Wow, What a blast. I had the last class at Maggie's last night, and it was so much fun.
Thank you wholeheartedly to all of you who attended. I hope you all had as much fun and learned as much as I did.
To the rest of you poor souls whom regrettably were unable to attend..... bummer.
Seriously, we had fun. The basic premise was the fact that varying techniques change flavors. I prepared 2 salsas, a basic salsa fresca, with the addition of diced nectarine and replacing the cilantro with some lovely fresh and varied mints brought by my friend and colleague. (Pineapple, apple, mountain, pepper, and chocolate varieties were in attendance, though not all used) and half I served raw, the other I blasted in a 475 degree oven for a few minutes. The change was obvious and very telling of how in that instance heat changed the flavors and textures. I also made a lime, mint cream cheese to accompany the salsa, we had wholegrain corn chips and slices of fresh cucumber, and showed that with few parts, you can offer quit a diverse array of snackages, canapes, and credit without a lot of work.
I believe thew most impressive/self empowering/inspiring (pick one) idea i managed to convey was that the standard rule of thumb that we live and die by the recipe, is a load of... stuff. You only need a basic understanding of the basics and the freedom to experiment to open a whole new world of cooking. You don't cook to impress the person that wrote the recipe. as soon as your check clears, they don't care.
You cook to please your friends, family, guests, and yourself. You like what you like for your own reasons, and if you are taught to cook for your own tastes, you wont be disappointed, and as you learn to cook for your tastes, you will begin to cook to please those around you. That is why cooking is best done as a community event. More impute, and ideas will only help you grow in your experience and e\overall enjoyment in the kitchen.
Thanks again to all those who attended last night. It was quite an insightful and enjoyable evening. To the rest, well.... sucks to be you. Maybe I will see you at the next one.
Be around or be a square.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
FREE STUFF!!!, aka "The Big Day!"
The "FREE STUFF" thing totally worked! You're reading, now just keep going.
Tuesday July 26th will be a rather big day.
Technically this will be the second monthly class I have taught at Maggie's Cafe Express 116 Madison St. on Sturgeon Bays West Side.
I will be hosting another installment of my fundamental principles of home cooking, class. I will be doing a demonstration of how a simple change of technique can, even with the same ingredients, change the flavor of the dish. As to what we will be sharing, I am keeping it simple, and fun. A nice, lite snack and I will hopefully give you a taste (total pun intended) of what Home Cooked is all about. It promises to be a good time, so please tell your friends, and stop by for this the last open class.
I have just learned that my venue will, with much regret be closing its doors at the end of this month, so after this class I will be forced to change my rotating classroom locale, thus making it necessary for me to make it a first come first served type, sign up to attend affair.
Because of the limited class size needed, I might be inclined to add a second class each month to accommodate the eager and teaming masses. Both of you! lol
So, please, if you are in the area, please stop by. It will be a blast, and since this is the last Maggie's Class, I will be doing it FREE, or is it "Pro Bono"? I will have a "tip" jar, used to accept both comments/criticisms, as well as a mere financial trifle that best represents the amount you think the class was worth. No cash, no biggie. I still want you here. Standing room only could be fun...
Anyway, 7:00 PM sharp, let the fun food fest fly (see, "f" words without the evil eyebrow")
Come in and grab a brochure.
Keep checking my blog, Follow it, and get updates./ Tell your friends, share it, whatever people do, who don't spend there whole life in a kitchen. Help me get the word out if you like what I'm all about, or tell me what I'm doing wrong, if you don't, and I might change, (if you know me, you will take note of the strategic use of the word "might" there) See you tomorrow night @ Maggie's, 7 o'clock.
Be around or be a square!
Tuesday July 26th will be a rather big day.
Technically this will be the second monthly class I have taught at Maggie's Cafe Express 116 Madison St. on Sturgeon Bays West Side.
I will be hosting another installment of my fundamental principles of home cooking, class. I will be doing a demonstration of how a simple change of technique can, even with the same ingredients, change the flavor of the dish. As to what we will be sharing, I am keeping it simple, and fun. A nice, lite snack and I will hopefully give you a taste (total pun intended) of what Home Cooked is all about. It promises to be a good time, so please tell your friends, and stop by for this the last open class.
I have just learned that my venue will, with much regret be closing its doors at the end of this month, so after this class I will be forced to change my rotating classroom locale, thus making it necessary for me to make it a first come first served type, sign up to attend affair.
Because of the limited class size needed, I might be inclined to add a second class each month to accommodate the eager and teaming masses. Both of you! lol
So, please, if you are in the area, please stop by. It will be a blast, and since this is the last Maggie's Class, I will be doing it FREE, or is it "Pro Bono"? I will have a "tip" jar, used to accept both comments/criticisms, as well as a mere financial trifle that best represents the amount you think the class was worth. No cash, no biggie. I still want you here. Standing room only could be fun...
Anyway, 7:00 PM sharp, let the fun food fest fly (see, "f" words without the evil eyebrow")
Come in and grab a brochure.
