December 28, 2008

Tuesday @ Chef T's

Chef T's Happy Holidays Party


Wow. I have to say it, WOW. What a great party. The food, the wine, the conversation. Wow. Kudos, thanks, pats on the back first. Karen, thanks for those great martini's. Both the peppermint and chocolate went down a little too smooth. Chef Tahya. Thank you for providing the magnificent beef loin and making the Bernaise sauce on site. Also, the Egg Nog was yummy. Movie-Man Sandy. You stepped up this time in a big way. Your shrimp cocktail was delicious. The shrimp were perfectly cooked and the cocktail sauce, excellent. Baseball Mike, thanks for bringing Tracy because she brought that simply awesome coconut cream pie. Even after eating our huge dinner that pie was scrumptious. And thanks for directing us in the best possible order to drink the wines. I think everyone thought you were spot on. (except me, I personally thought the '90 should have gone first, before the '93) and for bringing the delicious dessert wine. So again, thanks to everyone for making our first of many (hopefully) Tuesday @ Chef T's holiday party a great success. On a sadder note, we were sorry that Tracy P. could not join us because of a conflict at work. Hopefully next year Tracy. Lastly, thanks to everyone for at least trying my Brussel Sprouts.

This party took some time getting scheduled but in the end, after making adjustments for everyone, we all got it in the history books. Thanks to our guests Sherri, Tracy and Karen. We appreciate you hanging out with us.

Before going on to the menu I'll pat myself on the back for opening up an amazing vertical of wine. Opus One. 1989 - 1995. The talk at the table was a possible street value of over $2000. So Happy Holidays to all who got to raise one of our glasses.


The Wine. Opus One. 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994 & 1995.
Also, Margan 2005 Botrytis Semillon.












Our Menu:
Chocolate Mint and Peppermint Martini's

Apps:
Shrimp cocktail
Gravlax on pumpernickel bread with mustard dill creme fraiche
Crudités of sliced and whole raw vegetables including celery sticks, carrot sticks, bell pepper strips and broccoli florets with blue cheese dipping sauce.

First Course:
Cream of Wild Mushroom soup

Main Course:
Roasted Whole Beef Loin with Bernaise sauce
Scalloped Potatoes
Brussel Sprouts with Parmesan Cheese
Green Beans

Dessert:
Coconut Cream Pie

Evening wrap up:
Egg Nog with or without brandy



From the Tuesday @ Chef T's family; Movie-Man Sandy, Chef T, Chef Tahya and Baseball Mike, may the spirit of the holidays live within you, your family and those around you. Happy Holidays.

Pilgrim's Pride Bankruptcy

Why did the chicken cross the road?

To get to the other side so he could sell his shares of Pilgrim's Pride before it was worth NOTHING. Shares of Pilgrim's Pride fell 52.6 cents, or 46 percent, to 62.4 cents before trading was halted on Monday December 1. The company's stock has nearly eroded from its 52-week high of $29.59. Nice job Pilgrim's Pride. Within the year, your stock was trading at $29.59 and was down to 62.4 cents before trading of it was suspended by the New York Stock Exchange.

According to an Associated Press article on Yahoo Finance, "Pilgrim's Pride Corp. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday December 1, hurt like other meat producers by volatile feed prices and slumping demand but also hobbled by an unmanageable debt load."

O.K., demand for chicken is down? Really? Is that what people do when the economy starts slipping? They stop ordering chicken on their Caesar Salad and just order a plain cheese pizza at C.P.K. instead of the BBQ Chicken pizza. Maybe so. But I think it's interesting that Pilgrim's Pride, the countries largest chicken producer which controlls some 23% of the chicken market, is bankrupt. What is up with all of our huge corporations? AIG, The Big Three Auto companies and now Pilgrim's Pride. They all get run into the ground because they're run on CREDIT. As a country, we need small businesses to flourish because that's what truly keeps the economy moving. The little companies, the ones that are usually run without much credit. When a small company makes a profit, they might pay some bonuses, expand or even give raises to it's employees. But what do the big companies do? Pilgrim's Pride did $2.17 billion in business in their 4th quarter. That's $8.5 billion per year. That's a pretty big business. But how much of that business is run on CREDIT? Money that Pilgrim's Pride doesn't have? They borrow and borrow and borrow so they can keep going. Sounds a lot like the american consumer, which has managed to increase personal debt 400% since 2000. Nice. Because of course, we all know that operating at a loss, with huge debt is the AMERICAN WAY. Just look at the Airline industry. They operate at a loss every quarter, yet they continue to stay in business. Why is it that the government is afraid to let these huge companies fail? If Pilgrim's Pride were to fail, do you think all the chicken in your grocery store would vanish? Doubtful. "See a need, fill a need" (Robots) some chicken producer like Tyson would step in and fill the void. And that would be a good thing, because then Tyson and other producers would have a increase in sales. Good for them. What's sad about filing for Chapter 11 is that all of the money owed to creditors before the filing is basically wiped out. So all of the little companies that Pilgrim's Pride owes money to, companies that really need that money to survive, will be left out in the Texas sun. Yet Pilgrim's Pride will get to continue to operate and only have to pay on the new debt. I wonder how many of those smaller companies will fail, yet we'll never read about them. And I also wonder if under their bankruptcy filing, Pilgrim's Pride CEO and president Clint Rivers gets to keep his job. Seems like he hasn't done a very good job this past year. Maybe it's time they sell off their assets and let the other companies, like Tyson, pick up the slack.

