A Taste of the Nation

Last Thursday I got the chance to meet and interview some amazing chefs, taste their food and all for a great cause. As I wrote in my previous blog, Taste of the Nation is an event hosted by by Share our Strength (SOS). SOS is charity that fights to end childhood hunger in America. They host a series of events throughout the country called Taste of the Nation to raise money and awareness to end childhood hunger. On Thursday evening my dad and I drove down to the Broward (Fort Lauderdale) Convention Center  (good thing there wasn’t any school on Friday). As I entered the convention center I couldn’t help but feel like I was at a Hollywood premier! Projectors displayed sponsor names on the wall such as Food Network, Florida Table, Whole Foods and more! There were booths filled with busy Chef’s cooking and displaying their food. We soon met up with our hosts Kelly Murphy and Sari Vatski, who were the organizer’s of the event. In the same way in which I’m passionate about food Kelly and Sari are passionate about SOS and the fact that this is taste of the nations 19th year definitely shows.

Share our Strength

  You and I have something in common, and that’s a love for food. We eat food in the morning, in the afternoon, and at night (and often in between).  Did you know that there are almost 17 million kids in America that face hunger everyday? Children who face hunger are more susceptible to weaker immune system’s, stomach problems, headaches and cold’s.  Share our Strength is an organization that is dedicated to end childhood hunger in America. They organize many events and maybe some that you’ve heard of on the Food Network like the Great American Bake Sale which is a national campaign that mobilizes share our strength and spreads awareness by having Americans host bake sales in their communities.  Many things can cause hunger. It can be due to households that are below the poverty line, single parent families, or even food security problems such as not having the money to put food on the table. Another one of Share our Strength’s events that help this cause is called Taste of the Nation. Each Spring and Summer this event brings together some of the most creative culinary minds from across the nation. Chef’s such as Emeril Lagasse to Top Chef judge Tom Collichio (2010 James Bear award winner) donate their time to prepare tasting’s that will raise money from Share our Strength. This is a fantastic charity and an issue that should be more recognized. Fortunately, JeremyCooks has been asked to take part in this event! This upcoming Thursday the 13th I will be going to the Fort Lauderdale convention center to meet and interview some of the great Chef’s who have given their time for this cause. I’ll taste the food and maybe even get to cook a little, this is such an honor and really exciting!!! Share our Strength’s goal is to end childhood hunger in America by the year 2015. So I’m asking all of you to roll up your sleeves and cook up your own way to help end childhood hunger. Stay tuned for a blog and Cookisode of Thursday’s Taste of the Nations. Keep on cooking

Click here for ticket information as well as a list of participating Chef’s and restaurants.

Mi amigos y Yo

The school year is coming to end and that means more work, finals and projects! For my Spanish project I had to team up with 4 other kids and cook a Spanish meal. My friends Aviva, Jordyn, Cory, Brett and I talked about it and decided on a menu. Our choice was Pico de Gallo (spicy salsa), Arepas, and Tres Leche (3 milk) Cake. They all came over to my house each bringing a share of the ingredients. We began with the Pico de Gallo. Since Aviva is in a cast she sat down and took pictures. I got to show Jordyn and Cory how to cut the tomatoes along with some other produce and they took to it straight away! Next we combined lime juice, garlic and cilantro, I decided to add some pickled jalapenos since they’re amazing and add a little heat. After adding the onion, we all cried our eyes out. While the Pico de Gallo was being made I started the Tres Leche cake.

Crashing Plates

I covered my eyes and turned away as 100 plates came crashing down!

Lets rewind a little and start from the beginning. Every year there is an auction for the Boca Chamber and there is one item that is always bought out by the same man, J.C. Perrin, President of my schools CAAB (Community Academy Advisory Board). The item offers selected culinary students from West Boca High to come to your house and serve you and your guests a dinner. Chef Hall (Head of the culinary academy) asked me to participate and so I joined in. Everyone gathered at the school kitchen in the afternoon. The 4 ProStart team members came along with my friend Paige who just came back from her student of the year competition and Helcio who won the Top Chef competition at our school (read blog “ The Troy”), and a couple of other students were there from the academy as well. The menu for the dinner was as follows:
        

First Course:

Tuscan stew with pan seared fish topped with spinach and cannelloni beans.
 

Second Course:

Mixed field greens with a white truffle vinaigrette wrapped in grilled zucchini served with marinated cherry tomatoes and baked brie with almonds.
 

Third Course:

Roast sirloin of beef with a shitake mushroom red wine demi glace, served with spaghetti squash and asparagus and roast fingerling potatoes.
 

Fourth Course:

A phyllo cup with vanilla bean ice cream topped with a banana foster.

 It really was an out of this world menu! It started out with everyone prepping the ingredients. I seasoned and roasted the sirloin along with the potatoes. I also baked the smoked sausage in puff pastry for the appetizers. Paige seared the fish, Helcio made the spaghetti squash and asparagus with Carla (ProStart team), while Angelique (ProStart) prepped for the flambé (which would include an action station). When we got to the house we unloaded all of the food and equipment and set up in their kitchen. We then counted out the plates (eighteen people were expected to be there) and set them on the round kitchen table. I got to serve the appetizers, which consisted of smoked sausage in a puff pastry cup and a Capri sandwich made with portabella mushrooms, fresh mozzarella, cucumber, basil, and tomato. There were cucumber rounds with a crab and lobster salad as well. The night continued and more guests arrived it was time to start plating. One of the team members had begun to shift some plates around and the table turned over. I covered my eyes and turned away as 100 plates came crashing down. The sound of shattering plate’s caught the attention of every person in the house. We got lucky however and only the extra plates broke. Later I got to plate the salad with Angelique and announce the third course or entrée. The best part of the night was being on the action station and getting to flambé. Flambé is when you caramelize something such as bananas with brown sugar and cinnamon (banana foster), then you add rum and tilt the pan just enough to touch the flames of the stoves. The whole pan ignites and bursts into blue flames. I stood back to avoid getting burned. I actually touched my eyebrows to make sure they were still there. The night was a success with the exception of falling plates. I couldn’t provide pictures though because students aren’t allowed to use phone’s at events, so I apologize, but you can use your imagination to visualize it. Keep on Cooking.