So I found this site called things organized neatly and lo and behold there was a picture of spices and canapes! Fully awesome.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Green curry recipe
I got a request to write out a more specific recipe for the green curry.
Green curry paste (to taste, start with just a little since it's really concentrated.)
Coconut milk
Chicken, cut to bite-sized pieces
White wine
Shitaake mushrooms, sliced
Garlic
Onions
Shallots
Hearts of palm
Season and sear off the chicken, remove and set aside.
deglaze the pan with a few ounces of the wine.
Add sliced onions and sweat to translucent, add mushrooms.
Add sliced shallots, garlic and pincer with green curry paste.
Stir in coconut milk, simmer until curry paste is dissolved.
Serve over rice.
Note: the curry paste is super strong and spicy, go easy at first and TSA as you go!
Friday, November 18, 2011
Dinner at the movies
I was just dragged to see breaking dawn with my girlfriends and the highlight for me was definitely the food! We went to the Cinebistro and I got the pulled pork sandwich. It was served with cherry coke BBQ sauce, beer battered pickles, homemade coleslaw and a fresh bun. Ridiculously tasty!
Lunch in Vail
Today's lunch was made by yours truly and was a homemade green curry made with coconut milk, chicken, shitaake mushrooms, garlic, shallots and hearts of palm.
The picture attached is of yesterdays lunch which was butternut squash and apple soup made by chef.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Breakfast in Vail
So my breakfast today was from a little place in Vail called the French Deli. I got a two egg sandwich with bacon, homemade sausage and brie and ate it on the gondola on the way to work. Life is good.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
"Taco Xpress" in Austin
Maria's Taco Xpress... ah the memories...
Maria's has been an Austin staple for years. The ambiance is pure South Austin--if you don't know what that means then whenever anyone comes near you at Taco Xpress just say "78704 wut wut!" If you get pummeled don't blame me.
The Food: Consistently good but not usually exceptionally great. It's reasonably priced but it's not usually my first pick in town for tacos.
My advice: Get the queso, verde taco and a pitcher of margaritas on a mellow Sunday. I also suggest that you do NOT drink the pitcher alone or you'll be "that guy" and nobody likes that guy.
Service: Not too much to say here. You order. You pick it up. If you want anything else, go get it.
The Ambiance: Here is where Maria's really shines. If you want a weird taco bar where they play gospel music on Sundays to a crowd of margarita-drinking taco-eating old-Austin hippies than this is definitely your place. It's an experience and a fun one. Maria's is unquestionably one of a kind.
Maria's has been an Austin staple for years. The ambiance is pure South Austin--if you don't know what that means then whenever anyone comes near you at Taco Xpress just say "78704 wut wut!" If you get pummeled don't blame me.
The Food: Consistently good but not usually exceptionally great. It's reasonably priced but it's not usually my first pick in town for tacos.
My advice: Get the queso, verde taco and a pitcher of margaritas on a mellow Sunday. I also suggest that you do NOT drink the pitcher alone or you'll be "that guy" and nobody likes that guy.
Service: Not too much to say here. You order. You pick it up. If you want anything else, go get it.
The Ambiance: Here is where Maria's really shines. If you want a weird taco bar where they play gospel music on Sundays to a crowd of margarita-drinking taco-eating old-Austin hippies than this is definitely your place. It's an experience and a fun one. Maria's is unquestionably one of a kind.
Recipe request: Fresh Pasta
I had a request for a pasta recipe so here you go! Pasta is not as difficult as you'd think, you don't even need a pasta machine to make it.
Semolina is usually the pasta flour you see being used but in all honesty you can do any combination of semolina and all purpose flour, from 100% AP flour to 100% semolina--though I prefer a 50-50 mix of the two. This recipe is for a single serving of pasta.
Make a pile of your flour (volcano shaped) the amount doesn't matter too much but if you want to get precise-ish I'd say a cup.
Add a pinch of salt to the volcano
crack an egg in the middle--use half the egg shell like a little cup and fill with water, add that to the volcano.
use a fork or your fingers to mix the together from the inside out--stop when it's not sticky and bounces back when you poke it.
If the mix looks too wet, add more flour.
Let the dough relax for a few minutes, jazz is optional but I think it's a nice touch before you pound the crap out of it.
Roll the dough until it's thin, cut into the shape you want.
For ravioli be aware that the pasta will thicken when cooked so any edges need to be carefully pressed down.
Cool ideas: Wow people with fresh fancy pasta!
