Once Upon A Time I Wanted To Be A Chef - My Little Story

Many of you have been following my blog from the very beginning and you know first hand the evolution I have gone thru. Some of you are newer and you have seen me now as I am. I am going to try to fill in the blanks but first lets talk about knives. I love knives.

I have knives I never use because they are way too special and I don't want anything to happen to them and this custom knife by Middleton Made Knives is a perfect example - I treated my self to this knife for Christmas in 2013 - so its pretty new.

I have knives I have customized with special handles that I use when I want people to ooh and ahh over how cool the knife is and this razor sharp Japanese beauty I have had for probably 20 years now is the one that shines in that spot light.

Then I have the knives I use at home, gobs of them. You name it I probably have two and all sorts of other little doodads and whatnots.

I already mentioned the knives I never use except on rare occasions and here they are all together.

And then there are the knives I use for work, I have this knife bag and I also have a smaller one (not shown) with utility knives that I loan out to people who help me on occasion. This particular kit is now a year old as my other cherished set that I had collected over the years was stolen, very heart breaking. I also have a bag of zesters and other assorted tools and yet one more bag of specialty plating spoons but thats a post for another time as well as my oddball knives and hunting knives and machetes and ghurkas and you name it - plus my huge pocket knife collection - I get all frazzled just thinking about it. This is where we start the story - with the knives I use for work. 

Fortunate to have met Liza Minelli

Fourteen years ago I decided that I was going to live my dream and work as a chef. This was not an easy path to take at 40 years old but I had to do it. Ten years ago I started my blog, that was an easy step to take and it introduced me to all of you. I was happy to find a community of like minded people who all shared their lovely food and inspirational words and blogging was exciting and new. I was able to learn a lot from the blogging community and at the same time I was able to hone my skills as a self taught chef. I worked hard at learning everything there was to learn. I had an adolescent boy as I was a single dad at this time (he is 16 now) that demanded a lot of my attention so I wasn't able to dedicate myself to any job so blogging became my biggest effort. I blogged and blogged and blogged and blogged. I also started to take foods to the playground for other moms and dads and child care givers to taste. I spent a lot of time in playgrounds with my son. Before you know it (3 years into it or so) I started a little soup subscription service where I made a couple of kinds of soup each week and would deliver containers of them for a small fee to whomever wanted them. I did this for a couple of years until one day one of my subscribers mentioned to me that they had a friend of a friend that was looking for chefs to help with a catering company and I should give them a call. I called them and started working right away. While working for this one company on occasion (the catering work wasn't regular which was perfect for my schedule and my adolescent son was now a teenager) - a party planner for another catering company asked me to assemble a tasting as they were looking for a new chef. I jumped at that opportunity and gave it all I had. I got the job. I was the new chef. It took me 6 years from when I first made the jump to when I was doing it as a pro at the level I am now. I could not be more grateful, happy and proud. I worked hard then and I still do now. I set a goal and I achieved it even at my later age.  Don't let anyone ever stop you or discourage you from your goals, with persistency and consistency success will follow. I won't ever be able to thank all the individual bloggers that were and still are a huge inspiration to me but I think you know who you are. Thank You.

Resolutions Revolutions Absolutions Evolution Infusion Solutions

Perfectly poached eggs topped with parsley aioli and salmon caviar along with smoked trout on a garlic crostini with grilled plantains and mushrooms and a small salad are a New Years Day brunch anyone would love. 

Don't start the love till after you have had your "good luck" bowl of black eyed peas and collard greens - it just wouldn't be proper. Two quick tips: 1) black eyed peas cook fast 2) collard greens are best when simmered for a good long while to soften up and mellow out.

Recipes. I am often asked about recipes and on that same note I am often told how I should write a cookbook. This whole cookbook idea is nothing new to me here on the blog as I have mentioned it often. As much as I want to write a cookbook I simply don't feel strongly enough that there is a market for one more cookbook. This year I will give it the most thought I have ever given it and we shall see.

Innovations. Innovative cooking is all the rage. The curious thing about the word innovative is how loosely it can be construed. If you have never poached an egg before then you are being innovative. I am going to make it my mission to try to bring innovation to each and every one of you and do it in a way that is functional and feasible. Anything can be innovative and teaching is also a way of learning.

Lets grow together in the coming year. I have written this blog for a very long time now, 10 years to be exact. I have had waves of readers from the many to the few to the very many down to the very few. I have learned a thing or two along the way and I want to pick up a few more things to round it out. I am looking forward to your feedback and your help in 2015.

This Month Makes 9 Years

My blog is 9 years old! Where did the time go? I have learned a lot about blogging and even more about myself in this little process and I have shared as much of it as I could. Thank you to everyone who has been reading since the very beginning and thank you to all the new readers. I thought I would leave you with one of my favorite lunches - the simple bean burrito.

Gotta Feed The Kid™

Many of you have probably seen me make this statement - Gotta Feed The Kid™ and then I post what I fed him that day - well there is a reason behind it and it is a multi-layered and complicated little entity. Gotta Feed The Kid™ is a domain name that I own that I have yet to start putting content into it mostly because I am a little too busy to devote the time necessary but this is the year I will and once I do - stand back. I am excited to share with you all the wonderful meals I prepare for my son that you could just as easily prepare for your families as well. While my son has been eating all kinds of unusual things his entire life he is just as much a fan of the simple things so I try and mix it up a bit to not only keep him excited about food but also not to take him so far out of the box that he becomes jaded.

We eat a lot of the same things for the most part as well - all I do is change up the preparation of the side dish and its a "tried and true" with a twist. This Chicken Madras is something I would make often as we are big fans of the Indian and West Indian flavors.

Eggs, we typically make Sunday brunch and its usually either eggs or pancakes or waffles or all three.

Southwestern food from my native New Mexico is always on the menu in some form or another. This is a stacked enchilada that just also happens to have eggs - you will find out soon enough that we like eggs. So I hope to have the website up soon and I hope to see you all there and believe it or not I will be posting recipes so you can recreate the dishes and share them with your families. I am psyched.