Home 2 days and I'm already bored. Since its 2:30am and I'm not tired, what better thing to do then update this blog. Yesterday (Saturday) I had lunch with my mom and sister at El Meson. I'm assuming everyone can guess what type of cuisine we had. I had chicken tacos with tomatillo salsa, they were good but not anything stellar. After that I took a nice walk around the Farmer's Market that's close by. The produce was good in some areas and terrible in others but after obtaining roughly $20 worth including basic stuff like lemons, limes and shallots and also some more interesting things such as jicama, tuna (cactus apple) and bok choy, I returned home. Dinner was a production from myself in which I created Dry Rub London Broil with Jicama Slaw. The meat was easy and delicious and for the Jicama Slaw I julienned a whole jicama, some carrots and then diced red and green bell peppers and red onion before dressing this with a Honey-Ancho Chipotle Vinaigrette. All in all I'd call it a successful day.
Today (Sunday) was pretty boring (I slept until 11am). I woke up and went food shopping grabbing the usual assortment of snacks and drinks (As most people know that I consume more than the average daily amount of food, I also consume so much liquid). I picked up some stuff for today's dinner which I've made before and decided to take a crack at again, Chili-Rubbed Chicken with Honey-Lime Sauce and Fresh Salsa. The chicken got rubbed in chili powder and a quick sear in hot oil before finishing in the oven and the sauce was basic with some butter, chicken stock, lime juice, honey and salt and pepper. Fresh salsa is also pretty basic, tomatoes, jalapenos, onion, a bit of olive oil and some salt and pepper. It came out pretty damn good and I polished off about 1.75 pounds of chicken with my dad. Tonight I did nothing but tomorrow I will spend the day at the beach to get my tan back so I can look pretty when I go back to school. I also plan on traveling to any other Farmer's Markets I can find decently close to me so if you are near me and bored during the week you can come learn about produce with me while I practice my identifying skills.
If you want to try these recipes either comment or email me and I'll send em your way.
Chef Werblin
ps. "Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first – Ernestine Ulmer"
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
End of the Beginning
The last two days at the Culinary were interesting to say the least. Wednesday in Product Knowledge we did Mushrooms and Stalk (things like celery, fennel and rhubarb). Turns out I need to know roughly 20 mushrooms and 10 stalks on top of the 15 types of lettuce and 15 types of cabbage which is a lot of produce to say the least. Since banquet was closed for the last 2 days (because its 3 weeks later from when I started so a class is graduating) they had what is called "Grand Buffet." This is basically a showing from the graduating students who prepare dishes of their choice and everyone gets to eat including the staff and President. We decided to give it a whirl and the food was all so extravagant. More terrines (a terrine is a loaf of force meat) and foie gras (duck or goose liver) and truffles (a very expensive item, white and black truffles) then you have ever seen. Anyway, most of this stuff is out of our culinary and palate bounds but we tried everything we could. I tried a seafood terrine and a truffle and foie gras terrine. I couldn't tell if I liked them but since I'd never had foie gras, or truffle, or terrine it was certainly a new and interesting experience. Later that day we had math... which is terribly easy and boring and then bolted for dinner which turned out to be just McDonalds since most of the food kitchens were closed. Wednesday night we just hung out and waited for our last day of class.
Thursday started off the morning with a nice end of the week quiz in Gastronomy (don't worry, I killed it) and a few presentations. In that class we were assigned to groups and we each have a person that influenced Cuisine in some way to research and present. Yesterday Careme and Escoffier were presented. Lunch again was tough to find because banquet wasn't open so there was an 80-person line for K-16 (no joke) and this then forced a few of us to drive down to Planet Wings (a good wing place) for lunch. I spent most of the afternoon packing and then made my way to Food Safety for one last quiz before my group of friends went out for one last dinner together before we parted ways. I stayed the night last night to drop someone at the train station at 6am (I know, I'm a great friend) and then made my way home today. I plan on going to the Farmer's Market roughly everyday to explore and I'll be sure to update the findings. For now, time to relax and enjoy 3 weeks off.
Chef Werblin
ps. look up Chayote (mexican squash) because I have to research it. It's pretty cool and tastes like a Cucumber and Zucchini had too many drinks, did naughty things and 9 months later this happened.