Mince thyme or rosemary and incorporate it in the volcano step.
Tomato paste makes for a super red pasta and pureed (cook it and squeeze out excess water first) spinach makes it super green.
Anything is possible with pasta so experiment away!
Semolina is usually the pasta flour you see being used but in all honesty you can do any combination of semolina and all purpose flour, from 100% AP flour to 100% semolina--though I prefer a 50-50 mix of the two. This recipe is for a single serving of pasta.
Make a pile of your flour (volcano shaped) the amount doesn't matter too much but if you want to get precise-ish I'd say a cup.
Add a pinch of salt to the volcano
crack an egg in the middle--use half the egg shell like a little cup and fill with water, add that to the volcano.
use a fork or your fingers to mix the together from the inside out--stop when it's not sticky and bounces back when you poke it.
If the mix looks too wet, add more flour.
Let the dough relax for a few minutes, jazz is optional but I think it's a nice touch before you pound the crap out of it.
Roll the dough until it's thin, cut into the shape you want.
For ravioli be aware that the pasta will thicken when cooked so any edges need to be carefully pressed down.
Cool ideas: Wow people with fresh fancy pasta!
Mince thyme or rosemary and incorporate it in the volcano step.
Tomato paste makes for a super red pasta and pureed (cook it and squeeze out excess water first) spinach makes it super green.
Anything is possible with pasta so experiment away!
Sunday, November 6, 2011
First Restaurant Review! "Technique" in Austin
So for my first restaurant review I decided to start with Technique--the practical restaurant at Le Cordon Bleu in Austin TX.
Ach-hem. No association with me of course.
Food- Hit or miss. Seriously. I know that one of Austin's biggest failings as a foodie town is consistancy but here it's just ridiculous. There is an entire new staff every three weeks, no joke. The students work the FOH (front of the house, hosting, expo) and BOH (back of the house, prep, hot line, cold line, salads, desserts etc) for half a block each. Since each block is 6 weeks long that means that every 6 weeks you get a whole new class and every 3 weeks you get all new cooks.
The restaurant is closed on Mondays and the students switch stations every two days meaning that if you want any chance of a decent meal you have to go on a Wednesday or Friday. But $10 for a three course meal... not bad.
My advice: ask your server. They're a student too and they can let you in on what items you should be ordering based on who's preparing them. A little hint though--the chef instructor usually prepares the desserts so that's almost always a safe bet.
Service: Also hit or miss. If you get someone with the attention span of a goldfish, you're screwed. Likewise if you do split checks they'll have to get a chef to figure that out on the POS (point of sale) system.
My advice: Just make it easier for everyone and bring one card for your check. Also, if you want to see something really entertaining ask for a bottle of champagne. They're all cheap at $20 a bottle and watching a green culinarian struggle with a cork is priceless.
Ambiance: Not bad all things considered. If you're there all the time than you'll realize that they only have ONE play list and it ALWAYS starts with Buble... ALWAYS. But the decor itself is nice, minimalist but appealing, after all the restaurant is really for the students, not for the diners.
Final Advice: Make a reservation. Even if it's only two diners. You can NEVER be too careful with this place. Also, it's closing in just over a month so go eat there while you can!
Ach-hem. No association with me of course.
Food- Hit or miss. Seriously. I know that one of Austin's biggest failings as a foodie town is consistancy but here it's just ridiculous. There is an entire new staff every three weeks, no joke. The students work the FOH (front of the house, hosting, expo) and BOH (back of the house, prep, hot line, cold line, salads, desserts etc) for half a block each. Since each block is 6 weeks long that means that every 6 weeks you get a whole new class and every 3 weeks you get all new cooks.
The restaurant is closed on Mondays and the students switch stations every two days meaning that if you want any chance of a decent meal you have to go on a Wednesday or Friday. But $10 for a three course meal... not bad.
My advice: ask your server. They're a student too and they can let you in on what items you should be ordering based on who's preparing them. A little hint though--the chef instructor usually prepares the desserts so that's almost always a safe bet.
Service: Also hit or miss. If you get someone with the attention span of a goldfish, you're screwed. Likewise if you do split checks they'll have to get a chef to figure that out on the POS (point of sale) system.
My advice: Just make it easier for everyone and bring one card for your check. Also, if you want to see something really entertaining ask for a bottle of champagne. They're all cheap at $20 a bottle and watching a green culinarian struggle with a cork is priceless.
