Why we do it!

As I get older/wiser/crazier (pick one), I am realizing more and more why I do what I do and kick myself in the butt for not realizing my passion for cooking earlier on in life!

It's not like I did not have the 'signs'... From my mom teaching me how to make Sizzle Burgers (basically hamburgers fried in Worcester sauce before I was in my teens, from having Fondue parties back in the 70's when I was in High School, from cooking in the Atlantic City Boardwalk, again in the 70's, to having 'Protein Feast BBQ's' when I lived in Sonoma, CA in the late 70's, to having always looked through the food sections in the newspapers, seeing something and thinking, 'Oh, I gotta try that' and so on...

But nooooo, had to go into sales and make the easy money...

It was not until I had moved to Grand Junction in the early 2000's, went through a few jobs, was driving a cab one day and said.. 'I gotta change my life... what have I always loved to do... cook! Called up the local college, then Mesa State College, now Colorado Mesa University, asked if they had a culinary program, which they did, called Dan Kirby head of the program, who met with me the next day, spent a few hours just talking and I enrolled the next day. The full story is on our website.

Now that I been in the culinary field for over a decade, I still think back and wonder how much better I would have been if I had realized this passion earlier.. yeah, I know hindsight 20/20 and such.

But I also realize that basically I am much happier than I was in sales. Yeah, making money, spending money, but not really satisfied.

Again, having been in the field now for this time, I have had the opportunity to see many chefs, cooks and students, cooked for weddings, office parties, special events and with our cheesecakes and I think that I am one of the lucky ones.. I actually wake up a lot, thinking about food and what I can do to make people go.... Damn!! That's Good!! I love to cook!

At Decadence Gourmet, we have one simple mantra as to why we do what we do...

'The look on people's faces when they take their first bite!'

That's it, that's what it is all about!

Now, I have seen many people in our industry that seem to be in it for the wrong reasons, in it for just the money (good luck on that one!), or just going through the paces, same stuff all the time, nothing really innovative, hoping that their food is 'passable'. I just cant be one of those people...

There are a lot of chefs/cooks out there that know more than I do, are more technically advanced, but I doubt if many of them have more passion, there are a few and in a way, I hope that I am wrong, but.. how many times do I have to see Truffle Fries on a menu and people think that is something new?

It is all of our duties to 'push the boundaries' somewhat.. to try something new and let people know that while 'tried and true' is ok,,, there are other things out there!

One of the chefs here in town that I look up to is Josh at Bin707. Josh is always looking to reinvent food, to put out plates that make people go ..Damn!! When I have guests or family in from out of town, his place is a must-go. Check out their menus (and it updates..) and you will see what I mean...

So, people like Josh at Bin707, Theo at 626onRood and some others that I have met, reinforce my belief that some are in this business for the right reason!

Now go on out there and get your grub on!

What is a Chef?

Over the past few years, I have had people call me ‘Chef’… and I have mixed feelings about that!

Yes, I am a culinary school graduate (with honors), yes, I run a food business and have survived (and grown) even with the supposedly receding recession, yes, I do try to push some boundaries, especially with our cheesecakes  and our ‘En Fuego’ cooking, but I do not consider myself a chef. When people ask, I call myself a ‘Cook from Jersey’!

I have hired culinary students, both here and in Virginia that know way more about ‘fancy’ cooking that I do. I know many chefs and cooks around town (Josh from Bin707, Theo from 626 on Rood, Diana Tarasiewicz, from DMT Catering and now District 51, Jonathan from Craving,  Chef’s Jon, Wayne and Dan Kirby from Colorado Mesa University’s Culinary Program, are just a few that come to mind, who have forgotten more than I will ever know!

While I have always loved cooking, I came into this industry late in life (after the age of 50!) and wonder, how much more would I know (and have learned) if I realized that this should be my profession years ago?

So, am I a chef?  No… a Cheesecake Savant.. maybe? (Come on, Ghost Peppers in a cheesecake?) And you gotta try our Colorado-Style Southern Chow-Chow, which will be unveiled at the Downtown Farmer’s Market in August. (Think Southern Relish meets En Fuego!)

To me, a chef is more than just a great cook. A chef knows how to hire the right people, train them the right way, in the right procedures (miz en place anyone?) and also knows how to give them a little room (not too much, at first!) and then can work with them and is able to get the most out of them, sometimes even more than they know they had in them.

A chef puts out food that makes people think, that makes people go ‘Whoa!’ and one who can do so again, again and again!!

Scary thing, well maybe not so much…. There are many great home ‘chef cooks’ out there! How many of us in the industry learned from their mom (or dad)? How many of their recipes have we adapted over the years and even have brought them into our professional lives?

Ya gotta love cooking and food and what it brings into our lives.. so go out, check out what our area chefs and cooks can do and then go home, and as we say a lot.. Play with your Food!

The ‘Website of the Week’ is Chef2chef.net. This is a great site about the industry and also has some tasty recipes. Our ‘Recipe of the Week’, Hawaiian Chocolate Brownies, is also from that site.

