Holiday Funny!

There was a large chess tournament held at a hotel, and after the first few games, some of the players gathered in the lobby to talk quite loudly amongst themselves about their various victories. They would boast about their brilliant strategies, sharp tactics, cunning endgame play, each trying to brag of a more impressive victory than the others. After a while, the manager of the hotel came over and asked them to disperse. “You’re disturbing the other guests”, he told them. The group of chess players seemed unhappy about this, but they left the lobby to find a more private area to continue their conversation. Once they were gone, one of the other hotel employees asked the manager, “Why did you ask them to leave the lobby? None of the other guests have complained.” The manager replied, “I just can’t stand chess nuts boasting in an open foyer!”

Allrecipes.com - from small recipes to bulk!

A few things that would be good to understand about recipes:

I personally don’t buy any recipe books unless it is a very unique one. Most recipe/cookbooks are given to me as gifts. Today’s world has just about any recipe or technique at your finger tips thru the internet. I usually buy magazine, technique, how-to, and/or culinary text/educational books.

I have learned many ways of cooking or preparing food just by working with or beside others. Most of my recipes are in my head. and I modify them to the available manpower, ingredients, storage, cooking times, and proper handling that is available. From there I can tweak them and create different tastes, textures, colors, flavors and combinations. I can however produce them (recipes) in bulk format to be written down for others in the galley.

Usually we (I) make it a practice (in the Galley) to not take anyones recipes for several reasons, but here are a few I can think of right now.

• Usually smaller recipes are not translated well for larger groups of people.


• Multiplying does NOT always work when using smaller recipes.


• Lack of or different ingredients.


• And, no matter how hard we try, its probably not going to taste like you remember it.

General suggestions -however- do help. Because they stimulate the ‘how to’ process of what exactly we may be able to cook with what we have…and if its feasible for time and preparation.

Below is a widget that display some recipes from allrecipes.com . I chose this for those of you who would like to see some good and ever expanding recipe collections that even I use in the kitchen. Allrecipes.com is not the fancy Michelin 3 star or NYC 4 star rated restaurant food (although I would say some of their recipes probably taste better)…BUT everyday ‘Good Stuff’!

In addition to that allrecipes.com tells how many star rating it is out of 5 stars, and it tells you how many people voted on it. For example I want the simplest, best tasting, pumpkin pie recipe there is on the site. One recipe has 5 stars but only 2 people voted on it, so I go to the next one that has 4.5 stars but 67 people say it was good. I would pick that one. Then to take it a step further, if 3 recipes had about the same rating and people voting…then I would pick the one with the least and easiest ingredients to get and the simplest instructions to put the dish together.

Also, allrecipes.com has user reviews for the recipes so even though you see a 5 star recipe voted by 200 people they may still tell you it was a little bland and to add some hot sauce. So then if you have time, you see if it was an overall consensus that it was bland and then adjust accordingly.

If that wasn’t enough, allrecipes.com has a US and Metric scaling and conversion calculator for making those small recipes feed hundreds of people. So simple, so easy…But yes, you still need to know how to cook.

If you really want to take it a little deeper, Cooks Illustrated (.com) is like the online consumer report magazine for cooks but that will cost you a yearly subscription for access to their site and there is so much more than the magazine at your fingertips.

Get this widget!

Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles - Social Club and Cocktails

From A few surprises

So I found the perfect club that I would want to check out and possibly consider a membership to (found on 69 right off the loop in Tyler Texas across from Baird's Bread Store)...but I am never in the neighborhood when they are open.

Since I am way behind in competing with Jeremy's 'Signs of a fine establishment, pt.??' (although I could probably catch up with pics from Liberia and Alabama) I will leave you with my title for this picture:

Gotta get me a membership!!!

Free Taco's from Taco Bell

Free Taco Day !!!

I lifted this announcement from - TheHomelessGuy

Get a free taco today, at Taco Bell, between 2 and 5pm. FREE TACO

More Info

Don't miss out...leave it to the homeless to keep up with free food!

Refried Beans

After a few requests for my recipe on refried beans, I decided that maybe someone actually does want the recipe. And this time I actually do remember 'about' what I put in them!

