Plated or Family style?

I love the art of plating food, It takes patience, precision, and skill. I also love going to a restaurant that serves their food

 "Family Style". 

It is easier for me to appreciate a beautiful plated dish, but I would rather eat at the place that serves family style.

Here are some of the dishes I have made at work.

Pork Osso Bucco w/ Saffron Risotto & Gremolata

Grilled Prawns w/ Creamy Polenta & Summer bean Salad

Grilled Ribeye w/ Black kale & Olive oil mashed potatoes

Grilled Steelhead w/ Carmelized hedgehog mushrooms, Lardons, & summer beans

Seared Scallops w/ Squash Puree, Crispy speck, & Madeira glace

Grilled Yellow tail w/ Pea Puree, Asparagus tips, Artichoke hearts, & lemonciello vinaigrette

This is what makes my job fun, to be able to see all these dishes go out to the table, see the glowing faces, and then an empty plate coming back. That is what it is about, Its about the people.

Here are some examples of what Family style looks like in a Restaurant

There is definitely a comfort level of sitting down to a table that looks like these right? The community feel to it. Sharing, and not worrying about anyone leaving the table hungry.

This brings back memories of my childhood that I will never forget. Everyone should experience this.

So what would you rather have? Plated or Family Style?

Reference

Sean Brock is doing it right!

If there is any Chef who is sticking to his roots, and going above and beyond it has to be Sean Brock. He brings A humble approach to the food he creates, and really uses the local food to his advantage. He has starred in a show called Mind of a Chef, on PBS. He also runs a blog called "PING ISLAND STRIKE", it kind of acts as a digital notebook he says, for his restaurant McCrady's, in Charleston, SC. He has worked there since 2006. Then he opened HUSK in 2010, A celebration of southern ingredients.

He recently came to Portland Or to do a book signing for his new cookbook, Heritage. I was quite disappointed I couldn't make it due to work. He is truly a motivation to me and many other's. So check out his blog, restaurant, book, tv show, or go eat at one of his restaurants. Go see for yourself why so many people love this guy!

Baby Octopus, Sous Vide!

Octopus is a delicious treat, especially the baby's. They can be difficult to find at your local grocery store. You will have to go to a specialty store like Uwajimaya in Beaverton, OR. Or like I did, order it through the restaurant I work at.

Most of the time they are frozen, unless you live close to where they are caught.

I decided to Sous Vide the Baby Octopus with Calabrian chili's, Garlic, and olive oil.

You will need to clean the octopus well under cold water.

Then you need to remove the beak, which is located where all the legs meet in the center.

Baby Octopus are very tender, but I like to still tenderize them more.

simply just slapping them around in a bag will help make them more tender.

Lightly brown the garlic in the pan with chili's and olive oil.

Once the oil cools down, put mixture in a bowl with the octopus and season with salt and pepper.

Mix well and put in a bag.

I cooked the octopus at 120 degrees for 2 hours.

A lot of juices were created, so I decided to finish in a cast iron 

pan, and reduce that liquid for more flavor.

I Finished it with some nice whole wheat pasta

and aged parmesan reggiano.

The Ten Commandments in The Kitchen!

Here are some tips for anyone thinking about working in the kitchen.

10. Be on time 

9. Bring a sharp knife 

8. Forget what you think you know(it wont impress anyone) 

7. Be ready to work long hours 

6. Dont cut yourself 

5. Be prepared to take a pay cut from your desk job. 

4. Dont ask stupid questions( think before you speak) 

3. Wear the right shoes( dont fall on your ass) 

2. Have plenty of caffeine 

1. Last but not least, Dont touch other peoples mise en place!

These tips might prepare you for what to expect in a professional kitchen but every place is different,  every chef is different. 

so what are some other ways to prepare yourself? Set up what is called a stage. Which is basically a working interview,  anywhere from 1 day to 1 month. Yes you are working for free, but it is a test for you and for the restaurant to make sure you are both a good fit.

Pasta Night!

I have a Love for Making Pasta

Tagliatelle with Sous Vide Ox tail ragu I made last night

There is something about the process that is meditative for me.

It is such a simple thing, but it is an art to make great pasta.

So you want to make some pasta from scratch?



Some things to think about before you dive in.

Flour

wheat flour or durum flour?

Shape

fettucini, tagliatelle, pappardelle, ravioli, etc.

Eggs:

Always fresh, organic if possible.

Equipment:

Rolling pin, bench knife, and sharp chefs knife.

Once you figure out these things, and gather equipment you are ready.

Flour/ Egg Ratio

There is a simple trick for ratios.

1 cup of flour, 2 eggs, serves 3 people. Now of course this isn't going to be good if you have someone who eats more than average. But its ok you can just keep the same ratio, just go up one, so 2 cups flour, 3 eggs, serves 4 people.

Mixing:

Now you are ready to start mixing, Sift your flour for a non clumpy dough, add a pinch of salt.
Put the flour salt mixture on a clean surface, and shape into a well.

Now separate all the yolks from the whites.

Add the yolks to the middle of the well, also add a couple tablespoons of olive oil.

Now with a fork, start mixing the flour with the eggs, gradually towards the center.

