Culinary Agoge

My mother while searching for my name came across my personal web site and then clicked through to this blog. I’m currently working on a re-design which I had hoped to have done before the “unveiling”, although I’m happy that she was able to read about what I have been up to. Now the pressure’s on to step up my game and improve my skill. The power of the internet and specifically Google’s search is truly amazing. I’m fortunate to have a really nice and encouraging mother unlike Julie Powell’s mother as portrayed in the film Julie & Julia, so mom if you’re reading thanks for your support and get ready for some really good food!

It was another hot day today. Everyone kept talking about it and yet the heat did not bother me. My training must be making me immune to hot temperatures. I have enjoyed a relaxing weekend with family, filled with great meals and conversation. I wondered how I could top it all off.

Acton-Boxborough Farmers Market in Acton, MA

My friend Jenn started the Acton-Boxborough Farmers Market in Acton Ma. A few months ago I had helped her work on the farmers market web site and being Sunday and in the area, I had the perfect opportunity to check it out while also picking up some nice seasonal fruits and vegetables.

Farmers markets are great for what they allow you to do. They give you the opportunity to pick up fresh local food at a fair price while helping support the local economy. One thing that struck me about this particular market was the willingness of people to provide free samples of food.

Acton-Boxborough Farmers Market in Acton, MA

The vegetables in particular were diverse and some unknown to me. I often try new foods on recommendation, but allowing me to taste the food allowed me to evaluate it’s freshness as well as gain a better appreciation for what it was, how it tastes and how I might cook it. Everyone was more than willing to provide simple cooking suggestions as well as full fledged recipes. The community feel and friendly atmosphere are hard to come by at the mega-grocery store and a welcomed change.

Live music, artisans and friendly volunteers all contributed to a fun environment.

Acton-Boxborough Farmers Market in Acton, MA

Not wanting to end my culinary tour and trip down memory lane, I also stopped off at Westward Orchards in my hometown of Harvard, Ma. on my way back to the city.

The farm is owned and run by the Green family, the family of one of my High School classmates Stephanie. As I pulled in, the sign for fresh peaches called my name; I parked my car and headed to the farm stand building.  I grabbed a bag of peaches and walked around the store. I was greeted by her parents, then almost not recognizing her, was greeted with a cheerful hello. It’s amazing how after years (11 in this case) you can pick up some things in life with ease almost as if no time had passed at all. I learned of her recent engagement, talked about business, my new found love for food and cooking, old friends and generally just caught up. Noticing the bag of peaches in hand, she assured me that they were delicious and that I would be hooked. I would definitely be back, and back in less than 11 years for sure. I had no doubt she was right.

Westward Orchards of Harvard, MA

Though I longed for life in the city when I grew up, this weekend served as a reminder of how lucky I was to grow up where I did. Access to local fruits and vegetables and those who produce it is to some extent a luxury few have. The “apple town” I once scoffed at isn’t so bad after all. Don’t get me wrong though as  I do enjoy living in the city and what it has to offer, but the quaint contrast of small-town life is fun to partake in when given the opportunity.

The Brown's at Brown's Seabrook Lobster Pound in Seabrook, NH

Today I accompanied my family on some errands, the most notable being getting a new computer for my sister before school starts.  There is no better way to end a morning of errands than having a meal together at a place we used to frequent during the summer many years ago.

We first started going to Brown’s Seabrook Lobster Pound in Seabrook, NH probably because of it’s name, but also because of its simple yet delicious seafood. My family stopped here many years ago and made many return visits during my childhood. We used to go when my cousins visited from Honduras during the summer and order fresh seafood and then run across the street to eat ice cream when we were done. These were fun memories and times everyone enjoyed.

The restaurant was only 30 minutes from the mall we were at, so we decided to make the trip. At times the traffic was bad, with vacationers heading north to enjoy the beaches of New Hampshire and Maine. We remained resolute and made it to the restaurant stomachs yearning.

Brown's Seabrook Lobster Pound of Seabrook, NH

Orders were placed at the counter. My sister and father ordered lobster, fresh out of the in-house lobster tanks.

Lobster Tank at Brown's Seabrook Lobster Pound, Seabrook, NH

My mother and I ordered lobster bisque. She also had a lobster roll and I had a clam roll. Everything was well worth the wait and just as good as memory indicated it would be.

