Uniformity. . . . .

. . . . .overall sameness; without variations in detail; constant; unvarying; undeviating; identical or consistent, as from example to example, place to place, or moment to moment.

In simpler terms according to the CLG point of view, lacking individuality, creativity or unique qualities. BORING!

As most of you know, successful or not, I have always been a bit of a fashion plate. Through hair, clothes, shoes, accessories or makeup the complete look is part of what defines my attitude or personality for any given day. Even when I am completely alone I rarely get dressed without giving some thought to what I am putting on, how it looks & how it makes me feel. It can’t be explained. It’s just part of who I am. In today’s casual times, many would consider this superficial, but its part of my subconscious & what I do. When I was little, outside of playing dress up in my mother's or grandmother's clothes, one of my favorite toys was a thing called Fashion Plate. You could draw & color an outfit based on various plates that made up different parts of fashion pieces. Needless to say this game/toy shaped my way of thinking.

I am sharing this trivial & superficial explanation to illustrate the identity crisis I have experienced over the past 4 months. For the first time in my life I have been required to wear a uniform. Not only at school but many of the same rules apply to work. Here’s the lowdown on the uniform for school: (BTW, it is scrutinized & graded everyday in a military type lineup.)

Chef’s Jacket – unisex, oversized, cuffs rolled up, buttoned up to the collar, pressed and cleaned with plain white, sleeved t-shirt underneath. (CLG commentary: way too baggy & long, not to mention cut for a man, not a woman, afraid I might catch a sleeve on fire.)

Chef’s Pants – unisex, black & white checkered, very baggy, drawstring waist, bunchy in the crotch and very hot, tapered legs, way too long, must be hemmed, each pair was about 6 inches too long. (So ugly & although casual really not comfortable. Reminds me of the pants all the frat guys wore in the early ‘90s. What were those called, ‘Jams’???)

Socks – must be black or white, crew length & cotton. (Hate socks, so hot…esp. in summer….which leads me to the shoes.)

Shoes – School issued steal toe lace-ups, black leather, slip proof, oil resistant. Can get other shoes but they have to be black, leather, with a back (no Crocs) and slip-resistant. (Although they are comfortable, & being slip proof is more important than I ever realized, these are the ugliest shoes ever made. Been trying to find another pair for work that meet all of the criteria that aren’t so awful.

Cravat – A white kerchief tie that is rolled up & tied in a Windsor knot with the tails tucked into the knot. (Completely useless. I have no explanation for this one. There’s a story about tradition, but as an Aggie who is used to stories about crazy tradition, this one is not worth repeating.)

Hat – skull cap, like a surgeon (tight & itchy); if hair is longer than your collar it must be tucked into the hat or in a ponytail with a hairnet. (A little severe, especially when just sitting in a classroom & not working in a kitchen.)

Aprons & Towels – Aprons put on once you enter the kitchen with two towels tucked into the waste. As soon as you leave the kitchen the apron must be removed. (This is one I will never argue & makes complete sense.)

Fingernails – depending on the chef who is grading you; cut down to where no white portion exists or when holding your hand up palm facing you can not see any nails from the palm side. (Can’t argue – except the no white can be really, really short people who have a long nail bed.)

Others – no jewelry other than a plain wedding band, no makeup (yea, right.), no obvious piercings (can’t have the ring or post in), consistently groomed facial hair, nametag/lanyard tucked into chef’s jacket, sharpie & thermometer in sleeve pockets of jacket.