Thursday started off the morning with a nice end of the week quiz in Gastronomy (don't worry, I killed it) and a few presentations. In that class we were assigned to groups and we each have a person that influenced Cuisine in some way to research and present. Yesterday Careme and Escoffier were presented. Lunch again was tough to find because banquet wasn't open so there was an 80-person line for K-16 (no joke) and this then forced a few of us to drive down to Planet Wings (a good wing place) for lunch. I spent most of the afternoon packing and then made my way to Food Safety for one last quiz before my group of friends went out for one last dinner together before we parted ways. I stayed the night last night to drop someone at the train station at 6am (I know, I'm a great friend) and then made my way home today. I plan on going to the Farmer's Market roughly everyday to explore and I'll be sure to update the findings. For now, time to relax and enjoy 3 weeks off.
Chef Werblin
ps. look up Chayote (mexican squash) because I have to research it. It's pretty cool and tastes like a Cucumber and Zucchini had too many drinks, did naughty things and 9 months later this happened.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Last Days Before Summer Break
Yesterday was a pretty fun day of class even though everyone knows Monday's are awful. In Product Knowledge we started our Cabbage group. Believe it or not this group includes everything from standard green cabbage to broccoli and brussel sprouts. After I became well rehearsed in all my cabbage vegetables, we had lunch. Lunch was pretty good. The appetizer wasn't really my thing but I did try it. It was a seafood salad that consisted of squid, scallops and shrimp in a light sauce. It tasted good but I don't love the texture of too many seafood items except scallops. The entree I enjoyed, Saltambocca (Veal pounded thin and wrapped in prosciutto) with potatoes. The veal was kind of overcooked but I'll assume that's because it was so thin. Finally dessert was simply Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Sauce. A little relaxing before math and then dinner which was pretty basic, just tacos from the production kitchen. We decided after that to play some tennis which is the new fad for us and we pay all the time.
Today started off my morning with the worst class of all time where we did some tasting to determine flavor as a different thing then taste. She must have known I hate that class because the tasting was all chocolate which helped ease my frustration. I left not as angry as usual and made my way down to lunch at banquet where we had a so-so meal. The appetizer was strange but delicious. Two types of pasta, Fettucine Puttanesca and Penne with Andouille Sausage, Kale and Cheese. Both excellent and I would've been more than happy to just eat those for lunch even though heavy pasta for an appetizer was quite strange (served family style). The entree was Grouper with Horseradish Potatoes and Broccoli Rabe. I don't really enjoy fish that isn't fried or grilled so I tasted it (tasted like nothing because it's so mild but I hate the texture of fish prepared that way) then ended my lunch. Dessert was disgusting (only to me) because it was White Chocolate Mousse and I absolutely despise white chocolate. I took a nap this afternoon cause I was very tired then we had Food Safety ( fell asleep in class) and finally made it to dinner. Today I decided to go to Cuisines of the Americas where the cuisine was Southwest so I enjoyed Pork in Red Chili Sauce with Corn Fritters and Refried Beans with Salsa. All of it was excellent and I ate a plate and a half because someone didn't finish before yet again returning to my dorm to nap and read. Again a bit more tennis and some basketball and that about wrapped up the day. Two more days until summer break and I can't wait.
Chef Werblin
ps. I'm getting better and better at tennis so be on the lookout for my Wimbledon debut sometime soon
pps. Now that we have our knife kits I'll be trying so many new things at home as recipes and since the blog won't be about school I'll make sure to update it with all those.
