There are times when I want to write a blog and I get my fingers on the keyboard and nothing happens. I want to write something when the motivation is there, and then it’s as if I have writers block! So, today’s entry is whatever comes to mind, basically…I am going to ramble. I hope you enjoy the small piece. Thanks for coming back to check out the site!
I am excited for the season to change- for food reasons only. The actual weather has been the same here in Napa all year almost! It never got cold, never really rained, it just felt like an extension of spring all year long. It is not a terrible place to live- being surrounded by small farms, artisan food purveyors, Michelin-starred restaurants and people that LOVE wine. It’s also pretty cool to have San Francisco less than an hour away. So, last night I had dinner at Morimoto. I really love it there. I have my staple dishes that I return to order every time I go, and the chefs send out new creative dishes in a friendly gesture when I visit. It’s a lovely place. Out of the 10+ dishes we had, my favorite of the evening was Kamachi Collar grilled on an earthenware, table-top Japanese mini grill- a Yakitori Hibachi. It was so simple, so beautiful with a grilled lemon half and spices such as ground Japanese peppers. It had crispy skin and succulent flesh. It was perfection to say the least. This is the way I like to eat. The salmon that we ordered had come in so fresh that they had to let it rest an hour before serving it to allow the protein to relax. That is pretty special. Can you imagine experiencing something similar in Japan? I MUST go. It just reminded me that this is how I cook as a chef, this is who I am as a chef and I need to remember that when contemplating a dish. Over complicating is unnecessary when you have ingredients that speak for themselves.
Having ingredients that speak for themselves is so important. That is why I have made major moves in my cooking to be a “responsible” chef when it comes to ingredients. Sourcing, researching, and learning constantly helps me to form good decisions when feeding myself and others. For example, one resource for fish besides the Monterey Bay Seafood Aquarium Watch list www.montereybayaquarium.org that I have recently found is www.fishchoice.com. It is important that we have the resources available to us to help us chefs locate the product that is sustainable and “in season”. There are some really good articles including one very informative article on orange juice on the website www.civileats.com . Did you know that Tropicana is owned by PepsiCo. and that Simply Orange and Minute-Maid are owned by Coca-Cola?? Interesting read.
Enough of that talk. A new concept will come with the fruition of some research currently taking place. Lot’s of new projects! I will be doing some traveling between now and then, so I hope to run in to you in your town! Follow me on Twitter and if I run into you out and about make sure you say “HELLO”!
I trust everyone is well. Drop me a line if you have a chance. See my updated calendar and try to attend some events! See you soon!
