The Runaway Cook

A diary of culinary adventures

NO Not Another Day in Paradise. . PLEASE!

Posted by Elizabeth Monday, August 2, 2010 comments (0)

It’sThursday, 3:51pm and amazingly, I am sitting/laying here on the teeny twin bed needing to use the restroom desperately, but too tire to get up and do my business. (in this hot climate one drinks a LOT of water) In my left had is a clear cup filled with a light green creamy-looking liquid and black pearls of tapioca. What was supposed to be kiwi bubble tea is not really, rather it is becoming a regret. Unfortunately, the each-a-cup shop has one flaw- thei kiwi bubble teas taste terrible, a bit like flax seed oil. I am exhausted from a long day of class is a hot and humid kitchen in a hotter and even more humid climate. I am sick of eating food that taste like fish paste. I do not recant my earlier statement of liking it before, but after a while it is just too much for me. In fact, I am sick of fish and shellfish all together. I want a land animals and vegetables. Give me curry! Ugg....

TOP

STUDENTS!

Posted by Elizabeth comments (0)


It was my first day on the job today, and wheeew what a day it was. After a very interesting breakfast of congee (a porridee of rice that is topped with savory items soy sauce, onion, sesame oil and the like as well as very strange toppings that I have found I really can't swallow :/), terrible scrambled eggs, orange juice that really wasn’t juice, strange salad dressing on

salad and a lotus paste steamed dumpling I was ready to get out of the hotel and into the classroom. It is so hot here. Every time I breathe it’s feels like I’m trying to breathe water, not ideal for a terrestrial mammal.


What we did:


We immediately had a change of schedule this morning. It was forecasted to rain so we took a tour of the spice garden first. I was glad to see all the different spices and herbs and the many plants that they come from. Being in nature with no pressure to perform in the classroom was nice. And figuring out what all these plants were in front of our school was interesting. THe jungle here is becoming less intimidating. I loved our tour guide, AKA Chef Wilson. He made walking through giant killer ants bearable.. . . . yes I just said giant killer ants. Truth- they were not killer but their bites were painful and they really did crawl up our pants- ahhhhh.



After the tour we headed back into the kitchen to make Laksa. I have to admit that even though I am not so fond of shrimp paste, this dish was pretty delicious. Besides my new found approval of food including shrimp paste, I also discovered that I really like this style of learning. Each student is set up with their own in-counter induction burner, pots and pans, and stainless surface. The long tables are set up in the same way as a science lab. This set up along with the overhead mirror in the front made it possible for each student to make the item on demo. I loved it! I felt as though I was learning right from

the chef and could easily follow and reproduce what he was doing at the SAME time he was doing it.


Today was encouraging. I am so glad to have made it here and I am anxious to see what the rest of the week holds.


TOP

First Impressions

Posted by Elizabeth comments (0)

Well I made it. After, over 14 hours of flying and a layover in Dubai, I have landed in singapore. It seems such a shock to have just been in Rome and now here is this tropical place. It’s raining here and as I look around me the waxy leaves of the plants the gloss and beads of liquid make this place seem nearly unreal. Even sitting in the taxi seemed somehow exotic.
I arrive at the hotel and took the “lift” up to my room on the ninth floor. I feel so nervous to meet the other 23 students here. I swipe my key card three times and finally get room 911 open, hopefully that number is just a coincidence and not a sign that I’m going to need an ambulance or something. As soon as I get in the room a place my now broken suitcase in a slightly out of the way place. Unfortunately, my brand new suitcase was crushed during the trip at some point and now there’s a two foot long slash on the side and parts of the hard shell have cracked off completely. But this turn of events will not bring me down, I’m in a jungle of sorts for goodness sake, and this is going to be great . . right?
Just two doors to the left is Chef Kirsten Kleeber’s room. I give her a call to let her know that although I am late I have made it here. After a brief conversation she lets me know that the whole group is about to meet in the lobby and head to a special reception, at which I must be in
perfectly pressed full uniform . . .AHHHHHHHH! I ended up just throwing on my uniform and rushing down nine floors to meet up with everyone.
We left the hotel crossed the street and walked up many, many brick steps to reach the At-Sunrice school. As soon as we arrived we were greeted by

Chef Christop, who proceeded is poking fun at our melting. Yes, after just fifteen minutes outside my chef coat was seriously soaking with sweat and my face dripping with salty water.
Chef Christop led us down more stairs and into a room with a table covered in delicious asian tapas. To

refresh our withering bodies were four pitchers of iced lemongrass tea. THis refreshment was so good that by the time I made it to the table it was gone. . .perfect...

