So tonight is Halloween... Wanna know what's sad about that? I didn't realize that it was Halloween until I saw a woman walking down the street with devil horns on her head... That just shows how pathetically out of sync I am with society... I mean, I knew Halloween was coming up, but it surprised me that it's already the 31st... When I was a kid, I would have been waiting for today for the past month... Now, I barely even notice that it's here!
Adulthood sucks, kids. Don't grow up... It's not as fun as it sounds...
Anyway, I got culinary math workshops again this week. Yesterday was going over the lessons the students were assigned and today is some review followed by a test for them... I'm not a huge fan of the workshops themselves, but I agree with what they attempt to do. It's just a shame that the students that truly need it and appreciate it are outnumbered by the students who refuse to see why math is important in the culinary industry... Oh well... I got an email today saying that I probably won't have to run the make-up session this week, which is a little disappointing, but it's also a relief, seeing as the make-up session is set for 12-1:30 on Friday, which would make me have to leave my house 2 hours earlier than I would want to so I could do the session and then go straight to work.
I feel as though I should give you a Halloween recipe, but I don't have my notebook or any recipes with me and stealing a recipe from a different website would just be cheating, so I'm just gonna leave you with this:
Go out, have fun, be safe, and try not to get arrested
Me
- B. Christman
- I'm a Chef and writer who has an immense passion for what I do. I tend to rant and ramble on a variety of subjects, hence the title of this blog. The "in-training" part of the title comes from my belief that no matter how experienced a chef may be, he or she should always be training him- or herself and constantly striving to become better.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Monday, October 29, 2012
Annoyance
So today I was actually looking forward to my day after my accounting class... I was gonna drop by HR after class to pick up my paycheck, then go to the Center For Academic Support (CAS) and do two scheduled tutoring sessions. I got my paycheck, finally, and went to CAS, after getting a bag of pretzels for lunch (woo...), to do some homework in the 30 minutes I had before my tutee was scheduled to arrive... She never showed... That's okay... I have another one schedule to come in. Hopefully my skipping a real lunch would still be worth it... NOPE! The second tutee didn't show up either... Now I'm sitting in the library, doing other homework, hoping that the group members for my History project either show up or text me about working on our project. I've come to the decision that if they don't show up by 1:45, I'm just gonna go home. I was hoping that today would be productive and interesting, but the most interesting thing that happened today was learning how to do adjustments on a worksheet in my accounting class... And getting my paycheck from JWU, which basically went straight to the credit card bill that I racked up last weekend...
Now I need to think about what I'm gonna do for dinner, because I definitely can't afford to order out at all this week... I can't even go to Little Village to get a gyro cause the $8 I'd spend on that could be put toward enough food at Food Lion to be able to buy 2-4 lunches for at home. I'm probably gonna break down and get something from Little Village on Thursday though... Mainly cause I won't be able to go into work and get a free meal like I'm planning to do for Wednesday and Friday... Tomorrow I'm probably just gonna get a candy bar or another bag of pretzels... It's a good thing I'm used to being poor when I'm down here... haha
Now I need to think about what I'm gonna do for dinner, because I definitely can't afford to order out at all this week... I can't even go to Little Village to get a gyro cause the $8 I'd spend on that could be put toward enough food at Food Lion to be able to buy 2-4 lunches for at home. I'm probably gonna break down and get something from Little Village on Thursday though... Mainly cause I won't be able to go into work and get a free meal like I'm planning to do for Wednesday and Friday... Tomorrow I'm probably just gonna get a candy bar or another bag of pretzels... It's a good thing I'm used to being poor when I'm down here... haha
Friday, October 26, 2012
Rant and a sauce recipe
So today is a bit of an annoyance to me. I decided to visit the Friday Nutrition class to tell the students there that I'm looking for tutees since almost nobody is coming to the Center for Academic Support and asking for a nutrition tutor... I say almost because I actually do have one person that's going to be using me for both Nutrition and Menu Planning, and that's another reason I had to come into the city a full four hours before I have to be at work... What makes it slightly annoying is that the tutoring session is from 12-12:30, so even when it's over, I'll still have an hour and a half before I'm scheduled to be at work... It's no big deal, I can manage to dick around in the computer lab for an hour or so, but it's the principle of the thing... I usually don't leave my house until 1:20 on Fridays and Saturdays because I hate coming into Charlotte, even though I do like the city itself.
To top it all off, I'm now kicking myself for spending so much money this past weekend... While it was completely worth every cent I spent, I'm wishing that we hadn't gone to the Carolina Renaissance Festival... Well, that's a lie, I had fun, but I'm wishing I wouldn't have spent so much money when we got there. Haha.
Anyway... I'm gonna give you another recipe... This one I stole from the Highland Grill at Hershey Links. It's an absolutely delicious tomato sauce, and I'm glad that I stole the recipe for it. haha
Charred Tomato Sauce
5 lbs Tomatoes (The greater the variety in types of tomatoes, the better the sauce. Try to avoid grape or cherry tomatoes)
1 large yellow onion, cut into 1/8ths
5 cloves garlic
1 ounce fresh marjoram
1 ounce fresh oregano
1 ounce fresh tyme
2 cups red wine (Any red will do, but Hershey uses Merlot)
1 pint tomato juice (optional, based on freshness of tomatoes)
Salt and Pepper to taste
MOP:
----If you have a grill----
1.) Saute the onions and garlic in stock pot until the onions are translucent (Almost clear)
2.) Deglaze with wine and add herbs.
3.) Bring to a low simmer and let the wine reduce by half.
4.) While wine is reducing, cut your tomatoes in half and place skin side down on hot grill. Rotate 90 degrees once you get nice, black grill marks
5.) Once the second set of grill marks are made, flip the tomatoes so the skin side is up. Repeat the grill mark procedure.
6.) Pull tomatoes off the grill and put into the pot. The wine should be reduced enough by now.
-------------------
----If you don't have a grill----
1.) Preheat oven to 350 F (176.7 C)
2.) Follow steps 1, 2 and 3 of with grill instructions
3.) Cut your tomatoes in half and lightly coat them in oil.
4.) Place tomatoes skin side up onto one or two sheet trays and put in oven. (Number of trays determined by how many tomatoes you can fit on one tray)
5.) Roast tomatoes until skin blackens slightly, be careful not to completely burn the tomatoes. (should be about 10 minutes, maybe less)
6.) Add tomatoes to pot.
------------------
7.) If your tomatoes are not very juicy, add the tomato juice. If they are juicy, you can choose to leave out the tomato juice. Either way, bring the whole thing to a low simmer.
8.) Simmer for 3-6 hours, stirring occasionally. If it starts to get dry, add more wine or tomato juice (Your choice, just don't add water)
9.) This is where it gets tricky. If you have a nice, big immersion blender, use it to puree the whole thing. If not, divide the sauce into 4-6, maybe more, batches and use a blender or food processor to puree it.
NOTE: If you are using a blender or food processor, cool the sauce before pureeing it. This will make it safer to do so, and it will also allow you to do bigger batches.
I'll let you determine how to store it, but I recommend canning if you aren't planning on using all of the sauce within a week, maybe two. If it's too much for you to be able to store without canning, then I recommend cutting the recipe in half because I don't know how well it'll hold up to freezing.
