meg in the kitchen

Sunday Afternoon Check-in

2010-08-22T15:27:00.002-04:00

Hi folks. Things are crazy busy here at Chez Meg In The Kitchen. Classes started this past week. I have two pot luck cookouts this weekend. The cookout today is a fundraising effort for a local group started by some friends. They approached me about doing something special for the cookout. Of course I said yes! I'm bringing 4 batches of ice cream, frozen yogurt and sorbet plus waffle cones! I can't wait to show and tell you all about that one!

I had originally planned on four classes this semester. The first day of classes someone dropped their place in the Petit Fours class. I had wanted it, but thanks to Web Advisor I didn't get it. My advisor and the department head were kind enough to save that place for me. Now I have five classes this semester. If I don't lose my mind before Fall Break it'll be a miracle. However it also means that I can definitely finish this program in two years. Two years! I remember when I started I thought two years was going to drag on. Ha! It's flown by!

I'm really looking forward to this semester. I posted my schedule to the right. I'll post more about each class later this week. I'm really excited about these classes. I feel like I will not only be challenged, but get more time with certain products. We started my Dessert and Bread Production class with a laminated dough. Huzzah! I definitely wanted more time with that.

I'm off to cookout number two! I'm still weeding through the France trip photos. Happy Sunday!

How the French do breakfast.

2010-08-12T14:23:00.002-04:00

Cafe Creme, freshly squeezed orange juice, a croissant, half of a mini-baguette slathered with butter and a tiny jar of apricot preserves.

Pretty brilliant if you ask me.

I am back from France. I am missing the cafes already.

2010-08-06T17:01:00.006-04:00

I spent the last 3 weeks in France. Okay, there was a lackluster weekend in Amsterdam too, but the rest of the time was spent in France. It was an amazing and long vacation that at times didn't seem real. The whole country looks like a movie set. I wanted to touch everything I saw to see if it was real or just a movie prop rolled out for the tourists. Turns out, it's all real. Go figure.

I have pictures to share with you. Boy howdy do I have pictures. 2600 to be exact. It's going to take time to weed through all of them and to find the best ones to post for you. It will also involve a trip to the Apple store for Genius help. The computer is not cooperating. In the meantime, I leave you with a list of things I noticed the French love.

1. All things tiny. Coffee, dogs, cars, trains, etc. There's even a museum/themepark outside Paris with a tiny scale model of the country and landmarks.

2. Shredded carrots. Alone, in salads, whatever. They love 'em.

3. Pink toilet paper. It was everywhere. It makes me smile.

4. Badminton.

5. Floating Island dessert. Here in the US, it's such an old school, 1950s cruise ship dessert. In France, it's on nearly every menu.

6. Scooters and motorcycles.

7. Yogurt.

8. Lace curtains.

9. Apricots.

On another note, I'm back to moderating comments. I keep getting spam comments and I'm getting sick of it. Until they leave me alone, all comments will be moderated. Sorry for the hassle.

2010-08-05T20:39:00.002-04:00

Dear France,

I miss you so much it hurts. It's been two days and already I'm craving a croque madame. I can't stop thinking about that bottle of Rothschild Bordeaux or frisee salads or the tiny coffees. Your croissants make my heart skip a beat. I don't know when I'll see you again, but I promise it will be soon.

All my love, ma cherie,
Meg

Just in case you thought I was kidding.

2010-02-16T18:10:00.003-05:00

Norovirus (a foodborne illness) hits Raleigh. It's all anyone can talk about at school.

Monday, the longest day, or Why haven't I made pita bread before???

2010-01-26T21:23:00.006-05:00

My semester began on Wednesday January 6th, but because of the holiday, I just had my Monday classes for a second time yesterday. It's been a little hard to get in the groove of a new semester so far, partially because we had a holiday but also, I think, because i only have classes two days a week. It's also a little weird because it definitely doesn't feel like school.

I have two classes on Mondays. The day is a little longer than my Wednesday, but I have a break in the afternoon. I started the day with Cake Design and Decorating. Two weeks ago, we had to bake two types of cakes with which we will practice decorating for the first part of the semester. We used the same ingredients and measurements but two different mixing methods. The first was the creaming method, which most people know, especially if you'd ever made a pound cake before. You cream the butter and sugar, add the eggs, then alternate the dry ingredients and wet ingredients. This makes a nice dense cake that holds up well to the weight of a large cake. The other method was the Two Stage Method. I was not familiar with this, but I like it. You add the dry ingredients, the sugar, butter, and a little of the liquid (in this case the milk and eggs combined). You mix until fluffy then add the liquid in two stages... hence the name! It makes a lighter, fluffier cake.

This week, we split and filled the cakes and iced them. We practiced border decorations and writing. While it's not Cake Wrecks material, it wasn't fabulous either. I need to practice getting my icing more smooth on the sides. The top was pretty smooth though. That's much easier. This week, my homework will be to bake a cake, make buttercream, and practice piping. Pretty crazy homework, huh?

Here's my cake:

Monday afternoon and evenings are occupied by Artisan Breads. Best. Class. Ever. This is, as I expected, my favorite class. The subject mater is great, the instructor is great, my classmates are AWESOME! My lab only has 6 people in it. It's a nice size. Everyone is really interested in learning, working and teamwork. Our text is The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart. Last week we made a white pan bread and a light wheat. The white bread was good, but the light wheat was fantastic. This week, we made french baguettes with a preferment called pate fermentee and pita bread. Both breads were great, but the pita was unbelieveable. It was so easy to make and a super-speedy bake. They puff up like little pillows then slowly deflate. The bread is soft and chewy. If you have any interest in baking bread at home, I'd suggest getting a copy of this book and also trying the pita at home.

Go here if you'd like to see photos of our bread from this week and last.

This is how I started my day.

2010-01-13T21:01:00.001-05:00

Be back tomorrow with more details!

Babushka! Babushka!, A Veselka Dinner.

2010-01-10T10:34:00.006-05:00

New York City is home to a Ukrainian restaurant called Veselka. The New York Times had an article about Veselka the other day. This restaurant also happens to be a favorite of my friend, M, who lived in New York City for a while. He was recently given the Veselka cookbook. Somehow several of us came up with the idea to have a big dinner party using recipes from this book. Last night, my friends and I celebrated Ukrainian Christmas Eve. Have I mentioned how lucky I am to have friends that can cook? Assignments and recipes went out by email last week. I was assigned borscht. It's a special meatless beet broth in which mushroom dumplings are added. R & E were assigned the dumplings. It was agreed that Team Borscht did a smashing job!

The cookbook has information on the history of Ukrainian Christmas Eve and also included the order of the courses. We began with this little dish of wheatberries, honey, poppy seeds and toasted walnuts. It was pretty good. Wheatberries have an odd texture, chewy, springy and crunchy all rolled into one. Up next was Team Borscht. For those who don't know, I'm half Polish. Therefore I prefer a Polish borscht, hearty, chunky, a wee bit tart with lots of dill and sour cream. This was essentially a beet consomme seasoned with vinegar, sugar and allspice. It's a little sweet and sour. After a few bites, I got more used to the taste. It was especially good with the dumplings.

Course One:

The wheatberry poppy seed dish, kutya, traditionally served as the first and last courses. Since we had SO MUCH food, it was the first course only.

Borscht with vushka, mushroom filled dumplings. Very pretty!

I have to admit that by this point, I was getting full. We still had a ton of food. Oof. We moved on to the cabbage leaves stuffed with kasha and topped with tomato sauce, potato and onion pierogi, sauerkraut and peas, and mushrooms. We also had a couple loaves of challah.

My plate, clockwise from top right: sauerkraut with peas, kasha holubtsi, simmered mushrooms, pierogi with sour cream (I had to cheat on the no-dairy thing, sorry.) and a bit of challah.

The challah

Our final course was the uzvar, a dried fruit compote. My tummy was officially at critical mass by this point, so I had a few bites. I also brought some home to put on oatmeal. It was awesome. It tasted like Christmas.

Dinner was amazing. I think i actually have a food hangover this morning and may possibly still be too stuffed to drink my coffee. With any luck, my friends and I will make this a regular thing, with a different country each time (hint hint).

Ring in the New Year with possums, nuts and weiner cobbler!

2010-01-04T10:07:00.004-05:00

I know you all are dying to know what I did on New Years Eve. I know you are. My friends, R & E, live in a pretty rad condo in the heart of Raleigh. They also happen to be a block from where we drop The Acorn and shoot off fireworks. Yes, my friends, my city drops a giant nut each year. Squirrel food if you will. We drop a giant piece of squirrel food to ring in the new year. Could be worse, I suppose. Mount Olive, NC drops a pickle. They make pickles there, you see. Or it could be way worse than that. We could be Brasstown, NC, the alleged Possum Capital Of The World where they drop a LIVE possum and count down to the new year on the Possumtron. If only I could make this up!

This year the party theme was retro food. We had cocktail weenies in sauce, meatballs, a chicken liver pate, slices of pickles wrapped in cream cheese and ham. I brought cream puffs full of butter, smoked salmon and dill, recipe courtesy of my grandmother's cookbook. We had wine, beer, brandy slushies, and some peppermint stick cocktail thingy. And then there was weiner cobbler. Think about it. Weiner. Cobbler.

A visual aid.

Here's how I remember the recipe as told to me:
1 package of turkey cocktail weenies, wrapped in crescent rolls, covered with a mixture of brown sugar, maple syrup, toped with sliced almonds and baked.

All I can say is that it's delightfully weird.

Choose your weapon!

2009-12-29T13:14:00.009-05:00

I thought you would be interested to see the tools I need for school.

In this first photo, left to right, top to bottom:
-Digital scale, peeler on top of scale, pastry blender, 4 pastry bags in 4 sizes plus a few disposable pastry bags
-Bench scraper, bowl scraper, balloon whisk, 2 pastry tip cleaning brushes, measuring cups, measuring spoons, pastry wheel with fluted side and plain side, cake icing comb, kitchen shears
-Channel knife, zester, 3 sizes melon ballers, set of pastry tips, set of large closed star tips, set of large plain pastry tips, Bismark 230 pastry tip (the long one), a couple random pastry tips, plastic couplers, retractable Sharpie, Instant Read thermometer, and pen

The balloon whisk is very helpful for folding in stuff. I finally found the pastry tip cleaning brushes! A channel knife makes the long curls of lemon peel that you find in your Cosmo. The Bismark 230 pastry tip is for filling stuff like eclairs or cupcakes. I've been looking for one for a while. I'm required to have the pen, Sharpie and thermometer on me at all times. Along with a small notebook, it's considered part of my uniform.

Left to right:
Honing steel, small offset spatula, medium spatula, large offset spatula, large spatula, Microplane, bird's beak paring knife (also called touree knife), paring knife, 5.5" utility knife, boning knife, 6" chef's knife, 8" chef's knife, 12" bakers knife

The spatulas will be used in cake decorating the most. The bird's beak paring knife cuts those football shaped potato thingies. The utility knife will be used most in garde manger this semester to cut things like birds out of apples. I really like the 6" chef knife when I'm cutting small things like herbs and fruit. I got the baker's knife for Christmas. I learned the hard way today that BOTH sides of the blades are sharp. One side is serrated, which I knew about. The other side is just a straight blade. I have a big gash across my palm. Oops. Better I do that now than in class and look like an idiot. The serrated side is for cutting airy things like cakes, while the straight side is for cutting dense things like pound cakes.

Yes, I like red. What of it?

Here they are all packed up and ready to go! I have to carry this to my labs. The bag is getting heavy!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T14:57:00.001-05:00

I leave you with a video from the best Christmas album ever produced.

Christmas meme

2009-12-23T22:39:00.002-05:00

Christmas meme
Borrowed from S over at No Tea For You.

Eggnog or hot chocolate? Hot chocolate before bed, but eggnog in my coffee. Of course, we have a local dairy, Maple View Farms, that makes an eggnog thicker than alfredo sauce. It's wicked good with Mount Gay Sugar Cane Brandy.

Does Santa wrap the presents or leave them open under the tree? No offense to anyone but I've never understood this. Wrapped!!! Santa wraps his presents!!! (In our house, Santa uses a different wrapping paper than the rest of us.)

Colored lights on a tree or white? I like white lights on a tree, otherwise I think they compete with the ornaments.

Do you hang mistletoe? Never.

When do you put your decorations up? Since I've lived on my own, I've lived with cats. Lots of cats. The one year I tried to put up a small tree, we found ornaments all over the house for weeks afterwards. I don't decorate, especially since I have my circus freak Elvis Who Eats The Un-Eatable now. My family puts the tree and decorations up after Thanksgiving.

What is your favorite holiday dish? Christmas Eve dinner is big fat steaks, twice baked potatoes, veggies, the works. So good.

Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Every year my dad makes this big show of how we're going to open one present an hour on Christmas day. We open presents after dinner on Christmas Eve. I like it because it leaves us free to do nothing on Christmas day, or hang out, watch football, etc.

How do you decorate your Christmas tree? I have a ton ornaments, some homemade, some with significance.

Snow: love it or hate it? I LOVE SNOW!

Can you ice skate? I'm no Oksana Baiul, but I do okay.

What is your favorite holiday dessert? I can't really choose just one.

What is your favorite holiday tradition? Christmas Eve dinner is probably up there.

Candy canes: yum or yuck? I prefer the fruity flavored ones. I'm not a fan of peppermint hard candy.

Favorite Christmas show? I haven't watched a Christmas show since I was a kid. It's a Wonderful Life is one of my favorite movies and I watch it every year. I also LOVE Elf.

Wishing you all a happy holiday! See you soon!

Oprah hates me.

2009-12-20T14:57:00.002-05:00

I had a dream the other night that Oprah taught my Safety and Sanitation class this past semester. She gave me an A. In my dream, my instructor for Basic Culinary Skills taught the other 3 classes I took. When it got to be time for Chef H to turn in my grades for those classes, he got really busy. Oprah offered to help out. At the last minute, she went through all of my grades (tests, quizzes, homework, etc) and changed my grades from As in those classes to Cs and Ds!

What do you think this means????

Oh the cuteness!!!!

2009-12-18T21:17:00.001-05:00

Gingerbread houses that perch on the edge of your mug! Can you stand it? I am SO making these for next year's cookie swap!

I thought you'd like to see what I've been cooking up!

2009-12-16T13:30:00.003-05:00

Orange Tropical Punch Grey Poupon Socks! Yummy!

Okay, seriously....

I knit a pair of socks and decided I hated the color. So I dyed them. With Kool Aid. In the crock pot. Neat-o, huh? They went from a Grey Poupon dijon color to a fiery reddish orange. And they smell good too! Go here if you want to read more.

The grades are in! Drum roll please!

2009-12-15T21:52:00.005-05:00

I am, for the first time in my entire academic career, a Straight A Student. Yes, devoted readers, I am officially a nerd. No weggies please. All of my grades were posted today and I am happy to report I got an A in everything. Even Purchasing. It's a Hannukah Miracle, y'all. It feels pretty good. Truth be told, it hasn't quite sunk in yet. It will when I see my name on the President's List, I am certain. My school has a Dean's List if you make at least a 3.00 GPA in a semester. If you make a 4.00, your name goes on the President's List. Too bad that goes out after Christmas, or I'd frame it for my mother for her gift.

I went to a cooke swap tonight. I made two kinds of biscotti. One had cranberries, currants and pistachios, the other chocolate chips, walnuts and anise seed. They were thankfully a hit because I still have 2 dozen at home. I got some good cookies to bring home too! Yay!

My biscotti

The spread

I also wanted to include a link here to my photos of Montreal. At the cookie swap tonight, my friend JP went all fangirl on me (just kidding) (Hi JP!) and mentioned the photos on my blog. I use a plain ol' Kodak point and shoot digital. It's the Kodak Easy Share M883. I got it while working at my old job, employee discount and all, you see. For most of the food photos, I use the close up setting. The header photo I took at Le Marche Jean Talon in Montreal. I actually took hundreds of photos in Montreal, but posted some of the best ones on Flickr, which you can find here.

I passed the Servsafe exam!

2009-12-10T18:02:00.003-05:00

I just found out I got a 92. It's a high B, so I believe I can still squeeze out an A in Safety and Sanitation. I think I might actually get an A in Purchasing too! Tomorrow morning I will find out what my final grade is for Baking I. That leaves Basic Culinary Skills, which I should get by next week.

I have to go in to the kitchen tomorrow for a cleaning day for the Baking Lab. When I'm done, my semester is officially over.

Village Kabob, Raleigh

2009-12-04T16:48:00.000-05:00

We have a new Afghan restaurant here in town. I think they've been open for a month. I stopped in today to get something to go. The service was friendly. The food was excellent! I can't wait to go back.

Mantu is a plate of onion, chickpea and meat filled dumplings with a a yogurt and meat sauce on top. It's garnished with dried mint. It's a little spicy, a little lemony, a little minty. It was very good. The portion was huge and the price was reasonable. If you are here in town, you've got to try it!

Cheesecake! Cranberries!

2009-12-03T17:10:00.007-05:00

As you may or may not know, the latest season of Top Chef is coming to an end. Some friends had a few people over for dinner last night and to watch the episode. Naturally, I brought dessert. They made grilled sandwiches with cheddar, braised pulled beef short ribs and pickled onions. YUM! I brought a cheesecake. Just a plain vanilla bean cheesecake, the way the good lord intended it, and I made a spiced cranberry jam to go on top. It was a hit.

This is the New York cheese cake from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook. It's a great book, I highly recommend it! Unfortunately, I thought I had more sugar than I did when I went to make it. It was also 7:00 AM and I had been to the grocery store one already (needed a cheap aluminum roaster for the water bath) and wasn't about to go back. Oh and it was raining like crazy. I still can't believe I ran out of sugar. I have four kinds of flour and malt syrup for pete's sake! Anyway, the recipe calls for 2 1/4 cups of granulated sugar. I used 1 1/4 cups of granulated sugar and 3/4 cup of brown sugar. It worked really well! It's not quite as snow white as the picture, but darn tasty. I also used cinnamon graham crackers as the crust. It worked really well. (Someone at the dinner thought I used teddy grahams. I like the idea of grinding up teddy bears to make cheesecake crust. I may have to try that.) Oh, I also used a half of a vanilla bean instead of the extract. The cheesecake baked for about 15 minutes longer than the book called for because my oven is a little slow.

The only problem with the recipe is that it made too much batter. I could have filled up the springform pan the whole way, but that would have been precarious to say the least. It just so happened that the left over batter filled 12 muffin cups perfectly. I baked these at 300 degrees, a little lower than the whole cake. I also didn't use a water bath. I wasn't so concerned with cracked tops like I was with the big one since ~~I'll most likely be eating these in front of the fridge with the door open~~ they are just for me. Next time I would cut the recipe in half.

This is the cranberry jam I made to go with it. It was the easiest thing in the world. Rinse a bag of fresh cranberries, place in large sauce pot. Add 1/2 cup of water, 2 cups powdered sugar, juice of three clementines, zest of one clementine, the left over half of vanilla bean, and a teaspoon of cinnamon. Simmer until the cranberries begin to break down and the juice thickens. It was, like, 10 minutes. For reals. Because there is a bit of cornstarch in powdered sugar, the sauce thickened quickly. Let it cool. It made about 24 ounces.

Crunchtime.

2009-12-02T14:06:00.002-05:00

Just checking in to let you know that I'm waist deep in final exams. Yesterday, I had a final written exam for Baking I. I think I feel okay about it. It seemed easier than I expected. I also had a final practical exam for Basic Culinary Skills. I got.... a 92. In our world, a 92 is a B. As in, one point less than an A. Sigh. Hopefully it won't impact my final grade too much. Tomorrow morning I sit for the national Servsafe exam. If I pass, which I will, I'll get a certificate that says I'm not likely to kill you. With food. This Friday is the final practical exam for Baking I. With any luck, I won't draw the card with puff pastry on it. (For the record, I'm just not that lucky.) Finally on the 8th, I have my final written exam for Basic Culinary Skills.

I'll be back tomorrow with Thanksgiving and cheesecake.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T08:36:00.000-05:00

Enjoy your day! I'll be back tomorrow with pictures of our feast.

Mr. Wizard meets Betty Crocker

2009-11-22T22:21:00.002-05:00

How many of you like powered sugar donuts? Jelly filled donuts? I know I do. Boy howdy, do I. Have you ever noticed that when you bite into the donut it cools your mouth? I'd noticed this before, but never really thought much about it. I came across something interesting tonight in my reading.

