Andre G. Gray: tha Giant [Blog] » Food

Dinner Impossible©: TwentiFirst

andreggray — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 16:37:39 +0000

MRinternational hit 21 a couple weeks ago. Since we are in Europe, it would normally be a pretty regular night. In order to avoid this regularity and normalness, Yim and I decided to put together a real nice dinner party Chez Madame Linyer. In order to complete the Dinner Impossible, ala Robert Irvine, I had to first create a Menu. I was thinking of something good, hearty and filling. Being the fanatic of hearty homemade meals that i am, I turned to the trusty Chicken Parm with homemade Marinara. Once i had decided on this delicacy, meaning once i imagined it in my head and then was forced to make it because my vivid imagination would make me crave that dish until i ate it, i realized that the frying might be slightly time consuming, and might thusly slow down my dinner. The solution. Light Bulbs. There it was, my famous Minestrone Soup. It comes from a recipe I adapted out of a Williams-Sonoma kids cookbook i received for xmas many years back. Chicken Minestrone with
6 cups chicken stock
6 medium garlic cloves, each cut in 1/2 lengthwise
2 cups finely chopped yellow onions (2 small onions)
1 cup small-diced green bell peppers 1good sized pepper
1 cup small-diced carrots (2 to 3 medium carrots)
1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary
1 (14-ounce) can kidney beans in a can unflavored
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 Box ridged small pasta of choice
1 lb chicken breast.
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
and 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan. Through the Parms on top of some pasta and make a lil salad to start and u have a menu. I then needed to go shopping. Then problem. First, my recipe i had written down was in cups and pounds, but europe does not get down with cups or pounds. Solution, call me English friend from Amherst for conversions. Then, problem two, No Breadcrumbs at the store. Solution, toast bread and make them urself. This being the first time i was cooking dinner for 30ppl, i was slightly unaware yet aware of how long it was going to take to shop, but after a 200euro+ bill, an hr15 in the Carrefour and a stolen shopping cart to push the food home, i was ready to cook. Well, I was ready to prepare. Armed with some amateur sous chefs, I began the cutting. And the cutting. AND the cutting. There were the peppers, carrots, onions and garlic for the soup and then the salad fixins. Not to mention the heap of chicken i had to cut and pound out for the soup n the parms. Meanwhile, I had someone crumbing the bread i was broiling in the oven and some other ppl cutting various things. Once i got the Marinara sauce up, which consisted of
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons dried oregano seasonings
7 cups whole, peeled, canned tomatoes in puree (about 2 (28-ounce cans), roughly chopped
1 tablespoon kosher salt
and Freshly ground black pepper,
I moved to the soup. First, season and cook 1lb of chicken breast cubes in the bottom of a large large pot with the onions and peppers. Once the chicken is white on all sides add the tomatoes, chicken stock and everything else. Then cook for 40 mins. Salt and Pepper to taste.
Once that was going i started to smell a slight burn. I was wondering what it was, thinking something was on the bottom of pot or something. As the order became stronger and stronger, i realized that the burning was the oven, still filled with bread, and on fire. I opened the oven, smoke filled the room, and put out the fire. Luckily, we had enough breadcrumbs to still cook the chicken. O yea, and the house didnt burn down, thats good too. Then to the chicken. Dip it low in some eggs, then dredge in a mixture of breadcrumbs salt pepper dried oregano and thyme. Then to the frying pan, filled halfway wit some veggie oil. Fry fry, flip, fry. By then, the salad had been served by a sous chef and the soup was already coming out the kitchen. As soon as the chicken were ready, things started to move like clockwork. Spagetti on bottom, topped with chicken, topped with sauce, topped with mozarella. Delicious. Wait, i forgot to mention that at this point it was 23:30. And the party started at 21:00. This meant that people were drinking, socializing, and partying, all the while i am in the kitchen, solo by this point since my sous get distracted by some hot french boys n left, still smelling terrible from playing basketball earlier and in my hoop clothes.
In the end, the party was great, the food better, and i successfully cooked the largest meal of my life. It was a great time and i received rave reviews from a tough (as usual) french crowd, as well as some appreciative and hungry Americans. Once again happy Birfday tim and Bon Apetit to you all.

