Tag Archives: food

My Stuff, Recipes

Recipe – Anti-pasta platters

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I love to make anti-pasta platters. I have a Sicilian background and when it came to the holidays we always had a anti-pasta platter. For those who do not know a anti-pasta platter is traditionally something you would put out like a salad, it usually always consists of cured meats, like salami, pepperoni, and prosciutto. It usually always has some kind of cheeses like mozzarella and provolone, and then there are usually a hand full of accompaniments like olives, tomatoes and dips.

My favorite item on the platter is the eggplant capponata. it is chunks of eggplant made with tomato sauce, herbs and raisins, and makes for a excellent bread spread. There is so much you can do with these platters and items and get so many different presentations out of them. You can fold, roll, or slice the meats, dress the extras up however you like and put in all kind of dishes to give great depth to the platter, and you can cut the cheeses however you would like to give it that last little oomph. One of the things I like to do is tossed artichoke hearts in pesto, toss the olives in oils and pickled red onions, and marinade in oils and herbs grape tomatoes.

As always have fun and be extremely creative.

My Stuff, Recipes

Recipe – Fruit Platter

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Wanted to show of some of my recent fruit platters. When making a fruit platter it is essential to have one dominant focal point as the garnish and then to build up from there. There is many different cuts and directions that you can go with the fruit, so never allow your creativity to be subdued. Of course the bigger the platter then the more room you have to come up with fancy garnishes, as you can see in my third picture where I made a basket out of a honey dew and then filled it with berries. Pineapple tops make for great focus points because they are cheap and easy to use. I usually take a pair of shears and cut the edges down a little to try to even it out and get rid of any bad leaves you find.

The most common fruit you will find on a platter is honey dew, cantaloupe, and pineapple. Oranges and grapefruits make for great garnishes, but short of doing slices, don’t usually hold up well to the display time of the platters. If in season I really like to get some papayas, kiwis, and star fruits, unfortunately since they are not a necessity and don’t always get eaten they are not used very often except for VIP events.

Just like cheese platters I like to use the berries to give it that extra level of pizazz, and they can also be used to keep the focus off any cuts that do not look ideal to the rest. As with all platters though make sure to be really creative and have a lot of fun.

chef, My Stuff, Recipes

Recipe – Cheese Platters

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I decided to go ahead and put up a few cheese platters that I have recently done. The key to a good cheese platter is to make sure to have a array of various flavored cheeses, but to also get creative with the design and direction that you want the cheese platter to go. Always remember to have fun when building platters and to get creative as possible, as you can see when we had one platter for a Christmas party and I made the snowman out of goat cheese and a Christmas tree out of a pineapple top.

The big thing is to make sure to utilize all of the various colors and shapes that the cheese gives you to work with, and then use your fruits and berries to give it that next level of pizazz.

Recipes

Recipe – BBQ Braised Beef Short Rib

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I recently had a chef tasting for a Sous chef position I applied for and decided to go with this delightful little spoon of flavor as my amuse for my four course menu. For those who do not know, amuse stands for the start of the menu and traditionally the tasting menu should be a slight increase to your grand finale, maybe something light and delicate like a shrimp or scallop dish at first, but I wanted to go bold right out the gates. To me this dish is the perfect amuse because it hits you in the face with a powerful smack of flavor, but since it is so small the only thing you can say is,” I want more”. The menu I put together was a southern style menu hence the BBQ item, which is also very nontraditional. The item was considered a hit and took quite a long time to prepare, but in the end was more then worth it.

I bought 2 lbs of prime beef short ribs, and marinated them with a BBQ rub for 24 hours. The seasonings puncture to flavor and tenderize the meat.

I then created my own BBQ sauce using roasted plum tomatoes, molasses, sherry vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, onions, garlic, fresh thyme, and s & p. thicken with a little roasted tomato paste and let go on the stove for 4 hours on a light simmer.

