The Journey of a Culinary Student

An Arabic Jewel (Grocery) in the Desert of Poway, San Diego

2006-03-27T16:51:00.000-08:00

I live near Poway. It's an old little town, somewhat insulated and I think about 89% white, so you get the picture. Average folk, a bit behind the times, yet economically sound.

Here's what I found so strange today:

After poking around Michael's Craft Store, I was heading back to work when I spotted this place called North Park Produce, a seemingly, plain grocery store that looked to maybe be organic but with obviously no serious investment in appearances. I decided to drop in to see what quality produce they have just in case they were a local jewel in disguise.

However, once inside, I followed the entrance path to the left and noticed a cheese section then a deli section. Upon closer look at the cheeses, it appeared their was some stuff I hadn't seen before. Not like pretty Italian wheels or anything, but just something a bit ethnic about it all. (Curiosity pleasantly building!)

Next, there was an olive section in the deli with a decent variety. Hmmm?! :-o

I walked further in and past the produce section which had a few strange things among the usual.. one of which were "Ladies Apples". Not unheard of, but not usually what you see around here. :-)

A few aisles down, it happened. I experienced something close to culture shock!! There they were.. dozens of types of olive oils.. some I recognized at the Italian Markets around town, and some written in Arabic!! Then there were perhaps a dozen different brands of Ghee!!

And then behold... there were the spices. A WHOLE aisle dedicated to various spices from all over!! They even had GIANT black cardomoms as big as a quarter! There were also syrups from Pakistan.. Cardomom syrup, Rose syrup, and I couldn't resist the Violet syrup (as in the flowers, not the color). Chutneys and pickled spices (like pickled carrots, mangos, etc.) were everywhere! It was amazing, and I didn't even know where to start. :-o

After caving in and picking up some Garam Masala paste and a bottle of Violet Syrup (it's neat to see the nutritional value calories listed as "Energy"), I went up to the checkstand and eyeballed some Parisienne chocolates on the backwall but resisted going back.

Okay.. will go back as soon as I can find some neat arabic recipes! :-D

Fish, Clams and Tamales

2006-03-13T09:37:00.000-08:00

This weekend was a celebration of fish! :-) As well as shellfish & crustaceans.. ah's & mmmm's abound. Hehe

My first dish was Clams Casino which are baked clams served on the half shell covered with a compound butter containing sauteed red & green bell pepper, onion and bacon, then topped with bread crumbs for which I used Panko. Pretty delicious! But I did feel a bit sad over taking the lives of the little clams. oy. :-p

The next dish assigned was a Filet of Flounder en Papillote, a pretty interesting dish to make! After fabricating a flounder (I had no idea these fish were so BIG!) into filets, skin on and scored, they're placed inside parchment paper envelopes atop a mixture of julienned leeks, fennel and red bell pepper, and all covered with a couple pats of freshly made Basil butter. Woo! :-)

I'm really digging the compound butters.. they're pretty easy to make and look & taste maH-velous!!! BTW, Basil butter is easily made by adding finely minced shallots and, of course, fine, chiffonade fresh basil.. mush together and form a log, wrapped with saran wrap.

Home on the range (bad pun, okay okay!), I finished up the Mole sauce for the tamales, made fresh masa (the soft cornbread to be steamed inside tamales), and stewed some pork overnight for the most tender meat, as well as acquiring a full flavored stock (for making the masa).

Backing up a little, the first time I made tamales, I bought pre-prepared masa at the Vallarta Market (a chain in Los Angeles that offers a great selection on Mexican and other hispanic goods). After steaming, the masa turned out hard. :-p

Now, this time being my second attempt at the Art du Tamalera, I made masa from dried maseca, and it turned out beautifully!! Matt showed me how to wrap tamales (although I think they'd look prettier tied--he thought that's just too froo-froo), and voila!