But first a little background...dextrose is the dried form of glucose. Powered dextrose is also called "doughnut sugar" because it's better at coating things (like the front of my shirt) and doesn't dissolve easily. Now, onto the science!

"Dextrose crystals require a relatively large amount of energy to dissolve, because they are held together with strong bonds. When dextrose crystals are placed in the mouth, the energy needed to break the bonds and dissolve the crystals comes from the heat of the mouth. So much heat is needed that the temperature inside the mouth drops briefly, creating a cooling sensation."
-from How Baking Works by Paula Figoni

Neat, huh?

What I have been keeping from you.

2009-11-22T15:29:00.006-05:00

Items from Baking lab, which would have been revealed here had I not gotten Swine Flu/Bird Flu/SARS/Indonesian Death Flu/whatever it was I had.

Puff pastry. From scratch. Surprisingly, it did not require ingredients such as unicorn hair, pixie dust or fairy wings. The ingredients are pretty much the same as pie dough. And it worked! It really worked!

We filled them with a mushroom stuffing. Yummy!

We also made this fruit strip thingy from the puff pastry dough. I hated it. Puff pastry with a lemon cream cheese filling with apricot halves, topped with a sugar glaze. I thought the cream cheese curdled in the time it took the thing to bake. Also the lemon zest was too overpowering with the apricots. I would never make this again. I'd use the technique, but with different ingredients.

Vanilla napoleon. Also with puff pastry. Also yummy.

Pear frangipane tartlettes. Frangipane is an almond paste.

Fresh fruit tart with vanilla pastry cream and clumpy apricot glaze.

Les croissants! Plain, ham and cheese and chocolate. Dude. So. Good.

Souffles with gruyere, dill and dijon. Fell pretty quickly due to lack of sugar to add structure.

Japonais meringue discs which became the...

...Japonais Meringue Cake.

Finally, here's what I did on the last lab of the semester. I'll spare you the graphic details. I burned my arm on the open door of the top deck oven. Ouch. It's pretty big. And ugly.

Zely+Ritz, Raleigh

2009-11-21T19:15:00.002-05:00

I had dinner at one of my favorite restaurants a couple weeks ago with Kat and her mom. Kat loves Zely and we try to go each time she's home. Zely+Ritz is a locally owned restaurant. They work with Coon Rock Farm to source as many ingredients as possible, like produce and heritage pork. The food is amazing, the prices are reasonable and the service is great. Here's what we had for dinner:

Bartender Jay is known for his inventive cocktails. He greeted me with a this little lovely. Meet The Cardigan. It's soft and warm, just like your favorite sweater. Apple cider, pumpkin puree and moonshine, not to mention entirely too easy to drink.

Moving on, nuts and olives. If you've ever been out to dinner with me, you know I'll order this if it's on the menu. I can eat this like other people eat potato chips. Love 'em.

This was a little hard to photograph, white cheese on a white plate, however, I present the baked farmer's cheese en croute.
It was warm with a little something sweet, apples I think. Delish.

I have three words for you. Pigs. In. Pyjamas. Okay, a fourth word. Amazing. It's a Coon Rock Farm sausage en croute, housemade sauerkraut that was perfect, and a wee bit of mustard. I could have eaten 17 more of these.

Risotto with Coon Rock Farm pork shank. Serious comfort food.

So, um, if you know me, you know I have little self-control when chocolate is involved. What can I say? I'm weak. Even though the camera was on the table when dessert arrived, I forgot all about it until the end. May I present to you, what's left of the flourless chocolate cake with Mexican chili chocolate ice cream.

Chicken with Spicy Black Bean Sauce and Stir-fried Vegetables

2009-11-13T17:18:00.002-05:00

I'm definitely feeling much better. Whatever bug I caught turned into bronchitis (free gift with purchase?) which is why I was so sick. Thankfully I'm feeling better since I'm getting on a plane at 6AM tomorrow to head to Detroit Rock City to celebrate my grandmother's 90th birthday! Ninety! Amazing! Can you imagine all of the changes she's seen in her life? It's mind-boggling, really.

As promised, here are the recipes from my class. This was SO good. I can't wait to make it again. Now, the recipe calls for chicken, but I believe this would be equally tasty with beef, pork, or shrimp. I added the sambal oelek because I was in the mood for spicy. I recommend adding sambal rather than the garlic chili version because the sambal is just chiles and nothing else. It's available in Asian markets everywhere. It'll keep forever in the fridge. Do let me know if you make this. I'd love to hear what you think.

Chicken and Snowpeas in Black Bean Sauce, 4 servings

2# (about 8 ounces each) Chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
1 Egg white
6 fl oz Chinese rice wine
2 TBSP Cornstarch
2 fl oz Soy sauce
2 tsp Granulate sugar
2 Onions, small
4 fl oz Peanut oil (or any flavorless oil)
1 TBSP Garlic, minced
2 tsp Fresh ginger, minced
3 TBSP Fermented black beans, mashed
4 oz Snow peas, fresh
To Taste (TT) Sambal Oelek

1. Slice chicken into thin strips, about 1" x 1/4".
2. Combine the egg white, one third of the wine, and 1 TBSP of cornstarch. Add chicken, refrigerate for 2 hours.
3. For the sauce, mix the soy sauce, sugar, remaining wine, and cornstarch.
4. Quarter the onions, separate the layers.
5. Stir-fry the chicken in 3 fl oz of oil. Remove and set aside.
6. If necessary, add the remaining oil and stir-fry the garlic and ginger for 30 seconds. Add the onions and mashed beans and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add the snow peas and cook for one minute.
7. Return the chicken to the pan, add the sauce mixture and stir-fry until hot and the sauce has thickened.
8. Serve immediately with rice.

Notes:

-In the steps that ask you to add cornstarch to liquid, MIX WELL! Cornstarch gets lumpy when introduced to liquid. It may be helpful to use very clean fingers to break up the lumps.

-On the day we made this, we were out of Chinese rice wine in the kitchens. We used rice wine vinegar instead. I think I'd do it again. It gave this dish a nice tanginess that helped to round out the flavor. The choice is yours.

-When you remove your chicken from the marinade, pat it dry.

-I also added baby corn, which was good as well.

Stir-fried Asparagus with Shiitake Mushrooms, 4 servings

1# Asparagus
6 oz. Shiitake mushrooms
1 TBSP vegetable oil
1 TBSP sesame oil
2 tsp garlic, chopped
4 fl. oz. oyster sauce
TT crushed red chiles, optional

1. Wash the asparagus, trim the ends, and slice on the bias into 1-2" pieces.
2. Wash the mushrooms, trim off the stems, slice the caps into 1/2" slices.
3. Heat the oils in a wok or saute pan.
4. Add the garlic and stir-fry for a few seconds.
5. Add the asparagus and mushrooms and stir-fry for 1 minute.
6. Add the oyster sauce (and crushed red chiles if used) and continue to stir-fry until the asparagus is nearly tender, approximately 3 minutes.

Notes:

-If you are unfamiliar with oyster sauce, it's wicked salty. I found that in step 6, it was helpful to add some chicken stock. It toned down the saltiness and the stickiness of the cooked oyster sauce. I definitely recommend it.

-Feel free to add other veggies here. I added eggplant too. Tasty!

Tag! I'm it.

2009-11-09T19:11:00.002-05:00

Ugh. It got me. I had started three posts in the past week because I have lots to share with you. Unfortunately, it will have to wait. If you can, get the vaccine. You don't want this. I've been feeling funky since Thursday, full-on ill since Friday night. Ugh.

Tuesday, October 20th

2009-10-25T00:23:00.003-04:00

Tuesday is my longest day on campus. Usually only a few noteworthy things happen to me. This past Tuesday was different. Here's my day, more or less.

1. Decided to take the bus to campus. Bus was taking too long. Drove instead.
2. Got back a quiz in Baking, 100%.
3. Took a quiz in baking, also 100%.
4. Breathed a sigh of relief when I learned my S&S quiz is the following week.
5. Made fantastic Chinese food in Basic Lab. I'll post recipes for you on Tuesday, too much studying to do until then. It was Chicken and Snow Peas in a spicy black bean sauce, Asparagus and Eggplant in oyster sauce and rice pilaf. We also made vichyssoise, but I was too full and have since forgotten about it.
6. Marveled at the unusually tiny class size in Basic lab. The undesirable folks have gone. Class and clean up went so well, we were out by 4:00 PM.
7. Got everyone in Basic lab class, including myself, to try frogs legs.
8. Had post-class beers with two classmates at Boylan Bridge Brewery.
9. Made plans with said classmates plus another to meet every other Thursday for dinner out or dinner in.
10. Went home and fell asleep.

Last Tuesday was a good day. The frogs legs were okay. It was hard to not picture the critter as I was eating it. It was a bit stringy, similar to catfish, didn't taste that much like chicken, in my opinion.

Green chefs

2009-10-20T19:01:00.000-04:00

Here's an old article found my my internet-whiz mom on green chefs. This is a very influential group of chefs here, for more reasons than just their green-ness. Lantern, #7, is a small place in Chapel Hill, about 30 minutes away. They get great reviews. It's a cute place. I never think about going there though, since it's a bit far. Shame on me.

And for those of you not yet tired of hearing this...#12 is my brother's boss.

The Prodigal Niece Returns

2009-10-19T15:29:00.005-04:00

For Fall Break, I went to Minnesota to visit family I haven't seen in nearly two decades. It was a fun trip. They were kind enough to roll out the snow for me. Twice. Thanks, family. They thought I was crazy. It was really cold! When I left NC, it was in the 80s with lots of humidity. I arrive in Minneapolis and it's in the 40s with no humidity!

We went to the Mall of America, which is larger than you think it is. You know it's big, right? Yeah, well, it's bigger than that. I must say that the shoe section of the Nordstrom did not fail to deliver. I deserve a pat on the back for my restraint.

We also took a trip to the...wait for it...Spam Museum. Uh huh. There is such a thing. It was a lot of fun. It's a self-guided tour, including a short movie. They cook Spam and pass out cubed samples served on pretzel sticks. It was my first time eating Spam, which surprisingly made out of pork shoulder, the same meat my beloved BBQ is made from, and ham. It's not actually made from the same creepiness found in hotdogs. And, it's surprisingly delicious! Who knew? I brought home three cans, Hickory Smoke flavor, Spam with Bacon, and Black Pepper, which is not sold in the US.

Here are a few pictures from the Spam Museum in Austin, MN.

I found this quote particularly meaningful as a culinary student.

A friendly reminder

2009-10-19T05:51:00.002-04:00

Folks, I LOVE getting comments from readers, especially new readers. I really do. I don't love when readers post links about how we can strike it rich online. Seriously. If you feel the need to post this stuff, get your own blog. Any such comments will be deleted. It's bad enough you've found my email inbox, right?

The only spam that gets posted here is the kind that comes in a little blue can. Cheers!

Cream puffs, eclairs, and seven swans a-swimming

2009-10-18T13:30:00.003-04:00

In our last Baking I lab, we made pate a choux (pronounced pot-uh-shoe). You know, cream puff dough. I love cream puffs. I love eclairs more. It's a chocolate thing. I can't help it. I have a problem. Don't judge me. I'm weak.

So, as luck would have it, pate a choux is ridiculously easy to make. You have everything you need on hand in your kitchen right now. Seriously. Water, butter, flour, sugar, eggs. No joke. The choux paste (as they say in the biz) that you use for cream puffs is the same stuff you use to make the cute savory ones with cheese and herbs that get served with wine. Yum!

Our lab assignment included choux paste, chocolate ganache, and pastry cream. We had to make cream puffs, eclairs and swans. Swans! So tiny! So cute! So delicious!

I had to take a picture of this handsome devil. My friend, S., made him. Isn't he perfect?

I brought home my stuff. I shared it with friends. It would be dangerous to keep all this in my kitchen. Especially since I had to "test" about five eclairs before class was over. What? They were small! Besides, I like to think of it was quality control. They would have technically been unsaleable. It's a service I provide. I'm that kind of girl.

Without further ado, my goods from the cream puff lab.

Cream puffy goodness!

Miniature eclairs!

Okay, fine. Five swans a-swimming.

Pie. It's what's for dinner. And breakfast. And lunch.

2009-10-17T22:09:00.000-04:00

Friday's baking lab found me with a working camera battery and pie. Three pies, to be exact. We had three hours to make three pies. I was done first. No comment. Because of the instructor, a lot of people have been dropping the class. Unfortunately, it's almost all of the good people. So, I am left with people like the grandmother of 8 who forgot to put flour in her cookies and the Art Institute drop out who asked why we don't use baking soda in bread three weeks into class. Sweet. I spoke to another one of my chefs before Fall Break about this instructor. He offered to speak to the department head. Apparently, I am not the only one who has complained. The good news is that she won't be back to teach again. But I digress.

Here are my pies.

Apple pie (My illustrious instructor was kind enough to demo on MY pie how to cut the top. This was not my decision. Thus is the problem of being finished first.)

Cherry pie

Coconut cream pie

I brought home the coconut cream pie. I shared a piece with Mary Jane and have been powering through the rest. My love for pastry cream is strong. I make good pie. I make good pie crust too!

Pie crust is deceptively simple to make and homemade tastes infinitely better than store-bought. You mix a lower-gluten flour with a little sugar and a little salt. Cut in the butter. Add just enough ice cold water to bring it together. Roll. Done. You have pie. I suggest adding a little sugar to a dough to be used for savory pies as it helps in browning. It will not make the dough sweet, but it looks nicer.

I found this detailed recipe on Epicurious for pie dough. The only thing I'd do differently is to add maybe two teaspoons of granulated sugar to the flour as well, again, for color, not taste.

I don't recommend making the dough in a food processor since you have a lot less control. I really do prefer to mix and knead my doughs by hand. I find I have a better sense of when it's ready with my hands than by sight or smell. This pie crust recipe would be great for a chicken pot pie too! We've got some serious fall weather going on here. That would be great today.

I encourage you all to try pie dough soon! Report back with the results! I'd love to hear how it goes!

Speaking of going, here's what's left!

Fresh pasta, exploding blenders, and I need more practice shopping.

2009-10-17T13:25:00.000-04:00

Since my last post, I got As on both tests, in Basic and Safety and Sanitation. I wish purchasing was going so well. Ugh. I hate the online class format. It's just basically read the book, answer questions and take a quiz. I much prefer to be lectured at by a teacher. I have a meeting with my teacher on Wednesday to discuss what I can do, review the two quizzes I bombed, and whatever else comes to mind. I'm sure I'll do just fine in Purchasing, I just need a little reassurance right now.

You'll have to use your imagination on the next part. I've been having some camera battery issues and thus, I am photo-less.

A couple weeks ago in Basic lab, we tackled soups. We made consomme, a flavorful, clarified broth. If you make a stock, it's usually a bit cloudy. To clarify it into a consomme, you add clearmeat to it and simmer. Clearmeat is a mixture of lean ground meat (the same flavor as the stock), mirepoix (carrot, celery, onion), lightly beaten egg whites, and an acid (we used a bit of tomato paste). You mix it all up raw (it's really gross), add it to cold stock, and put it on the stove. Once it comes to a boil, you turn it down to a simmer and leave it alone. The clearmeat mixture cooks and attracts impurities from the stock. It floats to the top and forms a "raft." The raft cracks naturally and acts like a filter. It's super cool! Making consomme was one technique I was most excited about learning. You end up with this crystal clear broth with a big flavor. Ours was beef. All I could think when I tasted it was that's what I want next time I'm sick. Yummy! If you try it, be sure to season the consomme with kosher salt! The iodine in other salt will make the consomme cloudy and all your hard work for not! This lab was particularly interesting because it was very apparent who the serious students were. We were the ones standing over our pots talking about how cool this process was. In the soup portion of this lab, we made a cream soup. I chose cream of mushroom. I put my hot soup in the blender, whizzed it up, then set the blender on the counter to take the lid off. I went to pick it up and the bottom of the blender stayed on the table. You know the bottom part that screws on so you can take the blades out? Yeah. Somehow came unscrewed or something while I was blending. Soup went everywhere! It was awesome. Especially since it was my lunch. Luckily, about 7 people in my class offered to share theirs with me. I should have gotten a picture of that mess. Too funny.

In Basic lab, we also made fresh pasta, the week before Fall Break. We made miniature veggie lasagnas in ramekins. CUTE! We also made ravioli and tortelini. The tortelini was so much easier than I thought it would be. We had three fillings we had to make, to be shared by our table. There were three of us at my table, the same three people from the previous week's sauce lab when we made communal tomato sauce. I made the goat cheese stuffing for the tortelini. I used goat cheese, cream cheese, garlic, shallot, mint, tarragon, basil and parsley. It was very good. If I'm not mistaken, this was the first lab we've had all year without a clarified butter sauce!

Oops, I did it again.

2009-09-30T12:45:00.003-04:00

I got an A on my Baking midterm! Woot! ::running man dance::

I also had a knife skills practical in Basic yesterday, which I had forgotten about. I got an A on that too. We were out of potatoes, so we didn't have to do the fancy-schmancy tournee cuts that I've been working on. Bummer. There were only 3 or 4 people in that class that were actually bummed about it.

I have two more tests coming up. Tomorrow I have a test on cooking techniques and soups. On Tuesday, I have a test in Safety and Sanitation. It took so long for us to have tests the beginning of the semester. Now it seems like we're having tests every day!

Best field trip EVER!

2009-09-28T18:14:00.003-04:00

This afternoon my Purchasing class met on location at US Foodservice. For those of you who don't know, US Foodservice is one of the largest suppliers to restaurants, hotels, and other food service institutions across the US. They also have a great reputation concerning both service and quality. I have worked with them before and without hestiation I would work with them again. Many years ago, I worked in a restaurant. We did a catering for 500 for a furniture company during the Furniture Market week. US Foodservice let us borrow a truck, a semi trailer with both refrigerated and freezer sections to be exact, to hold everything we ordered to do this catering. Our kitchen in our 88 seat restaurant didn't have the room for it all. I digress. They are all about quality and service.

We arrived before noon. I regretted skipping lunch, but hey what are you going to do? A chef consultant came to the lobby to fetch us. He led us up to a classroom and demo kitchen combo. I spied a table full of desserts and was much relieved. On the counter were three giant ribeyes. Not the juicy 10 ounce steak, the entire ribeye piece taken directly off the cow. Three of them. There were two chefs who talked to us. They were super knowlegdable. They both had tons of experience. Their current jobs are to work with new customers, review menus and suggest USFS products that would work for them. Today, they gave us a demonstration on beef quality that included a steak lunch with baked potatoes, salad, rolls, steamed broccoli and desserts. You may envy me now.

The chefs cut open a Prime ribeye, a Choice ribeye, and a Select ribeye. While the side of the cow is whole, after slaughter, the ribeye is cut along the 12th and 13th rib. It is from here that the quality of the entire cow is judged. If there is a lot of marbling, it is considered Prime, the highest quality. Less marbling, it's Choice. Even less, it's Select. You are most likely to find Choice in grocery stores. Prime beef only accounts for 2% of all beef, so it's typically reserved for high quality restaurants. Fat equals flavor. It also helps with tenderness. The Prime ribeye was fantastic. The Choice was pretty good, even though it looked to me to have less marbling than I would have expected. The Select steak was tough and lack flavor. Even without being told which was which, I could tell what I was eating. We enjoyed loaded baked potatoes, Rosemary rolls, a salad with kalamata olives, cukes and tomatoes with a creamy mustard dressing. There was fresh steamed broccoli as well. Dessert was a number of bar cookies, lemon bars, some cranberry walnut thingy and seven layer bars, which I love! Not only was it delicious, but it was completely unexpected.

After lunch, they demonstrated a can cutting. They used cans of tomatoes, all three brands they carry. They have a very specific process for a can cutting. They open the can from the bottom. They strain the tomatoes for a minimum of two minutes to remove as much juice as possible. Next, the drained tomatoes are weighed. The juice is weighed also to be sure it added up to the weight on the can. There are supposed to be a certain amount of tomatoes in each can. Oddly enough, in the highest quality can, it was short on tomatoes. They report it to the packer. So they also lay out the three grades of tomatoes side by side so they can be compared. It was interesting. Not only do they do this for new customers, but they do it regularly to check quality.

After the can cutting, we toured the warehouse. I walked through a freezer that was 63,000 square feet in size. Huge doesn't begin to describe it. We walked through the dry storage area as well. This place is massive. It's the fifth largest division of USFS in the country. They are so efficient too. They showed us the location information and that process. It was fascinating.

