Service Desk Analyst Nate Blomquist is the go-to guy for clients’ tech issues, but his phone may soon be ringing for recipes.
Family Food Orders
Nate wasn’t always interested in cooking. He was a teenager in his senior year of high school, accused by his mother of coasting through life. She insisted Nate “pick something” to give his life direction. Nate chose to cook. His parents introduced Nate to a family friend who was the executive chef for three restaurants at Mall of America. He got a job as a prep cook and quickly developed a love for cooking.
Though there are no professional cooks in his family, Nate credits his mom Bobbi and wife Anne as terrific cooks. “My mom is the Hot Dish Queen. I miss her goulash the most – it’s an easy dish to make, yet no one makes it like mom.” Though Anne “can’t make a chocolate chip cookie to save her life,” her cupcakes are showstoppers. “Everyone asks her what bakery she buys them from,” says Nate.
The Perfect Steak
Nate has some wisdom regarding grilling. See if you’re steak isn’t better than ever.
Chill it Out. Pull the meat out of the fridge and let it sit on the counter for 45 minutes. If you start grilling the meat cold, Nate warns, the first 10 minutes are spent cooking the cold off, and your judgment of the steak’s doneness isn’t accurate.
Done Faster Than You Think. When someone requests a steak cooked medium, Nate takes the steak off the grill at medium rare. By the time it’s eaten, the pink inside cooks itself to a perfect medium. If you wait too long, the meat will dry out.
Keep Seasoning Simple. Just salt and pepper will do.
But Feel Free to “Do It Up.” When it comes to wine, you drink what you like, and the same is true with steak. Nate loves A-1 Steak Sauce as much as the next guy, and says as long as you like the taste, there’s no wrong way to enjoy your steak.
The Gimme-More Marinade
“I can’t get enough of this stuff,” Nate says of his newly discovered barbecue sauce. Anne’s cousin brought it back from Hawaii, put it on some chicken, and Nate’s first thought was, “I need this.” It works as a marinade, a dipping sauce for chicken wings or other meat, and “however else you want it – it works a million ways.”
Huli Huli Sauce
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup soy sauce
3/4 cup ketchup
1/3 cup chicken broth or pineapple juice
2.5 tsp fresh garlic (“Though there’s never enough garlic for me,” says Nate)
2 tbs fresh ginger
Mix it. Store it.
Tech Guru’s client service desk is technically for IT questions, but if you called Nate to discuss the virtues of a Cuisinart or your slow-cooked pork shoulder, he’d get it.
Dan Moshe helps business owners in the Minneapolis area with all things tech, and is the CEO of the Caring IT company Tech Guru. He cares about your business as much as you do!