I understand that many of these rules have to do with proper hygiene in the food service industry and health code regulations, but when I come from a kitchen at work and can’t where the same shoes or pants in school & the hair regulations are more severe than a lunch lady in a school cafeteria, that’s where I start to have a problem. I also understand the need for uniformity, but this is not the military and we are not a bunch of misfits that need to be taught discipline. We aren’t even allowed to come inside to change into our uniform. Instead, we must be completely in uniform from the second we walk in the door. I have issues with this on a couple of different levels. The jacket & various uniform pieces are being exposed to many outside germs. (For many people, a lot more than their hands need to be washed before entering a kitchen.) Not to mention the awkwardness of people finishing dressing in the parking lot or completely changing clothes. Recently I had a male classmate ask me, as I got out of my car, if I was going to “Drop trou in the parking lot”. Granted the guy is a complete jerk, which I’ve recognized from the start, but that was completely inappropriate. (And it was obvious I was wearing the correct pants.)

My rant about uniforms is not about being a superficial fashion plate, but actually feeling personally challenged in a way I’ve never known. Self-presentation has been very awkward & I’ve had to rethink how people relate to me & how I communicate. Throughout this experience, I've had my doubts (about many things) & I know I have not been doing a good job of expressing myself. On many levels I've felt lost & overly reserved. It’s been an interesting learning experience which is far from over. As far as the uniform is concerned, I hate every minute, but as part of the journey, I am willing to play along. Just don’t ask me to send you a picture of me in full uniform. The only thing that makes it okay is that everyone else around me is dressed the same way. (How's that for superficial!)

Chicken Chasseur

A few weeks ago I spent the week in Houston for Spring Break. While there I cooked dinner for some friends and made Chicken Chasseur. Basically this is chicken braised in a brown sauce. Braising is a dual cooking method, first you saute/brown, then you bake/steam in the oven. It's very simple, has incredible flavor and presents beautifully. The only drawback is that it is not quick. More than likely you will need about two hours to prepare.

Ingredients:
Assorted pieces of bone-in (with skin) chicken - legs, thighs, breasts (split & cut in half) or two whole chickens broken down into 8 pieces.
2oz of oil
1 stick of butter
4 shallots, diced
8 oz. mushrooms, thickly sliced or quartered
8 cups of veal/beef stock (I used a reconstituted veal stock base called More Than Gourmet from Central Market. Another good base if you can find it is called Custom Culinary. Do not use bouillon. Last resort, Kitchen Basics has veal stock in a box.)
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 cup of flour (aprox.)
2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded & diced
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley

Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium high heat. Add chicken pieces & brown on both sides. You just want a good amount of color on the skin. You are not trying to cook the chicken through. Remove chicken from the pot & set aside.
Add butter to pan, allow to melt, add shallots & mushrooms, let sweat, add the wine, deglaze the pot (dissolving all of the brown bits off the bottom of the pan), reduce wine by 3/4s, begin to add flour slowly until a roux forms that is the consistency of creamy peanut butter. Let the roux cook & darken to a blonde state. Stir in tomato paste. Begin to add about 1/2 of the stock, slowly, stirring constantly. Add the chicken back to the pot. Continue to add stock until the chicken is a little more than 1/2 covered. (You may not need as much stock as the recipe calls for. Watch the consistency of the sauce. It should not be too thin or liquidy.)

Cover pot & transfer to a 350 degree oven. Let cook for at least 30 minutes, more than likely close to an hour. (Check it a couple of times for doneness & chicken tenderness.) Remove chicken to a serving bowl leaving sauce in the pot. Place pot on the stove over medium heat & allow sauce to reduce & thicken slightly. Pour sauce over chicken. Garnish with diced tomatoes & chopped parsley.

Woodfire Grill

For those of you who are Top Chef fans you probably know Kevin Gillespie. On this past season he made it to the final 3 next to the Voltaggio brothers & was known for many of his pork dishes. His restaurant in Atlanta is Woodfire Grill and last night it's tasting menu became the inaugural dinner party for a dining club group that included myself and a handful of classmates. Woodfire Grill creates it's menu from seasonal, local, sustainable ingredients. The menu varies and depends on what is the freshest, most flavorful offerings from local purveyors. This dinner was truly a southern food fine dining experience. The tasting menu consists of a 5 course small plate sampling menu that showcases the chef's abilities and specialties.

