To celebrate this event, our team collaborated on an authentic New Orleans style menu, to celebrate Mardi Gras,which is one of our most exciting cafe days of the year. As we do celebrate with authentic Bourbon Street music, beads, and decorations, we put most of our focus on the food. Featured on our menu today were some tasty  New Orleans staples that highlight the unique flavors of this cuisine. We are lucky to have on board one of our Chef’s Stanley “Skip”  Yelonek who spent time back in the day cooking at Commanders Palace  . It has long been one of the best regarded upscale restaurants in the city of New Orleans. Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse are two of its most famous alumni who have worked in its kitchen through the years.When there’s an occasion to celebrate, whether you’re a tourist marking an anniversary or a lifelong regular hosting a daughter’s bridal shower luncheon, people head for this palatial turquoise-and-white Victorian mansion  located in the garden District of Uptown New Orleans. On Fat Tuesday, our very own veteran of the Commanders Palace kitchen, prepared an amazing Crawfish and Shrimp Etouffe  over rice served with a fresh-baked cornbread and spinach biscuit. Trust me, it was as delicious as it sounds! Check him out..

Other menu items highlighted for Fat Tuesday included  a traditional Chicken & Sausage Gumbo, Creole Chicken (which is braised in a spicy tomato sauce with lots of fresh garlic, peppers, onions, celery and fresh thyme), Cajun Red Beans & Rice, simmered with a Smoked Andouille Sausage, and Mache Choux- a popular side dish with corn, red bell peppers, onions fresh parsley, basil and heavy cream. As for our patrons who were health conscious for the day…we were even able to celebrate by going Heart Healthy, and making a Spicy Blackened Catfish, served with a Quinoa Jambalaya with Grilled Turkey Sausage.

Notice the color of our Gumbo… deep, rich and flavorful, this is how it looked while simmering a twenty gallon batch. It tasted great with some rice and freshly shaved scallions.

No Mardi Gras menu would be complete, without something sweet to top it off. We even were able to provide some fresh-baked King Cake to our customers!

Special thanks to my team for making this happen.

To be honest, it’s not something I ever ate while growing up. It took  going to culinary school, to finally be introduced to it. It was love at first bite. On the home front, my wife usually makes it for me when she wants to “impress me”, along with a grilled rib eye steak with some Peter Luger Steak House Old Fashioned Sauce that we import frequently from NYC. 

Recently, one of our chefs John Longe, (our  very own whole grains cooking guru) roasted some off for our Courtyard Cafe customers and it was a big hit. Now, I can give you all the data  on how healthy it is for you, such as being packed with nutrients like folic acid, potassium, vitamin A, and beta carotene. But, I’m sharing this with you for two main reasons, It’s easy to cook, and it just tastes awesome!

First things first, you need to pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. Take your squash and slice it in half lengthwise. This will take some effort, make sure you are using a large chef’s knife safely. When the squash is halved, you will need to scoop out the seeds. At this point, drizzle a small amount of  extra virgin olive oil around the insides of the squash, then sprinkle with salt and black pepper. Now place these halves face down on a sheet pan, and place in the oven for about 35 minutes, or until they are completely soft.

You will now need to take a regular fork, and gently scrape the small strands away from the skin. It will gently pull apart and you will be left with these tiny squash “noodles”, just like this.

For one whole squash,  toss these “noodles” with  about 1/4 cup of freshly grated Parmesan Cheese, 3 tablespoons of fresh chopped parsley, 2 tablespoons of soft butter, and a pinch of  salt and cracked black pepper.

That’s it, as there is no reason to mask this work of art with any added sauces, herbs, or vegetables. I guarantee, that once you’ve tried this, you’ll be sure to pass it along to others who have been previously deprived of that “Big Yellow Thing”

Last Saturday night was memorable to say the very least. We had a unique chance to use the kitchen of The Chef’s Academy , a local Culinary Arts School, to host a Black Hat Chef training class. It was a rare opportunity for Rex Chef’s Ray D’Ottavio, Jim McGrody, and myself to all collaborate on the same group of students at once. Our students for this three-hour class won the opportunity after bidding on Rexbay, an auction  that runs annually to help support the United Way. The Chef’s Academy, which has locations in Indianapolis, Indiana and locally here in North Carolina offers Associate’s Degree programs in both Culinary Arts, and Baking and Pastry, as well as a Bachelor’s Degree program in Hospitality & Restaurant Management.

