Free Culinary School.com

Melon-Mint Gazpacho

info@freeculinaryschool.com (Free Culinary School.com) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:43:51 +0000

Here’s a video I did to promote our new Summer Menu at the restaurant. The Fredrick’s website is still somewhat under construction, but stay tuned for more info. I also plan on releasing these videos in a separate stream in iTunes.

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Ruhlman’s “BLT From Scratch Challenge”

info@freeculinaryschool.com (Free Culinary School.com) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:34:01 +0000

Michael Ruhlman just made his BLT From Scratch Challenge Official, and I’m loving the idea. Only the super ambitious need apply.

Here’s the basic concept. Plant some tomatoes, lettuce, and even buy yourself a chicken so you can use it’s eggs to make the mayonnaise. Take a photo and submit it to Ruhlman’s Blog.

This challenge, although lots of fun, is important on a much grander level. What could be more simple than a BLT? But looking at it from the standpoint of growing everything from scratch, curing your own pork belly into bacon, and baking your own bread will cause one to pause and ponder: how much work really goes into the simple foods we consume on a daily basis?

Its amazing how things come full circle. Just a century ago people ate locally and sustainably because they had no choice; it wasn’t a political cause, and Chef’s didn’t become famous for serving local produce. If it hit the dinner table, chances are the food was grown and raised near by because there was no choice in the matter.

And while Chefs in developed nations now toot the horn of “local organic,” people in undeveloped nations are sure to ask “so what’s the big the deal?” Like us 100 years ago, they’re forced to cook and consume local produce and meat because they have no other choice. And then we wonder why ethnic cuisines, as simple as they may be, are so damn tasty.

So take a moment today to ponder on what exactly goes into the simple food you eat on a daily basis. The peperoni pizza that you had the other night; where’d the cheese come from, the tomatoes for the sauce, and the flour for the crust?

Now I must admit that I don’t use this platform for what has become a political cause for local, sustainable agriculture, but as a chef, when at all possible, I source products as locally as possible.

Is it so I can sleep better at night? Not really, my fitfull dreams of Mr. Murphey running a muck in my kitchen insures that sleep doesn’t come easily. I try my best to source locally because it simply tastes better.

The fact is, you’ve never tasted a better tomato then the one from your back yard. Sure the hard work has something to do with it, but truly vine ripe tomatoes are something of an enigma now days since most are picked and shipped green, gassed with ethylene to force ripening, and pawned off as a ripe tomato.

Now I know that we have quite a few ambitious cooks who are a part of the FCS community, so I say to you: pick up the gauntlet that Ruhlman has thrown down and run with it. Make us proud. Start a thread about it on the forum, and I’ll help anyway that I can, whether it be directions on how to cure pork belly, or a great bread recipe for your roll.

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FCS Episode 17| Canapes

info@freeculinaryschool.com (Free Culinary School.com) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 22:27:35 +0000

In this Episode of The Free Culinary School Podcast, we finish our Basic Garde Manger Course with a lesson on Canapes.

Canapes are those nice little one bite hors d’oeuvre that you’ll find at cocktail parties and wine tastings.

Books Referenced

Hors d’Oeuvres At Home With The Culinary Institute Of America

Listen to this episode by clicking the “Play Now” link below. Also available on iTunes.

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New Oxo Scale Total Disappointment

info@freeculinaryschool.com (Free Culinary School.com) — Thu, 28 May 2009 20:44:56 +0000

After years of abuse my Escali scale finally went to Kitchen Gadget Heaven. I’m surprised that she held out for as long as she did. RIP my dear Escali.

So, I went to my local kitchen store, and did something totally out of character. I betrayed a brand that I already knew and trusted.

I was seduced by this sleek looking Oxo scale. It had all sorts of pretty digital read outs like capacity limit, battery strength, and even had an “Extenda-Display” that you could pull out to make weighing large bowls more convenient. It was so nifty, I was totally smitten.

Shame on me.

The problem with the Oxo is it won’t stabilize to save its life. Right out of the box, it would fluctuate between 1 and 0 grams.

When weighing out a bread recipe, with about 3,500 grams worth of ingredients in the bowl (a little more then half the capacity), the readout would not stabilize, and fluctuated within a 30 gram range!

Take into consideration that this same bread recipe calls for 40 grams of salt and you see my problem. Did I add 10 grams or 40 grams? Big difference.

Now I’m willing to give this scale the benefit of the doubt, maybe it was a dud. But quite frankly, I don’t have time for duds, and with recipes that call for 2 grams of an ingredient, I need a stable scale.

