I was told by someone in the know that the Peoria Olive Garden is the second-busiest Olive Garden in the country.

Do you know how impossible it is to eat there in a way that resembles some form of “healthy”?  Nearly impossible.

Sigh.  This is the city where I live.  People waiting in line to gorge themselves on uber-fattening “Italian” food.

(And yes, I know because I ate lunch there today… and had to wait… at 11:20am.  My only excuse: I didn’t pick it!)

1. Sitting outside with friends, drinking great summer beverages, enjoying the outdoors and each other.
2. Kids baseball (especially when we’re winning, and the temperature is around 75!)
3. Cubs games.
4. Summer Concerts (this year Jack Johnson, and maybe DMB)
5. getting fresh produce out of the garden
6. playing pool volleyball in my parents’ pool
7. family vacation (this year, Florida)
8. grill pizza
9. outdoor projects (building stuff, especially)
10. summer movies edit: i thought about this one, and decided to replace it w/ summer books – i usually shift to reading a lot more novels in the summer…which is just fun… plus with hardly anything worth watching on TV, I just have more time to read.

Anyway, I decided it was an opportunity to “try out” a pizza I’ve been wanting to make.  It turned out AWESOME (in my humble opinion), and I’ve decided that it is my new “show off pizza” – to make when I really want to impress.

Of course, it was my own homemade pizza dough (I make pizza almost every Friday night, and making my dough has become a pretty simple procedure by now.)  I started with a thin layer of mozzarella, portobello mushrooms (sautéed first in olive oil with salt & pepper), sliced pears, & toasted walnuts.  I drizzled that with Olive Oil and then put it in the oven.  With about 5 minutes of cooking time left, I pulled it out and crumbled bleu cheese over the top, then put it back in the oven just long enough for the bleu cheese to melt.  When it came out of the oven, I topped it with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.  It was delicious!  Sorry, I did not take a picture.

(I got the idea from this Irish pub called Eamon Patrick, that used to be across from the Becker Buildling on Jefferson in Peoria, it’s now out of business, but I remember liking this pizza.  I think they might have used Gorgonzola instead of Bleu Cheese, and theirs seemed to tend towards being a little greasy.)

• Hummus @ One World.  (Day in, day out, my favorite restaurant in Peoria… breakfast, lunch, dinner… it doesn’t matter…delicious… and I love the environment.)
• Ethiopian Yergacheffe coffee @ Copper River Coffee & Tea
• Steak Sandwhich (w/ mushrooms) & Fries @ Richard’s on Main
• Falafel Wrap @ Haddad’s (usually from the cart on Main & Adams…I’ve only been in the restaurant once)
• Cheeseburger Supreme Pizza @ Firehouse Pizza
• Gyro @ Mediterranean Pita.
• Spicy Tuna @ Sushigawa
• The Hangover @ Kellehers (the Beamish Beef is a close second!)

place I’m most embarrassed to have never eaten at… Agatucci’s.

Okay… what are yours?

⁃    Praepropere – eating too soon.
⁃    Laute – eating too expensively
⁃    Nimis – eating too much.
⁃    Ardenter – eating too eagerly
⁃    Studiose – eating too daintily
⁃    Forente - eating wildly

I’m not sure exactly what he had in mind in terms of “eating wildly,” but I’m sure I’ve done it, since I’ve most assuredly committed the other five!

chef’s philosophy

More and more, we as a culture don’t enjoy our food – we need it, and so we get it, as fast as we can, as cheap as we can and as boring as we can.  I believe that food is about an experience of flavors and texture, technique and creativity, friends and family.  It’s about enjoying life.  My menu is here for you to enjoy with all of that in mind, and i promise to continue to create, change and be inspired so that you can enjoy the experience.

If you know me at all, you know that this resonates deep with me.  I believe food, drink, laughter – everything – is spiritual.  I believe that we are whole beings – body & spirit – and that the two are intimately related to each other.  So good food, drink, laughter, meaningful relationships are a significant part of life.

(okay, this post sounds preachy or something… i can’t put my finger on it…)

On Sunday, Jennifer and I hosted a family Christmas celebration with her dad & step family.  It was not-s0-much gourmet as more of a traditional family dinner, served buffet-style.  But, here’s what I served up:

• Maple – Bourbon Turkey – I’ve made this turkey 3 times now and it’s AMAZING.  Here’s the master recipe, although I’ve been evolving it.  I simply won’t make a turkey without 8-10 hours of brining and using a thermo-probe.
• Apricot-Pecan Cornbread Stuffing w/ Andouille Sausage & dried cranberries — one of my favorite stuffings, although it was a little drier than I was hoping for because I didn’t stuff it — should have added more liquid.
• Garlic-Mashed Potatoes – about 50/50 Russets & Yukon Golds with several cloves of garlic thrown in.
• Maple-Ginger Sweet Potatoes – new (to me) recipe from Cook’s Illustrated — I was very pleased.  It wasn’t so cloyingly sweet as Sweet Potato Casseroles generally are.

Tomato Bruschetta – this course was in honor of a friend — pretty straight-forward tomato bruschetta

Parmesan Crisps with Goat Cheese Cream – from The French Landry cookbook

Halibut Ceviche – a Rick Bayliss recipe – probably my favorite thing that we made last night.

Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Mushroom-Spinach Stuffing (with a parsley-mustard butter), Turnip-Potato Mash with Bacon & Thyme, & Salad with fresh Blueberries. - recipes for tenderloin & mash from Cook’s Illustrated.

Cream of Walnut Soup - also from The French Landry (You can read a blog post about this one here.)

Roasted Pears with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream - from the smitten kitchen.

pictures are on Facebook.

So, here’s what the next 21 days look like:

• a five-course dinner at my home for 14. (with my sister & a friend helping)
• a “Christmas Dinner” for 18 at my home. (flying solo here)
• “Christmas Dinner” at my parents’ home for 20+ (always an enjoyable team effort with my dad & others)
• our traditional small group New Years Eve dinner.  6 courses for 16 ppl. (a team effort – 3 of us will pull this off)

all this to say, there won’t be a lot of blog posts coming!  I will try to post menus after the meals, and there may be some pictures on the facebook side of things.