"We should be fucking DEAD my friend!"
- Samuel L. Jackson to John Travolta, Pulp Fiction

For those of you who don't read Kerrie's blog, let me grace you with my hip world view...

Thursday of last week was messed up. We here in Cinci went through two day fisting of a snow "event". Snow, Ice, Freezing rain, and more snow. Amusingly enough, it was nowhere NEAR as bad as the weather up in NW Ohio gets. But with all the hills and a much bigger population down here, things get scary - QUICK.

Thursday was the break in the crappiness though. It was sunny out. Aside from the low wind chill, it was a nice day. So I went to work...

But by the end of my day, I just wanted to go home. I was super tired and I just didn't care.

I got in the car. I merged onto 75N. I headed home.

As I got near Sharonville, I noticed a Semi with a massive cloud of snow blowing off the roof of his truck. I referred to him as a "dumbass" and got ready to merge over to the Right so as to get onto 275, and then it happened...

In less than a second, I saw a sheet of ice come off of the Semi's roof and fly directly at me. And by Me I do mean ME. It hit the hood of the car and slammed into the windshield - directly at eye level. MY eye level.






The Ice shattered into a millions pieces and left the windshield cracked out to all four corners. Amazingly, I kept driving without losing control, and even managed to get the trucks info written down. I just kept driving...

So, for the last few days, I keep thinking of that famous quote from Pulp fiction. And I can't help but wonder: What if that had been metal? Or a piece of rock? Or a hunk of wood?

Personally, I'm just glad I'm alive. But on a deeper level I've started looking, for some reason, at the food I'm cooking so much more intently. Last night I made Beef Bourgignon with meticulous attention to detail. It was tender, dark, thick, and flavorful. Tonight, after dinner? Kerrie and I had Chianti Classico and Milk Chocolate for dessert. It was so smooth and warming... It's sad that it took a freek-moment on the highway to get me to this level of attention, but hey... By any means necessary, huh?

neardeathgroove:
Massive Attack - Protection
Avalanches - Frontier Psychiatrist
Pretenders - 2000 Miles
Donovan - Catch the wind

Oh Mr. Bourdain... You have proven once again why you are my hero. And on Michael Ruhlman's blog nonetheless!

Anthony Bourdain: Guestblogger!

"World, the time has come to: DON'T HOLD BACK!"
- Chemical Brothers & Q-Tip


The new year is in full swing and things, obviously, haven't changed. So, as usual, it's up to me to make the world a better place through my borderline-prophetic presence.

I've thought about my impending Pastry career. I've thought about working out more. Hell, I've even thought about growing up a little and maybe try doing things the right way rather than my preferred method of SYSTEM D. I'm actually VERY fond of Le Systeme D, it's just one of those things cooks DO weather they call it by name or not.

One of my favorite moves when it comes to System D is cooking off chicken breasts in boiling water and then dropping them in a bucket of barbecue sauce. When it comes time for service, they are quickly marked on grill and pushed onto, eager, waiting plates.

I can hear it, I can feel it... That gasp of contempt from the culinary elite. Those people who SWEAR they never cut corners. These are, mostly likely, the same people who tried to convince their peers that they had a BF\GF in Canada when they were in grade school.

Nonetheless, I take pride in my work. My food is not just edible, it's what most people would consider good. And yes, just about every person I have ever cooked for has been subject to the infamous System D.

Ha ha suckers...

So as the Year moves on, so will I. Pastry, I have found, is not just a science. It is a meticulous endeavor that is utterly exacting. THAT, I would like to say, is not my forte. Which, ironically, is odd seeing as I am a very patient person. I guess I can just blame it on too much Techno and Rock 'n Roll.

\m/


systemDgroove:
Chemical Brothers & Q-Tip - Galvanize
Fingathing - Superhero Music
Oakenfold & Brittany Murphy - Faster Kill Pussycat
Public Enemy - Sophisticated Bitch
Sex Pistols - New York

Sometimes I feel bad when I get gifts from people and don't exactly use them the way they are intended.

Example...

For Christmas, Sue, Greg, & Claire got us a Chocolate Fondue set. It's a nice little set with a ceramic bowl and stand. It's the perfect size too, just right for two people.

But being that it's still so close to the Holidays, there is a ton of chocolate and other goodies we're slowly chipping away at - so Chocolate Fondue hasn't happened yet. It will, I assure you, just not yet...

