Pittsburgh Gazette Article.

Good Shopping And Pickling

Vine tomatoes @ 0.79 cents a pound and regular asparagus @ $1.79 a pound. This is where I do 80% of all food shopping. Just like I did in Crumlin Village when I was a boy. Mam will tell you.

In contrast, the beets in the top photo cost more that the tomatoes and the asparagus together but they are really top quality. I had to buy them in another s/m because my little cheapie place did not have what I wanted. I am going to pickle these beets over the next few days. $3.99 for six beetroots. Outrageous!

The top photos are of the beets being pickled. I used the same formula as for the vegetables but used half beetroot juice and half water.

Shrimp, Shiitake Mushroom And Saffron Rissoto

Chicken And Shrimp A La Grecque

Chicken wings and sauteed shrimp with feta cheese, olives and capers in spicy tomato sauce.

Pork Scallopini Parmigiana.

Paella

Summertime And The Livin' Is Easy.

It is Memorial Day here in the United States. I think that means the unofficial strart to Summer. In the spirit of it all I made a cold buffet of ham and cheese with different salads and some of the famous pickled vegetables that I made last week. Delish.

The salads are: Green bean salad, fresh beetroots in garlic vinegar, potato and red onion salad and hard boiled egg.

Carrot And Sweet Pea Rissoto With BBQ Shortribs

This was off the OG scale. It didn't even register.

Knives, Fish Scissors And Roasting Fork.

Some of the knives and tools that have accompanied me all over the world. They date back to the 1970's and are still going strong. Some of my knives are older than some of the employees I have had. The one toward the center on the left with the green and yellow stripes cost me a whole months salary in Germany, it is an F. Dick knife and one of the best in the world. It is as good and sharp today as it was when I bought it. Like myself.

My New Scales And 10 lb. Can Of Dijon Mustard.

This is my new scale. Normally I don't use a scale because I weigh most things by hand to the nearest 1/2 ounce. This will help me with rice and pasta and things like that and probably save a little bit of money. A great deal at $50.00 and most useful for the serious amateur cook.

Next to it is my almost 10 lb. can of Dijon mustard. It is hard to find such luxuries in a small town like Roseburg and the nearest place I can find it is Eugene which is sixty miles away. When I do find it is usually in the region of $7-$9 for a sixteen ounce jar. I got this from a hotel supplier in Seattle for $16.00. I love Dijon mustard and the dishes you can make with it. Don't you wish you were in the business?

Angel Hair Pasta With Spicy Tiger Shrimp In Tomato Sauce

Mahi Mahi Steak And Scallop On Orzo And Ratatouille

Mahi Mahi filet and Scallop marinated in olive oil, garlic, onions and japapenos then sauteed and drizzled with lime juice.

Pickled Vegetables

Summer is coming. A few slices of ham, some potato salad and hard boiled eggs with a little tossed greens and scallions. A few pickled vegetables would not go astray on those warm sunny days.

Ingredients
For pickling liquid
2 1/2 cups distilled white vinegar
3 cups water
3/4 cup sugar
5 tablespoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon dried hot red-pepper flakes
For vegetables
1 head cauliflower (2 lb), trimmed and broken into 1- to 1 1/2-inch florets (6 cups)
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 carrots, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices (2 cups)
4 celery ribs, cut into 1-inch-thick slices (3 cups)
Make pickling liquid:Bring pickling-liquid ingredients to a boil in a 3-quart nonreactive saucepan over moderate heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
When all the vegetables have been blanched layer them in a pickling jar. Add peeled garlic clove, hot peppers, bay leaf and anything else you would like. Pour brine or pickling liquid over them making sure you cover them. Allow to cool and put aside in the ‘fridge for as long as you can resist.

Poulet Yassa.

This is an African dish that I learned to make in the Ivory Coast. From what I read it is really from Senegal but they made it a lot in Abidjan. It is a very tasty and a very refreshing dish. Perfect for summer. It is also a very simple dish.

You need::

Onions

Red and green peppers

One portion of chicken per person

one lemon or lime per person

Canned roma tomatoes with juice.

Olive oil

Garlic

Cilantro or parsley. Preferably cilantro

Salt and pepper and jalapeno pepper if you like a little heat.

Slice the onions and peppers fairly thinly and put them into a bowl. Add a little olive oil and the juice of the lemons or limes , or both. Chop up the garlic and add that mix well. The lemon juice will soften the onions and peppers during the marinade. Season with salt and pepper. .

Season the chicken portions and rub them all over with the left over lemon.

Bury the chicken in the pepper and onion marinade and leave to marinate for a few hours.

Remove chicken from the onions and saute them off in a little olive oil. Remove when coloured. Add the peppers and onions to the pan and allow to cook slowly. When half done add the chicken and the tomato with juice and top off with water. Correct the seasoning and Garlic and add a little lemon juice if you like.

Let simmer on the side of the stove until onions are cooked.

Check seasoning again and serve over rice.

Another Fantastic Tajine.

