Where's the chain?

I travel a lot for my job. New York, Florida, Texas, California, etc. Road warriors such as myself appreciate the method behind the madness of traveling. We have our special rituals on the road such as the tools we take and the ways we use said tools. One of the most important yet most difficult aspects of the road is sustenance. It's difficult to eat well when you have little idea where you are and what's around. That's where comfort comes into play. You see a Houston's restaurant and you know what you'll get. As you would with a Macaroni grill or even a McDonald's or Chipotle Grill. They're the same whether you're in Anaheim California or Miami Florida. It goes the same for local dining. Find places you know you'll act well...or just cook at home of course (it's easy) Does it mean it's healthy? Maybe, maybe not. But all you need is a bit of discipline. I remember when I was in high school and a friend of mine saw a fat kid and said, and I quote word for word, "Eat a salad you whale...somebody get a harpoon!" Was that a bit cruel? Yes, but spot on I must say.

Anyway, Order what you want to eat and enjoy it, but at least try and order something healthy and when you've worked your way through half the plate, think of that quote and then think again before you polish it off completely and order a chocolate lava cake.

The moral of the story is this...So much in life is self hypnosis and a self-fulfilling prophecy. So get your mind in the right place. Believe it or not, it's a lot simpler than all the books and miracle pills and crazy exercise routines tell you. The solution is not in a book, it's in your mind. Just control yourself. Associate massive amounts of pain with being unhealthy (leads to ridicule, premature health problems, discomfort, etc) and associate massive amounts of pleasure to eating healthy (More energy, more people will like you). And it's not like your making dramatic changes. Just eat half that burrito in stead of all of it. Make a soup and salad for lunch and for the love of god, don't go to the Cheesecake Factory! It's a disgrace!!

Easier said than done, but done, is what it needs to be.

Economy Class

The economy sucks. Historically, bad economies have almost always proven to be fantastic times for food innovation and the creation of new recipes. Think about it...people always want to eat well, but right now, people can't afford shrimp, fillets and truffle oil. Hence you must get creative. Where do you think the best recipes in the world came from? Polenta used to be the food of the poor in Italy and now it's served in the fanciest restaurants around the world. Innovation! So we're just going to have to trade in our lobster stuffed trout for chicken and vegetables. Our Grey Goose martinis for cold Miller Lite. Does that mean we can't eat well? Of course not. We just have to get creative.

You might also think that the drowning economy means that we can't go out for dinner anymore. Not the case. Restaurants are hurting too and they still need customers. Service and quality are actually improving in most cases. Oh, and here's a crazy thought, if you go to a restaurant, eat less!! Most of us could lose a bit of weight anyway. The era of over-eating at Buca di Beppo and Cheesecake Factory is over. Thank goodness!!

NYC Restaurants

New York City is known for having some of the best restaurants in the world. I've eaten in several places in New York and added two decent ones this past week. The first one was Pastis in the Meat Packing District. Every restaurant in that district should be good otherwise it'll go out of business because of competition. I was expecting a good meal because this place was jam packed, it smelled of garlic and it was French. It was not good. I wouldn't say it was terrible, but it definitely didn't live up to expectations. Don't go there, go somewhere else.

The next restaurant I went to was Harry's in downtown. Harry's is an establishment for the finance community. Brokers, Hedge fund managers, traders, etc all go there for happy hour and sometimes dinner. Our waiter said they had the best steaks in town. Again, I was disappointing. Just average. But I definitely suggest going there as it is so well known. Added benefit to Harry's: You could bitch smack one of those greedy wall street bastards.

Mycket Bra Julbord

Smorgasbord is a Swedish meal served buffet style with both hot and cold dishes. In my family, we get it once per year...Christmas eve. It is customary to start with the cold fish dishes first and then move on to the hot dishes. Typical dishes for the Julbord smorgasbord (Christmas buffet) are an assortment of pickled herring, gravlax, koffbullar (Swedish meatballs), julskinka (Christmas ham), Janssons Frestelse (Jansson's temptation - frenched potatoes, cream, onion, anchovies), revbenspjall (oven baked pork ribs), stewed cabbage, assortment of breads, cheeses, pate, spinach, and a ton of other stuff that you can see in the picture. We also light as many candles as we can (which provides quite a rush as we risk burning the house down every Christmas eve). Last, but not least, we each have a glass (or two) of snaps or akvavit (firewater) which helps to coat your throat with a line of fire as to ease the swallowing of all the food. Long story short, you eat like royalty. It is a wonderful undertaking and worth every extra minute on the treadmill.