Here's a look at what was on the menu:

Amuse

sweet grass chevre, buttered toast, salsa verde

First Course

confit laughing bird shrimp salad tart, gremolata aioli, avocado creme fraiche, salsa cruda

Second Course

pan seared diver scallop with Moroccan spice rub, sumac roasted hen of the woods,
spiced wine syrup, ras el hanout

Taste

creamy potato and leak soup, micro radish

Fourth Course

smoked berkshire pork loin and belly, slow roasted anson mills grits, pickled cabbage,
roast pear and apple relish, espelette honey

Main Course

wood grilled lamb loin, grilled veal sweetbreads, confit fingerling potatoes,
charred baby vidalia onion, roasted lamb jus, cranberry gel

Dessert

apple cake, candied walnut anglaise, apple relish, brown sugar ice cream, honey gastrique

Each course was beautifully presented and offered layers of flavor throughout each ingredient and plating component. My personal favorite was the 2nd course with the Moroccan spice rubbed scallop and wild mushrooms. Tasting the scallop alone was fantastic but when combined with the wine syrup brought out many more layers of flavor like cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. The meatiness of the mushrooms may have overpowered the delicacy of the scallop but the spice rub and red wine syrup brought each element together in such a fantastic way.

I have to admit this was the first time I've had grits. The thick creamy texture reminded me of risotto and was very nice mixed with the pickled cabbage, and apple/pear relish side. The grits and relish were topped with two cuts of pork, tenderloin and belly. Pork tenderloin is one of my standby regulars when deciding what to prepare for a simple, yet impressive, dinner. However, I wasn't too sure about the pork belly. After watching Kevin Gillespie on Top Chef, I knew at some point pork belly would be part of the tasting menu and I was intrigued by it's flavor and presentation. I'm not entirely familiar with pork belly and did not know until someone explained that it is basically bacon but a much thicker cut that is mostly fat. (I'll learn more about that when I get into Culinary Foundations 3 and cover everything about various cuts of pork and beef.) For someone not accustomed to southern cuisine, pork belly is probably more of an acquired taste but I was impressed with the smooth, tender texture of the meat.

The lamb was also a favorite. Plated on a bed of Vidalia onions, the tenderness of the lamb combined with the sweet, smoky flavor of the onions was a fantastic layer of flavor. It was combined with a small portion of veal sweetbread over confit fingerling potatoes.

Overall the entire evening was a great dining experience. The attention to detail in plating, flavors and ingredients was meticulous and delicious. If you're ever in the Atlanta area I highly recommend making plans to try either the tasting menu or the regular menu. The only thing I advise is making reservations at least a month in advance. The tasting menu is $65 a person but definitely worth the flavors and experience.
-CLG

3 great sauces for steak & pork

The best of all the mother sauces is Espagnole. It is the classic brown sauce. So rich, so flavorful, I could eat it on almost anything.

Brown Veal Stock
Mirepoix (Onions, Celery, Carrots)
Clarified Butter
Flour
Tomato Puree
Sachet (Bay Leaf, Dry Thyme, Parsley Stems)
Saute Mirepoix in butter until caramelized, add flour to create roux, cook together to blonde creamy consistency, stir in tomato puree, slowly whisk in stock, add sachet, simmer for 2 hours & strain.

Espagnole on it's own is very good, but that's just the beginning. From there you can make a demiglace, which is very easy. Take equal parts Espagnole & straight brown stock, reduce it to half & there is your demiglace. Once you have a demiglace you can make 3 very fantastic sauces; Chasseur, Robert, & Marchand De Vin.

Chausseur - Saute mushrooms & shallots to good caramelized color. Add white wine & reduce, add demiglace & diced tomato, simmer, then finish with chopped parsley (a nice hearty, chunkier sauce, very flavorful that goes well with any red meat or even chicken.)

