Franks and Beans French Style....

This past weekend I traveled to Hartford Connecticut to cook for Jacques Pepin..That alone sounds amazing but it was much more than that my friends...Chef Leo Bushey my good friend and Executive Chef of the Hartford Club Invited me to come out and assist him at a private event in Jacques Pepin's Honor...There is no way I would ever want to miss this so I caught a flight out of Detroit and was ready for another adventure in Hartford...It began with preparation Making a cassoulet..beans, ham hocks. After a few hours of prep for the next day we changed gears and began setting up for the event Lobsters and Lights, a once a month event in which the club orders hundreds of pounds of lobsters and other summertime treats in order to hold this fun and social event..With lobsters and lights wrapping up we packed up a few extra lobsters and steaks went to a friends house and did some surf and turf over a wood fire..what a good night! Next morning was time to pack up for the main event...Loaded up the jeep and drove to a very nice country home at which the event was held..There were 4 chefs cooking in honor of Chef Jacques..Bon a sushi chef at mia or mila something like that apparently the best sushi in CT..Tyler Anderson , Leo and another chef who I have forgotten..Either way a good event save the rain...after the event was basically washed out we unloaded the gooods and hung out for a while at the club..after the dining room closed I was taken to a small club in which we played darts and just relaxed...Sunday was yet another fun day...My friend Luke came up from NYC to see me b4 I take off to Hawaii..So it was nice we went to RI and relaxed in Newport..that city really gives you a stiff neck let me tell you...Getting back to the Hartford area we again grilled out and Luke was off to catch a bus..Overall a great few days with good friends, amazing food, and smooth cigars...With many more adventures on the way I will be sure to keep this updated...
Stay Hungry,
3en~

I got one hand in my pocket....

And the other one is giving Toledo the Peace sign!!! and a middle finger...It's time to leave I got an e-mail saying I was signed up for the July 3rd training session..meaning I would be leaving the second...Its hard to thinhk this day is actually in the very near future..Two Weeks to get all my shit together..I have a list but really have nothing on it.Well N0W its really time to get down to business!!!!Geeze oh Geeze!!!As for the Middle finger to the city It's much needed people around here think they are a lot more important than they actually are..Reality checks are sonsofbitches...Well I am going to see the Hangover..Not that I have one or anything...:0) Ok Eat your Veggies especially if they are from the Culinary Vegetable Institute!!!
Next stop..IDK

3en from Ohio~

Come Sail Away!

So I got the call the other day! "the Call" meaning NCL called me and said they were ready for me co come to Hawaii and begin my Cooking Adventure on the High Seas!!!However I was not ready for them..I still have a lot of stuff to do before I am ready to leave..First and fore most I must give my place of employment a two week notice and they did not really enable this to happen..Second at the end of this month June I am to cook for Jacques Pepin in Hartford Connecticut with my good friend Leo Bushey..I am very very excited for this event..It will for sure be interesting and fun for sure!!!So basically I have been super busy..Between Trips to the east coast and cooking and sleeping My time is very narrowly allocated,,Actually at this point I must depart for an early shift and a long night!!! Well Hours pay bills so I might as well do something with them other than let them go to waste...
Thanks and Remember Keep an eye open for good food and stay Hungry~~~
3en~

Cooking for Friends

So I must say it has been a long time since I have updated this post..I am sorry if anyone was actually following...Haha..So This past Week I had one day off My work life has been really busy! SO being a cook I cook even on my days off for this friday dinner party I prepared a leg of lamb marinated in lemon, thyme, and oregano, and finished on a wood fired grill. Accompaniments were a type of chic pea puree almost like a Hummus but with out the garlic, also I made Dandelion greens cooked in vinegar, For starters we had a cheese plate and some Tempanade of olives and artichoke hearts..This I thought was slightly large undertaking...But being ever in search of something harder I decided to take the invitation to cook again on the following Sunday...So my day started early with a brunch A very nice and smooth service around 2 I departed to Bowling Green, Ohio to cook this Dinner for which I had no prep or ingredients. The only thing I knew for sure was I had eight hungry bellies I had to fill by 6....So I arrive and begin to provision this dinner...Still at this point I had no Menu planned, nothing! I was to prepare salmon because the hostess provided the protein...At the store I frantically toss veggies and fruits into the cart hoping to find inspiration in something and a menu to come together! So finally with zero time left I manage to come up with a moderately alright menu which eventually turned into one of the best meals I have ever prepared...The feast began with a nice assortment of cheeses and some nice red wine..Serving Buffet style I started with Baby portabella caps filled with an herbed goat cheese served with a spicy mayonnaise type sauce..Salads included a beet and fennel mixture dressed with chopped cilantro, olive oil, and citrus squeezed over the top. The second was an arugula, cherry tomato, and pink grapefruit, dressed with an avocado dressing..The protein was the salmon with a cilantro dill citrus crust served over browned potatoes and caramelized onions Along with this I wilted beet greens in hot pepper infused oil with sugar and red wine vinegar..For dessert I prepared a light chocolate mousse with stone fruits..A white sangria was made to accompany dinner..Over all I think it was a successful cooking adventure, for no planning and a very strict time crunch!!..after 3 hours of hard cooking I took time to step back and observe and realized I destroyed this kitchen to a degree that I was not remotely prepared to clean...Thank goodness for willing guests to clean my mess!