Prix Fixe

James Beard Foundation Awards Semifinalists

For those of you who are uninitiated, the James Beard Foundation Awards are the Oscars of the Food World. If you're a Chef, no higher accolade can come your way than a JBF Award. Being able to hang that Gold Medal in your establishment means a lot. It always makes me proud to see the number of names and restuarants that come out of Oregon. 

Personally and albeit a bit biased, the food scene in the Pacific Northwest is amazing. It's taken a while to break through the Left Coast Bias & California to the south - but people are standing up and taking notice and have for a couple of years now. If you watch any of the Cooking Channel, Portland shows up on all kinds of shows like Eat St., Unique Eats & Unique Sweets - and that's just the tip of the iceberg. Several top playes in the Food Media scene in PDX show up on those shows as well - most notably Mike Thelin the co-founder of Feast Portland.

You can download the entire Semifinalists here: James Beard Foundation Awards.

But I just want to take a look at all the Oregon Semifinalists.

Star Trek: Into The Darkness Motion Poster is here!

I'm going to put said Motion Poster under the fold, because there is no way to disable the auto-play that comes with it. That being said this movie is cranking up to be one of those can't miss movies of the 2013 season, and I'm not saying that just because I'm a huge Star Trek Fan as it is.  First off J.J. Abrhams is a brilliant writer/director/producer.

You've probably seen J.J.'s handy work on T.V. and just not know it. Fringe, which was a huge success even though the show came to an end this month - was from the mind of J.J. Abrahms. Person of Interest, while created by Christopher Nolan's younger brother Jonathon - Abrhams as his hands in that as well. Abrhams not only scored the Star Trek franchise, which freaked people out at first. Now he's all about the new Star Wars Trilogy. 

Lucky bastard.

Alright so ready for the spoiler free Motion Poster? Star Trek: Into The Darkness May 17th.

#FridayFlash: "Season Of The Witch"

PART I

Essentially all humans have the capacity for magic in one form or another. The onset of the manifesting magic comes in a endless variety ways, no one person has the same experience. Merlin (yes, that one) came up with the theory that during puberty emotions are running high as the body goes through it’s changes, helping along the manifestation of the dormant magic.

Talk about a double whammy.

Magic is run on emotional energy and the raw will of the user.

What happens during that time is a deeply personal thing. Like me, most magic users don’t talk about their experience. So it’s best to not even ask.

Those that embrace the change, some go on to become powerful wizards, other's delve into ‘the black’, or there are guys like me. Quick and dirty magic is more my style. For me, my magic is just another tool in my investigators kit - like the roll of duct tape I kept in the trunk of my car. Though there are those out there that believe that I’m misusing my magic or that I’m make a mockery of it.

There Are Times I Miss Radio

If you have kids you can't relate to this story.

Last Thursday night around 8pm or so, my son texts me about this thing at school (drama class I think, erased it on accident) and he needed a 30 second spot - just the script mind you. Of course like any Father I asked when this was due. I'm sure you can guess what comes next...

"Tomorrow." he replied.

Though I have to thank him for sending me a remind text that morning. As I had spaced it, I had my head in doing research and etc. for my book. I busted it out, and personally found it funny. But then so did my kid, and he has my sence of humor - no dounbt about it.

This is one of the few things I still miss about radio, writing commercials and then getting to produce them. 

After jump,  you can read the commercial I whipped up in like five minutes.

Upcoming Stuff Around Here

I'm still in the middle of doing some cosmetic work to the blog, as food isn't the sole focus anymore. Also means I need to add and subtract catagorys and all that.  If you have any ideas for things you'd like to see on the blog or would like to do a guest post of some sort hit me up in the comments and we'll go from there.

Hope you enjoyed my first Alistair Shepperd Flash Story "Pigskin". I'm using these storys for character development, backstory that sort of thing. These storys for the time being will all take place before the events in my coming book. Speaking of that, I'm getting closer to actually start writing the damn thing. I've still got a bit of world building and character relating things to complete, then it's on to the outline - and then I can finally start in on the damn thing.

Still haven't picked a title either. First world problems, you understand.

#FridayFlash: "Pigskin" PT 3

If you missed the first 3 installments: "Shake, Shamble & Roll", Pigskin, Pigskin PT 2.