The format of the class was was based of our Black Hat Chef Level One Module. After getting a detailed tour of the culinary school by Eddie Wilson, Chef of  The Chef’s Acadamy’s  N.C. location, students went right to the main kitchen and started  learning. I started out by doing a basic knife cuts demonstration, showing them how to properly dice, and julienne potatoes, carrots, and onions. Soon after, they were cutting there own mirepoix to make chicken stock from scratch to be used by the school at a later date.

Chef Jim stepped in shortly after and started to speak on the importance of making stocks properly, as they are the foundation of cooking. Jim thoroughly went over all of the different types of stocks, and what they are used for. 

As the stock started simmering, I started a demo with the class on the proper technique of fabricating a whole chicken. All three of us were surprised on how the class found this very easy,  and that within 15 minutes of the demo, all students had properly fabricated their own.  One of the classmates, at age 12 did an exceptional job at this. Impressive.

Now let’s be real….I  personally feel that this is something everybody should know how to do, as you can save plenty of money over time. I encourage you to go to your local supermarket and look at the price of whole chicken vs. boneless breast meat, you’ll very quickly know what I’m talking about $$$$.

So  now that the veggies are cut, the chickens have been butchered, and the homemade stock is simmering, it was off to the cooking range to have some fun.The hot saute pans, fresh herbs, demi glace, white wine, heavy cream, The Sizzle. The students were  being  shown the classical dish Chicken Fines Herbs. But most importantly, they learned how to SAUTE.

Here is a basic recipe for this excellent dish.

Chicken Fines Herbs

**Chicken Supremes are boneless chicken breast with the first wing joint still attached.

• 4 each chicken Supremes
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Flour as needed
• Clarified butter as needed
• 2 T fine diced shallots
• 4 oz dry white wine
• 8 oz chicken stock
• 4 oz veal stock.. Beef stock can be substituted
• 4 oz heavy cream
• 2 T chopped parsley
• 1 T chopped fresh tarragon
• 1 T chopped chervil (Optional)

Method

1. Dry chicken breast and season with salt and pepper, dredge in flour and shake off excess
2. In a hot pan with 2 oz clarified butter , place
   breast skin side down and cook for 3-4 minutes, flip over and cook on other side
3. Remove chicken from pan and pour off excess grease. Add shallots and sauté until soft.
4. Deglaze pan with wine and reduce by half
5. Add stock and reduce by half
6. Add cream and herbs. Replace chicken in sauce and cook until sauce has slightly thickened and chicken is cooked through.

All in all it was an excellent evening that I’m sure will be the first of many more to come. All students left the kitchen with a bit more confidence and knowledge then what they walked in with, and the Black Hat Chef’s had a great time teaching as always. Special thanks to Eddie Wilson at The Chef’s Acadamey for making this wonderful evening possible.

Back to work  now, always grinding!

The smell of  our fresh-baked granola coming out of the oven has come to be one of my favorite food smells as of late. Our own recipe of this delightful treat is loaded with a variety of nuts, and dried fruit  , which in turn  makes it a packed with a nice amount of fiber and protein to give you energy throughout the day.

At one point of my life, before becoming a chef, my only vision of a “granola”   was mostly vegetarians, who tend to live through life in a breeze and simply focus on their love for the environment and clean, healthy things. They are lighter and brighter hippies. They are sometimes called granola children. A “granola child”, according to the urban dictionary, is one who “enjoys tie-dye, granola, and peace”.

For patients, we use granola for our Grilled Peach & Yogurt Parfait with fresh berries. When the peach is grilled, the carmelized flavor adds a new dimension to the dish and pairs well with the low-fat yogurt, granola, berries and fresh mint. Here is  a pic of how you will receive this dish, which is found on our Heart Healthy Menu.

