Monthly Archives: November 2010

Restauranteers.com (Sponsored Post)

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I hope this won’t come off as sounding like a sales pitch because I genuinely am excited about what the people over at Restauranteers.com are about to bring to Seattle.  I’m in super secret mode with them and they have told me exactly where they want to take this idea of theirs but they asked me not to tell you yet but they wanted me to write a post about it anyway…..soooo what do I write about?  I mean….how??

Restauranteers.com is about to build an online community that will bring fans of food together in one place.  Restaurants, bloggers, diners, and anyone interested in having new places to eat will use their site as a source of discovery, culinary expedition, and gastroenlightenment (salesman smile).  I know some of the restaurants they have talked to and a few have appeared on my site so they’re “Eric Approved (insert two thumbs and a high-five here)”.  I wish I could tell you how they’re going to pull this all together….I wish I could tell you why it makes sense and how exciting it’s going to be……it’s ok though….you’ll find out soon……(more periods)……

One place where you can check out their developments and news from their site is on their blog (click).  You’ll see more and more features of their site before it launches in January 2011.   On the blog you can check out some tips and hints for diners and news on restaurant openings and closings.

Yesterday they started their final four style restaurant bracket challenge where their Facebook fans can pick their favorite Seattle restaurants.  Check it out here (click) and become their friend because if you don’t then things will get a little awkward next time you see them….”Hey, remember me?” Yeah, ummm but I can’t remember your name.  ”Oh, it’s Eric!”  You cook or something right??? “Yeah, something like that (aaaaawwwwwkkkkkwwwwaaaarrrddd).

Whew, I think I made it through the first post. See guys, this is what happens when I have to keep secrets. Hurry up and launch the site!!

Restauranteers (click)

Eric

Life at 40,000 BTU: The Stations- Saute

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I’ve taken you through the stations I have worked so far at Blueacre Seafood with Fry (click) and Hot Appetizers (click) being the two stations that I have become proficient at. One of the goals I had for working at Blueacre was to make my way up to working the saute station.  That day is here!  In 5 months I have worked my way to the top spot on the line…..it feels pretty good to say that so I’ll say it again, this time in caps lock….IN 5 MONTHS I HAVE WORKED MY WAY TO THE TOP STOP ON THE LINE. However, just because I have worked my way up to that spot doesn’t mean that I have really accomplished anything yet….there’s still the whole sous chef thing, chef thing, owner of a restaurant chef thing, and tons of other things…..things man….things.  It’s ok though, I’ll just pat myself on the back and start from scratch at this station just like I have at the other stations so I can be the best, learn, and teach others how to cook at those stations.

Saute at Blueacre is extremely difficult. It’s the finesse station where most of the main dish items come from. The halibut dishes (not in season), ling cod, black cod, trout, Virginia sea bass, and other fine fish make their way through that station.  One of the reasons I wanted to work at Blueacre is because I wanted to learn how to cook fish perfectly and this is the station where that happens. Yes, fish and shellfish are cooked at all the other stations but in my opinion this is where the Rolls-Royce of fish are found (Mindy says I’m not good at analogies…..she’s probably right).

Along with cooking lots o’ fish  this station is responsible for other dishes like clam chowder, gumbo, bisque (vegetable or crab or lobster), the matsutake mushroom risotto with Totten Inlet clams (pictured above), or any other special that chef wants to put on the menu.

You’ve heard chefs and cooks talk about how they touch and feel things to know when they’re done.  I’m learning how to do that but with the assist of my insta-read thermometer. The other cooks and chefs have it down to an art so it’s nice to see progress when I’m learning those tricks for myself.  I am into the world of precision cooking (immersion circulators, lab equipment, all that jazz) but I think it’s important to learn multiple ways to cook fish correctly.  I think this is the way (touch technique) I will be doing it for the majority of my career as a chef until I can open my open place (10 years from now!).   It’s really cool to see the chefs touch something then say, “medium-rare”, then I give it a quick poke with my thermometer and they’re on the dot….I’ll get there some day!

Another reason why I love the saute station is because the plate presentations are really nice and constantly change. I wish I had more pictures to show you but it’s pretty hard to take pictures of this stuff while it’s coming off the line and I have 7 burners going with pans on, 4 black cods in the salamander (WANT!!!), 2 trout in the oven, 4 cups of chowder ready to go, and gumbo that needs to be adjusted with seasonings and crab legs to finish…..I think this is why you don’t see many action shots from chefs/cooks in a kitchen on blogs……I get it now.  It takes every ounce of focus in order to make sure that each dish that is going off the line can exceed the expectation of the customer at the table……2 seconds for a photo??  Yeah, how about no.

