What the F*** is a Geoduck?

So I'm sitting on the airplane watching random YouTube videos and I start watching a series of videos on Top Chef winner Hung Huynh.  He's got a video on how to cook a geoduck (pronounced "gooey duck").  My immediate thought was that a geoduck must be some sort of poultry...perhaps something in the duck family?  Nope.  Not the case at all.  It's actually a shellfish in the clam family!  AND IT IS HUGE....and ugly.

This is the video that got me interested...

Now, I generally don't like shellfish.  I always try them when someone has prepared them or someone offers up a piece of their dinner.  I want to find that one recipe that will make clams or oysters or abalone or geoduck my absolute favorite food....something that will have me walking away awestruck.   So far though...no such luck.  My current opinion is that shellfish are slimy and chewy and far too raw tasting (even when cooked).  But I digress. I want to try a Geoduck.

Apparently this monster called the Geoduck is a native to North America's Northwest coast (Washington's Puget Sound) and Canada and they live for about 146 years!  Holy cow (holy clam?)!  They are the largest burrowing clam and are only seen at extreme low tides.  They can grow up to 15 pounds (possibly more).

Alright, enough about the Geoduck.  Your task?  Bring me a Geoduck so I (we?) can try taste it...raw and cooked.

Yan Can Carve a Chicken in 18 Seconds

The infamous Martin Yan (yes, THE Martin Yan of the best cooking show ever televised, Yan Can Cook), can carve a chicken in 18 seconds.  I can't even carve a chicken in 5 minutes (or 10 for that matter)...

Turkey Soup?

Oh, the joys of being a culinista (made up word?  the equivalent of a fashionista but for the culinary world).

Joe went to make some turkey soup with the left over turkey bones (mmm....sage butter and bacon...) from Christmas.  He had the right idea...put the bones in water, add some spices and herbs, heat, eat. 

What he didn't know is that you're suppose to put the bones in cold water (not hot) to start.  Why?  Well, the proteins that you need in the stock to give it body will not dissolve in hot water and you also won't be able to skim all the impurities off the top if these proteins don't dissolve...leaving you with a cloudy, poor quality stock.

It's amazing how much information you retain in school when you study something you actually enjoy!

Random knowledge bomb:  Wasabi is served with sushi because it acts as an antimicrobial with the raw fish.

Get Me Out of Here!

Yes.  CA is lovely.  But I'm ready to go back to VA.  Send me back where I belong.

I want to cook more...and I should...while I'm here.  Maybe I'll make some spaetzle with the spaetzle maker that Heather and Rittik bought for me.  I guess I should take advantage of all the glorious counter space in Mom's kitchen while I'm here....and her nice, clean pots and pans.  Having nice things...that is why I want my own place.  I want to just start anew so I have things that are taken care of from the beginning....and cutlery that doesn't accidentally get thrown in the dishwasher (but saved by me just in the nick-of-time).  I love my roommates to pieces...but I'm so meticulous when it comes to my kitchen supplies (I think they've noticed that) that I'm afraid letting other people use them will ruin them. 

Anyhow, my turkey turned out beautifully.  I should have taken a picture.  The bacon that I shingled on top of it turned out to be a beautiful dark brown.  And the cornbread stuffing...OH MY GOSH.  I think I'll probably be making that more often...even though it won't be the same since I won't be cooking it inside a bird (and then technically it would be considered dressing).  Oh man.  Stuffing is my favorite part of these holiday meals....always.

We had In-N-Out for dinner tonight.  I added grilled onions to mine for the first time ever.  They put far too many on the burger.  Every time I come home I have In-N-Out at least one time.  I'm always trying to figure out whether I like In-N-Out or Five Guys better.  I think I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that Five Guys has better burgers while In-N-Out has better fries (and milkshakes).  The jury is still out though.  If anyone reads this...what do you think?  In-N-Out or Five Guys?

Merry Christmas Eve!

While most families have their Christmas dinner on Christmas Day, it’s a tradition in my family to celebrate the birth of Jesus on Christmas Eve with a large family dinner and then go see a matinee at the theater on Christmas Day.

This year, as I mentioned before, I’m making the Christmas turkey.  Well...apparently I’m making the majority of this year’s Christmas dinner too.  Or at least it feels that way.  I’m making the stuffing, some whipped sweet potatoes and bananas, and the stuffing (a delicious cornbread stuffing).   Oh, and I’m making one of the desserts Mom wants us to have (she already made some candies and a few thousand cookies). 

Heather is making a vegetable. 

Grandma is bringing my favorite mashed potatoes (they’ve got corn flakes crushed on top). 

Aunt Julie and Uncle Steve are bringing the appetizers (and wine!). 