Keep checking my blog, Follow it, and get updates./ Tell your friends, share it, whatever people do, who don't spend there whole life in a kitchen. Help me get the word out if you like what I'm all about, or tell me what I'm doing wrong, if you don't, and I might change, (if you know me, you will take note of the strategic use of the word "might" there) See you tomorrow night @ Maggie's, 7 o'clock.
Be around or be a square!
Saturday, July 23, 2011
"The Good Old Day"
I remember when I was a kid we, as a family would go out to eat as a special treat on the day my parents got paid. And it was great. What a blast, going in to a restaurant and having someone greet you, take you to a table, and then after asking for whatever you wanted, they would bring it right out to you. And yet another person had to wash your dishes! Bonus! It was like an adventure eating the things my dad couldn't or wouldn't cook.
What happened to that? Something has changed. We as a culture have re-prioritized. Dining out was a treat, but now not eating at out is like a punishment. The last ditch, cant afford to eat out, now we have to eat at home, like you did something wrong. If you spent wiser, you should have been able to eat out today too.
And my folks would have people over at least once a week for a meal. they would get there an hour before dinner and everyone would mill around the kitchen, helping, laughing, talking smack, and laughing some more. It was genuine fun. I as the child, was right in the thick of it. I was laughing and learning in a wonderful environment.
Eating in the home has become the necessary evil.
To much work
To much time
To much money
Wrong wrong and wrong.
Cooking with and for your friends and family is quality time well spent. The television, is not a social opportunity. You interact better and grow closer to those you actually are performing a task with.
You get to control what is going into yours, and your friends bodies. How it is prepared, how it looks, smells, and tastes, is in your hands. But as you cook with those you cook for, you can ask questions, make suggestions and cook it just right, to please everyone there (beware there is always that one guy who will never like it, tell that guy he gets to wash dishes or cook next time.)
The act of cooking together and sharing a meal is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to spend actual quality time with your friends and loved ones. Think of how much a night out costs. Dinner out for 4+movie=$$$$$$. Think of cooking with your friends as the ultimate interactive dinner theater. If cooking with your friends is not a blast, get some new friends, cause something is broken.
Have fun
What happened to that? Something has changed. We as a culture have re-prioritized. Dining out was a treat, but now not eating at out is like a punishment. The last ditch, cant afford to eat out, now we have to eat at home, like you did something wrong. If you spent wiser, you should have been able to eat out today too.
And my folks would have people over at least once a week for a meal. they would get there an hour before dinner and everyone would mill around the kitchen, helping, laughing, talking smack, and laughing some more. It was genuine fun. I as the child, was right in the thick of it. I was laughing and learning in a wonderful environment.
Eating in the home has become the necessary evil.
To much work
To much time
To much money
Wrong wrong and wrong.
Cooking with and for your friends and family is quality time well spent. The television, is not a social opportunity. You interact better and grow closer to those you actually are performing a task with.
You get to control what is going into yours, and your friends bodies. How it is prepared, how it looks, smells, and tastes, is in your hands. But as you cook with those you cook for, you can ask questions, make suggestions and cook it just right, to please everyone there (beware there is always that one guy who will never like it, tell that guy he gets to wash dishes or cook next time.)
The act of cooking together and sharing a meal is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to spend actual quality time with your friends and loved ones. Think of how much a night out costs. Dinner out for 4+movie=$$$$$$. Think of cooking with your friends as the ultimate interactive dinner theater. If cooking with your friends is not a blast, get some new friends, cause something is broken.
Have fun
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Fun+Mental=Fundamental
The secret that restaurant chefs don't want you to know, is there is no secret. All of cooking boils down to a surprisingly limited amount of fundamental knowledge.
You can learn about a vast array of techniques, ingredients and vocabulary, and you will never learn it all, because even as we speak, there is more invention and innovation going on, all over the world.
The truth is that all cooking, or food preparation boil down (pun) to 4 or 5 techniques;
1) Dry Heat: Cooking in an arid moisture free, or at least limited environment. Bake, Roast, Saute, Grill, Broil, Hot Smoking, Bar-B-Queing etc.
2) Moist Heat: Not dry (kinda duh huh?) Boil, Steam, Poach, Blanch.
3) Combination Heat: Start with dry, end with moist, Braise, Stew, etc
4) Denaturing: changing the raw to the ready to eat with a chemical or physical change. cured, pickled, cold smoking, etc.
5) Raw: just that, raw, just prepped, plated and presented, as is. ie veggies, sashimi, fruit etc.
So all these techniques can effect very different flavors in the same ingredient. Onions are the perfect example
Raw onion: crisp, stringent, very flavorful, great for that date you never want to see again... that was a joke, sorry honey.
Sweated onion: low to med heat, little oil, some salt, just cooked long enough to start breaking down and giving up its juices, making it softer so it and its flavors melt into the final dish better (great way to hide onions from your kids too. Cut em small and sweat em. They will virtually disappear when they are added to almost anything.)
Fried onion: lil fat, lil salt, high heat. They retain some of their crunch (think al dente onion) and the liquid released evaporated leaving the sugar on the edges of the cut onions to brown slightly to add another level of richness to the final dish.
