Lamb Meatball with Vin Cotto

I recently cooked for a winery event where we provided a bite-sized portion of food paired with our showcased wine which was a pinot noir. We chose to make lamb meatballs. It was a good choice with the onset of fall and rain in the wine country. I would not call this a fine dining appetizer, but it's a step up from the typical meatball with some atypical ingredients that combine for interesting flavors and a fun app to serve for an informal gathering. The meatball was served with Vin cotto, which in Italian means "cooked wine." It's an intensely rich, dark sauce that you should use judiciously, but used in correct proportion, adds a nice flavor to the meatball. You can find it at an Italian market or online VinCotto at Amazon. You can make a substitute form of it by reducing 2 cups red wine, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, and 2TBS of flavored dark fruit syrup like pomegranate or cherry syrup until the wine is reduced to a syrup. True vin motto is made from the grape must (the grape juice before fermentation) and lees (leftover grape seeds, skins after grapes are pressed) boiled down for 24 hours into a syrup and then placed in a barrel with a mother vinegar to age for 4 years.

Ingredients:
24 Servings

1 Lb ground lamb
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
1/4 Cup shallots, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground coriander
2 eggs
1/4 cup of bread crumbs (plain, no seasoning)
1/4 preserved lemon, finely chopped (buy your own or follow my recipe :Preserved Lemons)
1/4 cup pistachios, toasted and roughly chopped
1/4 cup olives, chopped
vin cotto for dirzzle

Directions:

Preheat Oven to 500

1. In a sauté pan heat olive oil on Med heat. cook garlic and shallots until translucent.
2. Add pepper, salt, and coriander and cook for 1 minute
3. transfer to a cool plate
4. In a large bowl, scramble the eggs with a fork, then add the cooled shallot mixture
5. Add the lamb to the egg mixture along with the bread crumbs, lemon, pistachios, and olives. Mix thoroughly until evenly incorporated.
6. Roll into bite sized meat balls.
7. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for approximately 10-12 minutes. The internal temperature should be 160 degrees.
8. Place on a toothpick or skewer and lightly drizzle with the vin cotto.

Private Lunch at the Winery

Today's event at the winery was a private lunch for a group of 40. As a part-time cook, I just show up and jump in to the fray whenever and where ever the Chef needs me. My duties today were to prep and set up the chilled almond garlic soup which was the starter, assist in portioning 40 quail which were later fried as a play on KFC for the entree, other component prep work, help with plating all the courses, and more intensive work sectioning 15 ducks for some duck confit after the lunch event.

My last work day at the winery had been a frustrating one. On that day I had messed around with 300 eggs trying to get a soft boil, peel, and then flour, egg, and bread for frying. It was tedious and took 6 hours because the eggs were not cooperating. I had questioned whether I was actually learning anything at this job which in hindsight was just a product of a very frustrated mind.

Today was much more fulfilling and educational. It's always satisfying to pull together in the kitchen to accomplish an event. The chilled soup was really cool because it has no liquid base other than water. It was really delicious and flavorful. The second course was ahi tuna, topped with a fried egg stacked on romesco sauce and surrounded by various vegetables. It was a clean presentation. The quail entree (not pictured) was deep fried and served with some corn/mushrooms, smashed potatoes and some gravey. This course was a play on "down home" cooking using more sophisticated ingredients. It came out very nice. Finally, we ended the lunch with a cheese plate.

Wood Fired Pizza Oven

It was "Passport Weekend" in the wine country. An event that allows guests to purchase a ticket and roam between participating wineries. The event showcased wines with appropriate food pairings. The Chef chose to cook pizzas for our event. It was a warm summer day....perfect for a wood burning pizza oven on the back deck of the winey, with a sweeping view of Napa valley.

The Chef loves using the wood fired pizza oven to create not only pizzas, but rustic Italian dishes. However, today was all about pizza. We were a team of 4 plus the dishwasher who also helped when it was busy (our pizza team pictured above). The dough and the mise en place for the pizzas had been prepped the day before, leaving only assemblage and cooking for today.

