What’s a “Cookbook Party”?

That’s a very good question, I haven’t known of another “cookbook party” since the one Boquete Gourmet threw last year to celebrate the arrival of our town’s first culinary collection, “Boquete Gourmet Community Cookbook”.

On that occasion, everyone contributing recipes to the new cookbook, plus the entire Boquete community were invited to attend a cookbook party that included samplings of several of the dishes made from recipes published in the book.

The party was a huge success! Most of the fun was in getting cookbooks signed by the contributing chefs, and at the same time, the chefs were trying to get their books signed by all the other chefs, “round-robin” style. The food seemed secondary to meeting and sharing enthusiasm and camaraderie with each other.

This year’s Cookbook Party is quite different. The main events will include cooking demonstrations of many of the recipes from the book, actually being prepared by the contributing chefs. Party-goers will taste dishes as they are ready for presentation, enjoy live entertainment, and have an opportunity to buy, sell, and swap cookbooks of all sorts.

You’re invited to come to this very special party, to be held on Friday, August 26, at 100 El Santuario, Boquete, beginning at 3pm. You may bring cookbooks to sell, trade or donate to charity, if you like. Rare and unusual cookbooks from the The Book Mark Bookstore in Dolega will be on sale during the party, and Irene will bring a special cookbook collection just for this occasion. You’ll be able to pick up new titles not seen before in Boquete.

Five local charities contributed recipes to the community cookbook; Loco por Leer, Buenos Vecinos de Boquete, Animales de Boquete, Lions Club of Boquete, The Handicap Foundation and Unexpected Moments of Magic Foundation. Come and meet representatives from each group, and savour their dishes.

Tickets to the party are only $10 each, and include activities mentioned above, plus a copy of the 2nd edition of “Boquete Gourmet Community Cookbook”. Click “Reserve Now” on the calendar at the right of this post, and proceed to order your tickets while they last.

And, if anyone has ever been to another Cookbook Party anywhere in the world, I’d love to hear all about it!
See you there!
Cora

Lemongrass Martini – Chef Juan’s Style

The word is out, “Chef Juan is making Lemongrass Martinis!” Anytime someone hears those words, it’s time to head to his house, to a party or dinner featuring his drink, or to his Panamanian cooking class!

What makes Juan’s martinis so AMAZING??? The taste, of course.

We are lucky to have a lovely clump of lemongrass growing in our garden, and we’re able to pluck nice stalks of lemongrass the year around. This is how we learned to make this very tasty and habit-forming drink.

LEMONGRASS MARTINI

4 oz vodka or seco
1 oz lemongrass extract
1 oz lemongrass syrup

Place ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake well. Serve in a chilled martini glass with a lemongrass stirrer. You can alter these measures to your taste, if you like a stronger drink add more vodka or seco, if you like it less sweet reduce syrup, if you want more lemongrass flavor add more extract.

LEMONGRASS EXTRACT: in a blender place 1 cup of lemon or lime juice, 2 cups of chopped lemongrass stalk (no leaves, no root). Blend at high speed to liquefy; strain blend through a fine sieve or cheese cloth or similar; put in a container, a plastic squirt bottle is ideal; chill extract.

LEMON GRASS SYRUP: boil 2 cups of water with 1 cup of sugar until it reduces about 1/3; add 2 cups of chopped lemongrass root and 1 bark of cinnamon , boil 2 minutes, turn off heat and let cool completely. Strain into a container and chill. Lemongrass root is the woody part below the stalk, it must be scraped clean with a knife and washed before using.

LEMONGRASS STIRRER: cut a stalk (no root, no leaves) lengthwise and peel sheets from around the lemongrass stalk. These make lovely stirrers to garnish the martinis.

Once you have your extract in the fridge you can make martinis any time, the syrup is very good to sweeten coffee. To harvest lemongrass with the stalk and root, grab the stalks at the base and pull; discard leaves and any sheet of the stalk that is dried or damaged. You can use green leaves to make tea, it will help you sleep. You can chop the leaves to dry and keep for tea.