We each got a goodie bag with an ovenmit, thermometer, pen, pencil, and a bunch of snacks. We were quizzed also, which resulted in the awarding of more prizes. I got a travel mug, a visor and a cookbook in addition to the goodie bag. The cookbook is cool! Each year USFS asks their chef customers to submit recipes, which they publish. They ended up giving everyone a cookbook.

I really had a great time. I learned a lot. I met some really nice folks. I ate some great food! This was a valuable experience and much cooler than I expected. Two thumbs up!

Quick check in, with more excitement to come!

2009-09-27T12:30:00.002-04:00

I just wanted to let you know that I got a perfect score on my Safety and Sanitation exam. Yup. 100% on the germ test. I've got some good stuff to share with you including the baking practical exam where everything went wrong and a field trip to a vendor. Exciting stuff, peeps.

Tune in next time! After Tuesday, I promise. I'm a little behind on studying for a test in Basic Culinary Skills. Being a straight A student is pretty cool, but I'm spending all of my time on homework.

Knowing is half the battle, or I gross you out because I care.

2009-09-20T15:07:00.004-04:00

It turns out that my Safety and Sanitation class is more cool and exciting than I thought it would be. Of course, it helps that I have a great instructor who is passionate (srsly!) about sanitation, knows her stuff, and cares that we're learning and are comfortable with the information. I'm learning a lot in this class, probably more than my other classes. Allow me to share with you some of what I've learned.

One thing she said during the first week of class surprised me, but really it shouldn't. You're more likely to get a foodborne illness at home than from commercially prepared food. Yep. You are. And it makes sense. Professional kitchens are crazy in love with sanitizers. After dishes are washed, they are thoroughly sanitized with either a chemical or 185 degree water. It's unlikely most people do that at home. As well, foods are heated and cooled properly at home and professional cooks are cautious of The Danger Zone. Do you know what The Danger Zone is? No, silly. I'm not talking about the Kenny Loggins song from Top Gun. It the range of 41 degrees F to 135 degrees F, where bacteria flourish, thrive and are generally very, very happy. We use ice baths, ice spikes and other measures to cool foods down very quickly. Putting hot food into a refrigerator, especially at home, will generally warm up the inside if the fridge and put everything else in jeopardy. Crazy, huh?

We all know that our county has rules about cheeseburgers being cooked at least medium well, that most places ban raw (unpasteurized) dairy products, and you're not supposed to eat meat, fish and eggs that aren't cooked thoroughly. But how many of us know why?

And I know what you're thinking. I really do. Because I was thinking the same thing the first couple days of class. "Eeeeew. I'll never be able to eat again!" "OMG. My professor said diarrhea!" But here are a few things to think about.

1. Think about how many times you've eaten and NOT gotten sick. Really. I'll bet it's, like, a lot.
2. Sure, you like food. But I'll bet I can name two things you like more than food. Not vomiting. And not having diarrhea. Am I right?
3. The more you know, the more likely you are to not make your family and friends sick.

I've been studying up on what seems like a million foodborne illnesses, most of which I've never heard of. We all know the big ones, right? Botulism, salmonella, E. coli. That's just the tip of the microbial iceberg, peeps.

Listeria. I'd heard of it. I knew that something something Listeria something pregnant women something. You can get it from raw dairy products, raw meat and ready to eat foods like hotdogs and deli meat. So what's the deal with Listeria and pregnant women? If a pregnant woman gets Listeria, the symptom is...miscarriage. Damn. That's serious. In little kids, it causes sepsis, pneumonia, and meningitis. Not all foodborne illness makes you puke.

Not only do you get Botulism from dented cans, but you can get it from a baked potato that wasn't cooled right. If you're making baked potatoes ahead of time, to be reheated, for the love of all things holy, DO NOT wrap those puppies up in foil. Botulism likes that. A lot. The less oxygen, the more Botulism. Did you also know that if you don't seek medical attention, it'll kill you? There was an episode of Dr. Quincy, ME about it.

You're more likely to get E. coli from produce than from meat. Frail Voiced Vegan Girl is in this class. She thinks she's immune to foodborne illness because she doesn't consume animals. Wrong! Wasn't there an E. coli outbreak a few years ago that was traced back to green onions? It's always the green onions! And lettuce. And tomatoes. And and and.... Oh, yeah. Sprouts. That's a big one.

Clostridium perfringens gastroenteritis. Like, what? This is carried in the intestines of both animals and humans. It loves The Danger Zone (41-135F). You usually get diarrhea and severe abdominal pain. Here's the best part...commercially prepared foods are not often involved in outbreaks. Straight from my book. It's commonly linked to meat and poultry and foods containing meat and poultry, like soups and stews. Next time you make chili at home, and you get, uh, a little rumbly afterwards, it's not the beans that are bothering you.

Bacillus cereus is a bacteria that produces two different toxins. It's the toxins that make you sick. The each cause an illness. One makes you throw up. The other gives you diarrhea. You can get this from cooked rice, like fried rice and rice pudding. Milk, meat and cooked veggies can also carry this. This can be prevented by heating and cooling foods properly and holding food at the right temperature. Think cookout or church picnic. Don't let that stuff sit out for more than 4 hours.

Did you know you can get a staph infection from food? You can. Staphylococcal bacteria are carried on the body, including the nose, hair, throat and infected cuts. You can transfer the bacteria by rubbing your nose then mixing the pasta salad by hand. If the bacteria is allowed to grow, it'll produce a toxin that'll make you sick. Cooking will not destroy this toxin.

Shigella can be transferred from feces to food by people who don't wash their hands. It can also be transferred to food by flies. (Again with the cookout!) It'll give you bloody diarrhea and abdominal pain and cramps. Charming.

Norovirus and Hepatits A can be transmitted from ready-to-eat food contaminated with feces and from shellfish from contaminated waters. Hepatitis A however is a vaccine preventable disease.

Our old friend Salmonella. Yes, you can get this from chicken and eggs. Did you know that you can also get this from beef and dairy products as well as produce? The best way to prevent this is to prevent cross-contamination. Buy color coded cutting boards and be strict about it. Sanitize. Wash hands and equipment if you're in doubt. I knew someone who got this and is now horribly lactose intolerant as a result.

If you eat shellfish, you're in for a treat. Neurotoxic Shellfish Poisoning. Amnesiac Shellfish Poisoning. Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning. They're pretty self explanatory. This happens when bottom feeding shellfish dine on toxic algae. Cooking, freezing, etc. doesn't prevent this. This freaks me out a little. Do you have any idea how much I love mussels?

Anasakis is a parasite you get from raw or undercooked fish. It has two symptoms. A tingling in the throat. Coughing up worms. Let me give you a minute to reread that. Coughing. Up. Worms. I've actually seen this in halibut I ordered years ago in a restaurant where I worked. I didn't know what it was, but I knew I wasn't going to serve this halibut to my guests for $25 a plate. (I sent it back) They are little round, pinky-yellow worms that make you cough up more worms.

I still have a few more flash cards, but I think you get my point. Cooking at home, being vegetarian, buying organic, none of this makes you immune. Heat and cool your food correctly. Wash your hands. Cover your hair. Wash your gadgets and cutting boards thoroughly. Buy food from stores you trust. Don't buy clams from some toothless redneck selling them from the back of his rusty 1974 Ford pickup. Ask your meat and fish guy where their products come from. This helps prevent foodborne illness. Burying your head in the sand because diarrhea is icky is bad.

This class that I previously thought was going to be lame will be one of the most useful I will take in culinary school. This is really good information. I'm still nervous about my test on Tuesday, but I'm feeling better about it. If you want to do more reading on the subject, here's a link to the CDC's page.

Baking I Lab, biscuits, coffee cake, and muffins.

2009-09-16T11:22:00.002-04:00

Last week in Baking I, we had three assignments. Our current lesson was on Quick Breads, so we made biscuits, muffins and a sour cream coffee cake.

My biscuits rose higher than anyone else's. Mine were a little saltier too. My instructor gave me high praise saying mine were better than her's.

Blueberry muffins, where the frozen blueberries sank in spite of having been dusted with flour. Still tasty anyway.

Sour cream coffee cake. My streusel topping wasn't very good. Okay, it kind of sucks. My butter was way too soft. Lesson learned.

More tourneed potatoes, clarified butter sauces, and cow-eating cows.

2009-09-16T10:34:00.005-04:00

I've got a couple riveting photos of knife cuts for you. I can tell you're excited. In the beginning of each Basic Culinary Skills lab, we practice our knife cuts for an hour or so. Here are mine for the past two weeks. Last week, Chef pulled each of us aside to review what's on our plates, what we're doing right and what we need to keep practicing. He told me that mine was above average work and that I needed to work on consistency.

clockwise from the plastic dish: tournee potatoes, supreme orange, brunoise onion, julienne carrot, rondelle carrot

clockwise from the plastic dish: tournee and batonette potato, bias cut carrot, minced garlic, minced parsley, diced red pepper, chiffonade spinach

Last week in BCS lab, we clarified butter and made Hollandaise. I don't have any pictures of that because Hollandaise is just yellow. Tasty, but not too exciting. We were also treated to an Italian Buffet by another class. It was good. There was a rolled eggplant, ham and cheese thingy that was right tasty as well as a braised cut of beef, maybe an oxtail?, that was magnificent. We're well fed, even if it is pounds and pounds of clarified butter.

In Baking Lab last week, we had a timed practical as well as three assignments to bake. The timed practical was 3 pounds of dough that we had to shape into baguettes and knotted rolls in 20 minutes. We could have an extra 5 minutes, but for every minute we went over, we lost one point off our grade. I'm pretty fast and even I was sweating the time limit. The dough was previously made and refrigerated. It wasn't allowed to warm up as much as it should which made it difficult to work with. The part of the dough that makes this bread, rather than a cake or scone, for example, is gluten which is a protein. Like all proteins, it becomes quite firm when chilled. Bread dough can be refrigerated, but it needs to be given ample time to warm up and relax or the dough will just tear. That's what was happening with this dough. I started to roll out a baguette, but it wasn't cooperating with me. I set the dough down and moved on to my rolls. They were only 2 ounce portions and could be warmed by handling. In the end, I finished in 20 and a half minutes. Someone in my class was annoyed when I finished first and actually said out loud , "oh god" with obvious disgust. (I've recently learned it was Frail Voiced Vegan Girl, but I'll get to that later.) I also received the highest score of 99 points, losing one point for going over the 20 minutes.

We had a big test in BCS. I got an A. We had two quizzes in Baking I. I got As on both. Somewhere in there I had my first test in Safety and Sanitation too. I got an A. Next week, I have a big test in Baking I and a big test in Safety and Sanitation. I'm going to be scarce this week because I have to memorize the names, foods linked, symptoms and prevention measures for EVERY foodborne illness. Do you have any idea how many there are? I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. As a former foreign language major, I can memorize stuff like nobody's business. There's just so much to know, it's almost ridiculous.

Alright, Frail Voice Vegan Girl. Yes, PeeWee, I have one too. Sadly, she's in all of my classes. Even Purchasing. While there isn't anyone who doesn't respect her choice to be vegan, the fact that she's so ridiculously misinformed about that choice has made her the laughing stock of class. We were talking about E. coli yesterday in S&S. The instructor was going over how you get it, which is from both ground meat and produce. Frail Voice Vegan Girl speaks up, but in a barely audible voice, "Is that from when the cows are standing around in their own filth and then they start to eat other cows?" Like, what? Personally, I was too shocked to laugh. Others were not. She got this angry look on her face and said, "They eat other cows." For those of you who are perhaps not familiar with cows, let me enlighten you. They don't have the anatomy to eat other cows, or any meat for that matter. They lack the teeth needed to eat meat, they have multiple stomachs to help them digest the fibrous plant material they do eat, and there is documentation to support that feeding meat to cattle will make them die. Like I said, it's not her dietary choices, it her gross misinformation. She got really angry two weeks ago when the instructor told us that tofu and fake meat products were potentially hazardous foods. She raised her hand. "Does that get into tofu from the slaughter houses?" If anyone can tell me who produces tofu in a slaughter house, I'd be grateful. She kept going on in that class about slaughter houses. Ah, good times. Good times. Oh, I forgot to add that I knew it was her that was audibly annoyed when I finished the baking practical first, because yesterday in BCS she was audibly annoyed when I answered yes when Chef asked if he spelled a French word correctly. She's my new BFF.

I don't want to have to break up with Butter.

2009-09-06T16:17:00.006-04:00

Last week in Basic Culinary Skills, we made the three roux-thickened mother sauces. These would be Bechamel, a milk based sauce, Veloute, a stock based sauce, and Espagnole, a brown sauce. There are two more mother sauces, Hollandaise and Tomato, and are called Mother Sauces because from these five relatively simple sauces, you can make a gazillion other sauces. What to make Fettuccine Alfredo, mac'n'cheese, or Pasta Primavera? You're starting with Bechamel. Gravy? Chicken Pot Pie? That would be Veloute, pronounced as vell-oo-tay by the way. You get the picture. They are pretty easy to make, generally speaking. The quality you get out of the sauce really depends on the quality of ingredients you put in them.

oh look! white sauce in a pot!

Not very exciting, I tells ya. I forgot to take pictures of the other two.

And here's my plate of practice veggies for the week:

My tourneed potatoes look better because I sprung for the fancy-schmancy bird beak paring knife. It helps a lot. I really want to practice this knife cut as much as possible. We have tryouts for teams each semester for competitions. I just found out about this semester's try outs, but alas, they are at the same time as my baking lab. Next semester, I hope!

Speaking of baking lab, I present you cinnamony goodness.

quality control, you see.

Brioche, a super buttery, eggy French bread. I won't tell you how much butter went into this.

Speaking of butter...I cut my finger this week. In baking lab. On butter. I hang my head in shame. It wouldn't stop bleeding. It took three bandaids at tourniquet strength to make it stop. Butter. I cut my finger while cutting butter. So embarrassing.

Bitty Cakes, Raleigh

2009-09-02T23:23:00.002-04:00

Last month, my Williams-Sonoma Hookup told me about an upcoming class at the store with Kim Hammer of Bitty Cakes here in Raleigh. Naturally, I didn't put it in my calendar which these days is a guarantee I'll miss it. I got a text from this friend at 6:58, "you coming to class?" Oops. I forgot. "When does it start," I ask, hoping he says 7:30. "Now-ish. 7:00. " Dag. I was a little late, of course this makes everyone stop and look at me and I hate being the center of attention, so it was extra embarrassing. Awesome.

The class was great. Kim is a delightful, warm, friendly woman. She is very knowlegable about baking and a lot of fun to listen to. We had chocolate zucchini cupcakes and peach cobbler cupcakes. We got recipes. We had cupcakes with icing and warm cupcakes with ice cream. I think I actually had a sugar buzz when I left. She was also gracious enough to talk to me about how she started this business. I've been thinking a small baking business would be a good way to earn some extra money while I'm in school.

She demonstrated the recipes she gave us, including the one for cream cheese frosting. I love cream cheese frosting. When she was done, she asked if anyone wanted to lick the paddle. Everyone was looking around like they were too polite and civilized to do such a thing even though we all know they do it in the own home. Not me. I raised my hand. Her cream cheese frosting is that good. And for the record, I used my finger. There was no actual licking involved.

I have those prune plums which I am going to substitute in her peach cobbler cake recipe. It's got cinnamon and allspice which might be good with the plums.

If you're in the Raleigh area and in need of cupcakes, get yourself a Bittycake. You won't regret it.

I forgot to give this post a title. Sorry.

2009-09-02T10:35:00.007-04:00

There are no stupid questions, only stupid people.

In week three of culinary school, I think it's safe to say there are some stupid questions. For example, "why do you use yeast in bread and baking powder and soda in biscuits and other things?" You, dear reader, may not know the answer to this question. My classmates, however, should have read chapters 2 and 5 through 9 in Professional Baking by Wayne Gisslen and possible a little bit of How Baking Works by Paula Figoni. I assure you, the answer to this question is there. What is disturbing is when the instructor is unable to answer this question. She went on and on about creating flavor with the yeast, which is largely incorrect. Unfortunately my advisor and program head is not actually teaching this class anymore. She has a teaching assistant running the show. She is an elderly woman who calls herself a "retired chef" even though she graduated from Wake Tech two years ago. As a babysitter for 35 wide-eyed culinary students, most of whom will wash out by December, she is perfect for the job. As a culinary instructor required to explain the science of baking to a few in the class with a broad and comprehensive food knowledge and a drive and passion to be the best they can be, she is less than adequate. We were talking about chemical leaveners yesterday. Someone named vinegar as an acid with which the chemical leaveners would react. She wasn't so sure this was correct. The student mentioned red velvet cake. The instructor said, "Well, that probably has other things like baking powder in it." I'd had enough by this point. I spoke up. "No, actually it only has baking soda which is mixed with the vinegar. It's a very old Southern recipe, created before the invention of the double acting baking powders we have today. So it was leavened with what was available at the time." Another student, C., spoke up as well. "The vinegar reacts with the cocoa powder which turns the cake red." The instructor looked dumbfounded. In her thick Southern accent, she said, "Well, how about that. I didn't know that about red velvet cake." (Red velvet cake is a Southern Institution, by the way.) This woman was my TA for Baking Lab on Friday too. She was shocked when she saw me kneading my dough the right way, without instruction. She really is a nice lady and she likes me, which is good. I'll just have to study my book really well and take what she says in class with a grain of salt. It just bothers me that I'm not sure she has the basic knowledge needed to teach a Baking I class. Everyone keeps going on and on about the awards she's won for her cake decorating. That's all well and good, but it has nothing to do with baking. Maybe she ought to teach the cake decorating class instead. I had a good chat with C. after class. She's really cool and is one of the motivated second year students. She gets it. I like her.

I don't want a story, just your dirty dishes.

At the end of class, we are all expected to clean up. Somehow, I always seem to be in the dish pit. I am okay with this. I know how to wash dishes in both the three sinks and the commercial dishwasher and I can do it faster than most everyone else. I keep trying to explain to people that anything that doesn't need to be scrubbed can be run through the dishwasher. They don't get it. Twenty times in a row I hear, "um, Meg, can this go over here?" "Where do you want me to put this?" "I don't think this came clean in the sinks, should I bring it over here?" This tells me that they have never worked in a restaurant. Even if you've waited tables, you understand how the Dish Pit works. If not, the El Salvadorians will be happy to show you the first time. After that, you'll learn not to interfere with The System. "Just set it over there with the rest of the dishes," I say over and over. The chefs repeat over and over, "if it doesn't have to be scrubbed, send it to the dishwasher."

I keep finding knives in the dish area. This is bad. Kitchen knives are big and sharp. They will cut you. They are also expensive. You don't want someone else handling your knives because they will either be damaged or stolen.

I am beginning to think we need a common sense test before acceptance into the program.

But, wait! there's more!

We had our first sauce making lab yesterday. I made Bechamel, a white sauce, Veloute, a stock based sauce, and Espagnole, a brown sauce that a little more complicated. Chef said mine were excellent. We also had to clarify 2 pounds of butter. I let mine go too long and made clarified brown butter. I was not the only one, thankfully. I also poked my left index finger with the point of my chef's knife. Luckily, I was not the first to shed blood in class. It was just small prick of my finger and I can barely see it today.

Stay tuned! Film at eleven!

2009-08-31T21:54:00.002-04:00

Very quickly, because I just got home and should have been in bed a half hour ago because I have to be at school at 7-ish...

1. I bought prune plums at Kroger of all places for 99 cents a pound. Is it possible to fall in love with a fruit? I am getting close to deciding what I want to do with them.

2. I made yogurt yesterday. Seriously, it's SO ridiculously easy that I'm mad at myself for not doing earlier. This isn't like me saying jam is easy. This is heat up some milk and let it hang out for a while easy.

3. I just got home from a cooking demo/class at Williams-Sonoma. One word... CAKE. I got to lick the icing paddle in the store. (Sorry, mom. I went there.)

More to come on all of this. I promise.

End of second week review

2009-08-29T17:57:00.008-04:00

Hi everyone. I've been studying hard. I have a lot of reading to do. A migraine this week has put me behind a little. Not to worry. I have a Study Hall Monitor is keeping a close eye on me. That's really where he sits when I'm studying.

I finally got my new messenger bag today! Yay! It turned out really cute! I couldn't be happier with it. Like I said, the quality is great, the style is unique. If you're in the market for a new bag, give Holly Aiken a hollah.

