Archives Under "food" (RSS)
Cinco de Mayo Weekend.
11 May 2008 | beer, chef, food, jeff | 4 Responses
On Saturday I rolled into work and found out I’d be doing an off-site catering event. I scrambled to get my prep done so I could be off to the Portland Indie Wine Festival. We were serving Chef’s delicious Cauliflower Panna Cotta with Dungeness Crab Salad and Trout Roe. We got there a little late and by the time we set up our table, throngs of people surrounded us. The panna cotta was flying off our display at such a rate at first we were totally going down, even though we had brought about six hundred of them. It was all we could do to keep up. After the initial rush, we noticed people
were setting our little appetizer cups into their wine glasses so they could walk, talk, and eat. There was some cool stuff at this event, but the general consensus was that we had the best food. Some folks came back three or four times. We sold every single one we brought, and after cleaning up, we took a quick cab back to the restaurant to help with a busy night of service. Kate and her friend showed up for happy hour, and I knew Jaybill and Keri were coming in for his birthday dinner. With 80 something on the books we were in for a fun night. While the boys cooked their assess off, put up a multi-course (eight?) tasting dinner for my brother and his wife, I played gopher-boy for the line and plated desserts. I brought Kate a dessert sampler platter, and my brothers table had three dessert courses. They were gushing with satisfaction at thier meal. The following day, Chef threw a party at his house for Cinco de Mayo. I got up early and made empanadas with sausage and cheese. I started drinking PBR early and by 4:00, I was completely shnaukered. The sun was out, Salty Dogs were poured, and I made a dipping sauce from all the available items on the buffet. Guac, , sour cream, ceviche, bean dip, and who knows what all went in there. I got hella sick and stunk out the bathroom. It was a nightmare of clogged sinks, overflowing toilets, no paper, and people were pounding on the door!! I was embarrassed, but party kept on, and among friends all was well. We’ll remember this party. I fell of early, and Kate picked me up and we hit up Kennedy School for burgers and cheesecake.
Eating in Italy Part I.
2 May 2008 | Europe, food, pastries | 7 Responses
In Malcesine (Mal-CHEE-see-nay,) Italy, we had the most amazing pastries. I think technically they were cookies, made from some kind of short dough, but there they called them Balls of Snow. Sure I had pizza and pasta, but it wasn’t until I ate these things that I knew I was in for some really interesting food. Balls of Snow are apparently only available in Malcesine, and can be a little tricky to eat. From what I could taste, this was a butter cookie of some sort, that while still warm from the oven was slathered with a filling and rolled into a ball. Then once cooled, a topping or glaze was added. After I started stuffing my face, it didn’t matter, they were brilliant, and fun to eat. I had other pastries in Italy, none that really stick out in my mind. Eating there was all about showcasing fresh ingredients, and this really came through on the savory side of things. In Limone, I had pizza that was so simple, yet so perfect, it left me speechless. Well, more like slurping, but you get the idea. One of our best meals was in Bellagio, at a little place called Barchetta. We walked up this little stairway/sidewalk, sat in the sun and had the lunch of a life time. We had bruscetta, then I had the Gorgonzola Gnocci, and Kate Spaghetti Carbonara. We washed it down with a 4 euro carafe of wine and were absolutely sated. I went inside to pay the bill and tipped the cook directly for an amazing meal. It was so good, that night we went back for dinner. At 7 pm, the dining room above the street opens up, and they serve even more good food. We shared a plate of Pan Fried Lake trout over Parmesan Rissotto, and of course more cheap wine. Our dessert was creme brulee (below,) but not in the traditional presentation. The custard was quenelled onto the plate and bruleed in a free-form way…on the black plate it looked sharp. Kate looked at me with that special look she’s got, and we knew we’d had another great meal. It was just enough to push us into a full fledged food coma. We slept like babies that night. Fat babies.
How to Gain 15 Pounds in 20 Days.
