Food – The Casual Chef

Move is done, Baby is almost here…

Its been a while. I use IG and FB, even TikTok, Lemon8 and Clapper, almost daily, but I never seem to get to here. I have to make this part of the weekly routine at least.
The move to Mill Creek is done. Baby is due end of January 2024.

SCARED TO DEATH about all of this.

At 54, I had more or less given up on the baby thing, as had Rebecca.
Reality is, its mostly on her. She has to carry it.
We are both happy, excited and scared.

Rebecca is reading baby related books none stop. I am casually reading them between Bible study, Calling Jesus, and a few other books.

42 weeks straight of Peloton work outs and 14 or 15 days in a row. Did a Shilajit experiment. Tried Alpha Brain (Joe Rogan’s supp). A few other things. Working on a Shilajit post (did it work? doesnt it work? stay tuned), as well a post discussing all of the things I have tried and ranking them in effectiveness, at least for me.
As if the first few months of 2024 were not going to be busy enough with the baby, I hope to start a Family Project. Pod cast style, recording the Anderson-Dickinson family history. Interviews with family members (have to figure out how to work the Canadian side into this as well).
I also want to do some wine related content, and food/cooking.

Get back into Day Trading as well.

Rebecca and Baby are the priority. The other things are “when I have time” LOL 2087 maybe? I dont know – I am pretty solid on schedule and time management though so I will figure it out in 2024.

Shrimp and Grits

One of my fav things to make. Shrimp and Grits.
check out my IG posts @thecasualchef1 and @thecasualchefcooks

For some reason the video loads on mobile, but not on desktop. Check the video out on my IG pages.

AFV2022: Italy so far…

So I am WAY behind where I wanted to be on posts, but it has been a WHIRLWIND so far in Italy. Milan, Venice, Florence, San Gimignano, Bologna and now on the train to Rome (and then to Sorrento).

I figure most of the detailed posts will have to wait until I am home and then will gather thoughts and notes and pictures over the next few weeks.

So far the trip has been amazing, Food, food and more food, wine flowing pretty free also. Prices in Italy for many things are significantly cheaper than I remembered, the EUR and USD are about even, which helps a lot as well. Dinner is usually about $15-$25 a person, for two, if not three courses and wine. And this is not Olive Garden italian food… this is real food.
Your average pizza, about the size of a medium from Domino’s, $10-$12.
Bottle of wine $8-$20 ($20 is extreme, usually $12-$16), a glass $4-$6, maybe $8 if you go top end.

Quick thoughts on cities we have stayed in:
Milan – not a lot to see, food is so-so, likely a good party city, as it is the most modern city in Italy.
Venice – I am not a fan. Have been twice now. The history of Venice is amazing but the actual place leaves something to be desired.
Florence – amazing sites, great food. A lot of our group did not like it, but I do. I especially like the surrounding countryside
San Gimignano – Tuscan Hill Town, but very touristy. It is the visual representation of Tuscany, but is not the intimate, individualistic, Hill Town experience. Worth the visit, but not a long stay.
Bologna – Still confused by this place, just leaving the city right now.

The trip on the whole is amazing. Even if parts of it have not hit the spot for me, something in every place is has been someone else’s favourite. Just being here in Italy is fantastic.

We had quite a few side trips, wineries, restaurants, cheese prosciutto and basalmic makers. Details on those things and more coming.

AFV2022: Milano, Italy – The Food

Milano, or Milan, is located in the Lombardy region in northern Italy. It is the financial hub for Italy. It is also a fashion and design capital, arguably for the World and is Italy’s most “modern” city. Home to about 1.4 million people, and about 4.4million in the greater Milan area.

Personally, I found food in Milan to be so-so. But they do have some very notable dishes.

Costoletta alla Milanese
A veal cutlet, dredged in bread crumbs and pan fried to golden perfection. My father had this at the restaurant we went to in Milan, it was very good.

Risotto alla Milanese
This was the dish I was most excited for, as I love Risotto and make it often. Given its golden yellow colour from the saffron, it should be velvety and refined. Now maybe it was the restaurant we were at, but it was slightly undercooked and not velvety at all.
Flavour was spot on, texture was not.

Ossobuc
Maybe the best known dish from Milan, though I do not know if anyone knows it is from MIlan, the Risotto alla Milanese is the most recognized from Milan is my guess. Ossobuco means “marrowbone”, and is usually served with Risotto alla Milanese. This is made with a slice of shin on the bone, veal, pan fried and then stewed for a bit in broth, and topped with “gremolada” (a paste of garlic, lemon peal and parsely). Done right and this savory dish will blow your mind.
Very good and well prepared. This bailed the Risotto out and saved dinner for me, I had it with potatoes (dry and chewy), as I had just eaten a while plate of the Risotto.

