Last night I ate a delicious dinner. I had blackened Ahi Tuna burgers with an avocado salsa, and I had truffle mac and cheese. One course. Yet dinner took 2.5 hours. What happened? My mother and I arrived at the restaurant around 6:15. There were very few customers seated, so we assumed it would be a pretty quick dinner. We were both pretty tired. We ordered an alcoholic beverage and a glass of water to start. It took maybe 10-15 minutes for only the alcoholic beverage to appear. We ordered shortly thereafter, and had to wait perhaps 20 minutes, or a little longer for our food. We finished our alcoholic beverages, and asked that our glasses be filled with water, which they were. We finished eating, our glasses were empty. Servers (not our own) walked past our table at least 10 times over the next 30-40 minutes. Nobody stopped to refill our glasses of water, no one told our own server to come check on us. Our own server did not take the initiative to return.
Now I have served before. I worked at an upscale bistro and winery, and know how grueling the job can be. You are on your feet. And you have the pressure to be attentive to all, and bring out hot food, and keep the water glasses filled. But you actually have to be willing to put forth effort. Hiring good service is one of the key backbones of a good restaurant, and a necessity to make it run smoothly. If your front of the house staff is not trained properly to do what they are supposed to, and handed out repercussions if they do not do so, then your establishment will not run smoothly.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Musings on Gifts of Happiness
One of my Chef instructors today brought up an interesting idea. Cooking makes him happy. Why is this so interesting? Everyone enjoys doing things which make them happier. But what he said after is what is most profound, and is likely what drives most of us to want to cook for a living: Cooking makes him happy. People are happy to eat his cooking. Their happiness doubles his own happiness. It therefore becomes an emotional experience for the cook, and a very human experience. A gift of food is given in exchange for the happiness that results from it being given.
This, I would say, is very true. When my friends have a bad day, my natural reaction is to want to bake them something. Or cook them a meal. Or even just take them out to dinner. Or share a bottle of wine. Food is very humanistic, because it is a shared trait. Everyone eats. Therefore the sharing of a meal, a drink, and good conversation with our friends is natural. It is how we connect with one another. And being the provider of that happiness and the memories that are conjured is profound.
Close your eyes for a moment, and envision the smell and taste of warm chocolate chip cookies. Where did that transport you? For me, the first thing that pops into my head is sitting around the fire in my grandparents living room, on that blue carpet. Big glass of milk in hand, cartoons on the TV, and my grandparents sitting there with me and enjoying that rich, chocolatey, delicious taste together. This, in turn, spirals into other memories from that place. Like the time the electricity went out and we cooked grilled cheese sandwiches in the fireplace and roasted marshmallows. All happy memories of my childhood, all good things to remember. Things which stir up happiness which is harder to remember when in the outside world.
This, I would say, is very true. When my friends have a bad day, my natural reaction is to want to bake them something. Or cook them a meal. Or even just take them out to dinner. Or share a bottle of wine. Food is very humanistic, because it is a shared trait. Everyone eats. Therefore the sharing of a meal, a drink, and good conversation with our friends is natural. It is how we connect with one another. And being the provider of that happiness and the memories that are conjured is profound.
Close your eyes for a moment, and envision the smell and taste of warm chocolate chip cookies. Where did that transport you? For me, the first thing that pops into my head is sitting around the fire in my grandparents living room, on that blue carpet. Big glass of milk in hand, cartoons on the TV, and my grandparents sitting there with me and enjoying that rich, chocolatey, delicious taste together. This, in turn, spirals into other memories from that place. Like the time the electricity went out and we cooked grilled cheese sandwiches in the fireplace and roasted marshmallows. All happy memories of my childhood, all good things to remember. Things which stir up happiness which is harder to remember when in the outside world.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Fall recipe, courtesy of Disney: Pumpkin Beignets
Pumpkin Beignets
Club 33, Disneyland Park
Makes 24 beignets
Pumpkin Beignets
1/2 teaspoon dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105 degrees)
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup hot water
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
1/2 teaspoon salt
Vegetable oil, for frying
Maple Glaze
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 cup powdered sugar
For pumpkin beignets:
1. Sprinkle yeast over warm water in a small bowl, stirring to dissolve. Let stand for 5 minutes.
2. Combine flour, pumpkin puree, sugar, heavy cream, hot water, egg, shortening, and salt in a large bowl; stir in yeast mixture. Mix dough just until combined and smooth. Let dough rest in bowl, covered with a clean kitchen towel, 30 minutes.
3. Transfer dough to a well-floured surface. Pat to about 1/4-inch thickness and cut into 2-inch squares. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let dough rise in a warm, draft-free area, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
4. Heat 3 inches of vegetable oil to 350 degrees F in a deep, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Fry beignets until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes, turning as soon as they brown on one side.
5. Remove with tongs or a slotted spoon and place on paper towels to drain.
For maple glaze:
1. Combine butter and maple syrup in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave until butter melts. Whisk in powdered sugar until smooth.
2. Drizzle warm beignets with maple glaze and serve immediately.
Recipe provided by Pam Brandon, Disney Parks Food Writer, "Fancy Pumpkin Beignets From Club 33 at Disneyland Park"
Club 33, Disneyland Park
Makes 24 beignets
Pumpkin Beignets
1/2 teaspoon dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105 degrees)
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup hot water
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
1/2 teaspoon salt
Vegetable oil, for frying
Maple Glaze
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 cup powdered sugar
For pumpkin beignets:
1. Sprinkle yeast over warm water in a small bowl, stirring to dissolve. Let stand for 5 minutes.
2. Combine flour, pumpkin puree, sugar, heavy cream, hot water, egg, shortening, and salt in a large bowl; stir in yeast mixture. Mix dough just until combined and smooth. Let dough rest in bowl, covered with a clean kitchen towel, 30 minutes.
