Category: Cooking

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Thanksgiving… a Time for Thanks and Giving

Reflections in a mirror reveal the present. It is the holidays however that the mirror seems to reflect the past while giving you a glance into the future. I’m sure that most of us during this time of giving thanks also gaze into our souls that miss the loved ones we spent so many holidays with.

The Thanksgiving meal represents a blessing that brings our family and friends into the fold. It is the real beginning of the holiday season. The day brings witness to the special thoughts we have for those we haven’t seen (in many cases) for months or even years.  Friends and family travel from near and far to be with the ones they love and care about. Special is the pomp and circumstance that surrounds these festivities. It’s the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Football, The Classic Meal,  and of course the Decorations.

Ever since I was a little boy the Thanksgiving meal was Turkey, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Green Bean Casserole, Jello Salad, Yams, and of course… Pumpkin Pie. Since the meal I remember there have been additions like ham with a sweet berry sauce, lamb in a whole grain mustard sauce, prime steak cooked to a perfect medium rare, cauliflower in a 4 cheese sauce, and for desert… pecan pie.

Also, we mustn’t forget the beverages. Thanksgiving week is the scheduled offering of Beaujolais Nouveau. This wine is released on the third Thursday of November at 12:01 am. It’s a wine that lasts for just 6 months but reflects the perfect pairing with Turkey. Delightfully light and fruity it is the ultimate reflection of the French vineyards kicking off the holiday season.

Other than the Beaujolais Nouveau the other perfect pairing wines  come from the Burgandy region of France or the Russian River area of California. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are the chosen compliments to the above mentioned meal. The apple and fall fruits represented in the classic chardonnay (with a hint of oak and a whisper of fresh herbs and spices) enhance the vegetables, salad, and accompaniments.

To me the most elegant, graceful and pleasing wine to be served at this feast is pinot noir. The description would include but not be limited to a little black cherry, strawberry aroma, subtle earth, and mint. This harmonious symphony of flavors produces a balance between beverage and food that is heavenly. When you pair the correct wine with the perfect food, light in character but high in acid that exhibits the characteristics of said wine, you have a wonderful culinary experience that brings out the best of both the food and the wine.

The flawless Thanksgiving is one that begins with a hug and ends with a hug. It is a very special moment in time when the connection with those at the dinner seems like you’d spent countless hours with them over the course of the year. However, in many instances it is the first time in many months or years that you’ve gotten together with these family members or close friends.

Acknowledging how blessed we are in those rare moments where time stands still, is a gift unto itself. To share the love and friendship that is the link between generations, or just the human connectivity that is rendered on this very special day, is a reminder of how precious time is.

As the door closes and we wave goodbye, we often think of this:

If they came back tomorrow, we’d take them back today… because our world keeps growing smaller every second, minute, hour… they’re away.

Happy Thanksgiving to those we spent time with, those we miss, and those that wish they were here.

 

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Jack’s Story

pazaz bakeware
Pazaz Premium Bakeware

How PAZAZ™ Came To Be

I’ve been in the restaurant business most of my life. I started working at a French restaurant in Tiburon California (The Caprice) when I was very young. Years later, after college, I became a partner in a restaurant (Epanoui), also in Tiburon. While I was there, Epanoui was voted as one of the top ten restaurants in the entire country by Time-Life Books. Following that unique experience, I left California on a new culinary journey.

After working as a manager/maitre’d in south Florida (The Plum Room) I went to upstate New York and worked at L’uberge Du Cygne in Manlius New York. I heard of a chef in upstate New York with a famous reputation and that is when I went on a quest to work with one of the greatest chefs in the world. This is when I met and worked with chef Joel Chenet who had been the Chef at the French Consulate in Paris France and prepared food for the President of France.

Missing California and my family I traveled back home and got a job working as the lead captain at Amelio’s under executive chef Jackie Robert in San Francisco (check out New York Times article in 1987, “ FOOD; KNOWING NO BOUNDARY”).

I had the pleasure of working with chef Jackie Robert whom prepared one of the inaugural dinner’s for President Ronald Reagan. With that experience I then eventually became the General Manager at Masons in the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. After that I was in charge of all the restaurants at the Mark Hopkins Hotel on Nob Hill, including room service and the Top of the Mark.

Now I work for Chef Jean George Vongerichten in Las Vegas, and have decided to take my culinary expertise into the very products that help produce “World Class Cuisine”.

The Heavy Duty Aluminum Baking Sheet Pan, Non-Stick Baking Mat, and the Steel Mesh Cooling Rack are examples of my exhaustive search for quality merchandise. I had these products custom made to my specifications, with the knowledge I have attained over the years through my apprenticeship with world-class chefs and the focus associated with every aspect of the creation of a dish.

In the world of the culinary arts the tools that you use help produce the “Magic” associated with dishes that captivate the mind, stimulate the palate, and test the very boundaries of the “dining experience”. It is with this attention to detail and commitment to excellence that I bring you my brand, “PAZAZ”.

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‘Mise en Place’ – PAZAZ™ Style

Mise en Place means (in French) “everything in its place”.

Preparing anything requires thought and strategy. In this case we will be talking about the preparation of a meal.

In the world of the culinary arts it is important to plan the meal ahead of time. This planning requires a blueprint for execution which will include but not be limited to chopping, slicing, dicing, thawing, mixing, grilling, frying, baking, and of course the most important item… the timing. Integrated into this all important strategy are the tools you are using to execute this important creation.

PAZAZ ™products offer you the highest quality non-stick silicone baking mat, heavy duty aluminum baking sheet pan, and of course the steel mesh cooling rack for the most effective production of either sweet of savory foods. Using the highest quality kitchen tools from PAZAZ ™ ensures your sweet or savory dish will be afforded the opportunity to cook evenly without sticking.