Here are some interesting facts about the oven. This particular brand costs about $15,000. There is a specific method of building a wood pile to start the fire inside the oven. Once started, the wood is moved around the oven to heat all sides of the interior, and then eventually moved off to one side. With the wood on one side, the flames actually arc from one side to the other around the interior of the ceiling.
The temperatures reach between 700-1000 Deg. F. The stone "floor" of the interior is then wiped clean with a wet towel, and you are good to go. The efficiency and heat generation is fantastic. It only takes a few minutes to cook a pizza in the oven.

We made 4 hot pizzas and one cold flat bread pizza:

1. Basic tomato sauce, pepperoni and mozzarella

2. Roasted garlic paste, braised chanterelle, black trumpet mushroom, and 5 mixed cheese

3. Herbed ricotta, asparagus, pancetta, and mozzarella (pictured above)

4. Gluten free dough version
5. Vegetarian pizza
6. Flat bread, topped with herbed creme fraiche, smoked salmon, hard boiled quail eggs, pickled red onion slices, and tarragon.


We made over 200 pizzas in 5 hours. It was a great venue being outdoors, working in a beautiful environment, surrounded by some very happy people. I never worked in a pizza place as a kid, so it was nice to work with dough and the oven.

We received positive comments all day regarding the flavor of the dough. The Chef has kept a "mother dough" alive for 5 years. This is the source of all the dough made at the winery thus preserving that taste character that makes it uniquely flavorful. 

Butchering a pig

I went to the winery for 2 days of work. A private lunch and a private dinner were on the agenda but the real surprise was the delivery of a pig. I didn't plan on this, but my timing couldn't have been better. The Chef revealed the delivery to me after a couple of hours of prep for the dinner event. I said "this will be a great experience to watch you butcher the pig", to which he replied "You're not watching, you'll be helping me"! Awesome. There were 4 of us there to dismantle the pig for its various uses. This was no ordinary hog, it was a "mangalista" breed pictured above. It's a unique pig because of its fur and the 4" of fat underlying the skin. It's origin is from Hungary and the Balkans where it was bred for its large amount of lard. Through the years, it's popularity waned to give way to less fatty hogs until recently when there has been a resurgence of demand for the breed. A local farmer breeds them for high profile restaurants like the French Laundry.

It was delivered to us with the head removed and the carcass sawed in half lengthwise.

We went to work as soon as it arrived. The first task was to remove all of the meat along the inner halves of the body and remove the legs with the shoulders intact.

Then we separated the meat, fat, skin, and the bones. The fat was placed in large roasting plans and placed in the oven to be rendered. 

Next, I got to debone 2 of the legs, remove the skin, then cut the fat/meat into 1"-2" pieces. This was to be eventually made into salami. My boning knife really got a workout on this one. The next day, I ground all of this leg meat, made a spice blend, and then combined the two with a mixer.

The remaining 2 legs were kept whole to be cured for proscuitto. The Chef had me make a roux with equal portions of rendered fat and flour. This was a technique I had not seen. The roux was used to seal the exposed portions of the leg meat for the curing process.

Also, the next day, I cooked all of the bones and attached meat in the rendered fat. Once cooked, I removed all of the meat which will be used for carnitas.

The head was cooked in water all day. When removed, all of the flesh had fallen off the skull. The meat will be used to make ndjua.

The fat back and spice mix were combined for curing to make lardo.

The skin was cut into strips for making pork rinds.

Every part of the pig was used. It was a great experience to see the process. Seeing the animal from start to finish makes one appreciate and respect it. You want to waste nothing so that the animal's death is purposeful and meaningful. Another great learning session at the winery.

Winery cooking demo

Another winery event brought a call form the Chef. This was the big annual event for the winery with a couple of thousand guests expected to enjoy the release of the winery's flagship wine. Included in this festive faire were 5 prominent local Napa Valley Chefs each providing a demo as well as cooking representative food from their respective restaurants for the crowd. I wasn't sure what my duties would be when I arrived. It was great seeing everyone again. The winery chefs are all from other restaurants or just free lancers who come together as a team for events such as this. As it turns out, only 2 of the group was assigned to actually cook. They cooked the family meal for the over 200 employees who were hired for this event. My duties were to assist the 5 restaurant chefs with their demos. I was to serve as their liaison to the winery's kitchen and equipment. The great thing about this assignment was that I met and briefly worked with each of the 5 Chefs! Very cool. Here I am with the Winery Chef waiting to greet the 5 Chefs as they arrive with their crew and equipment. Beyond that, my duties were to generally assist with the event form dealing with people, fielding food questions from the crowd, equipment, assembly/disassembly of some cooking stations, etc...No cooking but a fun event.

