This weekend, May 1 and 2, at the Carroll County Agricultural Center in Westminster, Md is the Great American Cake Show and Wedding Cake Competition.  From what I can tell cake decorators from across the country come to compete in a cake competition.  For the kids there will be decorating cookies, cupcakes and gingerbread.  For adults their are workshops, vendors, and demonstrations.  Some of the possible classes include chocolate modeling, sugar work, flower decorating, making gelatin bows, fondant, using butter cream, and gum paste roses.
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Pictures of this event will probably be posted in a blog next week, the goal is to go Sunday.

Having worked in a Baltimore bar for a period of time I've constantly seen groups of people hopping from one bar to the next in the masses trying to drink at as many places as possible in an area.  But I recently came across a group through a friend that is planning a crawl of their own.  A cupcake crawl of DC.  Yes thats right cupcakes, not alcohol.  They will start at Furin's Bakery, then walk to Georgetown Cupcake, walk to Baked and Wired, ride mass transit to Red Velvet, then walk to Hello Cupcake.  Every event has a time meetup at each place and a plan to get the cupcakes, eat, and move on to the next.  The event lasts from 1-5 on a Saturday afternoon.

These are advertised on twtvite.com and meetup.com  Just an interesting promotional idea that some restaurantors may consider using to help promote thier business.  Do you have other businesses around you with a similar product?  Why not try to promote your business activities through these resources.

Hollandaise is one of the five mother sauces, and a great topping on eggs benedict.  But there are many well known ways to slightly change hollandaise to create a different sauce.

Bavaroise- made with crayfish butter, cream and crayfish meat, common on fish

Bearnaise- Tarragon reduction, fresh tarragon and chevril, common on grilled meat

Choron- Bearnaise with tomato added, commonly served with meat and poultry

Foyot- Bearnaise with Demi-Glace, common on Meats and Offal (oragans)

Maltaise- Hollandaise with blood oranges, (some suggest adding orange zest also) commonly paired with asparagus

Mousseline- Hollandaise with heavy cream, common on fish and asparagus

Paloise- Hollandaise with mint reduction and fresh mint, common on grilled meats

Royal- Equal parts Veloute, hollandaise and whipped heavy cream, common with poached poultry and fish.

Baisc Hollandaise Recipe:

4 egg yolks
12 oz melted butter
2 Tbsp white wine vinigar
lemon juice
salt
peppercorns

1.  Reduce white wine vinigar with cracked peppercorns, by about 3/4 the volume.  Let cool
2.  Add egg yolks to the reduction, and whish over a double broiler.  Remove from heat if mixture is gettign to warm.  When egg yolks triple in volume stop whisking.
3.  Slowly add butter, if hte sauce starts to break add a small aplash of water to it.  If the sauce gets to thick add a splash of lemon juice. 
4.  Finish the sauce to taste with salt, pepper, or cayanne.  Or make another type of sauce form it.

When making Bearnaise, Choron, or Foyot sauce add the tarragon to the vinagar before making the sauce.  Add mint to the vinagar before making Paloise.

During last weeks trip to New York City I bought macarons from two different locations, La Maison Du Chocolat and Bouchon Bakery.  Both places had better macarons then the macarons at Patisseire Poupon in Baltimore. 

La Maison Du Chocolat is located at 30 Rockefeller Plaza next to the NBC Studios entrance.  All of the macarons we decided to get had chocolate in them, coffee, raspberry, caramel, chocolate, and vanilla cookies with a chocolate ganache filling. Macarons here costed $2.50 each

At Bouchon Bakery located at the Time Warner Center I bought three flavors of macarons, vanilla, chocolate, and caramel.  Macarons here were $3.00 each.  The macarons were filled with butter cream, except for the chocolate made with ganache.
 
For taste our favorite was the coffee macarons at La Maison Du Chocolat.  But the vanilla at Bouchon was a close second (the fact that it was made with real vanilla beans really helped the flavor.)  As for value Bouchon Bakery was better priced.  Eventhough the cost at Bouchon is $.50 more a macaron, they are much larger.  La Maison had a larger macaron for $5, but I did not try it to tell how it is. 

Next time we go to NYC our plan is to stop at La Maison and get some more coffee macarons and vanilla macarons from Bouchon.

The Food Network will be adding another channel to cable in the near future.  The Cooking Channel begins airring May 31, and will be replacing the fine living channel.  From what I am finding out many of the shows will be coming from Canada.

