Starting Early

So far: Basil, Rosemary, Thyme, Cubanelles, Banana Peppers, and Cilantro.

Christmas Duck

I kinda messed up the whole drying process. Somehow, while placing in the brine still a little frozen, I missed the fact that the duck hadn't been eviscerated. So, after hanging and drying, I then had to gut and rinse out the cavity.

After a little mixing of flavors and rubbing under the skin....

Donald came out pretty damn tasty.

New Camera!

It's about time, I've been going crazy taking crappy pictures with my phone.

This one's pretty awesome so far and I'm not even sure what all it can do yet.

It has some sweet features on it, like 10 frames per second if needed, HD Video and a bunch of other stuff.

Carrie got it for me and I can't wait to take some pictures.

Here's some:

This guys been hanging for a bit in front of the fan. Soon to go into the oven.

Christmas diner like in the "Christmas Story"

This guy is currently soaking in some lovely star anise and cinnamon brine.

$15 from H&L Asian Market in North Chuck. That place is amazing.

Early Christmas

My brother gave me this.

Bourbon is just "one of those things".

I remember hearing in a movie "a man knows what to order when you walks up to a bar" "There's no hmm hawin or ordering something complicated or fruity, a man walks up to a bar and orders a man drink."

I like and I appreciate bourbon, I usually go for the cheaper Jim Beam but I do that because I like the flavor.

This Evan Williams is so smooth though.

Dale's Pale Ale

Yes it's in a can.

I think there's something missed about cans. I freakin love a Pepsi or a Dr. P in a can. Ice colder! For some golf tournament at Kiawah when I was there they ordered about a thousand cases of...water in a can. Ech right?

NO! Delish! Cold! We had buckets of ice water packed with cans of water all summer. Imagine the mightiest of thirst quenched by shot gunning a can of ice water.

Dale's is the same way. It's a better Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and it's in a can. Super hopped from Colorado.

I really can't think of any other beers that might come out of Colorado that might be in a can..... hmmm........nope, nothing. At least nothing anywhere near this type of quality. The can is good. The can is good.

Missed Maybe?

Just found a bunch of older pictures on my girlfriends laptop. I think the mess of having digital cameras that come and go over the years have caused this.
But, this picture reminded me of what I'm not creating right now. I don't really remember what this dish is...but, I'm gonna guess at what I wish it was now. I'm thinking it's a specially seasoned venison leg loin over a chili braised beef and corn stew, masa and savory seasoning braised waffles, with a sauce of Mexican chocolate, natural jus and maple.

It looks like something I'd like to be selling today. Sadly, anything without mashed potatoes is hard to sell right now.

I hate feeling stuck and I hate not being able to create, and man I hate this recession.

Peach roasted chicken

Ice Man

Banana Guacamole

Seared Scallops, Truffled Sweet Potato Puree, Red Hots Pear Crisps and Banana Guacamole.

Pimp yo grill

Real simple.

Purchase at $30, then charge $100

Blue Cheese Brownies

Going Back.

It was hard just to find this picture.

Circa: Barely 2005.

The thought of Blue Cheese and Chocolate was given to me as a challenge for the most part.

Something leftover from the former holder of my position at Charleston Chops. (R.I.P.)

A late night conversation about how Jeff always wanted to pair blue cheese with chocolate and the guy before me was determined to do it...

I was more determined, no offense to that guy.

It's still evolving though.

For so long now, I've been watching and reading about all these trendy spots mixing Chocolate with Bacon.............................................Yeah. OK. It's not as weird as it sounds, and if it gets someone into Food Arts WhyTF am I not in it? I didn't know that when I realized that Chocolate worked better with savory foods, that other people didn't know that. Now it's all over the place. I'm not looking for anything, I'm just sayin....

So, years ago this picture comes out of Chops kitchen and is met with luke warm to cold response and duely so, it's hard for someone to wrap their mind around, along with their taste buds and also being 4 to 5 years ago. I might be wrong actually, it was probably longer.

