Karla's Kreations Personal Chef & Catering Service

You're invited to celebrity chef dinner

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February 12, 2010 11:28 PM

BY KARLA BILLDT, SPECIAL TO YUMA SUN

Let us entertain you!

I am proud to say I am a member of Soroptimist International of Yuma. Soroptimist in Latin means "best for women." It is a worldwide volunteer service organization for business and professional women who work to improve the lives of women and girls in local communities and throughout the world.

Three years ago this wise group of women came up with an new idea: To invite the community of Yuma to an elegant dinner with entertainment that would be centered on the food and festivities by a professional chef.

During the first dinner, the Singing Chef sang while demonstrating his menu. The dinner was a great success and from the proceeds Soroptimist was able to generously assist Safe House Domestic Violence Shelter and Soroptimist local scholarships and programs.

On Feb. 27 at 6 p.m., the women of Soroptimist invite you to join them in the elegant, fun and delicious Third Celebrity Chef Dinner. Our guest this year will once again be Chef Denise Vivaldo. Denise is a personal friend of mine that I met at a chef conference in Chicago. Chef Vivaldo was a keynote speaker and her ability to have her audience in stitches while teaching and demonstrating makes her a perfect choice for our entertainment at the Celebrity Chef Dinner. A guest last year stated “Denise has to be the Joan Rivers of the kitchen.”

Denise will be demonstrating how to prepare parts of the menu, which is from her newest book "Entertaining Encyclopedia," while Chef James of the conference center does the actual cooking. Showing us how our dinner is being prepared, Chef Denise will tell us her wonderful, and sometimes unbelievable, experiences cheffing for the many stars of Hollywood.

Denise trained in Paris and San Francisco and has catered hundreds of events, such as the Academy Awards Governor's Ball. She has cooked for many VIP guests, including President Bush, Prince Charles, Dean Martin, Bette Midler and Gov. and Mrs. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

I promise you that her stories will keep you laughing long after the dinner is over.

OK, now let me tell you about the evening.

A guest that has attended the last two events said, "It’s the classiest and most entertaining dinner in Yuma and we wouldn’t miss it."

As I said, the party starts at 6 p.m. There will be a champagne pour along with appetizers for you to enjoy while you browse the auction tables. Soroptimists do know how to entertain; make sure to let your waiter know if you prefer red or white wine, as your table will be given two bottles to enjoy during dinner.

Dinner and the entertainment begin at 7 p.m. The appetizers are chicken satay, Maryland style crab cakes, and an international cheese and cracker display. Our salad will be a spinach, apple and pancetta salad with Dijon mustard, sherry vinaigrette.

Dinner is a grilled Cornish game hen with lemon and yogurt, golden raisin and almond cornbread stuffing, grilled vegetable medley and a bread pudding with mango crème fraiche. Vegetarian options can be made available, but need to be requested at the time of ticket purchase.

Now speaking of tickets, the cost is $75. Tables of eight are $600. Tickets can be purchased at Sergio's House of Carpet, 1245 S. 4th Ave., and Papa-San Rice Bowl, 2770 S. 4th Ave., or call Jule at 343-9505 or 941-0464.

I don’t want to spoil the dinner and give you the recipes ahead of time. Denise will be there early and stay late to sign her "Entertaining Encyclopedia" or her "Do It For Less Parties” books.

For this week I want to give you a little idea of the wonderful recipes in Denise’s award-winning wedding planning book, "Do It For Less: Weddings." These come from her Island Spice themed wedding.

Mango, Pineapple and Kiwi Salad

Six servings

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 tablespoon honey

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

2 mangos peeled, pitted and diced

1/2 pineapple peeled, cored, quartered and sliced

3 kiwis peeled, halved and sliced

3/4 cup seedless red grapes halved

3 green onions thinly sliced diagonally

1/2 tablespoon black sesame seeds

Hearts of romaine leaves separated

Place the lime juice, oil and honey in a food processor. Blend until mixture is creamy and emulsified. Add salt and pepper to taste. This can be made up to 2 days ahead and placed in an airtight, non-reactive container and refrigerated. Shake well before using.

Place the mango, pineapple, kiwi, grapes and green onions in a large bowl. Add sesame seeds and vinaigrette, tossing well to coat. Cover a serving platter with the romaine leaves. Spoon the salad over the leaves.

Chicken Trinidad with Rum Sauce

6 servings

Peanut oil for frying, about 8 ounces

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2–3 large eggs lightly beaten

1- 3/4 cups unsweetened shredded coconut

6 (6-ounce) boneless skinless chicken breasts

4 ounces orange-passion fruit juice concentrate at room temp

2 ounces dark rum

1 stick unsalted butter cut into pieces at room temp

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon chives finely chopped

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1/3 cup sliced almonds for garnish, toasted

6 sprigs mint for garnish

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat 4 inches of oil in heavy- bottomed pot at lease 8 inches deep until the surface of the oil just starts to ripple, about 350 degrees. You can test a pinch of coconut in the oil; if it starts to sizzle immediately, the oil’s ready.

Whisk together flour, salt, pepper, cayenne, ginger and cinnamon. In an assembly line, line up the dishes of the flour mixture, then the beaten eggs, and last the coconut. Dredge the chicken in flour mixture, shaking to remove excess, then dip in beaten eggs. Roll the breasts in the shredded coconut to cover all sides.

Using a slotted spoon, carefully place the chicken breasts in the hot oil and fry until golden brown, 1-2 minutes. Remove the chicken breasts from the oil with a slotted spoon, and drain on paper towels. Make sure the oil comes back to 350 before adding another batch of chicken and replenish the oil as necessary.

After all the breasts are done, place on baking sheet in oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the juices run clear. Remove from oven and set aside.

Meanwhile, combine the juice concentrate and rum in a large saucepan, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and let oil for 8 minutes, or until the liquid has reduced by one quarter.

Remove the sauce from the heat and using an electric mixer on low, whisk in the butter 1/4 cup at a time until all the butter is incorporated and the sauce is smooth. Stir in the heavy cream and chives. Season with salt and pepper. Pour some of the sauce on serving platters and place the chicken on top. Place the rest of the sauce in bowls to be served alongside the chicken. Garnish with sliced almonds and mint sprigs.

Jasmine Rice with Golden Raisins

6 servings

1/2 cup golden raisins

3 ounces golden rum

2-1/4 cups water

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1-1/2 cups jasmine rice

2 ounces roasted and salted pistachios chopped for garnish

Place raisins and golden rum in a non-reactive bowl and let soak for 12-24 hours to plump the raisins and infuse them with flavor.

Bring water to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Add salt and rice, stir to combine. Cover pot and reduce the heat to low. Cook the rice for 15 minutes or until done. Drain the raisins and stir into the cooked rice, fluffing with a fork. Remove the rice to large serving bowls and garnish with pistachios. Serve hot.

Karla Billdt works as a personal chef and owns Karla's Kreations.