My name is Dale. I'm a youthful 40 years old, I'm happily single and have been learning to cook/cooking for 25 years. I like to eat healthy, garden, entertain and learn new recipes.
I love to cook for close friends, I think food should speak to you. You hear the sounds of cooking, you smell it, drawing you into my kitchen when you walk into my home, it is visually exciting, colorful and artistic, as I serve you. You feel the appropriate tenderness or firmness on your teeth with the first bite and of course when your tongue tastes that first taste, of something that pleasantly surprises you even if you've had something like it, a 1000 times before. If I do a good job you will think the whole day is better and your time with me was special. That is what cooking is to me!
I've worked in the back of the house for a few unremarkable restaurants in the past and don't enjoy the mill work mentality of cooking like that. I would rather spend days preparing a large feast for 20 or 4 hours or more on just one meal for a single friend.
I've come here to learn correct techniques and to be a better "cook". I acknowledge that I am not a Chef and have many holes in my culinary education. I make up for it with vision, improvisation and naivety. :D.
I enjoy all types of food, I have cooked Italian, Indian, Mexican, Thai, Hawaiian, Cajun, and Southern American with great success. I have attempted Sushi once for myself (thankfully there were no witnesses, I created the crunchy rice log o' death. I under cooked the rice slightly and used too much, dwarfing anything within.) I am self critical and a bit of a perfectionist so if I'm proud of it, it's probably really good and I want you to taste it. When it's fair, it's never fare.
I have very little baking experience unless it's a lasagna (it's often remarkable) or similar/standard casserole dish, I have no dessert pastry experience at all. I would love to learn how to make eclairs, croissants, creme brulee and other more delicate oven cooked foods.
Today I made a Hawaiian teriyaki marinade with pineapple, cherries, yellow, orange and green sweet pepper chunks with a bit of serrano pepper and sesame seed for pounded boneless skinless breast of chicken. (things I had on hand)
I grilled the chicken and boiled the marinade :eek: in a saucepan to cook off any uncooked chicken bits and fluids. After the marinade safely became a sauce I poured it on a plate to cool in the fridge to be used as the dressing for my Hawaiian grilled chicken salad.
The salad base was baby spinach leaves and fresh basil, halved seedless grapes, quartered small tomatoes (slightly bigger than cherry tomatoes but very tasty), some purple onion, tossed with a little feta cheese, a few very, very small cubes of mozzarella and monterey jack and chilled in the refrigerator.
While I heated Amy's organic Summer Corn and vegetable soup. Both the soup and salad where sprinkled with fresh grated Parmesano, cracked peppercorn. With a little more feta over the chicken strips/salad.
Dessert was a single piece of apple swirl cheesecake, shared. Drinks were a 3/1 orange pekoe/green tea infused with sliced strawberry and lightly sweetened with organic cane sugar. She thinks I should be a chef, I know better. ;)
Yesterday was the same best girl/friend and another couple over for:
Creamy shrimp scampi made with pinot grigio over angel hair and bruschetta topped with garlic slices, shrimp, dried tomatoes and mozzarella. Refreshments were the same Pinot Grigio. Everyone was pleased and it was a beautiful day to entertain.
I look forward to learning from professional chefs and hope to make some friends along the way. :D - Dale
I love to cook for close friends, I think food should speak to you. You hear the sounds of cooking, you smell it, drawing you into my kitchen when you walk into my home, it is visually exciting, colorful and artistic, as I serve you. You feel the appropriate tenderness or firmness on your teeth with the first bite and of course when your tongue tastes that first taste, of something that pleasantly surprises you even if you've had something like it, a 1000 times before. If I do a good job you will think the whole day is better and your time with me was special. That is what cooking is to me!
I've worked in the back of the house for a few unremarkable restaurants in the past and don't enjoy the mill work mentality of cooking like that. I would rather spend days preparing a large feast for 20 or 4 hours or more on just one meal for a single friend.
I've come here to learn correct techniques and to be a better "cook". I acknowledge that I am not a Chef and have many holes in my culinary education. I make up for it with vision, improvisation and naivety. :D.
I enjoy all types of food, I have cooked Italian, Indian, Mexican, Thai, Hawaiian, Cajun, and Southern American with great success. I have attempted Sushi once for myself (thankfully there were no witnesses, I created the crunchy rice log o' death. I under cooked the rice slightly and used too much, dwarfing anything within.) I am self critical and a bit of a perfectionist so if I'm proud of it, it's probably really good and I want you to taste it. When it's fair, it's never fare.
I have very little baking experience unless it's a lasagna (it's often remarkable) or similar/standard casserole dish, I have no dessert pastry experience at all. I would love to learn how to make eclairs, croissants, creme brulee and other more delicate oven cooked foods.
Today I made a Hawaiian teriyaki marinade with pineapple, cherries, yellow, orange and green sweet pepper chunks with a bit of serrano pepper and sesame seed for pounded boneless skinless breast of chicken. (things I had on hand)
I grilled the chicken and boiled the marinade :eek: in a saucepan to cook off any uncooked chicken bits and fluids. After the marinade safely became a sauce I poured it on a plate to cool in the fridge to be used as the dressing for my Hawaiian grilled chicken salad.
The salad base was baby spinach leaves and fresh basil, halved seedless grapes, quartered small tomatoes (slightly bigger than cherry tomatoes but very tasty), some purple onion, tossed with a little feta cheese, a few very, very small cubes of mozzarella and monterey jack and chilled in the refrigerator.
While I heated Amy's organic Summer Corn and vegetable soup. Both the soup and salad where sprinkled with fresh grated Parmesano, cracked peppercorn. With a little more feta over the chicken strips/salad.
Dessert was a single piece of apple swirl cheesecake, shared. Drinks were a 3/1 orange pekoe/green tea infused with sliced strawberry and lightly sweetened with organic cane sugar. She thinks I should be a chef, I know better. ;)
Yesterday was the same best girl/friend and another couple over for:
Creamy shrimp scampi made with pinot grigio over angel hair and bruschetta topped with garlic slices, shrimp, dried tomatoes and mozzarella. Refreshments were the same Pinot Grigio. Everyone was pleased and it was a beautiful day to entertain.
I look forward to learning from professional chefs and hope to make some friends along the way. :D - Dale
