Life seems to be ever so unpredictable, that having things planned out to what you believe is 100% can only truly be a pipe dream. Sometimes chaos will be bred through this and through that chaos you might only have a 50/50 chance of getting anything successful out of it. Bad day at work… Procrastination has gotten you in the crunch… You are trying to find all the pieces but everywhere you go, everyone is out… So badly you try to make that dinner date, but your child just isn’t letting that happen tonight. All of these are just a few small examples of when it just isn’t going a 100% to plan. Don’t worry too much about it though… we all sail this ship together and I say we sail it a gracefully as our luck will let us. Normally people have the saying “When Life gives you Lemons… You make Lemonade. Well that’s old and worn out. I say “Such as Life, Such as the Kitchen” … You should probably go ahead and write that one down.
2:00 P.M. It’s a normal drive home. I’m frustrated… stressed… tired… I believe an ulcer is beginning to form slowly in my stomach. I reiterate “A normal drive home”. A craving has formed in my head, I’m forming it into a comfort… a beautiful comfort food. I know I need basil and garlic, perhaps a protein that has a shell body to it, I’m thinking a pasta. Traffic is relentless as usual, the radio is low so that I can barely hear the sounds of the 80’s piping through the speakers. Scenes of dishes are crowding my head quicker, I am at a loss, I am still salivating, I need a drink to calm the nerves. I look at the bottle of Johnny Walker sitting in the seat next to me, I realize he will help me get through my confusion of dishes.
2:45 P.M. The towel pants have been donned… I do my best thinking in these. I beckon the wife to pour me a low ball of the JW and I do so with a “Please” and a “Thank You”. Recipes of pasta’s and pesto’s still run across the surface of my brain allowing no room for free will or thinking. I speed up the consumption process of JW. With this the ending result begins to play out. The discussion begins with my wife. “I’m thinking pesto”…. She agreed and added perhaps a pasta to go with it. I always admire and take into account her input. My brain still searches like google running on 28.8 MBPS. More JW goes down.
3:30 P.M. “Ok honey… This is what I got… begin a Chopped Salad with a Champagne Dressing, move into an entrée of Shrimp and Prawn Angel Pesto and a Pan Fry Calf’s Liver with a Red Wine Reduction”. The look of satisfaction in her eyes as she pictures the dish signals to me that we have finally found a winner. My second low ball of JW goes down smoother. The drinks will now move quicker, I must try to space them out. I still do my best cooking a little sauced up though… Thank You Ms. Child for your inspiration.
5:00 P.M. We arrive at the market… I know exactly what I am here for, there shouldn’t be too much of a deviation. It is in my hope that this goes quickly, I have set a timed goal of when to have dinner down. I love to challenge myself. Everything should be plated and served by 8:00 P.M. Three hours is a long time I know but you must factor in the JW, the market, small kitchen, and I am getting ready to move so I am trying to clutter my pantry. I immediately head to produce scooping all the fresh garden varieties I am going to need for the chop salad. The Champagne Dressing I still have at the house so that I can check off the list as well. In all actuality I mainly came here for salad pasta and proteins. Salad is down. Proteins here I come… or so I think.
5:15 P.M. The smell of fresh seafood or at least the previously frozen thawed out in a case… fresh seafood. I immediately spot the best looking shrimp, deveined and happy… I ask for a simple half pound and I am quickly rewarded. I search the case frivolously for prawns, but tonight the usually dense variety disappoints. The dish has to change now, I won’t waffle on my choice of a shellfish though… I think on my feet… and with scotch emitting from my breath I ask for a quarter pound of scallops. Ok… the pasta must change… think think think!! Ah the damn pressure. Alright … Sautee Shrimp and Scallops in Goat Cheese Butter served with a Pesto Fettucini. Success!! I am out of the hole! Now to the meat department to grab my beef liver and I shall be done, ready to go home and make this happen. Hell I might even finish early. I push the cart over to the meat cases and begin to scan the product. Tragedy once again ensues.
5:30 P.M. Where is the Beef Liver…… they have beef tripe, beef kidneys, beef heart…. Where the Hell is the damn Beef Liver. Sweat begins to bead, I feel the slow creep of a frustrated sobriety creep upon me. This is not going according to plan at all. I am not happy. The meat manger rounds the corner in the height of my “Where’s Waldo” search of Liver. He sees this, and comes to me with a smile and an aura of a solution to my problem. He asks what my troubles seem to be. I say. “The Beef Liver man… where the hell is your beef liver… it is always right here”. His smile fades… my frustration grows at this sight. I am lead to a frozen case, and reluctantly the manger reaches in and pulls out a frozen name brand beef liver. He can tell I am not some bullshit guy in the kitchen, and immediately just lays it back in the frozen tomb. They no longer do fresh liver on a daily basis. They only carry this name brand crap of liver. This high school liver and onions… liver. I need another protein. I promised a good protein besides the shellfish.
