| | |  Entertainment | Restaurants & Dining | October 2009 
The Sarcastic Gourmet Goes to Market
 Precision Productions
October 21, 2009
| | If you would like your Puerto Vallarta restaurant to be featured on an upcoming episode of The Sarcastic Gourmet, send an email to nicole(at)precisionproductions.tv. | |
Join Nicole Martin for her bimonthly series, The Sarcastic Gourmet. Follow her adventures and often misadventures in and around Puerto Vallarta as she cruises the restaurant scene and attempts to critique some of the world class chefs of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Look out; because once she is in the kitchen, anything goes...
In this episode, Nicole visits the Aramara Market and gives us tips on buying fresh chickens. She also shows us how to select fresh flowers and save by doing your own arrangements. She encourages us not to support the local black market by staying away from stands that sell pirated videos and music.
We discover the refreshing tastes of homemade, fruit flavored water after eating some Chile soaked popcorn. Nicole gives us her recipe for Dog Bone Popsicles, a favorite treat of dogs here in tropical Puerto Vallarta. We learn the easiest way to remove the skin off an octopus and learn how to select the freshest fish possible.
This and much more as we visit open air traditional Mexican Markets in Puerto Vallarta on this episode of The Sarcastic Gourmet.
About Host Nicole Martin
Nicole... the "Sarcastic Gourmet?" She chose Sarcastic despite suggestions from many, who offered the titles "Cranky Gourmet", "Sloppy Gourmet", "Hysterical Gourmet", "Bitchy Gourmet" and one rather inappropriate title from her sister, "The Psycho Gourmet". So, it is now not a mystery where "Sarcastic" came from - but no one is certain how "Gourmet" emerged.
Gourmet? According to the Cambridge Dictionary of American English, the definition of gourmet is, "A person who knows a lot about food and cooking and enjoys eating good food." That's Nicole, although her skills go a giant step beyond.
She has the capability of feeding a crowd with nothing more than miso paste, a bag of lentils and some rice. (Nary a loaf nor fish...) And with a bit of preparation, her menu can be vast. Rumor has it that Nicole takes leftovers to her office and gives them to associates who want to impress their partners with home cooked food.
Nicole has lived in Mexico since 1989 since she was a small child (well not that small, actually she was a teen) and has prowled the neighborhoods, learned how to buy shrimp and langoustine from the trunks of cars and where the freshest chicken, fruits and vegetables can be found. The huge commercial venues, Sam's and Costco have changed the lifestyles of many, but other than cat litter and bulk cat food, Nicole prefers to hunt down the best that is available from local sources.
Patience is not a virtue possessed by Nicole. She frantically hacks meats and vegetables into what she considers bite sized pieces and her final presentation would look appropriate in a logging camp or prison but alas, Nicole has discovered garnishes. An unsightly slab of tuna can be cleverly concealed by a large sprig of parsley or often the whole plant if necessary.
On the other hand, Nicole is immaculate in preparation. Every utensil is rinsed, vegetables sterilized and she will only buy ground meat from a butcher who lets her watch as he rinses the cut and cleans the grinder.
In her home Nicole has a gallery of observers; some of her cats love to sit on the perimeter of her work space. Of course they are absolutely forbidden to shed a hair and must remain motionless to enjoy this privilege.
And on this note, Nicole loves Rachel Ray but it drives her crazy when Rachel flounces around her kitchen with a mop of loose, fluffy hair. Nicole's house rule is that before beginning to cook, even before washing your hands, you must tie your hair back. Not in a soft clip but rather so tightly that you resemble a Prima Ballerina.
 As one of the largest production companies in the Bay of Banderas, Precision Productions' video services range from a multi-camera high end production to a single camera short video promo to put on your website.
Click HERE to learn more about the Puerto Vallarta video services provided by Precision Productions. |
|
| |
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us