The main color is called parchment, the stems are called olive and the inside is the same royal blue as the flowers. You can see the two pockets on the inside.

In Basic Culinary Skills lab on Tuesday, we started the class with an hour of knife cuts. We lay them out on a plate, label it with our name, and leave it out for Chef to look over. Here's what I have from the second lab.

The cuts are as follows, from the green stuff clockwise:
Spinach, chiffonade (shiff-uh-nod)-a thin, ribbon-like cut of a leafy green
Onion, julienne (julie-n)-a thin, usually matchstick-like cut, in the case of an onion, a thin straight cut following the shape of the onion
Potato, tournee (tour-nay)-a small, 7-sided, approximately 2" long, football-like cut of a firm vegetable, usually potatoes
Carrot, brunoise (broon-wahz)-a small dice measuring 1/8"x1/8"x1/8"
Carrot, rondelle (ron-del)-an 1/8" thick round cut
Orange, segment or supreme (like creme)

And finally, from Friday's Baking I lab....the moment you've all been waiting for.

I didn't get a photo of my challah knots (rolls), because I forgot my camera on Friday. They came out pretty good. I need some work with my braiding technique, as you can see the challah is a bit wonky. The baguettes came out great. This was an authentic baguette dough too. Flour, water, salt and yeast only. It was the first dough we made yesterday. The new instructor came by as I was kneading the baguette dough with the proper technique. She looked really surprised at what I was doing and asked me if I had done it before. I also figured out why my lean bread from last week and this week are too light when they are cooked. For one, the oven temperature is lower than it should be but that's not something I can change. Also, if I add a bit of egg wash before and after the proofing, it should help get some color on the crust.

In other news, we had a guest this week in our main culinary classroom. A very, very chirpy cricket. He didn't shut up all week. Hopefully someone finally killed him. You have no idea how difficult it is to concentrate on the instructor when there's a cricket echoing from the drain under the cabinet.

Elvis says I'm done procrastinating. See ya next week.

Purchasing, homework and lessons learned.

2009-08-26T15:44:00.003-04:00

I got my first grades in Purchasing. I received 100 points on my homework assignment and 88/100 on the first quiz. The quiz is taken through Blackboard, an online educational program-website deal. When I was taking the quiz, I went through and answered all of the questions right away. My plan was go back and review my answers and correct them if necessary before submitting the final quiz. I accidentally hit submit instead of going back to the first question. Oops. The good news, I still got a B and knew most of the information off the top of my head. It's the first of 20 or so quizzes, so I'm not worried.

Why I do this, part 375.

2009-08-25T19:08:00.005-04:00

I think people underestimate how difficult culinary school can be. There is much more to being successful than showing up in a floppy hat and learning a few new recipes. There is a lot of work that goes into learning this information and these techniques. First, I have a lot of reading. For Baking I this week, I had to read chapters six through nine. Granted the last two chapters were heavy on recipes, but I still have to be familiar with the recipes. The first two chapters, six and seven, had a lot of information about the process of making yeast breads. There is a lot of science in this information. A lot. In Basic Culinary Skills, we're taking two weeks to cover one chapter. Two weeks. We're covering stocks and sauces. This is really important information. In addition to learning this information for my lecture classes, I have to be able to make this stuff in my lab classes. I had to make a brown veal stock and a white chicken stock today. Had I not done my reading or paid attention in class, I couldn't have made these stocks today. I have weekly quizzes in all of my classes. I have to study extra hard because my department uses a seven-point grading scale even though the rest of the college is on a ten-point scale. Attendance is taken very seriously in my department as well. Being late twice counts as one absence.

Aside from the academic aspect of my program, I also have to be comfortable handling expensive and potentially dangerous kitchen equipment, like knives, gas stoves and ovens, steam jacket kettles, slicers, commercial garbage disposals, and the list goes on. I need to be able to stand for long periods of time, and longer periods of time once I graduate and get a job. I have to lift heavy things. I have to clean well enough to please the health department. I have to clean dishes and pots and pans that I didn't dirty. I have to wear a uniform with long pants, long sleeves, a hat, and apron even when it's 95 degrees out and 110 degrees in the kitchen. I have to keep my uniforms clean and pressed. In addition to bringing my books and notebooks to class, I also need to bring my knives and toolkit with me too. I have classes for 4 or 5 hours at a time. One class I will have next semester is nine hours long. I don't always get to take a potty or lunch break when I need to. My dough or sauce is the priority. I might get cut. I might get burned. I could get cut or burned by someone else who lacks practical kitchen experience.

I do this because I am passionate about food. I am passionate about making a dinner or dessert you will remember for years to come. I want to learn every bread baking technique. I will not be satisfied until I know how to make puff pastry. I will sit and read a cookbook like you read a romance novel. I want to know every difference between Northern and Southern Chinese cooking. I want to taste every funky tropical fruit I find in the produce department. I want to be able to make a perfect Hollandaise. I want to know everything there is to know about food and cooking. I understand that I will not be a chef when I graduate from school. I understand I will work six or seven 12-hour days in a row, or more. I know that I will not be able to celebrate New Years Eve with my friends or Valentine's Day with a honey because instead I chose a job that requires me to make your evening special.

If you feel the need to ask me which program I think you should follow, Culinary or Baking and Pastry, and "which one is better," you might want to reevaluate your career priorities. If it's never occurred to you to try Vietnamese food or think a dessert with a lime cilantro shortbread, tomato jam and avocado ice cream is "weird," you need to think long and hard about why you're taking these classes. If you can't stand for five hours at a time, carry hot and heavy pots and pans or have an issue being two elbows deep in a sink full of hot, greasy water, you will not be successful.

I am preparing for a career that will be physically and mentally draining. It will challenge me constantly. I will have to be creative and solve problems everyday, even if I don't feel like it. I will have to work with and taste foods I don't like. This also means I will not have to sit in rush hour traffic anymore. I will not have to wear a suit or be confined to a cubicle. This career will feed my soul.

Because I didn't get enough time in the kitchen yesterday, or why it's good to be my friend.

2009-08-22T13:02:00.006-04:00

Last night, I hijacked the kitchen of dear friends, J&L. They bought a house about a year ago with a really nice, spacious kitchen. He also works for That Famous Kitchen Store you see at the mall, so their kitchen is stocked with at least one of every gadget, tool or appliance one could need, or at least that I could need. My kitchen on the other hand, is small, lacks storage, only has one sink and no dishwasher. On the bright side, it has more counter space than my last kitchen had...a whopping 12 inches. Can you say, "kitchen FAIL?"

I've been craving cioppino recently, but as I proved last night, it is impossible to make cioppino for one. For those unfamiliar, cioppino is an Italian influenced seafood stew from San Francisco, CA. In the late 1800s, in San Francisco the Italian fisherman created this dish from their catch of the day and a tomato and wine sauce. It can be served over or with pasta. It prefer it with bread. If you go to Italy and try to order cioppino, they will think you are crazy. It's not an Italian dish.

There aren't many rules for cioppino, except for the whole seafood, white wine and tomatoes thing. Last night, I used a Three Buck Chuck white wine, a can and a half of crushed tomatoes, a can of diced tomatoes, two fennel bulbs, garlic, an onion, leeks, lemon juice, parsley, basil, mussels, clams, cod, scallops, and shrimp. I cooked it in a 7qt. Le Creuset Dutch Oven. The pot was full almost to the top! It was served with the bread I made in class yesterday. It was delicious.

Before

After

Baking Lab, Day One.

2009-08-21T16:23:00.005-04:00

I LOVE IT!!!!!!

We had our first lab today for Baking I, yeast breads. We had to use a weighted baker's scale, rather than a digital scale like I'm used to. I had to come home and give my digital scale a hug. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, it's one of these. Okay, not that one, but one that looked more like it's grandfather. Turns out, I've been spoiled with my wonderful, fantastic Salter digital scale. If you're in the market for a digital scale, I give it two thumbs up. These crazy old baker's scales...not so much. Turns out that if you aren't used to it, it can be wildly inaccurate. Nearly everyone ended up with a dough that was too wet, including me. We worked with partners to scale our individual ingredients, then proceeded from there on our own. I think my partner and I didn't accurately zero out the weight of the bowl on the scale. No worries. It worked out okay for all involved. All you do is add more flour once you get it on the bench. You knead it longer, but it works out okay. Observe:

Each recipe gave us five baguettes and about two dozen rolls. It took me a lot longer than some people to get my dough ready to rise, but when it came to portioning it, I was much faster than everyone else. I was also able to cut the 2 oz. rolls more accurately too. To shape the rolls, you hold one under each hand and roll around on the bench to for a nice smooth little ball. Since I was familiar with this technique already, I was able to knock out a pan of rolls in the time it took most of classmates to do five or six. I discovered that our ovens don't seem to brown this so well. I'm not sure why this is right now. Next time I'll be a bit more heavy handed with the egg wash. The picture is a bit washed out, but they aren't quite dark enough for me.

Unfortunately there is no professional experience requirement for my program like other school. For example, the Culinary Institute of America requires that you have worked for six months in a restaurant before they will accept you. I have many classmates who have only cooked at home or at church, so they don't understand kitchen etiquette. What I mean by this is that you let people know where you are. If I'm walking behind you, I'll say, "behind you!" loud enough that you can hear me. If I'm walking behind you with something hot, I'll say, "hot behind you" or "hot coming through." If I don't know you are back there and I turn around and walk into you, we could have a big mess, or worse. We had a lot of people who don't get that. I was sweeping at one point and turned around to find one woman standing behind me with a big bowl of dough. Just standing there. Waiting. I think some of these folks will be in for a big surprise when they go to work. I'm not being mean, mind you, just honest. Don't believe me? Read this post. Or this one.

When it came to clean up time, there were several people who were team players and several who stood around like they had no clue what needed to be done. Of course, I had no qualms about pointing out the equipment that needed to be put away or the floor that needed to be swept. I volunteered to stay late for class, by almost an hour today, to finish the clean up. These things will be noticed by the Powers That Be. I got to know a couple people in my class. One of them is J. who is also a B&P student like moi. He's cool. He has a fine arts degree, which is what made him choose pastry rather than culinary. It's nice to see another serious pastry student.

Safety and Sanitation class, Day One

2009-08-21T12:28:00.001-04:00

Today was the first real day of Safety and Sanitation. We started class with You Tube videos about restaurant health inspections. Some of these videos are reenactments and some are filmed with hidden cameras. Either way, the information is real. Very, very real. People were shouting out, "Eeeew!" and "oh my god!" while we were watching them. You can't make this stuff up! I'm posting a link which you are welcome to check out.

Our county's website and a local tv station both have links to look up heath inspection reports of local restaurants. This information is available to the public, regardless of where you live in the US. Foodborne illness is no joke. I encourage you to look for this information in your area. Check out your favorite restaurants. How do they measure up? Please also remember that for every restaurant with these ridiculous violations, there are many more who work really hard to comply with health code regulations.

Not for the easily queasy!
Watch at your discretion.
Health Inspection Video

Raleigh Restaurant Week, August 24 to 30, 2009

2009-08-20T17:52:00.004-04:00

Raleigh Restaurant Week is coming next week! If you're unfamiliar with the concept, our local restaurants offer a prix fixe three course menu for either $20 or $30, every day for a week. This is an amazing deal. Many of these restaurants are typically a lot more expensive than the prix fixe price.

Go here to see a list of the participating restaurants. Click on "menu" to see the special RRW offerings. I can't wait!

Culinary school, day two.

2009-08-19T15:29:00.004-04:00

What I learned on Day Two:

1. There are many of us that have the same three classes on Tuesdays.

2. There are few who are serious culinary students. If the rest make it that far, I do not see them surviving an internship. Especially not in a restaurant with real line cooks. It's a bummer because the department head said they turned away 40 people already this semester. All the classes are full.

3. I have fantastic chefs (professors) with tons of experience. They are tough, they don't baby anyone and they expect you to follow the rules. I love this. I hope this washes out at least a few of the "students" that view this program like a Williams-Sonoma cooking class.

4. There are only two or three of us who have any knife skills. Most of them appear to have never held a kitchen knife before.

5. In spite of my excellent knife skills, I need to practice the tournee cut.

6. We have a reach-in cooler with left over food the students can eat. I can't wait to dig in.

7. I can't wait to learn more, but I have a feeling this semester is going to go too fast.

8. In my Baking I lab on Friday, I'm going to make baguettes.

9. We are encouraged to bring a camera to labs.

10. I am absolutely positively in the right program. I don't see why I can't get the internship I want and after graduation get a job at a Michelin starred restaurant.

11. I am one of very few students to wear a uniform to class. My chefs have noticed. So have the other students.

12. I finally learned how to tie my neckerchief.

13. Safety and Sanitation is going to be necessary but only occasionally interesting.

14. I need to hit the ILC (Individualized Learning Center) for math help. I had no problem with differential equations at NCSU, but fractions make me cry.

15. I have a lot of homework to do already. A lot of it is memorizing stuff. I need to make flash cards.

Culinary school, day one.

2009-08-17T19:21:00.002-04:00

I had my first class today. Not much to report, folks. It looks like Purchasing is actually online, rather than the hybrid they advertised. We have three field trips during the semester, so they needed to give it a meeting time and place. Other than that, I am on my own. I plan on using the time set aside for class for my study time. Chef went over the Blackboard system used for online classes. He answered a few questions. We were done in an hour. Not surprisingly, I was the only one to show up in uniform. Two professors noticed. It's just as easy for me to put on the uniform as it is to put on jeans and a t-shirt, so I intend to wear the full uniform to all of my classes. The chef coats I bought fit very well and are quite comfortable, which is a nice change from the generically sized men's styles restaurants tend to order en masse. I promise (Mom, I'm looking at you!) to get someone to take a picture of me in uniform for you.

I stopped by Stitch today on my way home and ordered a new messenger bag for school. They didn't have to colors I wanted, so Holly offered to have one made for me. It will be ready next week. I'll post a picture when I get it. So cute! For those of you unfamiliar with her stuff, it's a hand made from an industrial vinyl. It's great quality, super cute and definitely unique!

Now, if you'll excuse me...I have homework to do!

The Pit, Raleigh

2009-08-12T23:10:00.015-04:00

I have to admit I never understood the mystique, the history and the importance of "BBQ" until I moved to and had lived in North Carolina for a few years. Growing up, I understood barbecue to be both a backyard picnic and a tangy red sauce brushed on chicken on the grill. I didn't understand the tiny yet of paramount significance regional differences in what is referred to as "BBQ" or even "cue." Beef vs. pork, pulled vs. chopped, shoulder vs. whole hog, ketchup based vs. vinegar based, these arguments that can define someone, some place, or something, were lost on me. I never knew that Styrofoam plates of chopped pork, collards, potato salad, slaw and fried okra could unite a racially segregated state, if only for a little while. At first, I didn't like what outsiders call North Carolina BBQ. Now, I love it and have learned to carefully refer to it as Eastern North Carolina BBQ.

Books have been written on the subject. I'm sure that somewhere some college in North Carolina offers a semester long symposium on this enigmatic food. Unless you've traveled to North Carolina, it's unlikely that you have truly had Eastern North Carolina BBQ. In Texas, "BBQ" refers to beef brisket with a spice rub and no sauce. In Memphis and Kansas City, it can mean ribs with a thick, tangy tomato-based sauce. In South Carolina, they prefer a yellow mustard-based sauce. Coming closer to Western North Carolina, it's pork, but with a redder sauce. In Central North Carolina, the sauce is still a little red, but less so. Around the epicenter of Eastern North Carolina, also known as Wilson, NC, the sauce is vinegar-based with red chile flakes, and definitely no tomato products! Make no mistake about it, folks cling to their own BBQ traditions with a loyalty typically reserved for trophy winning sports teams. In locally famous BBQ shacks, the Pitmaster reigns supreme. This is the man (yes, a man) who is responsible for maintaining the fires and cooking the meat. While the at-home BBQer typically cooks a shoulder, or Boston Butt, the Pitmaster of a cue shack typically cook the whole hog. Have you seen those Intel commercials? The slogan goes, "our rock stars aren't like your rock stars." That's kind of the way it is with North Carolina Pitmasters. One man, or family, can define the rules for BBQ in a North Carolina town. One of those men is Ed Mitchell. He is more than a locally famous rock star Pitmaster. He's been featured on Food Network, winning his Throwdown against Bobby Flay and on Man vs. Food on the Travel Channel. The list also includes Gourmet Magazine, The New York Times, and so on and so on and so on.

When The Pit opened it's doors in Raleigh, Ed Mitchell was hired on as the Pitmaster. The place has been packed ever since. Tonight, I arrived with K & J around 7 PM. We had to wait for more than 30 minutes for a table at a crowded bar. On a Wednesday. This is pretty much standard at the Pit. It is definitely worth the wait.

One look at the menu and the price point and you'll understand why. The clientele was amazingly diverse, young, old, black, white, families, business men, you name it they were lined up for the legendary food. We were happy to wait at the bar with beers and BBQ Fries. Fresh cut fries, topped with chopped cue and melted pimento cheese with a side of BBQ Ranch.

Words cannot describe how good this was. And I don't like pimento cheese! While we were chatting and devouring our fries, Mr Mitchell was walking around talking to people. We asked the bartender if it would be possible to get our picture taken with him. She went over to talk to him and in a few minutes, he made his way over to us. I stood up and reached out my hand to greet him. He smiled, said, "noooo!" and gave me a huge bear hug like I was a long lost friend. He was thrilled to pose for pictures with us and chuckled at the camera (read:photographer) issues. He talked to us for a few minutes before he had to leave. Clearly Mr. Mitchell was enjoying this. It was obvious this was a daily occurrence and something that brought as much joy to Mr. Mitchell as it did the patrons. It absolutely made my day.

We were seated right after the photos were taken. The next round included fried green tomatoes with a pepper relish.

They were excellent. I was starting to feel a little full. The menu is huge. In the end I settled on the brisket. I got to try the chopped cue on the fries, so I was satisfied moving on to something else. I can't wait to go back for the barbecued tofu. I've heard it's fantastic. For my two sides, I chose collard greens and black eyed peas. They were both excellent.

J had the pulled pork with the fried okra and mac and cheese

K had the fried chicken with mashed potatoes and green bean casserole.

As you can see, it was a hit.

We ended the dinner with by sharing a scoop of housemade peach ice cream. It was really good, subtle, complex and creamy.

Regardless of which culinary path you choose, I think we can all recognize that there are those foods that define a location, be it a country, state or city. Cue is definitely a food that defines this area. As well, the area defines the food too. BBQ has been an important aspect of North Carolina culture since it was first prepared. Ed Mitchell has defined this symbol of the Old North State, and along with The Pit, has raised the bar. The fine dining atmosphere is elegant and accessible at the same time. It gives a new respect to this most beloved of comfort foods. It also reminds us that at one point BBQ was a special food, reserved for celebrations.

If you find yourself in Raleigh and looking to eat where the locals eat, The Pit is the place to go. The prices are excellent, making this restaurant very family friendly. The service was great. The drink selection is carefully chosen to compliment the food served. The kitchen stays true to its roots, using only ingredients from North Carolina. I truly enjoyed my evening at The Pit.

The Pit, 328 West Davie St, Raleigh. 919-890-4500

Fig tart with anise scented pastry cream

2009-08-09T15:49:00.003-04:00

I'm off to a cookout at L&N's house. Here's what I'm bringing. Enjoy what's left of your weekend!

Early Saturday Morning Farmer's Market Haul.

2009-08-08T13:02:00.001-04:00

This morning I got up extra early and hit the NC State Farmer's Market. I haven't been too often this summer because it didn't seem that impressive to me this year. There didn't appear to be as much produce as previous visits, nor as much variety. This morning I was on a mission. I wanted tomatoes. I needed tomatoes. I was up, showered, dressed and on my way by 7:30. I got a great parking space which is rare when going to the farmer's market on a Saturday. I got breakfast at the restaurant first, a fantastic veggie and cheese omelet and a big fluffy biscuit.

Once I got down to the main building, I was really impressed! There was an amazing variety of produce, although some of the prices still seemed a little high for some things. For example, the corn was still $4 a dozen. The corn farmers will literally load up the back of the pick up truck and back it into the building. The kid stand in the back of the truck and shuck the corn for you. By the end of corn season, the price will drop to about $2 a dozen. You can still get the big bags, 65 ears, for $18. This is a great deal if you're going to be canning or freezing it. The regular red field tomatoes are about $1.49 a pound and the German Johnsons are $1.99 a pound.

