This may be one of the simplest recipes to make.  You can pretty much figure it out by looking at it but if you still need some help here you go:

Thinly slice a baguette and then drizzle a nice extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Toast the crostini in the oven until golden brown and allow to cool.

Mix a little ricotta with some salt pepper and a touch of honey.

Place a single Basil leaf on the crostini and top it with a small scoop of the honeyed ricotta.

Take a blackberry cut it in half lengthwise and toss in a little sugar.  place it on top of the ricotta and then drizzle it with honey.

Enjoy!

A few years ago I got really into wine. I had an amazing dinner in Raleigh that featured a Master wine sommelier. The cool idea for the restaurant was to pick from the menu and for a few bucks they would feature paired wine for your dinner. It was great to try multiple wines during a dinner and the guy was so inspiring. It’s great to be around someone who has that level of passion. You need a huge brain and crazy focus to get to his level but if you want to be more confident and feel more comfortable talking about wine here are my Tips.

Wine is broken into Old world wines and New world wines. The main Old world wines come from France, Italy, Spain, and Germany. When you want to know what a certain type of wine tastes like it’s best to taste it from an old world and compare it to a new world wine that does it well. Focus on the seven noble grapes.

White wines:Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Reisling.

Red wines: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah.

Then you can start to taste the basics of what that variety of wines range can taste like. My favorite example of this and the first I tried was the most popular white wine. Chardonnay. French Chard is really different from a California Chardonnay. California Chardonnay has an oak taste to it usually with a fruity profile. This comes from a term you should use and you can throw around to act smart. It’s called malolactic fermentation. The process occurs when the wine is aged in oak barrels. It gives it a buttery taste. French Chard which would be considered the old world wine has a more crisp, mineral taste to it. I always had thought I didn’t care for Chard until I tried a French version of it.

Continue to learn where the original noble grape comes from and then compare it to a new world wine. This will help you get a sense of the range the grape can represent.

If you love geography and history wine is also an amazing way to learn about a county and region. I now know more about France than I ever thought I would.

When tasting wine it’s almost always fruity. People make the early mistake of describing this as sweet. You won’t ever sound dumb if you say it’s fruity with almost any wine… wine is a grape so it makes sense. Most wines are dry though. Here is another popular word to use that you normally won’t get wrong. I think it has a citrusy taste it it. This is the profile for almost all whites. Another great word to describe a wine is it has a mineral taste to it. Throw out these descriptors and people will think you know a little bit about wine.

If you want to offer two wines at a party I would always offer a red and a white. You can’t go wrong with a cab and a Chard. You can also offer Pinot Grigio it’s another crowd pleaser.

Wine Folly is a reference book when getting into it. The internet has tons of info on specific grapes varieties. I keep a journal and write about the different wines I have tried. I think it makes it fun.

At the end of the day wine has become really good from most regions so find one you like and then start to branch out from that. Say you like Sauvignon Blanc then you could try a Sancerre from France and you would probably love it. Compare it to how they make it in a popular region like New Zealand which has a bigger grapefruit taste to it.

Wine is fun to drink so don’t feel intimidated by it. Learn some of the basics and show you are into it. People that know a lot about it will love that you have an interest in it and will really enjoy educating you on what they have learned so don’t be afraid to ask questions. They love it too.

Polenta is very easy to make and unlike grits cooks incredibly fast.  The ratio is 4:1 liquid to dry.  find a pan that you will set the cake in and measure the volume of liquid it can hold.  If your setting your cakes on a half sheet pan one gallon is the perfect volume.  that would mean you would need one quart of polenta.  To make amazing polenta the key is cream and butter.  When I make a gallon of polenta I use one pound of butter and one quart of heavy cream and then measure the rest with water.  Season generously with salt and pepper and bring it to a boil in a pot.  pour in the polenta and continue to stir it over medium high heat.  Don’t walk away from it. Don’t let it get to hot or it will splatter and its painful if you get it on your skin.  Cook the polenta until it is thick.  Taste it to make sure it’s not gritty and the seasoning is correct.  You can add any type of cheese at this point.  I used two cups of cheddar cheese. Spray the hotel pan and then pour the polenta into the pan.  Allow it to sit in the fridge until it cools and “sets”.  Now you can cookie cutter punch out any shape you would like.  In a 400 oven bake them for 15 minutes until golden on the bottom.  I flip them and top with pimento cheese and bacon and cook until melted.  This can be done as a entrée, side dish, or appetizer like the picture above.  Once you get the trick of cooking grits and setting them your options are endless.

