Roll with the Punches

This is what happens when you get on the phone with your office roomie, a social worker (whom you never see anymore because faculty requested mental health services across the week, both of you only being part-time in that building) while your spiced cumin potatoes are baking in the oven:

Hint: they're not supposed to be all shriveled like that. Which you might be able to tell better if I had a better camera, or even if they would just actually fix my kitchen light so that it, you know, turns on.

So this is how you solve the dinner question, since you live in the city and treats are just a block away:

Because everyone needs a little nilla wafer now and then...

Other things to know about me:

I need lo-jack for my glasses. I constantly misplace them in a one-bedroom apartment. My office roommate suggested a chain to wear around my neck after I walked around at work today with a fuzzy view because I took my contacts out...

I think facebook might actually be evil incarnate. But I don't quit it, even though I've had that view for ages.

I don't have a coffeetable, so in order to use my brand-new adult-sized couch and work on my laptop, I have stacked three paper ream boxes up next to the couch and place the laptop on top. It's the perfect height for me. What was I supposed to do? I have nowhere to put the boxes, and I don't like the look or prices of coffeetables I've seen out there.

Also, I bought a gorgeous new tv, adult-sized, a month ago and it's still sitting in its box. Because not only do I not have a coffee table, I don't have a stand to put the tv on. I want one long, low shelving unit, like they sell at CB2, but not modern like that. Guess I should actually make an attempt to look somewhere besides Target.

I love tv, but I refuse to pay for cable. If a show isn't available online, I just never become a fan...

I get kind of punchy when I don't sleep enough the night before work, and then don't come home for 14 hours because of my Spanish for (Educators) class.

Buenas noches.

I Recommend You Visit...

This summer my family and I took our vacation in Turkey. We were fortunate to visit some familiar sights from our childhood, including Sariyer, where our aunt lived.

This is my memory of a market, still similar 15 years later:

Can we please import that from Turkey to here? Farmers Markets don't even come close to the beauty and plenty available here.

A bakery:

Bread at the hotel continental breakfast:

Now I want it again. How do they make this??

And this is why I'm tempted not to try new food:

Turns out fries with mayo is better than fries with ketchup. Now I want to buy mayo and keep it in my fridge. Even better? Mayo and ketchup mixed together.

One meal - a sampler plate:

Simit, the best bread/breakfast/snack food ever, and possibly my most desired food memory:

Back Home, In a New Home

I've been busy since I last posted.
Work started up again, busy in a different way from last year. Have been dealing with the double whammy of horrible allergies and a cold that won't leave for two months now.
But I moved - back to the city! Ignoring the commute, which, truthfully, could be so much worse - at least I'm done by 4, and can miss most of the congestion. I'm so happy to be back.

This time, I'm in a one-bedroom. The living room is huge, and so is the bedroom. It's a really good size for a decent price in a wonderful location. But of course the most important piece is...

I have a kitchen - with enough room to use both walls - and have a full-sized stove! How exciting is that?

Ugh. Ignore the mess on top of the fridge. Looks better now, but I'm trying to figure out where to find a shelving/stacking unit for all my baking items.

Next week, they're spraying the cabinets and closets. Which, awesome that they're proactive about pests, but ohmygoodness, where am I going to put all my kitchen stuff? Uh, and my clothes?Major summer goal was to improve my organization, and I have - but that sure means I have move a lot of stuff back out into the open.

I'd show you photos of the rest, but the living room and dining area are wide open - see, I have a small table, but no chairs, and I've been sitting on the floor of the living room for over a month now. Couch should be delivered soon, but then I have to slow down on the bulk items - it'd be good if I saved at least a little of my salary each month...

But I'm cooking all the time - more lessons and practice posts soon! My food runs the gamut across the world during the week.

In Which I Learn How a Restaurant Works

Okay, wow, it is 2010. Halfway through 2010. And I finished culinary school in January 2009. That is a long time ago. A lot has happened in that amount of time.


