THE TASTE Fashion Bites Brunch

I cannot think of a more exciting place to have Sunday brunch band the world famous Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills! Dozens of fine restaurants from Fig & Olive, Napa Valley Grille, Nate 'N Al's to Cafe Rodeo served us fantastic and scrumptious eats.

The atmosphere was magical as all the shops on Rodeo Drive were open for business!

THE TASTE'S "Secrets from the Kitchen & Cellars"

THE TASTE continued today with  "Secrets from the Kitchen & Cellars", an afternoon filled with fabulous food, insightful and informative cooking demos and wine and spirit tastings.

We started the morning by visiting the dozens of restaurants and exhibitors of wines and spirits participating in the event. Among the restaurants that we stopped by were La Seine, Mr. Chow, Black Market, Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, Sam's by the Beah, my personal favorite, Scarpetta @ The Montage, and many others.

We chatted with Chef Scott Conant about the fabulous Scarpetta Restaurant's Sunday brunch! The brunch is to die for and it's where I celebrated my 60th birthday with 10 of my closest friends and family.

Chef Drago

Our next stop was at the cooking demos at the tents. First up was chef Celestino Drago of the Drago Ristorante in Santa Monica as well as Pastaio, Drago Centro. Chef demonstrated for us to beautiful rissotto with organic beets. The dish was both beautiful and delightfully flavorful ( yes, we all got to taste it)!

Chef Scott Conant

Our next stop was to be with chef Scott Conant at the second tent. Chef shared with us to dishes from his childhood, simple pasta with garlic and a warm pasta salad with buffalo mozzarella and heirloom tomatoes. Remember the pasta water should taste like "BROTH"!

Our next presenter was Claire Robinson, the Food Network's host "5 Ingredient Fix" as well as Food Network's Challenge. There is nothing that Claire cannot do you five simple ingredients and her imagination.while creating dishes, Claire regaled us with behind the scenes stories about both of her shows. Claire is a talented chef and his delightful to get to know and talk.

Next stop for us the Paramount Studios backlot and Tacos and Tequila Tryst.

The Los Angeles Times | FOOD & WINE'S The TASTE Kick's Off With BURGERS & BEER

The official kickoff to the fantastic weekend events for The Los Angeles Times | FOOD & WINE'S The TASTE began tonight with Burgers and Beers!

Chef Alex, Bianca The Foodie, Claire Robinson

The red carpet was jumping with famous chefs, television celebrities, and foodies.  Food Network stars such as Claire Robinson, Chef Scott Conant, Aarti Sequeira, Candace Nelson (the Queen of cupcakes) and Alex Guarnaschelli were greeted by the media.

Bianca The Foodie & Kathy Griffin

We got a chance to speak to BRAVO TV's and Emmy award winner Kathy Griffin. Kathy was having a ball meeting fans, eating delicious burgers from over 30+ of Los Angeles great restaurants.

Bianca The Foodie & Fabio Viviani

Top Chef's Fabio Viviani was excited to have THE TASTE in his back yard. Fabio was also looking forward to his demo at THE TASTE's "Street Eats" on the Paramount Lot Sunday, Sept. 4th. Tickets are still available at THE TASTE website.

The deliciously prepared burger samples were beautifully displayed by the participating restaurants which included Delphine, LA Market, The Counter Burger, STK, The Yard, Kaibi Burger, City Tavern, Westside Tavern, and others.

Wines and Spirits were flowing from the likes of Peroni Beer, Blue Moon Beer, Cupcake Wines, etc.

The weekend's first cooking demo was presented by Marc Boussaire, The Counter's Executive Chef. The TASTE could not have chosen a better chef to begin a weekend full of information, good food and fun! Chef Marc has it all, great skills, good looks and a wonderful personality.

Next up is Saturday's "Secrets from the Kitchen & Cellar on Saturday, Sept. 3rd from 11-3 in Beverly Hills. Tickets are available at THE TASTE website or at the door.

Curried Lentil Soup w/Chicken Meatballs - Gluten Free and Organic - Bianca The Foodie Cooks

One of the most Important things that I try to do when cooking these days is to make healthy, organic, and satisfyingly delicious meals that can be prepared easily and in a timely manner.

This is a delicious lentil soup made with wonderful ingredients, and the prep time is minimal.

I use organic basil, organic lentils organic vegetable broth. In addition, I added gourmet chicken meatballs found in Trader Joe's in the deli section, they are gluten-free.

All my spices are from Penzey's Spices! not only can you order from them online, but check to see if they have a store near you. It is a wonderful experience to go to their stores. Penzey's Store Locations.

• 1 pound out organic lentils (I get mine from Whole Foods)
• 2 quarts of organic vegetable broth (I get mine from Trader Joe's)
• 2 medium onions chopped
• 2 medium carrots chopped
• 4 garlic cloves minced (I use Penzey's Minced Garlic, it is a wonderful alternative to fresh and imparts the sweetness of garlic without being pungent!)
• 2 tablespoons of Pensey's Garam Masala (it is salt free)
• Penzey's Sunny Spain Salt Free Seasoning to taste (I use this liberally, be brave and indulge it's SALT FREE, and packed w/flavor)
• extra-virgin olive oil

In a heated Dutch oven pour the olive oil and when it is hot, sauté the onions, carrots, and minced garlic until translucent. Add the garam masala, and the Sunny Spain, and "cook" the spices for a couple of minutes while stirring. Add the two quarts of vegetable broth, the lentils and stir. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce to a low heat. Cook for 45 min.

Using either a blender, or food processor, process the soup to a creamy consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning. (You might opt at this point to add a little bit of salt. I use kosher salt, but very little of it, perhaps 1 teaspoon or less to this huge pot).

Serving: when serving this wonderful lentil soup I add Trader Joe's Gourmet Chicken Meatballs (Sun Dried Tomato, Basil and Provolone.) However, if I want to keep it as a vegetarian dish, all I add before I serve it, is fresh basil which I chiffonade. I also add a tablespoon of grated Parmigiano Reggiano.

Bianca The Foodie Attends Paula Deen's Gospel Brunch at SOBEWFF

 

Attending Paula Deen's Gospel Sunday Brunch gives new meaning to "going to church". Here is a brief glance at the sights and sounds of one of SOBEWFF 2011's most popular events!

Bianca The Foodie Talks Cooking w/Parkinson's Disease

Listen to Bianca the Foodie on with Lonely Gourmet Radio Blog

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A Night With Acclaimed Pastry Chef Richard Ruskell @ Montage Hotel Beverly Hills

BiancaTheFoodie & Chef Richard Ruskell

Krista and I had the rare opportunity to attend the viewing party for the season opener of the Food Network's "Last Cake Standing" at the cozy Library of the beautiful Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills.

Chef Richard Ruskell

Our host was the Montage Hotel's acclaimed Executive Pastry Chef Richard Ruskell. For you Food Networks fans, Chef Richard is one of the superstars of the network's "Challenge" program having won 5 times! While watching the East Coast feed of the show we were treated to not only some scrumptious sweet amuse-bouche and delectable cupcakes, but Chef Richard's stories.

BiancaTheFoodie & Chef Richard Ruskell

The setting, attendees, and Chef Richard himself made it a memorable night and a heck of a way to watch this exciting show. For all of you in the Los Angeles area, the Montage Hotel as well as Chef Richard will be hosting another viewing party for each of the episodes of "Last Cake Standing". The next viewing will be on Sunday, April 10, 2011 at 6 PM Pacific time. Call the Montage Hotel for information.