Beyond Pho

We were fortunate enough to host a lovely cooking class teacher from Hanoi, Diep Le To, recently at In Good Taste. She taught a Vietnamese cooking class entitled "Beyond Pho". Mary Jo, Diep's friend, lives in Portland and it was she who arranged this amazing evening. Amelia Hard and Allison Bader were Diep's local chef buddies, and they organized everything from the shopping to the prep and help with the cooking.

Diep's stories of food and cooking in Vietnam were fascinating. She talked about the Yin and Yang of cooking. The Yin (female) is dark and represents things low down or underneath the water (such as fish). The Yang (male) represents the sun and it is bright. All their cooking, especially in the North of Vietnam, is balanced by the Yin and the Yang. When cooking, not only are the flavors balanced, so are the colours and appearance. As Diep told us: "In Vietnam, we cook with the tongue and the eye".

Diep also said that "Cooking is how you show your family your love". What a wonderful thought. We were totally captivated.

During the class, Diep also taught us about the spices of Vietnam, including the wondrous Saigon cinnamon. We do sell it but only in ground form; Diep brought us the raw bark and it was amazing.

At the end of the class, Diep sang us a song about her country. You can read the words of the song here. She provided us with the Vietnamese words and the English translation.

This was certainly an evening we will cherish for a long time.

-Barbara

Another connection to home- Wine and Food with Chef John Ash

As much as I've loved my culinary classes, and all the cooking we've done, the 9 week introduction is over after exams. (The week looms in front of me…. Report on that to follow shortly). Beginning on Monday, we will be in Wine Studies, which is the initial reason I wanted to come to Greystone. The class will be an intensive course on all things related to wine, including food and wine pairings. The curriculum for the class was designed in part by John Ash, who was a favorite faculty member in the wine studies program here at Greystone in the 1990s. Chef Ash has an extensive background in food, wine, and California cuisine, and has left a legacy around the valley. I regret that I won't get to take a class from him myself, but I expect a full report on the wonderful class he will teach at In Good Taste on September 29. I wish I could be there! Luckily, I'll be following a similar class at the origin of those delicious recipes here in Napa.

Don't miss this opportunity to "travel" to Napa !

-Josie

Flourless Chocolate Cake

The recipe yields 6 cakes, which should probably be cut into eight slices each. In my world, each cake would be cut into 3 slices each if I had my way. (Luckily most chocolate cakes are pre-portioned).

I love chocolate. That said, this cake is the quintessential flourless chocolate cake- chocolate, butter, eggs and sugar. It is completely unadulterated by other flavors, ingredients or decoration. I make flourless chocolate cake year round: in the summer, I serve it with lightly whipped, unsweetened whipped cream and raspberries. In the winter, it is perfect with powdered sugar, a bit of spiced whipped cream, and a nice shot of espresso.

When I was growing up, my favorite restaurant had the most amazing dessert selection. (They doubled as a wedding cake bakery). I would go there for special occasions- birthdays, anniversaries, graduation, prom, etc- and order the same thing every time. The layered, flourless chocolate cake is rich beyond belief: four layers of flourless chocolate cake, sandwiched with dark chocolate ganache. I would savor it, knowing I’d have to wait until the next big event to have another slice.

After I moved away from Seattle, my best friend (who had frequently witnessed me devouring the cake), would bring me a piece every time he visited. The cake was unbeatable. The week that I moved to Las Vegas, a whole flourless chocolate cake, packed in a refrigerated box, arrived on my doorstep as a housewarming gift.

This cake is special to me: both for the fond memories created by the events surrounding it, and the gifts of friendship that brought it to me. Plus, I just love chocolate.

-Josie

Josie's Chocolate Cake, adapted

San Francisco Farmer’s Market

Photo courtesy of Rizzo Studios

We took the most amazing field trip to the San Francisco market yesterday! I loved it, and bought so many delightful and unusual things. It was the perfect escape from the daily grind of cooking from dawn to dusk, studying and homework.

At the market, I was immediately struck by nostalgia: it was so Portland. All the people perusing the stalls and aisles, eyes wide with wonder, baskets full (or close to it), hands reaching for more. Children with sticky fingers, big smiles, and a new appreciation for a fresh peach, parents pleased with the variety and appearance of all the goods. I miss home! As much as I loved being there, I think that the Portland Farmer's Market on Saturdays is more energetic, full of conviviality and community. Portland is such a friendly city, where shopping is a social activity as much as it is a necessity. People go to the market with an agenda- meet friends, find inspiration, have lunch, gather for the evening soiree. You select what appeals to you, plan your menu from there, stop for a bottle of delicious wine at any of the local shops (boy do I miss Oregon Pinot! Napa has good wine, but their Pinots can't compare..... :-) ), and wait for your guests to arrive. I love the connection between food, friends, family and the farm. It's found worldwide, but (in my biased opinion) Portland has some of the best to offer. Keep shopping, eating and cooking.

-Josie

"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.