kitchen reminiscences, words*rock* sword, astrological foods, sisterhood ad infinitum!

yesterday, i was in the middle of catering the word rock sword music/women's festival which took place in various parts of the city, when food network caught my eye:  there on the screen was my old boss from 9jones.  9jones was a very slick 2 - 3 star on... you guessed it, jones street in the west village - the establishment had more family atmosphere than a little bit, & the food, if i may say so myself, was superlative.  the original chef, a woman, had crafted an elegant menu full of unexpected treats:  such as grilled lamb chops w/a verbena glaze.  having now moved on to greener pastures, the new chef needed to hire an entirely new staff.  my first kitchen idol, the only other fly-assed black grrrrrrrrrrrrrrl chef i knew of in ny, & something of a mentor to me had invited me by way of her boyfriend, the aforementioned new sheriff in town.  she wasn't personally working there, but he was.  @ the time, i was still over @ aqua grill getting my life threatened by that prick of a chef.   when the sous-chef @ aqua grill shared w/me his fond memories, post my latest verbal beat-down ("shut the fuck up, & gimme my mushroom emulsion, you goddamn idiot!") of a chef & sous chef who used to, on the daily, enter the walk-in fridge, & beat each other to a bloody pulp before the shift, ("oh, he's not so bad, you should have worked w/my old boss,  he used to"...)  i couldn't take the testosterone.  the chef from 9jones, whom i'll call mr. nosmo, plucked me out of aqua grill in, according to mr. nosmo, one chef-to-chef convo - "are you done w/her yet?"
"...not sure..."  mused the prick from aqua.
"well if you are, lemme know.  i'll take her."

talk about from the frying pan into the fire...

in one of the more epic of our disagreements, i was trying to explain to him that taking 24 oz steaks out of a 700 degree pizza oven (the flames were two feet high) w/a pair of tongs was too much action for my small wrists. he insisted that i 'just didn't want to listen' - & this was true b/c he was dead wrong - & that i needed to 'try following directions once in a while' @ which point i said, 'ok, fuck it. i'll do it your way.'

resolute, i started the shift, & was even starting to think that the tong method wasn't so bad until, trying to gain leverage & hold the metal plate firmly, the tong slipped & the oil & meat hit my arm w/a sickening sizzle. the waves of pain were an acid trip of agony. & it kept going on. my vision spotted. chef nosmo avoided my gaze, as i glared @ him in a withering fury. & continued to work, demanding a bucket of icewater & a dram of lavender essential oil from the aromatherapist down the block which still, thankfully, was open.

so there we were - a furious grill grrrrrrrrrrrl, & a guilt ridden chef in denial. shortly after, he left the restaurant amid much cigar smoke & contention around the amount of "completely brown plates" that he brought to the menu. those veteran staff members who'd witnessed the restaurants evolution liked some things about his menu but found it sadly lacking in color. i remained & ultimately became sous-chef until the establishment closed its doors a while later. imagine my surprise, then, to find him up against no less than an african grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrl chef, in Chopped!!!

what perfect karma, i thought,whether he wins or looses, that he could get whipped by a black grrrrrl - in the house that mario batali (our lateral competition in the west village, who, w/his offering Home, was sometimes superlative, & sometimes awash in sandy spinach gnocchi,) built.  LMBAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

love it.

love it or hate it - chef nosmo gave me a couple of important lessons w/his refusal to be in any way cognizant of my needs/limitations as a worker:
1 - always go w/your first mind:  i knew his method of carrying meat to plate would not work for me.  it was my responsibility to protect myself.
2 - b/c of my burn, & its subsequent healing w/lavender, i was swallowed whole by aromatherapeutic studies, & remain in the belly of the beast to this day - obsessed - not only that, the aromatherapist down the block informed me that robert tisserand, the father of aromatherapy discovered lavender's healing faculties b/c of a - what?  burn. - can you stand it?  it was apparently the first herb that he studied intensely on this level after using it to heal a self-inflicted chemical burn.
3 - working w/women will always be a more nurturing, fulfilling experience than working w/men.

no matter the industry, it is...what it is...

