A Chef's Notes

Times Are Changing for Food Industry
March 07, 2008, 2:20 AM
Anybody who works in the food industry, especially those in the high ticket or destination joints can tell you that the economy is shifting ever towards a downward spiral. Regardless of the fact that the government is only now beginning to utter the word recession, people have been moderating their spending for some time now. Question is how far is this trend going to go? And more importantly how are those of us who work in the service industry going to deal with it, both today and in the future.

Short Skirts and Daffodils
February 28, 2008, 4:05 PM
When spring rolls around each year I suppose I'm not much different than an antelope or a moose. I just want to pound my hoofs and test my horns with the rest of the old bucks. The arrival of spring often hits me like a blast of warm wind in the face. I might be walking through one of Sonoma County's glorious town squares minding my own business, when the preponderance of long legs and short skirts sashaying against a backdrop of daffodils, nudges my soul back to life. In that glorious moment the possibility of a dull winter's day ...

Keeping an Edge
February 19, 2008, 5:00 PM
Sometimes I think I became a chef just so that I could play with knifes. I’ve carried a knife of one kind or another in my pocket since I was old enough to flick a blade and that passion for craftsmanship and utility has never waned. I regularly get asked about what kind of knives I use, “my answer is, “it often depends on what I’m cooking.” Over the years I have come to rely on a variety of knifes to manage different tasks. The one constant being that my blades have to be impeccably clean and razor sharp, or ...

Sonoma Grass Fed Beef, Berkshire Pork & Toasted Pine Nut Meatballs
February 19, 2008, 4:50 PM
I don't know what its like where you live, but here in Sonoma County it is still cold and wet. When the whether sucks the only cure as far as I am concerned is a plate full of comfort minded food for the spirit. Meatballs with a robust Romesco sauce can serve as that kind of taste treat for the soul. Of course this recipe is a pain in the ass to make, but the best food usually require that kind of effort. Besides all of the roasting, rolling and stirring is good exercise on a rainy day.

Roasted Beet & Goats Cheese Salad
February 07, 2008, 2:25 PM
As a child I hated beets, as my younger kids do today. Thankfully I grew out of that phase and I now love to work with them. Beets are plentiful this time of year and because of the food craze they are available in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and colors.

How Tough Should a Kitchen Be?
February 07, 2008, 1:40 PM
The art of working in the food industry is not about rocket science, it is about hard work and diligent effort to achieve the common goal. Unfortunately this is often hard to come by in a culture fixated on instant gratification. Until that changes, I guess chefs like Gordon Ramsey are going to have to yell there brains out.

Texas Bowl of Red, Recipe of the Week
February 02, 2008, 4:00 PM
Chili is one of those kinds of foods, like BBQ or fried chicken that gets people jacked up for a good discussion about which recipe is the best. A discussion that can easily turn into a multi-generational feud, if one is not careful. All I know is that I like my chili pretty much like the Texans do, intensely flavored and full of depth. Of course I have learned to add a few extra touches over the years that I think help to raise this dish to a comfortable level of excellence. If you don’t like it, I would be ...

Recipe of the Week: Estate Olive Oil and Lemon Cake
January 24, 2008, 12:50 PM
One of my favorite flavor profiles in the world is that of the Meyer Lemon. Indigenous primarily to Northern California, these lemons have a delicate floral sweetness and well rounded flavor that no other lemon can match.

My Ghost of Christmas Future
January 23, 2008, 6:45 PM
In that ambulance, between bites of baby aspirin and doses of nitroglycerin, my own personal Christmas Carol began.

Recipe of the Week: Canelé de Bordeaux
January 05, 2008, 12:00 AM
Starting early for next holiday season. No matter how good a chef you might be, if you have not made canelé de Bordeaux before, it might take about a year of sporadic practice to get them right.