Where to start?

     Being the only southern boy on staff at a major ski resort, it was natural that any time that there was a “southern” menu for a party I was the one to work it. If there was a Tex-Mex, Bar-B-Que, or a Cajun menu to prepare it was sent my way. This was not just a stereotype it actually makes sense, who should know better a regional dish than one who grew up there and had been influenced by those cultures. 

     Who would you put in charge of a Lobster Boil, someone from Maine or someone from Possum lick Arkansas? That is not to say that there are not people all over the US who can’t put on the Q or do justice to good Tex-Mex, after all Rick Bayless has the widely successful Frontera Grill in Chicago and Bobby Flay (groan) is doing great Mexican food at the Mesa Grill in New York City. (Get a rope!)      

     So what’s the point?  You do not have to learn Classical French to learn to cook.  You don’t have to know French or Italian words to learn how to cook.  My granny could have cared less what a chiffinade is or what a paillard is because that woman could cook, and what she did was good old fashioned farmhouse fare.

     What you do need to do is start where you are. Get a good grasp on your local food and kick it up a notch. Learn the food that your family has been cooking all your life and figure out how you can dress it up.  You are going to cook with the tastes that you like anyway. My rib rub has southwest flavors and I put chipotle peppers in my marinades and dips. Start with the cuisine outside of your window and build from there.

     I’m going to give you the same advice that my first Chef gave me. Read cookbooks. Pay attention to the ingredients that they put together, the techniques that they utilize. Do they poach, do they sauté’, do they use a corn starch slurry or do they use a roux, is it home grown or is it upscale. Don’t just get cookbooks from the United States. Pick cookbooks from all around the world with different cuisines and figure out what kind of food you really like to cook. More importantly figure out what kinds of food you like to eat.

     There are about five cuisines that I love to eat and cook. That is not to say that I don’t like other cuisines but I gravitate to these five or six Cuisines. These cuisines range from Tex-Mex to Cajun, to Thai to Japanese, to Midwestern to Indian, and Italian. You have to see what kind of cooking interests you and after you figure that out study what those cultures and foods are about.

     This last part I can’t express enough. You need to buy yourself a few books that are just on the basics. You need cookbooks that are going to serve as your go to books when you need to know basic recipes. Not only will you not have to reinvent the wheel when you need a basic pasta dough recipe, but you can go to these sources when you need an idea of something to cook.  

     You can tell my go to books because they are the dirtiest and dog eared books on my shelf. My other cookbooks are clean and in amazing shape because they never see the inside of my kitchen but my go to books are coffee stained and flour dusty not to mention usually held together with Duct Tape where the bindings are coming loose. I would not give for any of these books.

     Start where you are, at whatever skill level you are currently. Read a few cook books; find out the kind of food you really like. Eat as many different foods that you can get a hold of, and pick a couple of cuisines to study.  Just start cooking...

Seasoning

     One of the first thing that you learn when you start to cook professionally is to season your food. Early on we would be yelled at almost constantly, "Did you season that? Did you season that?" I know that it sounds like a no brainer but seasoning is one of the most overlooked things. Seasoning can make or break a dish.
     Usually what happens is that we wait until the end of the cooking process to season the dish. What we should be doing is seasoning as we go. If you wait till the end it's too late. At different times during the cooking process you should be tasting and seasoning, adding other ingredients and tasting again, and at the very end tasting to make sure that the  dish is perfect. If a dish has been done correctly you should never have to reach for the salt or pepper shaker. It should be perfect before it ever sees the table.
     Even in the cold pantry we need to be seasoning our cold foods. One of the most overlooked things is seasoning our greens for our salads. A little seasoning can make your greens just pop. A little Sea Salt on your Caramel or Chocolate gives a different dimension to your desserts.
     There are a couple of seasoning mixes that I use when I cook. One of the mixes I use is for general cooking. I keep it next to the stove ready to go. It is good for Chicken and other meats as well as starches like rice and grains. The second mix I use for fried foods it is also great on vegetables with a little butter. 

Slacker Spice

Salt                                                  1 Cup
Dried Thyme                                  2 Tbls.
Course Ground Pepper                  2 Tbl.

Combing the ingredients and store in an air tight container.           



French Fry Shake

Kosher Salt                                       1 Cup
Course Ground Pepper                2/3 Cup
Granulated Garlic                        1/3 Cup


Combine all ingredient and store in an air tight container. Use on french frys or in your favorite recipes

Egg Nog Pancakes

It is our tradition to make a big breakfast for the Christmas morning activities. While Mom and Dad are being revived with strong coffee the kids can have these pancakes in between ripping open their presents. I made this recipe this morning  for my girlfriend for our Christmas breakfast.

All Purpose Flour                                          1 1/2 Cups
Baking Powder                                             3 1/2 tsp.
Sugar                                                                   1 Tbl.
Egg Nog                                                              1 Cup
Milk                                                                 1/2 Cup
Whole Egg                                                           1 ea.
Melted Butter                                                      3 Tbl.
Salt                                                                       1 tsp.
Pecans Chopped                                                  2 oz.

     Sift all of the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. Whisk together the liquid ingredients and add the liquids to the dry ingredients. Whisk the mixture together to make a batter. Ladle 2 oz of the batter into a buttered skillet or griddle to form pancakes and cover with a half teaspoon of the pecans on each  cooking until you see bubbles.  Flip the pancakes and continue to cook until finished on both sides.  

Croutons

Sourdough Bread Cubed                                      1 Loaf
Old Bay Seasoning                                               1 Tbl.
Granulated Garlic                                                 1 Tbl.
White Pepper                                                      1/2 tsp.
Parsley Chopped                                                   2 Tbl.
Melted Butter                                                        7 oz.

