MIXOLOGY 101 With Barbara Cobey

Mixology 101 with Mixologist Barbara Cobey 
Creator Ron Sambrano
Co-Creator Sascha Bauml
Executive Producer Sascha Bauml
Assistant, Stage Manager, Susan Welck

This was done at the beginning of 2014 shot on site at Mahinahina Studios of Sascha Bauml, Productions Lead of Da Foodie Boodies, assisted by Susan Welck and Creator Ron Sambrano (Me). Here in this pilot, Barbara mixes some epic drinks for the ladies.

Da Foodie Boodies is on the ground waiting to see what direction it will go. I believe it can go somewhere, but the competition is fierce on the internet with food and beverage videos and its concepts on food. It takes time and money to make these things happen, and just this video was a process that Sacha Bauml had to labor through.

Da Foodie Boodies concept is to have fun and create awesome entertaining food and beverage videos, but again, it takes time and financing to do it. If there is anyone out there who is an investor and wants to see what else we are up to, send us an email or comment on this blog.

Currently the star of this video Barbara Cobey has returned to her home with her husband Bob in Las Vegas, Nevada. The ideas takes time to come into reality, so as of right now Da Foodie Boodies are kind of grounded and not taking flight. It is sad that we can't find an investor to make this happen, the talent is there to do the projects, and Da Foodie Boodies Facebook Group Page always has someone posting a foodie post.

Hopefully Da Foodie Boodie team will find something on their own if this doesn't get picked up soon. But I totally understand that this is a very tough market, a very tough profession to be in, doing foodie videos for fun isn't cutting it anymore, trying to make it all work out financially is the hard part. Kick Starter's calling. (Please click on the link below to watch the pilot)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UwcoWJZhb0

The video by Sascha Bauml Da Foodie Boodies ©2014 
Anyone wish to use this video must contact him and have his written consent.

© 2014

CHEF SAMBRANO PERSONAL CHEF SERVICES

Personal Chef Services- I go anywhere I do not discriminate, I serve working people, to people that got it made in some fine residence. I focus on simplicity. 

Click Link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTgPAh63Htc

This video depicts myself just showing up at a subdivision to cook for a family of four, it was a rush job, they wanted Roasted Pork w. Wine Sauce and a Bibinka for dessert. The kitchen was very small with not much room to prep, but that's how I roll, I'll go anywhere and serve anyone. Some personal chefs would not dare take a lower cut in their fees to serve someone, and to go to a place less appealing, but not me baby, I'll go into any hood if I get hired, and kick ass.

Because of the rush job, the work was not as neat but sometimes that's life. I got to deal with Pit Bulls, fast cars, kids on bikes, but that's how I roll folks. Chef Sambrano goes wherever he is called. 

I focus on small gigs, not big ones, cooking for singles, couples mostly or small families or gatherings.

www.chefsambrano.wordpress.com

chefsambrano@gmail.com

© 2014

DA FAMOUS LAU LAU

DA FAMOUS HAWAIIAN STYLE STEAMED ONOLICIOUS FOOD OF ALL FOODS CAN BE FOUND IN A 5 STAR RESORT! 

Yes my friends, my foodies, if you are staying in Kapalua, Maui, on the northwest end of the island and staying at the Ritz Carlton you my friends, my foodie friends can eat Hawaiian Style!

Photo on the left is where I sat eating my beef lau lau, this is on the porch of the Honolua Store that is owned and operated by ABC Stores. Beyond those Cooke Pine Trees just about an 8 iron away, is the fine and luxurious Ritz Carlton Kapalua. Guests at the Ritz will walk up the parking lot through the trees and up to the store and have some home cooking local style.


A Lau Lau is generally made with meat, such as pork, beef, chicken, and butterfish. And salted with Hawaiian Sea Salt, and wrapped in taro leaves (Luau) leaves, then wrapped one more time in ti leaves, and steamed underground in an imu. If it is done above ground then industrial size steamers are used, the product…a juicy tender and savory dish to not only die for but to die twice for. Haha. For 6.99, I had a mini lau lau plate, with 1 scoop of sticky white rice, a small ramekin of dessert made of coconut and sugar called Haupia (how pee ah)…and some Lomi Salmon, and a Coke. Lomi means massage, and that's what chefs do, they massage the pieces of salmon with salt, tomatoes, onions and you get one delicious side.

