Recipes I have used in the some restaurants & at home.

Spiced Pumpkin Cake

2 cups All-Purpose Flour Preheat oven 350
1 C pumpkin puree
1 tbaking soda
1 t baking powder
1 ½ t cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ t ground clove
½ t nutmeg
½ t Kosher Salt
1 C canola oil
1 1/2 C light brown sugar
4 eggs
½ C toasted and chopped walnuts
½ C Spiced Rum
1 C golden raisins

Soak raisins in rum for 30 minutes, then drain.
In one bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, clove, nutmeg and salt. In second bowl, whisk oil, eggs, and pumpkin puree, and sugar to combine. Whisk in ½ dry mix to combine. Add remaining dry mix and raisins and chopped walnuts. Mix well.

Grease two 9.5” cake pans and line bottom of each pan with parchment paper. Spray top of parchment with additional pan spray. Evenly divide batter into pans. Bake in middle rack ov oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until the top of the cakes quickly spring back when touched.
Allow cakes to cool before removing from pans.
Frost cake with basic cream cheese frosting.

Recipes I have used in the some restaurants & at home.

Pangasius

4 Pegasas filets
8 oz frozen spinach well drained
8 oz. Heavy cream
¼ C Freshly grated parm
5 T unsalted butter
4 T Panko
1 Shallot VERY thinly sliced
1 clove garlic minced
1 whole clove
1 T All purpose flour
¼ t nutmeg

In heavy non stick skillet, melt butter over medium high heat. Brown fish on both sides-do not cook fully through. Remove fillets to plate,
In the same pan, add flour and whisk to combine. Add shallot, garlic, clove and nutmeg. Stir to combine, add cheese and continue to stir until all the cheese is melted. Return fillets to pan, panko on top and bake in oven at 350 degrees for 8 minutes.

Yep it is true

Huge GINOURMOUS COCKROACH

Some stuff really creeps me out. The dancing guy thing for Six Flags commercials. The Snuggle fabric softener bear (it’s eyes), and the Free Credit guy looks a bit like a stalker to me.

Then there are things that scare the bejeezers out of me. Water bugs for one. Not those little roaches. Those scare me as well. The Enormous creatures that will inherits the Earth? They take me to a whole different level of terror.

True event. This morning I go through my usual. Brush teethe, have coffee, check news and weather. Start the shower and wait for the water to warm. I get in and shut the curtain. I was not alone. I shot out of there double quick. Grabbed the towel and start beating the bottom of the shower trying to kill the beast. The shower was still running and so I snatched the hand held and start spraying it with hot water. Finally it stopped moving enough that I hit it with the shower head. It looked a little mangled and went down the drain.

To make sure that it was dead, I poured Drano on it. HA! That should do it. My still dripping self went to the other bathroom showered. I checked it out first. Just in case.

I go back to my bathroom because I am certain that part of the re con done by the enemy involved my toothbrush so it has got to go. Oh you know I was gagging for the better part of an hour. Anyway, I see something out of the corner of my eye. Paranoid, I am sure there is another one. NO! IT WAS THE SAME ONE! IT WAS WALKING AROUND (a little wonkier) the bottom of the shower.

Oh it is ON! Wasp and hornet spray is my next weapon in the arsenal. I can stay a comfortable (sorta) 10 feet from my foe. Zapped about ½ a can at it. Enough that I was coughing so I am sure victory is at hand. It flipped over and twitched a bit then was still. YEAH team Me right?

I go about my day. Come back with new toothbrush in hand. I walk in there and wouldn’t you know it but it is still twitching. So am I. It is still in there. My new battle plan is still under development. Beating it with a shower head, scalding water, bath towels, poison and acid seems to have a limited effect on it. I have a propane tank (and propane accessories) in the garage.

Recipes I have used in the some restaurants & at home.

Vegetarian Thai Spring Rolls

20 Rice Paper Skins
5 oz. cellophane noodles
½ C shredded Napa cabbage
1 Carrot julienned
1 Stalk Celery julienned
1 Cucumber peeled, seeded and julienned
1 Red bell pepper seeded and julienned
¼ C Thai Basil shredded
¼ C Mint shredded
3 T Mirin
2 T Light soy sauce
1 T Thai chili oil

Whisk soy sauce, mirin and chili oil in glass bowl large enough to hold all the above veg. Toss all veg in dressing, set aside. In second bowl of hot water, soak noodles, drain and set aside.
Here is the “tricky” part. Place a clean damp kitchen towel flat on prep surface. Have a large bowl of hot water at the top of the prep area. Soak one skin in hot water for 3-5 seconds and place softened skin on the towel. Starting at one end of the skin, place a few strands of noodles, arrange salad in a line on noodles leaving enough space at each end of the skin to fold over salad. Roll. Repeat 19 more times.

