Chef Debbie Says: You Really Expect "ME" to Eat at a Gas Station?

Last weekend I went down to Maggie Valley to visit my dearest friend Beth Brown, her darling husband Kenny and some of my favorite doggies in the world: Heidi, Oscar and Charlie Brown.

I arrive in Maggie with a full cooler with enough delectable treats to feed half of the state: center cut filets, two big slabs of meaty baby back ribs and lots of juicy Amish chicken breasts. Oh, and cheese. Lots and lots of cheese. Parmesan, Sicilian Jack, Danish Blue and Honey Goat. All this for just 3 people for just 3 days!

Beth says she wants to take me to a new favorite restaurant for lunch. I'm game. She's a foodie, Kenny is a foodie and if they say it's good, then it must be.

Oh, one minor detail... this restaurant is in the back of a gas station. And it's in a tiny town 45 minutes away.

Say whaaaat? You want to take me to a gas station restaurant? I'm secretly thinking they might have been away from city life a little too long...

Being the good sport that I am, I "graciously" agree to try the gas station restaurant with the slightly pretentious name of Caffé REL.

Well, Caffé REL put this snotty city girl in her place!

It was nothing like I expected. A charming little restaurant that would fit anywhere on the Champs~Élysées, the extensive menu featured delicacies such as:

Lamb Lollies ~ Rosemary rubbed lamb lollipops finished with shallot scallion Madera sauce

Snails & Tails ~ Helix snails and crawfish tail meat sautéed in butter with portabella mushrooms, Glace De Viande, fresh herbs, shallots, garlic, sherry and fresh cream... and then it's finished with a homemade puff pastry braid

French Blue Bâtard ~ Blue crab claw meat sautéed in butter with shallots, garlic, scallions and capers served on French bread, topped with Parmesan cheese and then baked hot and bubbly.

Not only was lunch simply amazing but when the server inquired about dessert, I ~ of course ~ suggested we "share" one. I naively asked which of the desserts on the extensive list was made in house... too many for me to keep track of.

After much discussion and debate, we decided on the Lemon & Strawberry Cake ~ delicate yellow cake with homemade strawberry jam in between the layers and then iced with an amazing lemon curd icing. Oh, and served with a fabulous whipped cream and vanilla bean ice cream.

I didn't want to leave the table and "laughingly" suggested we just order wine and keep the table until dinner.

So next time a foodie friend suggests lunch at the gas station, hope and pray they're talking about a road trip to Franklin, NC.

Chef Debbie Says: I Love Birthdays When They're Not Mine!

Last Saturday was sweet husband Tim's birthday. Number 54 (in case you were wondering).

In Yummy! world, a birthday means a party. And a party means friends. And drinks. And food.

Lots and lots and lots of food. (Well, actually lots and lots of drinks too, but you knew that already didn't you?)

After several days in the kitchen, here's what the masses nibbled on:

Beef tenderloin, rubbed with bourbon barrel smoked sea salt, roasted rare and sliced paper thin

Marinated jumbo shrimp with homemade cocktail sauce

Honey Dijon marinated pork tenderloin, sliced paper thin and served with spicy mango and papaya salsa

Salmon 3~ways with Yummy~ized blinis: salmon roasted with maple and dill; roasted with Dijon and sesame; and, sweet and spicy. Blinis were served on toasted sourdough, topped with dilled deviled egg salad, creme fraiche and Tobiko caviar

An entire tray of 50 blinis ~ which were gone in about 15 seconds...

Sesame chicken with sweet garlic chili dipping sauce

Truffle paté and black peppercorn paté

Creamy caviar dip

New Orleans spicy crab dip

Tim's favorite spicy deviled eggs with crab ~ 48 whole eggs were gone almost before I could put the platter down

Brie with balsamic caramelized onion chutney and spicy pecans

Cheese, cheese and more cheese

Parmesan cubes with 2 dipping sauces: black truffle honey and red chili apricots

Chunky Danish bleu dip

Roasted 3~onion dip

And desserts. And fruit. And chocolate truffles. And sweet and crunchy pecans...

Judging from the amount of food left over ~ which was a crumb here and there ~ I'm thinking none of the guests had seen a scrap of food since about Tuesday...

If I'd followed a traditional caterer's calculations of:
# of Hours x # of People = Total # of Bites
I would have been about 20 pounds short just on the protein!