La maestra

If my parents lived in Orlando I'd probably be like one of those Italian 40 year old guys that has their condo to impress the ladies, but actually lives at home with their parents. Free booze, free food, free laundry service. Why wouldn't I? Seriously?!

Anyway, back to reality (could I really get a girl if she found out I lived with my parents?) and my original thought. There are some people in this world that possess the propensity, talent, capability, etc to create something special (athletes, musicians, writers, chefs, actors...) Sometimes it's innate, sometimes it's learned over time and with experience. I know all of us have that friend from high school that was just naturally good at everything he/she did. Anyway, I know some chefs that have that ability...partially learned, partially innate. They can just take whatever is in the fridge and make something delicious out of it. One of these ingenious people is the young lady in the picture (we had slammed about 5 glasses of wine each before this picture - notice the half empty bottle in the foreground - and don't worry mom, we can talk about this, your friends probably don't read my blog). Now that I think of it, maybe her cooking is so good because of all the wine...we'll never know will we?

The tale of two eggs

I always hear and read that the ability to cook a good egg shows the ability of a good cook. My eggs are usually good, sometimes brilliant. The top left picture is of a simply boiled egg on a piece of toast sprinkled with some cajun seasoning. Simple...but brilliant...and I made it look good which is unusual for me. The other picture is of scrambled eggs with spinach, onion and bacon at my desk. I made that and actually lost $110 trading currencies...expensive breakfast!

Anyway, the best eggs I have ever had were in Spain. Huevos estrallados. There is a popular restaurant in Madrid where the King eats that serves these huevos estrallados. Basically, it's two or three eggs, sunny side up, over a bed of french fries...that's it. And the Kind of Spain swears by it. I have tried to copy it, but it just isn't the same. Maybe it's the oil...maybe the ambiance...maybe the 6 Heineken's I had.

Him, the man from Richmond

I am passionate about soccer. I love FC Barcelona. They are not only a club, but a nation, a community. "Mes que un club" - More than a club. If Barca does not win, the people get emotional. However, not only must they win, but they must win with beauty. 1-0 grind it out games are not only boring to the Barca faithful, they are not tolerated. The fans demand a graceful, classy performance. There is something to be learned by that. Not only win, but win with class and entertainment. There is also something to be said by the headlines that the Spanish speak with and their overall manner of speaking. Just imagine a Spanish radio announcer when the local team scores a goal. GGGGooooooooooooooooaaaalllll!!!!!!!!!!!! Passion at it's core. Maybe it is just the romance of a latin language, but I strongly believe this passion is easily transferable to food (By the way, the best food in the world can be found in Spain.). The best true chef's in the world are overrun with passion (Mario Batali, Gordon Ramsey, Jacques Pepin). From now on I will have FC Barcelona on my mind when I am writing about food. A RITMO DE CAMPEONES!!! To the rhythm of the champions!!!

Tell me what you eat and I'll tell you what you are

Food is life. It gives us energy, it makes us who we are. I have friends that eat merely to provide proteins and nutrients. I have friends that eat because because they enjoy a good meal. I have friends that eat too much because they are gluttons. And I have friends that eat for the pure joy and exhilaration that it is to enjoy a good meal with good friends and family. Nothing brings friends and family together like dinner. The most amazing meal I ever had was in Umbria, Italy when I was 16 years old. I sat at a table with my father, his friend Marcelo Manfroni, a few of his family members, a few business associates, about 20 people in all. It was summer time. It was about 8 or 9pm, 70 degrees, amazing, life changing for a 16 year old boy. We ate in the garden with an epic view down at the valley and up at the rolling hills. Beautiful trees everywhere, a cool breeze, and the scent of poplar trees and the forest in general. I suppose it looked like the picture here. Everyone there was either Italian or could speak Italian except me, but it still remains in my mind as my best dinner experience ever. I sat by my dad at the middle of the table and some of the Italians tried there English with me from time to time, but it didn't matter. I was happy.

Anyway, remembering this dinner (I could go on for ages about the meal, spaghetti, rabbit, vegetables, etc), made me think of a place that would inspire good cooking and good eating. A condo in Orlando FL, while quite a nice place to live, doesn't really inspire mind altering meals. Umbria, Italy does. Great views do. Good people who also love to cook do. So I thought of 3 things that do inspire me to create a beautiful meal without the scenic vistas and perfect ingredients outside your back door in the garden.