Food Jammers- about three guys who create food related items, Turkey dehydrator on a canoe, Taco vending machine, cheese puffs that are then paired with wine, and grill to cook a ten foot long sausage.

French food at Home  Laura Calder making French foods, recipes like beef in beer, petit fours, tied fish,

Unique Eats which filmed at Bark restaurant in Brooklyn

Cook like an Iron Chef- Michael Symon recreates Iron Chef recipes

Indian food made Easy- google video on link, food wirter/chef Anjum Anand

David Rocco Dolce Vita- Italy, a lot of show was filmed in Florance

Everyday Exotic- Roger Mooking, classic dishes with a new ingredient

Chucks Day Off- Chef Chuck Hughes cooking on his day off work, food and drink recipes,  Snow crab bloody caesar (Bloody Mary like drink made from clamato juice and has snow crab leg),


Spice Goddess with Bal Arneson http://www.balshealthykitchen.com/

Drink Up- Darryl Robinson Dr. Mixologist

Food Crafters- Homemade food secrets

Foodography-cultural themes of foods

Caribbean Food Made Easy

Classic block- JULIA CHILDS

I was just reading about someone recreating the flavors of Alinea restaurant in Chicago with Jelly Belly jelly beans.  Food blog http://michelehumes.com/ has created a meal of jelly beans based on Alinea's menu. 

With dishes like Distillation of Thai Flavors (2 jalapeno, 1 sardine, half grass and half Sunkist lemon jelly beans), sturgeon, potato, leek and smoke (2 sardine, half mashed potato, half onion jelly beans while smoking a cigerette), and hot potato, cold potato, black truffle, butter (3 mashed potato, half dirt, half butter jelly beans).

I think this was an interesting approach in creating a fine dining flavor profile. 

After researching and not finding some of the flavors listed on the Jelly Belly website I found that some of the jelly bean flavors used were also in the Harry Potter Bertie Bott's Jelly Beans, currently not on the jelly belly webpage.

While originally brown sauces were espagnole and demi-glace, now they have expanded to include jus lie, pan sauces, and brown stock reductions. 

To make espagnole you should make a brown veal stock, then add more roasted mirepoix, and aromatics (like a bouquet garni) and thicken it with a roux.  Demi-glace is a mixture of half espagnole and half brown stock that is reduced by half to create a thick.  Jus lies are brown sauce reductions thickened with a starch slurry.  Pan sauces are like gravy, made with the drippingsin the bottom of the pan. 

The most important step in making brown sauce is to create a high quality stock. 

Step 1:  Brown the Bones and mirepoix

Step 2:  Deglaze the pan and use the deglazing liquid in the pot to simmer the bones and mirepoix.

Step 3:  Simmer the stock.

Step 4:  Add Aromatics to stock, Skim, placing pot off center of the burner will help impurities coolect to one side of the pot. 

Step 5:  Strain stock, return to light simmer if needs to be reduced more.

Step 6:  Thicken sauce with desired thickening agent

Tips:  When storing sauce put plastic wrap on the surface of the sauce, this will prevent a thick film from forming on the top of the sauce. 

Many sauces can be created from this sauce.  Commom derivatives, flavor profiles, and common pairings of Brown Sauce to be posted soon on a seperate link. 

Tuesday night was the Call me a Cab wine tasting night in Bel Air. It consisted of five wines, Chateau Saintengey Bordeaux (white), Mulderbosch Cabernet Sauvignon Rose, Mercedes Eguren Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Crest Cabernet Sauvignon, and Twenty Rows Cabernet Sauvignon.

The first wine of the evening was the Chateau Saintengey Bordeaux 2007. It fits the Cab theme, eventhough it is a Sauvignon Blanc because Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Franc are the parent grapes that created the Cabernet Sauvignon grape. This version of the bordeaux is 80% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Semillon grapes. The wine tasted like most Sauvignon Blancs, grassy with a touch of grapefruit juice and lemon zest, crisp light wine, high in acid. Sauvignon blanc is not one of my favorite grapes most days, for me its best on a warm day in the sun, or with crab dishes.

Next we tried the Mulderbosch Cabernet Sauvignon Rose 2008 from South Africa. This wine was a rose version of the Cabernet Sauvignon, (the grape skins were pulled out early in the wine making process to create a pink wine). This wine is unlike the famous rose White Zinfandel, it is not sweet. It smelled of strawberry and cherries, it has the flavors of berries, cherries, and a spicy peppery end that lingers for a little after drinking.

