Thursday, July 26, 2007

Initiation

10 years ago, on the second day of work at one of my first restaurant jobs ever, I cut my finger. I was hired as a prep cook, pretty much the bottom of the food chain, and I had minimal experience. I was 23 years old and I wanted to be a chef and I had to start somewhere. So there I was, chopping potatoes for the clam chowder…with a long serrated knife.
(not the optimal tool for this job)

I was nervous that day, walking into the kitchen, the only female in a sea of testosterone, tattoos and death metal. My immediate superior was a guy named Adam, who I learned that day, was into S&M and Satan.

Did I mention that I was nervous? I really wanted to show these seasoned pros that I could chop and dice as quick as the rest of ‘em, so I was trying my hardest to go go go. Then, it slipped. My knife. Across the flesh of my left thumb. My first thought, besides, ‘shit’…was, ‘can I let this go undetected, slip away to the first aid kit and reappear as if nothing happened?’ It was too late. I think my gasp and my quick instinct to run to the hand sink gave me away, not to mention the blood on my cutting board.

When I found the courage to take the pressure off my thumb and look at it, I was shocked at what I saw. A deep cut, really deep, queasy-deep. A crowd of cooks slowly surrounded me and confirmed my findings..yeah, it was deep.
4 stitches later and bound up with gauze, I returned to work. Instantly, on my second day of work where just that morning, I had been essentially anonymous, I was now a celebrity in that kitchen, the butt of all ‘rubber knife’ jokes.

Yesterday, I found myself initiated once again. Even though I have been with my current job for a few years, the most suffering I encounter on a weekly basis is a burn here, a burn there. I rarely cut myself. I will admit that I am not the best when it comes to sharpening my knives, so I am used to the slightly dull feel of them, day after day. Yesterday, I decided that it was time though, to sharpen my knives..and so I did. All day I was pretty impressed with my honing job, pretty impressed that I could actually get my knife THAT sharp. Wow.

It is funny because I was pretty much finished for the day, and I realized that I still needed to steep some cream overnight with fresh ginger. It was kind of an afterthought, so I quickly grabbed my knife and started chopping. It happened so fast. So clean. So sharp. As I had done 10 years earlier, I headed briskly towards the hand sink, thought ‘shit,’ and wondered whether I could be nonchalant about the whole thing. I looked at my finger, and again was shocked at what I saw…or, what I didn’t see…what came out of my mouth next was a bit surreal. I asked my coworker to look on my cutting board to see if my fingertip was still sitting where I left it. Her scream followed by ‘eww!, eww!, eww!’ was all I needed to know. I would be heading to the hospital that afternoon.

Before yesterday, I hadn’t heard the many battle stories of those before me, who had severed their fingertips. But, today, when I headed into work, thick gauze bandage and all, my co workers came out of the woodwork showing me their ‘amputation’ scars, proudly telling me how they too, had cut off their finger tips once, even twice. I feel as if I have been initiated once again. 10 years ago, I was welcomed into the kitchen with stitches, and now, 10 years later and a little more seasoned, perhaps I have reached a new level?
Or, perhaps I have just another good war story to tell..

Wednesday, July 18, 2007


Best thing since Bubble Tea.





When the weather heats up, I find myself craving a nice iced latte or a ‘Tall Espresso Frappuccino blended beverage’ (as they refer to it at Starbucks) after work; that is, if I have already had my allotted Bubble Tea for the week. I have tried not to make this a daily thing, as it adds up, and really, do I need all that extra caffeine, huh? do I, do I???

A few weeks ago, I came across an article in the New York Times about the New Orleans iced coffee. Typically, when coffee is brewed in the normal way, with hot water, there is a bitter flavor that accompanies it, most likely as a result of the hot water releasing the coffee beans bitter components. (similar to how tannins are released from Black Tea if steeped too long) The New Orleans style of brewing is called cold brewing, where the coffee is ground, soaked in cold water for 12-24 hours, then strained, leaving you a more concentrated coffee, with a sweeter flavor, not a bitter one.

I was intrigued so I tried this out last week, and let me say that this coffee is really tasty. So tasty, that I may have kicked my store-bought-iced-beverage habit for the summer. I was really surprised how much cold brewing actually changes the flavor of the coffee. The flavor was surprisingly sweet, untarnished by any bitter undertones.

You MUST try this!!

New Orleans Iced Coffee

8 oz freshly ground coffee (your favorite robust blend)
5 cups cold water

Mix the coffee and the water together to just combine it then let it sit covered in the fridge for 12-24 hours.
Then, pour the mixture into a fine sieve or through a permanent coffee filter. Let the mixture drain for a few hours. You will have about a 3-4 cups of coffee concentrate.

Then, fill a glass with ice, add ½ cup milk and ½ cup of coffee. (I like this ratio, although the traditional ratio is ¼ cup coffee, ¾ cup milk)

Sit on your porch and enjoy!
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Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Sin City.







Ah, Vegas. Isnt this place hell on earth at 110 degrees? When I first arrived and walked out to the 100 person long cab line in the sweltering heat, the thought did cross my mind. Then, I was assigned to my cabbie who was generously pumping the AC and the bass. It seemed appropriate, ‘Chicago’ was playing. It was a cheesy tune with all the horns and whatnot, and the back speakers nearly blew out. I almost laughed at loud. I was in Vegas. Cheese city. My Cabbie looked like a well tanned transplant from some ocean paradise on the Florida Pan handle, and apparently he had had too many beans in his burrito at lunch.
Luckily, my destination on the strip was only a short drive away..

