To Thine Own Self, Be Food

Loverboy sang that song "Everybody's Working For The Weekend", right?  Great song.  Gets everyone pumped up for their days off.  Not me.  I'm "working ON the weekend", and I suspect had Loverboy changed the lyrics of their song above, it would not have become the megaparty anthem it has become. Tonight I will be executing a 40-person Wine & Pasta dinner at the Winery.  That means Arrabbiata and Shrimp Scampi sauce for 40 people...and 40 milk chocolate Bavarian Creams. The breakfast fuel on a day like today?  Spinach and berry smoothie and coffee with soymilk.  Oh yeah, and a frosted cake donut. I usually shy away from such pastries, because one donut at my age equals 5 pounds on the scale.  But, I feel today it's rather appropriate.  And I won't apologize for it, either.

You say one thing.  You write it down and publish it online.  You sound like an expert.  People in Vietnam and the Czech Republic are depending on you to say the right thing .  And, ultimately, you jump the gun and kind of sound like an idiot. I did mention last night that the DOCG rating on Italian labels are a good indication of wine quality...and that for anything else, you're on your own. Well, a trip to the liquor store tonight was in order...and quite surprising, actually.  Yes, there were several bottles of wine that featured critters on their labels, but there was a good amount that also had those special letters on them.  Hooray! This particular bottle of wine has this on its label: IGT ( Indicazione geografica tipica) , which is the tier of quality just below DOC, which is just below DOCG (the top, remember?).  So, yeah, in those terms and in light of what I said last night, it would seem I was shopping for wine at my own risk. An...

I have had every intention of reading my Marketing textbook for class tomorrow when I was suddenly overtaken by the urge to drink a glass of wine. Due to a gathering of culinary friends last week, much to my dismay, I found my wine cooler much depleted.  In fact, I'm down to four bottles...a bottle of Spanish Albariño obtained in España last summer (which I won't open, ever), a Malbec, a cheap dry table red from somewhere here in the state, and this: I believe I purchased this in a weak moment for a New Year's Eve get-together for friends who enjoy Moscato.  It was never drank and ended up coming home with me - like a curse, I guess.  I'm really quite ashamed to even admit I not only purchased it, but I was so hard up for a glass of wine THAT I also opened it.  For drinking purposes. For the record, let me state that I am not really enjoying it.  Adding a cup of sugar to a glass of Sprite would render the same flavor profile.  And I realize now tha...

New look here at "Be Food".  I'm trying to take advantage of all Blogger has to offer.  Let me know what you think about my new design. ******************************************************************* I've mentioned the Culinary Arts scholarship dinner here, haven't I? Once? Twice? Practically every day? Have I?  Well! As of last Friday, the dinner is done.  On my end (back of the house, that is), things went rather well.  However, I do have some things to ruminate on. 1.  "Liking to cook" is not really a good enough reason to enter the foodservice field.  I arrived to school yesterday at 11 am, and I did not leave until 9:30 pm.  Out of those 10.5 hours, I "cooked" for about two.  Of course, much of my prep was out of the way yesterday, but still.  I spent most of my time yesterday running around, doing this little thing, getting that little item, answering questions, making lists, talking to other chefs, etc.  Any...

I'm not *that* far from the big 4-0...I need to stop squandering these days like this.  Time is like clean water - it's a precious commodity and I shouldn't let it slip through my fingers like that (erm.  bad metaphor.  that's what water does...slip through fingers). Six days since my last post.  Just...I don't...where?  I don't know where they went.  Well, I kind of do know. In addition to being an avid Downton Abbey viewer, I recently became addicted to Sherlock , another PBS gem.  Turns out I have a thing for British television, and Masterpiece telly at that.  It's been a mighty long time since I've become hooked on a television program, and well, I've picked a couple of decent ones, I think. In the midst of all this fictional drama has been some of my own.  I'm in my sixth term (out of seven, mind) of culinary school, and our big "project" for the trimester is a dinner for all the major alumni, important community members, an...

