by Jinous Jahromi

Wedding and Event Specialist

The Haft-sin

Persian Fish with Herb Rice

(Sabzi Polo Ba Mahi)

Sabzi Polo (Herbed Rice)

• 4 cups water
• 2 cups basmati rice
• 1 cup roughly chopped fresh dill
• ½ cup packed sliced fresh garlic chives (At an Asian market, these might be called nira or Chinese leeks.)
• ½ cup packed chopped fresh cilantro
• ½ cup packed chopped parsley
• a dash of ground saffron powder (optional) for the top

1. In a 3-quart saucepan (or rice cooker), boil 4 cups of water. Add 2 cups of rice. Allow water to reach a simmer. Cover and reduce to medium low heat. Cook for 6-8 minutes until the water is gone and little holes appear in the surface of the rice.
2. Drain in colander and rinse with cold water.
3. Add the prepared herbs and gently toss together to combine. Pour mixed rice back in the same pot and put it back over medium low heat.
4. Cover the pot with a kitchen towel. (Be careful not to let the towel touch the heat and catch fire!) Let the wet rice cook in its own steam for 45 minutes to one hour, or until the steam rises and the tahdig (the skin on the bottom of the rice) is golden and crisp.

Mahi (Fish)

• 2-3 pounds of salmon
• kosher salt
• 1 Tbsp saffron powder
• juice of 1 lemon
• ¼ cup of water
• lemon pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Pat dry salmon, with or without skin, and sprinkle kosher salt on the front and back side.
2. Place on greased sheet pan. Cook for 15 minutes. Remove from oven.
3. In small bowl, mix together lemon juice, water, and saffron powder. Pour saffron mixture on salmon and sprinkle lemon pepper.
4. Return salmon to oven and cook for 15 more minutes or until salmon reaches 130° F. (It should be easy to pull the fish apart with a fork.)

When the Winter Olympics came to Utah in 2002, Culinary Crafts was asked to cater all the major events for the games, including several large galas for the International Olympic Committee, the Salt Lake Olympics Committee, and Sports Illustrated. We had done huge events before, but catering so many all at once would push our resources to the limit. It quickly became apparent that we wouldn’t be able to accept any more event requests until after the games.

Then, one morning in October, we got a call from the White House.

“We would like to book an event,” said the woman on the other end of the line.

Not realizing who she was speaking with, our receptionist explained the situation and apologized. “We can’t take bookings right now, but I’d be happy to refer you to another caterer.”

There was a pause, and then the caller said, “So you don’t want to work for the President?”

“The President of what?”

“The President of the United States.”

We took the job.

As it turned out, one of my favorite memories of the games came as we were preparing a meal for the president’s event. That Sunday, one of our chefs called me in a panic because he needed a bottle of Frangelico for a dessert he was making, and he didn’t know where he could find one on such notice with all the Utah liquor stores closed. I told him I thought we had a bottle on the shelf at our facility, and I’d bring it right away.

Twenty minutes later I was driven down I-80 at 140 miles per hour when I was pulled over by the Utah Highway Patrol.

“Do you know how fast you were going?” the officer asked.

“Yes, sir,” I said.

He peered in my window and saw the bottle of Frangelico lying on the floor. “Is that an open bottle of alcohol?” he asked.

“Yes, sir,” I admitted. (It was starting to look like I might be in some real trouble.)

“So, what’s the rush?” he asked.

There was nothing to do but tell the truth. “We’re hosting the President of the United States. They need this for dessert.”

Incredibly, he let me go.

It was lucky for me that President Bush was so popular in Utah.

Ingredients

• ¼ cup butter
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 ½ Tbsp brandy
• 1 ½ Tbsp Frangelico
• 2 eggs, separated
• ½ cup heavy cream
• ½ cup brown sugar (divided)

Directions

1. In a double boiler, melt butter, chocolate chips, brandy, and Frangelico.
2. In large mixing bowl, whip heavy cream and 1 oz brown sugar until it forms medium peaks. Set in the refrigerator.
3. Separate egg whites and yolks. In a large mixing bowl, whip egg whites and 1 oz brown sugar until it forms medium peaks. Set aside.
4. In a small bowl, with the reserved egg yolks, slowly pour about 1 Tbsp of chocolate mixture into the yolks while constantly stirring. Continue to slowly add about another 2 Tbsp of chocolate to the yolk mixture. Combine remaining chocolate and yolk mixture. Mix until combined.
5. Gently fold in egg whites.
6. Gently fold in whipped cream.
7. Serve chocolate mousse chilled and garnished with your favorite accoutrements. Berries and tuille cookies are my favorite!

Growing up, I loved to watch my mother cook. She came from a generation who believed that cooking was only for women, so she was a little annoyed to have her youngest son following her around the kitchen all the time, getting in the way. She would tell me to go play outside, but all I wanted to do was be in the kitchen with her, watching and learning.