So even though it's a lot of work, I thank Bacchus that sweet husband is in good health, that we have amazing and wonderful friends and that I had Sunday off to clean up!

Chef Debbie's Summer Escapades: All In One Yummy~issimo! Blog

No your eyes are not deceiving you! This is actually a NEW Yummy! blog!

It's only been 2 1/2 months since my last blog, and there's been absolutely nothing going on... if you believe that, I have a bridge for sale...

So what's been happening in Yummy~ville?

Well, we went to the Fancy Food Show in NYC in June. Stayed with sweet husband Tim's sister, Judy and her teddy bear husband, Alan. We spent several days playing in the city and then ate and drank our way through the FFS. I didn't think it was possible that I'd ever get tired of luscious, creamy, double bleu cheese...

For those of you who followed Hell's Kitchen and the foul mouthed chef contestants trying to win the opportunity to work for (and turn into a mini) Gordon Ramsey, this is Petroza who was signing autographs at the FFS for a condiment vendor. I always thought he seemed like the only "normal" contestant on the show!

Back in Cincinnati with the suitcases barely unpacked, it was time for me to leave for New Orleans for my USPCA National Conference. How fun is it to eat and drink your way through such an amazing food city with 300 of your closest foodie friends!

Spent a good bit of time with one of my favorite people in the world, Liz Geeslin and her clan, the Kitchen Bitches!

Besides the AMAZING food at some of New Orleans' premier restaurants like K-Paul's, Brigtsen's and The Acme Oyster Co., I was fortunate to meet Lisa Brisch's fabulous husband, Jim, who is one of the nicest, easy~going and funny men around! (Sorry Lisa ~ but I don't have to LIVE with him, so he seemed just about perfect to me...)

It had been two years since I'd seen KB Lisa and had never met Jim ~ but I certainly hope it's not another two years until I see them again!

And, finally, to bring you up to date... the bottling process has finally begun!

Yeah, yeah, I know! I've been saying for several years that I was going to work on bottling a couple of products. But after meeting some vendors at the FFS in June, as well as tasting many new products (that I humbly believe aren't as good as mine are) the process has begun!

I'm working on several Gourmet Spreads ~ they can be used as a sandwich spread, salad dressing or a veggie dip. The first batch of samples were given out last week and here are a few of the initial comments:

Holy Jesus! I just wanted to eat it by the spoonful right out of the jar!

I had to hide this from my husband because he almost ate the entire jar by himself!

This is so amazing! When can I start stocking it here?

The flavors that my tasting panel will have to endure in the next couple of weeks:

Roquefort Sherry

Basil Parmesan

Asiago Cracked Peppercorn

Mediterranean (Feta and fenugreek).

My hope is to have two flavors on store shelves before the end of the year ~ not sure which two flavors yet, but everyone seemed to love the Roquefort Sherry.

OK, so now you're all up to date and you can quit "reminding" me that I haven't written a blog in a while, or mentioning to sweet husband to tell me it's time to write a blog!

There's a lot of fun and exciting things coming up in the next few months ~ events and parties planned every weekend in September and most of October, my BIRTHDAY (hint, hint), a radio remote with my sweet friend Queen Janeen at Meijer and, I sincerely hope, a VACATION in late October.

I promise to blog more ~ well, at least more than once every 10 weeks or so...

Chef Debbie's Easter Hodgepodge Blog

Today's blog is full of chatty little blurbs.

This is finally the last weekend of tax season.

Sweet husband, Tim, has been working 7 days a week since mid~February and it'll be nice to see him for more than about 10 minutes a day before he falls into bed.

Yesterday, I drove over to Indiana to meet my dear foodie friend and personal chef extraordinaire, Liz Geeslin, of In Good Taste Personal Chef Service in Lebanon, IN.

We met in Shelbyville for lunch at a bookstore~cafe called Three Sisters Books & Gifts located in the public square circle.

It's a darling place ~ not a frilly, foufou place ~ that is actually owned by three sisters. They specialize in panini sandwiches and homemade desserts ~ I had the cherry~chocolate cake which was light and fluffy and oh, so good! If you're ever in the area, it's well worth slogging through the road construction to stop in for coffee and dessert.