Recipes I have used in the some restaurants & at home.

Fried Sauerkraut Balls

8 oz. Sauerkraut (rinsed if using canned) and drained
4 oz. Grated Swiss Cheese
1/2 C Panko Bread crumps
1 Egg beaten
1 T Fennel seeds, toasted and ground
S/P to taste

Blend kraut, cheese, fennel, egg, and panko. Adjust seasonings and form 1 oz. balls.

Standard breading of four, egg wash, and panko. Chill balls on a sheet tray for at least 1 hr. Deep fry balls in batches and drain on paper towels. Serve with Russian Dressing.

Recipes I have used in the some restaurants & at home.

Olive Orecchiette

1 Lb Dry Orecchiette
4 oz each Pitted Kalamata Olives Pitted Black Olives roughly chopped
4 oz. Shaved Parmesan Cheese
3 oz. Capers
1 C Cherry Tomatoes Cut in 1/2
1/4 C Olive Oil
1/4 C Fresh Basil Leaves
1/4 C Dry White Wine
1 Red Onion roughly chopped
1 T Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
Salt and Pepper to taste

In large sauce pan, fry capers in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, drain and set aside. In large liberally salted water, boil pasta until ALMOST al dente. Drain (reserving 1 C of pasta water) and set aside. Add remaining olive oil to saute pan and caramelize onion on low heat. Add olives, tomatoes, pepper flakes and saute on medium heat for 3 minutes. Deglaze pan with red wine and allow to reduce by 1/3. Add pasta, basil leaves and add enough of the pasta water to make sauce desired consistency. Adjust seasonings. Garnish with Parmesan and capers. Can be served hot or room temp.

Recipes I have used in the some restaurants & at home.

Chirizo and Goat Cheese Cornbread

Preheat oven to 450
For filling:
1/2 Lb Chorizo
4 Oz. Goat Cheese
1 Scallion (white and green parts) chopped
1 Jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1 Clove Garlic minced

For batter:
1 C Yellow corn meal
1 C AP flour
1 Egg beaten
1 C Buttermilk
2 t Baking powder

In cast iron skillet, brown chorizo over medium low heat (use a spatula to break up meat). Remove meat and allow to drain and cool. Add scallion, garlic, and jalapeno. Cook for 2 minutes remove and allow to drain and cool with meat. Pour off fat from skillet and return to heat.
Mix all dry ingredients for batter and add milk and egg, stir well. Pour 1/2 the batter into the skillet and remove from heat. Add the meat mixture to the top of the batter, dot with goat cheese. Pour on remaining batter and bake for 20-25 minutes

Recipes I have used in the some restaurants & at home.

Balsamic & Agave Glazed Roast Chicken

3-4 Lb Whole Chicken brined over night
1/2 C Good Balsamic Vinegar
3 T Agave Syrup
2 T EVOO
1 T Paprika
1 Shallot minced
1 Sprig Thyme stripped
1 Clove Garlic minced
1/4 t Cayenne Pepper
Kosher Salt and Pepper to taste

In small sauce pan over low heat, sweat shallot and garlic, add thyme, cayenne, vinegar, and agave. Reduce glaze by 1/3. Allow to cool.
Rinse and pat dry chicken. Season chicken with salt, pepper and paprika. Truss or don’t and place chicken breast side up in roasting pan. Roast @ 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Brush chicken with glaze. Reduce heat to 350 and continue to cook for 40 minutes or until instant read thermometer inserted in the thigh reaches 165 degrees. Allow chicken to rest at least 15 minutes before carving.

Recipes I have used in the some restaurants & at home.

Chai Scones

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
3 C AP Flour
1/3 C Sugar
2 T Chai powder
1 T plus 2 t Baking powder
1 Stick very cold unsalted butter small dice
1 Egg beaten
1/2 t salt
1 C Milk

Combine all dry ingredients, cut in cold butter, add wet ingredients and gently mix until combined. Turn out scone mix onto floured surface. Roll or pat into 1/2 round. Cut into 8 wedges. Bake on greased sheet tray for 15 minutes.

Leftovers

Just putting this out there

When a resto opens, they hire staff and train them for a week on the menu. Should be good to go right? Never seems to happen that way.
All to often, they hire the wrong mix. This becomes quite evident on the soft openings. Staff starts in the weeds and stays there. More staff is hired and some is let go. Another soft opening a week later. Things go a little smoother. Grand opening and the next day more staff changes and then trained on the fly. Three weeks later, more staff changes. It blows my mind why owners don’t take the time to get the right mix in the first place. It is cheaper to have stages (pronounced stahge) before the grand soft open and get the right crew.

The owners that opt for hiring High School kids because they could be had at low wages. Another one of those you get what you pay for. Sure, some of the HS kids are good but most are more interested in their social life and school (as they should be) rather than working.