Grown & Sexy.. Open Face Slider w/ Bleu Cheese...

Grown & Sexy Sliders

I am a no fuss kinda guy, at least that's what I think although I'm sure that some of my friends would beg to differ. For the most part I wear shorts and flip flops as I move about the city, I'd like to blame it on moving to Cali but Northern California isn't exactly the warmest place in the country. So let's just chalk it up to function over fashion. Don't get me wrong I'm into haberdashery even with the shorts that I choose and I think I clean up quite nicely.

While slumming it can be comfortable there are times when something more is required, let's pen it as "Getting Your Grown & Sexy On!" Going out for an evening on the town is a part of what I do to entertain myself and keep a healthy balance, you know the saying; "all work and no play makes Mark tie one on eventually!" or something like that. Grown and Sexy just means putting on my glad rags and acting the part. Be it a wedding, black tie affair or other occasion, there are times when more is required both in dress and approach. Well, food can be the same way!

Burgers are always a great idea to have at almost anytime and while can think of a plethora of adjectives sexy just isn't one of them if it's served in the usual manner. There are burgers made with Foie Gras, Kobe Beef, Angus Beef and many other items to make it taste supreme but does that make for a sexy burger? While it may enhance the taste I'll argue that it's still not sexy enough to make it on the menu for a Grown & Sexy Affair.


On the Menu: Open Face Beef Sliders With Bleu Cheese AKA The Grown & Sexy Slider

Once the spring and summer hits heavy foods take a back seat to items that don't leave you feeling bloated and hot. Bread is delicious but has the unfortunate side effect of being overly filling on some levels. Because Sliders are small two biters, it's more than likely that one simply won't do. Normally as the tray gets passed around you will find that you have scarfed down three or four sliders at a party.  What I have found is a two part benefit to subtracting the top layer of bread for sliders, it decreases the calorie count and it sets it up for an awesome presentation. By making the burger and open face burger you are able to show of the toppings, the toasting of the bread and the color and texture of the burger itself. In other words you are now able to make this common burger a sexy one worthy of any affair, and more than likely one of the most talked about items of the evening.



For the burgers we will need the following:

• Ground Beef (1 #)
• Salad Greens (1 oz)
• Season Salt (1 tsp)
• Garlic Salt (1 tsp)
• Cherry Tomatoes (2 ea)
• Red Onions (1 ea)
• Bleu Cheese (1 oz)
• English Muffins (1/2 per slider)

Make the patties by adding the season salt and garlic salt first and then form into small "slider sized" patties. Grill by adding salt and cooking until at least medium rare. Once cooked remove and set aside. Add butter to the pan to cook the onion then toast the english muffin, remove and set aside once done. Dress the burger by adding items in this order 1) muffin 2) sauce 3) lettuce 4) slider 5) onion 6) bleu cheese 7) tomato 8) sauce (see below). 

Open Face Slider w/ Bleu Cheese

For the sauce we will need the following:

• Mayo (2 Tbs)
• Dijon Mustard (2 Tbs)
• Catsup (1/2 cup)
• Paprika (1 tsp)

Make the sauce by combining all ingredients and stirring until incorporated.

Sexy Sauce 

Grown & Sexy Sliders

Platter of Sliders

A Meal For The Hopeful Romantic. Shrimp Cocktail & Stone Fruit Salad w/ Bleu Cheese and Pan Roasted Cod...The Summer Salad Series.....

Shrimp Cocktail

Pan Seared Cod with Stone Fruit Salad & Bleu Cheese

The other day someone posted a music video of an artist that I had heard of in passing but had never actually had the pleasure of listening to until that day. I must have watched it over 30 times, each time I found a different reason to like it even more than the previous. I'm not sure if it was his awkward intro, delivery, the chords or the fact that at the end of the day it was a love song. A bit of each is my best guess. 

I considered myself to be awkward long before the internet series made it sort of hip, so being drawn to that aspect of the video and song has some merit but still there's more to it. Chords are something that have always affected me emotionally and have the ability to dictate my mood momentarily. I actually read an article earlier this year that confirmed my suspicions (Link). Then there's the love song thing. I have always appreciated a good love song, but often times the ones that draw me aren't the "burning up the sheets" types, it's normally the ones where there's the clumsiness of getting to know one another. You, know the songs that highlight the awkward confessions of a man that has found himself wanting to do silly things like write songs, poetry or act in some other "non-manly" way, all for the affection of that one sought after person, the object of his desire.  ThunderCat Video - Walking

The hopeful romanticist in me draws me to songs, videos or occurrences that are normally about new love or love sustained over long periods of time. One story that I'd like to share is about the first time that I identified with the latter, sustained love. I traveled to Seattle for a trip with a friend. We decided to take a side trip up to Vancouver. While we were there we went for a walk in Stanley Park, where I saw an elderly couple just walking and holding hands, I think I was about 25 or so at the time. I immediately, imagined that they had been together for the last 30 or 40 years and the fact that they were holding hands after all of these years truly warmed my soul to its' core. Although I didn't know them nor did I ask I could just feel it and it really had a profound affect on me. One of the interesting things about this story is that the couple that I saw was two elderly men. Even more surprising to me as I reflected was the fact that I hadn't seen gender, what I saw was true love and it moved me, even as a young man that had limited interaction with the gay community at the time. 