3. Transfer dough to a well-floured surface. Pat to about 1/4-inch thickness and cut into 2-inch squares. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let dough rise in a warm, draft-free area, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
4. Heat 3 inches of vegetable oil to 350 degrees F in a deep, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Fry beignets until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes, turning as soon as they brown on one side.
5. Remove with tongs or a slotted spoon and place on paper towels to drain.
For maple glaze:
1. Combine butter and maple syrup in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave until butter melts. Whisk in powdered sugar until smooth.
2. Drizzle warm beignets with maple glaze and serve immediately.
Recipe provided by Pam Brandon, Disney Parks Food Writer, "Fancy Pumpkin Beignets From Club 33 at Disneyland Park"
Monday, October 24, 2011
Happy National Food Day (October 24, 2011)!!!
Food Day is committed to:
1. Reduce diet-related disease by promoting healthy foods
2. Support sustainable farms & cut subsidies to agribusiness
3. Expand access to food and end hunger
4. Protect the environment & animals by reforming factory farms
5. Promote health by curbing junk-food marketing to kids
6. Support fair conditions for food and farm workers
Visit http://foodday.org for more information!
1. Reduce diet-related disease by promoting healthy foods
2. Support sustainable farms & cut subsidies to agribusiness
3. Expand access to food and end hunger
4. Protect the environment & animals by reforming factory farms
5. Promote health by curbing junk-food marketing to kids
6. Support fair conditions for food and farm workers
Visit http://foodday.org for more information!
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Cooking and love and history
Cooking and food have always been the equivalent of love to me. Holidays, family reunions, birthdays all center around what is going to be cooked together, and what is going to be eaten. Some of my favorite memories are fluidly moving throughout the kitchen with the rest of my family on Christmas or Thanksgiving, all fixing one thing or another, chatting and laughing with the television playing some marathon of “A Christmas Story” or James Bond movies. Even the bad memories, like the Christmas I sliced my knuckle off with a cheese grater, still stand out in my mind as a moment of love and family bonding. I truly enjoy cooking for my friends and inventing new recipes, seeing the looks of joy on their faces as they say “you really made this? It’s the best thing I have ever eaten!” Or having them beg you to make their favorite dishes at the party you are throwing. Food is love.
I remember as a kid of maybe 4 or 5 years old watching re-runs of “Great Chefs of the World” with my parents on the couch. This was prior to my discovery of the magical channel called the Food Network and watching episode after episode of Emeril’s and Iron Chef (prior to Iron Chef America). Well I remember sitting on the couch, absolutely captivated and fascinated by the combinations of flavors used by the different chefs as they created new recipes for the camera, how quickly their knives whirled, yet fingers never separated from knuckles. This was about the time when I started thinking about career choices, and I told my parents “I am going to be on that show some day”. Their replies of “sure, sure” was not exactly reassuring, and I did stray from that path for years. But now I am back on the path of the culinary world, and plan to tell my story.
In high school, back at my days at Foxcroft School, I was very interested in joining the FBI. I wanted that existence. With college at Transylvania University and my degree in Political Science and my minors in History and Spanish, I had decided. I actually wanted to go to law school and be a corporate lawyer. This lasted until 3 LSAT exams later when I decided maybe that wasn’t what I wanted after all. I had taken a year off to work in the Governor’s Office in Kentucky for the General Counsel, when I decided I would go get my PhD in Political science. After spending a year at the University of Kentucky, I have finally decided to go back to what I truly am passionate about: food.
I remember as a kid of maybe 4 or 5 years old watching re-runs of “Great Chefs of the World” with my parents on the couch. This was prior to my discovery of the magical channel called the Food Network and watching episode after episode of Emeril’s and Iron Chef (prior to Iron Chef America). Well I remember sitting on the couch, absolutely captivated and fascinated by the combinations of flavors used by the different chefs as they created new recipes for the camera, how quickly their knives whirled, yet fingers never separated from knuckles. This was about the time when I started thinking about career choices, and I told my parents “I am going to be on that show some day”. Their replies of “sure, sure” was not exactly reassuring, and I did stray from that path for years. But now I am back on the path of the culinary world, and plan to tell my story.
In high school, back at my days at Foxcroft School, I was very interested in joining the FBI. I wanted that existence. With college at Transylvania University and my degree in Political Science and my minors in History and Spanish, I had decided. I actually wanted to go to law school and be a corporate lawyer. This lasted until 3 LSAT exams later when I decided maybe that wasn’t what I wanted after all. I had taken a year off to work in the Governor’s Office in Kentucky for the General Counsel, when I decided I would go get my PhD in Political science. After spending a year at the University of Kentucky, I have finally decided to go back to what I truly am passionate about: food.
Welcome!
Hello to all my potential followers! These are my views, thoughts and experiences. I am a student at the Culinary Institute of America in California, although I am from Kentucky. Here I will bring many things to the table, from my views on food and cooking, to my extracurricular hobbies, including ballroom dance, watching University of Kentucky sports, playing video games, watching movies, and my former careers of history and political science. Anything that pops into my head is up for commentary! So, welcome to my world, and welcome to my table! :D
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)