So nice, I had to do it twice....

Greetings!

Welcome back to the cooking blog of yours truly, Big Sexy!  First, I want to thank everyone who read the first blog and told me how much they enjoyed reading it.  I definitely had a great time doing it, as well as preparing the food items for that weekend.  Hopefully this one and subsequent ones will continue to entertain and inspire you to try something new in the kitchen yourself!  One of the best chefs in the country, Randall Selland owner of the Kitchen here in Northern California, inspired me to try this and I'm of the mind-set that there are no rules, just go for it; if you miss, so what? Just start over.  It's all about having a good time while learning a new skill.

This week I have a couple of goodies I want to share with you. I know on my Facebook page I mentioned a Shrimp and Scallop lasagna, which was magnificent, and I'll get to that shortly, but earlier this week I took an evening and prepared some Tuna Tetrazzini for my guest Nicole as she and I hung out and watched "Psych" on USA network. She is a devoted fan and I must admit that the show is starting to grow on me, its funny and well written, and has my buddy Corbin Bernsen on it.  For those unfamiliar with him, he used to play attorney Arnold Becker on "L.A. Law" back in the late '80's-early '90's. I loved that show, and anything with him I'm going to at least take a look at a couple of times.

Originally, I saw the idea for Tuna Tetrazzini on an episode of "Emeril Live", and while his looks great, I took a little "artistic freedom" and made some variations on the formula.  His can be found here:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/tuna-tetrazzini-recipe/index.html

As I continue this I will point out where I called an "audible" when I got to the line of scrimmage, that's a football thing; ask around, it's pretty straightforward.

To begin I chopped up some Red Onions, a Red and Yellow Bell Pepper, and added some fresh garlic to a hot stock pot of extra virgin olive oil, and sauteed them around a bit- At the same time, I fired up my pasta boiler and once it began to boil added a hint of olive oil and a little salt and begun the egg noodles.  I used extra wide, but in the future I plan to do my own pasta.  I saw a pasta making attachment for my KitchenAid mixer that I plan to pickup soon. And by the way, I love my KitchenAid goodies! makes it so much easier - how I got mine is a story for another time...suffice to say that I was completely guiltless and not a participant of any "skullduggery" that my sister Mel and Patty were in on....

As the onions and garlic were getting better acquainted, I then sliced and added some mushrooms to the party.  Sauteed mushrooms and red onions are hands down one of my favorite flavor pairings, they work so well together.

At this point I added the spices, and the flour to make a nice thick roux, but as I stirred to thin it out a bit, I realized something was missing....music.  I popped over to my system and put in a new CD that I had recently burned.  I had to set the mood, get my sexy together.  A little "I'd Never Thought I'd See The Day" by Sade was just the ticket.  Cooking is a very personal skill when done right, and shouldn't be rushed if at all possible.  Chefs should always be relaxed as he or she prepares a meal.  I look at Noah over at The Kitchen, and when he's preparing any course at any time, he is a stone Mack Daddy in there! Smooth as glass, and I use that same approach when I do my thing.

As the roux began to thin out, I added the chicken stock and white wine, I use Bogle or Renwood when I can, I like them and they have fun tasting facilities, so no using Mad Dog 20/20 or Thunderbird...you know who you are...:).  I then added the heavy cream and brought it to a boil, and then reduced the heat and let it thicken back up.  Took a little taste to be certain that it's seasoned properly...delicious!  Now once the noodles are done doing their thing, add them to the sauce, then add the tuna, the parsley, the pepper and the parmesan cheese.  I went to the cheese guys over at Corti Brothers market for the cheese and then grated it myself, I used canned parmesan once when I tried this and there is a big difference between the two.

Started stirring and watched it all come together, and while it was doing all that, I took my casserole dish and buttered it liberally to prepare for baking.  At this point two things happened, my new favorite song came on, "I'm Going In For The Kill" by La Roux, and I saw something in the recipe that I didn't agree with and called my audible.  An audible is, for our friends who don't follow football, where there is a particular play called and when the quarterback gets to the line of scrimmage sees that the defense is aligned in such a manner that the planned play will not work.  At that time the quarterback will call out a new play and the team will adjust to that.  In my instance Emeril's recipe called for the crumbling of potato chips onto the Tetrazzini once its transferred to the casserole dish.  I'm not trying to rip Emeril in any possible sense.  He has forgotten more than I will ever know, but the thought of some crumbled Lay's on my Tetrazzini wasn't working for me.  So I made the adjustment and sliced some mozzarella cheese and spread that over the top.