This happens a lot though, someone gets to be well known for their...oh, lets say their "General Tso's so and so item" It's not like you talked to them about this idea while you worked with them, or placed this item on a personal tasting menu of yours, it's more the fact that someone else maybe forgot that you placed that little gem in their brain a year or so prior to them coming up with it. No, it's more about the guy or girl that's in the moment. The one or two lucky ones that hold the limelight and can put on display anything that you haven't read about yet and claim it as their own. Well, nothings new, I know that. There's no Patent on food. There is that one guy that's trying to though.

That is why food is art, it's interpretation. It's the individual human that made it their way that one time that makes it "theirs".

Bygones be bygones (i don't really know what that means really), under the bridge.

I am a little jealous though. I wish my vision and version of savory chocolate would have struck a nerve with someone years ago. And I'm glad it's still gonna live on. I put the word out to Jeff to "add Bacon Fat to the recipe" like replacing the butter!

Chocolate.

Blue Cheese.

Bacon.

That should be on a tombstone.

Really.

Trotter Totters?

Randy ran the name by me after the fact.
First off, Let me knock the dust off of this website for a minute. PHEWWW.

Still behind on everything I want to do with this career.
My personal life is wonderful though.
The recession "that's the worst in 26 years" (or something like that) is just that, I've been keepin on keepin on. A job is better then no job.



Any who. I was talking about rolling up bbq pork in some leftover mashed potatoes when Randy said " that sounds like something I read about on the new Cypress menu." they called it " Trotter Totters?"
I like the name. Wish I would have thought of the name first. But, still, my current quest for all that is filthy good continues. I just don't own the place in which it will be delivered.

Nor do I own a proper camera at the time.

Smoked Cheddar cream and Sweet and Sour Brussels to complete the other factors of a southern meal all rolled into one. Pun intended.

Floating

I miss having my own kitchen. I miss the motivation.

I miss the future.

Shrimp and Grits Pizza

It's real good.

The Lady and Sons

Again, I haven't been posting much here do to the fact that I haven't been making any of my own food for a couple months now. I do, however, plan on having my own place again. Owning it or not.

For the past month I've been pretty busy helping open two (2!) brand new restaurants at the same time. Last week, my girlfriend's mom was in town and she wanted to go to Savannah and eat at Paula Dean's.

It was a fun trip. Almost picked up a stray dog, got some Peach Cider and we didn't have to wait for 4 hours to eat at PDiddy's.

See, they don't take reservations, it's first come first serve and man do they serve em.

In and out like cattle. The fried green tomatoes where awesome.

But man, talk about "southern hospitality".

They start taking names at 9:30, then they tell you to be across the street 20 minutes prior to your desired sit down time. Then they scream over traffic your name so you can receive a ticket and instructions on where you will be sat.

All I can say it, "ok, been there done that".

Beer, in one of it's glories

Arrogant Bastard.
http://www.arrogantbastard.com/
Says it all.....well, except for the part about how really well crafted it is.
When it comes down to my personal day to day situations in life, and let me just tell you they have not been normal lately. I had this on draft at http://www.charlestonbeerworks.com/BusTrip.html and it really put me back on the quest for great beer. I mean, all day trying and searching for a beer that was up to snuff....this was it!
It is arrogant, it's meant to be! It's beautiful, it passes all the tests, it's delicious, it's complex, it's.....affordable!
One thing first, I don't like dark beers. I say that, but I accept that I don't really understand "dark" beers.
This beer....Is up top, easily!
Please enjoy!

How it went.

Well, it went.
If you could see the size of this restaurant, you could feel my pain. Not only that, there was a shift change right in the middle of my tasting. So, new guys coming in where all over my two feet of work space, then trying to do circles around from one end of the line around to the other not to pass right down the line where they were still trying to work. This place is TINE-EEE!
Also, there's the challenge of not trying to do my best....and a little mind reading of course.
One owner asked for specific things and the other owner shot them down as if it was silly to present in the first place. "No one will order Mole" (That's [MOH-lay], I don't want anyone to think I'm cooking up underground blind rats, although.....I would.)
I'm not going to go into details on the items just yet (I still need to get paid for them) maybe when they are put into print with a familiar face logo above them I'll come back to it.
But, here are the pictures in all their down played glory.
"Trust us, it's Mexican"

PS, I sold five! Not bad for the first tasting.