I spent about an hour and a half there shopping. Here's what I got.
Please notice Elvis McSneaky heading for the basil. This, folks, is why I can't grow my own herbs.

I got tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, onions, peaches for eating and jam, a miniature butternut squash, blueberries, figs, apples, pears, cucumbers, fresh thyme, fresh mint and fresh basil, wax beans, goat cheese, and grape tomatoes. See the giant bag of peppers? I got that for $6. This farmer sells boxes of not perfect peppers. In the morning they look over their produce. Anything that's gotten soft, a bit overripe, had a bad spot, etc., goes into a box. The peppers are sold for $6 and the tomatoes are sold for $8. I think next weekend or the weekend after, I'm going back for a box of canning tomatoes. The peppers were $1.99 a pound. Since I'm making ratatouille, the box o'peppers was a great deal. I also made a box for friends, with peppers, a few onions, basil and a bit of cilantro.

When I got home, I made my traditional farmer's market salad. Grape tomatoes, onion, cucumbers, all the herbs I had on hand (basil, thyme, mint, oregano, and rosemary), a little olive oil and a splash of white wine vinegar. Yummy!

I couldn't resist posting this one. Just as I started to click the shutter, Helvis came out from behind the curtains and went straight for the mint. When I came home and laid out the produce, we had a few disagreements about who was allowed to handle the produce. Just before I started typing this post, I heard a strange noise coming from the bathroom. I found him on a pile of towels and swimsuits, playing with a wax bean. He'd apparently snuck onto the table while I wasn't looking and grabbed one. What am I going to do with this cat?

Breakfast of champions, revised

2009-08-06T09:02:00.006-04:00

I picked up some friends from the airport yesterday morning. In exchange for my chauffeur services, I got breakfast. We have a little joint not far from where I live called Finch's. I've seen it before, driven past for years but never stopped. It's on Peace Street, almost sandwiched under the Capitol Boulevard overpass. It looks, dare I say it, a bit beat down. However, every morning, the parking lot is packed with cars. Apparently this is the place to meet for a breakfast meeting with the law making movers and shakers about town. Finch's is only a few blocks from the legislature building, and as my friend put it, legislation begins here and finishes up over there.

View Larger Map

Finch's is an old school greasy spoon where one might find locals who have been eating there and the folks who've been serving them since the dawn of time. Personally, I'd like for Guy Fieri to visit. They serve good diner food and a proper Southern Breakfast, including grits, biscuits, sausage, pancakes, waffles, and so on. I opted for my personal favorite. Biscuits and gravy.

Amazing!

Biscuits and gravy is something I eat maybe once every six months. It's good, but not good for you. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Southern American cooking, it's a loose sausage (think ground meat) in a cream gravy. Good stuff, people, good stuff. Finch's was exceptional. The gravy was served piping hot over two soft fluffy biscuits. It had a good sausage flavor, but it was also pleasantly spicy. It was excellent, and I ate every bite. The coffee was pretty good too. The prices were more than fair. The service was good. All in all, it was a great experience and I can't wait to go back.

If you find yourself in Raleigh and in need of some breakfast, drop by Finch's. They'll treat you right and fill you up.

Giveaway at Canning Across America

2009-08-05T22:27:00.002-04:00

Recently I posted about process of making jam. Using similar techniques, it's possible to make pickles, preserve fruit and more using up that bounty from the garden or farmer's market. The process of canning preserved fruit or pickles isn't that different from canning your jam. If you can do one, you can do another.

I came across a new website yesterday thanks to Chez Pim, who I follow on Twitter. It's Canning Across America, designed, in their words, to serve as a community and information clearinghouse. Personally, I'm excited. I highly recommend you take a look at their Who We Are page, it's a fascinating list of people. Poke around on the website and you'll see a great book list, recipes, events, classes, and more.

Canning Across America is hosting a giveaway right now with a deadline of August 12. On a first come first serve basis, you get a copy of Ball Blue Book Guide To Preserving and coupons for canning supplies. This is the definitive guide to home preserving and canning, people. If you have any interest in trying this, drop by Canning Across America to take advantage of their generous offer. The instructions are on the giveaway post.

C'mon. You know you want to join the Canvolution.

Breakfast of champions

2009-07-26T20:04:00.002-04:00

I will never cease to be amazed by popovers. You pour a lumpy, watery batter into a pan, you close the oven door and in about a half an hour you get this light, eggy, fluffy and impossibly tall pastry. Popovers are a great way to start a fancy brunch. Serve them at a luncheon, like a bridal or baby shower. Make these for that special someone for a romantic breakfast in bed.

There are some who will insist that you must have a popover pan in order to properly produce this finicky pastry. "Nonsense," says I. I have always used a muffin pan. A popover pan has cups that are about the same volume as a regular muffin pan, but the cups are taller and skinnier.

I used a new recipe this time. I worked out so well that I'm giddy with excitement! See for yourself!

Popovers. Homemade jam. Does it get any better than this?

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Popovers

4 eggs
2 cups of milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt

Grease a 12 cup regular sized muffin pan. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Whisk eggs until light and uniform in color but not fluffy, about a minute or two. Add milk and whisk only until incorporated. Measure out flour and dump it in the bowl all at once. Dump in the salt on top of it. Then stir with a wooden spoon until all the flour has been moistened and incorporated. Batter will be lumpy. Pour into prepared muffin pan, filling cups almost to top.

Place pan in very hot oven and bake for 30 minutes. DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR. Once pan comes out of the the oven, poke the tops with a sharp knife to let the steam escape. Let rest for 5 minutes then turn out of pan. Serve with butter, jam, or flavored butter of your choice.

Notes:

Eggs should measure 1 cup. You may need more or less egg depending on size you have on hand. I made a half batch this morning. I only needed 2 cage-free nest eggs to get 1/2 cup, but I used the two larger of the four eggs I had.

My friend, M., likes these with garlic and cheese in them. I've never done it, but I'll definitely try it! I'd start with a half of a cup of grated cheese and a clove of minced garlic mixed in after the milk but before the flour.

Don't whisk or stir this batter too long. You really don't want to add any air.

These need to bake with the oven door closed and for exactly 30 minutes on 450. You do have an oven thermometer, don't you? Be sure to check your oven thermometer and set the temperature dial accordingly. I am super lucky to have an oven that is spot on in temperature. Most folks are not. You DO NOT want to use a convection setting if you have it.

Thank you, sir. May I have another?

2009-07-26T13:01:00.003-04:00

The North Carolina General Assembly recently passed a change to tuition prices for the Fall 2009 semester which begins in three weeks. This increased tuition for me from $42 per credit hour to $50 per credit hour. This resulted in my having to pay another $112. Don't get me wrong, it's still a bargain. It really is. However the college did not send me anything either via email or snail mail stating there was such a change. Had I not logged on today to drop my golf class registration, I would not have known. Thus I could have potentially lost my registration. It's hard for me to have to pay another $112 right now considering I just paid for books and uniforms as well as school supplies. I just have to remind myself that this is significantly cheaper than my other options and I can afford to pay for this.

Brandied Cherry Pie, or I finally found the cable for my camera!

2009-07-23T17:32:00.004-04:00

Earlier this week, I made pie. It had a homemade crust, a homemade filling and tastes divine. I know know the origin of the phrase, "easy as pie."

For the crust, I used the Pate Brisee recipe from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook. This book is fantastic! I highly suggest you add this to your collection. If you already have it, let me know what recipes you've made! I picked this book up the other day for 50% off at Williams Sonoma. Score! As I sat down to read it, I wondered why I didn't already own it. It has a lot of excellent basic recipes with pictures. Ever want to make your own puff pastry? Martha shows you how! It's an amazingly comprehensive book.

As for the filling, I was just winging it. A homemade pie filling is deceptively simple. No magic or pixie dust required. You need to taste it a few times, but otherwise it's crazy easy. I bought a bag of nice, ripe dark cherries at Kroger. Once I pitted and halved them, I added them to a bowl. I poured on 1/8 of a cup (or 2 TBSP, or 1 oz.) of brandy and let soak overnight stirring well. I actually had on hand a small bottle of Mt. Gay Sugar Cane Brandy from a trip to Barbados a few years ago. It's quite lovely! I try to use it only for cooking and special occasions since I won't be able to get it again in the US. The next day, I added about a half of a cup of sugar to which I had mixed in 3 TBSP of sifted cornstarch. This was the first time I tried cornstarch in a pie filling rather than just flour. I think it worked much better. I sifted the cornstarch to get out the lumps. I added the filling to the bottom crust, covered it with the top crust, made my super cute star-shaped vents and baked. I baked it on 350 degrees just as long as it took for the crust to get a nice golden brown and the filling to be visibly bubbly. Voila! We have pie.

You can see here that no filling fell out or leaked all over when it was cut. Okay, a little is falling out here, but that's because I put it in a bowl first then realized a plate would be easier for photographing, but trust me, nothing fell out until it had been moved several times.

The cornstarch worked beautifully here! The brandy really adds a richness to the cherries. I am not going to post a formal recipe here because there are just too many variables. My cherries were pretty sweet on their own and didn't need too much sugar. Your might need considerably more or even none at all. Shoot for about 2 pounds of cherries here. Taste them. Add the sugar gradually. Start with a third of a cup mixed with the 3 TBSP of cornstarch. Taste again. Needs more sugar? Add a little more. Trust your tastebuds here. Once you put it in the oven, pay attention. Give it 40 minutes on 350 then peek. Is the crust golden? Can you see the filling bubbling? No? Then give it another 10 minutes. Repeat as necessary. This is not the time to sit down to a movie or call your mother. As long as you measure carefully and follow the rules, baking is not hard.

I even had enough crust left over to make a few pocket pies with some fresh raspberries I had on hand.

Here is my pie warmed up with french vanilla ice cream. Yum!

Bean to bar craft chocolate and life altering decisions.

2009-07-22T20:10:00.005-04:00

School begins in less than a month. I am excited about classes beginning. The only part of my new adventure that makes me nervous is the internship I'll have to do next fall. I've started thinking about what kind of an internship I'd like to do, and once I've decided that I will start thinking about where I'll do it. For me, I've narrowed it down to three choices. Restaurant Pastry Chef, Patisserie Pastry Chef, and Candymaker. I can make an excellent argument for each of these three options. A few options I know I am definitely not interested in are cake maker/decorator and bread baker. To strictly make bread, I believe I would feel very limited. I do not, personally speaking, think I would find bread baking as challenging as working as a pastry chef in a restaurant or bakery. As far as cake decorating goes, I don't feel it's about baking. It's about art and sculpture. If you watch Ace of Cakes and listen closely, most of the folks who worked there were trained as artists, not bakers. Look at the gallery on their website! They are amazingly beautiful creations.

Last week, I attended a lecture at the NC Museum of Science. The topic of the lecture of was Bean To Bar Craft Chocolate and it was given by Hal Parson, one of the co-founders of Escazu Artisan Chocolates here in Raleigh. He spoke at length about sourcing the chocolate, the equipment used, and the processes involved. We had samples to taste. It was fascinating and it got me thinking. My great-grandparents owned a candy store in Pittsburgh, PA. I've always had in the back of my mind that I might like to make candy one day. This lecture really got me thinking. Were you aware that there is a big craft chocolate movement in the US? Think microbreweries, but chocolate. There's a big farm to table movement going on the the food world. It only makes sense that chocolate should be a included.

Over the past week, I've been thinking hard about my choices. It is with careful consideration that I cross chocolatier off my list at least for now. I made a cherry pie the other day. It was damn good. (I promise to do a post on it soon. I can't find my cable for my camera. I put it away because Elvis was playing with it and now I forget where I stashed it.) After I made this pie, I shared it with some friends. Giving away my pie was just as enjoyable as making it. It made me remember why I am going to pastry school. I am not contented to make pies and cookies at home. I want to share these creations with friends, relatives and customers. Eating a piece of homemade cherry pie or brioche or cake can make someone really happy. If only for a few minutes, it can right all the wrongs in the world. I want be a part of that experience. I want to make pies and cakes and croissants. I want to feed people my creations and make them happy. Working with dough is a remarkable experience. I prefer to knead my dough by hand rather than with machinery. I always have. This isn't something I want to do so much as it is something that I need to do. I have to do this. I'm not sure I could be fulfilled with chocolate alone in the same way that I could not be fulfilled with bread alone.

Where I go from here is still up in the air. We have a number of James Beard Award nominees in the area and a few spectacular bakeries as well. I have a lot of options. I will continue to think and research but I think I'm a lot closer to a decision. I've included a list of Bean to Bar chocolate makers in the US. If you know of any others, please let me know and I'll be happy to add them here.

Bean to Bar Craft Chocolate in the US
Amano Artisan Chocolate in Orem, UT
Askinosie Chocolate in Springfield, MO
DeVries Chocolate Location Unknown
Escazu Artizan Chocolates in Raleigh, NC
Mast Brothers Chocolate in New York City
Patric Chocolate in Columbia, MO
Taza Chocolate in Somerville, MA

Murder She Baked

2009-07-21T14:52:00.004-04:00

A few weeks ago, my friend, C., from high school sent me a message through Facebook. She had found an author she thought I'd like. The author's name is Joanne Fluke. She's a mystery writer. Her main character is named Hannah Swensen. She owns a bakery in a small Minnesota town and on the side, she solves murder mysteries. Now, I love a well written mystery. I am happy to say I had read and loved every Sherlock Holmes story Arthur Conan Doyle wrote. Most of the time, he'd leave out important clues so it was rare the reader could figure out who was the culprit. I also don't like a mystery writer who gives you so many clues that the reader figures out who did before they even did it!

The Hannah Swensen mysteries are very well written. There are enough clues so that you might figure out who was the murder, but maybe not why exactly, or she might give you enough information to second guess yourself too. There are 11 books to date, plus a mini-novela mystery, plus a 12th book on the way. So far I've read through the 9th book, Key Lime Pie Murder. Each of these books it titled with a baked good, Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder, Cherry Cheesecake Murder, Blueberry Muffin Murder. The featured baked good is always involved in the murder somehow, ie. in the first one, the dead guy is holding a chocolate chip cookie, in another one, the dead guy is found face down in a strawberry shortcake. There's suspense and humor in the books. The stories are well written, including a cast of supporting characters and evolving story lines.

I think my favorite part of this series is the recipes. While reading, you'll find the characters talking about, for example, the Peanut Butter Melts a lot in a chapter. At the end of the chapter, there you go. A recipe for Peanut Butter Melts. I think it's cute! I also like it because as I'm reading I'm thinking, "wow, those Peanut Butter Melts sound really good!" Each book has an index of recipes in the back. The recipes sound great too! The website is Murder She Baked. I'm really enjoying these books that include two of my favorite things, a good mystery and pastries!

If you're in the mood for a good summer read, check them out. Your public library should have them, but beware! If it's anything like my public library, there's a crazy long waiting list for them! I highly recommend them! Thanks to C. for telling me about this too!

Three column blog!

2009-07-21T13:30:00.004-04:00

I got a number of good suggestions about setting up a three column blog. Thank you, one and all. I was poking around Wordpress when I had an a-ha! moment. Why didn't I think about this before? I googled "how to add a third column to Blogger template." This was at the top of the Google results:

Three Column Blogger

Since my current template is called Washed Denim, I chose the Denim Tutorial. I am not kidding when I say it was freakishly easy. All I had to do was change a couple numbers and copy and paste some pre-written code a couple times and voila!

Thank you, Dear Three Column Blogger! I love it.

Ps. I am working on my knife lecture. I also have pie to show you. Except I seem to have, uh, misplaced the cable to attach the camera to the computer. Once it is located, we shall discuss pie.

In which I begin the transition from dilettante to pastry student

2009-07-18T17:45:00.003-04:00

Classes begin on August 17. I am almost ready to begin. Amazon is working on shipping textbooks to me. A website called Chef Uniforms is shipping my hats, neckerchiefs and aprons. I have my 4 coats and with any luck, my mom will be willing to use her fancy sewing machine and embroider my name on them. I am also waiting on a local store to order 2 more pants for me. Knives have been sharpened, measuring tools have been bought. I feel like a six year old who knows she's getting a pony for Christmas.

Culinary school is expensive. It's not like a regular academic college where you roll out of bed, look around for a pen and notebook and skip off to class. In addition to the books and regular school supplies, I need uniforms. Uniforms that are expected to be freshly laundered and pressed before every class. I need chef coats, chef pants, hats, neckerchiefs (ugh-I hate these), aprons, shoes, and new socks. I also needed the following supplies:

Chef’s Knife
Paring Knife
Honing Steel
Instant Read Thermometer
Measuring Cups and Spoons
Vegetable Peeler
Bench Scraper
Bowl Scraper
Kitchen Shears
Microplane Zester
Pastry Cutter

Luckily I already have a very nice set of knives. I only needed to pay $7 to get them sharpened and $20 for a snazzy new red knife roll, and not the $300 or so for new knives. A good knife, when properly cared for, will last a lifetime. I will do a post on choosing and caring for knives in the future. My uniforms will cost me almost $200 all together. My shoes, Birki Professional clogs, were $90. My books are going to be somewhere around $300. If I add it up correctly, the cost of les acoutrements will actually have cost more than the semester's tuition of $675. Crazy, huh?

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A side note on this blog:

After a brief flirtation with Typepad, I have decided to keep this blog. I found I wasn't able to set up the Typepad blog as easily as I would like. I couldn't figure out how to add page elements, like my class schedule. My only beef with this blog at the moment is not being able to have three columns. Does anyone know if that's possible with Blogger? I'd like one column of page elements on each side of the center column of blog posts. If you can help me figure this out, you will be rewarded with cookies.

Moving forward this will be my only blog and the focus will be food and culinary school. I will also continue to post recipes, reviews and what-not. Thanks for sticking around. Thanks for being patient with my hiatus.

A chilled soup and more whining about the heat and humidity.

2009-06-30T15:26:00.005-04:00

It's in the 90s today. The kind of day where all you want to do is lay in front of the fan and drink ice cold water. I made a chilled tomato and veggie soup. I love gazspacho a lot. The challenge for me when making it is keeping it from tasting like a big bowl of salsa or tomato sauce. I do believe I have solved that problem. Today I used lemon juice, fresh basil and fresh mint. The combination of these three ingredients keeps it fresh, light and just a wee bit tart. I scarfed down a big bowl when I was done. It was quite refreshing. This was also fantastically easily.

Use whatever summer vegetables you have on hand. Dice them small, about the size of a pea. I used green peppers, an English cucumber, green onions, celery and red cabbage. It's what I had on hand and it's what I like. English cucumbers are less watery than a traditional cucumber, which is nice here. Summer squash might be nice here, but remove the seeds. You really want veggies with a little crunch. The small diced pieces make this feel more like a soup.

Slice some French bread very thin then cut those slices into quarters. I used my favorite multigrain baguette.

Fry up the bread bits in butter and olive oil. It's okay, the soup is all healthy veggies.

Serve well chilled with the croutons on top. Yummy! This might also be good with a little goat cheese too.

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Chilled Summer Tomato Soup

2 large cans whole peeled tomatoes, including the juice
1 TBSP fresh garlic, rough chopped
2 TBSP fresh basil, rough chopped
2 TBSP fresh mint, rough chopped
1 green jalapeno, rough chopped (optional)
juice of two lemons
1 cup diced English cucumber
1 cup diced green bell pepper
1 cup diced celery
1 cup thinly sliced green onion
1 cup finely chopped red cabbage

In a large bowl, blend well the two cans of peeled tomatoes using a stick blender. Add garlic, basil, mint, jalapeno, and lemon juice to bowl and blend again. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well. Chill for about an hour to allow flavors to marry.

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Croutons

Use about 4 inches of baguette and slice thin. Cut these slices into quarters. Fry in a hot saute pan with 2 TBSP butter and 2 TBSP olive oil until golden brown. Use as a garnish for chilled soup.

Fried tofu...how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

2009-06-29T19:19:00.003-04:00

I live in North Carolina. For those of you who don't know, it gets hot here. Really, really hot and humid. Just so you know I'm not being overly dramatic here, last August we didn't have a single day under 100 degrees. We've already had a couple 100 degree days. When it's that hot out I don't want to eat. Except maybe a tomato sandwich. A nice whole grain bread, mayo, salt and pepper and slices of tomatoes. Yum. It's officially tomato season here, you know. I never liked tomatoes until I moved to North Carolina. Now I can't get enough of them. On a summer day in tomato season you'll see tons of tomatoes at the Farmer's Market...Big Boys, German Johnsons, green tomatoes, yellow tomatoes, ugly tomatoes, tiny grape tomatoes, you name it they grow it. The best part is that they all come from a distance of less than 45 minutes away. If you're really lucky, you might get some picked that day that are still warm from the sun. But I digress. I did hit the ol' Farmer's Market the other day and have tons of fixins for salads. I'll be posting my recipes shortly.