After the BBQ sauce is complete, I then sear the short ribs on the grill getting a couple of really nice grill marks. I then smoke them for 30 minutes, but while they are smoking I start my braising liquid consisting of celery, onion, carrots, water, and the BBQ sauce. You sear the vegetables, then add the water and BBQ and bring to a boil. Take the ribs out of the smoker, put in a deep half hotel pan, and then cover with the hot braising liquid. Make sure to get the veg in there, then top with foil and put in the fridge over night.

The next day you are going to put that pan in a oven at 375 degrees and let it go for 2 hours. Once complete you then pull out and check the tenderness, if it isn’t falling off the bone then it needs to go longer, this time though but over a open flame and just let the liquid boil until the meat has reached the proper tenderness. Once it has pull out of the liquid and allow to rest for 30 minutes, then you are ready to slice.

I took some of the BBQ and mixed it with a demi to create the sauce on top, to also give it a classier touch, and then served it on top of a root vegetable puree.

I know this seems like a really long process, but as always good food takes time and this time sacrifice is well worth it in the end.

foodie

Valentine’s Day

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Valentine day chocolate (9)

Another Valentine’s day has come and pass, and like all that have come and gone I can only help wondering what my favorite foodie item is that always comes up around this holiday. Of course the first thing to pop in mind is sweets, but lets get a little bit more descriptive. For me it has always been the Lindt Chocolate truffle line, nothing I like more then their peanut butter one to be exact. So tell me what is your favorite Valentine’s day item to receive or maybe just a favorite dish in the past that always pops into your head whenever you think about this most loving of holidays.

experience, foodie, Reviews

Review – Lai Lai Chinese Cuisine and Sushi Bar

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For those of you who live in the Orlando area, we may not get our Chinese and sushi down the street from the Hudson, but we do have a little gem of a restaurant all to ourselves, I am talking about Lai Lai. Lai Lai restaurant has been in business now for 22 years in the Orlando area. It is a mom and pop place so to say because it is run and operated by Mr. Ping and his wife Betty. It is located near the Florida Mall, in a plaza off OBT (Orange Blossom Trail), across from the Home Depot. It is the best Chinese cuisine that I have had in the area, it is also the cleanest and freshest sushi I have had in Orlando.

Mr. Ping started learning his art while he was with his father in San Francisco as a young man. He then moved to New York for a few years and lived in Pennsylvania with his wife Betty, who was his girlfriend at the time. He took a vacation to Orlando and saw all the opportunity that our theme park world had to offer, and decided to move him and his wife down here. Saved up for 10 years and then opened Lai Lai. now he is one of the top distributers of oriental delicacies in the area and services more than 15 hotels, who all buy and trust him to get them the nicest and freshest products.

He has a really nice corner restaurant in the plaza, and he let me see the operation today, and I would have to say it is one of the cleanest restaurants, let alone Chinese restaurants, that I have ever seen.  He has the ability to do anything and he has a extremely vast and wonderful menu, that touches upon all of the usual Chinese take out menu items we all love, wonderfully hand prepared sushi, and a buffet that is constantly refreshed and has a wonderful selection of items.

To b able to do the vast amounts and quantities of items that he does out of a restaurant is truly impressive. The table service is really great and has that New York, Chinese restaurant feel to it. Mr. Ping is always there, so make sure to stop by and say hello to him and his wife, and let him no you heard about his place from my blog. You my even see me there behind the sushi bar honing my skills. The address is, Shoppes of Southland, 7400 Southland Boulevard #116, Orlando, FL 32809.

Reviews

Review – Bohemian Bar and Grill, Celebration. 2nd Magical Dining Experience

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When I first chose to go with the Bohemian Bar and Grill and saw it on the website I thought it was the location downtown, come to find out there was a Bohemian Hotel in Celebration, Fl area. I knew of the area from when I worked at Disney, but had never actually been to the area and I was pleasantly surprised. When you drive into the area it is like nothing else in the Orlando area, the houses all were very small town architecture from the 50’s and the whole town of Celebration makes for this very nice, quaint little town on a lake, with this gorgeous hotel on the back end of it all. Honestly if it wasn’t for the menu peeking my curiosity I would still never know that this little gem is even back there. This is the place you go to impress that girl that said yes, that special night out with that special someone, or just need a night out where you feel like you aren’t in Orlando and instead someplace in another time.

