Kitchen Nomenclature and Situational Awareness

In the world of aviation there is a standard phrase "Situational Awareness"  (SA) that describes one's ability to be in a state of heightened awareness regarding one's surroundings. It is a critical trait for being a good pilot. Some of it is innate and some of it is acquired.  It can be applied to any mode of life like driving, walking on a busy street, etc...As an example, someone who is driving while texting does not have good situational awareness and will most likely not respond adequately to an unexpected event. SA has a huge application in the kitchen as well. I pride myself on having a good SA while flying, in my home kitchen and generally while performing any task, but I just can't seem to have one in the professional kitchen.

It seems that as soon as I step in the kitchen, I become a fumbling clumsy oaf. I know what the problem is, but I can't help but get frustrated at myself. It really has to do with many things such as being unfamiliar with all that's going on in the kitchen around me, unfamiliarity with the equipment, and not knowing all the terminology and lingo of the kitchen. Typically when in a new environment, one's SA is seen through a tunnel and it slowly expands as one becomes more knowledgeable and comfortable with the surroundings. My kitchen SA is definitely a narrow tunnel because so many things in a professional kitchen were never taught in Culinary school and are acquired only through experience- sometimes the hard way!

Last night I went to the restaurant and I decided to take care of one the mysteries of the kitchen terminology. What is a 9 pan, 6 pan, 3 pan, 2 pan etc...I had figured out by watching what a 9 pan is, but I had been too embarrassed to ask about the others. I had simply never acquired their names nor did anyone teach me when I started in internship. I had looked online, but no luck.  Finally I swallowed my pride and asked to get it all sorted out. It has nothing to do with quantity in qts, or length in inches...it's how many pans fit on a large sheet tray. You can fit nine "9 pans" on a large sheet tray, six "6 pans" on a sheet tray, etc. They are actually called 1/9th pan, 1/6th pan, etc...but are shortened to 9 pan, 6 pan, etc...

I got the pans sorted out. Maybe my SA will now improve by .01%. During service I stood at the line, ready to assist when needed. "Mark, can you run and get me the swiss chard from the 6th drawer" the Sous Chef yelled across the line. "Yes Chef" as my legs began to move toward the natural food storage area (the walk-in), my brain was asking where the hell is the "6th drawer"??? I had to run back to the line for clarification. As I turned the corner, the Sous said "the SIX DOOR". I must have looked confused. The "SIX DOOR right next to you". OK, I get it now. There is a fridge at the Garde Manger station that has 6 doors on it.  I just didn't know it was called the "six door". Damn I felt like an idiot, but my SA just increased by another .01%. Great I only have another 99.98% before I can feel as comfortable in the kitchen as I do in a 757.

Back at the line I was ready to retrieve any size pan and could nail any request to get something out of the 6 door. The meat cook yells "Mark run back to the walk-in and get me 15 from the Sail kid in a 1/3 pan". I reply "Sail kid"? Yes "sail kid" was his response as he was deep in the middle of juggling about 25 pieces of meat on his grill. OK, I am going to figure this one out as I ran to the walk-in looking for this sail kid. Is this a name for some variety of fish that I don't know. My forehead is sweating and I feel very hot despite the fact that I am standing inside a fridge. Did he say "scallop" and I just misheard him. "Sail kid..scallop".."sail kid..scallop". The more I say it, the more they begin to sound like one another. At least I'll get the correct pan now that I know what a 1/3 pan is. No time to waste, so I grab 15 scallops and run back through the mine field of the line and hand them to the meat cook in a beautiful 1/3 pan. He looked at me like I am crazy. He ran to the walk-in with me in tow and showed me the "Sole Kit". A tray with sole filets on it. Why didn't he just ask for sole? Damn, well add another .01% to the SA pile.

I drove home feeling very frustrated. It really comes down to time. Time spent in the kitchen. Seeing, hearing, doing. and making mistakes are all essential component of learning. As a perfectionist, it's painful for me to make silly mistakes, feel clumsy, or be disoriented. I have to believe that we all begin at this level and improve with time. Lesson learned: swallow my pride, develop a thick skin and put in the time. It's the only way!

New Friends, Italian Bounty, and Roasted Tomatoes

I was fortunate enough to see some new friends last night who had me to their home for a great dinner. After a delightful dinner and lots of great wine and conversation, the end of the night was nearing. Earlier, the host had asked me if I would want to have some heirloom tomatoes from their garden. As my friend Sjoerd says when I ask him if he wants another beer, "Is the Pope Catholic?" I didn't exactly say that, but I politely responded with a "that would be great". As it was nearing the time to say goodnight, I thought the subject had been forgotten, but next thing I see is the host rummaging about in his garden with a flashlight (it's after midnight) selecting an assortment of choice tomatoes and peppers for me. This generous act is an indication of what kind of evening we had experienced.

