Fun stuff at FOODday

Be sure to check out the FOODday section in today's Oregonian. I began my externship in the test kitchen at the paper a little over a week ago. On my first day, I was thrown into the middle of preparing fruit compote and measure out ingredients of some fabulous smoothies for a photoshoot. I have to admit, it's fun for me to see shots of both on the cover of today's edition!

Try the oatmeal, it truly is wonderful. I just finished my own bowl of re-heated steel-oats moments ago. I take the already prepared oatmeal out of my refrigerator and add 1/2 cup of it to a pot with 1/4 cup water and bring it to a simmer. For a little added flavor I add about one teaspoon of vanilla, and since I don't have anymore fruit compote left, I've been chopping up two dried figs and two dried apricots to throw into the pot at the end. The fruit adds such a nice texture and those figs are to die for. They add just the right amount of sweetness to the bowl.

Of the smoothies, I really enjoyed the Blackberry-Ginger-Green Tea as I'm a regular fan of both ginger and green tea-combined or not. The Peach Cobbler was a favorite of the taste-testers that day as well. Oh, and I did arrange the strawberries and sliced bananas in the blender for the photo on FD2! One of my favorite things during culinary school was plating and presentation, so working with food styling and being involved in food photography will be a fun part of the job.

Coming from a journalism background in school, I'll also say that it's exciting to be in the middle of all that's going on in a newsy environment. The test kitchen is located on the fourth floor of The Oregonian building on SW Broadway. When I ride up the elevator I usually take a right, then a left past the executive offices. Down the hall and another left and I'm in the middle of the FOODday section, where I first see Editorial Assistant Kate Leeper, then Assistant Editor, Katherine Miller and Copy Editor, Danielle Centoni. Across and diagonally to the left from Katherine is Editor, Martha Holmberg. No, she doesn't have an office, but rather a 10 x 10 desk space with low-standing walls just as the rest of the staff does. It's an incredibly friendly group of experts that really know their stuff and aren't afraid to voice their concerns when there's not enough salt or the soup isn't creamy enough or they can't taste the parsnips in the parsnip muffins (yes, parsnip muffins, and they are delicious!).

I was browsing through the latest edition of MIX magazine on Friday. I had already read the edition, but wanted to buzz through again to get some reminders of new venues to try over the weekend. It blew me away when I began reading the names of the contributing writers and photographers. Hey, I know all these people now, I thought! I'm working among the likes of Leslie Cole, Mike Davis, Freddie Joe, and John Foyston and see them on a regular basis as Leslie often stops into the test kitchen to taste, critique, and offer her opinions on perfecting the recipes that go alongside her stories, and Mike enters the kitchen to get a feel for what he'll shoot for the day.

I'm very excited to have the opportunity and will continue to share more of the adventures and a behind-the-scenes look from the Test Kitchen.

By now you should have had your oatmeal, so go get your smoothie ready for your afternoon snack!

Cheers,
JF

UPDATE: "Cloned and Medium-Rare, Please"

Update, Jan. 15: According to wire reports in today's Oregonian, the FDA came to a decision that eating meat from cloned animals is safe. The "final risk assessment," which hasn't been released, but that was obtained by The Washington Post found no evidence to support concerns that food from clones may harbor hidden risks, according to the story.

It still seems to be a bit of a debate and I'm certain that this isn't the last we'll hear of the issue, both from a safety and moral standpoint.

Cheers,
JF

Could you eat a perfectly cooked, juicy piece of steak if you knew it had come from a cloned cow? Yes, genetically engineered livestock. It looks like the cloning of animals for faster production of milk and meat may soon be approved by the Food and Drug Administration, according to today's Wall Street Journal. And it isn't that cloning is new. It's been around for well over a decade and the cloning of livestock is very common internationally; however, the approval would allow the products of cloned livestock to be used for food. Multiple sides of the food industry are a bit wary, and who can blame them? Some say no viable testing has been done to prove that ingesting products from cloned animals is safe. And others say the government doesn't have proper proceedures in place yet to determine whether products sold at local and national grocers can be marked as coming from a cloned animal.

