Home For The Holidays

Hey folks!

Welcome back to the Chef's Corner!

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving, filled with lots of delicious food, football and a good nap! It's hard to believe Christmas is right around the corner. I am thrilled to be spending my first Christmas here in the Triangle. Being a native Northern New Yorker, spending the holidays away from home can be tough. But I am very fortunate to have met some pretty amazing people here in Raleigh, so I am looking forward to spending time with new (and old) friends this holiday season.

I thought I would share my favorite holiday dessert that reminds me of back home. It's my Mother's recipe, and she always makes extra for me every year because she knows it's my favorite dish!

I hope you enjoy Jackie's Holiday Pumpkin Roll!

• Grease a 10 x 15 cookie sheet and line with parchment paper then Pam spray the parchment.
• Combine 3 eggs, 1 cup of sugar, 2/3 cup of solid pumpkin, ¾ cup flour, 1 tsp. baking soda, and ½ tsp of cinnamon.
• Pour batter onto to cookie sheet, spread to make even and sprinkle with chopped nuts.
• Bake @ 350’ about 12 mins.
• Have a cotton cloth (not terry cloth, a cloth table napkin works good) ready with confectioner sugar sprinkle on it.
• Flip cake on towel and remove parchment , roll up in towel to cool.
• When cake is cool unroll and spread the filling; 2  Tablespoon of soft margarine or butter, ¾ tsp vanilla, one 8 oz softened cream cheese. 1 cup confectioners sugar. Beat all with a mixer.
• Spread the filling on the unrolled cake then re-roll and wrap in plastic wrap , refrigerate or freeze

Enjoy!! 

Giving Thanks

Hello Readers! Thanks for visiting The Chef's Corner.

This month is all about giving thanks, spending time with family and friends, and of course sharing delicious food and good wine.

I am truly blessed to have the support of a loving family & wonderful friends.  I'm also very thankful to be a part of a great team here at Jimmy V's Osteria & Bar and The Sheraton Hotel in Raleigh. In the spirit of giving thanks, Jimmy V's will be hosting a food drive throughout the month of November. We will be accepting nutritious, non-perishable canned goods to be donated to the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina (CENC).  I'll personally make a donation of 50 cans - I hope others will exceed my efforts, allowing us to reach our goal of collecting over 100 lbs. by Thanksgiving Day. Please come visit Jimmy V's and help fill the bins which will feed Triangle families in need. You can drop off your items at Jimmy V's Osteria + Bar, or in the lobby of the Sheraton Raleigh Hotel. All children twelve and under will eat free on Thursday, November 28th when donating a canned good. To learn more about CENC visit www.foodbankcenc.org

Now, I'd like to share one of my favorite Thanksgiving Day recipes. It's actually a recipe I inherited from my wife's family and it has become a tradition in the Chatterton home for the last 7 years. You've got to try Dianne's Broccoli Puff Casserole!

Ingredients:

1 bag of cheddar cheese - shredded

2 bags of frozen broccoli cuts (par boil 3-5 minutes)

3 cans of mushrooms soup (cream of mushroom)

1 cup of mayo

2 eggs

Add broccoli (par boiled), mushroom soup, mayo and eggs together in a mixing bowl. Add milk (2%) slowly to get mixture of ingredients to a consistency of a "thick gravy". Add shredded cheese. 

Add all ingredients into casserole dish sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake 350 degrees covered with tinfoil for approximately 45 minutes. Then remove cover and cook until top is nicely browned. 

Enjoy!! 

It's Gettin' "Chili" Outside!

Hello again friends! Welcome back to the Chef's Corner!

We had a great weekend at Jimmy V's Osteria + Bar this weekend. My Sous Chef, Mike Teasley and I participated in the 'Chefs for a Cure' for the Raleigh Roundup Bourbon & Bubbles Event on Saturday, hosted by Red Sword Guild at the Marbles Kids Museum. It was a great event, and I was very honored to represent Jimmy V's Osteria + Bar and to be a part of such a great cause for the American Cancer Society in their fight against cancer. For more information, you can visit the event's web page: 2013 Raleigh Roundup

Our dish was a Heritage Farms Smoked Pork Tenderloin with cider bourbon glaze, pickled mustard seed caviar, served with a white chocolate and apple celery root puree, with olive oil powder. Here are some photos of the event!