You can now also follow the adventures of Decadence on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Decadence-Gourmet-Cheesecakes/171538834903 ,on Twitter (www.twitter.com/decadenceGJ) and on Pinterest (http://www.pinterest.com/circ2000/decadence-cheesecakes-cooking-thoughts/).

Recipe of the Week...

Hawaiian Chocolate Brownies Recipe

(from Chef2chef.net)

Servings: 16 large or 24 small brownies

The addition of coconut and macadamias makes these rich brownies even more decadent and delicious.

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks (16 tablespoons) butter, more for pan and parchment paper
• 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped macadamia nuts

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Butter a 9x13 baking pan and line with buttered parchment paper.
3. Place butter and chocolate in a bowl and place bowl over a pot of barely simmering water.
4. Cool slightly.
5. In a large bowl whisk together eggs, salt, sugars, and vanilla.
6. Whisk in cooled chocolate mixture.
7. Fold in flour just until combined.
8. Stir in coconut and macadamias and pour batter into prepared pan.
9. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until shiny and beginning to crack on top.
10. Cool completely in pan on rack before cutting.

 

Cooking for the Love of It!

Cooking for the Love of It!

One of the things I love about traveling and finding new food places is having the opportunity to talk with the cooks and chefs, finding out what drives them, why they do they do,

Now, yes, we run into people who do it just as a job (and there is nothing wrong with that), but occasionally and as I frequent non-chain, smaller places, more now than in years past, I am finding people that really just love to cook!

In the past few years, I have had the chance to talk with the chef/owner of Cecelia’s Café in Albuquerque, the owner of Roque’s Carnitas, on the Plaza in Santa Fe, Chef/Owner Maria from Maya in Richmond and yes folks, even people here in the Grand Valley; Joe from the Palisade Brewing Company and we all know how Josh from Bin707 thinks about food.

I count myself in this category and I am lucky to have people working for me that feel the same way. We just love to cook, we love to try some new things and we love to ‘play with our food’! For those of you who have stopped by any of our ‘Pop-Up/Flash’ restaurants, you have seen what I mean. (and yes, we will be having more this summer, keep an eye here and on our Facebook page for announcements.

But this love of cooking is not limited to those of us who cook for a living! Some of the best cooks around are not professional, they did not go to culinary school, and the biggest crowd they have cooled for is their family, they might not know who Escoffier was, but they are good!

A lot of people are not fans of the Food Network, the Cooking Channel or the preponderance of cooking magazine that are out there and yes, I agree that there are dumb cooking shows, elitist shows and such, but I love the majority of them. I like to watch some of the shows, read the magazines, both of which I have a note pad next to me, writing down notes & ideas, tearing out pages that I really want to try (and yes, that shelf is overflowing!), maybe see a new twist, a new flavor combination, a new technique, ya never know!

So for all of you who love to cook, I salute you!! And for those of you who don’t think they have the skills, yeah, you probably do, so as I have said here before… Play with your Food!

Time for a giveaway!! Email me your favorite go-to recipe! If we run yours, you win… An ‘IN-N-OUT’ decal!!

Yeah, our ‘Website of the Week is a neat site I found, That’s My Home (http://thatsmyhome.com/) and has a lot of recipes, home-cooking style!

Our 'Recipe of The Week' is from that same site, Vineyard Chicken!

You can know also follow us on Pinterest; Decadence Gourmet Cheesecakes and Decadence Cheesecakes Cooking Thoughts... Check them out and let me know what you think!

You can now also follow the adventures of Decadence on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Decadence-Gourmet-Cheesecakes/171538834903 ,on Twitter (www.twitter.com/decadenceGJ) and on Pinterest (http://www.pinterest.com/circ2000/decadence-cheesecakes-cooking-thoughts/).

We are loading up recipes and discounts on our Facebook page and will also be letting our ‘fans’ know of upcoming events, sales and the like. There are even videos! Check it out and become a fan!

Vineyard Chicken

(from That’s My Home)

4 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried basil, finely crushed
1/2 teaspoon ground sage
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
4 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar or rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 cups halved red seedless grapes
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
Cut each chicken breast in half, lengthwise.

Mix together salt, basil, sage, paprika, garlic powder, white pepper and flour.
in a Ziploc bag, toss the mixture with the chicken strips. Save any excess seasoned flour.

Heat oil and butter in skillet.

Add chicken and cook both sides over moderately high heat until golden brown.

Add garlic and sprinkle in any leftover seasoned flour from the Ziploc bag. Add broth, vinegar, and lemon juice. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Uncover chicken and add grape halves to chicken in pan and simmer for 5 minutes longer or just until chicken is tender and juices run clear.

Remove chicken and grapes to heated serving platter. Boil pan liquid for 1-2 minutes to reduce, then pour over chicken.

Sprinkle with parsley and crumbled feta cheese.

Makes 4 servings.