I just received my new schedule for the week so I’ll be on saute three nights a week now which is pretty awesome! I’ll have more information and you’ll be seeing my progress on this little blog of mine and at Blueacre Seafood :)  Cooking classes start up at school in January again…..oh yes, it’s going to be epic and slow….haha.

Eric

Farm Boat (Puget Sound, WA)

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About a month ago I checked out Farm Boat (forgot I was writing this post then I had to run out the door….one month later, here we are!). Farm Boat is a farmer’s market on a boat that travels up and down the Puget Sound (rhyming) and drops off lovely produce and culinary delights to the new South Lake Union Park. At the time of checking it out I was on my way to work and didn’t have time to buy anything but the produce looked great and I intend to make it back before they close up on the 23rd of December.  They have CSA’s and will have an expanded route in the future but for now check them out at their South Lake Union park location on Thursday’s from 11:00AM-3:00PM

Boats and food…..nothing better than that!

Farm Boat (click)

Eric

 

 

Built Burger (Seattle, WA)

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Pioneer Square is under a culinary revival right now.  The last few restaurants that have opened their doors have been great, Delicatus and Tat’s Deli.  Pioneer Square is such a beautiful part of Seattle…..I realize not a lot of people think that way that live here but I have always been drawn to it. My mom used to work in that area back in the 90′s and my dad would usually park in the middle of nowhere so we could go to Mariners games and not have to worry about paying a billion dollars for parking.   These days I’m about 3/4 of a mile away from there when I’m at school so it’s a nice walk to places like these to get some great food action.  While there really hasn’t been much in that area over the past few years places like Delicatus, Tat’s, Salumi, and more have been attracting people back to Pioneer Square or as I called it in a previous post “Deli Square”.

Built Burger is a new burger place that makes the burger the star (I’m a big fan of that CLICK).  They don’t overload with you a ton of condiments or ingredients on the burger in order to hide the quality of the almighty beef.  The restaurant itself is small so when lunch time comes around run don’t walk!

I tried the Supreme Pastrami burger (pictured above with awesome cellphone camera picture) when I was there and it was very good. I can’t wait to try the Pinnacle Bacon Bleu or the other specials they have available (Chanterelle burger, Patty Melt, and a Hot Wing burger) .   Oh, I’ll be back for more!!

Built Burger (click)

Eric

Gobble Day 2010

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Well, it was more like gobble days. I prepped for this year’s gobble day for 4 days….in between work, snow, school, and all that crazyness I got the job done.

I’m not a big fan of the yearly buffet style eating frenzy that has become Thanksgiving so I decided to course it out for my parents, Mindy, and my friend Sean.  One reason I don’t like the normal buffet style Thanksgiving thing is that most of the food ends up becoming cold before anyone gets a chance to eat it…yeah, bring a chafing pan with burners and all that but who really has that at their home (me one day)??  My kitchen is tiny and I don’t really have space for people either but once again this little place in West Seattle rocked another cool dinner :)

I took the turkey apart and I created several dishes with some being really simple like the buffalo style turkey wings to the complex stuffed breast.  I looked back at last year’s Thanksgiving that I cooked and I have come a long way in just a year which is very exciting (click).  I just hope by this time next year I’ll be hanging out in Spain or Denmark….

Here it is, Gobble Day 2010.

The picture above is of a turkey leg confit. I cured the turkey leg overnight then cooked it in duck fat for 4 hours at very low heat.  I reserved the skin, made it crispy then used both pieces to finish a dish. I’ll get to that later.

First up was Pork Porchetta with roasted pumpkin seeds, pomegranate arils, fresh rosemary, and sherry vinaigrette.

Next up was the deep-fried turkey leg tossed in Frank’s Hot Sauce and clarified butter (the original buffalo wing sauce).

Next up, my winter vegetable clam chowder with rosemary bread bowl.

The meat and cheese course.  Brie, chorizo, and fromage with sea salt crostini. Contadina and rosemary.

Saute of turkey tenderloin with cranberry glaze served with “winter ratatouille”, crispy sage, and pumpkin/tonka bean puree.

Turkey leg confit with French lentils mixed with bacon, rutabaga, and potato topped with crispy skin and dill. There is a duck fat pan sauce that was served on the side.