24 April 2008 | Europe, faithful readers, food | 2 Responses
As my faithful readers know all to well, I love to eat. My recent trip to Europe was a whirlwind of raw milk cheese, artisinal beer, deliciously fresh produce, excellent (and cheap) wine, amazing chocolate and pastries, and many, many, good eats. Kate of course, was right there with me. Having said that, I learned one very important thing: You can get crappy food in any country. For some reason I thought in Europe, the age-old birth place of deliciousness, you could throw a rock with your eyes closed and hit a good plate of food. Not true. In fact, when you throw that rock, you should throw it hard, and hope you hit the cook. While I’m not the type of diner that nit-picks every little thing and sets out to not like things, I truly enjoy food and eating. But man there was some serious SHIT. Also, why can’t you get a fucking coffee to go? They simply do not offer paper cups in European countries. Okay maybe they do, but we didn’t see them or know how to ask for them. No, they want you to sit down, and if you do, the’re going to charge you do so. Not until Paris did we find a Starbucks, which just felt wierd. Oh, and I did go to McDonalds, and I did get the Royal with Cheese. And a beer! But only because we were tired and desperate. Anyway, we had mostly good meals, and some things that I’ve never tried before. We had some really incredible meals as well. We ate chocolate in Switzerland, and waffles in Belgium. We ate spaetzle in Germany, and gnocci in Italy. I ate veal sweetbreads on the Champs Elysees. Over the next few months, or however long it takes, I will at random intervals be posting about my culinary adventures abroad. I predict you will enjoy thoroughly. 
I Make Dessert VI.
27 March 2008 | Ten 01, faithful readers, food, recipe | No Responses
When I’m not making the dinner desserts, or random birthday cakes, or setting up banquet items, more than likely you’ll see me slaving away with my favorite robot making mignardises. The little tray of sweets we put down for free with every check is arguably one of the best feebies in the city. The abundant array of truffles, chocolate candies, caramels, and pate fruit is so great it became the third course on our popular Power Lunch. I’m so busy with these that Chef and Arturo can both be found helping me out polishing or filling molds. Most of the recipes I use for these come from my new favorite cookbook Chocolates and Confections by Peter Grewling. This book is loaded with recipes and valuble techniques. Buy it. Read it. Know it. Another thing I can be seen doing lately is making crackers. That’s right faithful readers, crackers. One of the easiest recipes I posses is also one of the tastiest. Lavash crackers simply contain flour, garlic powder, water and olive oil. They are rolled really thin and brushed with a little more water, to hold on the salt, seeds, cheese or other desired flavoring. At the Vail Cascade, I made six full sheet pans of these everyday. They are crunchy and delicious, and really easy to make. Since I started making them at Ten-01, I have gotten a great response, with many customers asking for more. Seriously, you should try making them, here’s the recipe:
Lavash Crackers
1 1/4 lb. all purpose flour
3/4 oz. garlic powder
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup olive oil
1. Place all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and work with the dough hook on low speed
2. Beat up the dough for about 8 minutes, until it looks smooth
3. Chill for 30 minutes before rolling out on a well floured surface
4. Roll the dough paper thin and transfer to a well greased cookie sheet
5. Slice the cracker lengthwise to create several smaller crackers
6. Brush with water and sprinkle with salt and desired other topping
7. Bake in a 325 degree oven until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Serve with cheese or butter
Tumultuous Times.
28 November 2007 | Roux, bacon, cook, faithful readers, fenouil, food | 1 Response
Well faithful readers, 
this week I gave my two weeks notice at Fenouil. That’s right, I’m resigning from my pastry cook position, as it seems best for all concerned. I’ve been waffling back and forth on this for weeks, but the factual truth is that I’m going nowhere at this job. It’s a great kitchen to work in, but ever since I broke my wrist and couldn’t work for 6 weeks, things have been going down hill. It’s mainly personal, but It seems to be the best course of action for everyone involved that I just call it. 86 Jeff. On to the next one. I’ve also decided to broaden my horizons a bit…I took a line cook job at Roux. I’ve realized that you don’t make enough scratch as a pastry cook, and most restaurants don’t need more than just the pastry chef. I’m not saying I’ve given up on pastry, I just wanna switch it up a bit. Besides, I love all food…and I can cook. I got a really cool vibe when I staged at Roux. The place has great heart, everyone seems like they want to be there. I worked part of a brunch shift this past Sunday, poaching eggs and such, and it seemed like a really cool kitchen. I think there will be opportunity to learn, and maybe help out the pastry chef with some prep as well. The main thing is that I can walk there in about 8 minutes, and they make all thier own bacon. I’m also seriously considering going back to school next summer and finishing my degree. Crazy times, man, crazy times.
