September 2007 Archives
I had my second CAP class. this one was much more enjoyable. We did some actual cooking, a little wine, and eating. Martin was the instructor again. We started with some lecture, then we watched a demo. Some pan seared cutlets with a white wine herb sauce. The demo was done very well, explaining as he went from step to step. The only thing I would add to the demo is a warm plate.
After the lecture, we broke into our groups and started cooking. I'll break the night up by recipe.
First, we roasted some chicken leg quarters. This was a straight forward roast, hi-temp oil, salt, and pepper. I observed some really interesting behaviors when the sheet pan came out. It was obvious to me who had been burned in the kitchen, and those who hadn't. When a blazing hot pan of chicken comes out of the oven, you move. Some people were pulled away from the pan, as the person who withdrew it had not cleared a landing pad for it. Maya and I cleared a spot on our cooktop to save the plastic cutting board it was about to land on. The chicken went in for a few more minutes to get some color. It was juicy and quite good.
Second was vegetable soup with chicken stock. Joe, the owner of Sabot Culinary, made the stock ahead of time with the carcasses of the deboned chicken. This was pretty straight forward, though a little unimaginative, we used the miripoix from the night before, added some diced red pepper, mushrooms, herbs, and a blond roux. I like my soups a little spicier, with a few strong flavors tossed in.
Third, we made the chicken cutlets we had seen Martin make earlier. It went well, but it was an ordeal in patience. One woman really wanted to eat shrimp, she was itching to bread the shrimp for our group. At the same time, she managed to cross contaminate our cutting boards and knives. The comment Maya and I had on the dish -- needed a dash of lemon. Back to the getting burned comment. When you walk with a hot pan, let people know you are coming, tap them on the shoulder and warn them, don't hover with a really hot pan. Even better, leave the pan till it cools down if you can.
Fourth was the shrimp, I just backed away, and reminded someone I was allergic.
I really enjoyed this class, I hope the others are more like this one. I have another in a week, then some more next semester. My wife will be taking this class this week, so she may have some input on the class.
I took my first Culinary Arts Program (CAP) class last night. Tools of the Trade, for me, the class was review. The instructor, Martin Gravely was very good. He is very well spoken, answered questions, and was humorous.
The first class was mostly lecture, he covered oils, spices, herbs, pots, pans, ovens, spoons, etc. The last hour of the class was basic knife skills. More review. Dice an onion, a stalk of celery, and a carrot; then de-bone a chicken... well, break down a chicken. We left the bones in the legs and wings. It was amusing to see Martin demo the chicken. The lecture seating is close quarters, and two seats are right near the cutting boards. As he was taking the chicken apart, he was slapping the parts on the cutting board, the two right near him were almost cringing. The class had 16 people, so there were 4 groups of 4. My group had two people with poor knife skills and bad habits.
One woman and I commented to each other about how nervous it was making us. It's weird, I've seen people use knives poorly before, but never has it made me so nervous. Even on the easy things, celery and carrots. There were some things that Martin did not cover, but I assumed they were common sense. If you are taking rotations at the cutting board, put the knife on the board when you are done. I saw many people attempting to figure out how to hand a knife to someone else --bad idea!
The chicken was entertaining. Some people were grossed out by it. The food service woman in my group had never taken a chicken apart, but she breezed through it. I passed (I think a few people have seen my flying duck impression) and let the other woman in our group take a stab at it. I don't think she had ever used a boning knife before, she tried to muscle her way through the chicken. I tried to help her with the deboning, but she mostly ignored me. After she started to saw through the ribs, I stopped her. I pulled the breast back and showed her what she was doing, I tried to point out the area she needed to cut. I offered to help pull the chicken away from the carcass, as I had seen Martin do, but when she almost stabbed me, I just pointed with my finger.
Some knife observations from the entire class..
1. If you are instructed to put the miripoix (celery, onion, carrots) in a central location, either pick up your cutting board and take it there, or bring the pan to your station. I saw so many people scooping some onions on their chef knives and walking past 4 to 6 people to the storage pan. Every time I saw this happen, I grabbed the pan and brought it to the person.
2. Many people hold a knife like a weapon. It's really hard to bone a chicken if the knife is held in a fist. Boning can be done fast and fluidly if you sweep with the knife, but you can't do that if your hand is in a fist.
3. Being put on the spot can make you nervous. I know how to use a chef's knife, but I found myself shaking just a tiny bit. 3 people staring made me a bit nervous. Especially when the knife feels SO foreign. I'm gonna be the idiot and cut myself. I quickly found my zone, and zipped through my produce
Check for more CAP posts as I progress through the program.
Growing up, the only exposure I had to apricots were the dried kind. Chewy and rich with flavor,perhaps it is because I grew up in the mountains, or perhaps it was the time, but I don't remember seeing fresh apricots in Roanoke when I was a kid. Based on 2004 numbers, 57% of all apricots consumed in the United States are dried. Only 13% are consumed fresh[1]. Now days, you can get fresh apricots at many supermarkets and speciality shops. Apricots are fresh from May to July, but can be found year round in most markets.
