An Internship of a Lifetime

I'm back!!!!!!

I'm sure y'all have been wondering why I've haven't posted any new blog entries lately, and I'm so sorry for the huge delay. The past few weeks I've been extremely busy with school, outside field trips, and now even work opportunities! 

To start, two weeks ago I had the opportunity to volunteer at a SuperBowl party with Chef George Mendes! I helped him prep food, then pack up the coolers and head to the event. Once there, we plated food and enjoyed the party. It was an amazing opportunity to help out a well respected New York chef, and I was so happy to learn from him and grow as a cook myself.

The following week, I was blessed with the opportunity to intern at abc cocina! In an earlier blog post, I talked about how abc cocina was one of my favorite NYC restaurants. Now having worked there, I love the restaurant even more. So far I've worked the garde manger station, as well as prep food for many of the other stations. I've also learned some of the basics of how this specific kitchen is run, as well as how it is connected to abc kitchen (another Jean George restaurant). I've already learned so much from working at abc cocina, and I'm so excited to perfect my cooking skills at such an incredible establishment.

Here are some dishes from abc cocina:

charred octopus, crispy potatoes, paprika and herbs

warm vanilla fritters with Mexican chocolate

tres leches cake with apple and cajeta

Field Trip to Blue Hill at Stone Barns

Early last Saturday morning my classmates and I met at Grand Central Station, boarded the Metro North train and headed out of the city. Our final destination: Blue Hill at Stone Barns. As a part of the Classic Culinary Arts plus Farm to Table program at ICC, our education concludes with a week-long culinary experience at the farm, learning from the land and cooking in Dan Barber’s restaurant. All of us were beyond excited to get our first taste of the farm, and the field trip was nothing short of amazing.

When we arrived, we were greeted with a warm welcome from Irene Hamburger and quickly whisked away to take a tour of the farm. It was surprising to see a greenhouse stocked full of produce in the dead of winter. We even pulled “survivor spinach” right out of the ground and tasted it, and it was delicious! After the tour we had lunch at the Blue Hill Café and had a meet-and-greet with some very influential individuals in the culinary world. We closed out the day with a charcuterie lesson from Vice President of Culinary Affairs, Chef Adam Kaye. He went through all the different cuts of pork, and even gave us a few tastes of ham and speck. We all had an amazing time, and are now more excited than ever to spend a week perfecting our cooking skills at Blue Hill this June.

Speak Easy NYC

I've been in the city now for about two months, and I have eaten at some pretty amazing places. I have also explored the bar scene with some of my culinary school classmates, and they are equally as amazing. New York has a wide range of bars from dusty dive bars to classy speak easy establishments. Here are a few speak easy bars I've experienced and would definitely recommend:

1) Please Don't Tell: Located in the east village, Please Don't Tell (aka PDT) is a speak easy bar that is very hidden. You enter through the hotdog restaurant next door called Crif Dogs. Once you've had a dog or two, you can enter a small, vintage phone booth and pick up the phone. Someone will answer and if you're lucky (or have a reservation) the opposite side of the phone booth will open and you can enter PDT. It is a small bar with dim lighting and amazing drinks. This is one of my favorite bars in NYC, and it's about time I go back!

2) Mulberry Project: Mulberry Project is on Mulberry St in Little Italy and you would never recognize the bar if you're just walking by. The only way to identify it is a bright red door leading down to a basement. Once you enter though, it's a quaint speak easy bar. The waiter will ask you what flavor profiles you like and what liquor you prefer, and the bar tender whips you up a drink! The drinks are a little on the pricey side, but it's a fun speak easy bar to experience if you're into hidden bars in the city.

3) Fig 19: Fig 19 is another speak easy that is rather hidden. You enter through an art gallery in the lower east side. Then at the back of the gallery, you walk through a door and are transported to a speak easy bar. The drinks are unique and very delicious, and the environment is very chill. Behind PDT, I would have to place Fig 19 as one of my favorite bars in NYC.

Here are a couple other bars I've ventured to in the city with my foodie friends:

1) Home Sweet Home: Home Sweet Home is a basement bar right below Fig 19, and it really does feel like a bar back in Kentucky called Redmons. There's people crammed in every nook and cranny, loud live music and people dancing. This bar is a lot of fun if you're looking for a younger crowd and cheaper drinks. If you don't mind being pushed around, it's the perfect spot for a Friday night out on the town.

