I’ve been baking quite a bit lately.  I actually enjoy baking, so I am having fun figuring out what the treat of the day is.

They are eating the baked goods like crazy, so I will continue to bake them like crazy.  I create my savory dishes from scratch, so they are all true originals.

But when it comes to baked goods, I usually follow a recipe since it’s more of a science.  I do “wing it” sometimes, but it’s actually fun for me to find new baking recipes.

I have tons of cookbooks (over 500) in my library at home, but when it comes to being on the boat, I have zero.  Actually the previous chef had bought several of Thomas Keller’s cookbooks.  They look nice on the coffee table, but hardly usable for daily cooking inspiration.

I made these cookies last week, and liked them well enough.  I actually made a double batch and they were still gone in a few days.  I wound up eating several (maybe a few more than that) myself and the more I ate them, the more I really enjoyed them.

So I decided to share the recipe with you.  It certainly has enough good reviews from other people.  You can get the recipe here…

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/oatmeal-peanut-butter-cookies-iii/detail.aspx

They keep well in an airtight container for several days.  Enjoy

The captains wife was flying home tonight so I wanted to cook her a nice dinner. She’s from New Jersey and loves Italian food. She mentioned her favorite dish was Eggplant Parmesan, so it was on!

She’s old school New Jersey, so this wasn’t going be my healthy version, but the classic Italian-American version.

The pictures below are all messed up and formatted weird. Not sure why? But just embrace it

You peel and slice the eggplant thin and then dip it in flour, egg, and then bread crumbs. Here’s the setup…

Once your finished dredging the eggplant, here’s what they will look like…

After that you want to heat up some oil in a pan and fry the eggplant until golden crisp.

Here’s what that looks like…

Of course we don’t want our Eggplant Parmesan to be a greasy mess, so make sure you drain it on some paper towels…

Put some marinara sauce in the bottom of a baking pan and top with a layer of the eggplant. Top that with shredded parmesan and mozzarella. Do that one more time finishing with the cheese. Will look something like this…

Bake it at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to one hour until browned on top.

I had a couple of whole chickens I needed to cook for dinner the other night. I felt like roasted chicken, but wanted to do something a little different.

I remembered learning to stuff chicken under the skin several years ago. It really is pretty easy. You make a flavored butter (or simply plain butter) and loosen under the skin with your fingers, then rub the butter all over under the skin.

Even rub some on the outside of the bird for good measure and roast like usual. It turned out great. What you mix the butter with is up to you, there are countless possibilities.

It helps to truss the chicken.

“But Chef Jeff I don’t know how to truss a chicken, and even the thought scares me to death!”

Don’t worry, I found this video which shows a super simple way to truss your chicken, and takes all of a minute or two.

http://youtu.be/x3bieEEYEAk

Why truss a chicken?

It helps the bird roast evenly, and the breast meat is more tender.

Here’s what your prepared bird should look like before you put it in the oven…

It’s all pretty easy, and makes a big difference in taste and presentation. Here’s the basic recipe…

Garlic and Herb Roasted Chicken

1 whole chicken
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup chopped Italian Parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper
twine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rinse and dry the chicken. With your fingers loosen the skin from the meat (breast and legs). Mix the butter, herbs, and garlic and rub equally between the skin and meat of the chicken. If you have some leftover then rub on top of the chicken as well. Truss the chicken according to the video above. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. If you ran out of herb butter, then simply rub some more plain butter on top of the bird to baste while cooking. Roast for 1 hour and let rest for at least 10 minutes before carving it so the juices have a chance to settle down.

Internet connection has been terrible!  Down for most of today.  Just got the almost full crew back today, so I made a full lunch spread and Dinner.  Slow braised Pork Quesadillas for lunch and Teriyaki Fillet Mignon for dinner.

I also have been doing a bunch of baking.  I always wing it when I am cooking, but almost always follow a recipe when baking.  With the technology of the internet you can get some easy baking recipes without much effort.  We had a crew meeting this afternoon, so I thought it would be nice to have a few sweets to munch on.  I made an apple strudel and thumbprint cookies.

For the apple strudel I peeled, cored, and diced 3 apples, added a 1/2 cup raisins, 1 cup sugar, juice from half a lemon, a Tbsp. flour, and a few Tablespoons small cubed butter.  Mix that together and wrap in a thawed piece of puff pastry and brush with egg.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until nicely browned.

