I had the chance to hang out (i.e. work) for the guys from Chickenfoot on Memorial Day.  For those of you not familiar with them, they are a new group made up of a few names you may know: Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony (both of Van Halen), Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers) and Joe Satriani (one of the worlds best guitar players in my opinion).

They were coming into the studio’s to record some interview with a guy in LA and needed someone there to push the buttons and make it happen.  That someone ended up being me.  So I came in on Memorial Day to help the guys out and in my opinion, get to be around some legends.  Maybe we would become friends and they would take me on the road or maybe Sammy would think I was swell and ask me to come to Cabo to DJ at his club and move into his guest house.  Or, I would just get paid for my hour of work and they would forget me before they were even done and I would just have the memory of the time I got to hang out (I mean work) with them for an hour.

So here is my dilemma.  As we were finishing up, I asked to get my picture taken with all of them.  If anything, I thought that would be something cool I could put up next to my picture of Phil Donahue and Twiggy the water skiing Squirrel on my desk.  They were cool with that and it actually could be the best picture I have ever taken.

I then walked them to the elevator as a good host would, while also giving them another chance to maybe see if I wanted to go spend the rest of the day drinking with them and showing them around town, but as they entered the elevator that hope all but went away.  As the doors closed and I turned to walk away, Sammy Hagar said “Oh..hold on” and stopped the doors from closing and started to come my way.  Was it my sorry sad face wave goodbye that made him stop?  Or did he need me to validate his parking?  Well, it was neither.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet and a few scraps of paper.  He searched through his pile and passed me a guitar pic and said “Here you go…thanks!” and then went back in the elevator with the rest of the guys.  As I looked at the pic, it  had his signature on 1 side  and the other side said Chickenfoot and All Access on it.  Now, this made me think.  Was he giving me some super cool All Access pass to their show at the the Middle East in Cambridge?  Back in the day, you would get a plastic type pass for that so maybe this was a unique way Chickenfoot was handing them out.  Or, is this just some little prop he tosses out to the crowd.  You know, the kind people tackle each other over so they can bring it to show and tell at work and say “Yeah….Sammy Hagar gave this to me”.

Part of me wants to think this is an All Access way into the show.  I mean, I did just work for the guy and did a pretty good job.  Maybe this is his way of saying thanks to me.  Maybe he keeps them in his pocket in case he meets super hot chicks while walking around and he reserves these for them, but gave up 1 of his hot chic pics so I can come hang out with them, drink a ton of Cabo and have a good time.  My fear is that I will show up at the Middle East and be like “Ummm Sammy Hagar gave this to me to hang out with the group” and they bouncer will laugh at me and kick me out.  In that case, I will feel like a tool which is never good.  But, what if this really is my ticket in and I just put it in my drawer as a memento of the day I met them and find out later I missed out on a really cool time?

So what do I do?  If only he gave me his cell # so I could call and be  like “Sammy…it’s your good pal Big Daddy and I just wanted to thank you again for this guitar pic.  Will I be seeing you tonight?”.  Then if he says “You better be…I don’t just give those to anyone, especially guys named Big Daddy”, then I know to show up.  If he is like “Who?  What pic?” and then starts yelling to his manager about why I am calling him and how did I get his number, then I know to not show up and carry on with life as I know it.

Here I am at almost 1PM not sure if I should show up or just forget about it.  In any case, I have a cool picture with the group and a potentially All Access guitar pic that I will never use.  Take a look at the pics of the pic and you tell me what to think.

As we start to stretch into the spring warm up, most of us are looking for healthier eating alternatives. This week, I was fortunate to engage in a few cooking sessions, relative to that topic. We took a variety of recipes I had created and revised them to a healthier finish.

We incorporated fresh herbs, raw vegetables and used “lite” substitutions for some ingredients. The end result was quite tasty and the ideas that came from the attendees were fantastic! I believe when you take the time to stimulate your mind and get a little creative with recipes, you can cook anything. The more we experience using our kitchens, the more comfortable we are there and want to cook there. Following are some easy and familiar recipes which could use a low fat tune up. We would like you to share with us some alternative ingredient solutions you would apply?

Thanks

Ciao

~Bernard

RECIPES

Campanelle Pasta with fresh Spinach, Feta and grilled Chicken

INGREDIENTS:

Serves 4

• 1 box cooked Campanelle pasta; follow directions on the box
• 1 bag fresh baby spinach, rinsed and dried
• 6oz. crumbled feta cheese
• ½ cup Kalamata olives-pitted
• ½ cup cucumber slices
• ½ cup red onion slices
• ½ cup balsamic vinaigrette
• 2 – 8oz. grilled chicken breast, sliced thin

PROCEDURE:

• Toss the red onion, olives, cucumber, pasta and spinach with the balsamic vinaigrette.
• Portion on plate, garnish with 1oz. feta and 4oz.of thin sliced grilled chicken breast.

