Timh

I'm told that Frank Brigtsen (of Britsen's in New Orleans) uses bananas in his bbq sauce.

I love returning to New Orleans every chance I get, and farther south to Houma. Those places inspire me. But any vacation is a eating vacation for me, its what I like to do. I was just in Charleston and Islands, all Idid was eat and drink. In Boston, I like Pigalle, Restaurant L, Via Matta, and especially Tomasso in Southborough. Fleur de Sel is good, and a bunch of places in China town, can't tell you what their names are though. I'm appaled at the lack of good food on the cape though.

I can buy books for them, but any that I would buy, I would want, so I just buy for myself. I do order specialty foodsfrom all over. Jamison Farms Lamb, Caviar from Petrossian(when it was cool to do so), whatever I find that sounds good. I get a 2 hr break after lunch to shop and eat, and mostly thats what I'll do(maybe a side visit to the bookstore)Though the environment is casual, I tyr to stay professional in their midst. But any down time at the house for me is spent cleaning, organising, and or planning. . They have their everyday china, special occassion china, and the large party china. There's also sets for outdoor entertaining. They buy it all themselves during their travels. I will have flowers (from the gardens when in season) on the table all year round(I studied ikebana while in Japan). The Mrs. chooses the china and linens. The housekeepers polish and set up and help serve if its a large gathering. Daily I do all of the serving and clean up, and the housekeepers come behind and touch up. I have wanted to take some nutrition courses and even thought of entering the Masters Gastro program at BU(its dropped now I hear) but my schedual wont seem to allow it.And also now I'm a single dad of two little girls, so I have even less time.

Yes I make the hummus, and as garnish a mix of diced red onion, tomato, cuccumber, radish,kalamata olives, and parsley. I let marinade in a little lemon juice and olive oil befor spooning on top. Garnish with powdered sumac and a little feta. I warm pita and serve on the side.

Thurs 1/12 Lunch- Cheese tortallini, fondue of fennel, sundried tomato, veal jus, parmesean and chopped arugula for Mrs. Dinner- pork tacos and set ups for kids. A chicken quesadilla for one of them(doesn't like tacos) Adults- Salad of Bibb and Radicchio, red onion, cherry tomatoes, and stilton. Red wine vin. Steak Frites (rib eyes, and yes I made the frenchfries), broccoli.

Thank you both. I find my inspiration in many places. I have a type of food diary I've kept for years, just writing down ideas, and if prepared, the outcome and subsequent changes. I've got notebooks with dishes and recipes from all of the kitchens I cooked in(many). I'm also a voracious reader of food magazines and books(I really like the British Food and Travel). I also try to eat out enough to keep abreast of whats going on. But often, I just walk thru the produce section and hope something jumps out at me, then I head over to the protein counters. I've been lucky to work in some culinary rich regions and countries which have helped give me a strong base from which to operate.

Wed 1/11 Lunch- Hummus plate for Mrs. Prepped for dinner- made cheese tortellini dinner- Kids- tortellini w/ bolognese Adults- Caesar(romain, radicchio, arugula) Roasted pork tenderloin, Ancho chile sc., carmelised roasted sweet potatoes, loose guacamole(rough mixed and chunky)

I've made tamales for school projects, cookies/cakes and pies for school funtions, assigned dishes for family holiday pot lucks, as well as intimate business meetings/dinners, company retreats, and any and all special occasion meals. Hors'd'oevres are common requests, I've made Wellingtons, Coulbiacs, all manner of roasts, BBQ(Memphis style of course!), petit fours and lots of ice creams in the summer. Almost, literally what ever they ask, I do.

Offal, which I love to cook, and nothing too spicey(hot), I personally like assertive flavors. Other than that I've managed to feed them many foods they had either never tried, or just thought they wouldn't/didn't like. If i have any doubts, I'll prepare a sample portion and measure their response. I think they really appreciate this approach, its both safe and fun. I think I can sum up my style as modern bistro. Proper cooking techniques, balanced flavors, and a appreciation for todays health concerns. There is no need for me to stuff them, they arent concerned about cost value as a customer would be.

My food is clean and proportionally lite. Its not a feeding trough. I try to not over process the food. I build my plates from the vegetable out, the protien is the garnish. I'm a fan of the 3 element approach.

Tues 10 Lunch- no one Prepped bolognese sauce Kids- Braised beef short ribs(boneless), buttered fresh pasta(torn), haricot vert Adults- mixed greens, fresh chevre, sherry vin. Stewed chicken with tomato, green olives, cannellini beans, and braised escarole.

On occasion I will servet he same plates to everyone, but usually I serve more friendly, recognizeable food to them. I will give them small taste of things to guage their interest though. They have a wide variety they like as far as kids go, which keeps it more interesting for me. I would guess 95% of the meals are off the top of my head, we do preplan any parties and functions. Sometimes I hear immediately that they like it, or don't(seldom), often nothing at all(I take that as a positive), they always thank me at the conclusion though, and thats enough for me.

Monday Lunch - Lavash wrap w/ grilled chicken, brie, apple, L/T/O mayo for the Mrs. Dinner - Kids- Panko breaded Grey Sole, broccoli, pomme puree Adults- salad of mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, shredded carrots, red onion and basic french vinaigrette. Braised beef(sirloin), carrots and ginger. Fried jasmine rice with shiitakes. and fried shallots. (sort of a riff on braised beef and carrots and a traditional japanese dish, "nikku jaga", with a beef stock/shoyu/ mirin braising liquid in place of the red wine base.)