After taking the goods out of the bag and rinsing them this morning I realized that the bulk of the tomatoes are the prized San Marzano tomatoes from Naples which are reserved for making the best Italian sauces. My new friends are of Italian heritage so it makes sense that they would grow this variety. As I stared at the tomatoes over my morning espresso I was tossing around ideas of how I could honor these tomatoes and their heritage. Sauce was an obvious choice, but I wanted to do something different. So I decided to roast them in a way that they could be used in a multitude of future dishes. The process of roasting creates not only the tomatoes, but also its juices which are drained off periodically during the roasting and reserved. Both the tomatoes and the juices are then separately frozen. Here are some great ideas:

-use the juices to make a tomato vinaigrette
-juices can be incorporated in a risotto
-uses the juice in addition to a sauce to add a rich tomato flavor
-use the juice to add coloration and flavor to pasta dough
-roasted tomatoes can be incorporated with a vegetable ragout
-tomatoes can be served mixed with risotto
-toss the tomatoes in a linguini mix with oil, garlic, and herbs
-puree the tomatoes for an accent sauce or plating decoration

The ideas are endless with this versatile product.

Here is how I roasted them:

Preheat oven to 350

1. Core and cut the tomatoes lengthwise.
2. Place in a roasting pan lined with parchment paper cut side down and drizzle with olive oil, crushed garlic, thyme, rosemary, and salt & pepper

3. Roast until the skins can be easily be removed by sliding it off the flesh (approx 20 mins)

4. Drain the juices off and reserve
5. Lower oven to 275 and return pan to oven
6. continue baking until the tomatoes have reduced and almost dried while periodically draining and reserving the juices (1-3 hours depending the size of the tomatoes)
7. You can take an extra step and extract the real delicious juices/pulp out of the skins by running them though a food mill and add to the reserved juices.

7. portion the juice and tomatoes separately and freeze for 6 months or use within a week.

Thanks Joe and Jann for the great tomatoes!

Back to the Restaurant

It's been almost 4 months since I have worked at the restaurant. I wasn't sure if I would feel welcomed because I had left so abruptly after a 10 week internship. During the past few months, I have felt a brewing desire to return. In some ways I was disappointed with myself because I felt that I had somehow given up on professional cooking (not a usual tactic for me). I missed the feel of a professional kitchen and I missed the people. Most importantly, I missed learning. The restaurant has a crew of very talented chefs who had all taken time to teach me each in his own style. It was a rewarding 10 weeks.

I went in today with a few butterflies in my stomach. It was a big night at the restaurant because it was hosting a special wine event in addition to regular service. I had studied the event menu before going in to know every angle of each dish. I wanted to be prepared mentally even though I knew that I would be out of "kitchen-shape" physically. No amount of home cooking can be enough preparation for the physical demands of the professional kitchen. I walked in and was greeted with lots of warmth and smiles. Pheww...

I dove right in. The Chef employed me to help with the special event preparation in addition to helping everyone a little with their mise en place. This is an amuse bouche that I made for the event. It was simple to make but looked so nice when it was plated. I loved the colors. It tasted great too. I'll keep the ingredients a mystery to protect the restaurant's secrets! (Not that you can't figure it out by just looking at the picture).

I also made portions of and assembled the Cheese plates pictured below for the event. It was composed of a black pepper short bread which I made with a fig marmalade canelle, and reduced Syrah sauce. I think this event was an excellent preview for my upcoming winery job.

All in all it was fantastic to be back. The Chef was patient with his instruction. They guys were the same. There were a couple of new faces who kept their distance, but all in all a great night. My body felt it..my back, feet, hands are very sore. My knife skills have waned quite a bit and my speed is gone. I guess it's like any thing where proficiency requires practice.

Cooking News!!

We received a dinner invitation to a friend's house and I was tasked to bring an appetizer. I dug this one out from the cobwebs of my internship a few months ago. The restaurant used a salmon variation of this for an amuse bouche. It's simple, easily adjusted to individual taste, and employs a a couple of interesting techniques (making torchons using saran wrap). I made it using a chicken breast that I threw into my short rib braising liquid yesterday. I also added some golden raisins steeped in port and red wine. It also includes butter, chives, celery, and tarragon served on a toasted brioche disk.