Thanksgiving
26 November 2007 | creative presentation of the week, delicious, food | 1 Response
I cooked in total about two full days, okay maybe fifteen hours, and it was good. Jaybill and I did the turkey four ways: wing confit, bacon wrapped thighs, smoked legs, and deep fried breasts. For appetizers we had shrimp salad crostini, sekel pear with fig and blue cheese, and several delicious stinky cheeses from New Seasons, courtesy of Sasha, our friend who works there. As side dishes we had Gravy Bombs (above, the creative presentation of the week,) sweet potato crumble, roasted root vegetables, garlic mashies, and spinach salad with bacon vinegrette. Dessert was comprised of cranberry sorbet, apple pie, pumpkin pie and lemon meringue pies. and since it was Keri’s birthday the following day, I made her a cake. It was Kaluha Chocolate Flourless with toffee crust and White Chocolate Basil Ice Cream. I didn’t take too many pictures, but it was a great meal that we all enjoyed. I was souind asleep bt 10 pm.
Best TV Moment to Date
13 November 2007 | food, iron chef, photoshop | 1 Response
We jumped up and bally-hooed when Michael Symon took The Next Iron Chef title this past Sunday Night. I’ve become a huge fan of this guy over the past month. Watching the series and reading The Soul of a Chef by Michael Ruhlman, how could I not? His cooking is solid and his personality is just what the Iron Chef’s need. I try to catch of Iron Chef America as much as possible, and Next Iron Chef has been a much discussed weekly event. Judge Michael Rulhman always seemed like a straight dick on the show, but his book was actually really good. It spent several chapters exploring the life of Chef Symon and his restaurant Lola. Good reading. I guess if you co-write The French Laundry cookbook, you’ve got a right to be a dickhead judge on Iron Chef. All the judges were really objective actually, and deciding between Symon and John Besh was no easy task. I really thought Besh had it there for awhile. It was a good thing they had Morimoto and the other Chefs to help ‘em sort it all out.
Turkey Dinner
9 November 2007 | delicious, food | No Responses
Another home cooked meal created by two brothers. Here we have roast turkey breast, store bought salad mix that we churched up with some basic vinegrette and Pecorino, and Jaybill’s sweet potato crumble. We stuffed basil, garlic, and salt and pepper under the skin of this 3 pound turkey breast before browning it, then roasting it. We deglazed the pan with cheap red wine and then rouxed it, added chicken stock, cream, and milk. This reduced into a rich pan gravy cream sauce concotion that of course was finished by swirling in chunks of cold butter. It was silky and smooth, rich and delicious. The sweet potato crumble was a basic mashed sweet potato, topped with struesel, and baked. This idea plauged Jaybill all day, he wanted to eat it so bad. Quite delectible. We drank numerous crispy Longhammers to wash it all down. Hooray Dinner!!
Why I work at Fancy Restaurants Part 2
7 November 2007 | carlyle, delicious, food, food porn | No Responses
Here is some of the delicious food being served at Carlyle. Clockwise from top-left: Black Cod with Suedoise sauce, roasted beets, and apple frisee salad. Confit Octopus with Breton Vegetables, broth of hamhock, manila clams and thyme. Yellowfin Tuna with Fresh Corn Polenta, roasted Chanterelles, and Poached Duck Egg. Hamachi , with Dashi broth, bok choy, and crispy wonton. The Hamachi was prepared by Chef de Cuisine Patrick Shultz, and the other dishes by Sous Chef Jake Martin. These guys are fun to work with, and are creating some dynamite food. I hope this post will convince them to cook me up that foie dish.
Total Immersion Bacterial Success
5 November 2007 | food, jeff, photoshop | 2 Responses
I for one am sick of sickness. My immune system is in for a policy change. I believe the more foriegn bacteria I am exposed to, the more likely I’ll be able to deal with anything that rolls my way. Look at my dogs; they eat shit, lick each others asses, and delight in finding nasty dead animals to roll on. They are never sick. From now on I will go out of my way to drink from random water fountains, eat undercooked or raw meat, share drinks with people, pet strange dogs, jump in front of sneezes, high-five bums, and eat at least one thing off the floor daily. The food catch in the dish pit will be my buffet. My plan is have a catalogue of random bacteria so complete, that my system is never suprised by a new one. YOU WANNA LIVE FOREVER!!!
