Dusty Doggy Bag

11 hours and 13 minutes

2008-12-20T11:52:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the longest day I've spent in a kitchen thus far. I'll be honest up front, I really don't feel like writing much or trying to put any creative spin on it either. I'm tired. I have what promises to be another busy night ahead of me tonight and I volunteered to work on Sunday, which I would normally have off, to cover for one of the other cooks who requested the day off. My parents come into town on Monday and then Christmas strikes. I haven't bought so much as a single card and I sort of don't intend to. I just want to cook food for my family and relax a bit. Last week when I was off Sunday and Monday, I was bored out of my mind and couldn't wait to get back to work. I do love my job. Today, I've really got my eyes set on making it through tomorrow night. Tonight for my amuse bouche: garlic tzatziki on pita crisps. Last night was a beet and red onion salad with red wine vinaigrette on cucumber slices, topped with parmesan cheese. I seem to always come up with something that will leave your breath stanky...

Quick note: I'm beginning to hate blogger. I plan on switching to typepad or something else soon but I'm feeling too lazy at the moment to explore the idea any further.

Busy, but for how long?

2008-12-12T11:41:00.000-08:00

We are pretty slammed at the moment, but it is really due to holiday parties. We are in a nicer part of north Colorado Springs, surrounded mostly by corporate offices, commercial and some industrial. Plate has a decent size banquet room so it makes for a nice location for the nearby business to have their Christmas and New Year's parties. I'm a little worried, however, how the restaurant will do after this season is over. Even in late november, as we were gearing up for this busy time, there were nights in the middle of the week that we would do less than 20 covers and I would get cut by 7pm. No business = no hours = no pay = I'm keep my eyes are ears open for other opportunities, if any arise and should be needed in early '09. It's not all Plate's fault. The economy is hurting everyone and it seems that finer restaurants in particular are taking a heavy toll. I'm sure just about everyone in America has or knows someone who has lost their job, and if they haven't, they likely will soon (bailout or not to bailout?).

Tonight for my amuse bouche: lobster nigiri-zushi with mango coulis and wasabi tobiko

MIA

2008-12-05T21:40:00.001-08:00

don't worry, i'm still alive. since I finished working at the credit union, and we don't have internet access at home, I haven't been able to really doing any reading or writing online. here's what's going on:

the saute cook (and a good one at that) was fired early last week for giving his opinion when asked for it by the GM. now, he did sort of insult the exec. chef in doing so, but it was still a pretty lame thing to happen. it sucks that he's gone but on the bright side it has opened up some opportunities on the line. i'm currently training on the section they call "middle." it's on the line between saute and grill. it's sort of a filler position and does most of the hot veg and plating. it's an awesome step up and one i didn't expect so soon; i haven't even been at the restaurant (which is my first kitchen job) for a month yet.

on a not-so-good note, the restaurant is doing poorly. most casual fine dining places have been hurting the most during these financial troubles that our country has been going through. many similar scale restaurants have been closing. at least it's the holidays and we are busy with parties. tonight we had a 60 top, a 35 top, a 30 top, and a 14 top. that pretty much maxes out the restaurant so we were basically closed to the public except for bar seating, which saw some business as a result. we were absolutely slammed; it was as busy as Plate will really ever get. the good thing is that because it was all preplanned parties, it was also preplanned menus. only the 14 top was al la carte which meant we knew way ahead of time what was needed. this made for some busy prep time but when it came time for service we were locked and loaded and everything went down smoothly. the chef gave us all a big thanks and the end and the GM passed out beers, which is alwasy a pleasant way to end a shift.

i've also received my first paycheck from my new job. ouch. the paycut hurts but i have zero regrets. i love what i'm doing, i'm learning a lot, i'm moving up more quickly than i thought i would, and it is awesome experience. if i can train quickly to jump on saute or grill (our grill guy is currently looking for work elsewhere) then i can also ask for a raise and will have solid hours; and again, it will be awesome experience. i know it will happen, it's just a matter of time. i think hard work, reliability, and a tactful expression of my opinion when asked for will make the difference. it's a fast moving business with a good amount of turnover.

i'll try to get some pictures of the restaurant and the food we make soon to show everyone what i'm up to.

the only other thing i have going on is school. i'm just taking one class this trimester: adv mgt/restaurateur. it's been getting off to a slow start but the entire class is basically one big project, which is to go through the steps of opening a new restaurant. choosing a site, raising/collecting funding, owner arrangements, hiring staff, and of course the fun stuff - design, menu creation, etc. it will be a fun project and i hope to learn a lot.

if you want to read some cool stuff (because i don't feel like i'm divulging anything of much interest), check out http://blog.ruhlman.com/

that's it. i'm tired. a few more beers, maybe some leno/conan, and then bed. night.

Spring Rolls

2008-11-18T11:07:00.000-08:00

I got bored last night (no school, no work, and no wife at home) so I grabbed a few things at the store and rolled up some spring rolls while drinking beer and listening to music.

The beer I drank.

The music I listened to.

The finished product.

The pictures are of the cold spring rolls but I actually like them better after frying them in a bit of canola oil. Inside there is Napa cabbage, carrot, celery leaf, mango, and crab meat. I need to tweak the sauce a bit though, it was too acidic.

Garde Manger

2008-11-17T07:43:00.000-08:00

It’s Saturday night. You’re in the cusp of the night’s dinner rush. You’re mise en place is locked and loaded but it’s early, you still have a long way to go. On top of 25 or so reservations on the books, there’s a 70 top at $85 a head coming in at 6pm. Earlier, during your prep, the chef and sous got into a bit of an argument and the tension in the air is still palpable. Everyone is setting into a good pace and everything is moving smoothly so far, but every person in the kitchen can tell that one mishap could throw the whole service into a tailspin. It seems more like a recipe for disaster rather than success. The dishwasher isn’t bringing you plates quickly enough to keep you comfortable so you mention something to her. It’s no big deal yet, just a slight annoyance. You word it tactfully and say it with a smile because, after all, she’s an 18 year old girl and one of the managers’ daughters.

Apps have gone out to the 70 top everything still moving like a fragile ballet, pirouettes on the edge of a knife.. You clear some counter space and get ready to plate salads for the party. Greens, dressing, parm, sliced tomatoes, and plates at the ready – it’s all there, just waiting for your willing and able hands. You dunk your head in the cooler to double check what you already know is there: backups of everything. You nod to yourself and turn back to the counter when…

>>CRASH<<

The ballet freezes and everyone stands silent and motionless for a minute. There are broken dishes all around your feet and all over the counter where you were prepared to plate the salads. The dishwasher is standing next to you, eyes wide and starting to swim. She was bringing the plates you asked for but tried lifting too heavy a stack up to your overhead and dropped the lot. She dives for a broom and dustpan but everyone knows the real harm that’s been done: there are broken shards all over the place and who knows if any got into the salad mise en place, it can’t be used. You can’t risk serving something that might harm a customer, not to mention cause a law suit and shut the restaurant down.

The chef doesn’t blow his top, but he’s pissed and the atmosphere becomes severely uncomfortable. He doesn’t hesitate to order all the salad prep 86ed. He starts barking out for you to start from scratch. Luckily, there are a few extra people staffed tonight and they’re on top of taking care of the party. The next few hours are a whirlwind of intense focus mixed with anxiety and chaos. The printer is screaming orders for regular diners and walk-ins so you switch gears and try to find your pace again.

Fast forward… the night’s over. You only had to stay 30 minutes over your scheduled shift, which you spent joking around with the dishwasher while you help her finish up (she was buried, again). The GM gets you a beer and a few verbal pats on the back from the chef have you feeling pretty good.

-----------

Above is a description of what happened Saturday, my fourth night on the job. I have to say that I am absolutely loving every minute of it. I’ve never felt so alive or so focused, but I’m trying to keep myself grounded. I haven’t made any catastrophic mistakes yet so I’m trying to keep my skin thick for when it happens.

Late arrival

2008-11-14T07:09:00.000-08:00

A native told me yesterday that this was the first time in 30 years that we didn't have snow on the ground during Halloween. Well, it came late but it's here. I actually love the gloom, I think it's beautiful. But oh the joys of icy roads...

From the credit union entrance

View from the corner office window

Soup and Salad

2008-11-13T05:56:00.000-08:00

I worked my first night at Plate last night. It was nothing less than great. I'm on pantry, handling soups and salads, but the great thing about working pantry at Plate seems to be that the chef encourages this station to daily come up with a new amuse bouche (The term is French, literally translated to "mouth amuser" [for bouche = mouth; amuser = to amuse, to please]. The plural form is amuse-bouche or amuse-bouches; a single, bite-sized hors d’œuvre). This gives some room for creativity and is a way to show the chef something. It's a way to rotate product (while the ingredients are still good, mind you) and to keep the menu different and interesting for regulars. Saute and grill both come up with specials too, though I'm not sure if they do it daily or not.

Last night I was trained from 2 til about 4:30, then my trainer left and I ran my station with the help and instruction of the sous. It was great that I got to just jump in there, I kind of feared that they would just have me shadow someone for the first few nights and have me just watch. This station is easy though. I'm right on the end of the line so I can watch the saute and grill cooks. I'll be taking a lot of mental notes because if the opportunity to jump on one of those stations comes up I want to be ready to take it.

Okay, so here's what I'm responsible for on pantry:
Wedge Salad - bacon, blue cheese, red onion and a balsamic vinaigrette (entirely unexciting)
Spinach Salad - chevre (goat cheese), walnuts and a maple, bacon vinaigrette (entirely delicious)
Endive Salad - grilled endive, roasted beets, Roquefort cheese and truffle vinaigrette (awesome and beautiful plating)
Lobster Bisque with Cognac Scented Creme Fraiche
Insalata Caprese (which they simply call Tomato and Mozzarella Salad) - Slices of tomato and fresh mozzarella with basil, balsamic reduction, and olive oil (another really nice plating)
I also do an item on the Bar Menu: Ahi Poke - this is a Hawaiin dish with sashimi grade raw tuna, cucumber and daikon (asian radish) sprouts with a sweet and spicy chili sauce
Pantry also handles the desserts, which I won't attempt to list in detail from memory but there was a pecan pie/cheesecake, bread pudding, tiramisu, apple pie, sorbet, creme brulee... all very pretty and delicious looking.

I haven't been able to sample much yet but you better believe I'll be working on that; I love the menu. Mainly, I was very impressed with how calm, clean, and organized everything was. I understand that it was a relatively slow night, even for a Wednesday, but it was good first experience just the same. My station is a breeze and I'll have it down by the end of today so I can concentrate on impressing everyone with my amuse bouche creations. It was a great first night.

Big News - Plate

2008-11-12T10:07:00.000-08:00

Who needs a week off??? I got a call from the Executive Chef, Todd Wells, at Plate World Cuisine yesterday out of the blue. Plate is a fine dining restaurant that I've been popping my head in to over the past few weeks at the advice of Chef Dave, my instructor at Paragon Culinary School. Chef Dave put in a good word for me with the souf chef and I got to talk to Chef Todd last week briefly. He told me that things were rough and that he'd be lucky if he didn't have to let someone go, let alone hire a new body. Well, as I said, I got a call from him out of the blue yesterday and he offered me a job. (YES!!) Man, I'm so excited to be working at this place. I'll be starting off in the pantry, but he said if I work hard that he'll move me up quickly. We'll see, hopefully I can start cooking on the line within a 2 or 3 months. That would be sick.

I'll try to get some pictures, but only if I can do it incognito. I don't want to look like the idiot new guy culinary student who is so happy to be working in a real kitchen, even though that's what I am. In the meantime, check out their website: http://www.platecolorado.com/

Final Final

2008-11-10T06:38:00.000-08:00

I had my last of four finals, a practical exam, Saturday morning. It went very well but I'm kicking myself for the few things I could've done better. Before I go on complaining too much... I got a 99% on the final which left me with a 99% as my overall grade for the class. Okay, so I gotta be happy with that. But then I think about what I could've added or done differently. We were to create and execute a three course menu: soup course, appetizer/salad (our choice), and entree (protein, carb, and veg). Here are pictures of what I made -

Soup Course: Zuppa Pavese (poached egg soup)
We only had a brown chicken stock left to use. Ideally, a very clear chicken stock, or better yet, consomme, would be used so that you could see everything in the bowl. The Christmas wreath looking thing is a parmesan cheese touille made with some parsley. This soup is fairly simple in concept but is actually quite difficult to make and the result is absolutely delicious. Cracking that yolk just makes the soup so rich and creamy. It's a wonderful thing.

