Wine Tasting Day

Part of my job at the Chronicle is prepping for the wine tastings each week. Its a big job. I have to open all the boxes that get delivered for a particular tasting and log the wines into a tasting sheet online by vintage, vineyard, appellation, price and importer. This week was German Rieslings.

64 little marching Germans to be precise. I had to bring them up from the cellar today via the old style elevator that you have to roll up the wooden gate, roll it back down then push the big fat button Up. Get to the designated floor then open the gate, blah, blah. The bottels must be numbered, corked and poured for 3 tasters. The only good thing was that by the 4th flight when they hit into the Spatlese's I decided to take a taste myself. I've forgotten how good those German Rieslings are since I usually drink only the more hearty reds. There was a bottle of a fabulous Robert Weil Auslese that is almost $100 a bottle. That one was really good! Really. There was a distinct difference from the other Auslese's I tasted. In the end, we got to bring home what was not deemed important to hold onto. I brought two Auslese's home.

Its a lot of heavy lifting and careful glass work. I have to carry a tray of 10 glasses filled with a sample of each wine to the tasting room. I keep praying that I won't trip and fall with my bounty of expensive wines. Its nerve wracking. Its also a lot of back and forth work. Then I have to set up all the glassware. 60 glasses keep circulating until all the tasting is finished. Which means I'm rinsing them out, repouring and redistributing. The glasses are marked with the initials of each taster and numbered 1 - 10. Each "flight" of wine is 10 glasses. There were 6 flights today plus a few odd 4 over that. Its a lot of work and not for the weak and meek.

Its sheer torture to see all these great wines and not be drunk by 2pm!

January 1, 2009

Happy New Year to You! Have you made your New Years Resolutions yet? Have you broken any yet?

2008 ended with a hugh bang. Literally.

The neighbor next door to Casa Espinoza blew off his thumb while setting off a M100 bomb. No kidding. Sad, not safe, not too bright and very painful. I'm sure he will always remember 2009 and its tragic beginning since he'll only be able to count to 9 on his hands now.

They were having a party and started the evening setting off various smaller versions of the M100 causing the police to cruise the area. It was the only real fireworks we saw besides the stuff on TV. As the night progressed and the libations were surely quaffed their nerve grew and their reflexes diminished. Why-O-why do fella's do this kind of thing? Must be some guy thing trying to out-John Wayne -each other. He apparently took the stick of (dynamite) this lethal bomb out to the middle of the street, lit it and then just kinda hung onto it for a digit of time longer than he should have. Tsk, tsk.

On the other hand (oops, sorry for the pun) his year has no where else to go but UP. [and that's not Thumbs Up]. If this didn't happen to you then you and your New Year is off to a Great start! High Five!!

How to Cook Prime Rib

For Christmas dinner the family pulled out the stops and nabbed a nice 7lb Prime Rib roast AND a 4lb roast. I was tasked with getting the job done so we had medium rare, which most of us like and a medium roast for the ones who like their meat cooked more.

First, I make a spice rub for it using garlic, about 5 -8 cloves, and a bit of kosher salt (teaspoon) in a small mortar and crush it into paste. Then I add some fresh rosemary if we have it and crush that, a pinch of crushed red pepper (1/2 tsp) and crush that. Then I add some marjoram and olive oil to make it nice and pasty/spreadable.

I rub this mix all over the roast and pop the roast into a pre-heated 500 degree oven. I give it five minutes then turn it down to 350 degrees and let it cook about 1/2 hour per pound. I do have a good digital thermometer that I test it after the alloted time. The temp I like for medium rare is 130-135. I take it out of the oven and let it sit all by itself for 1/2 hour or so. Then slice and serve. For the medium roast the temp should be about 140-145. Rest, then serve.

Don't open the oven door once you got it in there or you'll just cool things down and screw up your timing. Okay, maybe once to smell its delicious lusciousness!

I cooked both roasts in the same pan on a rack. Put them in at the same time and took them out at the same time. Since the one is smaller it cooks faster than the big one. If we had more people who liked medium roast I would have had to put the big one in first then follow with the small one. Oh, you get the picture!

The Prime Rib roast was a very nice slice of heaven!! Yum. I want a do-over!!

Back to the Kitchen Bitch!

Christmas time came and went and now its time to squeeze in more kitchen time at the Chronicle. I'll be working this next week on some new recipe testing and more writing. Fun! Here's a photo of the Chron Kitchen where I spend my days.

There are two stoves, one electric and the other gas. Naturally, I play on the gas stove. I love the overhanging pots and pans. They're so easy to find and no bending over. The natural light is great coming from that window. It really brightens up the kitchen so I can actually see when I'm cutting off my fingernails with a cleaver.

We also have two refrigerators, one for the staff and the other for the testing. The big long counter top is a must. I love that it is so long. There's plenty of room for 3-4 cooks to squeeze in, which sometimes happens. We also have a dishwasher just for the glassware (wine glasses) and the other normal one.

Its a fun playroom. I'm looking forward to working there tomorrow. I am really learning so much from working with the Chronicle Food and Wine Department staff. They are a great, intelligent bunch of hard workers.

Gratitude is a wonderful attitude.

Holiday Cheer!

I've been trying to remember to photograph all the little things to blog but darned if I get caught up in the moment and forget until it passes! Poo!! Anyway, Here are some photos of me getting into the holidays with family and San Francisco.

