C.I.A. day 2

Today was a day of mise en place. Mental mise en place ranges from thinking ahead about the procedures, cooking times for each item, and setting ourselves up for the next day. We did everything we could to make our next day easier because we  knew the day we were off to the city.  On todays prep list is S.W. green chile pork sausage, duck sausage w/sage & roasted garlic, smoke our beef jerky, and check the brining pig heads. 

On another note our trip to the city was an amazing 5 hour adventure with a visit to Columbus Circle to see my old work place Cafe Gray, which has since been replaced by a new restaurant called A Voce. We were able to walk in and explore the dinning room and check out the kitchen. Our next stop was Bouchon Bakery, Masa, and Masa Bar. Another interesting part of the food mecca in 10 Columbus circle is Thomas Keller's Per Se where I spent 3 hours with Johnathon Benno the chef de cuisine and got a full tour of the kitchen. Per Se has a new addition which is a bar with a projected wine menu on the bar itself where you can scroll through the list with your finger, crazy cool! Also across the street is another Chef I admire named Jean George where Tobin and I watched the kitchen in action from outside through the window. 

At the end of the night at 3am Pete and I ended up at a traditional diner with the silver sides.  The cooks and servers where happy but bickered in Spanish at each other while cooking up our orders. The place was packed and all of us participated late night conversation about nothing with plenty of laughter. If you park in the Bronx and are leaving your vehicle for a late night jaunt park in front of a 24 hour diner where the cooks can see and watch out for you and don't forget to tip well. I had the classic pancake & maple syrup and it was exactly as I expected but what was amazing was a plain muffin that was sliced in half buttered and grilled to crispy and if was the best muffin ever, plain & grilled YUM!

Culinary Institute of America Day 1

For being recognized as the most preeminent culinary school in the world, you would think that would be an overstatement like most things that are dubbed as the best. The CIA proved to me today that their title has been earned. The clean, groomed and well cared for campus is as beautiful as you could imagine. Our first day in class and Tobin and I are the team of two from the west. Our first project is tête pressee and sulze which are both a form of head cheese. Two pig heads were given to us to take across campus to slice in half so we could discard the brains. We decided to pan fry and eat "yum brains".  We also made beef jerky and Kansas City Spareribs. Our instructor was as pro as they come with a wealth of knowledge. The day went great with a three course meal: Italian sausage risotto, salmon w/beurre rouge  and cheese cake. All & all the day was great with 4 more to come. 

New York City

       On my way for another culinary adventure in one of the worlds greatest cities. One hour and forty minutes north in Poughkeepsie, NY  the Culinary Institute of America resides as I will for a week at the school.  Chef Tobin and I  will be entering the next level of charcuterie by completing the schools extended learning program. My focus will be on patés, terrines, ageing and bactoferm. The campus looks beautiful and prodigious, I cannot wait to explore it. My adventure does not end at the school as my need to dive deep into food while I spend an extra three days in Manhattan. Old photos new photos and food photos will be posted during this literary viand fête. I will be eating at Del Posto, Daniel, Bark, Jean Georges, and a few others. This will be my first experience eating at a three Michelin star rated restaurant and I will eat at two of them.

Michelin Stars: The highest and most profound award ever to be given to a chef. Only a few have them and even less have multiples. Each restaurant is only awarded three at most but a chef that is worthy with other restaurants can accumulate them. Both Daniel and Jean Georges have three stars.

Manhattan Food Sean is where being a pro is a way of life. The best of the best are at play with research and creation of new and recreations of old. The food is well thought out, and teamwork and organizational skills are on display at its highest level. Not many cooks can make it in a New York City Kitchen as the demand for high energy, dexterity, and precision are required all day and every day. Passion, understanding of methods teamwork, communication, and uncompromising execution is mandatory. Many young culinarians go home broken with a new found respect for this world.  I would not recommend it for the faint hearted as most are chewed up and spat out and left to dry as the tears pour down the faces of defeat. I can only suggest you hold your head up and know you tried to compete with the best. Though failure is abutting all you have to do is stay focused, pay attention, move quickly with finesse, do what is asked in a timely matter, keep your head down and work, oh ya and "yes Chef". Oh ya and if you don't know your products, methods, or flavor profiles you might as well turn back now and return when your absolutely ready.

