Your equipment

So it doesn’t take a $500 chefs knife to make a good chef, it takes understanding the equipment you have and using it to its max potential! If you have a knife and feel it isn’t performing give this a read and use some of the techniques, I’m sure you will find you’re equipment is just fine!

An Edge in the Kitchen: The Ultimate Guide to Kitchen Knives -- https://m.barnesandnoble.com/w/edge-in-the-kitchen-chad-ward/1012399190?ean=9780061188480

Something in the oven

 So I’ve got to talk about one of my biggest culinary influences in my life! Though I grew up learning from classic Italian chefs, Lebanese, French, and some pretty rogue American chefs, I was always struck by Latin America and Spanish influenced foods.

Picarones

  

It was easy to start trying simple Tex-mex  flavors; and being from Vermont I thought I was being adventurous. Burritos, chimichangas, nachos those were my limitations to any food south of the border where I was from at the time. As soon as I left VT I worked for an Asian inspired restaurant but had been inspired to learn from the other employees whatever I could. There were only a few Latino Americans in the kitchen there at this time but all of the cooks had something to offer from the Latin American culinary Repertoire, thus began the adventure. 

Peruvian Chicharones

Next thing I know Im living in Florida buying tamales from the little village behind my apartment complex, I started reading more cook books by chefs like Jose Rodriguez and Gaston Acurio, I couldnt help my self at this point. I spent the rest of my professional culinary adventure trying to find more Latin flavors all the while producing the food that the owners and chefs I worked for wanted from me. 

Caldo De Gallina

Now having said that Latin American and traditional Spanish flavors are my greatest influence is true however they are obviously not the only thing I cook. I enjoy a very well rounded library of styles in the methods I use to prepare foods. It is damaging to ones pallet to limit yourself to a typical style and rarely venture from that. Hold that one cuisine in your heart and always try something new.

Hello again from many years of inactivity. A lot has happened since my last post on here. I went through a lot of lifestyle changes due to some medical issues but am back on my feet. I had to change careers but still enjoy my passion of cooking and still live my life following the same rules I had set in place while I was a professional chef. The one thing I must say about not working in a professional kitchen 80 hours a week is that I do have more time on my hands to do the things I enjoy. Also I have pretty much acquired all the toys I ever wanted in a professional kitchen for my home kitchen.

Perks to being a 9 to 5er with over a decade in the food service industry. I get to cook my family amazing food and no one can tell me what kind of food to cook. I get to change the menu every day, I can grow what I want in my garden and use it how I see fit. I also get more time to read more cook books and try out new recipes, I also get to share my creations with my neighbors who are so spoiled by it! I am fortunate that my ability to be home in the day time has given me the opportunity to foster a relationship with my neighborhood thus creating a healthy community that watches out for each other and make sure we are all happy and healthy.

I do miss the heat of the kitchen, the music of the pans and the dancing of the line through the night. I miss the family you build and the intensity of the rush, the uncertainty of the calm before the storm. Then theres the clean up, everyone is sweaty and beat from the crushing service, its time to pack it all in and leave the kitchen like nothing happened. You look around and see the remains of the battle that had just been fought, you look at all the soldiers who fought it with you and think about the beer that you will all share when the last pass of the mop is done and you're all changed.

The many kitchens, chefs, friends and influences i have worked with in my life ring loudly in my dreams every night and will never leave me. I still have nights where I can hear that god awful ticket machine running in my head before I fall asleep.

So it has been a while since I have made a significant post on here. I recently gave myself the task of coming up with a quick reference guide of things that should be expected out of cooks in the kitchen, these also pertain directly to how one needs to live there life to be successful and organized. LEt me know what you think. Are these a little over the top or just a reiteration of common sense?

Quick Reference guide

JON SARGENT

©2013

TREAT EVERYTHING AS IF IT WERE YOUR OWN!

If we take care of everything we get to use here as if it were our own we will ultimately have more respect and ownership for our restaurant.

BE ON TIME Punctuation is very important in everything you do in life. This doesn’t just pertain to work. Being late shows everyone that this job is not important to you.

IF ITS EMPTY, FILL IT UP

When you wash your hands, and you use the last of the paper towels, don’t just leave it. No soap at the sink, its an empty bottle, change it out.  These are some examples. This pertains to your line set up as well. You run out of something in your mise en place, butter, salt, shallots, herbs whatever, don’t leave it empty, fill it up.

BE CONCIENCIOUS OF EVERY ONE AROUND YOU

This is probably the top responsibility of everyone in their life. If you see someone boiling cream over, shut it off, they are about to over reduce a gastrique, shut it off. They put toast in the salamander and its about to burn help them. They are weeded and your not, give them a hand.

