Every now and then I crave something that I’ve eaten a long time ago, but haven’t seen or heard of in a while. It doesn’t matter what it happens to be.  It can be something my mother used to make, my father’s chili, a food that reminds me of somewhere I’ve visited or just something attached to a memory of some time in my life.  Whatever it is that causes me to want that particular dish, once the idea is planted, it stay with me until I give in.  If ignored long enough it overwhenles me completely. This dish began with an inspiration like that.

My first real cooking job was as a line-cook (Or chef de partie) at a chain restaurant called Lyon’s, a California chain sort of like an up-scale Denny’s. It was the very early 90’s.  pasta was served with a blob of somewhat-Italian sauce on top, salad’s were huge and healthy meant you added chicken (cooked with butter.) In the winter, the side vegetables were always broccoli and caulflower.  In the summer we cooked zucchini and Yellow squash.  There were no other vegetable options.

While a side of squash might sound very healthy, the cooking method we used back then gave a lot of flavor, but definitely didn’t do anything to improve the health of our diners.  Several handfuls of squash were tossed into a saute pan with a serving ladle full of butter and tossed until soft, seasoned with salt and pepper, then served hot. Not what we’d call healthy in today’s world.

Unfortunately, it was this dish that taught me to love squash. It was cooked on my station.  I made a ton of this stuff every day, but I hadn’t thought of it in years.  Then the other night I was talking with my wife about old jobs we’d had and the memory of simple squash simmering in butter hit me like a brick.  I could smell it, I could taste it.  I had to have it, and nothing was going to get it out of my head until I made it.

Even though the memory of the original has a special place in my heart, I just can’t bring myself to use an entire stick of butter to cook two squash. I know better.  My cholesterol levels know better.  My family means more to me than that.  So I had to find a way to get the same flavor without all the fat.  I also had to keep it simple, because this side was never meant to be complex.

In the process, I needed a full meal to go with it, lest I sit and simply eat the entire pan of butter soaked veggies on my own, then be relegated to a diet of water and broccoli for the next month so that I can get my checkup without having the good doctor go insane.

In the end I decided on a combination of butter and olive oil and a bit of fresh red bell pepper to up the flavor that would be pulled out by the lack of fat.  The combination is wonderful and I highly recommend it the next time you’re looking for a simple side dish for a meal.

For the rest of the meal I added simply cooked turkey cutlets and an orzo and spinach salad that were both simply divine, if not paired perfectly. (serve the orzo on the side or in it’s own dish and you’ll be happier.  The squash and the Turkey are perfect together.)

Now that this trip down memory lane has reached an end, I feel invigorated and renewed.  Many of the things that I used to cook there are fresh in my memory and ready to be modernized, which is just the kick in the rear that my inner-chef has been lacking over the past few weeks.

Please give this dish a try and let all of us know what you think.  It’s dear to me in a strange way and I’d love to hearyour thoughts.

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Popularity: 3% [?]

Believe it or not, I haven’t gone anywhere.  I’m still cooking, reading and voraciosly watching food related TV.  unfortunately there are other things in my little sphere of existance that have been keeping me from sharing these things with all of you.

Firstly, my wife and I have been busily house hunting. If that wasn’t a daunting enough task, we’re doing it from 1,700+ miles away from where we’ll be buying.  We’ve already bid and lost a few, but our Realtor has been amazing and we’re loking at several prospects as I write this.  It’s slow going and exhausting.  (I’ll be honest.  It’s stressful enough that at times it turns my brain to mush and I think the guys from the hulu.com commercials are going to pop in and finish me off.)

Secondly, Our son has been progressing at a frightening rate.  This is a two sided coin though, because even though his communication skills are improving wildly, his frustration when he can’t get something across has gotten more pronounced.  This means far more of my day is spent making sure that his wellfare is met. (I’m a dad, it’s my job.  I’m not complaining, just explaining.)

