I posted a comment several days ago on twitter about doing a herb and cooking demo for the local senior center and made a comment about 30 variations on brushetta. Someone posted to me right off wanting to have the list, what I didn’t expect was the 100 plus emails in my inbox when I got back today wanting to know them also. So here goes: The basic recipe is from a small cafe in Capri Italy that I just fell in love with.

Brushetta

1 dozen plum tomatoes or 8 lg. vine ripe tomatoes, small diced

¼ cup red onions, small diced

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

¼ cup sugar

2 Tble. chopped garlic

1 ¼ cups pure XV olive oil

1 bunch fresh basil, washed and minced

1 bunch fresh mint, washed and minced

½ Tble. Kosher salt

It’s best marinated in a cool place for several hours or overnight in the fridge.

These are additions to the basic recipe or substitutions to:

1. add: peppadews
2. add: horseradish, use slightly less lemon juice and a tad more sugar
3. add: grilled eggplant
4. add: grilled corn
5. add: roasted peppers
6. add: soybeans and waterchestnuts
7. add: balsamic marinated grilled portabellas
8. add: roasted artichokes
9. add: chopped ceviche
10. add: strawberries
11. add: French lentils and fresh lemon thyme
12. add: cannellini beans and wilted arugula
13. add: cumin, coriander and lemongrass
14. add: roasted chopped olives, cerignolas are the best or kalamatas
15. sub: capers, sweet relish and kippers for lemon juice
16. sub: slow roasted with basil and garlic (Tuscan) tomatoes for the tomatoes
17. sub: Applewood wok smoked tomatoes for the tomatoes
18. sub: Grilled tomatoes for the tomatoes
19. sub: Ginger and tea wok smoked tomatoes for the tomatoes
20. sub: Roasted garlic for regular garlic
21. sub: Wok Smoked onion for the red onions
22. sub: Grilled onions, red or Vidalia for the red onions
23. sub: Maple syrup and chopped toasted walnuts for the sugar
24. sub: Sesame oil and sesame seeds for XV olive oil
25. sub: Rosemary and lime for basil and lemon juice, use slightly less rosemary
26. sub: Lime and cilantro, for basil and lemon juice
27. sub: aged balsamic or balsamic reduction for the lemon juice
28. sub: chipotle peppers with lime, cilantro and rosemary for the lemon and basil
29. sub: honey and toasted chopped hazelnuts for the sugar
30. sub: caramelized Vidalia onions for the red onions

This is my personal favorite: smoked tomato brushetta with chopped roasted cerignola olives on grilled ciabatta topped with prosciutto and goat cheese.

I’ll be posted tomorrow about how to wok smoke tomatoes also as that seemed to ALSO be off interest.

I wrote awhile back about the “Stock King” I used to work for. A conversation I had recently on a networking site made me laugh. It was mentioned by the person I was having a chat with, ”that oh goodness, I was reading your old blog posts recently and I would never want to go eat at the restaurant you used to work at where the old chef dumped the garbage cans out on a tarp at the end of the night.” Just to clarify this as re-reading the post I guess I didn’t make it clear, the chef never used to actually USE any of the food that went into the garbage bins, he only used this to point out any products that  COULD HAVE been used for something, so we would not repeat our mistakes in the future. He did ream us out so badly if he found use-able product that our ears would catch fire and fall off though. I suppose a few singed ears may have ended up in the soup which might count for being a bit gross.

I have been recently trying to search out chefs and food people (Not foodies!) on twitter. I’m very interested in talking to people in other parts of the country about what restaurants are doing to cut costs, market and survive. I read as many industry blogs, papers, newsletters etc. etc. blah blah as I can, but it’s not the same as getting it from the horse’s mouth so to speak. Most culinary people I know don’t have boatloads of time to spend writing about how their place used a new, innovative idea (fill in the blank) to help attract people.

