Good Times in the Kitchen

    I’ve been having lots of fun cooking these days, maybe even too much fun. There’s a loaf of homemade Portugese bread, crunchy with cornmeal, sitting on the counter. I don’t even bother to put the bread knife away. Chocolate chip cookies, made with browned butter to give them the perfect taste and chew, wait patiently in the freezer. The mushroom risotto Rouxbe (the online cooking school) taught me to make is almost as good reheated as it was the first time around. I even went so far as to make scrambled eggs for breakfast (I hate breakfast) the other day because I wanted to use my newly acquired knowledge of egg cookery. I stirred them endlessly over low, low heat and they turned into a silken, creamy mass. Delicious.

     The preliminary egg lesson was fascinating. Once you understand the structure of an egg and what happens to it as it ages in its carton, all the different ways to make an egg become understandable. For instance, if you want to hard boil an egg, less fresh ones are easier to peel because a large air pocket has formed at the larger end, making it the perfect place to start removing the shell. You can even tell if it’s older because instead of lying horizontally in a bowl of water, the air pocket will cause that end to rise. And if you don’t want that gross gray/green ring around the yolk, it’s necessary to place the cooked eggs in a cold water bath to prevent oxidation. When poaching, fresh eggs are essential because much of the white of the egg will have thinned in an older egg, and rather than clustering around the yolk, it will make a feathery mess. I was intimidated by the over-easy fried egg however. I think it’s probably impossible to explain the flip of the wrist necessary to make the eggs do a somersault and remain in the frying pan. It looks easy in the video, but until I can get the instructor in my kitchen, cleaning cloth in hand, I don’t know that I’ll try it.

     I had never understood Ken’s love of risotto until I made it at home.I wonder if I’m just totally prejudiced because it’s something I’ve made, or if it really is better than what I’ve tried in restaurants. Making something so creamy with practically no fat (except that used to saute the flavoring vegetables and the rice in the beginning - a relatively tiny amount) is a miracle. I used shallots, crimini and shitaki mushrooms, vermouth, and the last of my homemade chicken stock (I can’t believe I’ve actually used it all up - will I make a new batch...?). Made the traditional way, risotto is a very labor intensive dish. The liquid has to be added in small increments and be fully absorbed before adding more. I found it took about five to six minutes for the rice to drink up the stock, which meant I couldn’t leave the kitchen and do other things. I ended up rearranging shelves. Actually, the aroma made it worth hanging around the kitchen, and when I added the Parmesan at the end, and watched it melt, all the waiting was forgiven. Rouxbe even told me the trick restaurants use when risotto is on the menu. After adding about three-quarters of the liquid, you spread the risotto out on a large flat tray, like a cookie sheet, and refrigerate it. Before serving, you put it back in the pan and finish the process with the remaining stock. Actually, now that I think about it, maybe that’s why I never liked the restaurant versions all that much.

     I’m still using the $10 I get each day we don’t eat out to buy culinary toys. I just ordered a kitchen scale, bundt and loaf pans, and a book about baking with whole grains. Fun.

Toy Shopping

     I’ve become a collector of culinary toys. The more involved I become in the online program, the more I become involved in cooking in general. This leads me to new techniques, and therefore to new “must-have” cookware and gadgets. I scour the internet food blogs for recipes, then go to Amazon to look for the tools. 

     Amazon often has a 4-for-3 program, which means you buy four things which are covered by this program (a huge number of items) and get the lowest priced one for free. In addition, shipping is free, and there’s no tax. I’ve bought silicon tongs, a fruit reamer, a cast iron skillet, and a group of things I’m using today for the first time: Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day (a book), a pizza stone on which to cook the bread, and a pizza peel to transfer the bread onto the stone. Right now my first loaf of bread is cooking - it smells gooood. And it really was easy. But how will it taste?

     If it sounds like I’m spending a lot of money, I am. But what makes it acceptable to me (a real tightwad) is that Ken is transferring $10 a day to me for each day that we don’t go out to eat. Since we had been eating out every day, at least once a day, and now we’re down to three or four days a week, we’re saving lots of money, even though groceries cost a little more. I’m a lot pickier now about where we dine, especially since I still want to write about new places in Valley Vittles.