Spring 2009, I trained for and completed the Soldier Field 10-miler, and then a month later completed my first sprint triathalon. I quit my high school psych position during my very positive evaluation in May, and finished out the last month stringing along my boss until the district I currently work for called her and informed her they had hired me. Whoops. They just got to her first, I swear, I was mulling their offer! I dated a man for longer than we should have, and subsequently broke his heart, something I get twinges of guilt about a little too frequently in my friends' opinions. I started working for a district in which I am stretched too thin across two needy elementary schools, but where my skills are valued and interests encouraged. I never thought I'd be in an elementary school, but have found I can truly help kids when I actually get to work with them... what a strange concept.


I moved out of the city, tempted by a 10-minute commute to work, and one year later, I'm going back. Screw the commute! Isn't that what podcasts and mp3 books are for?


For spring 2010, I trained for and completed a half-marathon, and then completed the same sprint triathalon, but this time with no training. Whoops again.


These days, I concentrate my culinary interests on tackling the hundreds of recipes I have saved in word documents, favorites on both explorer and firefox (across two laptops and one desktop at work), and magazine and newspaper clippings. Oh yeah, and eventually, I'll conquer my cookbooks. I'm not allowing myself to buy any new cookbooks until I finish this project. I never even enter bookstores anymore - it's too hard not to give in to the pretty pictures and daydreams of future meals... I'm also not supposed to save any more favorites, but when the majority of blogs I follow on Google Reader on foodie blogs, this is a hard line to stick to.


Anyway. Culinary School. From the world foods class, we moved on to the restaurant. The school had a tiny restaurant that was open for breakfast and dinner, and we had three rotations across the class. The first one, I was on desserts. Then I was waitstaff, and learned I am not capable of opening a wine bottle without assistance. That clearly must be improved, and I have a couple friends I think who would be willing to help me learn by drinking a bottle or two with me... The last week I was on a station I can no longer remember, except it was across from space in which I had baked my cakes...

But back to the first week, which I remember best. It was a three-member team, one person making cheddar rolls, and the other two on cakes. Yum. Cheddar rolls. We took the liberty of eating a few right out of the oven, until Head Chef caught us and we got the I'm-disappointed-in-you look.
I made the individual cakes. They were gingerbread cakes with a dark beer for liquid, with a caramel pear topping. They were served with tuile paste cut into triangles, baked, and then folded over a rolling pin. Into that fold then went Gelato di Crema. And in the ice cream went caramel sticks. Salivating yet?

This is what they looked like for the final plating:

In order to make them, we poured caramel into the silver cups, topped it with sliced bosc pears, and then poured the cake mixture about 2/3 of the way. It was so odd though - I would make the exact same mixture every night, and the first night was the only night I actually got the expected 64. Every other night, it was a little short. And it wasn't just me - the Chef couldn't make it right either, and he was the head pastry chef for major hotels in Las Vegas for years! So strange. And disappointing. Clearly, I am not meant to be a cog in a machine since I can't be consistent...

I loved making these. I handed over caramel duties to my other teammate, and poor girl, she was stuck with that the rest of the week, when she really would have liked to have a hand at the cakes. But one night she tried, and Chef wasn't happy, so I won back my spot. These would take us the entired service to create - it was a long process.

Waiting on people was interesting for me - I'd never done it before. Very kindly, some friends and family came by. Very kindly for family, since they came during a blizzard. I ended up shouting at the Head Chef because he wanted to cancel dinner service that night... there were angry words said. But polite ones. I would never swear at a supervisor. I ended up winning anyway since he couldn't get ahold of a party of 10.

The week I was waiting was tapas, and I had to memorize the English descriptions of Spanish dishes. The guy working the calamari station was my buddy, so he'd save me some when he could - there was never any left for family service at the end of the night.

The last week was Swedish dishes. I was disappointed I couldn't do desserts again, but it actually worked out since my station required only a little bit of prep and then very little clean-up. It was a salad? Clearly, it did not make an impression. But then one night I had to sub at the meat station because so many people were absent. That might have been the night of the storm. But look, so good -

I can't remember what cut of meat it was (maybe duck?) - it was marinated in Swedish vodka. With a cranberry compote and roasted brussel sprouts.

I enjoyed working the different stations, but I was starting to get a little restless and tired of the process. That, and my body was exhausted. My migraines were happening almost daily, and I did not really enjoy taking naps in my office a couple times a week. I know, I can't believe they were giving me a positive evaluation either - but then again, they didn't really know about the naps, did they? I always managed to get the paperwork done, so what did it matter if my door was locked? No one ever ventured up to my fourth-floor closet with the view of the Sears Tower on a clear day anyway... I could never have taken this on at my current job, and for that, I am grateful to my old job.

