Making pasta using a Eppicotispai Chitarra Pasta Cutter

Meatballs coming out of the oven 

  I finally got to use my Eppicotispai Chitarra Pasta Cutter (means literally harp or guitar) to make pasta. You can see it in the foreground where my pasta is drying. I used a pasta recipe using 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of semolina flour, 6 eggs, olive oil and salt. I rolled it and Logan assisted me in making the pasta. I ran it through my pasta machine to thin it out and cycled through it 3 different settings, each getting thinner and thinner. I laided it on the Eppicotispai Chitarra Pasta Cutter and rolled over it to cut the pasta.I then let it dry for an hour.

Pasta Drying

     Earlier,I had made meatballs using minced pork and minced beef, with parsley, basil, onions, garlic, breadcrumbs and eggs. I cooked them int he oven for about 35 minutes until they reached a temp of 150. I used a Rao Roasted Eggplant pre-made sauce. It came out wonderful--I have to make it again. Also, it was great having Logan assist me. Now, his school teachers want me to make it for the class as a demonstration.

Dish ready to eat!!!!

Hawaii Food and Wine Festival

    Once again, the Hawaii Food and Wine Festival put on a great show. I attended with Will again and was able to get my photo take with some famous chefs. The best dish was a hamachi fish with yuzu sauce. The portions were bigger this time, which made me get full quite quickly. It was great getting a photo with a few chefs.

Myself and Jonathan Waxman

Myself and Tetsuya Wakuda

Myself and Robert Irvine

Myself and Susan Feniger

Robert Irvine Seminar

Shrimp salad made by Robert Irvine

Kim and I went to see Robert Irvine Live at the Blaisedell. Talk about a long day--I flew in from DC and went to the show. By the time I got home, I had been up over 24 hours. I really enjoy Restaurant . I like the way he is straight forward and make sure the basics are done--very different that Gordon Ramsay (US version)  but similar to Gordon Ramsay (UK version). He spoke on his style, and gave some tips for cooking. A good show.

Dinner at Jaleo in Bethesda

Stuffed peppers

Jamon Iberico--Need I say more?

Paella

   I have always wanted to visit a Jose Andres' restaurant. It was dinner of Tapas. Really good food. I really enjoyed the oilive oil dips,the Jamon Iberico (who doesn't), octopus and the stuffed peppers along with the rabbit.  The paella was good, although the one I had in Spain a Pepica was better--maybe the view of the Mediterranean Sea made it that way. The wine we chose was a tinto from Valencia.

Homemade Pappardelle Pasta

    I have been trying to use more recipes using eggs, since we have two egg-laying hens in my yard. I found a Michael Chiarello recipe online for making pasta. I used flour and semolina flour with eggs. I didn't use the pasta maker to roll the pasta thinner (I should have). I used Mario Batali Arrabiata sauce and made a meat sauce. I do like his sauces along with Rao--these are the only pre-made sauces I use--otherwise, I will make my own. It came out good, but the noodles were too thick--I will use the pasta roller next time.

Dinner at Stage

Beef Wellington--Good--but I will try again to make it

     Kim's mom was here and Kim and I took the opportunity to go to dinner at Stage. They were featuring a beef wellington, which I love and is usually hard to find in Honolulu.

Catching up with Pictures of dishes I have made

   Logan, Kim, work and food--my time is stretched each week. I am listing in no particular order the dishes I have made in the last few months. I have learned to do crepes, both savory and sweet. I also have made salads with vinaigrette made from fresh herbs grown in the garden. Also, I have been using my fresh eggs in a lot of dishes. This culminated in my use of Eppicotispai Chitarra (literally meaning harp or guitar) in making homemade fettuccine. This allows pasta to be made the same size. Enjoy!

