Sunday, January 13, 2013

spinach mushroom taco

spinach mushroom taco

 cook 1/2 large diced onion in a pan for 5 min. and 1 clove garlic thin sliced 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms cook 5 min. add 1 cup spinach, cook till cooks down.(2 min) add 1/2 cup chopped white cheddar and 1/2 fresh lime juice and touch of fresh cilantro. touch of salt and pepper melt and fill in a taco

Monday, October 1, 2012

new class

for those that don't know, I just wanted to share that I'm down in Miami doing a culinary program built on my past work. Here is my first class!

Saturday, April 9, 2011

bourbon/vanilla glaze grill chicken

bourbon/vanilla glaze grill chicken

grilled airline chicken breast
with bourbon vanilla glaze...

glaze
1 cup evan willams bourbon
2 tablespoon shallots
4 each vanilla beans,spilt and scraped
5 each clove
2 orange
1 cinnamon stick
24 oz reduced dark chix stock

sweat shallots
add vanilla beans,cloves,cin stick,bourbon,oj,zest
reduce by half
sadd stock and simmer 15 min.
strain
done!

also try doing it with rabbit or quail
cheers
timothy

Thursday, April 7, 2011

smoking chicken,easy,cheap,amazing!

smoking chicken is what it sounds like, its cooking chicken at a low heat
using wood chips(I like hickory.)
Soaking the chips over night helps them from burning so quickly.
I do it on my grill by adding the chips to my charcoal.
Unlike grilling, you can't be on the grill because
you want the second hand heat.
so you can use a smoking plate that is off set from the grill.
People sometimes make there own, even a clean ceramic flower pot upside down will work.As long as you can close the grill.

Shoot for an even temp of about 225 for 3 hours for chicken leg quarters.
cheers
T

ps I always salt and pepper both sides of the meat, and toss it in a bowl with olive oil. but butter and herbs go great here by simply putting it under the skin.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

cooking smoked chicken on a budget($5 a person)

This week I smoked chicken quarters(3 for $2.50)
I stuffed them with a touch of cheese and picked some fresh oregeno.
smoked them for 3 hours at a temp around 250.
I bought a bag of yellow corn meal($1,50) and cooked it down to make polenta.
after it was cool and hard I cut it in to fries 1/2 inch by 3 inch.
then grilled it.
I then picked my own homegrown spinach and tossed it with lemon,olive oil
fresh rosemary,sun-dried tomato, salt and pepper.
to plate
place 4 polenta fries on a plate and put spinach salad in the middle
leg on top,and a simple chicken driping pan sauce on top and a gilled pineapple on the side.
to be fancy try glazing the chicken with maple.
cheers

Monday, January 3, 2011

warm spinach salad with beets and goat cheese

warm spinach salad with beets and goat cheese
serves 4

4 cups spinach
4 slices of bacon (cooked,thin sliced)
1/3 of a red onion(thin sliced)
4 oz goat cheese(small pieces)
4 red beets (peeled,med diced)
2 jalapeno(seeded,small diced)


dressing
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup maple


in a hot pan add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and spinach.
as it starts to wilt add dressing and remove. ( spinach should reduce by half)
in a mixing bowl mix everything together then plate.
be sure to put beets and goat cheese were you can see them!
cheers
Timothy

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Jackson's big day!

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20100805/NEWS01/308050054/Salvation+Army+program+feeds+participants++future


The Salvation Army’s Culinary Training Program graduates couldn’t thank “Chef Tim” enough Thursday.


For many of the 10 graduates chef Timothy Tucker, who runs the program — gave them a much-needed second chance.

“Chef Tim said the class was full, but he said he was going to let me in anyway,” graduate Aratha Johnson said during a ceremony held at the old Male High School’s Garden Room on Brook Street. “This has been a wonderful experience for me and I look forward to taking it to another level.”

Johnson, who worked in various kitchens for a temp agency before joining the program, said he’d like to run his own restaurant at some point

Related
Culinary grads

The program — a 10-week course that teaches individuals with little or no culinary experience how to slice and dice in a kitchen and prepare food — was created by Tucker five years ago.

Seventy people have graduated during the program’s short history and many have gone on to work at local kitchens at hospitals and hotels and some area restaurants such as 610 Magnolia, Seviche and Mark’s Feed Store.

And that’s the goal of the program.

“We’re looking to get these guys entry level jobs in good restaurants,” Tucker said.

Matt Yates, executive director for the Center of Hope, a social services arm for the Salvation Army, called the program a major step for the graduates in finding the right path.

“It’s not a temporary fix on poverty, it’s permanent,” Yates said. “It gives (the graduates) life long skills that they can use to start a career and become self-sufficient in the service industry.”

Some individuals look to the program as a way out of drug and alcohol addictions or a way to better themselves after hardships.

Les Johnson admitted he had his share of problems in the past. But with no cooking experience, he found the program and it has provided some light for a brighter future.

“It means a great deal to me because of my history, this has given me an opportunity to get my foot in the door for some type of blue collar work,” Johnson — no relation to Aratha — said. Les Johnson said he planned to attend Jefferson Community & Technical College’s culinary program to further his skills.

The new graduates also now have extra motivation as this class marked the first in which a graduate was awarded with a two-year scholarship to Sullivan University, valued at more than $40,000.

Jackson Hodges was the recipient of the first scholarship, which gives Hodges the option of choosing two different programs at the university.

University president Glenn Sullivan addressed the graduates offering a pep talk and explaining how a school committee chose Hodges for the scholarship. He said someone who could “show that they really changed their life for the better with the opportunity Chef Tim gave them” was an ideal candidate and Hodges represented that.

“I feel like I’m on top of the world,” Hodges said after the ceremony. “I’ve come through a lot, a whole lot.”

Reporter Chris Quay can be reached at (502) 582-4241.

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From left: Warren Bell, Torrence Sarver and Antuan Edwards get food from the buffet line at a graduation ceremony for those completing the Salvation Army's Culinary Training Program Thursday. (By Michael Hayman, The Courier-Journal) August 5, 2010 (cj)