Dec: Our Chistmas Salmon

I still don't feel like Curry, so I thought I'd share with you this salmon recipe and give you a glimpse into kind of what it's like when I cook.

"Hey Peter, would you like to make the Salmon?" "Oh, umm, yeah...sure, I guess so." My mind starts turning. I happen to look at the cherry sampler platter we had received as a gift from some friends. In it was a jar of cherry vinaigrette. "Ooooh", I think to myself, "that would pair great with salmon". I share my idea with Mom...she's not so sure. I also notice a half of leek Mom had out, and hope she doesn't use it so I can.

I consult my books to help me get into the mood and to get an idea as to how I'll cook the fish. I land on a Salmon braised with mushrooms recipe. "Oh, but we don't have mushrooms...they wouldn't be good with the cherry anyway," I think to myself, "I'll braise it with something else, then pour some of the vinaigrette over it when it's done". My stomach rumbles. I end up using the leek (plus another one I found), some sliced celery stalks, and some sliced carrots I stole from a dish Mom was preparing. These will add great flavor to the dish as it cooks, but will be discarded at the end. I cook them with some olive oil in a skillet for a while and add some salt, pepper, and bay leaf. I then add some chicken broth and a splash of Chardonnay, then the salted salmon "roast" (the whole fish without the head and tail), which we had cut in half. The fish sticks up too much in the pan, so I make a makeshift lid with some tin foil.

The heat stays relatively low to cook the fish gently. There's something that's missing...Herbs! On my way to the parsley plant I pass the Sorrel. "Hmm", It's in the back of my mind. The parsley's good and I chop off and mince some of the tops for later. When I take the foil off to put the parsley stems in, the smells are just wonderful. I drool and my stomach rumbles again. I put some stems inside the fish and some on top and cover it again. Right about this time I am quite pleased with how this creation is turning out. I tell Mom how privileged this fish is to be prepared in this way. She gives me a token laugh...she just wants me to get it done (dinner time is getting close).

After a while I pull the salmon out thinking it's done. It's not. Not even close. It cooks longer and I pull it out again, quite confident now that it's done. It's not. It is now falling apart all over the place from all the transferring to and from the pan. I tell Mom that the presentation isn't going to be as stunning as I thought or hoped. That's okay though, the straggling pieces give me opportunity to taste it. My stomach rumbles. Meanwhile the peas are warming up in a steamer in the salmon pan. I make yet another comment to Mom, who was working on an elegant carrot dish with ginger and spiced nuts (yes, we're working together on this meal) about how my peas are jealous of her carrots. I cut off three pieces of the salmon and put them in the pan, and then I put the pea steamer on top still trying to heat them up. Dinner is now waiting on me.

I did end up slicing some sorrel and putting it around the platter. I put the peas, which still weren't steaming (oh well), in the center. Then the salmon was nestled in the bed of peas with some of the flavorful braising liquid spooned over it. With the back of a spoon I painted some cherry "butter", also in the cherry sampler, over the salmon. And now, the cherry vinaigrette, yes...the final touch, or so I thought (In the rush to get it finished I totally forgot about the parsley leaves I had minced). Everything paired quite well with the salmon, and I could hardly slow down enough to enjoy it.


The Recipe:
Sweat:
3 tbsp olive oil
2 leaks, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
4 inner celery stalks, sliced
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper

Add and bring to simmer:
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup chardonnay

Add and cover:
1 salmon, tail and head removed, cut in half (see note*)
Kosher salt

Add:
Parsley stems
Celery leaves

Serve with:
12oz frozen peas
12+ leaves Sorrel
Cherry vinaigrette (see accompanied recipe)

Sweat the first ingredients in a skillet or saute pan with some olive oil for about 8 minutes. Add the liquids and bring to a simmer. Salt the fish and add it to the pan with the parsley and any of the celery leaves from the celery. Cover and maintain a simmer and flip the fish after about 2o minutes (when to flip it depends on how large the fish is). Cook for another twenty minutes or until done.