RS had the Caprese Salad (tomato, buffalo mozzarella and fresh basil), and a very good filet with roasted tomato and eggplant. Maybe the best meal of every one on the trip. Amazing flavour.

While not what I hoped for in Milan, it was still good and Milan has some great things to see, which we will get into in the next post.

Anderson Family Vacation 2022: Italy

Ten of us on this trip, eight from Seattle and two from New York.
Meeting in Frankfurt, then on to Milan, Italy.

The basic outline is Milan -> Venice -> Florence -> San Giamono -> Bologna -> Rome -> Sorrento/Capri and then fly out of Naples.

Three generations of Anderson-Huppert’s on this trip. Organized by my parents (TA, CA), the tip includes by sister, her husband and their three boys (LH, BH, KDA, RH, JH) and the oldest’s nephew’s girl friend (G) and then myself and my girl friend (RS).

Food, wine, sights, and who knows what else in store for u over the next three or so weeks.

Greek Souvlaki

One of my all time favourite foods. I remember the road side vendors in Athens, and all of the country side towns, selling grilled meat, usually lamb, slapping it in a piece of pita and spreading tzatziki on it.
Maybe the greatest food I had eaten at the time, and still is at the top of the list.

1 1/2 lb Lamb Shoulder cut into cubes. Could use pork, chicken or beef also.
1/4C Olive Oil
1/3C Red Wine Vinegar
2 Cloves of Garlic, minced
1 Onion, chopped
1 Tbls Oregano (fresh if possible)
2 Tbls Parsley, chopped (fresh)
1 1/2 Tbls Mint, chopped (fresh)
1 Tbls Thyme, chopped (fresh)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Combine all of the above and mix well. Refridge overnight, if possible, but at least four to eight hours.
Thread the meat onto skewers.
Grill until done.
I used a BBQ, so it was about 3-4 minutes per side.

Serve with pita, tzatziki, and whatever else you want to make a gyro like sandwich.

Phyllo Honey-Cinnamon Rollups

These are a “easy mans” version of Baklava, the famous Greek dessert made with phyllo, walnuts and honey. I however hate walnuts (and pecans while we are talking about nuts I hate). I used almonds.
These simple rollups take almost no skill (as is evident by the look of them), so they are a perfect dessert for me make – low skill, but tasty.

You will need the following:
12ish sheets of Phyllo
2 C of your favourite nut(s) chopped
1/4C Sugar
2-3 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
1 Cube of Butter, melted

For the syrup:
Equal parts Honey, Water, Sugar, about 1/2 C each
1 tbs Lemon juice
Pinch of Lemon Zest

Preheat the oven to 350
Mix your nuts, sugar, cinnamon and nut meg together in a bowl.
Lightly grease a 13×9 baking dish.
Layer three (3) phyllo sheets, painting them each with butter.
Spread about a 1/4 C of the nuts/sugar/cinnamon mix on to the dough.
Roll the phyllo up, tightly if possible, then cut into four pieces, and lay them into the baking dish.
Repeat until baking dish is full.
Bake until light/golden brown, about 15 minutes.

While baking, prep the syrup. Combine the syrup ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about five minutes. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes.

Once the rolls are done baking, ladle the syrup onto the bakes rolls. Add any remaining nut mix to them as well. Allow to fully cool and then serve.

This is a great, easy, but can be fancy looking dessert. Rolling the phyllo definitely takes some practice, so not rip it, or make them flat (like mine turned out).

Give it a try!
What is your favourite phyllo recipe?

Baked Brie and Grilled Artichoke

Too bad I had only a crooked picture 🙂
So both of these (and the Chestnuts) are some of my favourite things to make. Lets hit the chestnuts first..

If you have not made roasted Chestnuts, this is a MUST DO and it is SO EASY!
Get the Chestnuts, they are pretty expensive, but so good.
Score the Chestnuts on the rounded part of the shell, you want to just get through the shell with the pairing knife. Lay them out on a cookie sheet, score side up. Into the oven 350 degrees and roast until you see the scored part of the shell start to pull back and discolour, usually about 30 minutes.
Let them cool slightly, then serve.