I garnished the photo above with balsamic glaze and chopped bacon

If you want to be great be humble.  Nothing speaks more to me than this.  when I was first coming up in kitchens I found myself in an occupation that I was good at.  I slowly moved up the ranks and was managing the back of the house at a few places before I was 21.  I was telling grown men what to do and writing schedules early on.  Looking back on it I was good for what the kitchen needed but I was also young and full of myself.  I felt like I knew everything about cooking since I could run that menu with ease.  Later on in my career I was able to learn from some really great chefs.  I realized then that I really didn’t know a lot about cuisine but more about how to run a kitchen and a set menu.  They both are important but I wanted to learn more about cuisine so I decided I’d rather play a smaller role in a great place than be the man in a shitty one.  Restaurants and the business can burn you out and bore you if you are like me.  I moved around for a while trying to find the right fit until I found the place that worked for me.  I was learning new cuisine and techniques every day.  I read as many articles and cookbooks I could get my hands on.  The more I learned about cuisine, it’s tie to culture, and geography the more it became a wormhole of how little I truly know.  In time I grew with confidence but also with a humble respect for my team, the process and most importantly the guest. Again I went up the ranks but this time on the level that I wanted for me to be able to be creative in a place I was proud to work for.

In this business just like the food and culture the kitchen is a small village in its own way.  Respect to everyone and an open mind for ideas can allow your team to grow and have a career path for them while you can inspire and continue to grow yourself.  Be kind is said so much these days but has a strong message.  I came up through the hard-headed, temper driven chefs and although I do have some of this in me I try to keep myself grounded and respectful to my team.  The executive chef or manager is the person who can really have an impact on what they will get out of their team.  If you find yourself where I am whether it’s in the restaurant industry or another field remember this… Stay focused, keep learning, you never know it all,  and always be

HUMBLE.

Short ribs are easy to cook if you’ve never had a chance to do it. They are a great beef option on a menu that can be easily executed.

I came up with this recipe for a culinary dinner we are doing. The theme of the evening is California Cuisine. I chose a pino noir from the region called the show.

To cook the short ribs I rubbed them with salt and pepper and seared them in a pan on medium high heat. You don’t want a really hot pan and high flame when searing them. Give the short ribs time to sear checking them occasionally until you get a nice golden look. Do this to both sides. I remove the meat and add in celery, carrots, cipollini onions, and garlic to the pan and sweat them down. I deglazed with the red wine and let it simmer. I add beef stock and fresh thyme and a few bay leaves. Let the broth simmer for a while. I transfer the beef to a deep pan and pour the broth and vegetables over the top. You want the liquid to come up slightly more than half way on the beef. Cover with a lid or foil and bake at 325 for 3-4 hours in a convention oven. When you take it out the meat should feel tender and soft. I like to make this part a day ahead. I transfer the beef to a tray and refrigerated. I strain the broth and also refrigerate it. The next day the fat that was on the broth will be easy to remove. I bring it to a boil and adjust to season. Using a slurry I tighten it to a thick consistency. I slice the beef and clean off any fat. I bake it covered with a little broth to get it hot without drying it out.

Sunchokes are prepare two ways. I wash and peel the Sunchokes. Using a small melon baller I scoop them into perfect rounds. I sauté them in olive oil until golden and then add a bunch of butter and keep cooking them until tender. Season with salt and pepper. I also use a mandolin to slice them thin and then fry them. They make an awesome chip.

I took the onions with the skin on them and roasted them at 400 for about an hour until soft and dark. I let them cool and squeeze out the middle. I purée them with a little olive oil, lemon juice and s/p. This makes an awesome sweet onion “cream”.

To make the red wine reduction I cooked three cups red wine to one cup sugar and simmered it to a thick consistency.

If you love horseradish sauce give this a try. I take heavy cream and whip it until thick. Then I fold in the horseradish, cracked black pepper, and salt. It’s delicious.

Enjoy!

If you’re looking to add a nice flavor profile along with a huge touch of color to your plate my go to right now are herb oils.  It’s really easy to do.

