Cookbook: The Book of Tapas
Phaidon Press publishes some of the best cookbooks out there. Their books are filled with large pictures and the books are laid out beautifully. I have a few books from them and each one is a work of art to me not just a cookbook.
The Book of Tapas from Simone and Ines Ortega authors of 1080 recipes is a great collection of traditional tapas. This is a great resource for a guy that is planning on spending some time in Spain once he graduates (WHO?!?!).
I’ve had a few tapas parties and this book helped me through my last one with a few bits of inspiration. This is a great resource for learning how to make traditional recipes then you can move your way to the other 1080 recipes in their other book.
Eric
Cookbook: Pork & Sons
Pork is the best thing
I can’t wait to be eating
The next pork dish, yum.
If there is ever a haiku open mic night then I’m ready. Pork makes me do all sorts of crazy things that I never imagined I would do. You might go crazy when you see a picture of Justin Bieber (you’re weird). You might go crazy when you hear about a sale at Nordstrom (bleh). I go crazy about pork!
“Eric, we know you like pork…enough already”.
I found this book called Pork & Sons by Stephane Reynaud. It made me go crazy.
That’s a Pork Confit Tart. I’m not one to bake but I have to make that. There are recipes inside for tons of charcuterie, braised dishes, bbq, kabobs, soups, sandwiches, everything and all about PORK!!!!!! This book is a f’ing porcine gold mine!
That Julie and Julia story is lame. ”I wrote a blog about copying Julia Child’s recipes and then I got famous and stuff and it was turned into a movie” (made up quote). You would have had my respect and attention if you did it with this book. I might make a new blog that just cooks every recipe out of this book. No, I’m not lame.
Pork & Sons is amazing and a definite must buy for the pork addict in all of us. You’re in there somewhere I just need to make some pork for you then you’ll understand.
Eric
Cookbook: The Modern Cafe
I spend a lot of time going through cookbooks. Whether it’s at school, book stores, or just taking a chance on a book that I never looked at in person and buying it because it was a screaming deal on ebay I’m always on the lookout for a great cookbook that will help me on my journey. Found one!
Francisco Migoya is a chef instructor at the Culinary Insititute of America and has written another book called Frozen Desserts. While I liked the other book this was the one I wanted to purchase first. Why? Because if I wanted to open up a “modern cafe” I could pretty much use this as a crutch/resource for my ideas and experiments. He combines modern cuisine with age old techniques and recipes in order to deliver one of my favorite cookbooks ever.
Remember that time I fried parsley? (click) This is the book I got it from. There are so many other great recipes in this book and I’ve barely touched any of the baking or pastry stuff which makes up the majority of the book. You like baking and pastry? This is a must own book.
Eric
Rolling The Dice
Crazy Dragonfruit.
I know that I’ve been quiet for quite some time on here. My “writing” has been on more on the surface stuff and nothing too deep. Since that lovely accident with the food processor at my previous employer I have re-evaluated what I want and my priorities have changed.
This blog started a lot of things for me and I will always use this as a source to try new things. The quality of food and posts aren’t where I would like them to be. This used to be the only place where I could post my ideas and cook things and evolve but that has changed. These days I reserve my best for the restaurant I work at and for good reason….they pay me, it’s my job, and it’s my career. The stuff I am learning there is miles ahead of my previous employer and miles ahead of school. I am working under a talented group of chefs and everyday seems like a dream.
Now don’t get the wrong impression here. I’m not going to stop going to school or stop this blog, just realize that priority #1 is to make sure my job at work is done properly. I want to be one of the best chefs in the world one day….I’m serious about this. It’s not about ego or anything else but I really do feel like I can learn from the best chefs in the world then bring my own spin to it in order to create something incredible. This blog, school, and jobs can help me achieve that.
My journey started here on this blog and has lead me to some pretty cool restaurants and some pretty cool events. People ask me all the time if I want to be a food writer one day. No, I don’t. I’m not a writer and I have more fun taking pictures of food and eating it than I do writing about it. I would rather not talk, “write”, or take pictures and just cook…. All I want to do is cook and think about my next dish.
I have a question that I always ask myself that has lead me in the right direction. I always ask myself, “Will this make me a better chef one day?”. If the answer isn’t a 100% yes then I simply won’t do something or make it a priority…it’s that simple. Me being a chef isn’t just about a title or being the cool guy that people just automatically respect just for being called a chef (it’s weird how that works…) I know when I’m a chef I will be supporting my family and working my ass off to push a restaurant into being the best restaurant on the planet. Constant improvement and the pursuit of perfection while realizing I’ll never achieve perfection.
