Grilled Lamb Chop

Ingredients 

      8 Lamb Chops 

Marinate 

1 cup of olive oil4 cloves of garlic minced1/3 cup of white wine1 Small branch of fresh rosemarySalt and pepper 

Method: 

Marinate the lamb chops for one hour Grill to the desired doneness 

Buana Natale da Alfiero

Buana Natale e tanti auguri di belle Feste e un Properoso Capodanno.

Ciao

Ciao

Alfiero

Why a Chef?

Why a Chef? By Chef  Urbano Salvati It is not unusual for any person who approaches retirement age to reflect on his or her life and maybe even ask succinct questions of what he or she did or should have done in life. It is the property of the age of wisdom to wonder and reflect on earlier life decisions. The ever present question that hunts the mind of the not so young: Would I make same decision again were I privy to my present knowledge?Numerous times I have questioned the wisdom of some of my younger years. I have engaged in candid soul searching, and yes, I have regretted some of my decision, I would not make them again or at least not in the same fashion.However, there is a decision that I made earlier in my life that I do not regret, indeed I would do it over and over again should the proverbial occasion presents itself. I am referring to my decision to enter the culinary field which led me to a long career as a Chef and a Culinary Educator    I look back at the time spent in the food service business with a sense of satisfaction and pride. I have joyous memories of a most rewarding career. My pride is augmented by the fact that my own daughter has entered the culinary business, and is on her way to a promising and I am certain, a superior career than mine. The question is this: Why a Chef? Why pursue a career in the culinary field?For me the answer is an easy and direct one. I have and always had a passion for food and the art of cooking. The longer I stay in the business the more I like it, and find more reason s to stay in it. Over the years I have studied different facets of the food industry.  In all I have retained the same enthusiasm and sense of awe that I had in the beginning of my career. I found new ways to be fascinated by what I consider one the world’s most exiting business endeavor. Below I have listed some of the principal reasons why I enjoyed and continue to enjoy working in Culinary For the pursuit of knowledge  As a culinary educator I have the unique opportunity to study and learn about every aspects of the food service business. In many ways I feel blessed to be able to work as a Chef Instructor. The jobs demands that I keep on learning and stay abreast of the industry’s trends and new developments. It causes me to educate myself in the art of teaching which I have discovered is an art that no one can ever fully master it. In my job I fine the faculty enhancements requisite stimulating.  For the food  I have vivid memories of fresh Main Lobster steamed to perfection, stuffed Cherry Stone Clams, of New England clam chowder and Baked Scrod.I have experienced the food mystic of Louisiana, with crawfish feasts, rich gumbo and spicy Cajun food.The tradition of the South lingers in my food memory with perfect fried chicken, corn bread and pecan pie. In the heartland I have enjoyed apple pie made with Michigan apples. Shrimp  Dejonghe and Chicken Vesuvius from Chicago . I have experienced the lore and the tradition of the North West Native Americans with Potlatch salmon and Indian Fried BreadThe list is nearly endless. For the positive economic impact It easy to envisage the impact that food service has on the US economy. The food service is undoubtedly the country’s largest industry. Chefs play an important role in the propagation and growth of the food service business. By the virtue of writing the menu Chefs influences the Agro Business, Meat Industry, the Dairy, and the Fishery. It goes without saying the enormous contribution to the well being of our communities and the thousands of people who make their living by working in the food industry our industry. Chefs have the ability to set trends in the eating habits of the consumers; a Chef can create the demand for a particular food item. Many chefs respond to the availability for new food products, thus making such an item popular and trendy, case in point:  fresh herbs, unheard only a few years ago now a standard in the restaurant and the supermarkets. Can anyone argue the influence Wolfgang Puck had on pizza and garlic? Or the influence of Alice Water from Chez  Panisse had on California Cuisine? Chefs have consciously or unconsciously influenced what it grown raised fished or manufactured.It is a shame that such an interaction is not better articulated and made part of the Chef’s training For the prestige of our nation    It would be an understatement to say tat the food business has augmented the prestige of France. Food and wine is what France is famous for.But now Le Cordon Bleu has become the largest culinary School in the US A. Even though Le Cordon Bleu success in the USA is a tribute to the Culinary Art of France it will also contribute to the establishment and of the ever nascent US Cuisine. The results are inevitable: the US will develop its own brand of cuisine which will encompass time honored techniques from the French Cuisine and the immeasurable contribution of our Chefs and diversity in cuisine and people.If Las Vegas restaurants are an indication of the future of the restaurant business; then the outcome is clear. America will achieve the highest standards in the culinary arts. We as Chef should be conscious of these facts and foster its ideal with national pride and fervor. August Escoffier was very clear on this point. In his last speech in the Waldorf Astoria in 1933 he said: “of the things I have accomplished, the one that I am proud the most, is the fact that I have placed 2000 Chefs around the world and they will all be using French Products!    