Just a general note: If I post a recipe that calls for Tomato Sauce, or Red Sauce, chances are that I'm referring to this recipe, so make sure you save it :p
To top it all off, I'm now kicking myself for spending so much money this past weekend... While it was completely worth every cent I spent, I'm wishing that we hadn't gone to the Carolina Renaissance Festival... Well, that's a lie, I had fun, but I'm wishing I wouldn't have spent so much money when we got there. Haha.
Anyway... I'm gonna give you another recipe... This one I stole from the Highland Grill at Hershey Links. It's an absolutely delicious tomato sauce, and I'm glad that I stole the recipe for it. haha
Charred Tomato Sauce
5 lbs Tomatoes (The greater the variety in types of tomatoes, the better the sauce. Try to avoid grape or cherry tomatoes)
1 large yellow onion, cut into 1/8ths
5 cloves garlic
1 ounce fresh marjoram
1 ounce fresh oregano
1 ounce fresh tyme
2 cups red wine (Any red will do, but Hershey uses Merlot)
1 pint tomato juice (optional, based on freshness of tomatoes)
Salt and Pepper to taste
MOP:
----If you have a grill----
1.) Saute the onions and garlic in stock pot until the onions are translucent (Almost clear)
2.) Deglaze with wine and add herbs.
3.) Bring to a low simmer and let the wine reduce by half.
4.) While wine is reducing, cut your tomatoes in half and place skin side down on hot grill. Rotate 90 degrees once you get nice, black grill marks
5.) Once the second set of grill marks are made, flip the tomatoes so the skin side is up. Repeat the grill mark procedure.
6.) Pull tomatoes off the grill and put into the pot. The wine should be reduced enough by now.
-------------------
----If you don't have a grill----
1.) Preheat oven to 350 F (176.7 C)
2.) Follow steps 1, 2 and 3 of with grill instructions
3.) Cut your tomatoes in half and lightly coat them in oil.
4.) Place tomatoes skin side up onto one or two sheet trays and put in oven. (Number of trays determined by how many tomatoes you can fit on one tray)
5.) Roast tomatoes until skin blackens slightly, be careful not to completely burn the tomatoes. (should be about 10 minutes, maybe less)
6.) Add tomatoes to pot.
------------------
7.) If your tomatoes are not very juicy, add the tomato juice. If they are juicy, you can choose to leave out the tomato juice. Either way, bring the whole thing to a low simmer.
8.) Simmer for 3-6 hours, stirring occasionally. If it starts to get dry, add more wine or tomato juice (Your choice, just don't add water)
9.) This is where it gets tricky. If you have a nice, big immersion blender, use it to puree the whole thing. If not, divide the sauce into 4-6, maybe more, batches and use a blender or food processor to puree it.
NOTE: If you are using a blender or food processor, cool the sauce before pureeing it. This will make it safer to do so, and it will also allow you to do bigger batches.
I'll let you determine how to store it, but I recommend canning if you aren't planning on using all of the sauce within a week, maybe two. If it's too much for you to be able to store without canning, then I recommend cutting the recipe in half because I don't know how well it'll hold up to freezing.
Just a general note: If I post a recipe that calls for Tomato Sauce, or Red Sauce, chances are that I'm referring to this recipe, so make sure you save it :p
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Delicious Recipe
I've decided to share a recipe today since I have nothing better to talk about. This is a recipe I found in a cookbook and tweaked a bit. My mom loves it and has me make it every time she buys salmon.
Salmon en papillote (Salmon in paper) with Basil Butter
Basil Butter:
15 ea Basil leaves, fresh, minced
1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1/4 lb salted butter, softened
MOP:
1.) Combine all ingredients together and mix. You may use a mixer, but it creates less dishes and works just as well if you do it by hand
NOTE: You may substitute any fresh herb (Or mixture of herbs) for the basil
Salmon:
4 ea 4oz Salmon Filet
1 ea Lemon, sliced
2 tsp Salt
1 tsp White pepper (you may substitute black pepper)
4 ea Garlic cloves
1 ea 5x6 Tomato (Medium sized globe tomato), sliced
4 ea Bay Leaves
2 tsp Paprika
MOP:
1.) Preheat oven to 350 F (176.7 C)
2.) Season salmon with salt an pepper
3.) Lay out a piece of parchment paper that is about twice as long and three times as wide as your salmon filet. If you do not have parchment paper, foil works just as well
4.) Lay one salmon filet in the middle of the parchment paper and place 1 garlic clove, one bay leaf, once slice of tomato, one slice of lemon and 1/2 tsp of paprika on top of salmon.
5.) Lengthwise, bring the two edges of the parchment paper together above the salmon and fold them together until the paper is resting on the salmon.
6.) Take the edges of the paper, twist them firmly and tuck under the salmon.
7.) Repeat with three remaining filets
8.) Place all packages onto a sheet tray and bake for 5-10 minutes, or until salmon is cooked to your liking.
9.) To serve, carefully cut open packages to release the steam, remove the bay leaf and lemon slice, and put a dollop of the basil butter on top.
Some Notes:
You have to be certain that the packages are air tight. This is a method of steaming, so if the steam can escape, the salmon will not cook the way it is meant to.
If you choose foil of parchment paper, it allows you to cook the salmon on a grill, which makes it easier to monitor. However, doing this will not impart any additional flavor to the salmon, as the package should be air-tight.
Be careful when opening the packages, as they will contain hot steam, which can cause very painful burns.
If you do not serve the salmon with the butter, this is a very healthy dish. A good substitution for the herb butter is a nice fruit chutney (I'd recommend mango), although you can choose anything you think would work.
My preferred sides for this dish are sauteed green beans and a basic rice pilaf
If you like wine with your food, I recommend a nice Riesling or a Sauvignon Blanc, although it really comes down to your own personal taste.
In the immortal words of Julia Child, "Bon Appetit!"
Salmon en papillote (Salmon in paper) with Basil Butter
Basil Butter:
15 ea Basil leaves, fresh, minced
1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1/4 lb salted butter, softened
MOP:
1.) Combine all ingredients together and mix. You may use a mixer, but it creates less dishes and works just as well if you do it by hand
NOTE: You may substitute any fresh herb (Or mixture of herbs) for the basil
Salmon:
4 ea 4oz Salmon Filet
1 ea Lemon, sliced
2 tsp Salt
1 tsp White pepper (you may substitute black pepper)
4 ea Garlic cloves
1 ea 5x6 Tomato (Medium sized globe tomato), sliced
4 ea Bay Leaves
2 tsp Paprika
MOP:
1.) Preheat oven to 350 F (176.7 C)
2.) Season salmon with salt an pepper
3.) Lay out a piece of parchment paper that is about twice as long and three times as wide as your salmon filet. If you do not have parchment paper, foil works just as well
4.) Lay one salmon filet in the middle of the parchment paper and place 1 garlic clove, one bay leaf, once slice of tomato, one slice of lemon and 1/2 tsp of paprika on top of salmon.
5.) Lengthwise, bring the two edges of the parchment paper together above the salmon and fold them together until the paper is resting on the salmon.
6.) Take the edges of the paper, twist them firmly and tuck under the salmon.