Next was the Mercedes Eguren, Spain 2006 (link to notes for a different year IN ENGLISH). Some of the Mercedes Egurin wines are served at the Mercedes factory in Stuttgart, Germany when customers come to look at the cars. The wine had a predominant berry flavor, a bit stronger blackberry flavor then strawberry, with a hint of cherry.

The fourth wine was Columbia Crest 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, Washington, USA. On the nose you could smell cherries and berries. Flavor strawberry, cherry, tannic (drier finish) hint of cocoa at end.

Finally was the Twenty Rows 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa, California. Flavor of dark fruits like blackberries, currants and smokey, balance of acid and tannins, to create some moisture and dryness on the palate. Personal favorite of the night, but also after having 5 wines with a few topping off refills.

Today was the day of the new KFC Double Down sandwich. Two Fried Chicken breasts with bacon, Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, and Colonel's Sauce (version of a honey mustard) in between the chicken. There is no bread in this sandwich except for the breading around the fried chicken. Surprising with two pieces of fried chicken, cheese, and bacon the sandwich is only 540 calories. A grilled chicken version is available with only 460 calories.

When I ordered the sandwich I watched the staff make it behind the counter maker the sandwich and I must say I began to have doubts in it. First the person making the sandwich only made one sandwich at a time, (previous restaurant bosses would probably of cussed me out for making one sandwich at a time when two were ordered), one thin line of Colonel's sauce on the bottom breast, layer of cheese, bacon then cheese, topped with another breast. Shouldn't the sauce be spread more, shouldn't you at least partially melt the cheese in a cheesemelter/broiler. I left with the sandwiches and got to a friend's house five minutes later so we could try the new KFC sandwich.

In the time it took to get to my friends the cheese was melted, and sandwich still warm. Time for the first bite. DELICIOUS (not in the way when I was done I wished I had just one more bite, but in comparison to other atty fast food options) and worth the $5 for the sandwich. The flavor of the chicken is by far the strongest with the bacon, cheese, and sauce only subtly tasted. It's very similar to a chicken cordon blu in flavor, but in a sandwich version without bread. While I don't see this as an everyday sandwich to eat, it will probably be a sandwich that you will occasionally get cravings for every once in a while. One sandwich was enough to feel full, and did not need ordering the full combo meal to feel even more guilty. If you don't feel full after the last bite, what a few minutes, it usually takes about 15 minutes for your body to naturally feel full after eating.

Today is the national food holiday Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day. Just want to take the time to let people in the Maryland/Pennsylvania area know about the Grilled Cheese, Beer and Wine Festival in Westminster, MD on October 23.

Don't think of a grilled cheese as a sandwich made with the generic American Cheese on two pieces of white. Be creative, take the time to find some locally made or artisan style cheese, add a few other ingredients and try a different type of bread.
Here are a few ideas of grilled cheeses you may enjoy.

Also, today is National licorce day, so enjoy some twizzlers for that afternoon snack.

On Tuesday I will be attending a wine tasting called "Call me a Cab" in the Harford County area. Since food is usually brought by people showing up to the event I thought I'd take a minute to provide food suggestions that are said to pair well with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc wines.

Cabernet Franc- Usually lighter bodied with fewer tannins then Cab Sauvignon, slight herbal aroma is common, more acidic the Cab Sauvignon, Sometimes called Chinon (appellation in the French Loire Valley and Bordeaux
Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc grapes are the parents of the Cabernet Sauvignon grape.
Favorite grape of 16th Century Francois Rabelias "Beauvez toujours, vous ne mourrez jamais" "Drink always and you will never die"
Great with leafy vegetables and herb sauces
Most common food suggestions- BEEF, DUCK, EGGPLANT, GAME, LAMB, PORK, ROASTED FOODS
Great suggestions- cabbage, strong cheeses like goat, grilled foods, bell peppers, salmon, sausage, tomato, vegetarian
Good suggestions- BBQ chicken, ham, hamburgers, liver, mushrooms, pasta with red sauce, pheasant, pizza, stew, sweetbreads, tuna, turkey, venison, zucchini.