Despite this semi-unfortunate series of events, I did get some amazing asian tapas. Eating was necessary at this point. I have not bee so grateful for such small bites of food in a long time. I hope tomorrow will be better. We have class starting at 7:45am sothis could be a miniature disaster. Another 6 hour time difference is not so good after such a crazy week in Italy... everyone cross your fingers.



TOP

Cooking in Italy

Posted by Elizabeth Monday, July 12, 2010 comments (0)


I am so full! I’ve just finished several platefuls of pici cooked two ways, panzanella, stewed beef, roast pork with potatoes, and more. I think I will never be ale to keep up with the Italian eating habits. The meals seems to last forever and if we didn’t insist we had somewhere to go, I am nearly certain that the meal would continue for hours and end only to begin the next meal.

This meal like, many of our meals in Tuscany was from a local restaurant, the special thing about today’s food was that . . .we made it.

As we walked into this tiny restaurant, a smiling face haloed with rusty-colored airy curls greeted us. As the woman in white hovered toward a table covered in fresh tomatoes and herbs the group eagerly tied our aprons round our waists. First on the list to create was Panzanella.

Panzanella is a salad of fresh tomato, herbs, olive oil and old bread that has been rehydrated with water. Here’s why this is a unique food to Tuscany. Tuscan bread is made without salt as remembrance to a boycott of salt when the taxes for it rose to an amount the locals refused to pay. This creates technique makes Tuscan breads taste a bit bland and have a texture that is a it irregular and crumbles easily. However there are some benefits to leaving out the salt. With no ingredient that collects and holds moisture Tuscan bread doesn’t mold. Instead it dries into what may feel and look like the perfect murder weapon to a perturbed cook. Traditionally, as fractions of loaves became too dry to serve they would be tied up in cloth and hung from the ceiling in a kitchen. To use these sachets of unwanted bread some cleaved Italian thought of adding water back into bread along with some fantastic fresh and flavorful ingredients.
To make this true delicious salad, all you will need is the following:

PANZANELLA

1/2 of a large loaf of old crusty bread that is now completely dry
A tub of water- enough to submerge the loaf
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 cucumber chopped
2 cups tomato chopped
1/2 red onion chopped
2 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
2 tbsp fresh basil chopped
Olive oil to taste- a few tablespoons
Salt
Pepper

Directions
  1. Dissolve salt in vinegar and add to tub of water.
  2. Add the bread and allow it to soak until the bread has softened.
  3. Picking up the loaf in pieces, squeeze out as much water as possible and crumble the bread into a large mixing bowl (the bread should be damp and crumble at this point and not mushy or soggy).
  4. Toss the bread with the remaining ingredients, being very generous with a good quality olive oil, salt, and pepper.
After the salad was finished, we moved into pasta making. In this region, pasta is made very differently than in other areas. The dough, rather than being made only eggs and flour, it is made of mainly water and flour with some egg. This makes a dough that is not rolled out flat and cut into pasta but is rolled between one’s fingers into a long spaghetti-like strand called pici. Look below for the recipe.

PICI

2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups semolina flour
1 egg
Water
2 tbsp olive oil

  1. Mix the two flours on your board (or in a bowl if you are more comfortable) and create a well in the center.
  2. In the well make a pool of the egg, oil, and water
  3. Using your first and second fingers, begin making small circles that gradually incorporate the flour into the wet mixture. I find it can be difficult to keep the wet mixture within the flour. The chef taught me this can be remedied by making the well wider as your go rather than keeping it tall and full. Spreading out the goo and flour into a wide shallow well is very effective.
  4. Once the mixture is incorporated it should be moist but not sticky. If it is too dry or too wet just add water or flour accordingly.
  5. Using your body weight take both hands and kneed the dough and strong motions. Do this until the dough is smooth and strong- about 20 minutes
  6. Now let the dough rest about 30 minutes- this allows the gluten, protein found in wheat, to relax. This makes a for a pasta that will be tender and soft rather than tough and chewy. Be sure you let your pasta rest!
  7. Next cut off small portions and roll back and forth between your fingers and palms. You can also roll the log by pressing and rolling on the cutting board.

