Discover the best gourmet experiences 2014

With so many places, each with their own journeys and adventures of tempting foods can be difficult to decide where you would most like to go. Since you can not be everywhere at once, here we share some of the best foodie strong experimenting with the MasterChef journey in 2014 collected by our experts.

 

South Africa - Discover Cape Malay cuisine.

 

South Africa is an ideal destination for travelers seeking an exotic destination foodie experience. In this small group tour MasterChef travel, spend quality time with Whitney Miller, winner of MasterChef Season 1, southern cuisine with a modern twist is as colorful and exciting as the famous Cape Malay cuisine in South Africa. Expand your culinary horizons with convenient classes and wine tasting gourmet cuisine at the world famous Winelands region hosted by Whitney. Your tour will also take him to Cape Town for the most delicious adventures!

 

Northern Spain - Taste your way through the heart of Spain.

 

Enjoy this pleasant journey MasterChef private tour of Northern Spain Wine and cuisine inspired by MasterChef. Travel through the heart of the gastronomic regions of Spain, experience the best of what the Basque Country and La Rioja has to offer, including a tasting tour of San Sebastián specialties. End your trip to Barcelona, one of the most fascinating and iconic cities in Spain!

 

Vietnam - a variety of styles of traditional and modern cuisine.

 

Traveling with a small group this culinary journey Cox & Kings in Vietnam, where you have the opportunity of a lifetime to interact with award-winning MasterChef Christine Ha. Travel from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City through Da Nang and Hue and learn about the amazing Vietnamese dishes influenced Christine while cooking courses and upscale food shopping street is staying.

 

Northern Italy - Truly a merger in Europe with local influences.

 

Do not miss this rich culinary journey MasterChef Voyage in Italy, with guided tours around. Traveling with a small group of famous Valley Food and Tuscany where you will meet your host, Manfe Luca, winner of MasterChef Season illustrates wine country 4. Discover Italy through native eyes Luca in a full day of wine tasting food site and be inspired by its unique cuisine with strong European influences during practice cooking classes, will host. Buon Appetito!

 

Hawaii - View of Hawaii as never before; a variety of culinary delights.

 

Embark on a journey of Hawaii MasterChef culinary journey and explore the natural wonders of the natural Maui. On the way, he meets MasterChef star native, Felix Fang to enjoy culinary activities specially organized in the comfort of a small group of nannies as travelers. Your tour includes a visit to a local organic farm, plus the chance to try their luck in mastering the art of "Hawaiian Sling" Fishing with Felix. Also diving in their world of cooking in a special cooking workshop is an inspiring experience not to be missed!

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Oven Baked Corn Dogs

Ingredients

• 2 boxes corn muffin mix, 8 1/2 ounces each (recommended: Jiffy brand)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 stick butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon chili powder, eyeball it in your palm
• 2 teaspoons cumin, eyeball it
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper sauce (recommended: Tabasco or Frank's Red Hot
• 2 scallions, finely chopped
• 8 jumbo pork or beef franks
• Sweet Relish Slaw Salad, recipe follows
• 1 bag reduced fat potato chips (recommended: Cape Cod brand or Terra brand Garlic and Onion flavor Yukon chips)
• Sweet Relish Slaw Salad:
• 1 cup sweet pickle relish
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar, eyeball it
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, eyeball it
• 2 large cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 bay leaves, dried
• 3 whole cloves
• 1 pound shredded cabbage salad (slaw salad mix with carrots and red cabbage, available in produce department marked "Cole Slaw Mix" in 1 pound packages)
• Salt and pepper
• 4 scallions, sliced

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

In a shallow dish, combine muffin mix with flour, then stir in eggs, milk and melted butter. Season the mix with chili powder, cumin, cayenne and scallions. The batter will be a thick, sticky biscuit dough. Place a hot dog in the bowl of batter and swoosh it around to coat it. Remove coated dog to a nonstick cookie sheet and use your fingers to spread batter on any exposed dog spots. Don't coat it too thick, just shy of 1/2-inch should do the trick. If it's too thick it will just slide off the dog while it's baking, leaving the dog exposed. If that happens don't sweat it, they will still taste great. Repeat until all 8 are coated. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until evenly deep brown all over.

Serve the oven baked corn dogs with your favorite hot dog condiments. Serve with Sweet Relish Slaw Salad and with some baked or reduced-fat chips alongside the dogs.

Sweet Relish Slaw Salad:

In the bottom of a medium, shallow bowl combine relish, vinegar, oil, garlic, bay and cloves. Let stand 5 minutes then fish out the garlic, bay and cloves. Add cabbage salad and toss, let stand 10 to 20 minutes in the refrigerator. Season salad with salt and pepper, toss in the scallions then serve.

Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray

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Salmon Spread

One of the tastiest appetizers you can prepare for a gathering is a simple salmon spread. Usually salmon spreads are little more than smoked salmon mixed with cream cheese. This spread uses a combination of smoked salmon and freshly poached salmon, mixed together with lemon juice, capers, Dijon, chives, lemon zest, and butter. It’s absolutely delicious on toasted baguette slices.