I like the one of the Musicians playing just the way it looks. Kinda blury and out of focus. I like it like that. Seems more magical to me. And I can't believe how elegant and beautiful the Forever 21 store looks. I went inside just to see the ceilings and chandeliers. Georgous!

There HAS to be a photo of the Powell/Hyde Street Cable Car in the SF Photo blog!! Its a must. Here it is at its 'turnaround'. So many holiday tourists riding it, that's a happy thing.

I go "home" on the weekends to visit with the Fam Damily and have some good meals and laughs. I was so happy to see the beautifully decorated tree and the whole house looked so festive and inviting. I'm looking forward to seeing it full with tables groaning from the delicacies and savory treats. Yum-Oh. Cousin Guy and Mum decorated perfectly!

I can see the Star that Deb Melmon made for Guy on the tree right in the center! How wonderful.

Cousin Paul flew in from Arizona Saturday and I got to make dinner for my 2 cousins Saturday night. I was so excited to try a whole new 'style' and break away from the usual so I settled on a Thai Theme. Mum and Papa John went to friends for a holiday standard of breaking open champagne and cracking up some fresh crab. While they had their crab feast I was peeling back shrimp and cooking up Yum Love.

I made this salad, an Asian Pear and mixed greens with Sesame Dressing and a grated carrot topping. I opted for the mixed greens instead of watercress. I wanted to use half baby spinach and half arugula but I couldn't find arugula. The sesame dressing was different for me and tasty and next time I'll add chopped roasted peanuts (good idea Guy!) for some crunch on top.

Then I cooked up some rice, chopped some cilantro and green onions and served this Thai Soup with Shrimp, Pork and Chicken, Lemon and Jalapenos. We dished the rice in the bowls, topped with cilantro and green onions then topped it off with the soup. We passed extra Chili Garlic Paste around and it was Stunningly Good! Hits the Taste Buds right where they tickle. Hot, spicy, tart and savory. Umami overload.

When I remembered about taking the photos the food was GONE! Waa. So I took the next best shot of it all gone but the recipients quite happy!

Then we rested our stuffed selves for a while playing UNO. What a laugh and a half. We had so much fun! Just what was needed to add more cheer to the holidays. Afterwards, I made dessert. OMG. This one was so easy and so good. I mean EASY. I love me my Epicurious site for finding the best things.

How easy was buying 3 glazed doughnuts, vanilla bean ice cream and making a spiced caramel sauce with banana's. You really need to try this recipe!

The sweetness of this dessert was a perfect ending to the spicy heat of the dinner soup. The soup served well with a bottle of Savignon Blanc Fume. Perfect match. I wouldn't serve it with the salad as there is far too much fat in the dressing and the wine sours next to it. It was an interesting note for my cousins to see how wine reacts with foods differently.

Oh what a night. And what a great weekend.
I hope you all enjoyed yours too.

Busology - A Commuters Guide

I'm becoming quite the bus rider to and from work these days. Its been a learning experience and one that I'm getting better (?) at daily.

There are some things I've noted however that would make riding the bus easier. I should jot them down here for those of you who commute on the bus (or soon will have to since it IS cheaper!).

#1. There is no one to complain to if things are not going your way. Understand that before you ever step on a bus. Just don't do it. You might as well just get off at the next stop and throw yourself in front of the next bus. No one cares okay.

#2. Wear earplugs if you don't want to hear the cell phone ranters, the random talkers to no one in particular, the miserable singers, and the certifiable mumblers. Also wear them if the repetitious announcements get on your last nerve turning you into one of the #2 people.

#3. Realize that some folks like to eat raw garlic or drink heavily, and think bathing is for woosies. Chew on a mint.

#4. Know that the one person boarding the bus that you don't want to come near you - will. They will sit next to you if you are sitting or stand right next to you like they were your closest family member. It's just Busology.

We have a lot of boxes that come into the Chronicle every day, mostly boxes with wine inside. I open them, break them down and recycle them. (another part of my job) I put the wines away after entering them into the computer or store them for wine tastings in the fridge. I really like the size of the boxes. They are perfect for boxing up the books I have been accumulating from school and cooking books. So I take them home. One or two every day.

I must look like I've been holiday shopping. People like that. Makes me seem real nice and thoughtful. I've also taken to carrying them like they weigh a bit. This bottom-feeding method keeps earning me a seat on the commuter bus. Not something I usually get in the mornings. But then I have more energy in the morning and can hang on better.

The bus announcements keep reminding everyone that the front seats are for the elderly and the handicapped. If a geezer gets on board someone has to give up their seat. I have now become less diligent about touching up my hair and now let some of the gray show. I'm getting pleased with my seat-nabbing gray hair.

Speaking of Hair. I saw a headline today that was too funny. Some guy pulled a judicial wig off another man in a public hearing and the headline said "Man who snatched wig will have toupee". The reporter must be new to the job. Maybe he used to work for Leno.

Today was also Wine Tasting Day. That means I had to set up for 4 tasters who were tasting 75 wines. We do 10 "flights" each time so that means I have 80 glasses set up with the initials of each taster and numbered 1 - 10 for each person stuck on with masking tape that tends to fall off after a couple of rinses. It keeps me busy. I put a tray of 10 wine glasses in front of each individual. I wait till they're almost done tasting then I pour another 40 glasses on trays of 10 each and switch them out. I take the empties and give them the next round. I rinse them all out and drain them, then I prep to repour at the right time. I try not to break too many glasses. It gets annoying to do the tape again.

