( No,   That – was the other Woodstock.)

But I digress.

By that point in time I had been working as a Chef long enough to prove in any court that I was certifiably masochistic and a bit off kilter.

But I digress.

I love auctions, and garage/estate sales and the occasional treasures one might find lurking in said environs.

It was just such a treasure that caught my eye while wandering the auction grounds at the shelter. My eye fell upon an  objet d’ art leaning up against a table leg, awaiting its turn at the podium. It was a very simple line drawing, black ink on paper, of a Maitre’ d greeting a patron.

Being an off kilter Chef, I revered most things culinary, and this was a gem, indeed.

The signature was that of Ludwig Bemelmans and it was an original.

I looked around to see if anyone had noted my interest, the slight trembling of my hand or the mad twitching at the corner of my eye that always accompanies the discovery of a treasure.

(No, it doesn’t make any difference how small, or insignificant, the treasure, I still tremble and twitch. I am, after all, a Chef) and that reminds me of The Rules of The Chef.

But I digress.

The wonderful piece of art finally took its place at the auction block shortly after someone announced lunch was being offered and I held my breath as the process began.

I never bid right off the bat.  (nice turn of phrase, eh?) Rather I wait to see who has interest so I can gauge  their level of desire. This done, of course, with extreme stealth so that THEY might not identify ME, in turn.

But I digress.

After at least an hour with no bid, ( actually, only a minute or two but it seemed to be 60), my hand shot skyward like a moon bound missile.

There was no competition, the prize was mine.

Later, as I prepared to leave, a handsome and well turned-out woman of respectable age approached me, introduced herself, and said she was the donor of the drawing and Mr. Bemelmans,  an old friend,  had created it one afternoon as they chatted in her apartments in New York, the city. He subsequently tore it off his pad and presented it to her.  It was a spiral bound pad, and the chads remain still.

I regret that I was not thinking well enough at the time to retain her name.

Ludwig Bemelmans captured in a few lines the professionalism, savoir faire, and aplomb of the Maitre’ d.

He also created Madeline, as well as many other works of art,  wit, and literature.

The Carlyle Hotel Bar, a NewYork landmark,  sports a mural by Bemelmans.

There is a good article about Bemelmans at Turner Bennett.

See the books - Hotel Bemelmans,   When You Lunch with the Emporer,  &   Luchows .

“Caviar is to dining what a sable coat is to a girl in evening dress.”
Ludwig Bemelmans

TAP WATER -  .02 cents  per GALLON

IF YOU  PAY $1  PER  16  OUNCE  CONTAINER,  BOTTLED WATER ADDS UP TO APPROX. $8 PER GALLON.

Turn on the tap instead and save big money … and the environment.

“…..if you’re a moderate water drinker who downs just one 16-ounce bottle a day, you’ll spend about $80 for just a three months’ supply, or 11 gallons worth, of bottled water.

Meanwhile, that $80 will get you at least a year’s worth of filtered tap water……”

The Story of Bottled Water

“……….1.5 million barrels of oil per year, which is enough to fuel 100,000 cars for that same year, are required to satisfy Americans’ demand for bottled water.

Many of these disposable plastic bottles sit forever in a landfill…….

Why You Should Stop Drinking Bottled Water, PLEASE

It’s a pretty easy way to put together dinner; a little trimming, chopping, and prep and you’ve got dinner in the pot.  The smell of stew simmering throughout the day just seems to lift my snow laden spirits and puts a real kick into my day.

That’s a big plus up here in the New Hampshire woods.

I always make a huge batch of it and freeze portions in ziplock bags for retrieval down the road.

I just polished off the last of a batch of beef stew I made with turnip, parsnip, potato, celery, carrot, & onion.  It sure hit the spot.  I roasted the veggies first, that adds a wonderful depth of flavor.

The Irish Beef Stew pictured below, at Simply Recipes, is a masterpiece. The recipe is here.

This morning I was delighted to stumble across an entire months worth of stew recipes at Delish.

The Cataplana, #10 grabbed my attention right off the bat. I would suggest that you try Linguica, a wonderful Portuguese sausage,  along with the original pork.    # 11, Green Chili Pork Stew,  has been a favorite since I first tasted Chili Verde,   (Google search) many years ago.