That was my last official class. Next I did my internship, and I'll come back to explain that, maybe in another 18 months? Just kidding. It'll be sooner!

Japan

And, finally, we have Japan. Um. Depending on how long you've known me, you may not know of my love for sushi. How I can stuff my face with far more sushi than a human is supposed to eat and still want more as long as some is sitting in front of me. All you can eat sushi nights are both the best and the worst, for obvious reasons. I also love ramen. And miso soup.

Miso Soup

Make dashi, drain the tofu. Soften the red miso in a medium bowl by adding 2t of water and blending with a whisk. Gradually ladle the softened miso into the stock pot, while simmering over medium heat. After the miso is disolved, add trefoil stalks, shittake mushrooms, and tofu, and heat thoroughly. Remove from the heat and serve garnished with a little sansho pepper.

Sushi

Wash the rice at least 3 times, until the water runs clear. Drain the rice in a colander and let it stand for 30 minutes. Cook equal parts rice with equal parts water. Clearly, watch carefully so the rice does not burn! Remove from heat, place a damp towel of rice, and let it cool.

Pour seasoned rice vinegar (rice wine vinegar, sugar and salt) over cooked rice and mix it gently.

Make tetzu - 1c. water and 1T rice wine vinegar. For dipping your hands into, so rice doesn't stick to hands.

Toast nori over light open fire, shiny side down.

Place nori on makisu, with rough-side up. Spread rice, leaving a 1/ in. at the side ear you, and a 3/4 in. at the side furthest from you. Hold the makisu with both hands and carefuly roll it up, wrapping the fillign in the middle, adn rolling away from the side closest to you. Hold the rolled makisu with both hands and squeeze gently to firm the nori-roll. Cut into eight pieces, using a very sharp knife.

Lay rice over nori, then place filling, and roll, pulling tightly toward you as you wrap.

Or make a rice ball in palm of hand, and place shrimp/fish on top.

Lay rice on nori, then flip over, place filling on inside, and roll as above.
Yum. T and I did an amazing job. Aren't his avocado slices beautiful?

Grilled Chicken Skewers with Yakitori Glaze

Mix glaze: soy sauce, mirin, sake, sugar, crushed garlic, sliced giner, water, and cornstarch.
Thread chicken andonions onto water-soaked skewers. Apply glaze.
Grill until done. Baste as necessary. Finish with five spice powder and salt.

Tempura and Ponzu Sauce

Pour rice wine vinegar into a small bowl. Add the sugar and stir until the sugar is dissolvd. Taste for sweetness. Add cilantro, chile, and garlic and mix well. Season with salt and pepper and allow to sit for 10 minutes to 1 hour, for flavors to combine.

Mix the ice-cold water into the flour until the mixture is slightly thicker than buttermilk consistency. Dip slice vegetables (we used zucchini, onions, and eggplant) into the batter mixture and shake offany excess. Deep fry vegetables until the batter are light golden in color and crisp. Turn the vegetables at intervals to ensure that both sides are cooked equally and then remove. Season with salt and eat with Ponzu sauce: lemon juice, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, mirin and lemon zest - bring to a boil, then cool; strain and reserve.

And... grilled steak. Yum.

Lessons Learned:
This only reinforced my love of Japanese foods. I think miso soup is going to make it into my regular rotation. So simple, so good.

And that's it for classes, folks - next step: cooking in the school's restaurant. Cooking for people besides ourselves. Fun! Scary! Guess we'll find out for sure what I think of working the line...

Vietnam

Okay, sadly, I do not have the photos for Vietnam. See my Thailand post for explanation.
I also may have mentioned, I recently discovered where the Vietnamese markets are near me - when the weather gets better (seriously, is it ever going to be consistently not winter?) I plan on taking the el up and exploring. Anyone want to join?
Anyway.