What has happened, though, is a leisurely Sunday dinner featuring Double Stacked Cajun Sliders with Chipotle Mayo & Waffle Cut Garlic Fries with Cheese Fondue. Check it...






Oooh yeah. Yumm-aye!

Over the Christmas break, there was much traveling to be done.

There was the trip up to Toledo, then back down to Cinci, then over to Olney, further over to St. Louis, back To Olney and finally home to Cincinnati. It was a long week, but we got a lot of enjoyment out of it all. Family, friends, and of course, the food.

The two major deal-eee-ohs were my Pibil and Maragritas, always a treat to make, and a stop at Fitz's in St. Louis.

Fitz's was a great experience. The food was good and the place was in a nice Ann Arbor-esque neighborhood. I had the River City Burger and a French Fries. And, to be honest, THAT was how a burger is supposed to be. The bacon was cooked perfectly, the burger was done exactly to my specifications, and the french fries were a fluffy golden peek at Heaven.





To finish things off, Kerrie and I split a Root Beer Float. A massive mug of Root Beer topped with five scoops of Vanilla Ice Cream. Oh yeah, we killed that bitch.



After many hours in the car, over the span of 10 days, it was good to come home. Being away from home gave me time to think about some of the things I want to be doing - especially in the kitchen. Tomorrow I'll be making Guinness Braised Pork, and I'm hoping on Monday to make a nice dish of Ravioli, Italian Sausage, and a Creamy Tomato Basil Sauce. Despite the fact that we're not having a winter this year, I still feel the desire to make some homey comfort food.

Speaking of being in the Kitchen, Kerrie's sister Sue got me the 7" Santoku knife I've been after for a while. It was shipped via UPS and somehow things got... kookie. First off, UPS couldn't deliver the package because there was no apartment number listed. Instead, they sent me a post card, TO OUR APARTMENT, to tell me I had to pick it up at the UPS hub in Sharonville. (Try not to think about the irony of that scenario or your brain might cave in on itself.) After a quick dinner, Kerrie and I went over to their hub and I picked up the package. The rest of the story you can pick up from my puzzled facial expressions...






"I'm a minimum-wage renegade..."
- Mojo Nixon

"I hear the Jury is still out on 'Science'..."
- Gob Bluth, Arrested Development

"This moment is so great I want to have Sex with it..."
- Dr. Cox, Scrubs

"Cooking hasn't been the same since you left..."
- Jeb, to me over the Christmas break

It was weird hearing that. I have never really thought of myself as a gourmet, nor have I ever really thought of myself as the most competent of cooks. Nonetheless, I've never been afraid of taking a blind stab at doing something just for the hell of it... And after Jeb said that to me, I realized how much I miss cooking for people.

And by people I mean friends and family, Not the myriad of fucktard customers who mistakenly believe they matter to me on a day-to-day basis. I miss those chilly winter nights where we would all crowd around Billy's dinning room table picking at a big bowl of Ragu Napoletano, or perhaps that one epic evening at St. Marks for that 7 Course Meal I did...

After all the traveling over the past 10 days I've found that cooking isn't the same anymore, but I've found that I still get the same rush when I prepare a meal for other people. Last week, in Olney, I made the fabled Puerco Pibil and my own special Margaritas. I had a ball doing even the most monotonous of tasks, and the food came along perfectly.

I think the big realization out of all of this is that I really need to stop working and start producing. I need to get away from the University and all the junkies, ex-convicts and single mothers, and go on my own way. Cheesecakes? A Coffeehouse? Both? It's going to take some thought and a lot of willpower, but it needs to happen.

For everybodys sake...


lifeaffirminggroove:
Goo Goo Dolls - Bitch
Dusty Springfield - So Much Love
Cry of Love - Bad Thing
Morcheeba - Blindfold

Things, right now, are CRAY... wait for it... Z!

Kerrie and I are in holiday mode making gift boxes, work is just nuts, and the days just keep slipping away.

Fortunately, I found another Cincy gem by the name of The College Hills Coffee Company. My boss (whom I now refer to as DinnerRoll) and I went there for lunch a while back, and I recently took Kerrie there for breakfast.