Appetizer: Antipasto Plate
Chef really loved this one. Three Prosciutto and mozzarella cheese crostinis, each with a different topping: artichoke heart bruschetta, kalamata olive tapenade, and fire roasted pepper tapenade. I garnished with a little more of each topping and some herb oil. I could eat a mountain of this stuff.

Entree: Pork Tenderloin alla Napoli (really, it's not alla Napoli - I decided to omit the green olives and use artichoke hearts instead, I'm just not a huge fan of green olives)
Here's where I really could've done things differently. First and foremost, I poured the sauce on top of dry pasta. Not only is that not Italian, but who the heck wants to eat plain pasta?? I should've tossed the pasta in some of the sauce to coat it, then plate it. Secondly, asperagus is great, but I don't think it was the best choice for this dish. Broccolini would've been nice but we didn't have and weren't getting any. Thirdly, the dish was just plain missing something. I'm thinking a secondary sauce would've really made it pop. Like a balsalmic or sweet red wine reduction of some kind. Hmm... will have to revisit this one, I'm not settled.

Well, like I said, I can't really complain. I'm happy with the way things turned out but it's almost a little bittersweet being so close to a perfect score. I imagine it's something like placing second in the World Series of Poker.

I won't find out my grade for World Cuisine until next week, but I know it's a solid A. This class is pretty much impossible to ace. There was just so much information that you are bound to overlook or forget some minute detail, especially when you are cooking food of a cuisine that you are completely ignorant to.

I have this week off from school then I start the next trimester. I know I will be taking Service and Wine and, if I decide to double up again, I will probably be taking Advanced Cookery as well. My plans for this week? Cook, eat, read, and play lots and lots of video games. My wife is so thrilled.

3 down, 1 to go

2008-11-07T08:43:00.000-08:00

I've completed 3 of the 4 total finals for this trimester of school. Each class has a written and a practical exam (2 classes). I've taken both of the written tests and got a 98.5 on one of them and a solid A on the other. I studied my butt off for these tests so I'm glad that I did well. I also had my World Cuisine practical last night and got a solid A on that as well. I won't know the exact grade until Nov 17th. My last practical exam, for my Foundations class, is tomorrow morning at 8am. After I get off work tonight I'm going to buy a few groceries then go home and practice. I should be able to get some pictures so I'll try and post them this weekend. I'm really excited about my menu for the practical so I just need to think about plating and timing. (see previous post for the menu)

Late night ghetto dinner

2008-11-04T11:01:00.000-08:00

What I cook for others: grilled NY strip marinated in herb oil served with pumpkin coulis, spicy fried potatoes and wilted greens.

What I cook for myself: ghetto breakfast tacos

I'm getting better... I'm not as lazy about what I cook for myself as I used to be, but I still have my moments. For me, a big part of cooking is to bring other people pleasure and enjoyment. When I'm just feeding myself, I do whatever is quick and easy. Last night I didn't eat dinner until after 10pm and was very hungry. I just fried some corn tortillas then topped them with cheese, potatoes, onion, an over-fried egg and some hot sauce. Don't get me wrong, it was good, but it was a kind of ghetto good. Haha, I just looked at my plate after I finished making them, laughed, then took a couple of pictures thinking, "you go, culinary student."

Sorry!

2008-10-30T15:22:00.001-07:00

I didn't realize until just now that my post had way too many pictures on it, which caused annoyingly long load time of the page. My apologies; I deleted several pics so if the captions don't make sense, that's why.

Tonight we are going to a restaurant called Silver Pond for some (according to chef) legit Chinese cuisine. I'm excited but I'm also still broke, so I'm expecting a bittersweet experience.

I've decided on a menu for my Foundations class final exam. Here's what I'll be making:

Soup course: Zuppa Pavese (Pavia Soup) - this is a fairly simple soup but has a great presentation quality and will be really tasty. You toast bread in a pan with some butter then put it in an empty bowl. Crack an egg on top of the piece of bread then fill the bowl with boiling hot chicken broth, poaching the egg. Top it with some extra pepper, grated Parmesan and minced herbs on top and that's it.

Second course (appetizer/salad/amuse bouche/whatever): Antipasto platter - I'm going to make some Prosciutto and Provolone cheese crostinis and serve them with three toppings: artichoke heart bruschetta, kalamata olive tapenade and three pepper tapenade.

Third course (entree): Pork Tenderloin alla Napoli with Broccolini and Penne.

I'm feeling pretty confident and excited about this. I making some things that are very different from what the other students are making so we'll see how it goes but like I said, I'm excited.

Sushi Den Photo Gallery

2008-10-27T06:37:00.000-07:00

Not the Sushi Den... Ya Hala!! Y'all heard?

Entrance

Self-gratifying place setting

Japanese Eggplant (after being mauled)

Udon Noodle Soup w/ Duck

Top to bottom: Spicy Tuna and Salmon, Spider (softshell crab) roll, and Shrimp Tempura

Firecracker Roll (tuna with cream cheese and jalapeno, what's up with that plating?)

A sampler: tuna, salmon, yellowtail, crab, octopus, shrimp, and scallop

Eel (one of my favorites)

Group photo (missing Rachelle). Left to right: Jose, Keith "Old School", Matt Jr, Matt Sr, me, and Chef Victor Matthews (Kelsey didn't make it on the field trip)

Big Eye Tuna (wrapped around avocado)

Shrimp, Scallop, and Octopus Ceviche

Duck Breast

On the left: Spider Roll, on the right: some specialty fish. I forget the name but it's a white fish and is one of the specialty items they have overnighted from Japan. The owners pick up the fish at the airport in the morning to serve that night = hardcore.

Tiramisu. This warrants some explanation. Apparently, one of the owner's wives has been trained in French pastry. The menu is an interesting collaboration of real deal sushi and European sweets.

Had to get teh Mochi Ice Cream for Matt Jr (we all shared, though)

The owner's had to open a restaurant that basically serves as "overflow" for Sushi Den. This is a partial shot of the bar at Izakaya Den.

The entrace (from the side, within)

A sweeter sake, kept chilled on ice. I've only had hot sake before but, according to the bartender, that's really just done with cheap or low-quality sake, to hide the impurities or inferior flavor. I'm quite an ignoramus when it comes to sake.

An awesome tapas plate. From left: duck crostini, seared scallops with white truffle mashed potatoes, and kobe beef tenderloin with watermelon mint and edamame. Delicious.

Front of the house.

Sushi bar + chefs.

Friendly and knowledgable bartender.

My dog, Dakota, burried with pillows.

I have to keep my shoes someplace up high or this happens.

So, the Sushi Den. Anybody who travels anywhere remotely close to Denver needs to visit this restaurant. You don't have to like sushi to love this place, but if you do, you will swear by it. Everything tasted amazing. I was a little confused by some of the plating but I think it was just due to how busy this place was. The Sushi Den seats roughly 250 people and on the Thursday night when we went the place was absolutely packed. When table cleared up it would be re-seated immediately. This continued until we left to check out Izakaya Den at about 9pm.

New Culinary Feat

2008-10-23T14:42:00.001-07:00

A new height in the culinary world has been reached. Follow the link for recipe and more info:

http://bacontoday.com/bacon-wrapped-hot-dogs-in-maple-bar-donut-buns/

Bacon Wrapped Hot Digs in Maple Bar Donut Buns

I think you're gauranteed a heart attack with every three bites.

Soup on a cold night

2008-10-23T09:06:00.000-07:00

Potato Leek Soup (served cold = vichysoisse)

White Bean and Ham (we used more bacon than ham)

Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Tomato Soup with Parmesan Touilles and Savory Whipped Cream

And then this was just a random amuse bouche type plate. From the top going clockwise: olive tapenade, fire roasted pepper tapenade on a waffle cut potato chip (I forget the French name for this), more olive tapenade on a chip, stuffed mushroom (these were AWESOME), fire roasted pepper tapenade by itself, and a sort of chicken salad mixture thing on a chip, with fried leek strings and savory whipped cream in the middle.

Last night was such a perfect night for this. Winter has just started to hit and it was below 40 outside, so it was nice to warm up with so many wonderful soups. We also made a butternut squash soup but my camera died and I didn't get any pics of it. I plan on spending some time this weekend seeing what soups I can whip up at home with stuff we already have. We're pretty broke right now so I'm going to have to get creative over the next few weeks. And, to add insult to injury, we have a field trip tonight in my World Cuisine class to a really nice sushi-ya up in Denver. Chef said $30-$50 minimum but that you could easily spend $100/person if you get drinks and really heat well. I plan on drinking water and watching other people eat... maybe someone will feel sorry for me and share. :)

Itness

2008-10-22T08:41:00.000-07:00

http://ahungerartist.bobdelgrosso.com/

There's a pretty interesting Alice Waters post followed by an extremely heady conversation in the comments, if you dare...

Sushi Snow Angels

2008-10-22T06:39:00.000-07:00

>>My brother posted my niece and nephews prayers from the other night. It's just too good not to post here also (this is the Angels part of the title):

“Thank you for Jesus and God and Mama and Daddy and me and Cosette. Thank you for Jesus and Little K on the tv at church. Let Cosette and me and mama and daddy have no bad dreams. Dear Jesus’ name. Amen” -Connor (4)

“Jesus loves me so….Bible tells me so….Jesus loves me so….Amen.” -Cosette (2)

>>Last night we had a guest instructor schooling us on some Japanese food. We made miso soup, soba noodles, fried tofu, vegetable and shrimp tempura, and (oh yes) sushi. Okay, so I loooove sushi and had never made it before last night. It was awesome. I realised how easy it is to throw sushi together, but I also realise now how difficult it would be to truly master. Not so much for flavor but sushi is all about presentation. Perfect cuts, perfect arrangement, perfect rolling (or nigiri-squeezing), etc. I wish I would have had a nicer plate, something square and dark colored maybe, but at least I have pictures this time!

Not bad for my first time, eh? It all tastes wonderful, my favorite was the spicy tuna handroll. I think I've got the bug... I could totally see myself a few months from now with all my own stuff at home to make sushi, and with the new Asian market that just opened down the street that sells everything I would need (including sashimi grade tuna-maguro), it would be all too easy.

In case you're interested, here's what on the plate: the roll is a California Roll (sushi rice, sesame seeds, crab, avocado, cucumber, tobiko [fish eggs], and nori [seaweed]), shrimp nigiri (the butterflied shrimp has a dab of wasabi on the underside to help it stick to the little palm of rice that was squeezed, which is what nigiri means), tuna nigiri (or nigiri maguro), and the yellow one is nigiri tamago (tamago is egg, it's kind of like an omelet but the eggs have a little salt and sugar in the mixture and is cooked in a square pan in thin layers of egg that you keep folding over - this was really cool and I think it's a great example of how the Japanese take something simple like scrambled eggs and cook them and present them in a way that is far superior and beautiful), and lastly, the spicy tuna hand roll (my favorite) which was tuna mixed with rooster sauce (I don't know the name, but it's that chili sauce with the picture of a rooster on the bottle), a little mayo, and green onions; also in the roll is the sushi rice, avocado, and a leafy green called shiso (similar in flavor to basil, actually).

>>Okay, now for the "Snow" part of the title... yep, winter is here. Last night we had our first snow. It's very pretty, just a light blanket of snow over everything. It didn't affect the roads at all, which is good because I really, really need to go get some new tires...

Playing with Curry

2008-10-17T07:41:00.000-07:00

Last night we moved to Thailand in our studies of curry and then had some fun in the kitchen experimenting with different curry pastes. I made a potatoe curry with green curry paste, some dried Japanese hot peppers, and a good splash of coconut milk. I also made a chicken curry with the prik khing curry paste. They were both pretty freaking good, but honestly, I don't have much basis for comparison; the chef seemed to like both of my dishes. An ENORMOUS new asian market opened up down the road and it has all kinds of crazy stuff, including these little cans of curry paste, which are a couple of bucks each. My wife sure paid the price of me eating a bunch of curry last night... hehe.

Tired concept

2008-10-14T07:01:00.000-07:00

Okay, I've been using the same plating concept for a while now and I need to stop. I just wanted to play with some of the colors and textures a bit but I also want to stretch my imagination a bit and see what else I can come up with.

I also finally got a braised pork that I'm actually happy with. I want to work on the seasonings/flavorings some, with the desired end result of Carnitas like I used to get back at Super Mex in Cali. There just isn't any good, hardcore Mexican food here in Colorado Springs. At least not that I have had yet.

