General Tso Sweet Breads..

It is unclear how the dish came to bear the name of Zuo Zongtang , a Qing Dynasty general from Hunan. Zuo himself is unlikely ever to have tasted the dish. The dish is not found in Changsha, the capital of Hunan. Nor is it found in Xiangyin, the home of General Tso. Moreover, descendants of General Tso still living in Xiangyin, when interviewed, say that they have never heard of such a dish.
There are several stories concerning the origin of the dish. In her book The Chinese Kitchen, Eileen Yin-Fei Lo states that the dish originates from a simple Hunan chicken dish, and that the reference to "Zongtang" in "Zuo Zongtang chicken" was not a reference to Zuo Zongtang's given name, but rather a reference to the homonym "zongtang", meaning "ancestral meeting hall" Consistent with this interpretation, the dish name is sometimes (but considerably less commonly) found in Chinese as "Zuo ancestral hall chicken" (Chung tong gai is a transliteration of “ancestral meeting hall chicken” from Cantonese; Zuǒ Zōngtáng jī is the standard name of General Tso's chicken as transliterated from Mandarin.)
According to several sources, the recipe was invented by Taiwan-based, Hunan cuisine chef Peng Chang-kuei who had been an apprentice of Cao Jingchen's, a famous early 20th century Chinese chef Peng was the Nationalist government banquets' chef and fled with Chiang Kai-sheks forces to Taiwan during the Chinese civil war There, he continued his career as official chef until 1973, when he moved to New York to open a restaurant That was where Peng Jia started inventing new dishes and modifying traditional ones; one new dish, General Tso's chicken, was originally prepared without sugar, and subsequently altered to suit the tastes of "non-Hunanese people The popularity of the dish has now led to it being "adopted" by local Hunanese chefs and food writers, perhaps as an acknowledgment of the dish's unique status, upon which the international reputation of Hunanese cuisine was largely based.Ironically, when Peng Jia opened a restaurant in Hunan in the 1990s introducing General Tso's chicken, the restaurant closed without success because the locals found the dish too sweet.

General Tso's Chicken commonly consists of dark-meat pieces of chicken that are battered, deep-fried and seasoned with ginger, garlic, soy sauce, rice vinegar, Shaoxing wine or sherry sugar, sesame oil, scallions, and hot chili peppers and often served with steamed broccoli.
Though relatively inexpensive to produce, General Tso's chicken is often listed as a "Chef's Specialty" at Chinese restaurants in North America, commanding a higher price than other items. Many restaurants, especially in areas with many vegetarians, also serve General Tso's Tofu or General Tso's Veg [Other variants substitute shrimp, beef, or even pork for the chicken.

In this case i've used Veal sweet breads.

Week IN Review!!

I just completed my first week at the Winsor House. The potential this place has is mind blowing. It has three points of revenue with a possible forth. It has a great pub crowd and atmosphere. Two beautiful dinning rooms , that maintain a casual sleek motif perfect for fine dinning.They also have the Inn , upstairs which has had tenants since i started. The forth thing is functions, being such a spacious building its easy. My goals are to increase the volume in these four areas. By trying to establish them all as separate entities. I've begun working on a new menu that will be geared more towards autumn. The menu as of now is chalked full of shortcuts and pre-made food that i could never serve to people, And it's all sort of meshed together . They have a pub menu on the same page as there entrees menu, which has a few almost dinnerish plates on it . This explains why i did not see a single entree until my forth day. Instead of ordering a lamb rack for $28 people just order a beef lomein for $14. With the recession and all if we offer people a easy way out they will take it. I'm working on a Actual pub menu , no entrees . Just sleek tapas style apps. so people are not deterred from ordering dinner. I'm really excited about doing a bit more relaxed version of my cuisine. UPSCALE PUB GRUB if you will. We will also be doing a food and wine dinner series and I'm working on bringing brunch to the Winsor House. Its gonna be allot of work, but im up for the challenge.

SOUTH SHORE LIVING ...