To Serve:
Thinly slice the sorrel. Steam the peas until just heated through. Arrange the sorrel around the edge of the platter, and put the peas in the middle. Cut the salmon into 2 inch pieces using scissors to cut through the bone. Remove any remaining skin that is on the salmon. Place salmon pieces on the peas. Spoon some of the braising liquid over the fish and peas and drizzle some vinaigrette over the fish.

*This recipe would work well with Salmon fillets too.

Cherry Vinaigrette:
1/2 c. olive oil

2 shallots, finely chopped
1/3 c. red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar of both
1/4 c. pitted unsweetened dried cherries, chopped
1 tbsp poppy seeds
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and sauté for about 2 minutes, or until softened. Add the vinegar and boil for 1 minute. Add the dried cherries, salt and pepper, poppy seeds, and heat through for one minute longer. Taste for seasoning.

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Pumpkin Pie ice cream (with the crust)

I enjoy Pumpkin Pie ice cream, but we can do without the crust, thank you.

Sure enough.

Dec: Curry and Winter Squash

How about Curry for Christmas this year! Eww, that doesn't sound very good...never mind.

Check back next week for curry. Until then, here are some good holiday recipes.

Dec: Lamb Stew

The slow cooking process of this stew produces meat that is super tender. I would encourage you to make this a day before you serve it. The flavors sort of develop, and I believe the difference is noticeable.

See below for some interesting things about lamb. If you are unfamiliar with lamb this recipe is a great introduction. You can substitute an equal amount of beef for lamb if you like. You can also substitute some cubed Yukon Gold potatoes instead of the beans.

Ingredients

12 oz can white beans (or 1+ cup dried small white beans)

4 lb Lamb stew meat (leg, shoulder, chops, or cutlets cut into 1 in cubes)
Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup flour

3/4 cup red wine (such as Pinot Noir or Cabernet Sauvignon)
8 cups lamb and/or chicken stock
8 oz can tomato paste

6 cloves garlic, chopped
2 onions, chopped
2 celery, sliced

Rosemary and thyme sprigs, and celery leaves

1-2 cups frozen peas
More salt and pepper as needed

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Cook rinsed and cleaned beans until nearly done, 45-60 min, and drain. You can skip this step if you’re using canned beans.

Heat about a ¼ cup olive oil (or I like to use the fat on the top of the stock after it has chilled) in the soup pot you are using. Combine the lamb, salt, pepper, and flour. Brown the meat for a few minutes.

Now add the wine, stock, and tomato, and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for about 1½ hours.

With more olive oil, sauté the garlic and onion, seasoning them with some salt and pepper as they cook. Add these and the celery to the soup. Cook for another 15 minutes.

Tie a few herb sprigs together (2 rosemary, 6+ thyme, and the inner celery leaves) with some string, and put this in the soup. Also add the beans at this time. Cook for another 45 minutes.

5 minutes before the soup is done, you can add some peas. This adds color and a little freshness to the soup. You can serve the stew immediately or chill for later.

Adjust seasoning with salt and freshly ground pepper as the stew cooks. Maintain a good simmer throughout the cooking time. The total cooking time could be up to three hours.

Special Ingredient: Lamb
I like lamb and have really been enjoying the sheep we raised on our property. It turned out to be all worth it (although I wasn't the one who tended to the sheep, I still had to deal with the its noise). I recently made this stew using meat from it. Here is an interesting quote about lamb form a book we have called Cutting-up in the Kitchen.

"It is interesting to note that throughout the rest of the world, lamb is one of the very few meats against which there are no prejudices. Beef is not consumed in India because of religious taboos. In Ethiopia cattle are hoarded like gold as an indication of wealth, but no one would eat one. Pork is not eaten by Moslems or followers of the traditional Jewish faith. But with the possible exception of fish, there are fewer prejudices against lamb than any other meat. It is, to some, a symbol of purity. This reputation is based at least partly in fact: fewer lambs are condemned by government inspection than any other class of meat animal."