GOT TIME TO LEAN, YOU GOT TIME TO CLEAN

There is nothing worse for a chef to see or a manager to see than their employees doing nothing. When we are at work we are to be occupied with something. There is always something to learn or do just ask, or look around. Consolidate containers, organize walk-ins, wipe out the coolers, and clean the seals on the reach in doors.

IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS

If you are uncertain of anything, or have questions about anything at all, go to your chef, if he is unavailable go to the sous chef, if neither are there go to the general manager. follow the chain of command.

NEVER PUT KNIVES IN THE DISH AREA!!!!!!!!!!

This is common sense I hope. This is so dangerous, if anyone lost a finger or cut their arm, I would make it the responsibility of the person who put that knife in the dish area responsible for paying for the stitches!!!

NEVER ROLL A BOIL ON A STOCK!!!!!

Standard operating procedure for a meat stock,  in a stock pot full of water bring bones up to a boil, add the mierpoix  (stock Veg) reduce temp to a simmer. Always a simmer.

Vegetable stock: Place mierpoix in large stock pot, just cover the veg by an inch of water, bring to a boil and hold at a simmer for 1 hour. Strain and cool reserve veg.

COOKING ON THE LINE

We are on stage all of the time act appropriate, be respectful of each other and stay clean.

EMUSLIFICATION!

This is an easy thing to take for granted, consistency tells all, watch for the separation of oil, this will tell you to slow down the oil, or add water, its all by feel for the most part. If you are uncomfortable making aioli’s and emulsifications, talk to me we will get you on the right track.

SPEAKING OF CLEANLINESS

Everyone is expected to do their part, no one is exempt from having to do dishes, scrub floors, clean hoods, plunge toilets or take out the trash. If it is needed to be done then take initiative. Keep your area organized! How you think in your life is a direct reflection of your work ethic, keep an organized thought process and ambition and you will be successful. Keep your aprons and jackets clean, we will be seen. Keep the floors swept and dirty dishes cleared trashes not over flowing, these are all responsibilities in our stations.

PRODUCT ROTATION

Be aware of the dates of product you are using, label everything you touch! When you rotate proteins, this is the chefs method, on a piece of deli paper write the date the product originated on, the name and quantity of the product and your initials.

When consolidating containers, copy the label from the original container.

REMOVE THE LABLES FROM OLD CONTAINERS BEFORE THEY GO TO THE DISH WASHER

BE PATIONATE AND LOVE WHAT YOU DO

When you care about what you do and love everything about it, you can taste that in the product you finish with. Putting care and respect towards all your products and processes will make you great.

PUNCHING IN AND PUNCHING OUT

When you punch in you are  ready to start working, this means you are changed into your brigade and ready to step on station. When you leave the kitchen to go home you punch out before changing when your work is done. Always check with the chef before leaving work!

THE MOST IMPORTANT WORDS YOU WILL EVER KNOW

“YES CHEF"   

DON’T FORGET THOSE WORDS!

Chile Olive Oil and Boston Bakes For Breast Cancer.
Last night was the debut of my freelance chef company! We will be specializing in catering and private parties. I was asked to do an event for Boston Bakes for Breast Cancer, in support of an up and coming olive oil company named Chile Olive Oil. The competition was to create a dessert using the olive oil and making it so you can taste it in all the ingredients. The winner would have the chance to donate $1000 dollars to Boston Bakes for Breast cancer in his or her name; they would also get a write up from Chili Olive Oil. When proposed this idea I didn’t hesitate and said “absolutely” obviously.

I set out to make a dessert that would rival the rest apparently. On a side note, a little info about my self, I have never been confident in my pastry department skills nor have I done a lot of work in the pastry field. I am mostly a hot line kinda guy. So what I did for my desert was I made a sweetened marscarpone, crème fraiche spread with orange zest, with a rosemary olive oil cake also hinted with orange zest, I had a cranberry compote steeped in olive oil with orange segments, and blue berries, I topped all of this with an almond crumble and micro basil.

The process for this was quite easy. I first thought rosemary olive oil cake, then I was drawn to orange, I think rosemary and orange are great together, and then I thought cranberries! So good with rosemary! But also very tart, lets bring it down with fresh blue berries. All in season at this point. Then I needed a crunch element, I had originally thought of popping kernels of quinoa and folding them into caramel, then I said no I’ll make caramel glass and crumble it on top, I wasn’t satisfied with this either. I then was thinking maybe a tuile, then it came to me, something easy and still complete, an almond crumble.

