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What is everyone firing up on a friday night?
I am going to thank chef lynn crawford for my meal idea tonight lol A paprika chicken breast (okay well 4 but I can eat leftovers) with a cream tomato and red pepper sauce, potato dumplings and a big salad with rye croutons. |
Greetings Delicious people..how are you all doing?
I have not seen some of our regulars here in a while. Wonder where everyone is? This evening I made dinner for friends. Kind of an odd mix but I went with what looked good at market. A guacamole and chips with salsa verde, consumed with Corona on ice, poolside. Later we had a spelt and quinoa pasta with red swiss chard, sauteed in garlic and olive oil with a squeeze of fresh lemon. I grilled up some vegetables that had been bathed in minded fresh garlic and olive oil. Zucchini, Sweet Onions, Passila peppers, Yellow bell, shitake mushrooms, plum tomatoes. Simple, fresh, local, mostly organic. I am never in the mood to cook at home anymore, not sure what got into me. |
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My Chef Jackets get screwed up too, trust me. Especially as we are tempering chocolate a lot, in class. Plus, I seem to have 'warm hands', which complicates things, in pastry classes. :(
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Seriously I could do a commercial for a stain remover, I have no idea how I wind up with so much on my uniforms. Do you have a chilled surface for the pastry? That helps a lot. |
Reflecting
Today was one of those days at work that everyone should experience before deciding to become a Chef. We were hammered all day long. Personally I enjoy the energy rush and work with a great time. However, slamming food out is not my thing, I like to take my time and get into the artistry of the entire aesthetic experience, the careful execution of every aspect of the dish, the plating, any design work that goes into the production and so on. Busy days on a line in a kitchen require that we almost go on "auto pilot", During down time, I like to get my hands into some of the prep work.
Today as I was grating Parmesan, cutting fresh Basil, chopping fresh Rosemary, and squeezing fresh lemons, I was drifting off into the natural realm where I often find myself inhaling the gifts of nature. I was thinking of my Italian ancestry and how for centuries they were likely working with these same ingredients, preparing dishes for the family and for the public. When I have a ball of dough in my hands I feel a connection to my great grandfather who came here from Italy and opened a bakery in Queens NY. When I saute' garlic and olive oil I am transported back to my Nana's kitchen and I can almost hear the back door open as my grandfather brought in fresh plum tomato's from his garden, so proud of his hard work. They were a lovely, charming couple, so in sync with the relationship between good food and family. My grandparents modeled sweet romantic love. They were so very loving. We had amazing family dinners every Sunday and talked for hours about everything under the sun including our ancestry and the labor that went into preparing amazing meals. I never forget how hard they all worked to make a life for us, and how I now carry that responsibility and family name forward. Often I wonder what I will pass on to my own children...will they love to be in the kitchen as much as I do? Will the scent of garlic sauteing in olive oil or the aroma of fresh basil remind them of home too? It is a symphonic harmonizing of culture and generations that opens up in the kitchen, the sound of the pots and pans signal the start, the fire and knives play the melody, the cook is the composer and the ingredients are the music. It is an amazing journey for sure. As I wrap up my day, my heart begins to ache a little bit each day, as I long for a family to come home to. To be able to be who I am with my own family, to cook with a partner, to talk about our day, to share a meal...these are my riches in this lifetime. There is nothing elese that I could accomplish or have that could possibly top this wish for my future. It is a bittersweet moment, as the feeling sinks into my soul..and it is one that I carry with me always. |
No, we don't have a chilled surface, unfortunately. We do have stainless steel tables, however, and two wooden tables in our pastry kitchen. That is ok, I will manage, and learn how to do things under less then ideal conditions, instead. That is how I make bread at home, anyhow. I just mix the dough up in a big bowl with a wooden spoon. :P
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In the future you might try getting a marble slab and putting it in the freezer for a while before working with pastry. That is a quick fix that works pretty well. Rarely do I work with puff pastry but I know that the high butter content renders it fragile to heat. Lately I am really getting into pizza dough as we have a world class pizza oven at the restaurant. It is so much fun to play with. What I really need to accomplish however is to create a good gluten free pizza dough. We are not there yet. Recently I made a green chili, pizza with 3 kinds of chili's and Monterey Jack. That works well in the southwest. It can be topped with any protein at all. I offered carne asada or black beans. Back to the grind soon, have a great day everyone! |
I think I am going through one of those periods where I just cannot seem to have inspiration come to me. Maybe I am not taking the time to let it find me? I always feel a connection with what I am cooking with but my senses haven't been transformed by food in weeks. I love to cook but emotionally there have been many shifts in this last month and I feel as though I cannot dedicate the time to feel the soul satisfaction when making my meals. Every now and then, at least once a week it does come back to me.
