Last night's dinner was a perfect example of what I preach in these blogs about having the right staples on hand and you can make anything. If you don't know what I'm talking about, scroll back to the first few blog entries and you'll see, especially the one called "What to have inna house".
I was at Lisa's last night, and instead of ordering out, I decided to root through her cabinets and fridge to see if I could come up with dinner. Now, Lisa does not have the best stocked kitchen. Before she met me, her idea of dinner was a bowl of Reese's Puffs. (and probably still is when we are not together.) This is what I found in the kitchen:
A box of thin spaghetti
A jar of artichoke hearts
A can of diced tomatoes
A jar of Italian spice blend
A bottle of good olive oil
A bottle of lemon infused balsamic vinegar
A container of mixed olives
A container of shredded Asiago cheese
Most of a rotisserie chicken
And here's what I made:
I boiled the pasta. While that was cooking, I heated some of the olive oil in a skillet and added the artichoke hearts, then some of the chicken that I had shredded up. (boy, I wish I had had some garlic)
I added the tomatoes, some olives and some of the spice blend, the balsamic and a little ground pepper. I tossed the cooked pasta in, plated it and then drizzled a little more oil on top and finished with a sprinkle of cheese. I wish I had thought to snap a picture before we destroyed it, but we went out on her little porch, and had a great, light, CHEAP dinner with a nice bottle of wine. You'll just have to imagine what it looked like.
So.....do you get the point? All that yum came out of just a few staple items that she had hanging around. And trust me, most of you have many more of those suggested staples in your own pantries. So start getting creative, my friends. And then add your creations (with pictures) to the Facebook page connected to this blog.
Time to go. I need to take Lisa to Trader Joe's and fill up that kitchen!
Bye now.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Sometimes I Wish I Still Had a Restaurant
Last night's dinner was one of those moments when I wished I was still creating food for people at my own restaurant. I hadn't really set out to make what became one of (what I think is) the best fish dishes I've ever come up with, but hey, greatness happens..and it comes, once again, from the drawers of my refrigerator. Remember, the name of the blog is "FOOD HAPPENS".
Ok, so spring has finally arrived in PA. It has been beautiful for the past few days. I am also on a bit of a paid leave from work, as my corporate cafe is being remodeled. So, I felt like cooking something on the grill. I thought it was time for wild salmon already, so I headed to my local fish guy, Heller's Seafood in Warrington, PA. I have known Greg Heller and his crew for a long time. I bought my fish for the restaurant from them. They get wonderful stuff, but it ain't cheap. Apparently, the wild fish hasn't started running in the Pacific Northwest quite yet; we are a couple weeks away from Washington and Oregon fish. Right now, there is some Alaskan salmon, but it is hard to come by, and like $30/lb. That's out of my range. What they did have was some line caught Grouper. If you have never eaten grouper, it is a warm water swimmer from down in the Atlantic and the Gulf. It is a sweet, firm fish with just enough fat to keep it from being too dry and flaky.
Because it is indigenous to the warmer climes, I tend to think of lighter, more fruity accompaniments. But, I also had a bag of rainbow Swiss Chard in my fridge that needed to be cooked. I had a couple of blood oranges in there, too, a half a red onion, and a seedless cucumber. I bought the fish, two navel oranges and an avocado. And here's what I did:
I peeled all of the oranges with a knife, cutting off the top and bottom, and then running the knife down the skin. Then I cut the oranges in half and made half moon slices. They went in a mixing bowl. I cut some of the cucumber into chunks and added them. Sliced the red onion thinly and added it. Cut the avocado into chunks and that went in, too. I dressed that with extra-virgin, really fruity olive oil, a squeeze of lime and some sea salt.
I took a piece of foil, sprayed it and put the fish on. Put a couple slices of the orange and the onion on top and ground some of my neat South African Smoke Seasoning that I got from Trader Joe's. (If you follow my blog, you've seen a picture of it with some chicken) Drizzled a little olive oil on and a squeeze of lime, and sealed up the package, leaving a little bit open at the top. This went on the grill to cook. It was a thick piece of fish, so it took about 10-12 minutes.
