Rick Bayless at Food & Wine, 2010

Rick Bayless

Lordy, lordy. For someone who loves Mexican food this demo was a treat. It also was a bit thrilling. The thrill came from a woman who had a high priority badge, and was seated 8 rows back. She was furious because someone was saving rows of front row seats for her friends. And the saver of seats was not a high ticket badge holder, nor were the friends. Furious woman. Much entertainment on the floor. Then Rick Bayless came out. The tent was packed.

The first thing he talked about was the difference between Mexican food and the rest of the world. Most cuisines want you to taste every ingredient that goes into a dish. Mexican cooking wants to combine the flavors so thoroughly that it is a new taste. Ah. He mentioned mole. He said that most people know one mole. But, he continued, there are at least seven, and within these there are many variations. So he did 2 moles for us, coloradito and verde. He did a wonderful job of explaining the proper chile prep (the dried chilis, like ancho and guajillo in the first recipe need to be flexible when you buy them). First you need to open them up, toast them on a dry surface, then rehydrate them. Other ingredients are toasted (garlic and tomatoes) in a fry pan covered with tin foil and put in the oven. After they get toasted he removes the skin from the tomatoes. Then he puts the chilis and the tomato and the garlic in a blender. Then adds toasted sesame seeds, Mexican oregano (not related to Mediterranean oregano), cinnamon, black pepper, little chicken broth and chopped Mexican chocolate. He likes to blend for at least 5 minutes. Then the ingredients are strained, fried in lard until it is tomato paste thickness. Chicken stock is added and it is left on the stove to simmer for several hours. Then salt and sugar is added.
He also did a green mole with tomatillos and toasted almonds.
Heavenly.

Masaharu Morimoto at Aspen Food and Wine 2010

Masaharu Morimoto

gave a demo on knife skills. Ha. His hands moved so fast that I could hardly tell what he was doing, but he was very entertaining. I kept trying to take pictures of what he was doing. Just a blur.

Morimoto's hands were a blur

Jacques Pepin and Claudine Pepin

Jacques Pepin and his daughter did a demo on caviar. I don't use this ingredient (can I even call caviar an ingredient?), but figured that any time spent with the two of them would be worthwhile. The first thing they demoed was cabbage (sliced thin), chicken stock, garlic (added via a microplane), cream, white wine, shrimp and dijon mustard with fresh dill added at the end, with red caviar on top. Then there was a boiled red bliss potato with creme fraiche on top, with a bit of caviar on top of that. Then they did a tartare (either salmon or tuna).

Mario Batali at 2010 Aspen Food & Wine

After a thrilling hour with Thomas Keller I got to go to a demo by Mario Batali. He started off with a seafood salad. Not a wimpy one, it had shrimp (simmered for 1 minute), calamari (simmered for 30 sec) annd mussels (evoo, garlic, then mussels, then white wine). Once the seafood was cooked he added green pesto, red wine vinegar, papaer thin red (or Vidalia) onion, a pinch of salt, canned garbanzo beans, supremed blood oranges, olive oil and flat leaf parsley. It looked great, very full of seafood.

Views of Aspen Food and Wine 2010

Here are a few pictures from the 2010 Aspen Food and Wine event.

a demo at  2010 Aspen Food & Wine

Back stage at the 2010 Aspen Food and Wine

Back stage at the 2010 Aspen Food and Wine

Back stage at the 2010 Aspen Food and Wine

This solar powered building houses the public restrooms in downtown Aspen

Rick Bayless demo crowd at the 2010 Aspen Food and Wine

Aspen Food and Wine, 2010

Thomas Keller

Aspen's Food and Wine for 2010  started off with a bang. My first cooking demo was Thomas Keller talking, and showing, about preserves. I had been spending three months or more with preserved lemons. He showed us a way that took days. He called these preserves and conserves "life savers". He has jams, chutneys, flavored oils on shelves at "Ad Hoc" in Yountville, CA. He brought his Chef de Cuisine, Dave Cruz, with him.  He had David show us how to make Tapenade (chopped red onions, anchovies (soaked several times in milk), Kalamata olives (Nicoise were too intense), capers and garlic. All of these ingredients were put in the blender with a touch of water. Then he talked about the lemons. You have to pick out thin skinned lemons, wash them (or drop them into simmering water), dry, slice crosswise as thinly as possible. Layer with a mixture of 1/2 salt and 1/2 sugar, starting with the sugar/salt and ending with it, in a jar. Ready to use in 3 days -2 weeks. TK HINT* wash all veggies in lukewarm water. Then he talked bout a mushroom conserve. Clean mushrooms in warm water. (Yes, he said this.) Put in pan with evoo (extra virgin olive oil) and a tied bunch of herbs (thyme, rosemary, bay leaf), and a touch of sherry vinegar. Cook gently down.