Cooking Tips from Me (b/c they were sort of asked for)

Back story: This weekend I was asked by a friend to give him cooking lessons. First of all, this is weird to me because I'm still not confident in my own abilities to even say that I can cook (though my roommate insists on calling me a chef to everyone he introduces me too). At best I am cook, and at the moment a home cook. I work at a "fast-casual" restaurant for pete's sake and the most real cooking we do is putting a bag of preseasoned meat on a flattop grill and flip halfway through. I did however come to the conclusion that I have learned some things that have made my cooking 1,000 times better.

1) Salt and Pepper- Seasoning is everything. If you don't use salt and pepper your food will be bad. If you're following a recipe use the measurements for salt and pepper as a guideline not the law. Taste the food until its where you want it to be in terms of salt content. Personally, I prefer using coarse salt (not in a salt shaker) because it is easier to manage and see how much you have used. Also, coarse cracked pepper (in a grinder or not) is easier to deal with than a super fine ground pepper in a shaker.

2) Fat- Use it! It tastes good! Butter and cured pork (Bacon or otherwise) are staples.

*Note on butter; it has a low smoke point mix it with some oil in a pan and it wont burn so easy.
*Note on oil; a good EVOO is great if you're going to use it raw. If you are going to put it in a hot pan don't waste your money and use your cheap oil of choice.

3) Good Stuff- For the most part if you put good stuff in good stuff comes out, and the other way around, if you put sub par ingredients in you get a sub par end product. Fresh veg is awesome and fairly easy to find if you know where to look (in Greenville? check out the Boss Hog's parking lot on 14th).

4) Medium Heat- Grown men (and probably women) love fire and really hot fire but when cooking its usually not the way to go. Unless you're trying to boil water or quick seer meat (and some other stuff), bring the knob down a bit.

5) Acid- This I have not quite mastered yet, but according to Top Chef and top chef's the perfect dish is a balance between fats and acids. Sounds easy but it isn't. However, don't be afraid of citrus, vinegar, mustard, etc.

Watch this video and get some of the same stuff that I just said but from one of the best chefs in the world. http://blog.aveceric.com/category/videos This an easy recipe and he is a bad ass. Ignore the white pepper thing though, you're cooking at home not in a 4 star kitchen, and the taste isn't that different.


That's all I can think of. If I can think of anything else I'll let you know. If anyone else has anything to add or corrections, by all means.

Revolution!!!

Alright I am about to try to create a marriage between history and food. Wish me luck.

The last few weeks I have been in a North Carolina history class that covered everything from the Lost Colony up to the women's movement of the 1970's. Through that study of just one state I have noticed that the time between 1900 and 1929 saw breakneck speed changes that effected everyone. In some it created a new world of information, ideas, transportation, and exploration. For others however it created a desperate need to cling to the past. And for still others it created a need to fuse the new with the old, although not very successfully at the time. My question is are there other time periods in the modern world where things are changing that fast? Are we in that time now? Is the information technology age the same as the progressive movement of the early 1900's? Here is the marriage with food part. When were these times in culinary history that things changed dramatically in such an abrupt fashion? Are we in that kind of change in the culinary world now? Is the mixture of advanced science and cooking one of those water shed moments that send some people headfirst into the new realm and others clinging to meatloaf their mom made every Wednesday? Are there still others that are trying to make "molecular gastronomy" and traditional "home cooking" meet in the middle? Are they successful in doing this? What about the side by side growth of this new scientific world and the "farm to table" "nose to tail" organic green movement? Will there be a battle for supremacy? Will the two coexist separately or will those who are combining the two (they do exist) be the new force that wins out?

As an inexperienced foodie, more inexperienced food historian, and hardly able to call myself a historian, I am asking more questions that I can even provide guesses at the answers. But please respond if you have a thoughts.

Why I Love Folgers and Extra Crunch Peanut Butter

In this day and age you don't hear many people saying that they love grocery store coffee like Folgers or Maxwell House. Starbucks is the king of coffee even though they bastardize it whenever they can (ie macchiato?). But I have come to realize that there is nothing more satisfying than pouring a good cup of coffee in the morning and just enjoying it for what it is. It may not be good to the last drop, mainly b/c I hate cold coffee. Folgers may not be changing the world or pushing fair trade organic beans, but it makes millions of people content with their lives everyday. I am becoming increasingly aware of the fact that it is the small things in life that make you content that really make a person happy. A solid cup of coffee while walking my dog early in the morning before the eastern North Carolina humidity bears down on me is pretty satisfying. That white bread sandwich with extra crunchy peanut butter brings me back to childhood, whether it be with bananas or food lion brand strawberry jam (I'm not above it). Its not just the small satisfying things in food and drink that count, though food makes me really happy, but in everything. To all of my friends that joke me and say I dislike all things happy and fun; I seem to be having an off day because I am in a really good mood being extremely content with the little things. I am about to go have a very simple sandwich from a very simple deli run by simple people. Sounds like a good lunch to me.

New Recipe Idea - Cucumber Melon Tuna Tartar

I'm working on a new app idea for work. I was thinking about a regular tuna tartar (tuna, lime juice, salt and pepper, and olive oil) but adding cubes of cucumbers and cantaloupe and possible a little sugar to give it some sweetness. I want to serve it like sushi rolls. I'm looking for an idea for a sauce (maybe a key lime sauce?). Any feedback and ideas would be appreciated.

Amazing Night (Magnolia Grill & Tony Bourdain)

So for V-day my girlfriend got me tickets to see Tony Bourdain, of Travel Channel's No Reservations, in Durham. So in return i got reservations at Magnolia Grill, the number 11 restaurant in the country according to gourmet and has two James Beard awards hanging on the wall. The low brick building right on the edge of a residential area and not exactly close to downtown Durham, was unassuming and was almost disheartening. But the inside was all that could be expected from a southern fine dining restaurant, warm with the obligatory white table cloths but weird sea food figurines hung on the walls. For starters we got the veal sweet breads wrapped in serrano ham and the pork belly, both were incredible and instantly made me think that gourmet had gotten this one right. For dinner I got the pan seared striped bass with mussels and chorizo, and it was the best complete fish dish i have ever eaten, hands down. Dessert came around, the second James Beard award is for the pastry chef, and we got the apple pound cake with rum-raisin ice cream, as well as the bacon & date tart with cinnamon cream cheese ice cream. Mr. Beard also correct on this award, as they were both ridiculously good including the strange bacon date tart. The waiter said that they believe in getting the daily allowance of "vitamin-p" (or pig).

We enjoyed our food a little too much it seems because we had to almost run to our car and speed the five minutes to the venue to see Bourdain and were only on time because they started late. Tony was his normal self, hating on most things food network and feeling bad for Bobby Flay because they have damned him to getting his ass kicked in throwdown and iron chef America. He discussed his views on the way the economy would effect the restaurant industry and home cooking (i think it will send home cooks in a good direction having to create good food for cheap and according to Tony, David Chang thinks the same thing about restaurants.)

This was an amazing evening and I wish I had Bourdain's job and if I ever move to the Durham area I am aiming for a job at Magnolia Grill. Ben and Karen Barker, if you read this I will send you a resume if you're looking for line cooks.

first blog

I am currently a full time student of History, a part time cook, and kid with a passion for eating, drinking, cooking, learning, and exploring. This blog will be an aim to consolidate all of my thoughts on all subjects into one place and maybe someone will be interested. I would also like some feedback on recipe ideas and techniques, restaurants to try, brews to pick up, and books to read. I will post restaurant reviews, original ideas for dishes, possibly some beer and wine things, interesting findings, book reviews, and my humble thoughts on the world.