Pop-up Crowned National Lamb Jam Tour Champion

As this year’s Lamb Jam Tour crisscrossed the country stopping in Austin, Boston, Washington D.C., Seattle and San Francisco, a doughy trend emerged: with over 60 chefs competing nationwide, each of the best-in-show winning chefs took home the gold by serving some style of dumpling.

The recent Lamb Jam Finale was ultimately a dumpling showdown, featuring Italian tortellini and tortelloni as well as Indian manti, Chinese dumplings and Filipino empanadas. And amidst the first snow of the season, on a small farm in Lyons, Colorado, Chef Danica Aviles of San Francisco pop-up Pinoy Heritage took home the national title of Lamb Jam Tour Champion with her Lamb Adobo Empanada.

In addition to awarding the 2018 championship trophy, the event provided the occasion for an exciting announcement: Denver will be added as an official stop on the Lamb Jam Tour in 2019, the 10th year of the tour.

To view photos  from the Lamb Jam Finale, visit the Lamb Jam Tour Facebook and Instagram— @LambJamTour.

 

2018 Lamb Jam Finale Competitors

  • Austin: Chef Jacob Weaver of Juliet – Neck Sugo with burrata tortelloni, broccoli rabe, fresno chile

  • Boston: Chef Lars Taylor of The Honey Paw – Lamb Dumplings with aromatic broth, matsutake, leeks, annatto oil

  • Washington, DC: Chef Dimitri Moshovitz of CAVA – Braised Lamb Shoulder with goat cheese tortellini,  pressed roasted lamb belly, lamb fat celery root puree, lamb demi, pickled mustard seeds, truffles, chives

  • Seattle: Chef Jason Stoneburner of Stoneburner/Bastille – Lamb Manti with lovage yogurt, aleppo pepper, mint

  • San Francisco: Chef Danica Avilas of Pinoy Heritage – Lamb Adobo Empanada with corn, peppercress, pickles

About Lamb Jam Tour

Made possible by the American Lamb Board,  Lamb Jam Tour is an epic chef competition and culinary experience that brings together the most talented chefs at each of the tour stops (Austin, Boston, Denver, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington D.C.)  to celebrate the 80,000 family operated farms and ranches raising sheep in the U.S.

This year’s Tour Finale brought together fifty of Denver’s most respected food media, chefs, ranchers and industry professionals for a blind tasting at The Farmette in Lyons, CO.  The tasting was accompanied by wines from Infinite Monkey Theorem (Denver, CO), beers from  Funkwerks (Fort Collins, CO), and cocktails created by Kayla Arrigo (Bar Manager at Hilton Garden Inn, Boulder, CO) featuring spirits from Spirit Hound Distillers (Lyons, CO).

 

Puerto Vallarta Featuring 9 Michelin Chefs at Vallarta Gastronomica Food Festival

Puerto Vallarta will continue celebrating its Centennial with another event of international importance when it hosts the 10th annual edition of the Vallarta-Nayarit Gastronomica food festival

Read more

CANNED WINE: Napa Valley’s WineSociety by Subscription Vintages

As part of our quest to discover the newest and best in canned wines, we introduce WineSociety‘s subscription canned wine service.

Read more

Mango Bread Recipe from the South Beach Mango Festival

The first South Beach Mango Festival takes place August 5, 2018, from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. at South Beach’s beautiful, white sandy beach in Lummus Park, adjacent to Ocean Drive. www.SobeMangoFest.com

South Florida wants to commemorate and celebrate the importance and peak of its famed fruit. The event is aimed at tropical fruit lovers and culinary enthusiasts, as well as the domestic and international visitors who flock to South Beach. The event will also benefit a vital non-profit philanthropic organization, Big Brothers and Big Sisters.

Visitors will have the opportunity to continue to educate themselves on healthy eating options and alternatives, using mango in their recipes, with activities including a farmer’s market offering more than 40 varieties of juicy, sweet, locally farmed mangoes; mango tastings; cooking classes for kids and adults, featuring the golden fruit; a children’s play area; and an entertainment area with live music and dancing; top chef demos, and a memorable mango-mixology competition.

Get a taste with this Mango Bread recipe by star Chef Allen.

South Beach Mango Bread Recipe

Ingredients to Serve-10 slices

¼ Cup Butter
¾ cup Sugar
2 Medium Very Ripe mangos pureed
1 Large Egg, slightly beaten
1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons Lime juice
1 ½ Cups All purpose flour
1 ½ Teaspoon Baking powder
½ Teaspoon Baking soda
½ teaspoon Ground cinnamon
1 Cup Chopped walnuts

 

To prepare the batter: In a large mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar. Add the mango, egg, vanilla, and lime juice. In a separate large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Add the mango mixture to the flour mixture stirring until the dry ingredients are just moistened.

Stir in the walnuts.

To bake the mango bread: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9x5x3 inch non stick pan with non stick cooking spray. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center, comes out clean. Cool in the pan 10 minutes before removing from the loaf pan. Allow to cook for 1 hour on a rack before serving.

 

 

www.SobeMangoFest.com

 

We Taste Tested the Southern Seasoned Coating Mixes by Kentucky Kernel, and were Pleased

We found that the Kentucky Kernel lived up to our hopes, and gave a fast, quick, easy, and clean way to prep fish and chicken for meals in a Southern style.

Read more

Château de Pommard Clos Marey-Monge Monopole 2015 is Worth Celebrating

It is easy to take for granted a French wine that comes from a vineyard established in 1726. Fortunately for us, the new 2015 vintage from Château de Pommard lives up to those expectations.

Read more