Chicken rillette on brioche

Now to the news...The big news for me came in the form of an email from a Chef in Napa yesterday. I have been hired by him and the winery to cook for special events. By cook, I probably mean prep, given my almost non-existent kitchen experience. This may be the avenue that could work for me- a way to cook professionally to feed my passion and also maintain my flying job to feed the bank. I have also contacted the Chef from the Michelin restaurant where I did my internship and have been granted the ability to come back for more training. I plan to go in to the restaurant one day per week just to continue my growth under quality mentorship. It's hard to say "no" to such an education right here in my back yard. Incidentally, both the winery Chef and my internship Chef are CIA grads. One cooks in a classic French style and one in a style which incorporates the classic French techniques to create Italian dishes. I am loving life! This broad base of knowledge is a dream.

My first event will be November 6-7. 

Dutch Chef in Sonoma (Sjoerd LCB Classmate)

What could be better than having your own private chef fly in from Amsterdam and serve you a meal? My buddy Sjoerd and his wife Jayne came for a visit to the wine country and brought their enthusiasm and positive energy not to mention their combined culinary skills. It was a great visit filled with culinary adventures.

Pictured here, the Chef is plating a salmon and roasted fall vegetables for a simple and delicious lunch at my house.

We took a drive through Napa Valley on day one where I had

arranged for a tour of the French Laundry kitchen. We arrived at noon right in the middle of prep. The kitchen was remarkably small but VERY clean and organized and was intensely silent. Interestingly, there is a flat screen TV in the kitchen with a live feed of the kitchen at Per Se in NYC.  Following the tour, to keep the TK theme going, we went to Bouchon for lunch. Excellent!

Our next destination was one of the premiere Napa valley

wineries where we got a nice behind the scenes tour of the grape de-stemming, crush, and the winery kitchen. I am withholding the name of the winery because I may have a forthcoming job offer from the Chef at the winery. It all happened spontaneously when Sjoerd asked the Chef if he needed any help (referring to me). So, the Chef gave me his card and asked me to send in my resume. The job would be for special events at the winery as well as events throughout Napa and Sonoma Valley. This would be an ideal fit with the airline schedule. Needless to say, the resume went out ASAP the next day. I am trying not to get my hopes up too much...stay tuned.

The day was capped with a look through the CIA Greystone

in St Helena followed by a great dinner at the CIA restaurant Wine Spectator. What a beautiful setting. I highly recommend this restaurant. The chefs are students. The students also run the front-of-the- house on weekdays during lunch.

I have to say that the CIA facilities are very impressive. The demo room above put to shame my LCB Paris facility.

Sunday in My Kitchen- Peach and Plum tart

It's a beautiful day in the wine country, the windows are open, and the sun is breaking through the early morning fog. I hear the sounds of nature outside and a million thoughts of what to do with this day are passing through my mind. If I could only stretch this day to last more than the allotted 24 hours! I decide to go to the gym to think it over. Mountain biking, cycling, and hiking all lose in a very tight battle against my kitchen. I am going to a dinner party tonight, so I have decided to make an appetizer and a dessert for my contribution.

At the gym I ran through a mental inventory of my pantry and came up with a grocery list for all the things I want to accomplish today. I ran to my local market on the way home gathered all that is required for my plan. I spread everything out on my kitchen counter and the colors were so pleasing to the eye that they begged to be photographed. I had recently thumbed through my Eric Ripert book "A Return to Cooking" and remembered 2 recipes that had caught my attention. They were the peach and plum tart, and the fig wrapped in bacon. They are both simple in their execution yet aesthetically elegant and mouth-watering.

Peach and Plum tart

ingredients:

4 peaches, skinned, pitted and cut in small cubes
5 plums, cut into thin slices
1/4 cup of sugar
8 TBS Butter
1 sheet of puff pastry thawed

1. In a pan over Med. heat, place the peaches, 2 TBS sugar, and 4 Tbs of butter. Heat until the mixture breaks down into a Jam. Stir occasionally. Should take about 1 Hour. Remove from pan and place in a bowl and cool in the fridge. This step can be done earlier in the day.

2. On a floured surface, roll out the puff pastry to a 1/4" thick. Cut the sheet into 5" circles with a mold or a bowl, cup, etc..Place the cut circles on a silpat or a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and place in the fridge to firm (about 30 Minutes).

3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
4. prick holes all over the puff pastry with a fork to prevent  puffing. Spread the peach mixture on each circle. Place the plum slices on top in an circular pattern with each slice overlapping.

5. Melt the remaining butter and brush it on top of the plum slices. Sprinkle the remaining sugar on top and place in oven for approximately 25 minutes or until the tops caramelize.

Serve Warm or Cold