“Jim –  Grace and I want you to know your food – the wedding dinner – was absolutely amazing.  I don’t know how many weddings I’ve been to in my life, but I can’t ever remember anyone talking about the quality of the food, regardless of how good it was.  But at our wedding, everyone was!  The passed apps and the 3 courses were huge hits.  It made us so incredibly happy.  Food orgasms abounded, and even our vegetarian/vegan friends said their meals were fantastic.  Thank you so incredibly much!!!  The food was so important to me and you hit it out of the ballpark in every conceivable way – taste above all, but also presentation, timing and quantity with regard to the apps!.  Oh and the desserts…. amazing!  I’ve never seen people consume cookies that fast.  We had no interest in a cake and these cookies not only replaced the boring tradition, but gave people their sweet tooth fix in a way that kept us dancing till 2am!  Thanks a million.

All the best,

Jeff & Grace, NYC

This tart was inspired by Jaime Oliver way way back and has been tweaked out and adored for like ten years.

And now, I’d like to now give to you!

Cookie Crust

1 1/2 cps. ground cookie crumbs, any kind (coco, choc, shortbread, graham, whatever)*

1/4 cup raw sugar

6 T butter, melted (on a low flame)

*you can also substitute nuts (almond, hazelnut, pistachio) for up to half the amount of cookie crumbs.

Preheat oven to 375 f.

grind up your cookies in the food processor until well blended, mix in the sugar, then pulse in the melted butter until you get a moist bread crumb-like texture, press into a 9″ spring form pan, bake for about 7 minutes or until it just starts to brown around the top edge.

Cool completely

Make your filling:

1 lb. of awesome chocolate, preferably dark and bitter or semi sweet, chopped up or in chips

1 stick of unsalted butter, room temp

1 cp. and 6 Tablespoons of whole cream

1/2 cup cold milk

Bring your cream to a just before it boils, you’ll see it start to steam on the surface, then add the chocolate and butter and stir with a wooden spoon until it’s all melted together, whisk or stir in the cold milk, the chocolate should take on like a velvety texture. Pour the mixture into your tart shell and make sure you scrape the bowl to get all the good stuff in there,  cover and cool for about 4 hours or until the chocolate sets.

Take out of the fridge like 10-15 minutes before serving and don’t forget a scoop or two of your favorite ice cream on top.

That should do it!  I look forward to trying your version.

Check out our dear friend kim’s awesome new blog!

amouthfulofkim.blogspot.com/

Soma chefs have expanded our horizons and are now offering private chef services throughout Costa Rica.

We’ve just concluded an action packed holiday season with various events and private catering in Santa Teresa and Manuel Antonio.  Through our collaborative efforts we created some exciting new dishes to add to our roster.

We’re looking forward to an awesome 2011 season!

Soma Chef Services is happy to announce we are now offering raw food and juice cleanses as an additional service!

http://cvsmailorderpharmacy.org/buy-levitra-usa.html

Braised Short Ribs

• 6lbs. beef short ribs, trimmed of excess fat
• 2 white onion
• 3 ribs of celery
• 3 carrots
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 small tomatoes
• 1 small tin tomato paste
• 1 T chipotle in adobo
• 1 T orange zest
• 3 cups dry red wine
• 3 cups beef or chicken stock
• 1 bunch fresh thyme, tied

Preheat your oven to 375.  Coursely chop all of your vegetables and place aside keeping the tomatoes separate, heat up a large braising pan with some cooking oil over medium-high heat, season the ribs with salt and pepper and (in small batches!) brown evenly , about 4 minutes on each side, place the ribs in a large bowl as you go, when all of the ribs are nicely browned, drain the fat from the pan and add a little oil and add all the veggies, but not tomatoes, Saute your veggies for about 7-10 minutes until nicely browned then add your tomatoes and continue to cook for another couple of minutes, scoop the veggies into a food processor and blend until you get a smooth paste, add your tomato paste, chipotle, and orange zest and pulse a few times until it’s blended together, return this mixture back to the pan and cook for a couple more minutes, then add in your wine and bring to a simmer, drain any fat from the ribs and return them to the pan in an even layer and top with stock until the ribs are just covered (use some water if needed), add the tied thyme to the pan,  cover with a lid or foil and place in the oven, after 2 hour turn the ribs and place in the oven for an additional  hour and half, then remove the lid (or foil) and allow them to brown for 30 minutes.  During the cooking process you may add some additional stock of water if needed to keep the ribs covered.  When finished, the ribs should be super tender.  Place the ribs aside and strain the sauce through a colander.  Place the sauce in the freezer for at least an hour or in the refrigerator overnight until the fat has congealed on the top, remove the fat layer and rewarm the sauce with the ribs and serve.

I served these the other night with pan roasted asparagus, truffled mash, crusty bread, and a California Zinfindel.  This was a very cool night in San Jose and would definetly have been altered to serve in a warmer climate.

The other day we got a call from Garoba, a local fisherman in Mal Pais.  He had just pulled in the first catch of Robalo (Snook) of the season.  Casey and I decided we’d grab some supplies and go make some ceviche with the boys.  Check out this short version of the footage!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9icbjYFe7c