7.) Repeat with three remaining filets
8.) Place all packages onto a sheet tray and bake for 5-10 minutes, or until salmon is cooked to your liking.
9.) To serve, carefully cut open packages to release the steam, remove the bay leaf and lemon slice, and put a dollop of the basil butter on top.
Some Notes:
You have to be certain that the packages are air tight. This is a method of steaming, so if the steam can escape, the salmon will not cook the way it is meant to.
If you choose foil of parchment paper, it allows you to cook the salmon on a grill, which makes it easier to monitor. However, doing this will not impart any additional flavor to the salmon, as the package should be air-tight.
Be careful when opening the packages, as they will contain hot steam, which can cause very painful burns.
If you do not serve the salmon with the butter, this is a very healthy dish. A good substitution for the herb butter is a nice fruit chutney (I'd recommend mango), although you can choose anything you think would work.
My preferred sides for this dish are sauteed green beans and a basic rice pilaf
If you like wine with your food, I recommend a nice Riesling or a Sauvignon Blanc, although it really comes down to your own personal taste.
In the immortal words of Julia Child, "Bon Appetit!"
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Epic weekend
So as I said last week, this weekend saw both Anna and Beckie coming to stay with me and my roommates. Let me just say... It was pretty awesome. We had A LOT of fun. I won't go into specifics about what happened, but I'm sure you can imagine what kind of shenanigans five college-aged kids can get in to... I will say this; we did not have an orgy, we did not do drugs, and, as far as I'm aware, nobody got pregnant.
The major downside to the weekend, I spent over $200, which was most of my weekly pay... I'm still gonna say it was worth it, though, because it was the most fun I've had down here in Charlotte.
On another note, I've decided to start trying to learn how to play the Ocarina. I bought a nice 6-hole, English-style tenor at the Carolina Renaissance Festival on Sunday, and Anna gave me some very basic lessons on reading music. All I need to do is completely memorize the fingering and which note is which. So far, I think I'm doing pretty decent, but I really need to get some song-books... I ordered two yesterday, and got an email saying that they usually ship out via USPS within two business days, so I can probably expect them between Thursday and Monday... It has me pretty excited because I haven't gotten this serious about learning music stuff since I tried to learn to play the trumpet in 4th grade.
Anyway... That's all I really have to talk about right now... Nothing really got on my nerves this weekend besides my stupidity with my money. There's also nothing super interesting going on in my life besides the whole learning to play the ocarina thing.
My life is tragically dull, I know
The major downside to the weekend, I spent over $200, which was most of my weekly pay... I'm still gonna say it was worth it, though, because it was the most fun I've had down here in Charlotte.
On another note, I've decided to start trying to learn how to play the Ocarina. I bought a nice 6-hole, English-style tenor at the Carolina Renaissance Festival on Sunday, and Anna gave me some very basic lessons on reading music. All I need to do is completely memorize the fingering and which note is which. So far, I think I'm doing pretty decent, but I really need to get some song-books... I ordered two yesterday, and got an email saying that they usually ship out via USPS within two business days, so I can probably expect them between Thursday and Monday... It has me pretty excited because I haven't gotten this serious about learning music stuff since I tried to learn to play the trumpet in 4th grade.
Anyway... That's all I really have to talk about right now... Nothing really got on my nerves this weekend besides my stupidity with my money. There's also nothing super interesting going on in my life besides the whole learning to play the ocarina thing.
My life is tragically dull, I know
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Quick blurb about the new layout
I was looking through gadgets and whatnot for this blog, and I saw the "Translate" thing was only available for this type of layout... I've done my best to make it look decent, but I'll mostly likely be fiddling around with color schemes and whatnot for the next few days... My last template didn't allow for the translator, and I wanted to be able to allow people who don't know English to be able to translate it without having to copy and paste into a translation website...
It's powered by Google Translate, so I'm not entirely sure how reliable it is with grammar, but I figured it's better than nothing.
If you don't like it... tough... this is my blog, and I can do whatever I want to it!
It's powered by Google Translate, so I'm not entirely sure how reliable it is with grammar, but I figured it's better than nothing.
If you don't like it... tough... this is my blog, and I can do whatever I want to it!
Is it the weekend yet?
So this weekend is going to be loads of fun. I'm headed up to Hickory after work tonight to get Anna, who's going to be staying with me until Tuesday, and tomorrow after work, I'm picking up my good friend Beckie at the train station, who will also be staying until Tuesday... The reason? Because Lenoir Rhyne kicks out the students for Fall Break and Anna would rather come see me than stay with her uncle Andy or go home for the five days that she's going to have off. As for Beckie, she just wanted to come visit.
I'm expecting the weekend to be a lot of fun, so of course this week is dragging... I'm just hoping I get out of work as early as I did last night... That way I'll be getting home with Anna before midnight. On a similar note to that, I hope I get off early-ish tomorrow night, too, so Beckie doesn't have to sit in the train station for more than 10-20 minutes.
By the way, last night was another example of why I'm not a huge fan of working in a private club... We had a total of 6 people on the books, and not one of them ordered something from my station... Yes, I had to put together the Amuse Bouche to order, but that encompassed a grand total of 5 minutes... I spent the rest of the time cleaning and helping prep for a banquet... I can't really complain about helping with the banquet prep though, because I enjoy doing that. Hell, if I could, I'd work the banquet side of the City Club kitchen. Unfortunately, there isn't a spot open... Another problem with that would be the pay. They get paid conditional salary, which basically means that they have to work a certain number of hours or else their pay gets cut for that week, but if they work a lot more than what's required, they only get a very slight increase in pay for that week... It's pretty ridiculous.
Anyway... I got tutoring today, so this was basically a way for me to kill half an hour. I might post a recipe sometime this weekend, but don't get your hopes up.
TTFN!
I'm expecting the weekend to be a lot of fun, so of course this week is dragging... I'm just hoping I get out of work as early as I did last night... That way I'll be getting home with Anna before midnight. On a similar note to that, I hope I get off early-ish tomorrow night, too, so Beckie doesn't have to sit in the train station for more than 10-20 minutes.
By the way, last night was another example of why I'm not a huge fan of working in a private club... We had a total of 6 people on the books, and not one of them ordered something from my station... Yes, I had to put together the Amuse Bouche to order, but that encompassed a grand total of 5 minutes... I spent the rest of the time cleaning and helping prep for a banquet... I can't really complain about helping with the banquet prep though, because I enjoy doing that. Hell, if I could, I'd work the banquet side of the City Club kitchen. Unfortunately, there isn't a spot open... Another problem with that would be the pay. They get paid conditional salary, which basically means that they have to work a certain number of hours or else their pay gets cut for that week, but if they work a lot more than what's required, they only get a very slight increase in pay for that week... It's pretty ridiculous.
Anyway... I got tutoring today, so this was basically a way for me to kill half an hour. I might post a recipe sometime this weekend, but don't get your hopes up.
TTFN!
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Just a little blurb
So today was the beginning of the next round of culinary math workshops. The one I was able to sit in on went well. They're supposed to be learning about Conversion Rate Factors, which is basically learning how to convert recipes to larger or smaller portions. They seemed to understand it fairly well, though I'm taking my typical, cynical outlook on the whole thing and assuming that at least a few of them were only acting like they understood the information.
