No. 1 Billboard Songs, Recipes and Tips

Today in 1995 the No.1 Billboard Pop Hit was Have You Ever Really Loved a Women by Bryan Adams.
(If there is a special women in your life, show her how much you care by making her a cup of this Hot Chocolate Almond Espresso Seduction.)

In 1979 the No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit was Hot Stuff by Donna Summer.
(If you're into hot stuff, add hot sauce or red pepper flakes to this delicious Apple-Curry Chicken recipe.)

In 1965 the No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit was Help me Rhonda by the Beach Boys.
(If Rhonda can't help you in the kitchen use these bench knife tips to save you time.)



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Brent Garell
The Kitchen Roadie
brent@cookapalooza.com

Cooking Experiences vs. Outcomes

When you cook, do you focus on the experience or the outcome? I’m guessing most focus on the outcome. For some reason all our schedules are hectic. We want results quickly and they can be no less than perfect. So when it comes to cooking we try to get food on the table as quickly as possible or try to accomplish the impossible task of making the dish look exactly like it does in the cookbook or magazine picture.

Let me ask you this. Are your fondest memories based only on outcomes or is it the story behind the outcome that makes it interesting?

On of my fondest memories was when I was in university. My friends and I would occasionally go to a place in Toronto called the Wheat Sheaf. Back in those days the place was a dive, the service was slow, the food sucked and the staff occasionally swore at you. We definitely didn’t go there for the outcomes (great food, good service or an intimate atmosphere).

We went there for the experiences. You never knew what you were in for and there was always a story to tell after each night. Our experiences there made for interesting outcomes and that's why we kept going back.

The same applies to cooking. When you take a few seconds to smell the fresh ingredients, listen to the sizzle of the pan, move in the kitchen to your favorite music, try different combinations of ingredients and accept the good outcomes with the bad, the entire experience becomes so much more memorable. It’ll make you want to cook again!

Focusing only on fast or perfect outcomes and ingoring the experience will most definitely make cooking feel like a laborious chore. You choose!

I should note that the Wheat Sheaf is now a nice establishment after being taken over by new management. But the place is now like so many other establishments in Toronto. It focuses on outcomes so it lacks what drew me and my friends there in the first place…interesting experiences.

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Brent Garell
The Kitchen Roadie
brent@cookapalooza.com

Italian Influenced Burgers

It’s been years since I’ve been to Italy. It’s one of the few travel destinations that I actually miss. What I love about Italy is even the fast food is prepared using only the freshest ingredients.

This is in stark contrast to the fast food we cherish in North America. Frozen, processed food that's slapped together in a hurry when we order it! Now doesn't that sound yummy!

This why I like to think like my Italian ancestors when it comes to burgers. I prefer to make them myself and put my own cooking passion into each and every patty. Making burger patties is really easy and quite fun! I love infusing them with different flavors...hickory, honey garlic, extra-spicy...there are no limits.

Next time you have a craving for a burger, don't just run to the closest fast food establishment. Try putting on some nice Italian music and let it's passionate melodies dance around your kitchen while you prepare your own freshly made, preservative-free and juicy home burgers.

Below is a tasty burger mixture with some Italian flair. I encourage you to experiment until you find the burger that fit's your style!

1 lb Angus beef
½ breadcrumbs
½ cup minced red onions
1 egg
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp dried oregano leaves
½ tsp salt
½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
¼ tsp Tabasco sauce

The Cook-a-Palooza Cooking Club

A few weeks back I was asked during a radio interview whether I make the recipes in my cookbook as written or if I still try to discover news ways of preparing them. My answer was yes to both questions. The majority of the time I follow the recipes as written but my nature is to continually find ways to put a new twist on them. This got me thinking of you, the readers of this blog and the owners of my cookbook.

I want you to get the most from my recipes so I thought it was only right that I share the different approaches myself and others have used when preparing or serving my dishes. I recognize many of you probably enjoy discovering new ways of making the recipes on your own and that’s why I didn’t write out new recipes. These are just really cool ideas that may spark your interest. By sharing, my hope is to make each of my dishes as versatile and user friendly as possible.

If you don’t own the book, visiting the site can give you some valuable insight into the types of recipes found in The Cook-a-Palooza Experience. The site also has current music reviews (to discover songs that'll set the perfect cooking mood), my most recent blog posts and even a GREEN tip of the day.