Caramelized onion: low and slow again, very low and slow. still lil salt, lil fat, cook long enough to obliterate the cellular structure and slow enough to reduce the liquid (IE water) leaving the sugars in the pan to... ding, ding, ding! Caramelize! Very rich, very sweet, and a great way to add sweetness without adding any refined sugar. Awesome on grilled meat too. Can make a burger so good you cant decide to eat it, or spoon with it.
So you see there is not much you have to learn to get more out of your own kitchen. Go in there and get your "recess" on. Have some fun with it. Play around. Next time you are cooking, try changing some of your techniques around, and taste, taste, taste. Taste and smell are both closely related to memory, so try everything, all the time, as you cook taste often so you can correlate different levels of flavor directly to different stages in the cooking process. It will make the whole experience that much more enjoyable.
Though a word of caution, please try everything at all stages of cooking, fridge or cupboard to the plate, but use some common sense. raw meat, poultry, fish etc. please make sure you are getting some advice or professional help (lay on the couch and tell me about your mother kinda help, maybe) But it can be done, in the i=right way, with the proper guidance and advice.
Thats why Im here. Ask questions if you are not sure about something. Ask me, or ask that cook friend of yours. I know you have one, we al do, so ask. Ask and taste, taste and ask. You will find that there is a lot of fun in the kitchen, with a light sprinkle of the mental to keep you coming back.
You can learn about a vast array of techniques, ingredients and vocabulary, and you will never learn it all, because even as we speak, there is more invention and innovation going on, all over the world.
The truth is that all cooking, or food preparation boil down (pun) to 4 or 5 techniques;
1) Dry Heat: Cooking in an arid moisture free, or at least limited environment. Bake, Roast, Saute, Grill, Broil, Hot Smoking, Bar-B-Queing etc.
2) Moist Heat: Not dry (kinda duh huh?) Boil, Steam, Poach, Blanch.
3) Combination Heat: Start with dry, end with moist, Braise, Stew, etc
4) Denaturing: changing the raw to the ready to eat with a chemical or physical change. cured, pickled, cold smoking, etc.
5) Raw: just that, raw, just prepped, plated and presented, as is. ie veggies, sashimi, fruit etc.
So all these techniques can effect very different flavors in the same ingredient. Onions are the perfect example
Raw onion: crisp, stringent, very flavorful, great for that date you never want to see again... that was a joke, sorry honey.
Sweated onion: low to med heat, little oil, some salt, just cooked long enough to start breaking down and giving up its juices, making it softer so it and its flavors melt into the final dish better (great way to hide onions from your kids too. Cut em small and sweat em. They will virtually disappear when they are added to almost anything.)
Fried onion: lil fat, lil salt, high heat. They retain some of their crunch (think al dente onion) and the liquid released evaporated leaving the sugar on the edges of the cut onions to brown slightly to add another level of richness to the final dish.
Caramelized onion: low and slow again, very low and slow. still lil salt, lil fat, cook long enough to obliterate the cellular structure and slow enough to reduce the liquid (IE water) leaving the sugars in the pan to... ding, ding, ding! Caramelize! Very rich, very sweet, and a great way to add sweetness without adding any refined sugar. Awesome on grilled meat too. Can make a burger so good you cant decide to eat it, or spoon with it.
So you see there is not much you have to learn to get more out of your own kitchen. Go in there and get your "recess" on. Have some fun with it. Play around. Next time you are cooking, try changing some of your techniques around, and taste, taste, taste. Taste and smell are both closely related to memory, so try everything, all the time, as you cook taste often so you can correlate different levels of flavor directly to different stages in the cooking process. It will make the whole experience that much more enjoyable.
Though a word of caution, please try everything at all stages of cooking, fridge or cupboard to the plate, but use some common sense. raw meat, poultry, fish etc. please make sure you are getting some advice or professional help (lay on the couch and tell me about your mother kinda help, maybe) But it can be done, in the i=right way, with the proper guidance and advice.
Thats why Im here. Ask questions if you are not sure about something. Ask me, or ask that cook friend of yours. I know you have one, we al do, so ask. Ask and taste, taste and ask. You will find that there is a lot of fun in the kitchen, with a light sprinkle of the mental to keep you coming back.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
The power of knowledge
Man I love food. I love to cook it, share it, learn about it, just plain play with it.
It is, I have heard, a more important, stronger urge than others that shall remain nameless to keep this a family blog, but you get what im saying. I guess I need food more, but I feel thats just a theory.
Here are the facts, as far as my opinion sees it.
Cooking is fundamental to who we are as people, distinguishes us as individual cultures and can unify us as a global society in the simple fact that it is the lone facet of life we all have in common. As the wise man once said, "Hey, ya gotta eat!"
Eat indeed.
We love food, and food is so much more than the mere mechanical techniques involved (place in microwave and nuke to a soft glowing green). It can be that simple, but in my opinion, to truly grasp the social, biological, and even, dare I say, emotional conditions we enjoy about food, we should realize that food can be translated into terms explained, expounded and grown by all schools of human thought. Biology, math, chemistry, art, physics, agriculture, sociology, the list is endless, can all in some way be tied to food. That knowledge or search for it, takes the basics and grows them into the how, the when, the why and the wow of food.
