Aperture Science...

What an insane week at work.  I wanted to make so much this week, but I didn't figure out what to make in time.  Daniel Boulud, I love your work and your book is gorgeous.  The food inside makes me all giddy, but ya know...I can't realistically make any of it.  The majority of the recipes listed in there require some sort of incredibly expensive and hard to get item and that makes a quick planning of dinner near impossible.  So what did I do this week?  Honestly, only 2 dinners were worthy of note. 

I'll start with the Boeuf Bourgignon that I just finished eating.  What a great hearty dish.  I sincerely believed that the rustic nature of the dish adds to its charm.  Anthony Bourdain was right.  There wasn't much in this recipe that a reasonably intelligent trained Yorkie couldn't accomplish.  What can I say about this dish that isn't pathetically stupid?  It's simple, filling, tasty, and very satisfying to serve and prepare.  I'm used to preparing meals for 1 or 2 people.  This usually only requires about 3 - 4 lbs of meat.  I left the market with 6 lbs of beef.  6 lbs.  It took me a while for that number to sink into my skull.  That's a heck of a lot of meat.  Oh, and the onions.  There were so many onions that I cut up that would make a 6'6" trained assassin cry.  I decided to toss the carrots in when there was about 30 - 45 minutes left of cook time.  They ended up coming out the way I like them: soft but with a bit of bite to them so they're not too mushy.  Anyways, technique aside, I love this dish.  What's not to like?  It's beefy.  Wow the fat just melted right into the stew and the meat was left incredibly tender.  The taste is so classically old school and it's pretty much one of my comfort foods.  And the preparation.  Yeah, it was a little annoying having to hack through the mounds of cow to remove the bits that were too sinewy.  But pound for pound, this meal had the best ROI on flavor. 

The other meal I made was more of a bit of insipiration from nowhere.  I was strolling through the market trying to figure out what it was that I wanted for dinner.  I didn't have much time, but I didn't want to get takeaway.  I had gone all week and had no decent meal to show for it.  It was time I made something....but...what?  Ugh.  None of the cuts of meat or fish really stand out to me.  I can't rely on my protein to be the inspiration of my meal.  Alright, vegetable section it is.  Then there they were.  These gorgeous little Belgian endives.  I've seen it done before where there was this cooked thing that was using the endives as a boat for it.  Brilliant....but what was the cooked thing that went in it?  Alright, time to think.  It's got to be small bits of diced up stuff, quick to make, and not fattening, and filling.  Aside from loading it with such alien zygote looking quinoa, I can't think of anything fast enough.  Then I saw the limes laying around and I knew exactly what to make: Ceviche.  I grabbed a hunk of yellowtail tuna and some nice grouper.  I came right home and tossed it all together.  It ended up tasting quite nice.  It was surprisingly filling despite the fact that it's just a bit of fish and veggies.  The presentation of the meal turned out better than I had hoped.  And to quote of my favorite nerdy songs, "This was a triumph.  I'm making a note here, huge success.  It's hard to overstate my satisfaction." 

Anyways, I'm calling it a night.  I'm going to chill out with a beer in hand and some Torchwood on the television.  'Til next time.

April Adventures in Cooking

Technically, my obsession started back in March.  My friend and I went to the green market here and we found these gorgeous heirloom tomatoes that were simply bursting with flavor and character.  Every one was slightly different, but altogether amazing.  After these tomatoes were purchased, I found myself drawn to a lime infused olive oil and black cherry balsamic vinegar.  After acquiring some fresh basil from my friend and picking up a bin of mozzarella, I promptly darted home and prepped my lunch.  These fresh ingredients were so delightfully wonderful that I could not resist having the same meal for dinner.  I would have never thought that something so simple and basic could produce such magical combinations.  

Fast forward a few weeks and a season or two of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, I found myself itching to travel, to eat, and to cook.  One episode in particular, really struck a chord with me.  It was the techniques episode.  In there, I saw the preparation of one protein that's scared me senseless for years now: Chicken.  Now, I love cooking my red meats.  I feel comfortable knowing that I can undercook it slightly and I wouldn't be killing someone.  Chicken, however, gives me an unnatural fear like I'd be unknowingly feeding someone the T-virus or something.  Now my fear of cooking chicken was not always there.  Back in college, I was quite confident in searing a piece of chicken breast.  I'm not going to go into it now, but the person I was cooking for decided that she wanted both our chicken breasts done to a dry, cardboard-like consistency so she speedily shoved both chicken breasts into the oven after I had finished cooking them.  I was confident that I had cooked them to perfect doneness.  Was I wrong?   Did I not cook them enough?  Did I not sear them properly?  What was wrong with my cooking?  Doubt was introduced into my fragile psyche.  Our chicken was overdone by the time she yanked the tasteless pieces of medium density fiberboard out of the oven.  This did not deter me though.  I kept trying.  I was successful in cooking it.  However, when it came time for another date, I was scared.  What if I didn't cook it enough?  This girl's going to think that I'm useless and therefore my entire future with this girl is shot.  So much was riding on this meal to be perfect.  I shied away from cooking chicken for anyone else but me for years since.  Perhaps I was slightly over-dramatic about the ramifications of one bad meal, but the damage was done.  I was traumatized by my own irrational fears.  