NOTE -This style of rolling the pasta is very labor intensive and takes quite a while. IFYou can use a pasta cutter or rolling pin and a knife to cut this pasta so as to save time and effort if you wish.

The way Chef Gina dressed our pasta was simple and classic to the region, Sugo di Pomodoro e Basilico Fresco (fresh tomatoes and basil). To dress your pici in the same way you will need:
2 cups fresh roma or plum tomatoes -any ripe and fleshy tomato will do
2 cloves garlic
Olive oil- to taste
2 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped or torn roughly
Salt
Parmigiano cheese

Gently saute the garlic in the olive oil until soft. Add the tomatoes and cook for five minutes more adding salt to taste. Add the chopped basil and toss with pasta and top with shards of parmigiano.

Surprisingly I had no trouble eating all this food. It just was so delicious and all the wonderful wine seemed to assist me in eating more of it. I hope these recipe help you all have just a taste of Italy back home. With the abundance of fresh produce available now, you will have no problem achieving the taste of Tuscany. Just remember to keep it ripe and simple using plenty of good olive oil and time. Good luck and happy cooking!

If you have any questions please feel free to leave comments and I’ll do my best to answer them of send your question on the Chef Gina who will definitely be able to answer you.

TOP

Home Sweet Home

Posted by Elizabeth comments (0)

We have made it to Montalcino, and I feel as though I have entered the “Midwest” of Italy. The land here is covered in things that grow. Houses are spread out across the countryside and it just seems a little simpler. The food is heartier and full of homegrown, homemade delicacies. People are dressed in clothing meant to for working and there’s not a sign of city hustle-bustle anywhere.

Montalcino is a small town positioned atop one of the many mountain-like Tuscan hills. When I look outside I still can’t believe that this my life and not some part of one of my crazy dreams. It’s strangely wonderful to feel like I’ve walked into a tapestry depicting those tall spindly trees, red poppy covered fields, and winding stone streets and at the same time feel as though I’ve grown up here.

TOP

The Secret Alchemy of Parmigiano Reggiano

Posted by Elizabeth Thursday, July 8, 2010 comments (0)


I feel as though It’s been a week ,and yet only a mere 48 hours have elapsed. Life is a blurry as the green and red-speckled countryside that reels past my bus window. Our days and nights are stuffed with learning, walking, riding, "Oooo" & "Ahhhh"-ing, eating, and of course drinking. My every second is filled with as much life as there is flavor in fork-full of food here. I can hardly keep up with it all!

This morning has been the square on our itinerary that I have been looking forward to most: "Tour Parmigiano Reggiano Factory". AHHHHHHH!!!! Can you Believe it? I'm in heaven. Even the front door looks like a wheel of cheese. . . Good thing nobody here is aware of my love for all things dairy.

We gather in a cube of white corrugated mettle, and transform through flying film and blue booties into a cross between cling wrap mascots and mad, lab interns.
Our fabric cover feet are nearly silent as we make our way through the stainless passageways . White noise surrounds of pumps and gears make send chills down my back. A kind of dusty aroma, with a hint of bovine musk and layers of creamy sourness and salt are the only hints that this place is for the alchemy of cheese.

I feel as though ancient secrets are being revealed to me. I wonder at the Italian syllables that escape the mouth of the slate-haired man with the red collar. As his every word is transformed from foreign to native, my skin tingles with excitement and my mind reals with wonder and a kind of reverence.

The Secret Alchemy of Parmigiano Reggiano
It takes 17 liters of milk 1kg of cheese. Just one wheel of this stuff weighs a whopping 35kg which is equivalent to just over 77 lbs. Each year they produce 60,000 wheels. Just imagine the sheer volume of milk that goes through this place, it makes me weak in the knees. (I am in love with milk- it is most definitely my favorite food.)