When you walk up to the hotel it is stunning, with a beautiful white exterior and this grand sign on the side of the hotel. There was all these classic cars in the front and just a very elegant driveway in the valet area. When you walk in you can see all the artwork and fine decor and interior that you can only get from a hotel like the Grand Bohemian. The lobby isn’t very big mind you and the bar and restaurant are out in the open as part of the lobby, but it still looks elegant and makes you feel like you are walking into one of those hotels you see in old black and white movies. There is also a big porch area that they use for the restaurant and all the decor in and out are wicker chairs and tables with glass tops, wooden floors and bar. The whole place was well lit and classy.

When I sat I arrived just in time for happy hour and was immediately handed the magical dining menu on top of their regular menu. It was a simple one page menu and their regular menu was just two pages, there bar menu on the other hand was a few pages in a separate book. The happy hour was extremely reasonable, and I noticed that the magical dining choices were straight from their regular everyday menu, not some watered down menu, with minimal creativity.

For my three items I decided to go with the filet mignon eggroll, roasted salmon, and chocolate lava cake.

The best course out of the three was the eggroll hands down. The plate was clean, flavor was exquisite, the garnish and presentation was amazing, not at all what I was expecting from a eggroll appetizer with filet and boursin cheese. The papaya lotus root slaw was a excellent accompaniment, to this very tender and creamy, crunchy delight. They finish it with cilantro for flavor and color, after they flash fry it and finish in the oven. Would easily go back just to have another rum runner and this appetizer.

The second course was the roasted salmon, with a garden ragout of sweet corn, edamame, petite green peas, and pearl onions, and topped with a pesto lemon. It was a very pretty dish, with excellent technique, and everything was cooked perfectly. I forgot to order my salmon medium, so it is my fault it was a little dry for my taste, but a good dish none the less.

My last dish with the chocolate lava cake. Unfortunately this was the most depressing of the dishes because there was no molten center, the cake was dry, and the chocolate flavor was ok. I asked my server if it was a outside product and unfortunately the answer was yes.

Overall this was the best of my experiences during the magical dining.  my server was well educated with the menu and didn’t look down on me because I ordered off the magical dining menu. Would definitely go back and enjoy the location and happily pay full price. Probably would go to the café down the street for the dessert course.

career, chef, experience, foodie, industry, So You Want To Be A Chef

So You Want To Be A Chef Part 1

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This post is for the dreamers, the Food Network Star want a bee’s, and the people bored at their desks at work. Before you go quit your cushy desk job, sign up for a overpriced culinary school, or think you will be on Food Network in the next five years, think again. like anything else in life I implore you to do your research, ask the oldest chef who is working in your favorite restaurant, and really find out what it is all about. It is intense, it is painful, and it is really messy, but most of all it can be a lot of fun.

What you need to remember about the cooking industry is that it is part of the service industry, what I mean by that is that it was a industry created from servants waiting on people with money. There can be money made in the industry, don’t get me wrong, but it will take every ounce of you to make that happen. You can’t half-ass it, you can’t focus on the negative aspects, and you can’t expect anything. So before you make that decision make sure that you have the passion, the dedication, and the resources to be able to be successful.

My recommendation to any aspiring chef is to go to college, get a degree in something else and make money first. Then when you are good at that start focusing on becoming a chef, start practicing at home and start understanding how a recipe truly comes together. Get a second job, in a good restaurant part time in the kitchen and start learning how a kitchen line really works. Then when you have made your nest egg and understand the basics go find yourself a chef to run your kitchen and get your restaurant going.

Understand that even the most knowledgeable restauranteurs fail at this endeavor, and that actually 86% of most restaurants close their doors in the first year. Only through experience can you truly learn what you do not know, and in the restaurant industry their will always be something you do not know. Hire people who do know, and I am not talking about a experienced server or bartender, because what they know is how to rob you and how to find the way to do the least amount of work. Hire professionals with experience and credentials that can actually help you see all the corners and crevices that only someone with experience would know.