Bring a pot of water to a boil and have a cold water ice bath ready to go.  pick a herb that works for your plate.  Basil is a very easy one to work with.  Pick the leaves and  blanch it in hot water and quickly strain the leaves into the ice bath.  squeeze out the water as best as you can and put them in a vita mix.  puree it with oil or canola oil and pass it through cheesecloth.  let it sit in the fridge for about an hour and your ready to go!  Basil works great on its own but if you’re using Thyme, Sage, Rosemary or other herbs that doesn’t have that vibrant green you add flat leaf parsley when you blanche it.  The parsley is mild and won’t drown out the herb flavor but helps bring out that green color.  If you make a lot of it you can freeze it and then thaw when needed.

This was a Shrimp stuffed with Feta.  I used a red pepper coulis and basil oil for the plate.

If you are looking for another color to your oil here are a few suggestions.

Red: Smoked paprika, Chorizo

Yellow: Turmeric, Saffron

Purple: beets

The key is once you’ve pureed them and run them through a cheesecloth make sure you give them time to settle.  The impurities will settle to the bottle.

One of the things that truly sets a chef apart from the pack is the ability to be creative.  People have a lot of options on food these days and  diners are looking for creative and fun menus that can enhance the experience.  My freedom to create tasting menus based on regions for the last couple years has really driven my craft.  Picking a region and getting inspired by it as a chef is amazing. It’s what drives me to be inspired.  Thousands of hours looking on the internet and being broke from buying cook books is what my life has become. When you get to that point it’s an amazing feeling to have that kind of drive and passion in what you do.  Its what separates your life from having a career vs. a job.

One dish that comes to mind was Spanikopita.  it’s a classic mediterranean dish.  If you’re not familiar with it it’s a sautéed spinach and feta mixture that’s wrapped in phyllo.  I found a really cool type of shredded phyllo called kataifi.  I decided to make a nest using it and use a type of feta from Greece that is cave aged.  This was an opening course and it went over great!   Another dish we did was the greek salad.  Finding fun ingredients made this dish interesting.  We used Cherokee and yellow pear tomatoes.  We sliced the cucumbers thin on a mandolin and pickled them before we rolled them up.  I found some beautiful olives that we marinated in garlic, fennel, and red wine.  crumbled feta and a Meyer lemon greek dressing finished it off.  If you can think about a dish and do it in a new creative way your well on your way.

I’ve made thousands of pounds of mashed potatoes in my life and tested them so many different ways.  Potatoes are an amazing and versatile vegetable.   As a starch it can really shine on a plate and practically pairs with everything.  It’s a starchy vegetable so it gets a bad wrap for being unhealthy but it’s really the way it’s prepared and what you put in it that makes it unhealthy.  Needless to say that unless you get someone watching calories they are an excellent option for a meal everyone will love!

Here are few tips and favorite ideas for them.

Mashed-   If your going to boil the potatoes for mashed the most important thing to remember is don’t over cook them!  after the mashed becomes cooked it starts to take on the water and really turns to shit.  If you’re using standard potato cut it into 6-8 pieces.  Try to make them as uniform in size as you can but don’t waste your time on being perfect. Remember your going to mash them so it’s not that important.  Once you’ve cut them put them in a pot and run cold water on them until it runs clear.  I try to remove as much starch as possible before I boil them.  Bring the potatoes to a boil over medium high heat. When the potatoes break apart easily drain them in the sink and give a good amount of time for them to drain.

Here is a huge piece of equipment for the perfect mashed most people don’t get to experience.  The Food Mill! If you have never heard of a food mill or used one I suggest looking into it.  It’s not something that you use very often but when making mashed nothing comes close.

Put the cooked potatoes in the mill a few at a time and turn the crank.  they will come out so smooth on the other side.  mix it with melted butter, heavy cream, salt and pepper.  Enjoy the creamiest potatoes you’ve ever had.

Now that you have the base mashed what do you want to do to them?   You can eat them classic but say your making braised short ribs with an Italian wine.  Why not fold in some classic pesto or a roasted tomato pesto.  If you wanted to go French with it add in a little brie and some Herbs De Provence. Are you seeing a pattern?  Say you want to eat a mediterranean add some feta, sun-dried tomatoes, and sautéed spinach.  Spanish is one of my favorites add a little smoked paprika, and manchego. If you wanted to do it Mexican add some pureed chipotles,   cumin, and touch of lime.   Once you know what direction you what for the rest of the dinner the base recipe will allow you be creative with what you add to it.

Enjoy