Tag Archives: Viking Cooking School

The Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival Countdown Continues…Only 8 More Days!

20 Jul

That’s right – only one week from tomorrow, members of culinary royalty and tons of hungry fans will descend upon Atlantic City for a celebration of food and wine featuring tasting events, wine seminars, cooking classes and demonstrations, and culinary-themed parties, all hosted by renowned chefs, culinary personalities and wine and spirits producers.

Having trouble deciding which events to attend?  Here are some of my recommendations:

Food Network Kickoff Party

Are you a fan of Food Network Star?  The Festival kicks off in style at The Pool at Harrahs during this fabulous event featuring finalists from the show.  And you never know what other culinary celebs will be there…that’s half the fun of the Festival!  And the venue is just stunning – The Pool at Harrahs is a luxurious indoor pool during the day, and becomes one of the hottest clubs in Atlantic City at night.  It’s the perfect spot to kick off four days of food, wine and celebrity!

The Pool at Harrahs (Photo courtesy Caesars Entertainment)

 
Divya Gugnani, author of Sexy Women Eat, is hosting this “girls night out” cocktail party at the exclusive Foundation Room at Showboat Atlantic City.  All of Divya’s cocktails, including Drinkable Dessert, Sexy Strawberry Smash and Luscious Lemonade, are easy to make and have fewer than 150 calories.  These light-but-fabulous cocktails will be served with light bites from Divya Gugnani and the Foundation Room chefs, and all guests will receive a copy of Divya’s book!

(Photo courtesy Caesars Entertainment)

 
I recently had the chance to speak to Divya, and I asked her about hosting a “figure-friendly” event in the middle of such decadence – she explained that she is hoping to teach guests something they can take home and use in their everyday life, and not just enjoy as a treat for the weekend.  Divya is such a positive person – she has an inspiring energy that is completely contagious!  I am so looking forward to meeting her in person!
 
 
This event was one of my absolute favorites last year!  Combine mouthwatering BBQ and southern specialties from Pat and Gina Neely with 15 craft brews, add a soundtrack from Blues masters Eric Gales, Gary Clark and Bobby Bryan, and put it all in the House of Blues at Showboat Atlantic City – definitely a recipe for an ah-MA-zing event! 

(Photo courtesy Caesars Entertainment)

 
 
If you haven’t been to the Viking Cooking School at Harrah’s yet, this is the perfect reason to check it out!  Cooking Channel stars Kelsey Nixon, Ben Sargent and Roger Mooking, and Harrah’s Resort’s own Luke Palladino are conducting cooking classes in this “ultimate kitchen” setting.  I have been to several classes at Viking Cooking School, and highly recommend you take the time to check out one of these!
 
 
This fabulous cocktail party at the Caesars Rooftop Pool was another one of my favorites last year!  Sunny Anderson hosts this event featuring unique sliders – those mini-burgers we all know and love - and Sunny’s outrageously delicious cocktails!  But trust me – these sliders are not your usual beef burgers – last year’s sliders featured lamb, chicken and even oysters!

(Photo courtesy Caesars Entertainment)

 
 
Sunny Anderson is a busy girl this year – she is also hosting Sweet & Stylish, a combination of decadent desserts, fabulous cocktails and designer fashion!  Some of your favorite Food Network stars and other featured chefs will be serving up their dessert creations at this event – in fact, this week’s header on Random Cravings is a photograph of some of the fabulous creations we sampled last year – here’s a look at the full photo:
 
I asked Sunny if she  had to choose…would it be food or fashion?  Her response? Definitely food, of course!  I have to agree – I would always choose food…but fashion is kind of like the setting that makes the food even better!  And at Sweet & Stylish, you won’t have to choose – you can enjoy the decadent desserts and over-the-top cocktails while watching models strut the catwalk.
 
 
Ok – full disclosure – I am recommending these events from their descriptions only, since I haven’t been to them yet.  The Chef Party is actually a new event, but it sounds amazing!  Described as a chance to rub shoulders with your favorite Food Network and Cooking Channel personalities in the exclusive Foundation Room, this cocktail party sounds like the ultimate late-night event!
 
The Gospel Brunch at the House of Blues, hosted by Pat and Gina Neely, is billed as a taste of traditional Southern hospitality with an inspiring gospel performance.  People raved about this event last year, and I am planning to check it out this year – I can’t resist the thought of biscuits and gravy and southern fried chicken!
 
