American IdolALL-NEW TUE & WED 8/7c
Glee
House2 HOURS MON 8/7c
New GirlMINI-MARATHON TUE 8/7c
TouchSEASON FINALE 2 HOURS THU 8/7c MAY 31
House2 HOURS MON 8/7c
The SimpsonsSUN 8/7c JUN 3
Family GuySUN 9/8c JUN 3
The Cleveland ShowSUN 7:30/6:30c JUN 3
Family GuySUN 9/8c JUN 3
My first real job in a kitchen was when I was 18 and my dad was friends with a four-star chef/owner of a French restaurant named The Brittany. I cooked there and learned backwards. For example, I learned how to make Bearnaise sauce, Hollandaise sauce, sauteed frog legs and souffles before I learned how to make simple dishes like chicken parmigiana, spaghetti with meat sauce and linguine with clam sauce. The French are very tough to work for, I found that out real fast!
The first dish I mastered was penne a la vodka. I have yet to taste another one as good as mine. From the base dish, many different ingredients can be added to enhance it, such as my homemade fresh mozzarella, prosciutto di Parma, sundried tomatoes or artichokes. Once you have mastered the basics, a dish can evolve into many different levels.
My signature item is my homemade Thai BBQ Sauce, which is so good I should bottle it! The sauce is great on baby back ribs or pulled pork. Also my chowders (New England and Manhattan) are both award-winning. I have to say, I also make a great risotto (wild mushroom or saffron tomato) with a pan-seared local fish.
As a chef in the Hamptons, I used to go to Montauk with my wife and we were at the right place at the right time when an opportunity came up to work at a cafe at a hotel on the ocean. Now I manage the cafe with my wife. Four out of our five kids work with us and we live out here for the summer season. The work is hard and the hours are long, but to have the family together for the summer is worth it, and to be out in Montauk working is a dream come true.
My cooking inspiration was my mother. I would watch her cook and help her out in the kitchen and the garden. That inspired me to learn all about cooking.
