Everyone Loves Cheesecake!

Today the office had a Thanksgiving Pot-luck and I committed to making a sweet potato cheesecake.  That was before my son brought home a cold that infected by whole house.  Even though I was under the weather I still found a way to prepare the cheesecake.  I was actually looking forward to making this dish because there are so many different cheesecake recipe tips and tricks, that I wanted to work my way through my own recipe.  I have to say making a cheesecake is definitely a labor of love, but if done right it is absolutely heavenly.  People at the office loved it.  My son actually loved it, which definitely means its a winner! 

I am still finalizing the recipe, but once I test it, I will definitely publish it.  I topped my cheesecake with maple whipped cream and toasted pecans.  The cake itself was so light and fluffy, but I do attribute the texture to the cooking method.  I baked the cake at 350 degrees in a water bath for 55 minutes, after that I turned off the heat in the oven, and cracked the door and let it finish cooking in the water bath for another 55 minutes. I actually had a co-worker ask me to quote her a price to prepare 2 of these cakes for Thanksgiving next week.  Below are some pictures.  I apologize if they look a little fuzzy, the camera lens a was a little dirty.

Chicken Chili

Sometimes I wonder why I'm not working in a kitchen full-time, but until cooking pays the bills, this will have to be my side passion.  A few weeks ago for Halloween we had a few friends over so that our kids could go trick-or-treating together. It was a great time.  We usually do a pot-luck, and each family is responsible for preparing a dish.  I decided to make a Chicken Chili.  I used Anaheim, Pasilla, and Tomatillo chile's, roasted corn, and white beans.  I seasoned the chicken with salt, pepper, cumin, and smoked paprika.  For the broth, I used chicken stock and coconut milk, and I thickened it with a blond roux.  I let the chili come together for about 4 hours.  During that time I seasoned it with salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, cayenne, and red pepper flakes until it had the perfect taste.

To accompany the chili, I cut tortillas into thin strips and fried them.  Seasoning them with salt and pepper.  I folded in fresh cilantro before serving.  It was finished with a little dollop of sour cream.  Everyone seemed to really enjoy it. Below are pictures.  Definitely will keep this one in the recipe binder.

Thanksgiving Meals

I will be preparing delicious Thanksgiving Meals for delivery this year.  I am really excited to share my Thanksgiving favorites with others.  Below is the menu.

Thanksgiving Menu:

Entree
Roasted Herb Turkey with Giblet Gravy

Side Dishes
Apple Cornbread Stuffing
Sweet Potato Souffle
Smoked Bacon Green Bean Casserole
Bourbon Glazed Carrots
Cranberry Compote
Fresh Baked Dinner Rolls
 
Dessert
Pumpkin Pie with Nutmeg Whipped Cream 

Troy's Taste Thanksgiving Meals

Catch of the Day

About 2 weeks ago I went fishing with my Father-In-Law and Brother-In-Law of the coast of Atlantic City.  We caught a slew of black sea bass.  It was a great trip!  After splitting up the catch, I cleaned and froze my keep.  Last night I felt like having seafood, so I prepared Lemon & Tarragon sea bass with Nutmeg Gnocchi. I decided to roasted the fish whole.  The fish was absolutely delicious, the tarragon added great flavor to the fish.  My wife, who was unfamiliar with the taste of tarragon, really enjoyed it.  The flavor of nutmeg in the Gnocchi went well with the tarragon and lemon in the fish.  I definitely will try this again with other types of fish.  I even persuaded my wife to try the cheeks on the fish..which were absolutely moist and succulent.  Pictures are below.

Chicago!!!

My wife and I recently went to Chicago and had a great time.   Not only is Chicago a great city with phenomenal architecture and endless things to do, but it's a great food city.  Many great chef's have began their careers in Chicago.  While in the Windy City, my wife and I had to try some of the local favorites, Deep Dish Pizza, Italian Beef, the famous Chicago Hot Dog, and Garrett's Popcorn.  Everything was absolutely delicious.

We also went to a couple local Chicago favorite's - Hugo's Frog Bar.  Known for its seafood, Hugo's definitely delivered.  My wife had the Cod stuffed with King Crab meat, and I had the Bouillabaisse with Australian lobster.  We really enjoyed the meal and ambiance. Their desserts were huge.  We ordered the Banana Cream Pie, and they brought out half of the pie.  Then we noticed that all of the dessert portions were really big.   Our waiter informed us that they are known for their large desserts.

We also tried Heaven on Seven, a New Orleans inspired restaurant.  The breakfast was great!   Definitely can't wait to go back to Chicago.  I was inspired while I was out there and have some ideas for new dishes. Below are some pictures of the different foods we had.  As you will see, I dug into some of the food before taking the picture.

Hugo's Frog Bar - http://www.hugosfrogbar.com/
Heaven on Seven - http://www.heavenonseven.com/

Breakfast at Heaven on Seven - Fried Green Tomatoes, Scrambled Eggs with Andouille Sausage & Cheddar Cheese Grits, and Banana's Foster French Toast.

Italian Beef with Peppers, Char Dog, and Cheddar Char Dog

Deep Dish Pizza from Lou Malnati's - http://www.loumalnatis.com/

Website is Launched!

I am excited to announce that my website for my Catering and Private Chef company is now live.  I have been working on getting the site up for weeks, and after dotting my I's and crossing my T's, the site is up and running.  Troy's Taste is taking another step in the right direction!

http://www.troystaste.com

New Dish

It's been awhile since my last post,  but I wanted to write about the new dish I created last weekend.  Even though we were going through a heat wave in Maryland, I braved the heat of a charcoal grill to make this dish.  The dish consists of Grilled Rosemary and Balsamic marinated Lamb Tenderloin with Apple & Mint Relish,  Grilled Yellow Squash, and a grilled French Bread brushed with olive oil, butter, garlic, salt and pepper.  Conceptually I thought the dish was successful, but I would change some small things next time.  It's a keeper though!

 My next post, which should be this weekend, will be titled "Chef Troy's Flavor Basics"