I also have to go down to the cellar to retrieve the wines out of the fridge (in this case they were white wines) from chilling and bring them upstairs where the tasting occurs. Its a lot of lifting, carrying, bending and standing around. And you all thought I had a glamour job! HA

On the bright side, tomorrow is Family Meal day and photo shoot day so we'll do a lot of cooking and eating and styling (for which I get a few $). I'll be making some sandwiches with pork tenderloin, cole slaw and a relish to go on a bread bun. If it turns out good I'll share the recipe!

Cold

It's cold. For me. My Chicago friends, Cher and Joe are suffering with single digit temps but they were born in that stuff. I was born here in San Fran but it was July not December. I think that has some merit here in this little diatrabe. Maybe if I was born in December I would be having a better time of this.

Actually, its not really so bad. I love all the bundles of clothes. I like having the heat on at night and I like the blankets heavy on me. I sleep better that way.

I never thought I could get cold after living in Los Angeles for these past too many years. That place sucks for cold weather, rain, chills. I was too warm there.

It took me 20 minutes to get dressed to leave the office today. By the time I was done I looked like a blackened spiced Pillsbury Dough person. I've never had to wear thermals under my real clothes. I don't think I even wore them when I used to ski. I had knit gloves, a nice warm scarf to go around my cable knit turtleneck sweater, double pair of socks, a knit cap and my big fluffy winter proof jacket with a hood. And this is just for San Francisco! I'd perish in Chicago. I'd go down faster than Blagojechiviche or whatever.

I better head into a hot shower now then crawl under the blankey's and read a good scary novel. Now that's Christmas!

That Man, Rod Sonofavich

Okay, this is Chicago's week to be in the barrel. The Pickle barrel (it's always related to food here). I feel for ya, it's a hellava pickle. It's also really hard not to make comments on. Like Garlic Ice Cream. You can't just hear that and NOT comment something! So I will cook up a few comments on Mr. Done-of-a-vich.

1. Axed Rod and Potti Mouth Patti are currently next year's Halloween costume designers of the year. I can feel it. Think cute cement shoes, mouthwash and monopoly money sewn into the pockets. OMG.

2. I hear his hair dresser is on his hit list. I'm sorry, is that a hat? No, it IS his hair.

3. He's got real problems b/c he was born on December 10th. Way too close to Christmas to get presents twice. He's been angry ever since birth.

4. He's currenly going through his mid-lie crisis. (yep, spelt right)

5. He's in deep denial. Although most wish he was deep in da Nile.

and finally, here is Gov. Rod's interpretation of what living within his dimensions deduce to.

I be tall, dark and handsome and not dimension smart!

Not the Season to Save Money

Cold cash, credit and money-saver coupons are a bit of a memory as the holidays approach...

Darn, why do the Holidays always come at a bad time of the year. This is about as good as it gets for my Holiday Shopping. I just blogged my first present!

Now-a-days, everyone's looking for ways to hang on. (I saw a guy on the bus today having a Real Hard time hanging on. There should be a 3 drink minimum at lunch these days) Seems like smart folks all have some kind of Hedge Fund. I thought it was a good idea so I got me one of them. Trouble is, I got to feed the little guy. I hope it'll grow.

It looks like he eats pins and needles. Pretty much what I carry in my wallet.

But that doesn't mean we all can't have a nice Christmas, Kawanza, Hannuka, etc. anyway. We'll do it the old fashioned way and give each other clever Fruit Cakes and homemade stuff like already darned socks or soap.

Better yet, lets all bring out the board games and decks of cards and play together. Its really a lot of fun. More fun than opening some retarded gift like fluffly slippers, sunglasses, or a box of sushi bandaids. I found a few games that seemed like fun so I thought of adding them here for you to muse over when you are looking for a fun game night for your holiday fun. How about a hot game of Tic Tac Toast? You win even if you lose because you eat the toast after playing! Oh, what fun.

Okay then, how about a game of Crazy Cat Lady?

Humm.... Seems like this isn't going too well. You can look for yourself on this site. http://www.mcphee.com Good luck with your holiday shopping!

Lamb Stew

I made a tasty lamb stew yesterday at work with lentils and barley, zucchini, tomates, onions and garlic. It was the brainchild of one of the staffers. It was perfect for a nippy winter day. I didn't have my camera with me so I don't have a photo but I found this one on the web to get you started.


Catch yourself a nice spring lamb if you can. If not, jam over to the market and buy some already de-sprung. A pound and a half of loin cut. Cook your lentils and barley (1 cup each) in two different saucepans because they fight and argue if you mix them. Mostly in your intestines but they will disagree unless you separate them. One cooks faster than the other; barley is the de-caffinated (slower to cook) one so give it 20 minutes simmering. I used little orange lentils for the other and they took only 5 minutes to cook. Drain and reserve aside. You don't have to put them in separate bowls anymore because the boiling hot water took all the life out of their argumentativeness.



Why, Orange lentils are so cheery looking don't you agree? (little ugly doll not included in box)



Chop up your lamb (1 1/2 lbs) in bite sized pieces, something that would fit on your spoon with room for the other ingredients, and salt your meat [this is not where the term Salt Peter originated BTW] (I use kosher salt on my sacri-fish-el meats because the Cooking Bible told me so) and set it aside.