Balsamic V. Dressing:

• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar                               Add the vinegar to a blender, replace the lid, turn it on, and through the
• 1 large clove garlic                                                     feed tube add1 at a time, the garlic, crushed red pepper, salt, and black.
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes               pepper. Leaving the blender running, add the olive oil in a slow thin stream.
• 1/2 teaspoon salt                                                       Set aside until needed
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 3/4 cup olive oil

Pan seared or Grilled Chicken:

• 1 lemon, juiced
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• Salt and fresh ground black pepper
• 4 (4 to 5-ounce) boneless skinless chicken breasts

To cook the chicken:

• Heat a nonstick skillet or grill pan over high heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook, turning once, until well browned, about 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Let the chicken rest on a cutting board for a few minutes before slicing it into thin strips.

Basil Sauce with Italian meats and Romaine lettuce

INGREDIENTS:

Serves 6

Basil Pesto

• 1 cup good mayonnaise
• 10 to 15 basil leaves, chopped
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon good olive oil
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic

• In a bowl combine and whisk together the mayonnaise, basil, salt, pepper, lemon juice, olive oil and garlic. Refrigerate up to 10 days.

Ingredients for the wraps:

• 4 tablespoons prepared basil pesto
• 4 flour tortillas, regular or flavored
• 1 cup baby spinach leaves or romaine leaves julienned
• ½ # each, of 4 varieties Italian cold cuts
• 1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 1T. julienne cut sun-dried tomatoes

Directions

• Spread pesto on 1 side of tortillas.
• Top with 1-2 slices of your favorite meat; add spinach, artichoke hearts, and sun-dried tomatoes.
• Fold the ends in and roll up.

Over the past few weeks, I have talked to Pigs, Sheep, Chickens, Cows and a water skiing Squirrel.  You could say I have become a close friend of the animal race.  Well, as of today, I am now the proud owner of a Jack Russell Terrier named Terrance.  Here is a picture of him before he was placed in my custody.

Terrance was supposed to be taken care of my my 7 year old.  Elizabeth has quite the collection of Webkinz and just HAD to have this one.  She has like 8o of them and knows each of there names and when she got them.  She even has her own Hallmark card so she can get discounts and all sorts of reward points etc.   I can’t tell you how many times my home computer has crashed from her “taking care of them” online.  Anyway, I digress…..

On Monday night, she was given Terrance.  She was so excited and had to hold him and pet him and just love him.  She is quite the caretaker of her Webkinz and just wants to be a great mother to all of them.  But Monday night, there was a little accident.  And now, Terrance is not the same little Jack Russell that he once was.

Little Elizabeth was done playing with Terrance and decided to play with something else that caught her eye…the Wii.  She quickly went to the doorway that connects my living room to the kitchen to “toss” Terrance onto the kitchen table where his bag was.  She didn’t look 1st and just gave him a loving little toss up in the air…confident that he would hit the table softly and be ok.   Well, sadly, Terrance was not ok.  He caught on fire.

My daughter yelled right away for me to come out there and help her.  She said he was on fire and started to cry.  I jumped right up from my laptop and ran to the kitchen.  Sure enough, Terrance was on fire along with his plastic bag!  I guess when she tossed him to the table she forgot there was a small candle lit (you know, one of those silly ones that are supposed to smell like apple pie but smell more like old lady perfume) and Terrance ended up in it and somehow his plastic bag came along for the ride!

I sucked up a ton of air like I was the big bad wolf blowing the 3 little piggies house down and almost blew the whole thing out in 1 try.  I was able to put out the fire on Terrance and the plastic melting bag and get everything under control.  Thankfully I always paid attention to McGruff the crime dog growing up when he would visit me at Spaulding Elementary School in Townsend.  I don’t really know what that has to do with this, but I feel like giving him some credit.  Anyway…..

So at this point, my daughter is crying, the dog is torched on the side of his head and I am getting some odd contact high and a headache from the smell of the melted plastic bag.  I tried to calm her down and tell her it was OK, but she was very concerned for Terrance and felt like she hurt her Webkin and was to blame.  I told her it was not her fault and that he was OK.  She was not buying my reasoning and pointed out the burn on him and that he was clearly not OK.  She must have cried for 2 hours about it.  I felt so bad for her and Terrance.

After she calmed down, it turned out that while she did have some concern for her torched little Terrance, she really wanted to make sure his ID tag was in good shape so she could register him and play with him online.  Once she realized that was in great shape, she was much better.