Now on to my recipe for this week!.... As I said in my last blog post, Fall is definitely my favorite time of year. I think it's because I love everything that Fall brings: football, tailgating, bonfires, holidays, and most importantly, a chance to spend time with family and friends. Don't get me wrong, I love Summer too! All of my friends know I can't get enough barbecuing on my grill and hitting the beach on weekends with my family. But, there's something about this time of year that brings a level of excitement, especially when it comes to food! One of my all-time favorite fall dishes is chili. What better way to warm up on a "chilly" Sunday afternoon, than watching your favorite football teams play, and enjoying a hearty bowl of homemade chili! It's easy, uses simple ingredients and makes for great leftovers! So without further ado, here is my favorite homemade Chili recipe!

Ingredients: 
3 Tbls Chopped Garlic

1 Yellow Onion (diced)

2 Green Peppers (diced)

2 Red Peppers (diced)

4 Jalapeno’s (diced, seeds removed)

2 Cans Peeled Tomatoes

1 Can Crushed Tomatoes

1 Can Tomato Sauce

3 Tbls Chipotle Puree

1 Cup Tomato Paste

2 Tbls Cumin

2 Tbls Dark Chili Powder

3lbs.  Ground Chuck (80/20)

2 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese

1 Cup Sour Cream

1 Cup Scallions (chopped)

Salt and Pepper

In a mixing bowl combine beef, cumin, chili powder, 1 tablespoon of salt and pepper, chipotle puree, and mix well.  In a large pot sauté the onions, garlic, peppers, until soft.  Add ground beef to the pot, cook until beef is thoroughly cooked.  Add remaining chipotle puree, tomato sauce, peeled tomatoes, and crushed tomatoes.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and let simmer for 1 hour.  Season with salt and pepper, add tomato paste 1 teaspoon at a time to reach your desired thickness. Ladle out any grease that may have come to the top. Garnish your chili with a scoop of sour cream, shredded cheddar, and scallions.

Enjoy!

Lobster Pumpkin Bisque

Hello again friends! Thanks for stopping by the Chef's Corner! 

We are gearing up for the fall season here at Jimmy V's Osteria + Bar! Fall is definitely my favorite time of year. The changing of the seasons means a transition to use new ingredients in my dishes! I love going to the local farmers markets here in Raleigh to see what new seasonal ingredients I can incorporate into my menu. It's the best part about being a Chef, there is always something new to try to really get my creative juices flowing.  And what ingredient does everyone think of when autumn rolls around? Pumpkins! I've been exploring several pumpkin recipes at home, and my latest creation is my Pumpkin Lobster Bisque! I've made several variations of this dish, using squash and crab meat as substitutes, but I've found that pumpkin and lobster are a really great compliment to one another. It's a great dish to warm up to as we slowly make our way into colder weather!

Lobster Pumpkin Bisque

• 4 Cups heavy cream
• 1 Large white onion (chopped)
• 2 Large carrots (chopped) 
• 2 lb. peeled pumpkin (chopped)
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 cup dry sherry
• 2 Whole Live Lobsters
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook the lobsters in boiling water for 8-10 minutes (8 minutes per pound). Pull lobsters out and chill, reserving the liquid (you will be using this later).  Once the lobsters are cool, crack the claws and tail, remove the meat and set aside (keep claw meat whole for garnish).  In another pot, sauté onion and carrots until soft then pour in sherry to deglaze the pan.  Add half the lobster cooking liquid, reserved from before to the pot along with the pumpkin and bring to a simmer for 20 minutes or until pumpkin is tender.  Add cream and return to a simmer for an additional 10 minutes.  Pour soup into a blender, blend until you have a smooth consistency.  Return to the pot and add tomato paste, one tablespoon at a time until you've reach your desired thickness, season with salt and pepper.  Put the cut lobster meat in the bottom of a bowl, ladle soup over and float 1 claw on top as garnish.

Enjoy!! 

How Sweet It Is!

Hey all! Thanks for visiting!

The last few weeks have been so awesome at Jimmy V's Osteria + Bar, BUSY, but awesome! We really enjoy seeing new faces everyday, and familiar faces, too! We are gearing up for a our GRAND OPENING tomorrow, and we could not be more excited!