Chop up 1 1/2 cups of onions and mince about 4 garlic cloves real tiny. Or not. Basically, its how small you want it right? I like garlic so I would chop them the size of the lentils. What we're looking for here is stuff that is chopped in a consistant size. Why you ask? Because we're anal about little things like that. Let's move on here without too many questions shall we?

Take a big skillet and heat it up. Add about 2-3 Tablespoons of oil and get that nice and hot, not global warming hot,



and add the meat to sear it (you took the globe out first right?). It should sizzle when added. Cook it up till its all cooked and removed it to a bowl while you do the next step.




Saute the onions (chopped small remember) in the fun fond that is left from the sprung lamb, moving and stirring them to pick up all the pieces of what's left on the bottom of the skillet. Then add the garlic and as soon as you can smell the aroma of the heavenly goodness that is garlic shut off the stove run out of the house and give prayerful thanks from the rooftops for garlic. Okay, don't shut the stove off. Keep right on going....you can do it, I just know you can.

Add 3 cups of chicken broth and 3 tablespoons of sherry and 3/4 cup of water to the onions and garlic and bring it to an easy sleezy simmer. It should look way better than this photo below. If not, you've done something regrettably wrong and should get the hell out of a kitchen you moron.


Moving on. Add the meat, lentils, barley and smally chopped zuchini and tomatoes. I used 3 zuchini and 1 large tomato [all still chopped to that insy binsy size] to the whole she-bang. Let it cook 10 minutes and Presto! You have something to eat that didn't cost too much and should feed about 6-8 guests. Serve with a nice Central Coast Syrah or a bottle, box or jug of your favorite crapola. I really don't care.


The point is - a heart meal that I could dish up for you on my blog along with my side dishes of sarcastic humor. Job Done.

Oops. I Ate a Burger King Cheese Burger.

Yep, thas right, I et myself a Burger King burger. With fries too. Its been years since I had one and for some reason it just sounded right.

There I was doing the good thing eating my fresh vegetable soup at Casa Espinoza when my dear cousin Guy bust in the house and dashed about asking if anyone wanted anything from Burger King. He was on a mission to get burgers, and get them NOW.

I so admire people what have a mission. I wanted to be part of his important mission so I volunteered myself for one. And fries. And diet coke please.

It was fun eating normal fast food with the family. Like I was almost normal. Auntie didn't quite believe I was really going to eat it but I did. It was good. And fun.

But, to redeem my School I did make dinner tonight. I stuffed cornish game hens with garlic and spices and roasted them in the oven. I made a nice batch of wild rice and some fresh shitake mushrooms sauteed with butter, garlic and some crushed red pepper then added fresh asparagus to the skillet after the mushrooms gave off their juices and cooked them down with a little basting of giblet broth I had going on the stove from the hens.

We topped it all off with a slice of pumpkin pie from the two I made yesterday at Casa Espinoza's. It was all good. Saturday night fast food, Sunday night a respectable dinner. The holidays are getting in gear, I feelz it.

I'll Have a Slice of Life Pie, Please

Thanksgiving Day fell on my dearly loved Grandmother's birthday this year. She was all of 96 years yesterday! She's still getting around on her own, living in her own home, having ups and downs but still moving forward.

She tells us she can't really taste her food anymore, everything pretty much tastes the same. She can't hear us very well either, so we have to speak REAL LOUD close to her ear. But she sits there and eats with us and watches us talk, eat, laugh, and laugh some more.

Grandma had a loving audience of 3 of her daughters, Rachel (in orange), Alicia (in the middle) and Grace (at the far end).

Grandma's dearly loved son-in-law, my Uncle John (aka Papa John) was chief Carving Master for the turkey; grandson's Paul and Guy, were present for wit and wisdom and myself, her first granddaughter watching her watch us.

My Aunt Rachel did all the cooking for us, and did an excellent job too! She brined the turkey and it came out with a beautifully tanned skin, extra crispy, and a moist, meaty, plump and juicy interior. Nice Job. All the usual comfort foods were in attendance as well with a real nice giblet gravey.

Everyone did their best to pitch-in and make the afternoon come together as one happy occasion, which it was. I think Grandma had a very wonderful birthday. We brought out the cake, sang the birthday song while her daughter Gloria was calling in from Florida, singing along. It was so cute to see our little "Princessa" cutting her cake and talking on the phone. So 2008!

After the cake ceremony we all settled down to a game of Taboo. We aren't much on reading directions on packages but we are great at listening to the directions of others telling us how to play. (as it turns out, I saw 4 Christmas's today and we were playing it wrong!). Regardless, we had so much fun bungling things up nobody really cared.

It was a family evening together that I haven't experienced in a long time. It was fun! Everyone got along, everyone was happy and everyone wanted to play the game. No Poop-Heads! Yea!

It was a great day of Thanksgiving for everyone I think. Perhaps not the turkey but he was greatly appreciated nevertheless and was almost the center of attention for most of the day!

We set a nice little table for him too. God Bless you Tiny Tim the Turkey.

Hoping everyone had a Thanksgiving was just as lovely in it's own way.

