Crevettes L'Orange

I actually managed to get off my lazy butt and make some tasty food today!

Almond Gorgonzola Salad













This turned out to be a pretty tasty salad. I used Romaine lettuce, toasted sliced almonds, gorgonzola, and a vinaigrette of fresh OJ, red wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil and S&P. I garnished it with orange supremes. It was light, crunchy and refreshing!

Crevettes L'Orange













This was delicious and I will make it again for sure, with some tweaks. The idea came from Miss Jane (formerly of Sanitation, currently of Wine). I sautéed some shrimp (a little more than 1/2 way cooked), removed them, and deglazed the pan with Bauchant orange liqueur (originally I was going to use sherry, but ridiculous Texas liquor laws prevent the sale of fortified wine on Sundays). It reduced very quickly. I then added heavy cream and let that reduce just a bit. The shrimp went back in. By then, the fresh linguini (from Central Market) was done (about 3 minutes to cook). I tossed that in with the shrimp and sauce to finish the shrimp. The "tweaks" I referred to include actually using sherry as originally planned, more sauce, and maybe a little red pepper flake.

So there ya go, two blogs in one day. Hopefully that can somewhat make up for my laziness over the last couple weeks. Stay tuned!

Those Tacos Were......Aaaasian!

Honestly, I just haven't really eaten or learned or cooked enough interesting stuff to write about over the last couple weeks. Until yesterday. We were unsure about the number of tailgaters we would have, so I decided to go with tacos. Tacos can be stuffed or packed lightly to stretch for more people. However, I didn't want to just do the same ol same ol fajita tacos so I decided to go Asian.

Korean-style Beef Tacos













I used a beef top round roast and sliced it in about 1.5" "steaks" and marinated it in soy sauce, sugar, ginger, garlic and scallions (like bulgogi) for a few hours and grilled it. These were served with grilled scallions and red bell peppers, lettuce and sriracha mayo. I had corn and flour tortillas available and they were killer.

Vietnamese-style Pork Tacos













In a similar fashion, I used a pork loin roast and sliced it into "steaks" and marinated it in soy sauce, lime juice, lemongrass, garlic, and brown sugar and grilled it. These were served with sriracha mayo, cilantro and carrots, daikon, jalapeño, and red onion that I had pickled the day before (see the shrimp salad recipe I made a few weeks ago for pickling technique). These were even better than the beef tacos. Really good.

I'm planning to make something real tasty for dinner tonight, so hopefully I can write about that. This week I have finals in Cost Control and Wine and then next week starts the Baking Block. I should be back on blogging on the reg for that (even though I'm not looking too forward to that block).

Ensalada de Camarones

Decided to do a little cookin this evenin'.













Cilantro lime shrimp. Fried corn tortilla strips. Jicama. Tomato. Queso fresco. Jalapeño-lime vinaigrette. And house pickled red onion. All served on escarole. This salad was killer.

I marinated the shrimp for a good hour and a half then sauteed them. The vinaigrette was the juice of two limes, twice as much canola oil, jalapeño, garlic, s&p and a scoatch of honey and I just shook it up in a container. I used escarole because it's a slightly bitter green - my thought was that the sweetness of tomato, shrimp, jicama and pickled red onion would counter the bitterness - (SPOILER ALERT!) I was right. "Hold on there! Did you say pickled red onion?" Why yes I did, thanks for asking! I simmered toasted spices (bay leaf, coriander seed, fennel seed, whole allspice, whole clove, cumin seed, black peppercorns) in equal parts white vinegar and water with sugar and a touch of salt. I poured that over sliced red onion and tossed in some smashed garlic and jalapeño just for grins. You're my faithful readers and I don't want to lie to you. These are great. I think I will forever now have something pickled hanging out in my fridge. I know this is a "quick" pickle and that is because I don't want to spend 1/4 of my life sterilizing jars and waiting for stuff to get tangy.

Overall a real learning experience, and a winner. See ya next time.

It's All Gravy!

As explained in the video, my cousin Julie asked for a video on how to make gravy. Good ol Southern-style, white cream gravy. I was happy to oblige (and only 1 week later!). Sorry it's so tiny, I had to turn the camera vertically to get the shot. Please to enjoy!