Clam Roll and Lobseter Bisque at Brown's Seabrook Lobster Pound, Seabrook, NH

The simple food and establishment brought back memories of my childhood, enjoying hot summer days eating and spending time with family. I’m glad we made the trek north together as summer comes to an end and hope we can enjoy some more outings together soon.

I live alone having moved out of my parents’ house years ago. My mother is a great cook and yet a limited resource for culinary knowledge, and to some extent a lost opportunity for learning as a result of my youthful naïveté. Maturity and the hindsight that comes with it are great aren’t they? The  cook in me has emerged through a combination of her influence, necessity and frankly reasons not yet known or fully understood. Her limited accessibility, in the form of my visits home or from her to my apartment, serves as a catalyst for my self-designed course of study involving reading, interviews, practice and hands-on instruction. My journey continues eight months in with even more enthusiasm than when it started.

As I become more immersed in the world of cooking I have been exposed to a myriad of perspectives, experiences and stories. It’s amazing to see how food, a fundamental necessity for life touches all of us in so many ways, some subtle, while others more obvious ranging from those who are either happy or resigned to eat countless plates of overcooked pasta, microwaved processed frozen meals, burnt or dry chicken and steak with repetitive monotony (yes this was me) to the master chef, armed with culinary knowledge and experience that allows for the transformations of simple ingredients into something greater than themselves.

For those who do take an interest in food and in particular an interest in cooking, I have observed and read about the many and varied ways people increase their skill through their continual process of learning. I have also observed that some people appear to be born with an innate ability and/or natural inclination to cook. Others are exposed through family and friends as part of their childhood and upbringing, allowing for cooking to become a part their identity over time. Some families pass down recipes and cook as part of tradition. Some people have an “awakening” and discover their passion for food later in life whether that be in their twenties, thirties or much later in life. Whether as a result of an awakening, tradition, a desire to follow one’s dreams, out of necessity or need for change,  some even take the step of enrolling in classes or a formal path of education. We all are different and yet still share some intrinsic common thread that makes us similar and drawn to food and cooking. We love to cook, enjoy making people happy and often strive to make each dish better than the last.

I’m curious about the path others have taken to get where they are or where they plan to go. How did you get into food? What are your aspirations? How did you get to where you are and how do plan to get where you are going?

It has been a month since I saw Food Inc. in the theater. Now just about everywhere and everything I eat I analyze, wondering where it came from re-living the haunting images of unsanitary and inhumane conditions and burned into my memory along with thoughts of genetically modified “super food”. I suffer from food source paranoia.

Perhaps paranoia is a bit strong, but I am very conscious of where my food comes from and how the animals I eat was raised and cared for and how the fruits and vegetables I eat were grown and potentially modified from their humble beginnings. Are all who are made to think about their food sources for once affected the same way?

Maybe this isn’t such a bad thing. I definitely have a deeper appreciation for what I eat, where it came from and how it came to be that grows each and every day and will along with learning cooking methods, commit to learning more about food sources and raw ingredients to gain a deeper understanding. A skilled cook can never truly perfect their craft without getting into the details and gaining a strong foundation not only in skill but in basic food knowledge.

“Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.”
- Will Durant
(US Historian, Writer, Philosopher)

Do chefs use recipes? I am willing to bet the answer to that question is “no” or “rarely”. This isn’t because recipes are bad or because they aren’t useful. They are and they have their place for sure. Recipes are a great way to pass on a dish and methods to someone else so that they can replicate something of yours. They are like a recorded history passed from person to person. They also ensure consistency which is key in the world of cooking? So if recipes are good for all these things, why aren’t they used by Chefs? The reason can be generally summed up that Chefs have an intuitive sense of cooking and more importantly method. Method and experience combined with creativity allow a chef to free themselves from recipes and cook.

I’ve been watching a lot of Chef Todd Mohr’s videos on YouTube about cooking method. He is keenly focused on the method so that one does not have to worry about recipes and can cook freely. I’ve enjoyed the many videos I have seen so far along with his quirky and enthusiastic explanations of key cooking methods with the aim of demystifying what humans have been doing since the dawn of time. His lessons are many and cover the broad range of topics on cooking and made me think even more about the learning process I am going through.

