A taste of gratitude...It's not always about food.

I often forget how important it is to stop and say “thank you.” In today's world of who's who and who's not, this is mine and that is yours, we often forget that it really is us. We really are in this thing together, left right, north, south, east, west...So on and so forth.

 Tonight I had the chance to chat with a friend of mine with whom I grew up and served in the United States Army. He reminded me of the days when I was just a high school kid pumped up and passionate about what we were doing. And I was!!!! I have to relate those experiences to the ones I have now.

Each and every one of us has a gift, a talent, something at which we are extremely good. I cook. Or, well, I "Chef" [grin]. But to what extent do we follow our passion? It seems today we do not follow it nearly as far as we should. Can you remember when you used to sing out loud because you were great at it? You still are!!! Remember when you heard that the math test was impossible, but you saw the patterns and solve the problems? You still can!!! Remember when your friends asked for your advice because you always have a sound opinion? You still do!!! Get out there and be a part of today! Don't let yesterday stop you from being the best you be can today! I know, easier said than done, but you are who you are! We all have our gifts and if we do not share them with others, it is my experience that I feel empty. When I share my gift with others, I overflow with joy! A friend once told me "If you want self esteem, do esteem -able things!" And that's what I try to do today.

Every day we act selflessly, and we encourage others to the same. We can create, teach, learn, dance, cook, run, bank, golf, counsel, and we can INSPIRE! So I challenge you today, inspire someone, even if it’s yourself, but get out there and be passionate about something. Believe in yourself and treat others as you would like to be treated. This is your chance to shine. Thank you all for all of your hard work and determination! Thank you to my family and friends who stood by me through thick, really ,really thick and even through the thinnest. Thank you.

Todays food is.....

Food is...

So yes, it is 1:30 a.m. and yes, I am writing in my blog. What the heck is going on here?? Well, I have been all over today. I started by picking up Jason D. He is one of my cooks who, to tell you the truth, is just a great guy to be around. So he and I set out to create two dishes today. First, a salad of in-season local"ish" produce. What did we find? Blood oranges, local golden beets (Prairie Creek Farms), arugula, Granny Smith apples, and walnuts. Second: I have my white truffles from last weekend’s adventure so I wanted to build a dish around those gems, and what I came up with given my poll results was White Truffle Risotto with Pan Seared Diver Scallops and Fried Sunchokes (Jerusalem artichokes). We headed to Northwest's City Market where my friends at Newman's Fish pointed me towards some great looking scallops – U10's (under 10 scallops per pound). I picked up some arborio rice and my produce. All together my total for a dinner to feed 5 people was $44.50 – pretty good given the quality of goods.

First off I started getting all of my risotto preparation done as it will take the longest to cook. The recipe will follow. Once we finish our risotto prep, I begin to write the recipe. Jason asks, "You're writing as we go?"  "Yeah, what did you think we were gonna do?" The reality – I have made enough risotto in my life to know a damn near ideal ratio for the basic of basics. So we start dicing and weighing our onion, weighing our rice, measuring our water, fish stock, thyme, dill, truffles, salt, and cheese. We have our Mis En Place! Write that down! Very important! Mis En Place!! We fry our sunchokes, and these little buggers are flipping awesome!! I also have a sunchoke fritter recipe. I love ‘em. We prepare the risotto and allow it to rest while we prep our salad.

I'll be honest; at this point as I set out to create an amazing risotto it was lacking in color, the flavor was "dope," but the all light color made for a very dull at sight dish. Our salad on the other very – bright and full of body, could have used some crushed walnuts a top but really nice nonetheless.  Oh, or some aged Manchego cheese. Oh yeah, that'd be awesome.

So here are the photos of both dishes. \Please critique or ask questions.

Overall, a very productive day. Tomorrow, back to work and with some luck, a chance to write here about what it means to be a Chef and whether or not "I" think we are artists. Have a great night and great day!!

Truffles!!! White Truffles

So how do I enjoy a day out of the kitchen? I go find the bounty of Oregon. Today's goal; "Find black truffles." I left my Northwest neighborhood apartment at just about 0945hrs I arrive at my destination at 1030hrs. My "spots" are all over the place. But It has been my experience that the hills 25 miles north west of Portland are the most bountiful for truffles.  I keep my eyes both up and down, two things I am looking for; 1. The drip line of the Red Fir trees, 2. Holes in the tuft that small rodents have burrowed for truffles their smell is better than mine. But when you get deep into a good patch you too can smell them as if you super scent, amazing. So I started in one of my always good spots only to find a German Sheppard sized Coyote wondering through the forest. This is the point where i say to myself  "wow this is what a good life is" the coyote smells me and darts off into the woods. And I choose to go the opposite direction to avoid further confrontation. This unexpected change lands me in a new area of the woods I have not yet explored so I am slightly excited and just a touch on my heels. As I find a small patch of fresh burrows I get down on my knee and begin to pull back the tuft exposing small worms and beetles. It is very very VERY!! Important that if you choose to forage leave the area the same way you found it So do not leave trash and as you remove dirt re place it. As I begin to pull back the tuft I notice a few small bulbs my heart begins to race I have forgotten about my furry friends and realize as I pick them out and look at them curiously, "no way" I think I just found white truffles. Sure enough I found the holy grail of Oregon's gifts of nature the White Truffle these things retail for ridiculous amounts. I find three here after only 5 minutes. After 5 more i move on. 45 minutes pass and nothing, then just as I am deciding to head back to my original destination Bird catches my eye hes making a great deal of noise I turn and look and hes just playing a bit, but I also notice a group of red fir trees that are about 30-45 years old with a smooth clear opening under there out reached branches. I walk over no burrows, shit. Well I'm here so I may as well take a look under the tuft, and yet again I get real lucky. Once I exposed the soft pebbly dirt there it is another white truffle peaking out from the dark brown fertile ground. I look around a bit more finding my largest of the day a white truffle weighing in at 4.25 ounces shes a beauty. At this point I had found 7 white truffles and 0 black truffles, so next week I will head to the coast and hope for some black truffles. Until then I have yet another successful 5 hour trip to gather Oregon's Bounty.

Here I am inter-webs

OK, so here I am joining the Internet revolution. This is officially the first of what I hope to be many short and fully disclosed informational educational and insightful "posts". So in this first intro to me I want to share with you, what your experience means to me. Food is not just energy.  It's not just a nutritional guide found on the back of a label. It's not just calories you are counting. For Christs sake its LOVE, PASSION, SOUL. Every time you eat breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner, dessert you are experiencing a small piece, sometimes big piece of a Chef's soul. He or she has just allowed you to be apart of their world, their success, their true passion. What you may not know is that, the good ones... The Chef's who actually care, those of us who want to please you! Yes we want to please you. We want you to feel pleasure when you eat our food. We are offering you our SOUL!!! We're not back there cooking your dinner with our own hands. We have assembled a team of talented young women and men busting their asses to make your experience one you'll remember. These grunts, comis, they too are chef's. Don't be fooled by their facial hair, tattoos, cigarettes, whiskey and scars, the non shalant "don't give a shit" attitudes, the reality is they care too. They don't want their Chef's to be upset with them, they strive to execute our vision! They aim to please US! Until the day that they have the chance to please you! This industry of "pirates" we are here for you. So remember that; next time you are dining out when you choose a restaurant, find one that pleases you. One that has a soul.