So here we are on Wednesday and Terrance is here in my office.  I thought it would be good to get him out of the house so she didn’t have to look at him and feel bad anymore.  I have decided to take him in and let him live here in my office where he can get top notch care.  I have a nice refrigerator with plenty of spring water and diet coke for him to drink, a leather couch he can nap on (when I’m not that is), cool A/C to keep him comfortable and lots of people that come by that can keep him company.

So there you have it.  That is the story of Terrance and his rough week.  I’m sure this was not what he envisioned as he made his way from China and the factory he was born in, surviving potential Pirate attacks on the cargo vessel he was shipped here on and coming to live at my house, but it will be OK and he will still have a productive life here in my office and online with Elizabeth where he will be safe from fire and harm (well, as long as she remembers to feed the online version of Terrance…which I still do not fully understand).

Oh, and needless to say, no more candles on my kitchen table!

I have always wondered what thoughts go through someone’s mind when they choose to eat off a “hot food bar”? Are they so rushed for time they can’t cook? Or do they enjoy the variety? Do they think it’s cheaper? Is it because they “need to eat now”?

We have, in certain select markets, the olive bar, salad bar and the ready to eat, hot food bar. I somewhat understand the olive bar, a selection of cured olives and pickled vegetables. Convenient, if you are having guest and want to have 3-4 small quantities/varieties, to use as an appetizer. I know there is generally a good selection, especially if you don’t want to purchase four large bottles. They take up space in your refrigerator and you probably don’t use them again for another four months.

The salad bar typically has a good appeal to the “singles” segment of society. Good for one day, possibly two (if you take out what you want to eat, from the container you purchased it in) and then have the left over’s within 12 hrs. Hopefully, the ingredients are prepared “fresh” each day and the area is maintained for cleanliness and spills as we indulge in each selection. You have variety, pay by the pound, and if you’re health conscious, that appeals to a lot of consumers.

Then there’s the hot food bar, which I can say I haven’t ventured to satisfy my taste buds with yet. I enjoy cooking at home and the peace I get from knowing exactly what I am putting into my body. Occasionally I order in, but when I look at what the cost is, compared to how many meals (usually 2) I could have made for myself I think twice before placing and picking up an order the next time.

So does the “hot food bar” provide a sense of comfort, or of variety, or is it the trouble-free aspect of it which appeals? Do you converse with other foodies about the choices, and then make a date to eat at a table out front? Do you sit and eat right away or take it home to reheat it one last time? I’m curious how long food is kept out in this temperature controlled environment? Sometimes as I circle the selection out of curiosity, I wonder about the sauce some meat is sitting in and how dry it looks. Will it be “fixed” before the next shopper comes by to consider an option? Also, shouldn’t you “tip” the cook who is replacing the old pans with fresh ingredients?

Tell us how you rate them, why and what your experience has been.

Thanks

Ciao,

~Bernard

I ran into a friend of mine the other day at a local grocery store. I was going in and she was coming out. We spoke a bit and curiously I scanned her cart to see “what’s for dinner”? Usually when people know you’re a chef, a recipe challenge comes into question. I said, so what are you making tonight? I could tell she was shopping for dinner, just a few bags lightly packed. Well, I wanted to make fish, but it didn’t look to fresh. I want to grill out, have you ever made? And the class began! We spoke for another 5 minutes and my friend got three recipes out of me. I mentioned to her I was teaching a course that week on seafood at the Boston Center for Adult Education and she should come. I briefly highlighted the recipes we would be creating and the pleasant time I anticipated. Let me see what my schedule looks like, it does sound cool.

We got back to the question at hand, where to buy seafood? I suggested a local fish market, Burke Seafood, since we were in Quincy. I explained where and when he buys, also how fresh it always looks. I think we have a very competitive grocery market here in Boston, most stores do a great job displaying there “catch”. Some could be a little more consistent and I think they would increase traffic and sales quite a bit. When I shop I look, ask questions and sometime’s request to touch the seafood I want to purchase, than I’m close enough to smell it as well. I can tell by the feel, say with salmon, if its firm, that’s a good sign its fresh! Meaning it hasn’t been in and out of the case or handled too much. We love too buy what looks good! So when thinking about your next seafood purchase, don’t just rely on” it just came in today”. Ask…

At the class we had a good time, it was full and we had a “wait list from what I was told”. We sautéed, grilled and poached some delicious seafood. We spoke about some of the practices of buying, storing and of course versatile cooking methods. We also experienced some knife techniques of fresh produce. It was a relaxing evening and the attendees were great. Two of the favorites I think were the Salmon and Tuna. Tell us how your preferred seafood recipe and thoughts about buying fresh.

Ciao!

~ Bernard

Recipes:

Poached Salmon

Grilled tuna Steaks with Warm Lentil Salad and Curry Oil