Salad Anybody?

Everyone is always asking me about salad dressings. People seem to like the ones
that I make. I'm almost always in favor of making your own, they taste better and they are really easy to make. There are just a few concepts to keep in mind and you too can soon be a master.

First and foremost there are the vinaigrettes. You might ask, what is a vinaigrette?
Well. A vinaigrette is an emulsion, which means basically "a suspension or dispersion of one liquid into another, the two liquids being mutually insoluble." You know like oil and water. They never truly mix. A vinaigrette is vinegar suspended in oil .

A vinaigrette can be as simple as oil and vinegar. This is a great way to dress a salad. You can choose your level of acidity by the amount and choice of vinegar. I'm always a fan of using great ingredients as components in your mixture. So spend some money on a quality oil ( I like an extra virgin olive oil or flax seed oil) and a decent vinegar( I like a nice balsamic). It doesn't take a great deal of ingredient to dress a salad. So what ever you spend will continue flavor your salad for quite a while.

Let's just start by creating a simple vinaigrette. It is easy to make and it's the building block to many different and exciting flavor choices.

What you will need is:

Olive Oil ( extra virgin is preferred)
Vinegar ( your choice)
Mustard ( dijon preferred)
Salt and pepper

Place tablespoon of mustard and half cup of vinegar into a bowl.

Whisk in a 3/4 cup of oil, add salt and pepper to your taste. A pinch of each will do.

That's it.

This will create a simple vinaigrette that will be temporarily emulsified and separate shortly afterwards. You can add herbs, spices, honey, garlic onions, anchovies, lemon juice. It's good and good for you.

Next time out we'll grab the Cuisinart or blender and make a more permanent emulsion with some more ingredients.

Remember life is too short to eat bad food.

hope in a new dark age

Music of the Spheres

'Many say that life entered the human body by the help of music, but the truth is that life itself is music'. Hafiz

overstuffed

Most men, no matter how well or badly dressed, carry overstuffed, beat up wallets that should have been replaced years ago. Why is that? Every time I see a guy take out a wallet anywhere, it looks like a piece of old melted chocolate cake-with strings.
Jonathan Carroll

Marlon Brando: It's Alive!!!

Perhaps Brando is not dead.

Roger Wilco

I've been meaning to do this for sometime. The new Wilco record "Sky Blue Sky" is amazing. A friend lent me an advanced copy a while ago and I've listened to it about 50 times. It consumed me in a time of many great releases.

Wilco has never been a favorite of mine. There were always songs that I enjoyed but nothing to keep me that interested. I always preferred what solo folk guitar stuff Jeff Tweedy did. Last year or a little over a year ago. I watched the "Burn to Shine: Chicago" DVD that had a very sublime live Wilco performance in a house that was about to be demolished. It really impressed me. I then went on to borrow their live CD "Kicking Television" which I liked as well. I think it may have to do with the fact , the band had added one of my favorite guitar players, Nels Cline. I haved seen him in many ensembles. He simply oozes great music from his pores.

"Sky Blue Sky"is a heartfelt and deeply personal album, you can tell from Tweedy's lyrics and the music perfectly matches his mood and tone.I have no idea how they recorded this but it sounds live and organic. It has great part writing that mesh together to unvail an amazing conversation between some talented and empathetic musicians, It echo past great bands like The Band, the Grateful Dead and the Beatles on "Let it Be". The record goes beyond the hipster pop of "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot " and has better songs and more catchy pop hooks than "a ghost is born". This is a very mature and developed sounding record. I might even say classic. I guess, I just did.

I thin k this version of Wilco is the best yet. They seem happy, productive and creative. I can't wait to see them in concert. Hopefully this is just a beginning and we can look forward to plenty of great music. Buy it you will like it.

Condiments are your Friends

Speaking of making the broth, I have been cooking professionally for over 25 years. I've decided that this would be a great place to pass on tips . People are continually calling or asking me about this or that and I'm always glad to share a few secrets.

Today's installment is about making condiments your friends.

I was talking to my assistant Dan yesterday about making Spanish Rice , which oddly I had never made. I was in the n middle of making it and admitted to having never made it before. He said it looked right and then began talking about how his dad made it by pouring salsa in the rice and Voila!! - Spanish Rice. He continued to tell me about other condiment and other prepared food cooking solutions his dad used in the kitchen. He sort of said it like it was a dirty secret. I looked straight at him and said, "Condiments are your friends".