Today is also one of the three days I'm going to be using to visit the Nutrition classes to let the students know that I'm a Nutrition tutor... It's been... what? Five, six weeks since the term started, and we haven't even had one person come in for Nutrition tutoring.... Now that midterms are over and the students can see that they aren't as smart as they thought, I'm sure they're going to be worried about passing, which is why I'm going to visit the classes. If I strike while the iron is hot, so to speak, they'll realize that I'm here to help... And that means I'll get more tutoring hours.
On a non-school related note, I actually started getting back into writing and got past the block that I was having with one of my novels... It's completely unrelated to food stuff, so I don't recommend it to those of you that follow this blog simply for a chance to get recipes or humorous anecdotes about working in a kitchen.... That book will probably be started once I spend more than 3 months in one kitchen.
Here's the link to anybody interested in a romantic horror story: http://www.fictionpress.com/s/2880893/1/Eternal-Darkness (NOTE: There are scenes of a sexual nature, so if you don't care for that kind of thing, then avoid the end of chapter 3 and the beginning of chapter 4)
Today is also one of the three days I'm going to be using to visit the Nutrition classes to let the students know that I'm a Nutrition tutor... It's been... what? Five, six weeks since the term started, and we haven't even had one person come in for Nutrition tutoring.... Now that midterms are over and the students can see that they aren't as smart as they thought, I'm sure they're going to be worried about passing, which is why I'm going to visit the classes. If I strike while the iron is hot, so to speak, they'll realize that I'm here to help... And that means I'll get more tutoring hours.
On a non-school related note, I actually started getting back into writing and got past the block that I was having with one of my novels... It's completely unrelated to food stuff, so I don't recommend it to those of you that follow this blog simply for a chance to get recipes or humorous anecdotes about working in a kitchen.... That book will probably be started once I spend more than 3 months in one kitchen.
Here's the link to anybody interested in a romantic horror story: http://www.fictionpress.com/s/2880893/1/Eternal-Darkness (NOTE: There are scenes of a sexual nature, so if you don't care for that kind of thing, then avoid the end of chapter 3 and the beginning of chapter 4)
Friday, October 12, 2012
Work Rant
Normally, I try to limit what I say about my job when I'm posting anything to the internet, but today I saw something that simply can't be ignored. The picture below are of Honeydew melons that were in the walk-in at the City Club.
If this picture does not disgust you, let me explain something real quick... Honeydew melons are supposed to have a light green skin. The skin on these is splotchy brown. Those black spots, parts of the flesh that are so rotten that the flesh gives way with only a slight amount of pressure.
I know what you're thinking... "Why didn't you just throw them away?"
The answer is simple, they've been in there for the past few days, in plain sight. If they were supposed to be thrown away, they would have been by now. I don't know why the club is saving them, and I don't know what they plan to do with them. If they were accepted in this condition, then that tells me we need new people checking in the orders. If it was any of the chefs that checked in the order, then we need new chefs. I know for a fact that they aren't melons that simply sat in the walk-in too long because we go through melons very quickly, and only a gigantic mistake on everybody's part would allow for melons to go this bad. Therefore, I believe that these melons were accepted in this absolutely atrocious state, which is completely unacceptable.
I have nothing more to say on the matter.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Tutoring Rant
I realize that last week I was talking about how awesome it was to be running the math workshops and how great it felt to be a tutor, but I've recently come to the conclusion that I simply don't know how I feel about it... Sure, I love the aspect of being a tutor and helping people, but the subjects I cover are subjects that people tend to avoid getting tutoring for.
Culinary Students tend not to seek out help for their labs. They have very little reason to. Not only are the classes mostly skill-based, but they only last 9 class days. Even if they're having trouble in the class, they don't exactly have a lot of time to come in to Academic Support to get help with the information. Not only that, but Culinary Students are arrogant assholes. Most of them tend to believe that they can figure it out on their own, and many more of them are perfectly content to pass with a D. I'll be the first to admit that I'm an asshole, too, but at least I'm willing to admit when I need help. I was lucky when it came to labs because my experiences at LCCTC basically taught me everything I needed to know in the labs, and the majority of them were simply review. That being said, the ones that actually taught me new things were easier for me because I understood the basic concepts, and that's something many Sophomores at JWU can't seem to understand.
As for the Nutrition tutoring, we haven't even had one person come into Academic Support to ask about possible tutoring. Granted, this is partly my fault for not going into the classes and letting the students know that I'm here (Something I intend to remedy in the coming week), but Nutrition is a class that causes a lot of people trouble in this school, and for good reason, too. It's a challenging and confusing class. Again, I got lucky when it came to Nutrition because I've been exposed to the information that was covered almost more times than I can count... Biology in high-school, Health in high-school, Nutrition unit at LCCTC, Nutrition unit in one of the basic cooking classes I took in high-school, the Nutrition Lab here at JWU, and the Nutrition Class at JWU, not to mention the diabetes training I received when I was diagnosed. I highly doubt that there are many students here who have had as much exposure to Nutrition as I have, and, naturally, I worry a little that nobody has even started asking about getting help; especially since midterm was this past week.
There's probably more that I can talk about, but I'm feeling lazy right now, so I'm just gonna stop for the day... If something interesting or infuriating happens at work, I'll post when I get off, but other than that, don't expect anything else from me today.
TTFN!
Culinary Students tend not to seek out help for their labs. They have very little reason to. Not only are the classes mostly skill-based, but they only last 9 class days. Even if they're having trouble in the class, they don't exactly have a lot of time to come in to Academic Support to get help with the information. Not only that, but Culinary Students are arrogant assholes. Most of them tend to believe that they can figure it out on their own, and many more of them are perfectly content to pass with a D. I'll be the first to admit that I'm an asshole, too, but at least I'm willing to admit when I need help. I was lucky when it came to labs because my experiences at LCCTC basically taught me everything I needed to know in the labs, and the majority of them were simply review. That being said, the ones that actually taught me new things were easier for me because I understood the basic concepts, and that's something many Sophomores at JWU can't seem to understand.
As for the Nutrition tutoring, we haven't even had one person come into Academic Support to ask about possible tutoring. Granted, this is partly my fault for not going into the classes and letting the students know that I'm here (Something I intend to remedy in the coming week), but Nutrition is a class that causes a lot of people trouble in this school, and for good reason, too. It's a challenging and confusing class. Again, I got lucky when it came to Nutrition because I've been exposed to the information that was covered almost more times than I can count... Biology in high-school, Health in high-school, Nutrition unit at LCCTC, Nutrition unit in one of the basic cooking classes I took in high-school, the Nutrition Lab here at JWU, and the Nutrition Class at JWU, not to mention the diabetes training I received when I was diagnosed. I highly doubt that there are many students here who have had as much exposure to Nutrition as I have, and, naturally, I worry a little that nobody has even started asking about getting help; especially since midterm was this past week.
There's probably more that I can talk about, but I'm feeling lazy right now, so I'm just gonna stop for the day... If something interesting or infuriating happens at work, I'll post when I get off, but other than that, don't expect anything else from me today.
TTFN!
