Summer bean salad with dill crème fraiche, shallots, feta cheese and sungold tomatoes
Ingredients:
- 10 haricots verts, cleaned and blanched
- 10 yellow wax beans, cleaned and blanched
- 10 romano beans, cleaned and blanched
- 4 T creme fraiche
- 2 T dill, chopped
- 1 shallot, minced
- 3 T feta cheese, crumbled
- 8 sungold tomatoes, cut in half
- Salt/pepper to taste
- In a mixing bowl combine all ingredients except the feta. Season with salt and pepper. Split up onto 2 plates and top with feta cheese crumbles. Serve. This salad tastes best when the dill and creme fraiche are combined ahead of time.
Absinthe Chef Jamie Lauren will be doing various events at the SF Chefs. Food. Wine Event which runs from August 6-9, 2009
The event is at Union Square and surrounding hotel and retail spaces as well as restaurants throughout the city. Children free at Sunday family activities.
Out in the Fog Party
Step Out and Join In a Benefit for Project Open Hand
Enjoy an only-in-San Francisco night of nights as you party with the chic and fabulous at SOMA's Orson Restaurant. SKYY Spirits hosts 6 new custom cocktails created especially for the evening, while the city's hottest chefs prepare their favorite dishes for you to enjoy.Indulge in sumptuous dining and sips with the legendary Harry Denton as emcee, Juanita Moore as DJ and hostess, along with a who's who of the out and proud.
Taste more: http://www.sfchefsfoodwine.com
About Jamie Lauren:
Jamie Lauren's interest in the culinary arts started at a relatively young age, when she spent evenings in the kitchen cooking with her parents, although at the time she had no idea of becoming a chef. From these humble beginnings mixing meatloaf and frying chicken cutlets in Manhattan, she rose to become one of San Francisco Chronicle's "Rising-Star Chefs" in 2005.
As an honors graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Lauren has had the opportunity to work with many celebrity chefs in the past, including: Anita Lo of Annisa, New York City; Lance Dean Valesquez of Bendean in San Francisco; and Jean-Michel Bouvier, from L'Essential, Chambéery, France. She credits all these chefs for teaching her how to meld exotic flavors and ingredients.
Growing up in New York City, Lauren's affinity for bright and flavorful cuisine originated with family dinners at some of Manhattan's best neighborhood restaurants. She held this particular type of food in high regard and at Absinthe Lauren is finally able to recreate it with fresh local ingredients in a way she's been dreaming of since she started cooking professionally.
Assuming the Executive Chef position at Absinthe in July 2007 was a natural progression in Lauren's culinary career. Best described as American-influenced French and Northern Italian, Absinthe's menu echoes Lauren's commitment to organic, locally grown, seasonal ingredients. Her menu highlights a number of unique dishes that are elevated by her cultured background and grounded in her dedication to making each dish memorable. She explains that her cuisine "looks good and tastes good, but it's not so refined that you find yourself afraid to touch it. It's accessible, meaning people are excited to try the dishes on the menu. And a lot of love goes into each dish."
Lauren has received both local and national praise for elevating the cuisine at Absinthe including being named as Restaurant Hospitality's "Rising Star Chef 2008" and selected as the sole Bay Area "Cheftestant" on season 5 of Bravo's award-winning show "Top Chef" which aired in 2009.
Lauren lives in San Francisco and, when not at Absinthe, enjoys dining out with friends all around the Bay Area.
>> Absinthe website
