Tony's Culinary Adventures

she can't, she's a vegetarian...

2009-09-05T10:32:00.000-07:00

Exciting news! I replaced my battery charger for my digital camera! So hopefully the picture quality will be better now. Also, I've started another blog that revolves around Top Chef! Check it out: Top Chef Wannabe. I won't go into that many details on here, but I was making Ossobuco for dinner, and one of my guests was vegetarian. So I made a vegetarian version of the dish. I substituted the veal shank with baked tofu.

Braised Baked Tofu alla Milanese with Parmesan Risotto and Garlic-Sauteed Spinach

Tofu:

2 squares of prepacked baked tofu

2 roma tomatoes, diced

1/2 white onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon tomato paste

1/4 cup white wine

4 cups vegetable broth (or enough to almost cover tofu)

1 sprig of rosemary

1 bay leaf

1 tsp oregano, chopped

Salt and pepper

Gremolata:

3 Tablespoons parsley, minced

2 Tablespoons dill, minced

1 Tablespoon sage leaves, minced

1 garlic clove, minced/made into paste

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat oil in medium-sized pot on medium-high. Saute onions and tomatoes until caramelized. 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and season with salt. Incorporate tomato paste, then add tofu. Sear on both sides, then deglaze with wine. Cook for a few minutes until wine is almost dry. Then add vegetable broth until tofu is 3/4 of the way covered. Simmer on medium-low for 1-2 hours or until broth has reduced to sauce consistency.

While you're waiting for tofu to braise, prepare the gremolata. Add all ingredients together and mix well. Adjust seasonings. Should taste fresh and citrusy. Leave in refrigerator until tofu is ready.

Serve over sauteed spinach and risotto or your vegetable and rice of choice. Pour remaining broth/sauce over tofu. Top with gremolata and garnish with parsley.

we all scream for ice cream!

2009-08-29T17:53:00.000-07:00

AHHH! I think I know where the little limerick "You scream, I scream, we all scream for ICE CREAM!" came from... when it's unbearably hot, people scream "ICE CREAM!!!" Well at least that's the first thing that came to mind. It's hotter than a roasted pepper outside! The only logical activity would be to make ice cream.

My friends gave me an ice cream maker one year and it's one of my favorite kitchen appliances! If you don't have one, I guess you're going to have to find some tins and roll 'em around for half an hour. Or you can just invest $50-$60 and enjoy homemade ice cream for those triple digit summer days (Oh boy, I sound like an infomercial, please buy me). And trust me, homemade ice cream is better than store-bought. All the kids I taught said so!

French Vanilla Ice Cream

Ingredients:

4 egg yolks (this is what makes it French and creamy!)
1 cup milk
1 cup double/heavy cream (if you don't have heavy cream, just use another cup of milk)
3/4 cup fine sugar
1 vanilla pod (can substitute 2 Tablespoons of vanilla extract)

Directions:

Pour the milk and cream into a sauce pot and bring the pot slowly up to boiling point. While it's coming up to a boil, slice the vanilla pod lengthwise to expose the seeds. Scrape seeds out into pot and drop the whole vanilla pod into the pot. Give it a good stir.

In a bowl, beat and mix together the egg yolks and 1/2 cup of the sugar until thick. Pour the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar into the milk mixture when it starts to simmer. Dissolve the sugar, then slowly pour the milk into the mixture of egg yolks and sugar, stirring constantly (Tip: literally add a few drops at a time in the beginning so that the hot milk doesn't scramble the egg mixture. This is called tempering).

Pour the mixture back into the pan and heat gently, stirring until the custard thickens - DO NOT BRING TO THE BOIL OR IT WILL PROBABLY CURDLE. When you can see a film form over the back of your spoon it's time to remove the saucepan from the heat. Leave to cool.