     A few days ago we went on a field trip (since we’re eating out less we have to find other activities) to Standard Restaurant Supply at 2922 E. McDowell. This is a very large free-standing building crammed with, you guessed it, culinary equipment. It was like Christmas in June! I found some items that I had seen on Amazon - some were a little cheaper (although the difference disappeared with the tax), some a lot. It was just so much fun to rummage through the racks. After about half an hour Ken had had enough, and I had spent my available “funny” money. For $68 I got:

a five piece set of Pourfectl mixing bowls - look them up online, they’re

very interesting ($34)

a set of basting brushes

a ladle to defat stock

a set of measuring spoons

a dough scraper

a rolling pin

a scoop for shaping cookies or meatballs

a 9x9 silicon baking pan

We only covered about a third of the store in that time, and will certainly go back. I know I can come up with lots more things I have to own.

     I just sampled my bread. It didn’t rise a lot, but it tastes delicious. The crust is nice and crackly, and the “chew” is just right. Another couple of loaves and I should feel like a pro - then I’ll start experimenting with different types of flour and add-ins. Yum.

Roux The Day

     Those 24 cups of stock in my freezer were just eating away at me, so I decided my next set of lessons would be the making of sauces. The classic, creamy sauces like veloute and bechamel start out with a roux. A roux is an amalgam of melted butter and flour, whisked over medium heat. The longer it spends on the burner, the darker and more aromatic it becomes, but the less liquid it will absorb - something I didn’t know. So a really dark roux, used primarily in Cajun cooking, is there for the flavor, not to thicken the sauce.

     The second, and very useful, thing I learned was that I had been making my roux too thick and pasty by using equal amounts of butter and flour, something I think most home cooks do (and what most recipes will tell you to do). If you use more butter your roux will have a smooth texture and will absorb the liquid much more easily. Pouring the warmed liquid slowly into the roux, stopping frequently to whisk it in, results in a beautiful, smooth sauce which requires very little simmering at the end of the process to be properly thick.

     But now I had a problem - a saucepan full of lovely veloute sauce made with my slaved-over chicken stock. What to do with it? I had no chicken, so chicken pot pie was out of the question. After rummaging through my cupboards and refrigerator, all I came up with were some wilty vegetables and a can of corn kernels. Corn soup! Something Ken loves, so he ran to the Russian grocer to buy some interesting ham to add to the pot. It made a delicious lunch, and I had a good learning experience. Before I rush into doing the practice exercises that accompany each Rouxbe lesson, I need to check my supplies so that I’m cooking with a purpose.

     Chicken with pan gravy coming up!

Stalking the Stock

    Having learned about knife skills (though certainly not yet mastering them), I decided to stick with the basics and learn about making stock, one of the essentials of good cooking. I’ve never been particularly happy with store-bought stock, although now you can buy a lower sodium version which is more acceptable. I knew it wouldn’t be easy finding the requisite bones - in this case, chicken. I called Albertson’s and Whole Foods and neither clerk knew what I was talking about. “Bones? We sell chicken legs and wings - is that what you mean?” No, not really, especially since I had asked about necks and backs. Then the light bulb went on - the kosher grocery!! If anybody would be butchering chickens, it would be Segal’s, the only sizable Kosher grocery in Phoenix. I phoned, and sure enough, the butcher said he had about 3 pounds (the recipe called for 6), and he’d be happy to bone out a few more chickens for me.

     I hadn’t realized how much space 6 pounds of bones would take up. If I put them all in my largest pot, they’d be up to the brim, and I’d only be able to fit in a few cups of water. So I ended up with two pots on the stove. You’re supposed to start with cold water, and bring it slowly to a simmer. Try getting cold water out of the tap in Phoenix in the summer!! I had to use all our refrigerated drinking water. Then you have to watch like a hawk to make sure no boiling occurs, all the while skimming whatever fat and foam rise to the surface. Do you get the feeling I wasn’t happy? What I was was exhausted. And I wasn’t too pleased with the insipid taste of the finished product either. I was in such a foul mood I contemplated throwing the whole thing down the drain, but better sense won out and I put the pot in the refrigerator, hoping that the flavors would meld overnight.

     Good move. After skimming what little bit of fat remained on the surface, I heated up a cup of stock to sample. It was a revelation! Tasting fresh and clean, with none of the heaviness or saltiness of the store bought variety, it was the essence of chicken. I drank a second cup and marveled at what I had created. 

