Ants in the Chefwork Pants, A Worthy Meal, Decadent Mousse

“It is not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?”
― Henry David Thoreau

January 19^th 2012

I just returned from a rather impromptu meeting with a very successful and established company based out of Orange County.  My spirits are high to say the least.  As an entrepreneur of the last 10 years I should establish that I sought out the intriguing path of ownership merely because it had become obvious that my talents, ambition and work drive would only continue to have been exploited should I have stayed on as an employee at any given enterprise.  I always treated any business as if it were my own and subsequently not enough of those business owners took the extra steps needed to show such appreciation for my efforts be that in the form of compensation, gratitude or generosity.  For the first time in years, I now consider the possibility of going to work for another institution.  Why you might ask?  Well let me tell you . . . 

These two gentlemen clearly needed no pushing or prodding in understanding my worth.  Their diversified food service company they have built is well structured and delivers a product above all competitors not to mention that they are family owned and operated.  All of these qualities I hold dear to my heart and for the moment . . . there is a possibility that patiently awaiting the right opportunity was the right thing to do!  Imagine that!  After unfolding my desires to the Universe, evaluating countless possibilities, turning down numerous partnerships . . that the right thing would finally present intself?  There are no guarantees in life, but I remain optimistic that indeed this might be the next path for Chef Scotty.

What would this mean?  The cookbooks would still roll-out, this personal journal would persist no less than a gnat at a summer’s picnic and yes, I’ll still be making that forever elusive entrance on Food Network but what it truly means – I would have a solid purpose again, something to sink my teeth into and generate fruitful results!  The last few weeks have been all too inhibitive, wandering is not natural to my stature, I must do more than regain my footing . . . I’m ready to sprint like a cheetah in the open Sahara and ain’t no gazelle gonna escape me!

So with a touch of positivity, I should offer up some serious culinary tribute today.  How’s about a passionate Italian meal of both the savory sort & sweet temptation?  Make sure you take the time to shop properly, nurture each ingredient into passive collaboration and evoke senses that endeavor to flourish beyond the known palette of persuasion - I will surely follow suit!

With Culinary Blessings,

                      Chef Scotty

A Tuscan Tribute Dinner

This Italian stallion meal involves more than just reading a recipe – shopping at an italian market will inspire you as well as save you loads of cooking time!  Prepare everything the day before, be organized, have a bit of trust in yourself, utilizing all of your senses . . . and you’ll surely craft a night to remember

Your Basic Italian Shopping Ingredients:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (truffle oil please!)

5 Fresh Pasta Sheets (goggle your local pasta maker)

Wild Rocket (organic arugula)

Porcini Mushroom

Mascarpone

Balsamic Vinegar

Italian Nosh Foods: Grapes, Proscuitto & Melon, House dried Tomatoes, Oil Cured Olives, Fresh Basil, Cheeses, Fresh Ciabatta Bread, Anti-pasti, Artichoke Hearts . . . don’t forget the Vino!

For the Ricotta Filling

Makes more than one dinner’s worth (individual freeze pasta pillows then place in freezer bag – these are great for dinner parties)

1 Tub Whole Ricotta, drained & pressed

4 Cups Shredded Provolone

¼ C Garlic, minced

¼ C Tarragon, chopped

½ C Basil, chopped

3 Tbsp. Cracked Black Pepper

1/8 Cup Lemon Juice

¼ Kosher Salt (or to taste)

1 tsp Cayenne

4 Eggs

Directions: To make filling – press ricotta 1 day prior by wrapping in cheese cloth or lining any linen towel in a colander (this will extract the unwanted extra water).  In a separate bowl, beat 3 eggs and then add the ricotta and remaining ingredients.

