Top Chef | Talking With Tami

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Cooking it up with Chef Marcus Samuelsson

Friday, June 18th, 2010

Yesterday evening we were off to see a cooking demo at Macy’s at North Point Mall. Chef Marcus Samuelsson was the cook who prepared some good cuisines. You may remember him from winning Top Chef on the reality show on Bravo.

He told the audience that he was from Sweden/Ethiopia. He has traveled the world with his different recipes and combining all sorts of ethnic food together. Pia and I sat in the 2nd row back and we could smell all the different aromas.

I took a lot of good notes on how to prepare fishes and seafoods. Marcus said in his country they ate a lot of fish. He began to cook salmon and asked who didn’t cook fish that much. I raised my hand and he invited me on stage!

He also invited another lady up as well. He then prepared the fish but to me it didn’t look cooked enough and he assured me that it was done. I still wasn’t buying it and hate to eat raw foods or anything that looks weird lol.

Salmon and Corn Pancakes

Marcus said, “Tami it’s seared”, I said, “I saw you do that but it still looks mooshy” lol. The crowd was laughing at me as I hopped up and down because I was so scared to try it lol.

Crab Cakes with Corn

Fried Chicken with Collard Greens

He put it back in the pan and then gave it to me to try. It was good but I was terrified. Then he wanted us to try fish skin. I just smiled but was thinking, what did I get myself into. Once it was ready to eat he put a lil sauce on it and it was bon appetite lol. It wasn’t too bad and reminded me of pork rinds lol.

James Andrews and I

Black Tie Barbecue owners, Spencer and Allison

He prepared several meals like Fried chicken and collard greens, Crab Cakes with Corn and Pistachio Aioli, and Corn Pancakes with Chili-Covered Gavlax. All his dishes were very tasty especially his version of fried chicken,sooo good!

Our Macy’s goody bags items,cute

Chef Marcus and I

Chef Marcus converse kicks lol

Right now he is touring and has a restaurant in NYC where he also lives. He has a new book out too called, “New American Table“. He has such a great personality and I hope his career goes very well. Enjoy the pics and Happy Friday! Shout out to Macy’s for the invite!

www.marcussamuelsson.com

Tags: author, black tie barbecue, bravo reality stars, chef marcus samuelsson, corn pancakes, crab cakes, culinary arts, ethiopian chefs, food activist, foodies, fried chicken and collard greens, macy's culinary council, macys, new american table, restaurateur, sweden chefs, swedish recipes, top chef
Posted in Pink Carpet Access! | 2 Comments »

Taste of Atlanta, yummy!

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

Over the weekend I got to stop by Taste Of Atlanta.You guys know I love my food and I was excited to attend this annual event.This time they moved it from Atlantic Station to 5th and Spring St. I thought the turn out was fab, I could hardly walk down the street without bumping into people. Actually, I did bump into several celebs. One was Top Chef reality star Carla Hall.

Carla Hall from Top Chef

I asked her what was going on with her and she said she still has her catering company. She was one of the platform chefs cooking, but on sunday she was just cruising around. Then I ran into comedian Rodney Perry. He is the sidekick on Monique’s new talk show on B.E.T. He was with his wife who was expecting their fourth child.

Comedian Rodney Perry

You know I made my way over to the vendors booths and a couple of booths that really stuck out to me were the Ritz Carlton Buckhead! They made a Southern Rub BBQ Beef Rib and Butter Squash and Bacon Hash. It was falling off the bone and my face was nice and greasy! It was so good I had to sit down because I got seconds lol. Mostly all my tickets went to that booth. They also made an awesome apple pie trifle,”omg it was to die for”, as Rachel Zoe says lol.

Ritz Carlton Buckhead booth was slammin!

I loved trying some of the foods, but Im not good at trying unfamiliar things. My girlfriends that were there tried some foods, and swore by it, but Im funny acting and a coward, so I passed on some things lol. I did see for the first time, Gladys Knight Chicken and Waffles! They had the best fried chicken,waffles,greens and mac and cheese. After that sampling, I needed a nap!

I also saw some organic vendors that had live chickens. I felt sorry for the lil chickens after eating at Glady’s lol. I told the chickens I was sorry! I also got a chance to be an artist for a day. Blue Moon beer had a huge billboard there and I got to channel my inner artist. They will be placing the finished billboard somewhere downtown, so look out for the masterpiece I helped create soon, ha!

The Blue Moon billboard!

Well check out all the pics and I hope to see you there next year! Look for me standing in line, at the dessert section lol! Thanks to 360 media for the invite!

www.tasteofatlanta.com

Tags: 360 media, bravo reality stars, carla hill, chefs, food, food festivals in atlanta, gladys knight chicken and waffles, rachel zoe, ritz carlton buckhead, rodney perry, tara murphy 360 media, taste of atlanta, taste of atlanta food, top chef
Posted in Pink Carpet Access! | 2 Comments »

Flipburger Boutique!

Tuesday, April 28th, 2009

Looking for a great date place? You really should try Richard Blais(Bravo’s Top Chef)”FlipBurger Boutique”(www.flipburgerboutique.com)! The address is 1587 Howell Mill Rd,Atlanta,Ga 30318 404-352-Flip.What a great burger and milk shake joint! When you walk in it looks like a retro place straight out of the movie, “Sweet Charity” when Shirley McClain entered that mod dance club.Everyone in that club was very uppity but the atmosphere was cool and hip. Noone ofcourse is snobby at FlipBurger, everyone was fabulous! Flip Burger is designed by Ai3(http://www.ai3online.com/) thats the 3rd time Ive heard about them, I have to get them on my show lol.

The colors are warm and vibrant red, black and white are the interior decor with kewl looking furniture flipped upside down! Most things are done like that on purpose…fun! I love the chef bar where we sat to order and watch Exec Chef Mark prepare meals. He showed us various burgers that looked delish! Nick is the manager and he was so nice to talk to. Tom was our waiter and very accommodating. I ordered the flip burger and sweet potato tots, while my hubby ordered the Bacon&Cheese burger with hand cut french fries. The buns are brio style yum!

I was chit chatting with a frequent customer by the name of Patty, who was sitting next to me. She said she loved coming to FlipBurger. Patty told me she heard about FlipBurger from various magazines. She also stated that she heard that an artists (who made the wall mural inside) won an award! Thats pretty kewl. They do plan on expanding to different locations. I hope they open up one in Gwinnett County…hint! hint! smile!

FlipBurger has an outside patio that has eleven tables. They also have a full service bar with flat screen tv’s. They offer wine,beer,soda,and specialty drinks.After our meals we had a Krispy Kreme milkshake and a Liquid N2 that was on fire! omg! Those were the best milkshakes Ive ever tasted…want more, want more! I found the food to be divine and plan on bringing my whole family back for an afternoon outing. If your on Howell Mill Rd you have to stop in and check it out,its so much fun to see! I would like to thank Richard Blais for allowing me to come, we had a great time!