Salmon Spread Recipe

Yum

Ingredients

• 8 ounces skinless salmon fillet
• 8 ounces smoked salmon, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon of grated lemon peel
• 2 Tbsp of lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon chopped fresh chives
• 1/8 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon drained capers, chopped
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened

• A baguette

Method

1 Poach salmon fillet by heating 1/2 inch of water in a skillet to boiling. Add salmon fillet; reduce heat to low; cover and simmer for 4-5 minutes, or until salmon flakes easily when tested with a fork. Carefully remove salmon from water with a slotted spatula or spoon; drain salmon on paper towels. Transfer salmon to medium bowl; cool slightly.

2 With wooden spoon, stir and mash poached salmon until it almost becomes a smooth paste. Add smoked salmon, butter, Dijon mustard, capers, pepper, lemon peel, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons chopped chives; mix thoroughly.

3 Spoon salmon mixture into a serving bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before serving or until soft enough to spread. Sprinkle with remaining chopped chives and serve with sliced French baguette, toasted or plain.

Makes about 3 cups of spread, so depending on how thinly or thickly you put it on baguette slices, you could have 20-50 servings. For a lower-carb version, spread over slices of cucumber.

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Spicy Garlic Shrimp with Coconut Rice

Throughout the coastal areas of Latin America, you’ll find local variations of “Camarones al Ajillo”, freshly caught shrimp, fried quickly in olive oil with garlic and chiles. My friend Arturo grew up near the beaches of Acapulco and learned a way of preparing the garlic shrimp classic with jalapenos and coconut milk. The layers of flavor in this dish are fabulous – chile, shrimp, coconut, lemon grass (or lime). If you get the timing right, this dish cooks up quite fast. You can use either peeled or unpeeled shrimp. The peeled is easier to eat, but the unpeeled absorbs flavor from the shells while cooking.

Spicy Garlic Shrimp with Coconut Rice Recipe

• Yield: Serves 3 to 4.

Yum

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups long grain white rice
• 1 pound, about 20 large jumbo shrimp (peeled with tail on or unpeeled, but veins removed)
• 6 large garlic cloves
• 1 1/2 cup of water
• Salt
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded, de-ribbed, julienned
• Juice of one lime (or 2 inches of white tender end of lemongrass, finely sliced)
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 small cans (5.6 ounces) coconut milk
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of red chili powder or red chili sauce (to taste)
• Cilantro for garnish (optional)

Method

1 Start cooking rice, following package instructions.

2 Pulse garlic, water and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a blender, just a few pulses, so you can still see chunks of garlic. Pour over shrimp to marinate. Marinate for 10 minutes.

3 Strain the water from the shrimp and garlic mixture. Add the lime juice (or finely sliced lemongrass), jalapeño, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the shrimp mixture.

4 Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in high heat in large sauté pan. Add shrimp. Cook one minute. Add 1 small can of coconut milk. Cook 30 seconds more. Mix in a teaspoon red chili powder or sauce.

5 Put rice into a large bowl. Mix in the second 5.6 ounce can of coconut milk to the cooked rice.

Serve shrimp on rice. Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro (optional).

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Smoky Paprika Shrimp Skewers

My dear friend, the ebullient, smiley, and somewhat wacky Matt Armendariz of Matt Bites has a new “schtick”, namely, food on a stick. On a Stick! is Matt’s new cookbook, aimed at the party crowd, and filled with every conceivable food one could put on a stick. There are the expected—kebabs, corn dogs and popsicles—and the whimsical—jello shots, potato chips, and my visual favorite, spaghetti and meatballs. All on a stick. It’s a seriously fun book, and even if you don’t ever try to make some of the more unusual stick foods, just the idea of them may make you smile.

At my last somewhat larger than normal gathering at my house, I decided to try out a few recipes from Matt’s book. This paprika marinated shrimp skewer recipe is the one that we all decided we liked the most. Spicy, smokey, garlicky, with sprinkle of lime. Best part? It was dead easy to make. Cooking for groups larger than say, 2 or 4, tends to fluster me, so when it comes to party food, for me the simpler the better. But those days of just putting out some salsa and chips are long gone. People have higher expectations! Even my parents. If I don’t tempt them with something good, they’ll just stay at home, where they know the food is good. They loved Matt’s shrimp, and went back for seconds.

Smoky Paprika Shrimp Skewers Recipe

• Prep time: 40 minutes
• Cook time: 8 minutes
• Yield: Serves 4.

If you are using frozen shrimp, defrost them safely by putting them in to a bowl of ice water.

Yum

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp sweet paprika
• 2 Tbsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 Tbsp lime juice
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 lb of large shrimp, cleaned and peeled, tails on

• Bamboo skewers

Method

1 Soak the skewers in water for at least a half an hour before grilling.

2 In a large bowl whisk together the spices—the paprikas, cumin, garlic, salt, and pepper—and the lime juice and olive oil. Add the shrimp and toss to coat with the marinade. Keep chilled for half an hour to an hour.