Transfer the whole mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Now, for you lactose intolerants and vegans, here's an animal/dairy-free frozen treat:

Vegan Mexican Mocha Ice Cream

Ingredients:

2 cups almond milk (or rice milk, soy milk, etc.)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup agave nectar
2 Tablespoons instant coffee powder
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
dash of cayenne

Directions:

Bring almond milk to slight simmer in a medium sauce pot. Then add rest of ingredents to the pot and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Using a whisk, make sure everything is dissolved and fully incorporated. Let cool, then add to ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions.

Stay cool and enjoy!

let's try this again

2009-08-23T22:01:00.000-07:00

When I asked my friend what he wanted for dinner, he said he was in the mood for pasta with a tomato-base sauce. Spaghetti is pretty boring, so I went back to this vegetable bolognese recipe from Giada's show Everyday Italian. I remember trying it out a couple years back, but with my new culinary skills and knowledge, I tackled it once more.

Instead of putting the raw vegetables directly into the blender, I sauteed them first to caramelize them and develop more flavor. I also added 4 roma tomatoes to the vegetable mixture.

The recipe calls for red wine, but I didn't have any, so I opted to use Port Wine. I reduced it all the way instead of just halfway with the mushrooms. It takes some time but it's well worth it. It definitely adds another dimension of flavor.

Anyway... this was 10 times better than when I made it a couple years ago! YUM! So here's my version of the recipe along with photos of the dinner. I accompanied the pasta with a red onion bruschetta, garlic herb-roasted potatoes, and a marinaded radish salad in a lemon vinaigrette (not pictured). I really need to buy a replacement battery charger for my camera! I'm ashamed of these photos!

Penne Pasta with Vegetarian Bolognese

1 package of penne pasta (or rigatoni)
1 medium pot of boiling water
1 tablespoon salt

2-3 medium carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
1 white onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
4 roma tomatoes, quartered
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons thyme leaves
1 teaspoon oregano, chopped
1/2 teaspoon basil, chopped

1 cup shiitake mushrooms, chopped
1 cup cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup port wine

6 oz mascarpone cheese

Directions:

1. Start boiling a pot of water. Add 1 tablespoon of salt to water. Add pasta when water starts boiling and cook as directed on package.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in large deep skillet or medium pot on medium high. Add roughly chopped carrots, onions, and peppers to pot and 1 teaspoon of salt. Saute for 2 minutes or until vegetables start to tender and all sides are slightly browned. Add tomatoes, garlic, and rest of herbs and seasonings and saute for another minute or two.

3. Add cooked vegetable medley to blender or food processor. Puree until no chunks are left. Set aside.

4. In same pan or pot, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil on medium high heat. Add assorted mushrooms and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Saute for 2 minutes until mushrooms shrink in size. Add tomato paste and mix well. Add port wine and cook until dry.

5. Add vegetable puree to the pot of mushrooms. Mix, then add mascarpone cheese. Stir until cheese is fully incorporated into sauce. Taste for flavor, and add remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt if necessary. Let simmer for 6-8 minutes to let the flavors develop, stirring occasionally, then add to strained pasta (with a little bit of pasta water left). Garnish with grated parmesan if desired.

Tips: Really, you can use any kind of pasta you want, but I like the tube pastas like penne and rigatoni so that the sauce gets trapped inside. The pasta water helps thicken the sauce, a little more. It's also great the next day! Also, you can use any assortment of mushrooms you'd like. To make this vegan, omit the mascarpone and substitute with Tofutti "Better than Cream Cheese" if desired.

curry fried rice

2009-08-18T19:52:00.000-07:00

I meant to say this in my last post, but I want to apologize for the poor quality of some of my recent pictures. I seem to have misplaced my new camera charger! So I have been taking pictures with my 2.0 Megapixel camera phone. ::sad face:: It'll have to suffice until I find the charger, or until I give up my search and just buy a replacement.

