My post school new job/move turned into a rather hectic situation rather quickly and left me without internet and time for a bit.

I have changed positions at the hotel and have managed somehow to obtain a promotion at my job. Im now sitting in the chair of the Food and Beverage Purchaser for the hotel. I’ve been interested in getting to learn more of the business side of the hotel since I arrived, and though I am still fondly head over heals in love with cooking, I am finding that I enjoy this position as well.

unfortunately in my absence from the internet I have missed some amazing and saddening events.

Chef Mike Pardus, of CIA fame, has taken some of the student body and more on a culinary tour of India!! … frankly I’m pissed I graduated when I did, I would have been all over this trip!

Michael Ruhlman’s father has passed away. My deepest heartfelt condolences to him and his family in their time of grief.

Trent Hendricks, owner/operator of Hendricks Farm in PA has returned to work after suffering a nasty health crisis. Here’s wishing you a speedy recovery Trent.

I have apologize to to Cha Xiu Bao, seems I’ve had this wonderful website mis-spelled in my links section for who knows how long…. though Boa Dumplings do sound…. interesting.

Well, There is a lot I could report on, but at the moment I’m buried in a lot of paperwork from the new position. I will be posting another update soon.

Till then..

Happy Eating!

Steve

The Foodist

Currently understaffed and picking up shifts left and right. But after the Memorial Day weekend things should go back to normal.

Planning a visit to Paradise Farms soon

and should have lots of good photos and info then.

But I wanted to point out this article about a couple who has been banned from Royal Caribbean cruises for life… for get this, Complaining too much.

Now while working in the hospitality industry you know that there are customers, often repeat customers even, who you can NEVER make happy. But is the company justified in banning them because theyve complained about service?

I wonder…. What do you think?

well never call me a liar cause here they are!

Its been insane at work this week, and I have a wedding to fly out to later in the week but I WILL be posting the menu for this sushi as well as more pics soon!

until then, Drool away!

-steve

“Its Chef, we had a call out, can you come in?”

Whats a cook to say? “No”, “Die in a fire!”, “Please Leave a Message After the Beep… *BEEEP*” would normaly be acceptable answers. Unfortantly not in my world of paychecks mean I eat and sleep with a roof over my head.

Tomorrow seems promising with an added bonus. A master Sushi chef is coming by to do some consulting on the new sushi bar and hes doing a demo… Its may day off but Im so there and with camera in tow!

Hopefully tomorrow I will have a recipe test done as well as a nice set of photos from the demo!

On the way out the door today I saw someone getting ready to throw away a copy of the Winter ’08 issue of Flavor & The Menu, which I rescued. I was just poking through and found an article on Thomas Keller and the French Laundry, written by Steve Schimoler.

I make no secret of my respect and admiration for Chef Keller and his staff, both at the French Laundry and at Per Se, so I generally eat up every article I can find like a gitty school girl oogling her favorite boy band.

This article, like so many others, gave raving accolades and respect to Chef Keller and his staff for the work they do in and for the restaurant. Time and time again I read of the one thing that sets Chef Kellers work apart from all the rest, consistency.

The word is thrown around the restaurant industry as frequently as a sailor cusses, but few can manage the level and focus on consistency that Chef Keller and his staff have accomplished time after time again. Its not just within his establishments either. He has a long history of direct contact with specialty purveyors, small farms, you name it.. if it comes in his back door chances are he knows who sent it, when it left, what the growing/harvest was like.. there are few who can say that.

The other big topic in the article was the focus Chef Keller and his staff commit to not causing “palate fatigue” whilst offering such a large and diverse tasting menu, 14 courses. When asked about it Chef Keller responded that they focus heavily on what types of Fats are in each course, something I had never given a whole lot of thought to but makes perfect sense.

This just goes to show how much attention to detail is placed in each and every dish. Consistency, care, passion, and thought are the greatest tools in Chef Kellers kitchen.

Im not one for having heroes, I think every person needs to have the strength inside themselves to push them through without having to constantly look up at something to check yourself, but I do believe in having goals. We should focus less on how to get famous, or get on tv, or get our cookbooks published and more on attempting to conduct our restaurants, hotels, and businesses in a fashion not unlike Chef Keller and his staff.

But don’t mis-read what Im saying here, individualism is the most important thing in all of us, but if he and his staff can create, produce, and be consistent in the quality and execution of it, there is no reason we cant all do the same within our level of experience, desire, and motivation.

But hey… that’s just one cooks opinion.

Happy Eating

-Steve

You can download a copy of the article “Flavor on the Road” in PDF format HERE

Photo by Elise English (No relation to bread)

Old English Oatmeal Bread

These golden brown, oat sprinkled round loaves are based on an old English country recipe.

