Chocolate Cheesecake strawberries

Who doesn't love Chocolate Covered  Strawberries?

  The first thing you need is some beautiful Strawberries. This can be tricky, you must look at your container thoroughly before buying. Strawberries Have a short life, and their out of season, so who knows frow where they are shipped from.

   Now that we have that out the way. Lets get our berries washed and completely dry. This is very important, moisture is your enemy! Chocolate Is oil-based, and if water gets in your chocolate you will have trouble!

  It's time to core out the strawberries. The reason for this is, we will be piping cheesecake filling into the cavity that your creating. The bigger the cavity you create the more cheesecake you will be able to pipe in.

   The next Step is to dip your pitted berries in chocolate. Get as close to the rim without going over the top.

Remember to be careful while melting chocolate. It Will burn easily the melting temperature for chocolate is 86-90 so take it slow. You will have to allow the chocolate to harden, so place them in a cool place. 

   The next step is to have somewhere to place your berries I like to use mini cupcake holders. I sprinkle Vanilla Wafer cookie crumbs in the cups. This is my own secret way of giving you the cheesecake experience!

(I always drizzle with white chocolate)

  Set the berries in the cups. try to keep them upright as possible.

Pipe in your favorite cheesecake filling minus the egg. and then you have it!

Chocolate Cheesecake Strawberries

Chicken Alfredo

 I love a good chicken Alfredo. There is nothing like a good Alfredo sauce. In today's world its hard to find a restaurant that makes their own sauces. Most restaurants have switched to the dried or powdered (just add water) mixes. This I just can't stand. Its so easy to make a sauce from from scratch. I guess its just cheaper to do things this way. Try this out!



Ingredients:

1/4 cup minced garlic
3 cups gallon chicken stock or chicken base
3 cups of heavy whipping cream
8 oz of cream cheese (room temperature)
3 cups of milk
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 teaspoon fresh oregano
1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg
 1/2 cup of graded Parmesan
1/2 cup of graded Romano
1/4 cup of butter (Clarified if possible if not use 1/8 cup of vegetable oil, and 1/8 cup of butter)
salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

1.  Melt butter in medium size pot, using low heat do not!!( burn or fry).
2. Sweat garlic and herbs on low heat until garlic is translucent.  
3. Add all of your cheese make sure you cooking temp is low, don't burn or scorch your cheese we are just melting and breaking them down. Use a spatula or whisk to stir until  smooth.
4. Slowly stir in cream and milk. Raise temperature bring to a simmer add stock.
5. Cooking at slow-simmer stirring constantly cheese will settle at bottom and burn to bottom of pot.
6. When liquids reduce, and your sauce has thickened add Nutmeg, Salt and pepper. 
7. You can also use a Slurry 1/2 corn starch 1/2 water. you must stir quickly & constantly while adding. this is a thickening agent if not done correctly, it will lump up and ruin your sauce!

What flavor of Cheesecake you like the most?

There are so many types of cheese cakes. Cheesecakes come in so many different shapes snd sizes. Is there a wrong or right way to make a cheese cske? Who's to say... I personaly believe as long as it looks good and taste good, its a good cheese cake. I think my favorite is a turtle cheese cake. The crunchy pecans, caramel, and chocolate. There are so many flavors to choose from, how can you pick just one?

Grilled Applewood Chops

   Here I go experimenting again! I made a marinate, I pureed an apple,1/2 lemon, some fresh herbs,  red wine vinaigrette, diced pineapples, maple syrup, and apple wood seasoning rub. you will need to add oil to loosen it up to your desired thickness. I sauteed some mushrooms, and spinach. I also made rice with beef broth, and I will say every thing turned out great!  

Free Lunch with an Interview

Sometimes it pays to be patient. I had an interview at 11am. After  being there for 15 minutes I began to inquirer about where the chef was? I waited another 15 minutes, I found out she wouldn't be in until 1pm. She was having problems with her kid. This was a tough situation for me it was a 2hr wait, plus a 25 min drive. So I decided to wait and try out the lunch buffet. It was delicious! She arrived at 12:30, and I had a great interview! She was also nice enough to pay for the meal! I think this may have been a test to see if I had patients.

Wings Wings Wings!

  I think I probably eat more chicken wings than anybody I know. I just don't know what it is about chicken wings that I love so much? Well this is enough talk, time to eat!

Scampi with Green Beans...

When your in your kitchen there are no rules! Why not experiment!! Try something new! There  re millions of recipes at your fingertips. But most people cook the same meals everyday. I love when my taste buds are being tickled with new flavor profiles! I get excited just thinking about what I'm going to cook next. I'm sorry let me calm down.

