A Chef Debbie Photo for the Ages!

A Blog A Day For A Month: Day 10. Only 21 more days to go.

Yesterday I was exhausted after the big party of the evening before but had a big client cook day to get through. I love this client ~ but they certainly can be a challenge to cook for.

So, of course, today was the day that the Cincinnati Enquirer was sending a photographer to take photos of moi for an upcoming article. With the hazy, hot and humid day full of rain and wind making my hair do things that it should never do, my dark baggy eyes and a lovely tomato sauce splotch on my right boob, I'm sure this will be a photo for the ages!

The photographer, Michael Keating, however, was seriously cool. A 30~year veteran of the Enquirer, he runs a photo website that is a must see for anyone who takes photos ~ amateur, professional or somewhere inbetween. Michael is supposed to send me a photo that he took for me to put on my blog. I'll post it ~ if it isn't too hideous, and if he doesn't forget to send it.

Yesterday I also received a copy of an article written for the regional Angie's List magazine with a brief Q&A of 3 personal chefs in Cincinnati. And, yes I was one of the PCs interviewed. Thank Bacchus that I didn't have to have another bad photo taken.

It's been a very hard week this week and a visit with Bacchus is definitely in order as soon as I'm finished today.

Lick the Platters Clean!

A Blog A Day For A Month: Day 9. Only 22 more days to go.

This blog a day stuff is getting really difficult to keep up with.

Last night I had a big appy party ~ well the number of guests was small ~ but the amount of food they wanted was huge! And they ate it all! Unbelievable!

The normal amount of appy bites I should have needed last evening was around 144. They went through over 200 pieces. And they could have eaten as much again.

There was 3 pounds of beef tenderloin ~ my world famous bourbon glazed BT ~ so much that I had planned to have a nice big piece left over for the event planner as well as a nice piece left for sweet husband and me. Nothing left. Nada. Zip. Zero.

Same with the salmon ~ sesame dill salmon bites and sweet and spicy salmon bites. Both served on bruschetta toasts with herbed cream cheese. Gone. Bye bye. See ya.

Spicy garlic sesame chicken, creamy caviar dip, chocolate dipped strawberries, espresso chocolate mousse, veggie tray with herbed onion dip, fruit tray with kaluha dip. It looked like the platters had been licked clean.

But. Seeing people enjoy my food is the greatest high in the world. It's a whole lot better than the feeling I'd have if they didn't like it!

CIA French Bootcamp

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

I've signed up to attend a CIA Bootcamp with my Personal Chef buddy, Debbie Burgess.

When I first told sweet husband Tim about this, he had a blank look on his face. Huh? CIA? Bootcamp? The CIA?

I've found that most everyone has the same reaction. Do you really think the government's version of the CIA would want a 50 ~ almost 51 year old ~ short, dumpy, mouthy female as a secret agent spy? Hardly!

So. To set the record straight.

In my world, CIA stands for Culinary Institute of America. And instead of spying on the French, instead I'll attempt to weasel their cooking secrets out of them.

And the "Bootcamp" part of this experience? Well, it will be like the sort of bootcamp you're thinking about. Our day will start at 7:00 a.m. and won't end, many days until well after 11:00 p.m. And, we'll be subjected to potential physical torture ~ from knives, whips and beatings ~ and I'll certainly arrive with a sense of insecurity and trepidation.

The biggest difference? Why, the food, of course. We'll be eating on campus at restaurants run by CIA chefs and sampling gourmet foods and wines.

Yep. It'll be rough!

Hang On ~ This is Going To Be A Wild Week!

A Blog A Day For A Month: Day 7. Only 24 more days to go.

Today is the start of a really tough week. Two clients on Monday. A big party on Tuesday. Wednesday's clients gets 9 different entrees while Thursday's client will have only 5 entrees, but adds on soup, salad and breakfast muffins.