Anyway, I'd like to share an impromptu recipe with you guys. I had some leftover rice and veggies, so I decided to make fried rice! Then as I opened my spice cabinet, I decided to make it CURRY fried rice! Brilliant! This is a totally flexible recipe, but this is what I ended up with:

Curry Fried Rice

Yields: 4-6 servings

3 cups cooked 1-2 day-old rice
1/2 brown or white onion, sliced
1/2 head of broccoli, cut into bite-size pieces
1 carrot, sliced into rondelles
1 clove of garlic, minced

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Directions:

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and sesame oil in a wok or large deep skillet on high. Add in onions, broccoli, and carrots. Saute for 3 minutes or until onions are translucent and broccoli is bright green. Add garlic, and saute for another minute.

2. Add soy sauce, lemon juice, honey, curry powder, and cumin. Mix well with vegetables.

3. Add day-old rice and break it up with a wooden spoon until all the rice is mixed well with the veggies and sauce. Add salt and pepper.

4. In the meantime, heat another pan with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add the beaten eggs and cook until just dry.

5. Add scrambled eggs to rice mixture and stir until all ingredients are evenly distributed. Adjust seasonings as desired. (I like a lot of curry flavor with a little bit of sweetness)

Tip: If I had these on hand, I probably would have added grilled pineapple chunks, 2 tablespoons pineapple juice instead of the 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and roasted cashews to make a Curry Pineapple Fried Rice! Mmm! Really, you can add any vegetables you'd like!

Happy eating!

jack of all cakes

2009-08-17T22:58:00.000-07:00

Hello World! That was the longest hiatus yet! Well, a lot has happened since I last updated.

So let's zoom past the boring stuff: I completed my externship at Real Food Daily in West Hollywood, where I learned how to prepare vegan food and pastries. Then I had my graduation ceremony in May. After I graduated, one of my friends created cooking classes for his extensions program at LA Harbor College for me to teach. I taught a few Saturday courses of varying cuisines. Then I taught kids cooking classes in the summer for six weeks. It was kind of a nightmare (if my friend/boss is reading this, just kidding... but not really)!

Now onto more exciting news...

I've decided that I want to go into cake decorating, and maybe become a private chef. In order to do so, I will have to do more training on my own. During my free time, I will develop my own recipes and try them out at home. When I'm satisfied with the recipes, I'll post them on here for you guys.

As for cake decorating, my spark of interest began when a former coworker of mine asked me to make a cake for her niece's 4th birthday. The theme was Alice in Wonderland, so I made my first whimsical topsy-turvy fondant cake. It was also my first multi-tiered cake. It sure was a grueling process, but the end result left me wanting to create more!

I'm thinking of creating a separate blog just for my cakes, but I will think about that. Here are the rest of the cakes in my arsenal so far:

I have deemed myself, "Jack of All Cakes."

So that's that... I hope to update more often again!

please pack your knives and go

2009-02-26T22:36:00.000-08:00

Hey! Sorry I haven't updated about my last three weeks of class, but I was trying to find an externship. That was a whole fiasco, but I'm finally set. I've been working with Project Angel Food and I'm starting at Real Food Daily on Monday. Anyway... more about that later.

I really enjoyed International Cuisine. This class was really refreshing, because we cooked A LOT. We presented full dishes and practiced full-service buffets. We even had time "windows" when the chef wanted our courses.

We made cuisines from Italy, worked our way to Morocco, all the way to South East Asia.

Osso Bucco

Spanish Buffet

Indian Platter

Chinese Buffet

We made a lot more individual dishes, but I didn't feel like they were worth taking pictures of. There were definitely some awesome dishes, but there were also some that were just okay. I'm really glad we ended our classes this way.

So this probably concludes photos from the school kitchen, but hopefully I'll have more time to post more often now. Until next thyme!

advanced garde manger

2009-01-28T00:59:00.000-08:00

Another three weeks down, three more weeks to go! I finished my last class "Advanced Garde Manger" last week with a bang! We learned how to make sushi. It was delicious, but I think I would still rather just go out for sushi. Variety is one of the things I look for in sushi, and it's just too expensive to achieve at home if you don't have a lot of people to feed.

Going back to the first week, we worked with a lot of meat (mainly sausage-making). I'll just say, that I never want to work with that much meat again.