I miss my Escali. ;-(

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Summer Menu Rough Draft

info@freeculinaryschool.com (Free Culinary School.com) — Sat, 23 May 2009 20:11:27 +0000

Some exciting things have been in the works at the restaurant lately, one of which is a new menu I’ll be launching for summer. I posted the menu over at the Free Culinary School Forum, so if you have a second, please check it out and tell me what you think.

What would you like to eat if you were ordering off this menu?

http://freeculinaryschool.com/forum/index.php/topic,111.0.html

Pictures of test dishes to follow.

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How To Properly Prep Asparagus + Sauteed Recipe

info@freeculinaryschool.com (Free Culinary School.com) — Mon, 04 May 2009 09:41:31 +0000

Here is a quick video on how to properly prep asparagus; plus a quick recipe for sauteed asparagus with caramelized onions.

Quick note: The chicken shown in this video was simply seasoned with salt and fresh cracked black pepper and roasted in a 375 degree F oven for an hour and ten minutes. The oven is then turned off and and the chicken is allowed to rest inside for about 15-30 minutes (perfect amount of time for putting together the asparagus recipe shown in this video).

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FCS Episode 16| Composed Salads

info@freeculinaryschool.com (Free Culinary School.com) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 06:41:44 +0000

In this episode of The Free Culinary School Podcast we talk about composed salads and how they differ from a standard tossed salad. We also go over how to plan for a composed salad, and the different components used.

Videos Mentioned In This Podcast

Books Referenced

Supporting Articles

Discuss On The Forum

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Composing A Salad Using Contrasting Components

info@freeculinaryschool.com (Free Culinary School.com) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 06:39:44 +0000

In the Free Culinary School Podcast Episode 16 we discussed how to construct a composed salad using contrasting components. According to Garde Manger: The Art and Craft of the Cold Kitchen, there are 10 different contrasting components in a composed salad, grouped into five pairs. These contrasting components in their pairs are:

Sour & Tart/Sweet

Sour & Tart: Dried cherries, vinaigrettes, citrus (lemon, lime, grapefruit, yuzu).
Sweet: Honey, sugar, berries, ripe fruit, caramelized onions.

Warm/Cold

Warm: Roasted or grilled meats, grilled vegetables, poached or grilled shellfish, grilled lettuces such as Romain.
Cold: Cucumbers, melon, frozen grapes.

Tender/Crisp

Tender: Poached fish, red leaf lettuce, braised meats.
Crisp: Bread sticks, croutons, fried wontons, fried rice noodles.

Rich & Fatty/Lean

Rich & Fatty: Duck confit, bacon lardons, creamy dressings.
Lean: Ice berg lettuce, bean sprouts, acidic ingredients (vinegar, citrus)

Spicy/Cooling

Spicy: Strong mustard, black pepper, chilies such as Jalapeno, Habanero, Thai Chili, etc.
Cooling: Melons, cucumbers, lettuces with high water content (Ice Berg), granite (flavored shaved ice).

For more information, listen to The Free Culinary School Podcast Episode 16| Composed Salads.

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Composed Salad Video

info@freeculinaryschool.com (Free Culinary School.com) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 06:39:09 +0000

Here’s a quick video that I did to illustrate the concept of a composed salad. It’s meant as an add on to FCS Episode 16| Composed Salads.

PS: Don’t adjust you computer screens…the video seems to drop off at the end, but trust me, its the full video. I started to stutter and stammer like an idiot at the end, so I just edited that part out. It was a busy day for me at work, so I didn’t have time to re-shoot the video. As long as you get the basic concept of plating a composed salad, then all is well.

Feel free to ask any questions or poke fun at me by clicking on the comment button below.

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Basic Cooking Course Class Syllabus

info@freeculinaryschool.com (Free Culinary School.com) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 06:00:09 +0000

If you’re just learning how to cook or you want to review the basics, then here is the class syllabus for the Free Culinary School Basic Skills Course.

Free Culinary School Podcast Episode 1| Basic Knife Skills

In this class you will learn:

What kind of knives you really need in your kitchen
How to pick out the right kind of knives for you
Basic knife skills such as how to dice, julienne, brunoise and batonnet.

Related Articles

How to hold your knife like a professional chef
How to use your guide hand(...)
Read the rest of Basic Cooking Course Class Syllabus (414 words)

© Jacob for Free Culinary School.com, 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Basic Cooking Skills, Class Syllabus, Culinary School Articles

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Plating Sauces and Garnishes Part 2

info@freeculinaryschool.com (Free Culinary School.com) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 14:00:17 +0000

Here is part 2 of the Plating Sauces and Garnishes Video. If you missed part one, you can find it here. As I promised viewer SpinBlue, at the bottom of this video is a list of the garnishes used.

