Chef BC from DC Food & Drinks

23/12/2023

It’s that time of year …. Gifting holiday cocktails for the neighbors !

11/08/2022

27/07/2022

For just shy of 13 years you have been my homie, my road dog, my fur baby, my family, my happiness, my frenzied - learn to be more of an adult - chaos, my flower girl, my friend. You have doled so much love to so many people. You were keenly aware of emotions and gave love when you felt the auras, vibes, and morals were low.

You were a survivor, who went through cancer multiple times and that mother fu**er kept coming back, but you kept fighting it, and winning more rounds with it than most. Kidney failure was supposed to get you 2 years ago, but we changed your diet found you a holistic vet and a 1 month life sentence turned into an unknown amount of time. However, today cancer won.

I will miss your snoring, your paddle boarding, your frisbee catching, pine cone eating, deer bounce, and bike running. I will miss your slow steady meditation like breathing, you being the best pillow / head rest, you running in your dreams (stationary legs running in her bed laying down in her sleep, while she whimpered and howled). You were the best co-worker… from being a taste tester on cooking shows, a mascot at food trucks, a greeter at bars, a scavenger at restaurants, the star of the show at cooking and cocktail classes, my therapist, my foot rest on flights, the diva at parties, the mentor to Chunk, the inspiration for Capri, my wing man during my single days, and my relationship counselor for my longer courtships.

You were a good dog

You rest now

16/07/2022

Ohana means Family
with .repost
・・・
Our little goofy family 💛

Grateful to for making this happen as we pass another difficult phase of our old lady Scoob’s health.

05/11/2021

WUTANG KILLA BEE
1.5 oz Johnnie Walker 5 oz Yellow Chartreuse 5 oz Spicy Honey
1 oz Lemon Juice
Shake with ice
Strain into a chilled coupe
Garnish with a dried chili or a sugar art bee from

Another favorite ask by guests from the other week at NYC Taste Of Upper West Side.
A spin on one of my favorite cocktails The Yellow Jacket which is a riff on the classic Bees Knees

To make your own spicy honey :

Ingredients
1 cup honey
3/4 cup water
2 habaneros and 1 Serrano chili, sliced thinly (or other hot pepper of choice)
1 tsp salt
Directions
Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan over low heat.
Stir frequently to dissolve the honey. 
Let cook for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat and allow to cool 
Strain the peppers and seeds from the liquid using a fine mesh strainer.

03/11/2021

CODE CON was pretty epic the other week with some of the most brilliant and influential minds in business speaking while sipping on Johnnie Walker

30/10/2021

It’s that marvelous time again….. Halloween ! I have not posted a pumpkin spice cocktail before, but this one is ferocious, and can be made NA (non alcoholic) as well.

HERE’S JOHNNIE

1.5 oz Johnnie Walker Black Label
5 oz Club Soda
1 oz Pumpkin Syrup

To make your own pumpkin syrup:

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 cup sugar (I use cane sugar, but you can use any sweetener)
2 Tbsp pumpkin puree
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or a blend of 3 Tbsp cinnamon, 2 tsp ginger, 2 tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp clove, 1 tsp allspice, I also like adding in ½ tsp cardamom and ½ tsp cayenne for a kick)

Directions
Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan and heat over medium heat.
Add the pumpkin puree and the spice and stir until everything is dissolved. Do not boil.
Remove from heat and let cool.
Strain through a fine mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth to remove the sediment.

Fun tip! Mix with soda water for your individual sodas afterwards (unless using a soda siphon in which case you already know what to do)

You could also just go out and buy some pumpkin soda as well (R.W. Knudsen, Reading Draft, and Lester’s Fixins, all have specialty seasonal ones, and yes we did just use those at the USBG Columbus party-last week, 50:50 Reading Draft soda with Lester’s)

23/10/2021

CHAI ONE

This popular drink was a hit last weekend. It is the perfect blend of sweet and creamy spice, and can be served hot or cold, also it is dairy free.

So go on and give it a chai (yes puns were thrown all weekend) if you do make this my one ask is to take a picture and enjoy!