As you can probably guess, everything was amazing. I tend to gush about coffeehouses, but this one really has made a good impression. The look, feel, food, and coffee are all excellent and -thank Budda- it's in a decent neighborhood.






I started with a classic Cafe Au Lait and Kerrie had a Gingerbread Spice Latte. Recently, I've been getting back into a lot of the coffees I used to love and drink all the time. Like the Cafe Au Lait... So simple in design but perfectly full flavored.




Kerrie and I each had a Sweet Cream Waffle with Maple Syrup. Waffles are a deal breaker for me. Waffles should be fluffy on the inside, and nicely crisped on the outside. I hate crappy waffles. Thankfully, the waffles seen above were borderline ethereal. They were magical. They were fuckin' awesome...

We chose a window seat while we were there and it gave me warm and fuzzy Cosmos-esque feeling from way back before Jeb, Baxter and I declared war on the powers-that-were.



All things considered, The College Hill Coffee Company is an excellent morning stop. Kerrie and I have yet to go up there in the evening, but the vibe is hip, the food is good, and the coffee is down-right great. Yeah...

College Hill Coffee Company
6128 Hamilton Ave # 1
Cincinnati, OH 45224
(513)-542-2739

---

collegehillgroove:
Dink - Green Mind
Iggy & The Stooges - No Fun
The Crystal Method - Busy Child
L.L. Cool J - Going Back to Cali

Sad true culinary confession: I'm not a huge fan of seafood.

On the other hand, I love Calamari, I think Pulpo is almost perfectly delicious, and for some fuck-reason I like the taste of Squid Ink in pasta. And, like almost any other human being on the planet, I really dig shrimp.

A while back I brought home a bunch of shrimp from work and threw it in the freezer. Skip forward a few weeks and there I was trying to come up with some ideas for dinner last week. I had seen a recipe in some trade magazine and thought it sounded good, so I tweeked it a bit and... ta da!

Scampi with Cilantro Cashew Pesto over Linguini





Cilnatro Cashew Pesto
1 bunch fresh Cilantro
1/4 Cup Cashews
5 cloves Garlic, crushed
2-3 Sun Dried Tomato Slices, chopped
1 T Lemon Juice
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

Scampi
16-20 Shrimp
Olive Oil
3 cloves Garlic, minced
White Wine for deglazing

For Pesto, combine first five ingredients in a mini-processor and work until chunky. Add Olive Oil a little at a time to form a loose paste. Season with Salt and Pepper.

For Scampi, Prepare Shrimp and wash under cold water. Heat Olive Oil in a saute pan over medium high heat. Add Shrimp and cook for 1 minute. Add Garlic and toss well, then deglaze with White Wine. Add Pesto and toss until heated through.

Divide Shrimp\Pesto mix into two portions and serve over Linguini.

---

scampigroove:
Ann-Margret - There'll Be Some Changes Made
Eartha Kitt - If I Love Ya, Then I Need Ya
Dean Martin - Baby it's cold outside
Sammy Davis Jr. & Count Basie - She's a W-O-M-A-N

Every week Kerrie and I go to Jungle Jim's to do our grocery shopping, and a sign posted outside makes me laugh.



I can't help but be taken back to that night in Vegas... or, rather, that morning after where Edwards was standing over McCaan just waiting for him to wake up.

Good times man, goooood times...


Fruit Basket

Bourbon Style Ribs with Baked Apples






BBQgroove
Beastie Boys - Three MC's & One DJ
Tom Jones - She's a Lady
Barenaked Ladies - Wind it Up
P.O.D. - Boom (Crystal Method Remix)

---

Kerrie and I enjoyed a nice 2003 Monte Antico Italian Red wine this past week. For dinner, I had made a nice mixed grill with a rosemary demi-glace and this wine paired nicely. Later we had Brownies with a Chocolate Butter sauce and it still held up well without becoming bitter or overly strong. I did not, however, sense much of anything while sniffing. Maybe a hint of basil? Hmmm...

---

All the people stared as if we were both quite insane...

Baxter recently wrote an interesting post about music influencing his work.

I'm listening to Herbie Hancock, the Complete Blue Note Sessions. This is Fabulous music. It's music that speaks to your soul. The kind of groove that can reach in to those deep dark places and pull out the most intricate thought.