We finished off our little "sausagefest" with a BBQ buffet.

Our salt dough center-piece
Another group's salt dough center-piece

Week 2 was probably everyone's least favorite. Not only did we have to deal with a lot of meats, but the food that we produced seemed almost inedible. However, we did get to work with a lot of powdered gelatin. My favorite part was making the Chaud Froid platter. My design was inspired by the Solar System.

And here we have the Chicken Gallantine, Vegetable Terrine, and Pate en Croute:

These cold meat concoctions and the vegetables coated with balsamic gelatin are definitely NOT kosher.

And for our last week, besides the sushi, we also made one of my favorite dishes since my time in culinary school: Insalata Caprese (Caprese Salad)

I know the ingredients (heirloom tomatoes, mozarella, basil, spinach, and a balsamic vinaigrette) were quite simple, but it was extremely refreshing and tasty.

We also pickled a few things and made an antipasti platter.

I'm not sure if you guys can tell the difference, but I got myself a new camera for Christmas! Hopefully the pictures come out better. I sure can tell the difference!

I can't believe I'm in my last three weeks of culinary school. After that, I will be doing an externship for 6 weeks, and then I have my graduation ceremony in April. It is going to fly by like no other!

Right now, I'm in the middle of setting up an externship at Providence with the head chef at our school. I was quite honored when my Advanced Garde Manger chef approached me about it, because Providence looks AMAZING. It's unpaid, but the experience alone would be awesome. More updates on that later! I'm super excited for what's to come! =]

sweet

2009-01-10T13:07:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! I hope you had a delicious holiday season!

I know this is a little late, but the last class I completed was Advanced Baking and Pastries. I really loved the first week of it! The next two weeks were ok, but making truffles, marshmallows, and toffee is not the most exciting thing to do. This class confirmed that I definitely want to go into more pastries after school. So here are some photos from the class:

Banded Chocolate Mousse Cake

Charlotte Royale (looks like a brain to me)

Crepes Suzette

Frozen Souffle

Creme Brulee (my chocolate writing is not the greatest)

Chocolate Pot de Creme w/ Earthquake Cookies

Candy Platter

L'opera Cake

Sacher Torte

Reduced Sugar Apple Spice Cake

Making Truffles

Truffle and Toffee Platter

Flan w/ Sugar Cage

As with all my classes/dishes, there are triumphs and failures. I think my favorite part was plating the desserts and playing with the sauce designs. I learned that simple is better.

I'm currently in my Advanced Garde Manger class. I will let you guys know how that goes!

As for now, I have to look for a restaurant job to fulfill my externship requirement. I plan on staying at the restaurant I get hired into for a little while if all things go well. Wish me luck!

putting it together

2008-12-06T16:44:00.000-08:00

I'm getting really bad at updating aren't I??? I apologize. It's really hard with my full schedule, but here I am making a quick update (with lots of pictures) before I have to go to work again.

We started our advanced baking class this week, and I LOVE it. I've liked almost everything we've made. BUT, I will have to do a recap on my most previous class, which consisted of mostly proteins and putting together full dishes. This worked out really well, because it taught me a few things for Thanksgiving. Here are some of my favorite dishes from the class:

Grilled Salmon and Vegetables with French Lentils

Seared Scallops with Orange Beurre Blanc Sauce

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Grilled Pork Chop
with Warm German Potato Salad and Braised Red Cabbage

Chicken Roulade with Port Wine Reduction

Shrimp Gumbo

Sauteed Duck Breast with Cherry Reduction

Crispy Snapper with Fine Herbs Sauce

Happy Holidays! I can't wait to show you guys my advanced baking pictures when I'm done!

hors d'oeurves

2008-11-09T09:54:00.000-08:00

After a week of making them, I think I finally got the hang of spelling hors d'oeurves. My next goal is to be able to spell onomatopoeia without looking it up. Cling cling, clang clang goes the pots...

