books

I reorganized my bookshelf yesterday night. I love my books.

There's only a few books I regret purchasing. Dishing with Style and Working with Plate were both rather useless and taught me nothing about plate presentation. I also have two editions of On Cooking. I had to purchase the Canadian Edition for school. I should have checked more closely when purchasing the non-Canadian edition.

You can see the books from my past life at the bottom. I don't regret owning those at all.

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Order Up, One Education!

Tomorrow is my first day of school, culinary school. It's the beginning that I've been waiting to come for nearly three years. I'm not scared, nervous or excited about the prospect of beginning school; it's simply part of the journey I've been on for some time.

This weekend I re-read the book that probably started everything for me, Michael Rulhman's The Making of a Chef. I thought it would be fitting to read about the life of a culinary student albeit at a better school hundreds of kilometres away.

The book has put me in a good frame of mind. I feel readied, my mental mis en place is checked off, I'm good to go. I want to ask questions, I want to learn, I want to experience.

Ordering, one education.
Fire, one journey.
Pick up, life.

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Ratatouille

Disney Pixar released a brilliant film this past summer, Ratatouille. It tells the tale of a rat in Paris, Remy, who dreams nothing but to be a chef. The film follows the adventures of Remy as he forms an unusual partnership with a garbage boy, Linguine, in a famous restaurant. Combined, the duo come together to create some of the most outstanding food in Paris.

I love Pixar films. I had first year about this film in early 2007 and anxiously awaited its release In June. I watched every trailer, preview, interview, and behind the scene featurette I could. Ratatouille came to theatres June 29th but a sneak peak viewing of the movie occurred two weeks earlier. I eagerly attended the sneak peak and adored movie, I haven't watched it since the viewing in the theatre but I recently received the DVD as a gift from a close friend.

I love the script, the characters, the attention to detail, and the food. The film shows the importance of following one's dreams and being true to ourselves. We have to do what we love and not give up on who or what we are. Shakespeare expressed this very simply as, "To thine own self be true."

When Pixar Studios create a movie they immerse themselves into the world of that movie as to do the characters and story justice. For this film animators were given cooking lessons and even worked in a restaurant. Chef Thomas Keller was also taken on as a consultant for the film and allows animators to work in his restaurant the French Laundry. The pinnacle dish in the film was created and stylized by Chef Keller which was then animated.

Upon hearing the news that Chef Keller had a part in the creating process I knew this film was to be special. Thomas Keller has been something of an idol to me ever since I first heard about the French Laundry and read about it in Michael Ruhlman's novel The Soul of a Chef. Keller has won numerous awards for his work at the French Laundry and the restaurant has been acclaimed by a wide array of people to be one of the top restaurants in the United States and even the world. I will dine there one day.

The film touches me on a personal level because I can see parallels with the story and my life. I'm working towards doing something I am passionate about. In the past it has felt like there were forces against me and hindering me. I've now accepted what/who I am and what I love. To thine own self be true...

Oh yeah, I also like the film because of this guy:

Horst, one bad ass Sous Chef. He's killed a man with his thumb.

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I'd like that well-med-rare-done

The wedding reception was at a small inn, the food there was surprisingly good. For dinner there was an appetizer, entreé, and dessert. The appetizer consisted of a selection between a soup (leek and potato with stilton) or a basic salad with vinaigrette. For the entreé we had a selection of either Chicken, Beef, or Fish. Being a red meat lover I opted for the Beef.

Grilled Tenderloin of Beef
Topped with Wild Mushroom in a merlot sauce
Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans

Mushrooms, Mashed Potatoes, and Green Beans are hard to screw up. The only complaint I do have about the three of these sides is that the roasted Green Beans were not tender, they were well undercooked. I like vegetables cooked to be fork tender or al dente, whoever cooked the beans should have tasted and checked for doneness before plating.

I'm always wary whenever I order red meat, I like my red meat medium rare and I seldom receive it this way. Harold McGee's book, On Food and Cooking, defines medium rare as:

• Meat temperature: 130°F/60°F
• Doneness: Medium Rare, 135-145°F
• Meat Qualities: Resilient to touch, less slick, more fibrous, releases juice when cut, opaque, ligther red.

The problem that arises is that the USDA defines meat doneness by the following scheme:

• "Rare": 135-145°F
• "Medium Rare": 145-155°F
• "Medium": 155°F
• "Well": 170°F

For all except well-done the suggested cooking temperatures by the USDA are approximately 10-15° degrees higher than the proper cooking temperature. I suppose this is for the safety of the general public but it's still a giant pet peeve of mine. There's nothing worse than paying $30 for a steak, ordering it medium rare, cutting into it, and then seeing a pink or grey-brown centre.

There's nothing I really have to say about the dessert they served. We had my father's wedding cake served with vanilla ice cream and a raspberry coulis.

I was impressed enough with the food that I spoke to the sales manager, Franklin, about possible employment. Once I finish university in December I want to get into a decent restaurant. I'm looking for a place that will allow me to learn and pick up the basic practical skills necessary to work and survive in a public kitchen. I chatted with Franklin for 5 minutes about my situation and what I wanted to do. He smiled at me, shook my hand firmly, and told me to apply when I'm ready. This place looks hopeful.

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