Curiosity, and questions, are the fuel that takes the ember of a passing fancy and creates from it, a burning passion, (not to be confused with a "burnin yearnin," for which I have no explanation) And passion is all you need to achieve exactly what you desire in the kitchen.
It is the thirst that I have for that knowledge that fuels my passion for food. The only thing more dear to me than cooking food, are the family and friends I cook it for.
Thank you for your time.
Patrick Floyd
Next tuesday night; At Maggie's Cafe Express, 7:00, class is in session.
Tell your friends, find me on Facebook, follow me here, please help me to spread the word.
Thank you for your time.
It is, I have heard, a more important, stronger urge than others that shall remain nameless to keep this a family blog, but you get what im saying. I guess I need food more, but I feel thats just a theory.
Here are the facts, as far as my opinion sees it.
Cooking is fundamental to who we are as people, distinguishes us as individual cultures and can unify us as a global society in the simple fact that it is the lone facet of life we all have in common. As the wise man once said, "Hey, ya gotta eat!"
Eat indeed.
We love food, and food is so much more than the mere mechanical techniques involved (place in microwave and nuke to a soft glowing green). It can be that simple, but in my opinion, to truly grasp the social, biological, and even, dare I say, emotional conditions we enjoy about food, we should realize that food can be translated into terms explained, expounded and grown by all schools of human thought. Biology, math, chemistry, art, physics, agriculture, sociology, the list is endless, can all in some way be tied to food. That knowledge or search for it, takes the basics and grows them into the how, the when, the why and the wow of food.
Curiosity, and questions, are the fuel that takes the ember of a passing fancy and creates from it, a burning passion, (not to be confused with a "burnin yearnin," for which I have no explanation) And passion is all you need to achieve exactly what you desire in the kitchen.
It is the thirst that I have for that knowledge that fuels my passion for food. The only thing more dear to me than cooking food, are the family and friends I cook it for.
Thank you for your time.
Patrick Floyd
Next tuesday night; At Maggie's Cafe Express, 7:00, class is in session.
Tell your friends, find me on Facebook, follow me here, please help me to spread the word.
Thank you for your time.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Monthly classes
As I said in my last posting, I have changed jobs, this time for one with “steady” hours, I only work on days that start with a consonant, and end in a “Y”. Kidding, sort of. I do in fact have one day off a week, and my boss tells me that it can, and should (got to love that word, right?) have the same day off every week. That day is Tuesday, so TGIM is my whole new thing.
Here is where you come in. I am planning, in collusion with my good friend Jamie Stahl and owner of Maggie’s Café Express (the old DC Brew on Madison St. in Sturgeon Bay) to begin teaching classes open to the public in said establishment.
The last Tuesday of this month, and the final Tuesday of the foreseeable months, at 7:00pm (central time) I will be teaching a class/lecture series on the fundamentals of cooking, as well as attempting to charm you and all your friends to such a degree that you will not be able to help yourself from booking a Home Cooked class of your very own.
A short meet and greet, followed by a short cooking demo, or lecture, perhaps some tasty fruits of my, or our labor, and a question and answer period to follow.
It will be a simple, tangible and satisfying, or more to the point, fun, way for us to meet face to face, in a relaxed and comfortable environment, and hey, you might just learn something. Pretty sure I will.
I fully intend to use this blog as a message board to share ideas for classes, field questions from past classes, or ideas about future topics. This is going to be great, and I hope you are as excited to meet me as I am, you.
So please continue to read my upcoming blogs and your comments are appreciated, Check out my flyers and brochures around town. Shoot me your Email address and I will do my best to get you a copy of my flyers, cards etcetera. I am also planning on creating a newsletter that will also be available via Email soon.
Lets get the party started!
Im Back
Sorry loyal readers, or reader as the case may be, I have been a little busy with a nice dose of life lately and have allowed my blogging to laps, for an unprecedented amount of time. For that I beg your forgiveness, and eagerly look forward to having some feedback to let me know what I’ve missed (and if anyone is even reading this).
As some of you may know I have changed jobs, this time leaving under rather amiable circumstances as Head Cook at “the Irish pub’ and have moved on to a cooking position at yet another newly opened establishment right here in “River City”. I welcome the change and think it will be for the best, if only for the short run.
I still would thoroughly enjoy finding out how to get Home Cooked up and running, while still earning enough to pay the bills. Kids eat 3 times a day! Who knew? That, and landlords not caring about charisma pretty well necessitates my following of the all mighty dollar.
But I digress, or is that regress? Whatever.
I’m back baby, although the simple fact is that a baby would find this, or probably any blog a total drag, so… I’m back, sir or madam. Whichever the case bay be. I have some exciting news to share, so keep on reading the upcoming (and hopefully more regularly written) blog.
Thanks again, see you soon.
