I thought I was the queen of cherry pie. But I was wrong. Alicia is queen. Alicia Hitchcock, chef-owner of Alicia’s Cookery in Brea, bakes thousands of cookies each week. In the same time-frame, she also makes about one hundred pies. That’s in addition to an untold number of sandwiches and salads made to nourish the hordes of loyal customers…
Tabu Grill’s Ahi Poke is so scrumptious. At the hands of a capable home cook or chef, poke is an irresistible dish. The Hawaiian concoction showcases jewel-like cubes of chilled raw ahi (yellowfin tuna) napped with a delectable Asian-themed sauce. Rayne Frey, executive chef at Tabu Grill, Laguna Beach, formulates a sauce for poke that is sweet-sour-salty-spicy paradise; the vibrant…
Composed Salad of Flash-Seared Steak and Japanese Omelet – grab a fork! Charlie Palmer, celebrity chef and über restaurateur, has a culinary style that is often dubbed “progressive American,” a designation based on his irresistible cuisine that showcases American ingredients in vibrantly-flavored dishes. With restaurants from coast to coast, Palmer’s Orange County restaurant, Charlie Palmer at Bloomingdale’s, offers tempting brunches…
Jet Tila’s Chicken and Waffles: Alluring Asian Twist Makes Them Yum-Oh-Lah
Chefs, Cooking, Recipes, Restaurants, VideosChef-restaurateur Jet Tila grew up in the food business, learning about Asian cuisine both in his family’s Thai grocery store, Bangkok Market in Hollywood, as well as their many restaurants. He spent childhood summers working at his uncle’s Royal Thai Restaurant in Newport Beach, where he moved up over time from dishwasher to server. He admits that he viewed the…
Luscious Paella with Fresh Vegetables from Craig Strong, Executive Chef Montage Laguna Beach
Chefs, Cooking, Recipes, Restaurants, VideosCraig Strong, executive chef at Studio, Montage Laguna Beach, is known for his irresistible modern French cuisine with California twists. And there are hints of Spanish influences in his dishes as well, a reflection of the two years he spent working at the Newport Room, the fine dining restaurant at the Hotel Arts, Barcelona. When I asked him to prepare…
Wing Lam Shows Off His Wahoo’s Fish Tacos
Chefs, Cooking, Recipes, Restaurants, Uncategorized, VideosWing Lam, co-founder of Wahoo’s Fish Tacos, started the first Wahoo’s in 1988 along with his two brothers. There are now 65 eateries in seven states, with dishes that incorporate influences from Mexican, Brazilian and Asian cuisines. Wing and his brothers grew up in a restaurant family and lived in San Paolo, Brazil before moving to Orange County in 1975…
Celebrity Chef Michael Mina Shares Secrets of His Ahi Tartare
Celebrity Interviews, Chefs, Cooking, Restaurants, Uncategorized, VideosCelebrity chef Michael Mina created his signature Tartare of Ahi Tuna almost twenty years ago when he opened his first restaurant, Aqua in San Francisco. Now he has three restaurants in that city, plus numerous eateries from coast to coast, including Stonehill Tavern at the St. Regis Monarch Beach in Dana Point. Instead of the standard beef-centric tartare ingredients, he…
Chef Marc Cohen Shows How to Prepare Luscious Fried Goat Cheese with Apples and Honey
Chefs, Cooking, Recipes, Restaurants, VideosOne of the things that I love about my job is the opportunities to ferret out culinary secrets from talented chefs. I’m crazy about the Fried Goat Cheese with Apples and Honey at Watermarc, an appetizer that showcases warm spheres of goat cheese drizzled with honey and served with crisp apples. The honey melts over the spheres of warm cheese…