WHERE?

So, in order for there to be an Underground Supper Club there needs to be a place for it to be hosted. As I look around the internet I can't seem to find places that would allow something like this to happen, so it is looking more and more like it would have to be someones larger home, or things would have to be transported. As much as I want to go the catering route and have it all brought in and kept warm I would much rather have it prepared on site.

So the question still remains as to where we could host such an extravagant evening. I am going to keep searching on the internet for places to rent, and if anyone out there has any ideas please share because I would love to hear them.

I'm gonna WINE about it!

So just as I had gone through with alcohol and beer before I am going to go on my journey of wine with you all. It took me some time to even begin drinking wine at all. It took Kirsten to get me to start drinking it, well her and her parents. It started as something that I would just have a glass with dinner and not really think much about it.

Insert culinary school and starting to learn from two vastly different teachers. One is a Sommelier by way of certification and the other not so much. One of them was a great influence on me when it came to wine, and when we got to taste different wines of the world in class and pair them with food it was a very good experience. Getting the chance to taste from glasses that are made for the specific wine we were drinking. We had to fill out tasting notes for each and every glass that we drank.

Smell became one of the most important and confusing parts about tasting wine. Having to train yourself to take in a smell in small amounts and judge different levels of nodes that the wine is giving off. I can tell you in class swirling a glass and smelling it with small tastes made me feel REALLY PRETENTIOUS. Then I realized that I am getting a grade to drink good wines from a bunch of different places in the Old World wine regions. 

This year on Christmas, Kirsten and I made a whole menu for our friends that were over where we paired a different wines with each thing that we were serving and were able to create a great feast for us and our friends. It quickly became one of my favorite Christmas's that I have ever been a part of. 

Charity Beneficiary

So with the idea of the Underground Supper Club the reason why they are viewed as illegal is because of there not being any heath code inspections or tax being assessed on the sale of the food. Unlike others that are doing this to turn a profit my idea behind this is to do it for the experience and then taking the money that is made from the even and reallocate that to some of the local food drives or charities in the area. I have been doing some research on the different things that are going on in Phoenix for this cause but I have not found one yet that screams "this is the right one". 

I do not know if it is because I grew up rather poor, or without a father, but I have always found it very gratifying to help out when I can. Volunteering is something that always leaves a great feeling in your stomach that you are at least trying to do your part in the world. 

That being said I am kind of looking for some insight as to a place that would be good to partner up with both before and after I am able to do what I want to do in the Phoenix area. If any of the people reading this blog have a place that they could suggest, maybe even something that you are currently involved in I would be happy to take a look. 

Dietary Ristrictions

So I know that I have touched a little bit on what it is that I want this blog to end up in: running my own Underground Supper Club. With that being said a big part of what I want to do is go with some special menus that are going to be good for different types of people. I know in school right now I learn all of this fantastic french cooking, but I really take all that information and go home to try and create something that resembles the flavor in class without all the fat and calories that come with cream and butter. 

I like the challenge of having to create something within a set of restrictions. It can be very tricky to make something taste delicious without the things that appease every ones taste buds.So this is where I want to open my blog up to any comments or suggestions people may have of something that they would like to see done if they were to attend one of these dinner parties. Feel free to also include any type of pairing that is in mind; be it alcohol, wine, or beer. 

Aviation

I was just reading a the food blog on PhoenixNewTimes.com and came across this little guy. I wanted to share this with everyone because I think it sounds fantastic. Now, I just need to find these ingredients.  To read the story about it click here.

JK Grence

It has a hue better than this in person, I swear.

Aviation
Liquor geeks may be tempted to substitute Parfait Amour or Crème Yvette for the crème de violette. Try it if you want, but crème de violette is the way to go.
2 ounces gin
¾ ounce lemon juice
½ ounce maraschino liqueur (I prefer Luxardo; good luck finding anything else in the first place)
¼ ounce crème de violette

Shake everything with ice. Strain into a well-chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry, if desired.

Food From the Past

So as I was sitting in class today trying to figure out what my next blog should be written about I remembered that earlier today I received an email from my uncle Dan. It was great to see him for the first time in about 7 years when we went skiing in Lake Tahoe in February. While he was there he was telling me about a picture that he had come across of my mom.