Cabernet Sauvignon-
Dry, full flavored, heavy tannins, usual flavors of dark fruits like currants, plums, black cherries, commonly oaked,
Great with fatty foods, the fat and proteins soften the tannins.
Great with red meats, grilled foods, bitter foods like greens, radicchio, endive, eggplant; earthy foods like mushrooms; black pepper (steak au poivre), fatty creamy buttery foods.
Cheeses like blue veined or firm dry cheeses like pamigiano, manchego, cheddar, gouda, brie,
Dark chocolate, walnuts
other suggestions include-basil, currants, garlic, lentils, LAMB, meatloaf, mint, onions, oregano, osso buco, pasta, peppers, port, potato, risotto, rosemary, sausage, short ribs, squab, thyme, veal, stew, venison,

*These are some of the most common suggestions for these style wines from sommeliers around the world. By no means does this mean other foods will not go with these wines, or that with the uniqueness of every wine that the food will definitely pair with the bottle we open. This is just common guidelines that most sommeliers use as a basis when pairing a meal.

A stock is a flavorful liquid prepared by simmering bones, shells, or vegetables in water until the water takes on the flavors, smells, and color of the simmered ingredients. In France they are sometimes called Fonds du Cuisine, the "foundation of cooking." There are three basic types of stocks, white, brown, and fumets.

White stocks are made by adding all the ingredients of the stock into cold water and slowly bringing them to a simmer. This kind of stock goes best when adding to cream sauces or when a light colored subtly flavored stock is needed. To avoid the stock from getting cloudy you should blanche the bones first.

Brown stocks are made by browning the bones and mirepoix, commonly in the oven or stove top, before adding them to the water.(for small batches it is easier to heat bones on stove, larger batches are quicker in the oven) Brown stocks will have a stronger flavor then white stocks. One source claims that if a brown stock is made starting with cold water and not allowed to boil the broth will still remain clear.

Fumets are made by sweating the main ingredients of the stock before simmering, (most of the time the ingredients are simmered in white wine.

What kinds of bones should you use? Bones of young animals have more cartilage and connective tissues, which will break down into gelatin and give the stock body. Knuckle, back and neck bones are great for stock too. Thaw bones before simmering them into stock, cutting bones into 3 inch pieces will help speed the process up. Bones should be rinsed to wash away blood and impurities that can ruin the stock.

DO NOT LET THE STOCK BOIL it will dispense the fat and make a greasy tasting stock. You can cool the stock and when the fat solidifies on the top remove it the next day. Always start with cold water when making a stock, to prevent the starches on the vegetables surface from expanding.

Add a sachet or bouquet garni to the stock to add more flavor. Some people choose not to tie the boquet or sachet since they are going to strain the stock when its finished, but tying the bouquet makes it easier to remove if the herbs begin to impart to much flavor.

Another way to make the stock darker and richer in flavor is to add tomato paste to the browned ingredients. Red wine can be used to deglaze the pan that the browned ingredients are cooked in. Trimming and dried mushrooms can also be added to add more flavor to the stock.

Stock pots are the tallest pots in the kitchen, this is so they have less surface area on the flame to reduce the amount of evaporation. Keep a ladle or skimmer ready to remove impurities throughout the cooking process. For larger batches a kitchen may decide to invest in a tilting kettle, but expect to pay $10-20 thousand for one. Cheesecloth, sieve, or colander will be needed to strain the stock when it is finished. An ice paddle should be used to bring the temperature back down to under 40F in less then 4 hours, as mentioned in Servesafe equirements to prevent food contamination. A cheap way to create an ice paddle is freeze a 2 liter soda bottle 3/4 filled with water (not recommended in institutional use). Or separate the stock into numerous small containers for quick cooling. If bubbles appear in a refrigerated stock dispose of it, it is contaminated.

Remouillage is French for rewetting, it means to use the bones and mirepoix again after it has already been used to make stock.

Glace is the term for a highly reduced stock and will have a cooled consistency of gelatin.

Commercial bases are a common way many places make their stocks or add stronger flavor to handmade stocks. I remember when reading Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain mentioning adding bouillion cubes to his stock in culinary school and no one understanding how he could get so much more flavor out of the bones. Some bases are highly reduced forms of stock, some are powders or cubes. Check the ingredients for any being used, some bases are very high in sodium and some contain few real base ingredients.