The club's site's link is on the left side of this page. It's under the Related Links section and it is called The Cook-a-Palooza Club. Once you are there be sure to bookmark the site as I will be updating it regularly with new recipe ideas and helpful content.

If you would like to share an idea, cooking tip or song suggestion that relates to my book please send an e-mail to brent@cookapalooza.com.

I'll give your idea a spin and if it works (I'm sure it will) then I’ll post it on the Cook-a-Palooza Club site.

I'm looking forward to all your creative Cook-a-Palooza ideas!

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Brent Garell
The Kitchen Roadie
brent@cookapalooza.com

Cooking a Wealth Building Strategy

In late 2008 when I was putting the finishing touches on The Cook-a-Palooza Experience I was at a neighbor’s house and met a friend of theirs who was a financial planner. She inquired about my book and I explained it was about matching song suggestions with recipes to make cooking more approachable and fun. After hearing my concept she mentioned that she also wanted to write a cookbook. Her idea was to include financial advice with every recipe.

This was all before the economy went down the crapper and we discovered that one of the biggest causes was the mismanagment of personal finances. Maybe she was onto something. Going out for dinner, take-out and prepared meals can add up quickly and be a real drain on your disposable income.

I think the tagline for her book should be "Increase your wealth by cooking your way to good health"...what do you think?

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Brent Garell
The Kitchen Roadie
brent@cookapalooza.com

Two Hours of Weekend Cooking Reduces Stress

This past long weekend I decided to take my own advice. Block off a couple hours and prepare a few dishes so I could minimize my cooking for this week. I thought I would share my cooking experience to show how much can be accomplished in two hours.

I needed a good energy boost to get started so I began by cranking some classic rock tunes. I felt the music’s energizing effects immediately as I prepared my knife for some serious slicing and dicing. My plan was to make a marinade for jerk chicken, a vegetable chili, meat patties, and a marinade for pork chops. I love imagining I’m on that Iron Chef show going against Bobby Flay…except I allow music plus an extra hour to make all the dishes.

I started with the vegetable chili because I figured I could get the other dishes done while it was simmering. The great thing about chili is one batch is good for at least two dinners. Once I had the chili simmering I assembled my meat patties, and cooked them in the oven. Since the oven was hot I decided to make an extra dish, which was potato wedges. I cut a few potatoes into wedges, coated them with olive oil and Cajun spice then cooked them in a 425ºF oven for 18 to 20 minutes. Easy!

While the potatoes were cooking I put together the two marinades, which took me all of ten minutes. At this point my 2 hours had expired but I decided to take a few extra minutes to remove the skin from the chicken thighs and the excess fat from the pork. I put both meats into separate resealable plastic bags with their respective marinades and then stored them in the freezer.

With some basic planning and a few energizing songs propelling me along I ended up making my four main dishes and one side dish to boot. My two-hour cooking adventure is going to make this week's cooking duties extra easy. I’m already feeling less stressed. I’m happy I decided to take my own advice!

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Brent Garell
The Kitchen Roadie
brent@cookapalooza.com

Mango Chicken Pizza for Victoria Day Weekend

It’s the Victoria Day weekend in Canada. Hopefully everyone gets a chance to take a much-deserved break.

I know many people in the Ontario region will be traveling north to their cottages to relax and share some time with family and friends. Many of the cottages in the north are in fairly remote areas so ordering in food isn’t an option.

So if you are going up north this weekend and have a hankering for pizza, I’m here to help you out. Here is my Dy-no-mite Mango Chicken Pizza recipe. A flavor-packed pizza topped with chicken, mango, red peppers and a tangy sauce. Who needs delivery when you can make a sexy pizza like this! Have a great weekend everyone!

Dy-no-mite Mango Chicken Pizza

Instruments
3 tbsp hickory-flavored barbecue sauce
3 tbsp ketchup
2 tsp freshly squeezed lime juice
¼ tsp chili powder
1 cup chopped cooked chicken breast
1 (12-inch) pre-baked, thin-crust pizza shell
1 mango, peeled and cut into ½-inch chunks
1/3 cup diced red bell pepper
¾ cup (packed) shredded Monterey Jack cheese (3 oz / 85 g)
1 tbsp freshly chopped cilantro

Lyrics
To make sauce, in a small bowl, mix together barbeque sauce, ketchup, lime juice and chili powder.