Our Intro to Garde Manger class has definitely been a bit slower compared to previous classes, but I enjoyed most of the food we made. Besides learning special techniques, the thing with culinary arts is that we can take simple ingredients and make them look extravagant. I'd be comfortable throwing my own classy holiday dinner with hors d'oeurves now, so I definitely got something out of this class.

I'm usually the lone ranger working at my own station, but this class has also made me more comfortable working in groups. I couldn't imagine these dishes coming out so well if we didn't work together. There are a lot of pictures I want to show you guys, so I will stop talking now!

Kerry and Kristin

Tea Sandwiches
Sarah Workin' her Mojo

Hot Platter

Vegetable Platter

Cajun Shrimp with Jalapeno Cream Cheese (These were SOOO good!)
Sun-dried Tomato Smoked Chicken wrapped in Crepes
Caviar/salmon/roe on puff pastries
Pear and Prosciutto with Gorgonzola Cheese
I'm gonna open a bakery with these girls, haha...

spinach artichoke dip

2008-11-08T16:08:00.000-08:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a while! As you know, last weekend was Halloween. My friend Robbie had a special request for his Halloween party, and I thought I'd post the recipe on here.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

The one I have pictured here is a slightly different than how I usually make it, and I don't feel it was as good, so I will post up the one I usually use.

You will need:

1 large deep skillet

2 Tbls of olive oil
1 cup white onions, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced

2 jars of marinated artichoke hearts, roughly chopped (about 14-16oz)
16 oz frozen spinach, thawed and drained

1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne
Salt and Pepper to taste

8 oz cream cheese
8 oz swiss cheese, sliced
8 oz pepperjack cheese, sliced or shredded/grated
4 oz parmesan cheese, shredded/grated

Red bell pepper for garnish

Tortilla chips or toasted/warmed baguettes for dipping.

Heat skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil. Once it's hot, add the chopped onions into the deep skillet and lightly salt them. Saute until just tender (1 to 2 minutes), then add the minced garlic. Saute less than 30 seconds, and add artichokes along with a little bit of the marinade from the jar and drained spinach. Saute until all of it is heated through, and add cumin, paprika, cayenne, and salt and pepper. Stir just until spices are incorporated, then add the cream cheese. Heat until cream cheese is melted and incorporated into the greens. Then add swiss, pepperjack, and paremesan and melt all the way through. Transfer to chafing dish or serving bowl and garnish with bell peppers, chopped or sliced. Serve with tortillas or baguettes.

Simple, no? I kind of do it a little different every time depending on what cheeses I can find at the moment. Let me know how yours turn out!

caviar tasting

2008-10-26T11:36:00.000-07:00

We had a caviar tasting on the first day of Intro to Garde Manger after boiling eggs. Supposedly the good stuff there on the right was $120 (for 2 oz). I just don't get it... I guess it's like wine: it's an acquired taste. But even so, that small amount of food for that much money is not worth it to me, no matter how good it tasted.

In case you're wondering though, caviar is good with champagne, vodka, latkes, oysters, lemon wedges, hard-boiled eggs with separated yolks and whites, onions, and creme fraiche or sour cream. It's best served on ice in its original container with the lid nearby. DO NOT serve it with a metal spoon, because they seep metallic taste into the eggs and spoil the flavor. Serve it with spoons made with mother of pearl, bone, glass, good ivory, wood or horn, and porcelain. Or you can serve it on plastic like we did. I know, fancy, right?

journey to the center of the egg

2008-10-25T13:07:00.000-07:00

If you've ever walked by our school, you might have seen a few chefs wearing those ridiculously tall hats with vertical lines (or folds) on them. Well traditionally, each of those lines signified how many different ways the chef could cook an egg. When I first heard that, I was like, really? Are there really that many ways? Well, I learned in my Intro to Garde Manger class this week that there are.

1. Soft-boiled 2. Medium-boiled 3. Hard-boiled 4. Sunny Side Up 5. Over Easy 6. Over Medium 7. Over Hard 8. Poached 9. Scrambled 10. Omelet style 11. Baked

And of course there are different styles of omelets and different things you can mix it with to bake... which is what we learned this week. I love eggs and all, but I think we could have dedicated just one day to eggs.