Basic Meat stock recipe: yield one gallon
8 lbs of bones and trimming
1 gallon cold water
1 lb mirepoix
1 bouquet garni

1. decide if you want white or brown stock
2. For brown stock lightly oil the pan, add bones and mirepoix to pan and roast at 425F for 30 minutes. (omit this step for white stock)
3. Place bones and mirepoix in stock pot of cold water, deglaze pan with water or red wine, bring pot to a light simmer.
4. Simmer the pot for 1 hour.
5. Skim, strain and cool

Clarified butter is made by melting butter and removing the milk solids and water. To do this first melt the unsalted butter over low heat and let it separate. Then skim off the foam floating on top of the butter. After that ladle out the top layer of the butter leaving the water and milk solids in the bottom of the pan. The clarified butter or butterfat is the top layer that is clear. If you start with a pound of butter you will roughly get 3/4lb of clarified butter.

Clarified butter is used because of its higher burn temperature. Regular butter will burn at approximately 250F. The burn temperature of clarified butter is closer to 400F, making it more suitable for high temperature cooking like sauteing.

Another book mentions heating the butter over low heat and letting the water in the butter evaporate out. When the water is evaporated out chill the bottom of the pan to harden the milk solids and pour out the clarified butter, (through a strainer or cheesecloth to prevent any milk solids from mixing into the clarified butter). This method will require attention though due to the low burn temperature of butter.

Other common uses for clarified butter are in hollandaise sauce (depending on the chef) and bearnaise.

In Asian and Indian cuisines ghee is often made. To make ghee heat one pound of butter on low heat. Keep heating until the water in the butter evaporates out leaving a bottom layer of brown milk solids and the butterfat is a golden color. Separate the butterfat and milk solids with cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer. This will add a nutty flavor to the butterfat.

The French version of ghee is called beurre noisette or brown butter. Melt butter over medium low heat (works great in a pan already used to cook fish), and cook until butter becomes light brown while stirring to help it cook evenly. This sauce is commonly used on fish and vegetables. To make beurre noir or black butter cook until butter turns dark brown.

There are a few possible ways to thicken a sauce, soup, or stock each having their own advantages and disadvantages.

One way is to make a roux. A roux is a blend of flour and a fat that is heated up and added to the liquid. Clarified butter is usually the most suggested type of fat used, but regular butter, oils, and rendered animal fats may be used. The mixture of 3 parts flour, 2 parts fat (many other books suggest equal ratios) should be heated in a suate pan to the desired color. A white or lightly cooked roux will thicken the sauce more then a darker roux, but will leave a more floury flavor. Cooking the roux darker will add a more nutty aroma and flavor, and can change the color of the sauce. A white roux would be better used in a sauce like bechemel or veloute. A brown roux which is cooked until it turns dark is commonly used in Cajun/creole cooking in dishes like gumbo.
The flour used also can impact how the roux will thicken, cake flour (higher starch to protein) will thicken more than bread flour. All-purpose flour is a mixture of the two and is the most commonly used. It is suggested to add a hot roux to a cold sauce, or to add a hot sauce to a cold roux (to avoid lumping). Avoid adding hot roux to a hot liquid, since it may splash and cause burns. Also, when adding roux the sauce will need to be stirred until thickened. Roux can be prepared ahead of time and stored in the freezer, freezing the roux in ice cube trays may help measure for consistency. 2 ice cubes with one tablespoon each of roux will thicken one cup of liquid. After the roux is added and the sauce is heated and thickened it is suggested to skim the sauce to remove impurities in the flour.
If fat floats on top of the flour, the roux has separated, throw out the roux and start over.

A beurre manie is mixture of equal parts flour and butter, kneaded together, so as the butter melts it mixes with the flour, and slowly thickens the sauce as you add more.

Another way to thicken a sauce or soup is to create a starch slurry. Corn starch is the most commonly used, but arrowroot, tapioca, rice flour, and potato starch can also be used. Corn starch is translucent, thickens when heated, but can gel when cooled, too much heat will reduce its thickening abilities. Arrowroot has the same thickening power as cornstarch, but will not gel when cooled, also will hold up better to heat for a longer period of time. Tapioca flour stronger then cornstarch, available at Asian grocery stores. Potato starch is the strongest of the starches, but costs more. Rice flour is the weakest of the starches, can be frozen, but can be expensive. Disadvantages also include that starches do not thicken with acidic sauces and a skin will form over chilled dairy sauces.