Assembly: Now for the pillows (google: ravioli making to get an idea1), In a bowl make an “egg wash” (beat up that final egg & add 1/3 cup of water to it). Brush every pasta sheet with eggwhite wash, cut rectangle into 8 squares and spoon 3-4 tablespoons of filling inside.  Then fold top half down, bottom half up and both sides in – pinching to ensure they stay boding the two blissfully – this is a rustic ravioli so don’t worry too much about the form.  Layer with semolina & parchment to separate (freezing the surplus for later dinner parties or romantic escapades of the dining table)

For cooking: throw some salt in to roaring pot of hot water, fresh pasta only takes about two minutes and 3 pieces per person is more than sufficient (cook a few extras in case you break one!).  Being careful to remove from the water, place on a plate and coat with olive oil, wrap in plastic if you need it to hold for 5-10 minutes.  for your lover 

Porcini Browned Butter Sauce

2 Cups Porcini Mushrooms – (or substitute any forest mushrooms)

2 Tbsp Garlic – minced

2 Tbsp Fennel Seed – toasted

4 lbs Butter

3 Tbsp Lemon Juice

¼ C of freshly chopped basil & tarragon

Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions: Oil pan and sauté garlic with fennel seed, add mushrooms and cook off remaining shroom juice.  Add Butter and simmer for 30 minutes or until milk solids are browned.  Add lemon juice, fresh herbs and finish with salt and pepper

Plating:  Now remember this is suppose to be relaxing so enjoy your nosh plate over some vino & make your call whether to separate the salad course or combine the two (my recommendation as follows) Toss 2 Pasta Pillows in ½ cup of sauce with a promising handful of wild rocket arugula, sun dried tomato’s, artichoke hearts, oil cured olive – rustic loving!  (if you’re other half has an appetite/cheese bread isn’t a bad idea nor are additional pillows)

Dark Chocolate Mousse with Drunken Bing Cherry

• 12 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 2 1/3 cups chilled whipping cream
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/4 cup dark corn syrup
• 5 tablespoons Frangelico
• 1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 8-ounce container mascarpone cheese (about 1 cup)
• 1 package of frozen bing cherry

Preparation

Stir chocolate, 1/3 cup cream, 1/3 cup water and corn syrup in heavy medium sauce-pan over medium-low heat until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Let cool until just lukewarm, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Whisk in frangelico & vanilla, then mascarpone. Beat 1 cup cream in medium bowl until stiff peaks form. Fold cream into chocolate mixture in 2 additions.

Drain bing cherries in colander then place in greased muffin tins, glass 8 ounce cups, martini glasses . . or any vessel that can be inverted. Spoon mousse atop the cherries, dividing equally. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead; keep chilled.)

Beat remaining 1 cup of cream in medium bowl until firm peaks form. Spoon or pipe cream decoratively atop each mousse. Garnish each mousse with toasted almonds, fresh cherries & basil sprig.

On the night before brunch, Scrupulous thoughts & Nibbled Bits of Knowing

“...be yourself- not your idea of what you think somebody else's idea of yourself should be.”
― Henry David Thoreau

December 23rd, 2011

Okidokey, I think I’ve got a concept that ties in a few of my emotions without digressing into any state of absence or lustered confusion. I’ve been “blessed” with a certain gift that I don’t care to share with most as it only seems to complex matters, and as we’ve already previously discussed – life is complicated enough without having to muttle the waters more. My little gift has it’s benefits with regards to writing, painting, creating, self-awareness, business dealings and most definitely my presence in kitchen. It has no intention, only impulse! It can be turned off consciously in effortless surroundings (mother nature has a way of quieting the unrequested rhetoric), it can’t be turned on (it chooses it seems to have it’s own initiatives), it neither predicts not recaps the past, it is of the moment, it is shapeless, colorless but not nameless . . .

in•tu•i•tive
adj \in-ˈtü-ə-tiv, -ˈtyü-\

a : known or perceived by intuition : directly apprehended
b : knowable by intuition
c : based on or agreeing with intuition

