YaDa Chef Private and Personal Chefs

We have been working on a dairy free pudding, in this case a banana pudding using coconut milk.   The following recipe was been reworked a couple of times and the results are pretty good.  In fact, you could eliminate the sugar/sweetener all together when using the roasted bananas.  It all depends on how sweet you like your pudding. If you are so inclined, you could layer the pudding with cookies (as many do), but we prefer them not in our pudding.  It is a personal choice. Also you could strain the bananas before adding to your warm mixture if you do not want lumps.   Again, we wanted the texture of the bananas so we opted not to go this route. 1/4 cup/50g sugar or other sweetener such as honey or gava 3 eggs 1/4 teaspoon/1ml salt 2 cups/500ml full fat coconut/milk 1/3 cup/42g flour 1/2 Tablespoon/7ml vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract) 4 bananas, roasted Coconut whipped cream (optional - our recipe to be posted later) When your bananas are roasted, let cool for

There is some controversy as to how this divine dessert (tarte solognote) came about. Was it an accident (as so ma ny kitchen wonders are) or was it just an improved upon recipe of the region? In any case it was made popular at by 2 sisters that ran the Hotel Tatin 100 miles (60 kilometers) outside of Paris. It was Louis Vaudable, owner of Maxim’s Paris that coined the name "tarte des demoiselles Tatin" Tart of the sister’s Tatin. Normally you would use a short crust or a pate brisee. I used a simple pie crust in our recipe as we were short on butter. Serves 6-8 9 1/2 inch/ 24 centimeter pie crust Pie Crust 1 1/3 cup/167 grams all purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon/2ml salt 1/2 cup/118ml vegetable (crisco) shortening (or 115g butter) 3-6 tablespoons/45-90ml iced water Filling 2 Granny Smith, Golden Delicious or other firm apple that will not disintegrate peeled, cored and cut in quarters 2-3 tablespoons/29-43g unsalted butter 1/4 cup/48 grams sugar pinch of salt In a bow

Serves 6-8 2 pounds/900g russet potatoes cut into 1/2 inch/1.25cm slices 3 tablespoons/45ml extra­ virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon/5ml lemon juice ¼ teaspoon/1ml crushed red pepper ¼ teaspoon/1ml. dried thyme ¼ teaspoon/1ml. sea salt ¼ teaspoon/1ml. black pepper 1 large handful organic sprouts 1 teaspoon/5ml lemon zest Preheat the oven to 400F/200C/Gas6 Coat 2 baking sheets with cooking spray or parchment paper and set aside.  In a large bowl, combine potatoes, oil, lemon juice, red pepper, thyme, sea salt and black pepper; toss to combine.  Arrange the potato slices on prepared baking sheets, spacing them ¼ inch/62mm apart.  Bake for 25 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through, until potatoes are golden brown. Remove from oven; transfer potatoes and parchment paper to a rack and let cool for 5­-10 minutes.  Arrange on a serving platter topping each potato slice with sprouts and lemon zest. personal chefs and event catering Miami + Miami Beach + Fort L

Do you have food allergies? Can't take YEAST? Here is a simple way to substitute- Baking Soda or Baking Powder. Baking soda is also used as a leavening agent i n some bread products. However, it operates differently than yeast and may not always be suitable as a substitute. However, here is how baking soda differs from yeast and how to substitute it. Baking soda doesn’t make bread rise in the same fashion as yeast. Baking soda needs to react to an acid to cause carbon dioxide bubbles to make the bread rise. It is often called for in recipes that have a naturally acidic batter for the baking soda to react in. If your recipe calls for yeast and not baking soda, then it generally does not have the required acid for the baking soda to react in. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t use baking soda as a substitute. If you want to use baking soda as a substitute for yeast, you’ll need to add an acid to the mix. Generally this is done by adding equal parts baking soda an

Many of us call any wine with bubbles champagne. Indeed ,it is just as we call cling film Saran Wrap and tissues Kleenex.  In the world of wine, only wines produced in the Champagne region of France and following the rules of méthode champenoise may be called “Champagne.” In Spain, there is Cava.  Cava is a Spanish sparkling wine made using the traditional méthode champenoise. The process and quality of Cava is defined by the  Vino Espumoso de Calidad Producido en una Región Determinada (VECPRD). First known “Champaña,” it originated in the Catalonia region at the Codorníu Winery in the late 19th century. The term “Cava” was adopted in 1970 in reference to the underground cellars or “Cava” in which the wines ferment and age in the bottle. The phylloxera epidemic of the late 19th century, which caused the destruction and uprooting of vineyards planted with red grape varieties, kick started the cava industry. The success of Codorníu encouraged vineyard owners to replant with white gr

10 Benefits of Blueberries – Backed by Science Blueberries are an amazing fruit, both in terms of flavour and their incredible nutritional profile. They’re jam packed with antioxidants - polyphenols, catechins, flavonols - along with lots of essential vitamins and nutrients. Blueberries are actually rated at a 9,621 on the ORAC scale. The ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) measures the efficacy of a certain food or herb on preventing oxidation. This makes them one of the highest scoring foods in terms of antioxidants in the entire world. A cup of blueberries also includes the following nutrients Manganese (25 percent of your daily value) This trace mineral helps promote the production of healthy bones, along with keeping blood pressure regulated. Fiber (14 percent of your daily value) Fiber is very important. It is digested differently than other nutrients - it remains largely unchanged until it hits the large intestine, where the intestinal flora consume it and

When starting out in the professional kitchen, whether it is via a classroom or in a real live restaurant it is best to start with the basics. When starting the “sauces” portion of education you start with the basics which are usually stocks, broths etc. You also learn the basics of building the sauces and eventually work up to the “Saucier”. The Saucier (sauce maker or sauté cook prepares sauce and warm hors d’oeuvres, completes dishes and might sauté items). A saucier is just below the sous chef, and as such is a much respected position. There are two basic sauces that are the base of many, many classic dishes and once you master these you can greatly expand your culinary repertoire. They are the béchamel and veloute sauces. The base of both sauces start with a “roux”. A roux is a combination of a fat, usually butter, and flour in equal proportions. The butter is melted over medium low to medium heat. The flour is sprinkled on, stirred to combine then cooked for 1-2 minute

English Muffins or Muffins as they are called throughout the UK are thought to be a variation of a crumpet made originally in the USA by Samuel B. Thomas. In  the USA muffins are “quick breads” made without the use of yeast and are more cake like than bread like. Muffins were sold by street vendors door to door in the UK in the 18 and 19th century before many houses had ovens, hence the ditty “do you know the muffin man, the muffin man ...” Makes 16 muffins 1 3/4 cups/435ml warm milk 1 packet instant yeast or 19.14g fresh yeast 2 tablespoons/25g sugar 3 tablespoons/43g butter, melted 1/2 teaspoon/2ml YaDa Chef Maya Natural salt 1 large egg, lightly beaten 4 1/2 cups/539g King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour semolina or farina, for sprinkling the griddle or pan (optional) If using instant yeast dissolve the yeast in small bowl with the milk and the sugar. Let “proof” for 5 minutes. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add the milk yeast, butter and egg. Mix