Chef Jonna Talbott Quinoa Tabbouleh Recipe

I attended my second Chef demo at Macy's over the weekend and it is easily one of my favorite things to do.  You learn excellent cooking tips from great chefs and you get to sample the recipes!  It's all for a great cause too - Macy's asks for a $5 donation that benefits Second Harvest Food Bank Orange County!

Chef Jonna Talbott was the guest chef for March and is from the Macy's School of Cooking - she gave us tips on how to hold a knife, I learned that there is a tomato knife (serrated edge) and her favorite knife is a Santouku knife.   I have actually been looking into buying new knives so this information was valuable!  She showed us how to chop an onion, encouraged us to buy a chunk of Parmesan cheese instead of bottled cheese (it will last longer, save you money and it tastes much better!) and the difference between English cucumbers and regular cucumbers.

On the demonstration menu:  Shrimp & Asparagus Risotto and Quinoa Tabbouleh!

My first time trying risotto!

You can buy quinoa pre-rinsed, it should say it right on the package!

Strainers and colanders don't work well since quinoa is teeny tiny - you can use a container with a lid to rinse and strain!

I thought finding an English Cucumber would be hard but they were at my local Fresh & Easy!  English Cucumbers are thinner and longer.  Has less seeds.

I love tabbouleh!  My coworker used to bring it to potlucks at work and I soon found myself looking for it everywhere.  No one made it like his mom and I never attempted to make it but with this modern, easy recipe - I'm going to try it out!  (I already bought all the ingredients!)


Quinoa Tabbouleh Ingredients - Courtesy of Chef Jonna Talbott
1 cup rinsed Quinoa
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
3-4 tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice
2 Garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Freshly ground Black Pepper
1 large English Hothouse Cucumber, cut into 1/4" pieces
1 pint Cherry Tomatoes, quartered
2/3 cup Flat Leaf Parsley, chopped
1/2 cup Fresh Mint, chopped
2 Scallions, thinly sliced
3/4 cup Feta cheese, crumbled

Directions
Bring quinoa, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 1/4 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat.  Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until quinoa is tender, about 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and let stand, covered for 5 minutes.  Fluff with a fork.

Whisk lemon juice and garlic in a small bowl.  Gradually whisk in olive oil.  Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper.

Spread out quinoa on a large rimmed baking sheet; let cool.  Transfer to a large bowl; mix in 1/4 cup dressing.

Add cucumber, tomatoes, herbs, scallions and feta to bowl with quinoa; toss to coat.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Drizzle remaining dressing over.

Chef Jonna Talbott notes:  You can make quinoa and dressing a day ahead and store separately.  Add grilled chicken or shrimp to make a main dish salad.

The next chef demo is Saturday, April 27th - 2pm with Executive Chef Francisco Diaz from Signature Kitchen and Wolfgang Puck Bistro at Macy’s South Coast Plaza Home Store, Demonstration Kitchen Level One, 3333 Bear Street, Costa Mesa, CA 92646

Disclosure: I am a member of the Everywhere Society and Everywhere provided me with compensation for this post.  However, all thoughts and opinions expressed herein are my own.   

Chef Jonna Talbott at Macy's South Coast Plaza

Chef Jonna Talbott will be doing a chef demo at Macy's South Coast Plaza tomorrow - Saturday, March 30th at 2pm!  I am so excited to see her make Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto because I have never tried risotto!  Crazy, I know!  She's also cooking up Quinoa Tabbouleh.  I love me some tabbouleh and I am just now getting into quinoa so that will be interesting!  

Come on down - learn something new and make a $5 donation to benefit Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County!   

Macy’s South Coast Plaza Home Store, 3333 Bear Street, Costa Mesa, CA 92646

Live Cooking Demos Rock! #CulinaryCouncil

When the opportunity came up to attend a live cooking demo with none other than Chef Ming Tsai, I jumped all over it.  I love watching Food Network and always wondered what it would be like to see a show "live".  I enjoyed watching Chef Ming Tsai on East Meets West years ago and more recently on Top Chef and The Next Iron Chef.

Honestly, I didn't know what to expect and I'm fine with that because when you have no expectations, everything is better.  

Even though I was sitting in the front row, I had a monitor right in front of me!

Chef Ming Tsai is not only talented but funny.  See him if you get a chance!

A packed house!  It was a great, diverse crowd!

A short lesson in wine.

Tamari is gluten-free soy sauce!

The South Coast Plaza Macy's Culinary Council Team, Chef Ming Tsai and one of his Blue Ginger chefs

This was my favorite dish.  The flavors and textures were incredible.  I don't think I've had a salad like this in my life.  Life changing!

This looked very easy to make.  I love the texture of quinoa and all of it's health benefits, I might attempt to make this one day!

Chef Ming Tsai said when peeling whole ginger, use a spoon.  Also, when buying canned tomatoes, get whole tomatoes because diced tomatoes are the leftovers of tomatoes.

Chef Ming Tsai used a pressure cooker to make the braised pork.  He seared it first and then pressure cooked it for about an hour.  My mom used to always use a pressure cooker when making stew, I'm tempted to buy a pressure cooker now.

Chef Ming Tsai also recommended soaking brown rice in water for an hour and adding it with white rice to a rice cooker.  I thought it was genius because I'm always struggling with brown rice!

All the food was yummy and I'm tempted to buy his recent book, "Simply Ming" but he mentioned that there are free recipes available on his site (if you are frugal like me - I rarely buy cookbooks)

Some other nuggets of good information from Chef Ming Tsai:

• Don't substitute coconut milk for soy milk.  Soy milk is for lattes
• Dull knives are more dangerous than sharp knives 
• Test your knife by dropping a whole onion on it - if it cuts, it's good
• Use cookbooks as a foundation for information, tweak recipes for you
• Get rid of kids food, what is that

Chef Ming Tsai is entertaining.  Buy his cookbooks, check out his site, eat at his new restaurant, "Blue Dragon" in Boston in 2013, check out a demo...  Thank you Macy's Culinary Council!


Disclosure: I am a member of the Everywhere Society and Everywhere provided me with compensation for this post about Macy's Culinary Council.  However, all thoughts and opinions expressed herein are my own.  

Meet Macy's Culinary Council Chef Ming Tsai in Costa Mesa!

I am so excited for this event, I grew up watching Chef Ming Tsai!  Come join me, I really hope to meet some of you there!

Meet celebrity chef and award-winning television personality -- Macy's Culinary Council Chef Ming Tsai.  Ming will demonstrate some favorite recipes from his latest cookbook, Simply Ming In Your Kitchen:  80 Recipes to Watch, Learn, Cook & Enjoy.  Following the demonstration, Ming will greet guests and sign copies of the cookbook.

Saturday, October 20th, 2pm

Macy's South Coast Plaza

Home Demonstration Kitchen, Level 1

3333 Bear St., Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Reservations are not required.  Seating begins at 1:30pm.  First-come, first-served basis.  Admission for each class is a $5 donation to benefit the Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County.

Disclosure: I am a member of the Everywhere Society and Everywhere provided me with compensation for this post about Macy's Culinary Council.  However, all thoughts and opinions expressed herein are my own.