Today started off my morning with the worst class of all time where we did some tasting to determine flavor as a different thing then taste. She must have known I hate that class because the tasting was all chocolate which helped ease my frustration. I left not as angry as usual and made my way down to lunch at banquet where we had a so-so meal. The appetizer was strange but delicious. Two types of pasta, Fettucine Puttanesca and Penne with Andouille Sausage, Kale and Cheese. Both excellent and I would've been more than happy to just eat those for lunch even though heavy pasta for an appetizer was quite strange (served family style). The entree was Grouper with Horseradish Potatoes and Broccoli Rabe. I don't really enjoy fish that isn't fried or grilled so I tasted it (tasted like nothing because it's so mild but I hate the texture of fish prepared that way) then ended my lunch. Dessert was disgusting (only to me) because it was White Chocolate Mousse and I absolutely despise white chocolate. I took a nap this afternoon cause I was very tired then we had Food Safety ( fell asleep in class) and finally made it to dinner. Today I decided to go to Cuisines of the Americas where the cuisine was Southwest so I enjoyed Pork in Red Chili Sauce with Corn Fritters and Refried Beans with Salsa. All of it was excellent and I ate a plate and a half because someone didn't finish before yet again returning to my dorm to nap and read. Again a bit more tennis and some basketball and that about wrapped up the day. Two more days until summer break and I can't wait.
Chef Werblin
ps. I'm getting better and better at tennis so be on the lookout for my Wimbledon debut sometime soon
pps. Now that we have our knife kits I'll be trying so many new things at home as recipes and since the blog won't be about school I'll make sure to update it with all those.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
The Second Weekend
Friday was another typical boring day of classes except for the fact it brought on the weekend. Unfortunately nothing stellar in the food department this weekend either. Saturday was pretty uneventful too except for some homework and relaxing. The best part was the trip to NYC we decided to take on Sunday. The city is great and we arrived at around 11 and walked around Times Square and such before hopping on the subway to go to Canal Street/Chinatown/Little Italy where we ate, bargained for cheap souvenirs and tired our legs out. When we got back we watched some of the fireworks that you couldn't really see and played tennis (our new fad) for a few hours. I'm actually getting kinda decent so hopefully I'll be a tennis pro in no time.
There's only 4 days of classes left before summer break for 3 weeks. Thursday brings 2 midterms so most of the week will be dedicated to homework, dare I even so that dreaded word.
As for now its watching last week's episode of Top Chef (I know how nerdy that sounds coming from a culinary kid) and getting some much needed sleep before class tomorrow.
Chef Werblin
There's only 4 days of classes left before summer break for 3 weeks. Thursday brings 2 midterms so most of the week will be dedicated to homework, dare I even so that dreaded word.
As for now its watching last week's episode of Top Chef (I know how nerdy that sounds coming from a culinary kid) and getting some much needed sleep before class tomorrow.
Chef Werblin
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Wednesday/Thursday
Yesterday was yet again a typical day. Product Knowledge in the morning where we started finally getting into produce identification. We did lettuces yesterday and after our quiz on Friday we'll move into Salad Greens and such. Lunch was pretty excellent, an appetizer of Salad with Bacon, Egg and a good dressing. The entree was amazing... Duck Leg with Mashed Potatoes and Fava Bean Stew. If you are going to eat duck... eat it this way. The duck was flavorful and fantastic with the potatoes. Finally dessert was Chocolate Mousse flavored with something we couldn't quite figure out that gave the mousse a lighter color and interesting flavor. After our math quiz at 4pm which took me 20 minutes (I got 100 no doubt) we hung around until dinner. For dinner I decided on Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Cheese, Avocado, Tomato on Country Bread with Fries which was good. The desserts at the dining hall are INSANE. They just bring out massive loads of crazy cakes and custards and line them up to take. Once I get a camera I'll make sure to make you all even more jealous. Last night was pretty relaxed just hangin out.
Today was another dreadful Gastronomy class. Let's not get into the details but basically my face was beet red and I wanted to put my fist through a wall because she makes me so angry. Either way, lunch was full at banquet so we went upstairs to the regular meals and ate at Cuisines of the Mediterranean where it was Italian day. I got Risotto with Sausage, Asparagus and Leeks and it was excellent. I also tried Ryan and Leah's dishes just to sample. Ryan had Osso Buco (braised veal shank) which if you haven't had is amazing and Leah had Potato Gnocchi with Duck Ragu which was also fantastic. We hung around until Food Safety at 4. If there is one thing I hate, it's being treated like a 5 year old in COLLEGE. These teachers with their ridiculous methods and baby-like voices to a bunch of 18-21 year olds is so frustrating. We're big boys and girls, we lost the Pampers a while back now and we can handle it. Hopefully after this block of classes it is different. Dinner was pretty boring and since nothing looked terribly good I just got a burger and fries then went back to my dorm for a nap while most other people went to writing class (I'm exempt!). When they were done with that we met at a dorm, relaxed and then took a trip to Applebees for Halfitizers (half price appetizers) which was delicious to say the least at 10:30pm.