Robert - Sweat a small amount of diced onions in butter. Add about a cup of white wine, reduce by 2/3, add demiglace, simmer, strain, then finish with a bit of dry mustard & a little sugar dissolved in a small amount of lemon juice. (very good on pork, gives a sweet, sour, tangy flavor.)

Marchand De Vin (MY FAVORITE & the easiest) - Reduce red wine with chopped shallots by more than 1/2. Add demiglace & strain. (So rich & thick & great with steak. A little goes a long way.)

After we made the demiglace & turned it into each of the three sauces chef grilled some flank steak & we had a great dinner of steak w/ our sauces, polenta & leftover bread from the baking & pastry class next door. After 8 weeks of classes I finally get to eat a decent dinner. The sauces were great. Especially the Marchand De Vin & the Chausser. Robert, I don't know, maybe it is better with pork. I'll have to give it a try. The other thing that was sinfully good was dipping the bread into leftover clarified butter. Clarified butter has a beautiful flavor that is very different than just regular melted butter. We use clarified butter instead of raw butter in almost everything. That's a lesson for another day. I'm still trying to completely understand the technique. I like to think it makes the butter a little less fattening. Wishful thinking, I'm sure. More to come on that topic.

I really have to study all of these sauces this weekend, plus 4 more that we will do on Monday. I still have to get through Emulsion Monday - Hollandaise, Bearnaise, Mayonnaise & Beurre Blanc. On Tuesday I have a sauce practical test & will have to create 2 sauces (of the chef's choosing) without recipes, by myself, out of about 12 that we've learned. Quite a challenge. Should do okay. Bandaged fingers crossed. (Oh yeah, cut a couple of fingers along with the onions....again....OUCH!)

-CLG

If you can't take the heat......

----Tonight was pretty intense & it's only going to get worse....so get used to it. If you can't handle it & you don't want to do the work or the cleaning then you can leave.---- In so many words, that was the parting message from the Chef tonight. (And I'm glad she said it.) Just about everyone left the class annoyed or mad at someone or themselves. I was pleased with my results but was reaching my limit of patience with a handful of classmates.

It was a lot of work & a whole lot of cleaning, but if you paid attention, stayed organized & took seriously what you were doing, it was not hard. We worked in teams of 2 & had to produce 4 variations of 2 of the mother sauces then turn those 4 into 4 small sauces. I know that was confusing but hopefully I can explain it in simple terms.

The 5 mother sauces are Bechamel (White Sauce), Espagnole (Brown Sauce), Tomato, Hollandaise & Veloute. Tonight we made Bechamel & Veloute. We made three types of Veloute - Chicken, White Veal & Fish.

Bechamel = Milk + White Roux (roux is equal parts clarified butter & flour combined & cooked to a creamy peanut butter consistency & then used to thicken liquid - cooking it shorter or longer determines the color from White, Blonde to Brown or even darker in New Orleans - Brick)

Chicken Veloute = Chicken Stock + Blond Roux

White Veal Veloute = White Veal Stock + Blond Roux

Fish Veloute = Fish Fumet (Mirepoix & Fish bones sweated in wine & then water added to make into a stock) + Blond Roux

Once we made the 3 veloutes & the bechamel then those were turned into 4 small sauces:

Mornay = Bechamel + Gruyere & Parmesan (like Alfredo but better)

Supreme = Chicken Veloute + tempered cream + lemon + s&p, finished with a little butter (Creamy chicken sauce with a hint of lemon)

White Wine Sauce = Fish Veloute + 1/2 reduced wine + tempered cream + lemon + s&p, finish with a little butter (Creamy fish flavor with a hint of wine & lemon)

Allemande Sauce = White Veal Veloute + tempered liaison (egg yolks whisked with cream) + lemon + s&p (veal/beef flavor, creamy with a hint of lemon)

My partner & I did pretty well. We were please with all of the results & when chef tasted them she thought the flavor profiles were prominent. The key was tasting it throughout the process & then deciding should this simmer longer, does it need seasoning, more thickener, etc. We also got a private lesson about salting. We were conservative with the salt & she explained very well that you should always salt near the end, let it incorporate, taste again & then salt again, if nec. Keep salting & tasting as long as the salt is bringing out more of the sauce flavors. As soon as you think the salt is about to go over the edge & start to make it taste salty, don't salt again. Push the flavors all the way to the edge & then stop salting.

