Lamb is a great spring fling!

You know I woke up today craving spring, the air, smell, and the vibrance. The baseness of the first quarter of the year gets me going. I'm in the process of  many big things on the horizon this year! I decided to cook something up that filled the void of my lack of spring time substance. 
There is more to life than moving through an in and out maze of consciousness.  We spend days upon days trying to find the heartbeat of something real. You know, something you can hold, something you made with your two hands that could shake nature, art for the masses, every canvas touched with love and lust; that's the real shit there. I'm a chef and an artist with a hustler's spirit, a New School Old Soul. Fitted to the side keeping that sunny-side egg up from hell out the eye!  
Lamb is very spring-esque in my mind. I started there and built a dish around it with Mediterranean basics and my little twists.  I seasoned the lamb with garlic lemon juice and chives and let that marinate while I worked with roasting the leeks and cooking the couscous. I decided to add a fruit/spicy element to the dish with a Pear and plum chutney I started to toss the leeks with the couscous, fresh lemon juice and zest added some chives and began plating that down, topping it with the pan seared lamb and finishing the dish with the chutney. 
I'm Alive and well... Kicks tied tight, the future is now.  We "wild like rock stars who smash guitars." District Dine! If you wanna take part in the movement contact me for info. Remember food is life and love! Till next time friends much respect to the universe One.

HIP HOP N LOBSTER

I began my journey with food in the Florida Keys, and as everyone who reads my blog knows, I hold it dear to my heart. I tend to add a flare to all my cuisine with that Floridian essence. On a side note I was listening to some hip hop form circa 98 and I was thinking they don't make 'em like that no more! Growing up on that music style instilled a passion in me. Life seemed so simple and obstacle free at that time: music on blast, brew in the cup, gutting blunts, riding with my boys... Back to the food! I was always around great quality ingredients, learning from my pops and the "locals" about all the options available. Seafood is something I know better than anything else in this world.

I woke up this morning tired and homesick, so naturally I turned Outkast up loud on Pandora and went in on some seafood. I started by making a seafood stock with a lobster base and set that aside to simmer. While that was going, I cooked some lentils, summer squash, zucchini and roasted shallots to add to my stock. I sautéed some minced lobster meat with garlic as the final touch to my soup. Topping it with wine and butter sautéed clams with fresh arugula. To finish I hit it with fresh lemon zest to add a mild citrus accent.

There's a lot of things they don't make the same anymore. I'm all about the evolution of this art but sometimes you gotta take it back on 'em. Cause a ruckus and whatnot! So I'm gonna try and stay "cooler than a polar bear's toenails." Until the next time, my food friends and hip hop heads, say it with me: If you love fish and grits and all that pimp shit, everyone let me here you say Oh Yeah!! Food is love, stay up! Thank you to all the keys kids and keys in general for making me a monster!

Who doesn't love a well balanced brunch dish! I decided to take mine up a notch with a modern flare, so to speak. I love the idea of brunch because it's not limited to just eggs, bacon and a ladle of hollandaise.  It helps that I don't care for breakfast foods on that championship level of Wheaties.  When you crack open one too many brews before noon and you want something to absorb that hops goodness. Your hoping to hit levels of saltiness, mildly sweet and savory for that overall feeling of angels panties dropping, golden gate shattering, the world singing on key full of flavor. I started with braising ribs in a chipotle honey barbecue sauce.  I proceeded to start sautéing mushrooms with shallots, while cooking my stone grits mixing it with a 50/50 blend of Parm And Cheddar as well as the mushrooms and shallots . i topped that with a fried egg, then the braised ribs with a drizzle of a coffee glaze and sautéed arugula. The combination of flavors wasn't over powering, it was very complimentary. The Brunch Bowl is complete all you need is some hip hop, Or Miles Davis and a Bloody Mary and you've built a classic!

Each one teach one

eat free live free

Stay tuned for more blogs, more events, more footage! 2013 District Dine!

01.22.2012

Cooking With My Father

If I could travel to any destination in the world right now, I would choose Thailand.  The levels of patience and tolerance in the culture impress  me. There way of life  is simplistic, moderate, resourceful.  Typically in Thai cuisine they blend sweet, spice, sour, bitter and salt.  This is a powerful blend of flavors that  I always try to embrace on a personal level because of the beliefs and culture my father gave me, bringing me up in the Florida Keys

So today I'm blending my love for seafood, and bold Thai flavors, deep rooted and instilled with my father's style of life. I'm using shrimp with a mixture of seasonal and year round ingredients to influence and create a dish based on pieces of my heart.

I start by pre steaming some brown rice, than let it cool while I sauté my vegetables. Then I add my shrimp and cooled rice and continue to sauté, finally adding some farm fresh eggs and my lemon,orange, honey firecracker sauce, until the eggs are cooked through.   I personally love the depth of this dish it has its own flare and style but has the essence of Thailand layered in every bite.

Live Free Eat Free
Chef Jacob Lyons

More Rustic Passion From Chef Jacob

10/3/2012 

If you look up the word rustic in the dictionary, it is related to or suitable for the country (farmland).  I spoke on this before and I feel we should get back to growing and purchasing local.  And continue to cook brilliantly with what we get and maintain from the earth.  Stylistically speaking, every region and country has it's own soul and technique in regard to their rustic beginnings and on a plate it is pure beauty anywhere.  It's been heavy on my brain for days so I took some time to create a rustic dish using some of my favorite earthy ingredients.

I started by breading my boneless chicken breast, then marinated in a roasted garlic and buttermilk mixture, coated with Panko and flower, flash fried and then finished baking in the oven.  While they were resting I blanched the asparagus, let it cool in an ice bath and wrapped it in bacon ind into the oven it went.  I steamed the potatoes at the same time, pulled them out of the pot and sauteed them with smoked ham, shallots, mushrooms, arulula, yellow pepper and tomatoes, creating a hash.  I started plating, letting the chicken rest.  I made my spinach pesto to finish the dish.

 I wanted the south rusticness to show and still be creative art.  This is at the forfront of the culture and movement I love.  I hold it dear to my heart.  I'm going to continue my mission to profile the earthiniss in bite form to keep us as close to balance as possible.  Live free, eat free, Bon Appetite!

Chef Jacob