I recently purchased Michael Ruhlman’s latest book Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking which focuses on a key tool in the chef’s arsenal, the ratios of cooking. The premise is that by knowing key ratios instead of recipes you open up yourself to countless possibilities instead of a finite few. I plan to work my way through the book which will allow me to take the next step in what Chef Mohr advocates with learning method while also proving a great opportunity to use my new KitchenAid mixer, a definite bonus. I hope to gain a deeper understanding of culinary fundamentals that will help me become more comfortable and creative in the kitchen.

I still plan on following recipes as they will allow me to reproduce the dishes they outline. A key benefit of this is that after the dish is created I can use the methods I have learned to provide my own interpretation of the dish and make it my own if I choose. I’ll also be able to better understand the whys of problems I encounter when a dish doesn’t turn out as expected.

Taking blog readers along for the ride seems to be the popular trend these days with blogs like Alinea at Home, 101 Cookbooks and The Julie/Julia Project which has become a published book will make a debut as a major film in August. Following suit, I plan to take you all through Ratio in a blogging series I plan on calling Cooking Through Ratio. Who knows, maybe you’ll see my story in the theaters in a few years. Wish me luck and Bon Appétit!

Eating used to be something I just did, one of those necessary things in life that at times had highlights, but usually consisted of monotony. Eating was an act, not necessarily a pleasure. Breakfast was usually non-existent or store bought hastily on the way to work. Lunch was always purchased during the work week or a form of eggs or cereal on weekends. Dinner consisted of a random cut of meat from the supermarket cooked rare or burnt beyond recognition. Although making trips home to visit my family while also getting to enjoy a wonderful home-cooked meal are just as special, one thing has changed; the contrast between meals at home and meals made in my apartment is not as jarring as it once was.

When acquiring a new skill, vocabulary and technique are picked up along the way. With cooking this is certainly true as is a deeper appreciation for the time and effort involved in making a meal and a new perspective on the food to be enjoyed. One thing is also true of acquiring a new skill, being that a little knowledge can be a little dangerous so to speak and new found confidence can come across as snobbery.

As a culinary neophyte voraciously reading biogrpahies, cookbooks, and many other food related texts I have obtained quite a bit of knowledge and more importantly confidence in the kitchen as well as confidence about what I like and don’t like. I’ve opened up my palatte to try many new things to gain experience and in doing so am at a point where I have my likes and dislikes, views on personalities in the food world, views on food and how it should be prepared and what makes good food, and with this confidence feel more free to voice my opinion.

I’ve been thinking about my views, the knowledge I have obtained and my experiences in this short amount of time. One could ask, “Who is Eric to be making comments about food at this point in his journey? What does he know? What qualifies him?”.  I wonder to myself if my assertions and views are turning me in to a food snob or worse yet, an uniformed amateur snob, a person who thinks the know what they are talking about but really don’t know how little they know.

What it comes down to is this. Generally speaking chefs and cooks alike often prepare food as a labor of love. They enjoy cooking because they know that their meals make people happy. Wonderful textures, flavors, presentation and the culture diversity of food add to the experience of life. When I am expressing my opinion, I am doing so based on what I know I enjoy and what makes me happy. Each day I learn more about this. Bright colors, salt over sweet, simple and delicious dishes are what I enjoy. My evaluations are different than those say of a food critic evaluating a cook or chef on the merits of their skill and against those of other professionals. That is of little interest to me. My views are mere projections of my observations and my preferences.

Life is too short to continually experience meals that are not satisifying. This of course is not limited to the food or setting but is equally affected by the company one is with of course. Expensive food does not necessarily mean great food and a great meal. Sometimes the simple pleasures of home are simply unmatched. Each passing day usually imparts additional knowledge or in some way refines what I have learned up to this point. Learning is also a never-ending process filled with suspense and surprise.  This perhaps is the best part of experience of all and appreciate each new bit of knowledge I am able to acquire as well as a deeper understanding of what I like and dislike. I know that there is so much to learn and embrace the challenges that lay ahead.

NECI, Main Street Grill & Bar

This weekend I took an extended three day weekend trip with my family to Vermont. We haven’t had the opportunity to take our usual week or longer family trip this year so going up north to visit Burlington, Vermont and the surrounding towns looked like a fun way to kick back and relax before summer’s end.

