It’s with great pleasure that I announce officially my retirement from the chef career I’ve spent 18 years struggling in.
It’s when passion is destroyed by ungrateful humans that do not understand the integrity behind the sophisticated art of culinary excellence.
Due to Covid-19 Pandemic this retirement was sped up by 6 months. My other businesses are not my sole focus. I’ll always be a student of culinary, as it is truly an art unappreciative by those who choose to rush you, expect mass production, underpay you, treat you as less than human, and care less about learning as well as so many things I care not to remember.
I’ll always be available to privately cook for friends and family or amazing professional connections on a case by case limited basis but never again for the ungrateful general public.
With the current quarantine in place the world has seemed to come to a screeching halt. I know many of you have reached out to me for recipes from past classes and I’m doing my best to get back to you all.
Last night I decided to do a cooking live on my instagrams and show how to make homemade pasta from scratch with just one ingredient. Follow me @FalanCooks
To do this. All you need is all purpose flour and water. That’s it.
For a family of four. Make 2 cups of all purpose flour and 1/4 of water mix until dough forms and set aside for 10 min.
Grab a rolling pin or a bottle and roll the dough out flat into a rectangle. Take a knife or pizza cutter and cut into strips!
Dust the strips in flour to keep from sticking and boil it 30 seconds to 45 seconds and serve. it should float to the top when it’s done.
If it doesn’t float take it out anyway at 45 seconds. It’s done.
My brand Fal Organics is finally able to offer cooking classes in the plant based and gluten free market. Recently we have been able to discuss locations around the Valley to host classes. I am excited to share this opportunity. By subscribing here to my blog you will be able to receive $10 off each class. I will post dates as soon as next week. Stay tuned to my Instagram Page @FalanCooks
It’s incredibly surreal to see my name on a product line. As we head into the holiday season I’m sitting here packing my first blends. No, not ready for order, No, no website yet but this moment is a powerful one. I still am trying so hard to garner the funding to really launch!!
It’s still coming to fruition one product at a time.
What’s some common food mishaps you are experiencing this holiday season? I’ve decided to film some food hacks for you guys to take the pressure off in the kitchen! I know holiday baking is a pet peeve of mine and I’m always asked to do it. So in order not to feel the pressures of overwhelming cooking or baking I looked to the pros for tips. I spent a week at a hotel working in the pastry department to pick their brain and I couldn’t be happier! Stay tuned this week. I’m going to post a few hacks I learned!
It’s less than one week away and its time to prioritize what you plan to do to take on the holiday feast in parts.
1.) Start cleaning the refrigerator of any leftovers, old food and organize a week in advance.
2.) Get all of your pots, pans or storage containers together in one place. This will eliminate the need to look for it and give you a chance to see what you may need to order from Amazon and get at Walmart. Do this 5 days in advance.
3.) 3 days in advance start defrosting the turkey and marinating it or any other meats. Keep in mind if you are making a ham its already cooked so you do not have to even heat it up at all you can slice it and place it on the serving tray . At service time folks can nuke it in the microwave or you can set it plain hot boiling water to reheat it. I never understood why people bake the entire ham with the glaze when the ham is fully cooked already.
4.) 48 hours before Turkey Day. Bake all the deserts and cranberry sauce if made from a scratch. Don’t bother peeling potatoes before mashing just boil it and when done let cool the skin will peel off with the back of a butter knife. Bake the Mac n cheese if you don’t mind reheating or the sweet potato casserole.
5.) 24 hours before Turkey Day make all the egg nog or special family drinks, set the table, get the house professionally cleaned if possible with a maid service. This is so important and saves so much time. Even hire them to clean after turkey day. I love my maid service best $120 ever spent for my 3 bedroom.
6.) The big Day!! Get up at 6 am and get the turkey in the oven. Hopefully you have followed my advice and this is the last thing you need to cook in the oven along side the Mac and cheese to reheat or fresh dinner rolls. Go to Walmart and get those disposable chaffing dishes used for catering. So worth it. This will free up your time to get the chance too keep food warm, lower dish count and offer an elegant look to your table. A separate 6 foot folding table should be where the food is kept to allow for a less crowded dining experience if space is an issue.
Happy Turkey Day! I don’t eat turkey but I will be enjoying my seafood gumbo that day.
With Thanksgiving approaching many are asking for my non traditional, traditional recipes for my family’s holiday feast. Here’s a dessert we do a few times each year that everyone enjoys.
• 3 8-ounce packages Challenge Cream Cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
INSTRUCTIONS
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Tightly wrap a 9 inch springform pan in heavy duty foil. This step prevents leaks when using a water bath. I also take the extra step by placing the foil wrapped spring form pan inside an oven bag while baking, but this is optional.
• Lightly spray pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, stir together crushed gingersnap cookies and melted butter until thoroughly combined.
• Press the crumbs into the bottom and about 1 inch up the sides of the prepared springform pan.
• Bake gingersnap crust in preheated oven for 8 minutes. Remove pan from oven and cool completely. Increase oven temperature to 400°F.
• Place sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and pierce each sweet potato several times with the tines of a fork. Bake until tender, about 50 minutes. Cool sweet potatoes completely.
• Once sweet potatoes are cool, peel and puree them. I used a food processor, but you can also use a blender.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with your paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar and mix until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add in pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, heavy cream and sweet potato puree and mix until smooth.
• Pour batter into prepared crust. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until it is halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan.
• Bake 55-60 minutes, the edges will appear to be set, but the center will still have some jiggle to it. At this point, turn off the oven, but leave the door cracked and allow the cheesecake to rest in the cooling oven for one hour.
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• After one hour has passed, carefully remove the cheesecake from the water bath and place on a cooling rack to cool completely. Once the cheesecake is completely cooled, place it into the refrigerator for at least 8 hours.
• Before serving, top with whipped cream, chopped pecans and salted caramel sauce.
Our kids are our pride and joy. It’s with great pleasure I introduce my student meal prep delivery service to student athletes in the valley of Arizona. As a former NFL chef I can assure you that your kids nutrition is in safe hands. I highly recommend taking my online meal prep class which will equip you to replicate everything you see here. However, I do understand time is of the essence and many prefer simple delivery. That’s why I intend to offer this plan directly to students who I have met with to get a thorough knowledge of meeting their individual needs. No two meal preps can be exactly alike. There isn’t a one sized fits all. This particular prep in this photo is the prep of my athletic daughter who is on the Wrestling Team. She needs a high protein diet with carb cycling. Not pictured here. Remember, I’m her mom so she has meal preparation 6 days a week both breakfast, lunch and dinner. Eventually I’ll post her full days prep. We like fresh food so I try not to prep too much in advance for her. After all she’s the daughter of a chef and a bit spoiled. Can you blame her? 😋
Here we learn everything ONLINE! Now many of you have taken my cooking classes in person and learned basic pasta but here’s a chance to learn advanced pasta techniques. I firmly believe if you have the basics down its a building block for success. Look through my calendar for dates!
Falan Cooks 