If this bowl equals one serving then I'd say I have about 30 servings or so more, yielding from the pork shoulder that cost me less than $11.00.

Pizza n' Steak

2008-10-10T07:15:00.000-07:00

This is the chicken garlic parmesan pizza I made two nights ago

Same pizza but covered with mozzarella

The pizzas were really freaking good, and I'm getting a little faster and better at making my own doughs.

Last night was NY strip, sauteed and basted with rosemary garlic butter. It's sitting on top of a carrot mash and tomato mushroom gratin. The steak was great and the veg was tasty, but looked a little like baby puke. I like the tomato gratin but I'm thinking I should concasse the tomatoes first, there was way too much liquid.

My beautiful wife, Nikki came home last weekend with a 1.75 liter jug of Jameson's. I loved her and despised her in the same moment because I knew what this would do to me, especially being that I have the week off from school. I make a point not to get sloppily drunk anymore, but it's been six days since she brought the jug home and it's over half gone...

Trouble in a bottle.

On top of that, she'll be up in the mountains this weekend on a retreat. I plan on doing a lot of reading and cooking, but it's just not as fun (or maybe purposeful) without her around. I've always said that I started cooking because I love to eat, and boy do I. But really, I'm not sure how true that actually is. When I'm home alone I'll just do whatever is quick and easy. I get excited about cooking when I'm cooking for others. There's no better feeling to me than to see someone else bite into something that I made, roll their eyes back in their head, and groan about how good it is. Nikki does this pretty much every time I cook. I think it's more out of love and support than anything else, and she's fairly easy to please when it comes to food. It may not be the most advantageous critique in terms of helping me develope as a cook, but it sure is edifying.

Ace

2008-10-06T09:02:00.000-07:00

Saturday was an eventful day for me. We didn't have class on Monday due to the Tulsa trip, so we had our mid-term practical on Saturday morning. All I could think about on Friday was the practical: what I would make, how I would make it, what order I would get my mise en place in line, etc. I was so focused on being ready for the test that I totally neglected the fact that this was my Saturday to work! The practical went from 8am to about 1pm and as usual I showed up early. About 10 minutes after 8 I got a call on my cell. I recognized that the number was from work and immediately realized my error. Luckily, when I answered it was my buddy at work. I thought "well at least it's him and he'll be cool about it." I sheepishly explained the situation, told him how sorry I was to leave him flying solo on a Saturday, and said that I would be there as fast as humanly possible once the test was finished. There was no way I was going to leave my practical, school is a much higher priority for me. I called him back later to give him an update on what time I'd be done and to see how he was doing. He said it was totally dead and it was no big deal that I wasn't there, which I was thankful for. He also told me that he was sorry but he had to call the boss on me. Okay... I know it was totally my bad. I know I screwed up and left him hanging and it was completely on me. But call the boss?? If the tables were turned I wouldn't have even considered calling anyone. It would have sucked, sure, but I would have covered for him. Oh well. I can't really be upset about it because again, it was my bad. I just figured we were buddies and that he would've helped me out. Today (Monday) is supposed to be my comp day for Saturday but since the boss new I was 5 hours late I came in today to make up the time. He hasn't said anything about it yet so I don't know how much trouble I'm really in, if any. It's not like I really care. Even if they fired me I'd be more grateful than upset. But they wouldn't do that. At worst I'll probably get a written warning or something like that. I've never had issues before.

Oh well, on to what really matters: the practical. Here's what I made for my entree.

We had to make two courses, a salad course and an entree. I was originally assigned chicken for my protein and saute for my method but when I got to school the chef decided too many people had chicken and he wanted more variety so he switched me to beef and told me I could cook it however I wanted. For a split second I was thrown off because I had really prepared myself to saute chicken, but really there's nothing I enjoy more than grilling some steak. So I grabbed a NY strip, threw it in some herb oil to marinate and then got to work on the salad and prepping the rest of the entree. For the salad (sorry, forgot to take pics) I used spring mix greens, cantaloupe, crisp raw onion, and a Thai vinaigrette, which turned out pretty nice, I thought. I garnished it with some minced lemon zest, parsley, cilantro, and red pepper. For the entree I made a pumpkin coulis (basically a puree), fried potatoes, and wilted spinach. The garnish was just scallions and bell pepper for color. Here's what I thought could've been better - the pumpkin coulis had a touch too much salt; the potatoes could've been a little crisper; and I felt like I used too much shallot with the wilted spinach. Here's what the chef though:

ACE!! Yep: 100%. He gave me a 10 out of 10 on everything. It's kind of funny how critical you can be of yourself and your own handiwork but then turn around and get a critique like that from a professional. Obviously, it made me feel great and the whole work issue just didn't matter to me anymore. It was a nice way to finish off before the fall break. Now I have a week and a half of no school to relax, read, cook at home, or whatever. My wife will be happy since I'll be cooking for her and I also plan on finishing The Physiology of Taste and writing a report on it (chef said he'll give extra credit and it's a phenomenal book anyway).

Back from Tulsa

2008-09-30T13:52:00.000-07:00

I got back late last night from my trip to the OK State Fair in Tulsa, which hosted the national Sugar Arts Show and competition. Chef Heidi, who teaches pastry and baking at Paragon, competed, as well as a student. Although the trip was more about drinking and partying, I did see some cool stuff at the fair. I will try to get the pictures up soon, particularly of Chef Heidi's cake, it rocked.

There are many colorful and interesting stories I could tell from the overly eventful weekend, but for now you get just one: the cyborg. Yes, we did indeed encounter a cyborg at the Select Hotel in Tulsa, OK. I'm not sure how he infiltrated our group but apparently it had to do with another student speaking to him in German, which caused the machine-man to develop an afiinity for our entourage. As you know, cyborgs are multi-lingual. He was proud to share with our group that he had duped an unknowning human, who was also staying at the all too elegant Select Hotel, into an arm wrestling match, scheduled for precisely 12:30am that evening. The silly homo sapien had pushed a wager and would be into the cyborg for half a million dollars, should he lose. The cyborg told us of his plans for future upgrades in biofuel and hydraulic technology, to be installed by scientists in Japan in February of 2009 in return for 12.8 million dollars, but he was certain that his current system would be able to handle the engagement without fail.

After paying $20 for two cigarettes (apparently his lung system was equipped to filter nicotene), he noticed the arm of another member of my group, bearing a birthmark on the inside forearm, starkingly alike in shape, color, and location to a mark on his own arm (of course this was not a birthmark but most likely a scar from a prior battle or a manufacture flaw, of some sort). He immediately recognized the significance of this similarity: the cyborg was indeed an android replication of the student, sent from the future.

I swear that this was a real person, who really said all of these things and much, much more. I wish I was making it up...

Things I learned and/or realized from this trip:
I need sleep
Battered and fried Winsconsin cheese curds are insanely good
The spider-lady is a bitter person/arachnid
Cochin chickens have silly looking afros
Jesse breaths like he has a turbine engine in his chest when he sleeps, but doesn't snore
Non-stop episodes of The Sopranos in the back of an Escalade is the ONLY way to ride to Tulsa

As promised:

2008-09-24T10:31:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday night I cooked dinner for my wife, her coworker, and her coworkers fiance. They were my guinea pigs. I used the opportunity to practice the dishes for the French section of my World Cuisine class.

chicken pate with red onion marmalade

(this ish rocked)

brown stock I made from chicken and veal bones, used for the beef bourguignon

blonde roux, used to thicken the bechamel for the pommes dauphinoise

brown roux, used to thicken the pan juices for the finished bourguignon

beef bourguignon, just before going into the oven (the carrots are hiding)

beef bourguignon, right out of the oven

pommes dauphinoise, right out of the oven

wilting spinach in garlic oil with shallots

plated dish. gotta love the maple leaf parsley garnish, guh...

brie en croute, I didn't pinch the dough tight enough, hence the sea of cheese

(reminds me of Primus)

there was enough brie still in the dough to be delicious,

I just topped it with a mixture of seedless blackberry jam and orange marmalade

there wasn't a bit of it left after we were done

Couple quick notes about last night's practical:

I drew (at random) beef bourguignon and camembert en croute (same as the brie dish, but with an even better cheese). Obviously, I was stoked, having just cooked both of these dishes Sunday. I got an 8 out of 10 on the bourguignon and a 9 out of 10 on the camembert, giving me a combined 8.5 out of 10: solid B work. I was pretty disappointed. Chef said the sauce for my bourg was top notch but that the meat needed to be a little more tender. I could complain about having to serve a slow-cooked braise in a limited amount of time, using a less than desireable cut of meat, but what good would that do? I should've just let it cook. He wouldn't really be able to say anything because you just can't speed up the process. Oh well. I served the camembert with a lemon-blueberry compote sort of sauce and an apple caramel sauce, and I garnished it with some candied lemon rind and apple peel. He said it was eloquent and delicious and would've been a 10 out of 10 if I had used a little less lemon in the compote. Again, oh well. I'm trying not to be too bummed about it. I'm just really striving for perfection, or at least a freaking A. The real kicker is that I took in some of the pate I had made over the weekend and he said it would be a 10 out of 10 for the practical, if I had gotten pate. He almost just let me run with the grade, but was talked out of it. I understand, a practical is a practical and I need to make the stuff there, under the gun. It just sucks thinking I could've had a much better grade.

French Practical Tonight

2008-09-23T10:42:00.000-07:00

The second practical exam for my World Cuisine class is tonight, covering our studies of France. As with our Italian practical, we will draw dishes at random and have a certain amount of time to complete and serve them to the chef. Here are the possible dishes for tonight:

Beef Bourgiugnon
Pommes Dauphinoise
Brie en Croute
Carrot Jus Lie (one of chef's creations)
Chicken Pate
Salad Nicoise
Ratatouille
Chicken Nouvelle (there's a lot more freedom with this one, we just need to display the characteristics of nouvelle cuisine)

The bourguignon and pate take hours to make so I'm not sure exactly how that will work out. If he gives us the full class time, 4.5-5 hours, then no prob. We'll see how he wants it. A couple of the dishes are simple, like brie en croute and ratatouille. If we draw one of the easy/quick ones then we might also have to cook another dish to accompany it, or we might have to get all Thomas Keller on it (like the ratatouille made in the movie by the same name, it was designed and created by Keller) and really try to impress the chef.

Color

My eyes are stained red from lack of sleep; time enough for it in the grave but people have made comments. I almost always drink a full bottle of wine, and more, when I drink wine now. It's getting expensive. My dog still craps in the house on a regular basis, but according to my wife she's "gotten better about it." I don't iron my shirts for work anymore and I wear my slip-resistant kitchen shoes to the office, but I don't think anybody cares or has noticed - yet. If I keep this pace up, I will graduate culinary in 16 months. Might be better to kick back my class schedule, switch to mornings, quit my job with the credit union, and get into a kitchen somewhere. Right now I'd much rather be prepping veg than to fund another freaking loan. This way I'd have several certifications and a good amount of real world experience under my toque by the time I'm done, but I wouldn't be able to keep all my lovely corporate benefits up until graduation. We shall see, we shall see...

Blood

While macerating a bunch of garlic last night I let my attention wander to the person next to me who was telling me how they do it differently. When I looked back I found that my left index finger was missing a good portion of its fingernail and I was about to get blood all over the garlic. I grabbed a paper towel, wrapped my finger up tight and then finished the garlic. I got a bandaid for it later but I wanted to be sure the garlic was ready when chef asked for it. It's kind of funny looking and only really hurt when I went to shampoo my hair in the shower. I'll take a picture and post it, with pictures from the dinner I made Sunday night. I promise, pics are coming.

French Dinner

2008-09-22T07:55:00.000-07:00

Wow... didn't realize how long it's been since my last post. Guess I've been slacking off.