I put in the oven for 30 minutes at 375, and at the 25 minute mark or so Nicole (Hi Baby!) arrived and commented how she could smell it from outside.  This is a good thing, dinner guests commenting on the aroma lets me know I'm on the right path.  I removed at 30 minutes, let it cool for a bit, and then it was time to grub! The cheese, in my opinion, was such a better choice than the use of potato chips, primarily because all the chips would do is add a ton of salt and throw the flavors out of whack. Again, my opinion.

Nicole and I then fired up the big-screen and watched "Psych", and she thoroughly enjoyed dinner, which always makes it worthwhile to me.  Great entertainment, great company, and great grub, what else is there?


And no, I didn't forget about the Shrimp and Scallop Lasagna, Big Sexy delivers as promised...

This past week after working out with my buddy Amir (What's up Dill!), the film director, we were at my house just recovering and somehow the TV was on Food Network and Paula Deen was on and she was making a seafood lasagna, and we both stopped talking simultaneously and watched her create this masterpiece almost effortlessly.   We both were thinking the same thing; that looked GREAT!

I knew that I had to take a swing at something like that, so this weekend I put on my "Mad Scientist" hat and planned to do my take on it.  The first thing I noticed was that she used Shrimp and Scallops, but no other seafood was included.  That wouldn't do for me; I needed more flavors in mine...

Friday afternoon I went out and got the ingredients that I didn't have in the pantry already, and on Saturday before I just rushed in, I sat down and formulated the game plan, made changes where I thought were interesting, to me at least, and after I did the necessary prep, I was ready.

First thing was to start the boiling water for the lasagna noodles. Once that got up to warp speed I added some salt and a touch of olive oil to ensure the noodles don't stick after cooking.  Once they were done, drain then set aside in a glass mixing bowl and add a little more olive oil to be certain there is no sticking when you start to assemble to the lasagna.

In a heavy saucepan I then put a good portion of butter, almost half a cube, let that melt and heat up then add some onions and slowly let them cook, we don't want to fry them, just enough so they are translucent, then add some fresh garlic and enjoy that aroma as is fills up your kitchen....yes!

After the onions and garlic are nice and flavorful, add in your heavy cream. Some people like to use Half & Half, others like whole milk.  I like heavy cream for its richness, which I'll be paying for in the gym later.  So be it. Then I added some Romano cheese to the sauce with a little Parmesan, for a little variety.  After the sauce begins to thicken up, I added the scallops.  Before doing so, I cut them into quarters just to ensure that each bite would contain some.  After about 4 or 5 minutes, I added the shrimp, which I cut up,  into thirds; I used the medium to larger size shrimp for this, (21 count to a pound).  But I'm not done there.  Then I added some fresh crab, because I love crab, and finally I added some clams and used some of that liquid to thin out the sauce just a touch as I didn't want it too think before baking.

At this point it's time to assemble the lasagna, and to do that I needed some music.  Earlier in the day I recorded the latest Prince Podcast, and that one got a little tense, Mike and Big Ken had to be sent to neutral corners for a bit, but in the end everything was resolved and the team is rock solid. After that, a mysterious stranger provided me with a recording of Prince and the Revolution from a 1983 rehearsal doing a 24-minute version of The Time's "The Bird".  Perfect choice for the assembly, the song had such a tight funky beat I could begin assembling my masterpiece and maintain my groove simultaneously.

I started by buttering my lasagna dish, then I poured a layer of sauce on the bottom, then I laid out four of the lasagna noodles, making sure they overlapped to form a solid seal, then I added some sauce, then another layer of noodles, then another layer of sauce, then another layer of noodles, then one more layer of sauce.  After the last layer of sauce I topped it with some Romano, Provolone, and Mozzarella...yeah baby.  Then I placed it into the pre-heated oven at 375 for 25 minutes.