My favorite egg dish this week would probably be the Huevos Rancheros. It's so simple, but I'm hooked! I've always heard about it, but never tried it. I had no idea how delicious it was! It 's mostly because of the enchilada sauce, but I think I just love Mexican food in general.

Huevos Rancheros
2 taco-sized corn tortillas

2 eggs, over medium
1/2 cup of frijoles refritos (refried beans)
1/3 cup of enchilada sauce
1/3 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
2 Tbsp of butter/vegetable oil
Salt & pepper to taste
Chives for garnish

Of course all these inredients can be adjusted to suit your taste and desired portion.

First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Then, melt 1 Tbsp of the butter a medium saute pan and heat the tortillas just until slightly brown on both sides. Transfer to a plate and spread a thin layer of refried beans until it covers most of the surface of the tortillas. Set aside.

Using the same pan, add the rest of the butter and either cook the eggs one at a time or together on medium heat until all the white is cooked. Then flip over to finish cooking on the other side for 1 minute, or until yolk is just cooked on the outside. Slide the eggs onto the tortillas and beans. At this point, you can either transfer everything back onto the saute pan, top it off with the sauce and cheese, and pop it into the oven until the cheese is melted, or leave it on the plate and top it off with the sauce and cheese and pop that into the oven. That's what I did in class. I like the look of melted cheese on the plate. This way, the plate is also hot, which is the way they serve it in restaurants.

After the cheese is melted, take it out of the oven, and garnish with some chopped chives and enjoy! The egg yolk should be firm on the outside, but runny in the center.

Mm! As Ingrid Hoffman would say, "Simply delicioso!" Does she still have her own show?

jacob's dairy-free birthday

2008-10-19T23:57:00.000-07:00

So I took a break from my double-life this weekend and helped my friend out with his birthday dinner. Just a few cool people, and I hope you were one of them byotch. Those were Mean Girls references in case you were wondering. ::laughs to himself:: Anyway...

I've cooked dinners for people before, and let me tell you, it's not easy! I'm just looking back on my birthday dinner and my friend Ben's birthday dinner and how whelming (not quite OVERwhelming) they were. Making 3-5 intricate courses to feed even a group of 10 is actually harder than making 10 easy appetizers.

So this is what Jacob and I made for the cool kids who came:

Beer-battered Chicken Tenders (Thanks to Guy for fryin' the chicken)
Beer-battered Fries
Stuffed Cucumbers
Pizza Bites
Pineapple Chicken Kabobs
Roasted Red Bell Pepper Hummus
Red Onion Bruschetta
Risotto-stuffed Red Bell Peppers
Baked Tofu and Veggie Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Pumpkin Pie
Fried Strawberry-Raspberry Won Tons (thanks to Guy and Patrick for helping)
German Chocolate Cupcakes (made by Guy and Jacob)

So here's the twist: Jacob's a lactophobe! Well maybe not, but he's lactose intolerant. So everything here was DAIRY-FREE! Also, I don't prefer to eat red meat and poultry, and my friend Josie is a vegetarian. Oh, and this is Angie.

She's vegan. So it was important for us to create a menu that had something that everyone could eat.

Which brings us to the stuffed cucumbers she's holding. She probably looks so happy because it's completely vegan. It's stuffed with veggie ham salad made with deli-style veggie ham, onions, mustard, and honey. They were so simple, yet so refreshing! They're perfect bite-size appetizers.

I got this idea along with a few others from a Summer (I know it's not Summer anymore, but this is southern California afterall) appetizer book from Pillsbury. It's a handy little book.

These are the pizza bites before going into the oven. I would have taken a picture afterward, but they were such a hit they were in our stomachs before my camera could even lay a flash on them. The dough is made with Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations. The cheese is tofu-cheese. You really can't tell the difference once you bake it with everything.

