Month: April 2005

Lasagna is one of the quickest easiest dishes that always warrants compliments.

Last night I didn’t want to eat leftovers. I saw an eggplant on the counter and decided to make lasagna

1 small eggplant
Pasta sauce
Packaged lasagna
Mozzarella cheese, shredded
Provolone cheese, thinly sliced
Ricotta cheese
Parmesan cheese
1 large egg
Fresh basil, chopped
Garlic powder
Crushed red pepper
Salt & cracked pepper to taste

Season both sides of eggplant slices with salt and pepper (removes bitterness)

Combine cheeses, egg, basil, garlic powder, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper in a large bowl. Thoroughly mix.

Pour a small layer of pasta sauce and spread to cover the bottom of baking dish. Add single layer of lasagna. Add a single layer of egg plant. Evenly spread a cheese mixture layer. Repeat layering as many times as desired.

Bake covered in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

Allow 15 minutes to cool before serving.

1 lb three cheese tortellini
4 ribs celery rough chopped
3 leeks thin sliced
12-15 medium shiitake mushrooms rough sliced
2 large onions chopped
1 bulb garlic, separated, peeled & diced
1 large red bell pepper
2 carrots julienned
2 quarts vegetable stock (non vegetarian use chicken or veal)
thyme
rosemary
basil
bay leaves
black & green peppercorns to desired taste and heat
crushed red pepper to desired heat
crushed tomoto/store bought pasta sauce
1.5 C white wine

Cook tortellini al dente, rinse in cold water and set aside.

In a large pot, saute onions and garlic until tender. Add celery, leeks and mushrooms and saute until almost tender.

Add stock, wine, tomato, herbs and spices. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add carrots and bell peppers and cook for 5 minutes.

Add cooked tortellini and cook until heated through.

I was up late one night last week and got one of those wild hairs. I started poking around the Texas Culinary Academy’s website and decided to write in.

I don’t remember exactly what I wrote but I said that I am almost 30, I have a full-time job, wife, mortgage and don’t want to find myself on my death bed thinking: “I wish I’d pursued my dream of being a chef.”

I received this response via e-mail a few days later:

Josh Janicek,

We do not have enough information to determine your acceptance to this school. One of our admissions representatives will contact you soon to discuss your application to our school.

Thank You,
Texas Culinary Academy
(888) 553-2433

Four years ago Vidbook.com closed its doors for good. I was unemployed. I drove my motorcycle to the Texas Culinary Academy and spoke with a student advisor as I thought it might be a good time to pursue a new life in the F&B industry. He was a great guy and we had a nice talk. He showed me around the school and briefly explained the programs that are offered at the school. He also showed me the bottom line. Culinary schooling is expensive. I may be off a little, but I think the chef program cost was to the tune of $30,000 for an 18-month associates program.

At the time, the TCA offered full-time schooling only. That meant I’d have to get a loan for $30k, attend class for six to nine hours a day and somehow find a job that paid somewhere around $500 a week so we could barely survive on our two incomes.

I put pen to paper and couldn’t justify going back to school. I had just graduated from college, married and consolidated both of our student loans. Combined we already owed $30k to the U.S. Department of Education.

Being a chef could be painstaking and financially unrewarding. I could just continue to cook for friends and family. I could try my hand at being a personal chef…

I love to cook for Elise and myself. I love to cook for friends. If I was paid for my knifetime, that would be top drawer peachy.

While driving home from work yesterday I was among traffic that was slowed down and funneled to one lane as we all slowly drove by a fatal accident.

I could see inside the driver’s side of the car. The airbag was clearly visable as was a body. The paramedics were working on the driver. I could feel death in the air and I shivered.

Just this past December two off duty police officers, husband and wife were killed in a motorcycle accident on Hwy 71.

The accident I drove by yesterday was 50 yards away from the site where the husband and wife died four months ago. I drive by the two wreaths every day. Now there will be two more wreaths.

Hwy 71 is a bitch. Those two wrecks happened on a 50 mph curve that I hate. I think most people who know that road hate it as well. I think a seasoned NASCAR driver would hate it too. Those who don’t know it are the ones who barrel through it and cause tension and accidents. Hwy 71 is four lanes with no median and for the most part posted 70 mph. Most drive 75-80 mph. Imagine 80 mph next to a 18-wheeler against oncoming traffic with a 20 inch comfort zone between you and another vehicle traveling 80 mph to your left.

It’s such a nice, quiet, peaceful commute to and from work.

I took leftover ciabatta, cut on a bias and made sandwiches with pastrami, Swiss & provolone cheese, thinly sliced pepperoncinis and a garlic and olive tapenade for dinner tonight.

Guess what garlic and Kalamata olive tapenade smells like? Central Market’s Caesar salad dressing. Blend in egg and little more olive oil and I’ll bet I finally have my recipe.

After that weird dream that I had last week, I decided to see if my elementary school had a website. I clicked around through the site and came across a name. Mrs. Chamness. That name rang a bell. I e-mailed Mrs. Chamness, she wrote back a few days later and sure enough, she was my kindergarten teacher 24 years ago and is still teaching kindergarten at Bear Creek Elementary.

I wrote her back, sent a few photos, briefly explained how my life has unfolded thus far and said thanks. It was a cool feeling to find and hear back from one of my first public educators.