Cookin No. 45 - Once Again

Once again, it has been a while. I make no excuses for my lack of commitment, to my own activities, however I hope that I have not offended.

With that said and done… onward:

Well, I suppose that it goes without saying that much has happened… two days after mother’s day I was promoted to sous chef at the restaurant. I had a wonderful time with my new responsibilities. And I think that I did well, I am sure that I met the expectations set before me. I would like to think of myself as hard and dependable worker. I was always early, put in more time than was asked, and I hope that I made the kitchen run smoother with my crazy OCD ways. I have found that I am a particular person, and I like everything in its place, or rather, the place which I put it in. HA! Dominic the GM, loved pushing my button by messing with my towels. I tend to get all twitchy, which I am sure is amusing when I am seen in the height of frenzy. I am also sure that one would also feel a sense of pitty that I would get wigged out over so little of a thing. Egh, there is method to my madness, I swear!

Anywho, after a wonderful run of things, the restaurant closed, and we were all out of a job. September 29th was the last day. I am sure that it is a day that I won’t ever forget. There was lots of chaos, we were just trying to get threw it and deal. We only got a week notice, and the reason… I suppose business wasn’t going good, there was a long diatribe, but I would rather not put too much thought into it, otherwise I’ll make myself nuts. You can’t change some things. I was sad though, I felt that these people, who I spent most of my waking hours with, were my family. And it is always hard to see your family fall apart.

I suppose to sum it all up I would have to say… This I believe:

When the tickets are pouring in, and you don’t know if you can push yourself any further, somewhere deep within an extra bout of adrenaline kicks on, and you find yourself moving without thought, just pure movement. In moments like this, you find yourself amazed and proud. Like a parent watching their child tackle a difficult task, you step back and see yourself flowing in the most profound way. Its movement like this that can not be replicated on command. It only comes when you are at the end, when you need it the most.

On the line, on a busy night, all you can hear is the hustle and bustle of the kitchen. The dishwasher grinding away, plates being slammed, knives chopping, your coworkers grunting, this sizzle of shallots hitting hot oil, the smell of meat grilling, the ticket machine going off. Occasionally a glass will drop, and you take a moment to glance in the direction of the offending noise, relieved for a short break. Sweat pouring off your face and down your back. In moments like this, I am proud to part of the cool kids club, the gang of the deranged who work hard just to please the masses who don’t even know your face. Diners don’t think about what sort of goon is cooking their food, they are kept in a perfect climate, a paradise that is separated from hell only by a swinging door.

Working in close proximity with other people, no matter their past transgressions, creates a relationship more intimate than any other. No matter if the meat head next to you is a convicted felon, or a religious family man, this person becomes your family. You trust them, and a loyal bond is formed that can’t be broken by anything that is thrown your way. Yes, you may fight and argue, but at the end of the night, your share a few drinks, a few laughs, and you know that this person has your back. If you need a ride, if you need a hand, if you need a shoulder, this is the person that you turn to.

This I believe:
I am a chef, and this is a life that I love, hate, and live. I chose this life for that one moment, when the first forkful enters the mouth, the first taste, and the sigh; when the patron’s eyes are closed, a small smile on their lips, and the love of food washes over them. That single moment of completeness is why I keep going.

It was the perfect first job, and after… well after I couldn’t think of a single place in the valley that I wanted to work at. I loved that restaurant. So I spent one week doing nothing. well, I did draft my resume and sent it out to 5 different job postings. Went on three interviews and two were very disheartening joints, then landed a part-time job at a chocolate shop in downtown Bethlehem. But I wouldn’t start for a while, so I had three weeks to relax and see what 8 hours of sleep feels like. I have to report that a nights rest is awesome! I went out walking all over town for hours each day, made bread, read a bit, wrote in my journal, painted and started to repair my social life. I have to say, that unemployment was starting to suit me just fine. However it does get boring, especially when you see your funds dwindle.

So I finally started work at the Chocolate Lab, on Broad Street. My new boss, Arleen, is a really awesome person. She is the first boss of mine to have the unique disposition where she see’s her employees as helpers, and truly appreciates all the work you do for her. Just by showing up on time she is overjoyed. It’s a pleasure to work for her. I am mainly making candies, which is sooo much fun because it allows me to be a perfectionist. I am also now immune to the smell of chocolate, which helps you get threw the day ;).