The article does state that even if the FDA does give clearance, consumers would likely not see food from cloned livestock for two to three years.

I will admit, I'm not an expert on cloning, but learning that the next filet mignon I order may have came from a cloned cow, it definitely causes my ears to perk up.

We will just have to wait and see if this is truly where our production of food is headed.

Cheers,

JF

It's a Wrap!

How quickly time flies? Tonight marked our last night in Bleu at Western Culinary Institute, which also marks our last night at the school altogether. Many days it seemed like our time in our stark white coats and black and white checkered pants would never end, and now, it's seems like in just a blink, we're done. It was an unforgettable ride with everyone. Throughout the course of six months we saw some of our classmates leave, yet welcomed new bodies along the way. And I think it wasn't really until this past three weeks that we all realized how great of a class we had, how much we enjoyed working together and how much we'll miss each other.

We aren't completely done with our program, though. We have the next two weeks off to enjoy a much-needed holiday vacation. And in January, we'll all head out, individually, on our externships. The final step in earning our diplomas is to go out and work in the real world for six weeks. As my focus from the beginning has been writing, I'm excited to say that I'll be preparing to join The Oregonian's FOODday section and extern at the paper's test kitchen. A couple of weeks ago I was able to sit down with Linda Faus, FOODday test kitchen director and Martha Holmberg, editor of both FOODday as well as Portland's new food and drink magazine, MIX. As the externship is based in the kitchen, I'm hoping for an opportunity to write for either FOODday or MIX. We'll see. I will be involved in planning meetings for both publications, so it'll be right up my ally. I'm incredibly excited about the experience that lies ahead. And I'm happy to say some other students are heading on some exciting externships as well. Paley's Place, Bluehour, Bon Apetit catering and The Benson Hotel are just a few of the places around town who's kitchens will host some of my fellow classmates. I wish them the best of luck, although I know they will shine all on their own.

I've been so lucky to have such memorable nights with my class in the kitchen. And now I'm looking forward to taking my new knowledge on all things culinary to the next level. I'm sure my classmates are too. So to the Winter 2008 Diploma PM class, here's to you! I'll miss seeing your smiling, but tired faces in the kitchens each night. Do good. Let's all make each other proud. Go open your restaurants, write your cookbooks, start your catering businesses and most of all, make sure everyone you cook for tastes the best of what you have to offer.

Some pics from Restaurant Bleu...

Kitchen confidential? A peak at Joey, Jarod and Ryan prepping on the front line for the night's service.

Jarod standing proud as sous chef of the evening.

Mince it, Joey, mince it! Chop, chop!

Eric and Bryan hanging on for a torturous night working the salads in garde manger.

My first plate on the front line. Pan-seared cod with spinach risotto.

David working the whipped cream at the dessert line. I think he makes the best whipped cream ever. And no matter how big the batch, he always insists on doing it by hand, no electric mixer! That is the best way, I will agree.

Joey! What is that you're about to squirt down David K.'s neck?? I don't think that's proper plating!

McKinley sauteing up those clams and mussels for an appetizer order.

Are you getting ready to take a bite of the sweet mashed potatoes, Darrell? I think that's what Chef Luke wants to know, surveying in the background.

There you all are! Jarod, David, McKinley, Andrea and Darrell cooling off in the walk-in.

I got to work the desserts on the last night, and play with the plate design for the profiteroles. This was the final. Appetizing?

And the finale; literally. Oh how we will miss the dish pit. From day one in culinary school it was stressed that each student must do their own dishes (yeah, right). There were those of us who did, and those of us who NEVER did the dishes! Regardless, we could always count on a nice pile of dish pans, pots and bowls that were covered in evidence of the evening's recipes. And there is Ryan and Darrell; always troopers at the dish sink.

