Getting Ready for Chef Juan

Our next Boquete Gourmet cooking class features Juan Linares, Professional Chef and exceptional teacher, presenting “Famous Historic Dishes”. Juan will tell stories about six historic dishes and he will demonstrate how to make them, explain how they figured in history and share how they can be replicated today in Boquete and in your kitchen.

The class is totally filled at this time, and a waiting list of eager participants are standing by, in case someone is not able to attend. The dishes are unusual; Beef Wellington, Antipasto, Crepes Suzette, and three other unique dishes, making a full-course dinner for the attendees. This is culinary history revisited.

I have received the recipes from Chef Juan and they are all very interesting, full of unique techniques and blends of ingredients to be prepared on Thursday.

One of the tips we’ll learn is where to get ready-made puff pastry, right here in Boquete. There are two main dishes, Beef Wellington and Chicken Marengo, each of which have interesting and unique histories.

My shopping list is now complete and it should be quite easy to find everything the chef needs. Almost everything is available within 5 minutes of my kitchen. Juan uses ingredients that are mostly found locally, except for one.

The item that may be a bit difficult to find is real French foie gras, or fat goose liver pate’. We have a small delicatessen on Boquete’s main street, so I’ll begin my search there. If I can’t find it here, I may need to go down to David, a city about 45 minutes from Boquete. Almost everything can be found in David’s many huge supermarkets.

If you’d like to read more about foie gras, go to Wikipedia for the complete history, methods of preparing and serving this delicacy. Wikipedia provided this idea of serving it with pickled pears, it really looks delicious.

The entire menu from the class will be posted soon, along with one of the recipes from Juan’s recipe book.

Please keep checking this site for more details on this one-of-a-kind, historical class, and especially of how Chef Juan plans to use the foie gras.
Wish me luck shopping!
Cora

World’s Largest Hotel Chain is Here!

In my attempt to find gourmet connections in Chiriqui Province, I found one of the “World’s Largest Hotel Chains”, David’s new Best Western Hotel. It’s a beautiful 7-story remodel of the old El Panama Hotel, that was built back in the early 70’s. Over the years, the old hotel became a bit scary. Then, in the last few months, it morphed into a fine, beautifully-located, modern, upscale hotel in mid-town David.

This wasn’t my first visit to the hotel, I’m returning because it is a friendly, quiet, cool place to have a light lunch. When it first opened, Matt, one of the managers, welcomed us to the very nice bar and reception area. Below, Matt and David are enjoying the waterfall wall in the Wine Bar. They both have much in common, as they each have experience building and remodeling large construction projects, and in solving concerns relating to such projects. A lot can be settled over a glass of wine!

Surprisingly, Matt had read my blog previously, and he was happy to meet David and me “in person”. I must say that Matt was one of most gracious innkeepers I have ever met. He showed us several of the rooms, and he shared his adventures in updating this old building into the “state-of-the-art” facility it is today. All the furniture, decor and appliances were especially designed and manufactured for this hotel.

All modern conveniences are available in the new hotel; 108 luxury rooms, 7 are equipped for physically challenged, Itanello’s Grill and Wine Bar, meeting rooms that accommodate 150 people, a fully-equipped fitness center, lots of secured parking and so many amenities, they can’t be listed here.

The rooms are modern with sleek fixtures, flat-screen TVs and high-quality linens. The color scheme throughout the hotel shows how much the new owners paid attention to every detail, making sure guests find comfort and convenience during their stay in David. The service and quality are up to world standards, as set by the Best Western Corporation.

Chef, Carlos Taylor, prepared grilled ham and cheese sandwiches especially for us. If what you want isn’t on the menu, ask Chef Carlos to prepare it for you. The French fries served with the piping hot sandwich, were the BEST I have EVER tasted, and David agreed!

I would like to include a stay at the new Best Western on a “Gourmet/Jazz Tour of David” soon. Please check back to find dates and details of the “first-ever” Boquete Gourmet’s overnight outing in David. We may be able to spend the day and night at the new Best Western Hotel, enjoy one of Itanello’s gourmet dinners, as well as to attend some of David’s fine entertainment offered after dark.
Keep watching!
Cora

Serrano Ham – Good to the Last Bite!

My holiday Jamon Serrano has been a treat for so many people for almost three months. I’ve made dozens of gourmet dishes with it and served it to lots of guests. Many bags were filled with slices of Serrano and shared with friends and family members.

