Branding

Today I am making a cucumber gazpacho, a loaf of bread, some salad dressing...i think that is about it. I need to start spreading out and getting some more clients, which means I need to start marketing myself. I have been on the practice course for a few weeks and am ready to move onto the main course, so to speak. This involves working on some business cards, actually coming up with a name, making a full website...all exciting things, right?

So I need some help with names. When I was thinking of starting a pie business, I was going to name it "Pi" and use the symbol, which I am sure has been used, because there is no way that I am the first person to think of that. But now I am doing a much wider range of things, so I am not sure if just the word Pi would be a good choice. My FAVORITE word in the world is Tangerine. I just love the way it sounds. Say it with me, tangerine. Taaan-jah-reeeeeeeeen. Awesome sauce, right? So things that fly around my head are things like Tangerine Pi, but that might still be too niche sounding, right? Maybe not. Tangerine. Maybe just Tangerine?

Things I don't want in the name: Alexandria (where I live), Modern, Cuisine, Simple, Fancy, Upscale, Home, Cook...and probably a gazillion more.

The name is the first thing I need, right? Once that happens, the rest kind of falls into place and follows. Cards, site, marketing...

So throw me some random words, my peeps!

Rough Week!

Actually, rough two weeks, but back on track. Sick dog, on the mend now, so was a little slow on the updating. Will be back on schedule soon!

BUT to prove that things are afoot, here are pictures of my seedlings, which will be planted in our newly expanded garden soon, which will mean...YUMMY SPRING AND SUMMER FOOD!

Squash and Cukes, and maybe some Okra

TOMATO and PEPPER PLANTS!

You say you want the full list? Oh boy. Here it is:

TOMATOES (in Rainbow-ish order)

Ace Bush

Rutgers

Sugar Cherry

Old Virginia

Chadwick Cherry

Caspian Pink

Pink Accordion

Henderson's Pink Ponderosa

Violet Jasper

Copia

Orange Fleshed Purple Smudge

Illini Gold

Big White Pink Stripes

Reisetomate

Big Rainbow

Orange and Green Zebra

Hssiao His Hung Shih

Egg Yolk

Huge Lemon Oxheart

Green Sausage

Green Doctors

Grandma Olivers Green

Kiwi

Great White

White Tomesol

Ivory Pear

Ananas Noire

Tsungshigo Chinese

Purple Calabash

Purple Robeson

Gypsy

Black Cherry

Prudens Purple

Sara Black

PEPPERS

Sweet Pepper Mix (which I kind of hate, not knowing what is happening)

Purple Pepper

Asti Rosso Red

Golden CA

Orange Sweet

Ozark Red

Chocolate Habenaro

Purple Jalepano

Jamaican Hot Chocolate (which are probably the same as the choc habs)

Hot Pepper Random Mix (see above, re: hating)

RANDOM

Okra

SQUASH

Yellow Summer

Black Beauty

Crookneck

Pattypan

Golden Scallop

Grey Zucchini

Ronde de Nice

Squash Tondo Scuro di Piacenza

Random Mix

CUKES

Reg Cuke

Lemon Cuke

White Cuke

Crystal Apple Cuke

Mexican Sour Gherkin

MELON

Banana Melon

EGGPLANT

Japanese White Egg

Lao Green Stripe

Black Champion

Purple Stripe

FUN FUN FUN FUN!!!!!! I have a few other things I am considering (radishes and beets go directly into the ground, and I prob could have held off on the squash and cukes for a few more weeks, but was getting antsy!)

Garden eating is healthy eating is fun eating!

Food Being Made This Week

Here is what I am cooking for people this week:

Italian Meatloaf (I have a feeling this will be popular)
Roasted Veggies (We will see what looks good)
Root Veggie Gratin (w/ Gruyere)
Something with Couscous, haven't decided yet.
Some Key Lime Pies

I also need to get a brisket to cure, since I want to make my own Corned Beef for St. Patrick's day. Mmmmm, corned beef.

Meatloaf, Italian Style

Meatloaf has always been one of my favorites, I absolutely went to school with meatloaf sandwiches on more than one occasion as a kid. And I have a high level of disdain for ketchup (blergh), which is not used in this recipe, although I am sure you can sub it out for the tomato sauce. I should also mention, this is modified from a recipe I read in Bon Appetit, from, of all places, Mario Batalli's father, who I believe runs a restaurant. This makes two loaves of meat, so cut it in half if you want less, but you can always freeze the second one. I would probably undercook it a little, and when thawing, take it out the day before.


What goes in:


2 lbs lean ground beef (15 to 20 percent fat)
1 lb grated fresh mozzerella (i usually put it in the freezer to firm it up a bit more, not more than half an hour)
1 lb sweet Italian sausage, crumbled, out of the casing
2 c fresh basil (as it was out of season, I used a little basil in a tube. Don't hate. About half a cup)
2 c fresh breadcrumbs (from bread you made! Kidding, I am trying to make up for the basil in a tube)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 c oil packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained, chopped
1/2 c diced red pepper
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 tbsp dried oregano
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 cup tomato sauce (1/2 for in the meatloaf, 1/2 for the top)
3 large eggs, beaten a little
1/2 c dry red wine (some examples of dry red wines are Zinfandel, Cab Sauvignon, Bordeaux, Pinot Noir, Côtes-du-Rhône. Also, DON'T COOK WITH A WINE YOU WOULDN'T DRINK!!! Or serve others. SERIOUSLY!)


MEATLOAF


OK, as always, get your stuff ready to go. I don't think I have talked about the importance of the mise-en-place (sounds like meez on ploss). This is a french term which literally means "stuff in place" and is invaluable in the kitchen. So get your stuff ready, your onions chopped, your garlic minced, your tomatoes cut up. Beat the eggs, pour the wine, grate your mozz. Getting into a mindset of making your mise-en-place and having it ready to use is a good way to cook.