One of the things I love most about being a Chef is bringing people together around a table, serving a delicious meal, drinking wine, and sharing some laughs and enjoying each others' company. My favorite part though, is cooking for my family at home.  Since I've been so busy lately, I haven't had a chance to do much cooking at home. Fortunately, I have been very blessed with an amazing support system of friends and family, but more than anyone, my wife Dianne, is truly my inspiration everyday. Sometimes I forget just how hard it is to be a Chef's wife. The long hours, late nights, missing holidays at home, can be really tough on a family. She's been there for me every step of the way. Her patience and encouragement make me a better Chef each and every day. I really love what I do, and I'm so lucky to have her endless support. So I thought I would dedicate this blog to her, and share one of her favorite dessert recipes.

Baking is not necessarily one of my FAVORITE things to do as a chef, but for my Sweetie, I'd do just about anything!

Here's my recipe for Rhubarb Cream Pie!

Ingredients:

• 1 & 1/2 cups of sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 3 eggs
• 4 cups of 1" slices of fresh rhubarb 
• 1 tsp grated orange peel
• 2 pie shells ( I prefer to make homemade crust, but I also like Pillsbury)
• For a sweeter pie, add fresh strawberries (optional) you can substitute 1 cup of rhubarb for strawberries. 
• 3 tablespoons of butter

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Combine sugar, flour and nutmeg in a bowl. Add slightly beaten eggs and rhubarb together in separate bowl (and strawberries). Mix all ingredients and add grated orange peel. Line you pie plate with pastry crust. Fill with filling, dot with butter. Cover with top pastry crust. Bake for 50-60 min. To keep crust from burning, cover edges with foil for first 25 minutes.

Enjoy!! 

*And to my sweet wife, Dianne, I love you like crazy girl*

Jimmy V's Osteria + Bar Radio Debut!

Check out my very first radio commercial ad with 99.9 FM The Fan ESPN Radio!

https://soundcloud.com/chefsct/jimmyvsosteria-bar-chef-scott

Breakfast of Champions!

Welcome back everyone!!

I hope everyone enjoyed the rest of summer! My apologies for my lack of posts last month, August was a BUSY BUSY month here at Jimmy V’s in in downtown Raleigh. We are officially open for business, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner! The last few weeks have been really exciting, we have had a great response from the community and so far, business has been outstanding. We are so proud to be donating 2.5% of our revenue to The V Foundation which will help fund cutting edge cancer research.

I thought since my last two post were more lunch and dinner recipes, I would share one of my favorite breakfast recipes! Especially now that we are OPEN for breakfast here at Jimmy V’s!

We serve a dish called Cinnamon Pecan Pancakes which is really awesome, one of my favorites on our breakfast menu. I make a similar dish at home for my family which I thought I would share with you all. Here’s how to make my Cinnamon Roll Pancakes with Candied Pecans!!

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes with Candied Pecans

4 cups Pancake Batter (any store bought batter works great, I prefer Aunt Jemima)

1 Tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup Pecan Halves

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1 cup sliced strawberries (optional)

1 ¼ cup powdered sugar

3 Tbl spoon Milk

Maple Syrup

How to make homemade candied pecans:

Bring 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water to a boil, add in the pecans and let soak for 3 minutes.  Strain the pecans and put them on a sheet pan lined with foil and sprayed with nonstick spray.   Bake at 375 for 10 minutes then remove and place on foil sprayed with nonstick spray and sprinkle with granulated sugar (occasionally I will do this process twice –soaking and baking – to get REALLY sweet pecans).

How to make your homemade icing:

Mix the milk and powdered sugar together; add extra milk 1 tablespoon at a time to achieve desired consistency. 

Pancakes:

Make your pancake batter and mix in cinnamon.  Preheat your griddle or nonstick pan, cook pancakes until bubbles are popping and flip.  Put the cakes on a plate, top with pecans, strawberries, and drizzle your icing on top of your stack.  Serve with warm maple syrup on the side.

ENJOY!!! 

Also, come try our Cinnamon Pecan Pancakes at Jimmy V's Osteria + Bar - made with my homemade special pancake batter and secret caramel sauce!