I've been thinking

Because of where I am in my undergraduate degree program, I've been doing some thinking about my future in school. I'm getting close to being required to declare a major (I have to do this at the end of next semester) and this has raised a number of questions.

There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that I want a career as a professional chef. I have no illusions that just because I finish my schooling I'll be able to land a dream job doing the style of cooking I love in the perfect restaurant setting. I know I'll have jobs doing things I may not particularly enjoy as I start to accumulate experience in the field. I'm totally fine with that.

But to be honest, right now it feels like this whole process is going to take decades and decades and I'm feeling  really, really impatient.

I decided years ago, while in high school, that I wanted to go to college. At the time I hadn't decided on anything specific I wanted to study, but I definitely wanted a college degree. There was something important about having that solid degree and knowing nobody could take that away from me.

Don't get me wrong. I've enjoyed most of the courses I've taken so far. I'm doing well academically, even though I have to work really hard for the grades I've gotten. I'm actually proud of myself for taking school seriously and somehow I've managed to make some friends.

But the problem is this. I'm feeling really, really impatient knowing I have to wait several more years before I begin training for my career. Sure, I'm getting experience right now as a waiter in a restaurant and I've been able to get a very, very small amount of "hands on" experience working with the chef there.

So if I stick with college, what should I be doing? Spend all my spare time reading cookbooks? Turn our kitchen at home into some kind of cooking laboratory and use Matty and our friends as guinea pigs? Leave my current job and try to find another one where I can work as a line cook in a roadside diner?

The other option is to drop out of college as soon as I get accepted in a culinary school. Or drop out now before I spend any more money trying to get a degree in history or literature or sociology or analytical chemistry! Something I would have to really s-t-r-e-t-c-h to make it applicable to what I really want to do.

I'm not making any decisions rashly and I'm definitely going to finish this semester no matter what. There's too much at stake here for me to screw things up.

But damn. I really am feeling so impatient! Right now it feels like I'm just treading water so I can some day start doing what I really want to do. But what if I regret not getting a college degree?

I want my decision to be the right one and I really want to enjoy the process. So where am I right now? I don't know the right decision and I'm not enjoying the process.

When all is said and done, I want a life I can be proud of. Right now it feels like a goal that's never going to happen. Maybe I'm being too impatient. Maybe I'm being unrealistic. But why do some things in life seem to take so long and are so hard and complicated?

As soon as I get home tonight I need to begin reading for a psychology class I'm taking called Perception and Behavior. To be honest, I'd much rather be reading for a class called, Fundamentals of Classical Cuisine.

I'm sure I'll figure all this out. If I didn't believe that, I'd probably sink into a really dark depression. But damn, it's hard to stay in a good place about all this.

Thanks for reading. Sincerely, Chef Brad

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My birthday fanboy moment

I mentioned in my last post that Matty had organized a really nice birthday celebration.

He showered me with lots of smaller gifts during the day so I now have a couple of really nice sweaters for the winter, a new wool hat, a very colorful scarf to go with my new winter jacket, some sexy underwear, and a beautiful sterling silver necklace!

Then Matty took me out to dinner in the heart of downtown Boston. He had already said it was a "dress-up" restaurant, which is a huge deal for Matty since he almost never, ever leaves the house without his baseball cap!

I was a little worried when we walked out the door to leave and he's in his nice navy blue suit with his light blue and cream-colored tie... and his Red Sox cap! Not wanting to embarrass him (or me later), in a very polite voice I said something like, "Don't you have a Red Sox cap that's a bluish color?"

Without missing a beat, and flashing the sweetest smile, he said, "Aw, I'm not going to wear the cap inside. I wouldn't embarrass you like that."

So, whew! In all honesty I wouldn't have minded if he had worn it in. Being the gentleman he is (when the occasion calls for that), he would have taken it off before greeting the maître d. And without the cap on while we're in the car, I would have felt I was being kidnapped by some unknown bad person.

Well, being taken out to dinner for one's birthday is something that happens to a lot of people. But being taken to a restaurant where the Chef is an idol of mine is just icing on the cake! But wait. That's not all!

Before I get to the good part, I should say this is a Chef I've been following for a while now. Not in a stalking way, but she's a pretty well-known Chef and has been featured in local as well as national magazine and newspaper feature articles. I also recently got to see her interviewed on a television show. And I recorded it! (Is my "fanboy" showing!)

Oh, and get this. Her style of cooking is something that really interests me. I want to learn more about it because her approach is something I'd like to play around with and maybe develop my own unique variation of. I've tried to explain it to Matty without his eyes glazing over (LOL), but it's essentially taking some pretty traditional dishes and experimenting with combinations of spices and flavoring that aren't usually associated with those dishes. Anyway, it's something I feel inspired by.