This process begins in the store as you’ve determined the recipe and now search for the organic ingredients to execute the recipe. Sometimes your recipe will change depending upon what organic produce and meats are available. Not only will it change based upon whats available but also the quality of the products your searching for.

After the ingredients have been purchased you must determine the time line for adding the ingredients so that they will exhibit the profile your looking for. Each ingredient takes on a life of its own because in this part of the process lies the technique that moves the recipe from good to great.

With each ingredient the chefs ability to add vinegars, salt and pepper to taste, other key spices, maybe a marinade helps the dish take on a beautiful complexity. This revelation of flavor highlights not just one flavor but a myriad of layers of flavors that elevates the dish from super to sublime.

When the chef has “everything in its place” the process of manufacturing the event becomes a soliloquy to the audience without a voice. The internal clock does not speed up during the creation of the meal because the careful orchestration and preparation becomes a testimonial to the caring and thought that makes any meal a special occasion.

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Organics Bring PAZAZ™ to the Feast

pazaz brings organic food to the feast
Pazaz Bakeware brings Organics to the Feast

Today I was shopping at Whole Foods and found an array of organics that brought a smile to my face. When I look at conventional produce, touch it, smell it, and in some cases taste it I am baffled as to why anyone would choose conventional over organic.

If price is the only issue and you choose price over health than stop reading now. Go back to ordering tap water at high-end restaurants and wallow in the mediocrity of taste. Don’t live in the moment but exhume the conversation of dining at another restaurant while not living in the moment that is before you.

I only say this because living in the spatial continuum of the creative experience (which is the best part of us) is something difficult to grasp in the times we live in. However, there is hope.

This hope is attached to the sustenance that feeds the spirit and energizes our thoughts. Without the proper diet and tools to prepare the meals we love, then a link in the chain is missing. We can purchase all the organics we want but without vision and fore-thought it just becomes another meal prepared at a certain time without the value we must give it to enjoy the moment.

PAZAZ ™ was created to increase the value of those organic products. Each flavor is enhanced when prepared from a recipe that incorporates the tools that bring the meal to life. Each flavor becomes a journey down a road that winds to the palate.

The beauty of cooking in these days and times is the fact that we are receiving produce, meat, poultry, and fish from around the world. Most fresh food is delivered in a timely fashion so that we can have a choice unlike any past generations. This brings us to the opportunity to have the finest foods, enhanced by the PAZAZ ™ cook book while bringing smiles to all those that are lucky enough to be invited to the table.

Tonight I am making an organic butter lettuce salad with honey crisp apple, heirloom tomato, bean sprouts, and avocado with organic baked chicken dusted with fresh dill in a pear/cranberry vinaigrette.

Let the preparations begin while I live in the moment of this culinary sensory experience enhanced by music, wine, and the most important factor… those you love and care about.

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PAZAZ ™ “The Heart of the Recipe is in your Ability to Create.”

To develop a wonderful recipe you must first determine the desired effect.pazaz premium bakewareYou must then add your experience, your skill set, time frame, and goal of your creation.

If your goal is to wow people that is one thing, if it is to prepare a dinner, lunch or breakfast for your family… that is another.

As we evolve within the frame work of our capabilities and within the parameters of kitchen exploration we become comfortable with what was once uncomfortable. A recipe is merely a guide line to execute a communication into a living breathing dish. This dish (if the recipe is followed to a tee) can make you feel your creative juices flow, and then the possibility for success grows exponentially.

Bringing a smile to those that watch the chef create involves a connection to the process and then the guests become a part of the experience. Using the PAZAZ ™ kitchen products makes the likely hood for a successful dining event almost a certainty.

I have been involved in the restaurant business for many years. I can attest to the importance of each and every ingredient and the kitchen tools you use tying together as one for the desired winning result. Purchasing certified organic produce, quality wild caught fish, and even organic meat brings the flavors together in perfect harmony.

As a kid I remember my grandmother making apple pie with apples from her tree. I couldn’t identify then why everything tasted so much better… but today I can. Not only was this truly organic (as my grandmother and grandfather never used pesticides) but there was the unidentifiable ingredient that bound this composition together, love.

My parents were musically inclined and so was my grandmother. They would play the piano, organ, and violin as an ensemble to accompany our amazing desert. I didn’t realize how blessed I was to enjoy world class entertainment within the confines of the living room. Each bite made me wish the taste and experience would never end.

This experience motivated me to study violin and enlist that teaching into cooking, and cooking into the business I bring to you, PAZAZ ™.

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PAZAZ ™ – “The Magic of Cooking”

Cooking Is Like A Concert

cooking is like a concert - pazaz bakeware

Within this concert of kitchen wizardry lies the skill of connecting ingredients in a symphony of flavors that will dazzle the palate and stimulate the senses.

Through-out time food has been a conduit between family and friends bringing dialogue, joy, and laughter to very special occasions centered around culture and religion. Every culture has its mantra of dishes that are high-lighted at certain festive events.

From tail gate parties at football games, Thanksgiving, and a myriad of other important social interactions the moment that smile comes to your face that brings you back to a wonderful memory… the connection is made.

This is how PAZAZ ™ was born. Quality based products that are orchestrated to produce the finest recipes passed down from generation to generation.

It is with this first blog that I enter these products into the realm of outstanding culinary kitchen tools that will withstand the most rigorous tests within the parameters as shown on the PAZAZ ™ product site.

PAZAZ ™ will bring a smile to your face as you open the package and see the complimentary cook book and the wonderful products you’ve purchased.

If you have an issue with any product packaged and sent to your door by PAZAZ ™ we would hope you reach out to me first – my name is Jack – and I will take care of your problem ASAP.

Because, without fine customer service we would be just like any other company… and that we are not.