Fried Goodness

We hit up The State Fair this weekend for the game (I don't want to talk about it) and to taste it's many tasty, fried wares. Let me begin with saying that there were four of us, we only purchased one of each of these to taste. I didn't eat all of these by myself. Plus, they'll be graded on a scale of 1-10. Let the games begin:

Fried P.B.J.&B's (Fried Elvis)













Yep. It's a peanut butter and banana sandwich that's been battered, fried, topped with jelly and powdered sugar. Amazing! 8

Fried Oreos













Batter-dipped and fried Oreos topped with powdered sugar. What more do I need to say? 9

Fried Margarita













Yep. You read that right. They toss some margarita mix into funnel cake mix and fry it up. Then they pour some actual margarita on that and top it with whipped cream. The rim of the glass is salted and served with a lime wedge. 9

Fried Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough













I know right? Why did we have to wait until 2010 for this to happen? Tasty, but I really needed some milk for this one. 7 (could've been a 9 with milk)

Fried Butter













God Bless Texas! Fried. Butter. I guess they freeze butter pats to be able to batter them and fry em. They topped it with cinnamon-sugar and honey. It ends up tasting like a sopapilla. Great. 8

Fried Beer













No question, I was most excited about this item. I mean, come on, it's fried beer! What's not to love? Well it turns out that fried beer is what's not to love. This was truly awful. Just really, really bad. 1

Corny Dog













You can't go to The Fair and NOT get a Corny Dog, right? Honestly, I've had better. The batter was a little thick, so the cornmeal was gritty, but still, it was a Corny Dog. 7

Fried Frito Pie













They took Frito's Scoops and filled them with chili and cheese. They battered those Frito's Scoops filled with chili and cheese. They fried those battered Frito's Scoops filled with chili and cheese. We ate those fried, battered Frito's Scoops filled with chili and cheese! And they were delicious! 9

Chicken Fried Bacon













10. That's it. Just "10".
I've got a video on "How to Make Gravy" just about finished and will post it tomorrow, hopefully. Also, I started Cost Control and Wine classes last week, so I will hopefully have some interesting factoids to share. Furthermore, with the knowledge now of two kitchen labs and 6 months of staging, I should start coming up with some fun stuff at home. Stay tuned.

Let's Play Ketchup

No, I have not disappeared off the face of the Earth. I've just been super tired and too lazy to blog. All you've really missed is chicken. That's also part of the reason I haven't been blogging. The last week and a half at school was chicken. Boooooooorrrrriiiiinnngggg. Coq au Vin = Beef Bourguignon with chicken instead of beef. Literally, it's the same exact thing. We also made fried chicken, grilled chicken with barbecue sauce, curry chicken, chicken chicken, and chicken chicken chicken chicken. We did do fish last Thursday and Friday. That was alright, filleting fish and frying it, grilling it, and sautéeing it. No big. Today was shellfish. Super easy stuff.

I feel really bad that I'm excited for this class to end. I was really looking forward to it, and it was a blast at first, but it's starting to get repetitive and I feel like I know what they're going to say before they say it. It could just be the exhaustion talking though. I've definitely learned a ton and have been applying the knowledge. Of course, I haven't learned anywhere near everything there is to learn, so I could probably tone down the cockiness a bit before I get put in my place.

Something that was super exciting was our first tailgate last week. I got a little excited. Our menu:

Breakfast: Omelets with hickory smoked pulled pork, onions sautéed in chorizo fat, cheese and tomatillo salsa. Killer. The combination was ridiculous.

Snack: Jalapeños stuffed with venison, pork sausage, and cheese, wrapped in bacon. I smoked them for about an hour and a half and they were tasty.

Lunch: I smoked 10 whole chickens. Yes. 10. I brined them in a sugar-salt solution for 18 hours, then smoked them for 4 hours. The skin was crispy. The meat was juicy. It was just fantastic.

THEN, we went nuts at Pluckers for my birthday last Monday. THEN we went to Vespaio for dinner on Tuesday. What a great meal! Carne crudo - steak tartare basically; really good. Caprese Salad - with mozerella that had been made THAT DAY, celebrity tomatoes, balsamic, and killer ciabatta. Prosciutto pizza - thin crust pizza with prosciutto, fontina, arugula, egg, and white truffle oil. Possibly the best pizza I've ever had. Mandilla di saea - hand-torn pasta tossed in pesto. Also quite tasty. Filet with panzanella salad - Rare+ Niman Ranch steak with fresh made croutons, blue cheese and tomatoes. Great. Chocolate semifredo - killer chocolate "mousse" with macerated cherries and chocolate cake. Sooooooo delicious. We finished with South Austin Speedballs - vanilla vodka, khalua, and espresso, shakin til frothy with a lemon twist. A great end to a truly great meal.

I know I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I'll do my best not to get lazy again. Feel free to drop me aline if I start slacking.

Pork N Bourbon

As promised, here are photos from last week. (click for larger images)



















Now, on to "Monday Meaty Madness". Yowzers. I made Pork Lollipops:
I cut a pork shoulder into bite-size pieces and soaked i in apple juice, apple cider vinegar, worcestershire sauce, and bourbon. I rendered some bacon and used the fat to sear the pork. While the pork finished in the oven, I made a glaze of brown sugar, butter, and bourbon. I skewered the pieces of piggy tastiness, and dipped them in the glaze (yea I did). Then I sprinkled them with the bacon pieces that had been aforementioned rendered. They were a hit. Especially the glaze, which will be a new staple of mine. Tasty.