A condiment is a food (normally strongly flavored) that is added in small quantities “at the table” to a major dish “to the eater’s taste”.
Most condiments are so highly flavored (e.g. salt) that they are normally not eaten by themselves but only as an addition to some other food.
Condiments do not form a natural category like herbs, but instead are part of a functional category which means that that the notion of a "condiment" depends on how it functions. For example, Sauerkraut is a food that can be served as a side-dish. However in the context of a hot-dog stand sauerkraut becomes a condiment. Sauerkraut is not inherently a condiment - it only becomes one in the context of buying a sausage in a bun with some pickled cabbage, and seemingly no where else.
There are many deviations to the above definition – a kitchen may add condiments before the food is served, or a condiment like mayonnaise with little flavor other than fat is popular with Belgians who like to add it to French fries. - Wikipedia

About week earlier, Joel one of the guys I cook for at work asked me, "What is the king of condiments?" At the time, I said ketchup. He was surprised. Mustard was his
side of choice. In context of the above wikipedia definition, I believe salt is king of condiments, closely followed by sugar and then pepper. I think most of us see condiments as mustard, ketchup, salsa, mayonnaise, etc. And Yes, I still see ketchup as being the king. It is great on fries of all types( I share the love of mayo on fries with the Belgians and also like vinegar like the Brits), works well in making Phad Thai, will fix a soup, great on a burger, I liked it on roast beef as a child, works in some salads and salad dressings, to name a few things. Ketchup is salty and sweet. Two things humans really seem to like. It also is a bit sour from the vinegar.
The very popular Heinz 57 is rumored to contain beef blood, "a natural flavoring". I guess that's what makes it so good.

I guess my main point of this little piece is to show that condiments as well as being great flavors to add at the table are great concentrated flavor solutions in the kitchen. The three big guns mayo, mustard and ketchup get a lot of use for sure. Salsa is quickly finding it's way passed those three and there are a myriad of compotes, concoctions and flavor packets I use regularly.

Condiments are not cheating . You don't have to hide them in brown paper bags. You don't have to sneak them into recipes when no one is looking. Embrace the condiment in cooking, they are extremely helpful. I'm a big fan of Worcestershire and soy sauce. They are both ways of adding salty goodness. Sweet-Garlic Chili sauce is my favorite. There are also great recipes to make most of these items for scratch if you are so inclined. The web is the home to many recipes some wonderful and others ridiculous.

Don't fear condiments and remember life is too short to cook shitty food. Take some time and make yourself something good to eat.

BTW- Bobby Flay eat my shit, I've made a nice roasted chili pepper compote to accent and compliment it's earthy flavor.

money money money

Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.

Franklin D Roosevelt

feeling empty, good empty

“In the world I fill up a place, which may be better supplied when I have made it empty”

William Shakespeare

Positive Vibrations!!!!!!!

I've had a little bad attitude and motivation problem for a while. I've felt a littled stalled in life and unable to make change. I was talking with Heather a lot on the phone and she suggested reading a book . The book was "The Sucess Principles" - Jack Canfield. Jack is the author of "Chicken Soup for the Soul". Just looking at the book or the mention of it made we feel queasy. I'm a jaded middle aged man with a chip on his shoulder and this was some weird posivite smile fest with lots of hugs.

I resisted the idea for about a month, I guess. Heather visited a weekend ago and suggested that I just have a peak at her copy of the book. I did and it was much like what I thought it would be. My reaction was much as I expected but then I read one inspiration story that was in the book. I don't recall the exact story now but it described me and how that person had given into Jack's system and suceeded at a high level.

It was at that moment I decided fuck it. I have nothing to lose and everything to gain by reading the book. I have certainly made a lot of great change in my life in the last couple of years. Why not focus my mind on sucess and positive attitude? I bought the book a couple days later and fought through the first couple chapters, my bullshit meter on high. It was shortly after that moment it changed or I changed, things changed. I decide to dedicate myself to reading the WHOLE book and then going back to the beginning and doing ALL the exercises.

Since that time things have gotten better or how I perceive them has gotten better. I can't say that everything has improved, in fact some stuff has gotten worse in my life. However, I do have a better attitude and a commitment to working towards contentment and happiness in myself and my life.

Thank you Heather.

Thanks Jack.

And most of all thank me.

ok computer - arrogant computer companies

It occurs to me that maybe people should steal computer software. It would certainly be very Thoreau-like to give the finger to the developers from your very own virtual Walden. It can be extremely frustrating trying to getting things done when it feels like the computer companies are more concerned only with entertaining themselves and lining their pockets with your gold pieces . The industry seems a little self absorbed and down right arrogant. Where else would such poorly crafted product be allowed to ship ? Where else would the pricing structures be so arbetrary? Where else would the product support be so lacking and condscending ? Where else would there be such arrogant, self absorbed design ? Why should I pay real money for a real tool when it will be rendered obsolete with in two years? If this existed in any other industry they would be out of business.