Good? Bad? Indifferent? At the ripe age of 35, I haven’t quite mastered this “ability” but I have come to understand it’s implications and the capable sensibilities inherent to our little sequestered existence together. The essential problem is, “Do you really want to know what other people are feeling?” “Do you really want to know that foreboding answer ?” And the biggy, “When you have attained the unspoken answer, just exactly how are you suppose to react? Would you make an effort to change their decision, would you confront them with this uncovered honesty or do you shut your mouth, hold down those known truths and just skip along as if you didn’t know any better?” ahhhhh, you’re starting to see the downside . . . maybe that’s why all thems witches are miserable and self-conceited – too much power, too many knowns, too much pain to hold onto – easier to withdraw.
Let me give you a few examples so you can make your own evaluations, severity or blessing in disguise?

Example 1: An employee, with relative good principles and work ethic asks you to borrow $400. The little committee in your head goes to work and informs you that he is strapped for cash and feels that it’s owed to him – not likely to repay you. But they also, shed light on his potential for goodness and that he does possess the capability to honor his word – your affirmation would help transcend his connotation that he was owed anything through your act of generosity. Did I lend it to him in hopes of inspiring his development? Yup! Did he pay me back or even bother to tell me he couldn’t or wouldn’t? Nope! And so, I assumed some serious frustration with myself – taking accountability for my actions, disappointed yet again in mankind shucking off the husk of goodness . . . oh, and I fired him and banned him from my property as the mere sight of him triggered such internal frustration.

Example 2: More of an everyday scenario – close relationships of every capacity are a wee bit complicated with this so called gift. I can’t seem to maintain any male gay-friends as they’d prefer to sleep with me, marry me, fall in love with me. Egotistical? Yeah, one could easily scapegoat me as being the one at fault for “wearing my heart on my sleeve” but it’s my true nature and I’m not about to change that – not for nobody! To hell with anyone who would think I am to blame for their selfishness & my neglect to subside to their desires . . . my actions are uniformly based upon a code of ethics, morals and conscious awareness . . it’s the subconscious that gets me into trouble. (ie: the world would be a better place if we could all walk without doctoring our actions to conformity) Unfortunately, the multitude of seekers has stained my perception of what a successful relationship of “mutual attraction and compatibility” really is, and in my younger years – this caused me to sabotage several potential partnerships of equivalent “give & take” qualities. Like an antique, hand crafted corvette, it’s an endless task to upkeep the basic necessities of performance and appearance; requiring the need for constant fine-tuning, an overhaul scheduled more than periodically. The moral of the story is, it’s just easier to have girlfriends (and yes, even some of those had to be dismissed for their not-so-secretive desires to be with me as more than friend)

Example 3: For the final snapshot of this unwanted talent I take you back to its origination of realization, which ripened to full maturity just as I turned thirteen years old and entered the unforgiving adolescent world of “high school.” My mama knew her child was different, unique, peculiar, a bit of a loner, estranged from commonality and in her concerned efforts to protect me . . . she started sending me to a multitude of psychologists (plural –because I could see through the falsity of these “PhD’s of the mind” and would screw with them a bit . . they didn’t like that!). How many kids are obsessed with saving the Earth and believe their pre-ordained destiny is nothing short of shaping the salvation of mankind? (and I’m talking the entire globe folks!) Needless to say, my little sessions did provide some insight as to my unfiltered knowledge of another’s thoughts. I guess the simplicity of another attempting to enter my brain, my emotions, my past made it all too clear that I could in fact perceive and translate another’s intentions.

You be the judge! Until some miraculous oracle tells me different, I’ll just continue to plug along as I have, building yet another force-field around my free-spirited soul for the purpose of self-preservation; serving to protect me from the pain inflicted by others at the cause of my choice to live without inhibitions and believe in another’s full potential. On a lighter note, this gift has it’s benefits in the field of culinary arts and has rewarded me albeit a true talent as an innovative chef.

