Stranger Than Kitchen Comes to My Kitchen
JULY 13, 2011 Gracefullplate.com
Liz is a trained chef, serial entrepreneur (she owned a restaurant when she was 23!), a gluten-free restaurant consultant and for fun, she enters strangers kitchens and makes a feast out of whatever their cupboards and refrigerator holds.In Liz’s words:
Stranger than Kitchen encourages you to see cooking as art using your senses to help with your creation. Throw away your cook books and start creating dishes from ingredients you already have in your pantry or refrigerator. Learn to build a functional pantry full of useful staples, or just sit back and become a voyeur as I enter the homes of complete strangers in an effort to show you that armed with the knowledge of flavor profiles almost any ingredients can be turned into a tasty meal.
Intriguing, right?
I was lucky enough to have a Stranger Than Kitchen experience in my kitchen last week. I invited a group of friends over, ensured my fridge wasn’t empty and let Liz at it with her improvisational cooking.
Liz (see below, yellow skirt) rummaged around my cupboards, freezer and fridge. She found food I forgot was in there (don’t worry, non-perishables)! We watched the creative process unfold (over wine, of course) and she decided what she had, what she could make and if it would taste good. Every dish she made, she hadn’t made before.
She is impressive. We ended up with a myriad of global cuisines, sampling dishes each on their own.
The dishes were bursting with flavor. My favorite was the blue corn tofu – she ground blue corn chips, covered the tofu then baked it in the oven, finally brushing the southwestern roasted red pepper coulis sauce over it for dipping.
This is what she came up with:
Organic black quinoa with roasted asparagus, zucchini, raisins and peaches.
Seared cod with a strawberry beure blanc sauce.
Spicy, ginger sesame beef skewers over fresh greens.
Blue corn crusted tofu with South Western roasted red pepper coulis.
Consensus? Is this not the best idea ever? I love when people can come together over food, laugh, share, learn something and meet new people. Mission accomplished. Liz is an incredible chef and her dishes were all inventive. What do you think?
Special thanks to Liz and Alisa for putting together a wonderful meal. We were happy to host you!
Liz Moskow’s Bio: Elizabeth graduated from The Culinary Institute of America in 1995. Shortly after completing her degree in Hotel Restaurant Management at Florida International University, Elizabeth co-owned one of Boca Raton Florida’s top restaurants from 1997-2002. Elizabeth and her restaurant “Beany’s” was featured in both the Boca Raton News, and Boca Raton Magazine (Best of Boca, 4 consecutive years) Additionally, Elizabeth started an off premise catering business “Epicurean Gourmet Catering” She has worked as a private chef on prestigious Park Avenue in NYC, served as development pastry chef at 5 diamond property Turnberry Isle Resort and Club, (paid to create new recipes) and continues to provide chef services, catering and cooking instruction. Diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 2009, Elizabeth views the limitations of a gluten-free lifestyle as a way to enhance the creativity that springs from necessity.
She is the founder of Gluten Free Restaurant Consulting, based in Boulder, Colorado. GFRC’s mission is to help restaurants realize the potential of the growing Gluten-Free demographic by creating unique and exquisite gluten-free options.
Find her blog here or connect with her on Twitter. If you want to learn more about her services please contact Liz directly: gf@glutenfreerestaurantconsulting.com. Tell her I sent you
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