For the Camaraderie Over the years I have made many friends while working in the kitchen. I have friends with whom I have shared the euphoria and the stress of a busy restaurant. I have forged bonds that will last a life time. The pleasure of knowing people that I have trained no are successful executive Chefs. One particular Chef is Billy Hun who came to work for me the first time when he was young man we worked together for many years in different operation across the nation. Billy is now the Executive Chef Restaurant in Portland Oregon landmark restaurant, Jake’s Crawfish. Jackie’s Crawfish is also one of the oldest restaurants in Portland and the parent company of McCormick and Smirk Restaurants. It is even more rewarding to me the fact that my own daughter now works for him.  The memories and camaraderie I developed over the years I will treasure to my last days  For the leadership experience Given the magnitude, fast pace, the complexity, and the demands of the food business, the ability of a Chef to exercise good leadership cannot be underestimated. Perhaps more than other cities, Chefs in Las Vega must possess strong leadership qualities. I t is not difficult to imagine the leadership qualities necessary to run a kitchen with a crew of 400 cooks or more.Furthermore, the kind of leadership that some Chefs (not all of them) exercise seems to have some arcane and undesirable components.When I speak about a Chef being a leader I am referring to the attributes that any business leader exercises in order to run any successful operation. However, the fact that a Chef works in the food business, he, or she does not holds no cart blanch to be an autocrat, rude or, at time, abusive, nor to perpetuate ideas that no longer belong today’s world.   I, like many other Chefs, hold memories of mistreatments, insane working hours and hostile environments. This is a common story that I hear over and over again because it is true. I challenge every Chef to let the memories of the past be a great motivator for change and empower the upcoming Chefs, to create a better world. But most of all I challenge employers managers and supervisor to institute polices that make sense in today’ business environment and not to let Chefs to their own devises, but give Chefs meaningful guide lines. Chefs are motivated by a sense of responsibility and a passion for their work to the point where they neglect their own well being as well that of   those whom they love the most, their family. To say that is the way it is, is the same as saying that we are irrevocable entrenched with the inequities of the status quo and any attempt to change is a futile endeavor I am well aware of all the complexity and the demands of today’s food business. Having worked on both sides of the fence I am no stranger to the employer’s laments for good employees. It has become a monumental task, at times impossible, to produce a profit of any food operations. The disappearance of single owned restaurant is proof of the difficulties of making a go of the restaurant business. I am sorry, but we must compensate the short comings of our industry with new knowledge and avail ourselves of ideas already developed by other businesses. It is education that will save us not the sweat and blood of the Chefs and other food workers. Those are not just elusive noble idea, it is the only viable course necessary to grow our industry and take it to the level of business viability and respectability that it so richly deserves. To perpetuate the malaises of the past is to do homage to the aberration of history. The convoluted and ubiquitous thinking that somehow causes us to do as we were done too has no place in an enlightened world. As a Chef and a culinary educator I feel no desire to take vengeance on my progenies. Chefs have a unique opportunity to exercise leadership in the daily demand of the kitchen. To impart leadership replete with pearls of wisdom, this will help to make our world a little better. Positive changes are slowly, very slowly, being embraced.  I also want to assure the readers that hell’s Kitchen has no resemblance to a real kitchen.   For the excitement of the kitchen operation For every busy night, and every large party, for ever large baguette, for sweating over an open flame broiler, for every busy breakfast luncheon dinner and late night function.For every crazy time in the kitchen, for ever fight bickering and yelling on a busy night. For every complimentary letters I received from satisfied customer for every smile and warm affirmation. For all of this and more, I will be forever be proud to call myself a Chef         

In Search of a Genius

I don’t know when it started, but as long as I can remember, I’ve had a great admiration and fascination for great intellectual minds; for people whom we call geniuses. I often asked myself what it would be like to meet a true genius. As a teacher I have wondered if it were possible, at least theoretically, to create a school environment that would cultivate genius in a way that has not been done before. Surely as an instructor the subject has intrigued and frustrated me, for I always felt that the elements of genius were inaccessible to me. It was my belief that the word genius was reserved for a super-gifted few, on whom nature had bestowed extraordinary intellects.

