Cooking Demonstration with Wine Pairing on Wednesday, March 11

King Street Kitchen Company

- Cooking Demonstration and Sampling with Wine Pairing Mar 11 -

Click here to buy tickets now!

Each month, King Street Kitchen Company will hold cooking demonstrations featuring Charleston's finest culinary artists.  This month's special guest is Executive Chef Nico Romo from Fish Restaurant.  Join us next Wednesday, March 11 from 6:00-8:00 for a sampling of delicious food and wine, while taking away recipes that you can easily do on your own at home.

This month's menu includes Nico's famous Shrimp Spring Rolls with chopped bacon and Thai vinaigrette, paired with four wine options!  Mmmmmm!

Demonstration Details:

• Date: Wednesday, March 11 from 6:00-8:00PM
• Cost: $12 per person
• Space is limited, so buy your tickets today!  Click here for easy, secure purchase online.

About Executive Chef Nico Romo:

Lyon, France native Nico Romo was recruited by Patrick Properties owners and operators of Fish restaurant, The William Aiken House, Lowndes Grove and The American Theater, in May 2007. As Executive Chef of one of Charleston's finest hospitality companies, Romo takes pride in using seasonal local ingredients to create flavorful, innovative French-Asian inspired dishes. Menu highlights include roast pork dumplings with sweet soy, goat cheese spring rolls, vermillion snapper, bouillabaisse and slow-cooked palmetto bass.

After graduating at the age of 15 from Helene Boucher Culinary Art School in Venissieux, France, Romo honed his skills through internships for two renowned Relais & Chateaux properties, La Pyramide in Vienne, France, and Restaurant Pierre Orsi in Lyon. Romo moved to the US in 1999 to work as Sous Chef at Chez Philippe in the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, TN. Here Romo had the opportunity to attend and cook for two James Beard house dinners as well as manage the kitchen of the four-star, nationally acclaimed restaurant. Following his tenure at the Peabody Hotel, Romo worked at Cielo in Memphis, and was recruited soon after to work as Sous Chef at The Café at The Ritz-Carlton Buckhead in Atlanta, GA. Romo went on to later become Executive Chef at The Café at East Andrews in Buckhead and The Milton House in Alpharetta, GA.

Most recently, Romo was recruited to open the third location of the B.E.D. restaurant concepts in downtown Atlanta. Located inside Atlanta’s first luxury, boutique hotel, The Glenn, B.E.D., which has sister properties in New York and Miami, is known to attract celebrities for its contemporary blend of décor, cuisine and style.

Amy's Roasted Peppers....MMMMM

Tuesday morning, after much prodding by everyone who has had my roasted peppers, I finally decided to give that beautiful grill on our Wolf Range a try.  I know, it took me some time to get going, but really the only reason I was hesitant was because I really didn't want to have to clean up!!  However, after speaking with Steve Brown, Mr. Appliance Master, I found out that clean up was virtually painless, YEAH!  So off I went on a hunt for the perfect ingredients.  I was able to locate the largest firm and colorful bell peppers, a gardener’s dream.   

The very next morning I placed them on the hot grill and almost immediately the door swung open and  two smiling faces popped their heads in our showroom to see what was cooking.   The aroma had made its way out onto the sidewalk in front of our storefront.  It then brought back my own memories of my childhood summers when My friends and I would walk down the boardwalk at the Jersey Shore where the vendors would have the sausage & peppers sizzling on their grill, or in the fall when you walked the streets of Little Italy in NYC during The Feast of San Gennaro.  It’s an aroma that’s hard to describe, but one that that literally makes your mouth begin to water and your stomach to ache for those Italian favorites.    As I turned the peppers, the audience began to grow and ultimately ended with everyone from the showroom, including Princess Margot, and several friends from the sidewalk.  But, alas, they would have to wait.  Roasting peppers is a test in patience and attention.  You have to be sure not to overcook the inner layer of flesh while at the same time burning the outer layer. 