The next dish had a bit more work involved.   I took the turkey breasts then flattened them out, and stuffed them with winter vegetables, sage, rosemary, and chanterelle mushrooms.

I wrapped it in turkey skin then tied it up.

I sealed it then threw it in the immersion circulator for a little bath time.

I had originally planned for it to be cooked in the oven but the oven broke midway through dinner so I had to resort to being all awesome and stuff.

Once it was done I seared it quickly in duck fat then let it rest and proceeded to slice it up.

Finally, plated up.  I wasn’t very happy with the presentation but the flavors all worked.

Stuffed Turkey Breast served on a bed of roasted cauliflower with satsuma orange glaze on top of parsnip/potato mash with cranberry/black pepper puree and pumpkin/tonka bean puree.  Pan sauce of course.

Until next year Mr. Gobble.

Eric

Gobble Quest 2010

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The plan was to pick up the turkey from Don and Joe’s meats after class on Tuesday, I would do a bit of grocery shopping then head over to my house and start prepping because I had the next two days off.   Well, plans changed quickly when on Monday morning we woke up and there was snow and ice all over the place.  We live on a hill in West Seattle so getting down it is nearly impossible when there is ice and snow….all…over…the…place.

I started checking the forecast on that Monday morning and I had to make another quick decision…..do I go to class and get stuck in Seattle for 5-8 hours and then make it home and accomplish nothing or do I just do my grocery shopping, hope the school closes, and move on with my plans.    Two or three years ago I used to work in Bellevue and we had a house in Federal Way…there was a snow storm happening while I was at work and my boss said, “just another hour or two and you can go home”.   Well, that totally f’ed me.  It took me 8 hours to get home that night and he even had the audacity to ask if I was going to come to work the next day….I hung up on him….and moved on.  I hate getting stuck in places so I ran around West Seattle trying to get everything that I could possibly need for gobble day.  There was one thing I couldn’t pick up yet……Mr. Gobbler.

I reserved Mr. Gobbler about 3 weeks ago from Don and Joe’s Meats in Pike Place Market.  They’re my source for duck fat and a few other things I buy on a consistent basis.  They’re a few blocks away from school so when I’m on my way home or just going to work they’re my go-to place.   I had a turkey ready to pick up on Tuesday and when I went to sleep on Monday night I knew I would have to figure out someway to get to Pike Place Market from West Seattle. Could I teach Blue to be a sled dog overnight?

Do I know anyone with a helicopter?  Could I just look up and see if the buses were running???? Right….

I gathered up some volunteers to go with me on Turkey Quest 2010 and we made our way to downtown on the King County Metro……free advertisement for The Orca card begins now:

(My dad, Mindy, sister, Dave!)

The bus was running on a snow route so it took about 5 minutes longer than it would have normally to get where we wanted….pretty awesome considering the day before the whole city was shut down and the roads were still really icy.  Another good thing about all of this is that we never lost power…it pays to live in the city!

We walked around, bought food, and then packed it up in our bags in order to carry it back home so I could prep for gobble day. Try to stop me from cooking?  Hahahahahahaaa, that was a weak attempt nature!!!  I had two back-up whole chickens ready in my refrigerator just in case :)

I just hope this time next year I’ll be in Spain or Denmark doing a turkey quest.

Eric

 

Will You Find The Golden Ticket? #willbakeforfood

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I’m am forming a bunch of chocolate right now. There is a gigantic bake sale happening on Saturday in Seattle and I volunteered some of my time/ingredients to this event. It’s to benefit Northwest Harvest and is run by the two Jenny’s (click).   I am going to drop off 20 chocolate bars and one of them will include a golden ticket that will make you a winner…..if you find that ticket, of course.

“What do I get if I win?!?!??!”

I will cook for you, in your home, for free, a 5 course dinner, that’s it!   Please be a Washington resident!!!!

Go here (click)….buy my chocolate bars…….I’m donating all my chocolate…no $$$ goes to me…zero…..I just want an excuse to cook :)

Please support Northwest Harvest.

Eric

Sitka & Spruce (Seattle, WA)

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A dream kitchen, a dream restaurant, a dream is reality at Sitka & Spruce.

This is what I want the kitchen in my home to look like one day…it might even be the same set up I would like in my restaurant but I’m nowhere near having a custom home kitchen or a restaurant of my own so I will be adopting a spot at the communal table at Sitka & Spruce so I can dream about those days in the future.  This restaurant did something for me that I can’t quite put into words.