The weather is finally going to be nice for the weekend ~ but next week it's going to rain almost every day! If you're boiling eggs to hide for the kiddies on Easter morning, boil a few more and try this client favorite:

Deviled Egg Salad with Dill
Makes 12 servings

Ingredients
12 large eggs
2T shallot, finely minced
1/4c mayonnaise
1/4c sour cream
1T Dijon mustard
2T flat leaf parsley, chopped
3T fresh dill, chopped
2T chives, chopped
kosher salt and cracked black pepper, to taste

Place eggs in single layer in large Dutch oven. Add enough cold water just to cover the eggs. Bring to a rapid boil over high heat ~ water will have large rapidly breaking bubbles. Remove from heat, cover and let stand 14 minutes. Drain and run cold water over eggs until cool enough to handle. Drain and peel eggs.

Grate eggs using large hole side of box grater. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

I've had several clients over the last week asking what a personal chef has for a holiday dinner. Well. That's an interesting question for this time of year.

I'm making Marinated Baby Lamb Chops for my clients' Easter dinner but with sweet husband working all day, and the small fact that he's not a huge fan of lamb, we're going non~traditional for Easter dinner.

Yep. About as non~traditional as you can get. Ham & Beans with homemade jalapeno cornbread. And lots of chopped onion on the side. It is difficult, though, to find a proper wine to go with Ham & Beans!

If you like Lamb Chops, this is what my clients are having for Easter Dinner:

Marinated Baby Lamb Chops with Cucumber~Mint Relish
Serves 4

8 baby lamb chops
1/2c olive oil
6 garlic cloves, minced
2t dried rosemary, chopped
1/4c fresh mint leaves, chopped
1T lemon juice
1t salt

Relish:
2 large cucumbers, peeled, seeded, small diced
1T salt
1/4c onion, minced
1/4c red bell pepper, chopped
1/4c fresh mint leaves, chopped
1/4c rice wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

Prepare relish: Place diced cucumber in fine mesh sieve set over a bowl. Sprinkle with salt and let drain for 1 hour. Pat dry with paper towels and place in a clean bowl. Add remaining relish ingredients and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate up to 6 hours. Stir well to serve.

Place lamb chops in large zip~lock bag. In small bowl, combine olive oil, garlic, rosemary, mint, lemon juice and salt. Pour marinade over lamb chops, seal and refrigerate up to 8 hours.

Preheat broiler. Place lamb chops on broiler pan and cook until medium~rare, approximately 2~3 minutes per side depending upon thickness of the chops. Remove from oven and serve with cucumber~relish.

Personal Chef to The Queen

Today is The Queen's birthday.

Latifa? No.

Of England? No.

Queen Janeen!

The Queen of Cincinnati morning radio ~ Janeen Coyle ~ can be found every morning on WGRR 103.5FM beginning at the ungodly hour of 5:00 ~ yes, that is in the a.m. ~ with husband, funny man and radio sidekick, Chris O'Brien.

So I got up earlier than normal this morning to make The Queen a 3~layer Chocolate Raspberry birthday cake. I'm not a pastry chef. Far from it. Baking requires a cooking skill that I don't possess ~ measuring.

I hate to measure when I cook. I'm more of a dump cook. What is a dump cook? I dump it in and cook it!

So said cake with double chocolate fudge icing tilted slightly to the side. But with the tiara on top and the sparkler candles, it was hardly noticeable.

So happy birthday my dear friend. I wish you nothing but happiness, sunshine and good wine this weekend.

Oh. And lots of chocolate.

Chef Debbie To Be Aunt Debbie

A Blog A Day For A Month: Day 23. Only 8 more days to go.

I've got to learn how to make homemade baby food.

No, not for me ~ thank Bacchus! Although, I suppose Bacchus is what got her into this situation...

Anyways, it is my duty as Chef Aunt Debbie to give mommy a little break, give baby a healthy choice of fruits and veggies and to give daddy ~ what?

What to give daddy?

I know! When the little one is ready to pop out, I'll fill the freezer with a month's worth of dinners. That way, he can devote his time to diaper duty.

So to my friends who are reading this and want to know who's pregnant. Guess you'll just have to wait and see who gains a lot of weight in the next few months. Back to the photo at the beginning of this blog ~ she tells me this is the baby photo.  I'll have to take her word for it.

If you're interested, here are some websites I've found that have recipes for homemade baby foods.

Wholesome Baby Foods

Homemade Baby Food Recipes

Garden and Hearth Baby Food Recipes

Andres' Homemade Baby Food Recipes

Recipe Goldmine: Baby Food Recipes

The Vegetarian Resource Group Recipes

This will be a whole new tasting experience for me.