Ambiance: Not bad all things considered. If you're there all the time than you'll realize that they only have ONE play list and it ALWAYS starts with Buble... ALWAYS. But the decor itself is nice, minimalist but appealing, after all the restaurant is really for the students, not for the diners.
Final Advice: Make a reservation. Even if it's only two diners. You can NEVER be too careful with this place. Also, it's closing in just over a month so go eat there while you can!
First Recipe
After agonizing over what to post for my first recipe for a whole two minutes, I decided on one of my favorites.
This is really difficult so get your thinking caps on...
Are you ready...?
Jawesome Pot Roast
Roast
1 package lipton instant french onion soup mix
1 can campbells roasted garlic cream of mushroom soup (or regular COM soup)
In a crock pot put the roast in.
Dump the soup mix in
Dump the UNDILUTED concentrated mushroom soup on top
Cook on low until falling apart and melt-in-your-mouth delicious
Serve
Eat
I had a crock pot in college and made this in my dorm room. Did I mention that my college had a huge vegan population? Well regardless to say the PETA representatives did not like my new interpretation of their acronym.
People
Eating
Tasty
Animals
This is really difficult so get your thinking caps on...
Are you ready...?
Jawesome Pot Roast
Roast
1 package lipton instant french onion soup mix
1 can campbells roasted garlic cream of mushroom soup (or regular COM soup)
In a crock pot put the roast in.
Dump the soup mix in
Dump the UNDILUTED concentrated mushroom soup on top
Cook on low until falling apart and melt-in-your-mouth delicious
Serve
Eat
I had a crock pot in college and made this in my dorm room. Did I mention that my college had a huge vegan population? Well regardless to say the PETA representatives did not like my new interpretation of their acronym.
People
Eating
Tasty
Animals
A Quick Explanation
So for my second post I'll be talking about culinary terms, like the really official stuff you learn in culinary school.
Until Done- The inspiration for my blogger name and what any chef will tell you when you ask "how long do we cook it for chef?" AKA the MOST irritating thing to hear when you have absolutely NO idea what you're doing in a kitchen and are cooking a whole game hen for the first time.
That's It That's All- this signals the end of a demonstration or the extent of a step. "Cook until done, that's it that's all." I thought my chefs were just being annoying until I sat through a demo with a chef from Montreal and he said it. I wanted to jump up and point and say "Ha!" but decided against it.
GBD- Stands for Golden Brown and Delicious. Basically the same thing as Until Done. "How long do we cook that for chef?" "Until GBD."
TSA- Taste. Season. Adjust. ... or die. but that's just my own additive.
Monte au beurre- not sure if I spelled that right but... whatevs. It means "To mount with butter" There are several other French terms we use but I'll define those as I go.
Until Done- The inspiration for my blogger name and what any chef will tell you when you ask "how long do we cook it for chef?" AKA the MOST irritating thing to hear when you have absolutely NO idea what you're doing in a kitchen and are cooking a whole game hen for the first time.
That's It That's All- this signals the end of a demonstration or the extent of a step. "Cook until done, that's it that's all." I thought my chefs were just being annoying until I sat through a demo with a chef from Montreal and he said it. I wanted to jump up and point and say "Ha!" but decided against it.
GBD- Stands for Golden Brown and Delicious. Basically the same thing as Until Done. "How long do we cook that for chef?" "Until GBD."
TSA- Taste. Season. Adjust. ... or die. but that's just my own additive.
Monte au beurre- not sure if I spelled that right but... whatevs. It means "To mount with butter" There are several other French terms we use but I'll define those as I go.
First Post!
Hello all!
I--like so many before me--have decided to start a blog! ... super original I know.
Anyway. I finished the bulk of my culinary education two days ago and wanted to have a way to record my continued learning experiences. My mother always told me (thus making it unquestionably true) that I was a gifted writer so here I am, writing!
I will try to post a few of my favorite recipes every week and pictures and experiences I have. Next Saturday I move to Vail CO to start my real world practical cooking experience and I can't wait to share it with anyone interested enough to read about it!
Thanks for reading!
Until Done.
I--like so many before me--have decided to start a blog! ... super original I know.
Anyway. I finished the bulk of my culinary education two days ago and wanted to have a way to record my continued learning experiences. My mother always told me (thus making it unquestionably true) that I was a gifted writer so here I am, writing!
I will try to post a few of my favorite recipes every week and pictures and experiences I have. Next Saturday I move to Vail CO to start my real world practical cooking experience and I can't wait to share it with anyone interested enough to read about it!
Thanks for reading!
Until Done.
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