Our cook who makes the granola often, is one of its biggest fans. Mbaye Ndoye, who is originally from Senegal on the West African coast says “in my country, the only thing that comes even close to granola, is a snack where they take ground peanuts, and sugar that has been carmelized to the point that it hardens.” This is very similar to Peanut Brittle.  Peanuts are the main crop of Senegal and everywhere the aroma of roasted peanuts permeates the air. Here is an Authentic West African style peanut Brittle that is sold worldwide on-line if you have an interest.

Mbaye, who visits our Wellness Center  daily also  says ” I eat our granola before I work out to give me the energy I need, It’s also great to snack on too.” Here is Mbaye on his way out of the kitchen, in route to the gym as usual

When I lived in Ireland, they had a similar item to our granola available in many places as well called  “Flapjack”- which is basically a sweet tray-baked oat bar made from rolled oats, butter, brown sugar, and syrup. This snack is found mostly in Ireland, the United Kingdom and Australia. In the United States and Canada, “Flapjack” usually refers to a form of the common pancake.

Our method of making it is rather simple. in addition to time and love, we add 10 ingredients in every batch. Here is our recipe, which yields about 3 full size sheet pans. Portion size can vary, because when it comes fresh out of the oven, you seem to eat more!

• Rolled Oats                    6#
• Sunflower Seeds           1 #
• Dried cranberries        3 cup
• Raisins                            3 cup
• Sliced Almonds             1 #
• Chopped Walnuts         1#
•  Pure Honey                   3#
• Butter  (melted)            1 #

Method of Preparation    

1. In a large bowl, combine oats, nuts, and dried fruit. Mix in the honey. and melted butter until it is well incorporated.

2.  Line the sheet pans with parchment paper, and spread mix evenly over the pan. Pat down the mixture so it is packed tight and stays together.

3.   Bake in oven at 300 degrees for about 15-18 minutes. As it cools, it will start to harden, at this point you can cut it into bars, or crumble it.

This is how we sell it in our cafe. You are cordially invited to come and get some!

If you  are a chef in healthcare, and have never heard of this company, than you might already be a couple steps behind the pack. But that’s okay, because Indian Harvest has a great website that is full of knowledge, were you can learn the specifics of some of the unique grains they offer, as well as many recipes to get you started. If you are looking to eat healthy at home, this is good way to get started as well, especially if a Whole Foods Market, or similar place is not on your way home from work. They will ship directly to your house.

As you can see, this order included some of our new staple items, that we are currently using in our operations. Farro, Israeli Cous Cous, Petite Crimson Lentils, Wheatberries, Sweet White runner Beans, Moroccan Cous Cous, and of course both Black and White Quinoa.

Quinoa, is well appreciated for it’s high nutritional value, mostly because it’s extremely high in protein. It’s also a great source of dietary fiber. I like to use it in many different ways. Today, we made a Southwestern Quinoa Pilaf to go with our Sonaran Chicken Rice Bowl. It was flavored with Roasted jalepenos, cilantro, red bell peppers, and scallions- Delicious.

Just recently, I did a cooking demo for a Bariatric Support group, the goal was to show them a “Healthy” Thanksgiving menu. I prepared Turkey Francese, fresh local grean beans, and a Quiona Pilaf with walnuts, cranberries, and orange zest. Heare is a link to that cooking demo if you have some spare time and would like to check it out. http://youtu.be/0RuYkd2UPfM

 Also This past summer, we took second place in a nationwide cooking competition at The Arizona Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix. We did a spin on the classic Korean dish Bibimbap -which happens to be one of our most popular menu items  for our retail customers this past year. It was great to take this traditionally peasant Korean dish, and modernize it with quinoa in lieu of rice, enoki mushrooms, and a lightly fried quail egg. Here is what that dish looked like.