Patrick M. Floyd
Culinary Consultant
Email: homecookeddc@gmail.com
(920) 559-9425
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Upcoming Class
Sorry I have neglected my Blog guys. Life flipped the crazy-switch last week, but I digress. I appreciate you taking the time to check this out, and sharing it with your friends (on Facebook and in the real world).
I hope the day finds you and yours well.
I was at work the other night when an friend and colleague from North East Technical Collage, my liason to Collegiate bureaucracy came in to dine with her husband. They are both past students of mine, taking one of the first classes i ever taught, on pasta if I recall. It was a blast!
Long, and short of it, I spoke o them regarding my current endeavor, this Home Cooked idea. I also explained that i would love to renew my role as adjunct culinary instructor at "The Tech". Well, the next day my phone rang and i was offered and accepted a class coming up in March.
It is scheduled for the 15th, Tuesday morning form 10am-12:40pm. She explained it will be a class about the ins and outs of stews and casseroles.
I am thinking it will be the most fun yet. I wont just blast through a million rapid fire preparations, and a lump of recipes. I will however explain the fundamentals and personal preferences, as well as all the creative flare and potential cost effectiveness and potential time saving convenience of both foods. Of course we will also be cooking some tasty edibles to really wrap our lips around the material and help cement the subject of what we learned. Thank you for your time.
I am really looking forward to this class, and hope its timely occurrence may lead into bigger and better things.
I hope to see you all soon, and remember in home classes are still available.
Thanks again, see you soon.
Patrick M. Floyd
Culinary Consultant
Email: homecookeddc@gmail.com
(920) 559-9425
I hope the day finds you and yours well.
I was at work the other night when an friend and colleague from North East Technical Collage, my liason to Collegiate bureaucracy came in to dine with her husband. They are both past students of mine, taking one of the first classes i ever taught, on pasta if I recall. It was a blast!
Long, and short of it, I spoke o them regarding my current endeavor, this Home Cooked idea. I also explained that i would love to renew my role as adjunct culinary instructor at "The Tech". Well, the next day my phone rang and i was offered and accepted a class coming up in March.
It is scheduled for the 15th, Tuesday morning form 10am-12:40pm. She explained it will be a class about the ins and outs of stews and casseroles.
I am thinking it will be the most fun yet. I wont just blast through a million rapid fire preparations, and a lump of recipes. I will however explain the fundamentals and personal preferences, as well as all the creative flare and potential cost effectiveness and potential time saving convenience of both foods. Of course we will also be cooking some tasty edibles to really wrap our lips around the material and help cement the subject of what we learned. Thank you for your time.
I am really looking forward to this class, and hope its timely occurrence may lead into bigger and better things.
I hope to see you all soon, and remember in home classes are still available.
Thanks again, see you soon.
Patrick M. Floyd
Culinary Consultant
Email: homecookeddc@gmail.com
(920) 559-9425
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Food Costs
Do we know what food costs, not strictly from a monetary since but what it takes from our bodies, and our well being as well as our wallet.
I understand food costs, both as restaurant professional, as well as a dude who shops at the local grocery stores.
We all, everyone everywhere (kinda) knows that a salad is better for you than a hamburger, caloric-ally speaking at least, and we as a culture set what the stores buy, based on what we buy. If we as consumers want unnatural, and digestibility questionable foods for our convenience, that's what we get. In reality, as much as the individual sees that there dining choices are far from the most health conscious, its hard to go to the healthy foods, because even with the time and knowledge to cook and eat these foods, they are increasingly cost infective, and i see the trend going worse, quick. The consumers are forced to buy the edible junk, because they are feeding the home team on a budget, and the stores keep stocking more of it, manufacturers, keep manufacturing (mmm dining Ikea this evening) and they are doing great, making this... product, at a faster rate, so they can afford to buy in huge quantities from the actual producers that we could, if they would sell it to us, buy from. They wont, cause we aren't buying mayonnaise by the metric ton, so we cant get it as cheep, so we are stuck buying the pre-packaged, OK, I'm full, so I cant tell in just dieing slower "Middleman Stan"s pre-pressed-undressed, I bet a buck, you can't' digest chicken breast. (if the ingredients read "meat"... run)
So what do we do? I suppose that is the question of the day. I figure that if more people bought healthy food, we would be buying less junk, so "Stan" gets less money, and his provider, in an effort to sell his wears to someone, starts to branch out to the local grocery store level... Mayo anyone?
We set the market in a capitalist society. If we don't buy it, they wont make it, or sell it. its logic. They will supply what we demand.
With a little knowledge, we can make a difference. In our society, our community, our family, our homes and our selves.
Thanks again, see you soon.
Patrick M. Floyd
Culinary Consultant
Email: homecookeddc@gmail.com
(920) 559-9425
I understand food costs, both as restaurant professional, as well as a dude who shops at the local grocery stores.