To begin the process, deliciously fresh, lovely, wonderful, raw cow’s milk is heated to 96.8F mixed with rennet, a coagulating substance collected from the stomachs of calves. This process creates bacteria which gives the cheese it’s distinct aroma.


After the cheese is coagulated one of the strong men here takes a paddle and scrapes the bottom of these shimmering vats. Then frabric is used to gather the mass of cheese . As a group they swing the blob back a fourth flip it and tie it to a pole. This is the beginning of the cheese’s shape.

At this point we tasted the cheese. Sadly it was like eating mild flavorless rubbery sponge. Not so wonderful yet I guess.


Next the cheese spends some time getting a “massage” as we were told. 1 day in a plastic form the three days in this metal form that is tapped with a mallet and fliped. This odd ritual actually improves the weight of the cheese.


Next the wheels goes to the salt spa, aka a giant metal pool filled with saltwater and shelving the holds cheese. This spa treatment is what gives the cheese it’s flavor which develops over time. Interesting tidbit here: 100 kg cheese absorbs 1 kg salt and releases 5 kg water.


Cheese fresh out of the spa


The cheese must then be aged 60 months

At the end of this process the cheese each wheel of cheese is inspected with a tiny mettle hammer. Only the best cheese, with the perfect thud can be considered top quality Parmigiano Reggiano. When a wheel doesn't sound right the rind is marked with lines, indicating it's lower quality. This is why it is so important to buy cheese with the rind on.


The rind not only indicated the quality, but is brandedwith a seal of the producer.


The seal. . .

Believe it or not, but small chunk of parmigiano reggiano cheese has more ca
lcium than a glass of milk.
After our visit, we were part of a wheel cutting, which was so cool. Then we indulged in what I’m sure was way too much cheese. Sadly we did have to leave, but we took about 30 kg of cheese with us so it wasn’t so bad. ;)

TOP

Lombardi Bakery

Posted by Elizabeth comments (0)



It was our last morning in Montalcino today. After packing up from the Bed and Breakfast, we walked up the stone street to the Lomdardi Bakery. !t was about 9am and apparently that is rush hour in this hilltop town. I think about 12-18 cars passed us while walking and waiting. Doesn’t sound like much, but when you’re walking on a street that’s only ten feet wide and the car driving through it is seven-ish feet wide . . .and there’s 30 of you walking it gets a little snug. Now I understand why those work trucks so tiny.

From the street you can see through the small glass doors into the first room containing a triple level deck over, electric and replacing the wood ovens that used to turn Tuscan dough into bread. Waiting for us are two soft and crinkled faces speaking feisty as they float across the room in flowing pastel dresses and white apron. Glowing cheeks and gloved hands beckon us to “Eat, eat!” After a buffet of pizza bread- focaccia with tomato sauce, meringue cookies, almond cookies, and sugar cookies with jam we get down to business.

The owner is 75 years old and “retired.” She has been working at Lombardi since the day she married into the fam

ily over fifty years ago. Today, like every day, except Sundays of course, she arrived at work with her daughter and two other women at 2:00am to start the day, so by now the kitchen is in full swing.

Sitting in a giant mixer is biscotti batter, today the batch (about two five-gallon pails full) is “small” since the baker’s son has gone to Sienna to deliver baked goods. While, coming out the oven are loaves of Tuscan bread. Tuscan bread is made with little to no salt according to tradition. Historically the salt was left out to boycott the government and not pay the tax on the salt.

As we moved through the bakery, our translator, Elizabeth, explained the reason for the so many small rooms with thick walls is that they way buildings were bought and constructed, a business would have to buy the rooms from their neighbors.

As we migrated outside for last goodbyes we found ourselves again cluttering the street. I think were all we sad to leave, not only the warm and deliciously scented bakery and step into the drafty alley, but to have to leave this woman we had all fallen in love with. . . “CAR!” ahh looks like I have to go too.

TOP

Subscribe to: Comments (Atom)