Coconut Margaritas

Summer is finally here!

Today my mom and I were flipping through channels on the TV when we stumbled upon Sandra Lee making a Coconut Margarita. It looked so delicious we ran right out and bought all of the ingredients we needed. I was actually very excited because the recipe used Godiva White Chocolate liquor and I have been wanting to try it for some time now.  The bottle was a little on the pricey side but it won't go to waste, it was sinfully good and I can't wait to test out more drink recipes with it.

But back to this little taste of heaven. These drinks remind me of the Good Humor coconut bars that the Ice Cream Man used to sell out of his truck. You have to make the simple syrup ahead of time so it has time to cool down but once you do that, the drink will take you no time to prepare. These were so refreshing and light making it a perfect summer cocktail!



White Chocolate Coconut Margaritas
Yield 4

2 1/2 cups coconut water, chilled
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup finely shredded coconut shavings
Ice, for serving
1/2 cup coconut rum
1/4 cup white chocolate liqueur
1/4 cup tequila

1. In a small pot combine 1/2 cup coconut water with the sugar. Heat until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and cool in the refrigerator about 20 minutes.
2. Place the coconut shavings on a small plate. Dip the rims of 4 margarita glasses into the coconut simple syrup just to dampen. Holding the glasses upside down, rim of the glasses with the fresh coconut to coat the edges. Fill the glasses with ice.
3. In a shaker, combine the remaining 2 cups coconut water, the rum, white chocolate liqueur, tequila and 1/4 cup of the coconut simple syrup. Shake and pour into the glasses.

Breakfast in South Beach

While we were down in Miami we had so many good meals down there I just had to share them. First off I would just like to say that the Miami restaurant scene is great. The caterers for her wedding were Barton G, we did a trial of the food at the restaurant and I'll put up some pictures soon! The restaurant is famous for their nitrogen cocktails and they're outrageous food presentations like their lobster pop tarts that are served in a retro toaster. For the wedding they put out an amazing food spread-- we had seafood stations, pasta stations, sushi stations, carving stations-- you name it, we had it and Barton G did it to perfection.

Since we were out late each night when we woke up in the mornings we needed some good greasy food to make us feel better. We ate at The Terrazza, the restaurant at the Shore Club which is located on their pool deck. It was so nice to sit out there each morning and look out over the pool

We had an amazing version of eggs benedict with toasted Semolina, Wilted Greens, Bacon and Hollandaise that came served with smashed fingerling potatoes. This was so much better than the traditional eggs benedict that come with Canadian bacon on an english muffin. Not to mention the wilted greens added so much flavor to the dish I'll never make them the traditional way again!

We also got a lox plate--everything on the plate was fresh and delicious I just wish they gave us more of the garnishes. The presentation was beautiful but in the end, there just wasn't enough of each item. Regardless, if you are in Miami I would definitely recommend stopping by the Shore Club for breakfast-- the staff was attentive, the service was quick and the food was great.

Versace Mansion

The night before my sisters wedding we stayed in the former Versace Mansion. I am going to try my hardest to convey to you the beauty of this place-- words (and unfortunately my amateur photographing skills) will not be able to describe it but at least it will give you a good idea.

When people think of the former Versace Mansion some think of Gianni Versace’s tragic death, some may think of the landmark it has become in South Beach and others may even think of the famous Medusa head. But when I think of The Versace Mansion only one thing comes to mind: Ultimate Luxury. Now known as the The Villa By Barton G, the same Barton G that has gained notoriety as Miami’s hot-spot restaurant where the food is as trendy as the diners, is luxury hotel and restaurant.

Once you get past the people taking pictures and the tight security at the heavily guarded front gates you are welcomed as if you were a guest of Versace himself. The hotel boasts 10 suites each equipped with a 24/7 British trained butler to cater to your every need. When a small issue arose with the wedding dress, the butler fetched a sewing kit and hand sewed the dress back to perfection. There really wasn’t one request that they couldn’t fill and they were effortlessly pleasant the whole time.

 Our room was bigger than most New York City apartments. Completely hand painted-- those aren't curtains on the wall, its paint! The place was decorated in rich, luxurious fabrics that made the room feel like a scenic oasis. We had a separate sitting room (shown below!) where the Butler came in to set up our breakfast, which was delicious, and chill champagne while all nine of us got our hair and makeup done in the suite’s impeccable bathroom.

This was our breakfast, Yogurt and Granola, Scrambled Eggs with Lox, and a basket full of homemade pastries/croissants, all of it was delicious. I think my sister is the only bride in the world who didn't try to lose weight for her wedding. She has been naturally thin her whole life-- some things in life just aren't fair...

Anyway, here are a few shots of the room....

The Villa was so accommodating and allowed the hair/make-up people come up to the room and work on all the girls. We had champagne, had sandwiches and crudite and it was such a good chance for all of us girls to spend time together before the day got hectic! Here was our lunch-- turkey club and crudite!

We were greeted at the cocktail hour with wine, champagne and hors devours.  We had mini philly cheesesteaks (the groom grew up in Philadelphia) which was such a hit! Also, gaspacho soup-- which was delicious but was a little thick making it hard to eat as an appetizer, crispy vegetable spring rolls which were just ok, pulled duck: outrageous and a few more I can't think of at the moment.

 

Also in the cocktail hour there were raw seafood and sushi/sashimi stations set up. At this point I'm going to stop talking about how delicious everything was because it is starting to get repetitive. 

 

 

The reception took place alongside the 54-foot “thousand mosaic pool”, which ironically holds more than a million tiny mosaics imported from Italy, lined in 24 karat gold and designed by Gianni Versace himself. The bar was set off to the right side of the pool inside a twelve person shower, however, the wait staff was so attentive during the wedding you rarely had to get a drink for yourself. My sister did not want a sit down dinner becuase she wanted everyone to be able to dance and eat without being interrupted every two seconds because the next meal was being served. We had pasta stations, carving stations, salad stations (below is the Caesar salad with anchovies-- great presentation!)