Freeze the bread cubes over night. Combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Stir in the bread cubes and mix well to coat the bread cubes. Spread the seasoned cubes evenly over a sheet pan. Bake at 350 until golden brown. Store in an airtight container.  Makes 2 quarts.          

Pecan Diamonds

I thought that I would offer something up for Christmas. These cookies are like miniature pecan pies.  Have a wonderful and blessed Christmas.


Butter                                                          8 oz.
Honey                                                         4 oz.
Brown Sugar                                              8 oz.
Pecans Chopped                                         2 Cups
Heavy Cream                                             2 oz.
All Purpose Flour ( Sifted)                         9 oz.
Butter Room Temperature                        6 oz.
Sugar                                                          3 oz.
Whole Egg                                                  1 ea.

For the pecan mixture:
In a saucepan mix the butter, honey, and brown sugar over low heat. Stir until the sugar dissolved. Add the cream and pecans blending well.

For the dough:
Combine the flour, sugar, egg,and room temperature butter and form a dough. Roll out the dough and spread onto a 9x13 baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread the pecan mixture over the dough. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Cool at room temperature; refrigerate overnight. Cut into diamonds. Makes 2 dozens.

Mexican Shrimp Cocktail

While I was writing the recipe for the first Shrimp Cocktail I remembered this variation of the classic Appetizer. This is one of those Addictive dishes that are great on a hot day or just whenever you want a light meal.

Clamato Tomato Clam Juice                                             12 oz.

Small Cooked Shrimp (Peeled and Deveined)                2 ½ Lbs.

Prepared Horse Radish                                                       2 oz.

Ketchup                                                                              2 oz.

Tobasco Sauce                                                                    1 oz.

Lime Juice                                                                          2 oz.

Cilantro Chopped                                                               1 Bunch

Green Bell Pepper    Small Diced                                      1 ea.

Cucumber  Small Dice (Peeled and Seeded)                     1 ea.               

 Medium  Red Onion Fine Diced                                       1 ea.

Avocado   Diced                                                                  1 ea. 

      

*Lime Salt                                                                        As Needed

Lime Wheel                                                                    4 ea.

     Combine all of the ingredients except for the Avocado, Salt and Lime Wheels in a mixing bowl.

Cover the mixture and refrigerate for at least two hours to allow the flavors to develop.  Prepare four Sunday / Milkshake glasses by moistening the rims of the glasses with water and salting the rims like a Margarita.  Carefully add the avocado to the shrimp mixture and spoon equal parts into the glasses.  Cut a slit half way through each Lime wheel and place on the rim of each glass. Serve chilled.  Makes 4 Servings. Serve with Crackers or Tortilla Chips.

* Lime salt is the kind of salt used for Margaritas; you can find it at most Grocery stores and Liquor stores.  Lime wheels are made by slicing a lime into 1/8 inch slices slicing from tip to tip.

The Cold kitchen

     Usually the first place that an apprentice works in a kitchen is the Pantry. In the Brigade system the pantry is call Garde Manger or the cold kitchen. I suspect that they put us there so that we can do little to harm business there. There are few ways that you can mess up a salad unless you let a waiter prepare it. For the next few entries I will be concentrating on Pantry. Today I want to start with a staple to most restaurants.

Tiger Shrimp Cocktail with Orange Dressed Field Greens

Tiger Shrimp                                             12 ea. Peeled and Deveined

Field Greens                                               8 oz.  By Measure 

Lemon Wedge                                            8 ea.
Shaved Red Onion                                      8       Slices 
Crustini                                                      8 ea.

Orange Vinaigrette                                              Recipe Follows

Cocktail Sauce                                                     Recipe Follows

Poaching Liquid for the Shrimp

White Wine                                                1 cup

Old Bay Seasoning                                     1 Tbl. 

Black Peppercorns                                     12 ea.

Bay Leaf                                                     1 ea. 

Water                                                          2 quarts

Combine the water, wine, Old bay, Bay leaf and peppercorns in a sauce pan. Bring the liquid to a simmer. Peel the shells off of the shrimp leaving the last joint and tail sections. Run the tip of a paring knife along the back of each shrimp to expose the vein. Remove the vein from the shrimp.Add the shrimp to the poaching liquid and cook until the shrimp are opaque and pink in color, about five minutes. Submerge the shrimp into ice water to stop the cooking process. Set aside for plating. Chill the shrimp for service.

Orange Vinaigrette 

Orange Juice                                             4 oz.

Lime Juice                                                 2 Tbl.
Honey                                                        1 Tbl.
Vegetable Oil                                             2 oz. 
Salt and Pepper                                            As Needed

     In a mixing bowl combine the orange juice, lime juice, and the honey. Slowly whisk the oil
 into the orange mixture. Adjust the seasoning.

Cocktail Sauce

Chili Sauce                                                  1/2 cup

Ketchup                                                       1/2 cup

Prepared Horseradish                                  1 oz.

Lemon Juice                                                2 tsp.

Tobasco Sauce                                                 Dash

Salt                                                                   As Needed   

Cracked Pepper                                                As Needed

Combine all of the ingredient in a mixing bowl. Mix until well blended. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate until you use the sauce.         

For Plating

On a chilled nine inch salad plate Place two of the crustini overlapped on the center of the plate. Dress the field greens and shaved onions with the orange vinaigrette and place a small amount of the greens on the edge of the crustini. Arrange four of the shrimp around the front of the greens. Take a small pinch of cracked pepper and garnish the plate. Serve with cocktail sauce and lemon wedges.

Makes 4 Servings