"From Earth to Table" with John Ash

John Ash was one of Food and Wine Magazines “hottest new chefs” in 1985. Since then, he founded a restaurant, John Ash and Company, was the culinary director for Fetzer Vineyards, and teaches wine classes at CIA Greystone (my school!). Although I haven’t had the pleasure of taking a wine class from him yet (we don’t do wine until November), I did have the opportunity to go to his restaurant for lunch and tour the store in Santa Rosa. It was a lovely afternoon, filled with delicious food and wine (amazing California cuisine- Thai style mussels, a perfectly crisp crostini, glazed salmon…. We enjoyed ourselves).

The good news is that John Ash will be a guest chef at In Good Taste on Saturday, September 29 at 6:30 pm. He’ll be demonstrating recipes from his book that showcase his creative California cuisine. While I was at the restaurant, I mentioned that I had first discovered Chef Ash at In Good Taste. The hostess knew exactly what I was talking about, and I was so proud to say that I was a part of the wonderful community that makes up the store and cooking school. :-) It almost made me feel at home.

Don’t miss the opportunity to meet John Ash and learn about his food, company and cooking style. It will be an evening to savor!
- Josie

Josie's Back!!!

Back at last! It has been an interesting two months, with high points, low points, and somewhere in between. I am about to begin my third session (called “blocks”) at the Culinary Institute of America, in St. Helena, CA. And honestly, I love it. My family and friends are dubious of my new attitude (but relieved); I have to admit that after the first week I was ready to leave. It was a rough introduction, I struggled, managed to find my way, and have fallen in love with Napa and the life of a chef (such that I am).
Rather than revisiting my failures in the kitchen, I want to share one of my successes.
At some point, I stopped being afraid of messing up, and gave it everything I could. I tried to have fun, be a good team player, and forgot about the rest. It worked.
The assignment was Truite aux Almands- a whole trout with almonds, haricot verts, and a brown butter sauce. We had a set time to prepare it, along with many other things. I finished my dish on time, plated it, garnished it, and presented it to the chef for evaluation.
She took a little bite of the flaky white fish bathed in a nutty brown butter sauce. She chewed, swallowed, and nodded. She took a bigger bite of the fish, swirling it in the pool of almonds. She nodded again, picked up a green bean and chewed thoughtfully.
“Delicious. Restaurant quality food. Well done Josie.”
Elation! Finally! After so many failures! But I learned to savor the successes; those are what matters- no one will remember the over salted pot roast, overcooked green beans or sour vinaigrette. They will remember your stunning salmon soufflé, omelet roulade, seven layer torte, or brioche sweet rolls. So don’t be afraid to open your heart and just cook. That’s my kitchen philosophy, and it seems to be working. :-)
-Josie

Vindalho

Last night, David Anderson of Vindalho taught a class at In Good Taste. As all my friends know, I love Indian food so I was naturally the first person to sign up for the class. We had a great group of people. Everyone in the group loves Indian food; they love to travel and were happy to share their experiences with everyone else.

David did a great job. He shared his passion for the food of India and it's culture, and he told us lots of stories about his time in India. We all felt like we were on our own culinary adventure to the Goan region of India. His food was bright and vivid, and oh so tasty!

Some of the things we learned included the following:

1. How to crack a fresh coconut (Hit the coconut with the back of a sturdy knife, all the way around the "equator" of the coconut, until the liquid pours out and the husk is cracked open).
   
2. The easiest way to remove the white flesh of the coconut is to bake the two halves inverted on a baking sheet (face down) for 15 – 20 minutes at 375°F.
   
3. Masala means "spice mixture".
   
4. "Garam" means "Warm" so garam masala means "warming spice mixture"
   
5. Use a coffee grinder to grind spices. Most chefs have two: one for coffee and one for spices.
   
6. Clean the spice grinder by putting some raw rice in the container and grinding it.
   
7. David finds that the Arbol chillies are the closest to the chilies he had in Goa.
   
8. He uses the Maryhill peaches from Washington to make his peach chutney as they are firm and easy to peel.
   
9. David served a dish of shredded beans which he cut in the Cuisinart with the slicing disk. It was so easy and so quick.
   