I was blown away at how young and beautiful she looked, we are guessing it is from when she was in her early 20's. Sadly there doesn't seem to be many pictures of her around. She passed away when I was 14 and a lot of things have been lost from moving around so much since then. 


As to why that little tidbit fits into my blog is that it made me think back to the food that I ate when I was a kid and how that has changed so much for me over the years. I refused to eat salad or almost anything green back then. My diet consisted of some sort of meat and starch with some broccoli or green beans that I would move around on my plate to make it look like I ate it. I did not eat anything that resembled spicy, and I wouldn't try anything other than what is now considered Diner food. And I would ALWAYS have ice cream after dinner.

Now-a-days I will eat the spiciest food someone wants to throw at me and curry is probably my FAVORITE thing to eat. Beets have become one of my favorite vegetables and sushi is not in my life enough. Kirsten is to thank for me deciding to start eating new things, and then I got to school and had to taste EVERYTHING. My palate has become something entirely different and I think that it is all for the better. There is so much good food to be conquered, mastered, and consumed. 

An Idea of What I Want to Start

Sweet and Sour Sauce

When I first started to go on my diet which was about a year ago now, I started looking into labels on food quite a bit. I have always liked to cook at home but my idea of cooking home made meals would sometimes include things like a bottle of sweet and sour sauce from the grocery store.

If you look at the nutrition facts like I use to you would see that it doesn't look that bad. there is little to no fat, in the whole thing there is only 666 calories in the bottle. Where my focus turned was at the sodium, which is the equivalent of %74.25. So naturally I started looking into recipes which I could make myself and use little to no sodium. I was able to mess around in the kitchen a bit and construct through measures of other recipes, my own sweet and sour that is pretty delicious and inexpensive. So what you are going to need is:

Pineapple Juice (one cans worth, save the pineapple)
1 Tablespoon of minced Garlic
1/2 Tablespoon of Ginger
1/3 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Tablespoon of Agave Sweetener
1 Tablespoon of Cornstarch
1 Minced Habenero pepper(or something not so hot if you desire)(use the seeds if you want hotter)
*You can use a Teaspoon of Soy Sauce to add some extra salty, I stay away)

To make, add all ingredients in a medium sauce pan stir with whisk and apply to medium heat and allow to thicken (about 5 minutes). If using as a sauce for stir fry then apply to cooking vegetables, or if using as a dipping sauce allow to cool.

I have found this to be a very quick and inexpensive way to make this at home. I especially like it when finishing the cooking of the vegetables in the sauce and then putting it over some brown rice. Let me know if this recipe works out for you, or if you have any questions. 

Underground Supper Clubs

    What is an Underground Supper Club? Why are you so fascinated by the idea? Well here is a little bit of information about them: "An underground restaurant, sometimes known as a super club or closed door restaurant, is an eating establishment operated out of someone's home, generally (though not invariably) bypassing local zoning and health-code regulations. They are, in effect, paying dinner parties. They are usually advertised by word of mouth or guerilla advertising, often on Facebook, and may require references to make a reservation. An underground restaurant is also known as a guestaurant, which is a hybrid between being a guest in a dinner party and a restaurant." - Wikipedia

    I first started hearing about this while reading the book "The Art of Eating In" by Cathy Erway. The book is all about how she decided that she was no longer going to be eating out at restaurants in New York City. It details her journey throughout a two year period of learning how to love her stove and home cooking. Oddly enough she was writing a blog about it, which I am currently blogging about myself. 


    Cathy got to experience a lot of things in the city, things like fregans, or urban farming. All of which I found fun and different but the thing that stuck with me most is the Underground Restaurant scene. I don't know if it is the illegality of it, or just the fantastic idea of being at the reigns of such an idea. 

    This idea is something that has been growing inside me. I know that this is something that I want to do, and make happen successfully. I know that I am going to be in Portland until I finish school in July (plus a two month externship, which I haven't decided where). With that I also know that I am going to end up in the Phoenix area at the culmination of my degree, so I am trying to build a voice for my idea before moving there. On that note, if anyone has any ideas they would like to contribute, please do, I am open to anything. 

