I had a request for a simple beef stew recipe...so here it is!
Shopping List:
1-2 lbs of beef stew meat (in meat section of grocery store, already cut up)
2 cartons beef stock/broth
2 bay leaves
3 potatoes (if russets-the brown ones, you want to peel them, red potatoes you can leave the peel on)
2 carrots
2 stalks celery
1 onion
Frozen peas and corn (optional)
1/2 tsp Powdered Sage
1/2 tsp Dried Thyme
1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
2 tbsp Fresh Parsley, chopped
Cornstarch
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Flour
Mix 1/2 cup flour with salt and pepper on a plate. Sprinkle with 1/2 tbsp salt and some pepper. Dredge meat in flour and knock off the excess. Heat a large pot to high heat with 1 tbsp oil (any kind). Sear floured meat until outside is browned (don't want to cook it through, just so the outside is cooked). Add enough broth to cover meat by about 2 inches. Turn down heat until it is barely simmering (tiny bubbles every once in a while). Add the bay leaves. Cover and cook on very low heat for 2 hours or more until the floury coating on the outside is gone and the meat is very tender. You can't really overcook stew meat. Stir occasionally.
Chop all the vegetables into big pieces (about inch-sized squares). Add them when the meat is finished. Keep cooking until the vegetables are cooked through. Add corn and peas (optional) a little before the vegetables can be pierced easily with a fork and fall off when lifted from the broth. Add more broth if needed. Add half of the spices then taste and add more if needed (I am guessing at the amounts). You probably won't need salt since broth tends to be pretty salty.
If you want the broth to be thicker, mix 2 tbsp of cornstarch in cold water in a separate container. Slowly pour into soup while stirring until it looks as thick as you want it to. Add more if needed. Cook until the opaqueness disappears. Voila! You have beef stew.
Now I have to get back to the frozen pizza I just burned in the oven.
If you don't want to go through with all the hassle, you can skip the flour and just throw everything (sans spices and frozen stuff, but with the bay leaves) in a crockpot, cook it on the 6 or 8 hours level and spice when finished. Not as much fun, not as good tasting, but much easier.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Mmm...Knives.
On the first day of culinary school I got the greatest present I never knew I wanted. A bag full of knives! Sure there was other stuff in there. I didn’t know the names for half of them. But on pulling out my first (of course the largest) knife and unsheathing it, I’m sure I had the same half-dazed look on my face like I’d just had my first kiss. I’m not sure you can talk about knives without the inevitable phallus connotations and I’m not going to try to. It all comes down to this: Knives are sexy and powerful. And being able to accurately wield a forged steel 11 inch instrument of doom makes you a badass.
Oh, and when that convenient store clerk asks “what’s in the bag” and you deadpan “knives” with a little shrug, there’s a bit of Tarantino in you that giggles.
So, here’s a compendium of the knowledge regarding amassing your steel phalli.
Purchasing- There are tons of knives out there that cost more than my rent. Unless you’ve got a trust fund or you’re one of those people that purchase kitchen equipment for social climbing purposes, you don’t need these. On that note, don’t go to WalMart either and buy the knives in plastic packaging. You’re much better of finding a kitchen supply store and buying around a $70 chef knife and paring knife of the same quality. These knives are easily honed and sharpened, so spending a good bit of money on them is a good investment. These two will be the knives you use for 90% of your cutting. Anything that says “no sharpening needed” is a load of crap. Please ignore this guarantee.
If you want a really expensive knife, go to the knife store and talk to the people who work there. Ask tons of questions. If they don’t pull out the knives and have you try them, do not buy at the store. They probably don’t know what they are talking about.
A good flexible boning knife is essential if you will be boning a lot of fish. Make sure it’s got a good amount of give by putting the flat side of the tip and pressing down until the blade makes a half parabola. The more give, the more flexibility you have cutting fish.
Then there’s the serrated knife used for cutting breads. This knife is nearly impossible to sharpen. Once the edge goes, you’re going to have to get a new knife. Spend accordingly.
There are tons of different types of knives and many different features. The best way to find your own knife is to go to the store and handle the knives. Pay attention to the girth of the handle. Does it fit easily in your hand? Are you left handed? Do they have left-handed knives? Do you want a lighter or heavier knife? The weight will not make too much of a difference unless you are chopping for hours at a time.
One thing about chef’s knives is the curvature of the blade. The more curved the blade, the better rocking motion you can get on it. You want to use this rocking motion to cut herbs finely and making uniform cuts of vegetables. By keeping the tip of the knife on the board and pushing the knife down and forward, you will get a cleaner slice on the vegetables and lessen the movement of your arm. Lots of movement = tired arm.
Stay tuned for how to care for your knives…
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Hot Weather Cooking Tips
I learned a few things in the past heatwave that will help those sans AC in the hot summer months.
1. If you have to cook something and it gets crazy hot in the afternoon, prepare your stuff the night before and wake up early to pop it in the oven or put it on the stove top on low heat and just keep setting your alarm to get up and check it on the allotted times. This only works for things that cook long such as braises or beans and with low heat that is relatively safe to leave unattended. Of course, I have a studio apt and my bed is pretty much in the kitchen, so I felt confident I would know if something was seriously awry.
2. If you have electric burners, keep an extra pot with cool water for when you are done cooking. Put the cold (full) pot on the burner to absorb the heat instead of letting it radiate into your kitchen. The water won't boil and the pan won't really get hot either. This made a huge difference in my tiny kitchen where cooking for 20 minutes raises the temp 10 degrees in my apt.
3. Learn how to make a damn sandwich.
1. If you have to cook something and it gets crazy hot in the afternoon, prepare your stuff the night before and wake up early to pop it in the oven or put it on the stove top on low heat and just keep setting your alarm to get up and check it on the allotted times. This only works for things that cook long such as braises or beans and with low heat that is relatively safe to leave unattended. Of course, I have a studio apt and my bed is pretty much in the kitchen, so I felt confident I would know if something was seriously awry.
2. If you have electric burners, keep an extra pot with cool water for when you are done cooking. Put the cold (full) pot on the burner to absorb the heat instead of letting it radiate into your kitchen. The water won't boil and the pan won't really get hot either. This made a huge difference in my tiny kitchen where cooking for 20 minutes raises the temp 10 degrees in my apt.
3. Learn how to make a damn sandwich.
Storing Your Extra Polenta
Polenta can be used for leftovers in a few ways. You can scoop it out of the container and reheat it with some added moisture (milk or water, etc.) to make it soupy and grits -like.
Or, you can press still warm polenta into an oiled container (or line the container with saran wrap) so it sets up into a hard loaf. I used a round tupperware container for this. Then, when you are ready to use it, plop it out of the container onto a cutting board and slice off pieces. Saute these in a pan with a little fat (butter or oil) until they are nice and browned on the outside. Cook longer with more oil if you want a crunchy crust.
You can serve polenta with spaghetti sauce for an italian-style gluten-free meal. Or, it pretty much goes well with anything that is served with grains.
Or, you can press still warm polenta into an oiled container (or line the container with saran wrap) so it sets up into a hard loaf. I used a round tupperware container for this. Then, when you are ready to use it, plop it out of the container onto a cutting board and slice off pieces. Saute these in a pan with a little fat (butter or oil) until they are nice and browned on the outside. Cook longer with more oil if you want a crunchy crust.
You can serve polenta with spaghetti sauce for an italian-style gluten-free meal. Or, it pretty much goes well with anything that is served with grains.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Heavenly Polenta
I am feeling a bit smug after spending the last half hour trashing my kitchen and making the best polenta I have ever made. Before, I have usually ended up throwing my polenta in the trash because it was more lumps than loose cornmeal, but I think I cracked the code. Unfortunately, I think I also got jalapeno oil underneath my thumbnails as they are currently burning. Here's what I did. All of it together makes a fantastic dish. The polenta by itself is pretty average.