For the Thumbprint cookies I used this recipe:

http://www.joyofbaking.com/ThumbprintCookies.html

They turned out awesome, worth a try for sure.  I used walnuts for the outside of the cookie, and it turned out great…

I also just made some peanut butter bar cookies, they were good, just not awesome enough to share the recipe here for you.

Okay, that’s all I got for today, not leaving the boat much to explore the island because I have so much to do on the boat to get myself settled in.

Looks like we will be here for awhile, so there will be plenty of opportunity.  Plus an awesome benefit is that the chief stewardess is from here, and knows all the culinary secrets of the island, plus she speaks Tahitian, and French!

Greetings from Tahiti!

Chef Jeff

Most of the crew is gone on vacation right now, so I’m mostly organizing the galley and going through the food that is on the boat.
Thee are a few people still here doing watches etc. so I am making sandwiches and simple dinners for now. Once I start cooking for the full crew, I will start posting the recipes here.

I did make a couscous salad yesterday that was a hit with the few people that are on the boat. I do a similar salad with other grains such as quinoa as well.

I also add fresh mint to this salad, but was working with what ingredients we had on the boat.

CousCous Salad

Serves 6

2 cups couscous
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
1/2 cup sliced green onion
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 lime, squeezed
2 Tbsp. sweet chili sauce

Cook the couscous according to directions with the broth. Cool to room temp. and mix with the rest of the ingredients.

Okay, it’s time to fire up this ol’ blog again. Just a recap to all who are new here:

I started this blog back in 2007 when I was asked to work the summer for a charter yacht that I had worked on for several years previously. I knew it was going to be an interesting ride, and the boat had internet, so I decided to blog about my adventures.

I have kept this blog active off and on since. I mostly only post on this blog when I am traveling as a chef, hence the name-

Chef Traveler.

I just got a new gig as a chef on this great yacht and so It’s time to crank this blog back up again. I will share what I am cooking for the crew and guests which includes recipes.

These may not be my healthiest recipes, but I tend to keep things healthy for both the crew and the guests. If you want my daily healthy recipes then you can sign up for my newsletter which deals with healthy cooking and weight loss here:

www.passporttohealthycooking.com

We are going to be based out of Tahiti for the next few years. That’s the plan, but in yachting you never get too excited as nothing is ever set in stone.

We will be doing some fun side trips, and since I have never been cruising in this part of the world it should be fun!

I will share a bunch of information on what it’s like to be a yacht chef, but I won’t share the name of the boat or owners of course for privacy issues.

I brought several video and still cameras with me, and even a few microphones. So I will be documenting my experience for you. But fist and foremost I will be sharing about my cooking experiences since I am after all a chef.

The crew is great, and I will also introduce you to them as well. As I like to say, never a dull moment in yachting.

I am hoping to become a better food photographer, so I will be practicing that a lot as well. I cook a lot of food for a lot of people so I might as well document it, right?

I will be cooking lunch and dinner for a crew of 9 and how many ever guests may happen to be on the boat when they arrive. I will also cook breakfast and snacks for the crew a few times per week as well.

Okay, so sit back and relax and get ready for some great recipes and hopefully some great stories as well. Please also feel free to comment below and let me know if there is anything you would like to see.

Talk soon!

Chef Jeff

Hey there! I sure hope all is going good in your life. Obvioulsy I haven’t posted in awhile so I wanted to update you as to where you can find me. I started this blog for fun to keep family and friends updated and entertained. A lot has happened since I started this.

I want you to know that I just spent a couple of hours putting google maps on the “the charter season” blog posts. On the right hand side of this site in the categories area is a link that say’s “The Charter Season” Go ahead and click that and follow along as I travel the mediterannean cooking for the richest people in the world.

Though I am not actively posting on this site, if you’re new here then please have fun browsing. I spent many years sharing recipes and having fun. And of course the recipes are just as good today as they were then. Be warned though that a lot of these recipes are my sinful one’s as I was just sharing with friends.

I finally finished writing my weight loss program for you. I am so excited, it is several years in the making from my amazing experiences and includes hundreds of my favorite healthy recipes. I am blogging there and adding articles etc. You can find out more here: www.thebillionairediet.com

Also I have turned http://www.mydietchef.com in to my new home for now to replace this.  I will be sharing healthy recipes, tips, and generally keeping you updated on what I am up to.  Thanks for hanging out with me.  Hope we talk soon

I did a freelance chef gig down in the caribbean over the holidays. Every boat that I work on is different, but this one had a large percentage of mexican crew which is very unusual. One day one of the ladies wanted to make posole for the crew.