December 2, 2008

Tuesday @ Chef T's

The South Shall Rise Again.

Welcome back from the wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday. Hopefully everyone had a great Turkey day and your football teams won their games. Thanks to Chef Tahya for all his hard work on the Hushpuppies, Corn Chowduh, Fried Chicken and Cheesy Grits. Thanks Baseball Mike for the great selection of bubbly and wine. We'll forgive you for forgetting the evening wrap up Riesling because everything you brought was great (even Tracy). We happily indulged in;

Makers Mark Mint Julep
Toso Brut
Penfolds Eden Valley 03 Reserve Riesling
Joseph Drouhin 04 Chablis Premier Cru
Sonoma-Cutrer 04 Les Pierres Chardonnay
J. Wilkes 04 Bien Nacido Hillside Pinot Noir
Korem 02 Isola Dei Nuraghi

Our menu for the evening:
Apps:
Mint Juleps
Catfish Cakes
Hushpuppies

Main Course:
Corn Chowder
Southern Fried Chicken
Calabash Coleslaw
Cheezy Grits

Dessert:
Apples in Wine & Cinnamon Sauce over Vanilla Ice Cream

The Tuesday @ Chef T group welcomed a new guest, Tracy, who was introduced to the group by Baseball Mike. Nice job Mike. Great wine, Great girl. Hopefully Tracy will join us again at our next event. Although with our little "He said/She said" banter, it may be a little more difficult. Tracy, we're not usually that overly animated although we are all very passionate. Thanks for joining us and please, come visit us again at our next event.

Ciao

November 4, 2008

Tuesday @ Chef T's.

Election night. Obama Wins the presidency. Thanks for joining us Sherri it was great seeing you again and adding your wonderful wit to our testosterone braise. Thanks also to Karen for stopping by after you got off work. Great night everyone, even though the power went out again. Movie-Man Sandy, FIRE HAZARD! Seriously dude, I realize that you're not normally using a fryer out on your patio, but in the event that somehow you were to obtain a fryer and wanted to use it, having to use it only during daylight hours when you could shut off the rest of your lights is a bit restrictive.
So, the condo didn't burn down and the food was awesome. Thanks Chef Tahya for amazing grub again. Baseball Mike, thanks for the great wine, loved it, whatever it was... and Movie-man, Thanks for hosting, providing proper water and letting us hang out at your place again. Oh, I must add (because those who know me know I must) WHAT THE HELL IS WITH THE STINKING PARKING again? Chef Tahya's better half didn't even stay because she couldn't find a place to park. Sherri & Baseball Mike both had to park in West Mesa and even late in the evening Karen had to park on the far east side of the complex. Alright, I'm not going to rant about it here, but Geeeeeez. Here's what I think (you all saw this coming, right?) First of all, you have a 2 bedroom, so you should get 2 included spots. You only have 1, so go down to the office and DEMAND a parking pass, for FREE. Second, the next time your homeowners association meets, go there and tell them you want the association (or whomever runs the parking) to offer temporary 24 hour passes (FOR FREE). Plus, you should be able to get as many temporary passes as you'll need for whatever event you're having. That way those people who know that guests are coming over can get passes for them ahead of time. Well, enough about that. Tracy, sorry you couldn't stay, we missed you.

Libations for the evening;
Gordon Biersch Marzen
Gordon Biersch Winter Bock - Dark Double Bock
Gordon Biersch Blonde Bock - Golden Lager
Buffalo Bill's Brewery Pumpkin Ale
2003 Yalumba "The Signature' Barossa Cab/ Shiraz- 55% C.s. and 45% Shiraz
2004 Ash Hollow "Terassa" Colombia Valley 40% CS, 40% Merlotand 20% Cab franc
2001 Poliziano Rosso di Montepulciano

Our Menu:
Vegetable medly including; Potatoes, yams, sweet potatoes, turnips, parsnip, sweet onion, carrot and celery.
French Fries
Mac & Cheese
Grilled Italian Sausages with caramelized onions and sauerkraut

Apple Pie a la mode

Thanks to everyone for attending this evening of great grub and political history.
Ciao

October 28, 2008

Tuesday @ Chef T's.
Glad to see Baseball Mike was feeling better although still not much of an appetite. You're not stopping at Burger King on your way to dinner are you Mike?