Polenta
Small dice of half a turnip
Hachet of shallot
Hachet of 1 clove garlic
Small dice of 1/2 white onion
2 cups veg stock/broth
1 cup water
1 cup polenta (large ground cornmeal)
3 tbsp creme fraiche (french style sour cream, better than sour cream)
2 TBSP Grated Parmesan cheese (or another aged hard cheese like parrano or the one I got at the local posh store called aged mahon which is divine, but $21/lb)
Salt
Toast the cornmeal in the sauce pan (just put on burner with no fat) until it starts to smell nutty. Put aside. Sweat (low heat) in saucepan onions and turnip in olive oil until onions are clear. Add garlic, shallot. Cook 1 min. Add .75 tbsp butter. When melted, add broth and water. Bring to a boil. Take off heat (this is the secret, let it stop boiling, then whisk cornmeal in slowly pouring cornmeal over whisk, then keep stirring for a while until you are sure the cornmeal isn't going to stick together) add cornmeal. Bring back to a boil. Bring down to a low simmer. Cover and cook for approx. 20 minutes or more until cornmeal is no longer crunchy. Try not to stir or take lid off pot until it is done (much like rice). Add creme fraiche and cheese. Season with salt when finished.
Cilantro/Jalapeno/Sage oil
Blanch one bunch each of fresh cilantro and fresh sage. Peel and de-seed 1.5 jalapenos (save the rest for the mushrooms) then mince. (Reserve blanching liquid for tapioca) Blend all with olive oil. Just enough to make it blend. (This doesn't turn out very hot. Maybe if the jalapenos were cooked?)
Tapioca with seasoned oil (I know this sounds weird. I only tried it because the water I poached the herbs in smelled so good I wanted to cook something in it and I had some tapioca handy. Plus they use the large tapioca all the time on iron chef. Yes, that makes me a foodie nerd.)
The way I did this was to bring a 3 quart stock pot full of water to a boil and blanched the herbs in a small mesh sieve that I just dropped in the water with the herbs in it so I wouldn't have to fish them out. When I was finished with the herbs, I salted the water and put half a cup of tapioca in the sieve and put it back in so the water covered the tapioca and stirred occasionally to keep them from sticking together. Put a lid over it and cook until clear. When it is finished, add a few tablespoins of the above oil and some salt until nicely seasoned. The texture is very odd for people with the traditional american pallete. It's kind of like roe. But trust me, it makes this dish awesome.
And the last bit...
Saute (per serving) the following in 1/2 TBSP butter:
6 porcini mushrooms (de-stemmed and sliced)
2 TBSP small diced onions
1/4 jalapeno small diced
To PLATE:
Mound polenta off center on the plate with a divet in the center. Pile the sauteed mushrooms on top of that, then top with a spoonful or two of the tapioca. Drizzle the oil over it and around the plate (to make it pretty). Top with a small dollop of creme fraiche and some more of the grated parmesan (or cheese of choice). Serve!
I know this dish is a pain, but it is so worth it. If you are prepared and not making it up as you go along, it would probably take less than an hour but still use up half the dishes in your kitchen.
Polenta
Small dice of half a turnip
Hachet of shallot
Hachet of 1 clove garlic
Small dice of 1/2 white onion
2 cups veg stock/broth
1 cup water
1 cup polenta (large ground cornmeal)
3 tbsp creme fraiche (french style sour cream, better than sour cream)
2 TBSP Grated Parmesan cheese (or another aged hard cheese like parrano or the one I got at the local posh store called aged mahon which is divine, but $21/lb)
Salt
Toast the cornmeal in the sauce pan (just put on burner with no fat) until it starts to smell nutty. Put aside. Sweat (low heat) in saucepan onions and turnip in olive oil until onions are clear. Add garlic, shallot. Cook 1 min. Add .75 tbsp butter. When melted, add broth and water. Bring to a boil. Take off heat (this is the secret, let it stop boiling, then whisk cornmeal in slowly pouring cornmeal over whisk, then keep stirring for a while until you are sure the cornmeal isn't going to stick together) add cornmeal. Bring back to a boil. Bring down to a low simmer. Cover and cook for approx. 20 minutes or more until cornmeal is no longer crunchy. Try not to stir or take lid off pot until it is done (much like rice). Add creme fraiche and cheese. Season with salt when finished.
Cilantro/Jalapeno/Sage oil
Blanch one bunch each of fresh cilantro and fresh sage. Peel and de-seed 1.5 jalapenos (save the rest for the mushrooms) then mince. (Reserve blanching liquid for tapioca) Blend all with olive oil. Just enough to make it blend. (This doesn't turn out very hot. Maybe if the jalapenos were cooked?)
Tapioca with seasoned oil (I know this sounds weird. I only tried it because the water I poached the herbs in smelled so good I wanted to cook something in it and I had some tapioca handy. Plus they use the large tapioca all the time on iron chef. Yes, that makes me a foodie nerd.)
The way I did this was to bring a 3 quart stock pot full of water to a boil and blanched the herbs in a small mesh sieve that I just dropped in the water with the herbs in it so I wouldn't have to fish them out. When I was finished with the herbs, I salted the water and put half a cup of tapioca in the sieve and put it back in so the water covered the tapioca and stirred occasionally to keep them from sticking together. Put a lid over it and cook until clear. When it is finished, add a few tablespoins of the above oil and some salt until nicely seasoned. The texture is very odd for people with the traditional american pallete. It's kind of like roe. But trust me, it makes this dish awesome.
And the last bit...
Saute (per serving) the following in 1/2 TBSP butter:
6 porcini mushrooms (de-stemmed and sliced)
2 TBSP small diced onions
1/4 jalapeno small diced
To PLATE:
Mound polenta off center on the plate with a divet in the center. Pile the sauteed mushrooms on top of that, then top with a spoonful or two of the tapioca. Drizzle the oil over it and around the plate (to make it pretty). Top with a small dollop of creme fraiche and some more of the grated parmesan (or cheese of choice). Serve!
I know this dish is a pain, but it is so worth it. If you are prepared and not making it up as you go along, it would probably take less than an hour but still use up half the dishes in your kitchen.
Monday, August 10, 2009
On having no time...
I knew I should have spent more of my time getting up to speed on my culinary posting while I had the time, but now I don't. I'm just too lazy. Between my new job and the overwhelming amount of information being pushed into my brain on a regular basis, forming sentences just seems like a bit too much effort.
Plus I stuffed myself full of boeuf bourgignon and crepes with fresh berries and creme fraiche and washed it down with a nice rose, so I am not inclined to do anything that doesn't involve sleep.
I promise I will be back with more posts.
Plus I stuffed myself full of boeuf bourgignon and crepes with fresh berries and creme fraiche and washed it down with a nice rose, so I am not inclined to do anything that doesn't involve sleep.
I promise I will be back with more posts.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Clams, Mussels and White Wine/Butter Sauce
I got to do my first experimenting in cooking AT SCHOOL. To feed to my classmates. So awesome.
Everyone's group but ours had to follow a recipe, then chef stopped by our table and said "do whatever you want. make it have pasta, clams and mussels." I believe our collective jaws dropped. After hemming and hawing over the recipe we were going to make, (should it be white wine? should it be cream?) we decided to rest on it. In the morning I showed up early and wandered into the library on a whim. Why it would take me 3 months to figure out that the best foodie library in town was in the damn culinary school, I have no idea. It was way better than walking into the Powell's food section.