     Would I do it again? I now have 24 cups of stock in my freezer, taking up too much space. Probably what I would do is make broth, rather than stock, which uses bones with meat on them (i.e. a whole chicken). That way you end up with useful protein, a smaller amount of liquid, and it takes a lot less time to cook, usually about an hour or two as compared to 4 to 8 hours. But I am glad that I had the experience of tasting the ambrosial liquid that hard work and time produce. The video lesson was easy to follow. I used the blog to ask how chicken-y my stock should taste - I got an answer that made a lot of sense within eight hours (I had posted the question at night and the answer was there in the morning). And I got 100% on my quiz.

I Learn Knife Skills

     I took the plunge and signed up for a year’s enrollment at Rouxbe. For my $99  

I get full access to their website. Lots of instructional videos, practice exercises, quizzes, recipes, and blogs with the instructors and other students. A number of videos and recipes are available without signing up - take a look at rouxbe.com..

     I started out with the knife skill lessons. I was shocked to learn that I’ve been holding my knife incorrectly all these years. I have always rested my index finger on top of the blade, figuring that I was stabilizing it. Wrong - that actually unbalances the knife!   The next part of the video illustrated the “rolling” method of slicing. As I practiced this method and became more and more proficient, I came to realize how dull my prized chefs knife actually was. How I could expect otherwise I don’t know, since its never been sharpened. I don’t think a dull blade can ever be successfully re-sharpened, so I

immediately logged on to Amazon to buy a new knife and sharpener ($45 for both items). Bringing my cooking school expenses thus far to $144. 

     I watched more of the knife skill videos, and have been cutting up lots of celery and carrots - dice, mince, chop, slice, brunoise, chiffonade. Only one chunk of fingernail is missing. Pretty good. So I decided I was ready for my first quiz. Can you believe I got test anxiety. Pathetic, isn’t it. It’s just a computer for god’s sake!! Having realized that, I decided it would be okay to cheat. When I didn’t know the answer to a question I went back and watched that portion of the video lesson. Lo and behold, I got !00%. Pathetic, too, that that made me feel good. The tests are pretty well put together, using photos and videos as part of the multiple choice selections. Some of the questions are pretty lame, though, and some are ambiguous. Not much different from real-life school. I went ahead and took the second quiz, continuing my cheating method (my rationale is that its useful to view the videos several times). To my surprise, I came up with one wrong answer. I hadn’t been paying close enough attention and marked the wrong box even though I knew the correct response. Since your total test score shows up on your rouxbe home page, hopefully this will serve as a reminder for me to be more careful.

     I’ve enjoyed the experience so far, I love learning new things. If you’re an “ignorance is bliss” kind of person though, this wouldn’t be for you. Oh, I have to add the $3 I spent on practice vegetables - $147.

Can An Old Dog Learn New Tricks Online?

     I’ve always loved to eat, but I didn’t become a foodie until after I got married. I delighted in surprising Ken with unexpected flavors in the meals I cooked. Not that that was difficult. He grew up in a household where garlic salt was the only seasoning, then went on to prep school and college cafeteria type food. Our bookshelves became crammed with cookbooks. When we ate out, because we were on a tight budget, we frequented inexpensive ethnic restaurants, so I bought cookbooks featuring those cuisines. Probably if we had spent the cookbook money on restaurants, we could have had steak more often, but then we would have missed out on all the adventure of trying new foods.

     I should have gone to culinary school after I finished college and we moved to New York. But at that time, in the early 70’s there were no local programs and very few women chefs - and, to be honest, the thought never entered my mind. So I went on to do a number of other things, some fun, some not. None of them lucrative. But I continued to cook, collect cookbooks, and with the advent of the internet, spent hours looking at recipes online. 

     A short time ago, Thomas, the 17 year old son of friends of ours, developed a serious interest in cooking and decided to attend a culinary program in Phoenix. I realized I was jealous and decided to do something about that. Since I’m too old and unfit to ever work in the profession, an expensive and demanding (both fiscally and physically) school was out of the question. I happened across an online ad for Top Chef University, a $200 online program featuring past contestants of the show as instructors. The course has just begun, so there was no student feedback, but many bloggers felt that it would essentially be a vehicle to sell Top Chef products and promote the teachers. I watched the snippet of course instruction video that was available, and indeed the camera spent more time focused on the instructor than on close-ups of the food-making process. I looked at the other online courses (there are surprisingly few) and settled on Rouxbe, which provided many free videos to peruse. Except for the hands the instructor is seldom seen - the technique is what’s important. There are follow up exercises and a quiz for each segment. The price is a more reasonable $99. I decided to sign up.

     So, can an already adequate cook become better by following an online culinary school curriculum? Take a look at the Rouxbe.com website, keep reading, and we’ll find out together.