I like to douse my rice with some Aloha Shoyu (soy sauce), Aloha is a brand of soy sauce made in Honolulu, and it isn't as strong as some other soy sauces. With soy sauces, you got to sample the many brands to find which works for you. Most locals like to use Aloha for cooking and as a condiment. I like Kikoman and Yamasa, as well as San J for different applications it all depends, but…this blog is about the lau lau.

This Pic is a Mini Lau Lau Plate at Honolua Store in Kapalua and my can of Coke.

Hope if you are on Maui and staying in Kapalua, anywhere in Kapalua, stop by the Honolua Store when they got Lau Lau, it's Hawaiian style, and if you are a foodie, and never had Hawaiian Style, then it's a must.

Ample seating with tables for 2 and 4 on the porch and on the lanai, the only thing that pisses me off sometimes is those landscapers that are fucking with their blowers and blowing rubbish all over the creation, it's like "Really?!!!! Can't you fuckers do that shit earlier when everyone is fucking just getting up?"

© 2014

MY NEW WEAPON Brand New 14" Flat Bottom Wok

Yay! It's here! My new weapon, my new toy it's here!
Sounds like a little kid eh? Getting that new video game in the mail, or maybe it's the UPS or Fed Ex guy that has the hots for your hotty neighbor across these street, you know the guy, he's in his early forties, going bald, has no life, or maybe he does…but when he drops off your boxes and you're done signing that electronic pad, he's always perving out on Kate the hot woman across the street that's always doing yard work in her tight tank top…yeah you know who I mean…anyhow…let's get to my package…I mean my…never mind.

I ordered a carbon steel, flat bottom 14" wok set from the Wok Shop in San Francisco, yeah the one in Cali you goofball what you think? So I get my package…I mean box, and open it up, and voila there's this beautiful hand hammered flat bottom wok, complete set with an aluminum lid wooden handle. And a wooden spatula to stir fry. It was packaged neatly, and hey it came with a back scratcher made of wood, and I think bamboo, I guess when I got a sweaty itchy back when stir frying for my clients, I'll whip it out and start to scratch? Ewwwww not good my friend.

So I read the instructions and followed it.. I mean it's really easy to season a carbon steel wok. You see, when they ship it to you, it looks like chrome, but that's not what we want in Asian or Chinese wok cooking these are pure China style woks. So it came with a layer of oil which needed to be washed off. Then Dried. Then I simply rubbed some kosher salt on the inside, with some soy sauce and some black pepper with some vegetable oil, then I heated up the wok over medium high heat over an electric stove top, the flat bottom is great for both electric stoves as well as gas, the flat bottom is perfect well balanced product.

Okay back to the seasoning session. I made sure I got all that hot oil and salt and pepper to go all over the inside of the wok, then it started to turn into a bronze color. After that I took the wok off the stove top, and then wiped it clean. Only to rub some oil inside when it cooled. As it cooled I followed the instructions, I preheated the oven to about 400 degrees F, and when the wok cooled completely I added a tablespoon of oil and some salt and rubbed it all over the inside, and about half of the outside. Then put the wok in the oven and baked it for about 25 minutes. Perfect, it turned bronze and it was ready to cook stuff.

So I took it out after it was done baking and let it cool. Then when ready, I just stir fried some meat and onions, with the traditional ginger and garlic, some sesame oil, oyster sauce and more shoyu…perfect. The wok is beautiful. I seasoned it, cooked my first dish in it… now all I did to clean it was rinse it under warm water, no soap, just ooshing the food particles off of the wok. Then got me some paper towels to dry it, and more vegetable oil to rub inside the wok, and a little on the outside (the top quarter), not where the heat will hit, but the top end, this will prevent rust, that's right, rust, and it won't kill you because once the oil is heated it covers the pores of the metal, and the heat will kill any kind of poisons you think might be on your food.

One last thought though, if you ever use a wok that's rusty, well, rinse it, wipe it, and oil it up and bake it, get rid of loose rust, keep it oiled, and it should be okay. If you got any questions find a local restaurant that does Chinese cooking, and go talk to the cook and he'll be able to help you get your old wok up and firing. Remember carbon steel will rust, so it's always a good idea to oil up them woks, and woks my friends last a lifetime, master Chinese chefs will take an old rusted wok, clean it, oil, it, season it, and next thing you know it's good as new.