1.5 oz Black Label
4 oz chai coconut mix

CHAI SPICE MIX
4 teaspoons ground cardamom
2 teaspoons ground allspice
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 tsp star anise
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 inch fresh ginger chopped finely (or
5 teaspoons ground ginger)
Mix together and store in an airtight container tub use for later
(You can use whole spices and steep them in the milk and then blitz everything in a blender before fine straining too)

CHAI INGREDIENTS
(for each cocktail minus the booze)
1.5 cups plain coconut milk (any kind of milk works)
2 black tea bags
4 teaspoons homemade chai spice
1 tsp quality vanilla extract
2 tablespoons cane sugar
(you can use any sweetener)
Add coffee to make it dirty

CHAI INSTRUCTIONS
Place coconut milk, tea bags, sugar, and chai spices into a small sauce pan and whisk.
Next, bring to a boil over medium/high heat and immediately remove from heat.
Let the tea seep for 2 minutes.
Remove the tea bags and pour the whole mixture through a fine mesh strainer or cheese cloth, add in your vanilla extract.
Add 1.5 oz Johnnie Walker Black Label and enjoy !

If serving cold (allow to cool and then pour over ice)

14/09/2021

Cacao Passion
1.5 oz Johnnie Walker Black Label
2 oz Passion Fruit Nectar75 oz Passion Fruit Puree25 oz Simple Syrup 5 oz Lemon Juice
4 Dashes Chocolate Bitters
Garnish with a Walker Salted Caramel Brownie from .love

San Diego Spirits Festival last weekend was a hit and this winning pairing made it all the more enjoyable. The cocktail was light and refreshing, the cacao notes were subtle but the brownies tied it all together. Plus the acidity of the passion fruit cut through the sweet richness of the brownie….truly a match made in San Diego (AKA weather heaven)

Now for all those that were asking for the recipe, you can create this yourselves at home.

11/09/2021

GUAVA HAVE IT
1.5 oz Johnnie Walker Black Label5 oz Lime juice
2 oz Guava Juice 25 oz Guava Purée 25 oz Rose Honey Syrup
1 oz Topped with Guava Soda
Garnished with Tea Roses

05/09/2021

LYCHEE AND CHILL

1.5 oz Johnnie Walker Black Label75 oz Lemon Juice
3 oz Lychee Juice 5 oz Lychee Syrup
Top with Bubbles
Garnish with Coconut Lychee Jelly

For all those who stopped by the 626 Night Market and walked over to the Johnnie Walker Booth the other day and were asking for the recipe here it is !!

I know I have been lacking on posting food and drink recipes recently but I have been busy making them at events every week all over the country. I will start sharing them again for y’all’s drinking and recreating enjoyment.

04/09/2021

Summer is almost over but the festivals and events are just starting to really pick up …. Food, Drinks, and Magic we got it on lock making the events and experiences pop off !
Repost from .proof
•
Some call it the pre-batch…. BC calls it being prepared…

23/08/2021

San Antonio Texas you beautiful city you, thanks for the good times …..

18/08/2021

Happy 1 year birthday !
Thanks for being adorable and letting us enjoy your cuteness through a crazy and turbulent year

17/07/2021

Soup is definitely one of our comfort foods - has been asking me to make Matzo Ball soup for the last couple months, and so today I figured I would/had some downtime to make it. Nothing like some chicken soup with fluffy pillows of matzo ball to snuggle up in.
#👨‍🍳

25/06/2021

49 years and still popping bottles Happy 49th Anniversary Mom and Dad !!!

09/05/2021

Making Mac & Cheese Pizza for the nephews with stuffed crust with Mac and cheese too !
When you ask if they want pizza or Mac and cheese and your nephews ask if we can do both.... you make dreams come true !

06/05/2021

Italy produces 85% of the world's fennel (“finocchio” in Italian). The bulbs are then exported to other European countries.
Often fennel is associated with Mediterranean cooking. In The US, Mediterranean cuisine is understood to be a unified culinary tradition, in reality, there is a vast amount of cultural variances in the cooking found in this geographic region. Primarily, the cuisine consists of a diet rich in olive oil, wheat and other grains, fruits, vegetables, and a certain amount of seafood, but low in meat and dairy products. This is a tasty Mediterranean inspired dish that uses 2 styles of cooking; roasting and sautéing.
FENNEL SHRIMP (stuffed in a roasted hollowed out fennel bulb)

04/05/2021

May the 4th be with you !

Even though our world shutdown last year taking a massive blow to our industry we will bounce back and we will come back stronger than ever !
In the words of the Great Obi Wan Kenobi -
“Strike me down, and I will become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.”