Whenever Mom left the house, I took it as an opportunity to practice cooking. The dish I always tried was arroz con leche, a kind of rice pudding that we make in Venezuela with condensed milk. Unfortunately, I burned the pot EVERY TIME. When my mom came home and found another mess and another burned pot, she would run around the house looking for me. I was forbidden from cooking anymore, but that didn’t stop me. Even when she got frustrated and stopped buying condensed milk, I just figured out how to make condensed milk on my own.

It never occurred to me that cooking could be a career. After high school, I took a job as a dishwasher at Faustina Restaurant in Salt Lake City, but I figured I’d only be there briefly until I figured out what I wanted to do. Soon I became bored of the dishwasher routine and started watching what was going on in the kitchen. The head chef of the restaurant, Billy Sotelo, noticed my interest and asked if I wanted to start working the salad/appetizer station. After a week and a half of that, Chef Sotelo moved me up to the grill station where I finally got to dip my fingers into a whole new side of the kitchen.

Shortly after, the restaurant changed their menu. Chef Sotelo asked for input from all the employees, but he wanted us to make the recipes our own. I quickly thought of guasacaca, a Venezuelan version of guacamole. It’s amazing for empanadas, marinating chicken, fried mozzarella sticks, and hundreds of other uses. I experimented with the recipe until I had it mastered. The chef loved the sauce, but he didn’t love the name: Guasacaca sounds like…something you wouldn’t eat. He called it “Mosiah Sauce” and added it to the menu. It has been a hit with the customers ever since.

That was the first time I was truly able to make a recipe my own, and I’m still very proud of it. I am forever grateful that, at such a young age, I have been able to turn a passion into a career. Now that I’m a chef, I can do what I love and continue to create goals to become an even better chef every day. I know my mother never expected her son to spend his career in the kitchen, but at least now she doesn’t have to worry about me burning her pans.

Mosiah Sauce Guasacaca

Ingredients

• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 peeled garlic clove
• ½ red onion
• ½ red bell pepper
• ½ yellow bell pepper
• ½ jalapeno pepper (or use ½ Anaheim pepper for a milder taste)
• 1 avocado
• 1 cup cilantro
• 1 lime, juiced
• salt

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Puree until smooth. Adjust salt and lime juice to taste. Enjoy!

A few months ago, Culinary Crafts had the privilege of co-hosting an event with renowned chef Wolfgang Puck and his amazing crew. For our May recipe of the month, we’re going to share one of the appetizers we served at that party, our perfect pizza. When we do pizza for big events, we make it in big applewood fired ovens, but when we bake it in our own ovens at home, this is the recipe we use.

Dough Ingredients (makes enough for three 12-inch pizzas)

• ¼ oz yeast (one packet)
• ¼ oz sugar
• 2 ⅔ cups water
• ¼ oz salt
• 1 pound of flour (half all-purpose flour and half bread flour)
• ⅓ cup olive oil

Instructions

• 1. 1. In a large bowl, combine the water, yeast, and sugar. Let them sit while you measure out the other ingredients.
     2. Add the salt, flour, and olive oil to your bowl. Mix slowly for 3 minutes. (If you’re using a KitchenAid, use the speed setting of 4.) Adjust the dough’s consistency as needed by adding a little more water or flour. Then increase the speed and mix for another 4-5 minutes.
     3. Dust your hands lightly with flour before you handle the dough. Divide your dough into three even portions. (Or, if you prefer to make two larger pizzas, simply divide the dough in half.)
     4. Roll the dough portions into round balls and place each of them into an airtight container. You can use regular bowls if you cover them with plastic wrap, pressing it down over the dough. Eliminating air will keep the dough from drying out.
     5. Place the dough in your fridge overnight.
     
     6. Approximately 15 minutes before you’re ready to work your dough, remove it from the fridge. Turn on your oven to 500 degrees or as high as it will go. Place a pizza stone or metal baking sheet into the oven to pre-heat. Use more than one stone/sheet if you’ll need more surface area to hold your pizzas.
     7. As your oven is heating, dust your hands with seminola, cornmeal, or regular flour. Dust a flat counter surface where you’ll work your dough. Also give each of your dough balls a light dusting.
     8. Work the dough balls using the technique shown in the first three minutes of this video.

     Pro Tip: When our chefs are making pizza at an event, they don’t always have a convenient surface to work on, so they stretch the dough in the air. The technique is similar except that you let the dough hang from your thumbs as you turn it, using gravity to help stretch it. Use whatever technique works for you, but don’t use a rolling pin—if you squash the dough flat, it will lose all that wonderful airiness that it gained by proofing overnight!

  2. 9. When your oven is heated, remove the hot pizza stone/cooking sheet and give it a light dusting.

     Pro Tip: If you’re using a baking sheet, flip it over and use the bottom side to cook your pizza. That way, when the pizza is done, it will slide off the hot sheet easily.

     10. Place your stretched dough onto your stone or cooking sheet. Use a pizza docker or a fork to score the surface of the dough. Don’t make holes all the way through the dough; just lightly indent it to prevent large air pockets from forming when it cooks. Air pockets will cause bubbles that tend to burn.
     
