This is a great mix of flavors.  I used peppers, pine nuts, olives, feta and parsley to make my hummus pop.  Served with sprouted tortillas and veg sticks.

Yummy white chocolate, coffee and chocolate heart cookies.

This is pretty easy to make so no recipe really needed
Take a cedar plank sheet that can be found at most groceries and place in cool water at least 15 minutes (planks are located in the grilling section of your grocery). Chop up some red onion, leek, dill and toss with a touch of olive oil and sugar. Mix above and set aside. Take a 6 oz filet of salmon and lay on cedar plank seasoning with salt and pepper. Top with mix above and wrap cedar plank around salmon with seem under to seal it or if desired place seem up and tie with twine. Place in 400 degree oven and bake 8 minutes then turn down the heat to 275 degrees for another 10-12 minutes until temp reaches 142 degrees. Meanwhile make your favorite squash or a salad alongside the salmon. The beauty of simplicity with great flavors…..

Making food interesting especially as a personal chef is easy. Getting clients to enjoy and even crave it is quite another thing altogether. Add the twist of making meals healthy and you have quite the conundrum. I especially find that a lot of healthy cuisine out-right scares people. It is definitely possible to make items look too healthy. Case in point below.  Pure love and health is this timbale made with red quinoa, mushrooms, spinach and tomato concasse.

Initially if you are not used to eating different cuisines, vegetables, fruits and grains these types of meals take time to get used to eating.  Eventually over time with the slow introduction of different items, clients and family enjoy challenging what they thought normal dinner fare.

I myself over the years continue to challenge both myself and my poor family.  You should challenge yourself at least once a month with something you have never tried.  It will amaze you how often that new item shows up in your world.

Chef Jay

Gift Certificates provide a unique gift idea to celebrate special occasions such as Happy Birthday, Anniversary, Congratulations, or any other significant event. For expectant mothers or new parents, a Gift Certificate for Personal Chef Services can leave more time for adjustment.  Gift Certificates can thoughtfully be used to support loved ones who are dealing with medical conditions, special dietary changes, or grieving the loss of a spouse or significant other.

Gift Certificates Available:
Personal Chef Services
Lessons
Kitchen Organizing and Touch Up

Who would appreciate a Personal Chef
•New Parents or an Expecting Mother
•Parents looking to spend more time with their children
•Working Individuals/Families wanting a break from shopping and cooking
•Newlyweds (Pre-Wedding or Post Wedding Gift)
•Busy Professionals with Large Time Commitments
•Holiday or Dinner Party Hostesses who would rather entertain than cook
•Birthday, Anniversary or Valentine’s Day
•Mother’s Day/Father’s Day/Grandparent’s Day
•People looking to change their diets or the type of food ingested
•Recovering Surgery Patients or Caring for Sick Loved Ones
•New Home/Remodel/House Warming Welcome
•Job Change, Promotion or Retirement
•Thank You or Any Other Special Occasion Gift

If you are interested in purchasing Gift Certificates please contact
Chef Jay at zgourmet@msn.com or 513-202-3876.

A simple to make soup with a touch of hearty. This soup is about as lite as you can get without going to a straight consomme with julienne vegetables. It is light enough to eat a good size bowl, but heavy enough to fill you up. Serve it with a fresh made rosemary loaf of bread.

Enjoy!

Chef Jay

Chicken & Barley Soup
Serves 4-5

12 ounces of chicken breast
4 cups of water

1 tbsp veg oil
2 carrots, peeled
2 celery stalks diced
1 Zucchini diced
1 Yellow Squash diced
1 onion diced
20 Green Beans1/4 inch slices
2 small bay leaves
Parsley
1 tsp each marjoram, basil, ground sage, thyme, oregano, rosemary
40 oz low sodium chicken stock + 1-2 cups water
salt & pepper
2/3 cup barley (optional)

1. Slice and dice vegetables.
2. Sauté veggies in large stock pot with vegetable oil on medium high heat until they begin to soften.
3. Meanwhile cook chicken in water with a dash of salt until 160 degrees. Cool and dice.
4. Add seasonings to vegetables and cook 2-3 minutes.
5. Add stock and water , bring to boil, lower and simmer for 30 minutes. Add barley and cook until cooked through.
6. Add diced chicken and fresh chopped parsley before serving.
7. Serve with crusty bread or on it’s own.