It’s been a few years but this team and I definitely took down some TIE fighters while we were open and united. To all you dreamers of dreams. “This is a new day, a new beginning”

03/05/2021

It was my first experience hiking in California, we were walking towards where the trail started. It was hot, dry, and there seemed to be nothing but dirt and cacti. On the turn to go downhill before the long trek up the mountain I remember my shock, there was a field full of pungent green fronds with beautiful yellow flowers sprouting from the tops of them. The bees were buzzing around them, the birds were fluttering in between the growth, and my friend Thomas was throwing rocks from behind me, out of my sight, into the sides of the trail where the lush greenery was yelling “rattle snake!”. The fear of the non-existent rattler was pacified by the lovely aroma of what Thomas would inform me to was wild fennel. He picked some of the green feathery like sprigs splashed some water from his camel back bag on it and said try this, the sweet mild anise flavor was pleasant and fresh, helping to quench my dry mouth from the dry heat.
Now I see wild fennel everywhere, on hikes, in median strips, in cracks on sidewalks, it grows like a w**d. However, unlike a common w**d there are some serious health benefits to fennel:
Fennel and fennel seeds provide important nutrients, such as vitamin C, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and manganese.
All parts of the fennel plant are rich in powerful antioxidants like chlorogenic acid, limonene, and quercetin
Fennel seeds may reduce appetite.
Fennel and its seeds contain fiber, potassium, magnesium, and calcium — all of which are essential for good heart health.
Fennel has anticancer properties.
Fennel may increase milk secretion and weight gain in breastfeeding infants
Fennel has antibacterial properties.
Can help reduce inflammation
Helps to relieve menopausal symptoms
So for all of these reasons this week I will be showing how to cook with Fennel for the letter F

03/05/2021

Adding on to the eggplant train for any fans of breakfast for dinner .... which I always love, for any meal, at anytime of day... this is a classic delicious Filipino dish known as tortang talong.
In Filipino cuisine, a torta is essentially an omelette that is typically served as a delicious meal with garlic rice also known as Sinangag. This dish is savory, and comforting with smoky, fire-roasted eggplant.

23/04/2021

To everyone that participated yesterday with our Long Beach USBG collaboration beach clean up Thank you so much. For all the brands that helped come together to make the environment a little cleaner and helped show love to some venues in the area who have been struggling during the pandemic, words are not enough.

This was the start of some cool new things to come with venue openings taking effect and and working together.

Hope you all had a wonderful earth day, I know we sure did !
The brands that helped create the magic ❤️🙏❤️🍻🎉😊thank you again
Filming and editing done by the extremely humble and talented 😘🥃
Also Love to Tony Quaresma (he doesn’t have IG but still deserves props)

22/04/2021

My grandmother, more specifically my fathers mother, did not make very
many dishes. Of the dishes she did make his all time favorite and the one dish she made that he truly enjoyed was from her roots in Romania, her Romanian eggplant. When my mom was trying to impress my father (they were still dating at the time) she tried to recreate the recipe for him, apparently it worked because, well here I am today. Perhaps it is because I am always a sucker for dips, but if this dip was good enough to convince my folks to get married, then it deserves to be one of the eggplant dishes for this weeks recipes. However, I can’t talk eggplant and dips without also talking Baba Ghanoush.....So I made both. YOUR WELCOME ! Baba recipe will be posted in comments.

ROMANIAN EGGPLANT
INGREDIENTS
* 2 large eggplants
* 4 raw green onions chopped finely
* 2 Tbsp EVOO
* salt and pepper
* 3 Tbsp lemon juice
* 6 cloves minced raw garlic

DIRECTIONS
Use a fire grill (this will give a smoky flavor)
1. Bring the temperature of the grill to medium.
2. Pierce the eggplants in a few places with a fork and grill them on each side, turning them regularly until the skin is burned. (Approx. 30 minutes)
3. After grilling, the eggplants, let them cool, then carefully remove all the skin. Place the eggplants in a sieve and let drain for about half an hour.
4. Chop the flesh of the eggplant with the raw garlic and onion.
5. Place the chopped mixture in a bowl and add the EVOO, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Mix well and spread on your favorite toast.