All of these sauces were easy to make & very worth the effort. There are only a few ingredients in each sauce because the focus is to bring out the primary flavors of the stock. Heating, reducing & thickening with the roux concentrates those flavors. If you want to try any of these sauces don't be intimidated. I will try to get recipes posted by the weekend. If there's anything specific you want to know, please let me know.

-CLG

February 15, 2010

Today I went to school early to study for the finals for a couple of hours. There were a few people there from my class but I really needed to sit alone & go through things on my own. After a while I noticed they weren't studying they were filling out a scantron and going through a test booklet. Come to find out an email was sent out this weekend (that I did not get) saying we should come to the library early to take our finals & then go on to our new class at 7:00. So the two finals I was supposed to take, that count for 25% of the grade, were combined into one scantron, multiple choice test. The spice, herb, oil, vinegar test was virtually thrown out because you can't identify any of those things in black & white pictures. There were some pictures of fresh herbs that we had to identify with multiple choice, but that was about it. It was super easy, but I was a little annoyed that I studied as much as I did for a test that was so lame. Oh well, at least I know I did well & should be making A's for this term.

On to Culinary 2. Forget the remedial, stand around & watch demos, now it's time to get cooking. The only part about it that feels overwhelming is working in a commercial kitchen and producing such large quantities. Tonight we were divided into 4 groups (6 or 7 in each group) & told to make Brown Stock. Something everyone in the room should know how to do if you paid attention & took good notes in the first term. We use veal joint bones to make the stock because the veal has more cartilage & collagen in the joints than the older cows. Something else that is interesting, using beef is not the reason the stock is brown. You can actually make a white stock with veal bones. White stock doesn't just mean chicken. What makes a stock brown is browning the bones & the mirepoix (50% onion, 25% carrots, 25% celery) before making the stock. Another hint is to spread tomato paste over the browned bones about 30 minutes before they are finished browning. All of this creates a very rich flavor and color and this stock serves as a base for so many fantastic sauces that will come later.

My group finished preparing our stock first (it has to simmer all night) so we asked what else we could do since there were still 45 minutes left in class. Chef said, "Oh sure, see all those cutting boards in the sink over there? They've been soaking in bleach all weekend you can wash them." There were about 30 boards, very slimy, very gross. So I have come home tonight smelling like bleach & burnt bones. Yuck! (But I had fun!)

Brown Veal Stock:
(The sauces you can make with this stock are worth the time & effort it takes to make the stock. Measurements are ratios according to weight)


50% veal bones (knuckles & joints)

100% cold water

10% mirepoix (50% onion, 25% celery, 25% carrots)

Sachet (Black peppercorns, thyme, parsley stem , bay leaf)

On a sheet pan brown bones in 400 degree oven until brown, coat with tomato paste when almost browned, brown until caramelized. Brown mirepoix separately, best if done with no oil, because you will get better color. Add mirepoix to stockpot. Drain fat from bones and discard. Add bones to stockpot with tongs. Deglaze the pan the bones were cooked in with read wine. Add deglazing mixture to stockpot. Add sachet. Add enough COLD water to cover bones completely. Bring to a simmer. Simmer for 6-8 hours. Do not stir, season or boil. Check regularly & skim (fr. term: depouillage) impurities & scum off the top of the stock. When finished use tongs to extract bones. Ladle out large chunks of mirepoix & then strain stock through a chinois or a colander lined with cheesecloth. You now have rich, flavorful brown stock that can be used for a variety of sauces. Cool to 70 degrees in an ice bath within 2 hours & to 41 degrees within 4 hours. Don't cover until cool & don't just throw it all in the fridge. Not a good idea for many reasons. It will stay good in the refrigerator for 3 days & freeze well for a while.

