Chef Jef

So last weekend, during the Ease out,  I went out to a cooking store and picked up some cooking items for my kitchen,

I got this bad boy. An 11 cup Cuisinart stainless steal food processor!  Woot!  Macy's had a deal on them, and I took advantage.  The thing is awesome!

Then I got a German Knife set, and spent a pretty penny on a good set.  I got a 8" Chef's Knife, Utility Knife, Serrated Bread Knife, Pearing Knife, and a Bone Knife.
They are awesome as well!!  Never had a good knife set before.

Also to round out the collection, and dope wood chopping block.  I'm treating it with mineral oil, and doing all the things you do to a new wood cutting block.

Finally, I got a set of 3 mixing bowls, 2 different sized non-stick pans, a wire whisk, and some tongs.

Who knew that all this crap would be so expensive!?  But I feel good about it, as they were things I actually will use.

So with my new found love for food and desire to cook, I have been making breakfast for myself every morning.  Peppered bacon, and Eggs! with Sliced tomatoes!  Mmm.  My cookware does an awesome job!

Then last night I had my first dinner party!  I invited my friends over for a total of 5 including myself!
My new apartment fit everyone comfortably, and the dinner was a sucess!

The Menu was:

Fresh Ceaser Salad
Rigatoni with a Pork Pink Sauce
Steamed Asparagus
Garlic Toast.

And it was a success!  Everyone loved it, and we all sat around sipping on Pinot Grigio, and chatting!
Yay!  My first dinner party and I think it turned out perfect!!

There are several things I'll adjust for my Rigatoni sauce for the next time, but the sauce I made was still excellent, just not what I was aiming for.  I wanted more of a cream sauce, and less of a meat sauce.  I just got the proportions wrong.  Like I said, it was still good.

The food Processor was used to grate the fresh parmasian cheese..and wholy cow that was AWESOME.
I also used it to make garlic butter, which I then put on the french bread for the Garlic Toast.  It got a little too crispy, as I think I just slightly overcooked it, but it still tasted yummy.  Just extra crispy on the outside.  The insides were still soft and garlicly.  :-)

So now, I'm addicted to cooking, and will start to plan my next meal.  I still have that list of things to try to cook... so I'll be researching for what to cook this weekend.

Stay tuned. 
( I'll try to update this blog more often )