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!

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*