But I digress, re: twitter, looking for chefs and food people. The count this morning for people with “chef” in their descriptions was about 606, here I got somewhat bogged down looking at what people past “tweeted about” to see whether they were actually chefs or rather home cooks who think calling themselves a chef is cool?/ok?/something? Is that like saying because they read the Wall Street Journal they’re a stockbroker? Am I being to harsh?

I guess what this really reminds me of is several times putting out want ads looking for sous chefs.

Ad would read, ” requirements; a least 3 years previous experience as a sous chef, ordering, inventory and servsafe cert required, culinary grad a plus, non smokers need not apply. (sorry STILL a strong believer in smokers can’t smell and taste totally like they should)

Of the resumes, phone calls, walk-ins and emails I would get, I would usually get a couple of decent ones to pick from, and then several dozen from line cooks thinking they could move up (sometimes they could) and then invariably I would get at least one call or resume or in some case a mini novel about how I should hire someone that just really really really loves food and enjoys cooking at home and how they just made the most mahvelous (think Billy Crystal) roast beast. Snoooze.

I’m afraid I got some sort of sick vicarious pleasure of asking them point blank, “So, ya think you can be my sous chef? So you think you can pull 3 dozen grilled duck breasts, 15 porterhouses and 26 Statlers out of your rear (less politely put to be sure) in 15 minutes, at the same time juggling 4 fryalators, steaming the veg, doing the dessert line and the app line and then fill in for me when I’m off, do the dairy ordering and the produce, manage the staff and yell at the waitrons?” About half way through this tirade they would usually be standing there with their mouth open and a blank shell shocked look on their face. I think I lost them somewhere around Statler or so.

I realize I take this way to personally, but I used to get so sick of getting into conversations with people in the past “Yes, I’m a executive chef” and I would get “really my son is a chef too!”. Not quite as bad, but still cringe inducing when the son is a line cook at Dennys. But usually it’s the “Oh, your a cook (also a pet peeve, no I’m a chef) you know I made the most mahvelous roast beast last night. Oy vay!

Someone keeps popping up like a bad penny. While what I do now is very satisfying although not terribly financially rewarding (ie, being nice to people means you usually give too much away and not charge for it). I long for, or rather my ego longs for the good old days or rather the egotistical old days.

In relation to the bad penny and not having much regard for people who have not earned their own stripes. What I do now (IT work et al):……I regard myself as a small potato in a very huge field of very large and very experienced big potatoes, constantly learning and somewhat feeling like I need about two dozen years to catch up; and yes I really maybe should have gone to school for this instead of CIA. In cooking land, I was a local big potato with awards and write-ups, (la-de-da) I was strong, I was ego, I am chef: hear me roar. BUT! I had earned my stripes.

I worked for years under the best, brilliant, talented (and most temperamental) chefs who taught me boatloads more then I ever learned at CIA. I endured being screamed at, having knives and pots and pans thrown at me and being belittled because my bruniose of celeriac was not perfect; just that once. I spent 20 years working my way from dishwasher to executive chef and general manager. It was a hard and brutal battle. Add to that being a short chick who looks ten years younger then I really was/am. (in the cooking world this is so NOT a good thing!)

Why do I have a problem with “chefs” that have chefdom handed to them on a plate. I can’t imagine! So this bad penny that keeps popping up….I might ask of one day soon, “prove your stripes to me and then you can have some respect!”

“Power corrupts; PowerPoint corrupts absolutely.”
—Edward Tufte

Gosh, I just loathe PowerPoint. In the last ten seminars I have attended, almost every single one gave us handouts of the PowerPoint slides and then proceeded to drone on reading directly from the slides. Yes I can read apparently only at the second grade reading level. (and so apparently were the other hundred or so other people who attended. ) The last really good seminar I attended with PowerPoint in attendance was great, the presenter used bullet points and graphs and then proceeded to give us an hour and halfs worth of information, all of which we could actually use, understand and apply, without being feed pablum that was just being repeated ad nauseam. Me thinks said presenter may have read Edward Tufte’s books.

