Everyone's a comedian

Has been a rough week here for me. I have had the flu for most of the week; resulting from stress (I believe) caused by hitting a deer on a major interstate traveling at 60 MPH as I was heading into work on Monday morning. Am really glad it is Friday.

Later in the afternoon, a co-worker comes into the test kitchen and asks, "I heard venison is on the menu for today?"

Actually, it was pretty funny!

Just to let you know, I was not hurt, but the deer did not do much better and he did not win the battle. My car may have something else to say about this matter!

Bad Service

I was on vacation the past few days, at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, Maryland, and discovered that there is a service crisis in other parts of the world as well. Most of the service at all of the restaurants chose to dine at was either sorry or down right horrible. At particular establishment, we got up and left because we could not get waited on. I really should say, after we were sat at our table, we could not get the attention of a waiter, host, or manager; for goodness sakes, just acknowledge your customers!

As far as food quality goes, most of what we ate was mediocre at best. I guess a vacationing couple or family has to face the fact that when dining at a tourist location, prices are going to be very high, and food quality may not exactly be what is expected. I can say with complete and total honesty, we experienced this first hand! What a down right shame. Give me good service and ok food, or great food and bad service and I can swallow that pill. Give me bad food and bad service and I really become miffed!

With all of this said, how do you tip in situations like this? Since I am in the food service industry and have a soft heart for people which rely on tips, I tend to tip a little better that the average person. If you get a 15% tip from me, that is pretty bad; I tend to tip in the 25% range if good service is rendered. Should I start tipping badly to waitstaff which delivers sub-par service?What are your feeling about all of this? Is customer service going the way of the dinosaurs?

Today, I did email the restaurant we walked out. I am never looking for a free meal or special attention so I wrote the email expressing the fact that the management of this restaurant should be made aware of the situation. I usually repay restaurants like this by never going back again. Something similar happened a few years ago here in Roanoke, I contacted the manager of that establishment, and he extended an offer for me to bring in anyone with me for a free meal. I have never and will never step foot in that establishment again.

Oprah

The episode which aired on the Oprah Winfrey Show today dealt with knowing where food we eat comes from and how animals are treated. I did not get to actually see the show but when I came home from work, my wife stated that we are never eating meat again.

One thing I think people should realize about animals in the food chain: These animals are not pets. They are harvested for a single purpose, to feed people. I will not defend the living conditions these animals are subjected to and I think that in the next 5 to 10 years, we will see dramatic changes in the way animals are treated. It all comes back to they are a food source, just like a zucchini, wheat berry, scallop, lobster, or eggplant. These are all living creatures as well.

Happier animals are more productive and produce better tasting proteins but at they end of the day, they still end up on a dinner plate. Yes, we should advocate free range chickens, hogs, lamb, beef cattle, and other protein sources but it will take time to get there. In the mean time...

Beef, it's what's for dinner!

I am a Narcissist

According to a study, most people who choose to post information on web sites like Face Book are basically a narcissist. I guess that is me included. I have a couple of blogs, a personal web site, plus a Face Book page so I guess that is me. What is a narcissist? A person who is consumed with themselves, self love, vain, egotistical. I guess this makes up most people and I am included.
Guess this is all ok. If we do not love ourselves, who else would anyway?

Have been doing much traveling over the past few weeks and all is going well. The garden ended up being a complete bust this year; 1 tomato! Still eating right and taking weight off. Am down over 30 pounds in one month and still going strong! Check back soon for updates!

And the winner is...

Chef Jeff!!! I won the Al's Clubhouse Bash and Chef Showdown last night! It was a bunch of fun and we all had a great time! There was some great competition from 3 other chef's and they were just awesome! I could not of asked for better people to work with and compete against! I had some great help from local culinary students as well and they made the night a bunch of fun and were such a tremendous help! I could not of done this with out the help of these 3 guys!

The other chefs cooked some really great food and I was not expecting to win at all!! But it was a nice surprise to say the least! Congratulations to the three of them as well! The staff at Roanoke Country Club could not of been any nicer and they were all such a big help!