First of all, remembering your past culinary failures is counterproductive. Don't worry about the meals you've messed up and focus on your previous achievments. Move forward. I seriously doubt that anyone who reads this has friends that would go hysterical if your short ribs were overcooked or overseasoned. Do you? Second, create a structure in your kitchen. Know where your materials are. Know where your spices are, your knives, your sauces, your vegetables...know your oven, how it cooks, you pots and pans, etc. Know when your guests tend to arrive, on time, late, early, and cook accordingly. Know your environment so you can focus on creating a good meal rather than focusing on where the heck the potatoe peeler is. Lastly, have a mentor. Mine has been, and continues to be my family, mother, father, brother, (my mother in particular). Someone you can bounce ideas off of and who can give you new ideas. Someone you have no fear asking questions of. These 3 things will hopefully provide consistency in your culinary adventures. Because remember, what you put in your body is who you are.

Results of the big day

Well, here are my mostly positive results from the previous day. Barcelona tied against a relatively weak Swiss team (still qualified so that's okay). I made 13% on my money shorting the EUR/USD in 8 hours (I shorted it at 3pm and closed the trade right in the middle of Obama's speech). And the food I made was quite extraordinary if I may say so myself. I made spicy teriyaki wings and my moms Swedish spare ribs. The wings are on the left side of the plate in the picture and the spare ribs are on the right side. I ate too much like my normal glutonous self. Unfortunately, only one of the 6 people I invited showed up so maybe my cooking isn't as good as I thought it was. They are republicans though, so maybe they were just in a bad mood. Maybe I should concentrate on trading rather than entertaining!

Big day

Big day today for me. We're voting for a new president. Barcelona plays in the Champions League. I shorted the EUR/USD. I'm not really anxious though. I've done what I think is right and hopefully it goes the way I'd like. All I know is that I'm throwing an election party tonight and serving some snacks. I'm planning on zucchini fritti (zucchini cut the size of french fries, into egg, then flour mixture that has spies and some parmesan cheese in it), spare ribs (with prunes, salt and pepper...simple, but amazing), teriyaki chicken wings (no idea, got it off foodnetwork.com), caprese salad (tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, basil, olive oil), french fries (shoestring), and anything else I can find in the fridge that might taste good. We'll see how it goes. This evening, I could be wealthier and happy, or not. Either way, my stomach will be satisfied.

Redemption

Just when I thought I couldn't cook any worse, I go and do something like this...and totally redeem myself. This picture doesn't do last nights meal justice, but it was absolutely delicious. Simple, easy, healthy. I cooked another flounder, but decided to broil it in stead of pan fry it. I kept it simple by putting a bit of soy sauce, olive oil, slices of lemon and pepper on it...that's it. I placed it over a bed of rice (cooked in chicken broth in stead of plain water) and had some lima beans on the side (cooked in chicken broth again with some pepper flakes added). It was quite a memorably meal and I definitely regained my confidence after Sunday's debacle.

Nasty fish on the loose

Maybe it wasn't as bad as the slop in Oliver Twist, because you didn't see all those kids running out of the dining room vomiting, but the meal I made last night was pretty bad. I've been trying to get into cooking fish really well. It's healthy, tastes good, and other than last night, it's usually pretty easy to cook. Last night I tried to make flounder with a lemon butter sauce. It probably would have tasted butter if I had eaten it all tequila shot style...lick the butter, slam a bite of fish, and then down the lemon to take the edge off.

As you can see from the picture, it was not inedible, but I would not have served that meal to anyone. Everyone has kitchen disasters though I suppose. At least it wasn't for a group of critical people.

Napa Valley

I don't know if you can tell, but the statue in the picture is of a woman that has her arms outspread giving a sign of welcome. Robert Mondavi designed his vineyard after a monastery and all monasteries have statues such as this to illustrate to passers and other travelers the sign of welcome. The Mondavi vineyard is right in the heart of Napa and sports some interesting wines.

My tour of the vineyard was quite interesting as well. Of course you get the sweeping views of Napa Valley and hundreds of thousands of rows of grapes, but we also got to see the inner workings of the vineyard, the wine barrels, the fermentation barrels, etc. Our tour guide was quite the trip and probably both enhanced and worsened the tour. He knew his Mondavi/Napa valley history inside and out, but along with the scripted jokes, he was dry and boring. It's probably a good thing I wasn't there with friends because I would have been subtly teasing him all day long.



Anyway, I spent about 3 hours at the vineyard and overall it was incredible. I also hit what used to be the Coppola vineyard as well as the Martini vineyard...both incredible. I highly recommend Napa...preferably with a significant other. And yes, I did just come back from Oktoberfest where I drank 10 liters of beer per day and go to Napa Valley where I had a few bottles of wine per day. No big deal.

