Legacy

Some people are blessed with a long family; others with family money. I however am blessed with something of a culinary history. In our family there is one individual who is the gate keeper of all the "secret" family recipes. I recently acquired about 5 lbs of rhubarb. Now I don't know about you but when I hear rhubarb I think of my grandmother's strawberry rhubarb pie. My grand mother would make this pie every time my family would get together. It is the best pie you have ever tasted a perfect balance between strawberry and rhubarb with just enough sweetness and of course the most amazing flaky crust you have ever encountered. So I naturally called her up, now something you should know is that my grandma can at times be somewhat resistant to sharing her recipes and anytime in the past that I had asked for this recipe she would always tell me, "It's too complicated, you'll never get it right." But I finally got it. I can finally make heaven's pie anytime I want. Do you want to know the real kicker? It's also the simplest pie recipe ever! I can't believe it all this time and the woman was holding out on me.

Discontent

Today I went to Shnuck's with a few of my fellow students, as is often our lunch tradition, and I ordered a Cuban sandwich.  Now I may be overly sensitive to lazily constructed food due to my background but I was thoroughly displeased with the sandwich given to me. It was warm but not even close to being toasted, the condiments were nonexistent, and as you can see there were almost no meat in this sandwich. I have resolved to bring this lack of proper execution to their attention in hopes that they will offer recompense and atonement for such a lack luster and disappointing customer experience.

Menu ideas

So I made a decision. I will be going with the Farmington restaurant. On top of deciding on which concept to work on I have also come up with some interesting ideas. First I will make, in house, both bacon and ham. Second I will sell my smoked and cured meats by the pound as well as using them in dishes. Finally but by no means least I bring you an interesting dish idea... Redneck Sushi. Now I know what your thinking, no self respecting country boy would ever have anything to do with rating raw fish, well that okay because my sushi won't have fish in it. Redneck sushi is made like a nori roll; it will have sushi rice wrap with seaweed but the difference is in the center I will put smoked and pulled pork that has been tossed in a teriyaki inspired barbecue sauce. Also inside the roll will be a honey wasabi mayo.

The Crossroads

“After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one's own relations.”

― Oscar Wilde, A Woman of No Importance

I have come to a crossroads in my life. I am trying to decide between two different dreams. On one hand I have my first love, my first idea. Which is to move out to Missouri wine country and open a restaurant that features elevated cuisine based on game; for example, braised rabbit leg with braised red cabbage and candied yams. On the other hand there is the new kid on the block. I recently was trying to come up with a restaurant that would work well in Farmington, MO. Now Farmington in a nutshell is a small town that has never seen fine dining or even anything that could be considered a unique family restaurant. So how do you introduce Farmington to good food? Through PORK! My idea is a place that serves snout to tail pork with a range of accessibility. Serve everything from pulled pork to head cheese and braised snout. Hopefully I will get it figured out.