I ended up finding a recipe to cook mussels in white wine. I wrote it shorthand (completely avoiding telling everyone that you were supposed to just use the wine for cooking the mussels instead of as a base for a sauce because I really didn't want a reduction of heavy cream as a sauce) and took it back to my group. They approved, but now I was stuck with the daunting task of figuring just how to make this into a sauce. When I disappeared into the adjoined kitchen with little more than a sauce pan, crawfish stock and some booze, I got a little bit of that high I used to get when you'd lie to your parents about something stupid. No, dad, I didn't borrow your power saw to cut the head off my brother's army men. Why would you think that? But it was more yeah, I know what I am doing with this half gallon of sauvignon blanc and a whisk.
Long story short. It worked out fantastic. I think I really have a knack for sauces. I'll give you the full breakdown below for what I did and write down notes for myself for ways to make it simpler in case I want to make it again. It was good enough I probably will some day.
First thing I did was set 1.5 cups seafood (mostly crawfish and shrimp) stock and 2 cups white wine to reduce in a sauce pan on the stove.
Next we sauteed up about three cups each mussels and clams (no shells) in a few ounces of butter, with minced shallots and garlic (feel free to be extravagant with the butter, it all gets added into the sauce anyways and the sauce is very buttery). As they are cook, clams and mussels release lots of moisture. When done, strain the juices from the pans through paper towels and into the sauce pan. (Put the clams and mussels in a bowl on ice to stop cooking) Continue reducing. The liquid from the pans is a nice milky color and gives lots of body to the sauce.
After about 20 minutes, add an ounce of minced shallots, a teaspoon of lemon zest, and let cook for another few minutes. When the sauce is done reducing, add enough minced parsley to make it definitely a factor in the sauce, I think I used maybe a half a cup (really don't remember). Then start swirling in chunks of raw butter (monter au beurre). Balance the sauce with about a lemon and a half squeezed into the sauce. Salt to taste. (Don't use salt until the very end because I lot of these ingredients are naturally very salty).
To finish, saute the clams and mussels (just to heat) in a small amount of butter. Toss the sauce with angel hair or small linguine, add the mollusks and salt to taste. Remember, the sauce will end up much thinner than thickened, roux-based, or cream sauces. That was a concern for members of our group (until the dish was assembled). This is a very flavorful sauce, and being a butter sauce, it only needs to coat the pasta, not have a pool of it sitting in the bottom. That is very unappetizing with thin sauces.
If I wanted to try this again and make it healthier, I would substitute the seafood stock for vegetable stock, only use butter to saute the mollusks and thicken with a cornstarch slurry. It would turn out much fishier and I would use less lemon and probably a few extra herbs to make it more "green" tasting, maybe saute up some mushrooms with it as well. I think it would require a lot of balancing to get it right.
Everyone's group but ours had to follow a recipe, then chef stopped by our table and said "do whatever you want. make it have pasta, clams and mussels." I believe our collective jaws dropped. After hemming and hawing over the recipe we were going to make, (should it be white wine? should it be cream?) we decided to rest on it. In the morning I showed up early and wandered into the library on a whim. Why it would take me 3 months to figure out that the best foodie library in town was in the damn culinary school, I have no idea. It was way better than walking into the Powell's food section.
I ended up finding a recipe to cook mussels in white wine. I wrote it shorthand (completely avoiding telling everyone that you were supposed to just use the wine for cooking the mussels instead of as a base for a sauce because I really didn't want a reduction of heavy cream as a sauce) and took it back to my group. They approved, but now I was stuck with the daunting task of figuring just how to make this into a sauce. When I disappeared into the adjoined kitchen with little more than a sauce pan, crawfish stock and some booze, I got a little bit of that high I used to get when you'd lie to your parents about something stupid. No, dad, I didn't borrow your power saw to cut the head off my brother's army men. Why would you think that? But it was more yeah, I know what I am doing with this half gallon of sauvignon blanc and a whisk.
Long story short. It worked out fantastic. I think I really have a knack for sauces. I'll give you the full breakdown below for what I did and write down notes for myself for ways to make it simpler in case I want to make it again. It was good enough I probably will some day.
First thing I did was set 1.5 cups seafood (mostly crawfish and shrimp) stock and 2 cups white wine to reduce in a sauce pan on the stove.
Next we sauteed up about three cups each mussels and clams (no shells) in a few ounces of butter, with minced shallots and garlic (feel free to be extravagant with the butter, it all gets added into the sauce anyways and the sauce is very buttery). As they are cook, clams and mussels release lots of moisture. When done, strain the juices from the pans through paper towels and into the sauce pan. (Put the clams and mussels in a bowl on ice to stop cooking) Continue reducing. The liquid from the pans is a nice milky color and gives lots of body to the sauce.
After about 20 minutes, add an ounce of minced shallots, a teaspoon of lemon zest, and let cook for another few minutes. When the sauce is done reducing, add enough minced parsley to make it definitely a factor in the sauce, I think I used maybe a half a cup (really don't remember). Then start swirling in chunks of raw butter (monter au beurre). Balance the sauce with about a lemon and a half squeezed into the sauce. Salt to taste. (Don't use salt until the very end because I lot of these ingredients are naturally very salty).
To finish, saute the clams and mussels (just to heat) in a small amount of butter. Toss the sauce with angel hair or small linguine, add the mollusks and salt to taste. Remember, the sauce will end up much thinner than thickened, roux-based, or cream sauces. That was a concern for members of our group (until the dish was assembled). This is a very flavorful sauce, and being a butter sauce, it only needs to coat the pasta, not have a pool of it sitting in the bottom. That is very unappetizing with thin sauces.
If I wanted to try this again and make it healthier, I would substitute the seafood stock for vegetable stock, only use butter to saute the mollusks and thicken with a cornstarch slurry. It would turn out much fishier and I would use less lemon and probably a few extra herbs to make it more "green" tasting, maybe saute up some mushrooms with it as well. I think it would require a lot of balancing to get it right.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Two Steps Forward...crap.
One thing about culinary school. You are constantly fooled into thinking you know everything. For a few days, you'll be in the groove, perfecting the same types of dishes. Then, all of a sudden you make the most appalling string of crap ever to grace your kitchen. Enter the shame...
Of course, it's probably just the fact that I now have the wherewithal to identify my mistakes that is making me insecure about the rubbery shrimp I produced yesterday. And the incident with the fennel. That wasn't so good.
Of course, it's probably just the fact that I now have the wherewithal to identify my mistakes that is making me insecure about the rubbery shrimp I produced yesterday. And the incident with the fennel. That wasn't so good.
Parsley
The use of fresh parsley (or any herb high in clorophyll I am guessing) will discolor sauces. To avoid this, make sure to cut the herb in the manner desired then wrap it in cheesecloth and run water through it and squeeze until all the coloring has rinsed out. The herb will still be flavorful but it will not leach the clorophyll into the sauce. Of course, if you want it to be green, skip this step.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Tomato Sauce
Despite it's vegetable name, classic tomato sauce has more than one meat product in it. In order to make it vegetarian, use olive oil in place of bacon/salt pork and omit the bones.
1. Render Bacon
2. Sweat mirepoix until it becomes clear. (Do not brown items one or two)
3. Add the rest of the ingredients
4. BTAB, DTAS
5. The sauce is done when carrots are tender
6. Put through a food mill
7. Salt, pepper, sugar and season to taste.
I really like the creole small sauce from this. We had it over omelets and it was delicious.
1. Render Bacon
2. Sweat mirepoix until it becomes clear. (Do not brown items one or two)
3. Add the rest of the ingredients
4. BTAB, DTAS
5. The sauce is done when carrots are tender
6. Put through a food mill
7. Salt, pepper, sugar and season to taste.
I really like the creole small sauce from this. We had it over omelets and it was delicious.