Monday, October 8, 2012
Columbus Day rant with a recipe
So since today was Columbus Day, Johnson & Wales was closed to honor the holiday... Personally, I don't see why Columbus Day should be considered a holiday... I mean, do you really think it's appropriate to celebrate a man crossing the ocean, finding a land already filled with people and claiming that he discovered said land? Granted, if it weren't for Columbus, the Americas would be completely different than what they are today, and I guess we should be grateful for that, but it shouldn't be a national holiday in the US... Especially considering that Columbus didn't even "discover" the the land that would become the US.
Anyway, my way of celebrating this joke of a holiday is sitting around, watching Hannibal and attempting to write a 2-4 page paper on how historically accurate Saving Private Ryan is... The sitting around and the movie watching are going well, and I at least rewatched the movie and opened up some websites to find out where the movie strayed from history... I've also opened up the document telling me what I need to do.. Other than that... I haven't done a damn thing. haha
Now, I'm gonna give you a long, drawn-out, annoying as hell recipe that produces a very tasty chocolate cake...
Flour-less Chocolate Cake:
Cake:
1 1/2 c. sugar
24 eggs (separated)
16 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips (Melted)
3 tsp cream of tartar
1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
MOP:
1.) Preheat oven to 350 F (177 C)
2.) Line 1-3 pans with parchment paper and grease
3.) Bring yolks to room temperature and mix with 1 cup of the sugar. Add vanilla and incorporate melted chocolate
4.) Whip whites to soft peak. Add cream of tartar and remaining sugar gradually. Whip to stiff peaks.
5.) Gradually fold the chocolate mixture into the egg whites
6.) Pour mix into pans and bake approximately 20 minutes.
7.) Allow to cool completely.
Chocolate Whipped Cream:
4 c. Heavy Cream
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 1/2 c. Cocoa Powder
MOP:
1.) Whip cream until it is moderately stiff.
2.) Mix in powdered sugar and cocoa.
3.) Whip until stiff
4.) Divide evenly between layers of cake
Chocolate Ganache:
1 1/2 c. Heavy Cream
2 c. Dark Chocolate
1 1/2 Tbsp Butter
MOP:
1.) Melt chocolate with other ingredients in double boiler.
2.) Cool to room temperature and use to cover cake
On a personal note, this cake is absolutely delicious, but it is a huge pain in the ass to make. There are a lot of things that could go wrong, but if everything goes right, then you will love it.
Anyway, my way of celebrating this joke of a holiday is sitting around, watching Hannibal and attempting to write a 2-4 page paper on how historically accurate Saving Private Ryan is... The sitting around and the movie watching are going well, and I at least rewatched the movie and opened up some websites to find out where the movie strayed from history... I've also opened up the document telling me what I need to do.. Other than that... I haven't done a damn thing. haha
Now, I'm gonna give you a long, drawn-out, annoying as hell recipe that produces a very tasty chocolate cake...
Flour-less Chocolate Cake:
Cake:
1 1/2 c. sugar
24 eggs (separated)
16 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips (Melted)
3 tsp cream of tartar
1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
MOP:
1.) Preheat oven to 350 F (177 C)
2.) Line 1-3 pans with parchment paper and grease
3.) Bring yolks to room temperature and mix with 1 cup of the sugar. Add vanilla and incorporate melted chocolate
4.) Whip whites to soft peak. Add cream of tartar and remaining sugar gradually. Whip to stiff peaks.
5.) Gradually fold the chocolate mixture into the egg whites
6.) Pour mix into pans and bake approximately 20 minutes.
7.) Allow to cool completely.
Chocolate Whipped Cream:
4 c. Heavy Cream
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 1/2 c. Cocoa Powder
MOP:
1.) Whip cream until it is moderately stiff.
2.) Mix in powdered sugar and cocoa.
3.) Whip until stiff
4.) Divide evenly between layers of cake
Chocolate Ganache:
1 1/2 c. Heavy Cream
2 c. Dark Chocolate
1 1/2 Tbsp Butter
MOP:
1.) Melt chocolate with other ingredients in double boiler.
2.) Cool to room temperature and use to cover cake
On a personal note, this cake is absolutely delicious, but it is a huge pain in the ass to make. There are a lot of things that could go wrong, but if everything goes right, then you will love it.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
iPhone
So I finally got my iPhone on Friday. I must say, it's pretty friggin awesome. I haven't been able to stop playing with it. Siri doesn't seem to be as intelligent as I've heard though... Oh well...
I got the 4s because I didn't feel like having to buy a shitton of adapters just so I would be able to use the stuff I already bought for my iPod. That, and I don't need to have a longer screen or a super fast processor. I just wanted a phone that can make calls, text, get online and play games. That's what I got, and I'm happy with it.
I don't have anything to rant about at the moment, so I'm just gonna leave it at that. Ttfn
I got the 4s because I didn't feel like having to buy a shitton of adapters just so I would be able to use the stuff I already bought for my iPod. That, and I don't need to have a longer screen or a super fast processor. I just wanted a phone that can make calls, text, get online and play games. That's what I got, and I'm happy with it.
I don't have anything to rant about at the moment, so I'm just gonna leave it at that. Ttfn
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Fed ex
So I've been expecting to get my new iPhone 4S from fed ex since Tuesday, and they seem to be having trouble figuring out how to get it to me. I've given them my address three times and each time, they can't seem to find my house. I told them this morning that if they can't get me personally, they can drop it off at the leasing office and they'll make sure that I get it. Lo and behold, when I get out of my first class this morning, I have a voicemail from them saying that the courier is saying I gave them the wrong building number and that I need to call, again, to give them the right one... I decided to ignore the message because I told them this morning that I'd prefer them to drop it off tomorrow morning...
That's all I really have to share at the moment. I'm sitting outside my history class typing this on my iPod, and waiting until it gets closer to the start time for the class... Needless to say, I'm a bit bored.
That's all I really have to share at the moment. I'm sitting outside my history class typing this on my iPod, and waiting until it gets closer to the start time for the class... Needless to say, I'm a bit bored.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Teaching
Today I actually had an opportunity to see what it's like to be a teacher. I was doing the make-up for the math workshops, and was all by myself going over the concepts... I gotta say, I loved it. I taught them the way I wanted to, not the way that the power points did. Wanna know the greatest part? They seemed to understand it better when I was teaching... I think today's experience shows me that teaching will most likely be in my future... Won't be for a very long time though (Once I'm ready to get out of the restaurant business).
Anyway, there really isn't much else to talk about... During my accounting class today the professor told us that we're probably one of the fastest classes he's ever taught and that we're ahead of the game. The guy I sit next to was shocked by that revelation because he hasn't been paying attention at all and can't understand why he doesn't understand the concepts that the professor goes over almost every day... All I do is roll my eyes and do my best to ignore him so I can listen to the professor talk.
Like I said... I don't have much to talk about today... I work tonight, and I'm not really looking forward to it... Not because I dislike my job, but because I dislike how little business we get... I guess that's one of the downsides to working the cold line at a private club, but I'm used to getting close to 10 times the covers that we see at the City Club... Needless to say, it gets very dull very fast, and I can only clean so much without having to take things apart.
Anyway, there really isn't much else to talk about... During my accounting class today the professor told us that we're probably one of the fastest classes he's ever taught and that we're ahead of the game. The guy I sit next to was shocked by that revelation because he hasn't been paying attention at all and can't understand why he doesn't understand the concepts that the professor goes over almost every day... All I do is roll my eyes and do my best to ignore him so I can listen to the professor talk.