Allowing them to cool is the next step followed by removing the burned outer layer of skin.  Add a little extra virgin olive oil, dash of salt & pepper and they are ready to go.  Next get some good heated ciabatta bread, drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette (the homemade kind, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, natural sugar & fresh basil, mix well).  Place strips of peppers, fresh mozzarella, sliced tomatoes, baby lettuces and sprinkle with grated romano cheese.   Serve with a cool glass of San Pellegrino with a lime wedge & trust me you'll be completely satisfied!

Buono Appetito!!!

Debutant Ball - The Digitel

One of our very favorite locally operated news websites!  Be sure to check out www.thedigitel.com and we'll see you on Thursday!

Spin Room: "Custom"

Like many young adults, I paid more attention to the Presidential elections this year than ever before.  One of the revelations that I had during the process is that no matter what either candidate said, particularly during the debates, the media could “spin” the dialog to have a thousand different meanings.  What was especially amazing was the fact that this information came from the “spin rooms”, so basically by labeling these rooms as such they were admitting that the information that they were conveying had been filtered and “adjusted” to convey any point that they wanted to make…usually with very little association to the original context.  Maybe it’s just me, but I found myself wondering on many occasions exactly why I was even paying the media any attention at all. 

Anyway…getting to the point of this blog, the kitchen and bath industry professionals are sometimes just as guilty of taking words and phrases to their own “spin room” in order to make themselves more appealing.  One of the most notorious of those is the word “CUSTOM”!  In an industry with so many options, how does this word really fit, particularly when it comes to cabinetry?  On top of that, how does “semi-custom” fit?  And the biggest question, who has the right to define those words for our industry? 

Here are some of my…..ummm, opinions about “CUSTOM” cabinetry.  There are basically three options to consumers: 

     Custom Factory Built: (my preference 90% of the time)

Advantages:

o   The very best quality finishes available, particularly when it comes to painted finishes, due to the larger factories’ ability to procure the best finishing equipment.

o   Scheduling – Because these factories operate on very regulated schedules, our ability to deliver product on time with fewer “surprises” is greatly improved.

o   Talent Pool – With many wood-workers, finish specialist, and other craftspeople, these factories can produce almost anything I can draw while maximizing quality and efficiency. 

o   If a part becomes damaged, you can rest assured that there is someone behind the scenes that can match and replace that part perfectly, even decades later.  (Warranty!!!!)

Disadvantages:

o   Sometimes perceived as lower quality because the cabinetry is often produced on an assembly line (I don’t agree with this)

o   Price point – sometimes higher than the alternatives (sometimes true, but you certainly get what you pay for)

o   A perception that problems on the jobsite take longer to fix.  This is really more about the quality of the installers putting the cabinetry in verses that actual quality of the cabinetry.

2.     Custom Local Shop:

Advantages:

o   Sometimes faster production cycle (sometimes not – depending on the workload at any given time)

o   Sometimes a 10-12% cost savings (for certain lower traffic areas this may be an option that allows you to put your resources in factory cabinetry where there will be a greater chance of product or finish failure)

o   Excellent local craftsmen – I work with several local woodworkers that would give Norm a run for his money….availability sometimes is a problem though

Disadvantages: 

o   Sometimes unreliable when it comes to delivery schedule and product quality (having a bad day Mr. Woodworker?)

o   Less buying power often results in inferior construction or material selections to stay competitive

o   It’s up to YOU (or me, if I’m your designer) to make sure the craftsman CLEARLY understands your design intentions so that you don’t end up with something that only resembles your drawing.

o   Finish – Stains….a good local guy can do a good stain on a good day, Paint – very iffy, glazed or artistic finishes – forget about it, hire your own faux finisher. 

 

3.     Jobsite built Cabinetry:

Advantages:

o   Usually most cost effective option for Custom cabinetry

o   Ummmm…. I can’t think of anything else

o   I just added this line to make it look more fair

Disadvantages: 

o   Just trust me, you don’t wanna go down that road unless it’s something like a pantry or other secondary area that you just want something fast and inexpensive & don’t care about the quality that much. 

