This Week's Recipe: Creamy Steel-Cut Oatmeal with Golden Raisins

Creamy Steel-Cut Oatmeal with Golden Raisins

Ingredients

2 teaspoons butter
1/2 cup steel-cut oats
1 1/2 cups hot water
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup milk
1-2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 tiny pinch nutmeg (optional)

Instructions

Heat butter in a small saucepan;  add oats and toast them for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant. Stir in cinnamon and salt.

Add hot water, stir, and bring to a brisk boil. Cover and turn down heat.

After 15 minutes, add milk and sugar; whisk well

Cook uncovered for another 5 minutes.

If after 5 minutes you’d prefer your oatmeal to be thicker, remove from heat, cover and let stand for an additional 5-10 minutes. This gives the oats a chance to absorb more liquid without running the risk of burning the oatmeal. Also, the oatmeal at this point is pretty hot, so you might as well let it cool down a bit before you dig in.

Drizzle a little maple syrup on top if you would like.

The Chef's Wife: What Is It?

Okay, many of you have received Facebook messages from me suggesting that you "like" The Chef's Wife page. A few of you have asked me, and I am sure others are wondering exactly what TCW is...

In a nutshell, it is a TV Show that is based in Charlotte. No, it is not mine. I was selected as one of the chefs to participate in the first season. The star of the show is a young lady (Bonnie) who's husband is a chef, but she knows nothing about cooking. Chef Phil, her husband, calls on his chef buddies to share some of their favorite dishes as well as sit down and talk about their careers and who they are as a person - not just as a chef. I would like to share with you how I came to be on the show and my experiences that led to the final, "Cut. That's a wrap!".

As a member of the American Culinary Foundation, I receive communication on upcoming events and advertisements on food related events. On one particular day, I read that there was an audition for a show at the ACF's National Meeting that was coming up. I sent me email stating that I was interested, but didn't really expect to hear anything back - just being honest. Surprisingly, I heard back from one of the producers, Bonnie Jones, stating that they were interested in my trying out. Cool right? There was one problem though. Auditions are held at the ACF Meeting in Vegas and I was not signed up for the conference as I could not take the time off of work.

After talking with my wife, I decided that I would fly to Vegas on the day of the audition, try out, and fly back home that night. I relayed this to Bonnie and she thought I was nuts! She then instructed me to send in a tape, bio, and any other info I wanted so that they could review it. At that point, I figured I had no shot as I had no tape of me cooking anything ---- except for this:


Chef Dez

The Official MySpace of Chef Desmond | Myspace Video

I figured I would send this video that I made one day while I was playing around, along with my bio and the link to my MySpace page. Again, I didn't think this would go anywhere, especially since the video didn't show my face or me talking! After sending the info off, it was on to Orlando for a business trip to Disney World (I know right?). On my final day in Orlando, I was sitting having lunch and checking my voice mail when I hear a message from some guy name Phil. He was a producer for The Chef's Wife and also Bonnie's husband! He stated that they reviewed my info and wanted me to take part in the show! The next step was for Bonnie to fly from Charlotte to Atlanta to meet me and film me at work.

Bonnie flew down and filmed me at my job. I was Executive Chef of the Federal Reserve Bank at that time and the folks there were so kind to allow her to come in and get the footage that she needed. It was a great experience. The next step was for me to come to Charlotte and tape the show! They treated my like royalty. They flew me in and offered to either rent me a car or send a driver to pick me up. I chose the latter. I arrived the day before my taping so that I could see another chef's taping to get a feel for everything. Filming that day was the ACF Chef of the Year who happens to be a Certified Master Chef. And I'm taping after this guy? They put me up in Charlotte's South Park District and took care of my dinner at The Palm.

The next day we had a ball on the set, although I was as nervous as all get out! We filmed in their home and I got to meet Bonnie's mom as well. I have to admit that whole makeup thing was not so bad.

When it was all said and done, I had 28 minutes of footage to show the world. After wrapping, a driver picked me up, took me to the airport, and I was on my way back to the A! It was a great experience for me. One that I will remember forever.

The show has landed a spot on PBS in Charlotte and Virginia. Please support Bonnie & Phil and The Chef's Wife Show. They can also be found on Facebook.

This photo below is a link to my full episode as well as others:

So what is The Chef's Wife? Now you know...

This Week's Recipe: The Perfect Pancake

The Perfect Pancake

 This is a perfect recipe to try with the kids and allow them to help.  My daughter loves helping me cook:

Ingredients

1/4 c. of milk

2 tsp. of vanilla

3 tbsp. of butter, melted or vegetable oil

2 tsp. of baking powder

2 tbsp. of sugar

1 1/2 c. of all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp. of salt

2 large eggs

Directions

First beat the eggs, milk, and vanilla until light and foamy, approx 3 minute at high speed in a mixer.

Stir in butter or oil.

Whisk the dry ingredients together and gently, but quickly, mix into the egg and milk mixture.

Let the batter rest while griddle is heating (or overnight in refrig.) The batter will thicken while resting.

Preheat non-stick griddle.

Drop ¼ cup of the batter on the lightly greased griddle.

Cook on one side until bubbles begin to form and break (this is the time to add anything like berries, choc. Chips, etc), then flip the pancakes and cook the other side until golden (turning only once).