which brings me to one of my most pleasant gigs to date:

a couple of weeks ago, i was contacted by a legendary musician.  born into a musical dynasty, this grrrrrrrrrrrl is a force to be reckoned with, & has her own stunning musical chops.  her name is power.  she emailed me out of the blue w/dreams of a women's festival benefitting mothers all over the world, & i was wit' it, yet mystified @ how i could personally be of service - what could i contribute?  i mean the woman already had mad musicians, writers, poets, dancers & producers under her belt who would beg to work w/her. - maybe she was just being nice, i reasoned.
after my first lukewarm answer to her women's festival missive, she fired back three options for me.  while i mused on these, my homegrrrrrrrrrrrrrl, a master manifester/epic/writer/director, (i mentioned her before - she's the one for whom soul food means sushi)  who does NOT the fuck suffer fools gladly took me into her confidence around career matters:  'what you need to do', she said, 'is write a recipe for every card of the tarot.  that's your next book.' -  after the memoir. after thanking her profusely, i asked my inner self/the deck which card would be the one to start off w/.  it was the star.  open roads, hope, beauty, artistry, innovation, cleansing, healing all are roads ruled by the star.  i started free associating.  still, it took yet another convo w/my magical, tantric, sexxxxxxxxxy editorial assistant to solidify the action:  "stef.  you're gonna do that - whatever that is - the tarot/food joint for the festival.  email her now!"

& that is how my presentation was born!

as usual, i was sure the jig would be up the minute i presented my food (@ the venue, the lovely Pillow Cafe where the black grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrl chef was so unbelievably kind & helpful) & everyone discovered the truth:  that i can't really cook.  but what actually happened was astounding:  seeing my struggles w/set up, my fellow sorceress, ally & partner in crime from witches brew stepped into the vortex & just said "no."  she is so fierce.   "nope, you are not serving on shitty paper w/no platters, no you are not giving up a leaf of lettuce until you are set up, & you sho ain't giving out that amount of food.  profit margin, anyone???"  she jetted BACK HOME, y'all, to pick up anything i might need to make this an actual catered event as opposed to the zoo that was being fashioned from my lack of preparedness.

talk about the angels in your life!!!

so there was that tear inducing sisterhood, along w/my 'manuscript doula', who showed up to eat & ki-ki, but ended up acting as waitstaff, my grrrrrrrrrrrrrl who is the international songstress a sound healer in & of herself, who had performed the night before for the festival, & was acting as fundraiser/producer/female preacher (yes, as in lyn collins) aggressively collecting tips for my jar.

when i looked into the audience, & saw all of the gleaming beautiful faces, i was brought to a point earlier in the day, when through my stress, i realized that i would be cooking for/presenting to some of the grrrrrrrrrrrrrrls i have loved the most ever, i felt a calm that has been unmatched on almost any 'job'.

sisterhood, B. the blood that runs through the veins.

what a ball we had, & here are the recipes:

Menu to access the properties/qualities of the Star/Aquarius:

seared* ceviche w/watercress:

1 # pink snapper, (yes, pink snapper, y'all.) filleted
1 tsp. crushed garlic
3 TBSP. lemon juice
sea salt, cracked pepper
1 tsp. fish sauce

marinate the filleted pink snapper (love saying/writing that) w/all ingredients for up to 2 hours.  in a smoking pan sear onlt the skin side till crispy.  serve rough chopped atop 2 bunches cleaned, torn watercress tossed w/:
2 TBSP garlic
1 minced shallot
lem j to taste - about 1 tsp. or more
1 tsp. yuzu juice
2 TBSP shoyu
olive oil to coat the leaves, about 2 TBSP

you will not be sorry.

*now my original plan was to do a classic raw ceviche - but i didn't feel that it would travel the way i wanted it to, ( a 45 min. cab ride, that is) hence the new title of the dish:  seared ceviche...

watermelon, heirloom tomato cucumber salad w/lemongrass vinaigrette

 word to the wise - actually ended up switching the vinaigrettes on this one - it ended up going on the tuna nicoise but here goes:
2 whole small watermelons medium dice, about 1/2 inch cubed
3 english cucumbers no need to peel these the skin is super thin & good for you medium dice, about 1/2 inch
2 8 oz. pkgs cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

this worked extremely well simply tossed together, & served in small cups

seared tuna nicoise w/yuzu wasabi foam  


for this, actually i used

1 # each of tuna, yellowtail (hamachi, a sushi cut), & bluefish.

