Top Chef- The Big Dance
Now, I have always had a bad habit of putting things off to the last minute, and then rushing around trying to get it done. I have been like this since I can remember.I can say I do it now because of all the disraction I encounter on a day to day basis, but to to tell you the truth its how I roll.I don’t like it, and am trying to change that, My mentorhas always told me ” Don’t put anything off what you can get down today”..maybe that’s why he is so successful…hmmmmm
But this time it was different, I had the Top Chef application in front of me for about three months just staring at me. It stared at me like I stared at all the girls in 8th grade at the big dance dancing on the dance floor, I was so scared and nervous to go out and ask just one of those pretty girls to dance with me. Every time I looked or thought about filling this application out I would get those butterflies and tingling sensation in my gut.
Now for those of you who do know me, I am very confident person..(sometimes mistaken for having an Ego) but I was raised to always believe in yourself because nobody else will. But this time I really think I…….. was……..I….cant believe it…………….I was scared!!!
I was scared of the thought of just maybe I will get picked and IF I do get picked what happens if I lose or not know how to cook something right, I will be letting the whole Blue Canyon Family team down. Lets face it, I am no Master Chef here that knows everything about every type of cuisine in the world, I know what I know, I know how to cook Brandt’s Food….I do that pretty damn good…( oops didn’t mean to pat myself on the back so hard)
For example I saw an episode that they did Deep Dish Pizzas. Now I have never made one of those before, but I know for a fact someone could teach me a thing or two about Deep Dish Pizza making. I wouldn’t truly know how the dough/crust would react on the sides when its cooked,,will it raise? or will it shrink? do I need to over compensate for that????… Should I pre bake the shell first or not? should the sauce go down first or will that make the dough to soggy?……….See its just not as easy as making a Pizza….you need technique to make great food. ( And over thinking, can kill a recipe)
So I decided to ask the girl to dance with me. I filled out the application…it was longer then what I filled out to buy a house…I also need a videoto go with it. So instead of just turning in a “Hi am Chef Brandt” video, I decided to walk up to someone in a grocery store parking lot and ask if I could come over and cook the dinner that night, right then, right there. I wanted to show Top Chef my QUICK FIRE ( you need to watch the show)
So I met a wonderful lady and walked right up to her and asked her if I could come over..She was pretty pumped, she had a great big smile and she asked me “Are there any strings attached”?, I laughed and said…”No am married”
I swear I didn’t now this person, but boy did I hit the jackpot!!! after I helped carry the groceries in, I started going all through her pantry and refrigerator…WOW she had the goods….I don’t like to stereotype anyone but she was the typical classic Italian mom that loves to cook…even her knives and pans rocked!!!
Her two beautiful daughters joined in for dinner and seemed pretty excited that a stranger was willing to come over and cook for them that night. We started with a Thai Peanut Soba noodles with Almonds and Asparagus. The girls loved this and couldn’t believe that had of those flavors in there pantry. We moved onto a Sun dried Tomato, Artichoke Risotto with Seared Salmon, topped with a caper mustard sauce. Mom gave me a thumbs up on the risotto…. she told me she was the risotto queen, I was nervous to see what she thought, (you never cook sauce, meatballs and i guess now risotto for Mama or anyone’s Mama…it will never be as good as there’s)
I really believe they liked what I cooked for them because they cleaned the plates clean!!!
What a fun night, I met some great people because of this and was happy that I got up and walked onto the dance floor and asked…….
“The Girl” to dance, now I am just waiting to see if she wants to dance with me??
Cheers, Chef Brandt
Sometimes taking bricks away makes a wall stonger