I cook from the heart and it’s rather effortless for me. The combination of spices and herbs unique to my intuitiveness, knowledge of ethnic cuisines and experiences based upon numerous trials as a child, an apprentice, an accomplished chef . . . an artist. Maybe my whimsical mannerisms are all attributed to this visceral manifestation . . . maybe not, I don’t need to know the reasoning behind everything – if something’s not broken, no need to fix it. And I’m hardly broken by heart, body or mind (strained perhaps, but not broken).

With holiday wishes and an endless pursuit in achieving happiness,

Chef Scotty

“Intuitive Angel Toast” Recipe
Sweet and decadent, feel free to embellish with chocolate or omit the cream cheese layer for whipped cream (canisters of rediwhip always adventureous). Sometimes sweets have their way soothing the soul, comforting the weary, easing the agony . . . even if at the cost of 5lbs of excess fat!

Ingredients:
7 eggs
3 cups half & half spiked with a shot of vanilla & almond extracts
12 slices angel-food cake (the rectangular type if you can find it/2 pkgs)
2 tbl butter

For angel "french" toast:
Butter or spray a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Combine the eggs and half & half tincture, pour a small amount in the dish. Put the bread in a single layer in the pan. Pour the remaining egg mixture over the bread and let stand 5 minutes. Turn slices over, cover and refrigerate overnight. The next morning melt butter in hot skillet and cook the french toast until golden brown on both sides.

Cream Cheese Topping:
8 oz. softened cream cheese
3 tbl orange blossom water (or sub amaretto or almond extract)
3 tbl half & half
3 tbl sugar
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Mix first 4 ingredients until smooth. then stir in almonds, set aside.

Cherry Amaretto Sauce:
4 cups frozen or fresh dark pitted cherries
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbl butter
1/4 tsp cinnamon (Mexican canela please)
1/2 cup amaretto or frangelico or 2 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup cherry juice
2 tbl corn starch

Place first 6 ingredients in sauce pan, bring to boil. Mix corn starch and Amaretto mixture in small bowl and add to cherry mixture. Continue cooking, stirring until thickened.

To Assemble:
Place a slice of french toast on place, spread cream cheese mixture over top. Then spoon cherry sauce on top and sprinkle with slivered almonds. Some delicious salty bacon would work beautifully to contrast & cut the sweetness . . otherwise, brew some strong ass coffee!

"Another day . .Another Brother", Santa's Evergreen Orgasm, Clutter Inc.

“The fault-finder will find faults even in paradise. Love your life, poor as it is. You may perhaps have some pleasant, thrilling, glorious hours, even in a poor-house. The setting sun is reflected from the windows of the alms-house as brightly as from the rich man's abode; the snow melts before its door as early in the spring. I do not see but a quiet mind may live as contentedly there, and have as cheering thoughts, as in a palace.”
― Henry David Thoreau

I took the stairs today, skipping over ever other step as one can do with a 6’3 stature and mindful determination (this guarantees my arrival, on my own terms . . .well, at least landing me at the equivocal destination a few seconds earlier than those escalator passenger folk content to leisurely ride through life).

Candied ginger lit up by the 2’o’clock fading sun, a box of Morton’s kosher sea salt, keys of responsibility limited to a three count, papers of random notoriety, a picture of me holding my little nugget niece Kylie, multiple checkbooks askew (accountant – I am not!), 17 neatly folded terra-cloth towels, a binder belonging to Mr. Wilson, a half emptied, pumpkin-n-cashew colored box of American Spirits, and of course, my antiquated HP Pavilion labtop, a scribble pad and what’s remaining of my handicapped I-phone; These are the contents that surround my little “make-shit” desk (compliments of the ever so compassionate Mr. Wilson).