This time around I did not have the time to cook the beans myself so I bought them from the store in 28oz cans already cooked. Pinto beans.

• 5 cans 28oz Pinto Beans


• 2 Tablespoons Butter


• 1 Onion diced


• 1 Tablespoon Chicken soup base (or maybe 2 or 3 of those bouillon cubes)


• 1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder


• 1 Tablespoon Dried Cilantro (although fresh would probably be better)


• 1 or 2 Tablespoons Roasted Cumin (more about this later)


• 1 Lime (for juice)


• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more if you can take it)


• Salt & Pepper to taste if needed (I did not need this after using the chicken bouillon)

Start in a pot on medium to medium-high heat and melt butter. Then add diced onion and cook/saute stirring occasionally until onion is translucent. Add 3 cans of beans, 2 cups of water, and chicken bouillon, stir and heat till boiling, reduce to simmer or slow bubbles. Using a hand potato masher or stick blender bring the beans to a smooth or almost smooth puree consistency. Now add garlic powder, roasted cumin, and dried cilantro to beans and stir.

Add the next 2 cans of beans, and stir. If consistency is too watery then let it simmer for a while and keep checking on it. If it is too thick then just add a little water (or more butter for a creamier taste and consistency). Let simmer for a few more minutes. If you want the texture of the refried beans to all be the same then add all the cans of beans together then use a potato masher or stick blend to desired smoothness. And of course for chunkier beans just add and skip that step. The more you cook them the more they will naturally break down.

Pull from stovetop/eye and cut the lime in half in order to squeeze the juice in, stir then cover till ready to use.

* NOTES ON ROASTED CUMIN: Use whole cumin seeds and roast/saute them in a pan over stovetop/eye till you smell a smoky but not burnt smell and the seeds seem more caramel or toasted in color then grind in a coffee bean grinder. Or if you have powdered cumin you can repeat the same process but with more tosses of the pan so as not to burn the powder because it will 'toast' more quickly. You can also do this in the oven, but using such a small amount that would be overkill unless you already had your oven on for something else. Pan sauteing (roasting) will be quicker. If you don't want to grind the seeds then start them when you start the onions in the pot to get the desired taste (although you may have to pick a cumin seed or two out of your teeth later, usually they soften up sufficiently to not be worried about them).

I personally like a few dashes of Cholula hot sauce or Chipotle Tabasco right before serving.

Al Donalds (McDonalds up and coming competition?)

Alright, all you international foodies...can you tell me what country this is in? Better yet, to double the prize can you tell me what city? And for all you Mercy Ship'rs for the grand prize of getting public recognition on my world-renowned blog...tell me who has been there?

The clock is ticking...

5 things you should eat before you die?

clipped from blog.ruhlman.com Beauty Itself On a recent trip to Durham I taped an interview with the NPR affiliate WUNC during which I suggested that one of five things you should eat before you die is the meat of a freshly slaughtered animal, preferably having witnessed the slaughter. Verlyn Kinkenborg says something very much the same in "Two Pigs" on the Times editorial page today, but with considerably more eloquence Posted by michael ruhlman | Permalink

I vaguely keep up with the culinary world at large since I am in the food service industry and felt compelled to share the above post clipped from another site I frequent.

There were many comments that ranged from mild to ludicrous but I wanted to weigh in with my own thoughts on that matter and maybe bring up something to think about when you sit down for your next meal. The following was my comment I left there:

Couple of comments...

I have witnessed a few slaughters, both in this country and in others...

It may give you more respect for the process, but not for the animal per se...the animal doesn't care what respect it gets once its dead and whats the point in having respect for an animal because you saw it slaughtered?

What makes it 'noble' to see a slaughter? Or double points?

Come on, what Ruhlman said was "I suggested that one of five things you should eat before you die is the meat of a freshly slaughtered animal, preferably having witnessed the slaughter."

Witnessing the slaughter came second to eating the meat in his statement.

The education, process, and knowledge behind the slaughter is whats beneficial towards appreciating food...isn't that why we shout, wine, and cry over the outrageous facts we find out about processed food and soy product substitutes being mixed in with our 'Big Burger' at the fast food restaurants? Or the additives, preservatives, handling, and/or lack of taste from buying our meat at the grocery store?