Since some of the previous restaurants went with general everyday restaurant fare I decided to do items that most guests would not expect from such an event.

Menu:
Petite Curry Chicken Tikka Burgers Served over Homemade Grilled Naan Bread with Cilantro Mint Chutney

Red Lentil Stew with Root Vegetables Served with Cilantro Mint Chutney

Black and White Hummus Topped with Mediterranean Seasoning and Olive Oil Served with Jicama, Carrots and Grilled Pita Bread

Lots of Fun! Thanks Cincinnati Sports Club!

Chef Jay

Ugh! Lost the pictures…. Sorry

Now don’t get me wrong! I know the natural order of moving forward is to expand on what is already known. But it also does not mean that every idea is a good one. Too many times the combinations of flavors is either too much of a stretch for the average diner or just plain boring in comparison. I love to eat! I may not eat much, but I love the flavors of foods. Detecting the small nuances that stand out in different bites in a meal is what delights me. I don’t need the fluff, foam, 6ft herb garnishes and half plate entrée salads next to my meat or seafood. Truly one of my favorite things right now is placing lots of different ingredient separate on a platter and building your own meal.

As I lose the point here let’s get back to the bouillabaisse. Classic bouillabaisse consists of a very flavorful tomato and lobster based broth with hints of anise and garlic. It is served with crisp French baguette crostinis and a aioli style sauce to either spread on the crositini or add to the broth. The broth is truly the meal with the bread.

Once you get a hold of the ingredients for the chicken bouillabaisse things really come together quite fast. Little chopping is needed for this recipe as most of the meal is broth and chicken. I did cheat a touch and skin the chicken and brined it overnight. I am just not a big fan of the fat in my broth. This of course also led me to eliminate the crisping of the skin at the end of the recipe.

The meal came together in little over an hour. When it was completed the smell was amazing in the house. My wife came home from the store and could not wait to sit down to dinner. The sauce was a great consistency with plenty for dipping which really is the highlight of any bouillabaisse. The Rouille was very tasty! I used wheat bread instead of the classic baguette. It did not make a difference. Still very tasty! I did prefer a little roasted pepper in mine, but skipped to try this aioli style sauce.

All in all this meal was excellent. Both my kids loved the meal especially the bread and broth for one and the chicken and broth the other. It was pretty close to the classic without the shellfish flavor of course. I did think to myself why not use fish stock or clam juice instead of all chicken broth. It would add a much deeper flavor to the broth with a hint of curiosity not easily detected by a lot of people. My kids included. It also seems as if the seafood based stock would add a touch to the white wine and pernod. Over all try it! I was pleasantly surprised how close the flavors came out to the original. My least favorite part of the meal. The chicken!

Check out the original recipe below from Cooks Illustrated

Chicken Bouillabaisse

Serves 4 to 6.
From Cook’s Illustrated.

Bouillabaisse
3 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces (breasts, thighs, and drumsticks, with breasts cut in half), trimmed of excess fat
Table salt and ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large leek (white and light green parts only), halved lengthwise, rinsed, and sliced thin (about 1 cup)
1 small fennel bulb , halved lengthwise, cored, and sliced thin (about 2 cups)
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour

4 medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 4 teaspoons)
1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes , drained