The highlight of the class was the Mussels in the most tantalizing curry sauce. David told us that the sauce works equally well for shrimp or other seafood. I can't wait for David's next class.

My Newest Toy

By “toy”, I mean “necessary kitchen tool.” (I always need another one). Last week, I finally got a kitchen torch. I've been eyeing it- every time I walk through the store, I see it sitting there and I start craving Crème Brulée. The culinary torch is primarily used for creating that perfect crunchy crust that makes Crème Brulée so special. While the juxtaposition of crackly sugar crust and an unctuous vanilla custard is enough for me to rationalize such a purchase, it is nice to know that Crème Brulée isn’t the only use for such a tool. It can also be used for browning meringues, glazing fruit tarts, baked Alaska, and working with sugar. The best part is that the torch is easy to use, doesn’t heat the custard itself, and requires very little planning. (no waiting for the broiler to preheat). It’s so easy and mess free, and Crème Brulée is so delicious. Now I have no excuse not to make it.
-Josie

Josie's Creme Brulee

One Recipe Leads to Another

After shopping at the farmer’s market on Saturday, and making Benjamin Bettinger’s Preserved Lemons last week, I was inspired to create this simple dish. (This often happens to me. I make one thing, then get an idea for another, and pretty soon.... the refrigerator is full and I have to call some friends to help me eat all of my creations.) Lemon and mint are a classic combination. The recipe highlights the delicate texture of the new potatoes, pungent flavor of the preserved lemon, and bright clean herbs from the farmer’s market. You can make the vinaigrette ahead of time, as well as the preserved lemons, and then toss it all together at the end. Serve it warm, as a side dish to grilled meat, or chilled as a salad for part of a summertime buffet. The important thing is to use baby potatoes that are small and uniform in size. If you can’t find the specified potatoes, you can always make this with larger red potatoes, cut into smaller pieces.

With the expectation of the hot weather this week, the chilled potato salad would be perfect for lunch. Now all I need is a glass of iced tea. If you decide to go for wine instead, a Pinot Gris or Sauvignon Blanc would work nicely with the lemons.

Josie's New Potato Salad with Preserved Lemons and Mint

Inspiration: From chefs, the market and the season

Have I mentioned that I love my job? I work in a creative, exciting, food-oriented atmosphere; I get to cook, and then write about cooking. What's not to like? The other benefit to working here is that I get the chance to meet people that I admire,that inspire me to be a better chef, and that have interests similar to mine.

This week, I had the great fortune to interview Benjamin Bettinger, the chef de cuisine at Paley's Place. It was a wonderful interview; Chef Ben was so personable and kind! He was very generous with his time, and more than happy to answer my questions. I was so entertained by our conversation that I didn't want to leave. I was immediately impressed with his passion for cooking and his amazing knowledge of food. It was hard not to see the passion; his descriptions of ingredients, shopping and cooking were incredibly vivid. I could sense his excitement when he talked about the upcoming peach harvest, and the soon- to- arrive whole pig at Paley's next week. It's so much fun for me to talk to people that find as much joy in shopping for food as I do. His energy inspired me to go to the market right away and create some fabulous seasonal dish. (Or make dinner reservations at Paley's!)

The good news is that Benjamin will be back to teach another class at In Good Taste in the fall. I can't wait!

To read the full interview with Chef Bettinger, click here.

-Josie

Eat Local, Eat Well

Lately, I’ve had no problem sticking to the “eat local challenge.” It’s so easy, it’s almost hard. In fact, the most difficult part of grocery shopping lately is trying not to buy too much. There’s so much wonderful produce to choose from! Going to the farmer’s market is almost overwhelming; there are mounds of scarlet colored cherries, baskets of multicolored heirloom tomatoes, bright green snap peas, sweet onions, luscious plums, and juicy berries. Everything in the market is flavorful on its own, and hardly needs anything to transform it into a delicious meal. One of my favorite summer meals showcases all of the delightful goodies that I bought. It’s the perfect end for a day of shopping at the farmers market. I assemble a salad sliced tomatoes, shredded basil and crumbled goat cheese, all drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. I finish it with fleur de sel. Then, I serve grilled burgers with smoked bacon and grilled sweet onion, and for dessert, simple shortcake with fresh berries and lots of whipped cream. If only summer would last forever…
-Josie