Most people supervised a cafeteria when they went to college or served a few years back in the day and think they know it all, they don’t know shit and neither do you. That is the attitude you need to have to be successful, just don’t let your employees know that ;).

Unless you are opening a one man band type of operation the next thing you need to be is a leader. Make sure you are truly honest with yourself on this one because you WILL be tested every day and if you are not then you will fail. Understand that the word professional doesn’t really apply to majority of the people who will be working for you. These will be kids, old people, people who have no other options, immigrants, or ex convicts. What that means is that you better know how to talk to each of these types of people and you better get ready to deal with some stupid crazy stuff. Hiring with background checks and work references my alleviate some of these situations, but if you are just opening then you probably wont have the money or time to look into this. My recommendation is to not get stingy with this part, because it is really necessary when hiring in this industry. Add a little extra to the loan or the necessary investor amount of capital to really try to get the best you can with what you are working with.

It isn’t all about the food and drinks either, you need to be a pretty handy person when it comes to maintaining your place. While in college take a basic electrical and carpentering class, maybe even a computer and networks class for fun. If you want to make a pretty good gross profit on your facility then you can not call someone in unless you really have to, professionals are expensive and every dollar saved helps.

It isn’t all negative though, like I said it can be a lot of fun, but if that”s why you are doing it then you have to plan to open your own place because working for a corporation will suck all the fun out of it. Some people just want to have a place to go and drink, some want to just meet and have fun with the servers, but if you are like me it is because you want to do all kinds of different foodie things and have your mad scientist moments. Working for a corporation you for the most part can’t do any of that unless you are in the key position and even then there is always someone lurking around the corner with a reason for why you can’t. So make sure you have your dream nicely laid out in a business plan and get ready for a never boring roller coaster ride that wont shut down until you do. It definitely beats the boredom of sitting in front of a desk, staring at a computer screen in a air conditioned room, right? 🙂

 

industry, technology

Technology in the Food Industry

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With the ever increasing cost of everything, one of the biggest items where cost has gone out of control is food. There has been  really bad weather globally that has affected the actual amount of product that we as Americans are receiving from global producers, increasing the cost of all food items based on demand. In so also increasing the natural all around cost of basic life necessities. Food being probably the most basic of necessities for everyone means that costs sky rocket in every other industry, especially the industries and businesses that get to create their own costs.

One thing that needs to be understood is that no matter what you hear or think, cooking is one of the worst paid jobs in the working world. With these ever increasing costs going up not only is the industry losing competent workers but the workers that the industry does have are slowly losing any bit of professionalism left in them because they are struggling so much more than they already were. With the industry being as vast as it is this is becoming a bigger problem than most people really understand. With the way things are now, it can be presumed that the majority of your fast food dining facilities and casual dining facilities are investigating different ways of eliminating as many of the basic level jobs as possible.

A friend used to work at Chili’s restaurant and told me that they started using a impinger machine for all their basic cooking needs when it comes to proteins. Essentially the machine is like a programmable broiler where you set in the program that you need for cooking a item and it does all the work for them. I went there today and there was a tablet on all of the tables were you can order dessert food and drinks thru the tablet and they will run it out to you. When you go to fast food joints in Japan, they have kiosks where you put your order in instead of having a cashier, requiring less labor costs and less employee errors. While in the business sense it is ideal, it is getting rid of basic jobs.

No matter what it is happening, in all the WaWa’s they use these ordering consoles but since it is a newer company in most areas we are not affected because the increase in these locations already increases jobs locally.

This is the way of the future. Honestly even as a cook I completely understand and accept the future changes. This will throw the industry upside down and I’m not sure if it will be a good or bad flip. If you think of how many people are employed with these server and cooked based jobs then it can be assumed that there is going to be a lot of unemployed people in the near future. As Americans are we worried about this future job loss or are we accepting of this change?