My take of capresse salad--I added different types of tomatoes and avocado

Strawberry and blueberry crepes

Cheese, mushroom and chili crepes

Traditional banana and nutella crepes 

American meal of a homemade burger, homemade fries, and frisee greens

Logan at Opus I

Me in the kitchen

Thomas Keller signing books

Chef de Cusine Hollingworth

Chocolate Door

Sorry---it has been a long time since I have added to the blog. Kim and I were able to get an invitation to the French Laundry. We also ate at Bottega in Napa Valley. Bottega was okay--I enjoyed the first course mushroom soup but the other courses were good but not spectacular:

San Francisco--Colibri

     Last month my family and I went to San Francisco and the Napa Valley. This was more of a food trip than a wine trip. We chose this destination since we had reservations for the French Laundry Holiday Party. We stayed at the Hotel Nikko in union square--very nice suite--we had stayed earlier at a Hotel Nikko in Niigata, Japan.

    First meal we had was at Colibri--great Mexican food withing walking distance from the hotel. They had the BEST guacamole I ever had--there were scallions, tomatoes, and garlic in it. The vegetables were so crunchy. I had the carnitas--ode to Art. They were stunning.

Kim had the Mole de Pato and it was great. The myriad of spices in the chocolate based mole was great. 

Chef's Dinner at a my house

Menu

    My mother-in-law was staying with us for her yearly visit. We decided to hire a private chef to make a 5 course dinner for family and friends to commemorate the year. I pared wine from my cellar to match. The menu is above. We started first with Canapes

The canapes were good. I really enjoyed the carpaccio.

The takeoff on spanakopita was very good. I like the crunchy phyllo dough.

This course was the macadamian nut crusted mahi mahi over coconut risotto. This was fantastic, The risotto was cooked well. Next course was the ribeye over potatoes and crimini mushrooms. The meat was from Hawaii and tasted great. I paired this with 1998 Opus I. It was fantastic. Dessert was mango-macadamian nut spring rolls. I will post a photo when I find it. They were so good that Logan licked the plate. All in all a great meal.

Michelin-Starred Restaurants--Where have you been?

   The Michelin Guide is the authority for restaurants that take food to the next level. Generally, the ratings are as follows:


One star indicates a "very good cuisine in its category", a two-star ranking represents "excellent cuisine, worth a detour," and three stars are awarded to restaurants offering "exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey."


Below is the list of restaurants I have been too, and a few restaurants I believe should have stars


3 Stars
Pierre Gagnaire--Paris
Joel Robuchon--Las Vegas
Le Bristol--Paris
Guy Savoy--Paris
French Laundry--Yountville


2 Stars
Picasso--Las Vegas
La Manresa--Los Gatos
Domaine de Haut Loire--Onzain
San Pau--Tokyo
La'Atelier de Joel Robuchon--Paris


1 Star
Chez Panisse--Berkeley
Beige--Tokyo
China Blue--Tokyo
Le Tour de Argent--Tokyo
Masa Grill--Las Vegas
Gordon Ramsay--Tokyo

Fleur de Lys--San Francisco

Jules Verne--Paris

Restaurants that should have Michelin Stars:

Chef Mavro---Honolulu--should at least a one star maybe two

Slanted Door--San Francisco--one star--can't believe it doesn't have one yet

O'Connell Street Bistro--Auckland--one star

Herzog--Marlborough--two stars

Pescadore--Christchurch--one star

Elenore--Yarra Valley--one star

La Rochelle--Tokyo--Iron Chef Hiroyuki Saki's restaurant--one star

Please comment on restaurants that deserve Michelin Stars.

Hawaii Food and Wine Festival

I was fortunate to attend the Hawaii food and wine festival. It was a celebration of Hawaii cuisine and ingredients. There were several renown chef, Chef Mavro, Merriman, Wong, Yamaguchi, and other mainland chefs. I was able to take some photos with the chefs:

John Besh--he made a wonderful chorizo and shrimp over grits.

Myself and Rick Moonen

Myself with Hubert Keller---great evening