This was dinner tonight. Dalat vermicelli with fried tofu. I may have spoken before how I love Asian food. Vietnamese is one of my favorites. I always feel really good after I eat Vietnamese food. What we have here is one of my favorite dishes.
Any good Vietnamese joint ought to have a cold vermicelli dish. It couldn't be more simple. You could totally make something like this at home. It's cooked then cooled rice vermicelli. Just like the vermicelli you get in the pasta aisle, it's a long skinny noodle but it's made with rice flour. It's either served beside or on top of a little salad of lettuce, carrot, cucumbers, sometimes daikon radish and green onions. The noodles are then topped with something. Most places have a list of things like grilled pork, shrimp, grilled chicken, tofu (fried or grilled), egg rolls (a Vietnamese version, much lighter than a Chinese egg roll), and you can usually choose a combination of these. It's usually garnished with crushed peanuts, sprigs of cilantro and maybe sauteed green onions if they're fancy. (Beware peanut-free people...steer clear of Vietnamese food. It's pretty peanutty.) It's served with a sauce too. I've almost always have a clear light yellow sauce, based on fish sauce and vinegar I think. It looks suspiciously like a urine sample when you get it to go. (What? I'm just sayin' is all.) Tonight I got the thick red peanutty sauce that I love more than life itself. It's heavy enough on the fish sauce that Elvis went nuts while I was trying to eat it. (PS. He likes rice noodles now.) (He's so international.) I opted for the fried tofu because I love the texture. It's really soft inside and crispy outside. The tofu was topped with a sweet and salty sauce that just about did me in. Seriously, it's good. I ordered a small for $8.50 and got so much food it was all I could do to hold it while I was eating it. If you're within driving distance of Raleigh, you need to hit Dalat, south of NCSU in the Mission Valley Shopping Center. It's upstairs next to Baja Burrito. Be sure to ask for a to go box too. You'll need it.

Jam, Part Two

2009-06-13T08:44:00.020-04:00

In the last post, we gathered all of our supplies and got set up. Today, we're cooking and canning.

The first step is to prepare your fruit. This means peel the peaches, wash the blueberries, hull the strawberries, pit the cherries, or whatever it is you need to do. You'll also decide how you want your fruit. We're talking about making jam rather than jelly. Personally, jelly seems awfully fiddly to me. I like jam. I dump the fruit in the pot and cook it. I have found that soft strawberries will cook down to a good size on their own, blueberries need a little help from a stick blender, but peaches are a different story. In the past, I made a peach jam. The peaches were nice and soft. Once I peeled them, I was able to squish the fruit off the pit by hand. This time, the fruit seemed a bit stringy to me. Since I had blueberries as well, I whizzed it up with the stick blender. It gave me a nice smooth consistency. Personally, I'm not a big fan of giant pieces of fruit in my jam. You might be. While you're cooking your fruit, decide for yourself if that's what you want. If you feel like it's too chunky, I recommend a stick blender.

Regardless of what kind of pectin you're using, the first thing that needs to happen is bringing the fruit to a boil. For certain fruits, you may need to add lemon juice. Now would be the time to add it. There's always a certain element of chemistry to cooking and baking. It's extremely important to remember that when making jam. You need to be sure to use the exact amount that the recipe calls for, or else it just won't work. This goes for fruit, lemon juice, and sugar. Measure carefully.

you can see here that my jam has a nice smooth texture. again, personal preference.

Long before this point, you should have thought about pectin. Liquid or powdered? Regular or low sugar?
choices, choices, choices.

I haven't tried the low sugar yet. I have used both liquid and powdered pectin. I like the powdered kind better. I think it makes a better product. I think Paula Deen likes the liquid pectin better. (I think I heard her talking about it on Food Network once.) I'm not one to argue with Miz Paula, so you know. Try them both, see what you think. The difference in the two types of pectin, liquid v. powdered, is the point t which you add the sugar. With liquid pectin, you add the sugar to the fruit and bring to a boil. Then add the pectin and bring to a boil or one minute and voila! You've got jam. The powdered stuff is the opposite. You add the dry pectin to the fruit and boil, adding sugar at the end. Either way, follow the instructions on the package insert.

after I added the pectin and while I was waiting for my fruit to boil, I measured my sugar thusly:

This way, I am ready to go. I can just dump my sugar into the pot when I'm ready, thusly.
please note that I am stirring with a very long spoon.

After carefully following the instructions and adding the sugar and the pectin at the right time, you probably have jam. If you aren't sure, you can test it. Take the pot off the heat. Take the small plate out of the fridge (that I forgot to tell you to put in the fridge...oops) and put a small dab of jam on it. Give it a minute then swipe your finger across it. Does it feel like jam? You can tell. Unless you've never seen jam before. In which case you should find someone who has.

Okay, so we have jam. Hooray! The next step is to put it in jars and preserve it. It is generally not a good idea to use paraffin wax to seal a jar. It's considered and outdated method that can cause more harm than good. Here's information from NCSU on paraffin wax. In the mean time, we're going to use a traditional canning method....the boiling water method. This method is used for preserving fruits and some vegetables (tomatoes, pickles) high in acid. Preserving low- or no-acid foods, such as vegetables or meats, you use a pressure canning method. By this point, our giant black pot of water should be boiling. Here we go!

Let's first take our tray of jars and lids out of the oven. Dump the hot water out of the jars at once using the canning tongs. Remember our mantra? HOT, HOT, HOT. Be careful! Since I am short, I like to put my smoking hot pot of jam in the sink and my tray of glass jars on the counter. I make less of a mess this way. Remember, everything we have is hot, so potential mess means potential burns. Cuidado, amigos! This is also where the canning funnel comes in handy. Put the funnel into a jar and slowly ladle in the jam. I add jam until it's just at the bottom of the funnel. Once you've got the jam into the jars, put the lids on. I think I forgot to tell you that I prepare a few more jars that I think I'm going to need. I have never had a recipe yield what it says it will. I always get more. Better to have a few extra jars here than not enough.

ladle jam into jars, leaving a little room at the top.

Wipe the jars clean if you get any on the top, especially the outside, as it can prevent the jar from getting a good seal. Screw the lids on, nice and tight, but not too tight. Once all the jars are filled and lids are on, head back to the stove. Using the canning tongs, carefully lower the jars into the canning pot. Space them evenly, try not to let them touch. If they do, it's not the end of the world, I've never had any problems with big batches. The jars should be covered with about an inch of water.

trust me, there's enough water here.

You'll let this simmer for 10 minutes. If you're at a higher altitude, process longer. When time's up, pull out of the water and put on a heat and water proof surface. I place mine on a quilted placemat on the counter. As the jars cool, you'll begin to hear a "tink" sound. You'll get one "tink" for each jar. This means you've got a good seal. Once cool enough, you can press down on the lid. If it doesn't give, you've got jam! Give yourself a pat on the back!

tink, tink, tink, tink, tink, tink, tink, tink, tink, tink

Oh, I nearly forgot the most important part. The last step.

yummy!

There you go, yo. You made jam. It's so easy! It takes me about an hour from start to finish to make a batch of jam. I know, shut up! Seriously, I really thought it would take hours and be a complicated process and require faeries and pixie dust, possibly a dash of holy water. Nope. Take some time to hit the farmer's market to get good fruit. The farmers can tell you what's good for jam. Come home, make jam. It'll take you a couple hours all together.

Don't hesitate to ask me any questions. I'm sure I've left out something here. Let me know if you've made jam! I want to here how it went.

Jam, or You can totally do this.

2009-06-10T19:48:00.007-04:00

A few years ago, a friend of mine made jam for the first time. I was shocked that it was so ridiculously easy to make. Shocked, I tell you. I immediately went out and bought the supplies. I have never looked back.

Blueberries are in season here. Peaches are just about there. Strawberries are almost done. It's a good time to make jam in North Carolina, folks. I was at the farmer's market a couple weeks ago and found some amazing peaches from South Carolina. I love peaches and blueberries together so I bought a little of both.

I have found that you probably have tools around the house that will work for making jam, but they might not make your life easier. I recommend getting the right tools as much for convenience as safety. You are going to be working with some hot stuff here, a lot of boiling water and boiling fruit pulp and sugar. It splatters. It hurts. Buy the right tools. Before you do, ask a friend. Know anyone who makes jam? Perhaps they can help you with your first batch. Get a feel for it and buy the right tools. It'll cost you about $30 and here's what you need.

a canning funnel.

the bottom is very wide and fits snugly into jam jars.

canning tongs

they fit the top and around the side of canning jars of all sizes.

the canning pot. it's the black one. you can see how much larger it is than my largest stock pot.

be careful! there's a lot of water in here and it needs to come to a vigorous boil.

You also need jars and lids. Use the half pint jars. The jars can be reused as long as they are not chipped, cracked or broken in any way. I don't reuse lids. Lids rust very easily and a box of new lids is just a few bucks. The final ingredient you need is pectin, but we'll get to that later.

When you get ready to make jam, the first thing you want to do is get you water going in the canning pot. You need a lot of water and it will take a while to get boiling. The next thing you want to do is prepare your jars. When making jam, remember the immortal words of Buster Poindexter. "HOT! HOT! HOT!" Everything you are working with needs to be hot. For this reason, it might be best to banish the small people from your kitchen. Perhaps a middle schooler could help once you get the hang of this, but for anyone younger, they will be in the way. Best to do this during school or nap time. So, your mantra...HOT HOT HOT. Say it with me.

HOT HOT HOT
HOT HOT HOT
HOT HOT HOT

You're putting boiling hot jam into glass that's going to go into boiling water. Your jars need to be hot. If not, they will crack when submerged into the boiling water. Trust me on this. Now, how to achieve this if your kitchen isn't as well equipped as Martha Stewart's? Here's my trick. Turn your oven on 250. Line a sheet pan/cookie sheet WITH SIDES with a kitchen towel. Line up the jars on the pan and fill to the top with boiling water. Put the lids on the pan and place in the oven until you need them. Works every time!

Observe:

Here is where I reach an impasse with the rest of The Canning World. They will tell you to "sterilize" the jars. I clean my jars then do what I just said. I pour hot water in them and keep them warm in the oven. My jars are clean. Period. The extra step to sterilize them seems extraneous to me. You are putting boiling fruit pulp and sugar into warm jars then submersing them into boiling water for 10 minutes. The boiling process is going to create a seal in the jar. If you're the germaphobe type, knock yourself out. Sterilize away. Me? I've never had a problem. Moving on.

At this point we have our supplies in place. We're ready to make jam which we will continue tomorrow. I will leave you with this bit of light reading from the USDA. Good stuff here, folks.

USDA Guide for Making Jams and Jellies

My little knitter.

2009-06-04T20:50:00.002-04:00

Just wanted to pop in and say hi. I'm behind on a couple posts. Here's why.

To clarify, this is what he should look like.

I was supposed to be out of town this weekend. Elvis was going to stay with some friends of mine while I was gone. In return, I went to stay with them and watch their kid on Monday night. Elvis came along. He did beautifully. What a trooper that guy is! Unfortunately, at approximately 3:18 AM he woke me up. He was throwing up yarn. Traffic cone orange cotton yarn. That he had been playing with on Sunday. Can you say freak out? There was still some he was trying to barf up, but unfortunately he'd swallow it before I could catch it. I rushed him to the vet as soon as they opened. The plan was to give him fluids and laxatives and see if he could poop out the rest. No dice. So...Little Buddy had an emergency yarnectomy yesterday. The vet pulled 4 feet of yarn out of his small intestine. I picked up the 2 feet he barfed up. For those of you playing along at home, that's 6 feet of yarn.

He came home today around 2 PM. He's been going back and forth between sleeping hard and walking around the apartment. He's been locked in a cage for a few days now, you see. He's eaten a little and seems to be doing well. Somehow I think he's going to recover from this before I do.

Let the fun begin!

2009-05-24T21:07:00.005-04:00

I feel bad that I have somewhat neglected this blog since my knee surgery. I haven't been really cooking since then. In fact, last week my big triumph was making myself a salad! I was thinking today that I'd start a new feature here on Sundays at Maison Meg In The Kitchen. I'm going to begin posting culinary terms once a week. Once school begins in August, I'll begin transitioning into what I'm learning in school. You're totally excited about this, aren't you? I can tell. Control yourself.

Vanner
A French culinary term meaning to stir a hot cream, sauce, or mixture until it is cold, with a wooden spatula or a whisk, to keep it smooth and particularly to prevent a skin forming on its surface. This process also shortens the cooling time.

Progress

2009-05-16T18:01:00.002-04:00

I started walking yesterday. I'm totally gimpy, but I'm walking. I am completely and totally over wrestling with my anti-embolism stocking everyday. Seriously. Over it. It's like trying to put on a wet swimsuit that's a size too small. Times ten. Oy. (Yes, I realize the alternative is way worse. So I'm wearing it.)

My grandmother always complains how hard it is to cook for one.

2009-05-14T20:12:00.001-04:00

see more Engrish

Chicken and Dumplings

2009-05-10T19:13:00.002-04:00

Saturday afternoon I had my elderly neighbors, Mary Jane and Mr. Smith, over for lunch. I figured chicken and dumplings was a good option, especially since they are both Southern. We drank sweet tea. My mom was kind enough to reheat the food and clean up afterwards. We had a nice time chatting and laughing.

I feel like I have been in the South long enough to think that I know everything about southern food. My brother and I have a long standing debate over who makes the better chicken and dumplings. I can say with 100% certainty that mine is better. Mr Fancy Pants Culinary School adds carrots to his. I am morally opposed to carrots in chicken and dumplings. Just sayin'.

Here's my recipe.

2 lbs chicken thighs
4-5 ribs celery, large dice
1 white onion, large dice
2 cans low sodium condensed cream of chicken soup
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped fine
1 recipe dumplings

Add chicken thighs to large stock pot, cover with water, about two quarts. Boil until cooked through. Put in fridge to cool, reserving broth. Skim any excess fat.

When chicken is cool, pull off bones. Discard any excess fat and bones. Chop chicken into bite side pieces and set aside. In large stock pot over high, saute onions and celery until soft. Add chicken. Cover with broth. Add bouillon cubes and cream of chicken soup. Stir well and bring to boil. Make dumplings. Add to pot, a few at a time, once boiling. When dumplings are floating, let boil for five minutes. Turn off heat.

--------------------------------------
Dumpling recipe:
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 TBSP vegetable shortening
1/3 cup milk

Mix flour, baking powder, salt and pepper in small bowl. Mix in shortening until mixture feels like cornmeal. With a fork, mix in cold milk until mixture begins to come together. Turn out onto counter or board. Kneed until dough is smooth. Let rest 5 minutes. Roll out until dough is about 1/4" thick. Using pizza cutter, cut into strips then in the opposite direction into squares.

--------------------------------------

Notes:

This serves about 6 people. This is easily doubled.

Try to get boneless, skinless chicken thighs if possible. It'll make your life easier.

Do not add salt to this before tasting it. The bouillon and canned soup have plenty of sodium, even the low sodium options. I find I don't need any extra.

If you want to be all fancy an' stuff, add chopped herbs (sage, thyme, marjoram) to the dumplings. It's tasty.

If you wanted to use white wheat flour in the dumplings, substitute equally for the white flour. If you want to use whole wheat flour, use 1/2 whole wheat flour and 1/2 regular flour. The dumplings are also good if you use 3/4 cup white flour and 1/4 cup cornmeal.

This would be great vegetarian, with maybe mushrooms and squash instead of the chicken. Knorr makes a wonderful Vegetarian Vegetable bouillon. You could use low sodium cream of mushroom or celery soup instead.

Surgery update

2009-05-09T11:30:00.001-04:00

Thursday morning I had surgery to repair damaged cartilage in my left knee. We arrived at the outpatient surgery center at 10:15. I had to do some paperwork, get reassurance from the anesthesiologist that I could have anesthesia, put on my hospital gown, shower cap and slippers and mostly just sit around. I wish they'd be a little more efficient in this process as I found the longer I waited the more anxious I got.

I was impressed that everyone I encountered was aware of my latex allergy. The staff, with the exception of the woman at the front desk, was very nice, empathetic and smart. But isn't that always the way it is? They made me leave my glasses with my mom so I literally had to be escorted by the arm to the OR. I found that walking into the OR and laying on the table while I was awake was terrifying. I had the option of being awake throughout the surgery. Aside from not wanting them to poke a needle into my spine, I can't imagine how scary it would be to be aware of what was going on. Luckily, whatever they gave me knocked me out pretty quickly. I woke up in Recovery almost as suddenly as I went out in OR. I was also in excruciating pain. When she asked my how bad it was on a scale of 1-10, I told her 12. They gave me 2 percocet, which take about 30 minutes to kick in, and a dose of something morphine-like in my IV that kicked in quick and didn't last long.

As it turns out, I did not actually tear cartilage in my meniscus. I had still somehow damaged it and had some damage in the front as well. The doctor assured my mom that I really needed to have this done. He shaved down the cartilage where it was damaged and either shaved or polished the backside of my knee cap too. I have a post-op appointment next week and will find out more then. Basically, my doctor wasn't sure he trusted the previous diagnosis and was correct in thinking that he'd find something different when he got in there.

I have been in a lot of pain, taking 2 percocet every 4 or 6 hours. I hate taking prescription pain meds. It helps a lot. I have a super sexy compression sock that I have to wear for the next three weeks or so. Oy. I also have to take an aspirin every morning for a month. I guess there's a big threat of blood clots after this kind of surgery. I also have to keep my dressing on until tomorrow and cannot shower until tomorrow either. Ugh. I just washed my hair in the kitchen sink and took a sponge bath. I am very lucky that I didn't have any nausea after I woke up. I've got some serious drug allergies, so they were worried about that.

Overall, it went well. I'm still in a lot of pain, but can tell it's less pain than a couple days ago. I'm really dopey from the percocet, kind of like the people on Intervention before the intervention. I don't know how long I'll be off my feet right now. It hurts to put weight on it and it's popping like crazy, so it may be a while. I start PT on Monday.

I'm kind of tired right now, so I think I'm done typing for a while. See ya later.

Breathing a sigh of relief, or when it's okay to take advantage of other's misfortunes.

2009-05-05T20:57:00.005-04:00

The deadline to pay for tuition for the classes you signed up for during the preregistration period was yesterday. I paid for my fall classes shortly after I registered. I have been waiting for this payment deadline to pass so I could see if anyone didn't pay, and therefore create a space pour moi. Each morning at 5 AM registration opens. That would be five o'clock in the morning, when it's still dark and only farmers and cows are awake. I set my patented Dual Alarm System (TM) so I would get up in time. My patented Dual Alarm System (TM) consists of two alarms and sleeping on the sofa. Back in the day, when I was in college and had to get up early for an exam after staying up all night to study, I would actually sleep on the floor. That way I could get some sleep but not deep enough sleep that I would miss my alarm. It is tragically easy for me to sleep through an alarm. You remember those nights, don't you? My next to last semester at NCSU, I had something ridiculous like 18 credits, six classes because I need my head examined. I think they were all Spanish literature classes too. Because I need my head examined. In the final few weeks of that semester, I had due 12 short papers, criticisms, essays, etc., around 2 or 3 pages in length, I had 6 medium length papers around 6 or 7 pages in length, 8 presentations, the usual quizzes in each class, plus my 20 page thesis. Sadly, I am not exaggerating when I say I think I might have left out a few assignments. I was literally skipping class to get work done. Did I mention it was ALL in a foreign language too? It was so ridiculous. Had I not been so bogged down I would have had the common sense to go to my professors and tell them I am not actually Wonder Woman. I remember I finished my thesis (I got an A+, thank you) with enough time to walk across campus and take a 30 minute nap face down on a wooden bench before an exam started. I sincerely hope I never have to go through that ever again.

Wait, where was I? Right. Registration. I got up super-extra early this morning to try to register. No dice. The system hadn't updated. Nor had it each subsequent time I tried it in the following 45 minutes. I gave up and went back to sleep for an hour before my doctor's appointment. I came home and kept trying over and over and over all day long. No dice. System still wasn't updated. I finally gave up. "I have all summer to worry about this," I thought to myself. I just couldn't summon the energy to stress out at this moment.

