How Can I Eat This Crap???

I have tried so hard not to become some uppety food snob. The past year has been a culinary awakening with my studies in Paris and my subsequent education both with practicing at home and internship at the Michelin restaurant. Add to this the fact that I live smack dab in the middle of the California wine country surrounded by organic farms, farmer's markets, every ingredient imaginable, foodies, and some of the best restaurants in the country. I love good food made with fresh ingredients. It doesn't need to be elaborate. It could be a hamburger as long as it's done with a little finesse using quality ingredients. Which brings me to this very moment:

Here I am at my real job in a 757.
"Ding Ding". "Hi, this is Katie, you guys ready to eat?"
"yeah, what do you have?"
"Well, we have........."

It really doesn't matter what she says next. It's going to be crap. Today's crap just happened to be a beef dish. I wanted to say "bring up whatever disgusting preserved food imitation you have", but instead I said

"Thanks Katie, sure, bring them up"

After all, it's not Katie's fault that the airlines have such low food standards.

I play with the food like a kid who delays eating in hopes of making the food miraculously disappear. Pushing the bits of food around my tray makes me lose my appetite even more. As I stare at the food my mind slips........

"Ladies and Gentlemen this is your First Officer. As a special treat, I am coming to the cabin to cook up a nice meal for everyone. As I leave the flight deck and enter the cabin there is an eruption of cheers and clapping. The passengers have thrown their food trays on the floor in revolt. There is a chorus of knives and forks banging on the tray tables as everyone chants "food...food..food". I put on my Chef's jacket and get to work.........pans fly, I am pulling out all the stops with my sauce making skills, reduction, etc...I have saved the day. YES! The flying chef has arrived.

The flying chef quickly vanishes as I am jolted back to the reality of the sterile present;

"American 272, contact Miami Center on 132.4"
"Roger, 132.4, American 272"

I look down at my tray. The food is now cold and looks even less appetizing than before. I feel bad that an animal had to die to create such a sad meal. What a waste. I cover it up and put it on the floor for its final burial. R.I.P. Some ceviche or rice and beans with plantains might be good when I get to Miami. Then again, I can't wait to get back home to California for some real food in my own kitchen.

NASCAR in Town

The NASCAR weekend is here, not that I personally care about cars going around in circles, but it's a big deal in Sonoma for local business. The restaurant was expecting a fairly big night. Most of the chefs were there tonight and surprisingly they were happy to see me. It would be nice to think that I am loved, but the truth is that I am free labor and I think it helps everyone a little when I am there to help with the prep. The day began with the herbs. Damn, where was the new extern? I thought I had been promoted out of the herbs? A big night, meant a lot of herbs! After that I helped a little with the meat cook's mis en place which took me right up to the service.


I took my next task of hand shredding rabbit confit legs on the line until I needed more room at which time I went back to the prep room. Here I am almost finished with the task. The restaurant does a very nice recipe with this rabbit confit. After shredding it and ensuring that all the bones and cartilage are removed, a rillette is made along with black truffles. next a rabbit leg is stuffed with the truffled rabbit rillette and then wrapped in Caul fat. When the order is fired, it's cooked in a pan with some veal sauce. It's served with a ragout of morels, fava beans, and spring onions. Very tasty!

After this I went back on the line and helped out the Hot Apps. I mostly assisted with cooking some of the simpler apps and helped when things got busy. The service ended around 10pm. Not a bad day and night.

Shrimp Remoulade on toasted brioche

I went to dinner at my friennds' Ray and Kimberly last night. I wanted to make a simple yet elegant amuse bouche to take over. So I made my own version of the restaurant's shrimp remoulade on a toasted brioche garnished with a thin biased cut of english pea. Ray, who is a professional photographer, could not resist using his wife as a back drop to showcase my platter of amuse bouche.

Photos by Ray Rimmer



Ingredients:

2 Large prawns
1 TBS shallot finely minced
1 TBS parsley finely chopped
1 TBS tarragon finely chopped
1 TBS chervil finely chopped
1 TBS chives finely chopped
1 TBS your favorite white vinegar (I used champagne vinegar), or
1 TBS fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup creme fraiche (optional)
loaf of brioche
butter spray
salt/pepper

For the garnish:
1-2 English pea pod
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 tsp sugar

A few hours ahead do step 1.

