Beckam's Cauliflower Curry

"Do you know the movie Bend it Like Beckam?" my chef asked in lecture last night. "Yes," a couple of us responded. It was strange for her to be asking us about movies... "Well, there's a scene in the movie where they show the recipe for Cauliflower Curry-- that's where I got the recipe for today!" She beamed.

As it turns out the recipe is delicious :)

Tandoori Ovens

... bake some of the most delicious bread in the world. Yes, I am speaking of Nann. We made the most lovely, moist, chewy, buttery, flavorful bread in the Tandoori Oven tonight. Whether it was the oven, the dough, or the people making the bread, I can't decide but all I know is that the bread was beyond comforting and the oven was so cool.

A tandoori oven is shaped sort of like a giant bowl-- kind of. It gets between 800-1,000°F and is traditionally made of clay. There are no racks inside like a traditional oven and you load things down into the tremendous heat, rather than horizontally, front loading items into an oven. To make nann, one stretches out hunks of soft, silky dough and then presses them against the sides of the wicked hot oven with a towel ball. The dough bakes and rises into a crispy, golden shell housing steaming, chewy dough in about 3-5 minutes. It is then brushed with melted butter.

If you get just a little bit lucky, 1 piece of bread will not properly adhere to the side of the oven, and OH NO! it drops to the bottom of oven meaning there is absolutely no way you could serve it to a customer, and in order to quickly solve the problem, you just have to eat it. This might happen to you, if you get the tiniest bit of luck.

chopstick test

In order to ensure our proficiency in the skill of chopsticking, my chef set out two plates today-- the first with 7 pieces of oddly cut carrots, 7 dry pinto beans, and 1 tiny bean, the second plate was for moving all the objects on the first plate to with a pair of chopsticks. Each person got up in front of the class and was timed. Our times ranged from 21 seconds to 2:59 min. The fastest person received a pair of beautiful blue chopsticks and made an acceptance/thank you speech to the class.

I had one of those goofy smiles on my face that is summoned only when one is allowed to indulge in the kind of fun that is so simple and pure we could never plan for it.

Red Curry Paste + Caroling

Tonight I made a red curry paste (coriander, cumin, white pepper, Kaffir lime leaves, galangal, garlic, shallots, New Mexico Red Chilies, Thai Bird Chili peppers, and salt) that was added to onions, coconut milk, soy sauce, lime juice, Thai Basil, peas, tomatoes, and deep fried tofu. It is considered Thai cuisine and demonstrates strong Indian influences due to Thailand's proximity to India.

After class, I heard singing outside my room only to find carolers in front of my dorm. What a lovely way to get in the holiday spirit!

CIA Snow Tour

I keep talking about the beautiful campus and here it is with a little snow.

grilled beef in shiso leaves

Chopped lemongrass, garlic, black pepper, sugar, soy sauce, fish sauce, eggs, cornstarch, Vietnamese chili garlic sauce, and sesame oil seasoned ground beef to make a delicious filling that was rolled inside perilla or shiso leaves and served as Vietnamese street food. The beef mixture was flavorful and delicious-- it could also be used to make meat balls, hamburgers, Vietnamese "taco" filling, etc.

I heart sushi

When I was younger, I hated sushi. I thought raw fish, rice, and seaweed were gross individually, but together they were like a powerhouse for disaster. Bleh. But now, I love sushi! I even crave that chewy seaweed and sticky rice, the smoothness of raw fish and the creaminess of avocado. These are the textures that made me suffer from a heavy case of food envy last year at lunch, as my friend, Tiffany, ate a bright tray of sushi and enjoyed every bite.

I was lucky enough to create my own little sushi heaven tonight in class. My group made over 200 pieces of sushi, and every single one was beautiful. (I still think its cool that I got to roll sushi for my education today.) Sushi isn't easy but its simpler than I expected. I'm reminded again of Julia Child, "you've just got to have the courage of your convictions!" As I made inside out sushi, I respectfully patted the rice onto a half sheet of nori, spread bright orange caviar down the center of the rice and flipped the whole thing over onto a bamboo rolling mat. It was risky each time because the nori was thin and the rice was heavy.

I think the key to successful sushi is sticky rice. And "hand vinegar", which is a combination of icy cold water and a generous splash of lemon juice/vinegar. Before you pick up a handful of rice, dunk your hands in the "hand vinegar" to get them really cold and then the rice doesn't stick to your fingers. It's pretty darn cool.

sushi 101

Sushi: seasoned rice, sea vegetables, possibly with vegetables and/or seafood (raw or cooked)

maki: "roll", referring to what I think of as traditional sushi

nigiri: "finger shaped", pressed rice with a piece of fish laid over top, fastened with a piece of seaweed

sashimi: raw seafood, always

nori: roasted seaweed that has been pressed into sheets

***first snow***

That's right folks! It snowed here in the Hudson Valley tonight, and it was magical.

kimchi

Fermented vegetables eaten often in Korean cuisine. Kimchi is not just cabbage, as many may think. Kimchi can be cucumber, daikon, radish, or mustard greens. Our kimchi was cabbage soaked in a salt water solution to draw out moisture. Tomorrow we will marinate it in a flavorful combination of Korean Chili powder, garlic, ginger, scallion, fish sauce, and sugar.

