The colors of yum

A visiting Miami chef says food must look as good as it tastes

>> Cindy Hutson's recipe for crab cakes
Think of flavors as colors and you can see them as much as imagine their tastes: bold, bright, lively, spirited.

These are the flavors of toasted spices, well-caramelized aromatics, layered ingredients selected for visual and taste impact.

"Everything's got to be bright, full of color. It's got to look as good as it tastes," Cindy Hutson, chef at Miami's Ortanique on the Mile, told a group gathered at a cooking session Saturday, part of the Kahala Food & Wine Classic.

Hutson calls her style "Cuisine of the Sun," and in this outdoor setting -- on the roof of the parking garage at the Kahala Hotel & Resort -- there was certainly plenty of sunshiny inspiration.

Her goal: dishes that are "beautiful in color; vibrant in flavor."

And not fussy: "Get it done, get it out and spend time with your friends."

That said, it was evident that the pumpkin soup and curried crab cakes that participants assembled and cooked required a good deal of prep time, mostly chopping -- 2 pounds of pumpkin, for example, and if you've ever cut into a pumpkin, you know it's a chore.

All that was done by the Kahala's kitchen crew, though, so the most challenging task facing Saturday's group was keeping their tall-stemmed glasses from tipping over in the trades. "Hold onto your champagne glasses -- there's a gust!" Hutson called out. Oh yeah, everyone had a mimosa; the better to cook with.

So, although, this was cooking made fuss-free and upscale, it was also a chance to pick up some good advice from Hutson:

Use whole-seed spices. Toast them in a dry skillet over low heat until they smell great. Grind them in a coffee grinder used only for this purpose and store in an airtight container. "The difference is night and day compared to buying them already ground."

Treat recipes as guides, adaptable to what's fresh and available. But treat the techniques with respect. Her pumpkin soup, for example, relies on building the flavors slowly in the stockpot. "If you just throw the onions, garlic and stock in there, it would cook, but it wouldn't have the same flavor."

Always taste before you serve, and adjust the seasonings. "It's not the recipe that finishes the dish, it's your palate."

Caribbean Pumpkin Bisque 1 tablespoon butter 1/2 large sweet onion, sliced 2 cloves garlic, smashed 1 whole allspice 1 tablespoon salt 1/4 teaspoon scotch bonnet pepper, seeded and chopped, or more to taste 1 smoked ham hock 1 sprig thyme 2 pounds kabocha pumpkin, seeded, peeled and cut in chunks 6 cups chicken stock Pepper, to taste Heat butter in large stock pot. Add onions and garlic, cook until brown and soft. Add allspice, salt, pepper and ham hock. Strip leaves from thyme sprig and add; stir 2 to 3 minutes. Add pumpkin and stock. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer 45 minutes. Remove from heat and cool 30 minutes. Remove ham hock. Blend until smooth in blender, working in batches (fill blender just half-full and remove plug in cover when blending warm liquids). Taste and add salt and pepper, if needed. Serves 10. Approximate nutritional information, per serving (not including salt to taste): 110 calories, 4.5 g total fat, 1.5 g saturated fat, 10 mg cholesterol, 1,300 mg sodium, 20 g carbohydrate, 5 g fiber, 2 g sugar, 4 g protein.

Kahala Food & Wine Classic 2008