I don’t want something to be good enough, I want it to be the best out there…. I am an intense person and I have all the energy in the world and when people get in my way I am not the nicest person in the world. I can be the nicest person in the world but can also be a world class dick. Why? I demand better from myself….always. When I screw something up I don’t like it and I am never happy with it…..some people say, “well mistakes happen”…I say, it shouldn’t have happened if we were prepared for it and ready for it in the first place (at work we see how many people are coming in each day….I always say I’m prepping for 400 people to come in the door…..it works) I am a very passionate person and while some people have tried to get me to “calm down” over my life I have realized that those people were just weak and were complacent fools who were just happy with their own lives and situations and all they wanted was to bring me down to their level instead of helping to push me up. It’s not that I’m not happy I just want better things for Mindy and myself. The people at the restaurant I work at now have realized the fire I have and they are pushing me to be better everyday instead of trying to wonder what’s wrong with me or trying to calm me down. Will working at ______ make me a better chef than working at Blueacre….Blueacre it is!
I want it all. I want to be the best. I’m working on it.
I have a few goals that I want to realize in the next year…year and a half. I am putting them in writing so if you see me doing something different then you can call me out on it.
- Graduate from culinary school
- Go to Spain and work at El Bulli before it closes…while I’m there work at Arzak as well.
- Work at The French Laundry in Yountville, CA
- Get the new blog up and running (I’ll have more information on this soon….basically a showcase for Seattle culinary students….handpicked by me)
- Learn as much from Chef Kevin Davis and Chef Brian as I can at Blueacre….the guys are f’ing geniuses.
- Last and definitely not least. Make sure Mindy is happy.
I know I’m shooting for the moon with those restaurants and while my technical ability might not be there with other people and I might not have a cool degree from the C.I.A. I know that I want to be at those places more than anyone else that enters those doors in their kitchens. I’ll do anything it takes and I’ll fight anyone/anything that gets in my way….all 148 lbs. of me!
Eric
“Why did he call it rolling the dice….it seems like he knows what he wants”.
I had an extra picture lying around. haha!
Things are getting all sciency and stuff…..
See that? That’s an immersion circulator that Scott (click here) built for me. Don’t worry, I’ll explain what it does!
The state of Washington enacted a tax on soda. I love soda but I don’t feel like I should be penalized for drinking it. My solution, I’ll make my own! I know, it’s a very small scale operation but we’ll see where this ends up. I know in my restaurant that I’ll have one day it will be a featured item.
It’s a whipped cream dispenser! It’s more than that. A few posts below is my work with nitrogen cavitation…..that was only the beginning.
I hope you’re ready to get all sciency….and stuff.
Eric
Cedarbrook Lodge: Tomatofare 2010
I was invited to attend a celebration of heirloom tomatoes at the Cedarbrook Lodge over the weekend. They said heirloom tomatoes and I was there but they added a lot more to the lineup to solidify yet another amazing experience at the Cedarbrook Lodge (click).
A list of amazing restaurants:
- Chef William Belickis, Mistral Kitchen
- Chef Mark Bodinet, Cedarbrook Lodge
- Chef Christine Keff, Flying Fish
- Chef Bobby Moore, Barking Frog (Willows Lodge)
- Chef Jason Wilson, Crush
- Chef Michael A. Young, Olives Café Wine Bar
- Chef Paul Bosch, The Resort at The Mountain
- Chef Gabriel Claycamp, Alchemy Meats
- Chef Dalis Chea, Herban Feast & Fresh Bistro
- Chefs John & Chris Hussey, Private Chefs (Soap Lake, Wash.)
- Bernie & Delia Flores, Salsa Champ
A list of amazing wineries and brewers:
- Left Coast Cellars
- White Heron Cellars
- Chatter Creek Winery
- Wineglass Cellars
- Tertulia Cellars
- The Pike Brewing Company
- Maritime Pacific Brewery
And live music by:
- Black Lab Trio
- First Circle
Uh, that’s a big time event….I have to go! So I packed my camera and my stomach and raced around for an hour before I had to go to work. I would have loved to stay longer but that whole work thing….paycheck thing….yeah 
I knew there were a lot of different varieties of heirloom tomatoes but seeing them up close and personal is a little staggering. They set up a tasting and viewing table so each attendee could try the tomatoes….see for yourself!
I showed the video to Mindy and I saw the amazement in her eyes. I think this will raise the bar for her farm next year……MORE TOMATOES!
The restaurants and chefs that were there were featuring lovely tomato dishes using these fabulous tomatoes. I had the pleasure of trying these myself and let me just say they were all fantastic. I grew up not liking tomatoes because they were the run of the mill red beefsteak tomatoes that had no flavor or excitement. Over the last few years I have been searching for a way for tomatoes to redeem themselves. Tomatoes, you are redeemed and you have the chefs at Tomatofare to thank for this.
Mistral Kitchen:
The shot glass has tomato water in it with little crunchy pieces of bread. Absolute genius. Totally stealing that!!
Cedarbrook Lodge:
I kept waiting for the chef assistant to walk away from the table so I could have just grabbed the entire pie. It was really good. Great job Chef Bodinet (pictured below)!
