What's Cooking Chef Roy?

These are the two recipes we discussed on the KXOJ morning show Thursday 1/29/09, just follow the link to Heather’s Cookbook to get the printable recipes.  Listen in on past shows @ http://kxoj.com/morningblog/

Teriyaki Chicken Satay   Recipe @:  www.kxoj.com/cookbook/viewrecipe.php?id=1233241668&category=Poultry 

Beef Encrute with Caramelized Onions & Baby Portables
Recipe @:  www.kxoj.com/cookbook/viewrecipe.php?id=1233248043&category=Beef

When I am grilling Chicken, I almost always grill off twice as much as I need.  I take the additional chicken breasts hot off the grill and wrap them individually in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for a quick meal at a later date.  I simply take out the frozen & partially cooked chicken breast and microwave for 4 to 7 minutes, depending on your microwave, and you have quick meal with a salad. 

If there were a single most important cooking tool that I use….I would have to say it is the Insta-Read Thermometer.  Of-course I am partial to my many other kitchen gadgets and widgets, but I can guaranty my chicken will be 1^st and for-most Safe for my family to eat and 2^nd a ver ver very close 2^nd nice and juicy and perfectly cooked.   You can find Insta-Read Thermometers at most grocery stores on the tool isle….when you get one…you should calibrate it so you know it is measuring the proper temps… 

To calibrate – simply fill a glass with ice and add just enough water to cover – place Insta-Read Thermo in iced water and it should read 32deg F.  If it does not adjust the set nut on the back with a pair of pliers so that it reads 32deg F. while in the iced water and it is ready to start measuring temps…

I have listed safe food serving temperatures below.  These temperatures are in accordance with the Oklahoma State Health Department.

Always remember to account for carry-over cooking and take your chicken or other meat off the heat about 5deg before the final required temp.

Chicken & Poultry 165deg F

Pork 145deg F

Ground Beef 155deg F

Seafood 145deg F

Steak Med Rare - 135 to 140

Steak Med  140 to 150

Steak Med Well 150 to 160

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Well we are back into the swing of things with Neighborhood Kitchens.  Last week was our first week back after the Holiday and we served 240 meals, of which 168 were kids and parents from local elementary schools, 60 or so were from Garnett Church and the balance were just guests from the community.   Neighborhood Kitchens and my catering business, Poached Pear Catering, have teamed up to fill a gap for parents and children in need of a little help.  My personal goal was just to fill as many hungry tummies as I could every Wednesday with a full meal….drink, entrée, and dessert… something like you might get from a restaurant…just FREE….for those who need it. 

Of course, my only other hope was that the dinner would help build community for those who attended, and it has been such a blessing getting to watch, as so many strangers began to chat and slowly build relationships and ever so slowly community.   This concept of opening up a free meal was hatched in my head a few years back, but I just did not have the organizational know how to pull it off my-self, and that is where Jeff Krisman came in with Neighborhood Kitchens (NK).  Jeff has done so…so…so much more than I could dream to have done alone. 

There will be plenty more to come about Neighborhood Kitchens as each weekly meal concludes.  Until then you can learn more about our Neighborhood Kitchens project at http://neighborhoodkitchens.pbwiki.com/

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You can refer to this recipe @ http://www.kxoj.com/cookbook/viewrecipe.php?id=1231953176&category=Beef

There are a few more tips that I would like to have added while reviewing the directions, but there is so little time while going over a recipe on two short breaks in the 8am hour on KXOJ.  Craig and Heather are great and really know how to ask the right questions to best convey the recipe on air, but I still would like to pass on a few more directions to help. 

First and foremost make sure you have all of your ingredients ready and by the range, and when Pan Searing, you need to start with a nice solid & heavy skillet that has been well heated.   This recipe happens really fast, so you need to have all ingredients ready to go.  You need to pat the steaks dry after they have been marinating, because the salt in the marinade will draw some moisture to the surface of the steak.  If there is moisture on the steak when you add it to the hot pan the moisture will create a steam barrier between the pan and meat, and will not allow the steak to brown properly.  When pan searing….browning is exactly what you are after…the browning process is actually the caramelization of the natural sugars in the meat, and that is what develops those wonderful flavors.  Just about 6 minutes into this recipe and the steak should be around med-rare.  Just as soon as you get the steaks into the plate to rest, you should immediately be ready to add the ingredients for the Jalapeno Jelly pan sauce, as you add these ingredients you should stir them or swirl them into the broth.  If your pan is still really hot, as it should be, the sauce should be reduced and ready within 45 seconds to 1 minute.