SPAM - Stuff Posing as Meat

What with all the upcoming holiday cooking to be done, I got to thinking about SPAM as a food product. In my research I was surprised to know that the United States is the largest consumer of SPAM! I have personally Never eaten it nor do I know of anyone who has, yet this ‘meatloaf with no training’ is consumed in huge quantities in my own country. It is also known as ‘ham that failed its physical.’

According to Hormel’s trademark guidelines SPAM should be spelled with all capital letters and treated as an adjective! HA. Boy do I have a few adjectives to throw at Hormel. ‘Hideous’ is the first that comes to mind closely followed by ‘Questionable’ and ‘Gut-Wrenching’.

Many questioned the naming of the product. Why S-P-A-M? Did it mean Something Posing as Meat? Or, Stuff, Pork and Ham? Or how about Spare Parts Animal Meats? No one knows.

I also found out that there are 12 varieties of SPAM sold. TWELVE!! SPAM Classic wasn’t enough, they went and made stuff called “SPAM, Less Sodium” like you’re eating this meat posing product and you’re worried about your salt intake?? Then there’s SPAM Singles. This would be the one to eat if you want to eliminate your social life. Where is this stuff? I’ve Never seen it in a store here in California or any store I’ve ever been to.

Apparently SPAM is very popular in Hawaii. I think people in the Mainland think of SPAM as Poor People’s Meat Product but being heavily consumed in Hawaii I guess SPAM is considered a good thing. Therefore, other canned food meat such as Treet or SMEAT is considered Poor Peoples SPAM. I guess.

In keeping to that line of thought maybe we need to rename some of the less desirable neighborhoods, like where I live in the Tenderloin, and call it the Spam Valley neighborhood. I like that name better.

Some other ideas came to mind. If SPAM is so darn popular and it is a world-wide phenomenon then let’s have an Iron Chef edition with SPAM! I can see it now. Chef Bobby Flay will make an Escargot and SPAM Omelete – a fancy version of the Slow Food Movement. Then one of the competing Chefs will try and kick it up a notch and make SPAM Confit! That is SPAM slow cooked, completely submerged in duck fat.

I think you may be able to buy a can or two as stocking stuffer’s this year. What a Treet. That and a nice jar of pickeled pig’s feet and you’re set. Okay, splurge and throw in a bottle of Okra Chutney.

I even found a recipe for SPAM Upside Down Cake! It was from 1945. You line an 8 inch ring mold with SPAM slices and fill it with boxed bisquit dough laced with tiny cubes of more spam. Bake at 425° for 40-45 minutes, cool and serve. The recipe suggests filling the center with a nice tart cheesey sauce [emphasis on cheesey].

I found that there are SPAM lovers in almost every country in the world! Who Knew?! I am completely amazed. This important food immigrates faster than a few of my former husbands.

I Want a Do-Over!!

This is a picture perfect day in San Fran. Blue skies, cool weather (my favorite) and I am sitting here wishing I could be going to Forbes Island again for dinner with my pals Cher and Joe! Oh I miss those two.

We had such a terrific time together that October night. The restaurant is so very cool too. Joe got such a kick out of all the seals and sea lions basking on the pier, and Cher jumped in her seat when she caught a glimpse of a fish swimming by the port hole.

We all had a fantastic dinner experience but the company was priceless! I want a do-over with my buddies from Chicago. Maybe I should have some cheese to go with my whine.

Like any college environment, cooking school had its little silly 'frat jokes', its just that our pranks are food related. The only danger is to your ego. I'll miss some of these if just for their entertaining value.

Often when beginning a new 3 week class we would find 'new' students among us. Like little sea creatures that beached themselves. Some we liked and would help back to the sea of life making friends of them along the way; while others found themselves amid hostile islanders with sharp-tounged instruments.

It was difficult for anyone new coming into a class that had been forged together since day one without them feeling like they were an outsider. Our group fortunately held together as best as possible pretty well with only 55% fallout. That's actually a good number. Other classes were not as lucky as our class and had lost even more. The splintered groups or remianing individuals would then be blended with another class when efficiency required. While it may have served the Academy it wasn't a dream move for the stray sheep.

Teams were made and wasted by the injection of someone no one seemed to find acceptable. As a rule, most new-comers were there because they failed a previous class once or twice and were required to re-do it. Those of us who showed up everyday and worked hard didn't care for the lack of work ethic which, on average, never improved anyway. Neither did their cooperation or utter lack of even simple culinary knowledge.

To these misfits we would initially send them on a quest to find a little known magical kitchen tool, or better said, "imaginary tool". When we were elbows deep in slimy goo we would find the nearest slacker and ask if they could please get the: Rice Peeler; Orriechette Imprint Stamp; Get me a Sprig of Walnut; and finally, after several failed searches, simply ask them to help set up the Voice Activated Credit Card Machine. By then, even the most tatoo'd knew where they stood with our class. Brother Phil was a big promoter of the infamous rice peeler and VM CC machine. He's a funny guy. I'll bet he's still thinking of when he can ask a newer intern than him where these toys are out in Colorado where he is interning. A leopard doesn't change its spots.

You'd be surprised how long it could take a slacker to find non existant items and still pass a class.

Sadly, I say goodbye to the fun of watching blank faces searching in vain for the Holy Kitchen Grails. Ha Ha Ha.

Want to Put a Glo on Your Face?