Fresh Bistro (CHEF DALIS CHEA (not pictured)!!!!!! One of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. Fresh Bistro is one of my regular hang-out spots. Love that place! Best brunch dish I’ve ever had…Loco Moco.)
Olives Cafe and Wine Bar:
I’ve never heard of this place but after this showing it’s a definite must visit restaurant. They’re located in Edmonds (thanks for the correction Carolyn). I ate three of these……
The Barking Frog:
It was hard to eat this because it looked so pretty. I just wanted to stare at it for a while but not in a creepy way…… It was verrrrrryyyy good.
The Resort at the Mountain:
This dish helps my a.d.d. I can do two things with one dish! Cool! Eat and drink! It was simple and tasty.
Alchemy Meats:
I’ve said it on this blog a few times. I’m a huge fan of Chef Claycamp. He brought us The Swinery, Culinary Communion, and gypsy dinners. It was very cool to see him at this event serving up a panzanella salad. Good luck with your new venture chef!
Crush:
Jason Wilson is on fire right now. The James Beard award winner for best chef in the Northwest. He showed up ready to rock with his tomato dish. Loved the pesto foam!
Finally, I’ll leave you with a picture of the one of the coolest chefs I’ve ever met. Chef Breiman is the culinary director for the Cedarbrook Lodge and has put a lot of time and passion into turning the Cedarbrook Lodge into a top destination resort in the Northwest. Everytime I talk to him I am excited to hear what he has to say and it was very nice of him to take a little time to show me around the event as well as introduce me to his wife, Mrs. Tomatofare
Thanks again to everyone at the Cedarbrook Lodge as wel as all the other chefs, restaurants, wineries, and bands in attendance!
Eric
Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon with Opal Basil/Kalamata Olive Puree, Beans!, and Salmon Chicharron
Sockeye salmon skin is taken off the fish then deep fried and topped with salt and pepper when it comes out. Salmon is sauted skin side down (skin was removed at this point, just giving you detailes) then placed in the oven to finish. The opal basil and kalamata olive puree has a little bit of white wine vinegar, olive oil, and herbs. The beans are three different colors…..yellow, green, and purple (purple lost its color but I intend to address that problem in a few days). Beans are blanched, shocked, then warmed in warm salty water. Made a sauce for the beans to soak up which consisted of Italian purple garlic, brown butter, salt, pepper, thyme, and oregano. The salmon chicharron is crushed and spread on the sauced salmon and spread throughout the plate.
Beans and opal basil are from the West Seattle Farmers market. Fish is from Pike Place Market.
“Eric, that plate looks too cluttered”.
Hey, I don’t remember you paying for anything and since when did you start critiquing my dishes?!?!?
(Fight with the voices in my head)
Eric
The squash blossoms, goat cheese, and peaches are from the West Seattle Farmers market. Peaches are macerated in PX S’orange then blended, strained, and made a little tighter with agar. The squash blossoms are cleaned, blanched, shocked, drained, stuffed then warmed in the oven then topped with sel de mer. The goat cheese is herbed with herbs from MindyRiveraFarms.
Eric
Thanks for the plates Bonnie and Bruce!!!
MindyRiveraFarms: Tomato!
How cool is that??!?!?!?!!?? More of these tomatoes coming soon, this the first one!
Eric
New Blog: JetCityGastrophysics.com
(Dragonfruit after seeing some nitrogen cavitation)
I’m doing a little posting on a new blog that brings three food nerds together. Jeth, Scott, and myself.
Check it out. (click)
Eric
Sockeye with Cherry Prep. and Menesha/Puttanesca Pasta…..a.k.a. practice practice practice
When I’m not at work I usually come home and practice what I made at work so I can get up to speed with everyone else on the line. I’m the least experienced person there so I’m doing my best to make sure every dish I put out is worth the money someone is paying for it as well as puts Blueacre in a positive light (brown noser, yup!).
I love where I work and I want to keep doing cool things there so I practice. Mindy’s parents are in town and they brought home a couple of nice pieces of fish from Pike Place Market. When they got home I was just waking up and I saw they had fish and said, “you guys hungry? I can cook this now if you want”. They let me!
This is a take on the cherry prep at work. It goes on the King Salmon but I had Sockeye…no worries! I added some herbs from Mindy’s farm (green onions, and rosemary) and proceeded to dish it up. I included a pasta from my 2AM meals which was about 8 hours before. The base is from our minestrone, which I love, and then I finished it like a puttanesca pasta because Eric is crazy like that. Practicing is awesome.
Bring Eric fish, he’ll cook it for you…it’s that easy.
Eric
MindyRiveraFarms: Tomatoes, Peppers, Leeks, and Green Onions
Hello heirloom tomatoes!
Hello grape tomatoes!!!
Hello Banana Pepper!
Hello Green Bell Pepper!!
Hello Anaheim Chili!
Hello Leeks!
