbone! A roasted backbone will add more flavor to stock than using a raw backbone. Roast it alongside the chicken, and either serve with the