2) Isola Trattoria and Crudo Bar: Isola is located in SoHo at the Mondrian Hotel on Crosby. I first fell in love with this establishment when I stayed at the Mondrian last spring. Now I love to go back and get a cocktail and a little bite to eat. The bar is absolutely stunning. It looks like a greenhouse just plopped in the middle of the city. It's a perfect place if you're looking for great drinks and maybe even a celebrity sighting or two (I've seen Rita Ora and John Turturro).

3) Toad Hall: Toad Hall is located in SoHo only a few blocks from ICC, and it's the culinary school hangout. Every Friday after a long week of classes, students pack up their tool kits and knife bags and head over to Toads and get a cold beer and discuss their burnt croutons and underdone creme puffs. Toad Hall is very much a dive bar in that it's a small room with a few tables, one bar with liquor from years past, and a pool table shoved in the back. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it's definitely perfect for us "rough-around-the-edges" cooks.

The Incredible, Edible Egg

A recent lesson we had in Level 2 was an introduction to eggs. Prepping for this lesson, I thought it was going to be a pretty easy day. How hard can scrambled eggs be? However, learning about eggs and how to prepare them was very interesting and challenging at times. I'm happy to say that I now know how make some traditional French egg dishes.

We first made a basque-style omelet. It is not a traditional rolled omelet that most Americans are used to. It is rather flat and filled with peppers and onions. To prepare this omelet, you cook it on medium heat until it has set, then with a swift flick of the wrist, you flip it over so the other side can cook evenly. You then finish it off in the oven, and top it with additional peppers and onions to serve. It was a delicious and easy way to prepare an omelet.

Basque-Style Omelet

The second egg dish we made was baked eggs with cream. This dish is very classical French where you put one egg, cream, parsley and seasoning in a ramekin and bake it, resulting in a custardy egg dish that is rich a decadent. I honestly didn't think I was going to like it because I imagined runny yolk, runny white and runny cream...way too slimy for my palette. But it was actually delicious! Culinary school has really pushed me to try new things and open my food horizons, and I couldn't be happier about it.

Baked Eggs with Cream

We then moved on to the rolled omelet. When Chef V demonstrated how to make this dish, it seemed pretty easy! Just a quick scramble in the pan, letting the egg ever so slightly set up. Then a simple fold of each side, and a colorless, perfectly cooked omelet slides onto the plate. However, after a few attempts of my own, I realized it wasn't so easy. If the pan is too hot, the omelet will get color (brown) and the inside will still be too underdone. But if the heat is too low, the eggs won't set fast enough and it will still color before you have time to fold it over. After about four or five omelets, I finally had one omelet worth presenting. All I can say is the traditional French omelet is harder than you think, but well worth the time (and frustration). 

The Rolled Omelet (excuse the dirty plate, this wasn't my first attempt!)

We made a few other egg dishes such as traditional scrambled eggs and poached eggs with a hollandaise sauce. It was a busy day going through countless crates of eggs. But by 3:00pm, we all had a better appreciation of the incredible, edible egg!

One Down, Five to Go!

This past week I completed Level 1 of cooking school and started my second! I knew this program would fly by, but this is just crazy. I feel like just yesterday I was moving to the city and starting my culinary journey. I'm praying it slows down, but I'm not keeping my hopes up because I'm having the time of my life.

For our final in Level 1, we had to complete a comprehensive written test, as well as a practical where we actually cooked for a grade. This was the first time we were going to be given a letter grade for our own, individual cooking and boy, was I nervous. We had to cut up a carrot julienne, a turnip jardiniere, a onion ciseler and emincer, and a shallot ciseler, all in 20 minutes. After that we had to clean an artichoke in 15 minutes and cut two potatoes into eight cocottes (little footballs) in 15 minutes. Finally, we had to make tomato fondue (which is basically a tomato sauce) in 30 minutes. All of the tasks were not challenging, it was just the time constraints that were making me so anxious.

Leading up to the practical I practiced as much as I could in my apartment. However, once I got to school that morning, my nerves got the best of me. About 10 seconds after Chef V said "you may begin" on our first task, I sliced right into my thumb with my chef's knife. I knew it was just a little cut, but it was deep enough that I definitely needed a bandaid. I quickly wrapped up my thumb, took a deep breath and continued on. I shouldn't have been so nervous because I ended up doing fine. I was so happy to see that all my classmates were also doing great, and we all could pass and move on to Level 2 together as a class!