This drink will relax you and it actually is good for you, as lemongrass is loaded with antioxidants and vitamins. But, Juan warns us not to drink too many of these martinis, two are just right.

Thanks for your recipe, Chef Juan! On August 26, you will be able to watch Chef Juan prepare one of his recipes from the Boquete Gourmet Community Cookbook in the kitchen of the Boquete Gourmet, in Boquete, Panama. See details on the calendar at the right, click August 26 to register. You won’t want to miss the upcoming “Cookbook Party #2″, which includes cooking demonstrations, tastings, live music, and a copy of the cookbook, 2nd edition.

You can also read more about Chef Juan’s recipes and upcoming classes at www.latinamericancook.com.
See you at the party!
Cora

Mixing Fine Foods with Pure Silk

Boquete Gourmet Host Artist, Barbara Rabkin and I presented a full day of creativity, including learning to paint luscious, pure silk scarves and tasting fine, gourmet foods each hour throughout the day.

Barbara gathered nine very talented ladies together in my El Santuario, Boquete Cantina, and the day quickly turned into non-stop fun, full of creative ideas put down on silk. Everyone’s appetite was satisfied with a variety of healthy, tasty dishes served with teas, wines and fresh, sparkling Boquete water.

Let’s begin at the end, with the beautiful, colorful hand-painted scarves, including three scarves that were still on the frames.

The patterns painted included designs from abstract to detailed realism. Each artist became mesmerized by their work, and could hardly take a short break to taste each gourmet dish as it was presented. This was “tough work”!

The days menu included a warm Peach Buckle, steamy Roasted Pumpkin Curry Soup, colorful Nicoise Salad with Smoked Tuna and Pickled Eggs, Artistic Day Parfait and the finale was a Chocolate Silk (scarf) Pie with real Whipped Cream, of course.


This was a first-time effort for everyone involved. Barbara and I enjoyed working with the nine artists and we were gratified with the results. Several of the recipes served came from the Boquete Gourmet Community Cookbook, on sale now at various locations throughout Chiriqui, Panama.

Betty and Kaye photographed the day-long event, and thanks so much for their expertise.

Who would believe that pure silk and fine dining go together? We just proved that they do . . . with wonderful results!

Try something new yourself, why not???
Cora

Come Join an Artistic Day of Creativity: Pure Silk and Fine Food

Most of us love the look of fine hand-painted silks and enjoy the taste of fine foods, but we’ve never thought of mixing the two “delicious” art forms together at the same time.

On Thursday, July 21, fine artist, Barbara Rabkin, and I, the Boquete Gourmet, will join forces to present a full day of creativity for folks wishing to experience and to learn to create lovely works of arts in both fields.  Participants will design and paint a one-of-a-kind pure silk scarf and, at the same time, taste and learn to make several spectacular  and unusual gourmet dishes.

This all-day class will begin at 9:30 am at Kent’s Cantina in El Santuario, Boquete, with a “mini-brunch” of fine pastries, coffee and assorted teas.  Barbara will acquaint everyone with the “seri” procedures of designing and painting a fine pure silk scarf using delicate paints, the same medium of silk artists all over the world.

A full gourmet lunch will be served with a variety of fine wines. Recipes will be available throughout the day, and a couple of dishes will be prepared using the Boquete Gourmet Community Cookbook. This cookbook is available for ordering and mailing on this site.

Attendees will complete their fine scarf and prepare it for wearing, right down to the steaming and pressing.  The group should conclude this afternoon of tasting and creativity about 4:00 pm. 

Everyone will be able to return home with the knowledge of not only how to make and finish a fine work of art, but each participant will bring home a unique, hand-painted silk scarf, ready to wear or frame.

$70 fee includes a full day of events mentioned above, all materials and supplies, with lots of fun and camaraderie thrown in. Click July 21 on the calendar at the right to register now.

Barbara and I will be happy for you to come join us for our “Artistic Day of Creativity”, no experience needed!

Cora