Forty years ago, my mother came from Honduras to study on an academic scholarship to Vermont College, located in Montpelier. While a student, she met my father a professor at Norwich University and the rest as they say is history. My sister and I of course are evidence of that.

Since we were going to be passing by Montpelier on our way up to Burlington I thought it would be fun to combine a visit to the New England Culinary Institute, also known as NECI for short, while also visiting what was the campus of her college which no longer exists, and how now become part of NECI and other institutions such as the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Both of my parents were eager to visit the small town to relive old memories and retell old stories that are part of our family’s history. While touring the Institute we could also eat at the school run restaurant in town and the one on Church Street in Burlington. She was really excited by this and so I called the number on the NECI web site to get information about tours, the school and the restaurant and also to do some research to see if her dorm was still there.

When I called the number I asked the woman on the phone about tours. She politely informed me that there weren’t tours of the school available and that it would best to seek out students on campus to talk to them about their experience. This didn’t seem right to me. What kind of sales pitch was this? I didn’t want to spend a lot of our vacation time on a treasure hunt for buildings and students. She also was unfamiliar with the specific dorm I was looking for, which as it turns out was part of the Vermont College of Fine Arts, 100 yards from the New England Culinary Institute admission building. I began to wonder where the call center for the toll free number I had called was located. The school wasn’t that big was it? She also corrected me when I mentioned my intention of wanting to eat at the Institute’s restaurant in Burlington. Apparently that had closed down a couple of years ago too, but she was eager to point out the truly fabulous food at the Main Street Bar & Grill, the restaurant run by the Institute and its students. The loss of their flagship restaurant was not a good sign especially in the fast growing city.

Saturday we arrived and within a few minutes of driving around we found my mother’s old dorm and her room. That was easy. We walked around campus and viewed some of the buildings owned by NECI while also viewing some of the buildings that belonged to other institutions. My mother was excited and happy and we were all getting hungry. It was time to eat.

Mom's College Dorm

We made the short drive down the hill to the Main Street Bar & Grill. We had been here before many years before to eat and had a pleasurable experience although on that trip we didn’t actually drive around Montpelier as we had this time.

After a short wait for an outside patio seat we sat down and ordered our meal. Our waiter, Joshua, a student was friendly and welcoming and overall did a great job especially given the fact that he was a culinary student and only serving as part of the curriculum rotation. This is pretty much where my praise ends. Overall everyone felt that the food was pretty good but really under-seasoned. I had flashbacks to the basics cooking class I took at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts where Chef Angie told us that new cooks generally are afraid of using too much salt and usually under-season their food. Was this day one of the rotation I wondered? The dressing on my salad lacked taste as did the other components of my dishes. The dessert was in fact the best part of the meal which is fortunate because it is the last impression a restaurant gets to make on a customer, but also unfortunate as my aspirations involve the culinary program and not the baking and pastry program.

Appetizer: Asparagus, Salmon & Poached Egg Salad

Main Dish: Gnocchi

Dessert: Salted Caramel Ice Cream

Plating was another thing I noted. While we were only eating lunch, I was expecting more for presentation. My appetizer and main dish appeared as two distinct dishes while the dessert was already melted and lacked color. While not at the heart of culinary training, this is something that is important to me; a well plated dish evokes emotion and clues you into what you are about to taste. As far as showing off technique and skill, this just wasn’t doing it for me.

I asked our server about touring the facilities. He kindly informed us that we could walk to the back of the restaurant and through the back door to view classrooms and the rest of the facility. Once we were back there I was let down again, looking at the small drab classrooms. They just didn’t look inviting, and in contrast to the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts they were completely removed from the cooking setting entirely. While having an on site restaurant is a plus for any culinary school the complete separation from the classroom and kitchen didn’t feel appropriate. I also wondered where the rest of the school was. Was that the wrong question to be asking? Was this all there was?

After finishing our meal, we left to walk down the street and get a sense of the town. My parents walked and noted how much things had changed and how the area had grown and modernized. I saw a town only slightly more populated than where I grew up, a stark contrast from living in Boston, a world class city with neighborhoods and numerous cultural culinary influences and establishments. We visited the student run baker, La Brioche and sampled some of their baked goods and pastries. Delicious. Another home run for the baking and pastry program.