Hello Green Onions!!
Lots of great stuff to work with very soon. I’m really impressed with what Mindy has done. This is her first time growing most of this stuff and she made it look easy. Need more space!
Eric
Jet City Gastrophysicists: Nitrogen Cavitation and more!
(Inspiration and ideas for this post came from http://www.cookingissues.com/2010/08/11/infusion-profusion-game-changing-fast-%E2%80%98n-cheap-technique/)
SCIENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It was another meeting for the food nerds a.k.a. Jet City Gastrophysicists. We were short on gastrophysicist (Scott!) but that didn’t stop us from dividing by zero and reciting all the numbers of pi and eating some pizza pie (see what I did there…yeah….)
Nitrogen Cavitation? Sounds complicated but it’s easy! I’ve seen a lot of people infuse things like vodka with berries and fruits. The normal process is to just leave the fruits in the bottle of vodka and wait a few days or weeks until the fruit has finally worked it’s way into the vodka. There’s a problem with that, you never get that fresh taste….the finished product is usually stale or just lacks a fresh pop to it.
In steps Nitrogen Cavitation…. Jethro explained it like this. It’s a a technique for disruption of cells prior to their fractionation. A suspension of cells is subjected to high nitrogen pressure, which is suddenly released so as to cause the cells to burst as nitrogen bubbles form inside them.
Brilliant! We got to work immediately and decided to to quick infusions. First we tried a thai basil and vodka which you can see a picture of above. It worked! In less than 30 seconds the vodka was infused and after a resting period of 30 seconds the drink was ready to drink. When the drink was left alone for another 4 minutes it was even more intense with aroma and flavor. SCIENCE!!!
Why stop there? How about a Lapsang Souchong Tea and Jim Beam infusion?!?!?!?
Or a dragon fruit and rum infusion?!?!?!?
The infusions work… This left with me the idea of infusing other products beyond alcohol….I’m thinking oils and vinegars…..we’ll see where it goes.
Jethro brought over a book that left us with a little inspiration so we decided to take on a Ferran Adria project. We’re in stage 1 of it but it will come to blogworthy mode soon. Until next time! I’ll be over here torching things if anyone needs anything.
“It looks like he’s toasting a marshmallow”.
I’m not.
Eric
Donutpalooza
I am not a baker but I like donuts and I had a few ideas for glazes and sauces to put on them so I called in my future pastry chef to help me out with this whole donut problem I was having (long sentence!).
Ellen Benezra is pretty damn good at what she does. She’s crazy like me when it comes to cooking stuff so it was only natural that we worked together on this donutpalooza thing. She is available for hire in the Seattle area and she makes some pretty amazing cakes, pastries, and anything else to do with baking…..she even has a website so you can see what I’m talking about (click).
I had a few ideas about how I wanted the donut to be constructed and while we’re still working on getting there we started in the right direction. She picked a brioche mother recipe and it turned out to be a fantastic choice. One problem we ran into was that it was 90 degrees and we kept having heat issues with the dough so sous-chef Mindy stepped in with the brilliant idea of putting an ice bath under the mixer….genius.
The dough was just about ready so it was my turn to work up some glazes to go on top of these amazing donuts. Hmmmm, what’s an Eric to do?
Donut in front: Fresh Bing Cherry and Fresh White Currant Glaze with Urfa Biber
Donut to the left: Maple Syrup and Mangalitsa Bacon Glaze
Donut in the back: Butterscotch Ganache with Black Lava Salt
Donutpalooza 2 is already planned. It’s going to be a 5 course sit-down dinner featuring donuts.
Eric
El Gaucho Bellevue’s Pour on the Plaza
(Tuna tartare on a taro root crisp)
Received an invitation to visit El Gaucho’s Pour on The Plaza event but I had a little issue arise…..the party was from 2-5PM and I had to work at 4PM and it was at the El Gaucho in Bellevue. “Eric, that sounds like a nice issue/problem to have”. I know!!!!
Mindy and I made our way to Bellevue and discovered this little piece of green in between all the towers of Bellevue where El Gaucho Bellevue is located (I’ve only been to the Tacoma and Seattle locations). The El Gaucho in Bellevue is huge and beautiful but I’ll never be able to work there unfortunately……chefs/cooks wear neckerchiefs……we’re required to wear them at school….I hate them….oh, and floppy chef hats too…..awful….but that’s ok, I wasn’t there to cook, I was there to eat and drink!!! And eat and drink I did…but not too much because I had to work!
The weather was amazing but maybe a little too amazing for most people as you can see in this video. Washingtonians are afraid/allergic to the sun and they will seek shade at any cost.
“Eric, you’re a Washingtonian….what gives??” You do remember I’m Puerto Rican right? We’re bred for hot weather, drinking, and eating awesome food…..perfect person to invite for this event!
