sad meal. SAD.

I'm not one to use my blog to vent. But tonight is deserving. My lovely friend Karla aka Koko and I had a fabulous adventure today. The day started wonderful with the two of us sneaking into the San Francisco Jewelry mart and making some pretty fabulous purchases. On our way out, we decided to stop at a fabric shop in Berkley, but first we would eat. I see this Thai place that looked pretty modern and attractive from the outside, ask Karla if she wanted Thai, and she agreed. I had not had Pad Thai in sooooo long, so I was super excited to have it. I was super disappointed. It was hands down the worst pad Thai I've ever had! It tasted like straight fish sauce! Lucky for me Karla ordered Curry, which was good. But now that I'm home and thinking about the meal, I realize how sad I was about my Pad Thai. Don't you HATE when a meal expectation isn't even slightly met? It got me to thinking, what's the worst dining experience you have ever had??! Tell below in comments! This wasn't AT ALL my worst. Just unsatisfying. :(

Pizza inperation!

First of all, sorry for the lack of blogging the past few days, I am still arranging photos from our wonderful cooking class on Monday night. Blog to come! My lovely students did a wonderful job, and all in all it was a lot of fun! OK, so today's topic: Pizza. I got the oddest craving for it last night. Like STRONG craving. First thing my Husband asked me when I told him I wanted Pizza was "are you PREGNANT?!" The answer to that is no. At least not yet. . . . Anyways back to food! When any craving of mine is fulfilled it makes the food all the better. We did a pick up last night, but when making your own Trader Joe's offers great dough. For $.99 fresh dough, plain or herbed, is at your fingertips. One day, I had a client in the middle of a party tell me that her five year old wanted to know if I could make her a pizza. I loooove a good challenge, so I asked her If I could run to get the dough. She said yes, and when I came back I fired up the grill and that kindergartner got the best peperoni pizza she's ever going to have. (Hey, it was some running around for me, so I'm gonna give my self two pats on the back for it!) Get creative with it! As long as your grill is hot enough, the dough won't stick I promise. If you prefer the traditional method of baking a pizza that's swell too. I love making a breakfast pizza. Take your dough, roll it out, season with oil, white cheese and ham. cook halfway and right before the crust browns (the funnest part of all!) crack an egg on top. place back in the oven until the egg as finished cooking. Sound crazy, but tastes amazing and looks even more. So get cooking, and for your viewing pleasure: below is the future of the pizza box! Yay for helping the envornment in such a simple way! :)

EGGY.

At culinary school I had the great privelage of being trained by a master chef. The qualifications to be a master chef are pretty intense so any training I recieved from him, I knew would be worth the rediculous tuition fees. He began the first day of class with this :
"Today, as new chefs, you are going to cook the most difficult product to master in the world." I thought I was going to pass out. I was already intimidated and now I get to embarrass myself by cooking something that even he thinks is hard. I was expecting him to open the box on his counter and it be turtle meat, or ostrich. . . . anything exotic. Well world, It was an egg. Yes an egg. I soon came to learn that most chefs will tell you that if you can properly execute the cooking of an egg, you can cook anything. The egg is delicate, temperamental, and can be ruined in a matter of seconds. It deserves more respect in my book than any other food item.

I love cooking poached eggs. A simmering, (not boiling!) pan of water with just a little vinager will create the perfect poached egg. Poaching leaves a creamy yolk, and is much healthier than frying. On top of a bed of fresh spinach with a balsamic vinagrette. Yum! So get eggy with it. ;)

soup in a snap!

For whatever reason, my husband and I got into this weird debate about how he hates tomatoes but loves tomato soup, marinara sauce, pizza. . . . . You get the point. I thought it was weird. So of course like most times I talk about a food it gets me hungry! Tomato soup and a hot grilled cheese has to be a favorite pastime of mine. Not really fond of straight out of the can, so I have gotten a little creative with ways to make it fast and easy. Whenever I make a tomato based sauce for pasta, I always freeze some for later. When that tomato soup craving arrives, I pop it out and get crazy. With about 4 cups of sauce I bring it to a simmer. I add 2-3 cups of chicken stock. Season well. I then place my concotion in the blender and VOILA! Tomato soup in a snap. If you are one to cut corners, a jar of tomato sauce or some from a local restaurant will do. Enjoy friends! :)

Short Blog, great ending.

Can Anyone tell me what this dish is? Let's test your culinary skills people. Make me proud! ;)

The powers of buttermilk!!

I felt like Paula Dean reincarnate. Deep fried crispy buttermilk chicken. The most obvious question arose while I was cooking last night. "Lydia, why is buttermilk chicken better than other deep fried chicken?" Answer: The buttermilk not only has fabulous flavor for marinating, but it has chemical properties in it that force the chicken to remain tender. And that it was. My marinade consisted of garlic, chili oil for a little heat (hence the weird pink color) and buttermilk. Cover all your chicken pieces and marinate for at least 8 hours. Then I combined flour, salt, pepper, and a little bit of cornstarch. I took my marinated pieces and shook them in the flour mixture. Heat a skillet with 1/2 inch of oil and fry away! We are going to the beach today, and having it cold. I'm so thrilled. I loved cold fried chicken, I hope i'm not the only one. . . . ;)

Let's get cooking

Come join us for a fun filled night of learning how to cook something new and tasty! Chef Lydia Williams wants to help you learn basic Techniques to throw a classy (and best of all easy) cocktail party. With a few simple preparations, and some savvy knife skills you will be a star in the kitchen. For $45.00 you will be provided with the following:
* A printed copy of all your recipes
* Printed lesson plan to guide you through the evening
*wine for pairing
* Tasting of all the cooked items (There will be lots!)
* A 2 hour lesson taught by Lydia Williams
We do have a limit of 12 persons per lesson and we are already filling up quickly! All lessons must be confirmed and payed for by April 24th 2009. Cost is $45.00 per person. You can pay through pay pal, by clicking the link above! :) If paypal does not work for you, email me at CHEF4L@aol.com and I will send you an invoice.

When?! April 27th 2009

Time: 7:00 P.M.

Location:
Jeff's Kitchens
2259 San Ramon Valley Blvd.
San Ramon, CA 94583 US