Chef Debbie Goes to a Party

A Blog A Day For A Month: Day 20. Only 11 more days to go.

Last night there was a birthday party for my dear friend, De Stewart of Herbs & Spice, thrown by his lovely and adorable wife, Susan.

Last year I was invited to cater the event and this year I was lucky enough to be invited as a guest. I had no idea how much fun a party is when I don't have to work so hard!

The food was amazing and the company sparkling. And the wine wasn't bad either...

Many of you know I have a background in marketing and graphic design so when De asked me to design a blog for him, I jumped at the chance. Be sure to check out his blog when it's fully up and running. They'll be coupons, announcements about tastings and special events, recipes and tons of other good information.

So to De and Susan ~ thank you so much for inviting sweet husband Tim and me to your party. We are privileged to be a part of your lives and we are fortunate to call you our friends.

Happy Birthday De!

Sake Bombs for Dessert

A Blog A Day For A Month: Day 13. Only 18 more days to go.

Last night we went out with two of my favorite people ~ Kristy and Ryan. Now it's a good thing we planned this several weeks ago, because after the week I had I would have cancelled and spent the night in my comfy chair watching the flat screen.

So we went out for sushi at Soho. We had two large platters of sushi, salads, veggie tempura and soup. Oh. And drinks. Lots and lots of green tea martinis, red wine and, of course, the obligatory sake bombs at the bar after dinner. I think the guys call them "dessert."

Kristy and I didn't sake bomb, however, our server Tina always joins the guys for one. I'll stick with green tea martinis.

So, thank you to Kristy and Ryan. I'm glad we planned a night out. I'm glad I didn't cancel and sit in front of the flat screen. And I'm really glad we're friends.

Yummy~issimo! Party for Beth

Dear Friend Beth was in town over the weekend. Do you know what that means? That means a party at Chez Spangler to celebrate!

Whoohoo!

Beth is a photographer. Not just a photographer ~ but a PHOTOGRAPHER. She's good. Damn good. So I begged, pleaded and offered to have a party if Dear Friend would take a new photo of me. The last one she took was two years ago. My hair was super, super short. If you remember that pic, realize that I added about 2" of hair in Photoshop. So imagine how short it really was!

Chef Debbie Spangler, CPC
Originally uploaded by yummyissimo

I'm seriously pleased with this new photo. Who cares that I'm 50 with blotchy skin, crows feet, wrinkles and all the other problems that go with being 50. That's what Photoshop was developed for, right?

Oh, I also offered to help her photograph a bat mitzvah on Saturday. No biggie, right? Snap a few shots. Nothing to it.

Right. Just like when people say they'd like to be a Personal Chef. All I do is cook, right? I'll get back to that little while.

Kristy and Beth
Originally uploaded by yummyissimo

So. Back to party at Chez Spangler. Besides the usual culprits ~ Kristy and Ryan and Tom and Vicki ~ we were blessed with the presence of Cory and Maryann. We all adore Cory but don't get to see him very much and it was a delight for all of us to see him and his darling wife, Maryann. Maryann is one of "those" women ~ you know what I mean. She's petite, perfect figure, fabulous clothes, perfectly put together and the nicest, friendliest and most gentle person you'll ever meet. If I didn't love her so much, I'd hate her.

So, anyways. Party at Chez Spanger was a success. How could it not be with amazing friends like mine, top shelf libations and a few of my favorite appy recipes. I didn't make much ~ just a few of my favorite things. Move over Julie Andrews or I just may burst into song.

Bourbon glazed beef tenderloin
Spicy crab dip
Creamy caviar dip
3~onion dip
Some of my favorite cheese selections
Lots of stuffed olives ~ garlic, provolone and feta stuffed
Black peppercorn pate

Said party ended around midnight. Not bad by Yummy! standards.

However.

I promised to help Dear Friend photograph the bat mitzvah bright and early Saturday morning. Dear Friend came over early on Friday ~ around 2:00. She took the photos and then we opened the champagne hours before the party officially began.

Beth
Originally uploaded by yummyissimo

By the end of the evening, she'd had a couple of glasses. I drank a bottle ~ or so. And don't forget ~ I have to clean up the kitchen after everyone left so I didn't hit the sheets until after 1:00 a.m.