Along with various amounts of bites being handed out by the El Gaucho crew Palomino and Wild Ginger were there as well to hold down the food part of this extravaganza. It was all good food but I seriously want a wok and burner like this so I can hand out awesome fried things too….I was a little jealous.
When it’s 90+ degrees outside a good wine to drink is a white one that is served cold…..that’s my expert wine advice (keep cooking!!). We tried a few whites.
Fantastic….
Fantastic….
At this point I needed to try at least one red so we headed over to the Dunham Cellars tabled and after talking to the reps. for a few minutes they showed us the secret bottle of wine they had under the table.
Secret bottles of wine….do your research and you’ll find it. Best wine I’ve had in a long time and I don’t drink wine a lot so that really doesn’t give it a good endorsement but it was awesome!
The best part of this was that Denise from Wasabi Prime (click) was there…..always fun to talk to! Do we talk about food? Nope, that’s why it’s fun!
Thanks again for the people at El Gaucho for inviting me. I wish I could have stayed longer but that whole work thing came into play…you know.
Smoked Paprika Torta with Sausage and Dueling Sauces
Great way to wake up in the morning.
Eric
Armondo’s (Renton, WA)
(Sponsored Post)
The folks over at Armondo’s invited me over to their restaurant to check out their revamped menu and to debut their new chef. Armondo’s has been open in Renton for over 25 years and has served the locals well over that time. So much so that they were a small 10 seat pizzeria that transformed itself into its current location that has had every seat full since opening. With constant change in the restaurant industry one thing has held true at Armondo’s……great Italian food for a great price.
(Son, this is where pizza comes from)
The new changes are subtle so locals and regulars please don’t think Armondo’s is turning their back on you….they’re going to make things better! The focus is to tie in the local and seasonal ingredients that Washington has in order to give a local style of Italian food.
Here are a few things you’ll be seeing on the menu at Armondo’s.
To start you off,
seasonal bruschetta
The bread course is from that wonderful brick oven which is a definite must have to any kitchen. A little parmesan here, a few herbs, then send it through the heat!!! Awesome every time.
Mindy’s favorite of the evening came up next. This four cheese pizza (Quattro Formaggi Pizza) with goat cheese is a must-have for goat cheese lovers. Look at the shine on the crust!
Next up was my favorite of the evening. The Minestrone. It was just perfect. The day we went it was about 90 degrees and I couldn’t stop myself from eating the hot soup!
Next up a white shrimp risotto. Definitely fit for summertime.
Served with a side of market vegetables of course!
And finally a fresh fruit panna cotta.
I’m so happy they had to-go boxes because I wasn’t able to finish it all! Armondo’s is a great Italian restaurant in the heart of downtown Renton and with a wine list with great prices (all under $40) as well as great food I’m sure they’ll be around for another 25 years.
Armondo’s (click)
Eric
IxaRiveraCooks: Lunch, Gazebo, and The Scary Dog
Hello kids!
Here are some pictures of our lunch today. Our menu consisted of very traditional Puerto Rican cuisine, white rice, bistec, green beans (sorry they are not fresh), green bananas tostones, quenepas (fruit) and macarrons from the local bakery. The tostones are fresh from my garden to the dinner table. In the bistec I added some fresh green peppers and aji dulce from my garden. The fruit quenepas were given to us from a friend.
I made the hot pique a while ago, but everything is from my garden except the garlic. The macarrons are fresh from the local bakery. Sorry you were not here for lunch, but Dad and our friend Lourdesita enjoyed the lunch. What’s for dinner, nothing!
The other pictures as you can see is the final product of the gazebo. I should call it Dad’s place. He enjoys spending time listening to music and drinking wine.
Martita as you can see discovered all the glass closet mirrors. She loves to look at herself in the mirror and also likes to watch television. What can I say, she is beautiful.
Enjoy the pictures!
LYA,
Mom
Ixa
Dinner at my place………..
Fruit salad with Rainier Cherry Syrup and tons of goat cheese. I unleashed the goat cheese right after this picture….looked much better…oh well. The tiny clear things are white currants and the yellow specks are candied meyer lemon.
Savory Clams with Salumi Smoked Paprika Salami and Saffron Buerre Blanc. Savory clams are amazing….second year on this blog…..Taylor Shellfish.
Lobster and Chanterelle Mushroom Risotto
Practice makes perfect…… Almond and Pickled Mustard Aioli Crusted Halibut with Mindy Rivera Farms Vegetables, Cilantro Oil, and Pique Broken Vinaigrette. Totally stole this idea from work….. I work at an awesome place.
Have fun in California Heather! Hopefully we’ll join you soon.
Eric
Eric,
Sorry for the long hiatus. So to make up for the long absence I thought to include 3 new edibles.