I am really looking at this job as a way to get threw the holidays, and I also see it as a way to learn something that I think would make me valuable to future employers. However, after the holidays, and business dies down at the shop, I am going to have to move on. Where, I don’t know. I don’t know if I want to stay in the valley, or move, or even stay at the shop part time. Do I want to keep cooking for other people, or open my own joint? I don’t know if I want to continue cooking on the line, or find another avenue in this culinary world. There questions have been plaguing me, either by my own mind, or by other people. I have found that everyone has an opinion about my predicament, and all is wonderful advice, but I think that the answer needs to come from me. I don’t doubt that what ever I decide, I will be happy. I know that I am capable so I have no worries. For now, I am going to relax and enjoy the holiday season.

Until next time my friends,

Buone Appitito!

Cookin No. 44 - What is this Contemporary Cuisine Business Anyway

So we are heading into spring, and after spring comes the dawn of the GRILL!!!!!! My favorite cooking method. Grilling manages to capture the freshness of you food, and give it great flavors. My favorite thing to grill is corn. I leave the husk on though. First I soak to corn in water for about 15 minutes, so that the husk won’t burn on the grill, then I peal back the husk, and rub a butter mixed with cilantro, lime, jalapeño, salt and pepper. Put that goodness on the grill, and cover the lid. Turn it over after a few minutes, and within 10 minutes you have a gooey mess of wonderful flavors. Mmmmm, I’m salivating just thinking about it.

Nothing much has happened in this world of mine. Much work and little play. At least work has a healthy balance of play involved. Yesterday, (Monday) the restaurant entertained a group of women taking cooking classes at a local college. The head chef asked me to assist him for the demonstration on contemporary American cuisine. But the first thing we had to figure out was, what in the world is contemporary American cuisine? I personally think that it follows parallel to the new wave of cooking. Fresh ingredients, bending the old rules, and making some new ones. Take for example, the set up of a plate. Traditionally a plate should have a starch, vegetable, and protein. But today, we are combining those ingredients to make something intriguing and new, take for example the tilapia dish on our menu. Tilapia is a very common fish now a days, it is a good cheap fish to add to your menu, which will bring in some revenue. It actually replaced orange roughy, which has been over fished, and has now become an expensive ingredient. But tilapia is nearly man made. Almost always farm raised, it has a delicate flavor, that is not only forgiving, but it takes on the flavors of the ingredients that it is cooked with. What we do at the restaurant is wrap it in partially cooked angel hair pasta, then flash fry it in a pan on high heat. Thus making the pasta crunchy, and also acts as a protective shell around the fish, keeping in the moisture and flavor. We then serve it with cherry tomatoes, shallots, capers and wilted spinach, and a citrus burre blanc sauce. The tartness of the capers and the burre blanc bring out the fish, and the spinach adds a robustness to the whole dish. This is not an old fashioned dish, though it has the elements of the old school ideals, citrus with fish, and so on. We have combined the old ways, and freshened it up. That is what this new wave we are riding is all about. The ladies were very impressed, and even though we were expecting culinary students, we enjoyed ourselves.

After the demonstration, I went home, and settled down for the night, when my power went out! It was out for nine hours! My neighbor and I sat in the dark speculating that it was because of the squirrels. They are probably angry because they are done hibernating, but its so cold, that they are confused and out of nuts. So they are up to no good. we must act against these furry terrors! Bah! Anywho. I am going to head off to the restaurant and earn my paycheck.

Until next time my friends,
Buone Appitito

Cookin No. 43 - Honesty is the Best Policy

Call me crazy, call me old fashioned, but I truly believe the honesty is the best policy. If you lie about it, you’re going to get caught eventually. If you try to cover it up, they will find out. And when your little rouse gets sniffed out, the consequences get to be fiercer. No one likes to be lied to. Not only do lies hurt, but they play on the emotions, because they always spin out of control. And what was once something that could have been fixed easily now has become a fiasco, a web of chaos, that you will look at and just shake you head thinking, “what now”. Here’s a story about honesty being the best policy:

This evening, after the rush of dinners at the restaurant, the head chef, Chris, and I were sitting outside polluting our lungs with tobacco and tar, when one of the waitresses, Allie, came running out of the door and towards her car with one of her shoes in her hand. Half barefoot she acted like a skittish animal when we asked her what happened. She said, “Don’t worry about it”. Someone in the kitchen told us that she spilled soup on herself. Immediately my mind flashed to the large pot of, made this morning, mushroom soup that was sitting in the back room. I started to shake my head. I knew that Chris was thinking about the same pot. Chris said, “I don’t think I want to know.” I agreed.