The recipe didn't suggest cooking the onions, but after having made the recipe a few times, I decided I wanted a little caramelization in the loaf, so now I sauté the onions, the peppers, AND to merge the flavors a little, and mellow some of their strength, I throw in the sun-dried tomatoes. I cook them for just a little bit, getting a little color onto the onions. I don't add the garlic, it is small enough that it cooks pretty nicely inside the meatloaf.


Start combining! I let the cooked veggies cool a bit before adding them, but since it was going into the oven right away, no big deal, other than not wanting to burn my hands. At this point, you can turn your oven to 375°, and get your two loaf pans ready to go. More on that later. Mix all the non-liquids first, then take half the tomato sauce, the eggs, and the red wine and put them in and mix mix mix!


Don't over mix! It makes things tough!


Now for the pans, you can use them or not. This recipe filled two bread loaf pans, or you can do it free form on a baking sheet. Either way works. Just be shore, if you just make a loaf without a pan, there will be some oil and liquids coming out, so put some non-stick foil on the bottom of your baking sheet. Once they are formed, put the rest of the tomato sauce on the top of the loaves. Open the ovens, put in the loaves. Once you have let the loaves bake for about an hour and fifteen minutes, they should be done!! You can drain out the loaf pans once they have cooled. 


YUM! Make a sandwich the next day with the leftovers! My favorite was always meat loaf sandwiches!

Happenings!

I dropped of my first meal for someone yesterday, which was pretty cool! It marks the first time I have made food and left it behind, like a little food baby. I was nervous, but received an email today saying how great the food was, AND had a follow up email from someone else in the office asking me to cook for a dinner party they want to have!

So for the first meal, I made meatloaf (it was requested) with mashed potatoes, gravy, and sauteed kale with some bacon. And she ordered for friday, mac and cheese, shrimp etouffee, pork bbq, and for dessert, key lime pie (one of my specialties). While I didn't take pics of the stuff I made earlier, I will post the recipe in a bit, as it is really good, and my kind of comfort food. And I will be sure to take pics of the stuff I make for friday.

Posting

I have about three posts I am working on right now, all of which need some fine tuning and pictures. But I wanted to make sure I didn't go too long without actually writing something down. :)

Also working on my website, the official "hire me to cook you and your family and your friends" contact info.

And lastly, trying to figure out a name for all this awesome stuff that is going on! I am taking suggestions!

Some things that are important to me when it comes to cooking...I like to cook seasonally. That basically means that I want to use fresh ingredients that are growing right now, as we speak. And although I am not an earthy crunchy person, when it comes to food, I believe that where we live, the seasons we are in, we are provided with the stuff we are supposed to be eating. If you look at winter, everything that is growing in the winter, root veggies, winter squash and hardy greens, lend themselves to thicker and more filling foods. Higher starches equal fuller bellies, which are key to us living though colder months. So that is a big thing for me. That isn't to say I never go off the path, but I would rarely, if ever, serve raw tomatoes in the middle of winter. They taste bad, have an odd texture, and are never going to be as satisfying as they are fresh off the vine at the height of summer. 

I also like keeping my eye on current food trends. If used correctly, a "trend" can really brighten up a meal, add a note of wonder and elevate a standard meal into something really special. "Molecular gastronomy" is a huge thing right now, or combining science and cooking (which is funny, because I have always thought that cooking IS science), and is fascinating to study. Foams, "caviar beads", spherification...all very cool. It is something that should be all encompassing or used as an accent, there really is no in-between. I am looking at methods and techniques to add into my usual style of cooking.

Off that branch, I really like surprising people with things they thought they didn't like. I like to tell my friends that they should keep trying things on a regular basis, regardless of their past experience. I began liking olives after Bryan made me drink a martini. It was the most difficult thing to swallow, until finally, at the end of the tunnel, there was this salty little nugget, this bright spot afloat in a boozy lake which, once I found it, was a lifejacket. My love of olives was furthered by working at a restaurant, I would find myself walking up to the bar, waiting for a drink order, and picking up the olive drink garnishes. One for the drink, one for me. Now, I rarely leave a grocery store without a tub of olives from the olive bar. I also hated tomatoes, anchovies, and maybe most surprisingly, stinky cheese. It is rather funny that most of these items are in rotation as some of my favorites.

As for my usual style of cooking? HOME STYLE! While I am British born, New England raised, for some reason, my heart is located in the south. The biggest influence me and my style of cooking has absolutely been my time spent in New Orleans. It says "home" to me. It really is a uniquely American type of food, combining techniques from all of the people that ended up in the area into this amazingly comforting and satisfying culinary experience. And my favorite thing to do with home style cooking is to take it and elevate it. Add a little something to set it apart, while keeping it attainable and unpretentious. 

So there are some of the things that are important to me! There are probably 1000 other things, but for now, that is a start. Stay tuned for updates, feel free to drop some ideas on me. Rock on, seize the day, eat some new food!

Condiments I Have Loved...

This is going to be another feature (can I say feature? Am I at the "feature" part of things yet?) that I will be doing on the blog. I love condiments. Love them. Except catsup. Ketchup. whatever. Blergh. But it has a place, AND it can be made better. So in addition to educating us all, including myself, I will be writing about condiments, their history and iterations, and then making them from scratch.

Some of the things I will be talking about, and then recreating, will be:

Mayo
Sriracha
Mustard
Ketchup
Tartar Sauce
Cocktail Sauce
Ranch Dressing
Blue Cheese Dressing
Hot Sauce
Salad Dressings

and more!