Studio 151

When it comes to drinking alcohol I think that I started before most people. I remember making a rum and coke with my mom when we were on vacation at my Grandparents summer home when I was 10 years old. The first time that I remember being drunk was all on my brother (Dan). I was 12 years old, it was New Years Eve and we were taking shots of butter schnapps and playing 13 Dead End Drive.

 I love Dan to death and I do not fault him for having me drink when I did, it isn't like it stunted my growth or anything considering I can see the top of his head when I stand behind him and he is 6'2".(Brain seems to work okay too)


I don't know that I drank much after that until I was about 16 when once again Dan was around for my Grandparents 50th anniversary in Bermuda. That is a whole other story that maybe I will get into at a later time. This I feel is a good intro into the name of this post "studio 151". 

In my senior year I started hanging out with a good friend of mine Steve. We played fantasy football together and talked trash to each other at school but we started hanging out on the weekends in his mom's studio in his back yard. We use to fit about 12-15 people inside of what is no bigger than 100 square feet. I have had closets that were bigger than this room but we used to rage in it quite often. I have a video here of myself, younger of course taking a 6 shooter (six shots) of Bicardi 151 inside the studio. 

Kind of like I said before when talking about beer, things have changed. I still love alcohol, many different types of it, but I tend to drink much better alcohol these days and I enjoy messing around making mix drinks at home. The new craze of infusing alcohols is something I am beginning to look into (once I am out of school and have the money for it).

What we have here is Portland's own New Deal Vodka, that I took some chocolate wine and mixed with it the vodka and a couple of spices to put into the Martini glasses. Instead of olives I put two vanilla Tootsie Rolls onto a martini spear and we had our selves a cozy holiday cocktail as an aperitif. 

Mixed drinks also pair quite nicely with a dinner. Why do I bring all of this up do you ask; talking about food, beer, alcohol, and (wine in the future)? Well because the hole point of my blog is to show my background in food and beverage to prove that I know what I am doing when it comes to them. My goal through this blog is to gain enough followers and enough interest to start my own Underground Super Club in the Phoenix area when I move there after I finish in Culinary School.

What is an Underground Supper Club you ask? Well stay tuned to my next blog and I will tell you all about them. 

Craft Beer

        It is funny how things change over time. When I was leaving for college, I couldn't stand to drink beer. I thought it was offensive to my palate and would of much preferred to drink hard alcohol(yes I drank underage:-O). When I got to college being that beer was so easily acceptable, I trained myself to be able to just drink it as fast as possible and hope that I could get to a buzzed enough state that I couldn't taste how bad it was anymore.

        In order of the photos listed above; First one is me at our beginning of the year party in college doing a 2 story 9 beer beer bong, second is me at my going away party from Tucson doing a Keg Stand for over a minute (see how red my face looks), third one is with some friends in San Diego having a shotgunning contest - my fiance posted this one with the caption "photo ruiner".

   It took me some time, but I grew up a little. I am not saying that I do not drink anymore, or that I do not enjoy getting a little faded with some friends, my tastes have just changed. I developed a love for craft beer from Kirsten (fiance). I started drinking what I thought was much better beer with things like Blue Moon, or Fat Tire. Not meaning to put either of them down but the two of them are so simple in comparison to what I drink now that it is funny to think back. 

   Some photos above of a few beers that we have tried over some time. Some beers that are brewed with raspberries, cherries, pumpkin, coffee and molasses, to even misc. spices. There are 6 different breweries of the beers above: Epic, Elysian, Stone, Dogfish Head, Odell, and Deschutes. All very tasty and all differing levels of flavor and alcohol levels. I am one to say that I will try any beer once, which sometimes works like the ones listed above but sometimes leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth.

   Why in this blog that is all about food and your love for it are you now talking about beer? Well, because it has recently become very popular to start pairing beer with food the same way that wine has been paired for so many years. There are so many complex flavors that are available, which leaves pairing almost endless. Here in Portland there are more craft breweries than any other city in the world, and I am so glad I have had the chance to live here to experience that. So get out and try something new, you may just fall in love like I did.

