Joanne Weir food wine travel

Mexico City

noreply@blogger.com (Joanne Weir) — Sat, 16 Apr 2016 18:59:00 +0000

For some time, Mexico City has been on the top of my list of cities to visit. I’ve always been intrigued by the history, the markets, the art and of course, the food! After all, it’s considered by many to be the culinary capital of the world.

My dream came true last month when I traveled there with Copita's new Executive Chef, Daniel Tellez. Daniel was born in Mexico City and I was delighted to explore it with him. We were invited to represent Copita at a charity event for children with cancer and money raised would enable them to have life-saving treatments.

The event was a huge success and when were done serving ceviché to our guests, Daniel led me through markets filled with incredible ingredients and more varieties of chilis than I knew existed! Then we sampled dishes at some fabulous restaurants, including Quintonil, Nicos, El Bajio and La Utica. The food scene was incredible and I was honored to to meet several prominent Mexico City chefs. We walked around Polanco on Sunday and I thought I was on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.

In the market with Elsie Mendez, Daniel and his kids

I love the warmth of the people, the delicious food, and the vibe of this gorgeous cosmopolitan city.

This kitchen gypsy arrived home enthusiastic and excited planning my return. The next morning over coffee, I opened the New York Times travel section and what do you think was the numero uno travel destination in 2016? Mexico City!! Click here to read all about it.

I can't wait to get back there and would love to take you with me. Imagine us-- taco-stall hopping with the aroma of fresh tortillas wafting in the air, tasting a mescal or two, selecting unbelievably fresh ingredients at the local markets, cooking flavorful dishes together and taking an excursion to Xochimilco, the Venice of Mexico City. Of course we'll stay at a lovely boutique hotel in the heart of Polanco....what do you think?

Culinary Journey to Mexico City, anyone?

Cauliflower Makes The New York Times!

noreply@blogger.com (Joanne Weir) — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 16:22:00 +0000

I was sitting on the beach sipping a margarita in Isla Mujeres, Mexico and The New York Times called and asked for a recipe. It turns out that roasting whole vegetables, like cauliflower, is trending and Julia Moskin was writing a piece about it. She knew that I had a ridiculously easy, but totally delicious recipe for a whole roasted cauliflower in my new book, Kitchen Gypsy, and wanted to feature it.

It wasn’t easy to switch gears, put down my margarita and talk winter vegetables but what could I do? It was The New York Times!

Photo by Thomas J. Story, curtesy of Sunset Magazine

The inspiration for the recipe came from a dish I’d had years ago in France, but this version packs a lot more flavor than the mild, steamed concoction introduced to me then. I decided to go with a simple roasting method, basting it a bit with olive oil and then dousing it with an herb, garlic and anchovy sauce called an "anchoiade". It's so simple, yet incredibly delicious!

Long story short, the recipe for my Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Anchoiade, as well as a neat how-to video are online at The New York Times! Click here to get the recipe and read all about it!

Now, back to those margaritas...

Ranges, fridges and wall ovens, oh my!

noreply@blogger.com (Joanne Weir) — Wed, 30 Dec 2015 21:09:00 +0000

OK, so when you’re a chef and you’re asked to cook in the ultimate dream kitchen, what can you say, but “how soon can I come over?”!

That’s how it began when friends at the Sub-Zero/ Wolf showroom asked me to be the guest chef for their annual holiday party last week. Believe me, it’s easy to get inspired when you’re surrounded by the latest and greatest ranges, cooktops, fridges, appliances, and on and on! Although I wasn’t going to cook for over a hundred and fifty guests on my own, I felt like it might be possible in the setup.

Picture this: 2 complete functioning kitchen showrooms- one with a modern, sleek design and the other, so near and dear to my heart looked like it was plucked straight out of a Tuscan Villa (well, a very well-equipped, state-of-the-art Tuscan villa:).

photo by Marc Fiorito w/Gamma Nine Photography

photo by Marc Fiorito w/Gamma Nine Photography

Guests arrived and were greeted with one of my favorite festive cocktails, an Orange Aperol Sunset.