I used the weekend to practice the French dishes we've been learning about in World Cuisine. We have a practical this Tuesday and we haven't had any really opportunity to practice during class. My wife invited a coworker and her fiance to come over for dinner last night and the three of them were my guinea pigs. This was the menu:

Appetizer (was too much to be called an amuse bouche)-
Chicken Pate with Red Onion Marmalade
Soup Course-
Chicken Glace
Entree-
Boeuf Bourguignon, Pommes Dauphinoise, and Wilted Spinach with Shallots and Garlic Oil
Cheese Course/Dessert-
Brie En Croute with Blackberry Coulis

I took pictures of everything, they'll get posted later. It was a lot of fun cooking all this food. I didn't run into too many problems except that I didn't have a food processor. I called my chef at school and he said it was okay to swing by there and use the Robocoup, which worked out well for the pate. Speaking of which, the start and end of this meal featured my two new favorite things: pate and brie en croute. This is a problem, though, because they are both loaded. I call pate a "heart attack loaf." And baking a big wheel of cheese in pastry dough and smothering it with jammy sweetness? Forget about it... Not that the beef or potatoes were any better. The sauce/gravy for the beef is thickened with brown roux, which is just butter and flour, and the potatoes were baked in a bechamel with a ton of gouda and gruyere cheese. But hey, we had spinach, right!?!? That's healthy! You gotta love the French. It's all about butter, cheese, and cream. At least for cuisine classique. We didn't dive much into nouvelle because chef is a haute kind of guy. I believe our studies turn to China after the French practical exam so hopefully that will be a little kinder to my arteries.

Movie marathon

2008-09-15T08:09:00.001-07:00

I cooked a bunch of stuff Friday night and played poker on Saturday (ended up down $23 at the end of the night), but the rest of my weekend was spent on the couch watching movies. I haven't been that lazy in a long time. Usually I'll at least go for a hike or do some cooking; not this time. I feel really well rested, at least. I watched: Clear and Present Danger, Anchorman, Heat, Matrix Reloaded, Big Night, and some others I can't remember - the weekend was pretty much a cinematic blur.

On Friday I made risotto Milanese (w/ saffron), chicken glace, and sauteed chicken breasts with beure blanc. I have pictures but I'll have to post them tonight. We continue our study of sauces tonight in Foundations and tomorrow we continue through our Study of France in World Cuisine. I really hope we dig deep tomorrow night because, after one week of studying France, I don't feel like I've learned much of anything about the country.

Practicals and more wine

2008-09-12T10:44:00.000-07:00

I got my grade from my Foundations practical: 91%. I was hoping for a little bit of a higher grade but I'm still happy with getting an A. Like I said before, I/we lost 4 points as a class for the stocks and safety and sanitation. Not much I can do about other people not putting their hair up or what have you. I suppose I could've played the sani-police but I'd rather lose a few points than to have people hate me. The other points I lost were a few for my knife cuts, which were uniform but my bias cuts were a little too long, according to the chef, and for my beure blanc sauce. Chef said my sauce was great in every aspect except that it was a little to dark in color. Oh well. We've switched instructors in World Cuisine, which I also had a practical in, so I haven't been able to find out my exact grade on that one but I'm pretty sure it was also an A and probably higher than the Foundations. We'll see.

Last night we started off with another wine tasting. The purpose of this tasting wasn't really to analyse the wine but rather to practice how we taste and to continue to develop a platform that will help us identify wines. The guest sommelier was great. He really explained everything in a way that you could see, smell, and taste what he was talking about. I'm going to keep a copy of my notes from that class in my truck so when I go out and have some wine I can refer to it and keep practicing my tasting and developing my palate. We had a Cotes du Rhones and a Bordeaux, which were both great but I prefer the Bordeaux for sure.

After the wine we went into the kitchen and made Arrancine, which is Italian. Don't ask me. We're supposed to be studying France but the chef has other more important priorities, apparently. He's a great chef and I love his classes but I don't really feel like I'm learning anything about France yet, and we only have a few more sessions to cover the country before we have a practical and move on to the next country. He keeps saying that we're really going to bust through some hardcore French stuff soon. I hope so. I really want a grasp on France the same way Chef Matthews gave us a grasp on Italy.

Anyway, here's to the weekend. I'm going to clock some hours helping out for an event at school to help pay down my tuition and do some cooking at home as well. My b-day poker tourney is tomorrow also, so it's going to be a busy weekend, but it should also be a lot of fun.

Leading Sauces / Basics of Taste

2008-09-11T15:07:00.000-07:00

This was the header from last nights class. My hand is still cramped from trying to keep up my notes with the chef, and I still didn't get it all down. Hopefully he'll be willing and able to e-mail a copy of the notes so I can fill in my gaps. I'm sure we'll have a test next week on what we're discussing now so I want to be sure to really absorb everything, plus it's pretty interseting stuff.

I was a bit early to class and the chef walked in while I was talking with another student. I was telling him what an awesome read The Physiology of Taste is. On the first page of the first chapter Brillat-Savarin discusses the senses. He names the traditional 5 senses we all know and then he defends his idea of the 6th sense: phsyical/sexual desire. His defense runs along the lines of purpose. The function of all the senses is to allow us to interact with the physical world as well as to gratify us. Physical and sexual desire does this a way unique from the other 5 senses but is still very powerful and so should be put into it's own category, according to him.

Anyway, my brain is tired so that's all I've got for now. We've been crazy busy at work and I just smashed all my old records for number of loans and dollar amount funded in one day. Time to recoup a bit for the next hour and a half before heading back to school.

I ain't got no class

2008-09-09T09:15:00.000-07:00

Last night I got a call from a lady at the school office telling me that "there was an accident up the street and we don't have any running water so there's no class tonight." I was a bit bummed because I look forward to going to school, especially since we are starting new sections in my classes this week. The good news was that I was able to go to the BYOM (Bring Your Own Meat) BBQ that the men's group at my church have once a month. We watched football and I played Rock Band for like 4 hours. It was fun but hopefully they fixed whatever needed to be fixed at school and I can go tonight. If we meet, we'll be starting our study of France in my World Cuisine class. Good times.

2008-09-07T21:03:00.000-07:00

Today was another lazy weekend day of cooking. However, what I did today did not represent how I felt. There was a huge Polish wedding at the school this weekend. The reception was a two day event (Sat. & Sun.) and the family has a friend who is a chef. He was preparing traditional Polish food, whatever that is/means, and students were encouraged to volunteer. Friday was my birthday, I don't see my wife much during the week, I needed to catch up on sleep and reading, there were lots of chores to do around the house... I don't know. They all just seem like petty excuses to be lazy and meanwhile, miss out on a great opportunity. All day yesterday and today I was telling myself I should just go and then I would let my wife or myself talk me out of it. If I had gone then I would've missed my wife a little more (and that's important, don't get me wrong), I would've still been tired, and I wouldn't have done any reading, etc, etc, etc... but I also wouldn't regret how I spent the weekend, and I'd probably have some pretty cool stories to tell. Instead, I'll just show you some pictures of what I cooked at home. It was a good and very enjoyable weekend, I don't want to sound like a total downer. I'm just wishing I would've went at least one night to help out with the wedding to know. Now I don't know what I missed. Oh well, here are some pictures.

tilapia marinating and

chicken with a dry rub

chicken on the que

finished tilapia,

should've gotten a few more

fish taco fixin's

low country fish stew-
I used the fumet I made with the fish bones, and chunks of the meat that I scraped from the skin and carcasses, along with some basic mirepoix, to make this soup. It probably cost all of $3.00 to make when you break it all down. I used too much fennel, though. sadness

Like I said, I wish I had some much cooler pictures and stories to relate from some crazy Polish chef and a rediculously huge and cool wedding reception prep, but instead my weekend was just relaxing and easy. So those are the kind of pictures and stories you get. Next time I'll work the dang reception.

Tomorrow we start leading sauces in my Foundations class and on Tuesday we start our study of France in World Cuisine. I am charging forward with fervor and anticipation. Besides, I'm eager to know my scores on the practicals. :)

Lovin the weekend

2008-09-06T20:44:00.000-07:00

My birthday dinner at Jack Quinn's (a local Irish pub) last night was great. I had the "surf n' turf" with top sirloin and grilled salmon. The steak was very good but I think next time I will just order the salmon entree. It was delicious. Not exactly a good pairing with Guinness but I just can't help myself. At any rate, the wife and I had a great time downtown with a great meal. I'm going to sell a few things and save up some cash so that we can go eat at The Penrose Room. It was the first 5 star restaurant in Colorado and it looks absolutely spectacular. I want to eat there just for the experience. The chef's menu with wine pairings is $149 per person so it will run us close to 4 bills altogether.

That's later though. Today, I reduced my stock, which I will do something with tomorrow. I also made pizza for dinner, with a few friends over, and I made a marinara for my wife. She wants something to throw on some frozen ravioli she bought for lunches this next week. I told her I'll make raviolis but I just haven't gotten around to it yet. Here are some pictures:

Pizza dough

Dough, after rising

Sauteed chicken tenders. I used these as a topping on one of the pizzas I made: parmesan, garlic cream sauce pizza topped with caramelized onions, diced chicken tenders, and fresh tomatoes. Delicious.

Mise en place for the marinara

The meez cooking

I neglected to take pictures of the finished pizzas but I'll get some pictures of the finished marinara tomorrow, along with whatever else I cook. It will probably involve some sort of chicken dish and a low country fish stew with the tilapia I fileted last week. I gotta get that stuff cooked and outta my fridge by tomorrow.

Practical #2, continued

2008-09-05T09:08:00.001-07:00

The pizza I made for my practical last night was a "North meets South" Italian pizza. I used a garlic cream sauce, caramelized onions, and mozzarella cheese, all representing the north. I topped the pizza with fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, and chiffonade of basil (as garnish) to represent the south. I wish I would've taken time to snap a few more pictures of the pizza to show you the underside of the crust and how I plated it to serve to the chef. The bottom of the crust was perfect but you'll notice the outer rim of the crust on top didn't really brown at all. I was a little worried about this but it felt and tasted right so I went ahead and served it as-was to the chef. If I had tried to cook it longer to get that part darker then I would've burnt the bottom anyway. He said it was perfect, though. He really liked it. Instead of just taking one or two bites and then critiqueing it, he wolfed the whole thing down and used his fingers to scoop up the left over garnish and little bits of crust on the plate. The only criticism he had for me was that my sauce was under salted, and he was right. I'm always afraid of over salting things and then all you taste is salt, so I hold back more than I should. I also wish I would have had some spinach to put on the pizza for a little more color and more freshness to balance out the richness of the onions and cream sauce. I was pretty proud of it, though and I should find out my grade on Tuesday of next week.

But now, I gotta get back to work. I've got a HUGE stack of loans to work on (zzzzz) and my mind is already on 5:30. I just need to get through today so I can go home and relax from this busy week. And it's my b-day! So maybe I'll take a nap and then convince the wife to take me somewhere nice for dinner. I haven't had much time to even think about it so I don't have anything planned; I'm really just looking forward to some r-and-r.

Practical #2

2008-09-04T22:40:00.001-07:00

Tonight's practical went really well again tonight. This was for my World Cuisine class as we are finishing our study on Italy. The dish I drew at random read "pizza - any way you like." I went for the cream sauce and caramelized onions pizza again and left the anchovies OUT this time. The chef loved it and the only critique he had was that I should've used a little more salt in the sauce. Here's a picture of the whole pizza, I forgot to take a picture after plating it:

I'll probably post more details about the practical tomorrow but I'm pretty tired now so...

One practical down

2008-09-03T21:52:00.000-07:00

I had my first of this weeks two practical exams tonight. It was in my foundations class and it went really well. Individually we had to cut some mirepoix (carrots and celery - the onions were in short supply so I didn't get one), butcher a chicken, saute a chicken breast, saute diced potatoes, and serve the cooked items as a dish with a sauce (veloute or beure blanc - I was assigned beure blanc) to the chef. We also had to collectively make two stocks with the mirepoix and chicken carcasses, and some veal bones from the walk-in. First a brown stock with the chicken bones and then a white stock with the veal bones, which seemed a little backwards but the chef was trying to test us.

I really read up on my stocks and sauces the past few days and made sure everything was straight and fresh in my head. It felt good because a few of the other students were a little lost on the stocks and I was able to kind of direct them and provide information. For instance, they wanted to blanch the chicken bones for the brown stock, which is a horrible thing to do. You want to roast the bones and get them nice and caramelized and browned to add color and flavor to the stock. If you were to blanch them first they would be all wet and so would not brown properly, or at least they would take forever to do so. They also wanted to saute the mirepoix for the white stock, which is another horrible idea. At any rate, we all did well and it felt good to really contribute.

