blog

Taken Cooking is a family affair Tomorrow What Hemingway’s Ghost made me do! It’s always fun to write the introduction. What I try to do is set up what is to come in the book.  However, this time I’m going to introduce you to the three major players who help put this little  book together: mom (Laura Bell Aikens), Joi A. (I call her “stick”) Aikens, and Stacey (one of  the newest closest people in my life) Antine.     Let’s start with mom. She really doesn’t need an introduction. If you have followed my career from local TV­Atlanta, throughout the Southeast, and my days with KGO in San Francisco and  KABC in Los Angeles­ to my days with the Home Show and Good Morning America on ABC,  and more recently, The Food Network, you know mom. Mama is the world’s best cook, and she is so full of love. That’s where I get it­ from her, and from God. She taught me to cook, she  and dad taught me to work, and she also taught me to give and to not expect anything in return. Give for the pleasure of that act. Give for giving’s sake. Give to help, because your act  of giving may help someone else come up. I love you, Mama.     Now Chef Joi Aikens, my niece. I’m so proud of you this kid. Well, she’s a woman now, but  she’ll always be a kid to me. I call her “stick” because as a little girl and even into high school  she was so small. Joi graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in  communications in 1998, but was unhappy with the job situation around Atlanta. So she and I  were talking one day in mom’s front yard. I said to her, “I have the greatest job in the world,  and not just because I’m on TV. I love everything about the culinary world. It’s creative, it’s  expensive, I get to teach, and I’m always learning. Not to mention the wonderful people that  I’ve met and the exotic places I’ve had a chance to travel to and experience.” And I also said  to her, “I make a great living.”    So, I offered to pay for her to go to culinary school. Now, for those of you who don’t know, I ’m a self-taught chef­ well, really “mama ­taught,” with some supplementary lessons from cooks,  farmers, and chefs all over the world. Anyhoo, my vision was that this beautiful, smart,  University of Georgia grad­­ my niece­ with formal training in the culinary arts, would be able to take my at­home, down­home style of cooking into the world of dining out. And I gotta tell you,  she really has been able to do that. Joi graduated from the Art Institute of Atlanta in 2001, and she is now a certified Culinarian (a.k.a. she’s a chef!). Over the past three years, I have prepared menus all over the country, and little Chef Joi has executed them to perfection.  We’ve done dinners in Louisville, Florida, Texas, California, and there are so many more to  come. I have no fear in putting a menu together because my baby can make it happen.     Stacey Antine­at the time of this printing, we have known each other for about two months.  Now, like I said earlier, she is one of the newest people in my life, but she has become one of  the closest. We talk no less than three times a day, but really it’s about eight. No big deal, you  say? Well, Stacey lives and works in New York City, and I live in California. How did we come into each other’s lives? God did it! I was in New York City to do the “Living it Up with Ali and Jack” TV show, when I got a call  from my manager, Jeff Siegel. He said, “I have this person that I want you to meet. She has  some ideas.” First I said to him, “Man, I don’t have time for another person that thinks, just  because I’m on TV, I can take their wild idea and make it into a big TV hit.” After Jeff stopped  laughing, he informed me that she doesn’t want to be on TV, that she’s a businessperson,  and he suggested I spend some time with her.     The week before Valentine’s Day, we met for coffee at the hotel I was staying at in New York.  Stacey is Director, Corporate Communications for a healthcare company in New York. Stacey  holds a master’s of science in food, nutrition, and dietetics from New York University and  completed her dietetic internship at Beth Israel Medical Center, New York City. She combines  her passion for nutrition and health with over 15 years of public relations experience creating  educational campaigns for children and adults on behalf of Kellogg USA, The Dannon  Company, The Minute Maid Company, Hoffmann­ La Roche, Pfizer, Nutrition 21, Inc., and  SmithKline Beecham. She also holds an appointment on the advisory board for Tufts  University School of Nutrition Communications graduate program. She speaks regularly at  industry conferences regarding food and health concerns and is a member of the American  Dietetic Association.     She is a woman of vision who has a passion for life, for family, for faith, and for work. We were supposed to have a 15­minute meeting. An hour later, we were talking about how to cancel some of our upcoming appointments to spend more time getting to know each other. She has  this energy like someone else I know (ME). SHE GETS THE JOB DONE. In the two months  that we’ve known each other, she has taught me things about nutrition that I didn’t know. I  hope I’ve taught her things about cooking (in fact, I know I have). In our short time together,  we’ve worked and played in San Diego, Los Angeles, Atlanta, as well as New York. I hope  you will look forward to the information that Stacey is going to share with you in this volume,  as much I am enjoying getting to know her and having the privilege of introducing her to you.     Now that you know the players, I guess I should tell you a little bit about this collection of  recipes and information I hope you’re about to enjoy. Some of the recipes are old, many are  new, but all tried and true. I hope you enjoy Mama’s cookin’, Joi’s execution, Stacey’s  knowledge, and my passion. As always, you can write to me through my website,  www.curtisaikens.net. Tell me what you think.