1 cup old fashioned rolled oats, plus extra for tops of loaves

¾ cup milk

¾ cup water

¼ cup unsalted butter

1 tablespoon dark molasses

2-2 ½ cups unbleached bread flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 package (2 ½ teaspoons) quick-rise yeast

1 egg yolk mixed with 1 teaspoon water, for glaze

Place the 1 cup oats in a large bowl or the bowl of an electric stand mixer. In a saucepan over low heat, combine the milk, water and butter and bring to a boil. Pour over the oats and let stand until lukewarm about 30 minutes; stir often to hasten cooling. Stir in the molasses, 1 ½ cups of the flour, salt and yeast. Gradually stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough that holds its shape.

Knead by hand or with a dough hook, adding flour as necessary. Knead by hand until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes; knead by hook until dough is not sticky and pulls cleanly from the bowl sides, 6-7 minutes.

Form the dough into a ball and place in a clean, greased bowl, turning to grease all sides. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, 45-60 minutes.

Lightly flour a heavy baking sheet. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and press flat. Cut in half, knead briefly and form each half into a ball, stretching the sides down and under. Place well apart on the prepared baking sheet and flatten slightly. Cover loosely with greased plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, 20-30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425f.

Uncover the loaves, brush with the glaze and sprinkle with oats. Bake until golden brown and the loaves sound hollow when tapped on the bottoms, 25-30 minutes. Unmold the loaves and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Makes two 13-oz loaves

from the book Williams-Sonoma Breads

As with all Recipes I suggest reading through it fully first, to ensure you understand each section and direction.

Pork Medallions with “Empanada Deconstructed

2 Tomatoes Deseeded (Retain flesh, squeeze out all the juice and reserve) and small diced
1 Green Pepper Small Diced
1 Red Pepper Small Diced
1 Leek Cleaned and sliced thin
6 0z Ground Chorizo
1.5-2 # Pork Medallion Small Dice 1/2 of the loin, Slice the remainder into 1/4 inch slices and pound out thin
1 Fennel Bulb Cleaned, sliced paper thin
1 Red Onion Small Diced
1 Lemon Juiced
1 Lime Juiced
1# Baby Dutch Yellow Potatoes Boiled, sliced into quarters
1 ea White Corn Cob Par boiled, sliced off cob
6 fl oz MonteVina Moscato
1 Bag Baby Mixed Greens Cleaned
1# Feta Cheese Crumbled

1 Tb salt
1 Tb Black Pepper
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Cumin
1 Tb Thyme
1 Tb Rosemary
1 tsp Allspice

Directions:

- Begin by cooking the Chorizo, remove from pan and drain off excess fat, retaining a very small amount. Coat the diced pork in about half of the spice mix. Add the diced pork to the pan and cook half way. When pork reaches half cooked add in 1/2 of the diced tomato, onion, and all of the peppers. When pork and veg is fully cooked, combine with chorizo and cool down in freezer.

- In a pot of warm water add potatoes, whole and unpeeled. Cover, bring to a boil until fork tender. Cool in ice water, slice into quarters and hold.

- Place leeks into a saute pan and carmlize. If your unsure how to do this, place a very small amount of oil in the pan and keep at a medium high to high heat. The leeks will begin to turn brown, this is what you want, but be carefully not to burn. They should smell and taste sweet, not burnt. If this is your first time carmelizing I suggest avoiding doing anything else while you do this, and keep all your attention on the leeks. Try to avoid moving the leeks around a lot, but be sure to stir them around for even browning. After they are done, hold them in your fridge.

-In a small pot of boiling water soak your fennel for a few seconds. Just enough to loosen it up, not lose its flavor. Chill in fridge.

-You should have reserved all the tomato juice you could get from the pulp of the tomato when you diced the flesh. Add this juice to a small pot or pan with the Moscato. Bring to JUST a smimmer and allow to reduce slowly. Reduce to about half of the original amount, or till the liquid has the consistency to coat the back of a spoon (this is called Nape’). Chill quickly and reserve.

-You should have the second 1/2 of your Pork Loin sliced into 1/4 inch slices and pounded thin. Season with the spice mix and toss in flour, be sure to remove all excess flour. You want them to look “Dusted” in flour, not covered in it.

- Now that your Mise en Place is set we can get to cooking!

-In a large saute pan reheat your diced pork and chorizo mixture (This will be your “Empanada Deconstructed”). Add in your corn and a small amount of diced tomato for color.

-In a seperate saute pan, heat a small amount of oil on a medium high heat. Add your pounded pork medallions and cook till done. Remove from pan when they are done, blot any excess oil and hold warm.

- In a bowl toss your fennel, the rest of your onion and tomato, and your baby mixed greens together with half of the Mascato Tomato reduction.