A few pics from the event:

Michelin Starred Chef Ken Frank of La Toque

How to properly cook meat in a pan

Chef/Owner Donna Scala and Executive Chef Scott Warnerworking the Bistro Don Giovanni's setup

Frycook?

This is my 100th post on this blog. I would have preferred to write about something a little more exciting than frying rice balls. Did I pay all that money for Culinary school only to end up as a frycook deep frying rice balls all day? Let me back up.

I got a call from the winery chef to work a food and wine event for the weekend. I am always excited for winery jobs since each one is different. The Chef emailed me a detailed summary of the menu, my tasks, and logistics. Another chef and I would be working the event. The "menu" was really only one item - arancini. Arancini is a rice ball which is made with risotto and various other ingredients. The flavors in the arancini were designed to pair nicely with the winery's pinots and merlot. For this event, the Chef and his assistants had spent the week making 4000 heirloom pumpkin and braised short rib arancinis. Our job was to deep fry them and serve them individually and unceremoniously on a paper napkin at the winery. So much for improving my culinary skills with cutting edge techniques. A 16 year old kid at McDonalds could do this one.

It would have been nice to have been a part of the assemblage of the arancini. It's actually a nice little process. Basically, make risotto and place on a sheet tray to cool in fridge. Bake pumpkin and puree. Cool. Braise the short ribs in veal stock and wine. Shred or chop the meat. Fold the pumpkin puree and short ribs into the risotto. Roll individual balls. dip each ball into flour, eggs, and bread crumbs. Then deep fry. Viola! I mean Presto!

Maybe there is a significance in this blog entry after all. There is a lesson to be learned from any experience no matter how trivial. Frying something all day long, although boring, taught me to recognize the exact color and feel of the end product. I experienced some things that are impossible to "see" without doing a task all day long. I played little games with trying to do each batch just a little faster. I tried to be more efficient with my movements. I tried to make the next batch even better. These games kept me engaged and interested allowing me to survive the day. Perhaps the biggest lesson learned is that professional cooking for the most part is unglamorous and very repetitious. It's through this repetition that cooks become so good at what they do. Whether It's cooking rice balls or a high end product such as foie gras or lobster. The learning process is the same. Plus, how can I possibly complain about a job where I am offered an occasional taste of wine while I cook. Not a bad gig!

Another Winery job?

I went in to the restaurant last night just for the prep. The garde manger cook, a relatively new guy. was a bit behind so my night was dedicated to helping him with his very lengthy mis en place. Although a junior position in the kitchen, I think garde manger may be one of the most challenging. He is responsible for the amuse bouche, the cold apps, salads, soups, bar food orders, and terrines. On busy nights, the station is manned by 2 but we're in the slow season, so the Chef keeps only one guy at the station on the week nights.

While cutting away at the prep station, I asked the Chef about his old job prior to the restaurant. He had been a winery Chef at a Sonoma Valley winery. As we spoke, he mentioned that his successor at his old winery job is one of his best friends and he would be happy to pass my info to him for working special events! Wow! Another winery job and working for another Chef would be great. I didn't respond immediately because I don't want to bite off more than I can chew, but I also couldn't let such a generous recommendation slip by. So, I said "yes". This does not mean that his friend will want me or even need more people, but I was flattered that the Chef saw me worthy enough to recommend. This profession is truly incestuous with an extensive spider web of connections between the Chefs which is another reason to always do your best, present a good attitude, and refrain from burning any bridges because It could come back to haunt you or as in this case, it could reward you.

Winery Event (I am unshackled)!!