So here's the birthday boy himself, holding the risotto-stuffed red bell peppers. Instead of chicken stock/broth, I used vegetable broth. It definitely isn't as good with that substitution, but wasn't bad.

This next dish was probably one of my favorites. These lettuce wraps are so tasty and easy to make.

-Baked Tofu
-Veggie Chicken
-Salted Cashews
-Hoisin sauce
-A head of lettuce

I suggest getting all this at a Chinese market. That's the only place I can ever find plain baked tofu and my favorite veggie chicken (made with bean curd). And while you're there, you can pick up the hoisin sauce, salted cashews and lettuce for cheap. Just chop the tofu and veggie chicken into little cubes, chop or crush the cashews, throw it all in a pan and saute on medium heat with oil (and garlic and onion if you'd like) for 2-3 minutes. Then add about a tablespoon of the hoisin sauce and heat until it's incorporated. Spread some hoisin sauce on a leaf of lettuce, throw the tofu mixture in, and you have yourself a party.

And of course, we can't forget dessert! These fruit-filled won tons get me so excited! I just have to find a better way to make them. I think I will use bigger won ton wraps next time so I can put more fruit in them. Basically, you dice up whatever fruits you would like. In the past, I've put a combination of strawberries, banana, and kiwi inside the won ton. This time we used just diced strawberries, a raspberry, and some pastry cream inside. I wasn't sure how the pastry cream would hold up in there since we deep fry them, but it was actually pretty good! We topped it off here with some non-dairy whipped cream, and a raspberry-blackberry sauce. Just blend a little box of blackberries with a handful of raspberries with sugar and honey and strain out the seeds. If you're like me, it'll be something you'll want to make over and over again.

That's about it for food pictures, so you'll have to trust me when I say mostly everything looked good. This post would be way too long if I showed you everything anyway! But I will leave you with this...

I will try to have Jacob write up an entry on here to tell us about his dairy-free pumpkin pie, just in time for Thanksgiving!

test day

2008-10-17T01:09:00.000-07:00

Today was the last day of production for our Baking 110 class, which means TEST DAY! We drew pieces of paper from a bowl last night and I drew Menu #5: Eclairs, Raspberry Ganache Tartlettes, and Hazelnut Meringue Drops with Coffee Buttercream. That's a total of 6 recipes to execute plus assembly! 1. Creme Patesserie (pastry cream) 2. Pate a Choux ("cabbage paste") 3. Ganache 4. Pate Sucree (sugar dough) 5. Japonaise/Meringue Noisette (hazelnut) 6. Coffee buttercream. Four hours seemed like plenty of time, buuuuuuut it wasn't.

Piping the pastry cream into the eclairs were frustrating enough the other day, but the oven I put my pate a choux in was accidentally turned off while baking. So my eclairs collapsed a little bit and took longer to bake. The reason it's so frustrating, is because we had to use parchment paper to make a little piping bag to squeeze into little holes on the bottom of the eclairs. The tip of the bag gets soft after a few squeezes so it's hard to stick into another hole. I'm sure in the real world, they have better tools for doing that. So I presented only 4 eclairs instead of 6.

My 2 tartlettes came out really nice. They're the same ones from my previous post. My meringue drops turned out good, but I couldn't get the buttercream to set. I was in such a time crunch at the end I had a hard time fixing it. Oh well... it's the experience, not the grades that matter to me in culinary school.

Next week we start our Garde Manger class, in which we're making cold dishes. Yum! Bring on the pasta salads and sushi!

So long to baking lab... at least until Advanced Baking.

(A basic quiche I made yesterday)

baking

2008-10-15T00:21:00.000-07:00

So, I'm currently in the last few days of my Baking 110: Intro to Baking and Pastry class. I wish I had started this blog from the very beginning, but better late than never.

In this class, we've learned how to make all kinds of things from baguettes to cheesecake. I've really enjoyed this class. There's something therapeutic about kneading a blob of sticky gooeyness into a ball with the spring-back quality of 10 Tempur-Pedic pillows.

