Events: BV Give & Give Back Chef Challenge at the Institute of Culinary Education in NYC

On Oct 16th, World Food Day, Beaulieu Vineyards in partnership with actor Chris Noth held the first-ever BV Give & Give Back Chef Challenge at the Institute of Culinary Education in NYC. These first-class chefs were stripped of their typical ingredients and challenged to create nutritious, delicious and affordable meals using only ingredients that are typically found in area food pantries at this time of year. The chefs were held to a 30 minute time limit and an ingredient list that contains only commonly donated food pantry ingredients such as rice, pasta, tomatoes, zucchini, beans and peanut butter.

Participating chefs included Executive Chef Orlando Sanchez of Butcher Bar, Executive Chef Luke Venner of BLT Fish Shack, Corporate Chef Jose Luis Flores of Richard Sandoval Restaurants, and Executive Chef Pecko Zantilaveevan of The Four Seasons.

After half an hour of intense competition, Chef Luke Venner from BLT Fish Shack’s recipe of Warm Potato & Kale Salad with Green Goddess and Poached Eggs was named the winner by judges Chris Noth, Gary Oppenheimer, Executive Director and Founder of AmpleHarvest.org, Cindy Avila, PR Director and Sabrina Sexton, Lead Chef Instructor at ICE.  A $10,000 donation was given to food-charity Grow NYC in Luke’s name on behalf of BV. 

As part of its continued commitment to hunger relief this year, BV has expanded its Give & Give Back program to work with fresh food donation organizations like AmpleHarvest.org and City Harvest who helped provide the ingredient list for last night’s event. 

And don’t forget, anyone hoping to get involved in the cause, making a difference has never been easier. BV has teamed up with AmpleHarvest.org to work together to help feed more families across the U.S.  From now until the end of the year, you can text “Give” to 79008 and BV will donate $1 up to $50,000* to Ampleharvest.org to aid in hunger relief! See full recipes here at the bottom of my post.

 

Chef Pecko Zantilaveevan of The Four Seasons

Chris Noth (Actor) & Gary Oppenheimer (Executive Director & Founder of AmpleHarvest.org)

Executive Chef Luke Venner of BLT Fish Shack

Chef Jose Luis Flores of Richard Sandoval Restaurants

Warm Potato & Kale Salad with Green Goddess and Poached Eggs

Executive Chef Luke Venner, BLT Fish Shack

Serves 6

Salad Ingredients

·         8 potatoes

·         2 heads kale, cleaned and chopped

·         6 eggs, poached

·         ¼ cup butter

·         Salt

Salad Preparation

1. Lightly salt water and bring to a boil.

2. Peel and cut potatoes into ½ inch dices.

3. Place potatoes in boiling water; simmer just until tender. Drain and reserve for assembly.

Puree Ingredients

·         6 bunches basil

·         1 bag spinach

·         1 bag frozen peas

·         1 piece horseradish

·         2 cup olive oil

·         2 tsp. salt

Puree Preparation

1.  Blanche spinach and basil in salted water, shock in ice water.

2.  Emulsify all ingredients in blender until smooth.

Assembly

1.  Gently mix warm potatoes and kale in the green goddess puree. Add butter, and adjust seasoning if necessary.

2.  Top with poached eggs.

Maple Pancake Chicken Salad Melt

Executive Chef Orlando Sanchez, Butcher Bar

Ingredients

·         1 batch of chicken salad (recipe follows)

·         1 batch pancake mix (recipe follows)

·         2 tbsp. butter

·         5 slices of Swiss cheese

Chicken Salad Ingredients

·         4 – 5 oz. cans of lump chicken from a can

·         1 small red bell pepper

·         1 tsp. salt

·         ½ tsp.  pepper

Chicken Salad Preparation

1.       Open canned chicken and drain off and discard any liquid.

2.       Finely dice the bell pepper.

3.       In a mixing bowl mix together the chicken, red pepper, salt, pepper and mayo.

4.       Serve room temperature or chilled.

Maple Pancakes Ingredients

·         1 box Pancake mix

·         1 cup milk

·         2 eggs

·         ¾ cup Maple syrup

Maple Pancakes Preparation

1.       Measure out 2 cups of Pancake mix.

2.       Prepare as directed by instructions on box by mixing flour, milk and egg. Stir in the syrup.

3.       Using a ¼ cup, spoon out pancakes on to a medium head griddle.

4.       Flip pancake once bubbles begin to form on top.

Assembly

1.       Use one disc of pancake as the base or bottom of the sandwich, spread butter on the side that will be facing up.

2.       Portion out ½ cup of the chicken salad and place on the bottom bun.

3.       Add a slice of Swiss cheese on top of the salad.

4.       If available, use a broiler to melt the cheese or can be melted in a 350 degree oven.

5.       Butter another pancake disc and place the buttered side down to act as a top bun.

Tuna Croquettes with Pepper Cream Sauce & Spinach Salad

Corporate Chef Jose Luis Flores, Richard Sandoval Restaurants

Ingredients

·         1 can of tuna

·         1 medium potato, cooked

·         2 tsp. butter

·         1 tsp. flour

·         ¼ cup milk

·         Salt & pepper to taste

Ingredients to Coat Croquettes

·         Egg wash with 2 eggs

·         1 cup flour

·         2 cups coarse cereal

Preparation

1.       In a medium saucepan over medium heat place the butter and potato. Using a wooden spoon, smash the potato and then add the tuna. Add salt and pepper and fold ingredients in.

