The End of the Beginning

Oh boy oh boy oh boy....the YOUNGER brothers have graduated high school!!  If you are on a personal level with any members of my immediate family, you are well aware at what an incredible accomplishment this is...and what an enormous relief it is! To my mother, especially. :)  Well, younger brothers graduating high school requires a better-than-average gift from big sister, so I decided to create little booklets with advice and tips that I learned from my collegiate career.  I called them "The Ten Commandments", and split the booklet up into different categories- each with 10 "rules" or guidelines to follow.  The book ended with space for hand-written notes from their family members and several pages of family photos.

While I spent a lot of time (and money!) writing them, formatting them, printing them out, laminating them, cutting them, and binding them...I regrettably decided that my brothers probably wouldn't appreciate them very much.  Maybe later on in life, but not now, as they are being showered with hundreds of "cool" gifts! So....the universe smiled on me and sent my long-lost friend (who moved to Florida for her job) back to Huntsville for the week.  This particular friend happens to make spectacular sculpted cakes.  Voila! I knew for a fact they would appreciate an "Ace of Cakes" style cake that they could devour.  So, we rolled up our sleeves, channeled our inner "Duff"s, and cranked out this Graduation Cake masterpiece!  It took a lot of time and even more patience...but it turned out pretty magnificent and the family absolutely loved it.  Maybe I'll be a pro by the time they graduate college. Ha.

 

A very special thanks to Stacey Munoz, for all the time and patience you put into helping make this cake and another special thanks to Heather Petersen, owner of Slice at a Time, for lending me some of your cake-making equipment!!

Cheers,

The Chef Next Door

Guess!

Hi, everyone! Sorry for the lag in blogging....I've been pretty busy lately and also wanted to give Liz and Nicole Jackson a long run at the top spot. :)  To make up for my absence, I decided to come up with a fun "game" for my readers to play.   People often want to see pictures of my food, and I'm always surprised at how often they ask "What is that???" in regards to a picture that, to me, looks very obvious what it is.  So, I decided to post a handful of some of my wackiest food photos and see how clever my readers are!  Post your answers in the "share your thoughts" section, and the person who gets the most right will get a special shout out!  Include your name, email address, and your list of answers, 1-10.  Ready......set........guess!

1. Sea Urchins?? Nope, try again....

ANSWER:  Oriental Pork and Rice Balls

2. What is in the spoons??

ANSWER:  Petite Crabcakes with Remoulade and Chives

3.  Name 2 of the 4 items on this tray.

ANSWER:  Pancetta and Beef Skewers, Cucumber Cups with Ceviche, Blinis with Smoked Salmon and Creme Fraiche, and Toast Rounds topped with Deviled Quail Eggs

4.   Pretty, huh?  "Soup" is not a good enough answer....

ANSWER:  Chilled Saffron Soup with Melons and Sliced Scallops

5.  What is this Penguin made of?  (4 part answer- Body, nose, eyes and "buttons, and feet)

ANSWER:  Body- Eggplant; Nose- Carrot; Eyes and Buttons- Peppercorns; Feet- Parsnips

6.  What is this?

ANSWER:  Beef Carpaccio with Mixed Greens, Croutons, and Lemon Aioli

7.  Give it a go....

ANSWER:  Mango Sorbet in Tuile Spoons resting on Chocolate Mousse and Raspberry Puree

8.  When this is sliced up, what will it be??

ANSWER:  Biscotti!  (Orange/Almond Flavor)

9.  What is this lovely pinkish orange stuff?

ANSWER:  Sushi-grade Salmon

10.  Last one....what is it?  It's delicious, I'll tell you that!

ANSWER:  Roasted Eggplant with Panko Breadcrumbs and Mint

Ok, foodies...give it your best shot!  Be as descriptive as you can.  Happy guessing!!


Cheers,

The Chef Next Door

Liz and Nicole Jackson's Mother/Daughter Dinner

About a week ago, a sweet girl named Nicole Jackson contacted me and was interested in my personal chef services.  She informed me that her mother, Liz, hasn't been feeling well lately, so Nicole and her out-of-state sister wanted to give her an extra-special Mother's Day gift by hiring me to cater a private 4-course dinner, just for the two of them!  What nice daughters.  :)   Nicole wanted to incorporate some of her mother's most favorite foods, some of which included fried shrimp, romaine lettuce, green apples, ranch, barbecue chicken, and cinnamon rolls.  What a fun task I had at hand!!  Together, Nicole and I created a menu based on her mom's favorite foods with a "fine-dining" spin on them.  The ladies treated themselves to a morning at the Spa, got their hair and nails done, and arrived back at Liz's house for a gourmet meal dedicated solely to her from her daughter.  All mothers should be so blessed to have such thoughtful children.  I had a blast cooking for them in their beautiful home and had just as good a time getting to know Nicole and Liz.   Here is the menu and pictures from the charming event.  Enjoy!

 

Two beautiful ladies and very happy (and full!) customers!  I truly enjoyed working with you. :)

Cheers,

The Chef Next Door

*Treasure in my Dresser*

AMEN!

(This is the back of a T-shirt, in case that wasn't obvious.)

Cheers,

The Chef Next Door

Chicken and Chorizo Pizza 2.0

Hello, all!  Hope all the mommy's out there had a fabulous Mother's Day.  Especially mine! Love you, Mom. :)

SO, if you enjoyed the Chicken and Chorizo Pizza, this blog is for you.  A lack of certain ingredients and an abundance of others forced me to create a variation of the delicious pizza one night.....and the variation happened to somehow be doubly-delicious than the original.  Here are the changes:


1- Use CLASSIC/THICK CRUST pizza dough (Pillsbury) instead of Thin Crust. (I don't think I specified in the original post, but I had been using the thin crust stuff.)