Notes on Purchasing and Receiving
Keeping extensive notes on your business day may seem tedious, but it will help your food costs and planning. Takes notes of what the day was like, what the weather was like, etc. Then, if you want to know if your restaurant is going to be insanely crowded a sunny sunday after the fourth of july, you simply have to look it up. It's not an exact science as people have frustratingly proved time and again to be irrational, unpredictable creatures. Other, larger factors may be at play as well. For instance, at my new job, we researched the aforementioned sunny Sunday and the year before had done ten times the business as we were doing that day. This because of the economic slump when people are loathe to pay astronomical prices for luxury cooking items.
Key terms: par stock - what you need to have on hand to make it from one delivery to the next with minimal overstock. Overstock of perishable items means possible spoilage, overstock of non-perishable means money lost due to excessive storage space being used. Use aforementioned notes to forecast par stock needs.
AP weight -(As Purchased) the weight of an item before trimming
EP weight - (Edible Portion) the weight of an item after all trimming and prep is finished
AP/EP - dividing the EP by the AP gives you a percentage yeild. Always purchase according to what you need as EP. So, say you need 6 pounds of carrots EP and have an AP/EP of 80% then you have to buy 7.5 pounds of carrots AP.
Portion control - there are a few reasons to be a stickler about portion control.
1. Consistency - everyone cook's idea of what a portion should be is going to be different. say you have mashed potatoes and gravy and one night it has a scant dollop of gravy on a heap of potatoes and the next it looks like gravy soup with potato garnish. The customer isn't going to be happy and won't return. Give your cooks a standard size serving ladel to serve it with and it will be consistent.
2. Food costs - How can you estimate your par stock or food costs without having a set cost for each menu item? Also, if an item is getting too expensive (food cost fluctuates with the seasons) it may behoove you to adjust the portion size.
3. Food costs II - If a certain menu item consistently comes back half eaten, make the portion smaller.
Key terms: par stock - what you need to have on hand to make it from one delivery to the next with minimal overstock. Overstock of perishable items means possible spoilage, overstock of non-perishable means money lost due to excessive storage space being used. Use aforementioned notes to forecast par stock needs.
AP weight -(As Purchased) the weight of an item before trimming
EP weight - (Edible Portion) the weight of an item after all trimming and prep is finished
AP/EP - dividing the EP by the AP gives you a percentage yeild. Always purchase according to what you need as EP. So, say you need 6 pounds of carrots EP and have an AP/EP of 80% then you have to buy 7.5 pounds of carrots AP.
Portion control - there are a few reasons to be a stickler about portion control.
1. Consistency - everyone cook's idea of what a portion should be is going to be different. say you have mashed potatoes and gravy and one night it has a scant dollop of gravy on a heap of potatoes and the next it looks like gravy soup with potato garnish. The customer isn't going to be happy and won't return. Give your cooks a standard size serving ladel to serve it with and it will be consistent.
2. Food costs - How can you estimate your par stock or food costs without having a set cost for each menu item? Also, if an item is getting too expensive (food cost fluctuates with the seasons) it may behoove you to adjust the portion size.
3. Food costs II - If a certain menu item consistently comes back half eaten, make the portion smaller.
Menu Planning
Here's some ground rules for planning your menus to make the best of what you purchase. Following these rules lowers your food costs. It's also fun (in a nerdy culinary way) to stare at menus at nice restaurants and try to see what other uses they have for those crazy mushrooms used for the special.
1. Use all edible trim (this means using mushroom stems to flavor stocks, meat trim to make soups, etc. Perhaps this is why they have soups of the day?)
2. Don't add an item to the menu unless you can use the trim
3. Plan production to avoid leftovers (unless you're at home, then leftovers are fantastic)
4. Plan ahead for use of leftovers (like if you make roast chickens one night, have chicken salad sandwiches on the menu for the next day using leftover roast chickens)
5. Avoid minimum use perishable ingredients (can your super special perishable ingredient be substituted for something you can use in several dishes without loss of quality?)
Another thing I learned from watching Kitchen Nightmares is that you don't want your guests going home with food. This skyrockets your food costs. If possible, trim portion sizes, perhaps even lower the menu costs, until most plates come back empty or nearly empty. This also allows them room for dessert. How many times have I lusted after the passion fruit creme brulee only to find myself stuffed at the end of the meal and unable to fathom eating another bite?
1. Use all edible trim (this means using mushroom stems to flavor stocks, meat trim to make soups, etc. Perhaps this is why they have soups of the day?)
2. Don't add an item to the menu unless you can use the trim
3. Plan production to avoid leftovers (unless you're at home, then leftovers are fantastic)
4. Plan ahead for use of leftovers (like if you make roast chickens one night, have chicken salad sandwiches on the menu for the next day using leftover roast chickens)
5. Avoid minimum use perishable ingredients (can your super special perishable ingredient be substituted for something you can use in several dishes without loss of quality?)
Another thing I learned from watching Kitchen Nightmares is that you don't want your guests going home with food. This skyrockets your food costs. If possible, trim portion sizes, perhaps even lower the menu costs, until most plates come back empty or nearly empty. This also allows them room for dessert. How many times have I lusted after the passion fruit creme brulee only to find myself stuffed at the end of the meal and unable to fathom eating another bite?
Mise En Place
This is the french term translated to mean "everything in it's place". I know it sounds simple, but for someone like me who loses their keys/wallet/etc. on a semi-hourly basis, it's a hard dictum to follow.
Basically, what they want you to do is:
1. show up completely mentally prepared
2. prep everything for each dish beforehand (prep should be finished by the start of class)
3. during slower times clean up your messes and prep for the next class
For this particular class, we got the instructions on our dishes the day before. Given the above three requirements, that means I have to keep most of the events of the last three days stored in an easy access file in my brain. Like that's possible. For someone who skated through school without even paying attention, it's a rude awakening.
It took me about two weeks to wrap my brain around this concept and decipher the pattern of information imparted by the lectures. Now, after finishing my three weeks, I have 80 pages of notes, recipes and cryptic one words phrases which may or may not mean something.
Wish me luck.
Basically, what they want you to do is:
1. show up completely mentally prepared
2. prep everything for each dish beforehand (prep should be finished by the start of class)
3. during slower times clean up your messes and prep for the next class
For this particular class, we got the instructions on our dishes the day before. Given the above three requirements, that means I have to keep most of the events of the last three days stored in an easy access file in my brain. Like that's possible. For someone who skated through school without even paying attention, it's a rude awakening.
It took me about two weeks to wrap my brain around this concept and decipher the pattern of information imparted by the lectures. Now, after finishing my three weeks, I have 80 pages of notes, recipes and cryptic one words phrases which may or may not mean something.
Wish me luck.
An ode to butter
I am taking a three week break from school right now because of a certain high school reunion I had plans to attend when enrolling in culinary school. Honestly, it's a bit of toture and my knife hand is itching to go out and buy a ten pound bag of carrots to brunois. So I am soothing my cooking jones by spending all of my time talking about food, class, knives, rouxs, etc. It's bound to get annoying. But I find most people will listen to my nattering as long as I am actually cooking for them. Consequentially, I've been baking a lot.
One recent conversation went as so (it's not verbatim, but close enough):
Me: Blah, blah, cooking stuff, BUTTER!
Friend: Oh really?
Me: Butter, butter butter.
Friend: You know, you talk a lot about butter.
And it's true. That entire week I probably talked about butter about as much as sauces, perhaps even more since butter, by itself, can be a sauce. It wasn't always like this. Like most women, I had cut butter out of my life a long while back and used it only sparingly and with solid conviction that the butter was trying to undermine me. But, seeing what the correct amount of butter can do to a dish is amazing. There's a fascinating amount of sauces you can make with butter and a few additives. I'm sure eventually my infatuation will cool and I'll start making stuff without butter in it. But for now, I sticking with the gold stuff.
