I just want to say Happy New Year to all my followers and blogger community. Haven’t been on in a bit and figured I would start the new year right by wishing one to have a happy and wonderful new year.
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Just a Good Old Fashion Fish Fry
So my roommate headed up to Alaska recently to spend some time with a uncle he had up there and a cousin that was meeting him up there. I knew it was going to be a outdoorsy type of trip, but I didn’t know his return was going to come with a fantastic surprise. He text-ed me a few days before he was getting back and all it said
was he was coming back with 90 lbs of fish, some halibut and some salmon.
Now if you are like me and watch the meat prices like investors watch the DOW, then you know how expensive halibut is and based on my current pay-scale I don’t get to play with it to often at the home. Halibut is my favorite fish and there is a whole lot in my freezer. But anyway, long and behold when he gets home I find out it is 45 lbs of red and silver salmon and 45 lbs of halibut. Well Tom’s dad is a old Vermont man and asked to have a fish fry that Saturday after, and of course I took the reigns when it came to the cooking.
When I was figuring out the menu though I knew that I didn’t just want to fry some fish and throw it on a plate. I decided to stick southern and build a dinner around it. In doing so I came up wish a fish fry two ways. There was braised collard and kale, habenaro red bliss mash potatoes, jalapeno and honey cornbread, a roasted garlic and honey whipped butter, homemade tartar sauce, and the star of the dish Halibut. Now what I did to the halibut was where the real magic happened because I did some of it in a traditional corn meal dusting and then I did some in a amber beer batter. Then to top it off I did a peanut and canola oil mix.
Everything came out perfect, everything was seasoned to perfection and even the presentation plate came out really nice. Oh I almost forgot, we finished the evening with a Whiskey Apple Berry cobbler that I must say for my first time making cobbler from scratch with all fresh fruit, I was extremely happy with the results. I am just sorry I don’t have any leftovers to try 🙂
Magical Dining Month in Orlando
As the month of August comes ever to an end and we all realize it is time to pay the bills again :), there is one little glimmer of hope to hit the Orlando area for the foodie in all of us. Magical Dining month has returned and it is time to get our appetites ready to eat at some of the finest establishments that Orlando has to offer.
For those that do not know what this special local event is, in summary a bunch of restaurants come up with a three course menu that is priced at a reasonable thirty-three dollars a person/meal (plus tax, gratuity, and parking fee at some places). For a complete list of the restaurants and menus you can go to http://www.visitorlando.com/magicaldining/, this website will help you navigate and go through the step by step procedure.
I personally am looking forward to this event and previews for these menus will start Aug. 25, where I will be beginning my foodie tour by going to check out Emeril’s Tchoup Chop. I have always been interested in the location and concept since it first opened and am looking forward to finally satisfying my curiosity. The restaurant has had mixed reviews both from critics and people in the industry that I have talked to, but it is my time to do my own review. To me a restaurant is like a movie, everyone has different interests, different pallets, and different expectations, and the only way to truly know if you will like a film/place is to fork up the dough and go.
I will also be putting four more locations on my agenda, one for each week of the month of places that I would like to see and enjoy. May it be the concept or just what their menu has to offer for this magical experience. The four places I have chosen to wet my pallet in are Deep Blu at the Wyndham, The Venetian Room at the Caribe Hotel, Bistro CloClo, Bohemian Bar and Grill in Celebration, and if time and money permits I would also like to get to Le Coq Au Vin.
I will be doing reviews for all of these locations and if you have a interest and want to know when and where feel free to hit me up in the comments section and I will get you the information.
Movie- Chef, by Jon Favreau
Last night I got to see Jon Favreau’s new movie, “Chef”. It is a movie about a well-known chef who moved to California from Miami and gets fired from his job. He then turns around and opens a food truck, allowing him to run his place his way and it puts him back on top.
I don’t want to go to far in detail into the plot but I must say it is a really good representation of what as chefs we go through with our line of work. The best part of the movie for me was how well Jon Favreau played the character and was really able to sell me on all the emotions and mind-set of how you have to be so you can be a successful head chef. You can see the passion, the dedication, the work ethnic, and the attitude, but at the same time the struggle with having a normal life.
I recommend this movie to anyone who has aspirations, curiosity, or are just looking for a good movie to watch while having a night in.
Respect the Chef 