GREG IN SAN DIEGO

about me

I'm a recently retired San Diego divorce litigation attorney and "wanna be professional chef-restauranteur."

In addition to ingredient selection, recipe preparation and meal presentation, I love to ride my two Kawasaki jet skis on the San Diego waterways and also on the Colorado River. I enjoy Laughlin, Nevada, adjacent Lake Mojave and nearby Lake Havasu as well. I enjoy walking, jogging and riding my "beach cruiser" bike around Mission Bay and along the San Diego waterfront. As we say here, San Diego is "America's finest city."

I live on a small ranch in the back country of San Diego, about a 45 minute drive from downtown San Diego and the harbor. My "neighbors" are horses, owls, red tail hawks, orioles, woodpeckers and other wild birds, foxes and an occasional deer.

Even though I'm already living in the country, I just purchased a 32 foot RV so I can explore more coastlines, back roads and byways! I have just a tiny kitchen in the motor home so I'll have to learn to cook in tight quarters with a limited amount of cookware. That will be challenging.

I'm just completing construction of a large raised garden where I'm going to plant lots and lots of vegetables...can't wait for the harvest. I'm also in the process of designing a huge rose garden. I'm planning to set out about a hundred roses surrounding a redwood gazebo.

I'm learning flambe' cooking presentation, digital photography, calligraphy and fly fishing.

My food preparation specialties are "American Home Cooking," and "Plate Presentation." My dream is to own and direct a small, intimate restaurant serving quality "comfort and fusion food" meals to discerning diners in the San Diego area. My chef-idol is Christopher Kimball, the publisher and editor of "Cooks Illustrated" magazine. Reading his semi-monthly magazine editorials is a treat. I highly recommend it to you. You won't be disappointed.

I've always enjoyed cooking, but my keen interest developed about 15 years ago when I began collecting cookbooks, which I read like most folks read novels.

Have you ever been poolside at a luxury resort and had someone eye you curiously, when she or he discovered your were reading a cookbook rather than a novel? I have. It's made for some interesting discussions, believe me!

I have a bookcase containing about 400 cookbooks at this time. With so much good recipe information now on the web, however, I don't purchase as many books now as I did in the past, but I still can't resist on occasion.

I joined Recipezaar in December of 2006 and I'm really enjoying it. In fact it would be fair to say that I've become somewhat addicted to it! I've already posted more than 100 recipes and I love having them rated. I've got so many public and private cookbooks on Recipezaar I can hardly count them.

I'd really like to start a cooking club or group in the San Diego area. If you're interested, send me a Z-mail message.

Developing pet peeve: People who post critical reviews and then describe in their comments how they deviated from the originally posted recipe. Unbelievable! It seems to me that it's only fair to review a recipe if one has followed the directions precisely.

Favorite Foods:

Prime beef, almost rare: Standing Rib Roast, Filet Mignon with Bernaise sauce, Porterhouse on the grill. Flambe presentations and table-side service. Baby Back Ribs, cut lengthwise, horizontally, individually sliced and roasted with Asian seasonings.

Carefully seasoned brined and roasted poultry. Braised lamb shanks served with mint jelly and other crock-pot cooked dinners. Legitimate BBQ and outdoor grilling, indoor Scanpan grilling.

Chilled salad plates and forks, heated soup bowls and spot-free polished glassware. Starched and ironed napkins folded into interesting shapes.

Coffee Cakes and Fruit Pies. Meal presentation and plate garnish: The appearance of a meal has as much to do with appetite and enjoyment as anything else!

French press coffee, freshly home-roasted coffee beans, "high end" home-brewed Jura-Capresso coffee and espresso drinks, hot and cold, and home-made lemonade with fresh mint sprigs, lemon slices and stemmed cherry toppers.

Freshly ground spices and crystal-clear ice cubes.(You can, in fact, purchase a real ice machine for installation in you kitchen and it will produce crystal clear cubes.) Breakfast buffet and ice sculpture. Multi-course and multi-offering textured meals. Abundance and enjoyment. Expert, thoughtful seasoning: Penzy's spices.

I enjoy co-cooking and meal preparaion experiences with friends and cooking classes for fun!

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