Plate up:

-Place some of the of the “Empanada” mixture down on the plate, about a heafty spoon full or two should do well. Place one medallion on top of that, Add a small amount of “Empanada” mix on top of that. Add another (a slightly smaller piece works best) medallion on that. Top with just a small amount of the “Empanada” mix.

-Place a nice pile of your dressed salad on the other side of the plate from the pork “tower”. Sprinkle Feta cheese around the salad. Drizzle a small amount of the remaining Moscato Tomato reduction around the salad.

There you have it folks. Simple easy, and all reviews thus far have said “Delicious”.

Here are a few pictures if you would like to reference the plate up style I have suggested. Try your own styles as well!

Enjoy!, This weeks recipe test will be VERY interesting I think.

-Steve

At first glace I thought they were lentils, same appearance and almost the same mouth feel. Pleasantly salty and with a taste that can be best described as a mix of English peas and lentils, I found myself motivated to find out more.

Doing some digging I found that Pigeon Peas are most common grown in arid regions such as South Asia, Australia, and the Dominican Republic. The peas are very high in Nitrogen making it an ideal crop for nitrogen fixation.

Pigeon peas are a variable meat market of nutrients, containing high levels of protein , amino acids methionine, lysine, and everyone’s favorite turkey component; tryptophan.

To go with the Pigeon peas he has thrown together some chicken with a tomato and cranberry sauce, simple and very delicious.

Treat pigeon peas as you would a lentil, cooking them in heavily salted boiling water.

**Worth a read: Eggbeater: Chef Owners Who Work The Line.. Enjoy!**

I was at work the other day when someone made empanada filling and I’ve had a craving for them ever since. The issue with empanadas is the pouches take a lot of time to make and there’s a gross amount of oil required to fry them.

Not to be outdone I set off to the store with plans of cooking for my roommates today. It hit me as I was walking through that maybe I didn’t have to make actual empanadas to enjoy the flavors.

Instead I opted for a variation of a Scaloppini recipe I worked with at school.

I got to work this afternoon working with this spread of ingredients:

2 Tomatoes
1 Yellow Pepper
1 Orange Pepper
1 Leek
1 Pckg Chorizo
1 Pork Medallion
1 Fennel Bulb
1 Red Onion
1 Lemon
1 Lime
2 Pears
1#Baby Dutch Yellow Potatoes
1 White Corn Cob
1/2 Bottle of MonteVina Moscato
1 Bag Mixed Greens
1# Feta Cheese

-I started by dicing the tomato, peppers, and onion. Reserving the juice and flesh of the tomato I pressed them through a fine chive to extract as much juice as possible.
-While I was dicing I had placed a pot of water with the potatoes whole and skin on to par cook. Once they were finished par cooking I removed them, ran under cold water, and sliced into quarters. Toss with a small amount of olive oil and reserve.
-I started the “Deconstructed” Empanada filling by searing off the Chorizo. While the chorizo was cooking I cubed 1/4 of the pork loin into small pieces. I tossed the pork in a mixture of spices and herbs:
1 part salt
1 part pepper
1/2 part Cinnamon
1 part Cumin
1/2 part Thyme
1/2 part Rosemary
1/2 part Allspice

-I then added the pork to the chorizo with some of the onion and tomato. I cooked it all down till it formed a ragout or stuffing style of mix. I laid it out on a cookie sheet and placed it in the freezer to chill.

-I removed the fennel bulb, cleaned it up and sliced it very thin. I then blanched it for a short moment in some boiling water with salt. I then made a chiffonade of Leek and caramelized them in a sauté pan. Tossed the two together in a little olive oil.

-Taking the reserved tomato juice I added a small amount of the Moscato and let reduce slowly.

-I then boiled the corn till the kernels started to become soft, removed from the water, sliced the kernels off the cob and held in a bowl.

-With the rest of the pork I sliced them into medallions and pounded them to even size and held aside.

-When the tomato juice was done reducing I chilled it, and tossed in a little bit of olive oil.

With the Mise en place set, assembly was pretty easy. I roasted the potatoes off, dressed the mix greens with the dressing and added the fennel and leek, seasoned and seared off the pork medallions, and reheated the “Empanada Filling”.

The end result was this:

Over all, the dish was well received and was liked all around. Some tweaking needs to be done to the recipe but over all its going to be a keeper for me.

So what happened to those pears you’re asking me?
Desert… it didn’t turn out just as I had hoped and needs a lot of tweaking but, I will tell you I poached them in the rest of the Moscato with vanilla and honey. The pears themselves came out perfect, but the presentation was seriously lacking. Ill be working on that one for later.

-Steve

Moving here from another blog location. Please stay tuned for the new blog, new posts, and new options!

The old/current blog can be found here.