In addition to the wedding cake, they set up a great dessert bar with mini donuts, churros, funnel cake and all the necessary accompaniments. The pastry chef did an amazing job and even matched the wedding cake to my sisters dress!

 The hype of The Villa did not disappoint. Rooms range from $1,200 to $10,000 per night but the experience is priceless. Next time you want to visit South Beach, forget the Delano or the Fountain Bleu. Experience it lavishly. Experience Versace.  

Culinary School

Before I start writing about what it is like inside the kitchens of a Culinary School I want to make one thing very clear- Just because it is food, does not mean it is easy. In fact, after my first day I somewhat envied my boyfriend and all of the other 9-5 professionals because unlike culinary students they get to sit at their desks. But we'll start from the beginning..

After getting changed in the locker rooms, we headed up to the kitchen to find black knife cases on the center of each station. There are four stations on an island and each station consists of a gas burner, an oven, a flat top, a small work space large enough for a cutting board and two shelves underneath. After everyone picked their station we were finally introduced to our Chef Instructors and from here on out, anytime we spoke with the Chef's it would be in the proper respectful manner, "Yes Chef", "No Chef", "Chef may I please..." etc. etc. etc.

As all of us students stood at our stations listening to every word the Chefs said as they went through the importance of showing up to class, always and I mean always being in full uniform when in the kitchens (don't even think about sliding off that apron), sanitation and even the proper way to stand. They reminded us that we needed to save our backs so it was important that we stood correctly, plus it looked more professional. The Chefs also encouraged us to make mistakes. After all, we were in school, and in the first level, and the best way to learn is from mistakes. Finally we were able to open up our knife kits and unexpectedly found that they were filled with much more than just knives. They had all of the essential kitchen tools; whisks, wooden spoons, spatulas, a pepper mill, vegetable peelers, kitchen sheers, melon ballers, a knife steel and any other tool you really needed to cook with.

Each day lunch is prepared by the level four students and consists of a starch, vegetable, protein and salad. We had a half hour break for lunch which we ate lunch standing at our stations.

After lunch, the chefs came back and told us that we would be doing knife work. Before we could actually pick up the knife the Chefs went over the proper way to hold the knifes and the different types of cuts that we would be working with. After we learned the basic cuts we were sent off to practice on carrots. There were some students who cut the carrot perfectly according to the instructions given, there were other students who cut the carrots before peeling them and then were some students who just cut themselves. After we finished practicing, we were going to have our first cooking experience in the classroom by learning to properly cook our vegetables the "french way" (which in layman terms means it can have no resistance or bite, basically stopping the cooking process right before it turns to mush). We grabbed a saute pan and filled it up with water, brought it to a boil and added salt. Now let me just take a minute to talk about salt and butter. The amount of these two ingredients that go into professionally cooked food is alarming. If you want to eat healthy stay home and cook your own food because I can assure you that you are eating way more than your daily recommended dose in one dish. In the restaurant when we would make breadcrumbs we would take 1 quart of cubed bread and cook it in 1 pound of butter. That was the ratio. One quart of brioche bread cubes to one pound of butter. I honestly don't know how those little cubes ever got crispy with all that butter but they did. And with each breadcrumb I tested my arteries slowly clogged-- but my stomach sure was smiling. If you are going to make breadcrumbs at home I suggest heavily adapting that ratio.

The French Culinary Insitute

When I decided to go to Culinary School I spent countless hours researching my options. After weighing the pro's and con's of each school I decided to enroll at the French Culinary Institute in New York City.

I chose the the French Culinary Institute in New York City for a few reasons:

1. It is close to my home in New Jersey
2. It is an intense 6-month program which I liked since I had already been through 4 years of college and was eager to start my professional life
3. The facilities, equipment, and amenities that were offered to the students were very impressive

What has slowly become a pet peeve of mine is when I tell people I went to Culinary School and their instant reaction is something like "Are you going to be on Top Chef?" or "You should sign up for Hell's Kitchen." Its like asking all law students if they want to be the next Judge Joe Brown. Although I don't know what to expect from my culinary degree, I do know one thing for sure and that is that I do not want to be a chef in a restaurant (nor do I want to compete on Hell's Kitchen). The strenuous hours and irregular schedule is just not the lifestyle for me. I worked in a various restaurants throughout the six months that I was in school and even for a few months after graduating to gain experience but I am definitely not striving to be the next executive Chef at Le Bernardin. That is another thing that is so great about Culinary School, it opens up more doors than a person may think. There is catering, personal chef, editorial work, food styling, and of course the corporate route for companies like William-Sonoma or Dean and Deluca. If all else fails, at least my family will eat good.

Welcome to Just a Pinch!

Hello All,

For those of you who don't know me, my name is Theresa, I am a 23 year old from New Jersey who is about to set out in search of a job in the Culinary world. I was raised in an Italian household from a fortunate family who did not really understand cooking as a job, they simply thought of it as a hobby. My family looks at me as I walk around in my dresses and high heels and laughs at the thought of me sweating it out in a kitchen. I was determined to prove them wrong.

I graduated from Villanova University in '11 with a Communication degree and then immediately started culinary school afterwards. I loved every single minute of Culinary School including all the cuts, burns and criticisms I got. After six intense months at the French Culinary Institute I finally graduated in February '12.

A lot of people hear what its like to be in Culinary School and they may think they know what its like to be in a kitchen, I definitely thought I did and boy was I wrong. This blog will give you a some insight into my time in professional kitchens, my recipes and my life as a foodie.