New Year, New Mission & New Goals

Keeping true to my New Year's resolution of Blogging more frequently, I am sharing with everyone Blue House Bistro's revised Mission Statement and Goals.  I decided that it was time to give the mission and goals some thought since had been almost two years since I had originally devised them.  So, without further ado....

Mission Statement

At the core of our mission is the commitment to our food and beverages, and that in itself is a commitment to our customers. To provide delicious and remarkable meals and beverages that meet the highest standards of quality, freshness, seasonality, and ethical purchasing of ingredients possible. To consistently provide our customers with impeccable service by demonstrating friendliness, graciousness, efficiency, knowledge, professionalism and integrity at every level of our work.

Our Goals

We strive to have every person who comes through our doors leave impressed, inspired, and uplifted by Blue House Bistro and excited to come back again. We want to create and maintain a restaurant that is exceptional in its attention to every detail to create a haven for our customers; a break from the worries outside, a place to meet with friends, a place to savor delicious food and enjoy life. We try to provide all who work with us a friendly, cooperative, and rewarding environment which encourages growth and long-term opportunities. We will be part of the community and good neighbors who strive to improve the the quality of life in the greater Holland area. We are a fresh concept that is exciting and on the cutting edge of the hospitality and entertainment industry.

My quest for green tomatoes

I have been trying to make a Layered Crab Cakes with Fried Green Tomatoes topped with Hollandaise Sauce for a little while now to no avail. Green tomatoes are not the kind of item that you can purchase in normal supermarkets, and my food vendors (if they even have them) would sell them to me by the case (which I definitely do not need). My trip to the Holland Farmer's Market on Saturday was disappointing at best. Out of a dozen or so stands that were set up, only a couple were selling vegetables at all. Neither of them had green tomatoes, although one of the vendors tentatively promised me some on Wednesday. There were a few stands selling tomato plants, but they were only blooming. If they had fruit growing, I might have felt brave enough to buy either just the green fruit or the whole plant.

Green Tomatoes

My search continues. In the meantime, here is a recipe that will go on the features menu at Blue House Bistro as soon as I find green tomatoes. If you have some in the Holland, Michigan area send me an email or come by Blue House Bistro; there are hungry people waiting!

Crab Cakes

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/8 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup diced bell peppers (I like red the best because of the color mixture)

2 tbsp butter

3 eggs

2/3 cup breadcrumbs

1/3 Parmesan cheese

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp mustard

Tabasco to taste

Two 10 oz cans of crab meat (unless you have access to fresh!)

1/4 cup cooking oil (use more or less depending on the size of your pan)

Sautee the onion, celery and peppers in butter until it onions turns clear. Whisk the eggs and combine with breadcrumbs, cheese, and seasonings. Stir in onion mixture and crab meat. Shape into patties. Heat oil in a skillet. Place crab cakes in hot skillet. Sear on each side until golden brown; about 2-3 min.

Fried Green Tomatoes

3 medium size green tomatoes

1 cup milk

1 cup flour

1 cup breadcrumbs

pepper to taste

1/4 cup cooking oil (use more or less depending on the size of your pan)

Slice tomatoes in 1/4 inch slices. Dip in milk. Dredge in combined flour, pepper, breadcrumb mixture. Heat oil in a skillet. Place tomatoes in hot skillet. Sear on each side until golden brown; about 2-3 min.

Layer the crab cakes and tomatoes into towers.

Hollandaise Sauce

1/2 cup softened butter (in pieces)

3 egg yolks

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

Tabasco to taste

dash of salt

In the top section of a double boiler (because this sauce goes wrong FAST!) combine egg yolks, vinegar, and Tabasco. Whisk constantly over boiling water while slowly adding butter until it reaches desired thickness. Spoon over crab and tomato towers. Serve immediately.

10 Thoughts from Chef Angie K

1. One thing that I love and am good at besides cooking is music. I taught myself to play the guitar, ukulele (with some help from my niece & nephews in Hawaii), piano, and harmonica. Although I can't read sheet music, I write my own songs. Sometimes, people can hear me singing at the Bistro from the kitchen!

2. If I could trade places with any one chef it would be Gordon Ramsey. I admire how broad his cooking repertoire is, and that his career is so broad to include all aspects of the food/restaurant industry. That he also gets away with swearing worse than a sailor would be a nice perk too!

3. My most memorable meal was my 29th birthday. I went with a group of friends to Susan Spicer's Restaurant, Bayona, with a group of good friends. We ordered a ridiculous amount of food & wine, and passed all the plates around to share. It was the first time I ever had sweetbreads, which is one of her specialties. It was a life changing experience.

4. My favorite food changes depending on the week. Right now, Bavarian French Toast.

5. Every morning I have a Vanilla Iced Coffee or a Sweet tea. Mmmm, speaking of....

6. If I was on death row, my last meal would have to include fava beans and Chianti, of course.

7. I burn cookies constantly.

8. I eat Cheetos at every opportunity.

9.If I was going to change one thing about myself it would be to not be allergic to shellfish, so I could eat more of my own cooking. I would also love to travel the world to learn more about different foods and different cooking methods without having to worry about what I was eating.

10. If I weren't a restaurant owner, I would be pursuing a career in music. Honestly though, I wouldn't change a thing.

Bananas Foster was created in 1951 by Paul Blangé at Brennans Restaurant in New Orleans. It has become not only a local favorite, but a global classic in the time since its invention.  I serve it on the feature menu at my restaurant from time to time.  Although intimidating in appearance it is relatively easy to prepare; requiring only a small sense of adventure, patience for the slow melting process, ability to move quickly, and a not so sensitive fire alarm.

Bananas Foster
Serves 6

6 Ripe Bananas
2Tbsp Unsalted Butter
2Tbsp Ground Cinnamon
2 Cups Brown Sugar (Firmly Packed)
1 Cup Rum
2qts Vanilla Ice Cream

Cut peeled bananas lengthwise into two sections each.

Add sugar, cinnamon and butter to a frying pan. Cook over low heat (I absolutely cannot stress LOW heat enough!) and stir constantly until butter and sugar have melted and blended.

Quickly add sectioned bananas and rum to melted sauce mixture.

Immediately remove from heat and using a long lighter, ignite the top of sauce mixture.

Let the flame naturally extinguish, and serve immediately over ice cream.

Enjoy!

welcome to the New Blog!

Greetings, all!

This is the brand new blog for my (Chef Angie K.) brand new restaurant- the Blue House Bistro in Holland Michigan . I'll be regularly posting news items, recipes, the latest news about Blue House Bistro and a variety of other related information.

Thanks for visiting here....