Pickled Grapes

Pickled Grapes

I had dinner recently at FIG in Charleston SC and it was a memorable meal. One of our courses was a Pate served with Pickled Red Grapes. They were brilliant! I loved them and came home from Charleston to make them. Here’s what I did.

2 pounds of red seedless grapes taken off the stem, washed and dried
3 cups red wine vinegar
2 cups sugar
3 cinnamon sticks

In a heavy pot boil the vinegar, sugar, and cinnamon sticks. Once the mixture boils and the sugar is dissolved, remove the pan from the heat. Add the grapes to the pan and give it a stir. Let the pan cool to room temperature. With a slotted spoon, fill jars with the grapes and then pour the liquid from the pot over the grapes. Seal the jars and place in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours. These will keep for several days in the refrigerator. They are delicious served with cheese, crackers, and nuts or alongside any grilled or roasted meats especially rich meats like pork, and duck. My family and friends are raving about them. The next time I make them I’m going to add 3 or 4 whole cloves to add just a bit more warm spice.

Eating My Way Through Charleston SC

I recently attended the Personal Chefs Network 2008 Symposium in Charleston SC. While in Charleston I had the pleasure of eating at some of the best restaurants in town. Charleston is a true foodie town. There are so many great places for food from down-home southern cuisine to upscale French and American regional cuisine and wonderful seafood. Here are the restaurants that I ate at.

A group of 7 of us went to The Boathouse On East Bay (www.boathouserestaurants.com) where we were invited by warm wood and clean minimal nautical décor. I had wonderful appetizers of Fried Green Tomatoes on a bed of Arugula topped with Local Goat Cheese and Sweet Pepper Jam Buttermilk and Benne Seed Crusted Fried Calamari topped with Garlic Chili Sauce. For my entrée I had Fried Grouper with Spicy Remoulade with Tarragon Poached Asparagus and Smoked Gouda Mac&Cheese. No room for dessert. L

FIG (www.eatatfig.com) where the outside does not look like much but the interior was metropolitan chic. Chef/Owner Mike Lata created a tasting menu especially for me and my dining partner Chef Peg Nelson. Our course were as follows. Local Oysters on the Half Shell with Mingnonette, Agrumato, and Steelhead Roe, Chicken Liver Pate with Pickled Grapes, Toasted Brioche, and Watercress, Warm Sweet Onion Tart with White Buck Goat Cheese from Vermont, Heirloom Potato Agnolotti with Jumbo Lump Crab, Zucchini, and Wilted Greens, Grilled Triggerfish with Escarole, White Bean Puree, and Sweet Pepper Confit, Pork Shoulder Confit with Kabocha Squash Puree, Rapini, Roasted Grapes and Toasted Pine Nuts. Our finales were Banana Tart with Maple Ice Cream, and a Key Lime Steamed Pudding. Chef Mike truly gave Peg and I a meal to remember.

The Personal Chefs Network members enjoyed Brunch at High Cotton (www.mavericksouthernkitchens.com/highcotton) featuring a very tasty Bloody Mary, Sweet Iced Tea, Charleston Crab Soup, Crab Cakes Benedict, and Pecan Pie.

On my last night there a group of 10 of us dined at 39 Rue De Jean (www.39ruedejean.com) a classic French Brasserie with oddly enough, a sushi bar. Who’d a thunk it. I had Foie Gras with Brandied Cherries and Toasted Brioche, French Onion Soup, and Fried Goat Cheese Salad with Arugula, Red and Yellow Beets and Lingonberry Balsamic Vinaigrette.

This week was not good for my diet but it was good. There is nothing better than eating in a fine restaurant with a fine group of chefs. My PCN friends make the best dining partners in the world. I could not be in better company.

The Journey

My journey began on Tuesday Oct. 7th, 2008. It was that day that I made the commitment to myself to stop relying on food for emotional support. It was that day that I began to eat only when I was truly hungry and eat only enough food to make me feel satisfied. It was that day that I stopped overeating.

At age 45 and 5 feet tall my weight is 227 and I rely on food to make me feel good about myself and the world around me. Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, Heart Disease, and Cancer run in my family. So I’m faced with some tough decisions; get healthier or have to rely on medications and doctors to keep me alive. I HATE doctors!

