What Culinary School DIDN'T Teach Me

I've been out of school for a year and a half now, and still come across something every once in a while that I really can't believe I don't know how to make or do.  The really surprising part: They are COMMON things.  Don't get me wrong...Culinary school was amazing.  I'd love to be a "professional student" and go to Culinary school for the rest of my life.  BUT- I participated in the "Fast Track Program" which condensed the traditional two years of schooling into an action-packed, intense, 5-hours-a-day-of-nothing-but-cooking program that only lasted 9 months.  Therefore, they had to choose the best of the best, the most useful, most well-known recipes to teach us and had to weed out the "fluff."  For all of my readers who haven't gone to Culinary school, you should enjoy this.


1.  I know how to make homemade Chocolate Eclairs from scratch.......but I have no clue how to make Sugar Cookies.

2. I could make homemade Ice Creams and Sorbets all day with my hands tied behind my back.....but I would have to scour the internet for a Chocolate Cake recipe.

3.  I can make a loaf of Brioche or a Challah Braid with my eyes closed........but I have never made Cinnamon Rolls.

4.  I can make Duck Confit or Stuffed Quail for a crowd...........but this past Thanksgiving was my first real experience cooking a Turkey.

5.  I have no problem putting together Beef Wellingtons or Braised Short Ribs......but I'd scratch my head if you asked me to locate the Sirloin or Flank Steak on a cow.

6. I know how to make just about every sauce under the sun.......but I had to figure out for myself how to make Pesto.

7.  I was taught how to make Vichyssoise (a cold Potato Leek soup) and Borscht (a cold, Ukranian Beet soup)...............but I had to turn to FoodNetwork.com  to learn how to make a Tomato Basil Soup.

8.  In school, I made tiny delicate Blinis topped with Smoked Salmon and Dill......but I've never made or even eaten a Crepe.

9.  I know how to MAKE Mozzarella cheese..........but until I messed up a batch of White Queso Dip on Cinco de Mayo, I had no idea that some cheeses simply don't melt.  At all. 

10. I could carve a Swan out of ice, butcher a whole Pig, fillet a 40 pound Salmon, or make an Ice Cream bowl out of egg whites..........but I still manage to mess up White Rice every time I try to cook it.

So there.  Do you feel better about yourself????  :)


Cheers,

The Chef Next Door

Cutie-pa-tooties!

Did I spell that right?  Anyway, you know what I mean.  I just can't stand it anymore, and I HAVE to post these pictures of three of the most adorable kids ever.  I am in the middle of a 6-week series of cooking classes with their adorable Mommy, and I just get so excited to see these little darlings every week.  They even drew pictures for me one week which are now posted on my "Chef Next Door" business bulletin board.  :) 

These photos are from our "Pizza Night" cooking class.  Their Mommy and I prepared the infamous Chicken and Chorizo Pizza, Pesto Pinwheels with homemade Pesto, AND........drumroll please........a Dessert Pizza just for the kiddos.  We made a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough "crust", a Chocolate Ganache "pizza sauce", shredded White Chocolate "cheese", and let the kids add their own toppings to their personal corners of the pizza.  Too fun and too cute.  I think they were pretty happy with their masterpieces.  Wish I could have stuck around to see them covered in chocolate and sprinkles later...but that's not part of the deal.  I scoot out just in time for them to sit down to dinner as a family.   If this looks like something you'd like to do for your kids or yourself, you know who to call!

(Do you see how bored the other two are while waiting on their sister to decorate her corner?? Hilarious.)

(The youngest took his sweet time making sure his corner was PERFECT.  The other two snuck a few M&M's while Mom wasn't looking....)

(Aren't they the cutest children ever??)

Cheers,

The Chef Next Door

Oh, the Pressure!

Have you ever been struggling with something, trying to find the answer, wracking your brain, trying to work it out, on the verge of giving up...only to find the answer is SO simple and basically been right in front of your face the whole time?  You have to give yourself a wack in the forehead and go, "DUH! Why didn't I think of that??"  Take a seat at my counter for a minute.

The Subject:  Braised Short Ribs- one of my favorite things to cook and eat, a delicious family favorite, surprisingly easy to prepare, easily taught to cooking class participants.

The Problem:  A 2-hour time constraint.  Short Ribs take several hours to braise and get "fall-off-the-bone" tender, and my cooking classes are usually 2 hours long.

Brainstorm Solutions:  Find the smallest possible Ribs that would cook a little faster...prepare a "swap out" like they do on cooking shows to bring to the class....meet for class and prepare the short ribs then meet back up several hours later for the finished results....all of these are ridiculous.

The Obvious Solution:  Make the Short Ribs cook FASTER!! 

But how?  A pressure cooker.  Duh.

I receive daily promotional emails from Williams Sonoma advertising some of their new products or sales, and on one particular day, I got an email advertising the Cuisinart Electric Pressure Cooker.

WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT???????  

45 minutes in the Pressure Cooker is all it takes to have Braised Short Ribs that melt in your mouth like butter.  Case closed.  I found this little beauty for half-price on Ebay, and just a few short days later, I was in Braised Short Rib Heaven....in just a fraction of the time.  Now, I can share this delectable recipe with my students and we even have time leftover for other recipes.  I simply instruct my students to pretend that the pressure cooker is a regular pot, and pretend that the 45 short minutes in the Pressure Cooker are really 4 hours in the oven.  Everything else is exactly the same.  Ah, technology.

Click here for the recipe for my Root Beer Braised Short Ribs.

Cheers,

The Chef Next Door

Sadness and Triumph

Well, the 4th of July ended up being a very, very sad day in my neck of the woods.  Last week, Taylor and I adopted a 9-week-old Border Collie/Springer Spaniel mix from a shelter.  We named him Sawyer.  He was the happiest, cutest, friendliest, most rambunctious little puppy ever.  He and our 3-year-old Siberian Husky, Layla, took to each other like Peanut Butter and Jelly- she even let him lay across her back like she was his Mommy.  We got him neutered and treated him for all the fleas and worms his poor little body was infested with, and he was well on his way to a perfect bill of health and a long happy life as a member of our family.  But then the Parvo hit him like a freight train, and our little boy who was once bouncing off the walls couldn't even muster the strength to lift his head or eat.  After a couple days in the Animal ER being pumped with fluids and antibiotics, little Sawyer just couldn't take it anymore, and he passed away Sunday afternoon, on the 4th of July.  He was a great dog, and was the perfect addition to our family.  I'll never forget him and will love him always.  RIP sweet buddy.  Our little Tom Sawyer.

Among happier news- The Chef Next Door has won not one, but TWO contests on MixingBowl.com! My "Enchilada Pinwheels" won the Cinco de Mayo Recipe Contest, and my "Sweet Potato-Apple-Butternut Squash Puree" won the Best Baby Food Contest.  I'm not even really sure how it happened, but I guess the people really liked my entries and so did the judges.  I was beginning to think I was wasting my time entering the recipe contests, but you can count on it that I'll keep at it until I win even more!  Thanks to anyone who voted, and please check out my profile on Mixing Bowl and vote for the contests I'm entered in now: Spectacular Strawberry Desserts and Lean Beef Challenge. Hope everyone has a great week.

 *Enchilada Pinwheels*

*Sweet Potato, Apple, and Butternut Squash Puree*


Cheers,

The Chef Next Door

Independence Day

Happy 4th of July, everyone!  We are busy smoking some Pork Butts and Spare Ribs out in the yard, but I thought I'd take a minute to wish you all a very happy Independence Day.  I hope you enjoy some great food, fabulous drinks, and lots and lots of fireworks. :)


Cheers,

The Chef Next Door