2- Sprinkle the unbaked dough with Cajun Seasoning in addition to the other herbs and parmesan cheese before par-baking it.

3- Mix the Sun-dried Tomato Alfredo sauce with a can of MEDIUM ROTEL instead of the salsa.

4- Instead of sauteeing the chicken with onion and chorizo, marinate the chicken breast in cumin, chili powder, lime juice, and olive oil.  Throw it on the grill until it is barely cooked through.  Cut it up into bite size cubes.

5- Spread the grilled chicken cubes, the uncooked diced chorizo, and raw fresh spinach over the Alfredo sauce mixture.

6- Continue as originally described with the mozzarella and cheddar cheese, but forget the goat cheese!  Never though I'd ever say those words.  Hopefully will never say it again.  I love you, goat cheese. It's not you, it's me....

7- Bake as usual and cover with chopped fresh cilantro.

As if the original Chicken and Chorizo pizza wasn't delicious enough, these little tweaks took it over the top for some reason.  It was cheesy and spicy and packed to the brim with flavor.  Positively sinful!  Writing the last Chicken and Chorizo blog got my tastebuds so worked up that the Chicken and Chorizo Pizza 2.0 was born that very night.  I'm so serious, somebody make this pizza and let me know how much you love it!!

Have a good week.  Until next time....

Cheers,

The Chef Next Door

Homemade Cinco de Mayo Fiesta

As some of you may or may not know, I've recently been hired as the Huntsville Gourmet Food Examiner!  Pretty exciting.  I am responsible for keeping readers up to date on the latest gourmet gadgets, the best local restaurants, delicious gourmet recipes, gourmet cookbooks, and so on.  Rough life, huh??  :)  While I do have a good bit of freedom in what I write about, we are nudged to write about upcoming holidays/local events/specials/etc., so I felt it was my duty to inform Huntsville readers of several different spots to go out and celebrate Cinco de Mayo.  And like a bad article-writer, I did the exact opposite of what I encouraged my readers to do:  I created my own fiesta instead of going out to support our favorite Mexican restaurant.  (We go there enough times during the week, I doubt they missed us on this one night!)  So, I felt like an utter hypocrite as I gathered my Mexican ingredients from Publix, but let me tell you, our "homemade fiesta" was awesome!  I do not regret it a bit.  Tee hee!

We made:

-Guacomole
-Pico de Gallo
-Chipotle and Tomato Salsa
-Roasted Jalapeno Queso Dip (AMAZING!!!)

-Mexican Saffron Rice
-Spicy Black Beans
-Chipotle marinated Skirt Steak Fajitas
-Mexican marinated Chicken Fajitas
-MARGARITAS, OF COURSE!

If you have the time and the energy, I highly suggest spending an evening throwing together your own homemade Mexican fiesta. Your family will love you!  If you want any recipes for any of the above listed items, just comment and I'll post them!  Hope everyone had a very happy 5th of May.  Mother's Day is right around the corner.....are you ready???

Cheers,

The Chef Next Door

Getting to know you....

Who all is out there reading this blog? I feel like Julie in the movie Julie and Julia...dedicated to blogging as often as possible, committed to sharing with my readers, and constantly wondering, "Who's actually reading this?"   Come now, don't be shy!  I see lots of profile views, but only a small handful of followers and even smaller handful of comments.  Show yourself!   Haha, totally kidding.   Ok- here is an "assignment" for my readers...whoever and wherever you are.  Reply to this post with 10-15 interesting facts about yourself- food or cooking related preferably.  Here is my gift to you- a little insight into my life and my kitchen.


15 Things You May Not Know About The Chef Next Door:


1- The first thing I ever learned to cook was Egg Salad.

2- I truly think Milo's Splenda Sweet Tea tastes better out of the jug. (As opposed to out of a cup)

3- I would eat Goat Cheese or Pesto on ANYTHING.  Literally, anything.

4- I don't really like chocolate.

5- I used to hate red wine/mushrooms/onions/tomatoes/peppers/spinach/etc....but then one day decided that there's no way I can be a chef and hate all those foods....so I changed my mind and now those are some of my favorites.

6-People who "don't like fish" or seafood make me mad. So many beautiful and delicious things come from the sea.

7-Eggs make me nauseous for a few minutes after eating them, but I do anyways. Almost every day.

8- My favorite kitchen utensil, even though I barely ever use it, is my super sharp awesome Mandolin. I'd cry if something happened to it.

9- I DO NOT cook, eat, or have anything to do with Veal.

10- I have an obsession with serving platters.

11- I eat Ketchup on my eggs.  And sometimes on soft tacos.

12- A year or so ago, I would have sold my kidney on the Black Market to work in the Test Kitchens of Southern Living or Cooking Light Magazine.

13- I wish I could be a professional culinary student...I would love to go to Culinary school for the rest of my life.

14- Ina Garten (The Barefoot Contessa) is my favorite Food Network personality.  Sandra Lee, on the other hand..........................................................................is very color-coordinated.

15- Even though I'm a chef and I know it's a huge "no-no", I still sometimes salt my food before even tasting it.


Happy Sunday! Now it's your turn.....
Cheers,

The Chef Next Door