Lastly, I’ve been in the process on writing an eBook on the subject of blogging.  It was an inspiration fueled by my frustration with the information available.  Too many people are publishing utter chaff with the promise of riches and charging an arm-and-a-leg for it.  I intend to put one out that can give both new and experienced bloggers asome valuable hints, tips and directions to follow.

The last has been taking the bulk of my time.  It’s ironic that writing a book on the subject of blogging is keeping me from doing the very thing that I’m writing about, but when your time is limited you have to set priorities and I need to get that prject finished if I want to get back to the full-time business of actually being a blogger.

So if you’ve been worried, don’t be.  If you think I’ve just lost the urge to write about food, cooking and recipes, don’t be silly!  I live for this, I’ve just been diverted for a bit.

Peace, Y’All.  I’m out

Popularity: 1% [?]

If you’re a parent, you know all about Nickelodean.  You’ve probably seen or at least heard more hours of that channel than you’d like to admit.  Nick is, for today’s parent, what Mr. Rodgers, Sesame Street and Barney, the Evil Dinosaur that taught children of the last generation some of the more and less profound lessons of life.  We may get tired of them, but they are a part of our childrens lives whether we like it or not. But Nickelodeon hasn’t forgoten us as parents, either.  They’ve launched a website devoted just to the needs of parents, called ParentsConnect.

All parents have questions about their kids, the way that we do our jobs as moms and dads and even silly little things like the perfect outfit to dress our kids in for a holiday.  some of these questions may not have much gravity but others directly impact our lives and the lives of our children. Many of us are lucky enough to have our own parents to turn to, but even then you might want to get a second opinion, and your experiences might help another parent out as well.

ParentsConnect lets you ask questions of other parents. Whether you’re looking for work in a depressed economy, trying to find the method of potty training that works for your child, are looking for teenage dating advice or are looking for help buying a home, this website can put you in touch with other parents who have been there and have something to share.

And hey, we’re parents.  We’ve been there too.  Each of us has a unique perspective on parenting.  Why not drop in and help another parent on the most rewarding, but sometimes difficult journey of their life.  Parenting is tough.  It’s easier with help.

If you’re interested in my particular views as a parent, look me up.  I’m registered on the site as AFather.  I figure I might have something to share after 6 kids.  Don’t you?

Popularity: 1% [?]

The other day a fellow blogger linked to a post here with accolades, but the exact nature of the link had me laughing.  Her words exactly:

Jerry always has great meat recipes.  He is such a freaking carnivore.  But this Roast Beef, Sun dried Tomato, and Basil Taco recipe is …just… well…bloody good.
From BlissTree.com

While I love the comment and I am most definitely a carnivore, I realized that I’ve been neglecting our good friend the vegetable, and that’s a crying shame. It’s not that I don’t eat them or love them, it’s just that they are usually a side note to the star of the show in most cases.  What an injustice!

With new determination to feature more veggie recipes, both for the vegetarians out there and for my waistline (which seems to grow in direct proportion to how happy I am with my life), I rattled a few ideas around, checked to see what I had in the house and freezer and came up with a plan.

It seems that I managed to overstock my larder with cauliflower.  While I love this veggie, I usually use it as a filler ingredient in other dishes or as a simple side for fish or pork.  Only once before have I featured it here as an ingredient in its own right, and that dish is where I took the inspiration for this soup.

I can’t think of a better pairing than cauliflower and curry.  I’m not a fan of really hot curries or massively competing flavors and cauliflower’s neutrality makes the curry shine without the need for a lot of spice.  It’s almost a zen thing.  This soup does not disappoint.

In the end this dish packs a lot of flavor in a satisfying package.  It’s a great starter but could work equally well as a very light lunch in its own right.  The flavor is both delicate and aggressive at the same time, making for a wonderful contrast.  I definitely recommend giving this one a try.

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Popularity: 8% [?]

I have worked on-and-off in the restaurant industry for years.  In that time I’ve come to understand that a certain level of service is expected both in the kitchen and in the front of the house.  Granted, the level of service I expect depends entirely on the establishment in which you happen to be dining, but there are certain standards that any waitperson should keep if they intend to make a tip at the end of the meal.