The first is a vegetable. It took Lam and I a while to figure out what the name was and we were more confused once we found out. The name of the vegetable is “Diep Ca” which directly translates to “Mint Fish”. It’s named this because the smell resembles fish, which I didn’t get and I’m not one to argue. The leaf is firm and when folded too far will snap. The flavor has a very strong sour taste and is slightly lemony with a slightly bitter aftertaste. They use this leaf a lot of fresh rolls and they also pulverize it to make healthy vegetable juices.
The second edible is the Vietnamese Chili which is called “Ot”. These come in 2 varieties, red and green. You find these absolutely everywhere and they are used in a ton of dishes. They are used as a cooking ingredient as well as just eaten as is. Almost every restaurant will have these readily available in the fresh variety or they will provide a mushy version which they take chilies with some vegetable oil, blend it then cook slightly that you scoop with a spoon to add some spice.
Now to break the myth surrounding the “1000 Year Eggs”. In Vietnam they call them “Trung Muoi” which is just “Salted Egg” and they don’t take 1000 years to make….but they do take about 1/2 a year. The process is you take a duck egg and soak it in very salty water for 1 month. After that you cover the egg in either a special saw dust or mud from a certain region of Vietnam.
After that you let them sit for several months. The albumen of the egg gelatinizes and with the saw dust version takes on a brownish/yellow tint while the mud version becomes quite dark. When they are ready you clean off the egg and boil it and eat it like normal. Usually these are used in pork dishes. We were able to open one of the yellow ones to take a look inside, but the mud ones I guess are too runny to open. Mmmm…doesn’t that sound delicious.
I’ll try to send more soon…there are still more things left to see.
Kenny
Thanks Kenny!!!
Eric
Blackened Mahi Mahi with Aprium Slaw and Pique Salsa
Haven’t cooked anything exciting in a while. Aprium is a apricot/plum hybrid fruit that I worked into a green and red cabbage slaw with roasted lime, grape seed oil, salt and pepper. The mahi mahi is seasoned with my adobo and a harissa mixture. The salsa on top is from the market vegetables I was working with a few days ago then I worked in my pique so it would break down a little more. Roasted lime to finish on top of the fish once it comes out then a little cilantro garnish. Exciting!
Eric
Pike Street Fish Fry (Seattle, WA)
Walking around a bit after our Genki Sushi extravaganza we stumbled upon Pike Street Fish Fry. I’ve heard a lot of good things about this place it was a must visit for me. Also, I work the fry station sometimes at work so I wanted to see what other restaurants do with their fish and chips dish…not to compare, just to learn.
We walked in and one of the cooks was breaking down some halibut so I ordered the just delivered and broke down fish which is something you should do when the opportunity arises.
The cool thing is that they had Sangria and Olympia beer. Hey, I grew up in Olympia (I remember going on the Olympia Brewery tour on class trips as a little kid….awesome experience) and I love Sangria!!! Oh, and that lovely lady in the background.
The halibut and fries with harissa ketchup with an eager fry trying to get into the delicious harissa ketchup.
The fish was great and their batter was nice and crispy, the fries were nice, and the sauce was amazing. One thing that surprised me was the deep fried lemon that also resembles Pac-Man when you bite into it.
This deep-fried lemon is another classic example of: If you deep-fry anything it will be awesome.
Pike Street Fish Fry (click)
Their chalkboard has a lot of other great things for me to check out next time!
Genki Sushi (Seattle, WA)
I’ve always wanted to go to a conveyor belt sushi place….not sure if that’s the technical term for them…who cares.
Mindy and I were doing our weekend walk around town and we stumbled upon Genki Sushi. I said, “hey, that’s that new sushi place with the conveyor belts that just opened”. Mindy said, “we should go”. That’s all it takes!
She’s been to one of these C.B.S.P’s before so she gave me a quick run down. Basically, it’s a culinary A.D.D. dream. You just sit there and watch a ton of food pass you by. Like something? Grab it!
What Eric does: watches a couple sitting next to him then waits to see what they are interested in then the elusive Eric pounces on their sushi and watches them make faces like this.
Each plate that passes by has a different color that corresponds to the price you will pay for that dish. Eat a bunch,
save your plates, then the waitress will total them up and you’re on your way. Quick, easy, and inexpensive. I think we were out the door for around $10!
We’ll definitely be back again. This little spicy crab roll was awesome!
Genki Sushi (click)
First time I’ve had cooks/chefs actually want me to take a picture of them. Very cool!
Eric
My First Cooking Demonstration!
Wait, someone else is taking pictures??? Thanks Mindy! The debut of a new food blogger!
I have been studying cooking demonstrations for over a year in the hopes that someone would ask me to do one. I have seen Nick Stellino rock a stage like no other, I have been part of a demonstration as an assistant during last year’s Festa Italiana (click), I have seen The Chef In the Hat and Ethan Stowell work seamlessly together and feed off each other throughout a demonstration (click), and I have also seen some pretty brutal chef demonstrations…..those are the ones where I learned what not to do (TALK!!!!! DON’T JUST STAND THERE AND COOK!!!! TALK!!!!!)