The second Mindy and I walked into Sitka & Spruce it felt like we were walking into someone’s kitchen….a really nice kitchen that could someday be ours in our home the next time we try that whole mess :) We looked around and noticed the little shelves, records, antique sink, nice and shiny stove that is the same one I use at work but newer and shinier, I explained how awesome those French cast-iron pans were to Mindy, and there was so much more.  It’s a small spot with approximate space for 35-40 diners but it still felt like we were relaxing at someone’s home….no rush, just relax, and talk with Mindy…..we get to do that about once or twice a week and we usually play catch up but this time we just marveled in the idea of this restaurant…..this could be the direction we take one day…..we’ll see….. but first, let’s see how amazing chefs throw it down!

(Camera phone pictures)

Food time! We went for brunch and after this incredible meal I can’t wait to check out dinner one day!

We started with this dish.

This is the Halibut Lox with thinly sliced radish, dill, and olive oil with a little salt and pepper.  Very simple and absolutely incredible.

Next up was the creamed potatoes with poached egg and sorrel

Yes please….everyday and always….thank you.   The topper for me on this one is that they use the previous day’s menu as a replacement for a doily…..genius.

Finally, the prosciutto with marinated feta was incredible when paired with the Columbia City Bakery bread.  All three dishes worked amazingly well with a glass of champagne and the company of the lovely Mindy.

Amazing.

Eric

Dehydrated Peppers and Other Projects

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I dehydrated these peppers (click) in the oven.  It took about 16 hours at 170F.

I have some chocolate bars, bon bons, and truffles coming down the pipeline.  I should have the rest of the equipment by next Wednesday so look out for crazy flavor combinations and lots o’ chocolatey goodness.

Eric

Going Mobile…..

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I’m going mobile!! I got a new phone courtesy of my brother-in-law working for the best cell phone hardware company out there. This G2 phone is incredible and now I can post on the go. The pictures are decent enough that I am ready to post those as well.

The picture above is of some peppers being dehydrated…..sooooooooo fun!

Here is a picture of chicken I was fabricating about 10 minutes ago……….close to instant posting people…..this….is……awesome!!!

Eric

Cookbook: Williams- Sonoma Cooking At Home

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This might be one of the best if not the best home cookbooks I’ve ever seen.  Joy of Cooking? Those red and white checkered Betty Crocker books?  They’re nice but nothing like this. I have a ton of cookbooks and what I always wanted was a reference guide that could bridge the gap between my highly technical books but something I could show to people as a reference for themselves that wasn’t complicated.   This book has done it.

This book starts off like my text books in school.  It goes over the basics of equipping a kitchen, stocking a kitchen, knife techniques, basic cooking techniques, grilling techniques, building flavor, and continues with so much information but it’s written in a way where it’s not intimidating.  There are lots of little tips and hints off to the side that give you those “aha” moments like I have at school and work.   The first few recipes start off with making stocks, just like school, and then it moves onto egg week….just like school.   The basics are all here…in one book.   There are over 1000 recipes and the book ends with my absolute favorite dessert ever…….The Baked Alaska.

There are basics on meat cuts, poultry, puff pastry, ice cream, and so much more.  I think the best part about this book  is that it doesn’t include pictures of finished items.  I think when you’re first starting to really cook you shouldn’t be intimidated by what the food ends up looking like…..focus on the flavor and then you can worry about how it looks the next time  you make that dish…..or you could just never make that dish again and make something different everytime (hmmmm, sounds like someone I know).

This is a great book and I suggest you buy a copy for a gift or two for this holiday season. It’s my go-to gift of the season.

Eric

Roasted Spaghetti and Butternut Squash Soup

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I start by rendering some bacon then I sliced a bunch of white onions then caramelize them for 4-5 hours in the bacon fat.   At the same time I cut up the two squash then roast them.   Then I toast some pumpkin seeds with cardamom, _ _ _ _ _ bean,  and sea salt. Then I make a muscat vinaigrette, julienne an apple, _ _ _ _ _ bean, toss in a brunoise of celery and carrot which will get tossed with a little celery leaf and those pumpkin seeds that will garnish the soup later.    I remove the onions, saute some celery, carrots, and leeks in the pan, deglaze with muscat wine, season,  add the roasted squash, add chicken stock, reduce the soup slightly, add the bacon back in, puree the soup, send it through a sieve. Pour into bowl, garnish with that little salad, eat it, high five anyone within close proximity.

Eric