I was invited to have dinner at Beverly Wilshire’s restaurant, The Blvd,  by their Catering Manager – the wonderful Mark Anderson (SO hearts Mark!).  When at the Beverly Wilshire, you have a hard decision of  dining at Cut, whose steaks speak for themselves, or The Blvd.  If you are in the mood for some yummy pasta, hurry and go to The Blvd which has a special menu through June 26th in honor of Italian Week in Beverly Hills!

I chose the Cavatelli Carbonara -  a penne pasta dish with kobe meatballs, crushed tomato, and buffalo mozzarella. The combination of the flavors is absolute perfection!  Rich, yet not too rich! I promise you, you will not regret the calories consumed

As an added bonus, they also have a live band that performs fun and lively music (you can actually get up and dance!) and the service was great.  Happy Date Night!

As promised, here is the mushroom truffle soup recipe from the Wedding Experience at Grand Del Mar that Mistyka Garcia attended last week. Enjoy!

Portobello Mushroom Bisque with Truffle Oil and Pine Nuts

Serves 6

8 large Portobello mushrooms

¼ cup olive oil

½ cup diced pancetta

½ cup chopped peeled shallots

5 cloves garlic, chopped

¼ cup all-purpose flour

1 cup diced peeled celery root

1 tablespoon chopped marjoram

6 cups vegetable stock

½ cup heavy cream

¼ cup dried porcini mushrooms

¼ cup Marsala wine

pinch nutmeg

to taste sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Remove stems from mushrooms. Scrape and discard gills using small spoon. Cut caps into 1-inch pieces. Set aside. Add oil, pancetta, shallots, and garlic to large stock pot over medium heat. Cook 3 minutes, stirring often. Add flour. Cook 1 minute. Add Portobello, celery, and marjoram. Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add stock and cream. Bring to simmer. Cook 20 minutes. Add dried porcinis to spice grinder. Process to a powder. Transfer to a small mixing bowl. Whisk in batches, transfer mixture to blender. Puree until smooth. Transfer back to stock pot. Return to low simmer. Season with salt and pepper.

Presentation

2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

6 sprigs marjoram

1 tablespoon truffle oil

Ladle bisque into warm soup bowls. Garnish with pine nuts and marjoram. Drizzle with truffle oil.

Chef preparing the soup on-site at the Wedding Experience

Did you know there are 7.5 million Super Bowl parties hosted every year?! Besides the game, the next highlight for Super Bowl is the food and drinks (and there is also the commercials and half-time show)! Make it easy on yourself and prepare as much as possible in advance so you too can enjoy the game.

• Create a Beer Bar with a variety of beer in tin buckets with lots of ice to keep them cold.

Use one variety of beer per bucket and it will be easier to see which bucket needs to be replenished.

• Make specialty drinks to match your favorite team, like a Blackberry Margarita for Steelers fans and a Midori Cosmopolitan for Packers fans. If you feel like getting fancy, create a champagne bar with a variety of juices and fruits for mixing.

Blackberry Margarita

• Keep the food as exciting as the game . . . bring out a different variety of chips, dip, or popcorn every quarter!
• Feel like incorporating a southwestern tradition? Make a Frito Pie! Growing up in Houston, this is one of Mistyka Garcia’s favorite guilty pleasures. Frito pie is baked as a casserole with the main ingredients being Frito’s, chili and cheese. You can Google some great recipes and incorporate your favorite fixings.

Have a great Super Bowl Sunday!

Frito Pie . . . yummm.

Lately I’ve been on a health kick, so I have been trying to implement a healthier diet into my daily routine. It can be hard when you’re running from meeting to meeting, going to tastings, and on-site at events.

The other day I arrived at my sister’s house for a quick visit and I was starving. My sister is a raw vegan and although I am trying to be healthier, I don’t think I have enough willpower to join her! That being said, I began to rummage through her fridge and then her pantry where I found some homemade snacks that looked halfway decent. I quickly popped them into my mouth with very little expectations other than getting food into my stomach. To my surprise they were incredibly yummy! Come to find out they were Lemon Coconut Date Bars and completely guilt free.

I now make these at home the night before a busy day  (they take no time at all to make) and throw them into my purse for the perfect healthy on-the-go snack. A raw vegan snack may not sound delicious, but just try it and you will be pleasantly surprised!

Recipe:
1 cup almonds
1 1/2 cups pitted dates
1 vanilla bean
1 tsp sea salt
zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons of lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
1 cup dried shredded coconut

Chop almonds into small pieces in food processor.  Use a little of this crushed almond powder to flour the bottom of a 9-inch baking pan.

In a mixing bowl, mix remaining ingredients (including remaining chopped almonds).  Press mixture into baking pan.

Chill for a couple hours until firm.  Cut into squares.