In my situation, I had an interview and then a tryout. What appealed to me was that they expressly stated they wanted restaurant quality food. I did my own interview and asked all of the pertinent questions also. Some chefs only prep and leave the family to heat and serve, thats the family's call. I don't like the idea of leaving my work for someone else to finish and potentially screw up. I also enjoy preparing the dishes and finishing them a la minute, it allows me more technical freedom and ensures that the food is right. I know of households where the housekeeper also does the cooking, and thats cool, but then its not the caliber of cooking that I'm doing either. Splitting the two jobs takes away from both. Thanks for the link to Pain d'. Got my countries mixed up there, but the bread is kickin' like karate.

This may sound incredibly naive, but is it possible to donate any of the uneaten stuff to a local food bank or soup kitchen? ← I try to limit the waste so there isn't enough to donate, and where I live, i am the bottom wrung of the ladder.

Pain D'auvignon supplies the local Wholefoods every day. Their bread is organic(4-6 ingredients) and is imho outstanding. My family does appreciate good bread, and I feel lucky to have the supply I do. there's also an offshoot of PdA, Iggy's(former employees) that do great bread, more interesting varieties. But overall PdA is tops in my book. (they are an interesting story too, 3 guys, 1 croatian, 1 serbian, 1 bosnian, all makin' bread together... gotta love that)

I do alot of pot cooking on weekends, portioning and freezing. The nanny pulls and reheats. Also I'll prep something in the morning and hav the nanny finish it for them in the pm. Wholefoods prepared foods are a quick alternative. I do get home early on a irregular occasion and we'll go out. I love taking them out to MY favorite places(teaching them to be good restaurant kids) Hopefully the new au pair will be a good cook. My condo is a real condo, w/ eat in kitchen. We always have breakfast together Its our consistent time together.. I don't bring anything out of the house unless given to me by the family, better to avoid ant potential problems or misunderstandings. The Mr. does on occasion give me fresh fish when he has a big catch on one of his sport fishing trips, I've had toro fresher than any Masa could hope for

I'm looking to hire a "me" One of many ironies is that I'm a cook for a family, and i have little time to cook for my own.

Its very casual, with teenagers and their indiviual scheduals, dinner time can be all at once or one at a time. I just try to be set up by a certain time and wait for them to come. Its all about their schedual, I must be flexible to them. its a challenge for sure, but by now I know what to expect(the unexpected). On occasion there will be dinner guest, may be formal or informal. I do all of the serving, unless its 6+ people, then the house keeper helps out.

Thats one of the many positives of my job, I get to cook whatever I want, (knowing their likes and dislikes), occasionally they'll make a request, but its really whatever I feel like cooking that day. They aren't too picky, or have any allergies so it makes it easier for me. When I remarked about the gourmand bit, What i meant was that while they like good food and eat and have eaten in many of the top restaurants in the world, they don't neccesarily obscess about food like you would think . They leave it up to me to do the obscesing, they do know when something is good or not I run the kitchen like a professional one, I maintain par stocks of all basics. I make all of the stocks and fonds that I use weekly(or daily if its a particular one). I made the bread in the beginning, but Pain d'Auvignon is near here, and mine doesn't compare to theirs. I make all desserts, and confections. Make simple things like mayo, will have my own vinegars ready soon, i don't make cheese (except for paneer) there are too many great cheese makers here in New England(I fully support all artisian food makers and sellers). I like to think of my kitchen as a mini restaurant kitchen in a house. I have all of the gadgets; kitchenaids, Cuisinarts, convection ovens, hoping for a thermomix soon, allclad stainless cookware, what you would find in any quality restaurant.

What doesn't get eaten, gets thrown out(after 2 days). I don't recycle because I try at all costs to avoid redundancy.

They are not big snackers, but still I keep fresh antipasti going, cheeses, and other tid bits just in case. The kids have loads of fruit on hand, I usually have 1-2 fresh baked desserts out, and then the pantry is always stocked.

For paper goods, plastics and such, i go to the regular ol' super whatever market. Produce, meat and fish come from Whole Foods, or acouple of specialty purveyors in Beantown. I'm also able to get fresh fish, scallops, and clams(when available) from the cape, same day. The budget is ongoing, when it gets low, its brought back up. The non food sundries take up a large portion of the budget, cleaning supplies, paper goods, storage containers(I'm a huge fan of the Glad and Ziplock plastic containers, masking tape and a sharpie) etc.. I will use coupons when appropriate, but usually the stuff I need doesn't apply.

Enough about them, lets talk about me Sorry but can't do the photos. So heading into this next week, I have no plan. I'm a little overwhelmed with my personal situation, so I'll basically be wingin' it. I'll be prepping for a braise or two, and a roast, but basically going day to day.

Thank you. I drop my girls off at preschool at 9, I go in at 11. They are picked up at 2, I stop by on my shopping run to see them and have lunch, then I'm back home 7:30 ish. At this time I'm dealing with a pending divorce and the events that caused it, and trying to gain maintain a clean, safe, happy environment for them, soI've had to put on hold my personal routines. (I was working for instructor certification in a exercise/yoga method. A possible added advantage in this field)