We all, everyone everywhere (kinda) knows that a salad is better for you than a hamburger, caloric-ally speaking at least, and we as a culture set what the stores buy, based on what we buy. If we as consumers want unnatural, and digestibility questionable foods for our convenience, that's what we get. In reality, as much as the individual sees that there dining choices are far from the most health conscious, its hard to go to the healthy foods, because even with the time and knowledge to cook and eat these foods, they are increasingly cost infective, and i see the trend going worse, quick. The consumers are forced to buy the edible junk, because they are feeding the home team on a budget, and the stores keep stocking more of it, manufacturers, keep manufacturing (mmm dining Ikea this evening) and they are doing great, making this... product, at a faster rate, so they can afford to buy in huge quantities from the actual producers that we could, if they would sell it to us, buy from. They wont, cause we aren't buying mayonnaise by the metric ton, so we cant get it as cheep, so we are stuck buying the pre-packaged, OK, I'm full, so I cant tell in just dieing slower "Middleman Stan"s pre-pressed-undressed, I bet a buck, you can't' digest chicken breast. (if the ingredients read "meat"... run)
So what do we do? I suppose that is the question of the day. I figure that if more people bought healthy food, we would be buying less junk, so "Stan" gets less money, and his provider, in an effort to sell his wears to someone, starts to branch out to the local grocery store level... Mayo anyone?
We set the market in a capitalist society. If we don't buy it, they wont make it, or sell it. its logic. They will supply what we demand.
With a little knowledge, we can make a difference. In our society, our community, our family, our homes and our selves.
Thanks again, see you soon.
Patrick M. Floyd
Culinary Consultant
Email: homecookeddc@gmail.com
(920) 559-9425
Friday, January 21, 2011
Leap of Faith
As you may have gleaned from reading my previous posts, I am a classically trained (though eclectically practiced) chef. I am currently the head chef of a local eatery and as my father used to muse, "those that can't do, teach" (no offense to teachers, as I aspire to soon join your ranks). I am becoming quite disenfranchised with the restaurant industry as a whole. I mean, dining out can be wonderful, but I truly love to make my family and friends smile, serving them a meals that are fresh, healthy, and even fun to cook, even when I get the "help" of little hands.
I look around, hear from my friends, co-workers, etcetera, that what I see as a passion, a fun time of teaching/learning with my friends, family or kids, is to the many of my friends, a mystery, an arduous chore, or a unpleasant "necessary evil". I would love to fix that. I want to inspire. The simple fact that you are reading this blog, means you are curious. It means you think that maybe you would benefit from a chance to be excited, and educated with the prospect of growing and nurturing your culinary curiosity (or you have this friend...)
Well
Brass tacks time. As I wrote earlier, I had a great introductory thing going now. For less cash than a movie and "buttered"(I hate that I love that stuff) popcorn*, all you need to do is call, or email me, we chat for a minute, scheduling the Tuesday that you like best (hopefully temporary time constraints limit my availability) and Bang! Its a date! Time for you to invite some of your buds, pals, girlfriends, whoever (up to 7, 8 total) to share the experience, and add to the fun.
On the day or night of the class, I show up a half an hour early to meet you, and familiarize myself briefly with your kitchen, and start showing you options. We can look through your cupboards, and as your friends arrive, we will make dinner, as a group. I'll ask questions, and I hope you and your friends ask some too. And remember for this specific class, you get to pick what we cook, kinda. Its your kitchen, and we are cooking your food. No worries.
But here's the part where it all comes together. I have a full time job, where I do what I love, with people I like, in a situation I tolerate. I would love to be able to do Home Cooked full time, but for that I need your help. If you think you might want to plan a class yourself, I am scheduling Tuesday only through April (ish) after that I am pretty wide open. I cant guarantee that I can have the exact time or day available, but I can assure you that we can work something out. If you don't want to plan a class (I'm already pouting...really) please share this blog, mention my Facebook page, or any of my contact information with anyone whom you think may benefit. In advance I would like to thank you for your help.
See the way I got it figured, the sooner I book enough classes to feel that this is a viable need a growing market that I could make a living with it... and I will. (sooner the better)
Thanks again, see you soon.
Patrick M. Floyd
Culinary Consultant
Email: homecookeddc@gmail.com
(920) 559-9425
(*$12 per person introductory price, cash or check payable the night of the event)
I look around, hear from my friends, co-workers, etcetera, that what I see as a passion, a fun time of teaching/learning with my friends, family or kids, is to the many of my friends, a mystery, an arduous chore, or a unpleasant "necessary evil". I would love to fix that. I want to inspire. The simple fact that you are reading this blog, means you are curious. It means you think that maybe you would benefit from a chance to be excited, and educated with the prospect of growing and nurturing your culinary curiosity (or you have this friend...)
Well
Brass tacks time. As I wrote earlier, I had a great introductory thing going now. For less cash than a movie and "buttered"(I hate that I love that stuff) popcorn*, all you need to do is call, or email me, we chat for a minute, scheduling the Tuesday that you like best (hopefully temporary time constraints limit my availability) and Bang! Its a date! Time for you to invite some of your buds, pals, girlfriends, whoever (up to 7, 8 total) to share the experience, and add to the fun.