5:47 P.M. Lamb… maybe a good lamb shank… no… just not good tonight. Perhaps a Filet, mmmm yes a nice rosemary crusted Filet… No! if I am cooking any beef tonight it was going to be Liver!! I decide what would be the underground way of making this happen. Let just cut the head off the chicken and see where he lands. I without thinking grab a pack of butterfly chops, Pork can go good with just about anything. I rush down the aisles looking for any kind of inspiration that might strike me. Panko bread crumbs fly into the cart. Diced tomatoes. It coming together in the cart nicely. In my head not so much. Soon before I know it I am paying my bill, packing the car, driving home with sacks of groceries but no real direction of where I am going to end up with it.
6:35 P.M. I arrive in my Kitchen. My usual rush of excitement rolls over my body as I lay the bags from the market down. This is my Coliseum, I am a culinary gladiator, If I win their stomachs, I’ll win my freedom!! Without unpacking I immediately hit the oven…. I pre heat it to a nice 485 degrees which is the temp I always go to and back down as needed. I shed the bags of their contents and go right into throwing some water on the boil for my Fettucini. Next the pork comes out of its package and I begin cleaning it up, washing it down, basting a light brush of olive oil and then coating them in the panko. As the pork gets set aside I pull out a small fry pan add some butter and then throw it on some high heat. This leads me into cleaning the shrimp, wiping them down good and then tossing them and the scallops in a selection of herbs and spices. My saucepan becomes my next big player. I throw it down on the stove at a medium heat. I begin adding diced tomatoes, fresh minced garlic, a select choice of herbs and spices, and a heavy dose of cilantro. I figured a good hearty marinara would go great over my panko pork. Everything seems to be prepped, my chaos seems to be settling down, I could be over the hedge… ok… what the hell am I forgetting. THE SALAD!! Now I know the salad seems very trivial compared to the rest of the meal listed, but it is in my opinion that a well thought and plated salad makes the whole meal sometimes. I mean first impressions are everything right?? I do the quick slice and dice, keeping it as simple as possible, but not slacking on my over all presentation I am going for. The salad is now ready for dressing and plating, I glance at the time… I cringe… time to do it… to it!
7:35 P.M. My glance turns to the over and I see now that it’s ready to assist me… I throw the pork in… I give it a good two or three minutes soaking up the high heat before knocking the oven temp down to 425 degrees and letting it roll. I know I have about 15 good minutes to get everything else put together. I want the whole meal to go down at once. The Fettucini gets tossed quickly into my nice rolling boil of water… I know I want to cut this off a little before it’s done so I can finish it al dente in a pan with the proteins and sauce.
7:43 P.M. The shellfish goes down in the hot butter, frying quickly to a nice golden perfection… I could not have been happier. As it approaches a nice texture I turn the heat down and add goat cheese which I let sit to room temperature.
7:49 P.M. The pork comes flying out of the oven… it’s crispy and golden brown as well, I smile at my success. I put it to the side to let it rest and cook more. The pasta gets drained and tossed into a my sautee’ with my fresh pesto, previously made, and the shell fish. I toss it all over a low heat allowing the pasta to come up a nice al dente and the sauce to settle in with a little thickness from the goat cheese.
7:55 P.M. Plates go down on the bar, I plate the pasta rightfully in its own perfect pasta bowls making sure the shrimp and scallops shine on top. I plate the salad and the pork together, gently applying the salad with the champagne dressing and following up the pork with the delicious cilantro marinara.
7:58 and 33 sec P.M. Dinner is served.
Life seems to be ever so unpredictable, that having things planned out to what you believe is 100% can only truly be a pipe dream. Sometimes chaos will be bred through this and through that chaos you might only have a 50/50 chance of getting anything successful out of it. Bad day at work… Procrastination has gotten you in the crunch… You are trying to find all the pieces but everywhere you go, everyone is out… So badly you try to make that dinner date, but your child just isn’t letting that happen tonight. All of these are just a few small examples of when it just isn’t going a 100% to plan. Don’t worry too much about it though… we all sail this shi
p together and I say we sail it a gracefully as our luck will let us. So maybe you had a bad day at work… but that guy or girl in the cubical next to you won’t stop flirting with you. Procrastination may have gotten you in a bind but hell… just procrastinate something else until you get it done. Can’t find the pieces to what you need… then just find the pieces that will make those pieces and well… you got to put in a little extra time. Maybe that little man or little lady isn’t going to let you have that dinner date… guess you just got to have that dinner date with the little man or little lady. As a society 
today we all have to think on our feet. We try to live obliviously that everything is always ever changing. These few things in life we can never escape… but we all band together and find ways to overcome so perhaps by the end of the night we can lay in bed knowing that our day was fulfilled and no regrets. So I am going to leave you all with this. Normally people have the saying “When Life gives you Lemons… You make Lemonade. Well that’s old and worn out. I say “Such as Life, Such as the Kitchen” … You should probably go ahead and write that one down.