2.       Combine the flour and ¼ cup of milk into the tuna mix while stirring, cook for 3 minutes and transfer the mixture to a clean container and place in the refrigerator to chill, until ready to make the croquettes.

3.       To form the croquettes, place the egg wash, flour and corn flakes in individual containers.

4.       Remove the tuna mix from the refrigerator and shape the croquettes into desired shape (about 1 oz. each). Then roll in the flour followed by the egg wash and coat each croquettes in corn flakes, set-aside until ready to be fried.

Pepper Cream Sauce Ingredients

·         2 medium peppers, diced medium

·         ¼ cup olive oil

·         2 cups milk

·         2 tsp. butter

·         Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1.       In a small size sauté pan over medium heat, pour the oil into the pan.

2.       When the oil is hot, add the peppers and cook for 8 minutes, add milk and let it reduce. Cook for 5 minutes.

Baked Apple Chicken Cake

Executive Chef Pecko Zantilaveevan, The Four Seasons Restaurant

Serves 5

Ingredients

·         2 tsp.  olive oil

·         1 Granny Smith apple, diced and peeled

·         1 red pepper, diced

·         2 cans chicken breast, unsalted

·         ½ cup mayonnaise

·         1 egg yolk

·         1 tsp. ranch dressing

·         2 tsp. basil, chopped

·         1 tsp. flour

·         1 cup cereal, crushed into crumbs

Pea Pancake Ingredients 

·         1 cup pancake mix

·         1 egg

·         2 tsp. clarified butter

·         ½ tsp. butter

·         ½ cup pea purée (recipe follows)

·         ½ cup milk

·         ½ tsp. oil

·         Salt, to taste

Pea Pancake Preparation

1.       In a medium sized mixing bowl, create a batter by combining pancake mix, egg, 2 tsp.

butter, pea purée, milk and salt.

2.       Preheat a large skillet over medium heat for 2-3 minutes.  To the pan, add ½ tsp. of butter

and ½ tsp. of oil. When the butter melts, rotate until it’s evenly distributed around the pan.

3.   Spoon 1 tsp. of batter for each of the five pancakes. Cook for 2-3 minutes, flip and cook for one  minute more. Keep warm.

Apple Tomato Basil Salsa Ingredients

·         Remaining apple-pepper mixture from chicken cake                      

·         ¼ cup cherry tomatoes, halved

·         1 ½ - 2 cups basil, chopped

·         ½ cup Italian salad dressing

·         ¼ cup olive oil

·         Salt and pepper, to taste

Apple Tomato Basil Salsa Preparation

1.       In a medium sized bowl, combine all ingredients, stirring well. Set aside.

Oven-Crisp Eggplant Ingredients

·         ½ cup flour

·         ½ cup cereal crumbs

·         1 egg

·         Oil for baking sheet

·         1 eggplant, trimmed and cut in half width wise

·         Salt, to taste

Oven-Crisp Eggplant Preparation 

1.       Spread flour across a plate and set aside. Spread cereal crumbs across another plate and set aside. In a bowl, using a fork, mix egg until yolk is broken and quickly combined. Oil a baking pan.

2.       Using an apple corer, carve eggplant into five cylindrical pieces. Salt each.

3.       On a flat surface, place the flour dish, the egg bowl and the cereal crumb plate in a line. Roll each piece of eggplant in the flour. Shake off any excess, dip in egg, again shaking off excess and then roll in the cereal crumbs, shaking one more time. Transfer eggplant to baking pan.

4.       Bake, turning once, until browned, crispy and tender to the bite, approximately 6 minutes.

 

Roasted Cauliflower Ingredients

·         ¼ head cauliflower, cut into florets

·         ¼ cup olive oil

·         Salt and pepper, to taste

Roasted Cauliflower Preparation

1. Place florets on a sheet pan and drizzled with enough olive oil to cover. Salt and pepper to taste.  Toast until the top is lightly browned.

Pea Puree Ingredients

·         1 qt. hot water

·         1 tsp. salt

·         1 cup peas

·         Salt and pepper, to taste

Pea Puree Preparation

1.       In a sauce pan, bring salted water to a boil. Add peas and reduce heat. Simmer gently for five minutes, stirring occasionally.

2.       Transfer mixture to a food processor and purée until almost smooth. Season to taste.

Assembly

1.       Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

2.       Heat a skillet over medium heat with enough olive oil to cover the pan, approximately 1-2 tablespoons.

3.       Add apple and peppers and sauté until tender, but still slightly crispy.

4.       Meanwhile, in a medium sized bowl, add chicken breast, mayonnaise, egg yolk, ranch dressing, basil and flour.  When apple-pepper mixture is done, add half to this bowl, reserving the rest for later use.

5.       Mix well, salt to taste and divide into five equal portions. Shape each into a patty.

6.       Spread cereal crumbs evenly across a plate. Turn each cake in the cereal crumbs to coat all sides, pressing gently to make crumbs adhere.

7.       Bake each cake on a buttered pan for 8-9 minutes and golden brown.

8.       At the center of each plate, place one pancake. Top with a baked apple-chicken cake and a spoonful of salsa. Garnish each plate eggplant and cauliflower. Drizzle with Italian dressing and serve at once.

*All recipe cooking times are 30 minutes