If you like Mexican food you must give it a try.  Chili Verde can be eaten as a stew,   rolled into a burrito smothered with cheese,   or applied as a sauce.

No need to forego stew if you’re vegetarian.

The multi-talented Kimberley Stakal opines on “Crafting A Vegan Winter Stew“.  I tried the sample, it was great.

I encourage you to spend some time looking over her website and blog.

There’s plenty of stuff to stew about here.  Grab a pot, prepare a bowl.  Spring is only 64 days off.

And now……………

Memphis Soul Stew

STIR   SLOW        -         SERVE    HOT

Not trivia, which also intrigues me.   I never placed well in the game version, however.

Rather, I speak of the things that transpire in the backgrounds of life, movies, plays, and the odd occurrences at the end of TV shows.

One of the most interesting comes from Chuck Lorre.  He’s been using the very brief moments at the end of his shows to offer vanity cards, (#1), on myriad topics.  Here’s a favorite of mine – it’s a summary of the last 10 years.

Several of his missives  became the victim of TV censors.

# 217 – “words that confuse the CBS censor” is one such.

Most televised stuff has ‘em.  Some good – some not so much.

You’re so vain: TV vanity cards

&

A whole lot more if your curiosity has been piqued. (Parts 1 & 2)

They learned long ago that customers are,  for the most part, unwilling to speculate with their hard-earned dollars on menu items they aren’t familiar with.

Accordingly, many have been slow to explore and espouse the opportunities available in the Social Media arena.

Jeffrey Kingman spoke  about the possibilities at  Portland State University’s Digital Marketing Conference Ignite presentations.

(Ignite presentations explained HERE.)

See also the links to the others who spoke at the conference. They are listed below the two videos.

The possibilities seem endless, and the task daunting, but, they are indeed the future.

Let me give an example:

While in Boston with friends, doing museums, lunch time approached and one of the group pulled out her phone and asked what kind of food we were wanting.  After consensus was reached, she manipulated her phone for a minute and had a well regarded review of a nearby restaurant, directions to it, the menu, prices, and made a reservation.

If your restaurant isn’t in that loop – you haven’t a chance at that business.
FohBoh has a great community of food service professionals that I have found to be very willing to offer help and advice for those of us that want to explore social networking/marketing.

Here are a few terms with links that you will find helpful:  (if I can be helpful, just call).

SEO

Guerrilla Marketing (VERY budget friendly)

Social Media

Videos Always helpful

I still drink a lot of coffee and have taken to playing with a variety of flavors to enhance my intake experiences.

My most frequent combination is baking cocoa and almond extract, put it in the pot prior to brewing, and whip when done.

Try raspberry or peppermint extracts, and cinnamon, too,  (put ground cinnamon on the coffee grounds or it will tend to thicken into it’s own little mass in the pot.

I really like cardamom, pry open the pod and scrape the seeds onto the grounds, then brew.

Use pumpkin pie spices or ginger, get bold with curry.

There’s no limit, try caramel or orange flavorings.  I’m not talking about syrups, just extracts, or artificial flavorings.

Here’s a link to more recipes – try the White spiced Coffee.

BLACK BEAR COFFEE is amazing!  (IMHO)

Shine On

Moonshine isn’t just for hillbillies anymore.

Wikipedia has interesting background on moonshine,  in particular the reference to moonshine around the world

Now for more Barney:

here

……………………A few minutes later, the chef was at it again.

Fifteen seconds.

Another fifteen.

And without much forethought, I pushed back my chair and walked through the open doorway of the kitchen.

“In this particular instance, however, something didn’t feel right. I don’t know if Mr. Forgione had been watching too much Gordon Ramsay on television or had learned the wrong lessons from his mentors. Listening to him in action, however, conjured up the particular type of nausea that results from watching people yank their misbehaving kids around on the subway or seeing my own kid smash a defenseless insect.”

Rather than go on about my feelings about this, I would like to know what you think about it.

Is it necessary? Is it excusable in the heat of the moment?

Other companies pulled spoofs of their own,

April Fools Day.com adds to their list, (7 years of spoofing),

and Google Blogspot explains.

Nice job!