Featured Community Member: Rich

Written Saturday, November 7th, 2009 by Theresa H Hall

It is my pleasure to introduce one of my very favorite bloggers and social media professionals, who is an expert in marketing, writing, and public relations. He is also an experienced and seasoned professional blogger who owns his own business and manages multiple blogs. His name is Richard Becker and he hails from one of the food capitals of the world, Las Vegas, NV. As many of you know, BlogWorld was held there last month.

You told me today you were teaching until 4 p.m. is this at a school or in your business?

I teach several communication classes for students and professionals at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, including writing, editing, and social media.

I have been wanting to interview you for Half Hour Meals since the beginning of September, and I am glad things have settled down enough so you can drop in now and again. You are so lucky to be situated in the city so many chefs are now calling home. Do you enjoy the extensive availability of top-notch restaurants from which to choose?

For many years, I worked as a dining reviewer for area travel and hospitality magazines and Frommer's Travel Guides, which really opened some doors and allowed me to enjoy some of the best restaurants in Las Vegas, those of chefs Kerry Simon, Charlie Palmer, and Emeril Lagasse among them. Once you work as a reviewer, it’s hard not to save up and go out once in awhile.

Which five are your favorites and which cuisines do you like best?

The Las Vegas restaurant scene is changing all the time so some of my favorites have since closed. If I had to choose five, I might pick The Stirling Room at the Stirling Club (Charlie Palmers), Picasso at Bellagio (Julian Serrano), Mon Ami Gabi (chef Gabino Sotelino) on/or near the Strip. Local favorites include Garfield's and La Madonna. (I'd include Simon's Kitchen at the Hard Rock if it were still open).

I don't know if I can pin down a favorite cuisine because I like to mix it up. Based on my choices, it seems I lean toward Mediterranean when I go out. But when I cook, I love preparing Asian food. There is something magical about the importance of when you add ingredients, as much as what those ingredients are, that fascinates me about that cuisine.

You are always involved in community outreach and helping others. There is a upcoming event at BloggersUnite.org, which concerns food bloggers. Can you share with our readers what this is all about? How can we get involved?

There are several great events that are imminent for all bloggers, including Veterans Day and “Who Will Stand and Fight For Preemies.” But one of the newest events added, which concerns food bloggers is the Brown Bag Project, which helps people give the gift of food for Thanksgiving. This  event is being organized by Jason Teitelman. One of the best aspects about the event is that it encourages bloggers to help in their community and then blog about it so others can do the same. I love that it encourages giving. Anyone can join by visiting BloggersUnite.org!

Please tell us a little about yourself, your cooking abilities and describe a few favorite dishes that you cook.

Sure, I cook three or four times a week, with my intent to make restaurant caliber meals. I tend to start with specific recipes and alter them based on area ingredients, as well as some tips I learned from chefs as a dining reviewer. I already mentioned Asian food, but I cook a variety of dishes covering all cuisines. The only complaint I receive is that I rarely make the same thing twice, even if it is a favorite.

You have told me before that you get into the kitchen to cook for family some nights of the week. Are you the only one who cooks in your family?

My wife cooks well, but it just makes sense that I pick up three or four nights so we can eat by 6:30 p.m. or 7 p.m. instead of waiting for her to come home and cook. Besides, I enjoy it. Cooking is a great way to unwind after work because you can focus on a single task and enjoy an immediate result with family and friends.

How long have you been blogging? What drew a man of your caliber to this realm, and knowing you are on BlogCatalog, Half Hour Meals, Twitter, and most recently, BrooWaHa, how have these social media helped you in your professional life?

I originally started blogging in 2003-2004 (not counting an internal public company newswire I wrote, which was like a blog, in 1993). In 2003 my wife and partner first introduced me to today's definition of blogging. My early blogs were written under pseudonyms, but I closed those down when I started the Copywrite, Ink. Blog. Some of the social media ventures and networks I participate in are mostly related to the fact that I enjoy making contributions when I have time. However, part of our service includes helping companies integrate social media into their communications plan. Participation is a great way to understand the networks and meet creative people. (I also work for and/or partner with BlogCatalog from time to time and have for a couple years).

When you open a cookbook, which sections do you look at first, main dishes or desserts? What is your specialty? Which herbs or spices do you use most often?