Try adding your favorite veggies to your shrimp scampi. I blanched and shocked some green Beans and sautéed them with my shrimp. I used some fresh herbs, and garlic. I also added a few spices and there you have it!

German Chocolate Cheese Cake

A friend of mines needed a cheese cake. I wanted to do something different. so we came up with doing a German Chocolate Cheese Cake. you can find the original recipe "here" I tweaked it a little.





































Ingredients:

For the Crust:


2 cups or one pack of Oreo Cookies

6 tablespoons of butter,melted


For the Filling:


20 ounces of cream cheese

1 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons of All-purposed Flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 Large Eggs

1 Teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoon s of milk





Fro the topping:
1 cup chopped pecans
For the chocolate topping, combine four ounces of sweet German chocolate with two tablespoons whipping cream
For the caramel topping, melt 12 caramels with 1/3 cup cream in a small saucepan, stirring until smooth. Or use caramel ice cream topping.
1/2 cup of shredded coconuts






Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
In a nine-inch springform pan, mix the crumbs and the melted butter. (We prefer a Candy Apple Red Silicone Springform Pan.) Press the crumb mixture into a crust across the bottom and about one inch up the sides. Bake the crust for eight minutes.
In a large bowl, cream the cream cheese with the sugar. Add the flour and salt. Add the eggs, vanilla, and milk all at once. Mix until just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Pour the filling mix into the crust.
Bake for ten minutes at 450 degrees. Lower the temperature to 200 degrees and bake for an additional 35 to 40 minutes or until the cheesecake filling is set.
After the cheesecake has cooled for ten minutes, with a thin bladed spatula, loosen the edges of the cheesecake from the pan so that the cake will pull away from the pan as it cools. Remove the rim of the pan after it has cooled for about forty-five minutes. (If you use the silicone pan, you can merely peal the silicone shell away from the cheesecake without disturbing the crust.)
Drizzle the cheesecake with caramel and then with chocolate. Sprinkle nuts on the cake. Refrigerate until completely cool before serving.

Dinner

   Tonight I wanted to try something a little  different. I cooked boneless pork chops, and tossed some seared scallops with some potatoes and green beans.I marked the chops off on a girdle skillet, and then baked them off in bacon fat. I blanched and shocked the green beans.the potatoes were boiled in a pot. I seared off the scallops in a pan.  I bordered the plate with red pepper. It came together nicely, well I think so anyway!

Maple Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 tecup  unsalted butter, at room temperature (2 sticks)
1 cup  granulated sugar
1 cup  lightly packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups  sweet chocolate chips (Like them extra chocolaty? Use 2 cups of chocolate chips).
1 tablespoom of maple syrup.
1 cup of pecans  

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or use a silicon baking mat.
2.                                                           Cookie dough
3.  
4. In a large bowl, beat the butter and both sugars with a handheld mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl then add the eggs. One at a time Mixing after each one. Add maple syrup and vanilla. Beat for one minute.
5. Scrapes the sides and bottom of the bowl then stir in the flour mixture with a large spoon until you no longer see streaks of flour. The dough will be thick; we usually add the flour in two batches to make things easier. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Bacon Roasted Chicken

  Cooking is all about experiments! OK! Lets try this!! I have quartered a a whole Chicken, Lightly seasoned and seared it. I placed it in a baking dish with a few sprigs of thyme, and a few cloves of garlic. I have saved some bacon grease that I knew I would eventually use. I filled the baking dish 3/4 full and baked the chicken in the oven on 350 degrees, until the internal temperature has reached 165 degrees.

       There you have it Bacon Roasted Chicken!!




                                                ENJOY!!!!

I love to cook

  I really love to cook. More than I really knew. I just can't explain to you how much I have  a love for cooking, prepping, or even planning an event. I really get excited when it all comes together and the dishes are completed and the sweet  aroma feels the air. There is nothing more satisfying to see the first fork full of food consumed, and see your customers face, and it shows them having a heavenly experience. There is not an better appreciation that I can receive!

The Difference Between Kosher and Iodized Salt

   Did a little  research, to find out what was the difference between Kosher and Iodized salts. Most people think its the Iodine content. Surprisingly the U.S government requires food-grade salt to be a minimum of 97.5% pure. The primary ingredient in both is Sodium Chloride. I was always told it was the taste, my chefs would say that there are chemicals in table salt (Iodized). Table salt most of the time will contain an anti-clumping agent like calcium silicate or sodium ferrocyanide.