SO much for aprons…

Dont get it {Twisted}… welcome to the DubUNO club

Life Retroed: Flamingo or is it Flamenco

andreggray — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 01:00:00 +0000

Back back back, a couple of three seven weeks ago, when i went to Province, we had a very nice traditional Camargaise dinner of bull stew and traditional rice. I had some weird potato casserole. Apparently the french are new to this vegetarian thing so when i put that on my app for the trip they thought that meant i didnt eat cheese in the first course but that i did only in the second course. Pretty silly if u ask me. Sometimes its vegan, sometimes its veggie, sometimes its a lil meat sauce. They are all confused. Silly carnivores. Anyway, i found myself, hungry, staring at a bottle of wine NYU paid for and listening to a Flamenco band. This posed a linguistic problem for me because, being for the same sect as MRint. i didnt know wat language to speak to the Band members in. French? makes sense since we were in france. Spanish? Since we were listening to Spanish music, singing in spanish, that makes senses too. Or english, cause they knew i was american so they spoke to me in semi comprehensible english. Either way, wine, counselors a lil bit on, and spanish music make for a memorable night in the south of France.

N see, we saw some flamingos too… ha

(btw: mia got gigs)

{Everybody} wants GUAC

andreggray — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 13:23:30 +0000

I have spent a good portion of my time in Paree, looking, searching, digging for a hot pepper. Habanero, jalapeno, something. No go. So, me being the mover and the shaker that I am, i set out to hotify some peppers on my own. The best pepper i could find was a pasilla chili pepper, which isnt even hot enough to have a rating in scoville heat units but no need to fear, the capsaicin will b added manually. I, first, chopped the peppers up as i would have had i had some jalapenos, in small bits, akin to the size when dicing a clove of garlic. I then placed those bits in a bowl, drown them in a mixture of Tabasco, Louisiana Cayenne Pepper Sauce, dried Cayenne pepper and crushed red chili flakes. I let the mixture sit for a good twenty, to allow the hot to seep into the hot so hot peppers. Meanwhile, i made the rest of the guac real mexi style, as the mexicans i live with in sf taught me (Yea, yo vivo en la casa de locos, wit the mexicans) real chucky. Take 4 avocados, a tomato, some salt, a hint of garlic and a hint hint of water and some cilantro. Since i despise cilantro (though my gag reflex likes it), i left it out of the recipe. Dice the tomtoms dice the avocados and then mush them up a lil with a fork. By that time the peppers were manually spiced. Add them and mix together with the said fork and voila, BONapetit.

Aventures en Thailande

andreggray — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 17:57:10 +0000

Living in the Bay, in San Francisco, we are spoiled as fuck. We got all kinds of top notch food. And if u couldnt tell by now, i LOVE food. But yea, we got the latino, the asian, european, everything. I imagine its from being a port town in the beginning. Either way, there is some real solid thai out in the sco. So, my homesick and adventurous ass decided to say fuck it and make some curry myself. The recipe was simple enough.. i added some personal touches (shout out to Osha) added some red bells and some onions. Started things off by sautéeing some curry paste and throwing in the coconut cream. Apparently, if u keep ur coco milk cold, it will separate and the thick part will surface, which is the cream. Then add the chicken, get the flavor going. Then is the gastronomical transfer, move the chicken and the sauce over to a pot with the rest of the milk and alotta salt. Thats wear i went for the pre boiled potatoes and the onions or shallots. I added the peppers just before the dish was done so that they were still a lil crispy. Served it with some jasmine rice. I also made a lil cucumber salad on side, real easy. Boil some white vinegar with some salt and a decent amount of sugar and then cool. throw that on the chopped cucs and some thinly sliced onions. The whole thing turned out pretty good and made for some fun cookin, but if anyone has any suggestions on bettering the recipe, please comment them. Bon Apetit!

Gastronomical Invasion!

andreggray — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 17:48:34 +0000

Long my weeks of being here, I have tasted many great things, and, to my surprise, not many not so great things, though that might just be because i have made safe choices. Either way, i cannot say that i have been dissatisfied with the taste of the food our here in paris (portion size ≠ giant, but ok). With this being said, after a couple weeks, my palette, as liberal and accepting as it might be, started throwing a fit. Therefore, I took some time, made an appointment, to see wat was wrong with my palette. Subsequently, my palette informed me that if i didnt find it something to eat that it knew, it was going to go on strike. And no one wants a palette strike going on. Terrible consequences can ensue, lack of taste in anything one eats to start, but maybe, the palette gets the stomach down with the strike and then the throat or the immune system and next thing you know you find yourself throwing up all the while being sick as a dog. NO NO NO. i was not going to let that happen, i like my palette way too much.