This is my post for saving you some money during these difficult financial times. I'm in a do-gooder mood. I'm sharing with you my recipe for a healthy, nutritious, easy, speasy dinner for the coming winter months while saving you money. Think of it as my early Holiday Present to you all.

I'm sure that most of you college-educated types have done this in your dorms before. I don't claim any rights to anything here except that I have a blog that I'm posting it to.

I have Top Ramen noodles that I buy by the dozen for like a dollar. That's good. I then buy some chicken stock in bulk, which you can find deals on at this time of the year to save $. Depending on your vegetable preferences and amount of times you expect to be eating this Soup buy your appropriate amount of seasonal fresh vegetables to blend in the soup. I'll often buy a chicken thigh with the skin and bone in for the extra flavor it provides and it has cost me about $1.05 here in the City per thigh and to give me the daily portion of protein I need.

I heat up my electric burner, put the pot and stock on to heat, add the chicken to boil and simmer cooking for at least 25 minutes. I'll remove the thigh, debone it and remove the skin and toss and chop up the meat to re-add. In the meantime, I add the longer cooking veggies first like carrots, brussel sprouts, broccoli, califlower etc. and let them cook for about 5 minutes. Then I'll add the next batch of veggies like a squash, green onions, garlic, and Ramen Noodles without the spice pack. I'll let them cook for about 2 minutes then for the last minute I'll add the delicate stuff like spinach or other quick cooking leafy greens and chopped tomatoes if I'm in the mood.

When this is all done I pour it in a big bowl and dinner is served! I may add hot sauce (mexican style) or not. Its all up to you. I love this soup so much that I can practically eat it 3-4 nights a week! Not just because its Cheap!

I hope you like my little $ saver. It works, tastes good, is healthy, and inexpensive. What more could we want before the holidays? OH YEAH! Its LOW IN CALORIES!!!!!! Am I just cool or what?! The whole package here. Enjoy.

I Feel FUNNY Coming On

Of course I may be wrong. Like when someone feels they're coming down with a cold but don't. I've been working on a little research project for my blog and it has taken a life of its own. I may have to do it in parts. I think it is humorous but then I thought my brother getting hit in the head with a bat was funny too once.

Either way, I'll publish it because I've lost all sense of write and wrung. I hope to get it uploaded soon. Please check back. You can always leave your comments on the "hit or miss" of the project. I need feedback since I really care about your opinion. No, really.

It is food related. Afterall that's why I went into some serious debt this last year so that I could at least pontificate with an astounding lack of impressive credentials for Blog Writing. I feel that I should start at the bottom of the food chain now and work my way up in my next lifetime.

So please check back to see where all my therapy dollars also went.

The List of the Good and Bad

Good Things About Not Being in School Anymore

No More Fire Drills

Got Rid of the Cement Weight Kitchen Shoes

No More Running for the Free Shuttle

No More 5:30am Wake Ups

Threw Out the Commis Cap (really stupid hat)

My feet are showing signs of life

No need to carry around the 20 lb knife and tool bag

No more being stuck with teams that don't work out

Sad Things About Not Being in School Anymore

No More Free Food

No More Meeting at Dos Pinas for $10 Corona Buckets on Friday's

No More Teaming Up with Teams that Work

Having to Take the City Bus and Pay

My Butt is Losing Feeling from Sitting a Lot

Still No Kitchen to Use the Knives and Tools in

A Lot More Real Life Stress

No More Counting on the Chef's for the Answers

Everyone's Gone....

Week Two Ahead

Well, I finished my first week at the Chronicle and it was indeed interesting. They are so busy with the upcoming holidays that I'm learning by default. The best thing I liked about last week was "family meal" which comes each Thursday. On Thursdays we cook many recipes, the interns and the staff, and at 1:30 we set up a buffet in the kitchen and we all eat together in the large conference room.

They talk shop, which is very interesting for me as a newbie, we eat, sample wines that were tested that week (tiny amounts) and just become human together. It was quite nice to see and be a part of. I'm looking forward to family meal this week as well. As long as turkey is not on the menu!

Turkey or Bust!

OMG! We have been testing several turkey recipes these last few days at the Chronicles test kitchen in time for Thanksgiving. I may just bring my own hot dog and peanut butter to this year's holiday dinner. I don't think; scratch that; I KNOW I can not eat another piece of Turkey for another year.

I wish that bird would just grow feathers and fly the coup.

However, the good side was that I got to do some food styling today for which I will actually get dollars for the effort. Yea Me. One was a piece of cheese (hey, we gotta start small right) that was featured with in the Wine Section and then this evening I put together a plate of a traditional Turkey dinner. I got to work with the photographer on that one. He is a very nice guy. He really made me feel welcomed and not like the newbie I am. Thanks Craig.

One of my other tasks is pouring out all the wine that was tested for the Wine Tasting on Wednesday. That was somber duty. Amen.

I tossed 51 bottles of champagne. That's right. Fifty-one. Then I tossed the countless bottles of Red and White. I felt like I just ended a bad wedding. At a good wedding there are empty bottles. Of course it is best to do this task first thing in the morning since one does not feel the temptation one might at say, 7pm. I don't own a Boda Bag. Yet.

I'm coming up to my First Week at the Chronicle! 11 more weeks to go then its "kick her to the streets" (as agreed). I'm busy at night thinking on what the next path will be.

Life is quite the adventure. Bon Voyage.