On a lark, I logged on to Web Advisor this evening. Voila! In the section I need, two people failed to pay their tuition on time. Huzzah! I mean, it totally sucks for them and all, but I really need this class. I am probably much older than them and therefore, they have a semester or two to waste. You snooze you loose, baby! Boo-yow. I registered and immediately paid my remaining tuition. Fall semester...paid in full!

Without further ado, I present you, most loyal readers, my schedule for the Fall Term for reals this time.

Monday:
10:30 AM to 11:20 AM Beginning Golf
12:00 PM to 1:50 PM Purchasing
2:00 PM to 3:50 PM Purchasing Lab

Tuesday:
8:00 AM to 8:50 AM Baking I
9:00 AM to 9:50 AM Sanatation and Safety
10:00 AM to 10:50 AM Basic Culinary Skills
11:00 AM to 4:50 PM Basic Culinary Skills Lab

Wednesday:
10:30 AM to 11:20 AM Beginning Golf

Thursday:
8:00 AM to 8:50 AM Baking I
9:00 AM to 9:50 AM Sanatation and Safety
10:00 AM to 10:50 AM Basic Culinary Skills

Friday:
8:00 AM to 11:50 AM Baking I Lab

Boo-yow!

I scream. You scream. We all scream for ice cream.

2009-05-04T20:13:00.003-04:00

I was in Kroger yesterday, my favorite grocery store because it's so ridiculously cheap. They frequently put red and yellow "manager's specials" stickers on highly perishable things close to their expiration date thus making them even cheaper. For example, on many occasions, I have picked up a 4 oz log of goat cheese for 99 cents, four dollars less than full price. Word. Tofu for 99 cents a week before the expiration date. Same with lettuces, other cheeses, and the list goes on.

Peeps, I would swear it's already like a hundred degrees here. Yesterday, I bought a half gallon of 1% milk for 75 cents. You know what that means, don't you? Yup. Ice cream. Or more specifically, ice milk. I also bought a pint of heavy cream. I mixed the cream with five cups of milk. I added enough sugar to make it sweet, but not too sweet. Maybe a cup? I mixed it until the sugar was dissolved and included a tablespoon of vanilla extract. I split it in half to make two batches, strawberry and chocolate chip. I simply followed the instructions for my ice cream maker. About thirty minutes in the frozen bowl is enough. Once the ice cream is about doubled in volume, I add it to a 2 QT container and mix in the strawberries. I gave my strawberries a quick whiz with the ol' stick blender, so they were pretty soupy. Normally you should add the "add ins" during the last couple spins in the mixer, but the ice cream had grown considerably and the strawberries were quite juicy, so I mixed them in the container. I found these great plastic containers at Kroger that are the same size and shape as a paper ice cream container. I am impatiently waiting on the ice cream to set up a bit more before I dive right in. My long and rambling point is...I have 4 QTs of homemade ice cream for about $2.00. How can you beat that? Everyone needs an ice cream maker. It doesn't take up much room in the kitchen. They aren't too expensive. You can also use them to make frozen drinks too! I have a Cuisinart Frozen Yogurt-Ice Cream-Sorbet Maker.

If you choose to get one, and I highly suggest you do, here are some rules to which you should strictly adhere. Everything else is completely negotiable. In no particular order:

-Shoot for a two quart batch. If you're adding something in, decrease your milk/cream/dairy/soy/etc product accordingly. In other words, instead of using eight cups of milk, add two cups of fruit and use six cups of milk. Remember that this milk mix is going to grow in volume significantly.

-I find that adding corn syrup to a sorbet makes it scoopable. Otherwise, it seems to turn into a Popsicle. Some kind of a liquid sugar would work, in as small as a 1:4 ratio of liquid sugar:granulated sugar. I'll bet honey or maple syrup would work. Maple syrup would be excellent in a blueberry sorbet. (Oooh, I'll have to try that.)

-You really can add anything to ice cream. One of my personal favorites is the hard, over cooked edges of brownies chopped up. They really hold up well in ice cream. Add fruit, cookie dough, brownies, candy, marshmallows, the sky's the limit.

-Keep your mixing bowl in the freezer. That way you know it'll be good and cold when you're ready. My ice cream maker came with two mixing bowls. One is always in the freezer. If your bowl isn't extra extra cold, you can forget about making ice cream. Trust me on this one.

-If you want to be all fancy-schmancy and make a custard ice cream (the cooked kind with eggs), make it a day ahead of time. The milk mix needs to be very cold when it goes into the very cold mixing bowl.

-Turn on the mixer and pour in the mixture. Not the other way around. What happens is the part of the milk mix that touches the bowl freezes.

-When adding mix-ins, add them when the milk mix is set in the bowl. Give it a spin or two then turn out into your container. To be honest, I've always had a tough time getting my chocolate or caramel ribbon to look like Breyer's. If you figure it out, holla.

Housemade Croutons and Creamy Goat Cheese Mint Dressing

2009-04-28T12:28:00.007-04:00

As I'm sitting here munching on fresh raw sugar snap peas and dipping them in my mint and goat cheese dressing, I realize I forgot to share the recipe with you. May I offer you my deepest apologies.

On Sunday I went to a cookout and brought along a nice salad. I knew there would be a lot of people there, so I made a big one. I bought an aluminum roasting pan from the grocery store to use as the container. If I left it, I wouldn't be heartbroken...and if I left it, it can go in the recycling bin and not the trash. Truth be told, I neither have nor have room for that size of a serving dish.

The previous day, I went to the Farmer's Market. Around 10 AM, it was already packed! It seemed to be mostly people buying things to plant, rather than shopping for food. Once I found a parking space, I bought my cutomary RC Cola in a glass bottle and walked around. I prefer to walk around and sample things before I buy. You never know when the next guy's strawberries are going to be better.

On this particular day, the stawberries were out in full force. It's still early in the strawberry season here and it's only now beginning to be over 90 degrees. I think the weekend after next will be good for strawberries. There were many farmers on Saturday with strawberries that were still crunchy and tart, except for one man. I found a farmer who looked remarkably like Santa Claus. He even had a red shirt on under his bib overalls. He had for sale a little cardboard box with a gallon of the sweetest, but not too sweet, and softest, but not too soft, strawberries you'd ever had. They were perfect for jam making. And they were only $8! His berries were $4 less than everyone else's for the same amount! I also bought a pound of baby spinach for $2, 3 bunches of radishes, a big bunch of green onions, a pint of sugar snap peas (I'm powering through them right now!) and a lovely goat cheese.

If you happen to go to the NC State Farmer's Market, know that Debra Lee's produce is my favorite. They are closed on Sundays. On Saturday, Beth Moore herself told me that she "doesn't do samples!" She has a permanent stand there. There were lots of tomatoes for sale and everyone was giving out a free sample. I wasn't looking for lunch, just to see who had the best quality! Well, Miss Moore, I won't be back.

For Sunday's salad, I used the baby spinach, radishes, an English cucumber, and the green onions. I made croutons from a whole grain baguette and a creamy goat cheese dressing. The inspiration for the dressing came from the goat cheese and the giant tub of plain yogurt I mistakenly bought. I swear I thought I picked up vanilla!

Without further ado, I present you Goat Cheese Mint dressing and homemade croutons.
________________________________________________________

Croutons:

1 baguette
salt and pepper to taste
a lot of olive oil

Dice baguette into large bite size pieces. Place in bowl and coat with liberal amount of olive oil. Add salt and pepper. Toss or stir well. Lay out on a cookie sheet in a single layer. Bake at 400 degrees until golden brown and crispy.

Notes:
I used a multigrain baguette this time and it was great! It added a nice texture to the crouton. I encourage you to try this.

I really like warm croutons on a salad. They are still yummy when they've cooled.

Feel free to add minced garlic or herbs to this.

Use a good quality olive oil and don't skimp!
_______________________________________________

Goat Cheese Mint Dressing:

4 oz goat cheese, room temperature
6 oz fat free plain yogurt
2 TBSP minced garlic
2 TBSP minced fresh mint leaves
juice of 3 lemons
1/3 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

In stand mixer with whisk attachment, food processor, large bowl with hand mixer, large bowl with whisk, or however you want to make this, add goat cheese and yogurt. Mix until combined, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Add garlic and mint and mix again. Add lemon juice while whisking. Mix well again. While mixing, slowly drizzle in oil. Add salt and pepper and mix once again. Store in air tight container, keep in fridge and serve cold.

Notes:
I found this dressing stayed emulsified when kept cold.

Be sure to use the herb labeled as "mint" rather than some fancy schmancy mint. Don't add too much mint. You don't want a Creamy Toothpaste Dressing.

To make this into a dip for veggies, strain the yogurt overnight first to thicken it up.

I found this needs to sit for a while to let the flavors marry. Don't be alarmed if you get an overwhelming flavor of olive oil when you first taste it. You're tasting it for the seasoning. Give it and hour or so and taste it again. It's like magic!

Restaurants that Matter, No. 7 Manresa

2009-04-24T19:29:00.002-04:00

One of my brothers biggest concerns when starting his job at Manresa was finding just the right tweezers. Not your usual kitchen tool, or even expected for that matter. One look at these photos and you'll see why it's necessary. Here is a blog post by the photographer of Saveur Magazine's Twelve Restaurants That Matter. The photographs are beautiful, the food is spectacular. It's neat to get to hear what the photographer has to say about the photo shoot and the Chef.

If you look at the first photograph with people in it, the man on the right is Chef David Kinch. The dude on the right is Lil Brotha. He's almost famous, in an anonymous sort of way. I really need to find this issue.

Congratulations to Manresa and thank you for your contributions and inspiration.

Inspiration Manresa

Silver lining, postponed.

2009-04-23T12:08:00.003-04:00

It looks like school will be postponed until the fall semester. Both classes for the summer filled up almost instantly. I was able to register for the Fall for everything I need by one class. I will pay for the Fall term tuition shortly and hope someone fails to do so. I will be up and online at 5 AM on Tuesday May 5 to nab a spot in Baking I. Here's what my schedule looks like:

Monday:
10:30 AM to 11:20 AM Beginning Golf
12:00 PM to 1:50 PM Purchasing
2:00 PM to 3:50 PM Purchasing Lab

Tuesday:
8:00 AM to 8:50 AM Baking I
9:00 AM to 9:50 AM Sanatation and Safety
10:00 AM to 10:50 AM Basic Culinary Skills
11:00 AM to 4:50 PM Basic Culinary Skills Lab

Wednesday:
10:30 AM to 11:20 AM Beginning Golf

Thursday:
8:00 AM to 8:50 AM Baking I
9:00 AM to 9:50 AM Sanatation and Safety
10:00 AM to 10:50 AM Basic Culinary Skills

Friday:
8:00 AM to 11:50 AM Baking I Lab

I desperately need this baking class. Without it, I can't go on in the program. So, I need all the good vibes, thoughts, prayers (if you're the type to do such a thing), candle lighting (if you do that too) and any other well wishing you can think of.

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

2009-04-21T19:34:00.000-04:00

Both classes are full.

Curses.

I need a brown paper bag, stat!

2009-04-20T14:57:00.004-04:00

I get to register for classes on Thursday, April 23, as early as 5 AM. I looked on Web Advisor this afternoon. There are only 3 seats left in one class I need and 4 seats left in the other. I am freaking out here people! I am sure that if they fill up, I can talk to the department head and he'd let me in. I hope. Maybe. Don't the people know I have a Plan? I cannot afford to deviate from The Plan. I mean, things are supposed to happen in a certain order. Not taking these classes deviates from My Plan! OhmygodOhmygodOhmygod! I am freaking out, people.

Breathe. Inhale. Exhale. Breathe. Inhale. Exhale. Breathe. Inhale. Exhale. Breathe. Inhale. Exhale. Breathe. Inhale. Exhale. Breathe. Inhale. Exhale. Breathe.

Nomad sweets

2009-04-19T21:12:00.003-04:00

My friend, E, was in New York City this weekend. She posted a photo on Facebook of a dessert truck she visited. With a helping hand from Google, I found their website. Now, people who know me well know I love street food. There's something so honest and real about the food you can get from the taco truck or a cart on a Chinatown street. I love the idea of a truck that serves fabulous desserts. Could this be my million dollar State Fair food idea?

New York City's Very Own Dessert Truck

The S Word

2009-04-16T14:17:00.001-04:00

I mentioned in my last post that I'm having knee surgery. Many of you have sent warm, kind and concerned thoughts which are so much appreciated. I thought I'd take a second and give you the 411. "That means information, people." (Any Monk fans in the house?)

At the end of January, I slipped and fell on a rubber mat that was turned upside down. Luckily, this happened at work. This means I don't have to pay for anything and I'll ultimately get reimbursed for my time. It also means this whole process has been dragged out 17 times longer than if I had to pay for this. All I'll say about that is...if you have to get hurt at work, don't do it in North Carolina.

It turns out that when I fell I tore my medial meniscus. I've had ice, compression, heat, NSAIDS, a cortisone injection, yoga, physical therapy, x-rays, an MRI and a glucosamine/condrointon supplement (when I can remember to take it). You name it, I've tried it. No dice. Nothing has worked. I'm still in a lot of pain, can't walk far, biking and running are out of the question, and I'm still wearing a knee brace. Without the brace, I feel things moving in ways most unnatural.

At my last doctor's appointment, it was decided that surgery was the next step. It will be arthroscopic surgery and should take about 20 minutes or so. They will go in and look around, take pictures and cut out the torn piece of cartilage. I'll be laid up for a few days and on crutches for a few more. They expect me to be as good as new in 4-5 months. Sadly, my hopes of a robotic knee transplant have been crushed. Perhaps next time. I do however get souvenir photos of the inside of my knee, which is a nice touch. I wonder if they do t-shirts too? "I went to Blue Ridge Surgical Center and all I got was this lousy t-shirt."

The surgery is scheduled for May 7. My mom will come stay for a few days. It will then be up to Elvis to care for me. I have three weeks to teach him how to open the fridge and turn on the oven. If that fails, I am certain a few friends will come over to feed me if absolutely necessary.

I appreciate the well wishes. I assure you I will be fine. My 89 year old grandmother always says, "you just don't die as easily as you think you do." In the past 9 years, she's had breast cancer and mastectomy, a broken hip and replacement, an exploding gall bladder, and recently 5 staples in the back of her noggin from a fall. She's never been in the hospital for more than 3 weeks. So, I think she'd know.

Cookies make everything better.

2009-04-15T13:18:00.004-04:00

I work with a girl, T., she about 28 or 29. As a coworker, she's merely okay, but as a person, she is a very sweet, soft spoken girl. She has a son, J., who is about 10 or 11. If I have extra goodies, I'll give them to her to pass on to J. because I know he'll eat them. I also do it because T. doesn't cook or bake and really, every kid needs a freshly baked cookie every now and again. I've also passed on goodies that neither she nor he have tried before and have yet to find something that they don't like. I think the last thing I shared with them was red velvet cupcakes. I've only met J. once or twice in the past. He's a super cute, super sweet kid. T is doing an amazing job as a single mother and I have no doubt that J will turn into a fine man someday.

Two mornings ago, T comes up to me and tells me that her son has just learned how to make those slice and bake Toll House cookies and he's going to make some for me. Yesterday, she tells me that J wants me to know that he didn't make the cookies the night before because he had to watch the wrestling draft and he hoped I would understand. I told her to tell him I would have done the same thing. This morning when I got to work, T hands me a little plastic baggie with 4 chocolate chip cookies. I almost cried. Seriously. He made me cookies because I am always sending things home for him.

I was late this morning because I had a doctor's appointment. I found out that I have to have knee surgery in a week or two. Getting cookies that J baked especially for me made my day!

It should almost be criminal!

2009-04-09T14:22:00.003-04:00

Eight Worst Sandwiches In America They include an alternative to each sandwich that is much healthier.

Unhealthiest Drinks In America Click on each link in the red box to see some surprising results. Take note of the portion size too!

Twelve Worst Breakfast Foods In the Supermarket Yikes! Again, alternatives are included. I'm almost better off eating an Egg McMuffin everyday!

Worst Vegetarian Meals In America These companies really ought to be ashamed of themselves.

iPhone apps for the foodie

2009-04-07T12:18:00.002-04:00

Seafood Watch Guide (Free) Now it's even easier to make sustainable and healthy choices in the market, at the restaurant, or at the sushi bar. If you don't have an iPhone, go here for the online guide.

What's Fresh ($0.99) This app will be great for hitting the farmer's markets this summer. The "local area" is user defined. I entered North Carolina and 200 miles, giving me Virginia and South Carolina as well. A list shows me what fruits and veggies are in season and a calendar shows me a comprehensive list of all fruits and veggies. The calendar even shows me what hothouse produce is in season. Now it's even easier to be a locavore!

Urbanspoon (Free) Can't decide where to go for dinner? Open this app, give the phone a shake and the slot machine will give you recommendations based on your current location. If you need to set a parameter like price or type of food, you can do that too. It makes being indecisive fun!

The Flying Biscuit Cafe, a review.

2009-04-04T16:23:00.003-04:00

I had a few errands to run this morning in Cameron Village which finally led me to The Flying Biscuit. I arrived around 9:30 am. The tables outside were full and there was a short wait. Luckily there were a few seats empty at the bar. I was greeted very quickly by a bartender. I ordered an iced chai with soy and perused the menu. The menu was huge. I was specifically interested in biscuits with sausage gravy, so I settled on the Country Eggs Benedict. While I was looking over the menu, I noticed just how many things they offered that are vegetarian. Next time I think I'll try the Eggceptional Eggs, two eggs on black bean cakes with tomatillo salsa and sour cream. I also noticed that the offerings seem to be on the healthier side of breakfast. For example, the sausage served on many dishes is not a traditional fatty pork sausage, but rather a chicken sausage, and the bacon is actually a turkey bacon. It's really easy for the fat content in a traditional breakfast to get out of hand, so it's nice to have such an alternative.

My breakfast came with a side of either potatoes, grits or fruit. I'm current in the midst of a moratorium on fried potatoes, I don't eat grits and I guessed correctly that the fruit was mostly melon (I hate melon), so I opted to skip the side, much to the bewilderment of my bartender. The couple next to me at the bar did get a side of fruit and I spied a giant blackberry in the bowl. If you're more open minded about fruit than I am, give it a try. I had a book with me, so I wasn't paying attention to the time, but my bartender came back at one point to tell me that it would be right out and it was taking so long because they were working on more biscuits. I guess I didn't notice because I wasn't ravenously hungry. I'm not sure it really took all that long.

The Country Eggs Benedict was outstanding. It was a biscuit split open, each side had a chicken sausage patty and an egg over easy. The whole thing was slathered in a sausage cream gravy. There was just the right amount of sausage gravy, the eggs were cooked perfectly, the biscuit was great and the chicken sausage was fantastic. This was so good. It was exactly what I was craving and exactly how I wanted it to taste. It was just the right amount of food too! I really did not miss the side item. As I was eating this, I was thinking how great it would be as hangover food. The portion was perfect. I was full when I was done, but didn't feel like I ate too much.

The service was pretty good. I find that service from a bartender is never as good as service from an actual waiter, generally because their attention is divided between customers and other duties. The bar staff was attentive and friendly. This leads me to believe that the waitstaff is well trained.

The Flying Biscuit is a small Atlanta-based chain. Outside the Atlanta metro area, there's one here and one in Charlotte. From the moment I arrived to the moment I left, I felt like I was in a local neighborhood joint. There's a wacky purple and orangey gold color scheme inside that is well done. The front face of the restaurant opens, which was very inviting. Today was beautiful, warm and sunny, so even if you were inside, it still felt like you were outside. The dishes look like Fiestaware, rather than corporate issue plain white plates. I know that sounds silly, but I think it adds to the neighborhood feel. So many corporate restaurants feel like corporate restaurants, rather than some labor of love belonging to your neighbors.

I had a great experience this morning. The Flying Biscuit is a great addition to Raleigh and in a perfect location. Even if you live a little further outside the Cameron Village area, it is worth the drive. Plan to either arrive early or sit back and relax either in the parlor (they have this cute little room with wicker chairs) or relax in Cameron Village. I highly recommend this place. I will definitely be back as often as possible.