Yikes! That's a lot of food that I'll have to sample (sigh).  Here's some of what's on this week's menus:

Tandoori Chicken with Mushroom Curry

Spicy Meat and Spinach Lasagna

Maple Chili Glazed Pork Medallions with Cinnamon Glazed Carrots

Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas

Pork Tenderloin Stuffed with Spicy Mango Couscous

Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Asiago, Roasted Red Peppers and Asparagus served with Anna Potatoes

Fruit Trays with Kaluha Dipping Sauce

Veggie Trays with Roasted Onion Dip

Bourbon Glazed Beef Tenderloin served with Horseradish Aioli

Tobiko Caviar Dip

Sweet and Spicy Salmon Toasts with Herbed Cream Cheese

Sesame Chicken Tenders with 3 Mustard Dipping Sauce

Mini Greek Pizzas

Gruyere and Prosciutto Pastry Pinwheels

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Espresso Chocolate Mousse in Mini Fillo Shells

Roasted Salmon with Ancho~Honey Glaze

Salmon Baked with Tomatoes, Lemon and Capers

Chicken in Peppercorn Cognac Sauce

Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Roasted Red Peppers and Asparagus

Salmon Stuffed with Zucchini, Leeks, Garlic and Spinach

Dover Sole en Papillote with Julienned Vegetables

Veggie and Brown Rice Stuffed Butternut Squash

Veggie and Bulgar Stuffed Red Bell Peppers

Chicken Parmigiano with Garlic Bread

Turkey and Broccoli Alfredo Casserole

Pot Roast with Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

Ginger Glazed Chicken with Spicy Wild Rice

Yikes! And, then on Friday ~ my day off ~ I'm going to get up early to take food down to my buddies Keith and JD at WGRR while they're filling in for Chris and Janeen while they're in London.

What a week! After just a taste of every one of these items, I'll be stuffed!

Hold the Mustard!

A Blog A Day For A Month: Day 6. Only 25 more days to go.

Most people celebrate the 4th of July with hotdogs and hamburgers. That seems to be an all~American tradition.

But some people just see the line, cross over it and keep running.

Take Joey Chestnut, defending champion of Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest. Please take him.

For the first time in history, the contest went into overtime.

Overtime?

Yep. Seems said champ and six~time champion (110 pound weakling) Takeru Nobayaski of Japan, were tied at the end of the 10 minute contest. They had each eaten 59 hot dogs.

So. On to a sudden death (no pun intended) 5~dog eatoff.

Can you imagine the shame of it all had Joey not won this contest? Thank goodness he spared us the indignity and embarrassment of losing by just stuffing down five more hot dogs.

Whew! I can sleep better tonight knowing the trophy is safely here in the US for another year.

Yeah. What Charlie Gibson Said!

A Blog A Day For A Month: Day 5. Only 26 more days to go.

Yesterday, World News Tonight with Charlie Gibson had a segment about Dinner In The Sky, a new dining concept where chefs and guests dine 15~20 stories in the air.

With nothing under them!

In case you haven't heard about this yet, it's the newest ~ and most expensive ~ dining craze (or is it crazy) that's sweeping the rich and bored.

Their website doesn't have pricing, however, it does state that infrared heaters are 750 euros a pop. That's just for the heat. So, my guess is that if you have an extra $500K USD laying around then you, too, could have Dinner In The Sky.

Gotta tell you ~ there isn't enough wine in the world to get me up there! And then I'd have to go to the bathroom.

Charlie Gibson ended the segment with a personal comment. "With all due respect, that's just nuts!"

Yeah. What Charlie Gibson said!

Food, Glorious Food!

A Blog A Day For A Month: Day 4. Only 27 more days to go.

Unbelievable! I found a great Food, Glorious Food video with the characters from "Ice Age" on YouTube just yesterday and today it's already been taken offline. Here's another one.

I don't have any recipes for lions or any other wild game, but here's one a a flavorful grilled chicken.

Grilled Jerk Chicken
Serves 4

1/3c olive oil
2T sesame oil
2T hot chili oil
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1T ginger root, grated
4 garlic cloves, finely minced
2T white balsamic vinegar ~ can substitute red wine vinegar
1T honey
1/4t nutmeg, freshly grated
salt and pepper
1/2 lime, juiced and zested
3T orange juice
1/4t red pepper flakes
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2T cilantro, for garnish
1T sesame seeds, toasted, for garnish

Place all ingredients except chicken, cilantro and sesame seeds in food processor and process until almost smooth. Pierce chicken breasts with fork all over. Place chicken breasts in large zip~lock bag and add marinade. Seal and refrigerate 24~48 hours depending upon how intense you want the flavor to be.

Remove chicken from marinade and discard marinade. Preheat grill and grill chicken, turning once, until cooked through. Garnish with chopped cilantro and toasted sesame seeds.  

Have a happy and safe 4th of July!

