Cooking Demonstrations

Last week, I took a trip to Yosemite National Park for the kickoff session of The Ahwahnee's annual Chefs' Holidays. The event ended with a big blowout dinner, but I walked away with tons of tips. Chef Matt Bolton, who runs the kitchen at Pacific's Edge restaurant in Carmel's Highlands Inn, showed the audience how to confit a duck leg to make pâté-like rillette.

But I was most impressed with his other dish, tiny cubes of butternut squash slow-cooked in the style of risotto, and topped with foraged mushrooms. While preparing his dishes, Bolton offered a number of suggestions for cleaning, storing, and cooking with fungi. See them when you read on.

The 25th annual Chefs' Holidays — a monthlong culinary event at The Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite — started off with a bang when chef Cal Stamenov whetted a watchful audience's pre-lunch appetite by demonstrating how to make caramelized diver scallops and crème brûlée crepes.

Chef Cal, who is the culinary director at the posh Carmel Valley spot Bernardus Lodge and the executive chef at its Marinus restaurant, wowed the crowd with a stunning scallop presentation (which, incidentally, stole the show at the event's later gala dinner). He assured us that scallops are just as easy to prepare at home, as long as you keep a few important things in mind. See the chef's key pointers — and more photos! — after the jump.

This week, I attended the first session of the 25th annual Chefs' Holidays, a monthlong culinary event that takes place at The Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite, CA, each Winter. The celebrity chef-studded affair, which included kitchen tours, cooking lessons, and a blowout gala dinner, proved to be as educational as it was recreational.

One of the highlights was a cooking demonstration led by headliner David Kinch. The James Beard-nominated chef (who defeated Bobby Flay on Iron Chef America!) is the brainchild behind Manresa, the Los Gatos, CA-based restaurant at the forefront of California cuisine. But despite his haute background, Kinch focused much of his lesson on one simple principle: season properly. Learn the chef's rules for seasoning when you read more.

At his seminar in Aspen, Iron Chef Michael Symon had a lot to share beyond flavor and spice. The pork-loving chef demonstrated how to make a double-bacon "BBLT" sandwich, with bacon, pork belly, lettuce, and pickled tomato, and kept the crowd entertained with his wisecracking (in addition to wanting to kill the inventor of the garlic press, Michael also wants to go after the guy who invented turkey bacon). As he paid homage to the pig with his 'wich, he also had plenty of pointers to offer when it comes to preparing meat. See them after the jump.