Banana Leaves

These things are freakin huge!!
I ended up not using them in the final tasting, but they are pretty damn cool, and cheap actually.
Just a matter of finding them. I'm sure your local produce company could get them for you. I found these at a little Mexican market at the intersection of Maybank and Main on John's Island. 5 for $6, not bad, and they freeze.

Sauces

Talk about what I was meant to ever do.
I was talking to an old line cook of mine who happens to have some Mexican heritage in his blood.
When I told him I was consulting with a Mexican themed restaurant his response was (more or less) " oh yeah, that makes sense, why wouldn't you ask a severely white, Scots Irish guy to come up with authentic Mexican cuisine?"
"Authentic Mexican Cuisine" being the catch there. Any breathing human can come up with Authentic Mexican Cuisine really. Once you read about it, practice it and STEAL it! You are reproducing Authentic Mexican Cuisine.
Or, Someone who cares, can research and practice old school recipes and bring them up to date to fit in with a new restaurants' ideas of what they are looking for.

I've been in love with deep southern cuisine for as long as I remember. And, actually, I didn't realize how much I have absorbed when it comes to it. The bits and pieces are the machine here. Knowing your chilies and how to use them are key. Sauces are the base, let me repeat that, Sauces are the base!
Corn, Chilies, Cheese.
I have a theory that I developed when I was a Saucier for Orient Express, anything can be turned into a Sauce, Soup or Vinaigrette.
When you loosen up your thoughts, it can be so. Actually, anything can be turned into almost anything. But, that's for further posts.
(but really, if you wanted to turn your left over chicken casserole into....say....Ice Cream? Why not? Ben and Jerry's would be salivating at the profit just to hear about it.)



So, Sauces are a part of me. I pride myself on understanding how and why sauces work and why they are necessary. So, Mexican cuisine is right up my alley.






Green Chili, Red Chili, "Buffalo", and neutral Red Chili.

Beef Short Ribs in Mole Sauce.

Everyone shoud know, I love hotdogs!

A really good friend of mine sent this to me.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/toolbar/#url=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.boingboing.net%252F2009%252F04%252F21%252Ffreaky-food-fun-inse.html

No real purpose for it (yet), but it looks really cool.

Thanks Jane!



Personal note: I don't care what Hotdogs are made of. I hope they do have lips and ears and hoof in them. Those are my favorite parts, all in one package. Genius.

Holy Mole!!!!

Step one: Don't volunteer your rental home for recipe research.
Household equipment is sometimes not meant for restaurant quality food.
There's a reason you can't get everything the way it is "at the restaurant".




My little Osterizer blender may have been built in Mexico, but it was not meant to puree Mexican Sauces. It smelled hotter then the stove actually. It pulled through though.

When it was done, my little short bus version of Mole Poblano/Negro, came out pretty damn good. (no sesame seeds, no whole nuts, no stock, no lard, no habla espanol)

Now to sell it to El Hombre!

Dos

Start work on my first Consultant job today.

Well, have been brainstorming for the past week, but am going to put knife to board tonight after work.

It's been really fun so far, a lot of learning. I love to dive into a cuisine and really come up with a better understanding of it. It's something I did a lot when I was at the old restaurant for our wine dinners there. Now I get to do freelance and hopefully stay on in a regular go to consultant guy.

Beerfest

http://www.geneshaufbrau.com/events.php
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=63987474254&ref=mf

Bacon Stretcher

A long running joke for sure, but this is how I do it.
Works really well for terrines, meatloaf, fish, or whatever you want to wrap in bacon.

Relleno Roulade

For mass quantity, Set up overnight and held together.