After the time went off I removed from the oven and let it sit and cool for about 15 minutes, then it was time to take a taste...

Oh yeah...this is what I'm talkin about...fantastic.

Thick and rich and all of the seafood flavors are accounted for. The shrimp were firm but chewy or rubbery and the scallops were just melting in my mouth.  Dare I say that I've done it again? I think so, but I'm not a neutral audience so what do I know?  The only way to be certain is to have a few people over and let them sample it.  So the next time I do it, this was just a test run, I'm calling in some favors to do a little tasting test.  Susan over at the Susan Can Cook blog, I'm looking right at you...and yes that includes you too Dwayne.

Well that's about it form my kitchen this week, I know we ran a bit long, and a bit pasta heavy this time, but next time we change gears...Cheesecake! I took a recipe from Sheila, Nicole's mom, which was already ridiculous, but you know me by now- let's ramp it up a bit! I must admit that I tried this plan once, and made some great cheesecake...pudding.  Yeah, I kind of goofed that first run, but I went back to the drawing board and see where I made my mistake.  I addressed it, made the requisite adjustments and think I have it dialed in, stay tuned....

Gotta thank my girl Anna for providing me with the corrections on this one, she was definitely lookin out for me! Thank you love!

Thank you all for reading!

Marc (Big Sexy)

Trying something new...

Greetings!

My name is Marc Wiggins and in some circles I am affectionately referred to as Big Sexy, I started that about 15 years ago and it has stuck, just one of those good things I guess...

The purpose of this blog is to share my experiences in the kitchen as I expand and learn more of my new hobby: cooking.  The inspiration to do this comes from my friend Susan over at her blog "Susan Can Cook", (Hi Susan!), and it was a a lot of fun to read about her recipes and thoughts on cooking.  Here in Northern California where I am, I have the pleasure of experiencing some of the best dining in the State, and that coupled with my love of cooking shows and the Food Network, got me thinking, "I can try that myself".  So after doing some research and speaking with several Chefs in the area (Hi Noah!) I decided to try a few things out for some of my close friends.  Thus far I have done a Tuna Tetrazzini, Fettucine Alfredo, Grilled seafood on skewers, and a Seafood Caneloni.  And I also prepare my own Sushi as well.  As you can see I have a pre-disposition for Italian food and Seafood, this time I wanted to try and stretch out from my comfort zone, so while watching an episode of "Everyday Italian" with Giada DeLaurentis she prepared a Mushroom Risotto with Gorgonzola cheese, that looked delicious and I knew that I was going to take swing at that.

Earlier in the week I stopped by Selland's Market for some of their fantastic Meat Loaf and while there I asked for the recipe from the owner Nancy, and she was gracious enough to share it with me.  In the name of full disclosure I have to divulge that Nancy and her husband Randall also own the Kitchen, which is hands down the best restaurant I have ever been to.  My best friend Nicole took me there on my 40th birthday several years ago and now they cant get rid of me! I swear I'm like Norm from "Cheers" that way, I'm ALWAYS in there, it's truly that good and I love it.  

So now that I was armed with the best Meat Loaf recipe that I had ever tasted, and was gearing up to try the Risotto from Giada, I needed some green to fill out the evening.  I went to Emeril Lagasse and got a simple green salad recipe from his website, and now I was ready.  Ready to step out of the comfort and familiarity of Italian and Seafood.

I spoke to my girlfriend Patty who was out of town up in Eureka but would be back Friday evening and called Nicole and told them both that I was cooking and trying something new this time.  I told them of my planned menu, and I must admit that I was uncertain if a Risotto went with a Meat Loaf theme-wise, but decided "Who cares?" and moved forward with the planned festivities.  My first task was to lay out the place settings, you can't plan an evening of fine dining on paper plates! Once I got all the glassware and utensils out and arranged, I did my menu shopping and was ready to roll!