Dim Sum

My chef keeps telling us to read the Chinese written on the boxes, bottles, and bags of ingredients, which makes me laugh every time. In addition, she is having us practice writing Chinese, which I love.

Dim Sum is any combination of small bites of food. It can be dumplings, potstickers, spring rolls, steam buns, chicken feet, Chinese BBQ ribs, etc. We served our dim sum with a ginger soy dipping sauce and a crunchy cabbage salad.

For the cabbage salad: Mix some shredded cabbage with a generous amount of salt to draw out the moisture. Let the cabbage sit for 15 minutes, then squeeze it out. Mix rice vinegar, sugar, garlic, green onions, and a sprinkle of sesame oil to the drained cabbage to make a deliciously wonderful side dish.

jasmine tea and grapes

My Chef gave us Jasmine tea and grapes tonight after class as we sat and reviewed the day. She taught us how to enjoy the tea, putting the cup beneath her nose, she breathed deeply. "Smell..." she smiled. "Appreciate, the tea, and thank the person who made it for you." At this point everyone turned to me and thanked me because I had made the tea. It felt corny at the time but it also made me happy because I'm glad manners are still being taught, even in college. Then she slowly put the cup to her lips and took a sip. "Oh, this tea is hot. Don't burn yourself!" She smiled as she brought her hand to her chest. She also strictly instructed us not to put sugar in our tea. "No milk, no cream--nothing! Just tea!" she said.

It was such a pleasant way to end the day. The warmth of the liquid just settled right into my belly in the most perfect of ways. She said that in China, they don't eat dessert every night, just some fruit-- "apples, tangerines, or something". As a child I would have been beyond disappointed if I had received fruit as my dessert. Tonight, I was beyond satisfied.

Why would a Chef share tea and grapes with you after a class? Because this is the Hospitality Industry, welcome.

sweet, salty, spicy

Today was Day 1 of Cuisines of Asia with one of the most endearing, yet stern, ladies I know. Before we start cooking she lectures for the first hour of class about our food for the day. She goes over 4 areas for each dish: cooking method, tastes, special ingredients, and method. The tastes are crucial to our understanding of the dish. We are working our way through the continent of Asia, starting with China. Tonight we made Crispy Tangerine Chicken which was described as being sweet, salty, and spicy. "Now think about what that means," she coached later in the evening, "Sweet-- sugar. Salty--" "Soy Sauce!" a student called out. "And hot," she finished, "Hot bean paste, chilies. So now you can make this dish even without a recipe. Just think of the flavors, right?"

It's a neat way of thinking about a dish. Just pick out the tastes and then personalize the flavors. What is it that we love about Crispy Tangerine Chicken? Its sweet, salty, and spicy. That winning combination could easily be transferred to a beef, pork, noodle, veggie, or tofu dish. Instead of sugar, you could use honey, molasses, agave, brown sugar, maple syrup, or fruit. For salty you could use kosher salt, smoked sea salt, worcestershire sauce, or anchovies. For spicy you could use peppers, chilies, hot sauce, black pepper, or pepper flakes. We can take the combinations of tastes we know and love and create an endless possibility of dishes.

stop

I thought of this video today in homage to my 12th grade English teacher from one of my classmates. It is illustrating my friend's vocab word of the week. The video reminded me of what I wanted to say to time today. It is the last day of Cuisines of the Americas and I just wanted time to stop. I love this kitchen, I am fascinated by my chef, and I've fallen in love with American food. I was also overwhelmed by the amount of work that needed to be done and the amount of time I had to do it. The combination of appreciation and feeling overwhelmed made me want to press stop for just a minute today. Sometimes you just need a minute to breathe, reorganize, and recover. In the kitchen, you don't have that luxury. While the quick pace of the kitchen makes some people crazy, its also one of the reasons some of us are here. So time, go right ahead and zoom along because I know that's what you're going to do anyway, but just know that on rare occasions I do wish you would stop, if only for a moment.

don't worry there will be days like this

Today was frustrating because my partner and I were not effective in our planning. I take comfort in knowing that days like today can be prevented because when working in a kitchen, it is vital to strategize. I know I have said that before, but every time I experience the complications and challenges of poor planning I need to reassure myself, so much stress in the kitchen can be eliminated with proper and effective planning. Set time limits and goals for each element of a dish. The beef must be in the oven by 3:00 p.m. and if its not, everyone needs to get on board to get that done. If the tortillas were supposed to be fried by 2:15 and its 2:45, do them now or re-organize and fit them in later. Deadlines give me a sense of urgency and understanding for the importance of a task. Time is spent more efficiently and energy is not wasted. I understand you must also be flexible and be able to adjust to unforseen challenges, but I can't help but crave the harmony of proper planning.

food news

Late tonight I checked out Slash Food (per a suggestion of my class mate) and was so excited that food news is actually available and there are entire web sites devoted to any news that is food related. Its really well put together and very easy to navigate.