But NOW, I have a beef. I was following the Pork with Red Chili Tamales recipe out of "Tamales 101", and frankly, after having homemade tamales all my life made by the entire families of friends during the Christmas season,.. frankly, let's say the mole left.. um, much to be desired... like FLAVOR. Grrrrrr. >:-E

I don't know the history of tamales, but wherever this recipe for 'traditional' pork red chili tamales came from must have been the BLANDEST part of Mexico there ever was cuz they tasted like STORE bought tamales! It's only bothering me so much cuz they're very time consuming to make; I soaked dried Pasilla chilis and California chilis, but the ingredients should have caught my eye since no chilis in the recipe are actually hot. No cayenne, no jalapenos, no habanero, no serrano, no nada.
Major bummer. :-(

Back to googling mole recipes. *sigh*

A Down Day

2006-03-09T08:28:00.000-08:00

Yeah, it's been quiet. Last weekend, we made lamb & pork dishes. I made Lamb Korma, (Indian) Lamb & Potato Stew, and Vegetable Biryani. My rice flopped and turned out like mush probably due to having forgotten to saute the rice a bit first before adding in liquid. The Lamb & Potato Strew seemed to really lack flavor.

The Lamb Korma turned out as if the recipe was destined to be blah. While not having any cardomom or garam masala available was a tiny issue in itself, it turns out all the yogurt had already expired, so I opted for sour cream instead. Following the recipe, I added the sour cream in where the yogurt was supposed to be added--prior to simmering for an hour. Any chance of a creamy texture ended as it ended up just curdling. :-(

Backing up, when I first unrolled the leg of lamb which was BRT (Boned, Rolled and Tied), it was a bit of a shock to discover that it hadn't even been trimmed in the least! I expect too much. :-p It took me a good 40 minutes to trim away all the fat and silverskin so that it could be cubed properly. Trying to be careful, there was still what seemed to be an unacceptable amount of trim loss. :-(

Lesson learned: K.I.S.S.
Never, never again will I try to do any type of recipe that goes beyond typical shelved ingredients and standard veggies.

After our 2 & 1/2 hour cooking time ended, our chef kinda let into our little 8 person class about not staying on top of the dishes pointing out that the other class (note: 16+ people) was all neat & tidy. Spirit sank and hit the floor right before dinner, and neither I nor the other girl who takes photos remembered to pull out our cameras.

We have pictures!!

2006-03-02T13:26:00.000-08:00

Yes, that's right.. there is proof we cook in class! LOL
:-)

First off, we have a lovely Teriyaki Chicken feast with an extremely yummy Cucumber Salad sitting there in the middle of all those legs and thighs. Woo! This was created by our chef as part of our usual Saturday night (class) dinner. How pretty, eh?

Next, we have have the amazing Scallops of Veal in Calvados. The veal is first pounded into tender, thin scallops and sauteed. Then, the pan is deglazed with Calvados (an alcohol) before stock and mushrooms are introduced to create a marvelous sauce. Here, it is served with sauteed wedges of green apple. Mmmmmmm!

Here we have a very happy Risotto with Sauteed Mushrooms, garnished with crispy leaves of Sage. I never knew how easy Risotto is to make, and now it's a regular at home! :-)

For side dish variety, here is a beautifully made Orzo dish. I love the combination of colors here.. very appetizing!

Here is a picture of our table, yet not everything is accounted for yet! Potatoes, chicken, chutneys, brussel sprouts.. what else?

Now, here's something a bit abstract! For kicks, we have Blue Duchess Potatoes! These are made from potatoes that are actually, truly blue. After cooking, they are piped into these little swirls with a pastry bag. Weird and interesting, I say! /:-) Especially next to steamed white asparagus with Hollandaise. And then there's the famous meatloaf!

Here's a lovely display of Beef Bourguignon, a name I've heard for many years but have never seen. Starting off with a marinade of Burgundy wine, veggies and onions, it is first seared then braised. The sauce is strained then combined with boiled pearl onions and mushrooms. Delicious!

Last but not least, here are sauteed Airlines of Chicken Breast, served with a wonderful combination of brussel sprouts and mushrooms in butter sauce.

Tada! :-)

Where to Make Mole?

2006-02-28T14:15:00.000-08:00

Have you ever made a recipe of which part of it really does need to be cooked outdoors??

There's this Black Mole (pronounced "Molay") recipe on www.Epicurious.com that I'm feeling up to the challenge of making sometime over the next couple weeks, called Teotitlan-style Black Mole (Mole Negro de Teotitlán in Spanish), originally out of a booked called, "The Food and Life of Oaxaca" by Zarela Martinez.