To the one reader in the United Kingdom and the one in Poland! Good evening and thank you and this post is for you. Disappointingly, a crockpot in the United States is also referred to as a crockpot in Britain and Poland.  It's a wicked shame, really, because I've been belaboring all these years that people in Europe have really kick-ass names for things (i.e. jumper = sweater). And, as it turns out even further, chicken wings here in America are just still chicken wings in England and Poland. Bloody hell and niech to szlag trafi. Anyway. Chicken wings + crockpot = way easy Yeah, I know this seems like a stupid post, right?  I mean, there's not a whole lot you CAN'T put into your slow-cooker these days (same rules as a few days ago apply, readers, no shoes, no kids, no pets)...so why would chicken wings be any different?  Of course, you can put them in your crockpot. It depends on how you want them, of course.  Slow-cooking is braising, at which ...

The work hiatus is over.  The holidays are a memory.  I officially reported for my first day back to work this past Friday, and thankfully, it was a Burger night (easy for me, prep-wise), and the weather was right around 30 degrees, a comfortable temperature for grilling in a little kitchen trailer. Next weekend is a fondue dinner and a Super Bowl appetizer demo.  And nothing says Super Bowl like chicken wings, right?  One of the demo items are Apple-Jalapeno Chicken Wings.  The chicken wings part is easy; my job is to make up the glaze. Surprisingly, the Google only turned up a couple of easy, decent glaze recipes.  One, which I have pictures of below, involve chopped apples, brown sugar, and some other stuff, cooked down into a compote-type form.  Does this strike anyone else as weird?  Compote does not really equal glaze for me...I mean, glazes are smooth, shiny, and sexy.  Compotes are chunky, thick, and rustic.  I don't think of...

Brought to you by the sponsors of Mark Twain Literacy Consortium...because after all, "a man who chooses not to read is no better than one who can't." First day back to school/work after ten+ days off.  Urgh.  You all know how that is, right?  Meh. So let's talk about books today, then.  On these long breaks, I never read as much as I think I will...and I'm not sure why that is.  Well, okay, I'm fairly sure I know why, and it includes doing something in the kitchen, working on something for the Winery or school, playing those damn free 1-hour demo Hidden Object games at www.bigfishgames.com, doing logic puzzles, or watching The Walking Dead or Downton Abbey or Sherlock. Ugh.  How did you guys do that?  Get me to confess all that, eh? Anyway, I read: Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman.  I have read at least three other books by this author, which, for me, is the only criteria needed to be placed on my Favorite Authors List....

There are some topics I firmly believe are worth debating: Legalizing marijuana...yes or no? Go to war...yes or no? Politicians...throw them off a bridge or down a spiked pit? Quit your job or stay? Etc. etc. etc.  Right? After all, some of the best solutions come from debates.  The talking about and gathering of information before a decision is made.  Sometimes, there is no debate, and foolhardy decisions and rash actions ensue, and before one knows it, Spiderman the Musical is debuting on Broadway. But Juicing Vs. Blending?  One of those topics that don't need to be hashed out in forums, blogs, coffeehouses or on Senate floors. Because no matter how you go about it...it's all good for you.  Okay!? You put fruits and vegetables into a machine and process it down to a drinkable drink.  Everybody wins.  No need to discuss. Once upon a time, when I was going through a phase, I purchased one of these: This is a juicer.  The fruit...

I've never been a fan of resolutions at this time of year.  Usually, a resolution is what a person makes to "solve" an old recurring problem ( this year, I really am going to quit smoking, eat better, or stop reading Nicholas Sparks novels, etc. ). And usually, a resolution is vague.  As in, I'm going to get healthy!  But, I have no real plan of action of how to do it!! Despite my cynicism about making NY Resolutions, I do feel the need every end-of-year to come to make some kind of decisions about the year ahead - plans, goals, visions, etc.  2013 has been the year of indecision and immobility.  For me, anyway.  2014 will very likely be the year of movement...it's been looming on the horizon now for some time. I'm not much of a planner...I never really have been.  I've just sort of let things fall into my lap...and well, things have worked out okay for me, most of the time.  Professionally speaking, that is.  But now, I've been having ...