Once upon a time at Starbucks...

I originally wrote this Sept. 18, 2006:

Sorry but this review is actually 3 days late, but last thurs I was having a mid afternoon with a friend and while we were chatting the starbucks barista begin passing out all these freebies such as lattes, blueberry muffins, and cookies.

This lead me to think 'Damn did Starbucks stock just go up or something'?  Well I know it didn't because I own Starbucks stock and it only went up a little http://finance.yahoo.c... but not enough to merit the big giveaways.

Oh yea the review!  Well the atmosphere there is very laid back and not too much foot traffic, so this not your typical  people watching Starbucks that you're used to, but the people are friendly and if you sit in the back  you can catch the after work rush to score food from Bob's Big Boy's drive thru.

Another thing when you go to Starbucks be sure to have some decent company with me which I did so it made it more pleasant.

Now here is the big finish.  We're chilling just shooting the gobble gobble and all of sudden the barista comes out again!  " Oh my Goodness what are they bringing us now"?

The barista was walking around holding a bowl and some tickets "A raffle"? I say and that's exactly what was going on.  When he came over to us he handed me and my friend two tickets and instructed us to put our name and number on the ticket.

Since I'm a bit of a smart ass I put my name/number/address/email addy/shoe size.

Barista: "What's all of this"?
ME: "Oh I just wanna make sure you can find me when I win"!

The barista laughs at me and I tuck my ticket away not really thinking about it anymore then my friend and I parted ways and I went to run some errands then my phone rings.

Starbucks: "Is this Lovejoy Cole" ?

ME: "Um yes how can I help you"?

Starbucks: "My name is Dane from the Toluca Lake Starbucks and I just want to inform you that you won a brand new  Barista Expresso machine valued at $399",

ME: "Are you serious"? "Is this a joke"?

Starbucks: "No sir just bring in your ticket and it;s yours"

I bolt to Toluca Lake to claim my prize before they change there mind and when I walk in I hand the guy my ticket and he hands me my brand new expresso machine included with a video instructional tape.

One of the guys behind the corner gave me the evil eye and told me how lucky I was.....You damn right!...Later bitches!

I never was much for coffee let alone expresso but I tell you now i'm gonna be a cappucino/expresso/latte making mofo.

Coffee anyone?

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When "Club My Studio" was "Mood"

Girls at Mood

Written August 2006...... Of course Friday nights are always the craziest , so since my boy Pablo was in town from Miami we had to do some damage on the dance floor tonight.  We break out the house at about 11pm so we can get to the club right when it's at the height of excitement. So we park and start to walk up to the club and we were behind 4 beautiful young young ladies who were talking about tricking the doorman with they're fake ID.  Since I'm a man of chivalry I asked them did they want to go right in quickly and they kind of blew me off like I was some idiot.  They didn't even turn around to look at us so I was like OK we'll see who gets the last laugh.  We get up to the line where the homies Suk Sung and Cory are working the rope and the girls we were behind walked up to the rope "Everybody to the back of the line" and the girls were gone.  "Yo Lovejoy what's up man" we walk right in I look at one of the girls and start to laugh.  I would've gave the heads up for the fake ID but I'm not a hater so here we go.  The Club was bangin we walk around the club for a minute and then we proceed to do it.  Girls just started grabbin us left and right and we were all over the dance floor.  I saw the Ziering kid from 90210 so of course I had to solicit my culinary skills and my old friend Mario Joyner was there too and I made the same play. If you need info on these two once again http://www.imdb.com.  The dance floor was getting hot but it was crazy....this one girl I thought wanted to dance with me blew me off cause she said I danced to good but it's cool cause later on she was begging me to dance once we tore the floor up in front of the whole club these brotha from south central were trying to get there boogie on but we killed it Pablo and Dominic were rippin up and the guys just back down and was like fuck it.  It was funny though cause now the girls that were trippin even the little persian girl wearing too much ice were now trying to buy us drinks and put there hands around our waste and stuff.  it's crazy what a little popularity does to women.  Needless to say it was a great night for my friends last night in LA cause it goes back to Florida the next day.  I'm gonna miss my friend Pablo he was one of the true friends I made when I first moved here, but we had alot of fun.  Awww Hollywood why did you have to change.  go to http://www.moodla.com  if you wanna see how it looked.