 

I think it’s pretty obvious which of these options that I am partial to, but I am open to any discussions or debate concerning the three.  These are my opinions based on my experience with cabinetry manufacturers over the past decade.  Of course there are exceptions to every run….but I would put money on most of these opinions.  

Appliances....ohhh precious Appliances

As a youngster my grandfather was one of my favorite people & I loved his prediction of my career path….working at SEARS!!!!  I kid you not, that is exactly what he told everyone he met about me….”Dylan will be working at Sears one day selling appliances”.   That was because if there was even a mention of going to Sears I was the first to the car, buckled up, barely controlling my excitement to see what new appliance buttons were in store for me.  Buttons were my favorite up until they received their first shipment of the coolest refrigerator ever….it had a FLIP DOWN DOOR ON THE DOOR!!!  You didn’t even have to open the refrigerator to get into the refrigerator!  Genius!  

Well, to my parent’s relief, I have yet to enjoy a position at Sears (not that the thought doesn’t cross my mind from time to time), however my love affair appliances has yet to falter…in fact it now borders on obsession!  I can still spend hours looking through the appliance section wherever they’re offered and one of my favorite parts of kitchen design is helping my clients determine the best selections for their new kitchen.  How natural you might say…a designer specializing in kitchens that loves appliances, but alas….I have learned that I am somewhat a rare breed in that regard.  Little known fact outside of our industry, the cabinet guy and the appliance guy are usually mortal enemies.   Ok, ok….that’s an exaggeration, but if you want to talk about finger pointing be warned, both are usually trigger happy and I’m surprised that there’s hasn’t been a disorder of the likes of carpel tunnel plaguing our industry.  HOOOOOLD on Mr. Appliance Installer, before the steam starts shooting out of your ears, hear me out.  It’s not just you; the “cabinet guy” just got the same slap across the face. 

The fact is that today’s kitchen has evolved into a new animal where refrigerators & dishwashers are increasingly shy and don’t want to reveal themselves, ranges want to steal the show by being the biggest and most impressive piece of eye candy in the room, and ovens do things that should be reserved for circus freak shows.   Cabinetry is certainly not going to let the appliances steal the show!  Instead of simply being fortunate enough to have adjustable shelves two decades ago, you now have things popping up & out of places that sometimes make you stop and scratch your head trying to figure out “ummm….why?”. 

You want to know what I say to Mr. Cabinet & Mr. Appliance…..PLAY NICE!  Yes, yes, Mr. Cabinet – we know that you have the power to betray us the satisfaction of releasing our frustration by slamming a drawer or door & we know Mr. Appliance, you can spit out a roasted turkey in lighting speed thanks to your NASAish technology, but neither of you are going to do anything unless you put your fingers in their holster and work together.  You are both components of something much greater, the kitchen.  The place where we humans usually enjoy spending the bulk of our time when we’re not sleeping or working (well, sometimes when we’re working too).  Either you work out your differences and come to a good compromise, or you’re never going to be able to “show off” in a way that we would appreciate you. 

Wow, I’m not sure where all that came from, but I started this rant in an effort share with you an interesting article that I recently read on CNNMoney.com titled “When good appliances go bad”.  I thought it was interesting & though you might too….so here it is!  Happy reading!  If you find yourself looking for an appliance expert who leaves her finger pointer holster at home, talk to Mrs. Toni Brown at Wholesale Appliances in Mt. Pleasant.  She’s great and if she doesn’t make you smile and tell you something you didn’t know about cooking….find a good doctor, something’s wrong.  

Yours Truly,

The Kitchen Nerd

Update:  Email from my father after reading this blog posting....

Dylan,

Remember as a child, every time we went somewhere in your granny's car, you would take the chrome grill from her refrigerator door and sit on the center console and use it as an imaginary steering wheel to drive the car. Little did I realize back then . . . 

Dad