While that was cooking, I heated some olive oil lightly in a saute pan, and then cooked the chard over a medium heat until it was getting soft, but a still a little crispy. That went on the plate as the base. The fish went on next, and then a topping of the orange/avocado/cuke salad. It was and incredible flavor and texture experience. Paying for line caught fish was totally worth it. I actually blew myself away! Damn! Do this dish with grouper, snapper, striper, monkfish, even salmon.
Here, take a look:
See you soon with more!
Ok, so spring has finally arrived in PA. It has been beautiful for the past few days. I am also on a bit of a paid leave from work, as my corporate cafe is being remodeled. So, I felt like cooking something on the grill. I thought it was time for wild salmon already, so I headed to my local fish guy, Heller's Seafood in Warrington, PA. I have known Greg Heller and his crew for a long time. I bought my fish for the restaurant from them. They get wonderful stuff, but it ain't cheap. Apparently, the wild fish hasn't started running in the Pacific Northwest quite yet; we are a couple weeks away from Washington and Oregon fish. Right now, there is some Alaskan salmon, but it is hard to come by, and like $30/lb. That's out of my range. What they did have was some line caught Grouper. If you have never eaten grouper, it is a warm water swimmer from down in the Atlantic and the Gulf. It is a sweet, firm fish with just enough fat to keep it from being too dry and flaky.
Because it is indigenous to the warmer climes, I tend to think of lighter, more fruity accompaniments. But, I also had a bag of rainbow Swiss Chard in my fridge that needed to be cooked. I had a couple of blood oranges in there, too, a half a red onion, and a seedless cucumber. I bought the fish, two navel oranges and an avocado. And here's what I did:
I peeled all of the oranges with a knife, cutting off the top and bottom, and then running the knife down the skin. Then I cut the oranges in half and made half moon slices. They went in a mixing bowl. I cut some of the cucumber into chunks and added them. Sliced the red onion thinly and added it. Cut the avocado into chunks and that went in, too. I dressed that with extra-virgin, really fruity olive oil, a squeeze of lime and some sea salt.
I took a piece of foil, sprayed it and put the fish on. Put a couple slices of the orange and the onion on top and ground some of my neat South African Smoke Seasoning that I got from Trader Joe's. (If you follow my blog, you've seen a picture of it with some chicken) Drizzled a little olive oil on and a squeeze of lime, and sealed up the package, leaving a little bit open at the top. This went on the grill to cook. It was a thick piece of fish, so it took about 10-12 minutes.
While that was cooking, I heated some olive oil lightly in a saute pan, and then cooked the chard over a medium heat until it was getting soft, but a still a little crispy. That went on the plate as the base. The fish went on next, and then a topping of the orange/avocado/cuke salad. It was and incredible flavor and texture experience. Paying for line caught fish was totally worth it. I actually blew myself away! Damn! Do this dish with grouper, snapper, striper, monkfish, even salmon.
Here, take a look:
See you soon with more!Tuesday, April 2, 2013
A Shameless Plug
When I was the Executive Chef at Neiman Marcus, I somehow got myself involved doing cooking demos and classes at a place called Celebrity Kitchens in Wilmington, DE. Back then, I used to do three or four a month. When I went back to working nights and weekends, I dropped off for a few years, but never fell out of touch with them. Now that I'm back in the land of the day job (and in search of some extra income) I have begun doing classes again.