February 14, 2010

Life sends you on many journeys you never expected for yourself and this is definitely one I never imagined. Instead of making resolutions for 2010, I've managed to change my whole life. On January 2nd I moved to Atlanta to attend culinary school. This is entirely different than anything I have ever done and continues to be a leap of faith everyday.

Tomorrow I will be finished with my first rotation of classes. This 6 week term included Culinary Foundations 1 & Food Science & Safety. In Culinary Foundations we covered culinary & restaurant history, knife skills, kitchen equipment & usage, stocks, sauces, soups & cooking techniques. Food Science & Safety was all about everything disgusting you never wanted to know about restaurants & food. The symptoms and origins of dozens of foodborne illnesses & the proper handling of food through each stage of preparation. I expected this class to be boring but the gross out factor made it pretty interesting. I will never be able to go out to eat & look at a restaurant the same way again.

Throughout these first 6 weeks we have not been allowed to cook. Instead the chef has demonstrated many techniques & lectured on the fundamentals of cooking. After finals tomorrow I will move onto Culinary Foundations 2 where I will be required to produce each of the dishes and techniques that were demonstrated through the first term. As I move through CF2 I can catch you up on some of the great things that were made & the amazing dishes that come from extracting as much flavor as possible from the ingredients rather than through seasoning. My favorite so far, which I have already tried at home, is Flounder poached in fish stock topped with a Tomato Beurre Blanc (butter emulsified with reduced white wine). Absolutely fantastic! Very easy to do & one of the most flavorful dishes I have ever made.

Thursday night I had my practical exam on knife skills. We were given 80 minutes to complete 8 different knife cuts at varying amounts to precise measurement. After finishing, each cut was inspected & measured for uniformity and graded on a scale of 1 to 10. We were also graded on the amount of product waste that was left on our cutting board, whether or not the waste was separated between useable & non-useable & also sanitation. (Cleaning & sanitizing our knives & boards between each cut & type of product.) The 8 cuts included Paysanne, Julienne, Battonet, Concase (peeling, seeding & dicing a tomato), Ciseler (dicing an onion), Mince (garlic), Tourne (potato or carrot cut into a 2-inch long, 7-sided football shape) & Small Dice. I was happy to make an 86. I had points deducted because I cut myself twice and received anywhere from an 8-10 on all of the cuts. I was very pleased to do this well & thought the chef was being generous since my Tourned potatoes were pretty rough looking. They are by far the hardest to do & everyone in the class was cursing this cut.

Tomorrow, if it doesn’t snow again, I have two more finals. One is a written test covering everything in Culinary Foundations & the other is identifying 50 spices, herbs, oils & vinegars by sight, smell or taste. I am having the worst time with the oils & vinegars. In the practice sessions we’ve had I’ve relied mostly on color. Some of the vinegars you can definitely figure out by taste, others are very hard to discern. The oils are a little easier because of color, but I have a difficult time smelling them. (Too many nose bleeds in Colorado affected my sense of smell.) With the spices I keep having the problems with the same ones. Ground Allspice & Ground Cloves, Tumeric & Curry Powder, Nutmeg & Mace. There are also some things I have never heard of like Fenugreek, Anato & then there are all of the seeds – Caraway, Cumin, Fennel, Celery, Coriander, Cardamom. All of which STINK!

I’m pretty sure I made an A in Food Safety & hopefully if all goes well I will make an A in Culinary Foundations. That one is a little harder to figure out since the knife skills test counted as 30% of the final grade & the tests tomorrow still count towards 25%.

Sorry it took awhile to get this going. There’s been a lot more homework & projects to do than I ever expected. Later I will fill everyone in on the lovely uniform I have to wear everyday & how strange it is to be back in school after all these years.

-CLG