Happy Almost 4th of July!

A Blog A Day For A Month: Day 3. Only 28 more days to go.

Tomorrow is the 4th of July a time of family cookouts, fireworks and friends. Instead of the same ole boring hotdogs and dried out, overcooked hamburgers on the grill, try this easy recipe that's full of flavor guaranteed to be the hit of the party.

Garlic Marinated Chicken Breasts
Serves 4

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 bottle Kraft fat~free Italian salad dressing
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 large shallots, finely minced
1/8t cayenne pepper
1t dried oregano

Place chicken breasts in large zip~lock bag. Whisk together all marinade ingredients and pour over chicken. Seal bag and refrigerate at least 8 hours.

Remove chicken from marinade and pour marinade into saucepan. Grill chicken, turning once, until done. You should not have any grill flame~ups since the marinade is fat~free. While chicken is grilling, bring marinade to boil, reduce heat and cook until thickened. Serve as a dipping sauce with chicken.

Have a happy and safe 4th and remember ~ alcohol doesn't mix any better with fireworks than it does with driving!

Extra Wine? Not in My Glass (Unfortunately)!

A Blog A Day For A Month: Day 2. Only 29 more days to go.

A couple of days ago there was an article in The Los Angeles Times discussing a study published this week in the journal "Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research" claims that alcoholic drinks served in bars and restaurants are often larger than the standard size and contain more alcohol. The study went on to claim that the average glass of wine served in a bar was 43% larger than standard.

Huh?

First, I'd like to know who really reads that journal. Then I'd like to know which bars and restaurants they studied and where they're getting their glasses of wine!

I went out the other night with Sandee for a cocktail after work and I can guarantee that my glass of wine was certainly not almost 50% more than a standard glass of wine. Now granted, it was happy hour. And my glass of wine was $1 off the regular price. But it sure looked like instead of serving the regular glass of wine for $1 less than their standard price, they served $1 less of alcohol and charged me $1 less.

When a bar/restaurant can charge $8/glass for a bottle of wine that retails for $16, food prices rising over 20% in the last year alone, a Bear market on the horizon and gas averaging over $4.25 nationally a little extra wine would really help dull the pain.

I Get A Glow From Zinfandel

A Blog A Day For A Month: Day 1. Only 30 more days to go.

I get a lot of e~mails from friends sending jokes, cartoons and other funnies that make me smile. Here's Maxine, one of the greatest cartoon characters of all time, and it's scary how many of her witticisms apply to my life.

While you may find it hard to believe, I do like to visit with Bacchus every once in a while. OK. I admit. Visiting time is normally around 5:00 p.m. Every day. But it's important to keep in touch with friends.

So back to Maxine. I love this cartoon ~ it's so me! I don't "do" the sun. Unlike Sweet Husband Tim who walks out into the sun and turns a deep dark golden brown, when I sun all I do is burn, turn red, peel, burn, turn red, peel, repeat process.

So if you want to get your glow on with Zinfandel, here's a Yummy! recipe to get you started.

Zinfandel Cioppino
Modified from Epicurious.com
Serves 6

1 large fennel bulb and 3" of stalks, diced, reserve 4 fronds for garnish
1 large onion, diced
1/2c celery, thinly sliced
1/2c carrots, small dice
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
1t dried thyme
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1/4t Old Bay Seasoning
salt and pepper
1 ~ 28oz can diced tomatoes
1/2c vegetable stock
1 bottle Zinfandel ~ divided use
8oz clam juice ~ can use Clamato Juice
1/2 pound halibut, cut into 2" pieces
1/2 pound jumbo shrimp, peeled, deveined
1 pound mussels
8oz clams, canned, do not drain

Open Zinfandel, measure 1c and set aside. Pour a glass of wine and enjoy while cooking.

Heat oil in 6~quart soup pot over medium heat. Stir in fennel, onion, celery, carrot, garlic,bay leaves, thyme, red pepper flakes, Old Bay Seasoning and salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until vegetables begin to soften ~ about 4 minutes.

Add tomatoes with their juices, vegetable stock, 1c reserved Zinfandel and clam juice. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes.

Check your wine level. Pour another glass if needed. Stir in seafood and cook, uncovered, until seafood is just cooked through and mussels open wide, approximately 5~6 minutes. Discard bay leaves and any mussels that remain closed after 6 minutes.

Enjoy!