One other positive note: I have now lost 29 pounds in less than 30 day! Wooo Hooo! I am on my way to shrinking down!

Cooking Competition

Will be competing in the Al Pollard Memorial Foundation Chef Signature Dish competition tomorrow night at the Roanoke Country Club! Wish me luck and I hope I win! Will fill in all of the details this weekend!

News and Notes

Nothing much to report over the past month. Things at work are well and the home front is great too! Roasting BBQ tomorrow at church and that is about it. I have started a new blog. I am currently working on trying to eat healthier and exercise more. Check the link on the right for more info. For now, will be putting most of my blogging efforts into this. Check it out and watch me lose some weight and try and become a healthier chef!!

Garden Woes...

I try and think that I am not a demanding person and do not ask for very much. I enjoy the simple things and it really does not take much to please me. I try and be "green when I can", try and be nice to other people and treat everyone with respect, and I love our furry little friends out in the wilderness.

So I go out to the garden the garden this evening to water the tomatoes and my single pepper plant and ALL of my tomatoes are gone, no sign of them anywhere at all. Did a person come by and pick small green tomatoes or was it a dreaded groundhog?

I try and have faith in people and can not think why anyone would want my 8 or 20 tiny tomatoes so I am leaning towards the groundhog theory. I am just really ticked off right now and could really spit nails if there was such a thing. Usually when an animal eats vegetables, they take a bit and move one. So partially eaten parts so I still wonder!

I may not even try a garden next year. Not that I put much into it this year, but this has happened in years past; the groundhogs eat everything. Guess I need to invest in some pest control. There looks to be some interesting solutions out there but do they really work? I wonder!!

Peaches Final

So I finally pulled the peaches off of the tree on Monday. The birds were starting to eat them and that left me little choice. 50 came off total and to be honest, they were not the best peaches in the world but still better than what I have seen in the grocery stores. They were really juicy and slightly tart, not very sweet but sweet enough.

Next year, I will cut back the crop to 25 and see what happens. I hope good weather will grace us next spring like this year. Last year, we had a hard freeze and wiped out most of the peach crops in the south. My little tree was no exception.

I made a peach trifle with the harvest. Concocted a peach filling, cross between a cobbler and jam, and layered this with cinnamon cake, vanilla custard, and whipped cream. Shared this with my church today and most seemed to enjoy. A great flavor combination for sure.

There it is, my peach story for the day! They were good and looking forward to what happens next year! Next on the list is tomatoes. One is almost ready to pick!!

Best movie of the summer?

I saw "Batman" today and just wanted to give a shot opinion. This movie is breaking records left and right and it is pretty good. It was a little bit long for me, mostly towards the end. I enjoy Christian Bale as Batman and he is great in this role. The late Heath Ledger was tremendous as the joker and he would be difficult to replace if the continue this series! I do not think his performance was Oscar worthy. This movie is worth saying but not sure if it lives up to all of the hype. Some of the scenes in the movie are just breath taking!

I feel the best movie of the summer is "Iron Man"! What a ride this movie was and is plus Robert Downey Jr. is great as the reluctant hero and the writing and story is just excellent! What is your favorite movie of the summer so far?

Will have some more peach pictures and stories the next few days! Ciao for now.

Fruit

This post is going to be a little fruity, literally. Just because I finally took some pictures of fruit growing in the back yard! Please enjoy!

This is a peach which is going to make a fine pie, cobbler, or jam! Maybe a month to go before ripe?


My peach tree, so full of peaches and I have already removed more than 50 fruits.


My first tomato of the season. I have 4 plants down but they all went in late, so it may not be a great tomato season for me and Sherry. If we can just get one great tomato!


Finally, blackberries. Have a bunch of fruit but they are taking their time turning. These are the first two ripe ones and it is hard to make something great with only 2 little fruits.


That is my fruit story for today! Happy cooking!

Red Red Raspberries...

