Molten Caramel
Molten Caramel
Memories of my high school AP math class. Delicious pie. Never before have such a hated topic and such a beloved topic joined quite like they are next week at Yelp’s Pi(e) Day celebration. On 3/14 (get it? 3.14), Yelp is hosting a free (minus the cash bar) event at Pierpont Place, which I think they should temporarily rename Piepont Place, to celebrate all things pie. And what better way to celebrate than by inviting some of Salt Lake’s best pizza pie and dessert pie makers to join forces under one roof for a magical evening of calculating the area of a circle. Oh, and music and free food. And booze.
Some of my favorite local places will be slinging slices, such as Sicilia Pizza, Penny Ann’s, and Sweet Home Chicago.
RSVP’s are necessary for this party. You can request an invite by clicking here.
Pi Day Par-tay
March 14, 7-9pm
Pierpont Place, 163 W Pierpont
A while ago I spent a couple weeks travelling through Cambodia and Singapore. One adventure I was particularly excited about was the opportunity to participate in a Cambodian Cooking class in Phnom Penh, called Frizz.
I was enthralled as the chef took us to a local outdoor market where we purchased fish, lemongrass, ginger, taro root, and other ingredients. It was hot, dark, humid, and cramped as we navigated through the little vendor stands, but well worth the effort when we left with the bounty of deliciously fresh ingredients.
Cambodia sits directly between Thailand and Vietnam, and their cuisine definitely reflects that (although Cambodians would argue that their Khmer cuisine actually influenced Thai and Vietnamese cuisine). Soup, noodle, and curry dishes abound, although Cambodian food is generally less spicy since the Khmer cuisine didn’t incorporate chilis in to many of their dishes.
We learned how to make a curry dish (called Amok) from scratch, using ingredients such as ginger, lemongrass, galangal and lime.
The rooftop kitchen
Shredding the taro root
All of these ingredients were placed in an apparatus resembling a giant mortar and pestle, and we pounded the ingredients until they formed a smooth, creamy paste.
After steaming the Fish Amok in banana leaves for a little while, what we ended up with was sheer Khmer deliciousness.
Although Cambodians experienced one of the worst genocides in human history (which, surprising to me, only happened 30 years ago), I was consistently impressed with their upbeat, positive attitudes. They revel in the little things in life, and cooking is one of those things. I’m not sure when (or if) I’ll ever make it back to Cambodia, but I would love to have the opportunity to spend more time with these kind-hearted people and learn more about their cuisine and culture.
Man, these Heirloom guys are absolutely killing it down in Happy Valley. Their two breakout restaurants, Communal and Pizzeria 712 continue to be wildly successful, and now they’ve added a third restaurant to their arsenal: Mountain West Burrito.
Best of luck to Colton and crew. I’m sure they’ll knock this one out of the park like they’ve done with their other restaurants.
Here’s hoping one day they decide to venture to Salt Lake County for a future location, but until then, continue elevating the culinary scene in Utah County.
Heirloom blog post here.
Fantastic short video about the Prime Burger Restaurant in Midtown Manhattan.
(Source: https://player.vimeo.com/)
Chef Gavin Baker has decided to extend Mist:SaltLake for a few additional days due to a large number of people on their wait list. Mist’s additional days will be February 24 through February 26.
Those who currently have their names on the Mist:SaltLake wait list will have access to attend based on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Salt. And honey. Two of the very most basic ingredients in modern cooking. Also, two very important ingredients in Utah’s culinary and agricultural history.
From Redmond Sea Salt to Slide Ridge Honey, Utah is well-known for producing some of the best salt and honey in the country. These two ingredients are celebrated in the Junior League of Salt Lake’s newest cookbook, Salt to Honey. Over 1,000 recipes were submitted by community members, and from those 1,000 submissions 250 were chosen for the book.
Recipes from well-known restaurants and artisans such as Hell’s Backbone, Pago, and Slide Ridge Honey are included in the book.
100% of the proceeds from the book go towards furthering the mission of the Junior League of Salt Lake.
Also, on February 9th, the Junior League will be hosting a Salt to Honey launch party at the brand-new Natural History Museum of Utah. Tickets are $25, and the evening will include the opportunity to try various recipes from the cookbook.
If you’re an individual that is interested in starting a garden, raising animals or in need of agricultural equipment on a small scale, you may want to look into the Slow Food Utah Micro Grant program.
They have extended the deadline until February 15th. Click on the link below and follow the instructions to submit your application.
Steve Rosenberg, owner of Liberty Heights Fresh, is joining with Slow Food Utah for a citrus tasting event on January 30th from 7-8pm at Liberty Heights. You will be able to taste many different citrus fruits and learn about the story behind the growers.
All proceeds to the event will benefit Slow Food Utah, and it’s only $10.
More info and register here.
This is one of my favorite dishes at The Copper Onion in downtown Salt Lake (and actually, one of my favorite dishes in general). Caramelized cauliflower which is then covered in a rich, slightly tart mayonnaise-based dressing.
Here’s the recipe, graciously shared by The Copper Onion’s own Ryan Lowder
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
½ cup Best Foods mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. chopped capers
Splash Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. anchovy paste
2 garlic cloves minced
Salt and pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
1. Blanch the cauliflower in boiling salty water until just tender
2. Mix the mayo, capers, garlic, anchovy, salt and pepper in a bowl
3. Place a pan on the burner and get really hot
4. Add the oil, then cauliflower
5. Season with salt and pepper and caramelize as many sides of the cauliflower as you can
6. Toss the cauliflower in the bowl with the rest of the ingredients and mix well
The caramelization is key to this recipe, and really adds another dimension to the dish. When I made it, I got my sauté pan up to about 330 degrees, splashed in some grapeola oil, and tossed in the blanched broccoli. Sauteed until the cauliflower had touches of deep brown caramelization all over, then tossed in the dressing.
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