I love old buildings!!!!

Is kind of cool the stories that old buildings like ours can tell, and the stories that it doesn't...

While renovating my next dining room our lead carpenter Keith had to tear down one wall down to the studs and behind the wall was a huge mural of an old mining community.

In researching the artist I found that he was an old Mineral Point artist that was contracted in the middle 70's to draw this mural in the dining room....I thought that was so cool...Anyway, here are some pics of the mural...

Special Menu for the Week of Oct 27th

Quite a few people have been wanting to know what the specials are going to be on our "Plugger Menu" so since so many of you come and check out the blog I thought that I would start putting them up on the blog. We will change our plugger menu every other week.

If you are not on the mailing list for our newsletters click here to register. The newsletters come out about once a month letting everyone know what is going on at the Walker seeming that we get involved in a wide array of events in the community and are always planning things that are new and different.

On November 2nd we will begin to do Family Style Dinners in the Pub starting at Eleven and going until 5. We will offer breakfast items from 11Am-1 PM

I will post those menues when I have them completed.

Nothing fancy just good ol' down home cooking.

Walker House Specialties Menu
Week of October 27th

All Specialties come with Salad, Appropriate Starch, Vegetable Du Jour and Walker Rolls

The Walker House Family attempts to purchase as much product locally as possible, we are currently utilizing Shooting Star Farms, Tonkin's Beef Farm, Pecatonica Farms, Blue Marble Dairy and Bures Berry Patch.

Shrimp Cocktail
$8
Six Large Cinnamon Poached Shrimp served with Cocktail Sauce and Lemon

Jack Daniel’s Filet Mignon
$25
Large Grilled Filet of Beef topped with Jack Daniel’s scented demi-glace and sautéed Mushrooms.

GOFR Steak
Good Old Fashioned Ribeye
$18.95
Large portion of Ribeye steak cooked just how you like ‘em with just a dash of Salt and Pepper.

Cajun Shrimp and Scallop Sauté
$15
Shrimp and Scallop sautéed with Peppers, Onions, Mushrooms then tossed in a Chipotle/White Wine/Lemon Sauce.

Parmesan-Hazelnut Crusted Orange Roughy
$12
Large Orange Roughy topped with a Parmesan-Hazelnut Herb Crust then garnished with a White Wine Caper Sauce. Served with Roasted Pumpkin Risotto.

Breast of Chicken Etouffee
$12
Literally translated to mean "smothered", this little spicy dish is one of Chef’s favorite Cajun dishes. Chicken breast smothered with mushrooms and a spicy dark chicken gravy served over rice and accompanied by Vegetable du Jour.

Desserts

Oatmeal-Amaretto Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cheesecake
Ginger-Carrot Cake Trifle with Orange Cream
$4

Come Hungry, Leave Happy!!!

Larissa and Chef

A couple weeks ago I was approached by a customer who had informed me that they were an integral part in supporting an exchange student that was taking some culinary classes in Dodgeville (the little town next to ours) and asked if Larissa could "trail" me as a job shadow for something that she was doing for school...I was all over it, I thought that it would be a lot of fun...

Larissa and the sponsors had come for lunch one day and I met her for the first time and told her she oughta be ready, because my world is an unpredictable one...she showed up on Wednesday, October 8th and we had a blast....

It was kind of humbling for me because with Larissa I was trying some things that I have not tried before (like making Italian Flat Bread), and I screwed up a couple, just not getting the product that I had imagined in my head, so with my little "job shadow" I made some mistakes and we figured it out in the long run, which was a lot of fun...I guess from my perspective it was pretty awesome because I don't know everything...I might have an idea that I would like to have materialize, but I don't know everything and sometimes it is just a shot in the dark with the things that I would like to accomplish...she was a victim of this...and I loved it...

This is who I am and this is what I do...

Although I would love to think that I am the great chef that I am, it is all hit and miss when it comes to experimenting with stuff, especially when it comes to baking...

The Italian Flat Bread turned out awesome, it was just about discovering the technique that was going to express the product that I had in mind...

The mind is a terrible thing to waste...

So although Larissa was just with me for three hours we had made a batch of Italian Flat Bread, I showed her my Cheesecake recipe and she made a ton of my pizza doughs...

She really rocked on the pizza...was pretty impressed with her....

In knowing that she was from Brazil, me in my ignorant internationalism, I spoke to her in Spanish only realizing that her English was broken and she spoke Portugese...boy did I feel like an idiot thinking that she understood my Spanish....that must have gone on for like an hour before I realized that she spoke Portugese...what a dummy I felt like....

Anyway...for being a 16 year old young lady I was very pleased with how quick she picked stuff up and the product that she eventually produced....fast learners and good teachers?????? Nah, maybe just a fast learner.....

Thanks Larissa, you Rock...

Hugz,

Chef

Dave Pounds a 24 Ounce Ribeye....

One of the latest Cheffy Fan's wanted Chef to cook him a monster of a steak like the one that Geno and Little Mitch ate...I didn't have any of the 34 ouncers left but he was happy that I would cut him as big of a ribeye that he wanted so David settled for a 26 ounce Ribeye and thus making him the next contestant on Cheffy's Wall of Shame...

What a fat boy that little ribeye became...

Ha ha...moments like this that I really love my job....

Just a lot of pics, got some catching up to do....

Cornish Festival and more pics

We were involved in the Cornish Festival this year with me doing Mineral Point's "Taste of Point" which was a tremendous success...

Taste of Point

Tennessee Pulled Pork Sandwiches on House Made Rolls

Miniature Pasties with a Tarragon-Roasted Garlic Crust

British Rollmops-(pickled herring scented cream cheese with roasted garlic wrapped in Phyllo)

Spotted Dick-A traditional Cornish Dessert, served with Madagascar Vanilla Custard

Unfortunately I did not get any pics from me and Joe hanging out in Library Park for the Taste of Point but here are some pics of some of the food that we did for the Festival Weekend plus a couple of our staples off our menu...

The Wild and Wacky World of Chef Mike

Pleasing the World One Palate at a Time...

Come hungry...Leave Happy

Grilling up a Rosti for Our Tenderloin Dish

The Inevitable Pasty with Sweet Thai Chili Sauce

Sauteed Chicken Breast in a White Wine-Lemon and Garlic Sauce with assorted garden vegetables accompanied by Saffron Rice

Pan Fried European Lake Perch with a Hazelnut Brown Butter Sauce

Seared Airline Chicken Breast topped with Roasted Red Pepper, Garlic, Artichokes and Kalamatta Olives with Roasted Butternut Squash and Saffron Rice

Crispy Catfish with Caper Remoulade, assorted garden veggies over Pesto Mashed Potatoes

Beef Tenderloin Rosti topped with a Madiera-Wild Mushroom Demi-Glace accompanied by a Roasted Butternut Squash

Chicken Parmesan with Sketti and Marinara

Will have some more pics in the days to come including the second guy to polish off one of Chef's 32 plus ounce Top Sirloins...

Hugz,

The Wild and Wacky World of Me