As far as my individual tasks, those went well too. The chef loved my chicken and potatoes. I browned the chicken in a saute pan and just slightly undercooked it so that I could throw it into one of the ovens at low temp and let it finish cooking slowly. This way it didn't dry out and was nice and hot when I was ready to plate. Then I took the potatoes, which were a brunois cut (small cubes) and pan fried them in some butter and oil. I got them just crunchy and golden brown then took them out and seasoned them with S&P, oregano and chili powder while they were still wet with the oil, that way the seasonings get all soaked up into the potatoes. Chef also said that my beure blanc was great, but it is where I lost a couple of points. It was a bit dark in color and beure blanc should be anything but. It should be light colored, shining, and smooth. I figured out later that it was the ground black pepper I used. Instead, I should've used white pepper or whole peppercorns and then strain them out. Oh well, he gave me a 10 out of 10 on everything else. (woot!)

We also lost a few points as a class for a few minor infractions regarding safety and sanitaion. I figure I got anywhere from 92-96%, which is fine by me. As long as I can score an "A" I'm happy. Now I gotta prepare myself for tomorrow nights practical: Italy. This is the World Cuisine class and we will draw dishes at random that will be either fresh pasta and sauce, pizza of some sort, polenta, or risotto. Everything will need to be made completely from scratch and I'm not sure how much time we'll have, which is tricky when your making doughs that will need to rest and things like risotto. But overall I feel pretty ready on this one because of the practice I got over the weekend, so we'll see how it goes.

Vino

2008-09-03T09:00:00.001-07:00

Last night's class was all about Italian wines. Of course it was amazing and Chef Matthews proved himself yet again to not only be an eternal font of knowledge but also a very gifted teacher. In a matter of 3 hours I learned (and retained) information that would allow me to accurately pair Italian wines with food, down to specific producers and regions. The difficult part of doing this was that Italy has no system of identification, like France (regional system) or California (varietal system), making it hard to teach and even harder to learn. Chef broke it down into what he calls "generations." Now, this does not relate specifically to age but rather character or personality, if you will. Turn on your imagination and I'll try to explain a little...

First, the 75 year old. This is a crotchety old man sitting by the fire complaining about all the whipper snappers. He doesn't care what anybody thinks about him. He knows what he knows and who gives a hoot what you think? He's been around a long time. He has experience, wisdom, history, etc. He's got stories like you wouldn't believe but he's not particularly friendly so it's going to take some coaxing and some listening before you get to hear them. This characterizes the wines of Piedmonte. They've been doing it the longest and the wines in Piedmonte are the most complex and have the most to them, but you can't just walk right in and understand them. They are going to take some studying and coaxing before you can really get into them. There's a further breakdown of Piedmonte because of how complicated their wines are, but I won't get into that now.

Next, you have the 55 year old mad scientist. This is "Doc" from Back to the Future. He's older, he has some experience and wisdom, but he's also crazy. He still has some energy and is just a complete wacko - but also a genius. No one knows why or how he does the things he does but the results are always spectacular. This characterizes the wines of Veneto. Take for example the very city of Venice. It's a city built on the water! Why did anybody even consider building a city on water when there was plenty of available land all around them? The answer - because they could. It's crazy but it's also genius. It's one of the world's most visited cities for its beauty and grandeur. The same is true of the wines from Veneto (the region that Venice is capital of). The early producers needed to figure out a way to ship their wines around the world. The wine needed to withstand the voyage, wherever it was going, without turning to vinegar. So what does a mad scientist do? He experiments and he plays with the chemical aspects of the wine. They left the grapes on the vine a little longer, then they took them in racks into their barns or wherever to let them raisinate, and THEN made wine with them. Doing this made an extremely potent and acidic wine that could withstand trips all around the world. This wine is Amarone. It was originally a very bitter wine because of this process, which they have since refined a great deal. So the base wine they were making was Valpolicello, which they then casked and aged to make Amarone. The first was cheap and simple while the latter was expensive (due to the process) and strong. They wanted something inbetween so again the mad scientist kicks in and says "let's take the cheap stuff and age it in the casks we used for the good stuff." The result is Ripassa, and let me asure you that if you have not already had a Ripassa, you should. It is fantastic and much more affordable than an Amarone.

The third generation is the 35 year old suave lover. This guy is at the top of his game. He's had enough experience and time in life to build some resources and obtain some success. He's got all the latest and greatest technology. He uses his skills in marketing and business to be the best, because he also loves to party. He's that rich and successful guy speeding down the highway in his convertible with the music blasting, sunshades on, and a pretty girl riding shotgun. This is Tuscany. The tuscans are the best at what they do and they know it. They use all the latest technology. They break down wine with a scientific approach, but not like the mad scientist would, this is all business. He wants to know: what sells, what works, what doesn't work, why does it work, how can I make it work better, how can I be more successful? All the wine in Tuscany starts with the Sangiovese grape, which is now grown in many other parts of the world. But, Sagniovese that is made in Tuscany is Chianti. Centralize it further into Tuscany and age it 9 to 12 months and you have Chianti Classico. Take the Classico and age it another 3 years (at least) in oak and you have Chianti Classico Reserva, which is a remarkable wine. And its no wonder that Chianti is the most popular wine in America. The genius behind its production and marketing has made it so. But the business man is never satisfied. Success only brings a desire for more success. The 35 year old suave lover knows that Chianti is good, but it isn't great. It isn't bold and huge like some other wines. So what do they do? They makes deals and bring in grapes from California and other places. They mix the wine: 90% Sangiovese and 10% California Cabernet. And how does it do? It sells like crazy. So next crop they take it further: 80% Sangiovese and 20% Cabernet. Again - genius; they make a fortune. They keep going and experimenting and this is how we have Super Tuscans.

Obviously there is much more than this. We did not even discuss the 4th generation: the 15 year old kids. This is the category chef gave to southern Italian wines (everything south of Tuscany). As you might imagine, these wines aren't complicated. They are refreshing and crisp because the kids are closer to the meridian and they just want to get out to the beach and play.

And Piedmonte? There are six wines from Piedmonte that we discussed in class and I might go into that later, but this post is long enough already and I should get back to work. Let me just say this: they are worth looking into. They are the best of Italy. The oldest, the most complex, and also the hardest to understand. "King" Barolo? I certainly don't understand him... not yet anyway.

But it's a great way to learn isn't it? Now, instead of memorizing regions and names you have ideas of characters. It's easy to remember and envision. It also gives you a better grasp of a culture that is slippery at best. The Italians are all about passion and character. You have a system for defining my wine? Screw you! My family has made this for x number of years and I say what it is! Hehe, okay so that's a bit much. But it's kind of true. Consider how they name their wines. Most of the time, it has nothing to do with where it's from, what grape was used, or even who made it. It reflects their character and they name it whatever the heck they want.

Lazy Sunday

2008-09-01T08:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was another great day of resting, reading, and cooking. I practiced my fileting on some tilapia. I got some decent filets but left a bit of meat on the carcass so I might go get another couple of fish to practice some more today. They're pretty cheap - about $5 for two whole fish. Here's what I yielded:

I used the bones to make a fumet (fish stock) but I think it's closer to a vegetable stock. I should've gotten a few more fish before making the stock. It just wasn't enough bones.

For dinner last night I made chicken roulade with pan fried jalapeno polenta cakes (really they were made with corn meal though, it just sounds better and I would've preferred polenta) and a veloute sauce (which was really just gravy, I guess because I didn't technically use a roux). It was delicious. Unfortunately we ran out of white wine so I was forced to drink a chianti with it. What can I say? Life's rough. Here are the pictures:

Cooling the polenta

Roulade

Cooking the polenta

Cooked roulade

Okay, this next picture needs a little more explanation. I finished the roulades in the oven then took out the pan, set it on the stove to make the sauce, and told myself "this pan is hot, don't just grab it with your hand." So what did I do? I grabbed it with my naked hand not 30 seconds later. I should really listen to myself a little more. Anyways, I couldn't let a little burn keep me from finishing the job so I whisked butter into the sauce with one hand while running my other, burned hand under cold water. The wife got a good laugh out of it:

The finished product, minus garnish

Weekend Cooking

2008-08-30T22:35:00.000-07:00

I had high hopes of rest, relaxation, and gastronomy for this 3-day weekend and, being one day in, I am not disappointed as of yet. I got some whole chickens last night and butchered them. The yield vs cost is so good that I feel stupid never having done this before. This is how much I got from $13 worth of chickens:

This picture doesn't include the 2 chickens breasts and 2 tenders that I cooked for last night's dinner, along with some rice and a rustic chicken gravy (I'm not sure if it counts as a veloute because although it had butter and flour it didn't technically have roux). I could've strained the sauce to make it smooth and look a little more elegant but it was delicious just the same:

I took the leftover chicken carcasses and made a white stock, with some mirepoix, herbs, and a sachet, of course:

I didn't get a picture of the finished stock yet, but it looks pretty good. It's colorful but not cloudy and it smells and tastes great. I'm going to reduce some of it for a glace that I'll turn into a real veloute to accompany the chicken roulade I plan on making tomorrow night. The rest of the stock I'll keep on hand for whatever else. This is the first time I've made stock at home and again, I feel kind of stupid for not doing this sort of thing before.

For dinner tonight I practiced making my own pizza dough from scratch and made pizza margherita. I threw a stone in the oven and cranked it at max temp for a few hours before I was ready to actually cook the pizza, so it was nice and hot. Here's a picture of the finished product:

There was a little hole in the dough that caused the tear but other than that minor blemish it was pretty spot on (and no, I didn't cook it on that cheesy perforated pizza pan - I just used it to rest the pizza). Next time I'll need to add a little more salt to the dough, it was kind of bland. I think I'll also dice the tomatoes instead of slicing them. The slices looked nice but when you bit into them you would end up sliding a lot more cheese and tomato off the pizza than you planned to. The crust was the perfect consistency, though. It was just slightly chewy in the middle but it also held it's shape very well, as thin as it was:

It was super tasty. Gotta love that fresh basil - just be sure to add it AFTER the pizza has been cooked. If you bake the basil with the pizza it will at best lose some of the quality of it's flavor. At worst it will blacken and turn bitter.

Tomorrow, as I said, I plan on making chicken roulade. We're going to have some friends over for dinner and they are going to be my guinea pigs. I'm thinking that I might serve pan friend jalapeno polenta cakes alongside the roulade and, if I'm feeling up to it, I might make a risotto for an appetizer just to keep practicing it. Maybe even go the milanese route with some saffron? We'll see... I'll be sure to take some more pictures of whatever I end up doing. The wife said she'll make some dessert crepes, too. :) It's been great to actually have some time to cook at home. With two practical tests next week at school I want to be sure I get all the practice in that I can.

Practice

2008-08-29T08:15:00.000-07:00

I had a great time cooking a bunch of fun stuff last night. The chef for my World Cuisine class turned us loose in the kitchen to practice whatever we wanted the whole night. I made a couple of batches of risotto to really familiarize myself with the technique. He said it was the perfect texture and that it was really good. The only advice he had was to reduce the stock a bit more before incorporating it into the arborio to give it more flavor and make it even more rich. The other problem was the only wine we had around was a bottle of Sutter Homes White Zinfandel... total crap. That stuff is closer to Koolaid than wine. It ended up making the risotto have this kind of sweet tone to it. I tried to hide the sweetness by adding some more acid (lemon juice) and increasing the salt. It worked somewhat but you just can't hide crap like that. Hopefully next Thursday when we have our practical there'll be a decent, dry white wine available. I also made a spicy polenta. I cooled the polenta and cut little 2" cakes out. I dredged the cakes in flour and then pan fried them in some butter and oil. I took the leftover fats in the pan and reduced some veal stock with it and used it as a sort of gravy that I drizzled over the polenta cakes. The chef said he loved these and that if I would've reduced the sauce a little bit more and served the cakes alongside a duck breast or something like that then I would've been "in the money". I had kind of wanted to practice a pizza or too as well but the oven needs to be on for at least a day to get the kind of heat needed to make it properly so I scratched that. I feel pretty solid on my pastas and pizzas anyway. I'll probably practice them over the weekend along with fileting fish, making fumet, and some other things for my Foundations class. I'll be sure to take some pictures of what I make this weekend and I wish I had taken some last night. Everything looked and tasted pretty darn good.