Bed, Bath, and Beyond has bargains if you look!

I needed a new grilling pan and usually I would go to Ross to checkout there homewares where I can always find a cheap kitchen utensil or two, but I opted for the "IN" place to shop.  Well needless to say I was dissapointed when I first walked in and saw all the valley moms scammering all over the store on there cellphones with there dark knockoffs still on hahaha but anyway I make my way to the kitchen section....OY VEY! These prices were ridiculous  99 dollars for  16 inch grilling pan FUCK THAT!!  no worries i said that to myself.   Well I continue to search determined to find a deal here and low and behold I did!!  Hiding in the shadows were some good bargain pans for 31 dollars Halleluah!  Then all of a sudden after I've found my treasure all the helpers show up " sir is everything Ok"  Sir do you need help"  I mean where were they when I was fuming over finding decent pan.  But it's still a nice store I will go back but only during a sale.  OH and I picked up a nice grilling basket for 9 bucks as well.  Maybe one day I'll cook for you with my new utensils!!!

New Hollywood Crowd

Now I've been going out to Hollywood Clubs forever and ever and for the most party it's been an amazing experience for me. But for the past few years the "new hollywood" peeps have been tainting what has become  a great scene unlike any other in the country and maybe even the world.

The new crowd of "wannabes" coming from the midwest and the south and some even from the east coast no doubt are bringing there insecure judgmental attitudes to LA with them and messing up the whole chemistry of Hollywood.  This is a city where you let loose and be who you want to be and even re-create yourself into something better that you were when you left "back home".  That doesn't mean wearing Uggs all season long, buying things you can't afford just to look important or even wearing sunglasses 24/7 even when it's raining cause you're too insecure with your looks to walk around in a city full of beautiful people or the sun is just too bright for you! Fuck that if you can't stand the sunshine then take your pasty ass back to Ohio, LA doesn't need you.

All the new club promoters and the the all the people white or black that have been raised by good decent parents all of a sudden come to LA and want to act "hoodish" by throwing gang signs in clubs, using slang words that they didn't grow up with or learned in college these are the people coming to LA messing up the whole dynamics of not just LA night life but LA life on whole.   Also this new "bottle service" shit is the worse idea LA clubs have ever invented and not that they really invented it because it's been around for decades, but before it was only reserved for rock stars and celebs so they didn't have to go to the bar and deal with fans, then some idiot had the idea let's just offer that to everybody who can afford it and the "bottle/table service" was born.

My whole point of this particular blog is this, LA is and will always be a fun place to live, play, and work.......as long as these "New Hollywood" wannabes don't fuck it up!

Vizage Magazines Chef's Corner

Chef's Corner with Lovejoy Cole  We’ve traveled several states looking for the perfect recipe that screams healthy and ran into Hollywood’s most sought out cook”The Dancing Chef-LOVEJOY” not only was he humble but a joy to have around, We asked lovejoy what were some of his favorite dishes to cook and why?

Lovejoy: Since the rise of the obesity problem in America more and more of my clients have been asking me to do some of there favorite comfort foods, but in a more healthier manner.  Three of my favorites to make are Oven Baked Fried Chicken,  Cranberry Whole Wheat Stuffing, and  Cinnamon Walnut Candied Yams.

Oven Baked Fried Chicken
3 chicken legs
2 chicken thighs
1 chicken breast
1 cup of egg whites
2 cups of wheat flour
3 grinded cups of  Honey Nut Cheerios
1 cup of Peanut Oil or Flaxseed Oil
1/4 cup of Old Bay Seasoning
1/4 cup of Lemon Pepper
1/4cup of Paprika

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C.).  Combine flour, Old Bay, Lemon Pepper, Paprika in medium mixing bowl, Egg Whites in another medium mixing bowl, and granulated Honey Nut Cheerios in another bowl.

2. Repeat the steps of dredging all chicken pieces in flour, then egg whites and then Honey Nut Cheerio mixture and set aside on wax paper.

3. Heat Oil in 11inch sauté pan to smoke point and brown each piece of chicken in pan and place in 13 inch baking dish and place in oven for 30 min. or until crispy and serve.

