ScottyBoy

Awesome setup. I'll be picking up some kobe coulotte steak tomorrow. Anyone had experience with this cut CSV?

There are two dishes out of the six courses that I make every dinner, this soup and my desert. Right now it's chanterelles, I bulk it up with some button mushrooms too. Into a very hot shallow pot with some salt. When they start to brown a little I add the onions. It will all fry together until a deep brown. Then drained of all the oil I throw it in a pot with chicken stock and simmer for a bit. Blend and emulsify about 3 tablespoons of butter in the blender while it's hot. Strain it into a bowl. Finish the seasoning with some sherry vinegar and salt. Just enough vinegar so you can't smell or taste it but it helps the soup linger in your tongue. I froth up some milk with a little truffle oil so when you drink it out of a cup you smell the truffle and taste the soup.

So what do I eat on a prep day? Usually get a nice pizza and just snack on it all day... Round Table makes a good chicken and garlic pie.

heidi - Those are my tomatoes! The larger one is a beefsteak but I'm growing sun golds, sweet 100's, russian stripes and early girls as well. tri2cook - When I realized that I could actually make this happen after spending my time "in the trenches" I jumped on it! Just got home, another great group of people who agreed to have their pictures be a part of this blog. So I get to the spot and bring every pot, pan, utensil and plate I need. When I get some time on my hands I'll break down each dish but right now I will post these and go to bed (After washing dishes). 14 hour day already. See you all tomorrow for a ride through SF, visit to one of my meat purveyors, favorite sandwich and much more!

Food Handlers Card has been awesome. Can pretty much cook anywhere you'd like as long as you go through the program. I treat my kitchen just like a restaurant so no worries there. I'm asked about that a lot. Just a final picture of my prep list before I pack up and leave for my dinner. I am a list person... Also a picture of the menu tonight.

Great week of food and shopping! I'm still very jealous of that huge market you get to go to!

I use an Olympus PEN EPL-1 a really cool little micro four thirds DSLR. The right light and post-processing in Photoshop makes all the difference. Will document the kitchen and such later in the week. More prep, peanut butter powder. Tapioca maltodexrin powder and some fresh dark roasted peanut butter.

Making chicken skin crackers. Lightly salted and pressed between two sheet pans with silpats. 250 degrees for 2 hours patting off the fat with a paper towel every once in a while.

Thank you so much. I was looking forward to doing this more than you can imagine. So many of my clients have wondered what it's like to cook one of their dinners. I've chimed in on my FaceBook page and told them to follow along!

When they come in my buddies at Tokyo fish market give me a call. $17 a pound. I love it since they are so big you can get a crust on both sides instead of just the top.

Making Romesco. Fry onions, bread, dried chilis and garlic. Add toasted nuts (I use a nut and seed mix from my local market). Add some garden tomatoes, pimentos, salt and sherry vinegar. Simmer for 1 hour and blend in the food pro.

I'm back from a short shopping ride. Percyn - No not planning on any dinners over there... Tri2Cook - I haven't actually owned a car in 8 years, the only time I drive is using my parent's for the night of the dinner. My parents are very supportive of all of this and I couldn't do what I do without them Alright, time to start prep, pictures to come. A quick picture of where I'm cooking. Yes a little messy but that's what happens when you cook all day like yesterday. Time to clean, reset and start again.

That would be the BART train my friend. Will be doing that tomorrow morning. I'm going to feature just a little bit of biking and transport in a couple posts, accompanied by eating/shopping of course. My bikes are a big part of my day to day and it's how I battle all the foie, bacon and butter

Hello everyone! So I'll be taking the reigns after a great week of Philly food from nolnacs! A very quick little background, I was born and raised here in Oakland, CA. I have to admit that food wasn't the biggest part of my life growing up. It wasn't until about 2001 when I was out of high school that I started watching the original japanese Iron Chef. I hadn't realized just how creative you could be with food, I was still microwaving cheddar cheese on bagels... Working 2 dead end jobs I enrolled in the California Culinary Academy in 2002. I had found a perfect fit. I love to make things with my hands and I love to take care of people. But as it is with a lot of culinary schools it wasn't a fit for most and I am only 3 out of 32 in my class still cooking. I jumped around restaurants in the Bay Area never really staying at one place for more than a year, I wanted to get a very broad knowledge base. Wood oven at "B", raw bar at Pearl, deserts at Scharffen Berger and 6 years later I had landed at Boulevard in San Francisco when a friend approached me. He asked if I wanted a little article written up in his email news letter about my small catering thing I did on the side. I told him "Sure, just write up that I will come over and cook a meal like a do for my friends and family". I got 63 emails the day it came out. I started the business, built the website and was off the races within 2 weeks. It has really been a perfect fit for me. I have moved back home to utilize my parent's beautiful kitchen and to save money/buy equipment. I ride my bicycle here in the East Bay and to San Francisco to pick up my product. Then I get to make everything myself (I'm a little controlling when it comes to my food...). So here we go, it's about 8:30 and my day starts, I have a dinner tonight so I'm about to jump on the bike and do my rounds. I have a lot on my schedule this week and it all has to do with food so I think it will be entertaining for you all. Enjoy!

Packed with business as well as home cooking? Home cooking, working and eating all over the place. Documenting everything. Just got back from doing a dinner and the end of a 16 hour day. Will fire up the blog tomorrow morning!

You're really opening my eyes to all the great markets and product in Philly!

Both those topics are covered in the Sous Vide Index that we all have contributed to. It's a fantastic resource!

My mom used to take me there when I was really young. Some of my first memories were rolling in a cart around that dimly lit, odd smelling spot

Monterey Market is totally a part of next week. You'll see the long loop I go on my bike to get all my products. I don't live too close to the Gourmet Ghetto so I'll be highlighting Oakland and some of Berkeley.

I'll be at both Berkeley Bowl's throughout the week! I was pretty much raised in the original one...

I'm going to go ahead and get on board with the salting before cooking. I do it even while I bring the meat to room temp long before I cook it. It will sweat a little but it shows that the salt has started to soak in.

The week is absolutely packed

Howdy everyone, really looking forward to this! The watermark is from when I spent some time as a photographer a (now out of business) company in the Bay Area a long time ago out of high school. I did a quick photoshop it to remove and didn't think you guys would catch it! It would have given away the location right away. Expect a lot of photos starting Sunday.

Whoops, I'm doing it wrong...

Excellent, would love to taste that.