Its late I’m beat! back and eye are killing me,  430pm or about the next day! Later I hope to post  what the Ghost of Ernest Hemingway shared with ME! Now let me proof read this from last Night! Couple weeks ago, I took a yoga class guided by Monika, she moves me, her voice, her style, her way of sensing what the class, and more importantly what each yogi she guides may need. Sound and Silence, music The melody and lyrics, food the taste or smell can take me back decades, A conversation and now days that conversation can be in person, over the phone, email, via text, FaceTime ,Skype or any of the social media platforms, right Diana The FaceBook- conversations wow. Tonight’s, post came from my day yesterday after Walmart and two weeks ago the motivation that is a conversation with a friend of mine that I hadn’t Read More…

WalMart Don’t laugh you shop there too! Right? Hell, they are everywhere, so I swing in to grab a loaf of bread, It never ceases to amaze me how many selections we have to choose from. However, before making my Pick, I check myself to be sure I don’t end up in someone’s video about WalMart shoppers! Yes, we’ve all seen them, some made us Cry, because we were laughing so hard! I start the inspection, by pulling out the iPhone, selfie mode, nothing hanging from my nose, nothing green in my teeth, the phone goes away! Zipper up, shirt tucked, shoes tied, don’t want to trip over my leases!  OK I’m feeling pretty confident if I’m in someone’s picture, nothing to laugh at. Back to Bread, I swear there are 60 different loaves of bread I settle for the Original Alfraro’s  Artesano, that’ all I came for, so, go Read More…

Tonight, I’m sharing three recipes I created while working in Palm Springs, F&B Manager, also Executive Chef for a hotel and Spa a vegetable, a salad and a chicken recipe they are easy, fun plus taste great and you can have the kids work with you in the kitchen! For those of you looking to add more recipes to your collection, take a look at the key ingredient in each, then think of substitutes, by changing let’s say small pork chops for the chicken you have a new recipe. Broccoli and Asparagus This is a simple way to prepare any vegetable! Ingredients 1 pound broccoli (cut florets long) 1 / 2 pound asparagus bottoms trimmed (just below the bend in the asparagus) 3 tablespoon olive oil 1 tablespoon salt 2 teaspoon black pepper 1 / 2 cup water   Method To large sauté pan arrange broccoli with steamed ends towards Read More…

What inspired you today? Tell me here or on FaceBook @ Curtis G Aikens Sr. I love poetry. mine (Thank you Margaret Golden for Courage Retreats, and Madalinne for making them possible for me) Poetry I love his, hers, mine and yours. If you feel like sharing, send them to Chef@curtisikens.net the following 3 are from me. One I thought was inspired by a former person I cared for. Now I realize many of the poems I wrote are to me. Namaste Ask for help  You can ask me for help anytime if I can, I’ll be more then happy to! Word! Nothing I have is mine, including what little knowledge I may have. It’s just with me the short time I’m here! Well first: I Think it! In other words, come up with your idea what I want to do, me I pray about my ideas and try very Read More…