This too shall pass. |
Yum!
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For me if there is any stress in my day it kills my creative flow in the kitchen. |
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Looks like a nice pic for an invitation. Just a thought! |
Have you ever seen a photograph of a restaurant and thought that it was the most beautiful romantic place for a date?
Well I have. As a matter of fact... Well I cant share that part. Yet. ;) So..what restaurant, cafe', picnic location, clam bar, take out joint, vineyard, place where food or beverage is consumed..blew your mind ever? |
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I had to think about this for a few minutes, but this was the most romantic dinner I have had: http://nieuport17.com/ http://i1277.photobucket.com/albums/...ps57b10ce7.jpg http://i1277.photobucket.com/albums/...psdde4192c.jpg |
Dreams of NY
Greetings Delicious People! If any of you get to NYC I want to encourage you to visit my friend Sue Torres at her fabulous restaurant "Suenos". You are in for a real adventure. Sue is an amazing Chef. Some of you may have watched her battle Bobby Flay on Iron Chef. What a throwdown that was. Worth searching for the program online if you missed it. NYC is a great restaurant city, but lacking in excellent Mexican food in my opinion. San Francisco is my favorite food city, there is so much diversity that it is mind blowing. Creative genius at every turn. What makes a great food city or town for you? |
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The others were just a warm up. One of my favorite options for a meal is a picnic on the beach. There is nothing like the beach for me. The coast is where I love to be. |
I decided yesterday that the West is lacking in real Italian foods. People go crazy over any combination of garlic, basil, tomato or garlic lemon, Parmesan. I've been playing around with small wood fired pizza's where I can put any combination on top and the way that folks react to Italian cheeses and really good red sauce, garlic, fresh basil and oregano, makes me realize that with very few exceptions (such as the SF bay area & LA) there is a real shortage of good Italian food.
For anyone who is looking for a quick tomato sauce, here is a recipe that I use often and takes less than 15 mins to cook: Suns Quick Tomato Sauce 1 Can Muir Glen Organic Plum Tomato's 28 oz. 3 Cloves garlic 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil 4 leaves of Fresh Basil 1 tsp honey Sea Salt Freshly ground Black Pepper Red Pepper (optional) Chop garlic and saute' in olive oil over medium heat for one minute, do not brown. Puree tomato's in a blender or for a chunky sauce, strain liquid into the pot and chop tomato's. Add to pot. Cook covered on medium heat for 10 minutes. Add fresh basil and honey. Cook 5 more minutes. Salt & pepper to taste. Multiply recipe as needed. Yield: 3.5 Cups sauce. I love greens and make lots of them. Any vegetable that is dark and leafy is also loaded with life source that we need to stay healthy and vibrant. Nutrients such as magnesium, potassium, iron, as well as rich antioxidants can be found in leafy greens. As the markets start to roll in fresh vegetables from local farms, get your greens on. Here is a quick recipe for Swiss Chard. You can eat this on its own, add to a soup or pasta, serve as a side dish, incorporate into a Risotto (which I often do and it is delicious) and most of all, feed it to someone who is not a lover or greens, this will make them a convert ;) As always, use organic whenever possible. Even better, grow your own. Garlicky Swiss Chard 2 Bunches (roughly 6 Cups chopped) Swiss Chard 6 garlic cloves, chopped 3 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil 1 Vegetable broth or Chicken broth (sub water if none is available) 2 Tbsp Shaved Romano Cheese (Locatelli Brand is my preference) Fresh ground pepper Prep: Rinse, dry and chop Swiss Chard. Reserve stems for use in soup. In a 4 qt pot or pan, saute' garlic in olive oil over medium low heat for 2 minutes. Do not brown. Add Chard to garlic, olive oil mixture and saute' for 5 minutes on low to medium heat. Add 1/2 Cup of broth, cover and let cook on low for 5 minutes. Add remaining broth and cook on low for 10 minutes. Top with Romano Cheese. Season with pepper. Yield: 2-3 Cups depending on water content. |
Making butternut squash n leek soup tonight!
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