Pigskin PT3

Hindsight being what it is and all, it was a bad idea to just think I could reach down and pick up my weapon and be done with fang boy. For reasons I can’t explain, all my training went out the window in those seconds, why I forgot everything I had learned is a mystery to me.

Just as my fingers grazed my Sig which was still securely tucked inside the vampire’s waist band, he lashed out with a martial arts kick sweeping my legs out from under me. He shot to his feet in a blur of red and black. I found myself staring up at him, a wicked grin plastered on his slightly inhuman face. This guy was like every James Bond villain wrapped up in a creepy ass cliché.

“Oh how cute...” he said with a venomous sneer “The morsel is trying to fight back”. I tried to say something snarky, but it caught in my throat like a day old biscuit. My body decided to take over for my brain who had decided to go AWOL by scuttling back on my elbows trying to put distance between me and Fangs as the room would allow.

#FridayFlash: "Pigskin" PT 2

“Pigskin pt 2”

“If you give me the information I seek, the less it will hurt” the Vamp said, with a slight Slavic accent. “You lie to me, and I’ll skin you alive, then I will feast.”

Just the thought of it made my stomach twist in knots; I could taste the bile rising in the back of my throat. This was my first encounter with a Vampire, and frankly I hoped my last one.

“Where is the Adeptus Quadratum?”

“Sorry I’m a bit rusty on dead languages, so help me out here.”

“Don’t toy with me morsel, what is the location of the Adeptus Quadratum. You have ten seconds to answer.” The rage in his voice made the hair on my entire body stand on end. He made it clear just with a gaze that he wasn’t fucking around.

I gulped as covertly as I could.

“Listen fang boy, I have no clue...” He moved fast, faster than anything I had seen before. Next thing I know he backhands me sending me and the chair backwards, my head bouncing off the stone floor. I was starting to get real tired of someone beating on my melon.

#FridayFlash: "Pigskin"

Authors Note: Better late than never...

“Pigskin”

The sickly sweet scent of blood and dust assaulted my nostrils as my world started coming back to me. The pain behind my eyeballs kept me from moving too quickly. I slowly tried to open my eyes. When I did, it was nothing but blackness. I could feel something binding my wrists and legs to what I would have to guess was a chair. That dusty sent was coming from the burlap sack that had been put over my head. Where the blood was coming from I wasn’t sure, though I had a pretty good idea.

I sat there in silence for what seemed like an eternity. Nobody was going to come to my rescue that I could think of, mostly because no one knew I was down in the tunnels. It had been a spur of the moment. I had a hunch, and my gut proved me right. I hate it when that happens.

High on the list of “shit I need to do, pronto” was to escape. I started with twitching in my bindings and rocking the chair back and forth...my head exploded in another white hot ball of pain.

My world swum and went dark.

Again.

50 Things You Didn't Know About Me

If you've read my "About The Author Page" you sort of get an idea of who I am. But I figured I'd post 50 things you might have not known about me. At some point I may expand it to 100. 

And we're off....

01.  Jessica Simpson touched my arse.
02.  Attended a open tryout for the Atlanta Braves (they had their quota of fatass catchers.)
03.  I'm a huge baseball and soccer fan.
04.  Used to blog about the Atlanta Braves & Seattle Mariners.
05.  Got see Game 6 of the NLCS in 1996.
06.  Watched my Dad touch the World Series Trophy during a pre-game party. 
07.  Same party Kieth Obberman bummed my lighter.
08.  I've met a few artists in my time in radio: The Worst: Brian McKnight, Best: Pink.
09.  Used to have my own restaurant.
10.  My TV news crush is Katherine Cook of KGW here in Portland.

From The Vault: Tomato Sauce

(Authors Note: This was originally posted in 2009)

One of the staples hanging out in either my refrigerator or freezer is your basic tomato sauce. Known as a mother sauce, while not completely 'classical'. But it's still a mother sauce, even though tomatoes haven't been around as long as the other sauces that Escoffier came up with. During his time, tomatoes were considered poisonous, it's a member of the night shade family. 

From tomato you can make myriad of sauces like, Creole, pizza sauce or whatever you decide to do with it. It is a vehicle after all, that's why I keep it as basic as possible so that when I pull it out of the fridge or freezer- I can add to it whatever I need for that nights particular application.

My recipe is a slight modification of Mario Batalli's "Basic Tomato Sauce" , I have a hard time disputing one of the masters of Italian Cuisine.