Lamb is the term used for "young sheep". It is also used to refer to the meat of a sheep. Here is a good visual of the various cuts of lamb.

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Please leave a comment if you have a comment or question about this recipe or any other recipe. Also let me know if you made it and tell me how it was. You can leave a comment by clicking on the comments link.

More on the blog

I found out that the best way to view my blog is in the firefox browser. If you don't have it, you may want to download it from here...Mozilla.com.

Also, you can now print out the recipes by clicking on "click here for a printer friendly version of this recipe" at the bottom of the post. Something will pop up asking you in what program you would like to open it in (I would recommend Microsoft Word). You can also save it by choosing "Save to Disk". Then simply choose a location for it. I thought it may be easier for you to have the recipe printed if you were actually going to make it.

Dec: Stock Making

Stocks are among the most basic preparations found in any kitchen. In fact, they are referred to in French as fonds de cuisine, or the foundation of cooking. Stocks are made by gently simmering meaty bones, trim, and/or vegetables in a liquid to extract their flavor, aroma, color, body, and nutritive value. The liquid is then used to prepare sauces, soups, stews, and braises and as a cooking medium for vegetables and grains.

Especially in the colder months, we are using more and more stocks as the base liquid in soups, stews, and braises. As you can see by the definition above, stocks are used for many preparations. And in my book, you can never have enough stock. I know you can buy a can of stock at the store, and I do sometimes, but try making some homemade and see if you can't tell the difference! Many of my recipes will include some sort of stock so I thought I'd define what I mean when I call for it, and explain how it is made. A good homemade stock is like liquid gold!

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Stocks are not difficult to make, but they are somewhat time consuming. Start with cool water and bring to a gentle simmer over low heat to gently extract the flavor from the bones. Make sure and monitor the temperature, you should never find the stock boiling. The low heat will help to keep the stock clear. Aside from the aesthetics of a clear stock, as opposed to a cloudy one, the impurities that leave the stock cloudy are the same elements that will quickly spoil and sour a stock. The clearer the stock, the longer its shelf life.

To add body and to give the stock a more full and balanced taste you will be adding some vegetables (usually onion, carrots, and celery, known as mirepoix). These vegetables should be roughly chopped and added about an hour before the cooking is over. Adding the vegetables at this point will allow enough time for the best flavor to be extracted but not so much time that the flavor is broken down and destroyed. When to add the aromatics also depends on how fine or large they were cut. Probably the best way to tell when a stock is done is to taste it. But here are some approximate guidelines you can use.

PER QUART OF WATER USED

for fish: 30 min

for poultry: 60 min

for lamb: 75 min

for veal: 75 min

for beef: 90 min

The base ingredients in a stock:

Bones and trimmings

Carrots, Celery, Onion

Bay leaves, peppercorns, garlic clove

Bouquet garni (Herbs sprigs tied together with a string or twisty tie)

I'm going to break this process down into several steps and if you follow along, you really can't go wrong.

1. Put whatever bones and trimmings you have into a stockpot (or a saucepan if you don't have a whole lot), and add cool water until just covered.
2. Over low heat, bring to a gentle simmer. Maintain a gentle simmer throughout the whole cooking time, skimming (see below) off any foam and scum that accumulates on to p.
3. Add the chopped vegetables into the stock an hour before the cooking is done (do not stir them in, just dump them in. If they are not all covered by water press them down with a spoon or the skimmer. Never stir the stock).
4. Add the bay leaves (2 -3), peppercorns (8 - 10), and 1 or 2 garlic cloves.
5. Continue to cook for another 30 minutes then add the bouquet garni.
6. Cook for another 30 minutes then carefully strain the stock through a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth.