Back to the point.  In this episode of No Reservations, I saw Thomas Keller of The French Laundry & Per Se restaurants fame execute a simple roasted chicken.  It was so basic in its recipe.  He didn't have to take it out of the oven to turn it, baste it, do back flips, stand on one leg whilst reciting an incantation of protection.  He just trussed it, seasoned it, and cooked the darned thing.  How much easier could it get?  I decided that it was time that I tried cooking this wonderful piece of protein again.  However, I would need to get my confidence up to speed first.  

First, I was going to cook some lamb chops.  I know how to make these.  High heat, sear in the juices, make sure I don't overcook it, do a pan sauce and I'm done.  I saw some great fennel so I grabbed those too and pan roasted them.  Easy peasy.  I've made this meal a hundred times and I'm confident that I can fix any mistake that I make with this dish.  OK.  Confidence is building up again.  I can feel it.  There were a couple fumbles but either way, I was on the right path.  I can do this.  I CAN cook.  I'm not the best, but ya know what, I'm not the worst either.  

Next, I will attempt the pasta that was demonstrated by Scott Conant in that episode.  I've made my own red sauce before from scratch and it was pretty good, but the way he made it, I've never seen before.  Again, it was this idea of simplicity.  Letting the ingredients speak for themselves.  I've always tried to cover up bad technique with extra herbs and spices.  The way it was demonstrated here though was elegant in execution.  I needed to try it.  My attempt was a relative success.  The taste was exquisite.  The tomatoes were so sweet and the butter really just mellowed out all the flavors and added depth.  Although, my sauce wasn't as smooth as Scott's, I loved it.  There was something to be said about having small chunks of tomatoes still in there.  It really highlighted the fact that the tomatoes were the main characters in this dish.  It wasn't slathered on, it wasn't a goopy mess.  It was coherent.  There was a sort of harmony that existed in this composition.  This was a good sign.  I was on the right path.  I've tackled one of the recipes as demonstrated in this episode.  Confidence is rising.  

Here we go.  Thus far, I've done one of my own recipes and one from the show.  Now it was time to battle it out with my long time enemy: Mr. Chicken.  I will overcome this feat.  I can do this.  I found a small chicken that was a little over 3 lbs.  I figured I should stick to a chicken about the same size as shown in the show.  Time to prep this thing.  I seasoned it and trussed it.  Simple enough.  I've got this.  Now time to put the chicken in the roasting pan.  Crap.  My foodie friend said that she liked to roast with the breast side down.  Helps retain moisture.  Hmm.  She's never guided me wrong when it came to food.  However, Thomas frickin Keller did it breast side up in the show.  I'm torn.  I figured I should listen to the master.  My goal here isn't to try and be inventive here.  I just want to NOT mess up a chicken and inadvertently poison my family.  I can try different variations after my confidence is GREATER THAN 9000!  Ahem.  Sorry.  That was the anime geek in me.  What was I saying?   Right. Mr. Chicken, you evil bastard.  You're smugness cannot deter me from attempting to overcome my fears.  I shove the chicken into the fiery pits of doom and await my eventual failure.  Have I mentioned that I'm scared of ovens too?  There's something about shoving my food into a box of heat and letting my food cook.  I can't touch it, I can't poke and prod it, and I can't fuss with the amount of moisture in it.  I just have to wait and be patient.  I don't have much patience.  I have control issues.   This is going to be rough.  I have to wait 45 - 50 minutes and NOT touch this bird. The end result?  Chris 1, Mr. Chicken 0.  That's right.  I cooked that chicken and it tasted wonderful.   

So far so good.  I think I'm getting the hang of this.  I've accomplished what I set out to do.  I bested my fears.  This is not to say that I'm done cooking and improving my skills.  No.  I'm just glad I finally made a piece of chicken that wasn't undercooked or overcooked.  It was perfect.  Anyways, I've rambled on long enough.  Time for me to sign off for now.  

Introductions Are In Order

Good day.  My name is Chris and I make no promises to making regular updates.  This is merely a place for me to unload the thoughts that tend to spill over from my world.  Regardless, I hope you find this as entertaining as I do.