List of Garnishes Used:

Truffled Tomato Confit
Red Beat Emulsion
Sriracha Sauce
Shiso Pesto
Gold Beat Vierge
Pickled Ginger Cream
Basil-Pine Nut Pesto
Hawaiian Black Lava Salt
Himalayan Pink Sea Salt
Togarashi
Sumac
Pickled Red Onions

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Plating Sauces and Garnishes| Part 1 of 2

info@freeculinaryschool.com (Free Culinary School.com) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 19:44:56 +0000

How do I successfully plate a sauce? I’ve read your blog on making a sauce, but I’ve had the hardest time plating it. Whenever I tend to do it- it comes out looking like a kid playing with paint. Is there a specific technique or tool? And could you do a lesson on plating techniques.

Thanks,

~William P

Since plating sauces and garnishing is extremely visual, I decide to shoot this quick video at work the other day. The video ran a little long, so I split it up into 2 installments. Part 2 will be published tomorrow.

Tools Shown In This Video

Other Fun Tools For Garnishing

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6 Tips For First Time Line Cooks

info@freeculinaryschool.com (Free Culinary School.com) — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 22:48:47 +0000

Recently, I was asked this question over on the Free Culinary School Forum and thought it was definitely worthy of a blog post since it is so universal.

I finally got the job [first line cook position], and will be filling out the paperwork on Monday. I am a bit nervous about working the grill and dealing with multiple orders of chicken, and burgers at the same time. Do you have any advice for successfully working the line at a small joint with a couple deep fryers, some ovens in the back, and the grill where I will be apparently grilling burger patties and chicken?

~Jamie

First off, congratulations on your first gig as a line cook. Most of the technical cooking technique such as temping out the burgers, what part of the grill to cook your chicken, etc, will but covered by who ever is training you. But here are six tips that I think are universal to any form of line cooking, and that all new line cooks should know and understand.

Stay Calm: It’s very easy to lose your cool during a rush, especially if you’ve never worked the line before. As you start to stress out, your mind will become cluttered and overwhelmed. Being a line cook is like being a martial artist; you want to go into battle cool and collected with a clear mind.(...)
Read the rest of 6 Tips For First Time Line Cooks (740 words)

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Culinary School: Five Reasons Why You Should Attend

info@freeculinaryschool.com (Free Culinary School.com) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 18:26:11 +0000

Culinary school is a big decision that every aspiring chef needs to consider carefully. In a previous article we discussed five reasons why you shouldn’t attend culinary school. That article wasn’t to discourage people from following their dreams; but a commitment that big requires weighing the pros and cons.

But now that we’ve talked about Five Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Attend Culinary School, here are five reasons why you should.

1) Focused Learning Environment

One of the things that draws a lot of people to culinary school is the focused learning environment. At traditional universities, sometimes you can become paralyzed from all the options you have to choose from. Changing majors is easy, you can take a semester with nothing but fun electives, etc.

But in most culinary schools you are given a focused road map, starting with the basics and progressing you forward.(...)
Read the rest of Culinary School: Five Reasons Why You Should Attend (667 words)

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Culinary School: Five Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Attend

info@freeculinaryschool.com (Free Culinary School.com) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:58:10 +0000

Culinary School is a great way to jump start your career in the food service industry, but it isn’t for everyone. Before you make that huge monetary investment and commit to repaying tens of thousands of dollars in student loans, here are five reason why you shouldn’t go to culinary school.

This post is part one in a two part series, and will be followed by “Five Reasons Why You Should Go To Culinary School.”

1) It’s Just Not That Glamorous

Cooking shows on the Food Network and the general food media have a way of portraying chef’s as celebrities. They make it seem like the life of a chef is all champagne galas and velvet ropes parting.

Let me tell you about the life of a chef: it’s an oxymoron, it’s non-existent. Maybe if you survive the stress, verbal thrashing, holidays-weekends-nights away from your family, not to mention the low pay, then maybe, just maybe, 15-20 years from now you’ll be “Baming!” all over the place and issuing “Throwdowns.” If you’re in it for the fame and fortune, chances are you’ll probably get neither and still have to pay back that student loan.(...)
Read the rest of Culinary School: Five Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Attend (625 words)

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Some Lite Reading For The Weekend

info@freeculinaryschool.com (Free Culinary School.com) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 19:57:59 +0000

Here’s a little lite reading if and when you find yourself in front of the computer this weekend.