It had been so long since I had it I forgot how much I love it. Then I was out having dinner with my brother the other day and he was telling me how one of the housekeepers at the hotel he works at made a big batch of posole and how much he loved it and never had it before.

Well, it’s cold here and ever since he told me I have had posole on the brain and really didn’t have much of a choice but to make it. Like all of my recipes I came up with a super easy and healthy dish. Probably not too authentic but it sure is good. You can click here for a brief history of the dish. I left my camera on the boat and they can’t ship it for a few weeks so I just put a stock picture of it so you could see what it looks like.

Part of the fun of this soup is the toppings. I think the traditional toppings are lime wedges, shredded cabbage or iceberg lettuce, diced onion, radish slices, avocado, cilantro, and I’m sure i’m missing a few. It’s a perfect party dish since you can just put the soup pot out and prep all of the toppings and let everyone go to town. I put chopped onion, cilantro, avocado, and queso fresco on top of mine. Damn that was tasty.

Posole
Serves 4
2 lb. Pork loin or butt, cubed
1 medium onion minced
1 Tablesoon Canola oil
8 cups Chicken Broth
1 can (30 oz.) Hominy
4 Dried Passila Chile Peppers
4 garlic cloves

Directions:
Soak the chiles in hot water. Brown the pork and onion in the oil in a soup pot. Rinse the hominy well and add that and the chicken broth to the pot. Stem the chiles and blend with some of the soaking water and the garlic to make a paste. Stir that in to the soup pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for an hour or so until the prok is tender. Go crazy and top it with whatever you choose.

Today’s recipe in the newsletter was Greek Shrimp Scampi, and I thought why not add a potatoe recipe to the mix, so here ya go :}

Greek Roasted Potatoes

These tasty potatoes go good with so many other dishes.

Serves 4
Cook time: 30 minutes

1 tablespoon Olive Oil
2 Potato, russet
1 tablespoons Lemon Juice
1 tablespoon Greek Seasoning, no salt

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the potato in to wedges and mix with the other ingredients in a bowl. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick spray. Lay the potatoes on the baking dish and bake for 30 minutes until browned and soft.

per serving: 112.5 calories; 1.5 gram protein; 5.1 grams total fat; 0 gram fiber; 2 gram saturated fat; 16.5 grams carbohydrates; 0 mgs cholesterol; 24 mgs sodium

This recipe is from my bran spankin new weight loss course. If you need to drop some pounds but still want to live life to the fullest then give it a shot. If you want daily healthy recipes from me then you can sign up for my newsletter on the box on the right. The recipe is for a single serving and has around 400 calories.

LIME-MINT SHRIMP SKEWERS WITH TABOULI
5 ounces raw Shrimp
2 each Lime
2 teaspoon minced Garlic
1 tablespoon Honey
1 tablespoon chopped Mint
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1/4 cup Parsley
1/2 cup Bulgur Wheat, cooked
1/4 cup chopped Tomato
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 each Lemon
Shrimp:
Mix medium raw shrimp (peeled and cleaned with the tails on) with 1/4 of the juice of lime, 1/2 of the Chopped garlic, 1/2 of the Olive oil, pinch of salt and pepper.
Skewer shrimp and grill over high heat until cooked through, 2 minutes per side. Baste cooked Shrimp with sauce: juice from rest of limes, Honey, and Chopped fresh mint
Tabouli:
Mix cooked bulgar with chopped parsley, chopped tomato, rest of the chopped garlic, juice from lemon, Salt, and the rest of the Olive Oil.

Can you believe this blog is back again? Hey, I’ve been doing this blog for too long to stop now. I tried to change servers since all of my other sites are on that server. Well, that little change over in servers turned out to be a real nightmare! Oh boy, I ain’t doing that again! Anyway, I’m sure you know by now that I’m off the boat and back in Charlotte. Feels so good to be on land. I’m about to launch a weight loss website, so that has been Keeping me busy.