I'm thinking of planning a day-camping trip, specifically to burn the chile seeds as required without offending the neighbors... and my birds.. and cats.. and future visitors. Supposedly, the process is extremely pungent and irritating. :-)~

Time for tamales!

Pere e Gorgonzola

2006-02-27T09:45:00.000-08:00

Desperate for a quick & easy, but fully flavored munchie? Here's a recipe for Pears with melted Gorgonzola, an Italian favorite. :-)

Pere e Gorgonzola

2 pears, sliced in half and somewhat cored to make a boat (lengthwise of course)
4 oz Gorgonzola (traditional recipe calls for Gorgonzola Picante, but standard/wheel Gorgonzola works fine too.
2 oz butter
2 fl oz heavy cream

Mush the cheese, butter and heavy cream together in a bowl. Doing this in a pan over very low heat works well too.

Fill the pear boats with mixture, and enjoy!

I experimented with Anjou and Bosc pears, and prefer the Anjou since the skin of the Bosc is a bit too thick and bitter.

One variation I heard of too, is to first blanch the pears face down in Barolo, which I will try to make this week and.. FINALLY, take some pictures since we obtained a memory stick reader for the digital camera. Yay! :-)

Making Dinner

2006-02-22T19:58:00.000-08:00

Talk about silly. All day long, I was thinking and preparing for class tonight; ironed my uniform during lunch, printed out my Action Plan, etc. And lo' & behold, after heading out early after work to avoid traffic, Mr Mattbear alerts me while on the phone to the fact today is Wednesday, so I don't have class tonight afterall! *rolls eyes*

So, still in the mood to whip up something, I went over to Henry's Grocery (aka "Wild Oats Grocery"), and picked up a chuck roast since we're studying beef this week. Therefore, tonight's savory delight will be a traditional recipe called Aunt Ruthie's Pot Roast, which usually uses brisket, but they didn't have any at the store. Chuck roast is quite flavorful, and has the tough texture perfect with which to practice braising.

As a side dish, I'm making Risotto since as it's been put off long enough! Let's see what happens....
:-)

Authentic Italian at Antico Tuscano

2006-02-21T10:09:00.000-08:00

Since Mr Mattbear was in the mood for Italian, I set out searching online for a nice, authentic place in San Diego with reasonable prices and great food. We ended up making reservations for Antico Tuscano, on University Avenue in Hillcrest (San Diego). Once indoor and seated, the place had marvelous charm; a long step away from the stripmall parking lot with Blockbuster just a couple doors down. I decided that the location was actually a pretty smart choice since it is notoriously difficult to find parking in this trendy area.

We started off with a couple selections from the Tapas Menu. First, we were served Pere E Gorgonzola--pear halves flowing with melted Gorgozola cheese. Wow. I'm not a blue cheese fan, but this was delicous! Next, we had Provolone Alla Griglia--a toasted slice of Provolone cheese atop Tomato Garlic Crostini (crust of bread spread lightly with a tomato garlic sauce), and now I know why previously, I've never been a tomato sauce fan! Because it was never as flavorful as it was at this place. Amazing!

For our main course, we selected the same item on the menu! How bizarre with such a variety to choose from. It was the Consoncelli Verdi con Pancetta E Salvia--BIG half moon shaped raviolis filled with a Beef filet (do NOT confuse this with crumbly, tasteless ground beef), crispy pieces of Pancetta, all sitting cozy in a Sage cream sauce, and topped with shaved Parmesan. Unreal, I must say! I haven't eaten that slowly since Parallel 33. Hah! :-)

We had to try dessert. We were already quite full, but they made their desserts on premises, fresh daily. It was a must! Oh my, and you really needed to see this. Again, we both chose the same thing so I decided to get something different. Mattbear chose the Coconut Panna Cotta covered in dark chocolate, served up in a large Martini glass. It was beautiful but we both agreed that the chocolate came in like a football player tackling down a tiny cheerleader. The chocolate was a bit overwhelming for the delicate flavor of the Panna Cotta. I chose what we found out was a classic Italian dish called, Bomboloni--a huge cream puff, but no ordinary cream puff that's hard-shelled & stale. This was moist and warm like a cross between a cinnamon roll and bread pudding! Filled with some wonderful custardy-cream and topped with dark chocolate syrup . Truly outstanding. Really.