21/04/2021

Eggplants in history, date back to about 100 BC. Ayurvedic texts described the health benefits of eggplant.
In China, as part of the “bride price,” a woman had to have at least 12 eggplant recipes prior to the wedding day.
In Italy, people believed that anyone who ate the “mad apple” was sure to go insane.
In Turkey, “karniyarik” or “imam bayeldi,” a tasty treat of stuffed eggplant simmered in oil translates to the imam fainted. A dish so good it makes religious leaders swoon and pass out from deliciousness, that is a dish that needs to be addressed in this weeks eggplant recipes.
LAMB STUFFED EGGPLANT
INGREDIENTS
* 1 eggplant, stem removed, cut in 1/2
* EVOO
* 1 onion diced
* 1/4 cup parm cheese (grated)
* 3 garlic cloves, minced
* 1/2 pound ground lamb
* 1 tsp clove (ground)
* 2 tsp ground cinnamon
* 2 tsp Zatar
* 1/2 cup rice (pre cooked)
* ½ cup chopped parsley
* ¼ cup toasted pine nuts
* 1/2 cup green beans (fresh & chopped)
* 1 can stewed tom.
* 2 Tbsp tom. paste
* 1/2 cup veg stock
* 1/4 cup golden raisins (rough chop)
* S&P
DIRECTIONS
1. Sprinkle halved eggplant flesh with salt on a large tray (30 min). Gently squeeze the eggplant over a sink to extract any extra bitter juices. Wipe dry.
2. On an aluminum foil EVOO oil lined sheet tray, slit the eggplant in 3 lines on the flesh side. Lather the eggplant in EVOO, then place in a preheated oven to 425 degrees F, flesh side down.
3. Roast in heated oven for 30 min.
4. While roasting, make the stuffing
5. In a pan, heat 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil. Sweat onions, add garlic & spices to flavor, add in your meat. Cook meat through. Season the meat mixture w/S&P. Add in the rest of your ingredients. Cook for 5 minutes or until liquids reduce. Mix in 1/2 parm cheese & 1/2 parsley (the other 1/2 is for garnish)
6. When eggplant is ready, remove from oven, w/back of a spoon, push eggplant flesh down to make room for stuffing. Spoon mixture to fill eggplant cavities. Top w/remainder of parmesan and parsley. Add Greek yogurt & enjoy.

20/04/2021

Eggplant or aubergine (for most other countries) is part of the nightshade family. It is a large egg-shaped berry, yes, a berry botanically speaking. During the eighteenth century European cultivars noticed these fruits were yellow or white and resembled hen’s eggs. Hence, where the name derives from. It is a member of the nightshade family and for more than 1,500 years, eggplant has been cultivated in China and India, where it was first discovered. Today there are a large number of varieties, and this week I am going to share with you some fun ways to make them tasty.
Also is making some pretty awesome knitted artwork for sale (like the one in this photo) hit her up for some cool art.

17/04/2021

This Thursday Long Beach wake up yoga, Beach clean up, and Bar crawl collabo with and

RSVP to [email protected]

12/04/2021

- My grandmother had a dish that truly was one of my favorite desserts. It was a soft, sweet, pale cloud of meringue, stuffed with dates and nuts. It was the recipe stories are made from, and then retold and remade. It was the dessert that first had me want to learn how it was made, the first recipe that had me want to get involved with cooking. I wanted to recreate it with her daughter AKA my mother. I also wanted to edit this video because of its length, but cooking with mom is not something one gets to always do at my age anymore. So for selfish reasons watch the full video on my YouTube channel (I am working on cleaning up my YouTube and social stuff to make my platforms and recipes more easily accessible and streamlined) In the mean time this is the recipe and a preview of the video
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DATL BUSSERL - DATE KISS PASTRY (which she called pusserl but busserl is german for kiss)
Ingredients
3 egg whites (Room Temperature eggs)
Pinch of salt
1 tsp of vanilla 
1/2 - 3/4 c sugar
1 cup rough chopped dates
1 cup chopped nuts of your choice (optional)
Directions
Pre heat oven to 200
In a small bowl crack each egg 1 at a time separating the yolk and placing the egg whites in a large bowl
In your large bowl with the egg whites add a pinch of salt, and your vanilla extract.
Using your mixer beat until stiff peaks form.
Beat or whisk in sugar a little at a time (about a full tablespoon each time ), so as not to undermine your meringue. Keep up until you have no more sugar to add, and your eggs are beat to stiff peaks.
Add nuts and dates gradually and fold into the egg white mixture.
On a lined with parchment paper baking sheet, drop by the tbsp a dollop of the mixture.
Bake for 1 hour at 200.
After 1 hr, turn off the oven and leave the kisses in for another hour to cool completely so they dry thoroughly )
Once they are somewhat firm and dry, EAT. Put those you dont eat, in an air tight container.
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