Culinary knowledge just flows from her like river, and she loves sharing every bit of it in her classes. That’s what makes Chef Amy Barnes one of the best chefs at Sweet Basil Culinary Center. She started cooking classes as a child which set her up for a long career at The Hyatt’s in Scottsdale and Austin, Texas, The Princess Resort and The Impeccable Pig Restaurant in Old Town Scottsdale. Chef Amy is a great story teller and loves to pay tribute to some of the upscale restaurants that helped to shape her career. This Chorizo Chicken and Corn Risotto pays homage to her years at The Golden Swan at The Hyatt Regency Gainey Ranch, which she helped to open in 1986 and where she worked side by side with chefs from all over the world. It’s there that she says she was “Hyattized”, which means to carry high standards throughout her career. If you want to elevate, or “Hyattize” dinner this week, give Amy’s show-stopping dish a try!
garlic clove, minced
Over the Rainbow Cubed Ahi Tuna Salad
There is the classic Salade Nicoise with its lovely composition of tuna, tomatoes, sliced eggs, olives, potatoes, haricots verts and anchovies–or variations thereof. The tuna is generally canned, and there is very little in the way of lettuce leaves. Then, there is the more updated trend, the Ahi Tuna Salad, with its delicate strips of seared fresh ahi tuna, arranged in overlapping slices and serve on a bed of lettuce often with a wasabi-soy- mustard drizzle or a honey ginger vinaigrette. Combine the best of both salads, add a rainbow of color and crunch, and you have a hearty, healthful main meal dish with the unusual twist of fresh tuna served, not in slices, but rather in cubes to get the sear on all sides. If your New Year’s resolution is to eat healthy and somewhat preservative-free, the Over The Rainbow Cubed Ahi Tuna Salad is your creative and crunchy kick starter in a salad bowl!