One more day before the weekend which I can't wait for. Hopefully tomorrow's PK quiz is nice and easy.
Chef Werblin
ps. seriously... play Skip-B0
pps. I've been doing externship research (our externship is 18 weeks working at a approved place of your choice after your first 8 months here before you come back to finish) so if you have ideas feel free to shed some input. Right now I'm leaning towards Rick Bayless' restaurant in Chicago cause I love Rick Bayless
Today was another dreadful Gastronomy class. Let's not get into the details but basically my face was beet red and I wanted to put my fist through a wall because she makes me so angry. Either way, lunch was full at banquet so we went upstairs to the regular meals and ate at Cuisines of the Mediterranean where it was Italian day. I got Risotto with Sausage, Asparagus and Leeks and it was excellent. I also tried Ryan and Leah's dishes just to sample. Ryan had Osso Buco (braised veal shank) which if you haven't had is amazing and Leah had Potato Gnocchi with Duck Ragu which was also fantastic. We hung around until Food Safety at 4. If there is one thing I hate, it's being treated like a 5 year old in COLLEGE. These teachers with their ridiculous methods and baby-like voices to a bunch of 18-21 year olds is so frustrating. We're big boys and girls, we lost the Pampers a while back now and we can handle it. Hopefully after this block of classes it is different. Dinner was pretty boring and since nothing looked terribly good I just got a burger and fries then went back to my dorm for a nap while most other people went to writing class (I'm exempt!). When they were done with that we met at a dorm, relaxed and then took a trip to Applebees for Halfitizers (half price appetizers) which was delicious to say the least at 10:30pm.
One more day before the weekend which I can't wait for. Hopefully tomorrow's PK quiz is nice and easy.
Chef Werblin
ps. seriously... play Skip-B0
pps. I've been doing externship research (our externship is 18 weeks working at a approved place of your choice after your first 8 months here before you come back to finish) so if you have ideas feel free to shed some input. Right now I'm leaning towards Rick Bayless' restaurant in Chicago cause I love Rick Bayless
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Monday/Tuesday
The last 2 days have been pretty standard, classes, fun food and outdoor activities with my new friends. Monday was pretty boring in terms of class, but I'll let you know about all the great food I ate so you can be jealous. Lunch consisted of a Tomato, Fresh Mozzarella and Basil Salad with Balsamic which was something I could easily eat every day of the week and twice on Sundays. The entree, Sauteed Duck Breast with Potatoes Au Gratin. I'm getting used to the idea of duck since I've now eaten it 3 times in a week and both were very good. Finally dessert was Profiterole Dipped in Chocolate. Another win in the dessert column for this school. Dinner was pretty plain... Beef Burrito with Salsa, good but not out of this world. Monday night consisted of bball and an hour or so of homework (believe me when I say I'm surprised I actually did homework too).
Today we had Gastronomy with the teacher who I don't care for too much. She just rubs me the wrong way although the material is decently interesting... the odds of me even remotely enjoying any part of that class in the next 6 weeks is highly unlikely. Today for lunch was not a good day... the appetizer was Gravlox (cured salmon) with Arugula, Fennel and a Chive Oil. I don't care for salmon much as is, especially if its cured which I learned today. Not a good appetizer for me although I did try it. The entree was Chicken Roulade with Fresh Mozzarella and Sage over Couscous with Broccolini. The chicken wasn't bad but the sage overpowered most of the flavor, the couscous tasted ok but seemed softer than any couscous I've had before and broccolini is very bitter and was covered in red pepper flake which did not mix well with the bitter. The only highlight of this meal was the dessert (again!) which was a Chocolate Pot De Creme which is basically a little bowl of delicious chocolate, mousse-like pudding that was topped with whipped cream and strawberries. Excellent but too rich for me to take more than a few bites of without developing a headache (thank you genes from mom). Tonight for dinner was Roasted Herb Chicken with Potatoes, Onions and Mushrooms... not bad.