Like I said... I don't have much to talk about today... I work tonight, and I'm not really looking forward to it... Not because I dislike my job, but because I dislike how little business we get... I guess that's one of the downsides to working the cold line at a private club, but I'm used to getting close to 10 times the covers that we see at the City Club... Needless to say, it gets very dull very fast, and I can only clean so much without having to take things apart.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Math Workshops and a recipe
So right now I'm sitting in the computer lab where we're going to be doing the post-test for the math workshops that the Center for Academic Support requires certain students to take. We're scheduled to start at noon, and there are a bunch of students in here that are using the lab to do homework, complete online tests and goof off on facebook. Personally, I think it's fairly humorous that they're going to be kicked out of here shortly... I'm a prick, I know.
Anyway, I don't really have anything to bitch about right now. This is more of a "posting out of boredom" thing, so I'm thinking I'm gonna share a quick recipe.
Bechamel Sauce:
Yeild: about 2 cups
Ingredients:
2 c. Milk
1 ea. Small sized onion, whole, peeled.
1 ea. Bay leaf
2 ea. whole cloves
1 oz flour (weight)
1 oz clarified butter (weight)
1/8 tsp. Nutmeg
Salt and White Pepper to taste
MOP:
1.) Pin the bay leaf onto the onion using the cloves and place in sauce pot with the milk on low heat.
2.) In separate pan, heat butter and mix with flour. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Keep warm.
3.) Once milk reaches approximately 180F (82C), remove the onion and turn heat up to medium.
4.) Mix roux (Butter/Flour mix) into milk in small increments
5.) Heat to boiling, stirring almost constantly to avoid scorching, reduce to simmer.
6.) Cook 2-3 minutes, or until milk looses the starchy flavor from the roux.
7.) Remove from heat and season. The Bechamel should not taste like nutmeg.
8.) Strain through a fine mesh strainer
9.) Serve warm or cool and store in the refrigerator.
Bechamel is considered one of the five "Mother Sauces," meaning that it is the base for a large variety of sauces. My personal favorite use for it is a Mornay Sauce, which is a cheese sauce that uses Parmesean, Swiss and Gruyere, and is absolutely fantastic for macaroni and cheese. That being said, you can also substitute any cheese, so long as you're sure that the cheese melts completely into the bechamel.
There are other sauces that can be made with Bechamel, so I highly encourage you to look up some recipes.
A word to the wise: Most recipes online will give you a different version of a bechamel recipe. I recommend following each recipe and choosing the one that you prefer. Keep in mind though, if your bechamel isn't good, the sauce your turning it into won't taste much better.
Anyway, I don't really have anything to bitch about right now. This is more of a "posting out of boredom" thing, so I'm thinking I'm gonna share a quick recipe.
Bechamel Sauce:
Yeild: about 2 cups
Ingredients:
2 c. Milk
1 ea. Small sized onion, whole, peeled.
1 ea. Bay leaf
2 ea. whole cloves
1 oz flour (weight)
1 oz clarified butter (weight)
1/8 tsp. Nutmeg
Salt and White Pepper to taste
MOP:
1.) Pin the bay leaf onto the onion using the cloves and place in sauce pot with the milk on low heat.
2.) In separate pan, heat butter and mix with flour. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Keep warm.
3.) Once milk reaches approximately 180F (82C), remove the onion and turn heat up to medium.
4.) Mix roux (Butter/Flour mix) into milk in small increments
5.) Heat to boiling, stirring almost constantly to avoid scorching, reduce to simmer.
6.) Cook 2-3 minutes, or until milk looses the starchy flavor from the roux.
7.) Remove from heat and season. The Bechamel should not taste like nutmeg.
8.) Strain through a fine mesh strainer
9.) Serve warm or cool and store in the refrigerator.
Bechamel is considered one of the five "Mother Sauces," meaning that it is the base for a large variety of sauces. My personal favorite use for it is a Mornay Sauce, which is a cheese sauce that uses Parmesean, Swiss and Gruyere, and is absolutely fantastic for macaroni and cheese. That being said, you can also substitute any cheese, so long as you're sure that the cheese melts completely into the bechamel.
There are other sauces that can be made with Bechamel, so I highly encourage you to look up some recipes.
A word to the wise: Most recipes online will give you a different version of a bechamel recipe. I recommend following each recipe and choosing the one that you prefer. Keep in mind though, if your bechamel isn't good, the sauce your turning it into won't taste much better.
Monday, October 1, 2012
Page Views
So, I got bored and decided to look at the number of hits this blog has been getting, and I'm starting to get excited because I've been getting between 2 and 7 hits a day, AND my follower count has gone from 8 to 10! WOO! I'm starting to think more than two people actually read this blog now, and that makes me happy because it means I'm not as dull and boring as I thought I was.
That being said, I'm not sure if the slight increase in traffic is due to my increase in activity or if it's due to the fact that I've been shamelessly advertising this thing on Twitter and Facebook... It might be a combination of everything too, but oh well. The increase in traffic will increase my interest in keeping this blog active, which means more semi-entertaining posts for everybody! :D
Now, I'm gonna rant a little bit again! YAY!
So, as I'm sure you remember, I was scheduled to help with culinary math workshops today. I talked to the person in charge of creating the lessons for the workshop about the discrepancy I found, and she said she understood where I was coming from and that she'd consider changing it, but that it wasn't a huge issue considering that my point was a little more advanced than what they were teaching. I understand where she was coming from, but I stand by my original point.
Anyway, that's not what this rant is about... This rant is about the arrogant freshmen I had to deal with.
So, there were two rounds of students that came in. The first was the students that had PM labs. They were alright, but two showed up late... one was 10 minutes late, the other was 30 minutes late... Their excuse: Ulearn (the website that JWU uses for class stuff) gave them the wrong room number. The funny part: They were sent an email with the correct room number and the other 12 people in the class managed to read their emails and find the correct room... BTW, the AM class only had two people that went to the wrong room. I know this because I was waiting outside of the other room, telling them which room they actually needed to go to.
That's not my only complaint though. There was a disturbing amount of students who didn't realize why they needed to learn the math, and a surprising amount still didn't understand even when they were told why they needed it... There was one student in particular who really got on my nerves. He was having a hard time understanding the information, which is fine, and I'm more than willing to work with him, but when I told him that the best way for him to learn the information was to practice every day, he told me that he didn't have time to do it... Now, I was good about it and just said, "I understand exactly where you're coming from." but in my mind I was saying, "You ignorant little fuck. You have no idea what busy is."
The only reason I was thinking that was the way he said that he didn't have time. The workshop leader and myself were talking to him about how important it was that he got the information and he said something along the lines of, "Well I have a project I need to do for my lab, and I don't have time to be doing the math stuff." Hence my internal reaction, because I have three classes, each with a decent sized work load, a job, and my peer tutor position. Granted, I do have a decent amount of free time, but for the most part, my days are swamped.
So needless to say, I've been wanting to get that off my chest most of the day... I shared it with my roommates and they were equally disgusted, but it's still nice to write everything out.
Don't get me wrong now, I think JWU is an awesome school, but they have almost no standards when it comes to academics... It's disturbing and frustrating, but the fact that the professors are so awesome makes up for the poor standards and incompetency of some of the administration.