Some folks will cover the wok with a plastic bag so air won't hit it, but I find as long as its in the cupboard and is oiled it should suffice. And these woks will turn darker as time goes on meaning it's aging and getting to be mellow and perfect, you don't want to disrupt this progression, the more you cook, the better the wok.

wokshop.com

© 2014

PANDA EXPRESS FAST FOOD CHINESE?

Panda Express is and got to be the best chain restaurant in the world that serves up Chinese food. I mean c'mon it's in every major city, it's even in Maui where I live. And although I'd rather have maybe a kau yuk, and pot stickers from a major China town U.S.A. because I've never been to fucking China, I'd take Panda's any day when I'm in a hurry and hungry. Really you can't go wrong with your choice of sticky rice, fried rice, or my favorite the chow mein noodles for my starch. 

If you look at the picture here, I was with a buddy of mine who is a high school teacher, so when he was all stressed out because of the state's educational departments' incompetence and the students that aged him by 5 years because the kids now days have no respect, not like in the good old 80s right? I mean sure we cussed back then…but I mean all we did was smoked weed, and told the teacher we hated where to go. We didn't threaten him with a 9" cimeter or a 9mm Glock did we? Noooo. So my buddy was just trying to unwind and the place we picked for dinner was Panda's on Kiawe street off of Highway 30 in Lahaina across of the Lahaina Cannery Mall. Cool. My plate was filled with chow mein noodles, some grilled teri chicken mmmmm, and some spicy cod. The portions at Panda's are always just right, and sometimes the girls will just add on a few more ounces of food, and us local Hawaii boys, man we can scarf!

Okay I can make Chinese food a little better I think, it's the pride and ego we chefs have, but as a paying customer, what the hell? Panda's is okay, can't complain…ok maybe the sweet and sour sauce or whatever may come from a can from their corporate distribution hub, but again what the hell? It's fast food Chinese done right..their business model is a success, and really it's all about making money. I'm sorry, yeah you need a product, and you gotta fill a need, but it all comes down to execution and making it happen, ringing the registers, because if you aren't ringing your registers, you aren't good in business. Take note future entrepreneurs in food and beverage, take note. Fill the need, have quality food and service, feed em quick, take the cash and make that deposit at the end of the night.

© 2014 

SHRIMP SCAMPI

Personal chef jobs, I like to do the smaller gigs, no large groups where the people are loud, don't want that, I like to serve people for a reason, like a person who can't cook living by themselves, or romantic dinners for two, and maybe a small family dinner like 4-8 peeps.

Well, one of my gigs I had to deliver some food to some office girls, so what did they wanna eat? Pasta with shrimp, or scampi…scampi actually means shrimp to begin with, so if you say "pasta with shrimp scampi" you are actually saying "scampi scampi" anyhow, that's something up for discussion.

Here's my tip on heating up shrimp in a hot pan when making shrimp shrimp haha. 

First get a pan, one that you are comfy with…me, I'm old school I love stainless steel baby! Okay follow me, shrimp is something you don't want to overcook because like most crustaceans overcooking em can make em tough. But don't fret, I'll walk you through it real easy like… First, you heat up the pan over high heat or medium high heat with some oil, take your pick, I'll use light olive, canola or anything in the cupboard with a little garlic and some butter. Once the oil and butter begins to slightly smoke I toss the shrimp into the pan, and keeping the heat kind of strong, I'll simply cook the shrimp until it turns from pale to like a pinkish orange, once it turns, I pour a few ounces of sherry wine, or dry white wine, and just cook it so the alcohol burns off, then I take those suckers out of the pan and on to a warm plate. Then I'll take a stick of butter the unsalted kind, and melt it in the same pan. Then I'll put a little more white wine in there and slowly melt it down, not boil it, melt it. Then I'll place the shrimp in a little saucer or boat, and pour in the melted butter, garnished with some minced garlic and chives, and sprinkling some salt and white pepper over everything. Or if I'm making pasta, I'll heat up the shrimp in the butter, and top the pasta with the shrimp. Easy!

© 2014

MY VEGAN COOKING DEMO IN 2008? YIKES!