Live to Eat
U.C.
2:00 P.M. It’s a normal drive home. I’m frustrated… stressed… tired… I believe an ulcer is beginning to form slowly in my stomach. I reiterate “A normal drive home”. A craving has formed in my head, I’m forming it into a comfort… a beautiful comfort food. I know I need basil and garlic, perhaps a protein that has a shell body to it, I’m thinking a pasta. Traffic is relentless as usual, the radio is low so that I can barely hear the sounds of the 80’s piping through the speakers. Scenes of dishes are crowding my head quicker, I am at a loss, I am still salivating, I need a drink to calm the nerves. I look at the bottle of Johnny Walker sitting in the seat next to me, I realize he will help me get through my confusion of dishes.
2:45 P.M. The towel pants have been donned… I do my best thinking in these. I beckon the wife to pour me a low ball of the JW and I do so with a “Please” and a “Thank You”. Recipes of pasta’s and pesto’s still run across the surface of my brain allowing no room for free will or thinking. I speed up the consumption process of JW. With this the ending result begins to play out. The discussion begins with my wife. “I’m thinking pesto”…. She agreed and added perhaps a pasta to go with it. I always admire and take into account her input. My brain still searches like google running on 28.8 MBPS. More JW goes down.
3:30 P.M. “Ok honey… This is what I got… begin a Chopped Salad with a Champagne Dressing, move into an entrée of Shrimp and Prawn Angel Pesto and a Pan Fry Calf’s Liver with a Red Wine Reduction”. The look of satisfaction in her eyes as she pictures the dish signals to me that we have finally found a winner. My second low ball of JW goes down smoother. The drinks will now move quicker, I must try to space them out. I still do my best cooking a little sauced up though… Thank You Ms. Child for your inspiration.
5:00 P.M. We arrive at the market… I know exactly what I am here for, there shouldn’t be too much of a deviation. It is in my hope that this goes quickly, I have set a timed goal of when to have dinner down. I love to challenge myself. Everything should be plated and served by 8:00 P.M. Three hours is a long time I know but you must factor in the JW, the market, small kitchen, and I am getting ready to move so I am trying to clutter my pantry. I immediately head to produce scooping all the fresh garden varieties I am going to need for the chop salad. The Champagne Dressing I still have at the house so that I can check off the list as well. In all actuality I mainly came here for salad pasta and proteins. Salad is down. Proteins here I come… or so I think.
5:15 P.M. The smell of fresh seafood or at least the previously frozen thawed out in a case… fresh seafood. I immediately spot the best looking shrimp, deveined and happy… I ask for a simple half pound and I am quickly rewarded. I search the case frivolously for prawns, but tonight the usually dense variety disappoints. The dish has to change now, I won’t waffle on my choice of a shellfish though… I think on my feet… and with scotch emitting from my breath I ask for a quarter pound of scallops. Ok… the pasta must change… think think think!! Ah the damn pressure. Alright … Sautee Shrimp and Scallops in Goat Cheese Butter served with a Pesto Fettucini. Success!! I am out of the hole! Now to the meat department to grab my beef liver and I shall be done, ready to go home and make this happen. Hell I might even finish early. I push the cart over to the meat cases and begin to scan the product. Tragedy once again ensues.
5:30 P.M. Where is the Beef Liver…… they have beef tripe, beef kidneys, beef heart…. Where the Hell is the damn Beef Liver. Sweat begins to bead, I feel the slow creep of a frustrated sobriety creep upon me. This is not going according to plan at all. I am not happy. The meat manger rounds the corner in the height of my “Where’s Waldo” search of Liver. He sees this, and comes to me with a smile and an aura of a solution to my problem. He asks what my troubles seem to be. I say. “The Beef Liver man… where the hell is your beef liver… it is always right here”. His smile fades… my frustration grows at this sight. I am lead to a frozen case, and reluctantly the manger reaches in and pulls out a frozen name brand beef liver. He can tell I am not some bullshit guy in the kitchen, and immediately just lays it back in the frozen tomb. They no longer do fresh liver on a daily basis. They only carry this name brand crap of liver. This high school liver and onions… liver. I need another protein. I promised a good protein besides the shellfish.