Chef Zack Northcutt (of Mulberry) is the esteemed host of this glorious event. He always goes big. This time, he went about 55 pounds. He dropped a 55 pound pig in a cooler with a brine. For 2 days. Then he dropped an immersion circulator into that cooler and brought the pig up to 160º (the required temp for pork) for 2 days. Then he put the pig on the grill for 2 hours. Then this happened:













This was absolutely, without a doubt, The. Most. Tender. Pork I have ever tasted. It was so crazy good that I'm just gonna stop writing about it here and let your imagination run wild.

Every Meaty Monday, these two pastry chefs show up. I wish I knew their names and where they worked, because I would praise their works to everyone I come in contact with.










Yep. That's a dead pig cake. It was great. Red Velvet with a Swiss buttercream. The other? Jack Daniels chocolate mousse on a chocolate touille with chocolate-covered bacon skewers. Drink it in. Soooooooo goooooood....... *drool*




This week in class we're breaking down chickens every day. I may not post much about the dished (tomorrow is BBQ chicken with corn on le cob). But what the next few days lack in blogging, will be made up for over the weekend. Why? This weekend is the first home game and I'm bringin it BIG TIME! Stay tuned.

Got Game?

Sorry for the photoless blog today, but my camera is MIA. I'll post up some pics when I get it back. We did some really fun stuff in class this week. (I'm going to hit the highlights)

Monday:
Veal Osso Bucco
Wow this was great. We braised a slice of veal shank for 2 hours in veal stock and white wine and mirepoix. By the time we pulled it out of the oven, we had to use a spatula to take it out of the pot because it was so tender and falling of the bone. We used the braising liquid to make what the chef called a, "sexy, sexy sauce". Seriously, he complimented the sauce like 6 times. After we ate the meat off the bone, we dug the marrow from the inside of the bone. The ridiculous richness of that tasty "meat butter" was cut by a zesty gremolata made of raw garlic, lemon zest, parsley, salt, and anchovy. We nailed it. 20

Tuesday:
Green Chile Pork Stew
Goodness gracious. The hits just keep coming. This was so fantastic. We seared off some bite-size pieces of pork shoulder; then made a thick braising liquid with onion, garlic, masa flour, and pork stock. The pork went back in and into the oven. It came out when the pork was fork tender. We reduced the sauce and added a purée of roasted poblano and jalapeño. Garnished with cilantro and monterrey jack cheese, this was just delicious. Look for it at a tailgate near you this football season. 20

Wednesday:
Venison Chili
I know, it's like a George Strait album huh? #1 hits galore! This, you will DEFINITELY see at atleast one of our tailgates this season. I've got some deer in the fridge just itching to hop into a pot with onion, bell pepper, garlic, cumin, tomatoes, masa flour, veal stock, and puréed ancho chiles to make a belly-satisfying chili. Chef said our chili was, "a little thick". What? Chili is supposed to be thick. So I disagreed there, but topped with fine chopped red onion, cheddar, and fried tortilla strips, this was no question the best chili I've ever made. Like I said, this will not be venison chili's last appearance. 19

Thursday:
Duck à L'Orange
This may be the last blog I ever write, because it just may not get better than this. We trussed up a gorgeous duck and scored that yummy fat layer on the breast. Seared it sexy GBD in a hot pan and tossed it into the oven on a rack on a sheet pan. We basted it a couple times with some of the fat that we rendered down. The skin got crispy delicious. The meat was perfect, juicy medium. How could it be better? I'LL TELL YOU!! We used the neck bone, wishbone, and kidneys to start a base for a tasty orange-duck sauce. That got stirred into a red wine vinegar gastrique to make an absolutely decadent sweet, savory, tangy, orange glaze for the duck. We served this with simple grilled asparagus. The chef said he could find absolutely nothing wrong with the dish. He gushed. It was a little embarrassing really. He said he would serve it in his restaurant. It was awesome. I also took the dish next door and had Chef Waggoner try it. He concurred that it was great. 20

Friday:
Bacon-Wrapped Roasted Quail
This was actually a pretty easy day. We wrapped some tiny little quails (with only leg and wing bones) in bacon, seared em, roasted em, and sauced em. Served with ratatouille and fried polenta. 19.5 (ratatouille needed salt)
Cornish Game Hen with Mustard Crust and Horseradish Cream Sauce
Again, pretty simple. We de-boned a cornish game hen, seared it GBD, rubbed it down with dijon mustard, crusted it with some panko persillade, and roasted it. Served with carrot and celery root sauté. 19 (carrots and celery root needed salt)

Overall, a fantastic week. Lots of delicious dished that I will certainly add to my home repertoire and hone to my tastes. This week, we break down whole chickens every day. I'm pumped. Tonight is "Meaty Monday Madness: Pork n Bourbon". Stay tuned for Pork Pops.