I hope you stay with me as I continue to explore and embark on adventures in the culinary world. After six months of school, I can honestly say though I've learned so much, I'm still a ways away from being an expert on anything. Here's to more exploring, learning and devouring more of what's out there!

Cheers,
JF

A La Cuisine!

So tonight begins the true test, shall we say? Our last three weeks at the school, my 13 classmates and I will test what we've learned over the past six months in the school's open-to-the-public fine dining restaurant, Restaurant Bleu.

No instructors, no books of recipes to peak at, just us students, our knife rolls, and perfectly pressed whites.

The restaurant is open to the public Tuesday through Friday for 5-course lunch and dinner service. If you come in and try it, let me know what you think!

Cheers,
~JF

Le View

Each day on my way to school I ride into the city on Portland's Max lightrail. I have five stops until mine on SW 10th and Yamhill. I hop off and make my way through the eager crowd of riders waiting to get on, take a right on 10th and head down one block to cross Morrison Street to get to the Galleria building. Since July I've had this habit of looking down Morrison where cars and the Max head west. I've always liked the view of the street that extends as far as my eye can see, dressed with rows of trees on each side. In the summertime, the street shined with the afternoon sun that shined on the city and the trees were dressed with bright green leaves and pink flowers. Now, all the trees have lost their leaves and are now dressed with white holiday lights that are lit even at 3:00pm. The sky that hovers of the street is now gray and the air is cold as I look down and see the tri-lit face of the train heading toward me as I step over the tracks for another fun-filled evening in the kitchens.

Tonight officially marked the last Monday night of class. We have this week left in our last class; Advanced Garde Manger. Known as the "cold" part of the kitchen, the garde manger is responsible for cold plates, soups, salads, appetizers and hors d'oeuvre. We enjoyed the Intro to Garde Manger weeks back prior to our adventures as ameteur bakers, and now we're back for the second round. In garde manger, there is so much emphasis put on the artful presentation of plates, the use of whites space on a dish, and the utilization of ingredients to add color and interest to bites of wonder. I've taken so many pictures over the past six months. Below is a snapshot of what I think are some of the best plates done my myself and my classmates. I will admit that I don't remember who's plates belong to whom, so there are not names listed next to all. Enjoy what many foodies refer to as "food porn"!

Ok, this one is mine from Intro to Garde Manger. Yes, I had way too much sauce, but I always liked my concept of my first attempt at a really "artsy" plate. I think these are towers of tuna with creme fraiche and carrot and spinach chiffonade on top. The smeared globs are suppose to be careful streeks of a balsamic vinaigrette reduction.

A much better use of the balsamic reduction. :) I think this is McKinley's.

Here's another one of mine. Yes, I like "towers". This one was a layer of sauteed mushrooms topped with a layer of poached pear, topped with a layer of sauteed red cabbage, topped with a layer of sliced purple grapes, creme fraiche and topped with spincach leaves. Again, another sauce attempt this time with a port gastrique. I liked the presentation, but let me tell you, if you bit into one of the three gastrique dots, your would lose a tooth. Gastrique should have the consistency of maple syrup. Mine hardened up like port Jolly Ranchers(R). The mushroom and red cabbage tower, though?...delish! Really, it was so refreshing with the pear slices and grapes. And the bright purple color of the cabbage rocked.

Eye catching display of smoked salmon atop creme fraiche. I think this is the "other" Jennifer's.

I will update this post with more pics tonight. It's actually Tuesday afternoon and I've got to head down to 10th and Yamhill. We ice carve tonight. All I can think of is loud chainsaws and being cold and wet all night, which the chef clearly warned us we would be. Ah well, everyday is about experiences, right? When the heck am I ever going to ice carve again? (NEVER, I tell you!)

A few more pics...

Potato pancakes with mozzarella, duck, and chopped tomatos and yellow peppers.

Ahhh...the class with Chef Tina. This was taken a few weeks back during International Cuisine.

A platter of hors d'oeurve.

Cheers,

JF