CookingDiva

From The Valle Escondido Resort Newsletter & Blog:

We are very proud and most fortunate to have a renowned new executive Chef for our restaurants, Melissa De Leon. As most of you know, we have been working the past year on improving the food and beverage operation of our resort as we believe this to be one of the most important part of a successful resort business. Last year we made significant improvements in our decor and menu, and now, we take it up a notch, a really big notch! Read the Complete Post...

Now you know what I have been doing! Will post photos soon... Have a delicious week, Melissa

Award winning Colombian Chef Patricia McCauslad is the creator of Pachi The Colombian Cook. We invite you to head over to her blog and learn about her adventures all over the globe. Now, from her new cookbook "Passion for Coffee" we are sharing this delicious recipe:

Asian Vinaigrette 2/3 cup, 4 servings My favorite of all! Just try it . . . Keep this dressing on hand at home or at the office. Mix with some greens and vegetables and voilà—a midday energy booster! 2 tablespoons minced parsley 4 teaspoons rice vinegar 4 teaspoons maple syrup 1 teaspoon freeze-dried or granulated instant coffee 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/4 teaspoon dark sesame oil 6 tablespoons canola oil In a nonreactive bowl, stir together the parsley, vinegar, maple syrup, coffee, salt, and pepper. Add the oils and whisk with a fork until thick and emulsified.

To get the perfect consistency and flavor, use butter. No doubt It makes the best liver pate. The basic recipe to prepare duck or chicken pate is to brown the livers in butter, deglaze with brandy, dry white wine or stock add seasonings and stir until the liquid is mostly gone. Then toss in the food processor with softened butter and season with salt. For a variation, process with sauteed onions and mushrooms. This one keeps refrigerated 3-5 days, and the plane version lasts well covered and refrigerated for 5-8 days. Serving suggestion: For a quick meal or snack, serve on toast or prepare a sandwich with melted Swiss or Mozzarella cheese. The most important, the nutrition part:

So what makes liver so wonderful? Quite simply, it contains more nutrients, gram for gram, than any other food. In summary, liver provides: An excellent source of high-quality protein Nature’s most concentrated source of vitamin A All the B vitamins in abundance, particularly vitamin B12 One of our best sources of folic acid A highly usable form of iron Trace elements such …

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