Well, my day finally came yesterday as the Queen Anne Farmers Market was nice enough to invite me and give me a chance to do my thing. I chose the date a few months ago with the expectation of having a few of my market food favorites being available….tomatoes, peppers, onions, and garlic.
So what to cook?!?!? I tossed a few hundred ideas around and I finally came down to something that I hope will become a little more normal around the Seattle area…..plantains! I know, plantains aren’t something you can buy at a farmers market in this area but in Puerto Rico you can so this little Puerto Rican guy decided to bring his two worlds together in order to make something that is very near and dear to him. Tostones!
If you go to any Puerto Rican restaurant you’ll see tostones on the menu but what I don’t like is that a lot of people don’t realize how easy they are to make. I think plantains are great. They cook like potatoes and their flexibility allows them to be cooked in many different culinary methods…..fry, braise, saute, bake, etc…. The green ones are perfect for frying and doing a light sear then braising in the oven. The yellow ones are good for desserts….easy dessert, wrap a yellow plantain in foil and bake until the plantain is completely soft then remove and place on a plate for a sweet explosion of flavor…how easy is that?!?!?
(Leave the chef jacket at home…..wear normal clothes….just hang out and cook something)
I packed up my stuff and headed to the market. I was ready for anything and had two escape dishes just in case the power wasn’t working or something else popped up….I was ready! I planned on deep frying at a farmers market…..it’s crazy but it’s very fitting in my mind…..if you ever go to Puerto Rico then you’ll see what I’m talking about.
What I planned on making was a simple dish with no fancy ideas attached to it….just food that I grew up eating and something I wanted to share with people that normally don’t eat this type of food. Sure, they’ve probably had something like it but this is the real deal!
Fried Plantain Cups with a Market Sofrito and Mangalitsa Bacon!!
First off I started by chopping up a few market vegetables that I found at the market.
Sofrito Ingredients:
- Mangalitsa Bacon Fat, as needed
- Mangalitsa Bacon, as needed
- 1/2 Walla Walla Onion, medium dice
- 3 Italian Purple Garlic Cloves, crushed
- 1/2 red bell pepper, medium dice
- 1/2 green bell pepper, medium dice
- 1/4 ivory bell pepper, medium dice
- 1/2 beefsteak tomato, seeded, and quartered
- Two thyme sprigs, whole (Mindy Rivera Farms)
- Three oregano stems with leaves on (Mindy Rivera Farms)
- Two Fresh Bay Leaves (Mindy Rivera Farms)
- Adobo, use this like your salt and pepper…I have my own but you can find Adobo at many grocery stores in the Hispanic section
Procedure:
- Heat up bacon fat in a pan then add the garlic and let it toast lightly.
- Add onions and bell peppers and saute until the onions are translucent.
- Season and add tomato and cook until tomato breaks down.
- Add fresh herbs and bacon and cook on low heat.
- Check seasoning and serve
Next up is preparing the plantains for their double fry action. Cut the ends off of the plantain then slice the plantain vertically about 1/4 inch deep in order to remove the peel. Once the peel is removed cut the plantain into 2 inch sections. Have a deep fryer set up at around 360-370F. The reason I have it set so high to begin with is that the more things you put into the deep fryer the more the temperature will drop. The ideal fry temperature is between 350-360F. Anything less will lead to a greasy nightmare and much more will cook the item too fast on the outside and will leave the inner part raw…. I keep a thermometer inside the oil so that way I know when I’m overloading the fryer….if the temperature is dropping the just give it some time to recover and you’re all set!
Place the plantain until it starts to turn a golden color (about 1-2 minutes) then remove and place on a paper towel. At this point you can make a cup out of it using a cup molder or you can smash it flat to make tostones. Also, at this point you can freeze them for later use which I recommend because then you can enjoy plantains throughout the week!
If you decide to go for the second fry then after you have molded the plantains place them in the fryer again and wait a minute or two and wait until they turn crispy then remove and place on a paper towel and salt or use adobo to season them. Once they are seasoned then top them with whatever you want! Try the sofrito recipe above first.
That’s a quick how-to on working with plantains. Thanks again to everyone who showed up and to the Queen Anne Farmers Market for inviting me (click).
Eric
Doing anything tomorrow?
I think you should come to the Queen Anne Farmers Market tomorrow and catch me doing a cooking demonstration at 6PM!
What I have planned:
-Fromage Blanc “Cheesecake” with Rainier Cherry Syrup and market fruits
-Fried Plantain Cups with Market Roasted Vegetables and Eric’s Pique sauce!
Should be lots of fun and it’s free!!!!!!!!!!
More information:
Eric
Mangalitsa Leaf Lard Dough made into a Mangalitsa Pizza….that rhymes and it’s awesome too!