Liaison is a mixture of egg yolks and cream used to slightly thicken sauces and add a smooth texture, bold flavor, and a slight ivory color. Cream and eggs (8 oz cream to three egg yolks) are whisked together, this raises the cooking temperature of the eggs. After mixing the eggs and cream gradually add the hot sauce to the egg mixture while constantly. This process is called tempering and is done to prevent the egg from cooking. When about 1/3 of the sauce is mixed in the egg bowl you can dump the egg/sauce mixture into the pot with the rest of the sauce and whisk. Be careful not to let the sauce get over 185F or the eggs will curdle ruining the sauce. Flour in the sauce can help reduce the eggs from cooking in the sauce also. If the sauce gets to hot you can try to save it by placing the put in an ice bath to quickly bring the temperature down, whisk in more cream, you can also try to straining the sauce. Sauces in aluminum pots containing egg yolks can turn grey.

If the sauce is chunky try pureeing the sauce to thicken it.

File powder will also help thicken a gumbo, but should be added after the gumbo is removed from heat, and does not reheat well, so should be added right before gumbo is served.

Before adding a roux or starch to a stock always skim the fat off the top, once the roux or starch bounds to the fat in the stock it will be impossible to skim the fat out.

Gums like guar, xanthan, tara, carob, tragacanth, and arabic gums can also be used. Guar gum (E-412) is a powder made from the seeds of the leguminous plant. It is soluble in cold water and still works as a thickener under the use of high heat. Xanthan gum (E-415) is a powder produced from fermented cornstarch with bacteria from cabbage. It can resist thawing and freezing, is soluable in hot or cold water, stable in acids, and gels when mixed with equal parts carob gum. Carob gum (E-410) main use is to add elasticity to gels made with agar and carrageenans to help them avoid cracking. Tragacanth gum (E-413) is a thickener that works with acidic foods. Arabic gum (E-414) also called acacia gum or Senegal gum, is a weakest of the gum thickeners but can also be used to help emulsify essential oils into soft drinks.
The (E-NUMBER) is the European code for the elements found in food.

A recent report from TIME reports that the average American diner is dead. With the Census being this year this really should come as no surprise to anyone. All year long the Census has been building up that this will be the year where there is no more average American.

Ethnic ,foods are on the rise, what a surprise, drive through Frederick, Maryland sometime. A slightly larger then Main Street town with a population of a little over 50,000 people. In this town there are numerous restaurants and specialty grocery stores of almost every style. Ethiopean, Cuban, Greek, Italian, French, Spanish, Mexican, Vietmanese, Japanese, Chinese, Indian, South American, Halal grocery store. Why do these restaurants exist in such a small town, because there is a market for their styles of food. Maybe all of these businesses are not flourishing in Frederick every night of the week, but with restaurants like these opening up all over America and its small cities/towns, it is a sign that Americans are willing to leave the meatloaf pans in the back of the cupboard and try new foods.

Mirepoix is similar to bouquets, sachets and oignon brules in the fact that they are used to added subtle flavors to enhance a dish. One chef I used to work with claimed this was the necessary start to every soup in order for it to taste balanced. A miropoix is usually a blend of aromatic vegetables, most commonly a mixture of 2 parts onion, and 1 part each of celery and carrot. This mixture is sometimes changed to include leeks, parsnips, tomatos, garlic, mushrooms, shallots, peppers, and ginger.

A pound of mirepoix is usually enough to add flavor to one gallon of stock.

Different styles and regional cooking can require a different style of mirepoix. When making a white sauce you may wish to use a white vegetable mirepoix of 2 parts onion, 1 part celery root and one part parsnips. In Asian dishes you may want to have a mirepoix of 2 parts ginger, 2 parts garlic, and 1 part scallion. The cajun trinity is 2 parts onion, 1 part pepper, and one part celery.

After cleaning the vegetables, you can decide whether or not you wish to peel them. Onion skins can give the liquid a yellowish orange tint. Scrubbing, and not peeling the vegetables can reduce prep time. Cut the vegetables in uniform sizes based on the cooking time of the dish, if the dish is cooking for a short time a smaller mirepoix will be necessary to extract the necessary flavors. Large cut vegetalbe are best for dishes like pot roast and demi-glace.

CIA suggests starting with suating the onions, then the carrots in fat like butter (Italian versions use olive oil and are called soffrito). Once the onions and carrots are starting to sweat or turning brown add the celery. If you place a lid on the pot while sweating the mirepoix it is a technique called smothering. Some recipes suggests adding tomato paste to the mirepoix after it has been sweating to add flavor and color. If adding tomato paste cook until the paste starts to turn brown. This technique is called pincage, which means to stiffen or pinch.