The first task was to prepare the croutons for the salad, the required them to be baked for 20 minutes, and also allowed me to have them done in advance which would free up the oven for the Meat Loaf later.  The salad was very simple, Romaine lettuce, some garlic and other items, then I needed to prepare the dressing.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/my-kinda-salad-recipe/index.html

Then I began to prepare the meat loaf, as fantastic as it tastes its very simple to make and doesn't have a lot of ingredients. I took the 2 pounds of ground beef, added the required ingredients, which did include some cheddar cheese which surprised me, I had never heard of that before.  Added a couple of eggs, some crackers, a red onion and a few other items and let it bake for just under 2 hours at 325 degrees.

http://www.sacmag.com/media/Sacramento-Magazine/October-2009/Make-It-Selland-rsquos-Meatloaf/

I did have to use two loaf pans to do it, I wasn't confident that the size pans that I was using could accommodate 2 pounds so I split it into two pans, and let it do its thing for the allotted time.

When the meat loaf got to about 90 minutes of bake time, I then began the Risotto.  I had previously tried a Risotto that I saw Anne Burrell make on "Secrets of a Restaurant Chef" and fumbled it completely, the game plan was perfect, the execution was less so.  Far less so.  With the salad done and only needing to be assembled, and the Meat Loaf baking away, I was ready to take on the Risotto.  But first I had to get in the right frame of mind, I put on a compilation of some Swing Out Sister, and had a glass of wine, ok now I got my sexy together, lets do this!

The first thing about this Risotto was that the mushrooms needed to simmer in the Chicken Stock for 30 minutes to really make them tender, during that time I started to saute the onions in butter over medium high heat, the recipe wasn't specific so I used both Red and White Onions because I love Red Onions. After the 30 minutes had passed, using a slotted spoon, I removed the mushrooms from the Stock and added them to the Onions to further cook and just as they released their flavors and began to really react with the onions, I then added the Arborio rice.  Its a special kind of rice that is only used for Risotto, its very puffy when compared to regular long grain rice.  Right at this time Nicole arrived and mentioned how everything smelled so good, that was very nice to hear, and now the recipe called for me to add the Stock in 1/2 cup increments and begin stirring the Risotto.  And for those of you who have done a Risotto, you know here is where you make or break it, the required and long amount of stirring.  As I listened to the song "Now You're Not Here" fade and "Time Tracks You Down" begin, I'm still adding Stock in 1/2 cup increments, stirring until absorbed, then adding another 1/2 cup.  This was done until the Stock was gone.  Oh but we're not done, not yet, you're not ready for this yet ladies... Because as the song "You Already Know" begun, I started to add the crumbled Gorgonzola to the Risotto, this makes it even creamier.  Then I added some Chives and a little Parmesan to garnish, and it was done.  Gave it a hit of freshly ground pepper, and at that moment the oven timer went off signaling that the Meat Loaf was done, its all in the timing...

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/gorgonzola-and-porcini-mushroom-risotto-recipe/index.html

Patty called and said that she would be an hour late, that's unfortunate because it was time to grub! Nicole loved every bite and told me so, then paid me the ultimate Chef's compliment in my book, she asked me for a T.G.P.  To the uninitiated that means a "To-Go Plate", she was taking some home and had her lunch planned for the next day!

All in all it was a lot of fun to do, it showed me that I can prepare things other than Seafood and Italian dishes, the more I do this the more I like it.  The next time I'm at the Kitchen, I will pay close attention to the detail because they do and it shows in both the presentation and the flavors, because when a person tries their hand at preparing meals like this, you can't half-ass it, has to be full on.

I plan to share my experiences every 10 to 14 days, because it takes time to plan and prep my kitchen, and I like to think when I try these things its a somewhat special occasion and I want to do it properly and not rush through it.  I hope the journey will be as fun to read about as it will be to prepare.  In the future I plan on inviting more friends over to dine with me, and while many are local, some come from as far as Honolulu, (Hi Lori), some are new friends I've made by being involved in the Prince Podcast, (What up Mike, Big Ken and Dey Droppin!), and from my softball team (Team Sexy is in the building!).  Thus far I love doing it and I hope that my dining guests will enjoy it as well, until next time...

And any comments are welcome!