Again we asked A what happened, again she said not to worry. Chris and I put out our cigarettes and headed into the back room, to look at the foreboding pot. There was visibly 3 inches of soup missing. Again Chris asked A what happened, again she said not to worry. I didn’t have to look to know that Chris’ face was beginning to turn bright red with anger. He said, “I will only ask you one more time, what happened, if you tell me I won’t be angry, but if I have to ask you two more time, I will be ******* pissed.” A, then told us that as she was standing talking to another waitress, her foot slipped into the pot of soup. She also said that the other waitress told her to hide the “evidence”. Oui.

A very mad head chef went outside to smoke another cigarette, and I stayed behind to tell the two girls that if something happens to just come out and tell us, to not hide it, because what is done is done, but if you hide it, and we found out later, then bad things would happen. We would have ended up selling shoe soup instead of mushroom soup. Regardless of the food cost, we can fix the problem now. They didn’t seem to understand. Rather, they didn’t want to listen to me, instead they wanted to throw the blame around to other unforeseen forces. I understand that Chris is a formidable guy at times, but he understands mistakes, I understand that they didn’t want to get yelled at, but the yelling would have been worse if the lie continued.

My pearls of wisdom fell on deaf ears. I suppose that it was right then and there that these two young girls showed their age to me. I just wish that I could have made them understand. But I suppose that there are people who would rather push the blame around and create scapegoats, instead of saying, “my bad”.

So I send out this pearl to all of you… even though the truth hurts, the truth is less painful than the lie. A lie is salt that rub into the wound. You will loose credibility and respect if you sling lies.

Other than that, all is well in my world. My birthday is on Sunday, and I am looking forward to that. A nice meal with my family, and a little bit of relaxation is all that I need. But this is the big 25, I am becoming aware of age suddenly. You know what though, bring it on baby, I think that I will look good with grey hair ;).

Until next time my friends, Buone Appitito…

Cookin No. 42 - The Trials and Tribulations of a Cook

Today, I was straining the fryer as usual; going through the same moves and all, when something went wrong. I still can’t pinpoint what happened, but suddenly there was a searing hot pain in my leg, and when I looked down, the 350o oil was spraying all over my right leg. I am proud of myself when I didn’t scream like a girl, instead I said:

“OH *bleep*, that hurts, *bleep bleep* that’s hot, Danny this is *bleeping* hot, *BLEEP* *bleep* hot *bleep*”

Instead of dropping everything, I turned the nozzle off, that the oil was coming out of, and went to examine my leg. What is really strange is that all I could think about was, how great it was that I had just shaved my legs, so the guys wouldn’t see a hairy mess, and how if I get a nasty scar, it won’t look good in the summer when I show a little leg. I must be demented, or vain. Hmmmm. Danny ran and got me some burn cream and an ice pack. Being the ghetto thugs that we are, we duct-taped the ice pack to my leg. Yet another reason why duct-tape is the best invention ever!

That’s the thing, in the kitchen, when we don’t have the proper tool, we make something to help us out. Usually aluminum foil and duct-tape are our handiest tools. These are the tricks that you learn. If a sauce breaks, just add water. Something not cooking fast enough, add stock and cover it. Don’t have a lid, use another pan.

This evening, Dominic, the GM made an interesting dumpling, that was actually really tasty. He purred shrimp, scallions, garlic, bacon, oil, salt and pepper, and formed them into little balls, then coated them in cornstarch, and deep fried it. He served it with a poached egg yoke, wasabe and soy sauce, and sarache sauce (A hot chili sauce). They were actually really good; they would make a nice appetizer. I would make a wasabe mayonnaise to serve it with, and make a trio of sorts. The shrimp dumpling, some ahi tuna slices, and a mini duck confit spring roll.

Confit, (pronounced confee), means to cook something in its own fat, so duck confit, is usually braised, and because duck is very fatty to begin with, it becomes super tender and juicy, and the meat falls apart, looking a bit like pulled pork. It is absolutely delicious!

