Josh’s Culinary Endeavors

Probably more information than you’ll ever need to know about knife maintenance.

I found this recipe adaptation from The Boston Globe. I think I’ll try it when the in-laws visit next month.

Makes 1 quart

1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup Guinness stout
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons molasses
4 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a medium saucepan, scrape in the vanilla bean seeds. Add the pod, milk, and cream. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn off the heat, cover the pan, and let the flavors infuse for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, whisk together the stout and molasses. Bring to a boil and turn off heat.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the yolks, sugar, and vanilla extract. Whisk in a few tablespoons of the hot cream mixture, then slowly whisk in another 1/4 cup of the cream. Add the remaining cream in a steady stream, whisking constantly. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan.
4. Stir the beer mixture into the cream mixture. Cook the custard over medium heat, stirring often with a wooden spoon, for 6 to 8 minutes or until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon.
5. Strain the mixture into a bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Process the custard in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Rosemary & Roasted Garlic Chimichurri Emulsion - Roasted garlic, shallot, pine nuts, fresh spinach, basil, parsley, rosemary, lemon, extra virgin olive oil, fresh-squeezed lemon juice, lemon zest, sea salt

Berry & Pepper Chutney Cream Cheese - Blackberry, dewberry, cranberry, chipotle, Jonagold apple, Bartlett pear, coriander, crushed chiles, yellow onion, vinegar, cream cheese

I don’t think I’ve ever eaten brussel sprouts in my going on 30 years. I made them tonight - steamed with sea salt and a dijon butter sauce. Awesome! Also on the menu was garlic and rosemary roasted fingerling potatoes and smoked pork porterhouses. For the rub I used kosher salt, fresh cracked peppercorns, garlic powder, cumin, chile powder and ground coriander.

Tonight I grilled New York strips topped with smoked mustard seeds and green peppercorns as well as sauteed cipollini and garlic. On the side: garlic mashed potatoes with bacon drippings.

This meal was inspired by our recent anniversary dinner at the Driskill Grill here in Austin.

Staples in steak grilling now are smoked mustard seeds and peppercorns. If someone hasn’t already created a cologne based on green peppercorns, I’m doing it… they have an amazing aroma!

Here is a photo and simple description of an awesome vegetarian pizza that I made tonight for Monday Night Football!

Roasted fennel, garlic, cipollini onions and red bell pepper. Asiago, mozzarella and provolone cheeses and fresh basil from the garden. Mmmmm, good!

I’ve worked in the restaurant biz, off and on, for approximately five years. I’ve asked three people: a general manager, a clubhouse manager and an executive chef what the origin of the term “86′d” was. I know in practice it means that your out of an item, nix, no more.

Chefs would yell, “86 the t-bone”. That meant the kitchen cooked the last t-bone and the waitstaff needed to know this should a customer try and order it from the menu.

But where did “86″ come from? Here are some interesting answers from Restaurant Report

The term 86′d goes back to the first restaurant Delmonicos. It refers to the ribeye steak that was sold there. It was item 86 on their menu and was sold out one night, hence the term 86′d.

The reason is because of the old specs used to bury the average person—-the hole is “6″ feet deep, and is “8″ feet long. Hence, being called “86d” was not a good thing…but a “gone” thing…

[I]t was borrowed from the policy of “86ing” someone when that person has had too much to drink. He/she is no longer being served. 86 refers to article 86 of the New York State Liquor laws that define when someone should not, legally, be served in places that sell alcoholic beverages.

In the old days of soup kitchens they prepared enough soup for 85 people. Obviously if you were # 86 there was none left. Since the use of 86 to denote a menu item that is not available.

I was up late one night last week and got one of those wild hairs. I started poking around the Texas Culinary Academy’s website and decided to write in.

I don’t remember exactly what I wrote but I said that I am almost 30, I have a full-time job, wife, mortgage and don’t want to find myself on my death bed thinking: “I wish I’d pursued my dream of being a chef.”

I received this response via e-mail a few days later:

Josh Janicek,

We do not have enough information to determine your acceptance to this school. One of our admissions representatives will contact you soon to discuss your application to our school.