Then the time for the event started to sneak up. I gathered all of my supplies and headed to the Deuxave kitchen, where I was able to expedite my project.

I opened 3# of fresh cranberries and put them in a pot with about 1 pint of sugar, 3 cups orange juice and ½ cup Chile Olive oil, I brought this to a boil and let it come down to a very low simmer for about 10 minutes so the cranberries would cook down.

I then laid them out on a hotel pan to cool rapidly

Once they cooled to about room temperature I folded in blue berries and orange segments.

Then I started making the batter for my cake this is the recipe I used.

1# All purpose Flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp Sa;t

6 eggs

1 ½ # sugar

zest of 1 orange

12 oz Bold Chile Olive Oil

 1# 4 oz milk

1 Tbl Chopped Rosemary

I added the eggs to a mixer with the sugar and orange zest, I whipped them until the became Smooth and fluffy, then I started to add ½ of the olive oil in a steady stream and half of the milk at the same time, as to not over load the eggs with fat and make them fall.

After combining all of the dry ingredients left, I a brought it over to the mixer and changed the attachment on it for the paddle and started using it to stir in the dry mix. Remember to sift your flour into the wet mix. Once it started to incorporate I alternated the remaining liquids in with the dry till all was finished. Do not over mix your batter; work it as little as possible. Pour into molds and bake at 325 in a convection 375 in an induction for 7 to 10 minutes depending on your oven.

The crumble went like this

1# butter

1# sugar

1# Almond Flour

1# All purpose flour

1 tsp Sea salt

Mix till it has become mealy and crumble onto a sheet tray, bake this at 325 for about 10 minutes, using a wooden spoon or off set spatula break up the crumbles and bake another 5 minutes doing the same thing. Repeat this process another time and cool it till room temp. Give it one last chop with the spoon or spatula.

Now the marscarpone

1# Marscarpone

½ # Crème Fraiche

3 Tbl Honey

¼ cup confectioners sugar

zest of 3 oranges

anout 1/3 cup Chile Olive Oil.

Place all ingredients in a food processor and spin until incorporated, this will be thin and flat looking, adjust the flavor, and spin some more until it becomes thick.

Now all the components are ready for assembly. 

Starting to think about the Chile Olive oil event for Boston Bakes For Breast Cancer. I will be offering a Olive oil Bundt Cake, with marinated local berries, Olive oil marscarpone frosting and a cherry coulis. All of these ingredients will have olive oil in them somewhere, you will definitely taste the wonderful flavors of the southern hemisphere olive oil.

Cavatelli, morel mushrooms & Escargot

4 oz fresh cavatelli (process below)

9 ea cleaned and blanched fava beans not split (Next page)

12 pieces of ¼ in diced carrots. (Next Page)

1.5 each roasted cippolini onions in ¼’s  (Next page)

1/3 cups seared morel mushrooms (two page)

¼ cup 70% reduced veal stock(pg # coming)

7 each cooked snails (Next Page)

2 each nubs of butter (equivalent shown in two pages)

2 tbls chopped flat leaf parsley

A few squirts of madeira and sherry vinegar

 salt and pepper for taste.

Zest of lemon

2 tbls parmesan cheese and chopped parsley

pinch of brunoise shallots and garlic.

For Cavatelli Dough

16 oz. Ricotta Cheese


2 Eggs
1 Pinch of Salt


3 Cups (1 pound) All Purpose Flour

1 each nutmeg microplained into flour

1.Pour 2 1/2 cups of the flour and nutmeg into a bowl and make a well in the middle.


2. Drop the 2 eggs and the ricotta cheese into the well.

3. Using a circular motion, slowly incorporate the flour into the eggs and cheese.


4. Once all of the flour has been combined with the eggs and cheese, knead the dough together until a soft, but not sticky dough is formed.  It can depend on the day, but if the dough still remains sticky add more flour.

5. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let rest for at least a half an hour.

Formation

1. Take your ball of dough and divide it into quarters.


2. Working with one quarter at a time, lay the dough out on a lightly floured surface and divide it into quarters again.


3. Take a piece of the divided dough about a 16^th of the recipe and roll it into a long tube about 1/4 inch in diameter.

4. Divide the tube into pieces 1 inch long with either a pastry cutter or a knife.

5. Using the edge of a butter knife or bench knife, holding your desired utensil at a 45 degree angle, press on each piece of dough and pull across the length of it.  You’ll find that the motion causes the dough to roll up the edge of the blade.

6. When you are done with each cavatelli, have a lightly floured pan near by so you can toss them in and repeat the process.

For Escargot

Get fresh snails if possible if not use a can.