Of course you can feel a sense of pride, accomplishment, and/or achievement over catching, killing, and preparing your own food; MEAT or VEGETABLE. Because you have brought it full circle. It should taste better because you have been there for every step of the process, the finished meal was your creation, you do not have any questions about the practices of how it got to your plate...you have replaced the uncertainty of the dish with complete knowledge of what it takes to get it to the table.

This is a basic principle that you have been taught and practiced since childhood (no, not slaughter) when you tell everyone else to back off and let you do or experience it all. Sometimes you regret it, sometimes you love it, sometimes it changes your life whether positively or negatively.

Ever had Iguana? I wish I had left it alive...its better as a pet, or free running lizard.

tyrone

Off Tract

From time to time I find an interesting blog that really gets my attention and then I usually find a post or two that gets me interested.  The following post was copied from THE HOMELESS GUY in Nashville TN.  Kevin is a Christian and homeless...And posts are/come from his knowledge of being chronically homeless.  Check out his site sometime and catch a few articles of his...you might be surprised what 'grabs' you!

Off Tract

Posted on April 10, 2007 by TheHomelessGuy

Someone recently asked about religious tracts for the homeless. For those who don’t know, tracts are small pamphlets some Christians use as a way to promote the faith. Personally, I’ve never known tracts to be an effective means of ministry, especially to non-Christians. And they often have the opposite effect - instead of bringing people closer to god, they often turn people away from Him.

Faith is a personal thing, and can only be properly dealt with on a person to person basis. Personal interaction is needed, and tracts are not personal. If anything, tracts are about as impersonal as you can get - and are often used so to avoid personal contact with people. Handing a person a piece of paper and then walking away from them is not how Jesus teaches how to minister to people.

Throw those tracts into the trash, and go out and meet people, and talk to people, and get to know them, and their needs, and help those people you encounter to meet their needs because that’s what God wants you to do. Then these people, so effected by your act of kindness, will be converted and they will begin doing as you do - going out and meeting people and meeting their needs, with the help of God.

And that brings up another subject.

What a weak and selfish people Christians have become. Even the well intentioned Christians get it wrong and make mess of things. When a Christian encounters a person with a problem, they will introduce Jesus, and tell the person with the problem that Jesus will help. And then the Christian leaves the person with the problem alone with Jesus, for them to work out the problem between themselves.

As Christians we are called to help people, and to be the problem solvers. We are supposed to be involved in the solutions. It is not our calling to point people in the direction of help, we are supposed to be the help. Passing out Bibles, or tracts, or inviting people to Church, is a way of avoiding our calling. We serve no one when we pass the buck, not our fellow citizens, not our God.

Old friends, New friends.

Posted by: StephanieRN

On Thursday I got a phone call from Tyrone saying that he wanted to have some friends (Chasity and Janel)over that night that he knew from Mercy Ships and of course I said sure. It was so fun to meet people that Tyrone and known before me and get to know them. Tyrone made us yummy frozen coffee drinks and I baked cookies and we chatted the night away. I think that at times it was Tyrone that felt out numbered being that he was the only guy, but he loved it.

Chocolate truffle ravioli with...

So I guess my playing around with the pasta roller 'rolled' on over into work.

As of the beginning of this week (maybe earlier, I don't know) our International Board (capitalization?) was here at the Operations Center for conferences and meetings. Meaning: they wanted us to plan some lunches that would be lite (mind read salads) so possible board members would be more alert for 'meetings' and such...And because they would be taking them out to eat dinner later in the evening for a more 'full' meal. But anyways...

One of the desserts led me to get a little creative. Using a chocolate truffle recipe that Gary (fellow Chef) gave me and some fresh made pastas rolled thru the machine, we put together our Chocolate Truffle Ravioli with a Vanilla Bean & Cardamom White Sauce accented with a Raspberry Glaze...Yes, I know - How delicious! hahaha!

The trick with the fresh pastas is frying it which melts down those oo-ee gooey truffle centers...enjoy the slide show:

One by One...

