Listen up Costa Vida Lovers of Good Food. Life is too short to sit and peel fresh garlic gloves with a small knife or with your fingernails. This Oscar Nominated presentation will help show you how to do it the easy way. I can only think of a few things better than fresh roasted garlic, one of those things being, Roasted Green Chili sauce with the roasted garlic in the sauce. The other thing that could possibly be better would be a quick jaunt in an F-16 jet over the valley.

But seriously folks, garlic is an amazing food and will enhance almost every dish that you make, and roasting the cloves gives an incredible sweet flavor and makes it a piece of cake to peel. I would love to hear some roasted garlic stories from you foodie types. I love new ideas and different recipes. Thanks for being a part of Costa Vida and my life

Chef

Costa Vida, Rock Star Shows & Nok Inc. present The Vanilla Ice & MC Hammer Concert Party, Feb 27, 2009 at the McKay Events Center. Enter to win 2 tickets to see the show and be present to see history made.  Follow the instructions below to enter to win:

1. Visit http://twitter.com/costavida and Click “Follow”.
2. Tweet (Send a message through Twitter) the EXACT phrase below.

Entered to WIN 2 tickets to Vanilla Ice/MC Hammer. FOLLOW @CostaVida & RETWEET TO ENTER. Quiz question sent on Feb 25, 2009 @ 5 pm MST

Once you tweet the message above, you are officially entered.  Click Here to verify your official entry.

3. On February 25, 2009 at 5:00 pm MST, we will close the contest with a question. The first registered follwer to reply to us, through Twitter, with the correct answer, WINS!

Already following @Costavida on Twitter, but not through your Mobile Device?  Here’s how:

Step 1 - Register your mobile device. (Learn how at http://twitter.zendesk.com/forums/23786/entries/14589)

Step 2 – Activate Mobile Updates by texting on costavida to 40404. Or you can visit www.twitter.com/costavida and click the “Device Updates” tab.  Select “On” to turn on mobile updates.

Sign up and enjoy!

To take advantage of delicious offers and Costa updates right on your mobile phone, follow Costa Vida on your mobile device through Twitter.   Here’s how:

Step 1 - Visit www.twitter.com/costavida and press “Join Today”.

Step 2 - If you have a Twitter account, go to www.twitter.com/costavida and press “Follow.”  Viola! You are following Costa Vida.

Step 3 - Register your mobile device. (Learn how at http://twitter.zendesk.com/forums/23786/entries/14589)

Step 4 – Activate Mobile Updates by texting on costavida to 40404. Or you can visit www.twitter.com/costavida and click the “Device Updates” tab.  Select “On” to turn on mobile updates.

Now you are ready to receive and redeem periodic updates and offers from your cell phone.  To learn more about how to use twitter visit http://help.twitter.com/portal

You will be thanking yourself (and us) later.

At the start of this new year, I think it is appropriate to list some New Year Resolutions. Ideas that will help make your food taste better, look more appealing and bring greater raves from friends and family.

10. Resolve to sharpen your knives at least one more time than you did last year, which will probably be a total of 2 times.

9. Man up and take the swim goggles off when cutting onions.

8. Throw out at least 1 small spice can that you purchased in the 70’s. You know which ones they are.

7. Make an attempt to actually bake a loaf of bread, yes from scratch.

6. Try the beef enchilada with the red enchilada sauce and cheese at Costa Vida.

5. Learn to flip and cook eggs over easy without breaking the yolk.

4. Read my blogs and ask for ideas on food.

3. Raise the flavor level of all food you make by 10% by tasting your food before serving it.

2. Go Fresh! Go Fresh! Go Fresh!

And the number 1 resolution for 2009:

1. Feel the exhilaration of preparing a meal wearing only your apron, yep buck naked.

As we enter the season of giving, the Costa Vida Management team was blessed to be able to help The Jazz Bear and friends spread some love and sweet pork quesadillas to some really cool kids. Lehi High School hosted this event which included break dancers from the High School Musical movies that were nearly as sweet as the pork in the quesadillas. After a power breakfast of sweet pork quesadillas and orange juice, the mob of over 500 kids and volunteers proceeded to the local Wally World for a morning of shopping for anything the kids wanted. The Bear is a freaking great creature and does this event multiple times each Christmas Season, benefiting local kids who need some love and hope. I did kick his trash in an arm wrestling contest though. Santa even showed up and I kicked his trash too.

Greetings Costa Vida Lovers (of food),

Next to Halloween, this is my favorite time of the year. I am so thankful for food and the happiness it brings in my life. I love everything about food except for pickles and yellow mustard which I do not classify as food. Thanksgiving is one of the several days that I love to get in the kitchen and just freaking cook all day. It is impossible for me to cook for just 5 people so there ends up being enough food on the table for a small army. My typical thanksgiving meal includes herb roasted turkey, fresh stuffing, whipped yams and russets, fresh cranberry sauce, giblet gravy, steamed fresh asparagus and sauteed yellow corn, homemade whole wheat rolls, butter, fresh berry jam, mixed greens with a cranberry ranch, bread pudding with a whiskey sauce and pumpkin pie with ice cream.

I want to share with you the worlds easiest and by far the best fresh stuffing and a fresh cranberry sauce.

Fresh Stuffing

Ingredients:
3 Tbs            Butter
1 cup            Diced yellow onions
1 cup            Chopped Fresh Celery
2 1/2 cup     Chicken Stock (Chicken Boulion)
6 cups          Fresh rolls or bread broken into chunks
1 Tbs            Sage
1 tsp             Salt
1 tsp             Pepper

Preparation:
Melt the butter in a pot and saute the onions and celery over a medium heat for 2 minutes.

Add the chicken stock and the spices and bring to a boil.
Add the bread and turn off the heat.
Stir the mixture until the liquid has been absorbed into the bread.
Serve immediately.

Fresh Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:
1 bag               Fresh Cranberries
1 cup               Fresh squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup           Honey
To taste           Salt

Preparation:
Combine all ingredients into a blender and puree to the level of chunkiness that you like.
This sauce is tart so if you prefer a sweeter sauce add more honey. So simple yet, so good.

Greetings my good Costa Vida fiends,

I am totally amped about the chance I have to share my passion for food and Costa Vida with you. Food is easy to be passionate about, I love the way it feels, smells, looks and tastes. If you consider that we are made of energy and our universe is energy, what we eat is truly what we are, since it has incredible energy and we need it to survive. Food sustains life and as a Chef my job is to create and harness this wonderful energy into something so good that you want to come back for more. Our bodies are the most incredible creation on this earth and I take the sacredness of that creation very seriously. I understand the extreme importance of producing natural, wholesome and great food for you; great food that will sustain and provide life giving energy. Food prepared in its simplest form is usually the best. In the picture above are simple ingredients brought together to create enormous flavor that makes your tastes buds water. In your own kitchen, I encourage you to approach the food you prepare and put in your body with the same passion I feel. After all, life is too short not to enjoy the flavors and the energy that it provides you. See you at a Costa Vida real soon.

Dave Prows CEC AAC