Once in my life, I have had the honor of knowing someone who I am sure was a genius; his name was Andre Germaine, and he was a gentleman of unparalleled intellect. He was also a scholar: a poet, a philosopher and an author of many books, he was truly the embodiment of the classic Renaissance man.

Monsieur Germaine, who resided at the Swiss hotel where I was employed, was quite old when I first met him. I was a simple Commis in the hotel, and one of my duties was to accompany him to the hotel garden, where Monsieur Germaine enjoyed watching the sunset. This was a job that we all volunteered for, as M. Germaine was always charming and kind to the employees of the hotel.    

One evening I had the privilege of being invited to his hotel suite. Monsieur Germaine, often invited peoples to his suite, where he would on occasion read some of his poems. He wrote poetry different from anything I had ever encountered, or have encountered since, and I loved listening to him recite his poems, which were smooth, with soft rhythmic cadenzas, fraught with depth of meaning. He read them not as monotone recitals, but enunciated each word with faultless of inflection; his words revealed a passion for literature and an ode to the human spirit. M. Germaine’s poems were gems of literature floating on a river of love emanating straight from his heart. He spoke with eloquence and serene charm. Poetry, he said, was not a simple rhyme of unrelated words and obscure meanings; it was the language of the soul, and the one medium through which our innermost manifests itself; it gives us permission to dream and to love ad infinitum.

Furthermore, if we are lucky, and the universe is kind to us, we will be able to take from it something bigger than ourselves. Monsieur Germane believed that there is an infinite intelligence out there, and we can avail ourselves of it if we work hard enough. I was fascinated by this old gentleman. “Monsieur Germaine,” I told him one evening, after he had just read some of his poems, “your poems are so beautiful. You are a genius!” He looked at me and said: “So are you! We all are, you see mon petit, we came to this earth with all the components and the attributes necessary to live our lives to the fullest, including a touch of genius! You must make your heart worthy and it will come to you. Ultimately, you will understand that there is a treasure in your heart, and that it has always been there.”

I was quite young, and I am not sure I understood then what he said. Monsieur Germaine, in my opinion, he  belonged to another time, a time when superior intellects and classic literature were the highest form of human achievement.

When I started teaching I kept searching for a philosophy that would guide me and ultimately make me a better teacher. I was, and still am, convinced that the art of teaching is never learned, for it is a lifelong learning process, a process that one never quite masters

I kept on thinking on Monsieur Germaine words. There is a touch of genius in all of us.

So now before I start a class I remind myself that each one of my students has all the attributes, the components and the talents to achieve greatness—indeed they all possess a streak of genius. I also know in my heart that the students sitting in front of me and listening to my lectures are a gift to the culinary business, for it is through their talent and hard works that our business will continue to grow and flourish. I am also conscious of the impact they will have on our economy and that they will ultimately improve the quality of life and add to the prestige of our nation. I feel privileged and honored for being part of their life. I no longer feel the need to search for geniuses; I know in my heart that they are closer than I ever thought possible.

I have been teaching for several years. I felt this way for some time and I never been proven wrong, and I am convinced I never will.

Urbano Salvati

  

The Columbia Gorge

 

It is unusually breezy today, said my wife, I know, I said, is that Columbia Gorge wind again, you sure can feel it today; well at list it is good for wind surfer. One good thing,   it will not affect the spring runs. I was referring to Chinook salmons that swim upstream in the
Columbia River. Oregonian wait anxiously for the salmon spring run, for it is that time that the salmon is at its best. My wife suggested that maybe we should go for dinner and enjoy your spring run salmon. “And do what?” I asked, I finally have one Sunday off and you want me to miss the Columbia Gorge Hotel’s   famous 7 course sit down brunch? “You will survive, I am sure, I tell you what, why don’t we go to Steven on the Washington side, to the Skamania Lodge where your friend Fernando works,  I know he has potlatch salmon on the brunch buffet in this way you can  have your brunch and the Spring Salmon.”