  There is a big size and texture difference also. you will notice that table salt is smaller and more of a cube shape (milled) and Kosher salt has a more larger crystal type texture. Kosher salt also absorbs more quickly, and was originally used in koshering meat. So that's the facts.

Pineapple & Lemon White Wine Shrimp Sauce w/rice..

1 stick of celery (Brunoise)
1 carrot (Brunoise)
1 onion (Brunoise)
1/4 cup of garlic (minced)
1 cup of rice (Jasmine or large grain)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tbs of Honey
1 Lemon (Zest and juiced )
1 cup of Pineapple (Small Dice)
1 1/2 pounds of Shrimp (Peeled and deveine save skin's)
2 tbs olive oil blend
1/4 cup of parsley
4 cups of water
2 cups of white wine

                                               Rice

  Place Saute pan on low heat.(allow it to get hot ) Add Olive oil blend. (Allow it to get hot)  Add mirepoix (1 part carrot 1 part celery 2 part onion ) , sweat mirepoix until translucent.
Then add garlic. Mix in thoroughly.  The garlic will cook quickly, keep a close watch. remove from fire. take half of mirepoix add to sauce pan. use low heat, and then add shrimp skin's (not shrimp). Cook until red. Add water, cook for 5-7 min (allow reduction). Puree mirpoix, and shrimp skin mixture and run through a strainer. Add 1/3 of mixture with 1/2 of salt to rice and cook until fluffy.(add more water if needed).

                                                   Sauce


  Add remaining puree to saute pan (that has mirepoix)  with low heat. Add wine, and cook off alcohol.(should take a few min) Add lemon juice,honey, pineapple,and 2/3 of parsley. Simmer for 5 min then all shrimp, cook shrimp until both sides are red, use Saute Method. When shrimp are red.( just beginning to turn red) Remove from heat immediately! Don't over cook shrimp!! they will be tough and chewy! (carry cover cooking will finish) salt/pepper T/T


  Use a large plate or bowl. Create a bed of rice, and cover it with your Pineapple & Lemon White Wine Shrimp Sauce. Garnish with Lemon Zest and remaining Parsley.

I love plating!

  The art of plating fascinates me to the fullest. You can have the same ingredients of a meal several days, and each day plate it differently and feel like you have a whole new dinner experience.  I'm often asked why do you take all that time to make your food look good before you eat it? The bottom line is you eat with your eyes first. I feel like if I cannot make food look delicious, how can I expect for someone else to want to eat my food?

I'm a High School Dropout!

                           

   Food saved my life. If it wasn't for my culinary career I would have never returned to get my degree. I had a few stumbling blocks in my younger years. I was a very stubborn young man. I was a very undisciplined, and had a  "Know It ALL"attitude. I never learned  to focus, I believe this was my greatest downfall. I was determined to be the class clown all through school, therefore I missed out on key learning objectives.  

   I have always love the arts, and have been creative all my life. There is almost nothing I can see someone do that I cant imitate, I am great with my hands. Loved to watch my Grandmother, and Great Grandmother in the kitchen in my younger years. I never thought I would be a Chef. Cooking was just something I did when I was hungry. Never thought I would be going to anyone's school getting a degree of any sort!

What's More American than a Steak

 There is nothing more American than a steak. You tell me who can resist a beautifully cooked piece of beef? Well I cant! The only problem I have is when its not cooked probably.

   Cooking a steak is not that hard. You only have one rule to follow, "Low and Slow". You must temp your beef to your desired doneness.

                                  Rare 120°-135°
                    Medium Well 145°-150°
                          Well done 155° (plus)

   The last and most important thing you have to do is let your steak rest for 5 minutes. I know this sounds crazy. Letting your steak rest is the most important step. This process is what locks all the juices in your steak, and stops them from flowing all over your plate, and drying it out. I'm sure we have all had this experiences. Enjoy your steak! I know I did!

Thanksgiving Breakfast Buffet

  Thanksgiving morning I was hired to cook at a breakfast buffet. I ran an omelette station where I cooked omelettes to order for the customers.
This was how I spent my thanksgiving morning.

Thanksgiving

   Thanksgiving was a blast! Love family time, and the great home cooking. As you see from the picture, the I was full enough to pass out! Yes after dinner I was no more good!

Chily

  I love making chilly. Every time I make it I put a new twist to it. I'm sure there are thousands of of ways of making chilly, my favorite way is called "Bird Chilly" with ground chicken, and turkey.