Skip to main content

Posts

Cauliflower Soup Recipe

Need a little something different and elegant - a little rustic?  This soup is the answer.  It is thickened with potatoes, not flour, and is hearty enough to serve as a luncheon main course or starter for your next dinner party. Ingredients: 1 large head white cauliflower with leaves 2 medium potatoes (about one pound) 1 handful dandelion leaves (or fresh celery leaves) 1 small onion, chopped 2 cups/500ml vegetable stock (water or chicken stock is fine) 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning 2 cups/500ml cauliflower water salt and white pepper, to taste (black pepper is fine) 1/2 cup/125ml white wine 1/2 - 1 cup/125-250ml cream or milk (regular or vegan is fine), optional croutons Directions: Wash and trim the cauliflower, keeping the pale-green inner leaves that cling to the head.   Separate the head into florets and cook in a large pot of salted boiling water for 3-4 minutes.   Drain the cauliflower, reserving 2 cups of the cooking water. Wash, pare and dice the potatoes.  Put the potatoes,

Lettuce Pesto Recipe

Recently we found ourselves with a glut of field greens.  Lovely, green and deep purple, and eggplant with no one to eat them. We believe in using and eating food, not throwing it away.  So what could be done to preserve the goodness at hand?  Soup came to mind, but you can eat only so much soup and it has a tendency to get “grainy” when frozen.  Juicing was another option, but our illustrious leader (Chef Ya) decided to go a different route.    The sauce pesto originated in the northern region of Italy, Liguria, Genoa.  According to Wikipedia The name is the contracted past participle of the Genoese word pestâ (Italian: pestare), which means to pound, to crush, in reference to the original method of preparation, with marble  mortar and wooden pestle . The ingredients in a traditionally made pesto are ground with a circular motion of the pestle in the mortar. This same Latin root through Old French also gave rise to the English word pestle. Traditionally the sauce is made of basi

Baklava Recipe

A staple in most Greek and Middle Eastern restaurants and bakeries.  There is no mention of it until  after 1299, which is the beginning of the Ottoman Empire.  Filo/a dough originated in what is now Turkey, but it is the Greeks that refined it into the paper thin dough we know today.  In Greece, baklava is supposed to be made with 33 dough layers, referring to the years of Christ's life. Any recipe we have ever found used no more than 24 (which is what is found in the pre-made 1 pound/450g packages. This recipe is a combination of two of our favourites.  The one from Greece adds in cinnamon which the one from Turkey did not have.  You choose.   1/2 pound/225g about 12 sheets thawed filo dough, covered with a damp towel 1 1/2 cups/174g chopped walnuts, pistachios or almonds 2 1/2 tablespoons/30g granulated sugar (you don’t need much the syrup is sweet) 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional) 1 stick/1/4 pound/8 tablespoons/113g melted butter For the syrup: 2/3 cup/1

Dinner Party for Two Special!

For a limited time, we are offering a superb discounted dinner for two, which includes your own chef to prepare and serve a starter salad, main course, and dessert.  You choose from a special menu created specifically for this great deal. Then... One of our Personal Chefs will travel to you, prepare and serve your special meal, clean up and leave for you to enjoy the rest of your time together. This special makes a great gift!  When payment is received we will create a specific voucher for you to give and to be redeemed at a later date for no additional fee. The price including the foods AND the chef for this limited time special is $299.99.  Just choose your selections from our crafted menu and we are set to go! BUT HURRY, THIS SALE WILL END SOON! For more information, pricing, availability and restrictions, email us at: info@yadachef.com ; Or call us at: 954-367-YADA (9232).   private chefs and event catering Palm Beach + Boca

Potato Crust Pizza - Gluten Free Recipe

Here is a different type of pizza.  A gluten free styled pizza if you will... Interesting, different, and a crowd pleaser.  Who wouldn't like the equivalent of a potato chip pizza?  Try it and amaze the kid in everyone. Potato Crust Pizza Recipe Makes (1) 16 inch 41 centimeter thin crust pizza 2-2 ½ lb/900-1215g potatoes, slice thin on the mandolin into rounds* corn or potato starch for dusting the rounds 1 tsp/5ml YaDa Chef’s Maya Natural Sea Salt 1 tsp/5ml fresh ground black pepper ¼ cup/59ml Parmesan cheese (optional) 1 tbsp/15ml olive oil to drizzle over potatoes 2 cloves garlic, sliced thin Toppings of your choice… Pre-heat oven to 450F/232C/GasMark 8 After slicing the potatoes place in a large bowl cover with cold water, swish around, drain repeating 2 more times.  This is removing excess starch.  Dry potatoes well using either paper towels or a clean kitchen cloth. Dust lightly with corn or potato starch.  Lightly oil a 16 inch/41 centimeter