marinate these in a 1/2 & 1/2 mixture of soy sauce & yuzu juice.  this is ponzu.
sear these in a smoking hot skillet w/either grapeseed or sesame oil or a touch of both. cut into cubes.  set aside.
3 bunches romaine lettuce, shredded, tossed w/
3 TBSP rice wine vinegar (preferably japanese, & brown rice)
3TBSP soy sauce
1 TBSP grated ginger
2TBSP crushed garlic
3 TBSP thai green curry paste - (yes yes y'all.  LOTS of grated fresh lemongrass in that mixture - don't be a fool!)
olive oil to taste, about 3 - 4 oz.
 2 # baby yukons, parboiled in salty water then baked for 45 min - 1 hr. ina 375 degree oven w.roast garlic & 3 TBSP butter
4 ears corn, boiled for 1 - 2 min, iced, then cut off the cob

haricot vert, trimmed, parboiled 1 - 2 min & shocked in ice water
crumbled feta to taste
whisk everything except the vegetables together.  group each veg together & place on top of the lettuce.  pour dressing over all & garnish w/the yuzu cream/foam:

2 TBSP. yuzu juice
1 pt. heavy cream
3 TBSP. wasabi powder or freshly grated - if powder, dissolved in about 3 TBSP of the cream first
1 tsp. soy sauce
in a blender or  food processor whip the cream to stiff. fold in all other ingredients, whip to stiff peaks. dot the salad w/the foam right before serving.



thai guacamole served w/chips

6 avocados mashed
6 cloves garlic
2 TBSP thai green curry
couple dashes fish sauce
lem j to taste
1 tomato, pureed
mix together & serve w/corn chips

5 - bruschetta checca (mozz tom & basil)
i did these tiny b/c i was serving as a passed appetizer - i had lovely beautiful Fairway market slice 3 big baguettes into tiny rounds on their slicer - perfection!!!
then i tossed them w/melted 1/4 # butter, 6 TBSP olive oil, 3 TBSP crushed garlic, lots of dried parsley & toasted them for some time - 15 - 20 min in an oven @ 375.


on top of these were tossed


about 15 tomatoes nice ripe romas, or heirlooms in a medium, (nuccomme says small) dice marinated for 1 - 6 hours in 10 cloves SLICED fresh garlic,
1 large or 2 small bunches basil, rinsed in 3 changes of water & sliced
olive oil to glaze
sea salt & pepper

this last is a dessert that was left out as per necessity - (read budget)


so i'll do it next time w/pics -

lemon bars w/lavender whipped cream


- aquarius-y?  i think so.  now our time apart has not been wasted friends - within the next few, i will be able to provide y'all w/a lot more recipes, via excerpts from projects that i am working on now, like other cookbooks, memoirs & shit - oh!  one of which is the zodiacal/tarot based cookbook that this was all a dry run for.
brief explanation:  when we need a certain astrological influence in our lives, it's all well & good to ritualize the ingestion of that need w/a candle or some oil, right? we've all heard of those methods - however it brings things to a whole new energetic level to actually ingest the energetics of a star sign.


now, you may be asking yourself, why in hell would i need to do some stupid-assed shit like that?


& now i shall unveil why.  each one of us, is born w/our jupiter in a certain sign.  this is the key to our luck.  you may be a virgo, say.  so you act like one - exacting, detail oriented, antisocial.  but your jupiter may be in, say, sag! so all your life you have been doing yourself a disservice, hanging out w/only earth/& or water signs, never going to parties.  spending your weekends w/your nose buried in a book... & wondering where your good luck is.  awww!!!
& all that time, in order to access the luck of the irish, all you ever had to do was hang out w/sag (& this is not hard) & adopt some of that freewheeling philosophy as your own.  the new cookbook takes things to another level.  each of the signs of the zodiac has a cell salt sacred to that sign, & foods that help the person embody the vibration of that sign.
lucky sign + lucky foods =luck!

if you want to know your jupiter sign & attendant lucky foods, let me know. 


happy (belated) equinox.  all the best.


thank you for your time!