Dear Friend picked me up at 8:15 bright and early Saturday morning. And I schlepped the equipment for her. All of the cameras, all of the tripods, all of the umbrella shades, all of the lighting equipment. There must have been 700 pounds of equipment.

I jest. It wasn't any more than what I carry on a daily basis. It just seemed like more to my champagne~drenched brain. And then she expects me to focus one eye into a 2" digital square to take some pics.

Now I've never been to a bat mitzvah, or a bar mitzvah for that matter. So I had no idea about the after party. Held at one of Cincinnati's large hotels, there must have been 40 kids under the age of 10. And then the teenage girls. Good Bacchus, the teenage girls.

I've just never been around them. I don't know how to deal with them.

And the worst part of the entire day was that I wasn't privy to the open bar.

How unfair is that!

Now Dear Friend is back in North Carolina. I miss her. I'm ready for her to book another bat mitzvah just so I can see her again.

And I'll even help her again so we can spend more time together.

Love you and miss you Dear Friend.

Lesson Learned. Drink Green Tea Martinis!

Well. Sweet husband and I went out Friday evening with the Kristy~Ryan and Tom~Vicki duos. We went to Soho, a wonderful sushi restaurant and home of Ian's world~famous Green Tea Martini. As you can probably imagine, we had several cocktails at the bar before dinner.

So we sit down to dinner and Ian brings 4 sake bombs. For the uninitiated, a sake bomb is a tall beer in a glass placed on a tray. On top of the beer glass are two chopsticks. A double shot glass full of sake is then balanced on the chopsticks. Sound complicated? Wait. It gets even better.

Sake bombs are mostly a guy thing. You pound on the table twice with your fists chanting "Sake, Sake" and then the third time you pound on the tray chanting "Bomb." Sake~Sake~Bomb! In theory, the sake glass drops straight down into the beer and you down it in one long swallow.

In theory.

The three manly~men at the table all had sake bombs. Lightweight (both in ability to hold alcohol as well as on the scale) Kristy decided she had to have one with the guys. Ian delivered said sake bombs ~ along with a large Chinese beer for the first person to down the bomb ~ and everyone went through the ritual.

One small problem.

When you pound "Sake~Sake~Bomb!" on a dining table versus the bar, the table tends to move. And move it did. Sake bombs, water glasses and all formerly glass~encased liquid went everywhere!

Lesson learned. Drink Green Tea Martinis!

Green Tea Martini Recipe
4 parts Citron vodka ~ either Stoli or Grey Goose
1 part Zen Green Tea Liqueur
1 lime wedge
1 splash pineapple juice

Fill shaker full of crushed ice. Add all ingredients, squeeze in lime juice. Mix well. Strain into chilled martini glass. Garnish with lime wedge.

Enjoy ~ I certainly did!

Champagne with The Beach Boys

So back to last Thursday. Great friend Kristy invited sweet husband Tim and me to the grand opening of The Savannah Center. The Savannah Center is a multi~gazillion dollar conference center slash reception hall slash private party hall in West Chester.

Kristy said it's going to be a great party and one we can't miss. And Kristy knows parties.

I hadn't even heard of it. Needless to say, if I'd pull my head out of the oven once in a while maybe I'd know what's going on in the world.

So we get all dressed up and you know how much I love to do that (sarcasm intended). Makeup, high heels, blow~dried hair, little party purse which holds no more than the requisite tip money and business cards.

We arrive at the Center and immediately after we walk through the door there are servers in black tie with trays of champagne. Whoohoo! My kind of party!

Long story short. Open bar with top shelf everything all night, so many different buffet stations that I lost count, a sushi bar, a beef tenderloin bar, raw bar and a dessert station that was so beautiful it could make you cry. Even with the masses of people who were invited, I never had to wait in line for anything ~ that's how many servers, bartenders and food stations they had set up. Saw tons of old friends and acquaintances. Funny how I haven't seen many of them in a long while but they all knew I was a Certified Personal Chef and owner of Yummy~issimo! Personal Chef Service.

And if that's not enough reason to have a great time, there was a private concert by The Beach Boys. Now knowing spoiled brat for a long time, Kristy had VIP tix for sweet husband and me. That meant a private "meet~n~greet" with the BBs with 2nd row seats for the concert. Well when the concert started, Mike Love invited the first few rows to come up to stand by the stage.

Yep. Spoiled brat. Front row, dead center champagne glass in hand.

What a way to spend a Thursday!