In a medium bowl, toss 2 tbsp of sauce with chopped chicken breast. Spread remaining sauce evenly over pizza crust leaving a ½-inch border. Top crust with chicken, mango and red peppers. Sprinkle with shredded cheese followed by cilantro. Place pizza on a round baking sheet.

Bake in a 425º F oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and edges are lightly browned. Let sit for 5 minutes before slicing.

Volume: Makes 1 pizza, 8 slices

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Brent Garell
The Kitchen Roadie
brent@cookapalooza.com

Cooking Song of the Day!

Today in 1952 David Byrne, lead singer of the Talking Heads, was born in Dumbarton, Scotland. The group's biggest hit was Burning Down the House, which went to No. 9 on the charts in 1983.

Now I know cooking can be challenging at times...so to prevent you from wanting to burn down your house out of frustration in the kitchen I thought I'd share a few tips to keep you calm and cool.

- Breathe in and breathe out…then do a happy dance. Less stress in the kitchen will move the entire cooking process along quicker.

- If you forget to soak wooden skewers, boil them in a shallow pan for 5 to 10 minutes

- Slightly wet the surface of a baking pan before lining it with foil. It’ll make it much easier to do.

- Use a serrated grapefruit knife to quickly hull strawberries.

- Make use of all those kitchen gadgets you’ve bought over the years. They are there to save you time.

- An apple corer can be used to remove cucumber seeds so you can create cucumber rings that can be stuffed with your favorite filling for a quick bite.

- Make a customized grill caddy by buying a plastic tote and filling it with all your grilling gear so you never have to go searching for it.

- Asking for help in the kitchen is always a good idea.

- Grow potted herbs on your kitchen counter top so you always have fresh herbs available.

- Freeze unused wine in ice cubes trays so you can use them later when making sauces.

- Marinate meats and fish during the day so they are ready to be cooked when you get home.

Please do your part and share a tip to help others extinguish their fire burning frustration in the kitchen. Thank-you!

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Brent Garell
The Kitchen Roadie
brent@cookapalooza.com

Healthy Snacks With all the Right Moves

Before you go reaching for cookies for a snack, try one of these cooking dance moves to create a quick and healthy tasty treat!

The Seasoned Tomato Slice Slide
Do your best James Brown impersonation and do a stylish slide on over to your cutting board…wearing a cape is optional. Slice a few ripe tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar then spin and strut on out of the kitchen with your delicious snack!

The Lemon-Sugar Banana Boogie
Boogie on over to a bowl and mix together 1 tbsp of granulated sugar and ½ tsp of grated lemon zest. Now do the stir-dance and mix it like no one else can! Spread this mixture over a sheet of wax paper. Roll a peeled banana in the mixture until it is evenly coated. Cut some tile with your wicked dance moves then cut the banana into slices and enjoy!

Rock’n’Roll Pear and Cheese Wraps
Strike your best rock’n’roll power stance pose. Spread some light strawberry cream cheese over the surface of a whole wheat flour tortilla like your strumming a guitar. Add thin pear slices on top and then roll it up. Hey air guitar hero...your healthy treat is ready to eat!

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Brent Garell
The Kitchen Roadie
brent@cookapalooza.com

What to Make While Listening to "Meat Loaf"?

This past Saturday I was doing a book signing at a Chapters in Ancaster, Ontario. One fellow I met asked me what I would cook while listening to Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell album.

At the time, I made the mistake of over complicating the question in my mind, which caused me to freeze. My response was that I didn't know. I was avoiding giving an answer because I didn't have the perfect one. Thinking back if I had of just kept it simple one obvious response could have been meat loaf!

This is the type of thing that can happen when we approach cooking. In our minds we make it more complicated and complex that it really is.

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Brent Garell
The Kitchen Roadie
brent@cookapalooza.com

A Few of My Favorite Cooking Responses on Facebook

Here are a few of my favorite responses to a question I posted on a Facebook cooking group about what music people enjoy listening to while they cook.

"Depends on what I'm making. John Mayer with chicken cutlets, Luciano Pavarotti with a nice stew, Norah Jones with a shrimp stir fry, or my husband playing the piano in the living room for pretty much any dish."

