by Chef Karen Sherman The overall lifestyle today is so harried and schedules are so full that there’s little time to kick back, relax or enjoy some “me” time, much less prepare a meal; which is why I chose to become a personal chef: to provide affordable fine dining and healthy eating without my clients having to leave home. It sounds like a new concept, but the USPCA (United States Personal Chef Association) has been around for fifteen years, and I have been a member for the past ten. It’s a fresh service: you can go the refridgerator and select from five days’ worth of entrees and sides to heat up in just 20 minutes. Because I do the shopping and make up the menus, I can adjust when my clients have special dietary needs. I love using fresh herbs when I cook. My cooking is simple: I utilize fresh ingredients, create flavorful combinations and keep it all from being terribly time consuming. Having lived on the East Coast and South Florida, I picked up ideas from the area and the people for whom I worked, capitalizing on the availability of fresh fish or wild game. Before long, the holidays will be here and entertaining will bring us together and food will be the glue. Our fondest memories tend to center around food, and we all certainly have our favorites. I hope the creative process of producing a wonderful meal and the delight of spending time with family and friends makes the holidays all the more enjoyable for you. Let the entertaining begin! ur love affair with food begins when we graduate to solid foods and we learn to appreciate the incredible taste, smell and appearance of food. Certainly, we need food for nutrition, but it’s placement during holidays and entertaining demonstrates how food is used for celebration, consolation and congratulation. I watched seeds sown and plants harvested on the Iowa farm where I grew up, so from an early age I had the sense of where food comes from and the labor involved. Growing up I had always enjoyed cooking, but I decided I wanted to delve deeper and attended a culinary school in Minneapolis for two years. Minneapolis is a real haven for foodies: new, different, traditional and comfort foods abound.
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Here are a few of my favorite holiday pleasers: Prime Rib Roast with Mustard & Black Pepper (Serves 6) 4-5 lb Prime Rib of Beef 4 cloves of garlic, cut into slivers ¼ C soy cause and 4 T coarsely ground pepper Sauce: ¼ C Dijon mustard 1 T soy sauce 1 C beef stock 1 T cracked pepper ¼ T rosemary
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