I can only remember raspberries being honored as the king of berries in all of my culinary travels over these years. All berries are great and nothing beats a great strawberry, a dark sweet blackberry, a nice and tart blueberry, but for some reason, raspberries seem to always creep to the top of that list. If you have looked at them in the grocery store recently, they are priced in the $4.00+ per 1/2 pint here in southwest Virginia (wonder how much of that cost is in gas since they are surely coming from California?).

Two summers ago, I planted a blackberry bush, 2 raspberry bushes, and a blueberry bush and that first year, there was very little fruit production. Last summer, I can remember picking 5 blueberries, 10 raspberries, and just a couple of blackberries so I was really looking forward to seeing what would happen this spring. Really started to see some great flower bud action a few months back and tonight, I was able to reap the benefits of 2 summers of patience.

Would estimate there is a good pint of berries in the bowl and many more to come. Now, what to do with them? They are really tasty right out of the bowl, and just super sweet. I let them get to the point on the vines where they are almost black in color, or at least blood red. When they turn that color, the flavor is so intense.

This year, I have adopted a more "green" approach to my lawn and garden. No chemicals on the lawn to prevent weeds; only organic pesticides and fertilizers on all plants, but I am trying to avoid all of these things if possible. My garden is very small this year with only 4 tomato plants, 1 banana pepper plant, and one zucchini plant, all planted at the beginning of June so, they may not do very well. My peach tree is doing awesome!! I have had well over 100 peaches on this little tree and it is to the point where I had to start thinning out the crop. More than 50 peaches have been removed over the past few weeks and every time I thin out the fuzzy fruits, the ones left on the tree grow with noticeable vigor. I guess this is like growing grapes for wine; prune back the fruit so the best get the most nourishment and produce the best taste and sugar. If the bugs to not get them all, there might be a peach cobbler in someones future!

I love Duck

Yes, it is true, duck is one of my favorite proteins to cook as well as eat, and it is great fixed in any style. Some people say duck is hard to cook and can be greasy if not done right and can be dry if over cooked. Much of this is true I guess, but regardless, it is just great period.

I have always wanted a pet duck and have asked my wife for years if we could get a pet duck. Because we live in the city, zoning laws prohibit us from getting a pet duck so I have lived with the rubber ducky in our shower for years and years.


A few months ago, we had a pair of ducks show up in our back yard. They do not come every day, only from time to time but I still enjoy watching them. I was able to snap a picture yesterday of the female and she is a grand lady. I wonder if the pair have a nest near by?



I did actually cook duck the last time I was on TV and we talked about her briefly. I do promise I will never cook her and her mate!! But I do love the taste of duck!!

Beer Beer Beer...

I am not a big drinker by any means if measured and compared to many other people. I have no moral objections to drinking except I would not recommend any person drinking and driving. I do enjoy ice cold beer after cutting grass, and I guess you could call me well informed about the science of wine. I rarely drink when we go out to eat.

With all of this said, I have found my new favorite beer. I am not a Bud guy or a Miller man; go for the speciality or micro brews because of the flavors and character they bring to the bottle or mug. My new favorite beer is Magic Hat #9 "not quite pale ale". This beef has a smooth bite and tons of character with apricot flavors finishing off this amazing beer. I first tasted this on tap at Three Little Pigs in Daleville and was just blown away. I did find the beer in bottles at the Towers Kroger but that is the only place I have looked for it. Am glad I found this on my first look.

As I said before, I am just not a big drinker but this beer is a pleasure to sip on these warm, late spring evenings. On another note about alcohol, we ate at a major chain a few weeks ago and had a pina colada and I would estimate there was ZERO rum in this drink. The wife is hyper sensitive to alcohol, usually feeling a buzz after just a few sips. She felt nothing after drinking just about the whole thing. I could not detect any presence of rum at all. I hate to name drop so I will just give a hint of which restaurant we ate at. It begins with "Red" and ends with "Lobster". Does that give it away?? I hate getting ripped off!!