The first date can be stressful after all you probably don't know much about each other and who in the hell wants to be interviewed after a long day of work. Well, by the time you get around to the first dinner date in house, you should know each other better but then there's the pressure to entertain and have everything go off without so much as a hitch. Get over it, things happen and they are there for you not for the accompaniments. When I think cooking for the first date I think simplicity and who doesn't love a quick but sexy appetizer and something lite and refreshing for dinner.


On the menu today :  

Shrimp Cocktail

Stone Fruit Salad Blue Cheese and Arugula with Pan Roasted Cod 

Shrimp Cocktail 

Iced Shrimp Cocktail 

Pan Seared Cod w/ Arugula Stone Fruit, Tomatoes & Bleu Cheese

With everything I do I create a formula that works for me, nothing earth shattering just something that makes it easier for me to function. My formula for my entries normally goes like this; I dream of something, see something or go to the store and pick up whatever is needed to cook. I then get the food items home, cook them, write the recipe(s) and then proceed to reflect on my past and or whatever is going on with me currently to write a relevant entry for the blog. Well, this video so inspired me that I decided to write first and let the story dictate the food aspect of what you are seeing now. I'm sure it will work out because this video deserves a good meal to go along with it.


For the Shrimp Cocktail we will need:

• Jumbo Shrimp (4-5 pp)
• Crab Boil (1 Tsp)
• Garlic (2 cloves)
• Bay Leaf (1 ea)
• Old Bay (1 tsp)
• Lemon (1 ea)
• Catsup (1 cup)
• Horseradish (2 Tbs)
• Tabasco (1 tsp)
• Worchestire Sauce (1 Tbs)

Put the crab boil, garlic and bay leaf in a pot of water and bring to a boil, add peeled and deveined shrimp and cook for 2-4 minutes or until done. Once shrimp is done take out and play in a bowl of ice water until chilled. Remove from water and refrigerate until service.

Add the catsup, old bay, lemon juice (1 tsp), horseradish,tabasco and Worchestire and mix thoroughly.

Plate as seen below or however you like.

Cocktail Sauce

For the Salad & Cod we will need the following:

• Wild Arugula (32 oz)
• Peaches (2 ea)
• Plums (2 ea)
• Heirloom Tomatoes (2-4
• Red Onions (1/2 ea)
• White Balsamic Vinegar (1 tsp)
• Olive Oil (2 Tbs) 
• Garlic (.25 tsp) 
• Dijon Mustard (1 tsp)
• Lemon Juice (1 tsp)
• Cod (1 portion p p)
• Butter (1 Tbs)

2nd Plating 

If needed wash the arugula and refrigerate for later use. Peel both the peaches & plums then slice. Julienne the onion and marinate in .5 tsp of the white balsamic vinegar along with the peaches and plums. Slice the tomatoes and set aside for later use. Make the dressing by adding the remainder of the vinegar, 1 Tbs of olive oil and .5 tsp of Dijon mustard. Combine all the components of the salad and add the cheese liberally (as seen below).

Stone Fruit Salad

Marinate the Cod in the lemon juice, Dijon mustard (.5 tsp), garlic and olive oil for 20-30 minutes. Once ready to cook pat dry with a paper towel and salt liberally. Add butter or olive oil to a heated skillet and place cod in dry and salted side down, allowing to cook for 3-5 minutes to form a crust as seen below. Flip the fish using a spatula and place in an oven preheated to 425 for 2-4 more additional minutes or until done. Plate as seen below or any way that you would like.

Plums

Shhh. Silent Sundays 7.....

Some Things Are Better Left As Is... Smothered Chicken with Pancetta, Rice & Zucchini.....

Smothered Chicken With Rice

Somethings are better left untouched, unfinished and unrefined. Do you remember your first kiss, not that I'm prying but was it dry, too wet or was it special simply because it was your first? I'd bet that as time has gone on you have romanticized that so much that it's hard discern fantasy from reality. How about a piece of furniture that you find at an antique shop? When you first see it you have ideas of stripping it down and refinishing it as a weekend project but once you get it home you realize that it has a stand alone  quality that actually has a place not only in your home but more importantly in your heart. 