You can listen in on the KXOJ www.kxoj.com/morningblog/ morning show Blog 1/15/09 to catch other tips that we discussed about this recipe.

Enjoy, and remember you can contact me with your cooking questions from my home page www.poachedpearinc.com  (contact the chef).

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PART THREE

Attending Western Culinary Institute was a dream come true, with an unlimited exposure to Fresh….and …I mean Fresh out of the water that day Sea Food, locally grown produce & wines, and many ingredients that I had never seen, tasted, smelled, or touched before.  It was a gastronomical sensory climax.  About half way through my degree I started a job at the “Multnomah Athletic Club”.  The Club had two restaurants…one of which was  rated four stars, a Sports Bar, a Café, and Banquette Hall seating 2000 people where we created 3 course plated meals for 900 to 2000 on a regular basis.  Chef Franz Poppel took me under his wing and with his tutelage I learned many of his European cooking styles.  While at Western Culinary, I met one of me great friends Peter Jolliffe, who opened my eyes to foods from his travels through, Germany, Spain, Greece, Italy, , and Malta, and my tastes expanded from an Oklahoma farm boy’s to a world traveler in just a few months, by simply meeting, making friends, sharing stories, and cooking meals together.

On through graduation and my next new and exciting job… The Personal Chef/Butler…. Just after I graduated, I landed a job with one of Portland’s affluent families.  I was their Chef/Butler/Go-fer/Whipping Boy/Driver/you name it, and I bet I just about did it…   It was a 24/7 on call job for 19 long and exciting months.  I do not wish the job to sound all bad, because it was not all bad all of the time…just very demanding all the time.  It was like having four 12 year old spoiled-rotten brats as a boss, all at the same time; yet, it was like gaining a new family.  At times, it felt like I was an older brother for their two children, and at times, I just felt like a paid member of the family.  I learned so much about fine foods, fine dinning, fine arts, and managing 5,800 and 19,000sq. ft. estates, that by the end of my 19 month stint, I was spent, wore-out, and completely home-sick for my family, friends, and Oklahoma.

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PART TWO

On to my first restaurant job….it was at the Double Tree Hotel, where I was a Bus Boy.  I’m sure I just about drove the chefs and cooks crazy with my constant questions about what were they cooking, and why, for how long, and why…are you cutting the fruit like that….and I just had so many questions….  Some where in there, I attended OSU for the Restaurant Administration degree where I learned that I could indeed make A’s in school.  I was so excited with my first cooking class that then and there I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up.

On through other various restaurant jobs to my next great opportunity….my great friend Tim Hewitt was moving back to his beloved Portland, OR, and it just so happened, as he put it, that there was a culinary school down town that I would be able to visit when I came to visit him.  Needless to say, the thought of moving had hardly settled before I realized that I was packing my truck to leave all as I know it….small town Oklahoma…and move right smack into down town Portland.  WOW…what a life changing…culture-shocking event that proved to be….one of the best experiences of my life.

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PART ONE.

I am so excited to open a space where I can share my thoughts, talents, and interests on cooking and eating.

I grew up just outside of Coweta, OK and started cooking along my mom’s side at the tender age of 5.  My mom would give me a pot-pie tin that she had saved from a previous lunchtime, the scraps from her cobbler dough, and just enough filling to make my very own Peach Cobbler.  I was always so excited to get to cook diner with my mom.  I must say, it was an up-grade from my normal mud pies that I always shared with my dog…Prince Albert….my trusty companion all through my childhood.  As I got older, I discovered Julia Child, and was absolutely captivated with what she was going to cook up on her next show.  Of course, most of my 8 older siblings used my affection for Julia as a prodding device, just as good older brothers and sisters should do.  Despite their prodding, my love of cooking bloomed into my very first job at the Sonic Drive-In in Coweta, and then on to McDonald’s and then my big break….and first encounter with fried appetizers at Bequette Appetizers, Inc. where I learned about quality verses quantity, along with how to make the very best fried cheeses, stuffed jalapenos, and fresh salsa that we sold to local restaurants, and most importantly where I met my future wife.

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