Cheers!

Vacation, Chocolate, Baseball, and Dogs...

I am on "staycation" this week! Much needed time off (2 years since substantial and true time off) and looking forward to a week of not really doing much at all. Inflation and high gas prices have really forced us as well as just about everyone else to evaluate how we do thing so we are staying close to home. Maybe we can get a little work around the house taken care of?

Last night, we went to the local AA pro baseball game and it was very cool. It is a fun time and not really that expensive. Our team is not all that great right now but we still root for them all of the same!

Today, we went to WoofStock, a festival celebrating "Mans Best Friend" in downtown Roanoke. Every breed of dog you can think of every where you look. Monies collected go to a good cause hopefully and we did take our little pooch down there for some fun in the sun. Elmo seemed pretty disinterested and like some other dogs, would of liked to stay home in the AC!!

I am teaching a class on Chocolate soon at my church. It is free to anyone who wishes to attend but we do ask that people coming help provide product so I do not have to cover all of the expenses. A donation can be made if you like but it is not required. As soon as we have the date set, I will let everyone know here and on my web site. We are going to cover some hopefully interesting topics like the history of chocolate, and we will make some savory as well as sweet creations. I am going to keep everything kind of basic and simple. Yes, I did say "Savory" chocolate dishes so we will see how that goes.

You can catch me on the Weekend Diner on June 8 at 8:00 on WDBJ 7 right here in Roanoke. Nothing much more of consequence to speak about for now. Have some fun and if you are not on vacation, think about me and I will try and work in a little relaxation for you as well!

What would you do?

Have you seen this 20/20 series on ABC? Is pretty interesting and quite thought provoking at times. Was watching last night and there was a situation where young kids were on the street in obvious distress and very few people stopped to help. Pretty scary actually.

Last Saturday morning, the wife and myself were grocery shopping and close to being done when a very uncomfortable situation transformed right in front of our eyes. There was a couple shopping and the woman was becoming irritated with her mate to the point where profanity and F-bombs were flying from her mouth; all because the man wanted a package of chicken. It got to the point that we made the effort just to leave the immediate area, just in case something really started to happen. Besides being incredibly embarrassed for this couple, I really felt sorry for this man. I would never put up with something one speaking to me in this manner, married and in love or not. All he wanted was some chicken.

So we were shopping again this morning and I thought about last weekend and what had happened. It is so easy to become cynical in the society we are living. I really feel like I should of said something of comfort to the man. But then these thoughts start to creep in: "What if she has a gun, and she is already this mad over a package of chicken?" "What if I do say something to this man, and he takes offense to me saying something negative about his mate, even though she is treating him below a third class citizen?"

What would you do?

This takes me back 15 years ago. I was driving home from work very early on a Sunday morning, 2:00 am to be specific. A car is parked in the middle of the road and a man and woman are standing in the middle of the street yelling and screaming at each other, waving arms, and something just did not feel right. I kept on driving past. Never even looked back. I have always wondered, was this a set up? Or was there a real situation going on here and he or she needed help? Did some one else stop and get robbed or car jacked? This happened in Richmond in a not so nice neighborhood.

What would you do?

After some discussion about the show last night and what happened last weekend, the wife said, "maybe we should of acted last weekend and said something; we need to have faith and the understanding that everything will work out and we can not just sit by and while something is happening and do NOTHING." What would you do?

Chef Philanthropist?

Not Really! I am not trying to save the world! I do like to do good things when I can though and this has been a good week for helping out. The main event was participating in a dinner for Saint Francis Service Dogs here in Roanoke, Virginia. This organization trains service dogs which assist people with physical handicaps. These dogs change lives and make a difference for people who struggle for independence every day.