If you have never been to Vegas, it is like nothing I have ever seen, ever. This place is intriguing to visit, but almost a little repulsing at the same time. I am not a big gambler, but I do like to eat, and the shopping is kind of fun. So, we did plenty of walking. It was so hot that we ended up walking through the casinos, which is quite the clever ploy on their part, clever indeed. Suck the people into the cool depths, and get them spending. The hotels all have their themes, which is quite amusing and pretty fascinating. Where do you want to go? Paris, Venice perhaps? Each themed hotel has its own little shopping area to mimic the real thing; whether it is a cobbled street in Paris, or the Grand Canal, complete with gondola rides. It is Disneyland for adults. And, the construction is never ending. We must have passed at least 3 projects in the works: a new shopping center, just down the street from two other shopping centers, and what do you know, another casino and resort.

It is so hot during the day that the city really comes alive at night. This is when the scenesters come out, and apparently La Lohan too. We took the more adult approach to nights in Vegas and instead of hitting the Pure nightclub or the beach at Tao (on top of a hotel, I guess), we hit the Cirque du Soleil shows…twice. I had never seen one, ever, so the first night we took in a show called “Ka.” It was amazing, but not as amazing as the highlight of my trip, the “Love” show. This is a Cirque show dedicated to the songs of the Beatles, and I am a huge Beatles and John Lennon fan. Have been since I was 5. One of my first music memories is listening to John Lennon’s ‘Double Fantasy’ record with my oldest friend, singing our hearts out. It brings me such good memories, and seeing this show made my trip. It was that excellent.
So, I highly recommend it, ok?

All in all, I’ll be honest. I don’t love Vegas, but it fascinates me nonetheless. It may take 5 more years, but I imagine that I will be back.
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Monday, July 02, 2007

Just a quick shout out..
if you havent tried these yet, try these now. they are quite delicious..

The Brother of the Booty are quite delicious too..
(Unfortunately, my other favorite, the 'wheat free Chaos' has since been 'retired'....)

Sunday, July 01, 2007


For the love of Mayonnaise.



The first of July and this summertime weather have given me a bit of a hankering for potato salad lately. Randomly this week as well, the love and loath of Mayonnaise became a topic in two completely separate conversations of mine. Random I know, especially since I was not the one to bring up the M word in either discussion.

(In case you are curious, the heated discussions were all about hating mayonnaise (crazy), mayo not being the preferred glue of choice in salads (crazy) and a t-shirt purchased by a friend stating “I hate Mayonnaise”)

I, on the other hand, have some good memories of Mayo.

Mayo is around when there is leftover turkey at Thanksgiving. When I get lazy and don’t feel like making a sammy, I just dip my turkey into the stuff, straight up. (Don’t worry Mom; I don’t dip into the jar anymore)

Mayo is there with the cranberry sauce and mustard to stick my turkey sammy together, when I do get around to making it.

Mayo is the glue for many divine sandwich fillings. Egg salad, yum. Chicken salad, yum yum. And tuna salad…probably my least favorite, but I wouldn’t turn it away still.

I even remember a time when my mom used to make guacamole with mayo. Umm, can you say, yum?

Mayonnaise is there for dipping your artichoke leaves and hearts in…yes, right next to the melted butter.

Did I mention dipping French Fries in Mayo? (it’s a Canadian thing, eh?)

It was one of my first experiences as a prep cook at a local alehouse that I have my most fond mayonnaise memories…well, not really the fondest, but it is still a memory. Back in those days, making potato salad meant boiling 50 pounds of potatoes in a large steam kettle, cutting every last one into quartered segments, then, my favorite part…pouring all the potatoes into a huge plastic bin, putting on kitchen gloves and adding gallons of jiggley mayonnaise to the bin along with all the other key ingredients that make up a very American style potato salad. Then, the fun part. I would literally swim up to my shoulders in the potato salad, using my hands and most of my arm, because really, how else do you mix 50 pounds of potatoes with gallons of mayonnaise? This was truly humbling for me, especially when the guy I had a crush on at the time would walk by the kitchen and spot me in all my glamour, covered in Mayo.

Luckily, I escaped from this experience with my love of Mayo unharmed, but I have begun to appreciate Mayonnaise of another kind.

The Homemade kind.
This is not something I do often, but if you haven’t tried homemade Mayo, I suggest you start. Mayonnaise is basically an emulsion of egg yolks and oil with a touch of zing from vinegar, mustard or lemon. The type of oil used is what carries the flavor through, so imagine all the possibilities...

Walnut oil..truffle oil? Hmmm, I think this calls for a future blog entry, but for now, I should get back to my 'Best Foods' style potato salad.

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For those requests for a recipe, this is what I do...
boil some red potatoes, cool and cut them up. then, toss them with a little vinegar, mayo, salt and pepper. then, add your fixings...for example, hard boiled egg, celery, radish, pickle, green onion...the potato salad is quite versatile that way!!