"I usually play 60's music and dance around the kitchen, but sometimes it just has to be heavy rock at a volume where the windows are just about to shatter :)"

"music- it almost allows me to turn cooking into a performing art. I listen to neo and classic soul, alternative rock, jazz, ole skool hip hop depending on the mood and whether I'm working with knives or the machinery.."

"I like to open a bottle of wine and put on cuisine related music... I know I'm a dork but what the hell we only live once."

"I have to say that since I am a single parent, After my daughter goes to bed the house is SO quiet. I love to cook with music. It not only creates background noise, but sets the tone for the rest of my evening. Some nights Cooking with a glass of wine and Eric Clapton is perfect, others require a Martini and Dean Martin."

What's do you enjoy listening to while you cook?

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Brent Garell
The Kitchen Roadie
brent@cookapalooza.com

Cooking Song of the Day!

Today, according to excite.com, on May 6th, 1995 Melissa Etheridge's song's, Come to My Window and I'm the Only One set a record as being back-to-back singles on Billboard's Hot 100 for at least 40 weeks.

For my cooking song of the day I'm going with I'm the Only One because it's a great tune to rev up your cooking experience! My Begging For More Baked Barbecue Chicken dish would pair nicely with this song. Give it try!

What's Your Cooking Song of the Day?



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Brent Garell
The Kitchen Roadie
brent@cookapalooza.com

Seeing More Live Music = A Happier & Healthier Cook

O.K you may think this is a long shot but stay with me on this one.

Going to a live music show…leads to…feeling good!
Those good feelings…lead to…purchasing the songs you liked.
Listening to those purchased songs…leads to…feeling good!

Feeling good lowers stress.

Lower stress levels make it easier to step into the kitchen to cook a meal.
Cooking a tasty homemade meal…leads to…feeling good about what you eat.
Feeling good about what you eat…leads to…A Happier & Healthier Cook!

What do you think?

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Brent Garell
The Kitchen Roadie
brent@cookapalooza.com

Fresh Herbs, Guitars and Drum Solos

When cooking with fresh herbs it's important to keep in mind that there are two categories. There are heartier herbs such as oregano, thyme and rosemary. Then there are the delicate herbs such as basil, parsley, cilantro, chives and dill.

Not sure when to add each type of herb to a dish? Try thinking in terms of guitar and drum solos.

Heartier herbs are like guitar solos. Musicians usually add guitar solos in the middle of a song to build excitement. Heartier herbs are also added at the midway point to unlock their exciting flavor!

Delicate herbs are similar to drum solos that occur at the end of song as part of the grand finale. Use these herbs as the finishing touches to dress up your wonderful culinary creations!

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Brent Garell
The Kitchen Roadie
brent@cookapalooza.com

The Friday Night Hustle...SURPRISE!!!!

Today in 1998 Garth Brooks surprised a couple lucky concert goers in Evansville, Ind. They had purchased the 4 millionth ticket to his world tour so they were invited backstage where they met Brooks and were presented with tons of merchandise, 10 dozen roses, a vacation, and a new truck!

Surprises like that don’t happen every day but you can create a pleasant surprise for yourself every weekend if you follow this “Friday Night Hustle” cooking plan of mine. It goes like this.

1. When you get home on Friday evening, order some food from your favorite take-out place.

2. At this point…don’t sit down…head straight to the kitchen and prepare for the Friday Night Hustle.

3. Turn on some tunes (something lively might work best) and get yourself a nice refreshing drink. Ahh!

4. O.K start cooking! Imagine you're an Iron Chef (Cat Cora or Bobby Flay) and you have 50 minutes (the time it probably takes for your ordered food to show up) to prepare as many meals or portions of meals as you can. It could be a sauce for a lasagna, marinade for a meat dish, a pot of soup, chopping veggies for a stir-fry or mixing a filling for Sweet Potato Chimichangas or Enchiladas.

5. Take 10 minutes to clean up and put away your tasty creations and then sit down to enjoy your ordered-in meal. The best part is next.

6. When you wake up on Saturday morning go to your fridge or freezer and open the door. SURPRISE!!! Dinner (or portions of it) for the next few nights are sitting there all prepared. Now you don’t have to do it on the weekend!

That’s the Friday Night Hustle. Do you think you have the moves to pull it off? I think you do!

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Brent Garell
The Kitchen Roadie
brent@cookapalooza.com