I was recently asked to put music on a restaurant website, I explained why if you do do this you should have the option of asking whether people want the sound on or off before entering the site. The client who I have since sent off to harass someone else, I recently let go because of major differences of opinion, i.e. Egotistical chefs who have not earned their egos, I have very little regard for. But I digress, said client did not want this option, even after a lengthy explanation of why this is not a good idea, because to him it was supposed to “set the mood” , well………. many people surf the web while at work, hearing rap music and the oddest variety of sounds coming from ones cubicle, while you are supposed to be working on the financials for a client is probably not a good idea. I guess being unemployed helps set the mood.

I was reminded of this a few days ago, when someone asked about Boulder, Co on twitter, saying they had never been there. Out of curiosity and to see whether some of the excellent restaurants were still around that I remembered, I got sidetracked looking at restaurant websites out there. Boy am I sorry I had my speakers on! And also a perfect reminder of why while music is fun, and it can be when attached to a website, it can also be inappropriate and annoying when used incorrectly.

A few examples: (by the way if you are at work, turn the speakers off or way down, hint, hint)

http://protospizza.com/ -while I like funk jazz, it was a little unexpected

http://www.chipotle.com/ -this one had to be the most annoying with the weird sounds when you click on things.

http://www.darkhorsebar.com/ -this one for annoying music, starts out a little catchy and then right on in to heavy metalish

http://paradisebakery.com/ -had the option to turn the music off but only after the music started

http://rubysdiner.com/ -this site on the other hand drew my attention as it offered the option before one even got into the main page. I like!

Hot food and why I like it! and why cold food peeves me…….. I have struggled with why when I cook dinner and have the call to arms to come “eat”, whether it is just my husband and I, or when we have guests, why I get so blasted antsy when it takes a couple of minutes for the dinees to “come” to sit at the table or in self serve mode come to serve themselves.

While I may have some phobias and tweeky hangups, it struck me last night as I called my significant other to dinner, “what the heck was my problem?” As I started getting impatient for him to come eat all ready!

I had it!!!!! Too many years of screaming at waitstaff, “pick up, pick up, the foods dying here!”

After almost 5 years out of the kitchen old habits die hard apparently. Take a cook out of the kitchen but the kitchen still retains its little hooks in you.

When our daughter graduated from high school several weeks ago, her graduation present was a new “box”. I had tremendous fun filling a new Craftsman three drawer with some very essential kitchen tools that she would need for her new career if she intents to follow it. If not, well some time soon she will have her own apartment and will need those things anyway as she likes to cook.

Two takeaways to consider for me out of this.

1. Yes, Men shopping at Sears are still sexist, I happened to buy her new toolbox prior to the weekend that also had Father’s Day attached to it. 6 comments about how sweet it was that I was buying a box for my husband got me to respond with “actually it’s for my daughter for her new path in life,” got several stunned looks and a few blushes in response.

Thankfully, the nice cashier was unassuming and we had a lively discussion about how Sears had discontinued the 2 drawer version of the “box” and why perhaps Sears had polled the wrong industry regarding the decision to discontinue same. One of the “blushees” was behind me in line and apologized for his presumption. And men say they regard women in business as equals. Phoeey!

2. My significant other did think I was seriously tweeked when I made the traditional newbie knife guards for new knives I had bought for the kit out of cardboard and duct tape, and then spent 20 minutes showing him the difference in balance between a $60 low end Forschner and the $250 Wusthof (that used to be a 12 inch and now was pared from sharpening after many years of use to a 9 inch). Like I said, you can take the cook out of the kitchen.

I volunteer and I am proud of it. I do it because growing up I went through some hard times and it was the people that volunteered that got me through it. I wanted to be able to give something back. If someone gives me grief for something I do volunteering (because I must have some ulterior motive for doing so, of course) I have no problem with standing my ground. But it sticks in my craw and makes my heart ache when I see people who have given their hearts and souls and much of their time to volunteerism, getting grief from someone that just wants to sit on the sidelines with way too much time on their hands and vitriol in their hearts.