Well, that was my wonderful night at work, burned myself, and got some good ideas. Hopefully I will survive tomorrow.

Bon Appetite

Cookin No. 41 - A year Sabbatical Ends

Well, it has been a long time, a year actually. I apologize for the lack of posts on my behalf, I am sure that you are all know about how life can get very hectic and cluttered at times. So what happened in that year sabbatical that I took?

I graduated from school with flying colors, and landed myself a job at a local restaurant called Sweet Basil, http://www.sweetbasilbarandgrill.com/. I am only a pantry wentch, which means that I do appetizers, salads, and some hot entrees. I still work part time at Wegmans also, though having two jobs is starting to wear me down. I enjoy working at the restaurant though. I have learned so much, and I feel like I can finally call myself a professional cook.

See, school was just about accumulating knowledge, processing it, and applying it. Besides, you get out of it what you put into it. I honestly didn’t know how much more there was to learn though. At the restaurant, I learned tricks, how to make things cook a bit faster, how to move fast and work efficiently during a busy rush, how to deal with the weeds and how to get out of them. Restaurants are different beasts all together; you have to work well with your coworkers, because otherwise it could all go up in smoke.

I am one person in a three man team. When I first started, the restaurant was still quite new, so we really weren’t that busy. It was good for me to get myself ready for the holidays. That was where we really got kicked around. Suddenly business boomed, and instead of doing a nice service of 80 people, we were doing 120 in three hours! We thought that things would slow down after new years, but we are staying pretty consistent doing 100 and more people on Friday and Saturday nights, which is really good for a tiny restaurant in the middle of cornfields.

My boss, Chris, went to school at the cordon bleu in Pittsburg, so his background is very classic French. He has been in the industry for quite a while, and really has taught me a lot. He’s a good guy too, which I feel fortunate to have my first boss be so nice. He is quick to flare up though, but I learned to just ignore him, and keep doing what I’m doing. Because if I listen to him, I can get sucked into the irate mood and things fall apart. I don’t like being upset, so I try to just smile and whistle a good tune. It doesn’t always work out that way though. But at least I try.

The souse chef, Danny, graduated from the same school at me, six months before I did. So I actually knew him, he’s a good kid and I have enjoyed getting to know him. We have a lot of fun joking around, and all the sorts of things that happen behind the scenes.

Speaking of behind the scenes, what they say about the happenings in restaurants is true. Just read Anthony Bordane’s, a Kitchen Confidential, and I need not say any more about what its like to work in a kitchen. At first it was a bit of a culture shock, but I have grown accustomed to it. I just keep whistling while I work ;).

Well, this is a short entry, but I just wanted to give you a quick hello, and to let you all know that I intend to come back with more. More about the kitchen, and more about all that I’m learning.

Until then, keep whistling and enjoying food.

Cookin No. 40 - The End of Skill Development and Other Things

The first half of culinary school is almost done, last week I finished skill development II, with a nice buffet for everyone’s family in my class. I was so proud for my parents and Andy to see where I spend the better part of my days, and to meet my teachers and mentors. Skill development was a hard class. Everyday Chef Scott, would come threw the kitchen like the whirl wind that he is, and instruct us on the basic methods and techniques of classical cooking. I defiantly learned a lot from him, and learned a lot about myself and my abilities. This was defiantly a class that took up a lot of my time and energy, and suddenly I was becoming non-existent to my friends. I would wake up, go to school, then to work or what other activities I attend during the week, study, and sleep when I could find the time. Most days I would get about 4 – 5 hours of sleep, with a quick 20 minute nap. With no real break on the weekend, because it would be get up early, and go to work. But I don’t think I would have traded it for anything. Now I can make a soup, hollandaise sauce and chop vegetables with my eyes closed.

Now learning I move on to learning how to take all the stuff that Chef Scott instilled in me, and apply it to the kitchen, with Entrée’ kitchen. Basically the class splits up into two’s, and we are given a mystery tray in the morning, and then have 4 hours to present a 5 course meal to the panel of judges. Kind of like Iron Chef, but without the video cameras. Although I’m nervous, I can’t wait. Jeremy is going to be my partner, and I think that we will produce some good stuff. Because Jeremy is stronger in the departments that I’m weak in, and vice versa, and I think that we are both patient enough to help each other. He also holds a lot of the values that I hold, like cleaning as you go; paying attention to detail, working neat and organized… all of the tools that you need to actually make it in this world. You can be a great cook, but if you work in a mess, then you are going to fall behind, and the meal will suffer. But if you work in organization, you are going to succeed even with the most simple and blandest of dishes.