Thank You,
Texas Culinary Academy
(888) 553-2433

Four years ago Vidbook.com closed its doors for good. I was unemployed. I drove my motorcycle to the Texas Culinary Academy and spoke with a student advisor as I thought it might be a good time to pursue a new life in the F&B industry. He was a great guy and we had a nice talk. He showed me around the school and briefly explained the programs that are offered at the school. He also showed me the bottom line. Culinary schooling is expensive. I may be off a little, but I think the chef program cost was to the tune of $30,000 for an 18-month associates program.

At the time, the TCA offered full-time schooling only. That meant I’d have to get a loan for $30k, attend class for six to nine hours a day and somehow find a job that paid somewhere around $500 a week so we could barely survive on our two incomes.

I put pen to paper and couldn’t justify going back to school. I had just graduated from college, married and consolidated both of our student loans. Combined we already owed $30k to the U.S. Department of Education.

Being a chef could be painstaking and financially unrewarding. I could just continue to cook for friends and family. I could try my hand at being a personal chef…

I love to cook for Elise and myself. I love to cook for friends. If I was paid for my knifetime, that would be top drawer peachy.

I volunteered Elise and myself to babysit Jack over the Memorial Day weekend while John and Christine travel to Mexico to smuggle black market DVD copies of Kevin Costner’s “Waterworld” and small children who sell Chicklets.

We thought nothing of it when we offered to babysit over the long weekend. Much to our surprise, John and Christine gave both of us a gift certificate to the April 17th Hudson’s on the Bend cooking class.

The class was fun and informative. Elise took notes and I retained new information in the cabeza.

An interesting bit of information that I picked up was that cilantro is excellent in reducing heavy metal (lead, mercury, aluminum, cadmium and arsenic) toxicity. Heavy metals are often found in our drinking water, fruits, vegetables, fish and shellfish. Luckily cilantro is one my favorite herbs and I can eat it by the handful.

Elise was able to see a mandolin in action and wrote that down on what I would guess was a “need to purchase” list.

Watching Jeff and Robert prepare the meal was amazing, as always. For this class we all sat outside in Jeff’s backyard. I was sitting there thinking: “Wow - in the past few months, I’ve been cooking a lot like this”. I had never eaten any of the days’ menu items, but all of the ingredients are now mainstays in my kitchen - big, pungent, local and spicy flavors.

There was one change in the original menu. Instead of smoked buffalo quail, they made Duck Diablos - a medallion of smoked duck breast wrapped in smoked bacon with a thick slice of jicama, jalepeno and a mission fig soaked in balsamic vinegar. The appetizers were served with a fantastic red chile glaze.

Lunch at the restaurant was fantastic. We sat across from a family who had treated their dad to a Hudson’s cooking class for his 70th birthday. We had a great conversation with them.

The salad, main course and dessert were all great, but we still couldn’t get over those Duck Diablos - those things are so awesome (yes, I’m going to Central Market this weekend and picking up some duck breasts if anyone wants to come over for some gourmet southwestern cuisine!)

We came home completely stuffed with knowledge and food. It was a great time that has left us both very inspired.

Here are some photos from the afternoon.

I usually come up with my best recipes somewhere between the time that I go to sleep and the time that I actually start cooking. It’s a very complicated process.

On Sunday I woke up and announced to my wife and the slumbering cats that I was going to barbeque chicken.

For my sauce I reduced 24 oz. of Coke to ~ 5 oz. I then added 12 oz. of crushed tomatoes, sauteed onions and garlic, then some Worchestershire, Soy, Thai chilies, chipotles, a Cab Sav reduction, a splash of Dr. Pepper, another splash of beer, paprika and chili powder, salt and pepper. I let the sauce slow cook for a couple hours and then took the trusty boat motor to it.

I rubbed an organic whole chicken with 1/4 c. Johnny Beans coffee, salt, pepper, chili powder, paprika and thyme. I slow grilled it with a makeshift smoker (oak chips wrapped in foil) for ~ an hour.

I tossed a couple cans of pork ‘n bean in a pot with some sweated vidalias and brown sugar.

All made for an awesome BBQ chicken dinner and some good NFL playoff games. I wish I had written down my recipe for the sauce.