I love spring.

I pulled up in the parking lot at work the other day.  My pre-work ritual is to find a song and play it as my fight song for the day.  I was sitting in my car and admiring the beautiful but frigid blue sky.  Then it donned on me...  wait...  I can see the sky.  I looked for a moment and then it clicked.  ALL THE SEMI TRUCKS are gone from our undeveloped lot.  I became giddy and of course, I had to take a picture of this occasion.  

This is the start of a positive turning point in my life.  When I go from an Executive Chef of Rockin Bowl Cafe inside Daffodil Bowl to the next level.  The other part of my job is to create stunning fitness-oriented dishes for the members of what will be the main Fitness Quest Puyallup location.  The Auburn location is finally done and into their new space with Fieldhouse.  So, for the next 8 to 10 months, I hope to share the pictures of the progression of our past eyesore littered with semi trucks (now a vacant lot) as it evolves.  I figure that we will be feeding construction workers daily.  

After that is done, Rockin Bowl Cafe gets a gorgeous new renovation.  I am going to beg for a freaking smoker for the kitchen.  I am confident that adding smoked meats will bring something that the valley is lacking...  decent BBQ.  One of my first restaurants was a BBQ pit.  It was probably my most favorite first kitchen jobs (sure beat the pants off nursing homes).  There's so many things that can be done with a smoker that adds a whole other depth of flavor to foods.  One of my favorite things to do is smoked potato salad.  I smoke my eggs and potatoes with whatever protein I am smoking.  We will eat off that for a week, because hey..  I am a Chef, I don't know how to make small batches.  Well, I do, but it's hard to scale down one of my recipes for just two people.  It's not really hard, it's just that when I'm home, I tend to not want to think.  Now THAT is hard; not thinking.  Have you ever tried to tell a woman not to overthink things?  How did that work out for ya?  haha.

March 22nd; Save the Date!  

50% occupancy and we can then have 4 bowlers to a lane.  We are finally getting there after a year of absolute turmoil and uncertainty.  This means we are going to be busy busy busy, and we are going to be loving it because we will be servicing the community that we hold dear to our hearts.  Might need to create a whole new special for the week to commemorate this occasion.

Ran around like a chicken with my head cut off for two days getting things ready for the weekend.  Normally my pictures aren't bad at all, but something went screwy with my camera.  I think I'm going to give up using the Nikon for food pictures.

St Patrick's Day Special begins today...  Offering Pub Grub style fun.  Decided to opt against the traditional boiled corned beef and cabbage dinner entree this year, and go for some modern gastro-pub style dishes in order for the specials to be more attractive to the younger guests.  There is a bit of a love-hate relationship that people have with corned beef.  Either they love it, or they hate it.  Mixing it up with some other elements may get people that hate it to experience corned beef in a different way.  For me, I either hate it or love it; it's one of those things that I have to actually be craving at the time.  It's predominately a texture thing for me.  I also dislike the deli meat type; it's always too salty.

Our beer cheese is made to order in small batches, and our Green Goddess is a punchy herby goodness without all the artificial additives.

Pretzel Sticks with beer cheese

Green Goddess Wedge with Wild Boar Bacon

Paddy's Pub Dog with beer cheese, carmelized onions, spicy mustard, and beer braised cabbage.

Spinach Hummus and Pita Chips

Corned Beef Slider Trio on Pretzel Buns.  Roasted corned beef, beer braised cabbage and beer cheese.

How to cook a corned beef from the pros:

I've come across many cooks in my lifetime that cook corned beef a little differently.  So, it's entirely up to you to determine what creates a stellar product.  There's a discussion in one of the food groups that I belong to.  

Which is better, a whole brisket, the point or the flat?
I like to go to the discount grocery stores and buy out all of their corned beef; they are generally the points and I've seen a point for less than a dollar per pound.  These are usually 2-3 pound points that once cooked, it's just enough for two people for two days.  The flats are generally less fatty while the points have more fat.  Unless you know how to separate the point from the flat, and want to deal with the agonizing job of trimming off the deckle from the corned beef, I suggest just buying a bunch of points or flats.  One of the things I hate is trimming corned beef.  Leave just enough of the fat on it to melt, but you still have to do a great deal of trimming, depending on where you get your raw whole brisket corned beef.  Breaking it down to a point and flat will reduce cooking time.  It's not entirely necessary, you can just cook the whole shebang and then separate after it's been cooked; it's one way that I used to have to smoke whole briskets at the BBQ pit; the point would be saved for stews and chili, and the flat was what was carved out to order.  The texture is different with a corned beef.

What's the best way to prep it for cooking?
Some say, soak it in water for 24-48 hours with multiple water changes throughout the process to remove the amount of salt.  Some just say pitch it into cold water and then turn the burner on, let it come to a boil and change the water out several times, then reduce temperature and allow to simmer until tender.  One of my chefs, his name is Vinnie, boils his and then sends it to the oven.  I like his practice and fully endorse it.  Others have placed it in a large pan with some water and baked it low and slow.  You can also smoke it for numerous hours low and slow, use a water pan.

What do I do with the packet?
Most people say "throw it away".  I actually enjoy that little packet and I do use it; that option is totally up to you.  Some will boil their corned beef and then slather it with sugar and mustard and then finish it in the oven, and will add that packet to their rub.  I like that practice.

Okay, it's cooked, now what?
If you plan to slice it for sandwiches, remove it from the pan or pot, and put it into a clean pan with a rack and allow it to rest until it's cooled down to below 41 degrees.  It will make it easier to slice it by hand while it is chilled.  If you're doing a corned beef dinner entree, cut it hot to the desired size.

Cabbage or not?
That's where the magic happens.  I use the corned beef water in my boiling pot to boil cabbage; I cut and core them into quarters and just let it simmer until fork tender.  My preference for cabbage is Napa; because it's not as strong tasting.

Potatoes, which ones?

There are two types of potatoes.  Waxy and Starchy.  I like Waxy potatoes because of their texture and they don't break down as easily.  I use the corned beef water and boil them off whole.  Then mash the potato and give it a little bit of butter and drizzle of malt vinegar.

Okay, so what about that beer cheese, how do you make it?!

I reduce heavy cream in a pan with thick slices of white onion, bay leaves and nutmeg (you can use cloves in your bechamel if you prefer, but I like nutmeg in this application).  In a saute pan, I saute shallots and garlic, add some butter to the pan and then will allow that to get happy.  Once that is happy, I will deglaze with beer of choice; choose a beer that you are drinking with your meal so that your palate doesn't get confused.  Once the pan has been deglazed with beer, add more butter.  Your ratio of butter to flour is 1:1.  Add flour and cook your flour.  Add more beer and allow to simmer down, strain your reduced cream and then add your roux, over medium low heat.  Add cheese and whatever seasonings you want.

1 quart heavy cream with one thick sliced onion and 3 bay leaves, smidge of fresh nutmeg, salt and white pepper.
4 oz butter
4 oz flour
1 shallot, and 10 cloves garlic fine mince.

1-2 bottles or cans of beer of your choice

8 ounces vegetable stock
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese; shred your own because the anti-caking agent they use in shredded cheese can often create a gritty texture.  

Adjust with salt after adding the cheese.  Cheese sauce does freeze well, just don't put it in a ziploc bag and then proceed to place it in the door of your freezer.  One of my friends had to pull his entire freezer door apart in order break a one gallon bag of my cheese sauce out.  So, there is this running joke that we still giggle about a decade later about a gallon of cheese sauce stuck in a freezer door.