So here is the great thing: I was one of 7 featured chefs at this fundraising event at the Roanoke country Club on April 17. Each chef prepared a course served to 180 attendees, all in support of this service dog program. I was in charge of the hoers d' oeuvres (that is the most misspelled word in the English dictionary) and got to help serve guests from platters, explaining what I had put together. I did 4 different canapes: Roasted Fig stuffed with Mascarpone Cheese wrapped in Prosciutto ham with an blood orange balsamic glaze, Black and Blue Beef Tenderloin with Blue Cheese Mousse, Tuna Tartar on Endive with Wasabi Cream, and a Salmon BLT, Salmon Bacon with Heirloom Tomatoes and Micro Greens. All extremely simple but some great flavors going on in there! It was an honor to be associated with such an event and in company with some really great chefs! I was not worthy! But it was still great and very much fun!

My wife and I also helped out a little with Oprah's "Big Give" today. I have been promoting Earth Day all month on my web site as well as at my work place. I do believe we need to start taking steps to help preserve our planet and if all of us can start doing little things right now, BIG changes can happen in a short period of time!

"Highly Paid Teachers"

I have all of the respect for teachers!! I taught high school for a year and a half. I got this from a teacher board and thought it was great!!

Aren't You All Sick Of Those Highly Paid Teachers? Their hefty salaries are driving up taxes, and they only work nine or ten months a year! It's time we put things in perspective and pay them for what they do... baby-sit!

We can get that for less than minimum wage. That is right. I would give them $3.00 dollars an hour and only the hours they worked, not any of that silly planning time. That would be $19.50 a day (7:45 AM to 4:00 PM with 45 min. off for lunch). Each parent should pay $19.50 a day for these teachers to baby-sit their children.

Now, how many do they teach in a day... maybe 30? So that's 19.5 X 30 =$585.00 a day. However, remember they only work 180 days a year! I am not going to pay them for any vacations. Let's see . . .. that's $585 x 180 = $105,300 per year. (Hold on! My calculator must need batteries!)

What about those special teachers and the ones with master's degrees? Well, we could pay them minimum wage just to be fair, round it off to $7.00 an hour. That would be $7 times 6-1/2 hours times 30 children times 180 days =$245,700.00 per year. Wait a minute, there is something wrong here!

There sure is, duh! (Average teacher salary $50,000/180 days = $277 per day/30 students =$9.23/6.5 hours = $1.42 per hour per student.) Very inexpensive babysitter and they even educate your kids! Crazy!

The high cost of Wind...

Global warming is going to be the doom of us all! Maybe or maybe not, I guess they are finding more and more evidence of this each and every day so I say lets go and have a beer, watch the sun set, and listen to some great music! I guess the conversation is coming about because it has been extremely windy here over the past few weeks. Power outages, trees falling down, forest fires, and my shed is gone.

About one month ago on a Sunday, the winds really picked up to the point where it was becoming scary. Gusts over 70 miles per hour, sustained winds of 20 to 40 mph. YIKES is all I can say. About 3:30 that afternoon, my wife took a peak out of the back door and said, " UT OH, UT OH, UT OH, UT OH, UT OH, we have a big mess"!

I asked what are you talking about and she said the shed is gone. And it was gone! The wind had lifted it off of the foundation, blown it to the neighbors fence, and crumpled it up like a beer can at a kegger on a Saturday night! I will attest to the fact that it was heavy! I had to take it apart and get ride of it my self! What a pain in the hind parts!

Granted, this old shed was well past her prime, being made of Aluminum with some steel support, but I was hoping to get one more year out of her. A similar replacement will cost about $300 and I will have to put it together my self. All I can think of is the next big wind storm! The one I really want is around the $1,500 mark (double yikes) and that is about the same amount of cash I am lacking right now. So I go on with no shed for the time being, hoping for the mother of all shed sales to happen very soon!!

In addition to all of this, I got a wonderful case of laryngitis. With the power out at the house for 4 days, and all of the right elements coming together, it has been a struggle to talk over the past month, but my co-workers have loved the break from my talking! It is almost 100% back.

HA!!

You know you have arrived when...

