The Flavor Bible

Well, they've done it again! Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg have released The Flavor Bible, an inspiring guide to help cooks better understand how to pair and balance flavors from around the world. I have turned to their book, Culinary Artistry, for ideas and "flavor pals" for years. With input from many well-respected chefs, The Flavor Bible takes heightening the flavor experience to a whole new level.

When I first really started cooking and learning proper techniques, I was very focused on recipes and had a hard time letting them go. Although I honed my skills and understood cooking processes, I would get tripped up from time to time on how to combine flavors. Culinary Artistry provided a lot of guidance. The book freed me to experiment and understand my own flavor combinations...without having to rely on a recipe.

Today, The Flavor Bible was delivered to my door. I can hardly wait to dive into it and learn more about the flavor possibilities. This is one bible that I'll definitely be reading before bed.  

Tagged as: [ basics books culinary dornenburg flavors page pairing ]

How to Roast Nuts

Roasting any kind of nut enhances its flavor and gives it a wonderful crunch. It's easy to do. You just need to be careful so you don't over-roast them and turn them bitter. Preheat your oven to 300 170ºF and lay the nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet. I am using almonds here. Place the nuts in the oven for 10 minutes, shaking the pan periodically. Check the nuts after 10 minutes by cutting one in half to see if the color inside has changed. If you are using smaller nuts, check them before 10 minutes has elapsed to make sure they don't roast too quickly. Taste them to see if you like them. After all, that is most important.

Put the nuts in the oven for another 3 to 5 minutes and check again. You may have to do this a few times until you get the desired color. Once the nuts are roasted enough, remove them from the baking sheet to a cooler surface or they will continue to cook from the residual heat in the baking sheet. Here you can see the roasting progression from a raw almond to a fully roasted one.

Roasted nuts make for a quick and healthy snack, and they give all desserts added flavor.

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Update: Dawn, over at Rouxbe, prompted me (see comments below) to dig a little further on the benefits/harm of roasting nuts. Here is an excellent resource on the web for the World's Healthiest Foods. It appears that nuts should be slow-roasted at lower temperatures. Roasting nuts quickly at high temperatures (over 170ºF) can cause a breakdown of their healthy fats, but roasting at low temperatures will take substantially longer. Thanks, Dawn for the info! It's true - shortcuts in the kitchen don't always produce better results

Tagged as: [ basics howto tips ]

Chocolate Series | Piping Chocolate Decorations

Once you know how to fold a paper cone, piping decorations using chocolate can be a lot of fun. Half fill the paper cone with tempered chocolate and snip the tip off with scissors. Snip less of the tip off to achieve a finer thread/stream of chocolate, or more to obtain a thicker one. It is best to snip off a little at a time until you obtain the result you want.

Secure a large piece of clean parchment to a working surface by weighing the corners down so it doesn't slip around. Begin to pipe, keeping the top part of the paper cone folded at all times so that the chocolate doesn't ooze out of it. Apply even pressure, while bearing in mind that the heat from your hands could throw the chocolate out of the tempered range. This is one of the reasons that it is best to work with small amounts at a time, ensuring you only handle it for short periods.

Fine piping takes lots of practice. Here I am messing around to show that anything can be done. These aren't the fanciest decorations, but once set, these can be stood upon or stacked on any kind of dessert to give an added touch.

Here is a close-up to show that well-tempered chocolate does contract as it sets. The edges of the decoration actually lift off of the paper. If you want to prevent a decoration from curling, you will need to place something of a suitable and even weight on top of it. Don't do this until the chocolate has set though, or you will mush your design. Once set, cover it with a piece of parchment, and apply a light weight on top overnight. Chocolate can take up to 24 hours to fully set/contract, so don't be tempted to take the weight off early. This applies to all things chocolate that you want to keep flat.

Obviously, the finer the piping, the more fragile the decorations will be. Once the paper cone is empty of chocolate, dispose of it. It cannot be re-used.

Related posts:

• Chocolate Series | How To Dip Chocolates by Hand
  
• Chocolate Series | How To Temper Chocolate
• Where to Find Pastry and Chocolate-Making Supplies
• Chocolate Series | The Simplest Way to Finish the Simplest Truffles
• Chocolate Series | How to Make a Simple Ganache
• Cleaning Up Hardened Chocolate The Easy Way

Tagged as: [ basics chocolate decorations howto pastry piping techniques temper tips ]

How to Fold a Paper Cone

Rather than using a large piping bag, paper cones are very handy in the kitchen when you need to pipe small amounts for decoration. Folding a paper cone can be awkward at first, but with practice it will take literally seconds to create one. All you need is a right triangle piece of parchment paper (not wax paper). Many pastry supply shops carry pre-cut triangles but it is easy to cut your own. Just cut a rectangular piece of parchment in half, along the diagonal, and away you go.

I have created a slide show in Flickr to demonstrate how to fold a paper cone. If you click on each individual photo, I have included helpful notes.

Tagged as: [ basics howto pastry techniques tips ]

How Restaurants Fail - Lessons Learned From Reality TV

A lot of people don’t see the value in reality TV and, I agree, a lot of it is lowbrow entertainment. Of course, there are many who enjoy this guilty pleasure without admitting it – you know who you are. However, there are a few programs out there that we can actually learn from – really.

I enjoy watching Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares on the Food Network. His candid expression and simple observations of why a restaurant is failing teaches food industry workers many lessons. In the midst of trying to teach industry professionals how to improve their business, his program also enlightens the general public of the struggles restaurateurs are faced with.

The one rule he points out, in nearly every case, is that Chefs and Cooks have forgotten the basics. Somehow they get caught up in their egos, forget the fundamentals and the reason that they started cooking in the first place – because they got joy out of cooking and eating good food.

Why are so many restaurants, such as the ones Gordon Ramsay helps out, not preparing things properly and from scratch? Why do they get lazy and take short cuts? Problems appear to be no-brainers and it is strange they can’t see the importance of having a clean kitchen, a clean restaurant, solid communication between the front and back of the house, and a straightforward menu that uses local ingredients and solid cooking techniques.

We have all been to restaurants where their menu consists of too many dishes that don't make sense. I steer away from any establishment where they are preparing multi-cuisines and their menu consists of pages upon pages of choices. On the other hand, I also dislike when a restaurant has a limited menu where the descriptions are so pretentious they make you uncomfortable. Food that simply doesn’t taste great cannot be hidden by fancy presentation, descriptions, or hype.

A common theme in Gordon Ramsay's program is that the Chefs lose sight of what they like to cook and eat. They are catering to what they think people want and try to put their hokey spins on dishes. As a diner, my preference is simple. I like honest, consistent, fresh food, which gives me value for my money, and that is really hard to find. It is probably why I choose to stay home more often than not these days.

When trying to develop menus in school, a lot of us struggled with holding back and not being fancy. What we discovered was less is always more. One of the things I admire about Gordon Ramsay is his straightforward honesty. “Don't ruin good produce and local ingredients with fancy gimmicks. Good food will always sell itself.” It is probably human nature to gravitate towards always wanting to add more, as I find I need to constantly remind myself to keep it simple. I remember the Chefs at school saying people get carried away by trying to produce fine dining dishes before they can fine cook. Before aiming for the big wow factor, keep dishes simple and honest. Restaurants that uphold these practices are far and few between.

On this blog, I'm happily going to focus on the basics and share what I have learned with you. I will pay attention to and record important tips, so if I ever decide to open a business of my own, I can be reminded of the things I was taught in school and the tips from experts such as Gordon Ramsay. And people say there’s no value in reality TV

Tagged as: [ basics ramsay reality restaurants tips tv ]