Practicals

2008-08-28T06:17:00.000-07:00

Next week I have two practical exams. My Foundations practical will be Wednesday and I'll be required to butcher or filet a chicken and/or whole tilapia. Then, as a class, we will prep a chicken stock and fumet (fish stock) with the left over carcasses. After the stocks are going we will split back up again and individually prepare a dish, chosen at random, for the chef that will feature a chicken breast or a filet of tilapia and one of the sauces we've covered, most likely a veloute or beure blanc. The only part I'm a little sketchy on is fileting the fish. Last night we went over fileting fish and making fumet. We watched the chef filet one whole tilapia and then we each got one fish to practice on - and next class will be the practical exam (no class Monday due to the holiday). It would just be nice to be able to practice a little more before being tested on it. I think I'm going to grab a few tilapia over the weekend to practice. Last night I did... okay. I fileted one side pretty well and was happy with the result but then I flipped the fish over and made a complete mess of the other side. I accidentally cut right through the vertibrae instead of edgeing along it and it was pretty much irrepairable. I should have time to practice a few this weekend, though and then I'll use the carcasses to make my own fumet. At least the wife and I should be eating well.

Risotto di Amore

2008-08-26T22:51:00.000-07:00

Oh so good... tonight Chef Victor went over polenta and risotto and he demonstrated several dishes. We explored polenta for its simplicity and absolute diversity and we studied risotto for its complexity and absolute decadence. They are both truly great things with room for so much creativity, but of course we took special interest in the risotto, known to be one of the great hallmarks of highly skilled cooks.

We started with polenta. It can be cooked two different ways and served two different ways, creating four basic dishes that provide a foundation for endless variations. The cooking methods are: plain polenta (cooked with water, maybe a bit of cream or milk, and salt) and flavored polenta (cooked with stock, ingredients like mushrooms, onions, jalapenos, and so on). The serving methods are: warm and cold (polenta becomes quite firm when cooled, creating more potential for serving alternatives). So - plain, flavored, warm, and cold. Sounds so simple, and it really is. But the posibilities within these are literally without end. For example, the chef made a creamy, buttery, porridge-like warm polenta, a cooled, cornbread-like polenta with onions, garlic, and jalapeno, and a rich parmesan polenta. They all took just a couple of minutes to make and were delicious, easy, and simple. It was just a peek, a small window into the opportunity for creativity with polenta.

Then we moved on to risotto, polentas polar opposite. Risotto is made one way and one way only (proper risotto, anyway). There certainly is plenty of room for creativity with flavoring, but it must be cooked correctly and served immediately to be considered a legitimate risotto. Chef started with a classic risotto (I'd say basic but even with just four or five ingredients it's anything but). He began with finely diced onion, sauted in oil. He added the arborio rice and cooked it with the sweated onion until it was opaque, signifying that the rice was well coated with the oil and flavored by the onion. Then he added acid (white wine) to perforate the rice. He explained that this gets the rice to a point that the high content of starch in arborio will be released slowly and evenly. Arborio is extremely high in starch and a properly made risotto will be rich and creamy without any actual cream added (that would be cheating and people who know risotto will know the difference). After the wine was cooked out he began adding a reduced chicken stock (which was made in my Foundations class and was rock solid) one ladel at a time, keeping the heat high, allowing the stock to reduce further and be absorbed by the rice as it released its starches into the liquid. This process was repeated several times until a nice al dente was achieved with the rice and the liquid was thick and creamy. Just a touch of seasoning at the end and a bit of shaved parmesan and parsley for garnish. That's it. It was amazing. Just rice, right? Right...

Then he got crazy. We had some time left and he got to work on a second batch: curry risotto. This stuff was nuts. It had onion, carrots, jalapeno, red pepper flakes, curry powder (a really great spice mixture), fresh cilantro, and just a dab of tomato paste. It was spicy, rich, a bit more firm (which is how Indian people like it, according to the chef), and just incredible. I can honestly say I've never had anything like it before in my life. And he made it look all too easy!

Thursday will be a practice day where we can work on anything we want from what we've studied out of Italy - fresh pasta, sauces, pizza, polenta, and/or risotto. I figure I've got a good enough handle on most things because I have some experience with them and they can be winged, more or less. I am going to work on risotto. I've never attempted it before and I want to make sure I at least have some understanding of its preperation. Next week on Tuesday we will relax with a night discussing and sampling Italian wines, then on Thursday night we will have our Italian practical exam. Apparently we will draw a dish at random out of a basket and prepare it from scratch to present to the chef for grading. Good times, I am looooving this class!

Tulsa Pastry Competition

2008-08-26T12:55:00.000-07:00

Some of the chefs and students are making arrangements now to go to the National Pastry Competition which will be held at a fair (apparently one of the nation's biggest) in Tulsa, OK. I just reserved my seat in one of the chefs cars, an Escalade :), and requested the time off from work. We'll leave before noon on Friday, Sept. 26th, attend the entire fair on the 27th and 28th, then head back early on Monday, Sept. 29th. Some of the others are going to go Friday night and come back Sunday so they don't have to take any time off but that just sounds like it would be stretching things too thin and I'd like to be rested and enjoy the entire fair. Several of the students and the chefs go every year (the baking/pastry chef, Chef Heidi, competes every year) and say it's a great time, whether you're into baking or not. The trip will only set me back $200 or less for everything including gas, hotel room, entrance to the fair, and food. I could go out drinking and eating at nice restaurants with some of the others but I don't really want to spend the money. We'll see how well my will holds...

Back in action

2008-08-25T21:56:00.000-07:00

I had an awesome time up in the mountains this last weekend with the men's group at my church. I was a freakin wreck by the time I got home yesterday, though and took today off from work to rest up. I was so tired that I couldn't even fall asleep when I had finally made it home. I did, however, make it to class tonight and we worked some more on sauces. We made a kind of bastardized marinara/tomato sauce which we then made into a tasty espagnole (brown sauce) by adding some reduced veal stock and brown roux. Wednesday we will have a quiz on the five leading sauces: veloute (white stock and blonde roux), bechamel (milk and blonde roux), brown sauce or espagnole (brown stock and brown roux), tomato sauce (tomatoes and liquid - water or stock), and Hollandaise (butter and egg yolks). Some others that the chef deems notable but aren't categorized with these "Escoffier leading sauces" are: butter sauces (beure blance, rouge, etc), cream sauces (such as Alfredo), pestos, emulsions (such as vinaigrettes), chutneys, and more. Sorry to bore you with the details of my note taking, I'll leave it at that.

I also did some more reading and am now about half way done with "Down and Out in Paris and London" by George Orwell. It's a great book. I would almost venture to say that other people might find it a bit boring but Orwell writes in such a way that it really takes you in. I sort of feel grimy and in need of a shower after I read some of the chapters where he describes the absolute squalor and desparity of living penniless (or sou-less, or pence-less, you know - dead broke). I find it to be an easy yet engrossing read. It certainly lends some perspective, it's just hard to come back to my all too easy desk job and listen to some of my coworkers complain. I hope that as soon as I finish with it that my copy of "The Physiology of Taste" by Brillat-Savarin (I forget his first name but he's noted as being the first famous food writer, he is to writing what Escoffier is to cooking) will arrive. The chef offered extra credit for a book report on it but it promises to be a fantastic read anyway.

Find the fish. Fishy, fishy

2008-08-22T09:06:00.000-07:00

Last night the chef demonstrated making pizza dough and a classic pizza margerhita. He got the oven almost 700 degrees F with the help of some granite slabs and baked the pizza in about 4 or 5 minutes. The crust was thin, crispy on the outside and just a little bit chewy inside. He used thin slices of tomato and fresh mozzarella then topped the pizza with chiffonaded basil after it was done baking. It was nothing short of absolutely delicious. After we all tasted the pizza he said "okay, have fun" and we got to work on making our own pizzas using whatever inredients we wanted.

I decided to make a cream sauce with parmesan. I had to thin it a bit with warm water to be usable as a pizza sauce, but it was really rich and tasty. I topped the pizza with super thin tomato slices and caramelized onion, then a garnish of parsley. The other ingredient I used, which I regretted, was anchovies. I minced one filet and put it on after the sauce, under the rest of the toppings. My thought was that it would pair well with the other ingredients and add a nice, natural saltiness. The problem, and this is the really stupid part, is that I don't like anchovies at all. It was so silly, I don't know why I even put them on the pizza. The flavor was so fishy and overpowering (duh). The chef said that anybody that likes anchovies would love this pizza. Most people don't though, myself included. I'm going to make the pizza again sometime and I'll do the same thing except I will leave out the anchovies (obviously) and instead of parsley I think I will put the caramlized onions on top of the sauce then arrange a leaf of spinach with half of a slice of tomato on top. Dang it... it would've been perfect if I had just done that to begin with.

In about two weeks we will have our first practical test in this class, after we learn about and how to make risotto and a few other things. Apparently what will happen is we will all draw the name of a dish from a basket and we'll have a certain amount of time to prepare the dish from scratch and service it to the chef. An example would be: spinach fettucine with aglio e olio pomodoro, or pizza margerhita, etc. We'll have to make the noodles, dough, sauce, or whatever completely from scratch and then we'll be graded on the final product. It sounds like a lot of fun, I just hope I have some time to work on my techniques a bit before test-time comes.

Roulade

2008-08-20T22:50:00.000-07:00

Tonight we transferred the chicken stock from the pot that the morning class started and then got to work starting our own stocks, chicken and vegetable. While the stocks got going we made chicken roulade and veloute sauce. It was my first time making a roulade and the chef said mine was perfect, which meant a lot to me. It's my highest priority right now to please the chefs at Paragon and live up to their standards. We made enough for the baking class to have some also and in return they shared their nights work with us. I have no idea what it was or how to pronounce/spell the name but it was delicious. One of the guys in that class is a total prick, though and I watched him lie straight to the chef's face twice tonight. It really bothers me but its not my place to say or do anything unless it could really hurt someone or something like that. I just know that I don't trust the guy any farther than I can throw him and if his behaviour affects me directly I won't mind calling him out (he's scrawny anyway and I could totally take him). I couldn't care less about what he thinks of me.

It was a fun night and tomorrow we are practicing fresh pastas some more as well as making pizza. I guess we'll have a couple of practical tests coming up here in the next week or two so I hope I get a lot of hands on time at school and some time to practice at home as well. I don't want to just pass anything, I want to totally ace all tests and really impress the chefs.

I may never buy pasta again

2008-08-19T22:37:00.001-07:00

Tonight we made fresh pasta and a plethora of sauces (mostly southern Italian style, Aglio e Olio variations for their freshness and fast cooking nature). We had a bit more lecture on pastas, sauces, regions of Italy and American-Italian cuisine, in all its perversions. After that we took a short break and then dove into the kitchen to practice. I made tagliatelle with salsa rosa (not southern, but just a bit of tomato paste, water and cream to kick it up) and basil chiffonade - so delicious. On thursday we will do some more pasta with central and northern sauces (bolognese, cream sauces, etc.) and we will also make pizza - real Italian pizza, no BBQ chicken, bastardized American variations, although they can be tasty, I'm not knocking them for that. We're talking pizza margherita, baby. Chef set up some granite (or some kind of stone) slabs in one of the ovens and turned it on this morning, full blast, and will leave it on for the next few days. The slabs will absorb and radiate the heat produced by the oven and will actually increase the temperate to somewhere between 600-700 degrees F. Real Italian pizza should really be cooked at 800 degrees F or higher, but this is about as good as we can get with a gas oven that normally only pushes 500.

A quick shout out to Tarin - you were right about the pronunciation of bruschetta. Not sure why I doubted you, considering you've spent reasonable time in Italy and speak the language to a degree, unlike my ignorant, unilingual selft (not to mention you were best man in my wedding and have never lied to me before, to the best of knowledge). Sorry I let all those hack-celebrity chefs convince me otherwise. But hey, we're always in the process of educating ourselves, aren't we? Forgiveness is divine.

At any rate, I may never buy pasta again. The fresh stuff was so delicious and so fun to make. I really, really, really want a chest freezer to be able to make batches of the stuff. The only time I may actually buy dry pasta would be for tubes like penne or rigatoni, the wife loves them. Those would just take too much time and be too much of a pain to make by hand. And the sauces! So incredibly fresh, tasty, and quick! My favorites are the aglio e olio pomodoro and peperoncini. The key is really great quality ingredients (because there aren't many in the sauce) and to never, ever burn the garlic. As Chef said "it's the second worse taste in the world." I'll have to let him tell you what the first is...

Butchery

2008-08-18T22:29:00.001-07:00

Tonight we butchered chickens. I know it's a fairly simple process for experienced cooks but to truly get a good yield and have neatly trimmed pieces takes a bit of practice. Hopefully I'll have some time this week to buy a few chickens and work on it. Then I'll use the carcasses and wings for stock and the breasts and hind quarters for something yummy. But again, that will take time, which is not something I've had an excess of lately. We'll see. I'll be gone this coming weekend on a retreat so I'll need to find time during the week. I'm guessing we'll have a practical test on butchery next week or the week after so I want to be sure I am solid. I want that freaking free dinner at the Bear!!