The Chef had asked that I come in to the winery for 2 days to work a special event. A family had hired the winery to host their family reunion for approximately 110 people. The Chef called in his team of chefs to prep on Thursday and work the event on Friday. I was assigned to prep and execute the 3 appetizers as well as cook the family meal both days. The three apps were dungeness crabs & mussels arancini served with crème fraiche and salmon roe, duck leg carnitas, and garlic bruschetta with broccoli raab & fried quail egg. Chef had laid it all out in a detailed list of assigned mis en place, and a time charted blow-by-blow execution for the event day. He had also assigned 2 of the cooks to help me with the final execution of the appetizers at service time. In all, there would be 6 of us there (including Chef) to execute the event. It was nice to meet a few new faces. It didn't take long for everyone to feel their peers out for their depth of experience, background, and jobs. I love the cooking profession for its honesty. It's quite difficult to pretend to be anything above your actual talent level because it will show immediately. So, I made no bones about being a complete novice.

Thursday was a cinch. Only 3 of us were tasked to come in for the pre-event prep day. Prepping was simple with the basic cutting of vegetables, shredding duck confit, blanching/shocking some ingredients, roasting garlic, essentially creating "kits" for each appetizer, and cooking the family meal. I made a pasta meal for the family meal with sauce that was already in the walk-in, threw in some herbs, charcuterie meats and served with bread. It was a sunny day, the kitchen door was open allowing the vineyard view to spill into the kitchen. We chit chatted as we prepped. I tried to conceal the whole airline pilot thing, but inevitably it becomes obvious that since I only cook someplace else 1 day per week as an intern I am either a trust fund baby, or I have another job. So a flurry of questions ensued about how and why. I steered it back to the cooking. It was a fun relaxing day. I dropped my guard and allowed myself to be completely complacent. My soft underbelly was exposed and I was a prime candidate for a sucker punch. I went home feeling confident and was ready to do battle the following day.

Friday proved to be a cold rainy day as I made my way over to Napa valley. I felt prepared, having reviewed my list of tasks for the day. I wasted no time as I jumped right in to my final prep and began checking items off my list. I took a glimpse at one of the experienced cook's list and I was really impressed that she could actually pull off such a comprehensive list. The Chef came over and said "Mark, the appetizers are where things always fall apart. Getting 3 hot apps out simultaneously for 110 people will be tough. Do your best". My thoughts were "he must know something that I don't know, because I am ahead". I looked at my list again and felt good. I grabbed some serving platters and staged the plating area for the apps. I went to the garden and hand picked some garnish herbs for the serving platters. I whipped some crème fraiche and folded in the salmon roe and some chives and salt. The list was looking good. I looked at the clock and realized that I had 30 minutes to cook the family meal. Once again, it was a simple plan using mostly things that were already in the walk-in. After knocking that out, I got back to my list. With only an 1.5 hrs to go, It was time to attack the items that needed to be cooked and held in the warming cabinet. It was here that the plan began to unravel. First on the list was pan toasting 125 bruschetta. The Chef specifically wanted them pan roasted and not oven baked which would have been much faster. "Toasted on one side and lightly toasted one the other with a slightly soft middle" were his exact instructions. I began using 2 large teflon pans for the job, but it was taking way too long. I switched over to the flat top. For some reason the flat top wasn't getting hot enough and this was where I fell way behind..I still needed to spread the bruschetta with the roasted garlic, fry 110 quail eggs and ring mold cut each one, fry the shredded duck confit, etc... The weeds were rising all around me...SHIT! I had chosen to skip eating the family meal to stay ahead and now I was falling behind.  As everyone else returned from family meal it was like the cavalry riding in with reinforcements. Sweat on my forehead and what must have been a look of panic on my face must have given me away. George jumped on the quail eggs, Abby spread the garlic, etc..it was crunch time and the kitchen was in full motion. The next 30 minutes were a complete blur but somehow we managed to crank out all three hot apps, plate, and get them out. The Chef came over and with a smirk on his face said "what did I tell you, it always happens". My specific job for the night was done, I was now the extra hand to help with the remainder of service just as everyone had helped me with the apps.

The kitchen was completely cleaned and dismantled and retooled for the next course. This was the pumpkin risotto and pancetta with salad and a kids pizza plate. The chef quickly assigned stations for the plating, demoed one plate, and once again we cranked out 100 plates. Even the dishwashers were brought in for the plating. It was an assembly line. Again, the stations were wiped down and reconfigured for the main entrees. A halibut mounted on braised gigante beans and mussels surrounded by chanterelle broth or a roasted NY Strip and braised shoulder served with a wild mushroom confit and vegetables. Again the chef demoed, and we all plated and cranked them out. The scene was replayed with cheese plates and the dessert. And just as quickly as it started, it was over. Throughout the night guests came in late and wanted a course that had already been served. I was the guy who was in charge of making the straggler plates. Also, each of the above dishes had a vegetarian version. I was also the veg. guy who made all of those dishes.