This post is about one hapless person whom, in the opinion of this particular food lover, should be banned from hospitality services for the rest of his (or at least my) natural life.  For the first time in my life, I complained about the service I received, not so that a small issue could be corrected, but in hopes of having the individual removed from service.

To put it bluntly, had this incident occurred in any establishment I have ever had the privilege of working in, he would have been sacked on the spot.  Had it been my own restaurant (which I am still planning to open someday), he would have been sacked and docked pay for at least three meals.

Yep, it was that bad.

Let me first set the stage for this calamity and make it clear what I expect from an establishment of the type we were seated in:

(Note: names have been changed to protect me from lawsuits the innocent.)

We headed for breakfast on a bright Sunday morning with the intention on dining at our local Lenny’s, but one look at their parking lot was enough to tell us that we should probably head for another restaurant our son would enjoy. Please take into consideration that our local area does not offer a plethora of choices for breakfast on a Sunday morning.  This is the Bible belt.  Most Mom and Pop establishments don’t open until brunch, so we go where the kiddo is comfortable.

With one Mega-Franchise too overloaded to be anything like enjoyable, we found ourselves heading to one of the area’s International House of Somewhat Edible Pan Pastries. While not the most glamorous fare, they have a menu that satisfies both a child’s palate and they have options that are less than inedible for his parents as well.  The atmosphere is usually comfortable, and the coffee never stops flowing.  For me, that’s good enough.  For the kiddo, it’s heaven with syrup, which makes it our number two choice.

In an establishment like this I have pretty simple expectations for wait service.  I expect for us to be greeted and seated as promptly as possible. I expect a clean table and utensils.  I expect to have my drink order filled immediately and our order taken in a reasonable amount of time.

During the meal I expect the staff to show back up at the table from time-to-time just to assure that drinks are still full and that the meal is satisfactory. At the end of the meal I expect to be handed my bill with a smile (or at least a chipper attitude), at which time I’ll decide what tip to leave.  I pay for the meal, compliment the cashier or manager and go about my merry way.

I’m not expecting top-notch service.  I expect diner level service. I almost always go to places like this often enough to have a regular waitperson.  I know his or her name and they know ours.  We chat, it’s fun, the kid likes it and it’s usually a good time.  This day none of these things happened.

Our experience went like this:

On entering, we were greeted with a smile and seated immediately.  The hostess thought ahead and seated us at a table that would easily accommodate a high chair, which she collected on the way to the table. Up to this point our day was better than usual.  I was impressed with the hostess and the greeter.  They thought ahead and were attentive to our needs.  They thought of our son.  They were personable.  I wanted to hire both of them.

The rest of the morning went quickly downhill…

Our server, whom I will call “Rufus”, arrived at the table promptly to take our drink order. He seemed rushed, but so far everything was going well.  We gave him our order and he scooted off to get our drinks.

Upon returning to the table he asked if we were ready to order.  My wife was ready, we had our son’s meal chosen and I was still deciding between two new menu items.  He asked if we needed more time and I said “No”, I would decide while my wife ordered her meal and the kidlings.  Unfortunately, Rufus was not having any of this.  He decided that I needed more time and left the table to tend to his other guests.

When Rufus returned to our table, he took my wife’s order and she gave my son’s (I always let her order first… It’s polite.) I began to give my order, which does differ from the menu offering, but almost had to chase him down to finish it.  Once he’d asked how I wanted my eggs he was already moving again.  He seemed inconvenienced to find that I did not want pancakes, but sourdough toast.  He was even more confused by the fact that I wanted an additional side order of sausage. (Kiddo likes it, and if he doesn’t want it that day, more for me!)

By this point I was getting irritated, but while waiting for our meal I had forgotten about him,  playing with a child tends to do that to me.  Lil’B. was having a good morning, so we spent the wait signing, clapping and listening to our son jabber about nothing in baby speak, with a  few random tickles thrown in for good measure.  Our moods were high and the morning was wonderful…

For a minute.