That's it for now. I'm debating about posting a how-to about something, but I'm unsure of what to do... I'm thinking about something with chicken... Hmm... Oh well... I figure it out. haha
That being said, I'm not sure if the slight increase in traffic is due to my increase in activity or if it's due to the fact that I've been shamelessly advertising this thing on Twitter and Facebook... It might be a combination of everything too, but oh well. The increase in traffic will increase my interest in keeping this blog active, which means more semi-entertaining posts for everybody! :D
Now, I'm gonna rant a little bit again! YAY!
So, as I'm sure you remember, I was scheduled to help with culinary math workshops today. I talked to the person in charge of creating the lessons for the workshop about the discrepancy I found, and she said she understood where I was coming from and that she'd consider changing it, but that it wasn't a huge issue considering that my point was a little more advanced than what they were teaching. I understand where she was coming from, but I stand by my original point.
Anyway, that's not what this rant is about... This rant is about the arrogant freshmen I had to deal with.
So, there were two rounds of students that came in. The first was the students that had PM labs. They were alright, but two showed up late... one was 10 minutes late, the other was 30 minutes late... Their excuse: Ulearn (the website that JWU uses for class stuff) gave them the wrong room number. The funny part: They were sent an email with the correct room number and the other 12 people in the class managed to read their emails and find the correct room... BTW, the AM class only had two people that went to the wrong room. I know this because I was waiting outside of the other room, telling them which room they actually needed to go to.
That's not my only complaint though. There was a disturbing amount of students who didn't realize why they needed to learn the math, and a surprising amount still didn't understand even when they were told why they needed it... There was one student in particular who really got on my nerves. He was having a hard time understanding the information, which is fine, and I'm more than willing to work with him, but when I told him that the best way for him to learn the information was to practice every day, he told me that he didn't have time to do it... Now, I was good about it and just said, "I understand exactly where you're coming from." but in my mind I was saying, "You ignorant little fuck. You have no idea what busy is."
The only reason I was thinking that was the way he said that he didn't have time. The workshop leader and myself were talking to him about how important it was that he got the information and he said something along the lines of, "Well I have a project I need to do for my lab, and I don't have time to be doing the math stuff." Hence my internal reaction, because I have three classes, each with a decent sized work load, a job, and my peer tutor position. Granted, I do have a decent amount of free time, but for the most part, my days are swamped.
So needless to say, I've been wanting to get that off my chest most of the day... I shared it with my roommates and they were equally disgusted, but it's still nice to write everything out.
Don't get me wrong now, I think JWU is an awesome school, but they have almost no standards when it comes to academics... It's disturbing and frustrating, but the fact that the professors are so awesome makes up for the poor standards and incompetency of some of the administration.
That's it for now. I'm debating about posting a how-to about something, but I'm unsure of what to do... I'm thinking about something with chicken... Hmm... Oh well... I figure it out. haha
Wasting time
So today was my Monday accounting class, which might as well just be an excuse for me to come into the city, learn some basic accounting concepts, go to Little Village Grill (Absolutely amazing hole-in-the-wall quick-service Greek food) for lunch, then go home and relax for the rest of the day since I don't work Mondays. Today, however, I'm scheduled to help with the culinary math workshops that JWU offers for students who are having trouble with measurements and conversions... I'm gonna rant about that for a bit, actually...
I was flipping through printouts of the slides all freshman students are required to look at, just so I'd know exactly what and how they were being taught, when this little snippet caught my attention:
Braised Pork Loin with Prunes
Yield 10 Servings
Ingredients:
2 oz Olive Oil (Volume, also 1/4 c.)
1 lb Onion, Julienne (Weight)
4 ea Garlic Cloves (count)
1/3 tsp Salt (Volume)
Black Pepper TT (Volume)
7 oz Pitted Prunes (Weight)
4 oz Cognac (Volume, also 1/2 c.)
3 lb Boneless Center cut pork roast (Weight)
"Here's another example - What if you wanted to increase this recipe to serve 100 people. You'd need to multiply the cognac 4 oz x 10. Do you need 40 fl. oz. (1 qt.1 c.)? or 40 oz. (2 1/2 lb)? Hopefully, you chose volume for this one..."
What kind of bullshit is that!? Cognac is the same weight as water, therefore, 1 fluid ounce = 1 ounce by weight. 1 Qt. 1 C. is exactly the same as 2 1/2 pounds. The only difference is the way that it's measured. Yes, using a liquid measure would be much more effective than using a scale when it comes to measuring out liquid, but telling these freshman that 40 fluid ounces is different than 40 ounces by weight is like telling them that Bacon and Pork Belly come from different parts of the pig! (For those of you who don't know, bacon is pork belly that is cured, sometimes smoked, and sliced thin)
If they really wanted to show that knowing the difference between weight and volume is important, then they should have used a recipe that calls for a certain volume of honey. Here's why: 1 cup of honey is a lot more than 8 ounces of honey.
(Note to the uneducated: when talking about water, and liquids with a nearly identical viscosity, or thickness, 1 cup is equal to 8 ounces)
Now that that's out of my system, I'm going to give you guys the MOP (Method of Production) on that recipe that pissed me off this morning... I'm not gonna retype the ingredients, so don't even think about asking.
ADDED INGREDIENT:
Chicken stock as needed (1-2 cups should be enough)
MOP:
1.) Preheat oven to 250 Fahrenheit (121 Celsius)
2.) Cut off top and root of onion(s). Slice onion(s) in half, vertically, and peel. (NOTE: Slicing onions before peeling them makes them significantly easier to peel)
3.) Cut onions into julienne (1/8 inch thick strips). I prefer radial julienne, but do it however you're comfortable.
4.) Crush and (if needed) peel the garlic cloves and mince.
5.) Rough chop the prunes
6.) Butterfly the pork loin. (NOTE: Butterfly = cut nearly in half and open. You don't want to cut it completely in half or you'll lose the effect of what I'm trying to teach you.)
7.) Cover your work area with plastic wrap and place the pork loin in the middle of the plastic. Fold the plastic wrap over the pork loin, but not tightly.
8.) Using a mallet or heavy skillet, pound the pork loin until it is about 1/4 inch thick. Unfold plastic wrap, but do not remove from under pork.
9.) Spread the prunes evenly over the pork, leaving about an inch uncovered on the edges.
10.) Using the plastic wrap, roll the pork tightly so the prunes are inside. (Here's a how-to that I found. It's talking about sushi, but it's the same method: http://tinyurl.com/32nccb7 )
11.) Truss the pork loin. (How to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqZm9Q2G_R8 )
12.) Heat your pan and add oil. It is preferred that you use the same pan that you're planning on putting in the oven. If that's not possible, don't worry, it just means you'll have more that you need to clean up.
13.) Sear pork loin. Make sure that you get a nice golden color on the outside of the loin. This helps the pork to retain moisture, and it helps add an amazing flavor.
14.) Remove pork loin from pan, set aside.
15.) Saute garlic until fragrant. Be careful not to burn it.