So on to the big surprise! When Matty called the restaurant to make reservations, he explained that it was my birthday and I was currently in college but planned on going to culinary school to become a chef someday. And that I had been following Chef's professional career and was inspired by her cooking style. He said it would mean a lot to me if Chef could possibly stop by our table just to say hello.

Matty had already told me he was taking me to this particular restaurant, which that alone was enough to make the celebration very special. But he didn't tell me Chef had agreed to stop by our table to say hello! I'm such a fanboy of this chef that if he had told me this ahead of time, I probably would have hyperventilated and fainted the minute I stepped inside!

So while we're eating our main course, Chef walks to our table and says something like, "Hello, I'm Chef ___, and just wanted to wish someone named 'Bradley' a Happy Birthday." Thank all that is holy I didn't have a mouth full of food because I surely would have choked to death or spewed the food in my mouth all across the table, or worse yet, all over her!! And then fainted!

I didn't realize I was on my feet when I extended my hand and said, "Hi. I'm Bradley. Nice to meet you. And thank you."

She gestured for me to sit back down (Matty assures me I didn't come across as some dorky fanboy) and she asked about our dinner. How to you form an intelligent and coherent thought when your idol chef asks your opinion of their cooking? Without coming across as a punk fanboy?

Thank goodness I had already talked to Matty about what flavors I thought she used for our dishes but I didn't want to get into fanboy gushing, so I just said everything was perfect. THEN she said, "Matthew told me you were planning a culinary career. Here, let me give you my card. It's really nice to meet you both. And Happy Birthday again."

I think I said something appropriate in response. Matty assures me I just said, "Nice to meet you, too. Thanks again."

I've been on a fanboy cloud since Saturday night. And I have Chef's card!! Well, it's the restaurant's card, but it has Chef's name on it. That counts, right?

I was talking to a friend about whether I should follow-up with her. I thought just sending her a little "thank you" note might work, but then again I don't want her thinking I'm some kind of stalking fanboy -- the "fanboy" part is right but I don't want to do anything cheesy.

My friend said just a short note would be a nice gesture, and a good way to network, even though she's not going to remember me 5 or 10 years down the road. Unless..... maybe I could send her a note every month, and maybe call her occasionally, and go back to her restaurant frequently, and.... Nah. That's not fanboy excitement -- that's definitely just stalking! LOL!

So, I'm just sending her a short note and will leave it at that. But the card she gave me, the one which she touched with her very hand, is getting laminated and framed!! Am I a fanboy or what? ;)

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Welcome to Bradley's Bistro!

Photo credit: creatingkoan.
creativecommons licenses

So, I'm really shy when I first meet somebody.

If I was to meet any of you at some kind of social event, I'd smile, say "hello," and wait to see if you were going to shake hands. Where things went from there would be in your court. It's not that I'm stuck-up or anything. I'm just really shy when I first meet somebody.

After maybe a few minutes of chatting I'd probably start getting comfortable and I'd be talking a little freerer. If we both felt comfortable with each other, I'd probably just be my "normal" self after a while. I'm really easy to talk to, it's just that it takes me a little longer to warm up at the beginning.

I've learned a lot about being less shy by watching Matty. He's a real extrovert but doesn't come across as overbearing. If you were to meet him at a social event, he'd have a really nice, warm smile on his face, and you'd think you had known him all your life. Very easy to talk to (as well as being easy on the eyes - lol!).

I think I took a big step in being a little less shy recently. One of the courses I'm taking this semester is called Introduction to Comparative Politics. During the very first class, the prof in this political science course kept using a lot of phrases that involved food metaphors. Chef Bradley thought for a minute he was in a culinary class.

When he was going over the syllabus he would mention how important it was for us to understand domestic politics in other countries. He said if we didn't understand these political systems, "...it would be a recipe for disaster."

He also talked about the many different political systems in the world and how we would "...look at the different ingredients in those systems."

Then we were going to discuss what happens inside a country when "...the temperature on the stove gets turned up too high."

There were other examples as he continued to drop a food metaphor about every five minutes.

Sitting next to me was a guy who had been chatting with me before the class started. When the class was over he looked at me and said, "I don't know about you but after all that talk about food, I'm starving."

I said, "Yeah. Maybe his day job is a Chef."

We chuckled and he told me he actually wanted to be a chef some day. I somehow managed to blurt out, "Really? Me too."