3 Prepare grill for medium-high direct heat, or heat a grill pan. Thread the shrimp onto skewers (it helps to double thread with two skewers at a time to make it easier to turn over on the grill). Baste the grill grates with some olive oil so that the shrimp don't stick to the grill. Grill or cook a few minutes per side (2-4, depending on the size of the shrimp), until the shrimp are just cooked through. Remove from grill and serve immediately.

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Tilapia with Olives, Mushrooms, and Tomatoes

Tilapia, a tasty farm-raised fish originally from Africa, has become more and more popular here in the states. I recently brought home a whole tilapia from our local Asian fish market and made quite a mess of trying to fillet it myself. Dad pitched in, with no more luck than I, and we ended up throwing the pieces (you couldn’t quite call them fillets anymore) into a fish stew. Now we know better. Just buy the straight fillets.

Tilapia are mild tasting, and relatively inexpensive compared to other fish. Here is a quick and easy, one-pan way of preparing this versatile fish that we found years ago from Better Homes and Gardens. The preparation is similar to Veracruz-style, shallow poached on top of a bed of sliced onions, tomatoes, green olives and mushrooms. It’s fresh, easy, and delicious.

Tilapia with Olives, Mushrooms, and Tomatoes Recipe

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 25 minutes
• Yield: Serves 4

Feel free to use any tender white fish fillet with this recipe, for example cod or red snapper.

Yum

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, 1/4 inch slices, sliced lengthwise
• 1 clove garlic, minced (1 teaspoon)
• 1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes, undrained
• 1 cup sliced cremini or button mushrooms
• 3/4 cup green pimento-stuffed olives, coarsely chopped
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 4 6-8 ounce tilapia fillets

Method

1 Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook a minute more. Add the canned tomatoes and their juices. Add the sliced mushrooms, chopped olives, oregano, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer.

2 Lay the fish fillets gently on top of the onion tomato olive mixture and spread a little sauce over the fish. Return to a simmer (it's just the juices from the tomatoes that are simmering). Lower the heat to low and cover the pan. Cook or 8 to 10 minutes or until the fish easily flakes when tested with a fork. Use a wide spatula to lift the fillets from the pan to a serving plate. Spoon sauce over fish. Serve with rice, and/or crusty bread.

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Shrimp with Orange Beurre Blanc

At a recent cooking class at Scott’s Seafood (Folsom, CA), Chef David Lamonica set us to work preparing shrimp with orange beurre blanc (a French butter and shallot sauce). Chef David says the best shrimp to get are fresh, Gulf of Mexico White shrimp, still in the shell. Gulf white shrimp are firm and sweet. For this particular dish I used Gulf of Mexico Pink shrimp, which are pink even when they are not yet cooked. The are also sweet, but a little more delicate than the Gulf white. By the way, if you are processing a lot of shrimp, the shells can be saved and used to make bisque or stock.

When choosing shrimp, they should be firm and smell sweet. If you see any yellowing at all, pass on them.

Shrimp with Orange Beurre Blanc Recipe

Yum

Ingredients

Shrimp Ingredients

• Fresh Gulf of Mexico shrimp - 6 per person, or about 1/4 pound per person
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Sauce ingredients (Sauce also posted here. Makes 1 cup, enough for 4-6 servings. Divide or multiply to needs.)

• 2 oranges
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2 teaspoons minced shallots
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• Salt and white pepper

Method

1. Peel and de-vein the shrimp. Work with the shrimp one at a time, leaving the rest in a bowl of ice water. Holding on to the body of the shrimp, use your fingers to pull off head if it is still attached, and then the legs. Starting with the head end, gently peel back the shell. Use your fingernails or a knife to cut into the base shell segment. Remove the shrimp from its shell entirely. Place shrimp down flat on a cutting board and use a small sharp knife to make a shallow cut down the back of the shrimp. You may see a dark, vein-like intestinal tract running through the meat. Use your fingers, or the sharp tip of a knife to remove. As you complete each shrimp, put into a bowl of ice water to keep cool. Set aside while you prepare the sauce.

2 Zest half of one orange (about 2 teaspoons) and juice the two oranges (about 3/4 cup). Put the juice, zest, wine and shallots in a sauce pan on medium high heat. Cook until it is syrupy and almost gone.

3 On low heat, whisk in the butter continuously and vigorously, 1 tablespoon at a time. Butter is the only emulsifier for this sauce, and if you slowly add it, continuously stirring, the sauce will achieve a silky smooth texture. Do not let the sauce boil. Salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm while you continue with the shrimp.

4 Heat a skillet on medium high heat. Drain the shrimp and coat with olive oil. When the pan is hot, add the shrimp and sprinkle on some salt and pepper. Cook the shrimp about 45 seconds on each side. Add some more olive oil if necessary to keep the shrimp from sticking to the pan. Do not overcook or the shrimp will be tough and rubbery.

Drizzle Beurre Blanc sauce over shrimp, or serve in a separate small container for dipping. Excellent accompanied by brown rice.

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