I wish I had a decent camera to take pictures of it all. Nothing on the web even comes close to the artistry of their dishes!

Come and get it!

2006-02-20T11:53:00.000-08:00

The chicken dishes turned out nicely! In fact, there was no leftovers of the stuffed chicken from class, so I ended up making the dish again at home for Sunday dinner... along with some barbecued chicken with homemade sauce! Uber yummy. I haven't made the risotto yet so I just cheated and popped open a book of Rice-a-Roni's Broccoli au Gratin. lol :-)

Mattbear loved it, and he finished off probably almost 3/4 of the entire chicken! Wow. :-) I finally feel like I can cook something new. Yay! This week, we're covering beef and veal dishes, so I have choose two from the following:

Beef Bourguignon
Aunt Ruthie's Pot Roast
Veal Scallopini with Calvados
Veal Fricassee

Any suggestions? :-)

An Aspiring Foodie's Night Out on Valentine's Day

2006-02-17T10:45:00.000-08:00

Celadon Royal Thai
For Valentine's Day, Matt-bear took me to Celadon Royal Thai in Hilcrest. Man, that place is yummy too! Thank goodness we had reservations, as we'd heard how some people without one had been waiting for over two hours. The place was packed, and I found out why...

They didn't have a shortened holiday menu which might have made the evening easier for everyone, but the quality of the food was wonderful, nonetheless. For an appetizer, we had the Kritong Tong (I guess that's how it's spelled), which was a spiced up diced peas, carrots, potatoes and chicken served in a bowl, with tiny little crispy cups that you would fill them with. Finally, you would spoon a bit of special sauce on top, and it was wonderful! I love food you can participate in. :-)

For din-din, I ordered the Drunken Noodles with Chicken, and he ordered the Beef in Basil dish. He's got an allergy to seafood so we had everything made without it. I can totally taste the difference, but it was severely tasty in spite of that.

Extraordinary Desserts
For dessert, we headed down to Karen Krasne's Extraordinary Desserts, and we were reminded once again why San Diegans have voted this place a top favorite. Hint: The woman studied pastry at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. Whew! We had the Valentine's special which I think was called "Chocolate is Love." It had all sorts of goodies including a Pot du Creme, and a very chocolatey, Chocolate Cake. Truly extraordinary. :-)

A few seconds to breathe!

2006-02-17T10:30:00.000-08:00

Has it been ever intense! Last weekend was our hands-on midterm where we cooked up Mother Sauces as well as some ever yummy, Consommé. Mmmmmmm.. :-)

My online English final also took place this week.. yes, final. Egads! But now, I'm taking the online Safety & Sanitation and it's turning out to be terribly enjoyable. Who woulda knew?

Anyway, back to cooking. Or trying to anyway. Next quarter, I'll probably take only one online class or none so I can concentrate on cooking skills. I'm registered for American Regional Cuisine so it should get pretty interesting! Living in Southern California where we have everything from Avocado & Sprouty health food to Mexican, to Ethiopian, to Thai, to Indian.. I can only identify Hawaiian and Cajun as specific regional foods here in the US. Well, Philadelphia has some amazing food though too, especially their Buttercakes! *wink* :-)~ Oh, and the smell of hotdogs on a corner in New York comes to mind.. mmmmmm...

Anyway, back to cooking again. We've been studying poultry dishes and the three methods of cooking rice/grains (simmering, risotto and pilaf). Last week at home, I made some Chicken Fricassee and a big batch of Cream of Broccoli soup from scratch (courtesy of the new food mill that Matt-bear got for me!) For tomorrow, I've chosen two dishes to whip up in our school's kitchen:

Chicken stuffed with Spinach and Ricotta, in a Saffron Sauce; and
Chicken Sauté with Onions, Garlic and Basil

I hope they turn out well! The recipes sounded yummy! <:-) Must start taking pictures.