Roast Pheasant with Cabbage and Turkey Bacon Recipe

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

Orange Chipotle Turkey & Wild Rice Fruit Stuffing Recipe

The thought of Thanksgiving brings visions of a Norman Rockwell painting, with a table laden with all of the traditional foods. Over the past decade or so there have been those that did their best to change those traditions by not having turkey as the star.  I however am not one of those people.  In my world unless you are a vegan or vegetarian it is de rigueur to consume turkey. This does not however mean I am against “playing with the recipes”.  As a chef, this is what I love to do. Below is a fun way  to stick with the basics while making it a bit healthier, giving it a flair of elegance and keeping it gluten free. Supplies 12 - 15lb/5.54-6.8 kg  Fresh Turkey 3 carrots, cut in half lengthwise and widthwise making an elongated half circle  2 stalks celery, cut into 4 pieces each 1 large onion cut into 6 wedges turkey neck and giblets skewers kitchen twine large piece of foil to cover bird, oiled and dusted with flour, or cornstarch if going gluten free Rub Ze

Family Cookie Party

Do you have fond memories of those favorite cookies that no will make anymore? You probably not only miss them, you also miss the tradition. How about a Family Cookie Party!!!!! You provide two to three recipes (depending on how complex). — Go to the attic and pull out those old family recipes!  We will plan, shop and do ALL the prep aration for your family (or just kids) baking party. The party usually takes less than an hour (kids baking is sometimes closer to two hours). YaDa Chef provides the ingredients and you provide the equipment (we bring oven thermometers to ensure your cookies are baked properly). There will be enough cookies for the party and some to store in the freezer. *** Disclaimer. Often grandma, grandpa, aunt, uncle, mom, dad, will omit an ingredient in “their” recipe to ensure no one else can make it. Please be sure and have the best copy of the recipe available. *** The cost for Cookie Party is $175 with up to five family members. Avail

Tomato Aspic (Gelee) Recipe

24 ounces/ 750ml tomato juice 2 envelopes unflavored powdered gelatin (1 1/2 tablespoons 22ml) 1/2 tablespoon/7ml dark brown sugar 1/2 tablespoon/7ml kosher salt 1/2 tablespoon/7ml pickling spices, ground 1/2 teaspoon/2ml hot sauce 1/2 teaspoon/2ml finely grated lemon zest 1 1/2 tablespoons/7ml fresh lemon juice Vegetable oil, for brushing 1/2 small onion, minced 1/2 small green bell pepper, finely chopped a large bowl, combine 1/2 cup of the tomato juice with the gelatin; let stand for 5 minutes. In a saucepan, combine the remaining tomato juice with the sugar, salt, pickling spices, hot sauce, lemon zest and lemon juice and heat just until warm. Add the gelatin mixture and stir until it dissolves completely. Return the mixture to the bowl and refrigerate until cold but not set, about 1 hour. Lightly oil eight 1/2-cup ramekins. Stir the onion, pepper and celery into the tomato aspic and spoon it into the ramekins. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until chilled and set. Unm

Cooking Therapy

More upcoming cooking coordinated through Stable Paths . If you've not heard of them before, this is what they do:    "What We Do Quite simply, we give parents and children the tools they need to positively re-connect with one another in a tranquil and private yet beautiful setting. By engaging in experiential activities such as horse exercises, swimming with Dolphins, recreational sports and games, and cooking meals together, families create new memories and re-establish existing bonds and attachments. Our goal is to assist families in working diligently to overcome the objections, obstacles, and fear to restoring their previous, loving relationships. In doing so, families develop deeper compassion and the communication skills necessary to facilitate the discovery of a common ground to therapeutically reunify and discover joy again after they have experienced devastating separation. Who We Serve Families alienated or distanced from each other by the challenges p

Cave 24 Cannes

This summer, I once again have the opportunity to be guest chef in a series of different venues in Cannes, France.  Cave 24 is one of them!  When next you are in the South of France, be sure and check them out. - Chef Joseph Yacino