On the day or night of the class, I show up a half an hour early to meet you, and familiarize myself briefly with your kitchen, and start showing you options. We can look through your cupboards, and as your friends arrive, we will make dinner, as a group. I'll ask questions, and I hope you and your friends ask some too. And remember for this specific class, you get to pick what we cook, kinda. Its your kitchen, and we are cooking your food. No worries.
But here's the part where it all comes together. I have a full time job, where I do what I love, with people I like, in a situation I tolerate. I would love to be able to do Home Cooked full time, but for that I need your help. If you think you might want to plan a class yourself, I am scheduling Tuesday only through April (ish) after that I am pretty wide open. I cant guarantee that I can have the exact time or day available, but I can assure you that we can work something out. If you don't want to plan a class (I'm already pouting...really) please share this blog, mention my Facebook page, or any of my contact information with anyone whom you think may benefit. In advance I would like to thank you for your help.
See the way I got it figured, the sooner I book enough classes to feel that this is a viable need a growing market that I could make a living with it... and I will. (sooner the better)
Thanks again, see you soon.
Patrick M. Floyd
Culinary Consultant
Email: homecookeddc@gmail.com
(920) 559-9425
(*$12 per person introductory price, cash or check payable the night of the event)
Whats For Dinner?
Lets get together and do something. For the time being, I only have one available evening a week to begin classes, so here's the thought.
I am scheduling "Whats for Dinner" classes. A night of fun and introductions, I will show you some options outside the instant, the options you have that you might not even recognize. As long as you have some kind of meat, fish, or protein of some sort, as well as some kind of vegetables, and a starch, really whatever you have on hand (you do need to have actual food though).
Do you want to host the class?
Just think of 6-7 friends you want to share the experience with, pick the Tuesday night (my only available night for the moment), I show up a half hour before hand to get acquainted with you and your facilities. Then I raid your fridge, and pull out some ideas, and show you how to squeeze the last drop of awesome out of what you might see as boring. You can ask questions, and I will teach as much as we can cram in the 1-2 hours together.
For less than the price of a movie and popcorn* you can learn skills that will help you for a lifetime, and hopefully inspiration to try new things and see cooking as a fun and exciting time to share with friends and family.
Please Email, Call, or Comment soon. Space is available now but filling fast, and these are introductory prices, so don't miss this opportunity. I'm looking forward to meeting you, unless I know you, then it will be so good to see you again.
Thanks, see you soon.
Patrick M. Floyd
Culinary Consultant
Email: homecookeddc@gmail.com
(920) 559-9425
(*$12 per person introductory price, cash or check payable the night of the event)
I am scheduling "Whats for Dinner" classes. A night of fun and introductions, I will show you some options outside the instant, the options you have that you might not even recognize. As long as you have some kind of meat, fish, or protein of some sort, as well as some kind of vegetables, and a starch, really whatever you have on hand (you do need to have actual food though).
Do you want to host the class?
Just think of 6-7 friends you want to share the experience with, pick the Tuesday night (my only available night for the moment), I show up a half hour before hand to get acquainted with you and your facilities. Then I raid your fridge, and pull out some ideas, and show you how to squeeze the last drop of awesome out of what you might see as boring. You can ask questions, and I will teach as much as we can cram in the 1-2 hours together.
For less than the price of a movie and popcorn* you can learn skills that will help you for a lifetime, and hopefully inspiration to try new things and see cooking as a fun and exciting time to share with friends and family.
Please Email, Call, or Comment soon. Space is available now but filling fast, and these are introductory prices, so don't miss this opportunity. I'm looking forward to meeting you, unless I know you, then it will be so good to see you again.
Thanks, see you soon.
Patrick M. Floyd
Culinary Consultant
Email: homecookeddc@gmail.com
(920) 559-9425
(*$12 per person introductory price, cash or check payable the night of the event)
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Q&A
The ultimate purpose of Home Cooked is to help. I am trying to reach out, to teach those who don't know the first thing about cooking, as well as help those who are skilled home cooks to broaden their skill set as well as their culinary horizons.
To that end, ask me some questions, seek my suggestions. See if my advise is beneficial.
Whats for dinner tonight? What is your favorite food? Why is it your favorite? is it a particular flavor, texture, smell? once you learn what it is about your favorite food that makes it your favorite food, you can then use that knowledge, plus some technical help to replicate that thing, that makes it your favorite, in other dishes.
It is my theory, that there is no food that is a "bad" food. On the contrary, it just hasn't been cooked and served to you in a way you like it, but it could be. Yours is a very specific palate, IE the way you taste things. Every person on the planet is different, and as such, every palate is different. What is awesomely great to your best friend, you might find vaguely reminiscent of poo.
That"s what I want to teach you. How to cook for your palate. Recreate those flavors, those textures, that you find leasing, as well as cooking for those close to you.
I will not post any recipes, though you are welcome to leave any and all you'd like in the comment sections of the blog. The reason that I will not be sharing recipes on my blog, is that I for the must part don't like em.