Food can be the same way, some dishes are better left unrefined and have more eye appeal when in the form that you most recognize. Of course there's a way to deconstruct any dish to bring it into the future as a work of art but there are a few questions that you have to ask yourself as a chef or foodie; Do you sacrifice function for eye appeal? Does the change take away from the tradition of the dish? And finally, is anyone going to get the point? If the answer is yes to the first two questions and no for the last one my suggestion is to leave tradition alone and plate it as it was intended to be eaten.


On the menu today: Smothered Chicken with Pancetta, Rice and Grilled Zucchini

Smothered Chicken with Pancetta & Rice

For this menu we will need the following:

• Chicken (any parts)
• Onions (2-3 ea)
• Pancetta (1/2 cup)
• White Wine (1 cup)
• Chicken Stock (32 oz)
• Garlic (2 Tbs)
• Sage (7 leaves)
• Thyme (3 twigs)
• Rice (1 cup)
• Zucchini (4 ea)
• Flour (1/2 cup)
• Butter (1/4 stick)
• Coarse Kosher Salt (t t)
• Olive Oil (3 Tbs)

There are some dishes or recipes that need little to no tweaking, no forward thinking and no over thinking, smothered chicken happens to be one of them. While there may be some that add oregano others may add sage instead but these are subtle nuances and not considered as change. When I talk about change I mean an overall change in the functionality of a dish or recipe. For example I went to a fairly reputable restaurant in San Francisco that I shall not name and ordered roasted chicken. A simple dish it would seem, but for some reason the think tank at this spot decided that presentation was the star of this show. When my food came the chicken was broken down into separate pieces and beautifully arranged on my plate but cold as a salad. In this case the chef should realize that what keeps the chicken warm is the fact that it is one big piece of heated chicken , especially since the chicken is served without a sauce. In other words the chef and owner decided that it was better for the consumer to be visually stimulated than to be blown away by the taste of the dish, temperature has a huge role in that equation. Some things can stand on their own as time has shown, it's nice to be cute as long as it doesn't take away from the functionality of a dish. A cold salad is to be served cold and hot food is to be served hot in order to throughly enjoy the dish. Not too long ago I was asked a simple question, what's more important presentation or taste? My answer was complex in its' simplicity; "You will taste a dish first with your eyes, then with your nose and finally with your tongue, if your tongue doesn't confirm what your eyes and nose already know then as a chef or foodie you have missed your mark and the point of cooking for others!" "The answer is they are all of equal importance, plain and simple!" 

Smothered Chicken & Rice With Grilled Zucchini

Take the chicken and marinate it in a mixture of garlic, olive oil and thyme for 1-8 hrs. Once done sear the chicken skin side down allowing the skin to brown and remove from the pan and set aside. Add the diced pancetta and once it starts to brown add the julienne onions allowing to slightly brown with the pancetta. Deglaze the pan with the white wind being sure to scrape the fond (bits of food stuck to the bottom of the pan) to incorporate. Add the chicken back to the pan, add 16 oz of the chicken stock and place the pan in an oven preheated to 425 degrees for 20 - 30 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.   

For the rice just add double the amount of liquid as you add rice, be sure to substitute chicken stock for the water used and salt your water.

The zucchini will be cut on the bias and sautéed with olive oil and salted.

Presented in a Cast Iron Skillet

To make the gravy, remove the chicken from the pan with the other ingredients and add roux,  Roux is a mixture of heated butter and flour that forms a paste (look at the video for liver and onions on my earlier post) to your desired thickness adding chopped sage as you cook the gravy down.  Add the chicken back to the pan and plate as your heart desires, just remember the hotter the better.

Smothered Chicken With Pancetta

MF Doom - Dead Bent 

Make Something Memorable. Vanilla Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Apple Cider Poached Pears & Roasted Sage Sweet Potatoes.....

Apple Cider Poached Pear 

Music as much as food moves me in ways that I can't describe and always has. I listen to hip hop, rap, rock & roll, grunge, classical, country, celtic, blues, r&b and gospel on a regular, to name a few. Of course like most of you I have had times when I fall in and back out of love with a certain genre but I always find my way back to it for one reason or another. In my early twenties it was all about rap, funk and soft rock with Rakim, Rick James and , Led Zeppelin and Steely Dan leading the way. As rap started to change (from self reflection to self aggrandizing) my needs for something that spoke to what I felt lead me to grunge music with Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots speaking directly to me. In my thirties is was all over the place with blues, jazz, celtic and r&b it seemed that I felt like I needed to be more mature about my musical selections, after all I was now in my thirties. I remember pulling up with my windows rolled down (see how old I wrote rolled) , music blaring and scrambling to find an age appropriate station depending upon whom I was pulling up next to. It kinda reminds me of going to McDonald's Now, we all do it - lie to get off the phone as we pull up for fear of being outed as a McDonald's regular, "As IF"! I truly appreciate all forms of music and try to listen to whatever my ears can take in. While there are plenty that will say the music of today sucks, I say we are extremely lucky to listen to the music of yesterday and today, it gives us a unique perspective on music as a whole.

