Holiday's made simple, part 1 !

I believe in simplicity when it comes to hosting gatherings for friends and or family. As a chef, in the past I would over do things, as I said there would be sacks of "confused foods" on the way out the door with my guests and a overflowing fridge with leftovers. Thankfully I learned and now keep things simple. My guests are now greeted with and assortment of Charcuterie and Cheeses thoughtfully displayed for there enjoyment. As to the beverages I offer a Sparkling Wine, Red and a White Wine that differ from what will be served or paired with our meal.
On to the feast next !! Until then Think Good Thoughts & Smile....

Holiday gatherings made simple!

With the Holidays upon us the questions and stresses of what to prepare run through some of our minds faster than we can sort them out on a piece of paper, confusion sets and with arms up in air we give in to the $99.99 deal at our local Whole Foods or market. STOP!!!!

Let's start this over, with the Holidays upon us we sit in excitement of sharing a Grand day or evening with Family & Friends, calmly we begin the process of what to serve, what wines to pair and of coarse the dessert(s) that will put it all over the top. I believe simplicity can create the most elegant of affairs. It is so often especially as a chef to over do and turn a Grand meal into a Confused sack of left overs or send home packages. I have been saying for a few posts I'd be back with Holiday Fare so allow the process to begin. Let us not forget this is where "Finding the Grind" will be found, so as I often say, I shall be back with the recipes and ideas I have been looking forward to sharing that will bring Great Food and Wine to those often dreaded gatherings, with, as stated , simplicity. 

Allow the Holiday Season to begin! Tomorrow!!!!

An exercise for the grind.

When I stated "All grinds are not created equal" I am not just talking about the end coarsness of lets say the peppercorn it being black, white, green or any of the variations in which peppercorns come or any dry spice, as a spice such as the peppercorn is crushed or broken, oils are released. The more you crush or grind the oils are lost. This has been argued, studied and debated by chefs for a ling time , is it important, does it really matter? In my view yes, flavor is flavor and what those flavors do to produce the final result is what it is all about. Controlling flavor and understanding how a herb, pepper or salt reacts with different ingredients is key in cooking. Here is a good way to understand what the hell I am talking about. Simply take 1 tablespoon of whole coffee beans and grind them in the coffee grinder or what has become today's fashionable spice mills and grind the beans for 5 seconds which should be a coarse grind, now brew a cup of coffee and taste, then in your mortar add the same amount of beans and crack them down giving them about 5 second of grinding with the pestle, the grind looks much coarser, now brew a cup with these beans,  by the way it is best to use a french press for this exercise and allowing the coffee to brew in the water for 2 full mins, the end result is the coffee ground with the M&P should have more aroma and taste. OK now that I have probably completely lost you and who knows what you might be thinking I will be back with recipes and you will understand why I posted this, but then again maybe not!!! Until then "Think Good Thoughts & Smile".