I would like to remind people that have nothing better to do then gripe and complain about things, events and goings on, that people who volunteer for things - are volunteers, they don’t get paid for it, they work and give much of themselves for things that more and more frequently give nothing back to them, not even a simple thank you. Why do people NOT volunteer for things any more? The free time to spend doing it? Yes! The time away from work and family? Yes! The cost of living? Yes! The fact that they are not appreciated anymore and get a lot of grief for it many times? Double Yes! Where are you that complain? And what are you doing? Nothing! Oh wait, I’m sorry, you’re complaining. You must be doing something.

In this day and age when people are stressed to the max with rising costs, social issues and things our grandparents never had to dream of dealing with, please everyone take a step back and think of the nice things that people who VOLUNTEER have done that has made some positive impact on your life, be it large or be it small. Without those people that volunteer, many of the things you take for granted every day would not have gotten done and would not continue to be done now. I think a thank you now and then would suffice as acknowledgement and appreciation, but the contribution of your hands and brains are also very welcome!

If you volunteered to help with something and all you got in return was grief for it, would it sour you towards doing it again? Or doing more? I think so! But most of the people that volunteer keep on in the face of negativity. It’s hard to remind yourself frequently of the fact that when one volunteers to help, 9999 people really do appreciate it even if they don’t tell you, but the one person that has to complain about something trivial (when of course they would rather stand on the sidelines and gripe instead of helping) can ruin someone’s day and sometimes their month or their lives.

For those of you that have nothing better to do then complain and make trouble for good hearted people, I say to you, “shut the heck up and pick up a shovel,” so you can shovel away some of the grief you have caused. I have absolutely NO respect for someone that has an issue about something, but when push comes to shove, where were they when it comes time to pitch in? If you have a problem or an issue with something, help fix it and make it better, don’t break it or aid in keeping it broken. Actions speak and make things happen and words sometimes hinder. In this case, the plow is mightier than the pen.

For those people that volunteer, I know you don’t have “ulterior motives”, I know you do it because you honestly want to help, I know that you are special people and I thank you from the bottom of my heart and wish you could all receive medals of valor for being the wonderful people that you are. Please keep volunteering! My family and I appreciates you! And to the rest of you in-betweeners, when was the last time you did something nice for someone. Opening doors for little old ladies counts and so does smiling and wishing someone a good day!

I had comments on my previous blogs and while it was great to respond to comments and questions, it can also be very time consuming. I currently manage two of my own blogs and 6 customer’s blogs on which I do moderate the comments. My feelings about my own blogs, if people find them useful or interesting that’s terrific, if they really feel the need to comment directly on something, I would ask them to email me directly and I will make sure I respond and post it, positive or negative.

There is only so much time in the day, re: my previous posts about inventing cloning. In my book, my customers come first, so their comments get responses and follow up. My blog I hope is mostly informative and might be amusing to some and useless to others. My answer to the useless to others, there are many more blogs in this fish pond so go find a different blog to pester.

AH HA, my new quote of the day! A small blog in a big phish pond.

I struggle to remain a sole person at my business, as I want my clients, who are all important to me, to get ME on the phone, to have ME to deal with if they need something and for ME to be the one to do the work for them. While this seem selfish, i.e, I don’t want to pay another person, it is important to me that I have a personal connection with the people I work with. I get very irritated when I call a business that I am looking for a product or service from, and I get the bottom of the pickle barrel to deal with. If you have issues, these people, it seems, most of the time you can’t get answers from them, they can’t solve your problems and if you want to talk to a manager, you usually get bumped up from rung to rung until, maybe, eventually, you get to reach someone that can help you. Maybe!!!

I prefer if someone has something they need, information I can find for them, a problem to be fixed, something I can help them with, that they get me. I will fix the problem, find the solution, find the answer. If I don’t know I will say so, but I will try to find out about it so that I DO know.