Pork Knuckle

I'm shocked I didn't put this picture of German pork knuckle up until now. The pork knuckle looked like...a pigs foot, and it was delicious to rip the meat off of the foot of a pig. The sauce was amazing and the dumpling was above average as well. I had this pork knuckle at the Haufbrau House restaurant the same day as arriving. (I think the dumpling is still digesting in my stomach 2 weeks later)

True Chef

I'm an amateur chef, a passionate chef, but still an amateur. I often go into restaurants and am blown away by incredibly creative and successful chefs. This picture is an example of a chef at a French restaurant (forgot the name) in Charleston, SC. Not only was the fish incredible, but the mussels before hand were incredible and the crusty French bread was out of this world. Anyway, only a true chef can cook a whole fish and make it taste this good and look this appetizing all at the same time. Makes me wonder what it takes to become a true chef. Practice? Culinary school? Owning a restaurant? I don't know yet, but I think I'll try practice and find out for myself.

Oktoberfest II

I couldn't help myself. Here's another classy video of my time in Munich. (I'm not a film maker, and I had 4 liters of Haufbrau in me, so please excuse the quality) Notice the aged gentleman standing on the table with a liter of beer screaming German drinking songs. By the way, this occurred Friday night, the day BEFORE the official Oktoberfest even began. Oh, and I'm on my way to visit Wine Country in California on Tuesday, so I should have a different sort of video then.

Munich - Oktoberfest 2008

Ah, Oktoberfest. Munich. Germany in the lovely autumn. Here's a quick recap of a quite lovely week.

Day 1: We arrive in Munich Thursday afternoon around 5pm. We knew that if we lollygagged in the hotel, we would just pass out due to the jet-lag so we decided to go to the Haufbrau Haus in the center of Munich. 4 Liters of Haufbrau and 1 pork knuckle later, we went to bed.

Day 2: We thought the festival officially opened today, but it didn't. We did the touristy stuff and walked around Munich and ended up at the Chinese Tower in the English Gardens and consumed a few liters there. We then went back to the Haufbrau Haus with a couple of new friends (Billy and Phil) and consumed beers and chicken until we could no longer.

Day 3: Hippodrom - The Hippodrom festhalle is a smaller, more local hall that serves Spaten. It was delicious and our waitress was a beautiful German princess.

Day 4: Haufbrau - The Haufbrau festhalle holds approximately 10,000 people, probably more and is absolutely insane. It is more international, the band plays 24/7 and the people sing, dance and stand on the table 24/7. We arrived at about 9am and left around 6am. That's about 9 hours of beer drinking for those counting.

Day 5: Lowenbrau - The Lowenbrau festhalle is a bit smaller than Haubrau and perhaps a bit less festive, but still crazy. We sat by 4 Australian lads that were very friendly and thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Day 6: Flight home wreaking of beer.

Here is a brief video of our time in the Haufbrau Festhalle:

Entertaining

Entertaining is a skill. A skill that is not innate, rather developed through experience. Through experiences of attending dinners and throwing dinners. My parents are skilled entertainers (in both attending and throwing!) I didn't really notice that skill until I got older and saw them entertain neighbors and friends. People always left happy, well fed, and thoroughly entertained. The key to making people feel comfortable is getting them drunk. Just kidding, there's more to it than that. Most importantly you must make everyone at the party feel comfortable. That doesn't mean acting fake, it means acting real and making people feel comfortable. It also means having a wide variety of drinks available. Vodka, Whiskey, white wine, red wine, good beer, champagne, perhaps some Tequila depending on the group. After that, music is essential to creating a particular mood, whether it's jazz, rock, rap, dance, etc... Mix all of these elements well and you get a successful party...if not, people won't come back or invite you to there party.

Beach food

Too much food, not enough words.

What's in the fridge?

A couple of nights ago I wanted to make an inviting, creative, healthy meal, but did not feel like going shopping so I looked in my fridge to see what I could come up with. After I passed by the beer and stale mixers, I saw some fresh Penne, Parmesan, cream, bacon, frozen peas, butter, olive oil, pepper flakes, all the good stuff...lovely!

• I first cut up the bacon into smaller pieces and cooked it until crispy and than put it aside.
  
• At the same time, cook the penne until al dente and put aside.
• In a pot, slightly blanch the peas in water with a bit of bullion powder and then put aside.
  
• In another pan (or in the pan you cooked the bacon if you want to get crazy) cook some onion, if you have it, and garlic on low/medium heat until slightly browned (in a tablespoon of butter and some olive oil). Add half a cup of cream or milk, a couple of tablespoons of butter and reduce to the consistency you like. Add the pepper flakes and any other spices you want to kick it up. Add as much Parmesan as you like

I added a decent Spanish red wine from Rioja to go with the Penne. It was really easy, cheap, somewhat healthy, not really, but pretty close, and quick to make.