One recent conversation went as so (it's not verbatim, but close enough):
Me: Blah, blah, cooking stuff, BUTTER!
Friend: Oh really?
Me: Butter, butter butter.
Friend: You know, you talk a lot about butter.
And it's true. That entire week I probably talked about butter about as much as sauces, perhaps even more since butter, by itself, can be a sauce. It wasn't always like this. Like most women, I had cut butter out of my life a long while back and used it only sparingly and with solid conviction that the butter was trying to undermine me. But, seeing what the correct amount of butter can do to a dish is amazing. There's a fascinating amount of sauces you can make with butter and a few additives. I'm sure eventually my infatuation will cool and I'll start making stuff without butter in it. But for now, I sticking with the gold stuff.
Notes on a very short lecture on wine
I've read a book on wine before, but it's one of those subjects that you can read a hundred pages on but none of it sticks because it's about memorization. Like classes in history. Unless you can memorize the dates and names of significant parties involved, the information doesn't do a lot of practical good. Like, I know Malbec is a red varietal and Riesling a white, but do I know that classic profiles of each wine? No. Could I tell which to pair for a dish? No. They're all so different. Even within a specific varietal, each producer, hell, each bottle is likely different. I think I will leave that up to the sommeliers since I don't have a small inheritence with which to purchase an adequate reserve to amass enough knowledge to be of much use.
Here's the notes:
The equation for fermentation is:
yeast + sugar = ethanol + CO2 + heat = higher alcohols
Steps for making a white wine:
1. Press juice (removing skins)
2. Primary fermentation
3. Second fermentation - Introduce bacteria to convert malic acid to lactic acid
Once finished, wine is biologically and chemically stable.
Sulfites are preservatives. - I looked up why there is a controversy over sulfites in wine and here's what I came up with: sulfites are a naturally occurring preservative found on grapes. Like all things on the planet, some people have allergies to them (most prevalent symptom: headaches). Some wineries add extra sulfites which can cause extra discomfort to sufferers. For more information, see this wine page.
Here's the notes:
The equation for fermentation is:
yeast + sugar = ethanol + CO2 + heat = higher alcohols
Steps for making a white wine:
1. Press juice (removing skins)
2. Primary fermentation
3. Second fermentation - Introduce bacteria to convert malic acid to lactic acid
Once finished, wine is biologically and chemically stable.
Sulfites are preservatives. - I looked up why there is a controversy over sulfites in wine and here's what I came up with: sulfites are a naturally occurring preservative found on grapes. Like all things on the planet, some people have allergies to them (most prevalent symptom: headaches). Some wineries add extra sulfites which can cause extra discomfort to sufferers. For more information, see this wine page.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Tomatoes
There are three general types of tomatoes according to the lecture I got preceeding the making of Tomato sauce:
1. Cherry tomatoes - used for garnish, generally pretty sweet
2. Plum tomatoes - best for making sauces because of the lower water content (roma tomatoes are an example)
3. Beefsteak tomatoes - will turn to water/mush if cooked.
Heirloom tomatoes are tomatoes grown from an original seed unadulterated by genetic modifications. It is surprisingly hard to find an heirloom tomato seed. Use these for sandwiches and slice work. The ones that I have purchased come in a fantastic variety of flavors. My favorites being the ones that taste much greener almost to the point of grassy.
1. Cherry tomatoes - used for garnish, generally pretty sweet
2. Plum tomatoes - best for making sauces because of the lower water content (roma tomatoes are an example)
3. Beefsteak tomatoes - will turn to water/mush if cooked.
Heirloom tomatoes are tomatoes grown from an original seed unadulterated by genetic modifications. It is surprisingly hard to find an heirloom tomato seed. Use these for sandwiches and slice work. The ones that I have purchased come in a fantastic variety of flavors. My favorites being the ones that taste much greener almost to the point of grassy.
Au jus, Jus Lie, Glace and Essence: the differences
Here are how I understand the difference between the following sauce terms:
1. Au jus - an unthickened sauce made from pan drippings and what is left over after a roast
2. Jus lie - a thickened sauce made from pan drippings and what is left over after a roast
3. Stock* - flavorful liquid made from bones, vegetable matter and herbs/spices.
4. Broth* - Flavorful liquid made from meat, vegetable matter and herbs/spices.
*The difference between stock and broth is the natural gelatin content imparted by bones while cooking the stock.
5. Vegetable stock - technically a broth, but can be used to replace stock in vegetarian-ized dishes.
6. Glace (or Glaze) - stock reduced by 90%. It is very thick and solid when refrigerated. Reducing a stock to a glace makes for easier storage. You can just add water to create a stock. One way is to freeze glace in ice cube trays and store in standardized portion sizes.
7. Essence - is a vegetable stock reduced by 90%. This will still be thick but not nearly as thick as a glace. Essence can be made and put in a squeeze bottle and used as a sauce for presentation purposes.
8. Mother sauces - There are 5 main sauces in french-style cuisine. Bechamel, Veloute, Espagnole, Tomato and Hollandaise.
9. Small sauces - sauces made by adding one or more ingredients to a mother sauce
10. Intermediary sauces - a sauce made by adding on or more ingredient to a mother sauce that becomes a base sauce for two or more small sauces.
1. Au jus - an unthickened sauce made from pan drippings and what is left over after a roast
2. Jus lie - a thickened sauce made from pan drippings and what is left over after a roast
3. Stock* - flavorful liquid made from bones, vegetable matter and herbs/spices.
4. Broth* - Flavorful liquid made from meat, vegetable matter and herbs/spices.
*The difference between stock and broth is the natural gelatin content imparted by bones while cooking the stock.
5. Vegetable stock - technically a broth, but can be used to replace stock in vegetarian-ized dishes.
6. Glace (or Glaze) - stock reduced by 90%. It is very thick and solid when refrigerated. Reducing a stock to a glace makes for easier storage. You can just add water to create a stock. One way is to freeze glace in ice cube trays and store in standardized portion sizes.
7. Essence - is a vegetable stock reduced by 90%. This will still be thick but not nearly as thick as a glace. Essence can be made and put in a squeeze bottle and used as a sauce for presentation purposes.
8. Mother sauces - There are 5 main sauces in french-style cuisine. Bechamel, Veloute, Espagnole, Tomato and Hollandaise.
9. Small sauces - sauces made by adding one or more ingredients to a mother sauce
10. Intermediary sauces - a sauce made by adding on or more ingredient to a mother sauce that becomes a base sauce for two or more small sauces.
How to Make a Jus Lie
Jus (juice) lie (thickened) is pan drippings made into a sauce and thickened with a slurry (water + thickening agent such as cornstarch or arrowroot).
Here is one way to create a Jus Lie.
1. Heat pan
2. Add fat
3. Add bones and trimmings
4. Caramelize
5. Add mirepoix (mix dependent of food served) caramelize
6. Add tomato product until loses red coloring
7. Deglaze (using wine, alcohol until au sec)
8. Add juice (can use fruit juices such as apple or apple pieces)
9. Add stock
10. Simmer for 45 minutes
11. Strain
12. Thicken with a slurry of it needs it.
13. Put on a line or freeze
This is called a quick sauce because it only takes around an hour rather than waiting for the juices off of a roast that could take several hours. Serve this sauce over the meat whose bones you used to make the sauce.
This procedure can make either a jus lie or au jus to serve with dishes.
Here is one way to create a Jus Lie.