Hmmmmmmm, that’s a pretty good looking dough. It’s doubled in size and it’s ready maybe I should…..STOP LEAVE IT THERE JUST WAIT………..Patience!
That’s what you’re looking for. An hour and a half or so later it starts to resemble the moon. Don’t cook until you’ve landed on the moon with your dough (million dollar tag line).
Ready to cook your dough? Let’s make a sauce!
Render some Mangalitsa speck, add some carrots, celery, onion, and cherry wood smoked tomatoes (oh my), and some harissa, and a few other touches (I poke you now!!!). Sauce gets food processed, strained, and reduced some more.
Then I work up a fake Italian accent and go from there.
Then-a you-a put-a the pizza (talking with hands the whole time) in-a the oven-a at-a 450F degrees-a. Mama mia!!!!
Pull-a it out-a when-a the crust-a turns-a golden brown-a!!!!!!!!
Leaf Lard Dough Pizza with a Cherry Wood Smoked Tomato Sauce, rendered speck, Beecher’s cheese, Gremolata, and Sel de Mer
Looks like we have some dough leftover. HOW ABOUT-A ONE MORE-A WITH-A SALUMI SOPRESSATA!!!
Eric
2AM Meals…..
I’ve been working a lot lately and doing the whole school thing as well. 5 days at work….Thursday-Monday…then school is Tuesday-Wednesday. Where can I fit in this blog thing? Don’t worry Mr. Blog, you’re taken care of.
I get off of work at around midnight. I race home and I’m still amped up and I want to improve my techniques that I learned at work or just reflect or answer questions I have in my own head so then I get to cooking.
I’m into my third week of cooking hot food on a line in a great kitchen and I have been rotating between saute station, fry station, and hot apps (appetizers). Each one has its own recipes, techniques, and tricks. When I learn something new I have “aha” moments then I go home and practice them a few times to make sure the next day is better than the last…you’ve probably noticed all those damn scallops I’ve been cooking…..yeah, got those down
The dish pictured above isn’t on the menu but I learned the prep salad that goes underneath a halibut dish from Blueacre. The vegetables and set up aren’t the same and honestly its something different but I was just working on my timing…..again, at 2AM…..I’m crazy.
The green sauce is a cilantro oil from Mindy’s farm. The brown spots are my molasses ghost chili sauce and then I worked in Mindy’s red onion with radishes and a bunch of other things to mimic the Blueacre food. Again, not exact but trying to bring balance and speed to the plate…..plated it 10 times….at 2AM. The pork chop is fried in mangalitsa lard and seasoned with harissa….again, those touches that Eric brings. Eric touches…..you like it.
Here are two things that I wanted to work on. The Angry Crab dish needs proper caramelization of the shells and proper mix of seasoning. I didn’t have crab so I substituted some shrimp in its place. The method is the same so it translates to a crab shell…..super hot! The sugo underneath is different but it’s still that same tomato sauce that goes under the scallop prep (I added my cherry wood smoked tomatoes and saffron). I add garbanzo and remove the corn because at 2AM there is no such thing as fresh corn…. Questions answered, next dish!
Next up is a take on the minestrone dish and vegetable stew dish we have at work. I had some of the vegetables that we used at work available at my house so I proceeded to find out how long I could cook the vegetables in order for them to be cooked and keep their color. We add the majority of the vegetables and do the soup to order so its important to make sure that eat vegetable gets the respect it deserves. It’s not just a vegetable boil…..it’s a nice clean soup……The first time I made the soup at work I boiled the hell out of it and heard the dreaded words, “Re-fire!!”. I have it figured out now
2AM meals……pretty cool stuff.
Eric
Last week I was in France and Spain
Well, not really but I made a bunch of food from those two countries last week in class. Here are a few pictures for you to drool over. The picture above is a chicken and rabbit paella….it was pretty amazing. Walked Tyler through the process and he made an amazing Paella!
This is a Filet de Porc Farci Lyonnaise a.k.a. Stuffed Pork Tenderloin with Ratatouille. Give a Puerto Rican some Pork…..this is what happens! Look at those rings in the middle….rolled the meat like sushi….yes!
This Fabes con Almejas a.k.a. Asturian Bean Stew with Clams. I couldn’t bring myself to puree the beans. I liked the look of the contrast between lima beans and cannellini beans…..also, I like clear soups….
Coming soon……Italy and India
I saw a local magazine that had the 48 best sandwiches in Seattle on it. This sandwich was not on their list…..their list is invalid.
This is the best sandwich in Seattle.
The Mangalitsa neck roll is braised for 12 hours with my special touches and additions. The bread is toasted in brown butter then the meat is lightly fried in the remaining brown butter then the braising liquid is added on top of the sandwich. The cheese is added then to the broiler it goes. Garnished with fresh parsley and sel de mer.
Again, this is the best sandwich in Seattle.
Eric
Puerto Ricans…..we do pork better than anyone else out there. Don’t think so? You’ve never tried mine.