Forum Topics

There’s been a couple of interesting discussions going on at the Free Culinary School Forum. Here are some threads worth checking out if you haven’t already.

What’s the best flour for making pasta?
Does reducing stocks evaporate flavor as well? Interesting discussion on pan sauces, using wine, and reduction sauces.
Thinking about attending culinary school? Check out these threads on our Culinary School Board, ask questions and make comments.

On The Web

Check out this post by Michael Laiskonis on finidng your inspiration. If you’re a culinary school student or in the industry, this is a must read!
Check out this post that Adam Roberts did over at The Amateur Gourmet on this year’s James Beard Nominations. For those of you who don’t know, receiving a James Beard Award is the culinary equivalent of an Actor winning an Academy Award.
Curing Cobia in coffee beans. Another great Idea from the genius husband and wife team over at Ideas In Food.

Well, I think that’s enough homework for the weekend.

One more thing, if you happen to cook anything cool this weekend, be sure to share it with everyone over at the “what’s cooking thread.”

Have a good weekend!

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Meditating On Stock

info@freeculinaryschool.com (Free Culinary School.com) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 05:00:41 +0000

Ahhh, the beautiful simplicities of stock. There’s nothing more calming, more centering, then walking into my kitchen in the wee morning hours, smelling that rich broth, and getting lost in its gaze. I lean my head over the stock, smile and say good morning, and then I start to lovingly skim.

That nice little fat layer that built up overnight while the world was asleep; that’s my therapy.

For those first brief moments in the morning, when I have a hectic day ahead that’s sure to be in constant battle with Murphy’s Law, I clear my mind I and start to skim.

It’s amazing how you can be exposed to some of the best food in the world, and still the simple things are what truely give you joy, what truley keep you grounded. To me, there is nothing more beautiful, more sexy, and more gratifying then bringing a gorgeous stock into the world.

More Resources

FCS Episode 2| Stocks
Test Your Knowledge On Culinary Stocks: Take The Stocks Quiz

© Jacob for Free Culinary School.com, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Cook Stock, Culinary School Articles

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FCS Episode 15| Classical Salads and Creamy Dressings

info@freeculinaryschool.com (Free Culinary School.com) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:47:24 +0000

In this episode of The Free Culinary School Podcast we continue our Garde Manger Course with a lesson on creamy and emulsified salad dressing, and talk about some classic salads such as the Ceasar, Cobb and Louis.

In the Discussion Segment you will learn:

How to make an emulsified creamy dressing.
How to make classical creamy dressings such as Ranch, Blue Cheese and Thousand Island.
When you should and should not use creamy salad dressings.

In the Technique Segment you will learn:

The components of Caesar, Cobb and Louis Salad.
The history of the Louis, Cobb and Caesar, and how they were developed.
How to make these classical salads your own!

And in the Culinary Quick Tip:

Secrets ingredients used by professional chefs in their creamy salad dressings!

Take The Listener Survey

If you haven’t already, please take a moment to complete the FCS listener survey. Your opinion counts and will help shape the future of FCS!

Related Articles

Support Forum

Don’t Forget Your New E-Mail Bonus!

If you’re already signed up for the free FCS Newsletter then don’t worry, I’ve already sent you a copy of the new bonus video on How To Sharpen Your Knife Like A Pro.

If you haven’t signed up for the free FCS Newsletter than simply enter your primary e-mail in the form below to receive your free bonus content including the video on How To Sharpen Your Knife Like A Pro. And don’t worry, like anyone who’s already on my list will tell you, I never send spam, I never sell your e-mail and you can unsubscribe at anytime and still be my friend.

I respect your privacy and adhere to a strict privacy policy.

© Jacob for Free Culinary School.com, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Cooking Podcast, Culinary School Articles, Recipes

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Three Classical Salads: Caesar, Louis and Cobb

info@freeculinaryschool.com (Free Culinary School.com) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:00:12 +0000

In the Free Culinary School Podcast Episode 15 we discussed three classical salads that are commonly found in U.S. restaurants. These salads are the Caesar, Louis and Cobb salad. Here is a quick break down on each salad’s components and their corresponding salad dressings.