1. Heat pan
2. Add fat
3. Add bones and trimmings
4. Caramelize
5. Add mirepoix (mix dependent of food served) caramelize
6. Add tomato product until loses red coloring
7. Deglaze (using wine, alcohol until au sec)
8. Add juice (can use fruit juices such as apple or apple pieces)
9. Add stock
10. Simmer for 45 minutes
11. Strain
12. Thicken with a slurry of it needs it.
13. Put on a line or freeze
This is called a quick sauce because it only takes around an hour rather than waiting for the juices off of a roast that could take several hours. Serve this sauce over the meat whose bones you used to make the sauce.
This procedure can make either a jus lie or au jus to serve with dishes.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Espagnole Standard Preparation
3 hours estimated cooking time
1. In a sautoire (straight edged sautee pan) melt butter
2. Caramelize carrot and celery
a) add onions later, faster browning
3. Whisk in bread flour and make brown roux
4. Whisk in tomato puree and cook until orangeish brown
5. Deglaze with red wine (whisk) until au sec (almost immediately) cook until redness is out
6. Whisk in stock
7. BTAB, DTAS
8. Add sachet or bouquet garni
9. Simmer until light nape
10. Strain thru chinois
11. Vent
12. Label
13. Date
To make demi glace, take 1 part Espagnole, 1 part beef stock and reduce by half. Espagole is not generally used as a sauce or for making small sauces. Demi-glace is generally used for that. In contemporary kitchens, demi-glace is sometimes replaced by jus-lie.
Espagnole was created in reaction to the French Revolution and increased attention to food cost due to the dissolution of royalty.
1. In a sautoire (straight edged sautee pan) melt butter
2. Caramelize carrot and celery
a) add onions later, faster browning
3. Whisk in bread flour and make brown roux
4. Whisk in tomato puree and cook until orangeish brown
5. Deglaze with red wine (whisk) until au sec (almost immediately) cook until redness is out
6. Whisk in stock
7. BTAB, DTAS
8. Add sachet or bouquet garni
9. Simmer until light nape
10. Strain thru chinois
11. Vent
12. Label
13. Date
To make demi glace, take 1 part Espagnole, 1 part beef stock and reduce by half. Espagole is not generally used as a sauce or for making small sauces. Demi-glace is generally used for that. In contemporary kitchens, demi-glace is sometimes replaced by jus-lie.
Espagnole was created in reaction to the French Revolution and increased attention to food cost due to the dissolution of royalty.
Sauce Notes
For bechamel and veloute sauce always use white pepper.
Tarragon goes great with shellfish.
Don't freeze cream based sauces, stock based sauces are fine.
Bechamels and veloutes are strained.
Try jalapeno mac and cheese.
Tarragon goes great with shellfish.
Don't freeze cream based sauces, stock based sauces are fine.
Bechamels and veloutes are strained.
Try jalapeno mac and cheese.
Mashes, Smashes, etc.
Mashes and smashes are smashed, cooked starches. Similar to mashed potatoes, they are a bit drier and can be formed into shapes on baking dishes and browned for presentation.
1. Boil starch (BTAB, DTAS)
2. Put in oven to dry out
3. Press through a food mill
4. Add seasoning/flavor
For rutabega seasoning use: salt, pepper, brown sugar, cloves and nutmeg.
1. Boil starch (BTAB, DTAS)
2. Put in oven to dry out
3. Press through a food mill
4. Add seasoning/flavor
For rutabega seasoning use: salt, pepper, brown sugar, cloves and nutmeg.
Vegetable Stock
1. Sweat Mirepoix in olive oil until onions are clear
2. Add cold water
3. BTAB, DTAS
4. Simmer for 30-45 minutes
Notes:
Do not use leafy grean vegetables, they will cloud the stock.
2. Add cold water
3. BTAB, DTAS
4. Simmer for 30-45 minutes
Notes:
Do not use leafy grean vegetables, they will cloud the stock.
Court Bouillon Standard Procedure
Court Bouillon is used as a short broth or poaching liquid for fish and shellfish.
1. Add sachet ingredients loose and mirepoix
2. Add equal amounts white wine, white wine vinegar, and lemon juice (1 lemon to a gallon, drop the squeezed lemon in for cooking)
3. Add cold water
4. Simmer 30-45 minutes
*if using to poach shellfish add step 5
5. add 2 oz of salt. The salt will penetrate the shells. BTAB then add whole, intact shellfish.
1. Add sachet ingredients loose and mirepoix
2. Add equal amounts white wine, white wine vinegar, and lemon juice (1 lemon to a gallon, drop the squeezed lemon in for cooking)
3. Add cold water
4. Simmer 30-45 minutes
*if using to poach shellfish add step 5
5. add 2 oz of salt. The salt will penetrate the shells. BTAB then add whole, intact shellfish.
Fish Fume Standard Procedure
Fish stock can be made in the same manner as white stock, or this procedure can be used for a more fragrant stock. Fish Fume can be used for poaching but court bouillon is used more commonly nowadays.
1. Rinse bones
2. Sweat white mirepoix in a small amount of fat
3. Add bones (cover with parchment lid - fold in quarters, cut in a circle and cut an "x" in the middle to let out steam. put on low heat with no stirring until bones are opaque)
4. Add cold water
5. BTAB, DTAS
6. Skim
7. Add mushrooms, sachet/bouquet garni
9. Simmer 35-40 minutes
10. Strain
11. Vent
12. Label and Date
1. Rinse bones
2. Sweat white mirepoix in a small amount of fat
3. Add bones (cover with parchment lid - fold in quarters, cut in a circle and cut an "x" in the middle to let out steam. put on low heat with no stirring until bones are opaque)
4. Add cold water
5. BTAB, DTAS
6. Skim
7. Add mushrooms, sachet/bouquet garni
9. Simmer 35-40 minutes
10. Strain
11. Vent
12. Label and Date
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Pluot and Apricot Salad
This was definitely and experiment and the flavor profile is off but still delicious enough for me to regret how much time it took to find my camera to take a picture of it. The next time I make this recipe, I am definitely making it ahead of time and cooling it before adding the lettuce. Also, I would definitely omit the celery and caramelize the carrots and slivered almonds in more sugar. Either that or used sugared almond slivers and caramelize the carrots alone.
I know that the cilantro and curly parsley seems like a bit much, but it adds a freshness that makes the dish light and summery (even in my 85 degree apartment) and balances the sweetness of the fruits, vanilla and sugar.
This could also be adapted to a desert omitting the carrots, celery, lettuce and switching the parsley and cilantro for mint. Also, probably changing up the vinnaigrette a bit, maybe with champagne vinegar. Serve with fresh whipped cream or other delicious baking cream.
So, here's what I did for 1 serving:
Make Lemon/Balsamic/Cinnamon Vinnaigrette
1 part lemon
1 part (or a little less) balsamic vinegar
1/2 part olive oil
cinnamon to taste
Cut in half, de-seed and slice
1 pluot
1 apricot (fully ripe)
Mince
1 tsp - fresh curly parsley (not flat parsley)
1/2 tsp - fresh cilantro
Slice in thin strips
1/2 C lettuce
Caramelize (by sautee) the following in scant butter:
2 T - Slivered apricots
1 T - Carrots, brunois (x-small dice)
1 T - Celery, brunois
2 tsp - sugar
When caramelized, add 1/2 tsp vanilla
Take off heat and add apricot, pluot parlsey and cilantro flipping in pan to distribute flavors. Add about 1 T of the vinnaigrette. Don't let the fruit cook all the way. If serving warm, add the lettuce and serve immediately. If serving cold, I would hold off on the herbs, vinnaigrette and lettuce until about ten minutes before serving time and mix them with the cooled fruit salad.
Serve on a leaf of lettuce.
Anyways, this dish was delicious and odd. Something that with a few tweaks I would be delighted to eat in a restaurant.
