Chef Impersonator Is Now in Print

This is the happiest blog post of my life. So far.

My dream of actually doing something with my passion for food and cooking has finally come true. In June of this year I became the new Food Columnist for Fort Worth Texas Magazine, the city's glossy monthly magazine. 

It's an absolute dream come true for me. And here's a bit about how it happened. I'm sharing this to encourage all of you to do what you love, and love what you do. And take steps every single day to move toward that dream. It works! Really~

If you're interested in the whole story, just scroll down to the bottom of this post. I hope it provides some inspiration to others who've been thinking and praying and dreaming of doing something special in the world of food.

Here's my very first food column - Mediterranean Flavors.

So here's the story:

I started Chef Impersonator way back in 2009 with the humble intention of trying something new. I loved to cook. I took photos of food everywhere I went (much to the dismay of my significant others). I wanted to share home recipes. So I started to blog. I posted pretty irregularly most of the time, but somehow I knew I wanted to try and do something with my deep and abiding love of food. 

Then back in 2012, together with my sister Sandy, I sent an entry to a Bobby Flay show about Home Cooks, and low and behold, I never heard a word. You can see my entry here in this old post - Dear Mr. Bobby Flay. 

Time passed and all the while I was posting food pics and recipes and restaurants and travel musings to Facebook and Twitter and my blog. In 2013, I decided to attend my first food blogger conference, BlogHerFood, in Austin, TX. I had a BLAST. And I found myself attending all the workshops on food photography and I thought - This Is It! I've found my passion. I'm going to become a great food photographer. I'd always loved to take photos, and I always had a pretty good eye. So I came home, bought a professional Nikon D5300 camera and a macro lens, took some classes and starting shooting food (all the while posting my pics and recipes and rants about food). 

Then in late 2013, I heard about a casting call being held for yet another Food Network home cook competition show. So I dropped everything and created my entry, Moroccan Lamb Tagine. My food was fabulous, but again, no call-back. 

And here's where the miracle occurred. 

A Facebook friend of mine who runs the local culinary school had posted a shot of a dish she made and I decided to call her to talk about taking some pictures for her. I told her all about my background and love of food, and she told me she was retiring as food columnist for the magazine and that they were filling the spot that week! So I dropped everything and called and emailed the editor and associate publisher, who I actually have known for some time. They scheduled me to come in and talk. I poured my soul into my preparation for that meeting, and guess what? I got it. 

So the moral of the story is GO FOR IT. Take steps, no matter how small, to move toward your dream every day. Shed all that FEAR that keeps us from trying new things, and just do it!.  Nancy

Dinner tonight: Harissa-marinated chicken stuffed with herbed goat cheese

Got home at 5:45 which is late for me. [spoiled] I had taken out 3 beautiful boneless, skinless chicken breasts with no plan of what to do with them. So in my typical fashion, I scavenged through the fridge to see what I could create, and I found the Harissa, a traditional Moroccan red pepper sauce, some goat cheese needing to be used up, and some fresh parsley left over from the weekend.

And VOILA~ Harissa-marinated chicken stuffed with herbed goat cheese. So easy....keep reading.

RECIPE
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 TBSP olive oil
3 TBSP Harissa (I use Mina brand spicy Harissa from World Market)

Marinate the chicken in the olive oil and Harissa in a large ziploc bag. Just throw it all in there, rub it all around, and set it out for as long as you can. Tonight, it only set for 20 minutes. We were hungry~

Goat Cheese Stuffing
6 ounces good goat cheese
2 TBSP chopped parsley
1/4 tsp salt
3 turns of a pepper mill of black pepper (how's that for exact measurement : )
[you don't need much salt or pepper in the cheese blend because the Harissa is so spicy and flavorful.]
Mix this all together in a bowl. I warmed it a few seconds in the microwave just so the cheese was easier to stir.

Remove the chicken from the marinade.
Place foil on your baking sheet [another lazy move - don't want to have to wash the pan. could have used the lovely round baking stone, but that thing's a bitch to clean]
Slice the chicken breasts parallel to the pan at the thickest part but don't go all the way through. The slit should be deep enough so that the cheese won't spill out in the oven.
Spoon in (or stuff in with your hands if you're Italian) but don't put so much that it's spilling out before you put it in the oven.

Cook at 400 degrees for about 35 minutes. Time is totally dependent on how big your chicken breasts are. So keep an eye on it.

The spicy hotness of the Harissa is offset so nicely by the tangy coolness of the goat cheese. This was easy and delicious. I'd serve this with a nice Basmati Rice or couscous. Tonight we had mixed vegies, but only because we're trying to be good.