I too, not to be too bandwagonesque, am frequently inspired and driven by music. So much so that I have 5 very specific mixes dedicated to daily toil in any given kitchen.

Prep001 - Daily
Prep002 - Weeds
Prep003 - The Bakery Tape
Prep004 - Pastry Chef
Prep005 - Southern Fried Prep

Sometimes though, I need to dig into the stacks of vinyl I have compiled for something truly inspiring. Tonight, for instance, I felt more mellow. So I'm listening to The Hollies' "Greatest Hits", the Velvet Underground's "Andy Warhol", and Tricky's "Blowback".

Earlier this evening, during dinner, Kerrie and I listening to Van Morrison's "Tupelo Honey", Leonard Cohen's "Anthem" and the Fun Lovin' Criminals near-perfect rendering of the classic "We Have All The Time In The World".

In the end, it's gratifying to know I'm not the only borderline-obsessive individual consumed by the need for sound and rhythm to be at my creative peak.



foodiegroove:
The Hollies - Bus Stop
Brooke Benton & Dinah Washington - Baby, You've got what it takes
The O'Kaysions - Girl Watcher
Portishead - Strangers (Live in New York)
Bobby & Jimmy Purify - I'm Your Puppet
The Staple Singers - Let's Do It Again

I'm not a fire starter, 'cuz I'm a bit smarter...

For all the times I've said how glad I am to be out of Bowling Green, there are a few things that I miss from there. One of those things I miss is The Corner Grill. I know, I know... But, it's "a thing". Once you eat there, work there, and practically live there, it's hard to let go of it all.

Not so much of a problem any more.

Many of you have heard me rant about the food at The Grand Finale in Glendale, right? Well, there is this dinky-assed-nasty dive bar directly across the street from GF called The Friendly Stop. Well, it WAS a dive bar until the people who owned the GF bought it and turned it into a pub\diner.

Don't get me wrong, this place is nothing spectacular. But it IS pretty amazing. Good food, a full bar, and a very liberal smoking policy. Basically, I've found my new Corner Grill...






We started with a half order of Fried Mozzarella ($2.95). Sure, not all that classy, but most certainly one of my favorite bar foods.



Kerrie had the Cajun Burger with a generous portion of french fries ($4.50) while I had their "Meat Loaf 2 Die 4" ($5.50) which Kerrie described as "A wall of meat". The food, and I'd like to be very clear about this, was very good.





To finish things off, Kerrie had a Guinness and I had a cup of coffee. As we sat back in our rickety wooden chairs and watched the blue-collar grunts and the old yuppie ladies eating their meals, we took in all the memorabilia on the walls: Post Cards, License Plates, Ancient posters from before I was born... With the final bill totaling $20.03, it was a perfect meal for a perfect fall day.

Got to give it up...

OMFG! This is probably one of the best things that could ever happen to the internets.




First, I owe thanks to Kristy and Tom for turning me on to Fark a few years back. For those of you unfamiliar with it, it's considered "useless news". To be honest though, it's the ONLY site I visit to read the news. And now we have the TFkitchen. Sweeeet...

I can't wait to hear you scream...

Happy Halloween Sinners...

Only Ones, Lonely Ones, Ripped up like Shredded Wheat...

This morning I had to do a catering order for some people at the University.

It always gets to me how creepy that place can be when it's deserted. At first, I got this eerie "Last Man On Earth" vibe.



I was in the Main Kitchen, locked away from anyone or anything that might be lurking around - or so I thought. Imagine my surprise when I heard some rustling around in the back of our deli. And for all the horror movies I've ever watched, I did the stupid thing of going over to investigate. Sure, it was just a maintenance guy collecting the trash but if it were a mutant vampire or, say, a ZOMBIE - I'd be fucked.



But let's face it. I realized I was being paranoid, and got my act together. I made my special hot Cocoa (Three gallons of it) and filled up the coffee pots. I loaded up the cart and headed over across campus.

The room the catering event was being held in was literally THE furthest point possible from the Main Kitchen. After a lengthy jaunt across campus I was finally on the floor I needed to be on. And here is where it gets good...

While on the elevator, I was thinking about how Kerrie has graciously rented both Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead on DVD for me. Two excellent movies, but movies that tend to leave a unsettling feeling about the "what-if" factors of life. Still half-asleep and thinking of Zombies and Mutant Vampires, the doors of the elevator opened and I pushed my pastry filled cart out into the hallway. A hallway with one lone soul, dragging his right leg and limping. Yup - just like every stereotypical George Romero zombie ever created. What can I say? I froze and thought: You gotta be fricken KIDDING me!

