Saute'

Sorry i haven't Kept up with the blog the last two weeks... of course if no one is reading this then it doesn;t mater.. HAHAHAHA Anywhom, Last week entered the professional chef's most important realm: Sauteeing! This is the single most common cooing technique used in the restaurant business to day. It's simple and produces some of the most amazing culinary creations. To saute' you need a Sauteuse (skillet to the layman) a small amount of fat (not liquid but fat) and the items you wish to cook. Proper foods for saute' are tender, portion sized cuts of meat, fish or vegetables. Never saute' tough cuts of meat, use those in braising, nor should you ever saute' a to delicate cut of fish, poach that. After your item is fully cooked remove it and hold for services. Then deglaze (use wine or stock/broth to remove the fond from the botom of the pan) the pan and make a sauce for the meat.

Braising & Stewing

One of my favorite cooking methods is braising, you get such deliciously tender bites from the otherwise tough cuts of meat. On top of that you get the richest sauces as a by product of the cooking process. So on to what braising and stewing are. Braising is a combination cooking method using dry heat (searing in oil) and moist heat (cooking in liquid) to create a fork tender finished product. Braising is used for larger cuts of meet, like roasts or lamb shanks, and short ribs. Their are a few steps that must be followed to braise properly.
1. Pat meat dry or dredge in flour. You do this so the meat sears nicely.
2. Sear in the brazing pot until browned on all sides.
3. Remove the meat and add mire poix and any additional vegetables you want to saute.
4 Add meat back in and fill with stock 1/3 to 1/2 way up the meat. Add in any herbs you want.
5. Simmer (not boil) for 3-4 hours.
6. Remove meat when fork tender and continue simmering the sauce until thickened. You don't need to and a thickening agent like flour or cornstarch, if it is not thickening puree the sauce with the vegetables to create a natural thickener.
7. When sauce is thickened, slice meat and serve.

Stewing is a combination cooking method like braising, the difference is that the meat is generally cut into pieces and is always fully submerged in the cooking liquid. Stewing also has a thickening agent added, like a roux (equal parts fat;butter and flour cooked for about 6-10 minutes) or in some less creative kitchens cornstarch :( . In both cases the important steps are searing the meat and simmering long enough to have tender melt in your mouth pieces of meat and vegetables.

Some classic dishes for braising are Osso Bucco, good old American Pot Roast, Swiss Steak, Coq Au Vin, and Beef Bourguignon.
Some classic stews are Chicken and Dumplings, Beef Stew, Gumbo, and a family favorite from my childhood Hobo Stew. Yes Hobo Stew will be the recipe of the day. Now a little background on hobo stew, it is a different recipe any where you get it. The basic premise is everyone gathered together during the depression and brought an ingredient to the table, they where all tossed into a pot with some water and boiled into a fine meal for everyone to share. This has now been adapted to a lovely name for camping food.
Hobo Stew al a David

1lb Stew Beef, or ground beef if you are broke.
1-2 Large russet potatoes, or a handful of red potatoes. Cube into 1/2inch pieces
1 onion diced
1 20oz can diced or stewed tomatoes
1 Carrot diced/ you can use a parsnip instead or along with.
2 Stalks of celery diced
2tbsp Dried Italian seasoning or
1 Sprig of fresh thyme
1 Bay leaf
1tbsp Fresh Basil, oregano, sage and rosemary minced fine.
1tbsp Oil for searing
TT Salt & Pepper
Here's where the recipe gets fun. Add any of these to change it up:
1c Corn
1c Peas
1c Green Beans yes I put them on here!
1c Mushrooms sliced
1c Any cooked beans
1c Cooked lentils.
and basically anything you have in the fridge or pantry.

1. Season ans Sear the meat until nicely browned on all sides.
2. Add the Onion, celery, carrots and cook for four minutes with the beef.
3. Add all other ingredients and cover with stock or water by 1 inch.
4. Let simmer for a few hours and serve with a few slices of sourdough.

First Day in the Kitchen!!

Well yesterday was the first day we actually cooked in the kitchen. It was a moist cooking method day: Shallow Poaching and Steaming. The point was to learn technique rather than create a stunning dish, so no pictures. We poached two breasts of chicken and steamed two breasts of chicken. A few things you need to know before you poach. One, shallow poaching is a moist heat cooking method where the item being poached is half covered in liquid. The poaching liquid is flavored with aromatics (herbs, spices, and flavorful ingredients) usually a mire poix (50% onion, 25% carrot, and 25% celery) some white wine, and any fresh herbs that you desire. Two, the temperature of the poaching liquid needs to stay between 160 and 180 degrees. This can be measured visibly, the surface of the water will move but there will be no bubbles breaking the surface. Using liquid any hotter will be simmering, which is to harsh a cooking method for the delicate cuts of fish that are usually poached.