So, with the goal of satiating my lowly and confused palette, i set out for Breakfast in America. I was informed by a friend a few days before that this culinary sanctuary for those who fancy american things like pancakes and skippy peanut butter existed, and was in fact supposed to be a real american diner. This seemed like the greatest solution, being that i love diner food, and i should be able to get a large portion as well. Nachos, chicken wings, eggs, CHEDDAR! they had it all. I settled for my usual, BBQ chicken sandwich with cheddar and onions, both grilled and raw. I even threw in some chicken wings on the side. The wings came first, and with them the first reminder that , despite the diner decor and the booth seating, i was still in france. They came with no sauce on them (the
people at Original Buffalo Wings would have been pissed) and just a lil bbq on the side. They were good, but not as messy or Buffalo-y as the wings that i have grown to love. Then the chicken burger. Usually, when i have a chicken burger, i have to commit to eating the whole thing once i pick it up because there are so many things falling on to my hands that i must wash them after (brings to mind the old Carl’s Jr. slogan: “If it doesnt get all over the place, it doesnt belong in your face.”) This one was not such. There was a teaspoonful of sauce, and it came on a brioche bun. it was much cuter then it was massive (or American). I had a friend who ordered breakfast that did come with some nice pancakes though. In all, my palette left satisfied and my stomach, as it has been for these last weeks, left without a full tank. I would recommend BIA because i did feel at home and did have a good meal, but dont over gas yourself into thinking your going all the way back to America as you step through the door.

PS: confession: ill b back there within the next two weeks

Uno, Dos, Tres… back at home

andreggray — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 13:34:03 +0000

By definition, home cooked meals should make you feel at home. But, especially when your not at your home when you eat said meal, be it at some restaurant or at some one else’s house, sometimes the result of a home cooked meal is making you feel like your at home, just not at YOUR home. I was fortunate enough to be able to bring my little corner kitchen at my Place de Clichy apt back to San Francisco’s Mission district where my latino roommates at my mother’s house and my father’s West Indian influence intersect. Fajitas and fried plantains, sometimes it really gets no better. Moreover, meal came together naturally but end up being a true representation of myself that i only realized in hindsight. We have got the melange of the time my mother spent inefficiently cooking dinner, because i had to help and we all know that kids slow EVERYTHING down, and the Latino atmosphere of my Mission district residence and the Guyanese influence in the choice of the side dish. This one will def be a hit because it pretty much covers all bases. Its simple enough to cook but still complicated enough that people will be impressed when you tell them what your making, and to top those two things off its got some real authenticity and comfort to it. Plus anything you can eat with your hands is a plus in my book.

Anyways, to the recipe. I always start with the seasoning. SPPCG (SaltPepperPaprikaCayenneGarlic dry rub, like my pops taught me). While the chicken sits, seasoned, just cut up some plantains and and fry them in some veggie oil. Then cut up some red and yellow peppers, white and yellow onions and throw them in bowl. Chicken in the pan… and ur a cookin and ur a cookin {can’t help the eddie murphy raw references} throw in first the onions till they are clear and then the peppers just for an instant so they are still a lil crispy. Then to some salsa. Since im in France and i do not have access to most Latino cuisine items, i figured id just spice up some store bought salsa. Chop up fresh tomtoms and a lil white onion and mix it in with that salsa, then ur ready to go. You have no idea how much of a difference it makes till you try it. Then heat up some tortillas on the stove [makes a huge difference] cut up some avocados and its chomping time. Bon Apetit.

Even got matt feeling at home

Life Retroed: Enoteca Vegas

andreggray — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 15:35:28 +0000

Back in the terrible terrible 07, i managed to thwart the fucked balance between Ying and Yang that the 07 brought long enough to have a ridic trip to Vegas to round out the year. Despite the well known adage “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas”, i will still provide a slight look into my trip, starting with the Enoteca San Marcos. Its a Mario Batali iron chef joint. Pretty solid I have to say. Margarita Pizza. Rigatoni al dente with a cauliflower puree sauce. And we got half off the entrees with a lil Tix4less discount. On top of that the inside of the Ventian really had me thinking i was in Italy, mid summer day. Now i just have to wait until i really get out there for comparison.

Who would have thought that it was really 7 and hella dark outside.

Basilico. It dont get no better ~ Cassidy

Checking the clickers… if you dont know, you might not need to