Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all the chefs out there who are working hard this holiday to make this a merrier christmas for all the patrons.

Wahoo!

I have myself an extern! It's so good to have help in the kitchen. It was only her first day so far but she's eager and bright eyed and enthusiastic so I'm excited. I'm thankful for the extra hands. Maybe now I can let go of the cranky monster that has been taking over me during the past couple of months at work. I remember how I was right out of culinary school. I was naive. The kitchen was so new and cool to me that it overshadowed the reality of the hard work it takes to be in the kitchen. I have to say the past several months have beaten me down. I see myself lacking motivation and heart in what I do and that makes me sad. I have to put my heart into the pastries I'm making or else they come out looking like shit.

During school I did my extern at a restaurant that I truly believe in and love. Daniel was the first "fancy" french restaurant that I ate at. The experience blew me away. When it came time to choose a place to stage I hoped Daniel would take me. On my interview I was really nervous. I thought the chef was going to be this fat old mean french guy who would blurt obscenities to me in French. The chef turned out to be this young, tall, skinny guy who was funny and nice. He was an awesome teacher and really set the tone for my cooking career. I think the first chef you work under always keeps a place in your heart. Chef Dominique was a great teacher to me. He didn't just make me peel boxes of apples in the corner. He took the time out to teach and guide me and let me get my hands in everything. I was given a lot of responsibility and was shown all aspects of the kitchen from production to service and recipe development. I have a lot of respect for the crew at Daniel. They work hard and they have fun at the same time. Since I have such fond memories of my stage I want to do the same for my stagiaire. It's weird to have someone working under me and following my orders. I still feel very wet behind the ears. I'm going to try to teach her everything all the great chefs I worked under have taught me.

I've Been Very Good Santa!

Things I would like for Christmas, aside from shiny diamond things and expensive accesories of course!A split door refrigerator/freezer that hold full sheet pans
A hobart floor mixer
A pacojet
A Vitaprep blender

Hard Times

Right now times are rough for the restaurant world. Actually times are always rough in the restaurant world. The kitchen is a harsh place to be. But now its worse. The economy is not doing well so people are brown bagging their lunch, opting to drink at home instead of ordering a bottle of wine with dinner, skimping on dessert and pastries, and having dinner parties at home instead of eating out. Chef Shuna wrote an interesting post on evil restaurants that stiff their workers. Go check it out. Her blog is one of my favorites. She gives really good insight on how it is to be a chef and work in a kitchen. Everything she writes hits close to home for me. The pastry shop I work at hasn't been doing well. I am constantly having to harrass my boss for my paycheck and it is constantly late. Just last week my paycheck bounced. I love to cook. But I don't do it for free. I know many chefs do it out of the passion they have for their trade. But this girl has to eat too. Don't be a fool! Don't work for free! I think chefs should ban together and fight for our rights.

Wafuu Curry

I was looking for this recipe for a tart that used almond paste in its crumble topping. I saw it the other day but I don't remember where I saw it. I think it was in a magazine. Good luck finding it since there are SO MANY magazines floating around my house. While looking for the magazine that might hold the golden recipe I came along a Saveur from February 2007 that I never looked through (yes magazines just pile up unread). What an awesome discovery because inside was a recipe for one of my favorite dishes, Japanese curry, also known as wafuu curry! It was my turn to make dinner tonight so I decided to give it a whirl. I went to the market and picked up the veggies that I will need and I happened upon some other lovelies while I was there:
Some imported anchovies from Italy. Look, they are bigger then my finger!
And some gorgeous mixed olives. Yum!

Maybe I'll turn these into a delicious Puttanesca sauce. By the way, La Famiglia DelGrosso makes an awesome puttanesca sauce in a bottle called Uncle Jim's Late Night Puttanesca. Okay now I'm waaaay off track. Back to my wafuu curry. I usually use the instant kind but this recipe taste just as good and is just as easy. Here's my adaptation of Saveur magazine's wafuu curry:


Wafuu Curry (Japanese Curry)
3 c chicken stock
canola oil
1 lb chicken, cut into 1 inch cubes (I used skinless breast but you can use skinless thigh if you like)
3 T butter
1 inch chunk of ginger cut into thin strips
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 T flour
5 T curry, S&B brand (I used the spicy one)
2 small tomatoes, large dice
1 dried bay leaf
1 medium carrot, medium diced
1 medium potato, medium diced
1 small apple, small diced
honey, soy sauce, salt to taste

1) Simmer chicken stock.
2) Liberally salt and pepper chicken chunks. Toss with a tablespoon of cornstarch. (T= tablespoon t= teaspoon, you all know that right?) Saute in oil until golden brown on all sides. Set aside.
3) In the same pan, melt butter and sweat onions. Add garlic and ginger.
4) Stir in the flour and cook until browned, stirring constantly.
5) Add curry powder and tomato. Slowly add half a cup of chicken stock, whisking vigorously to combine and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom. Add the rest of the chicken stock slowly while stirring.
6) Add the chicken, onions, garlic, ginger, carrots, potatoes, apples and bay leaf and bring to a boil.
7) Simmer on medium-low until all the carrots and potatoes are soft. Make sure to stir once in a while. If the sauce gets too thick and dry add a little water.
8) Season with honey and soy sauce to taste. The more soy sauce you add the more honey you will need because soy sauce tends to be slightly acidic. Add some salt if you like the sweetness level but think it needs to be more salty.
9) Serve with a short grained rice.