Chef Daniel Boulud suggests using a mirepoix when braising meats. The mirepoix is seared with the meats, then pan roast it until its lightly carmelized. After the dish has been pan roast to carmelize the dish is drain of fats, flour added, and then the dish is cooked in red wine or other braising liquid.

Bouquet garni, sachets, and oignon brules are herb, vegetable, and spice mixtures commonly used to add flavor and aromatics to stocks, sauces, and soups.

The Bouquet garni is commonly made with a sprig of thyme, parsley stems, a bay leaf, 2 or 3 leek leaves, and a celery stalk. After cleaning the leeks, lay them down and place the other ingredients on the leeks, roll the leek leaves around the other ingredients and tie them with a piece of string. Tie one end of string to the pot handle and the toss the bouquet garni into the stock, sauce, or soup. Pull it out when you feel enough of the flavor has infused into the dish.
Julia Childs uses a bouquet of just parsley, thyme, and bay leaf then wraps them in a cheesecloth for easy removal. The Joy of Cooking gives an optional suggestion of using cloves in the bouquet and provides a suggestion if you only have dried herbs available, converted measurement for one bouquet, 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley, 1/4 tsp dried thyme, 1/4 tsp dried marjoram, 1 bay leaf, 1/2 tsp dried celery leaves. A sachet usually contains spices, herbs, and vegetables. A common sachet includes parsley stems, thyme, bay leaf, peppercorns, and garlic cloves. These ingredients are commonly tied up in a cheesecloth for easy removal, but can be added without a cheesecloth if the sauce or stock will be strained. The sachet is basically like a teabag for stocks and other flavors can be added to create new flavors. Also, for beef based stocks in the Provencal tradition orange rind and marjoram is added to the bouquet garni.

CIA suggests adding bouquet garnis and sachets in the last fifteen minutes when making small batches of less then a gallon and an hour before for larger amounts. They also recommend tasting the dish before, and after the bouquet is added to realize the effects the bouquet has on the dish so the flavors do not overwhelm the sauce. James Peterson's book sauces suggests adding to bouquet garni in the last hour of the sauce making process and if the sauce, stock, or soup tastes bland add another bouquet garni at the end of the cooking process to provide more flavor.

The oignon brule, or burnt onion is commonly used in bechemel sauce (cream based mother sauce). But was not used in the bechemel recipe in the CIA textbook. To make a oignon brule, cut an onion in half or quarters depending on how much sauce your making. Quickly char the edges of the onion in a dry skillet or grill. Stick a toothpick through it and add garlic cloves, bay leaf to the onion, then add it to the sauce.

I have decided to put a new focus section on the daily blog, called Back to the Basics. My reason for this is because for many "chefs" there becomes an excitement to cook dishes beyond their skill level. A few months back when I was working full time I took the cookbook Alinea to work with me. Anyone familiar with the Chicago restaurant Alinea, Chef Grant Achatz, or molecular gastronomy will understand why I can comfortably say the book is probably above the abilities of 98% of chefs. Deconstructed dishes, molecular compounds, powders, foams, sous-vide, "caviar" not the fish egg kind, but turning a liquid into a caviar like state by using sodium alginate and calcium lactate, and many other cutting edge cooking techniques. And even though the pictures and ideas in the book are inspiring to look at a general knowledge of your own abilities and limits is necessary when looking at cookbooks. Everyone in the kitchen wanted to change their style of cooking immediately, but there was one problem, some of the cooks in the kitchen still had trouble making a classic vinaigrette and didn't know what a mother sauce was.

I have decided to spend some time everyday going back to study the basics, research skills, tips, and tricks that may help with some of the basics. This is so I can share the most important skills in becoming a chef with everyone, and fill in any gaps from on the job training that I may have. I will use the Culinary Institute of America's book The Professional Chef 8th edition as a basis on the path to follow to guide me on the path on knowing the basics. I will skip the first few chapters of this book on culinary math, identifying products, world cuisine, sanitation, equipment identification, and nutrition for the time being, but will occasionally add a blog about them to.
I am chosing this book based on the reputation that CIA has established for itself, the number of 5 star reviews it has recieved, and the favorable reviews of some of the best chefs in the industry.