I'll still need a chest freezer to store all this stuff in too, which reminds me - I also need to go pick up a knife sharpening kit, a couple of instant-ready thermometers, a pair of kitchen sheers, a peeler (apparently they keep disappearing from the school's supply), and some other odds and ends. Oooooh, and a 6" boning knife...

The difference of 1 hour

2008-08-17T21:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was fun, although tiring.

I volunteered for my first banquet at Paragon. It was a wedding reception that was scheduled to start at 5:30pm. I got to the kitchen a little after 10am and got to work prepping some mirepoix and other veggies for garnish, etc. The rest of my time line gets blurry because I rarely looked at a clock other than to gauge cooking times (the rice pilaf needs to go in the oven in 20 minutes, the chicken will need 15 minutes in the oven then it goes in the warmer, things like that). The reception was plated, not banquet style, which makes the timing of everything a bit trickier. I grilled the chicken, getting it nice and crispy with some pretty grill marks, then threw it in the oven. The roast had been cooking for hours and was at the ideal internal temp. The salmon and pesto, which only takes a few minutes, was in the warmer finishing off. The rice pilaf was minutes from being light and fluffy and ready to go. We had all of our bain maries set up and our meez was rockin for plating. We only needed the green light to plate salads and finish off the entrees to be plated as well. We were ready.

Unfortunately, the 5:30pm go time we all knew and understood (and as it was printed on our summary) turned out to actually be 6:30pm. Guests didn't even start arriving until after 6. Apparently there was some miscommunication between the parents of the bride and our facilities administrator. 150 people toasted the union of the lovely new husband and wife over plates of dry chicken, overcooked salmon, and far-from-rare roast. What could we do? When we found out that nobody was there to receive our perfectly cooked entrees we had to hold them and then fire them again just before serving (that ended up being closer to 7pm) so that the food was hot, which resulted in gross overcooking. Not that any of them knew it, probably. No food came back, there were no complaints, but there also weren't any rave reviews or left over champagne being passed to the kitchen. Who knows, they were probably happy as pigs in slop, but we weren't. We knew how good it was and that we were ready when we were told to be.

Not bad for my first time in a service kitchen, eh? At least I got to get my hands dirty. It wasn't just diced carrots, celery, and onion. I got to cook. I sauteed the mirepoix, grilled and cooked the chicken, made the 3 vegetarian plates (which tuned out pretty nice, filet of green, yellow, or red pepper, quartered red onion, and mushrooms - all grilled and then doused with balsamic vinaigrette - it looked nice and tasted good, even to a carnivore), and plated salads and entrees.

I plan on working as many of these banquets as possible. It's 11 or 12 hours of hard work without pay on my only real day to sleep in and relax, but when I go looking for a job in a kitchen at least I'll have more to say than "I'm in culinary school!" I'll have some real hours of experience behind me and I won't be a complete Mel (thanks Chef Bourdain). Hopefully...

Well Technique

2008-08-15T09:26:00.000-07:00

Something I've always wanted to do but just never have.

Last night we discussed Italy at length, particularly norther Italy and the differences between northern and southern Italy. The keyword for Italy is: passion. After the lecture and some discussion, the chef demonstrated the well technique. He titled this segment of the class "3000 recipes in 1 hour," and he wasn't exaggerating. This is the basic technique that creates all breads, pastas, crackers, etc. Just by tweaking the ingredients and the cooking methods, the possibilities are literally endless.

I'm trying to convince the wife to let me buy a chest freezer so that I can make roux, stocks, sauces, pastas, etc. in bulk on the weekend and store them in the freezer. I don't have much, if any, time Mondays through Thursdays but this way I can throw some fresh pasta in a pot and reheat some sauce and presto - delicious, homemade meals in minutes (and no, not 30 minute meals... hack).

Almost perfect / Depends

2008-08-14T06:23:00.000-07:00

I really shouldn't complain about getting 108% out of 100%, but since there were 10 points of extra credit that means I fell 2% short of a perfect score. It turns out I sort of misunderstood the question. It just bugs me that I knew all the right information I just wasn't able to give him the exact answer he was looking for. Oh well, I'm over it.

Last night was fun. There is a group of old people that go to the banquet hall every other Wed night to have dinner and then play bridge. One of the senior students kind fo runs the show in the kitchen by himself. I don't know if he was behind or if it was just simply too much for him to do alone, whatever the reason the chef declared "crash course!" and we all went back to plate salads, chicken, etc. It was just a miniscule taste of an actual service although it was pretty easy and no stress, I'm sure a real dinner service would be a thousand times as intense, stressful, etc.). After we got all of the food out we went back into the classroom and took our test. The banquet room and classroom are separated by a curtain so in the middle of me answering "What are the six types of contamination?" I heard the, I presume, leader of the elderly group get up and crack some jokes in a psuedo-speech. They went something like this: "don't criticize someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes, that way you have their shoes and you're a mile away when they react," and "never test the depth of water with both feet." You get the idea. The other, much funnier situation I was not fortuntate enough to experience first hand. We were cleaning and eating in the kitchen while the chef was in the front grading out exams. Apparently a very elderly, decrepit woman was leaving the banquet hall and passed by him. About 10 feet from the exit, so he says, she dropped a "shook my wine glass" sized dump right in her depends. Oh man, hehehe... good times.

I almost fogot the other good thing about last night - the chef said that because of my good test score and how I helped with the dinner that he'll give me the green light to volunteer for banquets and receptions at the school. There is one Saturday so I'm looking forward to getting in there and actually being part of a real service.

S&S Exam Tonigth

2008-08-13T13:43:00.000-07:00

I have the Safety and Sanitation exam tonight. I found out that the free dinner I mentioned in an earlier post applies to all exams EXCEPT this one. Of course, I find all of this out after I memorize my notes completely. Oh well, it's good stuff to know (but boring as all get out). After the exam we will begin on knife skills. I'm hoping to prove myself advanced enough to the chef that he will let me start helping out with banquets, wedding receptions, etc. that are held at the school banquet hall. If all goes well tonight I'll be in there for the banquet this Saturday.

Dark Roux/Gumbo

2008-08-13T06:25:00.001-07:00

I'll probably end up saying this a lot over the next few months, but I LOVE my World Cuisine class. Last night we finally got into the kitchen and Chef whipped up one of his specialties: gumbo. He made creole style gumbo, which means it was with tomatos, the cajun/creole trinity (onions, celery, and peppers) were cut into a medium dice (for the sake of presentation, as opposed to cajun style that would dice the trinity fine to be sure to extract all the nutrients), and there was a good amount of seafood in it (clams, oysters, and shrimp). The best part, and the trickiest part, was making the roux. In case you don't know, a roux is equal parts flour and fat (usually butter). If not cooked you have yourself beurre manie but as you stir it over heat and the flour breaks down you get roux. It took somewhere between 30 and 45 minutes to make and when it was done it looked just like dark chocolate syrup; after it cooled you wuold swear it was ganache. It was a lot of fun watching him make it and I took like 8 pages of notes in my little memo pad just on the roux. Then he started making the gumbo, throwing ingredient after ingredient in, letting them all cook a bit before adding the next thing. {Side note - andouille sausage is love.} He saved the roux and shrimp til the end, after it simmered for a while with all of the other ingredients incorporated. It was delicious. We ladeled it into bowls and garnished it with rice. And to make things even more wonderful, there is an Advanced Baking and Pastry class that meets at the same time and last night they made regular corn bread (with whole kernals of corn which my wife hates but I love) and jalapeno corn bread (which I REALLY love). It was perfect with the gumbo.

When we all finished eating I made sure that I was the first person at the dishwashing station and I busted my ass cleaning everything from both classes. I want to make a reputation for myself and I want the chefs to see that I'm not a pencil-pushing, cubicle worker who's afraid to get his hands dirty. I'm going to do everything I can to be the hardest worker and the best cook at that school, freshman or not.

Exam - Free Dinner at Black Bear

2008-08-12T11:22:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I have my Safety and Sanitation Exam. I nailed the quiz and feel plenty ready, but I'm going to really grind through my notes and try to over study. The chef said that anybody that scores a perfect 100% on any exam, whether written or practical, without extra credit will be invited to have dinner with he and his wife at Black Bear. Black Bear is 4 star fine dining restaurant up near Woodland Park. It is Chef Matthews' (the dean of Paragon) restaurant and I hear nothing but rave reviews. Apparently, instead of ordering from a standard a la carte menu, after your order your drinks one of the chefs will come to your table and basically ask you what you don't like. After a little discussion they will go into the kitchen and prepare a 6 or 12 (depending on how much you want to spend) course meal. I would LOVE to experience this kind of dining, especially being that it is the dean's restaurant. I can't wait to nail this test!

A Day In The Life

2008-08-11T13:18:00.001-07:00

Anybody who entertains the idea of working as a chef or owning a restaurant should read A Day In The Life, a chapter in Anthony Bourdain's "Kitchen Confidential." The entire book is entertaining, if nothing else, but this chapter in particular will tire you with the details of a single day in chefdom. No wonder so few are successful...

Save The Food

2008-08-11T12:38:00.000-07:00

Paragon offers some overseas trips to Italy, Japan, and another yet to be announced location. The Italy and Japan trip cost $3,000 and are educational in nature. I would love to go on one, if not both, trips but certainly do not have the funds to do so. I'm trying to brainstorm some fundraising ideas to get me onboard.

At first I thought about preparing food to bring to work and sell to co-workers but the work vs return may not be worth my while. I might make a few hundred dollars over the course of the next few months, if I do it right. But in that case I might as well get a second job on the weekends.

The other idea I've been bouncing around in my noggin' is an actual fundraising event. This might just start off as a car wash/BBQ where I flag people down off the street and try to hustle a few bucks. But I also am envisioning an annual event that would involve, in addition to the car wash and BBQ, some carnival games and attractions, live music from local bands, an art gallery for local artists, and booths where local purveyors, farmers, ranchers, resterauteurs and the like can promote their businesses to the community. I've written a synopsis/proposal and am going to run it by some of the chefs at my school to see what they think. The idea behind this mothership would be to "Save The Food" in Colorado Springs. The concept is to get the community to support the education and training of up-and-coming chefs. The funds raised would help to offset the costs of these trips, allowing the students to benefit from training directly under the master chefs of the world and experiencing other cultures and cuisines first hand.

I compare it to music. In order for a young, budding virtuoso to create and perform truly great music he or she must first know what great music is and experience it at the hands (or mouth, or fingers, or whatever) of great masters, both past and present. The advantage somebody studying music has is that they can pop in a CD or DVD and hear Bach or Beethoven or watch Phillip Glass, etc. They can listen and know how the history of a culture affected its composers, and how they in turn communicated through their music. How does somebody studying food gain this sort of enlightenment? We can't listen to a masterpiece. It must be tasted and experienced. Also, musicians and conductors travel the globe, performing to the masses. Chefs do not. They work from their restaurants and any time spent traveling is not to cook banquets for eager to learn students. We must (and should) go to them and experience their culture.

I'll post more later after I get some feedback from the chefs at school. I know I'll get some "how cute, the little wanna-be chef wants to start a fundraising carnival" smirks and some odd looks, but I figure it would be at the very least a learning experience and at best my ticket overseas for some awesome opportunities to learn.

Mexican Pizzas with Herbed Goat Cheese

2008-08-09T22:02:00.000-07:00

This is the recipe, as far as I can remember...

2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb lean ground beef
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried parsley
salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup canola oil (or as needed)
8 corn tortillas
1/2 cup tomato sauce
8 medium sized crimini mushrooms,
each cut into six slices
6 oz herbed goat cheese, crumbled
4 oz diced green chiles
12 grape tomatoes, halved
1 green onion bunch, sliced

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Melt butter in saute pan over moderate heat. Saute onion until translucent, 2 minutes. Add garlice and saute for another minute. Add ground beef and cook until just browned but not fully cooked. Add seasonings and stir. Remove pant from heat.

While the meat is cooking, in a 6" skillit heat canola oil over moderate heat. Cook corn tortillas one at a time for 30 seconds, turning once, until just starting to get crispy but not browning. Set tortillas on paper towels to drain.

Assemble each tortilla with some tomato sauce, ground beef, mushrooms (arrange in a pinwheel shape), goat cheese, and green chiles. Bake pizzas on foil lined baking sheets for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melting and tortillas are crisp. Garnish with tomato halves and green onion.