I Am featured in the September edition of south shore living magazine the magazine did a spread using root vegetables and other fall harvest ingredients. You can find the magazine at any BORDERS/BARNES AND NOBLE as well as all Shaw's and Stop and Shops locations. I am very excited they gave me the opportunity to be in there publication , there are a ton of very talented chefs on the south shore. So them seeking me out is that much more special to me..

My New Home!

I've been waiting until an appropriate time to announce that i recently found my new home ,. In the kitchen of THE WINSOR HOUSE INN. A beautiful Restaurant and inn In Duxbury. The building much like the Crane Brook was constructed in the early 1800's , It has a Pub and two main dining rooms. It's got a fun aura to it ... The food served now is eclectic. So i have a good feeling the transition into my cuisine will be a breeze. The Owners are very excited for change and I'm excited to Help. I've already been scribbling fall menu ideas , I hope to have a fall menu down in the next few weeks. Also we are gonna due food and wine dinners, beer tastings, something special on Mondays and Tuesdays . I'm also campaigning to bring Ala carte brunch on Sundays. due to the success of brunch at the crane brook. I'll keep you all up to date with menu development and so on...

So What Is Next??

I've been receiving allot of e-mails and feed back from people as more and more of the regulars find out that we are no more. I picked up my last check and last few of my personal belongings today. I brought my wife and kids , just as i did on those very secretive meetings me and MR. MCKEAG had over what seemed to be a 6 month job interview. I like my wife to see what to be involved in my decision to start a job. She is after all an extension of me , and my best friend. Not to mention that she knows me way better than i ever will. As i walked around to the back of the restaurant, seeing the open signs pulled away out back . A grim sadness came over me. I think it was the first time, the reality of no more crane brook sank in. I approached the ever so familiar entrance to my kitchen with a tear in my eye , and pulled the door open to the disarray of emptiness and dishes stacked for sale . I walked in and started thinking about how we didn't fail. Instead Our chapter has run out of words.. Just like the owners before us it was just time.. The building is beautiful, the ambiance was magical.... And i must admit, I am proud to be the last chef to finish the lineage of famous chefs and cooks that had the privilege to walk in the same foot steps of there predecessors. I walked up the stairs to the office and standing in the same location he was when i had first met him MR. MCKEAG stood with the same warm welcome he had given me every (almost) morning since we had met.. I told him how grateful me and Sarah were that he gave this opportunity. I grew more as a man and a student of life under his tutoring .. And it's solely because of him that i am where i am as a chef.. Because he believed in me , even when i had a hard time believing me... That being said i left with my belongings and headed back to the car. It was not good bye , but more like until we meet again! .. I 've been interviewing positions all over MA, I've gotten some real strong hits and interests ..i am expecting to know something soon.. and as soon as i do everyone will hear about hit..

JAMBALAYA A'LA JARROD ROSS

One of the toughest things that a chef has to go through . Is trying to mold and mend the personalities around you to benefit your cuisine. At one point when i first started working at the Crane Brook , We had one of the most amazing crews I've ever had the pleasure to know, we had fun and managed to put out an amazing product . We all had our own little quirks and were complete opposites outside those walls, But managed to unite within.. A debunked family if you will. ..Being a chef is a numbing job..you can never be the best..your always a student... the hours that you work 60-70 or more leave you with 1 day for your family...so in theory the people in your brigade become an extended family. A kitchen is like a revolving door. You'll go months with a great crew, next thing you know. Your starting from scratch again.The last three months were a rebuilding process. I needed that one chef to walk into our kitchen and make life a bit easier for me. Unfortunately my prayers were answered a bit late, however i m unbelievably grateful to have met him .. His name is Jarrod Ross. He possesses an unbelievable talent and desire to succeed. Here is a special he rocked out last week that had the restaurant hopping. It's a Craw fish and Andouillie Jambalaya with Corn Meal Crusted Soft Shell Crab and Honey Ale Butter . Im sure we will all hear about him in the near future.