     11. Top the pizza with your favorite ingredients. Be careful not to overdo the sauce! Too much sauce will prevent the pizza from cooking properly, and you’ll end up with a soggy underside. If you’re using fresh herbs like basil or spinach, we recommend leaving those off until the last few minutes of cooking. Otherwise they’ll overcook and wilt.

     Pro Tip: If you like lots of sauce, consider baking your perfect pizza “Detroit style” by placing your cheese and other ingredients directly onto the dough. Then you can add the sauce on top of the other ingredients so that it doesn’t touch the dough. Or you can even wait until the pizza has finished baking before topping it with all the sauce your heart desires!

     12. Place your pizzas in the oven and keep a close eye on them as they bake. You may have to rotate the pizzas after a few minutes to give them an even bake. Once your crust is bubbling and forms a dark, golden brown, you know it’s done.
     Eat well!

It's an amazing time for mixologists! Cocktails have been experiencing a kind of renaissance. On the one hand, there a growing demand to return to the classics and repair the time-honored recipes that were bastardized during the cocktail apostasy of past decades. On the other hand, there’s also a push to blaze creative new trails and experiment with exciting new flavors and concoctions. Non-imbibers who are tired of the mainstream soft drinks are starting to clamor for a more nuanced alcohol-free glass. Much like a good cocktail itself, the movement is layered and complex with elements playing both complementary and contrasting roles.

To be clear, this cocktail resurgence does not refer to $5 cocktails during the happy hour of the nearest college bar. I'm talking about the $12-20 / glass cocktail mixed with hand-selected ingredients by tenured artisans who are dedicated to their craft. These quality craft cocktails are meant to be sipped slow, with pleasure and reverence.

This month’s cocktail grows out of that exciting mix of revolution and renaissance. A twist on the classic French 75, it can be made with or without alcohol and is perfect for your Valentine’s Day celebration. The 14-day infused Valentine cocktail is not only a nod to the date of the holiday; it also signifies the extra effort that the best relationships require. The time commitment truly does elevate the final cocktail in way that mixing à la minute cannot achieve.

To love!

-Ryan Crafts

14-Day Infused Valentine Cocktail

Ingredients:

• 750 ml gin (Alpine, Beehive, Hammer Spring, Madam Pattirini, and Ooma are some of our local favorites)
• 18 bing cherries
• petals from 6-8 organic roses (depending on size of blossom)
• 2-3 whole lemons (depending on size), sliced
• sparkling rosé wine, well chilled (Schramsberg Brut Rosé is one of our favorites or, for a real indulgence, try the Charles Heidsieck Brut Rosé)
• additional fresh rose petals to garnish
• raw / turbinado sugar cubes (optional - *see below)

1. Add the cherries, rose petals, and lemon slices to the gin in a non-reactive vessel (glass or stainless preferred). Set aside in dark room, at room temperature, for 14 days.
2. After infusing for the prescribed time period, strain the fruit and flowers from the gin with a fine mesh sieve.

   When ready to serve:

   1. Add 1 part infused gin (typically 1.5 to 2 ounces) to a champagne flute.
   2. Top with 2 parts of the chilled sparkling wine (typically 3-4 ounces).
   3. Garnish with fresh rose petals and/or lemon peel.
   4. Enjoy!

   *Note, we find the infusion of the cherries makes the gin sweet enough that no additional sugar is necessary in the final cocktail. However, this is easily adjust to your unique preferences and tastes. Simply drop a small sugar cube in the glass before the the gin for extra sweetness.

   Non-alcoholic 14-Day Infused Valentine Cocktail

   Ingredients:

   • 2 cups cherry syrup**
   • juice of 4 limes (save the rinds of the juiced limes)
   • ~½ cup of fresh mint leaves
   • 1 Tbsp rose water
   • 1 Tbsp orange blossom water
   • soda water
   • additional fresh rose petals
   • half and half (optional)
   14-Day Infusion
   1. Mix the syrup, lime juice, rose water, and orange water in a non-reactive vessel (glass or stainless preferred).
   2. Crush / muddle the mint leaves with the lime rinds and add to the syrup mixture.
   3. Set aside in your refrigerator to marry and infuse for 14 days.
   4. After infusing for the prescribed time period, strain the fruit and flowers from the mixture with a fine mesh sieve.
   

   When ready to serve

   1. Fill soda glasses with ice.
   2. Add 1 part infused syrup (typically 1.5 to 2 ounces) and top with 3 parts of the soda water (typically 4 to 6 ounces).
   3. Stir gently. For a cream soda, if desired, top with ~1 ounce of half & half.
   4. Garnish with fresh rose petals, cherries (bing or luxardo are much preferred to maraschino), and/or lime wheels.
   5. Enjoy!

   **There are a variety of options for the syrup that will all work well with this recipe. Various Italian style flavored syrups are available commercially and work great. You can even make your own syrup by simmering crushed fruit, fruit juice, and simple syrup, and reducing until desired strength consistency is reached.