I never realized how much organization awareness I picked up in the corporate world. I suppose 5 years of filing and making labels has paid off, because before I cook, its like filing. You make stacks of your ingredients, prepare them to be put on the heat, arrange them in the order that they will take heading into the pot, and then clean everything so your area is neat and everything is ready to go quickly. You don’t want onion peels to be laying all over your cutting board, and your only knife caked with chicken gizzards before you put the oil into the pan and start cooking. Because mistakes happen, and if you forgot something like mincing the garlic, then you have take the time to clean of the peels and your knife, meanwhile everything is burning in the pan.

Putting all that aside, work is also going really well, I realized a little while ago, that I am completely content to give up my weekends. Actually it doesn’t feel like I’m giving them up, because the produce department has become like a second home to me. Even when I go in there on my day off, I’m stopping and chatting with my co-workers. They are all good and kind hearted people, and make my job so easy. Anywho, enough of them, this week I had been making chili, in preparation of the big game coming up. Of course I had no idea what big game people were talking about, because I don’t follow sports. Suddenly I understood, chili and guacamole for the super bowl, the Sunday night where millions of Americans get drunk and eat finger food in front of the TV, screaming and shouting. With big bucks riding on which ever team they favor. Suddenly the strict attire code at work was broken with Steelers fans dressed up in football jerseys, serving customers meat, or what have you. Even Wegmans had a jersey made for the store manager with Wegmans written on it like a team name, and his last name and a number on the back. I guess this is what its like in Europe when soccer season starts, or during the world cup.

Yesterday as I was peacefully handing out samples of chili, a man dressed from head to toe in the Steelers colors or black and gold, went running past me shouting to me something like “Steelers Rock!!! WHOOOOOO!!!!!” wow.

I don’t know who won the super bowl, but it was defiantly interesting to experience the chaos it brings to grocery stores all around America.

Also another great thing that happened last week, it was Chris’ birthday, and to celebrate the event she wanted to go to Musashi, a good sushi joint in Allentown. We had a large party of 10 people, so we got to sit in the back room around a low table, with cushions on the floor. We sat around drinking sake and eating damn good sushi, and toasting to Chris and her 22 years of existence. But one of the big highlights that night for me, was the sea urchin I got to eat. I suppose to most people that would be far from a highlight, but I have always wanted to try the exotic sea urchin. Its not something you find on every menu in Pennsylvania, or anywhere in the US for that matter. And you know what, it was good, a soft jello/ grainy texture with a pleasant fishy taste.

Ok, I have to run off, until next time my friends… Bon Appetite.









The Bread and Butter of the Buffet
















Amanda in a Cheese Cake shot















My Garnish, Beats and Acorn Squash















A long Shot of the Buffet














The Design on my groups Salmon

Cookin No. 39 The Chainsaw Massacre and Steamin in Bamboo

Today was the chainsaw massacre, in 5 part harmony. This morning, I slept in to a leisurely time, say 9:30, took a shower, dressed in some ratty clothes and headed to campus where they handed me a chainsaw and a block of ice and said “have at it”. Well, they didn’t just hand me the chainsaw, we got to watch a video, and Chef Dan made a seahorse. So we aren’t professional ice carvers, but we had a great time. We got to make a swan, unfortunately the sun got a hold of the ice, and everything started to melt before we had a chance to really finish. But it’s done, and looking more like a turkey than a swan, but I’m damn proud.

So a bit has been happening since I came back to school after our holiday break. The first day back, we had a garnishing class, which was really fun. Chef Scott brought in an old student, who went on to be sort of famous with her garnishing, and she taught us how to make pretty flowers out of a turnip. I actually really enjoyed it, and I think that I got the hang of it pretty well too. I’m not trying to toot my own horn here, but I think some of my creative energy pays off when doing detailed works of art with food. I hope that some day I will get to do a lot with garnishing, but for now I can only think about it. Because I’m not going to buy a cantaloupe to make some pretty design, if I had that kind of money to waste food like that, I’m sure I would be living in the lap of luxury. However I’m not, so I will just dream.