Wow!  I know that’s a lot of information…and these are only my recommendations!  For the full listing of events during the Festival, check out the Festival website.  And if you’re heading to the Festival, let me know…what events are you attending this year?

Dos Caminos is opening at Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City!

20 May

Dos Caminos is just about my favorite Mexican restaurant in all of New York City…and it’s about to be my favorite Mexican restaurant in Atlantic City!

To celebrate the May 25, 2011 opening of Dos Caminos at Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City, Viking Cooking School at Harrah’s Resort held a preview party to give guests a little taste of the amazing things to come.  Scott Linquist, the National Corporate Executive Chef for Dos Caminos, and Ivy Stark, Dos Caminos’ New York Executive Chef, prepared a delicious Mexican fiesta, complete with prickly pear margaritas, some of the best guacamole I have ever had, and completely incredible ceviche!

Chef Stark and Chef Linquist demonstrate how to open an avocado
Ingredients for the lobster ceviche!
The prickly pear margaritas were fantastic!

We were welcomed to Viking Cooking School with an array of chips and salsas, including an amazing roasted tomato-chipotle salsa, along with Dos Caminos’ famous guacamole!  (By the way…I loved the roasted tomato-chipotle salsa so much, I just had to give you the recipe – keep reading to the bottom to check it out!)

 

Dos Caminos’ guacamole is always prepared fresh tableside – the ingredients are mashed to a perfect chunky-but-creamy texture, and served with warm, hand-cut tortilla chips. 

Chef Stark and Chef Linquist prepared the most amazing little empanadas – the dough was made completely from roasted, mashed plantains!  The plantain dough was then wrapped around a black bean filling, and fried to perfection.  These sweet little treats were so unique, and so completely delicious!

The lobster ceviche was one of my favorite dishes – instead of simply marinating the lobster meat in citrus juices, this version also adds coconut milk, as well as chiles and ginger.  The creamy, decadent ceviche was also garnished with mango pico de gallo and served with crispy fried green plantain chips.  Even though the coconut milk made the ceviche silky and creamy, it was still light and fresh from the citrus juices, and the chiles (including habanero) added a nice spicy kick!

The Dos Caminos chefs also prepared grilled mahi-mahi tacos with pineapple-habanero salsa.  Talk about summer on a plate!  In addition to the sweet-spicy pineapple-habanero salsa, the perfectly-cooked fish was also topped with a citrus-cucumber relish and fresh lime juice.  All I needed to complement these tacos was a warm, sunny poolside deck and another margarita!

Our fiesta came to a sweet end with churros served with cafe de olla cream.  These were not your typical theme-park churros.  Dos Caminos’ churros were light, flaky, sweet little pastries, with a touch of orange zest to push them over the edge to fabulous!  The cafe de olla cream was based on the Mexican drink made with coffee, piloncillo (a Mexican unrefined brown sugar) and cinnamon.  The cream served with our churros also included orange zest and cloves.  Although churros are sometimes considered a Mexican staple, this dessert was unique and absolutely delicious!

Now…as promised – not only do I have the recipe for the roasted tomato-chipotle salsa for you, but I am also giving you the recipe for my favorite drink of the night – calle fresca!  First, the salsa -

Roasted Tomato-Chipotle Salsa

(Yield: about 1 quart )

  • 10 medium tomatoes
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 1 medium white onion, sliced
  • 2 to 4 canned chipotles en adobo
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • Salt

 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. On a sheet pan, roast the tomatoes, garlic, and onion until tender and lightly browned, about 15 minutes, transfer them along with the chiles and vinegar to the jar of an electric blender and purée until smooth. Pour the mixture into a medium-size saucepan and gently simmer for about 20 minutes; season to taste with salt and reserve.

The calle fresca was the freshest, most amazing margarita I have ever had!  Chef Stark and Chef Linquist explained that it is sold by street vendors in Mexico – hence, the literal translation, “fresh street.”  If the fish tacos were summer on a plate, the calle fresca was summer in a glass!

Calle Fresca       

  • 1 1/2  oz Cazadores Blanco tequila
  • 1 ounce triple lime sour
  • 4 peeled cucumber slices
  • 1 ounce mango puree   

 Muddle cucumber slices well.  Add other ingredients.

Shake 20X and pour into rocks glass rimmed one-third to halfway around with ancho salt.  Do not strain.  Add extra ice if necessary.

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