1. cut the english pea pod thinly at a diagonal (on a bias). Place in a small bowl of lemon juice and sugar to flavor it. Do this a few hours in advance to infuse the flavor.

Preheat oven to 375

2. steam prawns until the shell is red. set aside and cool. When cool, peel off the shell. chop the meat until it's finely chopped.

3. cut 1/4" slices of the brioche. Cut off crust. Use small ring mold to cut into approximately 20 small disks. Place on a cookie sheet. Spray with butter. Place in oven and bake until the disk are golden. Should take 5-8 mins.

4. In a bowl mix prawns, herbs, shallots, vinegar or lemon juice, and just enough mayo and creme fraiche to coat but not become soggy. play with the proportion of the ingredients to create the taste that YOU like. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

5. place a dollop of the shrimp mix on a brioche disk, and garnish with a pea sliver. (could also use other garnishes that are simpler like a chervil leaf, or some chives, or any herb that you like)



Enjoy!

Tension in the Kitchen

I went in today for prep only (1:30-5:30). A new extern from Finland began work today on a 1 year externship. So guess who had to do the herbs? Not me! A new guinea pig is in town. I did some cutting and basic prep but I was given some more advanced tasks which was nice.

The big Chef was in today and his mood was sour. Some high profile nationally known Chefs and restauranteurs are coming to the restaurant this weekend and there is noticeable pressure on the Chef. At one point he snapped at the Sous Chef which left the rest of us rather silent. It was walking on egg shells for the rest of my shift. I was glad to get the hell out of there for the week.

It goes to show the huge amount of tension that resides squarely on the shoulders of a Chef. The Michelin star pressure must be immense. It is said that keeping the Star is more difficult than attaining one. Add to this the management of the the kitchen staff, the accountability and ordering of daily produce, the menu, dealing with problems, etc...and what you have is one stressed out dude! Makes you wonder why anyone would want to have the job of Executive Chef!

Thoughts to ponder.

Hot App's Assistant on the Line

It has been a week since I had gone to the restaurant. The airline job took 6 of my days last week. Summer is definitely here with all the summer travel woes, thunderstorm, and misconnects  which not only cause chaos for the passengers, but is also disruptive for the crews. So, I finally made it in today for some restaurant work. It was nice to see everyone. I did a full 5 hours of prep which included bagging veal and chicken stocks for the freezer, cutting some beans, peeling some tomatoes and shucking LOTS of English peas. The fun began when the service started.


The Hot App guy, after checking with the Sous Chef, asked me if I would like to help him on the line with some plating. He told me that if it got too busy, I could just watch. "Deal"! Well, we were slammed right out of the gate, so I watched him deal with all the simultaneous orders. He slowly worked me into the action by giving me small plating tasks, garnishing, saucing, along with a little bit of stove work by asking me to watch the risotto, the scallop, etc.. It was really the first night I have been a part of the line and "felt" the flow of it. Up until now, I have mostly observed during service, or helped prep things for various station if they ran out of their mis en place. Tonight was an entirely different experience actually being a part of the rhythm and mentally staying with the "dance" on the line.


 Afterwards, I thanked both the hot app and the Sous for including me. It was a long but rewarding day.

Balthazar, NY French Bistro

I am on a layover in NYC and wanted to explore the French Bistro scene and decided to have lunch at the famous Balthazar Bistro in the Village. The Chef de Cuisines are the well known Chef Riad Nasr and Chef Lee Hanson. The place oozes with with old world Parisian decor with its distressed mirrors and walls. Sitting in the dining room I felt as though I had been transported to La Belle France.

I ordered the signature "Balthazar" Salad which is haricots verts, asparagus, and mixed greens with a truffle vinaigrette dressing. It was well composed and delicious. Next I had the steak tartare which was equally tasty. I could detect the flavors of cornichons, capers, shallots, and parsley (very classic) and a slight hint of Tabasco. To finish the meal I had an espresso. All in all it was a great meal in a truly authentic French setting at a reasonable price.