So my class is another person down, Cassie decided to drop the course, and I’m kind of sad to see her go. I considered her my friend, and I do miss her, but she wants to peruse a teaching career, so I hope it all works out for her.

In other parts of my life, Wegmans came out with their new Menu magazine, and this edition is all about steaming, so I get to use a really cool bamboo steamer. I never got to use one before, and I have to say it’s a lot of fun, but a pain to clean. You can’t use soap on the wood, so best not to put anything too messy in there, or you’ll be up some creek without paddles, and a steamer. So my first steaming item is Tai steamed chicken with vegetables. Now the traditional way to steam with a bamboo steamer is in a wok, but Wegmans has some crazy idea to steam in a flat pan, so no matter how little steaming liquid I use, it still boils up into the steamer. So if you’re using a bamboo steamer at home, steam in a wok. Also, I’m not sure if Wegmans testes their recipes, because I have had to make a lot of changes to make things come out right, in the past. And this time is no exception. I am using two tiers of the steamer, and they distribute all the vegetables between the two, and then put the chicken on top. When I did this the first time, (because I always follow their recipes to the T the first time), I found that the vegetables were cooked till they were brown and nasty, just so the chicken could be cooked threw. So the second time, I put a layer of baby bok choy on the bottom tier, and then the chicken on top of that, (I didn’t want the raw chicken to touch the wood and create a mess for me to clean), and then I put all the other vegetables on the top tier. So the chicken was closer to the heating source, and the vegetables would cook slower while the chicken cooked faster. Leaving the veggies to be perfectly fork tender and still vibrant in color, and the chicken cooked threw. I must note that I don’t like steamed chicken, it has a mealy texture that just doesn’t agree with me. So here is the recipe in my own fashion:

Tai Steamed Chicken

2 chicken boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 heads of baby bok choy quartered
1 red pepper julienne
1 head of broccoli fortes
Handful of snow peas
1 carrot julienne
(any other veggies that you like to put in)

Rice wine
2 cloves of garlic minced fine
1 inch piece of ginger minced fine
Chicken stock diluted with water
1 half lime juiced
Wegmans Tai peanut sauce (or what ever sauce you like to use, i.e.: sesame ginger sauce…)
Salt to taste


Cut up the chicken how you would like it, and marinate in sauce, lime juice and a pinch of salt, for a minimum of 10 minutes.

Place veggies in steamer.

In a wok over high heat combine the rice wine, garlic, ginger, and stock until the liquid starts to steam, and then place the bamboo steamer into the wok. Let steam for about 15 minutes, or until the veggies are fork tender. (if you don’t have a wok, you can steam in a pot with a steamer basket)

After the veggies are done, shock them in ice water and let sit. This will stunt the carry over cooking that happens when you steam. Then add you chicken to the steaming liquid left over, if you need more liquid, add some more. Sauté until done, then add the steamed veggies. This is to just heat them up. Add some of the sauce you didn’t use for the marinade, and let it coat the food.

Plate over a bed of rice and enjoy.

If you have any variations or changes you would make, let me know, I’m always interested to hear what people think, and what they would do. Because the best part of cooking, is thinking of how to make it better. Some people just want to follow recipes and be done with it, but I subscribe to the school of changing it to fit you. I meet so many customers at work, who are afraid to deviate from the recipe for a fraction. And with baking, you really should stick to it, but when it comes to savory affairs, the worst that could happen is that you call the pizza joint that evening. I had one woman ask me about if she could substitute the baby bok choy with regular adult bok choy, and I said yes, she could even just take the bok choy out completely, and she said “oh no, I don’t like to do that, if the recipe calls for it, that’s what I use, I don’t change recipes at all”. I couldn’t help but wonder why she was asking for a substitute, and then I also couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for her. Because she is chained to just following the recipe and can’t seem to break out on her own and create. But maybe that’s what she likes. It’s just not my thing.

Anywho, I’m going to call it a night. I hope to post more regularly, just bare with me for a while.

Until next time, Bon Appetite.








Garnishin
















Chainsaw wheelding















A seahorse














The swan