Wheatberries, another one of my favorites, we use for our ever popular Tropical wheatberry salad, and this time of the year you will also see them used in our vegan wheatberry chili. Perfect for a weekend day watching football, this hearty lowfat  chili is a great option for those who choose to dine meatless, and still would like to enjoy an authentic chili with bold & fresh flavors. In our cafe’s, this is typically served in a crusty bread bowl with a garnish of fresh lime, and sour cream. Here is a recipe that should serve about 12

 Ingredients

 Method

1. Toast the chili’s at 400 degree oven until fragrant (about 7-8 minutes). Remove and place chili’s in a small abount of hot water, and soak them until they turn soft. At this point discard the stems and seeds, and chop chili’s finely.
2. Boil 2 qt’s of water, add wheatberries, and cook until tender. This may take up to 15 minutes. Drain the water off, and set them aside.
3. In a large pot, saute onions, bell peppers, and garlic in olive oil for about 5 minutes. Be careful not to burn the garlic. Add tomatoes, paste, vegetable stock, beans, chili’s and remaining spices. Cook for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently.
4. Add cooked wheatberry, and cook for an additional 10-20 minutes. Add vegetable stock as needed to prevent the chili from getting to thick, as the wheatberries will absorb some liquid. Adjust seasoning with salt & pepper, and enjoy!

Our chefs collaborated on this project to provide a three course menu that focused on fresh, healthy, low carbohydrate cuisine . Our patrons, who paid $14.99 for the event, were treated  to a 45 minute Q & A session with one of our Registered Dietitians, who in turn provided them with information and  suggestions on the monthly topic. All of this, while our chefs prepare a gourmet three course sampling menu. What a way to spend your lunch break!

Today I witnessed the delicious food that Chef’s Ray and Steve prepared, and I was sure to snap some pictures along the way as the food was plated.

The First Course….Cauliflower and Leek Soup, was served with a black pepper Parmesan tuille. The texture was velvety smooth, and the fresh thyme garnish was right from our own herb garden.

For the main course, It was a Grilled Salmon  Salad with warm lemon herb vinaigrette, baby spinach, hard-cooked egg, shaved red onion, and toasted almonds.

My favorite part of this dish was the crispy fried leeks that gently formed a nest on top of the salmon, check it out. Nothing complicated, just simple, clean food which has been artfully prepared.

To top it off, chef Ray made another one of his delectable desserts. This time there was a challenge….to make it sugar-free.

What he came up with was decadent Hot Chocolate  Cheesecake with a toasted almond crust. It was delicious, and special thanks to Splenda,  for giving this light  and fluffy cheesecake just the amount of sweetness it needed. As far as the excited gentleman in the picture, that’s Paul, our business manager. Today, he also played waiter.

 First off, our coffee is delivered  from Larry’s Beans, which is located only 7 miles from our Raleigh location. We purchase our beans whole, then grind them to order. At times, our beans are so fresh, they are still warm in the bag from the roasting process. I can remember traveling to the factory with some of our co-workers,  as we tasted, and experienced the passion  that these coffee aficionados have for their craft. My team was amazed at the entire roasting process, and it was unique for me to realize that some of our  own team actually had family farms in Africa,   which had harvested coffee. This was a personal connection. This  connection was real.

The coffee at Larry’s Beans is 100% Fair Trade, Shade Grown,  Certified Organic. They work closely with artisan coffee farmers to only purchase beans with deep, rich flavor profiles which they require for their style of slow, small batch roasting. The result… we are able to provide an amazing quality cup. Our patients are also able to enjoy this experience in a sleek mug which is easy to handle, along with being provided with individual, insulated  air pots for a second or third cup if they wish as shown below…

This has been so popular over the past few years, that the team at  Larry’s have actually designed  our very own blend called Dr.Mojo, which we serve to our patients and in the cafe’s. Dr. Mojo is also available for purchase in our retail venues, as well as at select locations throughout Raleigh and the surrounding area.

Recently, we transformed an existing space into Larry’s Local, a coffee kiosk which brews our very own Dr. Mojo bend, as well as serves many specialty coffee drinks, teas, and sweet treats. As you can see, our coffee barista’s are extremely proud, of our program as well.

So at the end of the day, if the thought of serving a frozen or generic blend coffee excites you, then more power to you. But I stand proud knowing that there is a handful of people in North Carolina whom are passionate to be providing this unique coffee experience to all patients and cafe guests.

 When you cook En papillote,  the food bakes and lets out steam. The food essentially steams in the oven in its own juices. Tilapia, being a very delicate fish with flat fillets is perfectly suited to this technique. This cooking method is also incredibly easy, and has the added benefits of being a low-fat method of cooking. You can use this method to cook vegetables and fruits, even chicken and pasta!