Artichoke’s… I feel a lot of people are afraid to make these. There are three main methods in my book. Boil it, cut it and foil wrap it, and grill it. Grilling them is usually done after boiling or foil wrapping them, but can be done just strait on the grill, but you chance drying it out that way.
I foil wrap them 90% of the time, either in the oven or on the grill.
You need: Artichoke, olive oil, garlic, seasoning (I use garlic salt and pepper usually), and some fresh herbs like basil.
Cut the Arti in half, and remove the fluffy inside and the first couple layers of inner leaves. Rub it with olive oil quickly (you can also rub with lemon to stop the browning then add the oil). I try and separate the leaves a little and shake the garlic salt/pepper mix between the leaves, and then tuck parts of basil leaves between some of them also.
Remove the casing from some garlic (four to six cloves) and put them into the middle of the artichokes with a little additional oil.
Wrap it all in foil and into the oven (350) or onto the grill for about one hour.

Baked Brie is fun, but labor intensive in a way. Phyllo dough is used, with a lot of butter. I coat the brie with fig jam. Then wrap it.
Lay the Phyllo out one sheet at a time on a cookie sheet, brushing it with melted butter. Four or five sheets for the base. You then cross sheets there after, brushing with butter, until you are about 10 sheets of dough. Place the brie in the middle, coat with fig jam (some people add walnuts also, I hate walnuts so I do not do that), then take two sides and wrap, then the other two sides and pull up also, and pinch the top into a nice bundle (mine is not a nice bundle, needs more practice for sure).
Into the oven at 400 for about 25-30 mins. Watch the dough closely at the 20 min mark so you do not burn it.

All three of these are GREAT appetizer ideas.

What are your favourite apps to make?

Chicken and Orzo for NYE

This was such a fun dish to make. I saw a chicken and orzo rec online a few weeks ago, it used a whole chicken for it, which in general I am not a fan of “whole chicken” recipes.
I quickly read it, filed in my memory banks, then a day or two before New Years, thought of it and decided I needed to make it. I chose to use bone in thighs for it. We were going to a friends house for NYE, so I decided to cook this up.

I browned the thighs with a garlic salt and pepper mixture. I think quickly sauteed the leeks, anise, garlic and carrots (added some fresh thyme, salt and pepper to it as well) in the fat left over from browning the chicken. I then deglazed the pan with about two cups of dry white wine and threeish cups of chicken stock, and added the juice of one lemon and some zest.

I arranged the chicken in a large baking pan. Put the saute around the pieces of chicken, then bakes it for about 30 minutes at 350.

I added the wine and stock mixture, baked for another 10 or so minutes, then added the orzo, and allowed to cook for another 15 minutes (or until liquid is gone and orzo is finished).

Italian Parsley to garnish and serve.

Couple things I would do different next time:
More lemon for sure. Likely a second one. Maybe even a third. This was 10 thighs, so maybe a lemon per every 4ish?
Finish with Parmesan Cheese maybe?
More garlic. 1 clove per piece of chicken I think.

Recipe:
8-10 Bone in Chicken Thighs (could use breasts, or boneless thighs also)
Garlic Salt, Pepper to taste to Season Chicken with
2 carrots cut into small circles
1 Leek, white part only. Sliced thin
1 Anise Bulb. Sliced thin
1 Lemon. Juiced and Zest from it (In Future: 1 lemon per 4 pieces of chicken)
5 Cloves of Garlic. Crushed (In Future: 1 clove per piece of chicken)
1 1/2 to 2 cups Orzo
2tsp Thyme
2tsp Salt
2tsp Pepper
2 cups Dry White Wine
3-4 cups Chicken Stock
Italian Parsley and Parmesan Cheese to serve

See ya 2021, Welcome 2022. Time to refocus and get Purpose Driven

2021 provided me with a lot of options and some issues. I am not one to dwell on “issues” or problems, so I really want to focus on the options and positives.
Obviously Covid was a negative for all of us… that was really the big issue, things closed, or half open, access restricted in a lot of ways.

On the positive, I left my job to make a full time go at Day Trading, went from single to not single (after a couple tries at dating different people) and got my yard at the house finished, really started to get my cooking pictures on a different level (still needs work) and just took a lot of time off to get some things straight for myself.

In 2022 I need to continue to get focused and really dial myself in.
My Goals for 2022:
Peloton three or four times a week, and days I do not use the Peloton, do some strength/conditioning work.
Core52 focus, study and get back to Church on a more regular basis.
IG story things better and more often. Spread my content around into more regular posts.
Post on this site at least weekly, but two or three times a week really. Use IG for quick posts, and promote this site through my IG posts.
Get my Garage cleaned up. Its a legit mess. I need to throw a ton of stuff away.
Day Trading focus on $2000 a week income and build my Trading Account to double its current size, and then focus on $3000 a week income.

Then I have a couple personal things that I do not need to air out and posts, relationship things.

That is my 2022 Plan. I look forward to working on it and making it happen and having an extremely successful 2022.

What are your plans and goals for the year?