This Column was written maybe  10 or more years ago! Finnegan’s is still open, & see the not at the end A couple of weeks ago a female friend invited me for dinner and drinks at Finnegan’s  877 Grant Avenue, the bar has been open a few months right, this was my first time in, I am sorry to tell you. We had so much fun! The food the service, the atmosphere all was fantastic. Finnegan’s brings memories of my days living in New York City and the cozy neighborhood hangouts, goods and good times. My friend had the Grilled Flat Iron Stack; I went with 2 appetizers for dinner, the Steamed Clams (one of that night’s special, but I didn’t hear that part) and Crispy Fried Calamari. The Clams were outstanding so much so, that I brought my sons Curtis Jr and Cole to Finnegan’s the very next night. Read More…

Tonight, is A Pickle, 2 recipes! Last night I said I would share the BASE Pickle Recipe from the Pickle party on the 3rd of July, coming up! Plus the Fresh Pick Melon Recipe I served, Julie and Chef Paul> Enjoy The Recipe for refrigerator Pickles for Vickie Ross Basic recipe as follows, you can multiply it as needed. Recipe as it is, is good for 2.5 to 3 quarts of pickles depending on how tightly you pack the jars. Ingredients Canning pickles, sliced Garlic cloves barely crushed Peppercorns, whole Onion, sliced Bell pepper sliced Method Put garlic, peppers in bottom of quart jars, fill with sliced pickles, pack as tightly as you can , the will shrink. Fill jars with brine, seal and refrigerate 24 hours! Brine 2 cups sugar 1 /8 to 1/ 4 cup Kosher salt 2 cups white vinegar Method Mix well You will get a Read More…

The 3rd & 4th Of July. OK , Now I am an empty Nester wow! This thang Called life is strange. We go from being children depend on our parents to young adults that want nothing to do with Mom and Dad, you feel me? We become these grownups that love and respect everything about Dear Mother and Sweet Father, because we have become Parents. My kids are off doing their things, good on them! I hope I’m getting back to doing I am trying new adventures as well. Yoga rediscovering the joy of cooking, connecting with friends that are near and far also making new friends which have done the last two days. On the 3rd & 4th of July, love is all around us we just have to be open to it happy birthday America

July 3 2018 it a about 10:00pm yoga, Facebook live with Chef Carl,  dinner with Friends and I was in a Pickle, Tasting I will try and tell y’all about it tomorrow ! enjoy Mama’s Chicken hugs Curtis This weeks Recipes For Life, I hope will bring smiles and thank yours to the table, but will also make 2 good friends,) really happy Roger Leffler and George Carrasco! Now, Roger is one of those that cannot not get enough CHICKEN recipes, he likes his bird bakes, broiled, BBQed and after today he can prepare it like I love it best, my Mama Fried! Well, not sure if he his Wife Joan will trust him with meal prep? O, Roger this time save your copy of the paper so I won’t have to rerun the recipe next year! George is a BBQ lover, and I promised him Mom’s BBQ sauce recipe, he Read More…

    The 3M’s that made for a Marvelous Magical Magnificent Monday! Monika I’m not even sure how to describe this Yogi, I said to her today if I had a yoga spirit it would be her. This teacher this woman this human being changed made me understand help me realize how incredible yoga is. I’m not knocking any of my other yoga teachers because they bring Magic as well. Monika has a way of seeing things and helping me understand it on the inside deep inside today during class we were sweating and working hard, and her music is off the chain, Lynyrd Skynyrd Simple Man! Damm, us Southern Men love some Skynard. I am that Simple man. Thank you Monika, for opening your heart, sharing your gifts. For helping us work our bodies and then slowing down so we can relax and work our minds and for reminding Read More…