The Very Good Taste Omnivore's 100 List

2009-03-27T19:58:00.004-04:00

Rules:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

1. Venison don't like it
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile does alligator count?
6. ~~Black pudding~~
7. Cheese fondue hells yeah!
8. Carp
9. Borscht hello, people, I'm Polish!
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle can you believe I hate 'em?
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes I'm not sure
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. ~~Brawn, or head cheese~~
26. ~~Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper~~ are you kidding?
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters ocean boogers
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda No, but I'd love to!
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut I'm Polish, Hungarian, Irish and German, what do you think?
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with ~~a fat cigar~~
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat I hate goat meat
42. ~~Whole insects~~ hells no!
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala this isn't fair, I love Indian food
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi not a fan
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. ~~Dirty gin martini~~
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine can you believe I was in Montreal for three days and didn't have poutine? criminal!
60. ~~Carob chips~~ the work of Satan, I tells ya!
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads I couldn't swallow it
63. Kaolin didn't he live in OJ's guest house?
64. Currywurst like, what?
65. Durian
66. ~~Frogs’ legs~~
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake check, check, check, and check
68. ~~Haggis~~ I wouldn't feed that to Elvis
69. ~~Fried plantain~~ Had them before, allergic
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette I'm not going to google this, because I think I know what it is
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. ~~Louche absinthe~~
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. ~~Roadkill~~ No. No. No.
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. ~~Snail~~ please see #68
79. Lapsang souchong I love it!
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant Damn, I missed it by 1 star!
85. Kobe beef
86. ~~Hare~~
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. ~~Horse~~
90. Criollo chocolate
91. ~~Spam~~
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano I hate mole
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Wait...only 53? I thought I would have scored higher.

From Russia, With Love

2009-03-23T20:04:00.016-04:00

I've started reading the Pioneer Woman's website recently, specifically the cooking section. She's pretty cool and her lodge house is straight-up dope. She posted the other day about something she bought at Anthropologie. I didn't even finish reading the post. I went straight over to the Anthro website and bought it. I couldn't help myself. I swear I never do this, and these days, I don't usually buy stuff unless it's on sale. However, I gave in since it was only $28 (plus tax and shipping). Let's call it a "Congratulations to me on getting into pastry school" present.

You're dying to know what I bought aren't you? Without out further ado, let me introduce you to the new girls...
(Oh, and by the way, it's nearly impossible to photograph anything in my kitchen.)

Hello. I am ceramic and adorable.

Oh, this messy kitchen has made me lose my head.

Please meet our tiny friend.

Take a closer looks at what's inside these little lovelies.

Hello. Our bottoms are measuring cups.

Just a pinch.

Now, you may be wondering why it is that I had to immediately rush over to the evil, evil Anthropologie website to spend $28 that I really ought to be saving rather than spending on matryoshka measuring cups. As well you should. However, let me enlighten you.

My collection, started by Grami.

My favorite. It's the story of Thumbelina, my favorite childhood story.

And then there were five.

Restaurant review, or I am so stuffed, I might explode.

2009-03-17T19:00:00.003-04:00

The Fast Fare has been around as long as I can remember. These days it's called The Go Paks Bazaar, but it's still a convenience store. It's owned by a Muslim Pakistani family that is super nice. Beyond nice. Think of the nicest family ever. This family taught them. In the back of this convenience store, there's a little counter where you can order food, called Laziz Biryani Corner. I think it used to be sandwiches in the past. These days, it's Halal Indian-Pakistani food. In my opinion, the best in town. I am a huge fan of Asian food in general, and Indian food in specific. I am lactose intolerant, so I don't really have to worry with Asian food. Needless to say, I eat a lot of Asian food.

Don't be fooled by the fact that you are walking into a convenience store. Laziz Biryani Corner serves up serious grub. There's an older woman, around my mom's age, who's usually in the kitchen. She doesn't speak much, if any, English. She's always happy to see gringos show up. If you're lucky enough to get there when she's stirring a giant pot of something, she'll pack up a small cup of that something for you, on the house, in addition to whatever else you might get. The first time I went, she was making a batch of the mixed vegetables. She gave me a half order of the mixed vegetables in addition to the thali platter I got. I literally had enough food for three meals. They have everything, for the most part, hot in a steam table but this most certainly does not detract from the quality. It's also important to remember that this family is Pakistani. Essentially the food is more or less the same, but it's going to be a little different.

Each day they have two thali platters, one with meat and one vegetarian. Each platter comes with two half portions of something. Today, the vegetarian thali had Rajma and Eggplant and Potatoes. I've had the Eggplant and Potatoes, as a freebie naturally. It's good. I'm not 100% keen on eggplant, but this was good. The thali also comes with a small salad (lots of onions, YUM), a side of the mint yogurt stuff, and a heapin' helpin' of rice. Some of the best Indian rice I've had, in fact. It's also served with some kick-ass naan, too. So good, in fact, I usually get a few extra pieces. As equally fantastic are the mixed vegetables and the Dal. They make the best Dal. I haven't tried the meat options, but I feel comfortable saying they would be as good as the veggie options.

While I almost always get the thali, I was not in the mood for that combo today. I opted for the Shahee Paneer which I have been meaning to try forever. Man, why did I wait so long? Why, Santa, why? I ate half of my Shahee Paneer. It physically hurt me to not eat the other half. I am showing considerable restraint, you should be proud. Seriously, it was so good, I wanted to pass out. Yeah, I know I said I can't do dairy, but I still love paneer. And Shahee Paneer is love in a bowl. I've had it at Azitra in Brier Creek. It was much more yellow, a bit coconutty with chucks of tomato and a little soupier. It was good there, just different. This dish made at Laziz was amazing. Amazing. The sauce was bright reddish orange, thick, very fragrant, with lots of spices. They gave me a rice mixed with peas that was fantastic, instead of the normal red and white rice.

They seemed to be quite busy this evening. I normally get mine to go so I've never really stuck around to see how busy they get. The prices are, well, cheap. The portions are generous. It really is some of the best Indian (Pakistani) food I've ever had. If you happen to be downtown or near campus, you really ought to try it. You will not be sorry.

Linguine with White Clam Sauce In A Hurry

2009-03-11T19:48:00.004-04:00

When I got home from work tonight, I was starving. As in, "feeling woozy and should have eaten a snack earlier" starving. I whipped this up in the blink of an eye. So easy, so good.

1 large or two small spicy Italian sausage
1 TSP minced garlic
1/2 medium white onion, fine dice
1 cup white wine
2 6.5oz of canned chopped clams, reserve the juice
1/2 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped fine
salt and pepper to taste
2 TBSP butter, cut in half
1/2 box linguine, cooked al dente

Brown sausage in pan, but do not cook completely. Let rest on cutting board for a few mintues. Add 1 TBSP butter and 1 TBSP olive oil to deep saute pan. Add garlic and onion and saute for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, slice sausage thin and add back to saute pan. Saute for 5 minutes. Add white wine to pan to deglaze. Add reserved clam juice. Stir well, scrape up the flavor bits from the bottom of the pan. Add clams and stir well, saute two minutes. Add parsley and remaining 1 TBSP of butter. Mix with linguine, serve, and enjoy!

Notes:

I bought my sausage from the Fresh Market. I believe they make their sausages in house. They are easily twice the size you'd expect. If you're near the Fresh Market, I would totally recommend them. They are $3.99 a pound. The one I bought was $1.54, or just under a half a pound!

I'm lazy these days, so I've been using minced garlic in a jar. So easy!

If your feelin' fancy, buy a nice bag of clams from your fishmonger (I love that word!) and toss them in the sauce. But save that for some night when you're not racing home to make dinner before you pass out and are trying to put on jammie pants while your pasta is cooking...or whatever it is that you might do after work. Ahem.

I like adding a bit more butter than usual to this. It adds a richness to the sauce that I like. I do not like cheese with seafood, generally speaking. I also don't want to add cream to this lest it taste like clam chowder on noodles.

Double this if you want two-er, four servings.

Save the date!

2009-03-09T20:51:00.003-04:00

David Kinch of Manresa will battle Bobby Flay on Iron Chef America on March 15 at 9 PM. Why should this matter any more than any other ICA episode? Because this is my brother's boss, that's why. My brother started his second internship in July of 2008 at Manresa Restaurant in Los Gatos, California. It's one of the few restaurants in the US to be awarded two Michelin Stars and four Mobil Stars. After having dinner there, it somehow doesn't seem like enough.

This episode was filmed just before my brother arrived, so alas, Lil Brotha will not be there. Perhaps next time.

Mushroom Spinach Polenta

2009-03-02T21:09:00.007-05:00

The complete recipe this time. I swear.
----------------------------------------
There's a restaurant nearby called 518 West, which makes the best mushroom polenta appetizer. It's a few different mushrooms, rosemary and cashew butter, and romano cheese on a firm polenta. I love it. As usual, I had some things to use up and have made this version that satisfies my craving well enough. Enjoy!

Polenta:

1 cup white cornmeal
3 cups boiling water
1 vegetable bouillon cube
1 TSP salt
1/4 cup grated hard cheese (I used an aged French gruyere)

Bring to boil water, bouillon cube and salt. Whisk in cornmeal and lower heat to medium low. Add cheese. Let bubble for 15 minutes uncovered, stirring often. Pour out into a foil lined pan and let cool. Cut into squares. Reheat by baking, pan frying, or grilling.

Topping:

1/2 white onion, diced small
1/4 pound proscuitto, diced about 1/2 inch (optional)
1 1/2 cups mushrooms, sliced thin
1 TSP minced garlic
1 TSP each fresh thyme, sage, rosemary, chopped fine
1 bunch fresh spinach, rinsed well and chopped
grated romano, for topping

Saute onion, prosciutto, herbs and garlic on medium high in combination of butter and oil, for about five minutes. Add mushrooms and saute for another five minutes. At this point add 1/2 TSP salt. Add spinach, cook until wilted. Drain well, discarding liquid.

Notes:

When you add the cornmeal to the water, whisk hard. Whisk like your life depends on it. Add the cornmeal slowly and whisk hard! This will prevent lumps.

I didn't add a ton of seasoning to the water for the polenta since I want it to be more of a vehicle than the star. Add more seasoning, if you prefer.

I used white cornmeal because that's all the market had that wasn't self-rising. Here in The South where cornbread reigns supreme, it's really hard to find a non-self-rising cornmeal. Use what you can find, white or yellow. Heck, blue could be fun if you're making polenta for something else.

I recommend pouring the hot polenta into a square or rectangular foil lined dish. It make cutting easier later. However, you can use whatever pan you have available.

Because the prosciutto is salty, you don't need to add a lot of salt. Adding salt after sauteing the mushrooms for a few minutes will cause the mushrooms to release their liquid, which will deglaze the pan.

I prefer Knorr Vegetarian Vegetable bouillon. A lot of vegetable stocks are heavy on carrot, which I don't like. The Knorr has a nice balance of veggie flavors.

I like to buy the fresh herbs in the mixed packets. The one I used here is called "poultry blend" and is a mix of thyme, rosemary and sage. When cooking for one, I find it tough to use the whole herb packet before it goes bad. Except basil. I can put a hurtin' on some basil. I suppose I could grow my own, but with the kitten, I'd expect him to eat them before I could use them.

Ridiculously easy hash, or what to do when you realize you bought 2 pounds more beef than you eat in a year.

2009-03-02T20:56:00.002-05:00

1/2 cup onions, diced small
2 Idaho potatoes, diced small
leftover brisket, diced small
1 TSP minced garlic
1/2 cup left over liquid from crockpot

Saute potatoes, garlic and onions in large saute pan with lots of oil over medium heat. When potatoes are golden brown and tender, add brisket and liquid.

This would be darn good if it was topped with a poached egg.

Notes:

If you can, cook this in a non-stick pan. This will cut down on the amount of oil you need and keep the potatoes from sticking to the pan. Trust me on this. (Mental note to self, buy a non-stick pan)

I found some young Vidalia onions in the Fresh Market the other day. The look like scallions on steroids. I used closer to a cup of onion here to use up the Vidalias and because they are a bit more mild than a regular onion.

The Octofecta, or a whole lotta octopus.

2009-02-27T12:01:00.004-05:00

For my new pal, PeeWee, Meg In The Kitchen presents...

Eight of the best octopus recipes available on the Interweb!

Why?, says you.

Why not!, says I.

1. Ceviche Tostada, or a veritable taste bud orgy!

2. BBQ Garlic Octopus, because you know how I love BBQ!

3. Octopus Tidbits I have a new kitten now. He gets a miniature can of Fancy Feast every night. The cans have names like "White Meat Chicken and Whipped Egg Souffle with Garden Greens" and "Wild Salmon in a delicate broth with Garden Greens." I wonder if he'd eat "Octopus Tidbits with Garden Greens"?

4. Char Grilled Baby Octopus I wish I had seen this last night when I went to Char Grill for dinner. I would have suggested it to Phil as a new menu item.

5. Greek Grilled Baby Octopus Salad, because nothin' says home cookin' like a bowl of grilled baby animals! Ooooh weeeee!

6. Jessicak61's Octopus Salad, a simple summer salad, or the reason Fall is my favorite season.

7. Octopus Grilled Very Tender Grill this to bring it to another level of goodness. Could that be an eighth level of goodness, Rita?

8. Croatian Dalmatian Black Risotto You will be relieved to know this recipe calls for octopus, not actual Dalmatians. Repeat: not actual Dalmatians.

I guess this is more of an octo-octofecta, right?

___________________________________
Now the more astute reader will remember my recent announcement of acceptance into culinary school and may, perhaps, look down their nose at my mocking of octopus recipes. After all, aren't chefs supposed to eat anything that doesn't eat them first? "BAH!" I say. That's why I'm going to be a pastry chef! Personally, I find octopus, squid and cuttlefish revolting, especially things with their ink in them. I feel that, as a human, I am high enough up on the food chain that there are certain things I don't have to eat. However, if anyone is "adventurous" enough to try these recipes DO report back!

Ridiculously easy brisket

2009-02-26T18:46:00.003-05:00

Sometimes a girl just needs some comfort food. Tuesday was one of those nights. I was in Kroger a couple nights ago and found a beef brisket just under three pounds for $5.65. Score! Tuesday night, I tossed it in the slow cooker. This is a modification of a recipe I got from Arthur Gordon in a Jewish cooking class at Williams Sonoma. The recipe given to me called for it to be cooked in the oven with a slightly different preparation.

Slow Cooker Brisket

1 beef brisket, size not so important, just as long as it fits in the crock

1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup A1 steak sauce
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1 packet Lipton onion soup mix
1/2 small can tomato paste
8oz water (better if you substitute beer, but I didn't have any)

Combine sauce ingredients in crock of slow cooker. Stir vigorously with a whisk to combine. Add brisket, turning a couple times to coat well. Cook on high for four hours or low for eight hours, or until tender.

Now, if the brisket is too big to fit in the crock, you can cook this in the oven. In a large baking pan lined with foil for easy clean up (trust me on this), place brisket. Mix ketchup, A1, hoisin, tomato paste and onion soup mix together to make a paste. Slather half over the top (fatty side) of the brisket. Mix the other half with the beer or water and pour around the brisket. Cover with foil and bake at 350 until tender.

Here's the important part, people. Listen up, okay?

DO NOT ADD SALT TO THIS. Seriously.

Did you get that? No salt needed. At all. The onion soup mix is salty. Wicked salty. Saves you a step and a trip to the WakeMed Heart Center.

Arthur Gordon's recipe left out the A1 and the hoisin, but I thought it seemed like fun. It was a good idea.

I would serve this with mashed potatoes and sweet and sour red cabbage. I changed up the red cabbage last night.

1 head red cabbage, sliced thin
1 yellow onion, sliced thin
1 TBSP minced garlic
1 1/2 cups of the liquid from the crock pot
salt and pepper to taste

Saute the cabbage, onion and garlic for 10 minutes. Add liquid, mix well, cover and simmer until tender.

Deelish.

Breathing a sigh of relief.

2009-02-07T08:27:00.004-05:00

When I started this blog recently, I had a secret. Generally, I am a good secret keeper. If you're upset or sad or something and tell me a serious secret, I'll take it to the grave. If we're talking about good news you're about to hear or presents I bought you, it kills me...KILLS ME...to keep quiet about it. This is something I get from Grami. I am relieved that I can finally reveal my secret today.

Yesterday I was accepted to culinary school.

I couldn't be more excited. I begin in the summer session at Wake Tech in the new Baking and Pastry Arts program. For those of you who don't know me outside this blog, I used to cook. Until the last few years, all of my jobs were in restaurants. I've always had a passion for food and cooking. Many, many moons ago, I quit school to start cooking professionally. I worked hard for a few years and eventually landed a Sous Chef gig at a local restaurant now defunct thanks to the raging coke habit of the owner. At that time, I knew I wanted to get into baking and pastry stuff, but there wasn't much here to speak of in the way of fine dining. At that time, the Raleigh food scene was still pretty pedestrian and a real "professional" kitchen was hard to find. I became frustrated and decided to go back to college. I graduated three years later, in December of 2000 and gave up on the cooking/baking dream. I have learned over the past few years that I am not an office person. I don't understand what most people do all day. It's hard to be creative in a cubicle.

A few years ago, my brother enrolled in New England Culinary Institute in Essex, Vermont. I've been hearing about the classes and the chefs for a while now. I had the opportunity to visit him last May, right before he took off for his internship in California. I got to sit in on a few classes and got a complete tour of the campus, including meeting most of the chef professors. I would be lying if I said it did not affect me. Perhaps not consciously at first, but it got to me.

I began researching culinary school last semester. I was taking another class at Wake Tech and saw the new B&P program on the website. I knew I wanted a dedicated B&P program, not straight culinary. I can't handle the butcher stuff. Unfortunately, this left me with few options, almost all private schools. Naturally, I looked at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and the French Culinary Institute in New York City. My two biggest concerns were time and money. I loved that LCB and FCI were both 6 month programs. Both required moving, and I have a lease until December. Both cities are more expensive than Raleigh as well. LCB wants an application fee of 1500 Euros. FCI wants 500 dollars. If we remember back to our college application days, that's just to apply and doesn't guarantee admission. The cost of the program at LCB in Paris is actually cheaper than the other LCB campuses, with a cost of around $20,000. The total cost of the associate's degree B&P program at NECI is about $60,000. The FCI is around $35,000. Wake Tech's associate's degree in culinary or B&P is less than $5000. But it's also 2 years. Another thing to consider is my living expenses. I have a great apartment downtown for $615 a month. Because it's old, we have radiators. Because we have radiators, my only utility bill is electric and it's not been more than $35 a month. It's hard to argue with that! I was laid off last Friday and my last day of work is May 1st. With FCI and LCB I couldn't start until January because of my lease. What would I do until January?

In the end, I decided to sacrifice time over money. If Social Security is around when I'm 65, I don't want to use it to pay off student loans. As well, the improvement in the Raleigh food scene is astounding. I think it was Bon Appetit (Gourmet?) said Chapel Hill is the latest up and coming hot spot for food and restaurants. We now have choices. We have excellent bakeries and restaurants, so finding work while I'm in school will be easy. The bonus is that I'll come out with a lot of experience. One of the perks of the big name schools is the connections. My brother got an internship last July at a restaurant in California with two Michelin stars and three Mobil diamonds. His boss will be on Iron Chef in March. It turned into a permanent job and he's currently the assistant pastry chef. Do I expect that when I leave Wake Tech? Certainly not. But then again, I don't want to be famous, I just want to make croissants.

This blog will still have my recipes, but I will also write about my experiences in school. I take my first two foundation classes in the summer, Safety and Sanitation and Basic Culinary Skills (or something like that), then on to the fun stuff in the Fall full time.

Allez cuisine!

Remember me?

2009-01-22T20:27:00.003-05:00

I'm still around. I swear. I just haven't been cooking lately beyond heating up stewed tomatoes and putting it over ravioli. I do have this link for you.

101 Cookbooks

I've linked you specifically to the vegetarian section. I haven't looked over all the recipes that much, but it looks like they aren't too dairy heavy. I like that. One challenge I have when trying to eat veggie is to not try to eat a diet of all bread and cheese. As well, I am freakishly lactose intolerant. I find Lactaid doesn't always work for me, so the less dairy, the happier everyone is. Trust me on this. I also don't want to be vegan. (Nor do I want to be converted to vegan, thank you.)

Is anyone familiar with this site? Has anyone made any of these recipes? I'd love to hear what you think.

It chops! It dices!

2009-01-01T17:35:00.001-05:00

Have you seen the Vidalia Chop Wizard? I'm a sucker for infomertials. I think I want one. Do you have one? Do you know someone who has one? I'd love to hear what you think.

Merry Christmas to all!

2008-12-24T16:21:00.001-05:00