Caesar Salad Components

Romaine Lettuce, usually just the hearts. The romaine can be chopped, but was traditionally left whole and eaten with the fingers instead of utensils.
Garlic Croutons: Don’t over think this one. Croutons are nothing more than toasted bread, in this case tossed with crushed garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper after being toasted. My favorite way to toast croutons is to fry them in oil, but you can also bake, pan fry or toast in a toaster oven.(...)
Read the rest of Three Classical Salads: Caesar, Louis and Cobb (541 words)

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Post tags: Cooking, Culinary School Articles, Recipes, Salads

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Roasted Beet Napoleon

info@freeculinaryschool.com (Free Culinary School.com) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 07:02:39 +0000

For me, beets and goat cheese are one of the best flavor combinations out there. This is the beet napoleon that we are currently serving at the restaurant:

Beet Napoleon, Honey Goat Cheese Mousse, Golden Beet Vierge, Beet Oil and Dust.

First, review this post on How To Roast and Peel Beets.

Once your beets are roasted and peeled, cut off the root end making it flat.
Next, slice on the thickest setting on a Japanese Mandoline, to insure nice, even slices.
Take a ring mold and cut out the center of the beet slice. This is more for visual appeal than anything else. Cutting out the beet with a ring mold will insure that all the beet slices are the same size.

For the Beet Vierge

Review this post on how to make vierge if you’re not familiar with the process. For the golden beet vierge you’ll need:

4-5 Oz/110-140g of Roasted Golden Beet Trimmings.
1 Oz/28g Rice Wine Vinegar
2-3 Oz/55-85g Cold Water
1 Clove Raw Garlic
Pinch of Xanthan Gum (If available)
1-1.5 Cups/240-360ml Canola Oil

The Process

Combine all ingredients except for the oil in a good blender. Blend on medium speed, until a medium body puree is achieved. Add an extra ounce or two of cold water if the puree is too thick.
Although the addition of the Xanthan Gum isn’t necessary, it will make the emulsification process much more forgiving.
Slowly start to stream in the Canola Oil, a couple of drops at a time, until the emulsion starts to form.
Once the emulsion starts forming, turn the blender speed up to high, and continue streaming in oil until a thick consistency along the lines of coleslaw dressing is achieved. The higher the rotation speed of the blender blade, the tinier the oil droplets will be, and the more stable your emulsion will become.
If you have incorporated all of your Canola Oil into your vierge and it’s still not as thick as you would like, you can add in a small amount of Xanthan Gum to bring it to the desired consistency without diluting the flavor with more oil.
Finish by seasoning with kosher salt, and then pass through a chinois or a fine strainer to insure a smooth consistency.

For the Beet Oil

Take the outer trimmings from the roasted red beets, and combine in a blender with canola oil at a 1:2 ratio of beets to oil. Blend on high for about 60 seconds, or until the beets are broken up into a fine particle size.
Pass through a chinois. I prefer the look of beet particles in the oil, but if you would rather have a thin, evenly colored oil, let the oil sit overnight to infuse color, and then squeeze through a dinner napkin.

For the Beet Dust

Dehydrate beet scraps in a dehydrator for about 12 hours, or until all their moisture has evaporated. If you do not have a dehydrator, you can bake the beet scraps in a 175 F/80 C oven for about 3-4 hours, or until crisp and dehydrated.
Take dehydrated beets and grind in a clean coffee grinder until a fine powder is reached. Pass through a tamis if available to insure consistent “dust” granules.

For Goat Cheese Mousse

It is important to note that the word mousse is a very loose interpretation as used here. Classically speaking, a mousse is a light foam that is made “airy” by folding in either whipped cream or egg whites and is stabilized with gelatin. The goat cheese mousse used here is nothing more than Chevre Goat Cheese slightly sweetened with honey and seasoned with salt and pepper. The basic recipe is:

8 Oz/227g Goat Cheese
2-3 Oz/55-85g Honey
Salt and Black Pepper To Taste

This is simply a guide line. If you want your goat cheese a little sweeter, add more honey. If you prefer it more on the savory side, then add less honey.

Putting It On The Plate

Start by spreading one ounce of the vierge in a cirucular motion in the center of the plate with a one ounce laddle.
Place a little dollop of your goat cheese mousse in the center of the vierge.
Center two slices of the red beets on top of the goat cheese. It’s important to put this layer on the bottom, so that is does not bleed down onto the other layers of beets.
Season the beet layer with Fleur de Sel or a good sea salt, top with more goat cheese, and repeat layering process until the napoleon is three layers high.
Garnish two opposing corners with the beet oil, and the other opposing corners with the beet dust.
Garnish with a chive and serve.

© Jacob for Free Culinary School.com, 2009. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Culinary School Articles, Recipes, Roast Beets, Salad

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