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!