My favorite Moroccan dish. This one with lamb shank and leeks. It would also have been with dates but I forgot to put them in. Next time.

Carlton Tower Hotel London With Chef Bernard Gaume Circa 1970

These were two of the  sous chefs. They were both very knowledgeable  I can only remember the name of the one on the left as Mike Sullivan who had the distinction of working for a couple of years in Maxims of Paris when that was the place to work. I think that the man on the right was called Gerhard and he came from the Savoy. They were both wonderful mentors. 

This was the chef entremetier. His name as far as I can remember was Jimmy and he was always in good mood and ready for a song. I only saw him angry once in my time there. A memorable fellow.

This is Jimmy and a Portuguese cook being stirred by a sous chef by the name of Jean Pierre. I had worked with Jean Pierre in the Savoy before he came to the Carlton Tower. We never got along very well but he was very knowledgeable if a little arrogant.

This was me in my long hair and hippy stage which I very much regret.

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This was about a year before I left for Germany. I still remember all these fellows. I wonder where they are now. Too bad we didn't have digital cameras then. Think how many photos would exist.

The culinary brigade in the Carlton Tower London under Chef Bernard Gaume. This was one of the most pleasant work experiences I have ever had. Mr. Gaume was a very progressive thinker and the start of a new wave of chef at the time. He was very quiet and well mannered, no tantrums , although there was no mistaking his displeasure when he chose to show it. He was a very young man at a time when most of the chefs in the major hotels in London were of a certain age. He was also a very shy person in his own way. He did not hug the limelight and was not interested in the hoopla that has become part and parcel of what is now called ' The celebrity chef ' circuit. This was long before Paul Bocuse popularized and romanticized  the industry.
He brought a new approach and tolerance that I had not seen in hotel brigades up till then and it was very refreshing .
I first witnessed the taking of a brigade photo in the Savoy Hotel London and I thought it was a wonderful idea to have a lasting memento of not only the places where one worked but also the people there. I remember each of these people just as though the photo was taken only last year. All the culinary photo shoots you see on the blog were organised by me except for the Savoy Hotel. Hopefully someone will come across this photo in a search and get in touch. Wouldn't that be nice.

The Hotel had a few restaurants from what I remember, one was the famous Rib Room of the Sonesta Chain and the other was the main restaurant called the Chelsea Room. This menu is from the Chelsea Room at the time.

The decimal system was just beginning to come in then and the items are priced in both the old and the new pricing.



Article From The Caterer, London's Hotel Industry Paper

A fond farewell to Gaume 

Thursday, September 10th 1998, 0:00

Friends, colleagues and hotel guests gathered at a reception last week to celebrate the career of Bernard Gaume on his retirement after 30 years as executive chef at the Hyatt Carlton Tower, London. 

Gaume, winner of the Chef of the Year Catey in 1994, joined what was then the Carlton Tower hotel in 1968. He has since presided over the hotel's Rib Room, the Chelsea Room (now renamed Grissini) and the restaurant lounge, the Chinoiserie, as well as all banqueting functions. 

"To me, Bernard has represented the school of chefs who know everything from A to Z about the kitchen," says hotel general manger Michael Gray. "He has always remained hands at the stove, constantly passing on his knowledge to young commis chefs." 

Gaume's replacement as executive chef is Rainer Becker, who joins the hotel from the Park Hyatt Tokyo.

This is the present executive chef:

http://www.thestaffcanteen.com/featured-chef/simon-young-executive-chef-jumeirah-carlton-tower-london

Spaghetti Bolognese.

One of my alltime favorite pasta dishes and so easy to make.

Penne Pasta With Roasted Cauliflower, Bacon And Anchovies.

Who would have thunk? Pasta and cauliflower? It was a great combination topped off by the bacon and the anchovies. Simple dish. Roast the cauliflower, grill the bacon, cook the pasta, combine all ingredient and voila.

Pasta 50 cents

Cauliflower $1.00

rest of the ingredients. $1.50 or less.

Flavor: Priceless.

I head of cauliflower
Pasta of your choice, I used penne
Half red bell pepper
Half a tomato
Chopped onion
Frozen peas
A hand full of spinach leaves
I slice of bacon
Olive oil
White wine
Garlic

Cook the pasta so it is ready when the rest of the ingredients are cooked.

Rub cauliflower with a little lemon
Blanche and refresh cauliflower
Break apart into florets
Fry bacon in a pan. Remove when cooked and roast the cauliflower florets in the fat. Keep warm.
Sauté chopped onions in the olive oil, add bell pepper and cook till tender, add a dash of white wine and reduce.
Add a little virgin olive oil and some white wine and heat through. This will be your sauce.
Add the chopped garlic
Add the pasta and heat until coated in the olive oil and is nice and warm.
Add the raw spinach leaves and let them cook in the heat of the pasta.
Check the seasoning and add garlic if necessary.
Fold in the cauliflower and serve in a pasta bowl with the bacon on top.
Anchovies are optional.

Pot Roast Sandwich With Oven Fries