Once you form into a ball, scrape the surface with your bench knife, and dust surface with flower.


Kneading:

Your dough may be a little wet, if so just add a little flour.
your dough may be a little dry, if so just add a little water.

Now knead your dough until smooth, and springs back when you press into it with your finger.


Rest:

Now let your dough rest for about 30 minutes.

Take this time to clean up your mess.

Rolling:

You dont necessarily need a rolling machine to make pasta, but it makes it much easier.

Cut your dough into 4 even pieces.

Now with your hands, shape the pieces into flat squares.

Roll out to desired thickness.

Dust both sides of sheet with flour.

Now roll up sheet like a carpet.

Trim ends off with sharp knife.

Now Cut shape desired.(like picture)


Cooking:

Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil.

Cooking time Depends on your cut of pasta,
Anywhere from 2 minutes to 7 minutes.

Cook until Al Dente.

Strain pasta, you can keep some of the water if you need to thin out your sauce.

tossing in olive oil is optional.

Sous Vide Cooking

So, recently my roommate got a immersion circulator from Anova.
It was a perfect edition to the kitchen, and not too costly either. I have wanted to try it out for a while now, so it was great timing.

I picked up some pork chops at whole foods yesterday, thinking I would just cook them in a pan.
But when I got home I realized I should Sous Vide the pork chops.

For the Chops:

• Salt & Pepper
• 10-12 Sage leafs whole
• 4-5 branches of Thyme
• 5 Calabrian Chilis
• 1/4 cup EVOO
• Ziplock bag

First I seasoned the chops heavily, then put everything in the bag, mix it all around making sure its all distributed. Then you can suck the air out of it, and seal the bag.

The Circulator was already set at 140 degrees, So I cooked it for 2 1/2 hours. 

After I pulled it out, I dry patted the two sides of the chops, seasoned again, and seared them in a hot cast iron with olive oil.

I served it with some nice roasted vegetables, a lentil bacon mash, and squash puree.

This was easily the most tender pork chop I have ever eaten, and I didn't even have to brine it.

Happy Cooking!

Coffee Coffee Coffee

Yesterday I woke up around 8, made some coffee, worked on my blog and took a shower. My usual morning, grabbed my knife roll and headed to work. The train was lurking with the dreary eyed hungover hooligans from the crazy clubbing the night before. Coffee mug in one hand, and bourdain's Med-Raw in the other with a knife roll on my back, ok yea maybe i'm going a little over board with this shit. I step off the train and light a smoke, Im only a few blocks from the restaurant at this point, and this guy says "Hey are you like a Chef"? I said, "NO, Im like A Cook". Then he followed with asking for a smoke and I "politely" rejected. Is this anger that I have or is it impatience for people in Portland, or is it both. I could have been nicer to that guy who was just trying to have a conversation, and bum a smoke, but I kind of was a dick. Oh well thats not going to ruin my day.

Once I get to the Restaurant, I change into my work clogs and put on a white cooks button up, grab a stack of towels, clock in, and get more coffee. As I walk by the breakfast cooks they look up with bags under their bloodshot eyes.  I head over to my station, the Wood fired Oven, and the Rotisserie. Its a long station, with two lowboys, and a ton of counter space, and a big boos block table.
First things first, Turn equiptment on! then I check my meez, Then check the walk-in for anything that the guys the night before would have put back there, Then I start in on Prep.
Chopping mushrooms, cleaning mussels, making croutons, crustinis, supreming oranges, heating up sauces, filling squeeze bottles of oil, dressings, and wine. grinding pepper, drinking coffee, bacon lardons, heating up the soup I made the night before, making a flour dredge for calamari. and the list goes on and on.

Its lunch time, but unlike weekday lunch, saturday is not that busy for lunch. usually 40-50 covers. But I was getting ready for happy hour. Its always busy for happy hour. from 4-6 we do anywhere from 75-250 covers. Then as I am getting ready for happy hour, my chef says, "hey your relief just called out, I need you to close!", I said "sure I like overtime."  So now I really have to bust my ass! We had 115 dinner reservations for dinner, so I cooked off 2 pork loins, and 12 chickens in the rotisserie.

Ok, So now I need more coffee, and a smoke.  Wow does time go by that fast, really its been 7 hours already and I have 6 more to go. Alright lets get back in there and do this shit. Happy hour is now in sesh. Pizza, Pizza, Pizza, Pizza, Goat cheese, Pate, Pizza, Escarole, Pate, Pizza, Pizza, Pate, Goat cheese, Pizza, Meatballs, Pate, Goat cheese, Pizza, Meatballs. The ticket machine doesn't seem to slow down. So since my relief didn't show up, I have to expo and make the food. As you can see in the picture, the oven can hold 6 or seven pizzas. so when I have 12 on fire I dont have the space.

This was not a typical saturday night, we had a banquet for about 120 people at 10:30, plated appetizers, desserts, and a pizza buffet. So after a busy night already now I have to make pizzas until 11:45. These little dainty ballerinas that just came from a performance, now ready to shove some greasy pizza down their throats. It was marvelous.

Well after a long busy day of chopping, stretching, tossing, slicing, plating, and drinking a lot of coffee. I made it. Now lets do it again!