Professional Kitchen....HERE I COME!

I talked to the chef at the restaurant I work at yesterday.  I told him that I'm in culinary school and then asked if I could get into the kitchen.  HE SAID YES!  He talked to the manager who does scheduling and then the three of us had a chat this morning when I got to work!

Looks like I'll be doing prep work in the kitchen on Tuesdays and Wednesdays!  Totally excited!

School is in session!

Ok, I know I said I'd make the hamantaschen a week ago but life gets busy and sometimes you have to put things off!

Anyhow, some of them turned out okay.  No pictures for those.

I did make marshmallows and bourbon custard tonight too.  Those recipes will follow soon!

On another note:  SCHOOL IS IN SESSION!

My class this quarter is Baking & Pastry.  I'm definitely enjoying it.  I started reading the book before school started and realized that I think I want to be a pastry chef.  I think working in a restaurant and seeing that world also helped me come to that decision.  I enjoy it there...but I think I'd rather be playing with pastries and breads and confectionary treats than anything else.  I always have so much fun with those!

This week in class we did quick breads:  scones, shortcakes, biscuits, morning glory muffins, and sour cream muffins with streusel topping.  Erin took a picture of most of those.  I'll have her send it to me so I can post that for you.

Dough is in the fridge

I'm making hamantschen tomorrow...either before work or after.  The recipe says to refrigerate the dough for at least an hour...so I'm letting it chill overnight.

Brace yourself for some Jewish cookies!

Roasted Acorn Squash Pizza

So I found this recipe on Smitten Kitchen (which they got from Giada DeLaurentis) for roasted acorn squash and gorgonzola pizza and seeing as I LOVE acorn squash and had all the ingredients except the cheese, I decided I MUST make the pizza.  Well...turns out I had to alter it a little bit.  The store I was at last night didn't have Gorgonzola cheese so I went with Colby Jack for 3 reasons: (1) it's too cold outside to venture to another store, (2) I'm too cheap to buy Gorgonzola, and (3) didn't feel like doing research to figure out what kind of cheese would be a cheaper substitute.

Speaking of the store I was at last night...I hate DC grocery stores.  Five cents for a plastic bag?!  Thank you DC for continuing to make people believe in man-made global warming.  This is bullshit.  And to top it off their customer service was sub-par....and by that I mean the dude was rude.

I guess that wasn't the only substitution I made:
Colby Jack instead of Gorgonzola
Cara cara orange juice instead of lemon juice (yes, I did buy the oranges because they have my name in their name....and they just so happen to be delicious).
Baby spinach and spring mix instead of arugula (That is what I had in the fridge and saw no point in going out to buy arugula when I had something that is way better (in my opinon))
This pizza dough (because I didn't have yeast and it's too cold to venture out to buy some)
Normally, I would make a beer batter pizza dough, but I didn't have any beer....and we all know why I didn't go out to buy some.

Here is the recipe:

Roast Acorn Squash and Gorgonzola Pizza
Adapted from Giada DeLaurentis
Yield: 4 side dish servings

1 (1 pound) acorn squash
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp salt, plus 1/4 tsp
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper, plus 1/4 tsp
1 pound pizza dough
1 cup shredded whole milk mozzarella
1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola
1 cup arugula
Squeeze of lemon juice

1.  Preheat the oven to 375F
2.  Slice the squash in half from top to bottom.  Scoop out the seeds.  Slice the squash into 1/2 to 3/4-inch wide half moons and place in a medium bowl.  Toss the squash with the syrup, olive oil, red pepper flakes, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper.  Place the squash on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Bake the squash until tender and golden about 20 to 25 minutes.
3.  Keep the temperature on the oen at 375F.  Roll out the pizza dough on a flour dusted piece of parchment paper to a 13-inch diameter.  Place the pizza and the parchment paper on a baking sheet.  Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese and the Gorgonzola on the pizza dough.  Bake in the oven until golden and cooked through, about 25 to 30 minutes.
4.  Peel the skins off the squash.  Top the cooked pizza with the cooked squash.  Top with arugula, squeeze of lemon juice and the remaining 1/4 tsp salt and pepper.  Slice and Serve.

OMG!

My new favorite food blog (other than my own, of course): Smitten Kitchen

I will be making many of the recipes I'm finding on here.  I haven't been able to get away from the computer since I found the website today.

Also, I need to find my camera so I can start taking better quality photos of the dishes/treats I make.

In other news, class starts January 14.  This quarter is Baking & Pastry.  WISH ME LUCK!

Chef would be proud...

Or someone would be...

My roast came out deliciously.  It has the texture of pulled pork.  I went to take it out of the crock pot this morning and it just fell apart into nice juicy, tender pieces.  It's got a bit of spice and a bit of sweet.  I wanted to eat ALL of it....but I resisted.

Here is the cooked spaetzle:

The cooked meat:

The two together:

The countdown begins...

It's 1:45am and the roast is in the crock pot.  Here's to hoping it turns out well.

Ingredients:

Dry rub:

2 tsp salt

1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp garlic powder.

Sauce:

1 8oz jar of persimmon chutney

1.5 (ish) cups of white wine

1-2 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp dried minced onion

Unknown amount of honey....2-3 tbsp?

Pinch of kosher salt

1-2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper

Possibly some forgotten ingredients

Roast was placed fatty side down.  It will be cooked on low for 8-10 hours (checked at the 8 hour mark).

Before Picture:

The sauce tasted good before I put the meat in...but then that was before I put all the ingredients for the sauce.  I'm hoping (praying) that it turns out ok.  We shall see I guess.  Also, as I said before, I'll be using a roux to thicken the sauce...if it needs thickening.

Maybe I should have browned the roast before I put it in the crock pot?  I guess it's too late now.  If the recipe is good I will try browning it first next time to give it a little extra flavor!

I plan to serve it with some delicious German Spaetzle (a tiny pasta).

WISH ME LUCK!

Slow Cooked Beef Roast

Ok.  Here goes nothing.

I've got this roast that has been defrosted.  I found a recipe for 3 lbs of short ribs (which, yes, I know is completely different than a roast)....and I decided to make it until I realized that I don't have all the ingredients....so I'm changing the recipe up a lot.

The roast is currently sitting in the fridge....marinating in the dry rub I just put on it.  A little salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder.

I'm making a white wine sauce (yes, I know white wine does not go with red meat but I'm doing it anyway) because I don't have red wine to make a red wine sauce.

I'm thinking of adding some persimmon chutney and some honey and some onions...and maybe some cinnamon (and maybe sugar instead of honey?)....and a few other spices.  Clearly, I have not decided what exactly is going into the sauce yet.  Oooh....I wonder if I could use my orangecello (like lemoncello but orange instead) instead of the white wine.  No.  I'm sticking with the wine.  Definitely.

To thicken the sauce, I'm probably going to make a blonde roux (a mixture of equal amounts of butter and flour cooked just long enough to give it a tiny bit of color).

Who knows if it will be any good.  I sure as hell hope it will be.  We shall see.