Now that we are in Level 2, I'm excited to learn more culinary techniques and also some pastry techniques. We also are going to have a lesson on wine and food costing. I'm ready to dive in, here's goes nothing!

Discovering a New, Local Ingredient: Whipped Honey

I recently started writing for The Hot Plate, the International Culinary Center's blog, and my second post is up. It's about using a new, local ingredient I found at the Union Square Greenmarket. The Farm to Table program I'm in at ICC has sparked my interest in finding unique ingredients that I can use in recipes from class. Read the blog and see how my culinary adventure turned out!

Click Here: Discovering a New, Local Ingredient: Whipped Honey

Holiday Eats with my Mama

This past week, my mom came to town! We had a blast exploring the city, celebrating the New Year, and catching up over wine and food. So of course we decided to eat at some new places, specifically ones in Midtown and Downtown. Here are some of the great restaurants we ventured to:

1) Union Square Cafe (21 E 16th St, New York 10003): On Saturday we headed to Union Square to check out the greenmarket, as well as have brunch at the Union Square Cafe. The Cafe is very well known around the city (even my chef instructor worked in the kitchen at one point), so we had to pay a visit. The rather large restaurant is filled with smaller rooms and antique decorations, making the atmosphere warm and cozy. The service is beyond amazing. Never once did I ask for anything other than what I planned on eating! Oh and the food...delicious. My mom and I shared an apple and walnut salad, light-as-air ricotta gnocchi, and a lobster omelet. Everything we tasted was cooked beautifully and seasoned perfectly. Now that we've had brunch, we're dying to experience dinner, so we'll definitely be back.

The lobster omelet and a side of warm spinach and fingerling potatoes, at Union Square Cafe 

2) Saleya (65 W Broadway, New York 10007): After a day of running around NYC, we wanted to have dinner at a restaurant close to my apartment. My mom had read about a small, Mediterranean style restaurant called Saleya, so we gave it a try. Turns out, it was great! The restaurant is a small, all-glass store front nestled in Tribeca. As we walked in, we immediately sat down and order a glass a wine. For food, we shared a flat bread pizza, then we both had a bowl of soup. The food was really delicious and the service was efficient and friendly. If you're looking for a quick but great bite to eat downtown, definitely check out Saleya.

The flatbread pizza and salad with chickpeas and red onion, at Saleya

3)Kitchenette (156 Chambers St, New York 10007): After a long day of class at the International Culinary Center, I was hungry and ready to have dinner with my mom, so we ventured to a small restaurant in Tribeca called Kitchenette. The owner of Kitchenette actually graduated from ICC, so I was excited to try her food. When you walk into the restaurant, you immediately feel like you've been transported to a 50's diner. There is glass deli case filled with cakes and pies, and behind it rests an old fashioned milkshake blender. The menu also replicates diner classics and down-home cooking. I had a classic BLT, as well as garlic rosemary fries. My diet coke was even served in a mason jar. The menu also had chicken and waffles, mama's meatloaf, and classic cheeseburgers. Kitchenette was a perfect taste of home on a chilly New York night.

4)Colicchio & Sons (85 10th Ave, New York 10011): For New Year's Eve, my mom and I decided we wanted to have a nice dinner to ring in the new year. We had been to Colicchio & Sons to have drinks, but never to eat. After a little searching, we found that the restaurant was having a four course NYE meal, and we quickly made reservations. The restaurant is located on the west side right by Chelsea Market (aka foodie paradise). When we walked in, we were greeted with a warm welcome and taken to our seats. The ceiling was covered with balloons and there was champagne waiting for us. The service was impeccable; we had over five different individuals waiting on us and each was well informed and professional. And the food, just amazing. Each course had about four different items to pick from, and along with the four courses, we got a few extra bites. All in all, Tom Colicchio knocked it out of the park, and my mom and I had a full belly as 2013 came to a close.

Hamachi with orange and jalapeño, at Colicchio & Sons

 

The warm chocolate tart, deconstructed key lime pie, and assortment of chocolates, at Colicchio & Sons