The above conversation occurred frequently in my family when we lived in
Oregon. We traveled to the Columbia Gorge quite frequently.

The Columbia Gorge or the Gorge as the Oregonians call it is one of oregano’s most beautiful spot, it stretches on both side of the Columbia River which marks the boarder of Oregon andWashington
State.

On the
Oregon side the banks are adorned with tall Pines and Douglas Fir trees. The landscape is in a perpetual state of greenness and lusciousness. From the Town of Hood River to Portland,  you can travel on the old road on the
Oregon banks and admire six breathtaking water falls. The most majestic of all is the Multnomah Fall.

On the
Washington side the Gorge displays a rugged beauty of rocks and native wild flowers.  One can only imagine the reaction of the pioneer of the
Oregon Trail when they first sow it.

But what I find exiting, beside the stunning natural beauty, is the food!  Even though the Columbia Gorge is under federal protection in order to protect it from future development, the place still has some of
Oregon’s most famous eating establishments.

On the
Oregon side there is the Columbia Gorge Hotel famous fort its seafood dishes and the seven course champagne brunch. Then there is the Multnomah Fall Restaurant situate on the foot of the spectacular
Multnomah Falls. The Multnomah Fall restaurant is an Oregon Land Mark, famous for his extensive menu and Dungeness crab dishes, salmon and clam chowder, On the Washington side there is the Skamania Lodge, a beautiful lodge with build with local timber and river stones. The architecture and the decor of the lodge is a tribute to lore and culture of the northwest Native Americans.

Not surprising the Skamania Lodge restaurant is Potlatch Salmon. The Salmon is cooked on untreated Cedar Planck seasoned with just salt and pepper, sometimes the salmon is held on the plank with juniper tree’s branches. Whenever the Potlatch is done With Spring Chinooks the flavor that results is superb. The Spring Chinook salmon run are the best salmon of the
Columbia River some would argue that it is  the best Salmon ever.

In the Town of
Hood River one can find restaurants and produce marked which sells some of the locals’ best fruits such as Bartlette and Basco pears plus a variety of apples.

 In addition the market sells liqueur fro the local distillery, the Merion berry liqueur and the Pear William are probably the best, and not to forget the Strawberry wine.

 So if you are planning a vacation in
Oregon, visit the Columbia Gorge and ejoy the spectacular view plus the many Culinary delights.

Chef Salvati  

Tillamook Toast

 Ingredients:  6 slices of baguette or
Pullman bread!2 oz. of
Oregon shrimp meat½ cup of mayonnaise6 slices of Tillamook cheddar cheese1 teaspoon of fresh dill 

Method:   Slice the bread and toast lightly  Mix the shrimp with the mayonnaise and the dill  Spread the shrimp mixture on the bead  Cover each slice of bread with a slice of cheese  Bake in 4o0 degree oven for about 8 minutes  Serve hot with a side of cucumber sticks 

Lady Jane the Sail Boat

 

Captain Nelson walked slowly almost as to savor every step. He hang on to the railing of Lady Jane; he feelt the gentle sway of the sails. The tall sails, not the common white sail, they were  yellow and orange  and danced to the  morning ocean breeze. Captain Nelson  would not give Lady Jane the squalor of white sails. No, she is a lady, the lady of theof the Northern Sea. She is draped with the soft colors of dawn. Only a lady is privileged to witness  the miracle of the birth of a new day.  She pitched her graceful moves over the icy water of the Maine shore. Captain Nelson watches the yellow sails inflate, deflate, and flutter. He closes his eyes for a brief moment and listened to the whoosh of the sea. He feels the breeze without the reality of the light. His eyes are opened, he walks slowly again, as to slow down time itself. Take your time to rise this morning he murmured to the son, freeze your shimmering rays upon the water for I brought a lady to meet you. She is dressed in the color of dawn and talks the language of the sea. Take your time and ingrain this moment in my soul. Take your time o salted breeze, touch my face for I am in heaven and I brought a lady of my own making, her name is Lady Jane.

