Taste this! Only a handful of amazing visions to be seen at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen 2009, Average Betty and I have taken our best shots and embedded them into a slideshow. We schmoozed with the best of them: Celebrity chefs Michael Chiarello, Giada De Laurentiis, Mario Batali (and his clogs), Top Chefs Hosea Rosenberg, Stephanie Izard, Richard Blais, and Fabio Viviani, David Chang, Ming Tsai, Michael Symon, Jacques Pépin and his daughter Claudine Pépin, Joe Bastianich, José Andrés, Gail Simmons, Tom Colicchio, and several of the Best New Chefs. Here’s a just a tiny taste of the amazing experience. Enjoy!
And I’m back from the 2009 Food and Wine Classic in Aspen! The experience was amazing to say the least, and I feel so thankful to have been a part of the premier culinary event of the year along with Average Betty. Thank you once again to Plum Tv and Food and Wine Magazine! We’ve so many savory stories, delicious photos and interviews to share, and here is the first palate pleaser: Tasty Top Chef Fabio Viviani photos!
The Italian Top chef charmer showed up on our radar Saturday, and in true Fabio form was spotted chatting, hugging, and story telling with chef comrades throughout the afternoon. Feast on this:
Fabio reunites with former competitor and Top Chef New York winner Hosea Rosenberg under the tasting tent. Wouldn’t you like to know what sweet nothings he’s whispering into Hosea’s ears?
Fabio sharing smiles with Chef Bobby Flay!
Italy and France unite! Top Chef Fabio Viviani continues sharing his love with the legendary chef Jacques Pépin.
Coming Soon: Chef interviews on dealing with the pinches of today’s economy, musings on Michael Chiarello and his farm to fork philosophy, off the grid after hours fun with food writers, and several top 10 lists. And of course, we will be returning to the chef recipe videos soon with some fresh talent that may surprise you. Stay tuned!
Fully obsessed with Season 5 of Bravo’s Top Chef, tonight we became equally fully obsessed with Fabio’s “Spherical Olives”. What are they and what gives them their outside shell and liquid center? After a quick visit with Google, we found this video from the genius chemist and chef Ferran Adria from El Bulli restaurant in Spain, where he demonstrates to Mark Bittman his special science using a recipe of calcium + alginate to create the magical olives.
Chef Fabio Viviani recreated these mysterious gems in his Top Chef winning beef carpaccio recipe, and Lee Anne from the French Culinary Institute in NYC shows us his technique in this video.
We also found an interesting post here from the chefs at the Ideas in Food blog, where they discuss encapsulation, play with chemicals, and create yogurt orbs. Is this type of food preparation natural? Not really. Is it fun and incredibly creative? Absolutely!
Beef Tenderloin Carpaccio with Arugula, Roasted Pine Nuts, Aged Parmesan Cheese, Spherical Kalamata Olives and Aged Balsamic Vinegar
Chef Fabio Viviani
Prep Time: About 2 hours
Serves: 3-4
Directions:Beef Tenderloin Carpaccio:
1. Slice the meat.
2. Display and season the arugula, shaved cheese, toast the pine nuts.
Kalamata Olives:
1. Mix first three ingredients together, let rest for three hours.
2. Mix water and algimate together, let rest for 3 hours.
3. Scoop first mixture into second mixture.
4. Let rest 3 minutes.
Note: Xanthan gum is not strictly necessary, but it can be used as a thickener. You can also use a thicker puree and it will work as well. Without the gum you will have to keep the olive in the solution for longer, around 5-6 minutes.
1 lb. tenderloin.
4 oz. parmesan, aged 5 years
6 balsamic vinegar, aged 6 years
8 oz. arugula
8 oz. pine nuts
olive oil
salt and pepper
kalamata olives
Taste this! Only a handful of amazing visions to be seen at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen 2009, Average Betty and I have taken our best shots and embedded them into a slideshow. We schmoozed with the best of them: Celebrity chefs Michael Chiarello, Giada De Laurentiis, Mario Batali (and his clogs), Top Chefs Hosea Rosenberg, Stephanie Izard, Richard Blais, and Fabio Viviani, David Chang, Ming Tsai, Michael Symon, Jacques Pépin and his daughter Claudine Pépin, Joe Bastianich, José Andrés, Gail Simmons, Tom Colicchio, and several of the Best New Chefs. Here’s a just a tiny taste of the amazing experience. Enjoy!
