Fried Rice and Potstickers

The fried rice was pretty easy, the eggs in it didnt turn out right, I was using my Mom's older pot and I will blame that. I over cooked the eggs a tad. So next time I need to be more careful. The potstickers were a huge hit, My Dad ate like 20 of them. THey are very time consuming but well worth the effort!

Fried Chicken w/ Mushroom Risotto

Fried Chicken is not something that is easy to do. I was not able to fry the Chix breast, as I was not able to successfully butcher the chicken. So I need practice on that. I used vegetable oil, and getting the oil at the right temp took a while, but it held temp pretty good. Overall I feel the chicken was a success, my Wife loved it and I agreed that it was both visually appealing and tasted very delicious

Sautéed Chicken w/ Rice Risotto served with Garlic Butter Broccoli

The menu for today was to make a pan sauce. I went with Sauteing Chicken and using that as my base for the pan sauce. After sauteing the chicken in extra virgin olive oil, I skimmed it and added chicken stock, a tsp of butter. It turned out quite darker than I was expecting but the pan sauce was eatable. For presentation purposes it did not please the eye. The risotto and broccoli both turned out very delicious.

Lemon & Herb Roasted Chicken w/ Rice Pilaf

This was a fairly easy dish to compose. The Chicken was stuffed with a Lemon Wedge, Parsley, Rosemary, Onions, Garlic, Salt and Pepper.
I never used to rinse rice before cooking it. After I rinsed it with this dish, both my wife and I were shocked at the difference in taste, texture and over appeal. From now on I will always recommend that anyone cooking rice should rinse it first. It makes for a better dish.

Inspiration

Emeril Lagasse

Born October 15, 1959
Fall River, Massachusetts











I chose Emeril as my Master Chef mainly because of his outlook of the world and how he sees it. He is an amazing Chef and inspires a lot of people. His more recent show “Emeril Green” has been one of my favorite shows to watch of his. He goes to local markets and prepares food with all organic ingredients.


Starting in 1973, Emeril enrolled at Diman Vocational High School. Also a talented percussionist, Lagasse led the high school drum squad, playing at dances, banquets, and numerous local religious festivals.


After his high school graduation, Lagasse was offered a full scholarship to the New England Conservatory of Music, but decided to pursue a career as a professional chef. He spent the next year training at Johnson and Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island. During his time there Lagasse took a job at a local restaurant. Lagasse polished his skills in Paris and Lyon, France, before returning to the United States.


In 1982, Lagasse replaced Paul Prudhomme as executive chef of the famed New Orleans restaurant Commander’s Palace. After seven and a half years at Commander’s Palace, Lagasse opened his first restaurant, Emeril’s, in 1990. Located in New Orleans's underdeveloped Warehouse District, the menu fused elements of French, Spanish, Caribbean, Asian, and Lagasse’s native Portuguese cuisine. In 1992, riding on the heels of Emeril’s success, Lagasse opened a second establishment, NOLA (for New Orleans, Louisiana), NOLA also garnered a positive reception from the culinary community


In 1993, Lagasse published the bestselling cookbook Emeril’s New Orleans Cooking, which introduced his creative approach to Creole cuisine. His growing popularity caught the eye of executives at cable television’s fledgling Food Network, and a few years later, Time magazine classified Essence of Emeril as one of the 10 best shows on television. His bestselling books include; Louisiana Real and Rustic (1996), Emeril’s Creole Christmas (1997), Emeril’s TV Dinners (1998), and Every Day’s a Party (1999).

I decided to prepare all the food for a New Years party we had. The dancing was a hit, The Wii and Rock Band was a hit, but The food I was told was the best. Perfect for the occasion and there was something for everyone.