A co-worker came to me the other day and told me an interesting little story. She had gone to her daughters house where there was a new fish with the name, "Chef Jeff". She asked how this came about and was told this: We had purchased a fish from the local pet shop and could not decide on a name for the little one. We happened to be watching a segment on a local television station and saw Chef Jeff doing a cooking segment. So we decided to name the fish, "Chef Jeff".
I have finally made it to the big time!

Am dealing with laryngitis for the fist time in my life. I mean I really can barely even whisper. This really is a hard thing when you lively hood depends on verbal communication! I guess this came about from a fierce wind storm that whipped through here 2 weeks ago. We had forest fires, electricity was out for 4 days, and our shed literally blew away. Many others had it worse off than we did so can not really complain very much. It does stink not being able to talk!
I think my coworkers are enjoying this a little too much!

So that is about it for now. Try and have some fun and do not work so hard. Take a load off and enjoy an adult beverage or a soda if you wish. Go and cook something great!

Why would anyone want to be a chef?

Yes, I am trying to live up to my commitment to blog more for 2008! I will try to keep this going if at all possible. Eating has been ok for the week but not great. I guess the best thing is no fast food at all! Incorporating more vegetables and fruits is the biggest thing. We cleaned out the fridge and there is no more butter, cream, sugary and salty stuff. All of the best things. My wife asks why can't the things which are good for you taste like chocolate?? I have not exercised as much as I should. But have done some. Wednesday was a pretty good night. Will do a little something over the weekend.

I have come to the conclusion that I am just not a very interesting person with little valuable to actually offer or say. This does sound self defeating and a put down but that is the truth. I am not an articulate person. My aunt said she thought I would of been a world famous chef by now. These people are few and far between. The life of a chef is hard: The long hours and physical abuse we put our bodies through result in pain. The mental stress placed on a chef is just brutal and staggering. The tendency to lean on drugs and alcohol is tremendous most of the time. Divorce is rampant in the restaurant industry. Why would anyone want to be a chef?

It does get into your bones and blood and never escapes. Once bitten by this animal, you are destined to a life filled with so many of the for mentioned things. One chef I have really gained an appreciation for over the past few years is Anthony Bourdain. He is just like any other chef I have met; conceded, vain, outspoken, and a brat. I hate the fact that he smokes and is such a butt head but that is who he is. I actually have no idea if the man can actually cook, or I should say cook great or well.

But he is humorous to the core and have really enjoyed watching him on Top Chef and his travel show on the Travel Channel. If I had a better speaking voice, maybe I could of had more fame and fortune? I really think he is a good guy and is one person I would like to sit down with and have a chat some time. Even if he does come off as kind of a jerk.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to All!!

I tend not to make resolutions but this year, I am going to make a few, but instead of calling them resolutions, I will call them commitments. I will strive to commit to:
1. Blogging more often.
2. Eating healthier.
3. Exercising more often.
4. Making better use of my time, work and play.
5. Being a better husband to my wife! (This really is #1 on the list!)
I realize that most of that is cliche but this is what I am doing.

I started the year off today by sticking to my calorie count, exercising for 45 minutes, and had a great work day!

I may have never mentioned this here but Pink Floyd is my all time favorite band and musical act. Have a great appreciation for the musical and lyrical skills of David Gilmour! Do not get me wrong, Rodger Waters rocks also!! I first learned the joy of Pink Floyd at the age of 14 when I went to the "Midnight Movies" back in Richmond and saw The Wall for the first time. How many times I have seen this movie, there is no way to count. I did have the pleasure of seeing the group in 1987 in Providence, Rhode Island and would just about give my right nut to see them again! Probably not going to happen.

So my very first girlfriend wrote me a particular letter on a particular day, many years ago and concluded the letter with what I thought was the most clever quote. " Long you'll live and high you'll fly. Smiles you'll give and tears you'll cry. All you touch and all you see is all that life will ever be." I thought it was just the most wonderful thing I had ever heard and she did say she wrote it just for me. And not too long after, was listening to Dark Side of the Moon, and what did I hear??

I was devastated! But life goes on.