The Importance on Goals

I never knew the importance of goals, until about a couple of weeks ago.

You see that lady up there? That's my grandma :) She is my inspiration today for being a cook. You see that stove? That's where i stood 19 years ago... melting yogurt in a pot to make a sauce... lol.. trying to be like my grandma.

I would be there every weekend, she would cook breakfast, lunch and dinner for me. I would walk across the street to the local grocery store and buy the $1.25 chicken from the butcher...

I would wake up 6 o'clock in the morning on Saturdays to go to the outside flee market in Miami to buy vegetables and fish and to drink fresh coconut juice.

When i was about three years old, i remember watching ppl come in and out of my grandma's dinning room... until a couple of years later i realized she used to cook up big meals to serve her neighbors and that's how she made her income.

I always wonder why she worked from home, i never saw my grandma with a job, then my mom told me she had to stop...workin' in the kitchen was being terrible for her knees... basically her health.

My family was not the greatest in getting along, but food...lol. We where always there to share a plate.

And i can see why it was important for me to do something my family was so good at. I watched my mom raise us up single just like my grandma... but never getting the chance...not once! to live her dream... why? she had to take care of us (me and my lil bro).

That's why goals... something i've been givin' as a gift because of the females in my family... are so valuable... i get to set them! I get to actual achieve them! Wow!

I almost threw this out the window, until a couple days ago...you see I had trouble figurin' out what i'm suppose to do right now... ok, i'm at a 5 star hotel... i thought i had it made...and all i have to do is stay there, and work my way up to be a chef!

Reading Daniel Boulud's Book... Letters to a Young Chef... changed my life. It basically talked about his journey and what a cook should do before settling down to be a chef...

He made me realize... this is a craft... like a baby... you have to nurture it, feed it, give it what it needs to grow strong, mature and healthy...

And to make the point even clearer... as if God was nudgin' at me to get the point.. i read this...

(from Becoming a Chef):
"Alfred Portale stresses how important it is to choose first jobs carefully: "You really need to make the right choices in terms of your career. Once you start, it's critical that you get the right experience. Don't get off track and start working at some kind of crappy restaurant. Set your sights on the best, and try to get yourself the best experiences. I'm a product of all my different experiences. I see so many people who needed the money or went for the title or for various other bad reasons got into a series of kind of 'mid-restaurants' and now they're trapped. They can't come out. When you're starting out early, it's good to get a lot of varied experience. But as you mature, and you grow as a cook, you should commit to a place for a minimum of one year,. It's better to see one-year stints at several restaurant than someone who's worked for four years at one."

HELLO! This has to be talkin' straight to me...i've been here for four years now (where i work at)... and lately i've been feeling empty... "gosh what do I do now?" . It was like the only thing i could do is work to move up... But I felt... i'm not even ready to be a chef here... or even be in the position i was in. It's like everyone was movin' fast all around me, getting better paychecks, positions, etc (and of course I was one of them)... but that's not what i wanted... my problem was my knowledge... i felt like it was one dimensional.... "this can not be it!"

And that's why i decided to set my goals again... I've learned alot from the place I am now, but this is not it! There is more! I still want to travel and work in other kitchens... i want to be able to soak in as much as I can now... I have less responsibilities than a chef! I should definitely take that into consideration. I remember one chef telling me... once you move up, you will have less time and opportunity to learn... you have to do it all... now!

And that's my goal!

Fish Fillet and Julienne Vegetables In White Wine Mushroom Sauce

Today was a new beginning... talk about spontaneous combustion! I felt something was missing from this world of mine... So of course i hit Barnes n Noble (the place I lovvveee), and checked out some new books... in the culinary section of course.

looking through the aisles...lookin'...lookin'... what will catch my eye? I wasn't really in the mood for buyin' a book, since i'm still readin' one at the moment, i just wanted somethin'... but didn't know what!

Then i see Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking... yeah... yeah... i know... everyone knows this book. But i didn't understand why I didn't have it yet? I had that empty feeling... out of all the books i collect why don't I have this? It's a simple classic book. I would always get it or pass buy it in the library... it so much reminds of the Escoffier's Cookbook that i have.

So i decided to take a look again... and i just realize, out of all the books I have, none was really on classic French cuisine... and why? I wonder. Maybe because i was so intimidated by it? Because i never grew up on French dishes...

I remember long time a ago in cyber world there was a group of cooks who decided to have a julia childs party kinda thing, where they cook dishes from her book...

I should do that, but not with the whole party thing... work and home is full of chaos...lol... i don't really need more than that.