I almost always look at main dishes first and build the rest of the meals around that. Lately, it seems I've been using a lot of garlic and cilantro, but it really depends on what the dish calls for. Asian cuisine is always a hit. I mix it into rotation about once a week or every two weeks. But really, I have an eclectic palate. So, every night is very different based on the meat and style of cooking. I only cook desserts once every couple weeks.

If you didn’t do what you do professionally, what type of work would you switch to that interests you?

If I weren't a commercial writer, I would move toward writing fiction. But if writing weren't an option, I would gravitate toward art or photography. Then again, I held many jobs throughout high school and college, and really enjoyed them all. The trick is to find new ways to make any job more creative and do your best with it.

How did you hear about Half Hour Meals and why did you join?

I heard about Half Hour Meals from Tony Berkman after he asked for help on the initial media release, which announced that BlogCatalog purchased it. I signed up right after to get a feel for the site, made some suggestions, and forgot about it until its relaunch was complete and you started reminding me to visit again. I'm still in the early phases of becoming engaged with this great group of people.

Have you tried any of our member recipes yet?

Not yet. But I have been reading some of the comments to see what people are doing with substitutions. Sometimes I see some dishes that remind me of one my recipes so it influences me in that way as well. I'm planning to make one of the scone recipes first, but mostly because I know the story behind it.

What features do you like about Half Hour Meals?

I love people first because they always add the flavor of any network. I think you can learn a lot about them based on what dishes they like the most. I also recently had the rare privilege of cooking with Clive Berkman in my kitchen during BlogWorld. Now that is one feature, if you can call it a feature, that I will never forget. He left his knife behind too; it saves me a lot of prep time when I cook.

If asked, what would you tell others about Half Hour Meals?

I would tell them it's like a community cookbook. Really, it's not all that different from sharing recipes with friends and neighbors like my grandmother used to do, except it's online and this community includes the whole world. I love it.

I saw on your bio that you are a Scorpio. I do hope you haven’t celebrated your birthday yet, but in the event you have, I want to wish you a most Happy Birthday and to thank you wholeheartedly for sharing your valuable time with us.

Thank you. And yes, I am a Scorpio, but I'm on the cusp of Sagittarius. So, technically, I'm still one year younger. Heh. But please do let me add how privileged and grateful I am that you asked to interview me. We've known each other for such a long time and while I might be a professional communicator, you taught me a great deal about the social networks along the way, too. It's exactly why I love what I do. I get to meet people who touch my life in ways I never expected. Thank you for that. All my very best to you Theresa! You can visit Rich here.

Recipes Gone Bad

Written Wednesday, October 7th, 2009 by Theresa H Hall

When things don't turn out the way you had hoped what then?  This is exactly what happened to me yesterday, when at 4:15PM I entered my kitchen to put together a recipe which I had been looking forward to baking. "Um," I thought "Apple Cake, yes!"

This recipe belongs to Catherine, who I featured about ten days ago. Her food looks scrumptious and on Saturday night I made an adaptation of her pasta dish with spinach and figs. I didn't have shrimp but I fried salmon instead. I threw in a few different colored bell peppers and a few red pepper flakes. Then I added in some steamed baby carrots drizzled with butter and dill weed. Ooh, it was so delicious. But I digress. I tend to do this when sharing tidbits of my life. It must be one of my personality traits.

Well here I was standing in my kitchen, expectant, because I had been going to make the cake last night, but got involved in working later than I had planned. I had printed out the recipe twice, because on one there was the juice from the lemon but it wasn't on the other recipe. I double-checked the recipe again, and then commenced to put the components together. There were three sections to this recipe and it was going to take me ten minutes prep time and 35 minutes bake time. By the time I had finished assembling it and putting two 8 X 8 pans into the oven I had twelve muffins and one bread loaf pan, too! How did this happen?  

There were seven apples to peel, core and slice. It took me ten minutes to unearth the apple-corer-peeler. Then I had to go slowly because this baby can deduct one of your fingers, if you do not pay close attention. Once going, however, I did manage to twirl the apples, using a bit of arm muscle, until they ended up and then I found another dilemma. Try as I would I had to twist the apple core in order to remove it from the long sharp prongs. Destroyed is more the description. By the time I tore up the core, only two came off the prongs of the peeler correctly. Now it was after 5PM.

