Curtis Stone cooking demo at Merillat's 2010 KBIS booth
For the first time ever, Merillat invited a celebrity chef to KBIS! On Friday, April 16, renowned chef Curtis Stone put the on-site Merillat kitchen to work with some cooking demonstrations and autograph sessions. This lively event put the “fun” in function by demonstrating a number of organizational features of Merillat cabinetry, not to mention three of Curtis’ mouth watering recipes.
For those who are unfamiliar, Curtis is a wildly popular Australian chef who has become a bit of a phenomenon here in the U.S. with his reality cooking show, Take Home Chef, and appearances on shows like NBC’s Today Show, The Biggest Loser, The Oprah Winfrey Show and The Celebrity Apprentice. You can learn more about Curtis at CurtisStone.com.
His appearance at KBIS was Curtis’ first introduction as Merillat’s new spokesperson, and marked the beginning of a new advertising and public relations campaign coming this summer that recognizes life happens in the kitchen.
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So, who better than a professional chef to illustrate the importance of a well organized kitchen by putting Merillat’s KBIS kitchen to the test? Equipped with some of our coolest cabinet accessories and technologies, and the new prototype CornerStore™ cabinet, Curtis testified that the conveniences and smooth work flow found in a Merillat kitchen make a big difference in creating a great environment for cooking and entertaining.
According to Curtis, after visiting hundreds of real kitchens while filming Take Home Chef, “Domestic kitchens aren’t always so practical. It makes cooking a hassle. What (Merillat does) is produce beautiful kitchens, as you can see. To me, kitchens should be the sexiest room in the house. And not only do (Merillat kitchens) look amazing, but they’re super practical. From a chef’s perspective, and from a home cook’s perspective, when you’re working in a kitchen that makes sense, it makes the whole cooking experience much easier.”
Curtis, of course, makes cooking look effortless. Several lucky audience members got to get their hands dirty in the Merillat kitchen, helping Curtis whip up steamed mussels with chorizo (see below for the recipe!), a pesto linguine with shrimp, and – best of all – several variations on a divine chocolate sauce.
If you didn’t get to attend KBIS and would like to see Curtis in action, we’ll be posting videos of these demonstrations in the next few weeks, so stay tuned!
Steamed Mussels with Chorizo and White Wine
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 pound / 500 grams Spanish chorizo, cut into bite-size pieces
4 shallots, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 pounds / 2 kg mussels, bearded and scrubbed
1 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro / coriander , plus more for garnish
6 tablespoons / 80 grams butter, chopped
1 baguette, torn into large pieces
Method
- Sauté the chorizo for about 8 minutes, or until they are golden brown.
- Add the shallots and garlic, and sauté for about 2 minutes, or until fragrant.
- Add the mussels and toss quickly to coat.
- Add the wine.
- Cover and cook over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes, or until the mussels begin to open.
- Discard any mussels that do not open.
- Add 3 tablespoons of cilantro and toss to combine.
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer the mussels and sausages to a warm large serving bowl.
- Cover to keep warm.
- Boil the juices remaining in the pan for 1 minute.
- Whisk in the butter.
- Pour the sauce over the mussels, sprinkle with the additional cilantro and serve immediately with the baguette pieces.
Check out other recipes by Curtis on his website: http://www.curtisstone.com/Recipes.aspx.
Tags: cornerstore cabinet, curtis stone, KBIS, kitchen & bath industry show, merillat, merillat cabinets, merillat kitchen