Yield 6 servings  (200 calories per serving)

Cranberry Apple Whole Wheat Stuffing

6 cups cubed whole wheat bread
1 cup of dried cranberries
3 fuji apples – peeled, cored, and chopped
1 cup Organic butter
2 1/2 cups chopped onions
2 cups chopped celery
2 1/2 cups chopped mushrooms
2 cups of chopped Red Pepper
1/2cup of fresh thyme
1/2cup of fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons salt substitute
1 1/2 tp Cayenne pepper
1 cup water
1 (14.5 ounce) can vegetable broth

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2.Melt butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Stir in onions,  celery, mushrooms, red peppers. Cook until vegetables are lightly browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Add and stir in thyme, and rosemary. Continue cooking about 2 minutes more Remove from heat, and season with salt and pepper.

3.In a large bowl, mix whole wheat bread, apples, and cranberries. Gradually blend in vegetable broth until mixture is moistened.

4.Transfer mixture to a large baking dish. Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned.

Yield 8 servings  (300 calories per serving)

Cinnamon Walnut Candied Yams

6 medium organic yams (peeled and cubed)
1 cup of  sliced organic butter
1 cup of Splenda Brown Sugar
1 1/2 cups of chopped walnuts
1 cup of vanilla extract
1/3 cup of Cinnamon

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

2.Place yams in a medium baking dish. Distribute butter pieces evenly over the yams. Sprinkle with brown sugar ,vanilla extract and Cinnamon

3.Distribute walnuts on top of yams.

4.Cover and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until yams are tender and walnuts are golden brown.

Yield 6 servings (250 Calories per serving)

Now with the Thanksgiving Holiday approaching I will definitely try all 3 dishes, Thanks to my favorite Dancing Chef “Lovejoy”

www.thedancingchef.net
www.thedancingchef.com

Cooking For Charity

One of things I love about my life is that I get to give back as much as possible.  There is nothing like the joy of helping out others in need or feeding someone that can’t feed themselves.  Often I’ll submit my services for cooking lessons to silent auctions for several charities and it’s win – win situation for me, because I get help these charities make money and the people that bid on my services usually become new clients.

Just last week I donated a $200 cooking lesson to www.womenforwomen.org for a fundraising event they did at the Canvas LA downtown organized by super coordinator Megan Davis. It was beautiful event by the pool full of people willing to give for a worthy cause.  I stayed for about an hour until I had to go make some food for another client, but the event still turned out great.

The next week I receive an email from somebody saying they had the winning bid for the cooking lesson in the silent auction and what was my availability to do the cooking lesson.  Since I was going to be out of town for about a week I thought it would be best to schedule it for when I return back to LA. 

We made plans to do the lesson on a Friday night around 7pm, because they wanted to go see Julie and Julia to get inspired for the cooking lesson. 

As I walked in this beautiful duplex in West LA I was taken by how welcoming the atmosphere of the décor made me feel when I walk thru the door. From eclectic furniture to the art on there walls with framed menus from there favorite restaurants. The kitchen was very modern and CLEAN which I love when clients have clean kitchens because if it isn’t clean I end up leaving them cleaner than they were after I’m done.

The three ladies Jamie, Celina, and Elise were very ecstatic about getting right to the food and I had no problem with that, because that’s what I was there for and believe me I was

ready.

Beverages started flowing and the party was about to begin. Another girl showed up shortly after Jamie’s gorgeous friend Lori who just happened to be from my hometown of Cleveland, Ohio it actually turned out that she was just born there but raised in California, but it still was a crazy coincidence. After hanging out for a minute Lori left, because she felt like a fifth wheel.  Celina was waiting for her husband Josh to bring the wine since that was one of his two tasks for that day the other being to bring cheese also.  The ladies started making drinks with vodka and rum but they really wanted some wine to go along with the meal that I had planned.

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First I wanted to show them how to make the Chocolate Cinnamon Bread Pudding from scratch so they can see how easy it was to do. Now I don’t normally cook from a recipe it’s mostly by memory and technique, but for them I measured it out so they could get an idea of the recipe.  After I finished showing them how to make the bread pudding I slid it in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Just like clockwork Josh walks in with the wine and some gourmet cheese from trader joe’s that the girls were just crazy about because Elise and Jamie couldn’t stop eating it.

