The last couple of months have been very exciting

   Well we are getting very close to opening for breakfast and lunch.   If all goes according to plans there will be serving food next week.  We are also going to have a week long soft opening to get out the kinks and the grand opening is going to start on the 26 of December and run until the 9 of January with buy one get one free entrees.  We have had a lot of fun building this little project from the ground up.  We have also learned quite a bit about building codes and restaurant design, it has also been stressful at times too but pretty soon it will be all about the food.   The web site was updated today with a sample lunch menu as well as a construction page. I have placed some pictures in chronological order of the build out.

Party Time

Well the summer is is in full swing here at the house, we are having PSE&G out here for the second time this week to fix the AC. Most of the excitement is that my Brother-in law Kevin is getting married on Friday the second. So we decided it would be fun to have the rehearsal dinner at the house and yes, I will be cooking, so I thought it would be a good way to launch some recopies and photos. In between being in the wedding and all of the other Dad, Husband and Brother in law stuff that goes with weddings i'll squeeze some recopies and photos in. The party is for around 30 people and we are going to have a nice and simple summer buffet with a good amount of Italian influences, nothing too fancy but very tasty and fun none the less.
the menu includes:
Sliders, Antipasto,Giardiniera,
Caprese Salad, Grilled Summer Vegetables, Green Apple and cucumber slaw, Garlic and Parmesan Roasted Red Potatoes, Grilled Lemon Chicken and Artichokes and a Whole Grilled Beef Filet with Salasa Verde


So with it being Saturday it is time to start the Giardiniera which is a pickled vegetable salad, you can use what ever you want or have on hand. After some poking around I found out that this has potential to be a very convenient staple to have in the fridge. Most people associate it with the over priced jar of mixed vegetables that are next to the jars of roasted peppers. If you make it at home it is very different. the vegetables are not cooked so they remain crispy and hold their color.Giardiniera  is also has many uses such as a condiment for Chicago's Italian beef sandwich as well as as similar spread to New Orleans Muffalata. and with canning on the rise Chefs are starting to pickle their own vegetables in peak season. It was also featured in this months Food and Wine Magazine added to white beans and salami. I am glad that there is extra for the party because I know what I am having for lunch tomorrow. Giardiniera  is also a good accompaniment to cheese plates and on top of salads, you can also chop it very fine to use as a relish for hot dogs and sausage. here is the recipe that I use, it is not hot but you can add any heat that you want, the neon yellow banana peppers are a great addition. This makes a little over a gallon that is good for 4 weeks in the fridge if you don't want to go through the whole canning process, you can cover it and leave it in the fridge.

This makes a little over a gallon:
Veg mix
1 ea English cucumber, quartered the long way and sliced
4 ea red peppers julienne
1 ea celery stalk sliced thin
1 ea cauliflower, cut into bite sized flouretts
6 ea carrots peeped and sliced on the round

pickling mix
4c of water
4c white wine vinegar
.25c sugar
3T kosher salt
1t black pepper
4ea cloves of garlic crushed
3T extra virgin olive oil
1t chili flakes
1T dried oregano

simply mix everything together and cover and leave it in the fridge, you will want to wait at least 1 day to eat them after thet they are good for 4 weeks covered in the fridge

here are all of the vegetables  cut

                                                                             Here is the finished product ready to go

Well here we go, thanks for taking the time to check out my blog.  I started this for a couple of reasons, one is that I wanted to write a cookbook based on the food I like to cook and eat, but after poking around I realized that writing, selling and publishing a book would take more time and organization than I have right now so I figured that the blog would actually suit my creative outlet a little better.  Those of you who know me know that I love to cook and eat and always wanted to own my own restaurant so if you like the recipes and want to contribute to my dream please feel free to use the chipin button on the top of the page, you can send anything you like,  10% of all proceeds will go to a charity in Atascadero CA . The remainder will go into the build CalTerra fund.  We also have a site picked out and are almost ready to go, most of the recipes that I post here will be potential dishes at CalTerra so please feel free to add some comments and check back to see what I am up to