Today, we made eclairs (which mean lightning bolt in French), but they weren't that exciting to look at, so I didn't take any pictures. Instead, let's talk tarts. Last week, we made a classic fruit tart with pastry cream filling. As it came time to assemble and arrange our vibrantly-colored assortment of fruits, I got a little intimidated, I'm not gonna lie! Especially after the chef came over to me after putting down the center fruit and said "That's a great idea, but you want everything on the tart to be edible." I had left the leaves of the strawberry attached. D'oh! I should have learned from my Intro to Culinary Arts class. Garnishes need to be edible! So anyway... this is what I came up with:

Not bad huh? I was making it up as I went, but everyone seemed to think it was beautiful. Aww, ::blushes::.

The secret to the shine is a nappage - 70% apricot coating, 30% water. Just incorporate those two on a stove top until you can brush it over the fruit after assembly. It also acts as a preservative.

For a good pastry cream:

16 fluid oz of whole milk
1/4 of a vanilla bean, cut and seeds scraped out
3 1/2 oz granulated sugar
5 egg yolks
1 oz cornstarch
1 tblsp. butter

By the way, unless it says fluid (fl) oz, we usually weigh all our measurements on a kitchen scale. I got one for my birthday from IKEA. It's come in handy these past couple of weeks of class. You should get one!

Here's a little kitchen conversion for you: 16 fluid oz equals 2 cups. I've also tried this recipe at home already using soy milk, and it worked out pretty well, so I'm sure any type of milk would suffice. It's the cornstarch and egg that really thicken this puppy up. With this recipe, you don't really need to weigh things. Add about 1/3 of a cup of sugar. This is what goes through my head every day in class: "You can never have too much sugar." Well that's not really true. What I really mean is that a little more sugar than the recipe calls for is okay by me! 1 oz of cornstarch is about 2 full tablespoons. If you don't have the vanilla beans, add some good quality vanilla extract to it. Not too much though, or else the pastry cream will turn a bit brown.

First, you combine the milk, vanilla, and half the sugar in a medium sauce pot. Bring it to a scald (below a simmer) until bubbles just start to form on the sides. While you're doing this, whisk the egg yolks together with the other half of the sugar, and the cornstarch. Whisk it like you're making whipped cream! This will make for a lighter pastry cream. Once the milk is up to a scald, remove it from the heat and temper it into the egg mixture by adding a little at a time and whisking frequently as to not cook the egg. Once all of it is together, pour it back into the pot on medium heat. Using a heat-proof spatula or wooden spoon, stir occasionally until it starts to thicken. Then stir constantly until all the mixture has thickened into a smooth creamy texture. Then pour it into a shallow container or bowl with the butter. The butter gives a nice shine to it. Stir the mixture until the butter has melted and is fully incorporated. Put some plastic wrap directly onto the cream so it doesn't form a film and pop it in the fridge until it's set. Voila! You have delicious pastry cream. Spread it into your tartshell about 3/4 to the top and go crazy with your fruits. There are many tartshell recipes on the web, so take your pick. We used a sugar cookie-type dough for our shell.

Oo and we made this a couple days ago:

It has a layer of raspberry jam on the bottom. Sooo good!

Okay it's way past my bedtime. Let me know if you guys try the fruit tart at home!

this is my passion

2008-10-14T01:15:00.000-07:00

Since I've started Culinary School at Le Cordon Bleu, Hollywood (formerly known as Kitchen Academy) and working full time so that I can actually afford it, I haven't had much time for social interaction. This blog is a way for me to let you guys in on my experiences at the school, as well as my new path to becoming a chef.

I've never been good about taking pictures. I don't know if it's because my camera is really slow, or if I'm really slow. Maybe both... but I'm going to try my best to keep things "spicy" by including lots of photos. Hopefully this blog will last for a very long time, all the way up until I have my own cafe/bakery!

You know, I've had dreams about being an astronomer, a Broadway performer, and (don't laugh) a professional bowler, but this... I feel like this is something that I can actually see myself doing for the rest of my life. I love food. It's my passion.