Sure, Christmas is almost putting my checkbook in the red....but I’ve somehow managed to stay in the black without using a credit card.  In fact, as a side note...I haven’t used my credit card for almost two months thanks to the fact that I filed it away with all my filed papers and leave it at home all the time.  That thing will only be used in emergencies...and it’s so much easier to do now that I don’t have it with me all the time.

My reindeer corn didn’t travel very well.  I had to take it out of the bags it was in and let it sit out for a little while.  I’ve repackaged them now though and they are sitting in the fridge.  Here’s to hoping they stay separated enough for at least the next couple days.  Of course, I’ll make sure to tell the recipients that it should all break apart easily if they do begin to stick.

Today’s schedule:
9:00am - take butters out of fridge to soften
11:30am - Prepare stuffing
1:00pm - Turkey must be in the oven
1:30pm - prepare trifle
Every 30 min - baste turkey
5:30pm - take turkey out and set aside for carryover cooking, turn heat on oven up
5:40pm - bake sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes
6:30pm - FEAST

Anyhow, it’s time to get mentally prepared for this Christmas cooking.

Merry Christmas everyone   Don’t forget...while you may think Santa is the spirit of Christmas...the truth is...JESUS is the spirit of Christmas.  He’s also the reason for the season. 

Happy birthday, Jesus. 

You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  You are my Way, my Truth, and my Life.

Will they make it?

I'm sitting in the Dulles airport right now...waiting for my flight to San Francisco.  I'm ready to see CA again.  I miss it.  I don't miss the government but I miss home...my friends, my family, the weather...

I am a little concerned though.  I'm sitting here with some of my Christmas presents in my backpack.  Homemade reindeer corn (candy corn in red and green instead of yellow and orange).  Three 8 ounce bags.  I keep pulling the bags out to make sure they aren't all stuck together.  They are.  I know I can spread them out on a cookie sheet when I get home so they can dry out (again)...but I'm concerned they'll be TOO stuck.  Will I have to go buy something real quick for the 3 people who are suppose to get the reindeer corn?

Ugh.  Woe is me.

On another note.  I'm making the Christmas turkey this year!  Smothered in sage butter then covered with shingles of bacon and basted with a maple and honey sauce.  It is going to be absolutely delightful. I got the recipe from Tyler Florence when I went to the Metropolitan Food and Entertaining Show in DC a couple months ago.

This is the recipe (minus the bacon): http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/oven-roasted-turkey-with-sage-butter-recipe/index.html

Gordon Ramsay Cookalong Live

My roommates and I were forced to move stuff around in our apartment today.  They are replacing our carpets tomorrow so we had to remove everything from our bookshelves and dressers (etc) and place it all in our bathrooms and kitchen.  This means our stove, cupboards, sink, dishwasher, and yes, even the fridge are all inaccessible.

So, my roommate (Amanda) and I ordered pizza (Kate is in Japan....and packed all her stuff up on Sunday).  I feel spoiled though.  Not because of the pizza.  The pizza wasn't very appetizing.  I got a job at a restaurant that celebrates the farm to table philosophy....the whole sustainable food movement is absolutely wonderful.  I've been able to try some of the food at the restaurant and it is ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL.  I only wish I could afford to buy such wonderfully fresh and delicious ingredients so I could cook for myself like that.  As much as I like to claim to be a food snob...my budget doesn't really allow me to be a food snob all the time.

Anyhow, we finished moving our shit around 7:30pm or so.  She's gone now...spending the night at her boyfriend's.  I'm exhausted and my eyes are about to shut themselves but I must stay awake for this show Gordan Ramsay is doing at 9pm!

It has started (obviously).  All I can say right now is he seems a lot more friendly that he does on Hell's Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares.

I will be at that point someday.  Professional chef.  Chef Cara.  Wouldn't that be wonderful?

I'm addicted...

Food.  That is my vice.  Ok.  It isn't my ONLY vice.  But it is quickly becoming the one thing my life focuses on.

Culinary school started in July and this quarter I took Foundations and Fundamentals.  Chef Lipford asked us to keep a journal and write in it each week.  I didn't keep up with it very well (I often had to go back and think about what we learned).  All I do, and all I've ever really done (before culinary school started too) was find new, exciting recipes to try.  My passion lies in food.  I love working with my hands and putting ingredients together to concoct works of art out of simple ingredients...a dash of salt here, some saute'd onion there, a splash of wine over there.

I watched Julie & Julia for the first time last night. Naturally, it inspired me to start my own blog.  And so, here I am, starting probably the third blog of my lifetime (possibly fourth or fifth).  The first few were all political...and those didn't last long.  This one though will focus on all things culinary...and perhaps a few other things will be thrown in.  Maybe I'll post everyday, maybe every other day...maybe twice a day....who knows?

In the meantime...bon appetit!