16.) Saute onions until translucent (mostly clear)
17.) Remove pan from heat and deglaze with cognac. (To deglaze: pour the cognac into the pan and use a spoon or rubber spatula to scrape the pan. This picks up the bits that were left behind from searing the pork, known as the Fond, or Base, which adds even more flavor to the sauce you're trying to build.)
18.) Return the pork to the pan.
19.) Add chicken stock until the pork is covered 3/4 of the way.
20.) Cover pan with foil and lid (If you have one), and place in oven.
21.) Cook until fork tender. This means that when you stick a fork in the meat and try to pull it out, the fork comes away with no trouble. If the pork tries to come with the fork, it's not done.
22.) Remove the pork from the pan and set aside.
23.) Strain the sauce through a fine strainer into a fresh pan and discard the onions. (Note: If you wish, you can save the onions, but they'll be extremely mushy and have little to no flavor.)
24.) Place sauce on stove and either reduce until thick or thicken using your preferred thickening agent (I prefer a cornstarch slurry, but a flour slurry, arrowroot slurry, or roux work just as well). Make sure you use the salt and pepper to season the sauce.
25.) Slice pork however thick you want, serve with veggies and starch of your choice (Personally, I feel Brussels Sprouts and mashed potatoes work best). Make sure to put the sauce on the pork.
26.) Sit back and enjoy the compliments.
There you have it! I finally shared a recipe with you guys. If you have questions, feel free to leave them in the comment section. Before you ask, yes, you can substitute any dried fruit for the prunes. Personally, I recommend dried cherries, but raisins work nicely too.
Also, if you're looking for a good wine to go with this dish, I recommend a good Chardonnay, though a Pinot Noir might go well also. I'm not a sommlier, so don't hold me to that... I would probably have some of the cognac that was used in the cooking process, though... But like I said, I'm not an expert when it comes to these kind of things...
I was flipping through printouts of the slides all freshman students are required to look at, just so I'd know exactly what and how they were being taught, when this little snippet caught my attention:
Braised Pork Loin with Prunes
Yield 10 Servings
Ingredients:
2 oz Olive Oil (Volume, also 1/4 c.)
1 lb Onion, Julienne (Weight)
4 ea Garlic Cloves (count)
1/3 tsp Salt (Volume)
Black Pepper TT (Volume)
7 oz Pitted Prunes (Weight)
4 oz Cognac (Volume, also 1/2 c.)
3 lb Boneless Center cut pork roast (Weight)
"Here's another example - What if you wanted to increase this recipe to serve 100 people. You'd need to multiply the cognac 4 oz x 10. Do you need 40 fl. oz. (1 qt.1 c.)? or 40 oz. (2 1/2 lb)? Hopefully, you chose volume for this one..."
What kind of bullshit is that!? Cognac is the same weight as water, therefore, 1 fluid ounce = 1 ounce by weight. 1 Qt. 1 C. is exactly the same as 2 1/2 pounds. The only difference is the way that it's measured. Yes, using a liquid measure would be much more effective than using a scale when it comes to measuring out liquid, but telling these freshman that 40 fluid ounces is different than 40 ounces by weight is like telling them that Bacon and Pork Belly come from different parts of the pig! (For those of you who don't know, bacon is pork belly that is cured, sometimes smoked, and sliced thin)
If they really wanted to show that knowing the difference between weight and volume is important, then they should have used a recipe that calls for a certain volume of honey. Here's why: 1 cup of honey is a lot more than 8 ounces of honey.
(Note to the uneducated: when talking about water, and liquids with a nearly identical viscosity, or thickness, 1 cup is equal to 8 ounces)
Now that that's out of my system, I'm going to give you guys the MOP (Method of Production) on that recipe that pissed me off this morning... I'm not gonna retype the ingredients, so don't even think about asking.
ADDED INGREDIENT:
Chicken stock as needed (1-2 cups should be enough)
MOP:
1.) Preheat oven to 250 Fahrenheit (121 Celsius)
2.) Cut off top and root of onion(s). Slice onion(s) in half, vertically, and peel. (NOTE: Slicing onions before peeling them makes them significantly easier to peel)
3.) Cut onions into julienne (1/8 inch thick strips). I prefer radial julienne, but do it however you're comfortable.
4.) Crush and (if needed) peel the garlic cloves and mince.
5.) Rough chop the prunes
6.) Butterfly the pork loin. (NOTE: Butterfly = cut nearly in half and open. You don't want to cut it completely in half or you'll lose the effect of what I'm trying to teach you.)
7.) Cover your work area with plastic wrap and place the pork loin in the middle of the plastic. Fold the plastic wrap over the pork loin, but not tightly.
8.) Using a mallet or heavy skillet, pound the pork loin until it is about 1/4 inch thick. Unfold plastic wrap, but do not remove from under pork.
9.) Spread the prunes evenly over the pork, leaving about an inch uncovered on the edges.
10.) Using the plastic wrap, roll the pork tightly so the prunes are inside. (Here's a how-to that I found. It's talking about sushi, but it's the same method: http://tinyurl.com/32nccb7 )
11.) Truss the pork loin. (How to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqZm9Q2G_R8 )
12.) Heat your pan and add oil. It is preferred that you use the same pan that you're planning on putting in the oven. If that's not possible, don't worry, it just means you'll have more that you need to clean up.
13.) Sear pork loin. Make sure that you get a nice golden color on the outside of the loin. This helps the pork to retain moisture, and it helps add an amazing flavor.
14.) Remove pork loin from pan, set aside.
15.) Saute garlic until fragrant. Be careful not to burn it.
16.) Saute onions until translucent (mostly clear)
17.) Remove pan from heat and deglaze with cognac. (To deglaze: pour the cognac into the pan and use a spoon or rubber spatula to scrape the pan. This picks up the bits that were left behind from searing the pork, known as the Fond, or Base, which adds even more flavor to the sauce you're trying to build.)
18.) Return the pork to the pan.
19.) Add chicken stock until the pork is covered 3/4 of the way.
20.) Cover pan with foil and lid (If you have one), and place in oven.
21.) Cook until fork tender. This means that when you stick a fork in the meat and try to pull it out, the fork comes away with no trouble. If the pork tries to come with the fork, it's not done.
22.) Remove the pork from the pan and set aside.
23.) Strain the sauce through a fine strainer into a fresh pan and discard the onions. (Note: If you wish, you can save the onions, but they'll be extremely mushy and have little to no flavor.)
24.) Place sauce on stove and either reduce until thick or thicken using your preferred thickening agent (I prefer a cornstarch slurry, but a flour slurry, arrowroot slurry, or roux work just as well). Make sure you use the salt and pepper to season the sauce.
25.) Slice pork however thick you want, serve with veggies and starch of your choice (Personally, I feel Brussels Sprouts and mashed potatoes work best). Make sure to put the sauce on the pork.
26.) Sit back and enjoy the compliments.
There you have it! I finally shared a recipe with you guys. If you have questions, feel free to leave them in the comment section. Before you ask, yes, you can substitute any dried fruit for the prunes. Personally, I recommend dried cherries, but raisins work nicely too.
Also, if you're looking for a good wine to go with this dish, I recommend a good Chardonnay, though a Pinot Noir might go well also. I'm not a sommlier, so don't hold me to that... I would probably have some of the cognac that was used in the cooking process, though... But like I said, I'm not an expert when it comes to these kind of things...
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