Apricots are related to peaches and plums, they all grow on trees and have pits, often called stones., many of the applications you have with peaches can be done with apricots. From grilling to baking, apricots are very versatile. Compared to a peach, the apricot is almost fuzzless, but there is a little fuzz on the fruit.
Fresh apricots are good for salads, drinks, grilling, and many other preparations. anything that can be made with a peach, can also be made with an apricot. Freeze dried apricots are new to the marketplace, Our 22 months old LOVES them. He knows what the pouch looks like, and will hunt it down if he knows one is in the house. I cannot think of many cooking applications for them, smoothies possibly, but I like to eat them right from the bag. They are crunchy and packed with flavor. But for this entry, I will focus on the dried version. it is the type you are most likely familiar with, and the easiest to find.
Dried apricots are most commonly thought of as trail food, while great for hiking, the dried apricot is put to waste if that is its only application. The fruit will rehydrate a little when cooking, and is easily adapted to spicy and savory applications. One of my favorite uses is with pork. It is easy to make a pan glaze with some apricots and drippings from porkchops.
Pork Chops with Spicy Apricot Glaze
- 3/4 cup chicken broth
- 10 dried apricots
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp honey
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tbsp apple Cider vinegar
- 1 Tbsp diced shallot
- 1 clove garlic - diced
Instructions
Dice the shallot and onions, measure out ingredients and set aside.
Dry chops and dust with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a nonstick pan, when the oil is at temp, add chops to pan and cook. 5 to 6 minutes on the first side. you are trying to get a nice brown on the first side.
Flip chop and cook for an additional minute. If thin, the chop may already be up to temperature. check the temp, you are looking for 140 degrees.
After cooking your pork, remove the chops from the pan and tent with foil. Add shallots to pan and start to brown. Add flour and create a quick roux. Add garlic and stir till fragrant (will only take a few seconds). Add all other ingredients and bring to a simmer.
Reduce to desired thickness. (about 5 minutes)
Stir in the drippings from the resting pork, then plate and serve.
Apricot Couscous
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp ground coriander
- 1 allspice berry
- 6 dried apricots
- dash salt
- dash pepper
- 1 cup water or 1 cup chicken broth
- 1.5 tsp olive oil
- 3/4 cup couscous
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Instructions
Dice up apricots, ground up spices, bring water to a boil.
Remove water from heat and add all ingredients to pot, stir, cover, let sit for 5 minutes.
Remove lid from pot, fluff with fork and serve.
Garnish with cilantro and/or mint.
Click here for a full list of recipes with apricots on Sketchy's Kitchen.
I've decided to use my blog to expand on my ingredient section on my website. I will try to cover a few ingredients a week, and add some recipes in the mix. Occasionally, I will talk about where we had lunch or dinner, or some other related topic, but the majority of entries will be focused around ingredients, and getting to know them. If anyone has suggestions on what to cover, I would love to hear them.
I'm not a writer, I develop/program call center and ticket tracking software for a living. On the side, I build websites and back-end databases with my wife. Why am I here, why am I doing this? Well -- I love food, I love to cook, I love to bake, and I love to eat.
But Dave, you're not professionally trained, why should I listen to you?
Well, I hope you will read what I have to say because it is informative and worth your time. You don't have to be culinarily trained to talk about food. I'm going to do my best to hit the ground running, act like I have experience with authoring a blog. Here goes!
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I love corn
I love corn, I don't know where this near obsession came from, but corn-on-the-cob is one of the few things I can eat faster then my wife. Fresh sweet corn is the best - grilled, boiled, whatever. Fresh corn has a very high sugar to starch ratio, and after a few days, the sugars begin to convert to starch -- if you get a large percentage of conversion, the corn just tastes mealy. You can slow down this process by storing the husk-on corn in the refridgerator. but use it within 3 days if possible. If you buy husked corn, plan on using it the day you buy it.
I've become very disappointed with most restaurant corn on the cob. It's mushy, the cell walls have broken, not worth the effort. I find that most frozen corn is also like this. If you want to serve corn, but you cannot find any fresh - go with the canned stuff.
Making corn -- Boiling --
Fill a large pot with water, add 1/4 tsp of sugar for each cob you plan to add to the water. bring the water to a boil.
When the water is at a rolling boil, add the corn cobs. Boil for 5 to 7 minutes. Each person likes their corn a certain way. I prefer mine at the five minute mark, my wife likes hers a bit more cooked. You may need to rotate the corn a little while it cooks, as it will all float to the surface.
Making Corn -- Grilling --
This is, by far, the best way to cook corn on the cob.
Some people recommend soaking the husks in water -- this will add a lot of water in the husks, and steam the corn when it cooks. the water also prevents most of the husk from burning. I prefer the smoky flavor the lack of water imparts (The husk can be solid black, but the corn will still be protected).
I take my corn, and if possible -- just throw them on the coals, turning often for 5 to 10 minutes. It will be black on the outside. black, charred, but if you leave all the husk on, the corn should be nice and golden.
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