The Irascible Chef

I really think Bad Company was trying to say something about lobster in the song Can’t Get Enough, but at the time society was as progressive as we are today—so I have taken the liberty to change a couple of words and do what Bad Company could only wish to do…

Bad Company Can’t get Enough Lyrics:
one, two, one, two, three er four

Well I take whatever I want
And baby I want LOBSTER
You give me something I need
Now tell me I got something for you
Come on come on come on and do it
Come on n..er do what you do

I can’t get enough of your LOBSTER er huh
I can’t get enough of your LOBSTER
I can’t get enough of your lobster

Well it’s late and I want LOBSTER
LOBSTERS gonna break me in two
Don’t hang me up in your doorway
Don’t hang me up like you do yea
Come on come on come on and do it
Come on and do what you do woooo

I can’t get enough of your LOBSTER er
I can’t get enough of your LOBSTER er huh
I can’t get enough of your LOBSTER

What I say now

My grandmother used to make us fried shrimp as a special treat, so like everything else I had to push it! Fried lobster tail—O M G! I’m starting to tremble just thinking about it! Served with a quick homemade cocktail sauce with plenty of horseradish and lots of lemon—could it be more simple??? It couldn’t have tasted better!

I through together a spinach salad with corn, roasted garlic, and pancetta—oh, no here I go again—AAAAaaahhhhhhhhhhhh! OMG!

Technorati Tags: bacon and roasted garlic, Fried lobster tail, homemade cocktail sauce, irasciblechef recipe, Lobster tail, pancetta, spinach salad with corn

Lifted from the IrascibleChef Blog http://www.irasciblechef.com/you-scream-we-…am-for-lobster/

I have got to apologize upfront. I am so so sorry! Sorry you didn’t get to taste the amazing lobster dinner I had the other night! I still get shivers when I think about it!

Broiled Lobster tail with a lemon, vanilla bean, and cardamon infused beurre blanc.
Served with wilted baby spinach sauteed with garlic and bacon and glazed carrots reduced in kahlua and brown sugar.

The lemony beurre blanc was balanced with just the right amount of vanilla bean so that the lobster flavor and texture remained the star!

Broiled to PERFECTION, plump, moist, yet still complimented by all the subtleness of the vanilla bean and cardamon, and contrasted by the tartness of the lemon butter sauce… The flavors exploded like a symphony in your mouth soothing your very soul. Oh, it was fantastic!

Ingredients and instructions for broiled lobster beurre blanc:

• Lobster tail split and brushed cleaned with butter, lemon, and broiled
• Beurre blanc—standard white wine beurre blanc with lemon, Vanilla bean, and cardamon in the reduction.
• Garnished with lemon and orange zest.

Ingredients and instructions for the glazed carrots in Kahlua:

• Carrots cut into planks, olive oil, onion, garlic, Kahlua, and brown sugar, FC S&P

Ingredients and instructions for the wilted spinach:

• Spinach, garlic, crispy crunchy bacon, olive oil and FC S&P

Technorati Tags: Beurre blanc, Cardamon, glazed carrots in kahlua, IrascibleChef, kahlua, lobster, Recipe, Vanilla bean, wilted spinach

Lifted from the IrascibleChef Blog http://www.irasciblechef.com/spin-on-another-family-favorite/

Baked stuffed bell peppers, the way I’ve had them since I was a child was delicious and I still enjoy them to this day.

The family version of the baked stuffed pepper had an Italian accent of course. The original was half a bell pepper stuffed with a seasoned rice, ground meat, and grated Parmesan cheese filling, topped with a thick tomato sauce and baked in the oven.

Just writing about it brings my grandmother and my great aunt right back here by my side… I can hear their voices, see their cooking techniques, and feel a closeness with them. It is great to spend some time with them again—Ohh, I miss those times, but I do feel lucky enough to have had them in the first place…

My new spin on their classic dish has a Mexican accent. I substitute corn tortillas for the rice and it really is something special!

Ingredients:

• Bell pepper cut in half
• Taco seasoned meat
• Enchilada sauce
• Diced corn tortillas
• Sharp cheddar cheese

Instructions:

• Saute ground beef or pork or turkey in olive oil
• Season with chili powder, cumin, paprika, onion and garlic powder, and cayenne pepper, FC S&P
• Add Chicken Stock
• Add Enchilada sauce
• Add diced tortillas (will end up melting in the pot with all the other ingredients and act as a binding agent)
• When thick and cooled down add shredded cheddar
• Fill peppers and baked until golden brown

Serve with sour cream, jalapeno, and cilantro.