Computers have certainly made life a lot different for all of us. Sometimes this is a good thing and at other times bad. I just wish we weren't held hostage so much by the computers companies and required to pay them to be beta testers. Obviously I could not convey this message here without the use of a computer but that doesn't mean we should have to be tortured to do so.

Wake up and start thinking about your customers. Give them not what you think they need , but what they need.

think again

the road to aw

I'm very excited that next week "The Fountain" comes to DVD. This movie is Darren Aronofsky's answer to the "Matrix". He felt that that movie had completely redefined the sci-fi film and this is his forray into that brave new world. I would say it's another masterpiece much like his "reqieum for a dream", a dark poetic piece about addiction(s). It is beautiful, emotionally charged, intelligent and even spiritual movie. It's much like one of the masters paintings that unfolds like a lotus flower over two delightful hours.

Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett left this production as it crumbled in Australia. They went on to join the blockbuster "Babel", a movie that is hard for me to watch. It still sits on my coffee table in it's Netflix envelope. Aronofsky on the otherhand downscaled his production, rejoined his reqieum and pi production team and picked up his wife Rachel Weisz and Hugh Jackman on the cheap(before they both blew up as movie stars) and opted for organic special effects over digtal. The combination is a winner. It's funny how adversity can lead us to were we really need to be in life. This movie is really special(I saw it twice the first weekend), it would be hard to be any different than the way it came out.

It's released on Tuesday. Watch it.You'll enjoy it.

....to victory.....

You gotta have presence on the court. Presence like a cheetah rather than a chimp. Sure, they both got it, but Chimpy gotta jump his nuts around to get it. The shy cheetah moves with total nonchalance, stickin' it to them in his sexy, slow strut. Me? I play like a cheetah. - Jim Carroll

I have always been a fan of NBA Basketball though more casually, as of late. The current league seems lame, there just isn't very interesting games. The players seem to lack skills and sucessful team dynamics are usually tied to defense and not the art of ball movement, which is far more interesting to watch.

Still with all that is lacking for me in the game. I will always watch the playoffs. I remember once running out during half-time to buy a television when the tube went out on mine. It was worth it to see Alonzo Mourning, Larry Johnson Kendall Gill and Spudd Webb of the Charlotte Hornets pig pile at center court with their first playoff series victory. It's these moments where, we experience real human emotions in spite of all the corporate sponsors and hype that is what keeps our interest. Last years games had some very special moments and series. The ragtag misfits of the Miami Heat were fun to watch winning it all. Steve Nash and the Suns dramatic style was also a delight.

This year, I wasn't that excited about the playoffs but I have cable so I am able to watch casually. I knew that i would probably watch Steve Nash and the Suns because they are fun to watch. I knew much of the East would only garner Sportcenter highlight interest. The surprise was how much fun the Dallas-Golden state series would be. I had seen the Warriors during the regular season, the only game I went to in person. They looked like a bad college team. In fact the Sonics beat them. This was the Warriors pre-trade. Yet they squeaked into the playoffs with a victory over Portland. Clinching the 8th seed just barely. How good could a series between them and the Mavericks who won 67 games.? Evidently real good.

The subplot between the Warriors and Dallas is intriguing. The Mavericks were built by Don Nelson . He is currently the mad genius at the helm of the Warriors. He had retired from coaching after conflict with controversial Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. The staff( including Nelson's son Donny) and the team are all a part of the Nelson creation . Nelson left because of Cuban's hands on ownership and a dispute over financial compensation . Cuban had in fact accused Nelson lacking the desire to win at all cost because he refused to play his star player when he was injured . He feared it may cause career ending damage to the player's knee. He used money to snub and force Nelson out of the orgainzation.What could fate bring more dramatically interesting than the creator pitted against his creation and a taste for vengeance.

Well to cut to the chase the Warriors won against the Mavericks in Oakland last night. The series was emotional, exciting and well fought and yet Nelson held the magic in his hands. The Warriors succeeded against all odds; the great team, unorthodox style the pundits said could not win, injuries, lapses in concentration, etc. They were the underdog, expected by few to win and yet they were the victors. We humans love this story.

I know that I was taken by them and their fans who's shirts a sea of yellow read "WE BELIEVE". Isn't that the power of getting behind the underdog? Isn't that why we are drawn to it's energy? In our hearts, we all want to believe and have it be the outcome we desire in our lives despite of hard cold facts to the contrary. The story goes back a long ways, remember David and Goliath.

VIVA THE UNDERDOG!!!!!!!! It gives us all a little faith.