I know that the cilantro and curly parsley seems like a bit much, but it adds a freshness that makes the dish light and summery (even in my 85 degree apartment) and balances the sweetness of the fruits, vanilla and sugar.
This could also be adapted to a desert omitting the carrots, celery, lettuce and switching the parsley and cilantro for mint. Also, probably changing up the vinnaigrette a bit, maybe with champagne vinegar. Serve with fresh whipped cream or other delicious baking cream.
So, here's what I did for 1 serving:
Make Lemon/Balsamic/Cinnamon Vinnaigrette
1 part lemon
1 part (or a little less) balsamic vinegar
1/2 part olive oil
cinnamon to taste
Cut in half, de-seed and slice
1 pluot
1 apricot (fully ripe)
Mince
1 tsp - fresh curly parsley (not flat parsley)
1/2 tsp - fresh cilantro
Slice in thin strips
1/2 C lettuce
Caramelize (by sautee) the following in scant butter:
2 T - Slivered apricots
1 T - Carrots, brunois (x-small dice)
1 T - Celery, brunois
2 tsp - sugar
When caramelized, add 1/2 tsp vanilla
Take off heat and add apricot, pluot parlsey and cilantro flipping in pan to distribute flavors. Add about 1 T of the vinnaigrette. Don't let the fruit cook all the way. If serving warm, add the lettuce and serve immediately. If serving cold, I would hold off on the herbs, vinnaigrette and lettuce until about ten minutes before serving time and mix them with the cooled fruit salad.
Serve on a leaf of lettuce.
Anyways, this dish was delicious and odd. Something that with a few tweaks I would be delighted to eat in a restaurant.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Stock Generalities
A stock is a flavored water, or to get more technically: a clear, unthickened liquid flavored with soluble substances extracted from bones, veggies and seasonings.
The basic ingredients are: water (100%), bones (50%) and mirepoix (10%)
The way to measure out these percentages is to take the bones as your given weight (being that they are the most costly and are generally disinclined to change weight easily), then double the weight and add that much water (water being approximately 8.7 lb/gallon at sea level), then use 10% of the bone weight as your guide for the mirepoix. Honestly, this equation is a little flawed. If people could trust one another to do ratios, it would be much simpler, i.e. 20:10:1. But it turns out that people entering the culinary field have just about the same talent for math that the rest of the population has (minus, of course, nuclear physicists and accountants.)
ACIDS: In general, acids used for fish stocks are likely to be white wine or lemon juice. Acids used for beef/veal/brown stocks will be red wine or tomato product.
Mirepoix sizing: General rule is that the smaller the bones, the smaller dice for mirepoix and vice versa.
Small dice: Fish Stocks
Med dice: Chicken, fowl, game, etc.
Large dice: beef, veal, etc.
The basic ingredients are: water (100%), bones (50%) and mirepoix (10%)
The way to measure out these percentages is to take the bones as your given weight (being that they are the most costly and are generally disinclined to change weight easily), then double the weight and add that much water (water being approximately 8.7 lb/gallon at sea level), then use 10% of the bone weight as your guide for the mirepoix. Honestly, this equation is a little flawed. If people could trust one another to do ratios, it would be much simpler, i.e. 20:10:1. But it turns out that people entering the culinary field have just about the same talent for math that the rest of the population has (minus, of course, nuclear physicists and accountants.)
ACIDS: In general, acids used for fish stocks are likely to be white wine or lemon juice. Acids used for beef/veal/brown stocks will be red wine or tomato product.
Mirepoix sizing: General rule is that the smaller the bones, the smaller dice for mirepoix and vice versa.
Small dice: Fish Stocks
Med dice: Chicken, fowl, game, etc.
Large dice: beef, veal, etc.
How to Make a Brown Stock
Brown stocks are made from carmelized bones/vegetables.
NOTE: Do not rinse the bones beforehand. The proteins, etc. already present are an asset when browning.
1. Carmelize the bones
3. Carmelize the mirepoix (same as above)
4. Put the bones in a stock pot
5. Add cold water
6. Degrease the pan
7. Deglaze the pan (putting the pan over heat, pour in wine or other liquid)
8. BTAB/DTAS
9. Skim the impurities
10. Add Mirepoix
11. Add sachet or bouquet garni
12. Simmer
13. Strain
14. Vent
15. Label and Date
NOTE: Do not rinse the bones beforehand. The proteins, etc. already present are an asset when browning.
1. Carmelize the bones
- spray pan with cooking spray
- rub with oil
- brown in an oven at 375 degrees (low temp in case you get busy. Allows for greater leeway)
3. Carmelize the mirepoix (same as above)
4. Put the bones in a stock pot
5. Add cold water
6. Degrease the pan
7. Deglaze the pan (putting the pan over heat, pour in wine or other liquid)
8. BTAB/DTAS
9. Skim the impurities
10. Add Mirepoix
11. Add sachet or bouquet garni
12. Simmer
13. Strain
14. Vent
15. Label and Date
Standard Procedure for a White Stock
This has been drilled into my head so many times, I thought I should write it out for reference.
White stock (stock made without carmelization)
1. Rinse bones
2. Add cold water
3. Bring to a Boil/Down to a Simmer
4. Skim protein impurities from the surface.
5. Add mirepoix
6. Add sachet or bouquet garni
7. Simmer for allotted time
8. Strain through a chinois
9. Vent
10. Label and Date
White stock (stock made without carmelization)
1. Rinse bones
2. Add cold water
3. Bring to a Boil/Down to a Simmer
4. Skim protein impurities from the surface.
5. Add mirepoix
6. Add sachet or bouquet garni
7. Simmer for allotted time
8. Strain through a chinois
9. Vent
10. Label and Date
Notes on Stocks I
When you are finished with your stocks and all of the fat has been drained off, pour enough fat back onto the stocks to create a seal. This will solidify when refrigerated and create a seal that will add a week to the life of your stock. You can pull this off when the stock is ready to be used at you don't want all the fat incorporate back into the stock when used. That just reintroduces impurities and unnecessary greasiness.
If the fat cap breaks up, strain through a chinois or china cap to remove chunks.
Also: Always smell and taste your stocks before using. Of course you smell first. If it smells off, your stock is ruined. If it tastes off, the same.
Remember not to add your mirepoix too early. Vegetable matter will break down much faster than bone matter and will not retain the correct flavor if added too soon.
If the fat cap breaks up, strain through a chinois or china cap to remove chunks.
Also: Always smell and taste your stocks before using. Of course you smell first. If it smells off, your stock is ruined. If it tastes off, the same.
Remember not to add your mirepoix too early. Vegetable matter will break down much faster than bone matter and will not retain the correct flavor if added too soon.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Intro to Skills II
I swear to god this class will kill me. The first thing we find out is that we have to come in early to iron our aprons (again) before class. No folding lines will be permitted. WTF? I believe the chefs are simply drill sargeants with good palettes. Head chef seriously said "you are no longer an individual". The only thing that's missing are the push ups and Richard Gere in fatigues.
Besides that, we learned about stocks today. Standing around in our silly white outfits, looking like clones, we had out notebooks hiked high to our faces, we scribbled like mad folks as the chef spoke rapidly about leaching collagen into water and the proper way to make sachets and bouquet garnis which are just fancy french words for spices and herbs tied in bundles.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Call to Arms
I receive a tersely written letter demanding the entire class’ presence at a meeting four days before the start of Skills II. After years of reading emails in the corporate world, I can sense the subtext in this letter. The subtext is: YOUR ASS IS MINE FOR THE NEXT THREE WEEKS.
I instantly feel sorry for those who can’t smell it coming. Newbies are blood in the water for our shark of a chef.