He told me his name was Tony and I found out he lives not too far from us! I told him the street we live on and he and his girlfriend have an apartment about 5 or 6 blocks from us!

I'm sure Tony had absolutely no clue how excited I was feeling inside! Was I actually making a friend? On the first day of school?

Nah. He's just being friendly. With his easy smile and outgoing manner, he probably has tons of friends. Why me? Am I just misreading this? Calm down. Just chill.

We exchanged phone numbers and he said maybe he and Carol, his girlfriend, could meet Matty and me for lunch.

Well, yesterday was our big lunch date. We met them at a local pizza joint and while Tony and I were bonding around our common interest in all things culinary, Matty and Carol were bonding around their love of basketball. It seems Carol played on her high school girls basketball team and Matty is going to introduce her to the guys he plays pickup basketball with in our neighborhood.

Tony and I could care less about basketball, other than the fact that our sweeties are both passionate about it. We talked about how we got interested in cooking professionally, the types of food we both enjoy, and some favorite chefs we follow.



Image courtesy of sportsclipart.com

The four of us really hit it off, so this Saturday morning Matty and Carol are playing basketball with some locals at a nearby park in the neighborhood, and Tony and I are going to be the Cheerleaders!

I told him we ought to bring some pom poms and he burst out laughing at that one. But guess what? He's game! Seriously. We're going shopping for pom poms! No lie! Not sure if City Sports carries them, but we'll find them somewhere. He's committed now! How fun is that?

Then later in the afternoon, Tony and I are meeting at their apartment to plan the menu for dinner we're serving the two basketeers that evening! Then we're off on a food shopping expedition to get everything we need. After that, we're heading over to Bradley's Bistro (aka, our dining room!). We agreed to call our Bistro by his name when he and Carol host at their apartment.

The thing to remember about people who are shy is that just telling them, "Don't be shy," doesn't work. At all. It's not something you can turn on and off like a switch. Matty has never put any pressure on me to be more sociable. The best thing he's ever done about my shyness is to tell me, "Just be yourself. Don't ever try to be something you're not. Plus, I think there's actually a certain cuteness about being shy."

How's that for turning something I've always seen as a shortcoming into a strength?

Oh, maybe when you visit the real Bradley's Bistro sometime in the future, the chef might come out to your table to see how you like the dinner. After he returns to the kitchen, maybe, just maybe, you might say to your dining guest, "What a nice personality Chef Bradley has!"

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A Quickie

Just a quickie update since you haven't seen much of us lately. Didn't want you to think we'd been sent to some kind of Witness Protection Program.

                  I GOT A JOB!!!


They didn't offer me a job at that fancy-smancy restaurant in downtown Boston, which I'm actually happy about. I think my age probably had something to do with it since all the the other waiters were in their 40s or older and had a sophisticated butler look to their appearance. Plus everybody in there talked with some kind of aristocratic accent you would expect to see on a TV program they might call The Queen Visits the Manor House (no offense to our UK friends intended).

This is the place where, when I asked about the possibility of getting some kitchen experience since I wanted to go to culinary school at some point, they just looked at me like I had gotten off the boat or something.

I did get a waiter job at a really nice restaurant in the 'burb next to where we live. I'm going to be working the lunch shift and they gave me 5 hours a day for 5 days a week. I might get the dinner shift a little later, which would be good since you make better tips then.

The owner said he talked to their chef and I may be able to get some hours in the kitchen. But he told me there was some kind of Health Department rule that unless you are a "certified" chef, you have to take this 5 hour course where they teach you that you need to wash your hands and, get this, if you cough or sneeze, you should always make sure your snot doesn't get in the food! Who would have known? LOL!

Oh, and when you're preparing the food, you should always be fully clothed, unlike Chef Hunk over there ------------------------------------>

Matty continues to enjoy his construction job. It's sweaty work and we're enjoying the mandatory shower he has to take once he gets home. I always make sure I haven't had my shower for the day when he arrives! At least we're saving water. I think. Somehow these shared showers seem to last longer for some reason. ;-)

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Foods for Comfort and Lovin'

If you've been following our blog for a while, you know one of my life goals is to complete my basic liberal arts college degree and then go to culinary school. 

I was doing a search the other day of different culinary schools and several sites listed "Comfort Food Classics" as part of their curriculum.

It got me to thinking about all the different types of comfort foods, so for fun I thought I might post something about mine and see what yours are.

The following categories are ones I just made up. Who knows, when I get to culinary school this might be one of my specialities!

