Nico

On The Chef’s Stage at SF Garden Show 2013

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Pisco + Peru at SF Garden Show 2013

Pisco + Peru at SF Garden Show 2013

On March 21, I took the audience at the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show on a gastronomical tour of Peru + Pisco during my first ever appearance at a Chef’s Stage. Though I’ve performed on stage before, it was not as a chef, but as a guest musician playing percussion with a Flamenco group from Spain at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. This time, instead of playing my hand drums, however, I would be performing solo, sautéing and simmering on a stove top, and mixing cocktails on a side table. In other words, almost the same thing, right? So how did I end up on the stage this time? It all started with an invitation from the Chef’s Stage Coordinator, Jay Estey.
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Saffron Pisco

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Saffron Pisco

Saffron Pisco

Today is National Paella Day, so to celebrate I decided to get back to the Pisco Lab and experiment with a new cocktail that used saffron. The color and flavor of saffron is very unique, and I really enjoy cooking with it, specially when I am preparing a seafood paella. But how would it taste in a cocktail? How would it go with Pisco?
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10 Tips for Cocktail Photography

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Some time ago, I was asked “do you take all the photographs on your blog?” and the answer is Yes! I write all the recipes, cook all the dishes, make all the cocktails, and photograph all the food and drinks. But if you’ve never photographed food, it can be very challenging. Why? Because no matter how good something tastes, you need to make it look like it’s going to taste great in the photo. In other words, of all the senses you can use to enjoy food: sight, taste, smell, sound, and touch, you can only appeal to the sense of sight in a photograph.
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Peruvian Pop-up Dinners at 18 Reasons

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Peruvian Pop-up at 18 Reasons

Peruvian Pop-up Dinners at 18 Reasons

Last Tuesday’s rainy night in San Francisco was the perfect setting for preparing a Parihuela seafood soup at the first Peruvian Pop-up dinner of 2013 at 18 Reasons. And like every time I cooked dinner there, I was excited to be sharing Peruvian food and culture with the 18 Reasons community. But the night was also bittersweet for me because it was the last time I would be working with Olivia, the Program Coordinator at 18 Reasons. Since August of 2011, we worked together on 6 Peruvian pop-up dinners and 1 Pisco cocktail class, and the menus we prepared showcased the unique culinary history of Peruvian cuisine. Here’s how we did it.
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Mardi Gras Pisco Sour

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Mardi Gras Pisco Sour

Mardi Gras Pisco Sour

So far, February has had weekly celebrations that have inspired new cocktails and recipes on Pisco Trail. First, we had National Pisco Sour Day and the Habanero Pisco Sour. Then, Chinese New Year and the Arroz Chaufa, or Chinese-Peruvian Fried Rice. This week, we have Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras? Why am I writing about Mardi Gras? Simple, I love New Orleans. Its food traditions are very similar to Peru’s in many ways. Beginning with a shared history as Spanish Viceroyalties in the Americas, they both resulted in a mixture of Spanish, European, Creole, and indigenous cultures. And while my friends in NOLA were celebrating Mardi Gras, I toasted to the occasion with a Mardi Gras Pisco Sour.
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