Technorati Tags: and cilantro, baked stuffed pepper, corn tortillas, Enchilada sauce, grandmother and my great aunt, irasciblechef recipe, jalapeno, Mexican accent, Sharp cheddar cheese, sour cream.

Lifted from the IrascibleChef Blog http://www.irasciblechef.com/great-combinations/

A new quick feature!

Edibles and drinkables sometimes even a mix of the two like tonight…

I tried a very affordable very local wine from Wente Vineyards—a 2007 SYRAH from Livermore California. First of all, on its own, it kicks ass! Combined with creamy Cambozola cheese on a water cracker—oh my! Fantastic!

The richness of the Cambozola cheese, which in itself is a combination of a soft French triple cream cheese and Italian Gorgonzola.

Very tasty! Very tasty together indeed!

Few delights are more delectable than filet mignon if it’s cooked right!

I made a quick sauté of some olive oil, bruoised onions, garlic, quartered baby portobello mushrooms, paper-thin sliced jalapeño, and FC S&P.

1 inch filet of beef steaks seasoned with FC S&P in a very hot sauté pan with olive oil—2 min per side, don’t play with it, let the meat sear and crust.

OMG—fan-dab-be-dosey Tastic!

Served with dollops of horseradish and garnished with rosemary.

Technorati Tags: and FC S&P, bruoised onions, filet mignon, garlic, garnished rosemary, horseradish, iChef, olive oil, paper-thin sliced jalapeño, quartered baby portobello mushrooms

Football has my mind on, you guessed it, some world class guacamole!

This recipe couldn’t be easier—COULD NOT!

Ripe avocado,
White onion (Fine brunoise),
Tomato (Fine brunoise),
Jalepeno (Fine brunoise),
Fresh Cracked S&P,
Lime Juice,
Cilantro,
*Tabasco,
*Garlic (pulverized),

Mash it up, adjust seasonings, and have at it with some warm corn chips, or warmed soft corn tortillas. That is the best recipe!

Don’t forget the frosty mug of beer or many icy margaritas!

**********

*Optional

Technorati Tags: cilantro, FC-S&P, Garlic (pulverized), Holy Guacamole, iChef, jalepeno, Lime Juice, Recipe, tabasco, Tomato, White onion

—truth in advertising… I DON’T THINK SO! (isn’t there an obligation???)

Where do I start??? Okay, you decide:
It was late 9:30pm, but they don’t close until 10:30pm and they were still collecting money from the food and drink they served.

The bartender was occasionally attentive and sometimes not… When asked, and in not so many words, he told me that the fried calamari usually looks like a greasy, undercooked, small portion of partially coated, and unclean (still had the cartilage inside it—looks like plastic,) mess of scattered squid rings.

No wasabi aioli, not hot, small portion, undercooked, not cleaned—$11.00, "that's the way it usually is," that's nerve!

Oh, and it was served with a plastic cup of cold tomato sauce on a cheap plastic plate with plastic utensils—quality could be much better for something they charge restaurant prices for. No wasabi aioli as mentioned on the menu. The calamari was warm at best. However, even with a MAJOR lack of appeal, it still managed to have good flavor.
Calamari: FAIL!

The Double Bock seasonal brew was very good! The bartender said it was hoppy, but not close to the hoppiness of Hop Goes the Weasel Ale!
Beer: PASS!

The manager sat at the bar eating and drinking, but not engaging the guests or even asking how everything was.
Manager: FAIL!

I kept hoping to end on a positive note and ordered a grilled turkey sandwich with garlic fries. You gotta have garlic fries at Gordon Biersch! Looked like there were two spots of butter or oil that wasn’t grilled or even toasted. Very lacking in the cheese that the description on the menu mentioned “overflowing.” The inside of the sandwich was grilled in a shoemaker grilling technique. the fries were soaked in oil, cold, and didn’t have any parsley that the picture showed and I’ve had in the past. So, as it turns out you don’t always “gotta” have the GB Garlic fries!

Soggy signature fries, hardly any cheese let alone overflowing, grilled more on the inside than on the outside, 2 sips of beer left to finish all that food with? $11.80—and no offer for more beer???

Garlic fries: FAIL!
Grilled Turkey Sandwich: FAIL!
Menu Truth in advertising: FAIL!

Then the bartender never came back to see how it was or get me another drink, and even after I asked for the check he had to be reminded a second time that he had to get me the check because he was talking to his friend at the bar.
Bartender: FAIL!