Cooking for the Chronicle

Today was my first day at the San Francisco Chronicle's Food and Wine Department. It was a cool morning but well past my usual 5:30am wake up. I boarded the Muni bus in nice weather for my short ride to Market Street and 5th then proceeded to walk the remaining few blocks to the Chronicle.

I have come to find out that the F&W dept. don't get in on Monday's until around 10ish (insert smile here). My regular hours are 9:30 till 5pm (ditto the smile here). Once everyone was in and settled I got to my first assignment of cooking turkey legs and breast's confit; meaning cooking the legs submerged in duck fat for 3 hours and the breasts to 135 internal temp then letting it sit in the confit another 20 minutes. I cleaned and prepped the turkey, cut it up, took out the wishbone and got things going.

Well, it turned out the breast recipe didn't cook well enough at 135 degrees so next time it should be about 150ish then let it sit. We need to follow directions explictly at first then make our notations for any changes after.

Next on the list was Cardamom Ice Cream. I love the smell of cardamom seed pods. They are so aromatic. The ice cream was a slice of heaven when it was done. Tomorrow I'll be making pumpkin pies to go with it. Yummm.

There were a lot of dishes, pots, pans and cleanup but it was so pleasant working in a kitchen that is more like a home style kitchen than the big monsters I was used to at school. There is another student from the CCA there too. I know her from our Newspaper Club at CCA so that was nice to see a familar face. The gal who oversees me is also a CCA grad. The three of us were sharing the kitchen today cooking up individual recipes the writers are doing articles on. When we are done cooking we all taste test them, make any corrections and possibly re-do the recipe tomorrow.

I got my security pass and internet access late today so tomorrow I'm set to go. The ride home on the muni was fine and quick. It's a bit crowded but it sure saves on parking. Since this is an internship there is no pay so I must find ways to save, save, save. Gotta make it through the end of January at this gig to get my Cordon Bleu certificate. In the meantime, I need to get started on trying to find a "real" job. Yikes...

I feel like I'm stuck on Disneyland's "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride". Scary.

Chef Patrick's Secret!

Our humungeous Political Luncheon on Election Day was such a hit it made several San Fran political blogs such as www.sfbg.com/blogs/politics/2008/11/election_day_luncheon_in_sf.html and www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/04/BAGO13TUEL.DTL

Former Mayor Willie Brown was there as well as U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein and Attorney General Jerry Brown.

They gave their accolades to our School President, Jennifer White and she in turn came to give all 7 of us tattered and used up zombies her praise. It meant a lot. Pretty cool that we can also use that event on our resumes.

But back to the Master Chef that put it all together and guided us on our way to our personal nervous breakdowns, Chef Patrick! Gotta love that Frenchie. He knows his stuff and I only wish I knew what was in his head too. Eh, change that.... I'm talking strickly culinary stuff here. Something tells me there is actually more going on in his head than I need to know.

But one thing I think I may have possibly figured out is the way he keeps himself so calm, patient and fun. He MUST have a Xanax Atomizer Spray Bottle hidden away somewhere in the kitchen!! Or, he is simply an alien from another planet.

How does a guy wake up in the morning knowing he'll have a luncheon for 200 people while he has only 7 students to cook? How does he keep his shit in one sock when he later finds out that it will be 400 people? How does he know how much food to make? Oh yeah, just empty the walk-in refridge and put things together that no one ever thought of.

Take our "family meals" for instance. On mornings when we have extra time, someone will be assigned to make the family meal. This is for all of us in the kitchen and those serving out in the restaurant.

I never would have imagined that I would be scarfing up Vegetable Lasagne with Collard Greens, Bechamel Sauce and a tomato sauce for breakfast. (collard greens 'cuse we ran out of spinach). I mixed that with eggs scrambled by Ruben (my buddy Roobie) with mushrooms and who knows what else, (I call it mystery eggs); then the Veal Cheeks in a Hearty Red Sauce. The Orichiette pasta with meaty tomato sauce was good too. That was Breakfast!

This morning, family meal was slices of NY steaks, mashed potatoes, hash browns, and scrambled eggs. There was a lot of fruit left over from a fruit platter so I ate that during the morning work. I never knew breakfast could be so interesting. My stomach doesn't fully agree but hey, we have to try to just get along. Stomach is hungry, I have food, Let's Make a Deal.

I'm going to make a final ditch effort to find Chef ("Jeff" as Phil and I call him) Patrick's Atomizer Spray bottle. I know it has to be somewhere nearby. No one is THAT cool.

But maybe Jeff is.... I'll miss you Jeff!

Life in a Blender

Today was the hardest day of my schooling. The CCA hosted local politicians to a luncheon buffet which included Mayor Newsome and probably Jerry Brown showed. I don't know since I was busy trying to avoid my nervous breakdown from all the work we had to do.

Other classes were also involved, since it was a special event for Election Day. We had pastries from the Baking Classes, all the terrines, gallantines, sausages, and cold specialties like huge-mungeous fruit and cheese platters from the Advanced Garde Manger classes, and then there was the hot buffet items that our class, Restaurant Production, made. Mind you, there are only 7 of us in this class. We prepped a ton of food yesterday and had a ton more to cook today.