Now, I’m a chef AND a certified nutrition coach. Being a chef is all I want to be. I love cooking and food, I love living the life of a chef, I love being around other chefs and food lovers, I love reading about food, talking about food, taking pictures of food, attending food and restaurant shows (showen above at the Southwest Foodservice Expo), creating wonderful food. Food Food Food – do we see a pattern here? Well I’m not walking away from my passion and my income. Being a foodie is what I am and that will not change. As a nutrition coach…well, it’s like the shoe maker that goes bare foot himself. You take care of the needs of others but never yourself. As a woman like most women we care for our families, job, friends, and everything before ourselves.

My problem is not what I eat – I eat and cook for my family very healthy for the most part. We eat whole grains, lots of veggies and fruit, lean meats, lots of fish and seafood, and use very little fat and then mostly all good fats. We eat well, just too much. You know what they say “Too much of a good thing is still too much.” The key for me is moderate exercise, reduce my snacking and PORTION CONTROL. Eating less of those good things that I cook. I’ll keep a diary of everything I eat and drink and post weekly on my progress.

I’m not going on a DIET. Do you know why the first 3 letters in DIET are DIE. Because when you’re on one you wish you were dead! J I’ll eat regular, freshly made food (not frozen or packaged chemicals disguised as food) and not be going to meetings (who has time for that). I’ll cut my portion sizes to the proper size (aka spa portions) and cut my calorie intake by 1/3. I’ll be happy and satisfied when I eat and won’t feel deprived of anything.

Vegas Vacation

Well I got home from Vegas and came down with a cold. So now that I'm back on my feet again, I'll tell you that Vegas was a great time and was unprofitable. Well we can't all win, can we?

I met my Aunt Janet and cousins Paula, Claudia, Billy, and Mary. We all converged on the Golden Nugget Hotel in downtown Las Vegas. This was the first time I've stayed downtown and the Golden Nugget was wonderful. Great restaurants, a pool area to die for, wonderful rooms and a nice casino. I'll stay there again on another visit.

We had lunch at Mesa Grill, Bobby Flay's restaurant in Vegas where we had the BEST MARGARITA IN THE WORLD. This was simply the very best I've ever had in my life and that's no lie. The Spicy Tuna & Salmon Tartares served with red and green hot sauces and crispy plantains and blue corn flat bread was lushious and the Goat Cheese Queso Fundido served in a cast iron crock with blue corn tortilla strips was to die for. The bread basket for lunch contained jalapeno scones (I'm so making these), cornbread, and assorted sweet bread. That alone was worth the trip. There was never a doubt that I was going to experience a great meal and I was not dissapointed. When at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas check out Mesa Grill. You won't be sorry.

Polenta

I love Southern food and one of my favorite things to eat is Grits smothered in butter, salt, and pepper and topped with a poached egg. So it’s no wonder that I love Polenta. Made of fine ground corn meal (course ground is also available) this creamy comfort food is a perfect substitute for mashed potatoes or rice. I usually use quick cooking Polenta but there is no substitute for the slow cooked and version that takes 45 minutes to 1 hour of almost constant stirring. But with the right care, the quick cooking Polenta can be just as creamy and satisfying.

The best thing about Polenta is how versatile it is. Once cooked you can serve it immediately topped with any meat/gravy combination, a mushroom ragu, some crumbled bleu cheese, grilled sausages and peppers, roasted vegetables, butter and maple syrup for breakfast, the possibilities are endless. Or you can pour the Polenta onto a greased sheet pan and spread it out then let it cool to set up. Cut it into squares, triangles, rounds, or any shape you want with a cookie cutter. It can now be grilled or baked and served with anything. I love to cut it into about 1 ½ inch squares and grill them then top them with sundried tomato pesto and fresh basil and serve at room temperature.

For quick cooking Polenta bring 4 cups of chicken or vegetable stock to the boil over high heat, turn the heat to medium-high and slowly whisk in 1 cup of quick cooking Polenta. Continue to stir for 3 minutes. Then take it off the heat and add 2 tablespoons of butter and ¼ cup heavy cream or ½ & ½, and any fresh chopped herbs you like. Add ¼ - ½ cup of cheese if you like. Season with salt & pepper and serve. The other night I used a combo of fresh basil & fresh rosemary because that’s what I had in the house and about ¼ cup fresh grated Romano cheese. This makes enough for 6-8 servings making it very cost effective.

A fun thing to do is to pour the cooked Polenta into a deep dish pizza pan and top it as you would a pizza then bake it. Cut into pizza slices and serve. Kids love this.

For tons of awesome Polenta recipes go to www.FoodNetwork.com or just go buy some quick cooking Polenta and play with it. You’ll come up with lots of uses for this simple peasant food.