Clarity coming from within; my muttled mud, hazel when they want to be eye’s have acclimated to material chaos over these passing seasons of Summer, Autumn . . and . . oh, dear lord, really . . . Winter? I am now completely neutralized to the biased affliction of sight – something of an official gift learned by means of studying “the art of clutter.” Who knows if it will stay with me? Perhaps it will disperse only after I’ve released my squatter’s rights and vacated this temporary abode that I’ve reluctantly grown to call “home?” (pity & prayer get’s you nowhere . . apparently neither do lawyers; the dollar is my most pressing priority . . freedom selfishly requested by the preservation of sound friendship hanging in jeopardy)

A quantum leap into my ego has undoubtedly left you all to wonder, “when is Scotty gonna focus on the food elements of his writings?” I digress and humbly agree, so far as my vacillating emotions hogging the cover-page to this “so called” epicurean publication. And so, we talk food . . . . or, well . . better yet, how’s about I just layout my Holiday themed menu for you??? Recipes for all are available, but as many things of everyday living: Even shit ain’t free! Manure garnering a good dollar as the effervescent fertilizer for the coming crop.
                        With holiday blessings - Chef Scotty

On that note, Chef Scotty needs to make his rent, garner a dollar & respectfully depart Mr. Wilson’s dwelling . . . so pass this outhouse of food pornification on, post a gastronomical comment, share “the Word of Chi” www.chefscotty.com on facebook . . . in exchange, you will have good karma, less freckles, possibly better sex, as well as any recipe your heart desires (I’ll do my best to rifle it out . . . ok, enough with the poop analogies!)

A CHEF SCOTTY CHRISTMAS DAY ORGASM

Aperitif
Candied Ginger n’ Spiced Pear Sorbet with Pear Grappa

Amuse Bouche
Proscuitto wrapped Sea Scallop, Satsuma Tangerine Jam, Waterchestnut

Tic-Tac-Tapa
Partridge Confit, Port poached Seckel Pear Salsa, Juniper Corn Dollar

Are You Game?
Pan-roasted Lollipop Lambchop with Gingerbread-Mint Crumb Crust

Dim Spin
Cinnamon braised Beef Dumpling with Internal Chipotle-Apricot Demi

Intermezzo
Tamarind-Cider Sorbet in Crabapple Cup

Hot Shot
Curried Pumpkin Soup with Huboldt Fog Chevre filled Benet

Reiki Sushi
Mace seared Opah, Edamame-Pomegranate Kernal Pico, Micro Wasabi

Hot-n-Cold Splash
Chinese Five-Spiced Muscovy Duck Tartare, Shiso, Plum Wine Sorbet

Ensalata
Endive Dungeness Crab Salad with Honey-Gewurtztraminer Vinaigrette

Chopstick
Grilled Calamari stuffed with Cornbread, Pinolas, Thai Basil, Currant

Carving Station

Wild Sage Smoked Elk Roast
Blackberry-Syrah Demi, Parsnip-Potato Gratin, Sauteed Bacon-Brussel Sprouts

Cider Crown Roast of Pork
McIntosh Apple Chutney, Caramelized Fennel n’ Pumpernickel Stuffing

Creole Turducken
Free Range Turkey, Duck & Chicken layered with Andouille Sausage
Cajun Dirty Rice with Tasso, Wild Ramp & Bell Pepper

Crepe Station

Cedar Plank Smoked Salmon Crepe
Hearts of Palm-Sun-dried Tomato Salad, Dijon Crème, Oil cured Olive, Dill Crepe

Maine Lobster Crepe
Crisp Pancetta, Fingerling Potato, Tahitian Vanilla Cream Sauce, Saffron Crepe

Desserts

Peppermint LSD
Fresh Peppermint Ice Cream in a Dark Chocolate Cup, Candied Ginger Brunoise

Hucklebread
Mini Huckleberry-Caramelized Quince Breadpudding, Canela Crème Anglaise

Crabapple-Amaretti Tart
Anise Poached Crabapple, Frangipane Custard, Pumpkin Seed Praline Crust

Black Forest Strudel
Toasted Black Walnut, Zinfandel Bing Cherry, Dark Chocolate-Mascarpone Mousse