Playing With My Food ~
A journal about food, thought, travel, and life; by Chef & Raconteur Chaz French.

Brioche French Toast

My friend Jill pointed out this morning that due to my last name any toast I make is French toast, so we’re subtitling this recipe “Frenchy French Toast!” Jill also claims to have told me about putting orange juice in the batter over a year ago, this may well be true, but I had never […]

Easy Weeknight Dinner

Okay this is dinner in under an hour BUT most of that time is passive. Roasted Butternut Squash & Panko Crusted Pork Chops. Ingredients: 1 package pre-peeled and cubed butternut squash 1 package thin cut boneless pork chops (under a lb total weight) Panko breadcrumbs 2 eggs cup of milk 1/2 cup seasoned flour (flour […]

Soup’s On…

This morning I was catching up on reading other blogs and came across a recipe for Kale & Roasted Vegetable Soup. I thought it was interesting but have family members who don’t like kale, and it was also a vegan recipe, and I think we all know how I feel about Vegans, (they should be […]

Fast Spinach Curry

Really easy curry, but with a note… I never use broth or coconut milk fast enough so I freeze them into ice cubes. I’m estimating approximately 1oz per cube* and converting back to ounces. 8 ounces (8 frozen cubes) of Vegetable Broth 4 ounces (4 frozen cubes) of coconut milk 1 Tablespoon red curry paste […]

Lazy end of Summer weekends

Had a lazy weekend, spent Saturday at my sister’s house lazing in the pool, and when it came time to cook it was strictly “What’s On Hand” We were not about to ruin this day, with a run to ANY store. Strictly what’s on hand Macaroni Salad 1lb tube or shaped pasta (elbow, ziti, rotini, […]

The Greenmarket (again)…

This past Saturday I once again dragged myself into Manhattan to get myself some farm fresh, real ingredients for some healthy, wholesome meals. The result was a Provencal style chicken with vegetables. Ingredients: One quart* of baby fingerling potatoes, cut into bite size pieces 8 Golden beets (small to medium in size), cut into bite […]

Sauteed Beet Greens

1 bunch beet greens – stems removed, chopped, washed thoroughly. 1 small shallot minced – about 2 tablespooons 3 cloves garlic – minced 2TB olive oil 1TB butter 1TB creamy horseradish 3TB heavy cream 1/2 cup water Salt & Pepper to taste Sautee the garlic and shallot in the olive oil and butter until golden […]

Caramelized Beets

1 bunch of beets mandolined to 1/4 x 1/8 ” strips (no mandolin? lots of patience and careful slicing is needed). 3 TB olive oil 2 TB butter Salt & Pepper to taste. Heat a sautee pan over medium heat, add the oil and butter, when the butter is melted add the beets and cover. […]

Heaven, in a churn…

Banana, Strawberry, Raspberry, & Vanilla Ice Cream 2 large, very ripe bananas 8 ounces hulled strawberries 8 ounces raspberries (frozen will do) 16 ounces heavy cream, 8 ounces milk 2 ounces honey 1 ounce extra special uber-good vanilla extract Blend until smooth in a high-powered blender, (or food processor). Pour mixture into a ice cream […]

Anger.

I am furious with my government. I am disgusted with the lack of oversight, the lack of inspection and livid that the Chinese government thinks they can just send poisonous food into our country. I came across this article in this morning’s paper, and am livid. Illegal pesticides, banned antibiotics, ‘putrefying bacteria’ are amongst the […]