The keys to the technique are:

1) Use fresh ingredients

2) Lay out all  ingredients (“mise en place”) before assembly. Use aromatic vegetables, herbs, and if you like, a little wine, stock or olive oil can add depth.

 Here on our patient menu, our Tilapia En Papillotte is one of our showcase items. We use fresh tilapia, and it’s topped with green beans, cherry tomatoes, thinly shaved red onions, capers , olives, lemon, and fresh oregano, grown here in our herb garden.

After laying out a piece of parchment paper, we layer the ingredients as shown below. They are then topped with a small amount  of extra virgin olive oil, and white wine.

The paper is then folded around the ingredients until a small package or bundle is formed. It is very important to make sure that your new “bundle of love”  or envelope, is sealed tight, thus ensuring that all of the love is kept inside.

 We then bake this in the oven at 400 degrees for about 12 minutes. When  it comes out, the paper will look brown,  but please don’t be alarmed, your food will not be burnt. This is the best part, when you carefully open the paper, you will instantly sense how the wonderful aroma of this perfectly cooked fish works in harmony with the above mentioned vegetables and aromatics.

 Believe me, tasting this dish while in the hospital will take you to another place, let’s say….the south of France?  That’s what we do.

 Living in the great state on North Carolina, we are home to one of the largest pickle producers in the world, which is located in Mt. Olive, about 110 miles south of us here in Raleigh.here is an interesting story that was done locally on this company.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VH06QrPeH7k

Not everyone loves a sweet pickle. In America, dill pickles are twice as popular as the sweet variety.  In most kitchen’s I’ve worked in through the years, we’d simply purchase our pickles in five gallon buckets, and never had a complaint. But last week, our director Jim had one of his infamous “epiphanies”….we make our own.

They just came out of the brine after nearly a week in the refrigerator. The recipe was rather simple, and they taste great. First, we started  out by buying some local pickling cukes from the North Carolina state Farmers market located in Raleigh. We found a lare plastic container, and mixed them with a special brine of  water, plenty of salt,vinegar, mustard seeds, onions, garlic, fresh dill, fennel seed, chiles de arbol (which are a very hot red chili pepper),and a hint of sugar.

Here is what this bucket of joy looked like

 You’ll notice the bright and vibrant color of the cuke’s, but that will slowly change after a week in the brine. So, the next step was ensuring that they were completely submerged in the liquid (no floaters), you really have to weigh them down so this happens. Our ancestors  once used  heavy rocks to make this happen.

After about a week under refrigeration, we were presented with a perfectly crisp, slightly hot, garlicky pickle. They are absolutely delicious, and surprisingly easy to make. Today we are serving them with some authentic Italian Combo sandwiches,  Capicola, Italian Ham, Pepperoni, Mortadella, and Provolone Cheese. Is it lunch time yet?

The dish that he was referring too, The Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps have quite a story with our team here. About two years ago when we talked about making some enhancements to our patient menu, our director talked about how he would love to put something like the lettuce wraps he gets at P.F. Changs on our menu. We all agreed, and within a few short days the entire management team was at that very same restaurant at  Crabtree Mall in Raleigh. We all tried the chicken as well as the vegetarian option (which was made with tofu). The next day, the chef’s collaborated, to design our very own recipe for the lettuce wraps, except they needed to be low sodium, and low fat.

 The result, our lettuce wraps here are something that we are very proud of.  Our filling is a nice mix of chicken breast, scallions, fresh garlic, water chestnuts, and mushrooms. In our sauce, we use soy sauce (low sodium), brown sugar, and rice wine vinegar. 

Each wrap is topped with a crisp salad of marinated cucumbers, and carrots which have been tossed with fresh lime juice, mint, sugar,wine vinegar, and thai chili’s. This is a perfect balance of sweet & sour, with an added punch of heat.

The dipping sauce, also P.F. Changs inspired, includes Chinese hot mustard, Siracha, soy sauce (low sodium),and brown sugar. If the crunch of the crisp lettuce isn’t enough for you, we’ve also added the garnish of  some lightly fried rice noodles to enhance the dish.

“New School” Hospital food, bringing restaurant quality to you!