Taste Your Food

The first thing I do is put HONEY in all my food; this is the base of all my dishes. When I am cooking at Canyonlands by Night or anywhere for that matter, I cook as though I am cooking for the person I love (it’s very important to cook as though you’re cooking for your loved one). I put my WHOLE HEART into all my food. Once I feel I am ready to cook I start building flavors from the bottom up. Think of this a building a house; you don’t see the foundation, the rough framing or the plumbing, but instead you see the finished product. So when you taste my food, you taste what all the ingredients combined do to the STAR of the dish, such as chicken, beef seafood and so on. You taste the food, along with what the spices herbs or other aromatics create to enhance to natural flavors of the STAR component. Of course if you like garlic or a specific flavor you tend to add a lot of it, this is for your taste only. Most people won’t like the food I prepare for myself, I have very specific tastes. Therefore, when I am cooking for others, I marry the flavors of all the ingredients, to create blend of what I think they will like.

Everyone asks me how I get the dinner out so quickly. I use the following process to cook quickly:
1. First I select the dish I want to prepare.
2. When I have what I’d like to prepare in mind, I lay out all the kitchen tools I will use for easy access i.e. cutting board and knife together, stirring spoon next sauté pan or pot near the stove and so on.
3. Then I line up all the seasonings I will use in the order I’ll be using them.
4. Then I select the foods I will use and put them where I will be using them, i.e. onions, garlic, celery or carrots in a bowl near the cutting board. I keep the cold foods in the refrigerator, until ready for use.

If you use this process, it will make your cooking experience more enjoyable because everything will be at hand. It’s the way restaurants can prepare your dinner so quickly.
My next post will be on how to use a knife and cutting board and the start of building flavors, Sofritto and the marriage of these flavors Insopora.

I hope I’ve helped you learn a little about cooking and encourage you to test it out.
Bon appetite
Your chef Sammii

The highest-flying image of Delicate Arch ever!

In February of this year, Lieutenant Colonel Bob Behnken served as a Mission Specialist on the Space Shuttle Endeavor which delivered the Tranquility module to the International Space Station. Prior to the shuttle mission he requested a small item from Arches National Park, a place that he and his wife (also an astronaut) have a special connection to. Arches National Park provided a couple of the patches CNHA sell in the National Parks.

Saturday, June 12 at 10:00am Lieutenant Colonel Behnken returned to Arches to deliver the patches back to the park.

For more information on Lieutenant Colonel Behnken visit Wikipedia or NASA

Information provided by CNHA on June 10th, 2010

Moab Named Among Top Travel Hot Spots

Link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/TCDestinations-cOutdoor-g191

The travel website TripAdvisor.com announced the top 10 travel hot spots for 2010, with Moab coming in as number 3. Moab beat out Lake Tahoe, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and Yosemite. Click the link above to read more.

127 Hours Wraps in the Southeast Utah

Link: http://www.filmmoab.com

For Immediate Release
From: Tara Penner, Director
Moab to Monument Valley Film Commission
phone (435) 259-4341 fax (435) 259-5135
www.filmmoab.com
tara@moabcity.org

127 Hours Wraps in the Southeast Utah

Academy Award Winning Director Danny Boyle Wraps Production

Moab, UT - 127 HOURS, produced by Fox Searchlight Pictures, Directed by Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire), starring James Franco (Spiderman), has finished production in Southeast Utah.

With over 35 shoot days in the area, and employing over 150 locals, this project had a large economic impact in Moab and Green River. Approximately $14 million went into the local communities, as well as Northern Utah.

“Mr. Boyle was warmly welcomed into our community, and it was wonderful to see the locals hard at work along side him each time I made a set visit. Boyle and the entire crew of 127 Hours showed phenomenal talent and are exactly what locals in the film industry are hoping for when getting hired on with a production.” Tara Penner, Moab to Monument Valley Film Commission Director.

127 Hours is a film based on the real-life events of Aron Ralston, in 2003. Ralston was mountaineering in Blue John Canyon, near Moab, UT, and became trapped by a boulder.

“Working on 127 hours was a great experience for me, I was so close to the camera action that I set "sticks" for Anthony Dod Mantle (Red Camera DP) one day and overheard V (Blue Camera DP) say ‘We are making art’ the next. I really had an awesome time, I love the "crunch time" of the film industry.” Marc Antonnuccio, Transportation and Camera PA

Fox Searchlight Pictures plans to release the film later this year.

Arches Sunset Scenic Tour

Link: http://www.canyonlandsbynight.com/tours/

When was the last time you went to Arches National Park? It's been awhile for my staff and I, so every spring we like to reacquaint ourselves with the trips that we sell. Arches National Park is a beautiful place and nothing brings that to mind more than trekking through the popular points.

While out there, I became a photo nut. Yes, I was one of those photo wackos with two cameras glued to my eye instead of watching where I was going. I'm pretty sure my staff members were irritated with me that I kept using them as the subjects of my photos, but who else was I suppose to use? Me? No way.

So I snapped photos as long as they would hold still and I've included them for your enjoyment. The four hour tour wasn't long enough for me, but I think for guests who are short on time, the Sunset Bus Tour would be the best bang for your buck (or time). Some of the sites we visited were Park Avenue, Balanced Rock, Delicate Arch (the viewpoint of course... we only had 4 hours), Landscape Arch and the Windows Section. The tour isn't always done in a bus; for our small group we all piled in a van which could navigate the small roads in Arches better.

While at the Windows Section I tried trading cameras with a group of professional camera guys who were poised for the sunset action. I didn't have any takers, but they found me humorous enough to give me some tips and let me share a bit of space with them as sunset hit both North and South Window. One day I will be as cool as them... but until then I will continue to use what I have.

Enjoy the photos and I'll be sure to post more from the other trips we've taken!

>> Written By Mallory