Start a court bouillon  (Fennel, onion, carrot, celery, leeks, parsley, bay leaves, thyme, peppercorns, water, lemon) and bring to a boil, then reducing to a simmer.

While waiting for the boil wash off about 36 to 40 snails by soaking them in ice water for about 5 min agitating frequently , pull the snails out of the water and transfer into another pot of ice water and repeating until water baths are clear and snails are clean. Court bouillon should be at a simmer by now, placing a large metal bowl with your snails, in a larger bowl with an ice bath in it, pour simmering court bouillon over the snails, give them a stir once covered in liquid, let cool completely and remove snails, strain the liquid and reserve. Now using the back side of a small pairing knife pull gently of the heads of the snail till you can grab with your fingers, twisting it out as they curl inside of the shell. Place in a small container and cover with reserved liquid.

For carrots

Using bunched carrots wash thoroughly,  cut into workable sizes approximately 3 inch logs cut into ¼’s lengthwise depending on thickness of carrot. Your main goal is to make sure the carrots are all about the same size, reason being they will all cook about the same amount of time.

After cutting your carrots, toss them in a bowl, add some salt and some fresh ground black pepper, 1 tsp chopped thyme, coat the veggies in olive oil and lay out on a sheet tray in an even layer and roast in the oven at about 375 degrees Fahrenheit 12 to 15 minutes, stir and continue to roast until some color has been achieved on the carrot.

For Cippolini onions.

In a pan add 2 tbl canola oil, bring to a light smoke, add enough onions to make an even layer over the bottom of the pan. Cook  in the pan until the first side has developed some caramelization, rotate each onion onto the uncooked side, wait for the same caramelizeation now add a few tablespoons of sherry wine and deglaze with veal stock cooking until the onions are soft, pull out of the liquid and let cool on a plate. Reduce the rest of the veal stock and sherry until almost set and reserve for later use.

For Fava beans

Stating with the fresh beans, pop open the pod and clear the beans with a gentle finger trying not to break the bean.  Bring 1 quart water a bay leave, 3 sprigs of thyme, 1 sliced shallot up to a boil and add 3 tbls salt. Have 1 cup of fava beans already prepped for blanching. Add the 1 cup of fava beans to the boiling quart of salt water for about 1 min 30 seconds. The bean will still be in a pod so peel that away and try a bean. There should be a small bite in the middle but cooked almost all the way through. Once cooked, drop in an ice bath to shock the cooking process.

For Mushrooms

¼ cup shallots brunoise

2 tbls brunoise garlic

5 sprigs of Chopped thyme

¼ cups canola oil

1 Tbls madeira

5 nubs butter (about 3 tbl)

About 1 pound fresh mushrooms

Usually all mushrooms are dirty and need cleaning. How I process mushrooms is fill a deep container full of cold water and crushed ice if you have the availability, fill a second container full of cold water. Add the mushrooms to the ice water mix and agitate gently not to break up the mushroom, count to 15 while agitating. Once you have hit 15 let stand for another 30 seconds, so the dirt and sut will sink to the bottom of the container. After 30 seconds pulling from the bottom of the mush room float if you will, transfer the mushrooms to the second tub, agitate again gently. Dump out the first tub, clean out the sink and refill the tub with fresh clean cold water and repeat the process until water is clean and clear. Once water is clean and clear and mushrooms are clean, remove them from the water and lay them out on a towel to dry, 1 day is preferable.

In a large flat bottom pan add oil and heat till light smoke. Add shallots and garlic and sauté until translucent over medium high heat once cooked add mushrooms and continue to cook. There will be a release of a lot of water from the mushrooms, continue to cook until the water has evaporated and the mushrooms are starting to fry a little, at this point add the thyme and madeira cook until madeira is absorbed add the butter and cook until the butter is frothy and toasted add salt, pull the mushrooms and let drain on a towel. This process is good for any dark mushrooms, crimini, hen of the woods, morel, black trumpet etc.

To assemble the dish

all of these ingredients need to be completed as shown above for optimal flavor.

Set a pot of salted water for cooking pasta. Bring to a boil. Set a strainer in the water to catch the pasta when added to the water.

In a medium sized sauté pan bring up some oil to a light smoke, add the shallots and garlic cooking until soft, add the mushrooms, carrots, and cipollini onions, cook till hot deglaze with madeira, add veal stock and fava beans and snails, at this point drop pasta in the boiling water with the colander, cook till tender. Now the sauce should be reduced by about 70%. Add nubs of butter and mount in, toss in the pasta and parsley into the mixture and cook till glazed and coated, adjust flavor with sherry vinegar.