I am not dreaming, it is REAL!

Just before I left for my trip to the USA, we were watching America Top Chefs. We paid special attention to one of the competitors. We knew that my step daughter Erin had been to his restaurant in the LA area several times and had become acquainted with him. I am talking about Chef Fabio Viviani who was voted the Top Chef, Season 5, Fan Favorite. His restaurant, Cafe Firenze, is just a 10 minute drive from her home. 

Erin knew I would be thrillled if I were to get to meet the chef, so she took us to his cooking demo at his restaurant on the first weekend after we arrived in California. While we waited in queue to check in, I had the pleasure to meet this Baby Chef who was in line ahead of us. Are all chefs so charming?

Cafe Firenze is a large, noisy, but nicely decorated restaurant, and very typically Italian. As we walked into the main door, we were greeted by friendly waitresses and waiters. The first thing we saw was a huge marble bar with a wide selection of liquor and wines. More wine seemed to cover every available wall space throughout the restaurant.

Erin introduced us to the co-owner of the restaurant (and an award winning mixologist), Jacopo Falleni, before we were led to our table. He is a warm and friendly guy (also very Italian) and made us all feel very special. My Quay Lo bought their cookbook and Jacopo signed the book for me immediately. I also got Chef Fabio Viviani to sign the book. Prized souvenier!

Jacopo Falleni and Quay Po

Here are the two partners as pictured in the book with barman extraordinaire

Jocopo on the left and Chef Fabio Viviani on the right

I am glad we got a table because the room was packed with attendees. I am not surprised at all. I was told most of his fans are female and sure enough, all of us admiring ladies sat around anxiously awaiting the arrival of Chef Fabio. My Quay Lo yawned, and to no one in particular, wondered aloud what he was doing there.

As soon as we settled down, my step daughter Erin told me that I must try this wonderful Balsamic Martini. WOW!  I cannot find words to describe this drink to you. It was SOOO GOOD!!

Chef Fabio introduced himself and started to show us how to make some of his signature appetizer dishes. His demo was lively and entertaining. He was a humorous guy and I am sure all of us enjoyed ourselves watching him cook. He made cooking look so simple. 

Chef Fabio Viviani in action

Here are the dishes that he cooked and we got to taste. They were simple to do but over the top delicious!

 The focaccia bread was flavorful

Pomodoro sauce with onion, eggs and cheese. The egg was

cooked just right

gamberoni in camicia - pacetta wrapped jumbo prawn filled with 

Italian sharp gorgonzola with parmesan polenta and sauteed "spinachi"

This is an awesome dish which I would like to try soon.

Italian meat ball in pondoro tomato sauce.

Another very simple-to-make dish 

with an explosion of flavors in each bite.

deep fried prawns with homemade mayonnaise

I did not know making our own mayonnaise

is so simple.

After watching the cooking demo, eating the scrumptuous lunch, and maybe another martini or two, we all had stuffed bellies, so we called it a day. There was one last thing to do before we left. I had to take a photo with the chef for my album. Yay I did! 

As soon as we were back at Erin's home, I quickly transferred all the photos taken at the demo into my Quay Lo's computer hard disk and erased those on my SD card. As I was editing the photos I realized the photo of me and Chef Fabio was missing!!! What???  I can't believe I lost the most important photo of the event. Can I be anymore 'Lucy' than that? I was so upset that I screamed out so loud "AUNTIE LUCY!, are you kidding me???!!" My Quay Lo thought I fell down or hurt myself. He came running to me only to find out that I had lost the photo. He sensed that I was very upset and he asked Erin to quickly call the restaurant and tell Chef Fabio what happened, then ask if I could go back and take another photo with him before he leaves. He was kind enough to ask me to return to the restaurant. This time I made very damn sure Aunty Lucy didn't lose it again. I had the photo in my Quay Lo's hard disk, my SD card, and a separate USB flash drive. LOL!!

Chef Favio Viviani and Quay Po

If you would like to know more about Chef Fabio Viviani, watch this interview.
He always make people laugh. Isn't he good looking and cute? LOL!

The first dish that I tried to make at home (here in K.L.) that I learned from the cooking demo is this yummy light meal.

Pomodoro (tomato) sauce with onion, eggs and cheese

Recipe by Chef Favio Viviani with slight variations by yours truly.

Ingredients:

1 can (250gm) plum tomatoes

1 tbs olive oil

1 tsp italian herbs

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp thinly diced spring onion 

1 egg

1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar 

Method:

Heat oil and saute garlic till fragrant. Add plum tomatoes and break them up. Add Italian herbs, salt, pepper and let it simmer for about 10 mins and reduced. Transfer to a bowl. Add cheese and crack an egg onto the sauce. Bake in a pre heated oven at 180 degrees C for 10 mins till cheese is melted and egg white cooked but yolk still runny.


Note: I served the dish with freshly baked crusty bread and my good friend, Wendy's brussels sprout chiffonade with hazel nuts. One bite of crusty bread dipped into the sauce followed by a spoonful of brussel sprouts, MM... MM...MM...Brilliant combination. 

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