Chill the stock. After about 12 hours in the fridge it should gel up. this is a very good thing. If you made a big batch (which I would recommend if you have the ingredients), you can store it in ziploc bags in the freezer.

I would advise you to make some stock to be ready for next week's lamb stew recipe!


Equipment: The Stockpot
Obviously, one of the major uses for a stockpot is for making stocks. Stockpots are usually taller than they are are wide, this allows for less evaporation. Anodized aluminum and stainless steal are the preferred materials. Stockpots are very useful for other kitchen preparations as well. We use them for soups, stews, making rice, and boiling pasta. Stockpots come in various sizes from 4 quart to 18 quart and bigger.

Equipment: Skimmer (fine mesh)

This is one of the most useful tools in a kitchen. It can be used for anything from skimming, to sifting, to straining, to scooping out blanched vegetables. For the stocks, it can be used to skim off the fat and scum that accumulates on the surface. It also works to strain the stock when it's done. This is a good one...Calphalon Stainless Skimmer.

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Chinese Abacus

First prize goes to whoever can tell me what that object on the right sidebar represents. Clicking on it disqualifies you.

Second prize goes to whoever can tell me how it works.

Nov: Grilled Panzanella Salad

Well shoot me, but I wanted to squeak in one last summer recipe. After all that about the transition into autumn (see previous post) you may think I'm nuts (and I am) but believe it or not, we are still picking tomatoes from the garden! Anyway, let's kiss summer goodbye with this one.

This recipe is summer at its best. It is so fresh and so tasty and so versatile. It is possible with this salad to add pretty much anything that is in season to it, and it will still turn out good. Grilling some of the ingredients in this salad make it a real treat. I even like to marinate some of them before grilling! This salad is one of our family favorites, and I really think you will enjoy it a lot.

Ingredients:
to grill...
1 loaf Italian crusty bread (or baguette)
1 red bell pepper (see "technique")
2 red onions, cut into 1 in. rings, lollipopped

toss together...
2 tomatoes, diced
1 cucumber, sliced thin or diced
Several small Italian sweet peppers, sliced (or another chopped red or green bell pepper)
1/2 cup Kalamata olives, halved (see "special ingredient")
10+ large leaves of basil, rolled and sliced
10+ stems of parsley, chopped
1/2 cup feta, crumbled (grated Parmesan is good too, you could also use cubed fontina)

Whisk together...
1/4 red wine vinegar
1/4 lemon juice
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Salt (maybe about a 1/2 t or so)
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
Then whisk in...
1/2+ cup olive oil

Slice the bread into 1 in. thick pieces then lightly butter both sides of each slice (some garlic added to the butter is really good). Grill or broil the bread until somewhat crusty and golden. If you don't toast the bread it will absorb too much of the dressing and become soggy. Grilling the bread adds a wonderful smoky flavor to it as well.

To char the pepper:
This can be done on the grill or underneath the broiler. Charring the pepper does a really neat thing to the flavor and texture of the pepper, and I use this technique quite a bit. If you want to skip this step, the supper market does sell jarred peppers under the label "roasted red bell peppers".

1. If you are doing it on the grill, simply place it there and turn it until all sides are burnt. Don't worry about it turning black...that is the point. If you do this underneath the broiler, halve and seed the pepper before you char it.
2. Take it off the grill and put it in a ziploc bag or container and seal. This loosens the skin for peeling and also softens the texture of the pepper.
3. Peel the pepper then halve it and remove the seeds. Chop it into a 1/2 in. dice.

lollipopping the onion is so that it doesn't fall apart on the grill. Simply insert a skewer threw the rings until it pokes out the other side. Be careful not to poke yourself. If you do two onions with one ring on each skewer you'll need four skewers. If you wanted to marinate them (recommended) put them in a ziploc bag with some olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper, and maybe some herbs and let them marinate for about a half hour before you grill them, flipping the bag halfway through. I also like to smother them with balsamic vinegar while they cook (onions done this way are one of my favorite things to grill and make a great side dish by themselves). When they are sufficiently grilled take them off and chop them.