Summer rolls with Peanut Hoisin Sauce
Soak the cellophane noodles in bowl of hot boiled water until they soften. Drain noodls and shock in cold water.
Working with one sheet at a time, completely immerse a sheet of rice paper in hot water for a few seconds. Remove and lay it on a board. Place a leaf of lettuce, 2 pieces of shrimp, 3 cilantro, 2 mint leaves, a wad of noodles, bean sprouts and carrots. Fold the sides of rice paper over the filling and roll up the rice paper into a cylinder - really tight - you don't want it to be able to open up.
Serve with peanut hoisi sauce: rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, peanut butter, fish sauce, hot water, sugar, lime juice, minced garlic, ground peanuts. Simmer until sauce is not too thin or too thick.

Bo Nuong - Beef Skewer
Soak bamboo skewer in water. Combine lemon grass, chopped garlic, sesame seeds, fish sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce, onions, honey, an dsugar. Marinate meat at least 2 hours, turn periodically. Skewer and wrap with caul fat then grill well done. Serve with dipping fish sauce: hot water, sugar, white vinegar, fish sauce, minced garlic, minced thai chile, and juiced lime.
This. was. fantastic. Caul fat is not exactly pleasant to work with, but when it melts into the meat, it makes it juicy and delicious.

Lessons Learned:
I miss Chef T! He subbed this night, and he brought all kinds of Vietnamese herbs for us to sample. He's the one that told me where the markets are, and encourage me to go exploring. He was such a nice teacher, and actually very interesting to talk to. I would have liked to have ended the program with him.

Just in case you wanted a reason to keep reading (for those of you that do)... I'm actually back to cooking at home these days, and I'll probably keep blogging about things I've enjoyed making. And then you can listen to me daydream about my plan to buy a stand mixer.

Thailand

I only have a few photos from my final, which was on Thai dishes. My camera's battery had died, and I kept forgetting to charge it. So, these photos are on Irish's camera, and, well, she's not exactly good at following through on reminders to send them to me...

But this night was delicious. It's hard for me to pick favorites when it comes to food, but definitely Thai is way up there.

*Tamarind water - made by rehydrating the tamarind paste in equal amounts of warm water, mashing the paste to dissovle and passing through a strainer. You can also buy tamarind water - just look for products that only have the ingredients of tamarind and water.

Kai Look Koei (Son in Law Eggs)
Hard cook eggs first, then peel
Simmer tamarind water, palm sugar (brown sugar if can't find this), and fish sauce, stirring, until syrupy, 5-8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
Deep fry the eggs, turning to brown evenly. When gold and blistered, after 3-5 minutes, drain on paper towels. Make and alternate sauce with a combination of sambal and fish sauce with a little bit of brown sugar. Adjust the seasonings so that all the flavors are represented.
Toss the 3 whole eggs in the tamarind sauce and the other egg in sambal sauce. Cut the eggs in half lengthwise and arrange ona platter with a dollop of sauce under each. Scatter the chiles and fried shallots on top.
Okay, so this may sound kind of disgusting, but it was pretty good. I wouldn't be able to eat more than one just because of the deep frying, and, well, that's just too much egg, but, still, not as awful as it may seem based on the description.

Green Curry with Chicken

Brown chicken in oil. Add eggplant until see color. Add 1T curry paste. Add milk, then heavy cream, add lime leaves, simmer until nappe. If bland, add fish sauce. Served with rice.

Pad Thai

I know this is so cliched, but, honestly, pad thai is one of my favorite dishes. It's just so good. Plus I really liked this recipe. This is definitely a keeper. Now, if only I had a real stove and not a stupid 2/3 electric stove that doesn't really allow me to cook on a wok...

Now, if you are lucky enough to have an actual stove... here's the directions:

Fry an egg in oil, then take out. Fry shrimp, and turn down heat. Add shallot and garlic, then brown sugar, then scallions, then half the sprouts. Oh. Buy real sprouts. As in, go to your nearest Asian market, not the boring old grocery store you would go for simple staples. You won't believe the difference.

Anyway. Then add noodles. Strain the tamarind water, pour over noodles, then add egg. Break up among noodles. Add a couple T of water, then add fish sauce. Careful! Not too much - it will make it really salty. Serve with coarsely chopped peanuts, lime wedges, shredded carrots, cilantro, and thai bird chiles.

Lessons Learned:

I think I could eat pad thai every single day. And oh man does fish sauce smell so bad, but it makes dishes taste so good.