After Josh and I introduced ourselves then I proceeded to make the Curried Brown Rice with Cranberries.  I brought my own non stick skillet since i'm more familiar with it and clean up is also easier because I can just take it with me if I don’t have time to clean it up.

Soon as I started to sauté with the onions in butter and added the curry the ladies made there way to kitchen individually to see what was causing that amazing aroma.  I told them step-by-step what I was doing and that they could substitute the butter with flax seed oil to make it healthier.  The only dish that required the most work was the butter sautéed carrots with vanilla.  The carrots needed to be peeled and sliced unlike the brown rice which I pre-cooked before I made it to the house, because everybody knows how to cook rice at least they should.  As I proceeded to make the carrots that’s when Elise husband Tim finally arrived to the party, a very energetic and animated sort of guy that made the night a little more fun with his witty conversation and entertaining stories.  Now we were waiting on more dinner guest and that was Jamie’s date for the evening Joe, he arrive right before I was about to demonstrate how to make the Sweet Potato Crusted Salmon with Rosemary Cream Sauce   He turned out to be a very cool down to earth type person that can roll with any situation and Jamie seemed to really relieved that he finally made it.

After we finished the last rounds of introductions I prepared the Salmon by rubbing on a mustard/mayo mixture for an adhesive coating for the sweet potatoes to cling to while cooking.  Into the oven the Salmon went then we had some light conversation about dancing and various other parts of our life, then Elise proceeded to tell me she is a dancer as well which wasn’t really that surprising since she looked like a ballerina type anyway.

ooohs and ahhhhs it’s funny to me to hear that every time I make a dessert and the final product is revealed. 

As I cleaned up the kitchen Celina broke the camera out and all of a sudden the whole room was her subject.  The Salmon was close to being done so I started to reheat the rice and carrots in the sauté pan so it would be nice and hot when the Salmon was done.

When the Salmon was done we took out some plates and I begin to put the food on the dishes and distributed then around the table in and orderly fashion making sure everybody had a plate with equal portions of food well at least that’s the way I tried to coordinate the whole meal and it worked out. 

Everyone begin to eat and have conversation with pleasure, the dinner turned out well with satisfaction across the board.  Now it was time for the dessert.  This is the fastest I’ve ever made this Chocolate Cinnamon Bread Pudding so I was kind of worried that it might not turn out as well as the last time I made it.  As I was taking it out of the oven I noticed that it did indeed turn out splendidly.

We collected the plates from the dinner and I was proud to see clean plates except for some bits and pieces of rice and carrots, but that’s pretty normal.  I plated the bread pudding trying to give the guys bigger slices so they can dig in a little deeper and boy did they dig.  I don’t nobody enjoyed it more than Tim, because as I remember I don’t think it was a spec of chocolate left on his plate……..Good Job!

Enjoyable as it was the evening for me had to come to an end. After finishing the clean up and hauling my equipment back to the car I said my goodbyes, but the party for them kept going.   I LOVE MY JOB!!

Chef Lovejoy Cole

The Dancing Chef

I LOVE What I do!!

I love what I do!

 

All summer I’ve been cooking for many people and traveling all over the country and the world trying to share my gift with the masses. 

 

From San Fran, Dallas, Arizona, Miami, NY and Europe  I’ve been sharing food stories, and laughs with a lot of people and celebrities I might not have met if I wasn’t a personal chef or maybe I would’ve met them but I’m glad that get to witness so many people enjoy my food.

 

As an ex- professional dancer I thought I was going to become very bored with the culinary world, but when I made the switch years ago I really didn’t know what to expect.

 

It was a hard long road in the beginning. Odd task such as schucking oysters, peeling hundreds of potatoes, washing pounds and pounds of lettuce among other task were the norm even before I was trusted enough to actually cook anything.  I have to say those days slaving at many many restaurants all over Los Angeles were very good training grounds more than any cooking school could ever teach an individual and while I was being paid handsomely as well.

 

Now that I’ve been a personal chef for many years now I’m very greatful to those tortuous task that I cursed as I was performing them.  Eventhough I still hate the fact that I had to do them I’m glad that I did because it has made me the chef I am today!!!

Lovejoy Cole

The Dancing Chef