When all the other ingredients and the dressing are all prepared (chopped, diced, sliced, etc), toss everything in a serving bowl and serve.

This salad is great with grilled anything (beef, steak, chicken, fish, eggplant, frog legs, etc.)


Special Ingredient: Calamata Olives
In case these are unfamiliar to some of you I thought I’d talk about them a little. Calamata (or Kalamata) olives originated in Greece and are largely used in its cuisine. They are purplish-black in color and almond shaped (about 1/2 to 1 in long). They are often packed in a wine vinegar marinade and have a wonderful rich and fruity flavor. Mezzetta® is a good brand and they are widely available in stores, but real imported ones are the best if you can find them. Pitted olives are time savers if you were to cut them, like you would in the salad. The olives still with the pits, frequently have a slit in them to absorb the flavor of the marinade in which they are soaked.

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Autumn & The Harvest

With the way agriculture and preservation (and I suppose travel as well) have “advanced” the transition from one season to the other has become blurry. The results are that a lot of us don’t even know what ingredients are in season at any given moment. The fact that tomatoes and peaches are still at you fingertips in late November seems funny. It is both confusing and unnatural. Who would want salsa for Thanksgiving anyway? Cranberry relish sounds so much better! I believe to fully appreciate each season’s uniqueness we should bring in the harvest so to speak and eat of the bounty each day brings.

So let’s talk about autumn a little. I like autumn (or fall, I just think autumn sounds more poetic, although it is harder to spell). I like to be out on a crisp yet warm autumn day, feeling the wind and smelling the dead leaves. And then by the next day it may be raining. But not all day. In the evening the clouds part just enough to make way for a beautiful sunset. This is autumn to me. A colorful yet desiccated preparation for winter. Slippers are once again finding there way out of the closets. Things are slowing down for us. And yet for nature it’s another story. The squirrels realize it’s now or never for their preparations. There is no time for goofing around with them. The deer are finding their mates and are coming down from the mountains trying to find water. And the Acorn Squash has given up on finding water and is dying for someone to pick it, which brings me back to one of my favorite aspects of autumn…the food.

Aww, it’s wonderful. It’s warmer; both in temperature and in taste. Fall is not the close of summer’s rich bounty; rather it’s the start of something entirely its own. Tom Colicchio in Think Like a Chef writes of the foods of fall and their characteristics, he says, “In autumn vegetables, the high notes of color and intensity settle into a bass line of starchier, sturdier varieties. To an extent, this reflects plants getting ready for winter, and our cooking reflects the same change as we prepare for the colder months. The flavors become mellow and darker, the textures get denser and richer, and in many ways, we have to do more with the ingredients to coax out their flavor”. How about braised pork shoulder with a buttery sweet potato and a few steamed Brussels sprouts with an apple cider sauce? I made up that menu just now. And how do I know all that will be good together? Because all those things are ripe now. They are IN SEASON. I believe if we eat and cook this way, we can experience each time of year more fully.

"The grim frost is at hand,
when the apples will fall thick,
almost thunderous,
on the hardened earth"
- D. H. Lawrence

Nov: Consider the Turkey

Brined and Basted Turkey

Well being as it’s Thanksgiving, I couldn’t help but to do something connecting to the holiday. And what relates more than a turkey! Here is the process of how I think one of those big birds should be prepared.

Brining:
Brining is a process of moisturizing and flavoring the meat with a salt/sugar and water solution (brines are also used to preserve foods, such as a pickle “brine” or an olive “brine”). The salt unravels meat proteins and squeezes out the natural juices like a sponge while the sugar, which has a large capacity to hold water, absorbs them back into the turkey with whatever other flavorings you have added to the meat. Don’t worry about the sugar; your bird will not turn out tasting like a cake. Although if done properly your finished product should be moist and flavorful. Your brine should be about 4 cups of water to ½ cup of both kosher salt and sugar per 6 pounds of bird (if you have an 18 lb turkey you could do 12 cups water and 1½ cups of both salt and sugar). It is best to get a turkey labeled “natural” being as it has been minimally processed. A lot of the frozen turkeys already have injections and there’s a possibility that it could get too salty if also brined (If you have one of the frozen turkeys, then you might cut the salt and sugar in the brine in half).