I hit the gym for about an hour, ran to go get some food cause I'm a fat ass and I'm starving at 10pm and finally I'm gonna go to a friends room to hang and play Skip-Bo (a fun card game kinda Uno-ish... look it up if you're curious) before I come back to do some homework... sorta.
Chef Werblin
ps. Today we learned that food aversions are something that people develop usually for strange and non-nonsensical reasons and that overcoming them is very possible so I pose to you this. Pick one food you dislike whether it be from a bad memory or another reason and for 2 months, incorporate it into your diet and meals and overcome that aversion so that your cuisine palate can be expanded.
Today we had Gastronomy with the teacher who I don't care for too much. She just rubs me the wrong way although the material is decently interesting... the odds of me even remotely enjoying any part of that class in the next 6 weeks is highly unlikely. Today for lunch was not a good day... the appetizer was Gravlox (cured salmon) with Arugula, Fennel and a Chive Oil. I don't care for salmon much as is, especially if its cured which I learned today. Not a good appetizer for me although I did try it. The entree was Chicken Roulade with Fresh Mozzarella and Sage over Couscous with Broccolini. The chicken wasn't bad but the sage overpowered most of the flavor, the couscous tasted ok but seemed softer than any couscous I've had before and broccolini is very bitter and was covered in red pepper flake which did not mix well with the bitter. The only highlight of this meal was the dessert (again!) which was a Chocolate Pot De Creme which is basically a little bowl of delicious chocolate, mousse-like pudding that was topped with whipped cream and strawberries. Excellent but too rich for me to take more than a few bites of without developing a headache (thank you genes from mom). Tonight for dinner was Roasted Herb Chicken with Potatoes, Onions and Mushrooms... not bad.
I hit the gym for about an hour, ran to go get some food cause I'm a fat ass and I'm starving at 10pm and finally I'm gonna go to a friends room to hang and play Skip-Bo (a fun card game kinda Uno-ish... look it up if you're curious) before I come back to do some homework... sorta.
Chef Werblin
ps. Today we learned that food aversions are something that people develop usually for strange and non-nonsensical reasons and that overcoming them is very possible so I pose to you this. Pick one food you dislike whether it be from a bad memory or another reason and for 2 months, incorporate it into your diet and meals and overcome that aversion so that your cuisine palate can be expanded.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Sunday, A Block Party
I wasn't going to write about today cause not much happened but I'm sitting in my dorm and kinda bored so why not. Today was the Stars and Stripes Block Party which was right behind my dorm. Set-up were some inflatable things, a slip n' slide, a dunk tank and a whole mess of food. Myself and a friend who are new members of the Brewery Club went to the tent to serve our Root Beer Floats with Guinness Ice Cream (that the two of us made). We did that while it was busy then walked around and saw some friends and had some food, including cotton candy, smoothies, frozen bananas, flavored popcorns, fried oreos and twinkies, burgers, hot dogs, and watermelon. After some slip n' slide fun we ended up just hanging out till around 5.
We parted ways to take showers and then three of us went to dinner at this restaurant right on the Hudson. It was excellent and we split Brie in Puff Pastry (incredible!) for an appetizer and I got Ribs and Crab Cakes which was awesome. The rest of our friends decided to grill outside for dinner but didn't do so until around 10pm so when we got back we met them and I had my second dinner of the night... Grilled BBQ Chicken, Corn, Mashed Potatoes and Watermelon. All in all a successful day eating. This week classes really get into full swing so hopefully I'll be learning a whole lot. Looking forward to next weekend when we are going to NYC on Saturday. Time to go read.
Chef Werblin
We parted ways to take showers and then three of us went to dinner at this restaurant right on the Hudson. It was excellent and we split Brie in Puff Pastry (incredible!) for an appetizer and I got Ribs and Crab Cakes which was awesome. The rest of our friends decided to grill outside for dinner but didn't do so until around 10pm so when we got back we met them and I had my second dinner of the night... Grilled BBQ Chicken, Corn, Mashed Potatoes and Watermelon. All in all a successful day eating. This week classes really get into full swing so hopefully I'll be learning a whole lot. Looking forward to next weekend when we are going to NYC on Saturday. Time to go read.
Chef Werblin
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