This lone soul, incidentally, is a professor as the University. And as I started moving down the hallway, he smiled politely and said "goodmorning" to me. I stepped away from my cart and held a door to a classroom for him as he gimped around, but my initial thoughts were to "Just shoot them in the head! They seem to go down permanently if you shoot them in the head."

After I was done setting up, more and more people began showing up. Slowly wandering around, mostly lost and disoriented. It was seriously disturbing...

And that, ladies and gentlemen, was my zombified morning.



zombiegroove:
Misfits - Night of the Living Dead
Jay-Z vs Beatles - 99 Problems (Dangermouse Mix)
Lenny Kravitz - Always on the Run
White Zombie - I'm Your Boogieman

Do you or Don't you want me to love you?

Alright, because of THIS my work-week has turned to THIS.

The "plant" described in the article was none other than U.S. Foods. Yup, U.S. is our sole provider of everything from Frozen Pizza Dough and French Fries to Cilantro and Eggplant. This crap has screwed up my whole week because NO deliveries went out Monday, and the Tuesday and Wednesday deliveries didn't have ANY frozen items. This, by the way, is in addition to the generally lousy service we get from these Asshats anyways. So yeah, it was real fun trying to make every backward ass thug and hillbilly who'sah lookin' fer sum uh that there high'er ed-ya-kay-shun understand that NO FOOD DELIVERY = LIMITED FOOD SERVICE. And NO, dumbass, we CAN'T send someone to the grocery store for some Soy Milk.

I suppose it's my own fault, too. I order mean and lean. If we don't need it, I don't order it. I don't over order and I never let stock build up. Hmmm... It's weird but since our Exec left for his Chemotherapy and I started doing ALL of the ordering, FLC and Inventory cost have dropped by almost 20%. Hmmm...

Moving on...

Tonight I made Linguini and Arugala with Fennel & Cabernet Tomato Sauce. It is a chilly rainy crappy night here in Cinci so a good bottle of wine and a plate of pasta never seems to fail me.





Recently, Kerrie and I have been enjoying a variety of wines from Wisteria Cellars. Basically, a good wine for a good price that holds up well for drinking and cooking. I write more about them as we sift through the stock. Yay!

amonnialeakgroove:
The Beatles - Helter Skelter
Misfits - Night of the Living Dead
Massive Attack - Protection
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts - Bad Reputation

Every time I see you falling....

Vanilla Fudge Milkshakes with Nestle Crunch Pieces






vanillafudgegroove:
New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle
Sweet - Little Willy
Sugarbang - Kiss Me
Paul Oakenfold - Starry Eyed Surprise
Tom Tom Club - Genius of Love

I can't forget this evening...

This has been a bit of a crazy week.

It started with the EgoCook getting fired, and escalated into a weird pseudo-drama involving a bald ex-con pizza cook, a sexual harassment claim, and a Tranny selling a bunch of illegal DVDs.

What does all of this have to do with me? Nothing. But I still have to deal with it every day because this crap has all taken place in the kitchen that employs me. I miss the days of Garde Manger where I didn't have to deal with all this shit. Yes, the days when all I had to do was show up, make a few terrines, drink espresso, and talk about music by the likes of Dean Martin, The Crystal Method and Badfinger.

It's weeks like this, though, that impede my ability to create a really groovy dinner experience at home. Tonight, however, was really good: General Tso's Chicken with Red Peppers & Juliened Snow Peas




What I would really like right about now is the Princess Chicken from Hunan back in Bowling Green. Princess Chicken is a very easy and plain recipe and -shock!- not like Hunan's. Dammit...

Also, it's going to be November soon and I'm getting in the mood for some of those rainy/snowy/roaringfireplace kind of meals.
- Pasta Bolognese
- Beef Barley Soup/Stew
- Beef Burgundy
- Coq au Vin
- Baked Pasta
Hmmm... What else?

generaltso'sgroove:
Badfinger - Without You
Dean Martin - Remember Me, I'm the one who loves you
ELO - Do Ya?
Crystal Method - Trip Like I Do