Music and Food are similar in the aforementioned ways. It's for this reason that I added music to my blog and change it to fit each new post, if you haven't listened to the music as you read or look at the pictures you are doing yourself a disservice.  My palate has in deed matured and while I still enjoy a cheeseburger and fries, now I will make the cheeseburger with buffalo meat and add duck fat to the fries. The expression "The more things change the more they stay the same!" has never been more inappropriate. While the things are the same it's the subtle nuances that can move a recipe into a new class of being. How many of you remember the episode of the Brady Bunch (again dating myself) in which "Pork Chops and Applesauce!", was repeated by Bobby, Alice and Mama Brady Click Herethroughout a 2 minute clip. Pork Chops and applesauce continues to be a favorite of mine the combination is a classic one, think about it, when a pig is roasted what's in its mouth.

Forward thinking is just that, it's all about being inspired by the past but moving it into the future to fit today's sophisticated needs and palates with your own spin. Make Something Memorable!


On the menu today: Vanilla Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Apple Cider Poached Pears, Sage Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Spinach.

Vanilla Roasted Pork Loin

Apple Cider Poached Pears

Vanilla Roasted Pork, Spinach & Apple Cider Poached Pears

Pork tenderloin with vanilla is a match made in heaven, the sweetness of the vanilla and salt of the pork are a perfect combination. Applesauce is classic but is it sexy on a plate? Maybe, but not nearly as sexy as a pear, now if we can infuse the pear with the taste of an apple we can have sexy and tasty. Add in the sweet potatoes and one might think it's too sweet, but with the smokiness of the sage it breaks the sweet up and gives the dish its' perfect balance.



For the Pork we will need the following:

• Pork Tenderloin (1 can feed 2-3 people)
• Garlic (3 cloves per loin)
• Olive Oil (2 Tbs)
• Vanilla extract or powder (2 Tbs)
• Dijon Mustard (.5 tsp)
• Brown Sugar (.5 cup)
• Coarse Kosher Salt (t t)

Marinate the pork by mincing the garlic, adding the other ingredients together and placing on top of the pork. Refrigerate and allow to marinate for 4-24 hours. Grill or sear the tenderloin to get  char marks or browning (see picture below). Place in an oven preheated to 425 degrees for 16-20 minutes, until slightly past medium rare or your desired internal temperature. Once done allow to sit for 3-5 minutes before slicing.

Roasted Tenderloin

For the Poached Pears we will need the following: 

• Pears (1 per guest)
• Sparkling Apple Cider (1 bottle)
• Cloves (15 each)
• Brown Sugar (1/4 cup)
• Dark Rum (1/4 cup)
• Balsamic Vinegar (2 tsp)
• Corn Starch (3 Tbs)
• Water (2 cups)

Peel the pears and place in a boiling pan along with all of the other items except for the corn starch. Allow mixture to poach the pears for 25-35 minutes on medium heat and remove allowing to cool. Reduce the liquid by 1/2 and add a slurry (3 Tbs cornstarch and 1 Tbs water). Allow mixture to come to a boil and reduce the heat, cook to your desired consistency. Allow to cool and pour over the pears before serving.

Cider Poached Pears Over Sage Sweets

For the Roasted Sweets we will need  the following:

• Sweet Potatoes (1 per 2 guests)
• Sage (15 leaves)
• Garlic (1 Tbs)
• Olive Oil (2 Tbs)

Slice the potatoes into rounds as pictured below then marinate in diced sage, diced garlic, olive oil for 10 - 30 minutes.  Roast on 375 for 15 - 20 minutes. Allow to cool and plate as seen below.

Sage Roasted Potatoes

For the Spinach we will need the following:

• Spinach (32-64 oz)
• Olive Oil (2 Tbs)
• Garlic (1 Tbs) 
• Coarse Kosher Salt (t t)

Heat a skillet then add olive oil and garlic, allow garlic to brown slightly before adding the spinach. Cook until completely wilted and salt to taste. 

1st Plating

Vanilla Roasted Pork Loin

2nd Plating 

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