it's in my belly

Kate and I made fresh pasta last night with a tasty pesto to...

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 19:07:28 -0400

Kate and I made fresh pasta last night with a tasty pesto to match. The dough recipe is real simple: 1 c Semolina, 1 c A.P. flour, 2 Eggs, 1 Egg Yolk, 1 TSP. salt, 2 TBS. Water and 1 TBS Olive Oil. After mashing up the dough, we ran it through the press for a fettucine cut. To keep the freshness going, we prepared a SPICY pesto, with a “touch” of cayenne. At the end, added some sundried tomatoes for more texture. Definitely a winner, YAY for kitchen teamwork!!

Ian and I put our talents together and made a short cooking...

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 01:59:22 -0400

Ian and I put our talents together and made a short cooking video. I’m preparing eggs benedict, my way, with fresh arugula and sliced roma tomatoes on a baguette. The hollandaise turned out perfect since I always add more citrus than the average recipe calls for. There will be more of these to come. Enjoy!

From start to finish, I prepared a fig jam for ice cream. The...

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 18:15:27 -0400

From start to finish, I prepared a fig jam for ice cream. The final flavor was fig, honey and anise ice cream. The fresh figs really made this one a winner!

Figs picked from Whitney’s house, about to hit the pan...

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 18:10:32 -0400

Figs picked from Whitney’s house, about to hit the pan with sugar and made into ice cream.

My first home pizza preparing experience. The dough was prepared...

Sat, 07 Aug 2010 22:59:00 -0400

My first home pizza preparing experience. The dough was prepared with 1 cup ap flour, 1 cup semolina (I like it chewy), 3/4c water with active dry yeast, 3 TBS olive oil, 1 TSP sugar and 3/4 TSP salt. The dough yielded about five smaller pizzas, using various toppings such as Roma tomatoes, andouille sausage, mushrooms, garlic, basil, mozzarella, parmasean and sea salt. Definitely a winner!

Roscoe’s chicken n waffles on Pico. Serious heart attack...

Sat, 07 Aug 2010 22:53:51 -0400

Roscoe’s chicken n waffles on Pico. Serious heart attack food but curiosity killed the beast. I induged in the #22 combo - two thighs, greens, mac cheese and corn bread. Needless to say food coma hit and thankfully didn’t pass out at the wheel. Will I go back? Most definitely not.

Garlic shrimp.

Sun, 18 Jul 2010 20:45:37 -0400

Garlic shrimp.

Heirloom tomato bruschetta.

Sun, 18 Jul 2010 20:42:41 -0400

Heirloom tomato bruschetta.

Green and purple kale. About to hit the oven at 400 degrees for...

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 19:05:59 -0400

Green and purple kale. About to hit the oven at 400 degrees for 7 minutes. Seasoned with cumin, cayenne, S&P and EVO. Baked goodness!

Caprese and prosciutto.

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 13:27:54 -0400

Caprese and prosciutto.

Rosemary skewers with peppered salami, artichokes, fresh...

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 13:13:16 -0400

Rosemary skewers with peppered salami, artichokes, fresh mozzarella, kalamata olives and finished with dressing of sherry vinegar, EVO, S&P and dried thyme.

Tuna and cucumber sushi.

Sun, 13 Jun 2010 11:19:04 -0400

Tuna and cucumber sushi.

CHOCOLATE.

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 14:09:11 -0400

CHOCOLATE.

film shot of cornmeal hands, soon to be arepas.

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 13:49:25 -0400

film shot of cornmeal hands, soon to be arepas.

film shot of pandebono.

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 13:48:21 -0400

film shot of pandebono.

More shots from Spanish menu class.

Sat, 08 May 2010 15:52:45 -0400

More shots from Spanish menu class.

Eggplant stacks and Olla Gitana - Bienvenido a Espana! The...

Sat, 08 May 2010 15:46:00 -0400

Eggplant stacks and Olla Gitana - Bienvenido a Espana! The stacks were prepared with Japanese style eggplants, anchovy, parsely, tomato jam and manchego cheese. Between the salty eggplants and anchovies and the sweet tomato jam, this tapa was layered with flavors. The Olla Gitana was prepared with squash, pears, carrots, garbanzo beans, green beans and chicken stock. Fairly easy to let everything cook down in chicken stock and then added saffron sauteed tomatoes, ground mixture of roasted garlic and almonds and finished with smoked paprika.

Arepas and pandebono. I made the arepas with farmers cheese,...

Sat, 08 May 2010 15:28:14 -0400

Arepas and pandebono. I made the arepas with farmers cheese, cilantro and corn meal, pressed into flat discs and fried in oil. The pandebono were kicked up with chili covered sesame seeds.

This was by far one of my favorite classes. The spices used in...

Sat, 08 May 2010 15:18:59 -0400

This was by far one of my favorite classes. The spices used in each dish were incredible, from the asafetida to the star anise, my palatte was in love.

Ras Malai. This Indian dessert is made from curdled milk, aka...

Sat, 08 May 2010 15:08:30 -0400

Ras Malai. This Indian dessert is made from curdled milk, aka Paneer, and pistachios. First I brought whole milk to a boil and added about 4 TBS. of lemon juice to jump start the curdling. Once the pieces of “cheese” started floating to the top, I skimmed them out and hung to dry in a cheese clothe for an hour. Next I kneaded out the cheese and folded in ground pistachios, flour and baking powder and divided into small bite size pieces. The cheese pillows were boiled in a sugar water mixture at 220 degrees. Next they hang out in the fridge until cool and then tossed in a cream, rose water and pistachio sauce. Not the sweetest dessert, but the rose water gives it an elegant flavor.