 Photos: First pic back in the city Time square, Bryant Park my favorite park in the city.

Made By Hand

Hot coppa, sweet coppa, salami, Spanish chorizo, saucisson sec, aged kielbasa,  guanciale, chicken terrine, mortadella, bresaola, spec, pancetta, duck prosciutto, jambon cru, house smoked bacon, rabbit terrine, fromage de tête, and maple sage breakfast sausage.  Charcuterie at Santé.  Days are long but fast. 2 hours to break down a whole hog, 1 hour to salt cure, 3 hours to grind, season and stuff, 2 hours to emulsify and stuff, over night to dry and let seasonings steep, then a day of smoking if need be. All of this done with a smile on a biweekly basis. Not to mention weekly menu planning and product research, I love my job. 

Fresh hand made gnocchi, foie gras au torchon, head cheese, rabbit terrine, and fresh Hog snapper from Florida.  All in this weeks work with the snapper as the headliner for the indian summer menu.

A day at Rocky Ridge Ranch

I would like to talk about a place where all you get to eat is organic grains, peas, lentils, apples, amaranth, kale, cabbage, kohlrabi, giant zucchini, all types of squash, wheat and other organic vegetables and grains.  Vegetarian's dream right! How about if you're a meat lover and the meat you eat has been raised on all these items? The unequaled slice of prosciutto comes from Italy (parma).  The hogs eat acorns and grass. Gary at Rocky Ridge Ranch north of Reardan, WA. raises Berkshire hogs and feeds them this exact menu. All ingredients are organically grown on the farm and count for a good portion of both his Berkshires and Angus beef diets. The Berkshire is a heritage breed of hog that is prized for its belly "bacon", yum! We at Santé live to break down the Berkshire. Every two weeks we receive a whole hog to process and the meat is very consistent, with delicious flavor. The bellies have the perfect ratio of meat to fat, the jowls are perfect for guanciale and the hams make the "Parma" like prosciutto that is impressive, trust me I know. I have tried at least ten American made conventionally raised and cured hams and they are just not the same. These hogs eat well at medium rare and are perfect for a BBQ.  The diet the Berkshires have is directly related to the flavor and eating ability. Truly amazing. 

Gary is raising at least 30 Berkshires for me next year and if you would like to have one click here. 

You can meet Gary and his wife at the community building during farmers market hours. I spent the day on the ranch with Gary and experienced his life as a farmer. He's not just a farmer, but an all American man that did a tour in Vietnam, came home, bought land and turned it into a farm. Great American cowboy dream. Without using chemicals to sustain his farm, he deals with the harsh climate that the organics have to live in. He is a man that's doing us all a favor by doing his hogs a favor and feeding them food they are supposed to eat. 

Black Box Kitchen

Over a year ago, with the support of my wife I fulfilled one of my lifelong dreams and opened Santé Restaurant & Charcuterie.  Originally we set out to provide good food for our family and friends, in the hopes to share my cooking philosophy and help inspire better eating habits in the community.  It quickly evolved into something much bigger; a sort of platform for us to advocate a local, healthy (which Santé is french for), ethical lifestyle. There are many reasons I have started this blog, one of which is to share my thoughts and journeys related to food and cooking.  I also hope to spread my beliefs and passion with anyone who is interested in the importance of localism, sustainability and eating seasonally.  Other topics will include restaurant reviews, local farmers, cooking techniques, food books, food photography, local events, Q & A's on food related topics, sharing recipes, new restaurant openings and of course the Black Box Kitchen.

Black Box Kitchen: The Black Box Kitchen is to me a way of life.  It's not just being a chef, it's having the passion for cooking and all that surrounds it.  It's finding local ingredients and using them in multiple ways in revolving and evolving menus.  Many culinarians know the Black Box to be a final exam in which they have an hour to create a menu from random (aka blind) ingredients selected by the instructor. This requires a test of technique, skill, and flavor balance by incorporating ones individual cooking style.  By using the twelve seasons to develop my menu is the Black Box approach in my kitchen- not just using what food purveyors or myself can find on the market.  Its all about the season, being local, sustainable, and fresh by cooking with high standards and taking the time to use proper techniques and developing my own.  

I appreciate anyone who is interested and takes time to read this, and encourage any questions you may have. I look forward sharing more of my culinary journey with you.