I had to prep Salmon, Cod, Trout, and Sea Bass. A lot of it. My hands still smell like fish. I also prepped a full huge ham yesterday and made a garlic-ginger sauce for it from the bones in the ham, I wish my hands smelled like ginger. I sliced up two full big cooked turkey breasts, hacked up some baked chicken legs and thighs and refilled chaffing dishes and empty platters to return to the buffet line. There was a leg of lamb cooked and sliced, pork chops, NY steaks, chicken breasts and veal roasts; we had vegetables, mashed potatoes, lasagne, pasta with sausage sauce, and on and on.

In the end, the Chef said we had 450 guests between 11:30 and 1:30!! I cannot believe it but my back and feet really believe it. It was amazing. 7 of us cooked hot foods for 450 people during 2 hours. We should get some kind of award or something for even showing up for this event. It was really madness at its finest. I had no clue I could do such work and I don't want to do it again! Our Chef is absolutely incredible. He had to think of all the things we had to do and every 15 minutes someone was calling for him or asking instructions. I don't know how he does it but he truly deserves his title of Master Chef. I'm in awe of him.

Where In The World Is Waldo (and Debra)?

Word was that I've been reported missing in the blogsphere; but I am now found. I stepped away for a while to do some life patching. Something like making a quilt, only a bit more difficult. Ripping out threads that have needed redoing and finding some cheeryier fabric to continue on with. I'm in a renewing process and just hope my ol'machine doesn't deconstruct. You don't wanna mess with cranky old machines - they have a life of their own sometimes.

Enough obteuse-ness. (is that a real word for Scrabble?) Anyway, I'm in my LAST FOUR DAYS of school!! I CANNOT believe it. One whole year has passed and I feel each and every sidewalk crack for it. Its been a fun year getting to know my classmates and working in so many kitchens for so many chefs; its been a most difficult year dealing with the loss of my previous life and family connections and some serious health issues; its been a blessed year just because I'm here writing about it and because I have a very dear family here close by who have helped me so much; and its been a huge one for the passing of my dad. All in one year. I'll call this One Year of a Soup with many ingredients.

During these last four days we are in our Restaurant Production class. Today we had our Mystery Basket competency, which is a menu that the Chef picks for us to cook within a certain time frame. If you forgot how to make something basically you were hosed. Chef separated our class in half (since our class is now only 6 or 7 students) and the first group made their menu while the rest of us prepped for a Huge Buffet that the school is hosting tomorrow for San Francisco's Political Finest (is that a Scrabble word? Nah, no such thing) for Election Day. We will have about 150 persons or resonable facsimiles of them.

Basically, we rummaged through our Walk-In Refrigerator, which is close to half the size of my entire dwelling. Anything was game ('scuse the pun) for cooking. There are lots of veggies I hope we have a heavy sauce for since they have passed some prime time in the fridge. It was a day of repetitive work. I personally took all the hard cheese pieces, portions and bits and shredded them all. My right hand thumb is still angry with me for having to hold onto little pieces of hard cheese and shredding them and my fingers in the process. Ouch.

During the second half of the morning the other half of our class had to make our mystery menu. The second half was Sommer, Phil and myself and we all had the same menu to make. We had a Mushroom Risotto to present at 11:30; an Apple, Nuts and Greens salad with a vinigarette dressing set for 11:45; then we had to make a steak, pommes frites (french fries), mayonnaise side with some zucchini that were "tourned". We all came up with pretty much almost the same presentations which was kind of odd. Even our garnishes. Sommer's risotto was the winner, Phil's salad got the medal and my steak and fries were killer. I was happy. Can't win them all but at least I was in the running.


I'm going to miss my classmates and working in the kitchens. But I am looking forward to working at the San Francisco Chronicle in the Food and Wine department! I can't wait to start writing articles and working with food and wine pairings. I've got my hopes pinned on doing some restaurant reviews too. That would be FUN! But, I don't know if they will give that position to an intern... We'll see. Wish me luck!

4 More Days. Much better than 4 More Years of the present Administration! Go out and Vote tomorrow!!!!

Friday Wrap Up

The Advanced Garde Manger class is now over. I really liked the work we produced but it was a hugemongous amount of hard work. These last two classes have been production classes, meaning that we were working all week for the Friday Buffets for our public restaurant.

This week my buddy Phil and I had to make a vegetable terrine with an egg salad and accompanying Horseradish Sour Cream sauce; and a pheasant balantine with a mushroom salad and a watermelon mango salad - both with different dressings. Everything was running smooth until Phil-e-mon sliced off a nice section of his right thumb on the meat slicer. Yikes! He had to go to the hospital and they gave him some fake skin to stop the bleeding and a huge bandage for his efforts. Oh, I felt so bad for him.

I was Very Careful when using the slicer. I had to slice salami's and cheeses today and used serious care in the process. Even cleaning it scares me!

Then we plated our weeks work on big presentation mirrors. We got very artisic with designs, fruits and cheeses along with our terrines, ballantines and gallantines, smoked turkeys, salamis, and other assorted combinations. They looked gourgeous! I forgot my camera so I'm waiting for another student to send me the photos.

What a busy week. Next and FINAL class is our restaurant production class. I can't believe I've been here one year now. Amazing. On November 10th I start work at the San Francisco Chronicle. Pretty darn amazing. Do I feel different? Yes, I do feel like I know a lot more than I did coming in. I just need more time in a kitchen!! Can you believe that?! I've got the obsession I guess. I really love to cook.