5:47 P.M. Lamb… maybe a good lamb shank… no… just not good tonight. Perhaps a Filet, mmmm yes a nice rosemary crusted Filet… No! if I am cooking any beef tonight it was going to be Liver!! I decide what would be the underground way of making this happen. Let just cut the head off the chicken and see where he lands. I without thinking grab a pack of butterfly chops, Pork can go good with just about anything. I rush down the aisles looking for any kind of inspiration that might strike me. Panko bread crumbs fly into the cart. Diced tomatoes. It coming together in the cart nicely. In my head not so much. Soon before I know it I am paying my bill, packing the car, driving home with sacks of groceries but no real direction of where I am going to end up with it.
6:35 P.M. I arrive in my Kitchen. My usual rush of excitement rolls over my body as I lay the bags from the market down. This is my Coliseum, I am a culinary gladiator, If I win their stomachs, I’ll win my freedom!! Without unpacking I immediately hit the oven…. I pre heat it to a nice 485 degrees which is the temp I always go to and back down as needed. I shed the bags of their contents and go right into throwing some water on the boil for my Fettucini. Next the pork comes out of its package and I begin cleaning it up, washing it down, basting a light brush of olive oil and then coating them in the panko. As the pork gets set aside I pull out a small fry pan add some butter and then throw it on some high heat. This leads me into cleaning the shrimp, wiping them down good and then tossing them and the scallops in a selection of herbs and spices. My saucepan becomes my next big player. I throw it down on the stove at a medium heat. I begin adding diced tomatoes, fresh minced garlic, a select choice of herbs and spices, and a heavy dose of cilantro. I figured a good hearty marinara would go great over my panko pork. Everything seems to be prepped, my chaos seems to be settling down, I could be over the hedge… ok… what the hell am I forgetting. THE SALAD!! Now I know the salad seems very trivial compared to the rest of the meal listed, but it is in my opinion that a well thought and plated salad makes the whole meal sometimes. I mean first impressions are everything right?? I do the quick slice and dice, keeping it as simple as possible, but not slacking on my over all presentation I am going for. The salad is now ready for dressing and plating, I glance at the time… I cringe… time to do it… to it!
7:35 P.M. My glance turns to the over and I see now that it’s ready to assist me… I throw the pork in… I give it a good two or three minutes soaking up the high heat before knocking the oven temp down to 425 degrees and letting it roll. I know I have about 15 good minutes to get everything else put together. I want the whole meal to go down at once. The Fettucini gets tossed quickly into my nice rolling boil of water… I know I want to cut this off a little before it’s done so I can finish it al dente in a pan with the proteins and sauce.
7:43 P.M. The shellfish goes down in the hot butter, frying quickly to a nice golden perfection… I could not have been happier. As it approaches a nice texture I turn the heat down and add goat cheese which I let sit to room temperature.
7:49 P.M. The pork comes flying out of the oven… it’s crispy and golden brown as well, I smile at my success. I put it to the side to let it rest and cook more. The pasta gets drained and tossed into a my sautee’ with my fresh pesto, previously made, and the shell fish. I toss it all over a low heat allowing the pasta to come up a nice al dente and the sauce to settle in with a little thickness from the goat cheese.
7:55 P.M. Plates go down on the bar, I plate the pasta rightfully in its own perfect pasta bowls making sure the shrimp and scallops shine on top. I plate the salad and the pork together, gently applying the salad with the champagne dressing and following up the pork with the delicious cilantro marinara.
7:58 and 33 sec P.M. Dinner is served.
Life seems to be ever so unpredictable, that having things planned out to what you believe is 100% can only truly be a pipe dream. Sometimes chaos will be bred through this and through that chaos you might only have a 50/50 chance of getting anything successful out of it. Bad day at work… Procrastination has gotten you in the crunch… You are trying to find all the pieces but everywhere you go, everyone is out… So badly you try to make that dinner date, but your child just isn’t letting that happen tonight. All of these are just a few small examples of when it just isn’t going a 100% to plan. Don’t worry too much about it though… we all sail this shi
p together and I say we sail it a gracefully as our luck will let us. So maybe you had a bad day at work… but that guy or girl in the cubical next to you won’t stop flirting with you. Procrastination may have gotten you in a bind but hell… just procrastinate something else until you get it done. Can’t find the pieces to what you need… then just find the pieces that will make those pieces and well… you got to put in a little extra time. Maybe that little man or little lady isn’t going to let you have that dinner date… guess you just got to have that dinner date with the little man or little lady. As a society 
today we all have to think on our feet. We try to live obliviously that everything is always ever changing. These few things in life we can never escape… but we all band together and find ways to overcome so perhaps by the end of the night we can lay in bed knowing that our day was fulfilled and no regrets. So I am going to leave you all with this. Normally people have the saying “When Life gives you Lemons… You make Lemonade. Well that’s old and worn out. I say “Such as Life, Such as the Kitchen” … You should probably go ahead and write that one down.Live to Eat
U.C.