I need to do some traveling so I can do the name of this blog justice! I will still keep this for my un-healthy recipes, and just keeping you up to date on what I’ve been up to. I remodeled my kitchen and I am going to start doing some cooking videos, I will share some of them here as well. I have the funkiest home. I have collected the weirdest crap during my travels over the years. It’s safe to say it’s eclectic!

I’ve been wanting to start taking pictures again, so I will take pics. of some of the funky stuff I’ve bought over the years. Today’s little gem was bought in Oaxaca Mexico several years ago. I don’t want to throw it out, so it just sits on top of my bookcase.

Coconut-Curry Butternut Squash Soup

Here is a soup I came up with on charter several weeks ago and forgot about it until twitter user Allison reminded me of it. It was a real winner with everyone, I’m sure you will enjoy. You can add more sugar if you like you squash soup sweeter. I top this with some lowfat sour cream.

Serves 4

Cook Time: 30 minutes

2 ea. Butternut Squash
2½ cups broth (vegetable or chicken)
1 cup coconut milk, light
¼ cup sweet chili sauce
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 ea. Lime, juiced
1 tablespoon curry powder
¼ cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut squash in ½ and place cut side down on a baking sheet. Roast for 30-45 minutes until very soft. Scrape out seeds and scoop the squash pulp in to a soup pot with the other ingredients. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Either blend with a hand blender in the pot or puree in batches in a blender.

Wow. I might have set a record for not posting. I have been busy online though. I’ve been twittering like a little twitterbird, and I started a daily newsletter with recipes and articles. I do still plan to post here though. Mostly my sinful recipes, and an updates on what i am up to. We are still in Bonaire until April and having a blast. If you miss me and want to hear about my escapades and get a healthy recipe of the day then sign up on the box on the right to my daily newsletter. It’s all fluff and no substance (wait, i meant the other way around). Erica did a new logo for this site and should be up in a few days. It is too cool of course. ok. bye

Chocolate Cloud Cake

Serves 8-12

Cake:

8 ounces good quality semisweet chocolate

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, cut in pieces

6 large eggs- 2 whole, 4 seperated

1 cup sugar

Whipped Cream Topping:

1 1/2 cups heavy cream, chilled

3 Tbsp. powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Cake:

preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of an 8 inch springform pan with wax paper. Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl set over hot water. In a bowl, whisk the 2 whole eggs, and 4 yolks with 1/2 cup of the sugar. Whisk in the chocolate mixture. Beat the egg whites in an electric mixer until foamy, than add sugar and whisk to stiff peaks. Fold in to chocolate mixture, and pour in to springform pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes until puffed, and cracked (don’t over bake) Let cool (the center will fall), whip the cream with sugar, and vanilla to stiff peaks, and fill the center. Top with shaved chocolate if you wish (i do).

We are in Curacao for a few days. I was told there was a floating market just down the street, so of course I had to go investigate. I am wishing you a happy new year. Let’s make 2010 the best yet!

I have posted the recipe here before, but it was a jumbled mess and impossible to follow. It comes from my former sous chef Corli, and I think is the best cheesecake ever, and I’m not really even a cheesecake fan. I just made it since we have guests arriving tomorrow. I also made the banana cake, just do a search for banana cake, that’s another keeper (real simple too). The digestive biscuits can be found in the foreign foods area of you grocery store. I know Whole Foods carries them. When you pull the cheesecake out of he oven it is going to be jiggly, that’s ok it’s supposed to be, trust the recipe. That’s part of what makes this recipe taste so good.

Worlds Best cheesecake

Crust:
1/2 package digestive biscuits
melted butter

Filling:
3 packages philly cream cheese softened
1 container mascarpone cheese softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 vanilla beans
1 pint heavy cream
juice of 1 or 2 lemons

For the filling. pulse the digestive biscuits in a food processor until they look like sand. Move to a bowl and add melted butter and mix. Add just enough butter so it looks like wet sand. Press that in to the bottom of a springform pan. In a mixer, add the cheeses and mix to combine over medium speed. Add the sugar, eggs one at a time, and scrape the vanilla beans and add the pulp to the mixture. Add the cream, turn of the mixer and scrape the bowl down. Add the lemon juice and mix that in. Pour mixture in the springform pan and bake in a 350 degree oven for 55-60 minutes. Run a knife around the outside of the cheesecake to prevent it from cracking. Let sit at room temp. for an hour and refrigerate for several hours to chill.