All the good feelings and happiness dissolved with Rufus’ return.  In his defense, he didn’t screw up my son’s meal.  As for the rest of the morning, well…

My son’s meal was delivered without incident and my wife’s meal was placed on the table.  In his haste to get everything set, Rufus managed to drop half of my side order of sausage all over the table.  It took Rufus a moment to decide that he should not just put the stray meat products back on the plate.  He apologized and stated that he would bring out a fresh sausage.  My wife reminded him that she had ordered PB&J to go along with her pancakes, which he promised to deliver on his return, and then he was gone again.

While we waited for the kitchen staff to grind, season and stuff a single link sausage, my wife noticed another issue.  She had ordered eggs over easy for her breakfast but our server had apparently not bothered to look at the orders, as what was on her plate was eggs over hard.

After about 10 minutes, Rufus returned with my solitary little sausage.  Nowhere in sight was my wife’s peanut butter or jelly.  We informed Rufus of the error made with the eggs and reminded him again that my wife had requested PB&J to go with her pancakes.  Once again Rufus apologized and rushed off without a glance back at our table.

Once again we waited…  And Waited… Finally, we flagged down another server to get the rare and elusive peanut butter and jelly packets for my wife’s meal.  It took this fine young lady less than 45 seconds to walk to the wait station and retrieve said condiments, a fresh drink for my wife and a refill for my carafe of coffee.

Rufus finally returned after about 15 minutes with a plate of ice-cold eggs.  At this point we had had enough so we asked for our check, but he refused to give THAT to us until he’d comped our drinks. He never considered comping the meal my wife never got to eat all of.

After another 10-minute wait, we finally got our check and left.  When I asked to speak to the manager, I was informed that there was no manager on the floor and that “Rufus” had was just back from a break, so he was just a bit “rusty”.

RUSTY!

In the time we were there, I heard this person apologizing to every table he served.  There was not a single order that came from his hands correctly, and not a single ticket that left the restaurant at full price.  Worse than that, he was comping the most profitable item any restaurant serves, the beverages!

This utter lack of competence is something that should never be tolerated.  If he was “rusty” enough for the other servers to have noticed it, there should have been someone checking his orders, or he should have been put back on training for a day or two so that he did not singlehandedly drive business out of the restaurant.

Worse in my opinion is the fact that no other person on staff stepped in to correct this idiocy.  It would not have taken much to make sure that these errors never occurred.  Any one of them I would have taken as human error.  The combination is nothing short of catastrophic failure and in the end the restaurant and the customer are the ones that suffer.  The restaurant because my wife and I will never step foot in that establishment again , and the customer who ended up going home to make his wife something else to eat because nothing on her plate was the way she ordered it.

So for all you would-be service professionals out there remember this:

It’s not about whether you are having a bad day, your customer should never know if you are having a bad day or not. It’s not about how well you did yesterday, no one you are serving today has a clue if yesterday went perfectly well or not, you are only as good as your last interaction with a customer. It’s NOT ABOUT YOU, it’s all about the people you are serving.

Needless to say, Rufus did not recieve a tip. What he earned for his efforts is my eternal disdain for a job poorly done in an industry that never tolerates anything less than absolute perfection.

Well done “Rufus”!  You are one of the only people in the world I have ever been disappointed enough by to make him or her the entire focus of a Food Snob rant.  That takes some doing.

Popularity: 1% [?]

It’s never been any secret that this blog earns a great deal of its income through social media marketing. Sponsored posts, PPC advertising and ads served through Blog Networks fuel Cooking by the seat of my Pants and make it possible to pay my rather pricey hosting fees. It would be much more difficult for me to continue publishing content here if these services didn’t exist.

The fact of the matter is that these spots greatly help my advertisers as well.  Sponsored posts on this blog do generate traffic and sales. If you have ever thought of running ads on blogs all over the Internet, check out Izea’s PayPerPost and SocialSpark properties.  Advertising through these sites helps your business and bloggers like me who would otherwise be concentrating on our “Evil Day Jobs”, rather than producing content.