Let me tell you a little bit about Celebrity Kitchens. As I mentioned, it is located in Wilmington, DE, on 202 in the Independence Mall. This is a very campy little shopping center that looks like a reproduction of Independence Hall. It's basically a small dining room with a demo kitchen in the front. Almost every night of the week, they have some sort of program: a demo, a hands on class, a private event, a kids class, etc. They have a different chef every night. Some are local folks, some out of Philly, some more well known then others. (Not sure where I fit in that mix, but they love me anyway) Most of the programs are four courses, either cooked by the chef, or cooked by the group. After each course is prepared, they are served to the guests, and a complimentary wine is poured. I can't tell you what happens with the other chefs, but when I do these classes, it's kind of like a stand up comedy routine with food. I also get to deliver my diatribes on responsible farming, healthy eating, sustainable foods, etc. to a captive audience. And they are actually interested! They laugh, they learn, they eat, they tip...oh wait, did I just say that out loud? Ooops..
The reason I am bringing up this little tidbit of information, is because I will be there two nights this month; April 4th and April 19th. The first (this Friday) the menu is called "April in Paris." The four courses are: Spring Pea Soup with Minted Creme Fraiche, Hazelnut Crusted Goat Cheese over Mache Salad with Bacon Lardons, Baby Beets and Honey Vinaigrette, Spring Lamb Chops with Rainbow Swiss Chard and New Potatoes, and Seasonal Berries with Chocolate Mousse. Wanna join us? Sign up! On the 19th, I'm doing my "I Love Beer" menu, with Mussels in Belgian Ale with Leeks, Chicken cooked in Lambic Ale with Dried Cherries and Wilted Spinach, Grilled Steak Marinated in Brown Ale with Roasted Potatoes, and Guinness Brownies.
Check out Celebrity Kitchens on their website: celebritykitchens.com. Their whole calendar is available to see. It's always a good time-even when I'm not there..
For those of you who live too far away, sorry. You'll just have to pay my plane fare, and I will gladly come cook for you! (except maybe Michelle Broad DeRosa, who seems to have it all going on in the kitchen!)
I promise I'll post pictures of Friday night's food. Meantime, take it easy, and enjoy life. And food.
Let me tell you a little bit about Celebrity Kitchens. As I mentioned, it is located in Wilmington, DE, on 202 in the Independence Mall. This is a very campy little shopping center that looks like a reproduction of Independence Hall. It's basically a small dining room with a demo kitchen in the front. Almost every night of the week, they have some sort of program: a demo, a hands on class, a private event, a kids class, etc. They have a different chef every night. Some are local folks, some out of Philly, some more well known then others. (Not sure where I fit in that mix, but they love me anyway) Most of the programs are four courses, either cooked by the chef, or cooked by the group. After each course is prepared, they are served to the guests, and a complimentary wine is poured. I can't tell you what happens with the other chefs, but when I do these classes, it's kind of like a stand up comedy routine with food. I also get to deliver my diatribes on responsible farming, healthy eating, sustainable foods, etc. to a captive audience. And they are actually interested! They laugh, they learn, they eat, they tip...oh wait, did I just say that out loud? Ooops..
The reason I am bringing up this little tidbit of information, is because I will be there two nights this month; April 4th and April 19th. The first (this Friday) the menu is called "April in Paris." The four courses are: Spring Pea Soup with Minted Creme Fraiche, Hazelnut Crusted Goat Cheese over Mache Salad with Bacon Lardons, Baby Beets and Honey Vinaigrette, Spring Lamb Chops with Rainbow Swiss Chard and New Potatoes, and Seasonal Berries with Chocolate Mousse. Wanna join us? Sign up! On the 19th, I'm doing my "I Love Beer" menu, with Mussels in Belgian Ale with Leeks, Chicken cooked in Lambic Ale with Dried Cherries and Wilted Spinach, Grilled Steak Marinated in Brown Ale with Roasted Potatoes, and Guinness Brownies.
Check out Celebrity Kitchens on their website: celebritykitchens.com. Their whole calendar is available to see. It's always a good time-even when I'm not there..
For those of you who live too far away, sorry. You'll just have to pay my plane fare, and I will gladly come cook for you! (except maybe Michelle Broad DeRosa, who seems to have it all going on in the kitchen!)
I promise I'll post pictures of Friday night's food. Meantime, take it easy, and enjoy life. And food.
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