Rock and Roll may soothe the soul but Osso Bucco makes me hot and bothered...

I love the rich , deep flavors that fall brings. Fall and Spring bring the best variety in terms food.
I mean , really venison, turkey, cranberries, squashes, rabbit,potatoes, root vegetables apples and pears..mmmmm
The colors of lend themselves to creative palates of dark chocolate browns and , deep sienna reds , burnt oranges and rich yellows.
We also indulge in musky ,oakie, earthy  flavors...you almost feel like your tasting the mother nature. Rich goat cheese is made,  pomegranates  their rich color and antioxidant qualities are just the surface beauties of this hard to get at seed that adds texture and a burst of flavor to salads and sauces.
Fall harvest my favorite herb: Thyme. I LOVE THYME.....it goes with everything...salads, sauces, soups, ice cream( yes Ice Cream!!!!!) not one thing except say sushi can be enhanced by thyme.

Fall is probably one of the most over looked culinary seasons. People tend to lean to heavy dishes of stews and casseroles as the weather cools. But this need not be the case. Osso Bucco can be a light earthie dish  ,rich in oak and current flavors if done right.
Butternut squash and acorn squash tend to be over cooked then mashed up with cream and butter...nothing wrong in that. But why not simpley  steam them and puree with a bit of vegetable stock or soy milk for a light healthier soup or side. I personally like to roast either with olive oil and kosher salt...nice and carmlized.

And what about meats? Have you given Bison a whirl? Much leaner and tastier than regular beef. Makes excellent chili..but can be slightly pricier...FYI...ground beef peeps: get the 90/10 blend...better for you. and yields more end product than the much fattier 70/30 blend.
Or maybe rabbit and venison? A bit more of game taste to them but lean and delish!!


Hasenpfeffer rocks!!!


but i ramble as usual. ......

I almost forgot one of my favorite foods: APPLES !!!!!!
I love apples as much as i love diet pepsi!!!!! I mean they are so good in stuffing, pies , sauces, chutneys,bread muffins ...gosh i could go on and on!!!!!!!!

APPLE BROWN BETTY!!!!!!

OK SO i THINK YOU GET MY DRIFT!!
I will go have to find my fav apple recipe and post it. .....that's if i can find it in the mess i call home..lol

All good things to those who wait

I suppose in this day and age of " Give it to me now or I'll cut the bitch" attitude, It doesnt surprise me the lack of food knowledge among the younger generation. Yes, I am speaking to you miss 18 -25 year old.

Not everyone has the patience to cook what people coin as gourmet meals. Hell most chefs would rather nawh at a piece of MR to almost with a pulse slab of beef than eat escargot or pigeon. But we know what we are eating.
I have listen to many a child( I will call my "students " child as a general term and is in now way meant as belittling to them) ask.."what is it " to something as painfully obvious as country fried steak but will shoval other things that just because there is one thing familiar on it they assume it is what it is,only to get surprised....I actually do love the.."oh shit " look.

It's painful to see kids load their plates up with pizza hamburgers and wraps all on my plate then have the balls to turn to us and say I have stomach problems because of the food you serve me. Guess again sunshine.
Even my 10 year old knows that he should have 4-6 servings of fruit a day.

Personal responsibility about food seems to have gone by the waste side these days and its easy to blame the food service industry than to say.." well I am a fat fuck so maybe i shouldnt eat 4 slices of pizza , two burgers, two desserts and a salad loaded with ranch and shredded cheese. I serve 90% good solid homemade food. Sure there are some "canned" products and prepared foods that we use as a convience but not as often as you running to Taco Hell for your Gorditio fill.


Love your body...listen to it and its natural cycle....eat decently....I am not an advocate for all natural organic tofu woohooo stuff. But you dont need a dozen doughnuts..not even a chick on her worse PMS day could do that ..........

...............................well maybe if there was a diet pepsi or two involved.

Has the world stop spinning???

I have finally found someone who is over CUPCAKES!!!!!

How can you be over CUPCAKES???? They are the perfect portable food and tidy neat package....
What is wrong with a tasty little treat.....

So to spite them ...I give you :

THE PANCAKE -BACON courtesy of Yummy Cupcakes(who have the best variety of cupcakes):

More Food Porn

my 1/2 eaten English Breakfast @ Duke of Gloucester in Toronto...not shown is my pint(s)..

Four great things....Beef Tenderloin MR,Steamed Asparagus, Popover , and HOLLANDAISE...mmmm

Beef Tenderloin wrapped in BACON

Not exactly food but mmmmmmmm BEER!!!!

Vegetarian Delights(Wild Mushroom Tarte Tatin w/Tomato Coulis and Baby Carrots)

Experimental open Sushi

Chocolate Ravioli

I had a crazy idea that i would make gravloxs during the busiests period of the year ,short staffed. It turned out GREAT!!!!!

See ..........I am wearing my big girl pants...and jacket and headband..

Don't let the door hit ya where the good lord Split ya.

The food service indusrty has one of the highest turn over rates. It can get quite expensive to keep training and etc new staff every few weeks and also very annoying.

Most fast food places expect this and have factored this into their budget. But places like where i work, our turn over rate is only applied to our student workers. The biggest turn over happens within the first few weeks of the semester. Then it tapers and we can pretty much tell who will stay and who wont make it.....they are easy to spot. ..freak outs over more than two orders at a time. It's sad but sometimes kids just can't juggle work and school.

But what we as mangers don't expect is when a long time employee who we are trying to coach and nurture and help expand their skills so they can move up fucks us over and ups and quits.

Now I understand when people feel they have gone as far as they can and feel that the new position they have found is better for them....GO FOR IT. But have a bit of class and backbone.....wait scratch that ,  I mean manners and maturity to give your place of current work more than an hour notice.

This just happen to us after this particular person was getting all my love and help and I was trying to take them under my wing so to speak and they were doing great. Myself and another manager covered for them in a emergency...no questions asked. They got away with a lot of stuff  that in any other place , they would have gotten written up for.
So instead of given us some common courtesy.... they came in and said this is my last day.
To which we say....SEE YA!!!! and don't come back looking for your job cause it won't be here.


Who is teaching people to act like this??? This not the first time I have been at places where people either stop showing up( my favorite was I had a employee who never showed up for his shift one day and when I called him he told me he called and left a message saying he was quiting....oh really with who because ya didnt talk to me....dumb ass) or quit without two week or even a weeks notice.

COMMON SENSE PEOPLE. if you work somewhere for more than a year....you might want to do yourself a BIG favor and don't fuck your employer  over. Someday you might want a super duper  reference from them......

Tip Your Hat and Beer to Mr. Guinness

Sorry Arthur G!! I am late by a day. Was to wrapped up in Harps( Guinness light to you weirdos) to remember to write my love "poem"

Thanks to you I can make stew  laced with rich thick stout. Because of YOU, my fondue is creamy yumminess.
Thanks to your beer there is ice cream in my mind( because i forgot to get the rock salt) that will be enriched by your deep darkness...mmmmmmmmm

250 and you don't look a day over 249.