Executive Chef Mark Phillips of Buckhead Bottle Bar & Bistro along with Private Celebrity Chef Clarence Ridgley were the featured chefs of the evening demonstrating their recipes in front of the attentive crowd. Assisted by their “Celebrity Sous Chefs”” of reality TV fame, Towanda Braxton (Style Network’s Braxton Family Values), Toya Bush Harris (Bravo’s Married to Medicine) and KeKe Wyatt (TV One’s R&B Divas), the chefs entertained while teaching guests how to re-create their featured recipes.

The lovely Passionate Chonville and the charismatic Damien ‘Dada’ Check of V103 hosted the evening’s festivities. While three lucky raffle winners took home Courvoisier Rose gift baskets, no one was left empty handed as guests were treated to sponsored swag bags packed with goodies.

A host of celebrities and Atlanta’s Tastemakers converged upon Aurum Lounge, all in the name of good “Taste” and they certainly weren’t disappointed. Special guests included Former NFL baller Bob Whitfield, Shay Johnson (Love & Hip Hop), Latin Pop Star Seich and actor Michael Jai White, among others. This event was a blast and all in attendance can testify to this, you certainly don’t want to miss the next one!

Event Sponsor Marsha Shakleford and Philanthropist James Brashears

Shay Johnson (Love & Hip Hop)

Social Cravings’ Heather Walker and KeKe Wyatt

Chicken Parmigiana

 Ingredients

• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 ounces dry bread crumbs
• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 3/4 (16 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
• 2 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Ingredients

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1 cup chopped green onions
• 1 cup chopped parsley
• 1/2 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/2 pound scallops
• 1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 pound dry fettuccine pasta

Directions

1. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente.
2. Meanwhile, pour cream into large skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until just about boiling. Reduce heat, and add herbs, salt, peppers, onions, and parsley. Simmer 7 to 8 minutes, or until thickened.
3. Stir in seafood, cooking until shrimp is no longer transparent. Stir in cheeses, blending well.
4. Drain pasta. Serve sauce over noodles.

 Ingredients

6 roma (plum) tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil

3 cloves minced garlic

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup fresh basil, stems removed

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 French baguette

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup minced white onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

3/4 cup low-sodium beef broth

1/2 cup port wine

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

4 filet mignon steaks (1 1/2 inch thick)

3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

Directions

1.                     Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and thyme. Cook, stirring constantly, until onion is tender. Stir in the beef broth, scraping any onion bits from the bottom of the pan, then stir in the port wine. Bring to a boil, and cook until the mixture has reduced to about 1/2 cup. Set aside. This may also be made ahead of time, and reheated.
2.                     Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Heat oil in a cast-iron or other oven-safe skillet over high heat. Sear steaks quickly on both sides until brown, then place the whole pan into the oven.
3.                     Roast steaks in the oven for about 15 minutes for medium rare – with an internal temperature of 145 degrees F (63 degrees C). You may adjust this time to allow the steaks to finish just below your desired degree of doneness if medium is not what you prefer.  Remove from the oven, and place on a baking sheet. Stir together the panko crumbs and blue cheese. Top each steak with a layer of this mixture.
4.                     Preheat the oven’s broiler. Place steaks under the preheated broiler until the cheese topping is browned and bubbly. 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the oven, and let stand for at least 15 minutes before serving. Serve with warm port wine sauce.

Ingredients

5 cups bread cubes

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

1/4 cup white sugar, divided

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon margarine, softened

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1.                     Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly butter an 8×8 inch baking pan.
2.                     Line bottom of pan with bread cubes. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, milk, 2 tablespoons sugar, salt and  vanilla. pour egg mixture over bread. Dot with margarine; let stand for 10 minutes.
3.                     Combine remaining 2 tablespoons sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon and sprinkle over the top.  Bake in preheated oven about 45 to 50 minutes, until top is golden.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons lemon pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 4 (6 ounce) salmon fillets

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, divided
• 1 (16 ounce) loaf day-old French bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 pinch salt
• 4 very ripe bananas, mashed

Directions

1. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon of butter; place the remaining butter in a saucepan over low heat, and melt the butter. Spread the French bread cubes out into the greased pan, and drizzle the melted butter over the bread.
2. Place the walnuts into a dry skillet over medium-low heat; cook and stir until the walnuts turn a light golden brown and give off a toasted fragrance, about 2 minutes. Watch carefully so they don’t burn. Remove from heat, and transfer walnuts into a bowl immediately to cool. Set walnuts aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs lightly just to break yolks, and mix in the cream, condensed milk, coconut milk, brown sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and salt. Whisk to thoroughly combine until smooth. Stir in mashed banana and 3/4 cup of walnuts. Pour the banana mixture evenly over the bread cubes, and push bread cubes into the mixture to coat well with the custard. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup of toasted walnuts. Cover the dish with plastic wrap, and refrigerate 8 to 12 hours.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Remove plastic wrap, and cover dish with foil.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, then remove the foil and return to oven until the top is browned and the edges are pulling away from the pan, about 45 more minutes. Allow to cool before serving.

Apple Pie by Grandma Ople

Ingredients

• 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 8 Granny Smith apples – peeled, cored and sliced

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, white sugar and brown sugar, and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer.
2. Place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Cover with a lattice work crust. Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off.
3. Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes, until apples are soft.

Irish Cream Creme Brulee

Ingredients

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 6 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons Irish cream liqueur
• superfine sugar as needed

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Place 6 ramekins on a towel set in a roasting pan at least 3 inches deep.
2. Stir together cream and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat, and cook until very hot, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Whisk together egg yolks, vanilla, and Irish cream until combined. Slowly add 1/3 of the hot cream, whisking it in 2 tablespoons at a time until incorporated. Once you have incorporated 1/3 of the cream, you can stir in the remaining hot cream without fear of the mixture curdling.
3. Pour custard into the ramekins, then fill roasting pan with boiling hot water to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake in preheated oven until set, 50 to 60 minutes.
4. Once the custard has set, place ramekins on a wire rack, and allow to cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Cover, and refrigerate until cold, about 4 hours. Custards may remain refrigerated until ready to serve.
5. Unwrap the custards, and sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of superfine sugar onto each. Gently shake the custards so the sugar coats the entire top surface, then tip the custards to a 45 degree angle and shake off excess sugar.
6. Using a small hand torch, melt the sugar by making short passes over top of the custards with the flame not quite touching. Continue melting the sugar until it turns deep brown. Once the sugar has melted and turned to caramel, the cold custard underneath will harden the sugar into a crispy crust. Serve immediately. Alternatively, the sugar-dusted custards may be browned underneath the broiler in the oven.