So I decided... I will buy this book and learn from this book, cook from this book and enjoy... but in the back of my head...something else popped up... puff pastry.

i look through the books and found nothing... damn, i really need a good bakin' book... Daniel Boulud said... your not a chef until you know how to cook and bake... and i do agree... you have to know both sides to fully appreciate the world of culinary and what it has to offer,they both complement each other in so many ways... what would one be... without the other?

well, i went back to the culinary section, checked under the baking section... it was down to about three book, baking professional (cia book), baking illustration (from the great magazine cooking illustration) and the Mac Arthur Flour Baking Companion... well of course i picked the last one... i couldn't afford the cia book... so I picked the last one, because it has step by step drawn pictures on procedures and they give an intro to each recipe and the whys ! (which i love)

So that picture that you see up there (lol.. not that great... is the first dish from Julia Child's cook book that i made) it's Fish Fillet in White Wine Sauce...I know... yes it a very simple dish... but i like to start on the bottom and move my way up... that way you build a much better foundation.

So... once i got home, i put on my relaxin' vibe...i put some jazz on, read the dish, and began preppin'. I decided to add julienne vegetables (leeks, red bell pepper, carrots and celery) with the fish, and mushrooms and fresh thyme in the sauce.

(talk about simplicity... it does go a long way!)

pss... my juli cuts suck in this pic i used my home old curved knife (a serrated fabbeware knife), it's sucked! And i really don't like how the vegetables lost color in the poaching liquid. But i definitely want to try this dish again to perfect it. The flavor was great.... presentation just needs more help, and cooking the vegetables as well, to preserve it's beauty and texture.

Today i practiced: fillet fish, making white wine sauce and julienne vegetables, it's maybe simple... but to do it from the heart with desire of perfection is just priceless!

Here is the Julia Child's Recipe:

Fillets De Poisson Poches Au Vin Blanc

Ingredients
A buttered, 10-12 inch fireproof baking and serving dish, 1 1/2 to 2 inches deep
2 tbsp finely minced shallots or green onions
2 1/2 lbs. skinless and boneless sole or flounder fillets cut into serving pieces.
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 tbsp butter cut into bits
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups cold , white wine fish stock made from heads, bones, and trimmings or 3/4 cup dry White wine or 2/3 cup dry white vermouth plus 1/4 cup bottles clam juice, and water or 1 1/2 cups wine and water mixed.

Sprinkle half the shallots or onion in the bottom of the dish. Season the fillets lightly wit salt and pepper and arrange them in a one slightly overlapping layer in the dish. If fillets are thin, they may be folded in half so they make triangles. Sprinkle the fillets with the remaining shallots or onions, and dot with butter. Pour in the cold liquid and enough water so fish is barely covered.

Bring almost the simmer on top of the stove. Lay the buttered paper over the dish. Then place dish in bottom third of preheated (350) oven. Maintain liquid almost at the simmer for 8 to 12 minutes depending on the thickness of the fillets. The fish is done when a fork pierces the flesh easily. Do not overcook; the fish should not be dry and flaky. Place a cover over the dish and rain out all the cooking liquid into a enameled saucepan...

(from this point skipped to sauce recipe...)
2 1/2 tbsp flour blended to a paste with 3 tbsp softened butter
1/4 to 1 cup whipping cream
salt and pepper
lemon juice


Rapidly boil down the poaching liquid until it has reduced to 1 cup.

Off heat, beat the flour and butter paste into the hot liquids, then 1/2 cup of the cream. Bring to the boil. Thin out the sauce with additional tablespoons of cream until it coasts the spoon nicely. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and drops of lemon juice.

Couscous

Man, you can make so many things with couscous...

from adding dried fruits to nuts to stewed curry chicken...

I've been kinda sad lately, i've lost one of my fave recipes from long time ago... it was stewed curry chicken with raisin in a spicy couscous broth...

oh well, but if you want to know how to make regular couscous:

what i do is pour 2 cups of dry couscous grains in a flat pan with high walls.

Boil some salted water and pour and mix couscous, leavin' a 1/4 inch layer of water above the spread couscous.

Take plastic wrap and cover the couscous tightly.

Let the grains soak up the water.

When done, uncover and scrap (fluff) couscous with a fork and serve immediately or stir in your cook or raw vegetables and fruits of choice.

Changing my routes...

Oh my gosh!

What has happened? These routes that i've been following... look... like... dead ends!

I didn't want to jump onto the fastlane!

Now i've missed all those stops on the local routes in town!

Don't you hate that? When you loose the site of your goals?

I want to be a chef, but not now...

For some it's all about moving up the latter...

But for me? I'm just a Foodie Fool!

I love eating, dream, playin', sharin', enjoyin', cookin' and talking about food!

lol... i don't want to be a manager, in a desk doin' inventory!

I gotta get off this route now!

Confused?

Well, i've been lately...i've just relized that i'm doin' someone else's goals and not the goals that i made several years ago before i went to culinary school. I wanted to learn to cook, travel, and work with great chefs... not graduate, work at one hotel, move up the latter and stay there for the rest of my life! And whoever says that can't come true... stick a sock in it! I can be a manager some other day, but now... i just want to explore and cook food the right way!

Now i know why i started this blog...

