off_menu

Men Belong in the Kitchen

Mon, 11 Jul 2022 07:28:32 GMT

unlearning

toxic masculinity

This week, I released a collection of merch in my shop with the words "men belong in the kitchen" on them.

I'm so obsessed with the response you've had. I haven't even shared the story yet! And it's a good one.

I'm Trevor.

The owner and chef at Off Menu.

When I was growing up, I was teased and bullied because of my love for rom-coms, musicals, and other things that are considered more feminine. And because of that, I ended up hiding a lot of things I truly liked because I was afraid. I compensated by adopting some toxic behaviors like dating and playing lots of women in hopes that I would come off more masculine.

My parents modeled pretty traditional gender roles: where the mom stays home, cleans, and cooks, while the dad goes to work and... nothing else.

But I've always loved cooking. I've been cooking since I was 7 years old, yet I wasn't sure how that was going to fit into my life long term.

pizza rolls not gender roles

When I got married and had kids, I knew it was time to adjust my perspective. I wanted to be an equal partner, but I had so much to unlearn. I'm grateful to the feminists in my life who helped me deconstruct those. I still have a LOT of work to do. But I wanted to pay it forward by encouraging other men to do the same.

So this merch is my way of showing men that

1. cooking is awesome and they should learn to do it to help pick up the slack in their house but,

2. that their role is not just to bring home the bacon - that there's more to being in a partnership than just going to work and coming home.

cooking is awesome

Cooking could be so much more than something men are the recipient of. It's a hobby, a passion, and a stress reliever.

It's a love language.

It is an act of kindness.

cooking not just for women

I want men to realize that they can do better. It's time to be better and show up as equal partners in our relationships.

and also - they don't have to feel shame about liking things that are traditionally "feminine". There are straight, masculine men out there that love cooking, and rom-coms, and love songs, and musical theatre. And loving those things isn't a threat to our masculinity.

tough (or soft) guys wear pink

The way society feels about color.... I can't.

Color is just a color. Wearing pink doesn't make you any less of a man.

I designed the merch in a variety of colors on purpose. Go shopping without your toxic masculinity and just see what you like!

Whether you're a tough guy - or not - all of the colors are acceptable for you.

On that note, men, I hope you know that it's okay to be more delicate. It's okay to be more sensitive.

When you're cooking, you'll need to find that side of yourself. Find your own balance of femme and masc. Let down your walls. Cry if you need to. It doesn't make you any less of a man.

Sugar + Spice Chicken Salad

Sun, 29 May 2022 02:48:31 GMT

I don't settle for boring salads and neither should you. Here's a fresh new take you can try.

Ingredients:

1 C of Off Menu Sugar + Spice Sauce

1 C of mayo

1/2 C of buttermilk

1 lb of boneless chicken breast

3 C of Panko breadcrumbs

2 eggs

1/4 C of milk

1/3 C of flour

1 Salad mix

1 ranch dressing packet

Prepare the chicken

Preheat Oven/Air Fryer to: 375º F
Cut boneless chicken breasts into strips.
Beat eggs and milk together
Put the flour in a bag with the strips of chicken
Put the bread crumbs in a bowl
Take one strip at a time out of the bag of flour and then first, coat in the egg wash and then the bread crumbs and place on a sheet pan.
Repeat this process until all chicken is done and coated in the breadcrumbs
Place sheet pan into oven and cook for 15 minutes
When the chicken is done cooking, let it cool for a few minutes.
Toss chicken in a generous amount of Off Menu Sugar + Spice Sauce

Make the dressing

Mix mayo, buttermilk, and ranch packet together
Add in Off Menu’s Sugar + Spice Sauce and mix well.

Bring it all together

Chop lettuce into a bowl
Toss it in your dressing
Top with chicken
Enjoy!

Off Menu's Crispy + Juicy Fried Chicken

Mon, 16 May 2022 22:27:33 GMT

This is the only fried chicken recipe you'll ever need. It's the perfect balance between smoky, crispy, and juicy.

AND I'll be making notes for the gluten-intolerant among us so you can enjoy this goodness, too.

About Me

Hey, I'm Trevor. I'm a professional chef and have been in the kitchen since I could hold a knife on my own. I specialize in using clean, simple ingredients to create insanely flavorful foods.

Here's the full recipe - but don't worry, I'll go into detail below.

You'll need...

3 C of flour (can also use gluten free flour - )

3 tbsp of cornstarch

1 tsp of baking powder

1/2 c of bbq seasoning

3 C of water

3 tbsp of salt

3 tbsp of pepper

Let's get it started

First things first, we're going to create the marinade for the chicken.

1. Put the following in a bowl:

1 cup of flour
3 tbsp of cornstarch
1 tsp of baking powder
1/2 c of bbq seasoning
3 C of water

2. Mix until you get a smooth, thin, pancake batter like mix.

3. Place the marinade and the chicken in a sealable bag for at least an hour .

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4.. After the marinating period, preheat the fryer to 325° F (160° C)

Now we'll put together the seasoning.

5. Put the following in a bowl + mix together:

2 C flour (also good with gluten free flour)
3 tbsp of salt
3 tbsp of pepper

6. Take the chicken out of the marinade and coat in in the seasoning mix

7. Drop the chicken into the fryer for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.

8. Top with Off Menu Original BBQ Sauce .

How to make Off Menu’s Jalapeño Popper Grilled BBQ Chicken Sandwich

Mon, 22 Mar 2021 00:26:49 GMT

recipes coming soon

How to make Off Menu's BBQ Chicken Pizza