Kitchen Ninja

       I started at Oregon Culinary Institute (O.C.I) in July of 2012. I found the school through a lot of research that was done from my desk while I was working in Phoenix. After working in management in customer service for such a long time, I stumbled back to a passion I almost explored leaving High School in the first place. 

       I moved to Portland, OR to become a Kitchen Ninja. I looked into a lot of different schools, exploring some of the local Phoenix schools, but I couldn't find what looked like a good fit and good investment for me. I had expressed to some friends of mine and my fiance that I wanted to move to Portland because it seemed like a cool place to live. Putting these two things together I decided to start looking for schools there and stumbled upon O.C.I.

       Not only was I impressed by the web presence but when I made it into the statistics of the school I was able to find that they had a great placement upon graduation. I signed up for school before I ever got the chance to tour it.

       This is where my experience really began though; once I got to the school and toured I was very surprised by the professionalism of every person that I dealt with and by the second time that I came in people there already knew me by name. I was sold!

 

       After 8 months in I have had a great experience learning what I have so far, with so much more to learn. I know that the craft I have chosen is an ever-changing world that I am more than willing to experience and grow with. I love food, and I love trying new things with it, even if I fail, I know I learned from it and won't repeat the same mistake. 

DR. WHAT!?

       It was the beginning of March 2012 when I has my second stint of a 10+ day migraine. For fear that I may have a tumor or something I made my way to the doctor to have them do a check up on me and hopefully to WHOMEVER high power you believe in get my pain to go away .

       Pictured above is how I have felt about doctors my whole life. Yet this time the doctor actually hit the board and got something right. Unfortunately for me the doctor landed on the blood pressure portion of the dart board. I found out that whatever it is that I have been doing (most likely hereditary) I need to change something and fast. 

  

       Drastically changing my diet and outlook on food (for the better) forever. I started checking labels for things on food that were not just calories and fat. I stumbles upon a whole different world of food and began loving fruits and vegetables in the raw. 

       I came into Culinary School 4 months after my diet began, and 35 pounds less than I was when I started. Presently 11 months later I am 50 pounds less than I was when I began my diet and have never felt more awake and more alive, and I did it without cutting down how much I ate, but by making better decisions on what I put in my body. 

Food Obsession

WHERE MY OBSESSION OF FOOD CAME FROM

Christmas 1998, I got my first ever New England Patriots jersey from my grandparents. It was a white #88 Terry Glenn Jersey and I was exstatic. It was the very first present I opened that year. 

I had torn through the rest of my presents, little trinkets here, fun new gadgets there. My last present was an oddly shaped green wrapped gift. I had gotten everything that I was looking forward to this year. I grabbed the gift, and as every 12 year old kid would I tried my best to figure out what it was. Much heavier than I thought, what was it?

---

A flat frying pan with a rubber spatula. My grandmother and I had spent time in her kitchen learning how to make Swedish Pancakes. I was elated. I wanted nothing more than to go into the kitchen and make everyone breakfast. I guess that was the plan because when I got in there the batter was pre-made and I got to make Christmas breakfast.

---

Thirty minutes later breakfast was ready to go. It was the first Christamas in our new house, and I will always remember that day. I loved that house, I loved the family I got to spend it with. 14 years later a lot has changed, some of the people in that house are no longer with us, and my love for cooking has harvest a Culinary degree and a restaurant. We proudly serve Swedish pancakes in our restaurant, and now you know why.

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 3/4 cups skim milk
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions: Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a 10-inch nonstick skillet. Combine the flour, milk, eggs, melted butter, vanilla and salt in a blender; process until smooth.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Warm the same skillet over medium heat until a drop of water bounces and sizzles. Add 1 teaspoon butter; turn to coat the pan with the melted butter. Pour in a scant 1/3 cup batter and quickly swirl the pan to evenly coat the bottom. Cook until the pancake sets, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, carefully lift the pancake by the edges and flip; cook until lightly golden on the other side, 15 to 30 seconds. Transfer to a plate; keep warm in the oven while making the others. Repeat with the remaining butter and batter to make about 12 pancakes. If the pancakes seem too thick, thin the batter slightly with warm water. Fold or roll and serve with confectioners' sugar, syrup and fresh fruit.