Good Wines;
Arista 2007 Gewurztraminer
Gary Farrel 1994 Merlot "Ladi's Vyd"
Rosemount 1995 GSM
Cambria 1999 Pinot Noir "Bench Break Vyd"
Dominio de Conte 2003 Rioja (corked)
Garretson 2003 Mourvedre "The Graosta" (flawed)
Lone Canary 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon
Balboa Winery 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon
Substance 2006 CS Cabernet Sauvignon






Simple Menu;
Mini Pizza's from Trader Joes (thanks Movie-man)
Roasted Green Beans
Roasted Root Vegetable Medly including Sweet Potatoe, Yam, Onion, Yukon Gold, Turnip, Carrot and Radish
Whole Roasted Duck and Cornish Game Hens with Cranberry & Wild Raspberry Reduction

Flourless Chocolate Cake Ala Mode (Another Trader Joe's product and NOT very good)

Smokes with Rum and Coke thanks to Baseball Mike

Thanks to all for another great meal. Thanks to Chef Tahya for all your hard work prepping the meal. Next Tuesday we'll have Movie-man step it up on the apps a bit.

Waiter, can I get a clothespin for my nose?

I know people smoke. I grew up in a family where one parent smoked. I know the smell and maybe I'm a little sensitive to it, but there is no excuse to smell smoke on someone who works with the public. As a society, we're not in love with body odor, we complain about it on airplanes, in offices and anywhere we encounter the smell of body odor and we can't get away from it. Well, the smell of tobacco smoke on someones clothing or their breath is the same thing. There probably aren't a whole lot of people who love waking up after a night out and rubbing the clothes they wore the night before all over themselves. It's gross. That stale smell is gross. Sorry to all the smokers out there but I know there are considerate smokers who realize the smell and do what they can to minimize it and I appreciate it. However, those who don't. You STINK. And when I'm out at a restaurant, I DON'T want to smell you and I don't want to smell stale tobacco smoke. Yuk. There are few things that can turn me off more than that smell. It's just gross. The smell of cooking can be wonderful. Fresh baked bread, fresh brewed coffee the smell of bbq or grilling meats. When you walk into a restaurant and smell those things, your mouth starts salivating and you can't wait to eat. That's the way it should be. It shouldn't be overtaken by the smell of a server when they approach your table to take your order. If you smoke use breath spray and Febreze your clothes. The amount you get tipped could very well be affected by your personal odor and how the customer reacts to it.

A Penny Saved Is A Penny Earned

Is it acceptable for a server to "keep" your change? Let's say you got a bill at a restaurant that was $31.73. You leave $40 in the wallet and when the server returns the wallet there are 8 $1 dollar bills. Is this o.k.? Is this common? Is this how ANY person should act when returning change from a purchase? NO. NO. In case you missed it, NOOOOO. Are you kidding me? Why would any server EVER think that the change is theirs to keep? I'm miffed by this strange behavior that I've encountered at least 4 times this year alone. Not only is this STEALING, it's WRONG. And, it shouldn't be tolerated. If this happens to you, I guess you can decide whether you feel the server is having a bad day and maybe just forgot all the change and doesn't deserve to get fired, but not in my opinion. They do it all shift long, giving change, so there is NO excuse. No reason to ever short change a customer. Let's look at it this way. Have you ever been given too much change? You know, let's say your bill was $31.05 and you gave the server $40. Have you ever gotten back $9? YES. It happens all the time. And giving back extra is not stealing from the restaurant because when the server closes out for the shift, the restaurant gets what is owed them, not a nickel short. Nobody want 95 cents banging around their pockets or weighing down their change purse anyway. And the server is going to get it back in tips IF, and this is a big IF, they give you the change in the proper denominations. You know, like when you get $7 in change and it's a $5 and two $1's and you don't have any other change. BASIC server stuff here. Let's say the bill is $22 and the customer gives the server $30. The server gives the customer back a $5 dollar bill and three $1 dollar bills. What would you leave as the tip if you didn't have any other bills? Or, would you ask the server to break the $5 dollar bill into ones? Depends on how the entire experience went I suppose. But really, it shouldn't. The server should already know that. Personally, I would leave the $3 and take the $5. Going out to a restaurant is about SERVICE. And making me ask for different change causing me to wait longer to leave, that's not service. Service means you come, you eat, you leave and life is great. You talk about the wonderful food, how the server was attentive to your needs and how much you want to come back. Service is not about waiting for a server to make change when they've already had the opportunity to do so. Rant on my FOODIE flock, what say you?