There was another reason for this. I have the placement of my moon sign under the sign of Libra. At times, it has been my undoing because I see both sides and I have to weigh out what to do or make a decision between two items.

Catherine's recipe called for brown sugar. As it happens, I had light brown sugar and I had dark brown sugar. Decisions, decisions. The other night I watched Alton Brown's show, Good Eats, and he said the difference between the two brown sugars is the maple content. Dark has more. It was obvious Catherine had used light brown, so perhaps I should use dark. This thinking won me over so in went the dark brown sugar. Plus, my cinnamon was past the date suggested for freshness. Oh boy, here I had bought fresh ingredients, so I added more of the spice since it had lost some of its potency. Then I noticed, no matter how hard I searched, that I had no cloves. What to do? I did have ginger and coriander so I threw some of these into the mix. I even mentally patted myself on the back. Big mistake.

Combination of the ingredients came next and since I was measuring out the entire recipe in groups, I was using the 1/2 cup for the flour; 1/2 cup for the topping and 1 cup for the cake mixture. I had been using the 1/2 cup, yes, I said this already, but I do not recall if I used it two times for the cake mixture or only once. Looking back, I still am unsure. All of the other measurements were right, of this I am certain.

Now for all of you I will direct you to the recipe so you can see the light beautiful photograph of Apple Cake by Catherine and just how it is supposed to look. I must have had brain freeze because by the time I was ready to fill the two 8" cake pans I noticed there was twice the amount of batter. Oh no! I pulled out the muffin pan, the little paper cups and my stoneware for bread loafs. They were promptly filled, "I knew seven apples was way too much!"  I almost stomped my foot. The baking containers were placed into the hot oven on the wire racks. Timer(s) set (I always use two) I strolled out of the kitchen for a well-deserved ten-minute break. The time was 5:15 PM. "So much for ten minutes preparation time." I already knew my dark brown sugar choice was not a correct one, but in the past, I rescued many a recipe from disaster. I intended to keep the faith.

Twenty minutes later I was checking the muffins because their cooking time is much less than it is for the larger pans, however they were not ready. This oven needs to be calibrated again as it cooks hot. 350º was 340º in order to be as accurate as I could be. I began pulling apple cakes out of the oven and placing them onto the cooling racks. They did not look light, or delicate, nor did they appear fluffy. Oh Catherine was going to be disappointed in my attempt to make her recipe shine.

When I cut into the cakes they were a bit gummy, perhaps it was because of all the apples. They were wet and so I stuck one of the muffins into the microwave. Now they were gummy, hot and chewy. Right now I am trying not to cry, I am laughing so hard. My eyes close when I laugh this hard so it is hard to type.  Executive decision, I put the muffins back into the hot oven. These couldn't be finished yet. Oh, woe is me!" I wailed to myself.

Eventually all the pans were removed from the oven and placed on wire racks to cool. My middle sister had called earlier to see what I was doing and after I confided I had twice the amount I had planned to bake she said she would drop by on her way home to take some with her. She loves my cooking and I did warn her that she might not like this one. She cheerfully said she would see me in a little while and I just kept looking woefully at the results on a variation of a recipe.

By the time she arrived I had eaten two muffins, cut into one of the cakes and kept looking over the rectangular loaf cake. They were all very heavy and dense. This was the point where I started going over and over every step I had made, and I do know certainly I did put at least one ½ cup of flour into the cake mixture. The 1 cup measuring cup was clean, with no trace of flour. I learned in culinary school 'mise en place,' which means everything in its place. I sure was glad Chef didn’t see this mess I had made. Catherine, please forgive me. I promise to make it over until it comes out like yours.

My sister hugged me good-bye happy with her half loaf of Apple Cake tucked under her arm, assuring me that it wouldn’t last long. My sister had eaten a couple of bites and hadn’t keeled over. In the meantime, I have eaten half of the other half of the loaf. It is more like a bread pudding coffee cake. My husband is on his way home and intends to heat his portion up and then pour half-and-half on top of it.

Even if you have been cooking and baking for decades, things and recipes do sometimes go awry. Keep trying out recipes. More photos here.