C’Mon.  help a blogger out.  Advertise with Izea.  You’ll be happy you did!

Popularity: 1% [?]

Some days are just nicer than others. In my opinion it doesn’t get much nicer than having a package full of yummy goodness delivered to your door from a company that would like you to try out their newest products and let people know what you think of them. Last Tuesday was just such a day and the contents of the package were absolutely delish!

After answering the surprise ring of my doorbell I was greeted by a rather chipper UPS driver with a large package marked perishable. I signed for it and ran to the dining table to discover what treasures might lay inside.  To my very real delight the package contained two flavors of Philadelphia flavored cream cheese and two boxes of crackers.

The first flavor we dug into was the spinach and artichoke cream cheese. I thought of making something tempting out of that particular spread, but unfortunately it’s just so darned good on a Triscuit that my wife and I devoured the entire container at one sitting and were still wanting more. Yup, it’s that good.

I couldn’t resist the urge to make something more substantial out of the second flavor included.  for me Sun Dried tomato and basil just screamed beef and since I’ve still got some smoked brisket hanging around from the smoke fest of last week I knew I was going to make some sort of a wrap.

The idea to make a “taco” came about simply because the only tortillas I had in the house just weren’t big enough to make a full-fledged wrap. Stuffing them like soft tacos just made more sense to me at the time, and I’m glad that I went that way with it.  The combination of beef, creamy cheese and the peppery bite of the arugula in the spring greens mix was absolutely perfect.  Without a doubt this is something I’ll be making again.

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Popularity: 2% [?]

Fried Rice is the perfect go-to meal.  As long as you have Rice, eggs and scallions you already have all the basics of fried rice on hand.  Anything and everything else that you happen to have lying about in the fridge or the pantry is fair game for this dish and there’s absolutely no reason not to throw just about anything including the kitchen sink, into the pan.

This particular fried rice incarnation is brought to you by my brand-spanking new smoker/grill. When I bought it I knew I wouldn’t use it all that often as a smoker, but I absolutely had to christen it as such.  To justify the expense of burning three bags of charcoal and two bags of wood chips, I offered up close to 15 pounds of proteins to the gods of the grill and they did not disappoint.

My larder now happily includes 6 pounds of smoked chicken, 5 pounds of smoked brisket, 6 pounds of smoked ribs and 4.5 pounds of smoked pork.  If you’ve got this amount of smoky goodness on hand, you use it.

I was debating between making spring rolls and a simple batch of fried rice.  My wife made up my mind for me and I was off to create something worthy of the time taken in preparing such a wonderful feat of wood infused goodness. I think I’ve managed to do so, but I’ll let you be the judge.

Of course, if you can’t smoke your own pork for 7 hours you can easily recreate the spirit of the dish by cooking a pork roast wrapped in foil with 3 tsp of liquid smoke in the oven at 250 degrees for about 4 hours.  The flavor isn’t exactly the same, but it’s a close second.

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Popularity: 2% [?]

About a month ago, the good people over at POM wonderful sent me a package of their 100% pure pomegranate juice to try out. Since it got to the house I’ve been tying to figure out a way to do something a bit original with it, and I think I hit the nail on the head with this one. The pomegranate reduction was most definitely the star of the show here and I urge all of you to go grab the ingredients for this and give it a shot.  You’ll be glad you did, I promise!

The fennel and apple salad was a “by the seat of my pants” creation, but no less worthy than the reduction.  It could serve well as a side salad for any meal and has a wonderful flavor, both with and without the pomegranate reduction.  both components paired perfectly with the chicken, but would go equally well with pork or duck.  I can’t wait to try a few more combinations!

And Please don’t let the complicated name on this dish scare you away from trying it. There really isn’t anything complicated about it. In reality it is a combination of three very simple recipes. (Or if you would rather think of it as a complete recipe, it’s a mildly complicated dish with three simple steps.) The reduction can be made up to two weeks in advance if you think you would have difficulty making it on the same evening, so prep can be spread out over time.

Have fun with it!

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Popularity: 3% [?]