NECI, La Brioche

The New England Culinary Institute was the school were famed Alton Brown matriculated. I had high expectations of what the school had to offer after reading it’s web site contents and given the aptitude and success Alton Brown has attained. I left the school feeling disappointed and yet I don’t think my high expectations were misplaced especially since I have fond memories of eating at NECI restaurants in the past. I wonder what had changed, but left clearly feeling that if I did decide to pursue culinary school, this place wasn’t for me.

I may not have seen all of the buildings, fancy kitchens and labs the school had to offer, but as a someone interested in the school it just seems like I could have gotten more out of my visit with a little friendly guidance and key points of differentiation to focus on. I know when I have guests I do my best to make them feel welcomed and answer all of the questions they have. A school where I could potentially spend a large amount of my hard earned money would do well to have a similar philosophy.

KitchenAid Professional 600

I finally bit the bullet and purchased a KitchenAid Stand Mixer, The KitchenAid Professional 600 Series 6-Quart Stand Mixer to be precise. I have been agonizing over buying the mixer for months and figured that since I knew I was going to buy it anyway I might as well start enjoying it now. Besides the price dropped a bit so I decided to swoop in and buy it fast as a present to myself full well knowing that I’ll have to tighten the purse strings in the months to come.

It was delivered to my office to ensure that I received it without incident since sometimes missed deliveries get returned when I am not at my apartment, and despite the commentary from a few co-workers and jabs to my manliness, I proudly carried the mixer out of the office to my car and happily into my home. This bad boy/girl (it hasn’t been named yet) is big! I’ve oood and awed at it many times in various stores to get a sense of it’s size. I had read countless reviews and specs online, and even measured my counter and storage spaces, but all that did not prepare me for the actual machine out of the box gleaming in all it’s glory. I felt like a kid on Christmas filled with excitement and then for a moment, I stood staring at it blankly, paralyzed. I had this big piece of culinary machinery in my kitchen and I hadn’t the first clue of what I was going to do with it.

My options were plentiful making my problem even harder. The only logical kid-like thing to do was to make cookies. That choice became easy. The most popular type of cookie is chocolate chip, and so I resolved to make a batch. Coincidentally, I had purchased Michael Ruhlman’s latest book, Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking and to christen my newest cooking tool decided to try out a new chocolate chip cookie recipe, which he’s mentioned in his blog. I only had one stick of unsalted butter left and this seemed like a timely and appropriate occasion to cut the recipe in half based on the principle of ratios. Who knew that Walgreen’s and 7/11 only sell salted butter. Mise en place rears its knowing self again.

I followed the recipe as directed and was rewarded with several crispy delicious chocolate chip cookies. They weren’t perfect, took longer than expected to bake and came out with slightly burnt and jagged edges, but it’s the taste that really matters right?

Chocolate Chip Cookies: Cooling

This little guy was best of breed in this batch. I can’t wait to take a bite.

Chocolate Chip Cookie: Cooling

As much as I’d like to eat them all in one sitting, these guys are going with me on a road trip to Vermont with my family this weekend.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Last night Michael Pollan held a live video webcast on Facebook. I had just picked up my CSA meat share and stopped by my parents’ for dinner just in time to tune in. The purpose of the webcast was for Michael to take and respond to people’s questions regarding his recent film Food Inc. and about food in general.

Seizing the opportunity to to participate, I asked Michael about his thoughts regarding major media like the Food Network and their responsibility in promoting healthy food. Fortunately he remarked that it was a very good question and cited examples of TV shows on the Food Network where the shows and hosts promoted food that is woefully unhealthy for people to eat and also without any real consideration where the food came from and how it was processed. He believed that the media could do a better job at promoting healthy eating habits while still being true to their mission.

This isn’t to say that food television shows or the Food Network for that matter should change format and start preaching better eating habits. They have great television and feature shows that are entertaining and instructive showing viewers what they want to see. Individuals have their own responsibility when it comes to food choices and how they live their lives.

The webcast did make me think about this very question and its answer. The media has great influence over what we think about and how we view our food. Viewers often imitate what they see in an effort to recreate recipes or make dishes of their own. The good news is that Americans are becoming more concerned about where their food comes from and its impact on the environment and society and their health. Overtime media will evolve to reflect this and it will be easier to broadcast TV shows promoting healthier eating. The question is, should they be more proactive and try to affect change?