David finished slicing off the last piece of Serrano this past week and I discarded the bone, probably prematurely. I could have sawed it into several lengths and boiled it for making broth, soup, stews and many other tasty dishes. If you have ever used a leftover bone from your Jamon Serrano, please let me know how you did it.

Almost any recipe you make with ham can be made with Jamon Serrano, the premier ham from Spain. My Serrano came from Felipe Motta Wine Store in Panama City, Panama and it sat on the top of my buffet for almost 2 months, no refrigeration is needed. It was the center of attention for many gatherings, as most guests had never seen or used Serrano freshly cut from the bone.

Above, you see a photo of David’s creative “Serrano Omelet with Smokey Cheese”. Then, my “Chicken Embeded with Jamon Serrano” served with garlic mashed potatoes. I embeded Serrano and manchego cheese in wafer-thin chicken breast, wrapped it torpedo-style in GladWrap, steamed it and served it with plum sauce. This was one of my favorite dishes using Serrano.

Reflecting on the different dishes I made with this ham, “Celery Seed Potato Salad with Jamon Serrano” was my very favorite. A friend gave me this old Swedish recipe 30 years ago. It was published in the Gulfport Gourmet Cookbook in Gulfport, Florida.

Now, with a little tweaking, here it is again using Spain’s Jamon Serrano to make it my very best potato salad ever.

Celery Seed Potato Salad with Jamon Serrano

4 large potatoes, quartered
2 teaspoons celery seed
1 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2cup Jamon Serrano, thinly slice and julienne
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, hard boiled and quartered

Boil the potatoes, no need to peel them until soft. When soft, drain, cool slightly, scrape off the skins, if you like, and dice them into a large bowl. In a small mixing bowl, combine celery seed, mayonnaise, sugar, salt and Serrano. Pour over the potatoes, toss and place in shallow, fancy serving dish. Arrange eggs on top, garnish and serve.

Other articles about this particular ham are on my blog, you can see how much I enjoyed it throughout the holidays and beyond. We’re expecting a new Felipe Motta Wine Store to open soon in David and I’m sure they will stock these Spanish hams in their deli section. They’ll be hanging from the rafters as they do in the “Museum of Ham” in Madrid. If you’re looking for a special treat to serve at this year’s parties, you might consider getting a Jamon Serrano for yourself. You would love it and so would your guests!
Celebrate!
Cora

For Style, Try David’s New Stylo

After hearing so much about the new Cuidad de David Hotel and Stylo Resto-Bar, located only 45 minutes south of Boquete, Panama, I just had to try it.   The buzz is that it’s the only “5-star” hotel and restaurant in Chiriqui Province, although I haven’t been able to document that claim. 

The best way I know to find the actual quality of food and service is to experience it first-hand. So one hot day last week we drove into the parking garage of the handsome Cuidad de David Hotel, took the silent elevator to the street level and entered the most unusual and stylish hotel lobby I have experienced since I left Madrid last year.

The hotel lobby and sleek bar are modern and brightly colored to match the buildings exterior.

As we neared the restaurant door, it was graciously opened for us and a shiny, sleek, comfortably arranged dining room was revealed. It was tastefully decorated in deep brown and cream tones.

The elegant tables were dressed in white linens and set with sparkling glassware and solid-white china service plates. This is my kind of restaurant!

Our courteous server Elvin, explained the luncheon options and showed us the fresh and colorful salad bar available. Lunch included the salad bar and the hot meal of the day was either corvina with garlic rosemary sauce or roasted chicken breast. The choices vary depending on what the chef prepares each day. A drink and dessert were included in the lunch special as well. Menu items were also available, in case we wanted to order ala carte.

The choice was easy. I ordered the full lunch with corvina and it was delicious! The photo above is the salad I designed and the next photo is of the full lunch I enjoyed so much. Notice the fresh crumbled bacon and local country cheese. The sweet platanos were slowly cooked in natural, raw sugar, probably rare in most 5-star restaurants.

After finishing my “designer” salad, home-made minestrone soup, full hot lunch, and iced tea, I was faced with 3 desserts!

I chose the chocolate mousse, which was rich, light, and just the right consistency. With a bigger appetite, I would have tried the delicate almond tart and diced fresh fruit compote, as well. Maybe next time.

The $12 price seemed very reasonable for such delicious dining so elegantly served. Now, I understand why some folks are saying Stylo is a 5-star restaurant in a 5-star hotel, I wholeheartedly agree!

But, could anyone tell me how I can substantiate the 5-star status?
Buen provecho!
Cora