If you are cooking someone else recipe, chances are pretty even that no matter how particular, how exacting you are in your technique, and measurements, the end result will not duplicate theirs. Why? Simple. There can be a 1teaspoon variance between tablespoons, of varying models, and manufacturers. Not to mention huge difference of flavors and textures between competing brands as far as ingredients, That plus the huge degree of fluctuation in qualities of home cooking equipment, the odds are stacked against us.
That's where I can help. You can watch a cooking show, or even go to a cooking class in some some restaurant kitchen. When you get home and try to duplicate it you get discouraged. You need to learn how to use the equipment you already have, to use it to its fullest potential. This is where i can come in.
Please leave me some feedback, questions, whatever you feel necessary, for me to know.
To that end, ask me some questions, seek my suggestions. See if my advise is beneficial.
Whats for dinner tonight? What is your favorite food? Why is it your favorite? is it a particular flavor, texture, smell? once you learn what it is about your favorite food that makes it your favorite food, you can then use that knowledge, plus some technical help to replicate that thing, that makes it your favorite, in other dishes.
It is my theory, that there is no food that is a "bad" food. On the contrary, it just hasn't been cooked and served to you in a way you like it, but it could be. Yours is a very specific palate, IE the way you taste things. Every person on the planet is different, and as such, every palate is different. What is awesomely great to your best friend, you might find vaguely reminiscent of poo.
That"s what I want to teach you. How to cook for your palate. Recreate those flavors, those textures, that you find leasing, as well as cooking for those close to you.
I will not post any recipes, though you are welcome to leave any and all you'd like in the comment sections of the blog. The reason that I will not be sharing recipes on my blog, is that I for the must part don't like em.
If you are cooking someone else recipe, chances are pretty even that no matter how particular, how exacting you are in your technique, and measurements, the end result will not duplicate theirs. Why? Simple. There can be a 1teaspoon variance between tablespoons, of varying models, and manufacturers. Not to mention huge difference of flavors and textures between competing brands as far as ingredients, That plus the huge degree of fluctuation in qualities of home cooking equipment, the odds are stacked against us.
That's where I can help. You can watch a cooking show, or even go to a cooking class in some some restaurant kitchen. When you get home and try to duplicate it you get discouraged. You need to learn how to use the equipment you already have, to use it to its fullest potential. This is where i can come in.
Please leave me some feedback, questions, whatever you feel necessary, for me to know.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Back to the Basics
At some point in the last few generations, we as a culture have slowly given our food preparing responsibilities to more and more strangers in the form of restaurants. When I was a child, we would splurge by dining out, only on my parents payday, twice a month. It seams that now days the majority of people I talk to eat at home, only out of financial necessity, and only well enough to feed the troops, so no one is hungry, while eating out as much as 5 times a week.
I think that cooking can and should be an important part of home life. You and the people you care about like, maybe even love food. You know what you like. You might even know why you like it and how to make it. I want to help that person who has been accused of burning water, as well as inspire and teach the home chef to hunt and hunger for new different ways of expanding your already abundant culinary arsenal.To many people today see cooking as an arduous chore, an unpleasant ask to be avoided whenever possible. I would love to help you find the curious joy, and almost palpable excitement in discovering new, and creative ways to cook, eat, and feed those closest to you.
I think that cooking can and should be an important part of home life. You and the people you care about like, maybe even love food. You know what you like. You might even know why you like it and how to make it. I want to help that person who has been accused of burning water, as well as inspire and teach the home chef to hunt and hunger for new different ways of expanding your already abundant culinary arsenal.To many people today see cooking as an arduous chore, an unpleasant ask to be avoided whenever possible. I would love to help you find the curious joy, and almost palpable excitement in discovering new, and creative ways to cook, eat, and feed those closest to you.
Thanks
Hey everyone out there in cyberland, I really am shocked how many people have looked at this page, and my Facebook page in just the last 24 hrs. I'm kinda shocked. Remember I am appreciative of any help, advice I can get. This page, and the blog, my whole business concept is built around my desire to help improve your food passion, confidence and knowledge. Whatever I can do, to that end, let me know. Thank you.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
What is it I'm selling?
What you are buying when you hire me is knowledge. Knowledge, its not a device, it has no moving parts, it wont break, it wont loose power, no battery, or cord. You cant loose it, misplace it and rather than loose power over time, it actually grows stronger. It can be changed, and expanded upon, but never decreased and is totally transferable. It has a lifetime guarantee.
Posting #1
Bear with me, I'm slowly learning to hate computers a little less, every day.
My Name is Patrick Floyd. I am a chef, currently an Executive or Head Chef. I'm a cook, I've been told I'm a "chef" but it just sounds like stress. I’ve decided to leave the hustle and bustle of the restaurant business to pursue my passion of sharing my passion. Now I want to help you by teaching you what I have learned over many years cooking professionally, from casual eateries to elite clubs. I would enjoy teaching you tricks and techniques to help find more of the pleasure and gratification you can find in providing good food for great friends.
When you are in charge of a kitchen, any kitchen, you are the "Chef" or "Chief" of that kitchen. Next time you are nuking' a can of ravioli-o's for the lil guys, you are the chef, cooking just the right dish at just the right time, for just the right person!
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