Balsamic Demi-Glaze

Well, i had used this glaze to put on some small quail one time for a party...everyone was enjoyin' it... it's just fun to try new things with certain ingredients... givin' that twist to make ppl go...wow!

Toast off some black peppercorns and mustard seeds in a stock pot til it became some what aromatic... then pour the oil in the pot and let the seeds' flavors fuse with the oil.

I then sweated some mirepoix... the usual: onion, celery and carrots (ratio: 50:25:25).

When the veges became translucent I added my minced garlic. Cook that down to make the garlic more sweeter with less taste of rawwww!

Then i added a little bit of tomato paste to the mixture... cooked it down til the tomato paste flavor was more mellow.

Deglazed with red wine first (let it reduce til the alcohol smell was gone)... then add the blasamic.

Poured in my Beef Stock... (but of course if i had veal stock it would have been...ohhh sooo good!)

I then let it steep for a couple of minutes with some great fresh herbs as: rosemary, thyme and oregano (but just a lil bit of each, you don't want it to over power the balsamic flavor).

Drained the whole batch, and placed the liquid back into the sauce pot, and began to slowly let it reduce to a nice glaze... of course with some seasoning of salt along the way. It's pretty good.

psss...after i roast the quail i brushed on the glaze... i never tried it during the roasting process.... hmmm i now thinkin'..how would it had been it i used it as a sauce? i'm gonna have to try to recipe again someday...i probably would reduce it less though.

If i would do this again, i wouldn't mind to eat this with some fresh garden greens as a salad, and have finished the quail on the grill.

Spinach Crepes

I got this recipe out of an old book of mine from 1971 called "The Four Seasons Cook book" by Charlotte Adams with a foreword from James Beard :) (no it's not from the four seasons hotel...lol..i wish it was, but there is something it about some of the chefs are from the hotel) i love this book, because it has a lot of the classic dishes that were popular duing the French European Culinary Craze.

They have everything from Crabmeat Imperial, Lobster Thermidor, Raspberry Souffle, Peaches Flamed in Bourbon... and techinque and basic recipes like beef consomme, sauce americaine, sauce supreme...


well, there was one recipe i tried from this book... which was a simple spinach crepe...

i took 6 eggs, 4 egg yolks, 140z of milk, 1 tsp salt and 4 oz butter. Mixed the wet ingredients together and poured it slowly into the 12 oz of all purpose flour . (the consistency should be almost like thick cream. Afterward you would want to add 4 oz of raw spinach that was cook, drained and pureed.

The thing i love most about the spincah crepes, it's what you can put in it... me i loved adding thin prosciutto, arugula and grilled bell peppers... with some type of cheese like goat cheese... mmmm... and thinkin' about that... what about grilled beef with blue cheese and asparagus? or even adding chicken to the whole prosciutto mix. I'm even thinkin' about that same beef but this time with avocado, and crunchy red onions marinaded in some type of peppery vinegar with a creamy sauce...

well, what ever you do with it... just have fun !

Bokchoy, Tofu & Noodle Soup

This soup is very simple, and it is probably my first recipe that i have repeated through out the years.

One thing it doesn't really call for is to many ingredients. And it's light and not so heavy on the stomach... even though my tummy can take so much things from extra hot to funky textures... but it's all good in pleasin' the tongue :)

Well one thing, at the time i was doing this recipe... I was actually trying tofu for the first time in my life. And with it's unique texture it was definitely an ingredient i wanted to learn more about.

I had some thinly sliced onions and scallions and sauteed them in a sauce pot or large wok. I took some bokchoy earlier and separated into two parts, green (leaf) and white (stalk). (psss...oh yeah one thing, please watch how much heat you use...yeah... i know they say saute is on high heat with little bit of fat...but doesn't mean you have it blazin' to the point you scorch everything single ingredient in your dish... i'm not a big fan of that black crusty layer of bitterness in my food...lol.. so avoid this by watching your heat, and put it at a comfortable level...because it's also how fast your going along in stir frying....if you take to long to add the next ingredient, it can set things off in a direction you don't want it to go, i'm talkin' about burnt or overcooked food :) ...alright... lets get back)

I took the thin sliced stalks and added it to the mix with minced garlic. Deglazed the whole thing with sherry wine (for substitute you can use white wine, sherry vinegar or rice wine vinegar). Deglazing basically takes off all that caramelized goodness from the bottom of the pot and incorporated with the rest of the ingredients, helping to intensify your goal of flavor. Next i added sliced shitake mushrooms , sliced carrots, the sliced bokchoy leaves and almost to the end....Chinese rice vermicelli noodles. I flavored the soup with hoisin, soy sauce and fresh cilantro leaves and my flavored tofu.

flavored tofu? yeah, i like to flavor my tofu with sambal olek. Tofu is an item that can pretty much take the flavor of other ingredients that you put with it. So what i did was take a saute pan, heated up the spicy condiment with the cubed tofu pieces.