Mange!

The Golden Corral

2008-08-09T21:10:00.000-07:00

Utter disappointment even to a guy with low standards. The mashed potatoes were cold, despite being held in a bain marie. The macaroni and cheese was bland, despite being 90% butter and cheese. The fried chicken wasn't crispy, despite being breaded and deep fried to kingdom come. The apple pie was soupy and the rice-crispy treat was stale, despite being mircowaved right out of the box. You get the idea: I would have had a better meal straight out of a 7-11 convenience store.

I remember enjoying visits to the Corral when I first moved to the area, but that was back when I ate more for cost effective quantity, not quality, lovingly referring to myself as a "human garbage disposal," which certainly was not a far cry from the truth. Not that much has changed in the 9 months following, only having read a few memoirs of actual chefs and spent a whole, entire week at culinary school. I suppose the down trodden, sub-middle-class, vanquished-spirit mothers of screaming children had something to do with my mood. Or maybe it was that my parents were on their way back to CA after their week long stay and I spent, at best, a few hours with them. I remember feeling hungry as I went in, and full as I left, but everything consumed in between I'm trying to forget.

The only saving grace for the meal (of course) was my beautiful wife and I laughing at the disfunctionality of the mother-daughter combo sitting to the side of us, and (also of course) my unrelentingly adorable niece and nephew. Conner, the latter, would suddenly lock eyes with me and belt out "you're a train!", the sheer comedic genius throwing him into a sharp fit of forced laughter. You just can't help but feel your spirit lifted in their presence.

My credo goes something along the lines of: good food, good drink, and good company. One out of three tonight... (I had water)

Not sure what to do with myself...

2008-08-08T20:55:00.000-07:00

Just finished my first week of class and tonight was my first chance to relax and actually cook this week. I almost don't know what to do and I'm actually kind of bummed I didn't have class. I suppose I'll just do some research, reading, and reviewing. Here's what I made tonight-

Heart-Healthy Alfredo:

Ya right! Butter, heavy cream, and lots of both! I sauted onion and garlic in butter, then added some crimini mushrooms and let them cook for a bit. Then I added the cream, shredded parmesan, and seasonings. It was oh so tastey but I could literally hear my arteries clogging. I've been eating healthier for a while now and I think it just kind of shocked my body. Mmm, it was good though... will have to add some blackened chicken or shrimp and adjust the ingredients a bit next time. And I forgot my camera so no picture - sorry!

Inspiration

2008-08-07T22:08:00.000-07:00

I am finding Chef Matthews (the dean of the school who also teaches several of the classes) endlessly inspirational. There will be several classes that will help me develop technique and skills in certain areas, etc, but World Cuisine is turning out to be more intellectual and philosophical than practical or tangible, which I love. I'm still not sure exactly what my mark will be in the culinary world. How I will voice myself or what my identity in food will be is uncertain as of yet. I'm sure it will be something that solidifies over the next few years and will continue to morph as my life changes. For now I will just immerse myself and seek knowledge. I will try to absorb as much as I can and stay sensitive to any gravitational pulls, taking note of and exploring further areas I find myself particularly interested in. I can now define what California or Pacific Rim cuisine is and I see how this has influenced me. I am also realizing how much I truly love and enjoy Colorado. These parts of my life will carry weight in my expression through food.

I've made it through the first week of classes. It is a bit tiring but I find myself craving more. I'm a bit disappointed that I have no class to attend tomorrow night, but at least I will have some free time to actually cook. My Monday through Thursday schedule consists of waking up around 6am to go to work, getting home around 4:30, eating dinner and hanging out with my wife for an hour before leaving for school at 5:30, and getting home from school anywhere between 10:30 and 11:30. It's long days but the time seems to go by quickly and I'm feeling very alive in these pursuits. I'm enjoying it all immensly, except for the detestable student loan process that just doesn't seem to push through...

Safety and Sanitation

2008-08-06T21:57:00.000-07:00

I suppose I won't always post once (or twice, as in last night's class) after every class session. But for now it pleases me to and it's my blog. So shut up and read...

Tonight was, as the next couple of nights will be, about safety and sanitation. Talk about a contrast to the mind rendering dialogue from my World Cuisine class last night. This is the boring stuff. 99% of it is common sense, which 99% of us already understand, but because that 1% just don't seem to get it we have to address it and make sure we cover all of the bases. I know this and am taking it with a grain of salt because I recognise it as a necessary bore (I would've said "evil" but cleanliness is next to godliness, right?).

In all seriousness, it's not that bad. It's just hard to switch gears so rapidly from last night's thought provoking discussions. Last night was: man eventually figured out that, instead of hunting an animal for food, he could trap a male and female, breed them, and never have to hunt again. This allowed him to stay in one place, which led him to create more elaborate dwellings for himself, which was the birth of civilation - all because of food. Tonight was: don't use bulging cans because someone could get Botulism.

Nevertheless, I will learn it and learn it well because it is an important aspect of my future career and life path. Eventually I will be training my own employees on safety and sanitation to keep one of them from serving food from a bulging can, killing a customer (God forbid), resulting in several costly lawsuits and my restaurant getting shut down.

World Cuisine (cont)

2008-08-06T09:40:00.000-07:00

I'm having a hard time sitting still at my desk today. It's a good thing we're super busy and short handed. It will help the day go by and if I was bored, as I usually am, I would probably be going out of my mind right now or I'd say "screw it" and surf the web. I'm still kind of on a high from last night's class and I want to just let me mind wander and drift over everything we discussed.

The five cultures we'll be covering in World Cuisine this first trimester will be Italy, France, India, Chinese, and Japan. It would be impossible to learn all there is about any one of these cultures and it's food if we spend all three years studying nothing but it. Instead, Chef told us we will be focusing on the main aspect of the culture and it's contribution to food, particularly as it relates to us here in America.

From Italy we will learn about their passion for food. Italians don't care much for organization or structure because they feel it robs them of the emotion and passion that they have for food. From France we will learn the opposite: structure and organization. The French didn't create classical cuisine but they were the first to write everything down, give everything a name and record it all, so they parented cuisine for the entire world through their organization. India knows more about spice than any other culture could dream to. However, they don't worry much with technique. They cook a lot of things in a lot of similar ways and spend their time more with seasoning and spice. On the other hand, the Chinese are all about technique. Because there are so many people in China and so little resources they had to get very creative with how something was prepared, more so than what was prepared. And lastly, from Japan we will take the notion of perfection. Nobody is more obsessive about perfection than the Japanese. When you look at history and study Japanese sword making, calligraphy, even drinking tea, they perfect everything they do. Sushi is the perfect example. In a nutshell, it's just raw fish and rice. But the Japanese don't accept "just," over decades and centuries they have perfected sushi. Which fish to use, what angle and thickness to cut it at, even the vinegar rice has been (and is being) perfected to no end by the Japanese.

I can't wait to keep digging deeper... (and what will Wolrd Cuisine II consist of?!?)

World Cuisine

2008-08-05T22:11:00.001-07:00

Whoa... this is going to be an awesome class. I thought - it'll be fun! We'll go in the kitchen and make food with all these crazy techniques, using all these ethnic ingredients, and learning all of these cool things about other cultures food. Well... we'll probably do all that too but tonight was the first class and it was, more or less, a four and a half hour philosophical discussion about who we are as individuals, as a society in America, and as a world. Who we are, where we came from, what role food had/has in it all, why we do what we do, eat what we eat, look the way we look, and on and on and on.

There's no way for me to successfully or accurately regurgitate any part of tonight's class, at least not yet. My brain is tired and is moving all over the place (the similarities between slavery and prostitution, how India has such a deep understanding of spices but isn't as concerned about cooking techniques, why is our army still in Iraq, what is the definition of food and how Ferran Adria is alterring that definition, for example). What will my role be? Will I invent new cuisine? Will it be a fusion with regional cuisine I have yet to discover or learn about? How will my relationships be affected? I know God has led me to this, but how will He use me in the culinary world?

Tonight left me with many questions. Questions that I don't really want answers to yet. I want to let them marinate my brain. I want them to stew around inside of me and continue to create more questions and, more importantly, continue to inspire me. And to think, this was just the first night; this is just the beginning. If Paragon is good for nothing else, if the Chef's turn out to be hacks and the curriculum a joke, it has at the very least stirred something deep inside of me. My view of food is alterring big time. I feel as though I am ascending to a new plateau of knowledge, not technical, but philosophical and logical. Tonight I made some connections in the history of this country, our world, and my own life, and it all was tied together with food in one way or another.

I didn't want to leave class tonight...

Foundations

2008-08-05T06:11:00.001-07:00

I had my first class at culinary school last night: Foundations. It will cover everything from safety and sanitation to knife skills to stocks, sauces, and soups. The chef instructing the class is a crack up and seems very serious about the intensity of this course. His goal is to have us ready to work the line in a fine restaurant by the end of the trimester - a pretty lofty goal. There is a lot of information to be learned and skills to be practiced in each class. I'm very excited to be getting started and I will do my best to absorb every minute.

The first night was a lot of fun stories and information from the dean as well as getting the syllabus (the most bare bones syllabus I've ever seen) and general information about the class from the chef instructor. The next couple of classes will be about safety and sanitation, which means we will still be sitting in the classroom for quite a bit of the class duration. I'm really itching to get in the back and start cooking, but first things first. There will plenty of hours spent in the kitchen between this Foundations class as well as in my second class (tues/thurs): World Cuisine I.

It may be challenging at times, but I'm glad that I doubled up on classes. I want to completely immerse myself into the culinary world right now. Last night, after working a full day and going to school all evening, I went home and read food magazines for an hour until I couldn't keep my eyes open any more. I would love to start working in a kitchen alongside going to school but at the moment my income and benefits from my day job are too necessary. Hopefully by this time next year I will be working in a fine kitchen at night and continuing my classes during the day.

World Cuisine tonight! I can't wait!!

Swedish-Style Meatballs with Espagnole

2008-07-30T22:41:00.000-07:00

The reason I made the meatballs was really to make the sauce. This is a classic espagnole sauce made from mirepoix (onions, carrots, and celery), tomato puree, and brown stock (I used beef). I did add a bit of cream and dill to the sauce, following a recipe, so I'm not sure if it still would qualify as espagnole. It was fun making the sauce from scratch and the meatballs were tasty too. They were made from groud beef and pork with the usual meatball ingredients: eggs, bread crumbs, and bit of milk, and some seasonings. I browned them in the oven on their own before baking them in the sauce. I hate plain white rice (it's so bland!) but it served it's purpose to sop up all that sauce. Next time I'll use some saffron in it though, if I can get my wallet to cooperate.

Paprika Chicken with Golden Sherry Mushrooms and Caramlized Onions

2008-07-30T22:36:00.000-07:00

This one I came up with just using some ingredients we had on hand because I didn't feel like making an extra trip to the store for the recipe I had originally planned on cooking. Everything turned out very well. The chicken was well seasoned with lots of paprika as well as garlic powder, rosemary, salt, and white and black pepper. After browning the chicken on both sides I set it aside and sauted the mushrooms with diced onions and garlic for a few minutes before adding Golden Sherry. I reduced the sherry by about half and returned the chicken to the pan to finish cooking. I caramelized the onions in a separate pan. The artichoke and tomatoes were just things we had on hand but they went very well with the dish.

Almond Crusted Chicken with Raspberry Sauce, Asparagus, and Couscous

2008-07-30T22:30:00.000-07:00

The almond crust on the chicken would almost have been too rich without the refreshing sweet/tart flavor of the sauce. The parmesan couscous wasn't a good match. Maybe just a few fresh herbs or a garlic couscous would have been better. The chicken and sauce are so flavorful that rich, buttery asparagus and cheesey couscous are a bit much. I'll have to pass the sauce through a china cap next time to get rid of the seeds too. They aren't bad but they are a bit distracting. I will try hazelnuts next time and more oil instead of butter to lighten it up a bit. Altogether very tasty though.

Chicken and Sausage Cacciatore with Grape Tomatoes

2008-07-30T22:16:00.000-07:00

This was a very hearty and rustic dish. Dry red wine and crimini mushrooms make it rich but not heavy and grape tomatoes balance well with the savory meats. It should definitely be made and garnished with fresh herbs. Whole wheat pasta is as hearty as the rest of the dish and acts as a more sturdy backdrop for the flavors than regular pasta would.