Eggplant Caviar

Wow...I just checked and I can not believe I have not updated this since November.  Yea I can.  But I had no idea it had been that long.  As you can imagine the last few months have been insane.  The restaurant has been packed almost every night and we did 20% more caterings this season than last year.  We had a record night for covers on new years eve.  And since I am now the sous chef and have taken on a ton more responsibility as well as bullshit, I have not really had the energy to cook a nice meal on what is lately my one day off each week.  And I hate that.  I love to cook at home and I miss it.  And I have bought/recieved a shitload of new kitchen toys in the last month and have barely used them.  Between Christmas/birthday gifts, gift certificates and this great new resource I have found for pots & pans (TJ Max...they have awesome discounts on great stuff!) I have some really great pots & pans now.  The ones I had before were sufficient, but these are awesome!  In the last month, I have acquired -

A 6 3/4 quart Le Creuset French oven in signature flame color - Amazon.com gift certificate from my aunt & uncle.  I have been staring at these things longingly for years.  They are so damn expensive I have never been able to justify shelling out the money for one.  But gift certificate for $125, free shipping & a promotion on Amazon for $25 off all kitchenware until the end of the month = something I will have & use for the rest of my life.  Check it out its beatiful!

A huge, heavy as hell, 4 inch thick, barely fits on my counter cutting board - Birthday gift from Tomi

A set of silicone bakeware - Christmas gift from Tomi's sister.  This stuff is so cool, nothing sticks to it, everything pops right out and you can squish it up and stick it in a drawer!

A 1 quart all clad sauce pot - Gift from my boss

A 2 quart Emerilware all clad sauce pot - OK, Im not jumping on the bam wagon.  Emeril is OK and all but this is ALL CLAD and I got it for $25 at TJ Max....I was impressed its a really nice pot.

A 3 quart chefmate sauce pot - $20 at Target with a Christmas gift card...really good pot for the price.

A 6 quart copper Calphalon soup pot - $39 at TJ Max.  Yes, I said copper.  Im telling you nobody realizes this place has got kitchenware at like half price.

A 12 inch Tivoli saute pan - $20 at TJ Max

A 10 inch straight sided Tivoli saute pan - $20 at TJ Max

Yes, I have pretty much gotten a whole new set of cookware in the last month.  You can bet the next picture that goes on here is going to be awesome.  Things probably wont stable out at work until mid February though.  The super bowl is here this year and we already have catering gigs for that week for I dont know...thousands.  Im afraid to even look at the catering book.  But mid February will also bring Tomi's 40th birthday.  Boy, shes not looking forward to it.  But I am going to take her to Key West for a few days and we are both going to chill in the sun, I cant wait.  It will be a much deserved vacation for us both.

Oh yea, the pictures I added today.  These are just a few things I have made in the last two months.  The few things I have not just slapped together and devoured with a beer before crashing into bed each night.  The Bali butter chicken is a classic Indian dish.  The shrimp with coriander & pineapple salsa I made one night when we had friends over on a Sunday.  The chicken with peanut sauce was made because I wanted to make dinner one night when I was home but was already in my PJ's and didnt feel like going to the store...this is a product of what was in my pantry & fridge.  It was delicious but the presentation is pretty bla.  My next post will be much more inspired.  See you soon!

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