2008 Maui Vegan Holiday Festival 
Set in Haiku, this old video was fun to do, it all started with my boss at Down To Earth Natural Foods Sarah Hoppe telling me to do a cooking demonstration at the Maui Vegan Holiday Festival at the Haiku Community Center, and all I had to do was a couple of dishes on stage with a big screen in the back, cool. I made some crisp tofu with a vegan sour cream sauce with some herbs and veggies. It went off really well as I recall. I had to get up the hill from town, by myself, load up all my cooking gear, knives and all the ingredients that was sponsored by Down To Earth, I loved going to Haiku, it is a peaceful place. Heading out from Kahului, passing the airport, and then into Paia town, and out of Paia town and eventually driving into the little town of Haiku, the district that is very very small town country and the same area where the famous surf spot Jaws is at. Haiku, a cool place, lots of history there.

Anyhooo, my friend Kat Tracy followed me to produce this little flick of foodies in Haiku, all Vegan, all organic stuff. Kat's a cool sister, we did  dozens of food videos in the past, and she's super cool. At the time in 2008, I was really involved with Akaku Community Television, Maui's only television station that is for the community, and it's all local producers doing shows for the island. I love it. The 2008 Akaku team was filled with the nicest people. I remember going into Linda Puppolo's office to talk about her family, and talking to CEO Jay April because he was a Red Sox fan, and I'm a die hard Dodgers fan, we had baseball in common. And then the programming crew with Shawn Michael and Peter…those were the days.

Yeah so this clip is just me trying to be like a Guy Fieri or something, you know, talking food with the other chefs and foodies, and finally doing a cooking demo, lots of fun back then. I can't wait to do this stuff again, it's nice to share things with others and also learn from each other, that's the cool part about that day in 2008, it was all natural, the folks were awesome, and I was actually eating better in 2008. What can I say, when you're around organics and lots of veggies and fruits, who needs fried chicken from a gas station?

Click this youtube link: producer Kat Tracy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BozXBsQo0Gk

©2014

MINT

There is no mistaking the aroma and flavor of mint. Mint was one of my favorite herbs…and still is because it has a pleasant and sweet aroma. Growing up when I was a kid one of my favorite chewing gums was the spearmint gums like Wrigley's. In fact more so than the popular Juicy Fruit Wrigley's that most kids loved, nope it had to be the spearmint. Mint has a powerful healing element, I remember working in a health food store and my stomach was kind of gassy, really uncomfortable. Well one of the cooks there, her name was Nat went straight for the walk-in fridge and handed me a few mint leaves. After chewing both leaves as instructed by Nat, a few minutes afterwards my stomach was relieved believe it or not, it really worked. Okay I'm not an expert on herbs, in fact I have a short attention span, if I went to a mint seminar I'd fall asleep unless Eddie Van Halen showed up to play his guitar in between speakers on mint.

So here's my take on mint, it's a healer. Another friend of mine used mint to control her body odor because she was a naturalist, she didn't like to use any man made deodorants. She ate mint, and less animal products and she claims her breath and body oder was lessened. Maybe that's why after eating a 10 oz double cheese burger I attract the dog across the street that loves beef. Maybe I should eat more mint. Interesting how our bodies operate, I figure if we eat more pleasantly smelling foods we'll smell better too. That's an idea we all should think about. Eat sweet smelling foods.

Back to mint, there's nothing like a nice mint chocolate chip ice cream cone, if you don't like mint chocolate chip somethings wrong with you. Who in their right mind doesn't like mint chocolate chip ice cream? Only a dork doesn't like mint chocolate chip ice cream are you kidding me? How about chocolate cake with a mint cream frosting? That'll work. And it doesn't stop there my friends. Go to any Vietnamese or Thai dig, you're bound to have mint in a dish, like a Tom Yum or a Beef Stir Fry. 

Okay this is just a short blog, nothing fancy, nothing really to think about, it's just my take on mint. I think I'll go to the store and buy me some mint and put it in a soup. Or maybe hold on to some, and if I see someone with a sore tummy, I'll give them a few mint leaves. Maybe I'll run into someone with a bad case of bad breath and body oder, I'll just hand them the whole bag of mint and say, "Here the mints on me, have some, you'll smell better." 

© 2014