Foreign & Domestic

I really meant to get this written on Friday night, right after it happened, but I was SO full that I passed right out. Then all day yesterday I was smoking a flat iron (delicious) and pool partying until I went to see Jonathan Tyler & Northern Lights at Gruene Hall (great show). Aaaaaaaannnnd, here we go!

Where to even begin? I guess from the beginning would be good. I had been hearing about Foreign & Domestic from friends and cooks and coworkers for a few weeks and finally decided that I MUST see what all the buzz what about. The place is super cool. There are not a lot of tables, but there is a nice seating area outside for waiting. The place is like an old diner or something. The kitchen is right there in the dining room. Not like there's a window to the kitchen. The kitchen is enclosed on one side by a wall, one side by the dish room, and two sides by the diners sitting at the counter. I was one of those diners sitting at the counter. In fact, I was in (as I overheard by servers picking up food) seat 1. Literally arms' length from Chef Ned Elliot, who kindly introduced himself.

After grabbing me a Session Lager, the server asks if I'm ready to order. I tell him that I "would like to try everything," but have settled on the Grilled Melon-













with grapefruit, blackberry, candied pecans, and crispy pork. Man oh man, this was good! The melon was cold and warm at the same time. The candied pecans and berries and grapefruit provided several contrasts. And the crispy pork. Oh the crispy pork. Salty. Crunchy. Tasty. As I was finishing the melon dish, my server returns with this:













Gruyere Popovers- not much explanation needed here. They're a crispy pastry with yummy cheese inside and grated over top. I was a little perplexed at first when he set it down, as I had not ordered this, but then he let me know that it was "with their compliments" (aka on the hizouse). Flaky, cheesy, warm and delicious! I was able to conquer one, but with more food on the way, didn't want to fill up. I was also presented ("with their compliments") with a nice bowl of the Chilled Eggplant Soup-













with summer peas, marcona almonds and verjus (the juice of green grapes). Again, great. I can only eat so much cold soup though. So I was forced to take about half of this home (with my other popover). As I finished up my $Free.99 plates, the second dish I had ordered arrives. Fried Green Tomatoes-













over a garlic mayo, with pepper jelly and squash blossom stuffed with lamb's heart. Let me tell y'all that I probably made some inappropriately sensual faces whilst enjoying this dish. The tomatoes were perfectly fried crispy. The pepper jelly was sweet and spicy. The squash blossom stuffed with lamb's heart had flavors I've never experienced. The only thing I could have asked for was the dish a second time. So fantastic.

So, sitting at the counter, right where the chef is expoing also resulted in sitting right where the pastry guy was putting together desserts. I'm not sure how clearly over these last few months I've conveyed how intense my sweet tooth is. However, I DO know how clearly over these last few months I have conveyed my love of bacon, which resulted in my ordering of

The Bacon Float













Two scoops of chocolate ice cream topped with a scoop of chocolate covered bacon bit icream, topped with butterscotch, topped with A&W root beer, topped with a piece of chocolate covered bacon AND A CINNAMON SUGAR PORK RIND!!!!!!!!! Like I said, I probably made some inappropriately sensual faces whilst consuming the FGTs. I definitely made some inappropriately sensual faces [and noises] whilst enjoying this float. Chocolately, cold, bacony, ridiculous. I don't know if the chef or server heard me, but when the people sitting next to me asked how the float was, I told them that I would pay whatever they wanted to charge me for that float. It was like a dream. I really, really, really, decadently awesome dream.

After my inaugural trip (of what will soon be many) to this wonderful restaurant, I can not sing it's praises high enough. Please go to there. It's also VERY affordable. All of the small plates are under $10 and the most expensive entrée is like $23. btw the Bacon Float is $7 and worth every penny and then some.

Swine is SO Fine!

Tuesday in class we didn't get to cook any food. We did, however, get to break down a whole pork loin. It went a little something like this:



I hope you enjoyed that little production. I would really love to do more, but as you could see by the moving camera, it's a bit difficult when there's 40 people in the kitchen.

We also watched the famed "Slaughterhouse Video". I've been waiting 5 months for this. It was glorious! I was a little disturbed by how much I enjoyed this film. They showed it all my friends. From the farm, down the shoot, stun gun, throat cut, skin em, cut em, gut em, etc, etc, etc. Then we scrubbed the crap out of the floor and walls.

I'll try to do a food post Thursday night with some tasty pork and veal dishes.