Here are some brine flavoring suggestions in addition to the water/salt/sugar base:

Spices (peppercorns, cinnamon stick, cloves, juniper berries, fennel seeds)
Tea
Maple
Honey
Orange
Soy Sauce (if you use this, reduce the salt)
Herbs (rosemary, thyme, sage, bay leaves, mint)
Garlic and/or Onion
Ginger

Possible combinations for the brine:

Soy sauce/Orange/Rosemary/Garlic

Tea/Juniper/Honey

Maple/Bay leaves/Peppercorns/Cloves/Cinnamon

Basting:
Have you ever seen pictures of Thanksgiving turkeys and wondered how they turn out looking so shiny and golden? What makes them so eye appealing? Well I believe the secret is basting. Basting is simple although it does require you to pay attention. You can’t just put the bird in the oven then pull it out after three hours. Looks isn’t the only thing basting is for...it also moisturizes the food as it cooks and prevents it somewhat form drying out. It also imparts additional flavor. You can baste what you’re cooking with the pan drippings, a sauce, or other liquid. For a turkey that shines like the picture I would use a pre-made sauce consisting of some sort of sweet syrup or liquid (like molasses, maple syrup, honey, apple cider, etc). The sugars will help the outside of it to caramelize and produce a glaze.

Possible combinations for the glaze:

Molasses/Apple Cider (or juice)/Butter

Maple Syrup/Ginger Puree (ginger, water, sugar)/Butter

Pomegranate/Balsamic Vinegar/Sugar/Butter

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So let’s finally make this turkey!
This recipe is for one 18 lb turkey.

For the Brine:

12 cups water

1½ cups kosher salt

1½ cups brown sugar

1 gallon sized tea bag

2 cinnamon sticks

8 whole cloves

1 T black peppercorns

6 bay leaves

Ice cubes

For the Baste:

¼ cup unsulphered molasses

1 cup apple cider

1 T dried thyme (or 8 stems fresh, tied together with a string or twisty tie)

1 stick butter (8 T) cut into about 6 pieces

Add the brine ingredients except for the tea bag in an appropriate sized pot and bring to a boil. Turn off heat and add the teabag, let that steep for 30 minutes. Add Ice cubes to chill or place in the fridge until it is chilled and you are ready to use it.

Put the turkey in a clean bucket and pour brine over it. Add water to cover. Most of the brining action takes place within the first 3 hours of soaking, and it shouldn’t be in there any longer than 24 hours as it could start to dry out. I would recommend maybe brining it overnight then pulling it out in the morning.

You can make the glaze up to 3 days ahead of time. Or you can make it 3 minutes ahead of time. Combine all ingredients except for the butter in a saucepan. Boil for three minutes. Add the butter then turn of heat. Swirl around until it melts.

To cook the turkey:

Preheat oven to 450-475 degrees.

Roast the turkey for 45 minutes breast side up at this temperature to give it a roasted flavor. Then turn the heat down to 350-375 to penetrate and cook the bird thoroughly. After you turn the heat down, baste the bird all over (as much as you can without flipping it) with a brush or spoon. Baste every 30 minutes until the turkey is done. The turkey is done when you insert a thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh and it reads 160° (about 1½ to 2 hours)

You can make this turkey, but you may have more fun making up your own combinations for the brine and glaze to fit what it is you want to accomplish.

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What is Recipe of the Week?