A Poem about Catherine (the hurricane)

Sonnet

Catherine

People of Louisiana and all
Dixie knew of your coming

Other people knew too, the Regent and the Chief knew

In the place of Jazz lover and Cajun queens,
New Orleans

Sons’ daughters of the gendarmes repeated the warning

Ecoute,ecoute, you must go, from all the French quarter

Some people heeded and fled, too many esited and stayed

There was no mystery of your intent jut a matter of days

You revealed your round atmospheric might for all to see.

The deluge, the flood and the wind from the mighty sea

The old edifices the broken pears and the floating bodies

Too many tears shaded for torn souls and families lost

You assailed and trembled on our history for all to see

And all that was noble bloomed and that which was not appeared

You will come again with same might will we ever learn?

 

For the Pleasure of Clam Bake

One can get a good feel for the culture and the food of the
New England area by simply driving through it. In any given state you feel a sense Colonial time. In Connecticut you find restaurants with name like Yankee Silversmith, Paul Rivera, the Charter House, the colonial this the Colonial that. Throughout the country side you will find Inns which go back to the time of Jefferson and Washington. Some advertisements will say “Jefferson slept here” or “
Washington was here.” In place such as
Wethersfield Connecticut you find houses with signs under the numbers which would read: build in 1750 or build in1810… People still own those house and live there with a sense of pride which comes from living in a historical home. All the New England’s state has preserved a sense of historical pride and tradition unlike any other states in the
Union.

The culture of The New England area is also shaped by their rich and superb food that one can find in the myriad of food establishments scattered through the Region.

However noting Campers to the Big “E” No the Big “E” is not he big E-mail It stands forth Bi New England State fair, where most of the New England state participate in a huge fair which is a representative of the regions agriculture, life-stock and food resource.

As a Chef I was fascinated by all the diversity of food product featured at he fair.

 I got my first glimpse of the love that the New Englander have for fabulous food, when I asked one the older gentleman in the Main booth to explain the proper way to make a

Clam bake. You looked at me and said; It seems to me you aint from this here part of the world, he said let me explain, clam bake in the state of
Main is traditional, we originated it and we know how to do it right, not like the imitation that you see in the other part of the Country. First you must dig a pit in the sand and then you must make a fire , you can use coal briquettes, or better yet some drift woods, the important thing is that you cover the fire with stone from the beach, then comes the tricky part: you must know when the stone are hot enough.   When the stone have reached the proper temperature, you know this by sprinkling some seawater on them and the water sizzle you are ready for the clam bake. Next step comes the art of clam baking: First you pile some seaweed on the fire, then Main lobster, then clams, mussels, more seaweed, layer some hot sausage, some potatoes (very important) then corn on the cob. At this point you add more seaweed, more lobster, a couple of crabs mussels and cover the wh0le thing with as many clams as you were able to catch! But you aren’t finished yet, you must cover the clam bake with a burlap bag and enough stone to keep the bag in place so the seabreeze does not blow it away. I pelted him with questions: How long do you cook it? How much lobster do you need? How much seaweed, how many clams?……He gave me a strange look, now I know for sure that you aint no New Englander! Those aren’t the kinds of things that you can learn by asking questions you must learn them from some Main Clam Baker Master ant it takes years to learn them well, unless you want to make some fake clam bake like some city folks do, but I can tell you this the potatoes are important because when the potatoes are read the whole clam bake is ready, by potatoes I mean Main potatoes not some of the ugly looking potatoes that the use in Idaho, Oregon or some of that back woods states!

I found this old gentleman opsulitly fascinated he spoke with such a passion and pride for the Beautiful State of Main, but I will always remember as the man who installed in me the love of clam bake. 

 

Chef Salvati Clam Bake:

4 2 lb. Main lobster

5 lb. of mussels

10 lb. of clams

8 fresh corn on the cob

5 lb. of hot sausage

 8 medium size Main potatoes

2 whole crabs

10 lb. of seaweed

1 burlap bag

1 pt. of drawn butter

 Follow the instruction above, make sure you tie the wine on a string and cool it on the surf, and if you wait till night build another fire and sing moonlight in
Vermont!

The secrete of life a poem

The freshness of Spring  led me to  you