1/2 cup dry white wine
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 strip orange zest (from 1 orange), removed with vegetable peeler, about 3 inches long, cleaned of white pith
1/4 cup pastis or Pernod (see note)
3/4 pound Yukon Gold potato (1 large or 2 small), cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon leaves or parsley leaves
Rouille and Croutons
3 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads
1 baguette
4 teaspoons juice from 1 lemon
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 large egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 small cloves garlic , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 1/2 teaspoons)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Table salt and ground black pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
1. 1. FOR THE BOUILLABAISSE: Adjust oven racks to middle and lower positions and heat oven to 375 degrees. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add chicken pieces, skin-side down, and cook without moving until well browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Using tongs, flip chicken and brown other side, about 3 minutes. Transfer chicken to large plate.
2. 2. Add leek and fennel; cook, stirring often, until vegetables begin to soften and turn translucent, about 4 minutes. Add saffron, cayenne, flour, garlic, and tomato paste and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, wine, broth, orange zest, pastis, and potatoes; bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 10 minutes.
3. 3. Nestle chicken thighs and drumsticks into simmering liquid with skin above surface of liquid; cook, uncovered, 5 minutes. Nestle breast pieces into simmering liquid, adjusting pieces as necessary to ensure skin stays above surface of liquid. Bake on middle rack, uncovered, until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 145 degrees for breasts and 160 for drumsticks and thighs, 10 to 20 minutes.
4. 4. FOR THE ROUILLE: While chicken cooks, microwave water and saffron in medium microwave-safe bowl on high power until water is steaming, 10 to 20 seconds. Allow to sit 5 minutes. Cut 3-inch piece off of baguette; remove and discard crust. Tear crustless bread into 1-inch chunks (you should have about 1 cup). Stir bread pieces and lemon juice into saffron-infused water; soak 5 minutes. Using whisk, mash soaked bread mixture until uniform paste forms, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in mustard, egg yolk, cayenne, and garlic until smooth, about 15 seconds. Whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in vegetable oil in steady stream until smooth mayonnaise-like consistency is reached, scraping down bowl as necessary. Slowly whisk in 1/2 cup olive oil in steady stream until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. 5. FOR THE CROUTONS: Cut remaining baguette into 3/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange slices in single layer on rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake on lower rack until light golden brown (can be toasted while bouillabaisse is in oven), 10 to 15 minutes.
6. 6. Remove bouillabaisse and croutons from oven and set oven to broil. Once heated, return bouillabaisse to oven and cook until chicken skin is crisp and instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 160 degrees for breasts and 175 for drumsticks and thighs, 5 to 10 minutes (smaller pieces may cook faster than larger pieces; remove individual pieces as they reach temperature).
7. 7. Transfer chicken pieces to large plate. Skim excess fat from broth. Stir tarragon into broth and season with salt and pepper. Transfer broth and potatoes to large shallow serving bowls and top with chicken pieces. Drizzle 1 tablespoon rouille over each portion and spread 1 teaspoon rouille on each crouton. Serve, floating 2 croutons in each bowl and passing remaining croutons and rouille separately.

Entree - Mojo Style Pork with Pico De Gallo, Jicama and Lime Salad, Black Bean and Pepper Rice and Fresh Lime Scented Avocado with Pickled Red Onions

Dessert – Pineapple Shaved Ice with Grilled Pineapple Skewers and Fresh Lime Juice

Dinner was sooo yummy. Course by course I just kept putting out food. I will not even mention the apple pie, lemon custard cake and best dark chocolate cookies, I also baked on Saturday. Not sure what was going on, but I had a blast. My little one helped me a lot and enjoyed trying all the different flavors. Who know, maybe a little Chef hanging around.

The foods were great and flavors complemented each nicely. Truthfully if you lost the pork I would have been happy with just the rice and salads. I of course went back for a small plate of that later. Below you can check out a recipe for the salad.

Healthy Eating!

Chef Jay

Jicama is another one of those healthy super foods. Loaded with fiber, Vitamin C and Potassium. Great in salads, used in place of crackers for dips and found a lot in Asian and Mexican Cuisines.

Crunchy Jicama and Lime Salad
Serves 4

1 medium jicama, peeled and Sliced into a thin batonnet.
2 tb lightly packed cilantro leaves rough chopped
Couple pinches kosher salt
¼ tsp lime zest
1 tablespoons lime juice

Place all ingredients except cilantro sprigs in a bowl and toss well. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes to chill.
Add cilantro just before serving….
You can make this several hours in advance, or even the night before. It will benefit from advance preparation, to allow the lime juice to marinate the jicama.
Revised Latin Grilling by Lourdes Castro