At my last job I worked for a demanding, slightly (verging on full blown) neurotic beast of a woman who was far more demanding than any other boss I’d had in the nitpicky world of technical editing. She was (ironically or not, I haven’t a clue) a chef in her former life. We’d butted heads more than once in the six months I’d worked for her and still goes down in history as the only person I’ve actually yelled at in my career. It’s pretty damn easy to say I am anxious about this new chef I have to slave under.
I show up, and true to history repeating itself and all that, she looks exactly like my previous boss. A short, stout, silver-haired, steely-eyed dragon readied with her alpha female superpowers to tell exactly what she demands from us. She’s the type of person who tells you exactly what she expects of you. I respect her. Straight talk gets the point around. It’s much better than the touchy feely crap I endured in Art School
I’m a little wary of all the rules she has set up for us. I’ll be the first person to admit that I am stubborn as hell and have just the teensiest problem with authority. I’ll just have to see if I can stick it out without throwing a tantrum or one of those 20 gallon stock pots across the room.
I instantly feel sorry for those who can’t smell it coming. Newbies are blood in the water for our shark of a chef.
At my last job I worked for a demanding, slightly (verging on full blown) neurotic beast of a woman who was far more demanding than any other boss I’d had in the nitpicky world of technical editing. She was (ironically or not, I haven’t a clue) a chef in her former life. We’d butted heads more than once in the six months I’d worked for her and still goes down in history as the only person I’ve actually yelled at in my career. It’s pretty damn easy to say I am anxious about this new chef I have to slave under.
I show up, and true to history repeating itself and all that, she looks exactly like my previous boss. A short, stout, silver-haired, steely-eyed dragon readied with her alpha female superpowers to tell exactly what she demands from us. She’s the type of person who tells you exactly what she expects of you. I respect her. Straight talk gets the point around. It’s much better than the touchy feely crap I endured in Art School
I’m a little wary of all the rules she has set up for us. I’ll be the first person to admit that I am stubborn as hell and have just the teensiest problem with authority. I’ll just have to see if I can stick it out without throwing a tantrum or one of those 20 gallon stock pots across the room.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Mise en Place
Cooking School: Day 1 (The hazing bit)
Well, the first day is over. It’s been a long time since I was a “new student”. All the old feelings are there combined with one new one. Annoyance. I thought I had gotten over feeling like a complete dumbass when plopped into a new terrain, but apparently that new feeling never goes away. I did the whole wandering with my mouth open, not asking directions and getting lost down the one stairwell that does not give access back into the floors, but rather makes you walk all the way down to street level, back around the building and up the elevator again to get back to the exact place I got lost in the first time. Fantastic. I still have no idea what purpose these fire doors could have. What if you go into the stairwell only to realize the first floor is on fire?
First impressions: My new Chef looks as though he were a cartoon of a french chef come to life as (that dude from that movie). He is round shouldered, lamented his forgetfulness regarding suspenders (and consequently spent the day hiking up his pants, though not in a lewd way) and is self effacing for the effect on the crowd. All in all, a very gentle seeming, relaxed persona. The perfect introductory chef. Almost like comedy traffic school for foodies.
As for learning, there wasn’t a ton that was explicitly pounded out, although, the extensive talking about how kitchens work and the rules of the classroom give a sense of how kitchens are conducted without standing at the chalkboard with little half cursive 1, 2, 3, etc. drawn down the board with inane rules insulting people’s intelligence.
The people are more varied than I’d expected. I thought I’d bee hip deep in fresh graduates with their shiny faces and annoying tendency to act just like what they are: high schoolers with a few weeks tacked on. Although I saw evidence of many of these man-boys in the halls (the girls are harder to spot) with their silly mugging and clowning in front of entire classes. They also displayed the annoying habit of talking loudly to the chef in front of dozens of strangers. Damn them and their self confidence. But most of my classmates are also in the diploma program which is usually a choice you make if you’ve already had the luxury of paying off a few credits cards and slipping a fifty to the student loan Nazis every five seconds.
There’s an eclcectic mix. Everyone seems pretty nice even though I believe there is a mullet among us and perhaps a thick set of dreds. Not everyone has all their teeth, one person admitted to an extra rib and webbed feet and the professor forced us to tell our last meal should we get to choose when we die. A wee morbid methinks, but a deliciously fascinating thought to ponder instead of trying to rhyme your name with something. Mine rhymes with Contrary.
My last meal would be barbecue ribs, corn on the cob, potato salad, and about 5 pounds of the ripest watermelon around. Sunshine mandatory.
Notes on what I learned: The Escoffier System of Kitchen Labor Divisions:
Executive Chef
Sous Chef
Rotisseur
Entremetier
Garde Manger
Saucier
Etc.
Too tired to think. This has been the first day I tried going to school and working. We’ll see how that pans out. Haha. Get it: PANS. I am so tired.
Well, the first day is over. It’s been a long time since I was a “new student”. All the old feelings are there combined with one new one. Annoyance. I thought I had gotten over feeling like a complete dumbass when plopped into a new terrain, but apparently that new feeling never goes away. I did the whole wandering with my mouth open, not asking directions and getting lost down the one stairwell that does not give access back into the floors, but rather makes you walk all the way down to street level, back around the building and up the elevator again to get back to the exact place I got lost in the first time. Fantastic. I still have no idea what purpose these fire doors could have. What if you go into the stairwell only to realize the first floor is on fire?
First impressions: My new Chef looks as though he were a cartoon of a french chef come to life as (that dude from that movie). He is round shouldered, lamented his forgetfulness regarding suspenders (and consequently spent the day hiking up his pants, though not in a lewd way) and is self effacing for the effect on the crowd. All in all, a very gentle seeming, relaxed persona. The perfect introductory chef. Almost like comedy traffic school for foodies.
As for learning, there wasn’t a ton that was explicitly pounded out, although, the extensive talking about how kitchens work and the rules of the classroom give a sense of how kitchens are conducted without standing at the chalkboard with little half cursive 1, 2, 3, etc. drawn down the board with inane rules insulting people’s intelligence.
The people are more varied than I’d expected. I thought I’d bee hip deep in fresh graduates with their shiny faces and annoying tendency to act just like what they are: high schoolers with a few weeks tacked on. Although I saw evidence of many of these man-boys in the halls (the girls are harder to spot) with their silly mugging and clowning in front of entire classes. They also displayed the annoying habit of talking loudly to the chef in front of dozens of strangers. Damn them and their self confidence. But most of my classmates are also in the diploma program which is usually a choice you make if you’ve already had the luxury of paying off a few credits cards and slipping a fifty to the student loan Nazis every five seconds.
There’s an eclcectic mix. Everyone seems pretty nice even though I believe there is a mullet among us and perhaps a thick set of dreds. Not everyone has all their teeth, one person admitted to an extra rib and webbed feet and the professor forced us to tell our last meal should we get to choose when we die. A wee morbid methinks, but a deliciously fascinating thought to ponder instead of trying to rhyme your name with something. Mine rhymes with Contrary.
My last meal would be barbecue ribs, corn on the cob, potato salad, and about 5 pounds of the ripest watermelon around. Sunshine mandatory.
Notes on what I learned: The Escoffier System of Kitchen Labor Divisions:
Executive Chef
Sous Chef
Rotisseur
Entremetier
Garde Manger
Saucier
Etc.
Too tired to think. This has been the first day I tried going to school and working. We’ll see how that pans out. Haha. Get it: PANS. I am so tired.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Disclaimer
While this may detail the many lessons I learn in culinary school, it is no substitute for getting in the classes and listening to seasoned chefs throw their bits of knowledge into the ring. What I say is strictly opinion and probably truth garbled by the inconsistencies of memory. There will be faults involved and prejudices. Please judge lightly. And as always...experiment for yourself. You'll find the truth best that way.
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