Three weeks into culinary school

2006-01-31T10:24:00.000-08:00

School has been kicking my hiney. Whew!! But I'm learning alot! :-)

So far, we've been practicing our knife cuts, have learned to fabricate chickens, make white & brown stocks, broths, consomme, various soups, as well as the Mother Sauces and a few of the small sauces. Lordy! But never in my life have I had such LITTLE time to cook at home. :-p

However, I did have enough time to whip up some homemade beef stock of my own and wow, did it smell delicious! It will likely be served up as a nice sauce over the steaks in the fridge. Also on the home menu this week is homemade Macaroni & cheese. It will be nice to see how it turns out using a Bechamel-based cheddar sauce rather than a little powder packet. heehee

Finally, we have a traditional Chicken Pot Pie to be made from scratch which will contain a Veloute-Allemande-something gravy as well as Pancetta-wrapped chicken just for a kick.

But what to do with these pretty red bell peppers that were on sale this week, 3 for a dollar?! If there wasn't so much homework, I'd probably have a chance to find a nice recipe.

No time. Is a chef's life always like this?! :-o
I had a dream that I was a garde manger in Hawaii, and I carved all sorts of fruit into pretty designs and decorations. Mmmmmm.... and the beach was right there... *dreamy sigh*

<3-)

First day of school is tonight!

2006-01-12T10:21:00.000-08:00

This is going to be cool. Am I nervous? No. The only thing that concerns me is toting that humungus duffle bag of uniform, books and knives from car to class. It's HEAVY!

I've read up on Chapter 1 already as resquested by our instructor during orientation. Flashcards are up on http://www.flashcardexchange.com/tag/cooking on history, staff positions in the kitchen, as well as quite a bit of Safety & Sanitation from Chapter 2! It would probably be a good idea to review all that before I go in tonight.

On the amateur end, I'm starting to get the jist of how to make cream sauces--whichever mother sauce they fall under. Le Cordon Bleu's book, "Sauces", is truly wonderful! They are yummy and easy. So far, I've made the White Wine Sauce (served over chicken) that's a mixture of sauteed shallots (first time I ever used shallots and they're great!), white wine, creeeeam, and of course, chicken stock. Then last week, I made the Green Peppercorn Sauce and served it over Matt's sauteed steaks. That was tres easy. I will certainly buy the book when I can afford it, but being able to borrow it from the public library is a lifesaver.

Stuff to bring tonight:

Uniform, hat, shoes and tanktop
Apron & kitchen towels
Knife & tool set
"On Cooking" book & workbook
"Food Companion" book
"NRA" book
Ring binder, pens and Sharpie(!)
Memory stick
Advil & coffee!

Making Mead: Gathering the Tools

2005-12-28T08:14:00.000-08:00

For Christmas, I got Matt a Make-it-Yourself Wine Kit! Quite a nifty deal, indeed. :-) So yesterday after work, we headed down to a local supply company called American Brewery Supplies over near Kearny Mesa I believe.. somewhere along Hwy 52 anyway. The guy was very helpful and helped us choose a carboy which will be used as the primary fermentor. We also picked up some good yeast, as well as a few gadgets and headed on home.

The next task? Finding the perfect honey! What flavor would be best? Hmmmm...
:-)

------------------------
Reading accomplished:
- The Professional Chef - now at page 102.

The Satisfaction of Bread and Cheese

2005-12-27T08:53:00.000-08:00

For hundreds of years, people of the French and Italian countryside have enjoyed the simple meal of Bread and Cheese.. something that I as a native of Los Angeles, have tasted many a combination thereof, and flatly.. not understood how something so bland could satisfy anyone. "Where's the meat?!.. and butter?!"

Until yesterday.

Lordy! On the way back from Los Angeles to San Diego (where I've recently relocated to), my fiance and I stopped by Tom's Farm, a tourist spot in Temescal near the well known Glen Ivy Day Spa, and picked up some freshly baked French Bread and Bel Paese Cheese.

We hopped back on the road and nibbled away at this duo, and I swear I have never enjoyed something so immensely!

Mental note: Freshly homebaked French bread and Bel Paese.
Next: Find a wine to complete it.