My goals with Recipe of the Week are to weekly post a seasonal recipe and also to inspire you to have more confidence in your cooking. As many of you know, I am not really a recipe guy, meaning I am not a “slave” to recipes. Take, for instance, Rice Krispy Treats. They’re my favorite things in the world, and you should see me sweating over that box trying to make sure I’m doing precisely what it is telling me to, because I want them to turn out right! After all, the process of making the treaties is not the most ordinary. Let’s see: melt a lot of butter (exactly 3 tablespoons), melt 40 marshmallows (no less and no more), stir in six cups of cereal, dump in pan, flatten. Sounds pretty straightforward doesn’t it? So what’s my problem? It’s simple ─ a lack of confidence and a fear of flunking it. But will I ever learn anything if I always stick to the gooey details and never have any fun? I would do best to chuck that box and just rely on what I would call my instincts.

I have learned, as I cook more and more, a little about how those instincts develop. As you try different things, here and there, you will begin to feel more natural, and become more flexible with what you’re making. I believe cooking is a craft best learned through observation and practice. This means we must free ourselves from the tyranny of "the recipe.” A recipe can be a great guide, but many times you will know better than the recipe! After all, which comes first: the chef or the recipe?

Maybe you have had some bad experiences where one day you felt adventurous and altered a recipe in some way and it flopped. So you blamed it, not unnaturally, on your experiment. But just think how much you learned from that! I probably have had more “learning experiences” than anyone, from meat roasted until it is as tough and dry as a steer’s jaw muscle, to “drinkable” crème brulees, to things catching fire in the oven, to bread baked so undesirably dense that only David would eat it.

I must admit that some foods can be somewhat “intimidating" (Eggplant...EEEK!). Other foods are just so unfamiliar that you haven't a clue as to what to do with them (Parsnips?!). There is also that unsettling problem of not knowing whether or not a certain ingredient will go with, or in, whatever you’re making. One thing to always remember is “if it grows together, it goes together". Because really, the best culinary teachers are the ingredients themselves! THEY inspire what I make. How they react to different preparations and when they come into season are all important considerations in the creation of a dish. The goal here is to demystify the process and learn some basic techniques that will be helpful in making delicious meals.

If you don’t like to eat good food you will never be a good chef. You also need to enjoy seeing others utilize the sense of taste God has given them (or at least most of them). A big part of what motivates me as a chef is seeing others take pleasure in what I make.

Don’t get your hopes up too high: this isn’t a weekly magazine or newsletter or anything. Just some little hints and pointers to think about and try. I hope each one of you can develop your own style using this mindset; I don't intend to clone a bunch of chefs exactly like me, and the last thing I want to do is abolish recipes and then create another set of rules. In fact if I accomplish what I want to, you will be able to take the recipes I provide and alter them to your own personal taste. I know a lot of you have other things to tend to and can’t spend all day in the kitchen like me. But please don’t always try and make things as simple and basic as you can. Take some time, have your kids help, have some fun, and taste the difference.

hi

Don't give up on me, I'm still here.

Three reasons I have this blog.

1. One of my major hobbies is cooking (and eating). It is something I am quite passionate about and I want to share with you some of the joy of making good food. So one of the ways I've thought of doing that is posting a weekly seasonal "recipe". The bulk of what I will post will be me just chatting about the creative process of cooking and other topics having to do with the subject, such as, familiarizing you with various ingredients, and expounding on a certain techniques.
2. I will also be reviewing books I've read (mostly biographies and cook(ing) books), music I've heard, and movies and videos I've seen.
3. Last but not least, you will get to see glimpses into my world. Wow, what a privilege! You will even get to see what I think about things. I will share with you some of my thoughts on life, love, lasagna and the like. Aren’t you just feeling so lucky! Aww, you just can't wait for more posts, can you? I am quite an opinionated fellow though, which you will likely find out before not too long. I said I'm opinionated! Do you understand me?! I'm OPINIONATED I tell you! Anyway, back to the thrill of bloging with me, If you are still interested that is. Oh yeah, and about that lasagna...