I will begin this section of the blog in chapter 14 of the CIA textbook on Stocks, Sauces, and Soups.

Without the Basics you will not be able to become the next great chef, please take your time and learn the skills that I will describe in future posts.

This weekend I went to Tiffany's family Easter dinner. I decided that even though most of the food was home style cooking to stay true to my cooking style and make a seafood risotto. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deviened chopped up
1 lb crab claw (you can use any kind, claw was on sale though)
1 onion
1 red pepper
1 container Swanson chicken stock (fresh stock, or even a seafood stock would be better but for time store bought will be fine)
Parmesan cheese
butter
salt
pepper
Old Bay

1. Toast arborio rice in skillet until it gets a lightly toasted color, in another pan lightly caramelize onion and red pepper in a small amount of butter.

2. Add toasted arborio rice to onion and pepper mixture, then add a cup of stock and shrimp to the rice, add a little bit of Old Bay and salt. Keep stirring.

3. After most of the water is soaked up by the rice add the crab meat and more stock, and a little bit of old bay, salt and pepper. Continue stirring.

4. continue adding small amounts of water as the water gets soaked into the rice, until the rice is tender.

5. When the rice is tender and you no longer need to add water or stock to cook it add 3 T of butter and 4 oz of Parmesan cheese. Season with salt, pepper, and old bay to taste.

Pictured To Left Macarons from Bouchon Bakery, New York City.

Last night I was having a discussion with a friend while having a beer and she mentioned a place in New York City doing recipes with breast milk. From what I'm finding looking things up, chef Daniel Angerer at Klee restaurant in Manhatten is making breast milk cheese from his wife's and business partner's supply. The idea supposedly came when the freezer at his house was full of breast milk. He is not selling the cheese as a menu item, but providing it as an amuse-bouche if requested.

The recipe link to Daniel Angerer's blog

Would you try breast milk cheese, ice cream, at a restaurant???

Excellent article in this months issue of Wine Spectator magazine on Chef Thomas Keller. The article focused on his numerous failures, with some mixed in successes, that eventually paved the way for one one America's greatest restaurants, The French Laundry in Napa Valley, California. And in time the empire of great restaurants he runs, Per Se, Bouchon, Bouchon Bakeries (and yes Tiffany they make macarons there), and Ad Hoc. And the Creator of culinary dishes on the big screen, the ratatouille dish created by a rat, and the sandwich created by Adam Sandlers character in Spanglish.

The article described his failures in opening a restaurant in New York (leaving so much debt he almost couldn't open French Laundry), lying in France to get a apprenticeship, working with Daniel Boulud in the early 1980's at the Westbury Hotel (well before either were famous chefs), not going to culinary school, and the job hoping in between all those events. Then to the chaos of the first night, with no menu plan and no saute pans. To the single biggest event for the restaurant, two paragraphs by columnist Herb Caen of the San Francisco Chronicle that followed a description of cab drivers using whistles to scare deer away.

His theory on the dining experience is the idea of diminishing returns. The first taste should make you say WOW and soon it is gone. "We want you to say, 'I wish I had one more bite of that,' and then the next plate comes arrives and the same thing happens, but in a different way, a whole new flavor and emotion."-Thomas Keller.

For his books and the running of his restaurants Thomas Keller believes that collaboration with everyone has been key. Kellers book Bouchon was mostly written by chef Jeffrey Ceriello and the rest of the team at Bouchon, and Sous-Vide was mostly written by Chef Jonathan Benno and the team at Per Se. He is said to be a calm chef who no matter how busy, behind or overwhelmed hew becomes, he still goes for the touchdown with every dish.

Last year Thomas Keller Restaurant Group employed over 1,000 employees and served about 1.6 MILLION meals at nine locations.

"I look at wine as another way to share the experience of the table. It's part of the equation" -Thomas Keller

"We tend to over analyze cooking, and people become intimidated by it. At whatever level, it's product and execution."-TK

"... where I learned what cooks actually do. We nurture people, we nourish them. I thought, what's more honorable than that?" -TK

"Thomas was not a yelling and screaming kind of guy. I'm not either. He taught me to put a big emphasis on responsibility. Creating a team is not something every (chef) does well. For Thomas it means knowing what you need to do, and what the next guy needs to do, and stepping in to help without getting in the way." - Eric Ziebold of CityZen, Washington DC about working for Thomas Keller