It was a blur of a night. The 4 hours of service evaporated like it was 10 minutes. The Chef allowed a free- for-all run of some of the food that was left in the kitchen. Honestly, I didn't have much of an appetite. Chef told me to get out of there because I had started a little earlier than some others. I thanked him, shook hands with everyone and headed out to the cool drizzly night. Phewww. I didn't know how to feel. Had I done a good job? Is it always this crazy? I had mixed emotions about my performance. It was a huge learning experience. Where as my internship Chef gives me very little latitude, the winery Chef expects me to just run with it. It's a nice but difficult transition from restraint to freedom.

Dry Creek Passport Weekend

View from the tasting room

I got my first taste of event cooking this weekend at my new winery job. It was a food and wine event for the 85 participating wineries in Northern Sonoma County. It was a novel event in that each winery showcased one small dish that best paired with one or more of their wines. The winery where I am employed owns 4 wineries with 2 of them in Sonoma County with each presenting a different dish. My location presented a pumpkin gnocchi with brussel sprouts cooked in a brown butter sage sauce with toasted walnuts which was paired with a Pinot. The gnocchi was prepared by the Chef and his assistants during the previous 2 days.

Arriving at the winery I was not sure what to expect or what my duties would be. We were a crew of 3 at this location. Our tasks were divided into 3 stations and throughout the day we rotated through each post to breakup the routine. One station was the front man who represented the food inside the tasting room to the public and answered questions regarding the dish, preparation, and general food questions. The front man also metered the food supply as the demand ebbed and flowed. The second station did the plating. The third station cooked the gnocchi at the stove.

What a change from the stress and pressure of working at the restaurant! I had a blast. When the dust had settled, we had served a total of 1500 people for the 2 days. I consider that a feat for 3 people, but there was no stress, no yelling, no Michelin star at stake! Not to imply that the product is inferior in quality, event cooking is just a different animal. At the restaurant, I am mostly involved with precision prep work and assemblage of mis en place with almost zero stove time. It was really nice to actually get to cook, not to mention having a more comprehensive role in the kitchen. I think I have fallen into the perfect niche. I receive regimented, precise education at the restaurant working with elegant products and presentation, and at the winery events I can employ what I have learned at the restaurant but in a more relaxed environment with a much longer leash.

What has the past 12 months meant?

It was a year ago when I left for Le Cordon Bleu on a much anticipated deviation from my life's course. In the past 12 months I completed the Basic Cuisine course, interned at a restaurant for 10 weeks, currently going to the same restaurant once per week as a part time intern, and have practiced intensely at home on most of my days off. This afternoon I made the appetizer to the right. It is gougère filled with chicken remoulade. It incorporated making choux pastry, mayonnaise, roasting some chicken, and balancing the use of fine herbs, acid, and seasoning. Maybe it's not so complicated, but a year ago I could not have made any component of this appetizer without a recipe, nor could I have come up with the concept of the final product. This was something I came up with this morning at the gym and whipped it together this afternoon without the aid of a recipe.  As I was making the dish, It dawned on me that the past 12 months have been really significant in terms of advancing my cooking skills. Since returning from Le Cordon Bleu, I have avoided using recipes and have attempted to combine ingredients using the tools I acquired in school (braising, poaching, roasting, etc..) I have liberated myself from the crutch of recipes. I now use them to gain ideas for techniques and food combinations, but the days of being tightly tethered to a recipe line-by-line may be behind me. I have also practiced and read a ton since my return from school. This is not to imply that everything I have made has been stellar. In fact I have had LOTS of disasters but each mistake led to a lesson learned. LCB gave me the tools and the confidence to try new things and helped shed the fear of failure. Finally, the internship has allowed me to see those basic techniques refined beyond anything I had imagined. The restaurant has also helped me with more creative plating ideas. Bottom line is that ALL of the above are responsible for where I am today. I have SO far to go. I may be only an inch along a mile long journey, but after putting this plate together, it feels so good.

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.