YaDa Chef Private and Personal Chefs

Setting the Mood Lighting Keep the lighting low, not so low you cannot see, unless you are looking for that "nightclub" feel.  Everyone wants to be able to see what they are eating and drinking. Cleaning Before and After   Relax, this is a fun thing!  Before : Unless you are throwing a black tie affair, then hire the cleaners.  Otherwise tidy up and make sure you cannot write your name in the dust.  It is only going to get dirty anyway.  My one exception is the place everyone snoops...the bathroom.  Make sure it is spotless.  Put out disposable guest towels (they look like high end napkins). After:   Enlist the help of a dear friend to pick the big stuff up and then leave the rest until the next day. Putting it all together Three weeks before : Send out the invitations Start planning the menu, theme and music  Two weeks before : If you have the freezer space make and freeze your hors d'oeuvres Inventory your serving platters and utensils.  If y

(Cabbage Stuffed with Barley and Split Peas) Be sure your barley and split peas are cooked prior to beginning this recipe. To save time, you can cook your barley in a pressure cooker or use ‘quick barley’. Ingredients: 1 large head of cabbage 1/2 cup barley/118 ml/78g, cooked (other grains can be used such as farro) 1/2 tablespoon/30ml olive oil 1 medium onion, chopped 2 carrots diced 1 1/2 cups/343 ml/300g cooked split peas, drained 4 cloves of garlic, sliced 1 teaspoon dried thyme 1 bay leaf 1 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika (or other paprika if you have on hand) 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/4 teaspoon allspice 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste 1 egg, beaten salt and freshly ground pepper to taste 1/2-1 cup/125-250ml  tomato sauce or juice Cabbage... In a large pot, large enough to submerge the whole cabbage, fill with water and bring to a boil. When boiling, add salt. Discard large outer leaves of the cabb

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,

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

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

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