I’ve been eating at GB since 1994 and this is the worst ever! I would start with a new manager and crew. I’ve even had better fries at Giants stadium at a baseball game. For the prices they charge and the brand name they are selling everything should be soooooo much better! I would highly recommend that you do not give this GB outlet your business!

Awful! Simply awful!

Gordon Biersch… San Jose Airport JetBlue Terminal
FAIL!

Fly by it!

Technorati Tags: Awful, Garlic fries: FAIL!, Gordon Biersch... San Jose Airport JetBlue Terminal. FAIL!, iChef Review, truth in advertising

Traditions…

I’d like to share a few New Years Eve/Day traditions from my family. These family traditions go back almost a century. They originated with grandmother and her sister, (my second grandmother,) they passed them to us and I hope to pass them on to my children someday…

First you always start the new year going in a positive direction—UP! Start at the bottom of the stairs during the countdown on New Years Eve so that the first thing you do for the new year is ascend. Simple enough: you start the year off in an upward direction.

One of the first dishes I ever made was lentil soup (I was 3 or 4) and I was taught this dish by my grandmother and aunt. This is another tradition—at least a spoonful of lentils to start the new year off. Eating lentils, is supposed to mean a windfall of money for the coming year. (I don’t know about it bringing a windfall, however, I know I could have less money, so I’m too afraid to skip the spoonful of lentils to start each year…)

Last, but not least you need to eat a navel orange and save the peels. This represents good health for the new year. The reason to keep said peels under your bed for the entire year is still under scientific review. Speculation is that the natural oil and alcohol is medicinal and keeps viruses at bay… actually, I just made that last part up!

I needed to eat something for dinner so I through these two little numbers in! I made some bread sticks with fennel, black pepper, salt and olive oil, the perfect accompaniment—crunchy, zesty and a great dippable—They were delicious!

Mussels in a garlic, tomato, Champagne broth—oooh la la!
Garlic
Onion
Champagne (actually sparkling wine!)
Tomato
Fennel
Olive oil
FC S&P

Butter lettuce salad with a light vinaigrette
FC S&P
Olive oil
Balsamic
Oregano
Parmesan
Onion
Garlic

Lentil Stew (a chunkier version of the soup I used to make…)
Onion
Garlic
Prosciutto
Tomato
Fennel
Olive oil
FC S&P

*Topped with Grated Romano and braided bread sticks.

Hats off to my grandmother and her sister! I miss you both very much…

Don’t forget about tradition; traditions keep us connected—they keep people and memories alive forever…

******

Now, go and do!

Go upward, eat a spoonful of lentils, and an orange. I won’t hurt you—at the very least it’ll get you off the couch to get a small workout in, keep you nourished, and prevent scurvy…

Technorati Tags: balsamic, black pepper, bread sticks with fennel, Butter lettuce salad, Champagne, Champagne broth, FC-S&P, fennel, garlic, Grated Romano, Mussels in a garlic, olive oil, onion, Oregano, Parmesan, prevent scurvy, prosciutto, salt, Tomato, traditions

I’m in NY for holiday staying at my favorite Bed and Breakfast in North Salem New York!

It’s freezing here! (and I’m not talking figuratively…)

Penne pasta with broccoli rabe sauteed with garlic and Italian sausage stuffed with broccoli rabe from Arthur Avenue and grated Parmesan—I’m just saying that was dinner…

Washed down with Hop Goes the Weasel Ale! Outstanding! This is going to be a good vacation!

*******

Lunch was Guinness and NY Pizza!

I love this town!

Technorati Tags: Arthur Avenue, Broccoli Rabe, grated Parmesan, Hop Goes the Weasel Ale, iChef, Italian sausage stuffed with broccoli rabe, vacation

Chicken with Artichokes, Sun Dried Tomatoes, and Lemon

Marinate for a day: the chicken with garlic, onion, thyme, olive oil, balsamic, FC—S&P, and dash of oregano.

Roast in a HOT oven: with squeezed lemon wedges, artichoke hearts, chopped sundried tomatoes, white wine. That’s it!

Broil for last 5 minutes for some outstanding color! Can you smell it? Fantastic!

From pan to plate, served with sweet potatoes, to balance some of the tartness of the lemon and balsamic…

Now, you—GO! DO!

Technorati Tags: artichokes, balsamic, Chicken, FC—S&P, garlic, iChef recipes, lemon, olive oil, onion, Oregano, Sun Dried Tomatoes, thyme