1. Quick and Easy Snack
2. Favorite After Dinner Dessert
3. Comfort Food to Get Someone in the Mood for Lovin'

1. Quick and Easy Snack - When you don't have time to prepare something and you're just looking for a "grab and run" snack that will make you feel comforted, what's your favorite?       

Mine is chocolate chip cookies. -------------->

2. Favorite After Dinner Dessert - Oh course this might depend on what you had for dinner, but in general, what dessert tops off a really good meal and satisfies your craving for something that makes the whole meal worthwhile?

Mine is homemade Apple Pie à la Mode. -------->

3. Comfort Food to Get Someone in the Mood for Lovin' - Well, that description says it all. What food is gonna get somebody feeling so good they think they're about to have an orgasm with each "succ"ulent bite?

Mine is Dark Chocolate Espresso Pots de Crème

-------------------------------------------> 

And I know it works! Just ask Matty!

Bon Appétit!

So now, what are yours in these categories?

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Naked Cooking

Well, it seems somebody got there before me!

Our friend Susan emailed me this pic last week, so I guess I'm gonna have to come up with another name for my products when I eventually get my culinary career off the ground (years from now). -------------------->

Also, there's a famous British chef who already grabbed a nickname (The Naked Chef) I thought was sorta cute. Plus, I have to add, he's kinda cute himself. His name, BTW, is Jamie Oliver. I especially like the pic on the right.

Well, back to the drawing board, or the cutting board I should say! ;)

But maybe there is some kind of future out there for me as a naked chef of some kind. And now for your viewing pleasure, meet some of these hotties:

I might need your help, though, with some ideas for a "catch" title for my career. Something that'll grab your attention and make you want to buy my cookbooks and visit my restaurant. Anybody got any ideas that haven't been taken yet? 

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A Special Night

Matty and I had a wonderful time celebrating Valentine's Day with our two very special friends, Mark and John. It was fun cooking dinner for them and seeing them feel cared for. They deserve a much better life than they got growing up.

One way I have of showing my love is through my cooking. I've mentioned before that I plan to go to culinary school, but I want that basic college degree first. I think about college being about all these different "meal courses" and culinary school as being the "dessert" waiting for me at the end.

Matty said he wanted me to show you the menu I prepared last night, so if you'll allow me this little bit of bragging, here's what I made:

Your basic simple tossed salad.

French onion soup.
Pineapple and Soy-Glazed Salmon.
Ricotta mashed potatoes
Green beans with cherry tomatoes.
Sweet baby carrots.
Chocolate covered strawberries.

Everybody said they thought it turned out well, but for me the best part was the planning, the cooking, and then seeing everybody enjoy it. I had some candles on the table, the lighting was dimmed and we had some really nice, relaxing music in the background.

The conversation we had was also very special. Mark and John caught us up on how things are going with them and we also did some joking around about how we want to be the first to know when they set a wedding date. I think that sorta made them blush since they've only been dating since Thanksgiving. Matty did make them promise that both of us could be their Best Men if it ever happened.

Stay tuned for news about the special celebration Matty has planned for the two of us. We both wanted to share Valentine's Day with our two friends, but Matty asked me out this weekend for something really, really special. Just the two of us. All I can say right now is that it involves a red tie and a red rose. I'll probably post about it tomorrow. Hope everyone had a nice day yesterday.

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You Asked for Recipes!

Right before Thanksgiving I was writing a lot about all the baking I was doing and many of you left comments asking if I would post some of my favorite recipes. I'm still planning to do that but I'll have to wait until after the new year since there's so much going on right now with all our Christmas plans.

But wait! I've been spending some time over at a new blog some of you might really enjoy. If you've ever read anything by the author M.J. O'Shea (my personal favorite so far is Unintended), I think she does a really good job of writing about young m/m first love. She's has an author's page over at Goodreads with all her other other books, and I encourage you to check it out.

Also, she and Piper Vaughn have their own blog at Babes in Boyland and that's another site I'd recommend.

And now M.J. has started a new cooking blog and regardless of whether you're a "professional" cook or just somebody like me who's trying to learn the ropes of how to be a better cook, I think you'll love what she's doing over at The Salad Gourmet. She's posting recipes for meat courses, veggies, salads and all kinds of deserts and baked goods.

In addition to the scrumptious dishes she highlights, I really like the conversational tone of how she explains each step of preparation. It's more than just a list of ingredients and cooking instructions, she actually goes step-by-step and explains how she does things and gives you ideas of how you might modify the recipies.

The site is also really well-designed and the pictures of the dishes will literally make your mouth water. So what are you waiting for? Head on over to The Salad Gourmet and check it out!

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