Posted by:  StephanieRN

As the time comes closer to moving out of our apartment and onto the base then eventually onto the ship my things (my lovely, wonderful possessions) find new homes. Today my dining table and chairs got packed onto a truck and hauled away. It was bitter sweet. I probably won't miss my table per-say, but the girl that I am attaches memories to my things. But then again, because our belonging are gone we have much more flexibility in order to live on a ship and live out our dreams. Oh man, if I get this emotional over my table I imagine I will be a mess when I have to see my amazing collection of shoes step into new feet.

Pasta Roller, Pantry, & Packing

As we start cleaning, packing, and moving stuff in order to get our apartment empty since our lease is up at the end of the month I broke out the pasta machine one last time before the dust collecting storage.  It's been nice having the challenge of using everything up but still trying to create that great meal out of dwindling pantry supplies that will not be restocked.

Tonight I made a simple tomato sauce with canned (that's right, Muir Glen organic fire-roasted) tomatoes, garlic, oregano, and a little red wine.  Oh yeah, a little of the extra virgin olive oil.

The pasta was pretty simple, a pinch of salt, cup and half flour, pour of oil, and a few eggs...when it starts coming together in little balls is a good sign just to smoosh it all together in a ball and let it rest in the fridge for about 15 minutes.  Roll it thru the pasta roller down to 2, my pasta roller goes from the high numbers to the low.  Our pasta roller at work goes from low to high, kinda crazy huh?!

Instead of going the simple (or hard?) way of rolling it thru the fettuccine or spaghetti cutter I cut 2-inch squares and finger egg-washed the edges of the square folding the sheets over some pan sauteed leftover spinach mixed with some shredded provolone cheese.   (I threw a quick fix of cajun seasoning in there too...just for good measure.)

Read the labels on your spice mixes if you have them, usually no matter what they call it there are a few that have all the flavors you want.  Like Cajun seasoning, it usually has some salt, pepper, cayenne, garlic, onion, etc...and 'other' assorted spices.  I usually don't buy spice mixes because I have so much of everything I can make about any mix I want.  But there are a few that seem to be good quick solutions to bump up a little flavor.

Anyway...Maybe you remember a few posts ago about Konop Meat Market in Wisconsin and how my mother-in-law bought up a bunch of meat for me?  Well, I oven-roasted them in foil.  They were called Swiss & Mushroom Brats (totally pork) and maybe you're saying they didn't really go with the pasta and sauce...but you can't tell my stomach or my wife that.  We are sitting pretty with a smile on our faces.

Last but not least, I had some sweet white wine I wanted to use up so I poached a few fresh pears I had with a little cinnamon sugar mixture (I also wanted to get rid of).  Made a little caramel-type sauce with the leftover juices and poured them over the pears which were on top of some puff pastry (that I also had in the freezer begging to be used).  Yes, it could have been better but nobody cared to go get the ice cream so we had to suffer and eat it like it was.

Kinda made me feel like a 'Door Knock Dinner' success...what is that?  It's an old Food Network show where...oh never mind.

Ethical Fried Chicken and a caterers dilemma...

Suppose your business was asked to cater a backyard picnic for forty that consisted of several side dishes say like:  texas caviar (a blackeyed pea cold salad kind of dish), potato salad, spinach salad, corn bread.  The main dish is Fried Chicken.

Lets say your commercial kitchen was not really outfitted for a fryer but added a small one (and I mean small, one basket tabletop) as a side thought 'just in case' would be the reply.

After cooking all the other dishes for the event you had the bright idea of saving yourselves some time and headache and increasing your chances for delivering hot, juicy (maybe still crunchy, the event was 30 minutes away from our kitchen) fried chicken by just picking up several 'mixed' chicken buckets from a local fried chicken place (closer to event, 5 minutes away) and then just putting them, the buckets of chicken, in your chafing dishes.

What would be the harm in that?  Is there some line the caterers would cross by doing that?  Or, is it ethical?

Hmmm...there is a poll please cast your vote or leave me a comment.   Just leave a comment please, crusty old poll froze up on me!!!
[poll=1]