The First Meal

We finally arrived at our new home in Clearwater on Sept. 1st. It took me several days to unpack boxes and get my new kitchen in order. It's a crappy small kitchen but I'll be remodeling it soon. At least it's better than the kitchen in our last apartment. LOL

Last night I decided to cook our first meal in my kitchen. We are sick of poorly prepared restaurant food that we've been eating since we started our move. It's been 2 weeks since I've cooked anything. I shopped at Fresh Market, very nice gourmet grocery store. Not very big but the seafood and meats there are very good. However, I'll still be looking for other gourmet grocery items in the Clearwater area that I was unable to find at Fresh Market. We were both in the mood for seafood so I decided on the Sea Scallops. Here is my recipe for Seared Sea Scallops with Tarragon. I served this with some simple sauteed asparagus and a baby greens salad topped with a bit of blue cheese.

Seared Sea Scallops with Tarragon

Serves 2

3/4 pound Sea Scallops

2 tablespoons EVOO

1-2 tablespoons Penzey's Florida Seasoned Pepper (or use the Seafood Seasoning Blend of your choice)

1/4 cup white wine (I used Sauvignon Blanc)

zest of 1/2 a lemon

1 tablespoon cold butter

1/4 cup heavy cream

1-2 tablespoons fresh chopped tarragon

sea salt to taste

Pat scallops dry and sprinkle with Florida Seasoned Pepper and sea salt. Heat EVOO in a saute pan over med-high heat. Add the scallops to the pan but do not crowd the pan. Saute the scallops until browned and on both sides and cooked just until done. About 2-2 1/2 minutes on each side. Do not overcook the scallops or they will be tough. They should feel firm but bounce back when touched. Remove the scallops and keep warm.

Return skillet to stove and add the white wine, bring to a boil. Deglaze by scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet, boiling until liquid is reduced to about 2 tablespoons. Reduce heat to low and whisk in the cold butter and lemon zest. Then whisk in the heavy cream and tarragon. Taste and adjust the seasoning with seasalt and fresh cracked pepper and reduce slightly. Plate scallops and top with sauce. Garnish with additional lemon zest before serving.

Who is Chef Norie

I am Chef Norie Berndt. I’ve been a Personal Chef/Culinary Instructor and Personal Chefs Network (PCN) member for 8+ years first in Pearland Texas, then in The Woodlands Texas, and now in Clearwater Florida. And I'm a true foodie. In June of 2000, when I was still in culinary school, I joined a very young PCN. They had but a handful of members. I met PCN Founder and my best friend Chef Sharon at a gourmet grocery store/café called Eatz’s. She thought I was a man since we had only communicated over email up until that point. LOL That is when I also met Pat Day, PCN’s very first member and the person that took me on my first cheffing date. I think after that day, my life changed. I knew that I had found a home at PCN and with the PCN family. I happily gave Sharon a check for my membership.

In the 8 years I’ve been in business my Personal Chef business has been through many changes. Starting as a standard Personal Chef Service in Pearland Texas then morphing into being the manager of Sophie’s Kitchen Cooking School and having a HMR business to cooking for athletes. Then moving my business and my home 70 miles north to The Woodlands where I once again started a standard Personal Chef Service that morphed into owning a commercial kitchen and gaining 2 Sous Chefs along the way to help with the heavy client load and then back to a standard in-home service with my 2 Sous Chefs. Now I’m on the move again, this time to Clearwater Florida and am once again starting a standard Personal Chef Service from scratch.

In all this time and through all these changes on thing was constant: the support I had from PCN and its members. If I needed advice or just a shoulder, PCN members were there. They shared in celebrating my achievements and were there to share my downfalls as well. When my business was having a dry spell, I knew that I was not the only one to ever have it happen to them and PCNers were there to motivate me to continue marketing until my work paid off for me. Never did PCN do my job for me but they were always there for support.

After more than 8 years, I’m once again determined to make my business a grand success. I take pride in having an abundance of clients and work to do and helping others build their own successful Personal Chef businesses. I aspire to be a Personal Chef that can inspire others to want to be a Personal Chef. If I can motivate even one new Personal Chef to do whatever it takes to be successful. It’s enough.

Pictured above, Chef Sharon and Chef Norie on board the Carnival Cruise Ship Conquest docked in Galveston, Texas on a very windy and cool morning in Febuary.

Coming Soon

Chef Norie will be blogging soon. Please come back.