Steaming is also a moist heat cooking method, though the item being cooked is not submerged in any liquid. You flavor steaming liquid the same as a poaching liquid (that's right no plain water here!). Steam cooks through convection (heat rotating around an item) and is one of the most versatile cooking methods. You can steam a single item or dozens just by adding more liquid to the steamer and placing the items appropriately (you want air flow around each item).


Now that the boring facts are done, here's what we learned. Poaching an item imparts flavor deep inside, where as steaming an item leaves the natural flavor intact and imparts flavor only on the surface. So steam already flavorful items, and poach items that need a boost. The recipe for the day is a special type of steaming.


En Papillote: French for cooked in parchment.


Halibut en papillote with summer vegetables.


2 Fillets of Halibut


2 pieces of parchment paper


1 Yellow squash (crookneck or straight) sliced in 1/4inch rounds


1 Zucchini sliced in 1/4inch rounds


1/2cup Sliced mushrooms.


1/2 Yellow onion sliced in rounds


1 clove of garlic minced


1 Sprig in each packet Fresh Thyme


2tbsp Butter


2tbsp White wine or dry sherry


TT Salt and Pepper





1 Preheat the oven to 400* and put a baking sheet in to heat.


2 On right side center of each piece of parchment layer; thyme, garlic, onion, zucchini, squash, mushrooms, and the halibut.


3 Sprinkle the halibut with salt and pepper to taste. Fold up edges of parchment place 1 tbsp of butter on top of fish and pour one tbsp of wine in each packet.


4 Fold left side of parchment over and crimp the edges, the final product should look like this.



5 Place on preheated baking sheet, and bake in oven for 8-12 minutes, the tough part is knowing when it's done. Usually the bag will puff up and turn tan or brown.


Hope you enjoy if you decide to make it, i picked this dish because all of the vegetables are in season.

The Semester Begins!

School has started up and I am in the kitchen. The first two weeks will be spent reviewing safety, knife skills, and overall proper kitchen behavior. Thus nothing terribly interesting for the blog but starting sept 8th we will be cooking. So here comes the boring, though informative, things we covered this week. How to wash your hands, now for those of you that don't know, you rinse your hands with hot water, lather with soap scrubbing vigorously for 15-20 seconds, rinse and repeat once. Lastly dry with a disposable towel. Okay now that the most difficult part of my week was relayed here are some other safety rules. Cook all poultry to an internal temperature of 165*, cook pork chops and beef steaks (though some like steak cooked lower) to 145*, beef, pork and lamb roasts are also 145* for four minutes. Ground beef or other ground meats should be cooked to 155*. That was pretty much all we covered sorry about the lack of food talk, I promise next week will be more interesting.

Comfort Food for dinner!

For dinner tonight we are having, pot roast, butternut squash, and cajun rice. Oh and cauliflower. I got a very cool dutch oven as a wedding gift and have made hundreds of meals in it, but never pot roast. I know, I know shocking! We can call this budweiser Pot Roast, 1 cup o'Bud, a handful of onions from mom's garden, potatoes, carrots, and celery. Seasoning garlic, thyme, rosemary, basil, salt and fresh cracked black pepper. Sear in oil toss everything in and let cook on low all day, or four hours.

To Creme Brulee' or to Flan today!

First of all I must apologize for not getting the pictures posted for the Sundaes. The fact is I never took them, I meant to but by the time I had all twelve made they were melting and I served them. So formally Sorry.
Now that the unpleasantness is behind us let's move on to Flan and Creme Brulee. Basically if you want to sound French and fancy you make Creme Brulee, rather than Flan which is Spanish and has now been incorperated into nearly all latin cutlures. Despite the way these two dishes are viewed by the general public they are very similar. The basic difference is whether you wish to use a torch or not. Creme Brulee has had sugar burnt (bruleed) to a crisp on top. The ingredients are for all intents and purposes the same: cream, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Personally I find Flan to be far more versatile as you can add different flavors that won't be met with the scandalous reply of "but that's not Creme Brulee". Both are cooked in a water bath in the oven at about 325* for 45 minutes give or take. You really are looking for the custards to have set. My tip to you for the water bath is simple, place your empty ramekins in the pan that they will be cooked in. Fill the pan three quarters of the way up the ramekins. Reserve the water. Once you have prepared everything for the Flan or Creme Brulee run the water through your coffee pot, this will make it very hot and give you a heat safe pitcher for pouring into the pan. You want the water as hot as possible when it goes into the oven so you don't waste cooking time bringing the water to a boil. My personal favorite Flan is coconut flan, which is simple and very delicious.

Ice cream Sundaes

Today is all about sundaes, which I will be having on Sunday. What makes the perfect sundae is always a debate. Are you a hot fudge fan or caramel? Peanuts or walnuts, maybe pecans? Sprinkles, cookie, gummy bears? Strawberry, Pineapple or butterscotch syrup? Bananas? Then vanilla, chocolate, strawberry or another flavor?
Well for this weekend I will be making more than one, so here are some ideas.
Blueberry Sundae
Vanilla ice cream (2 scoops), dusting of cinnamon, fresh blueberry sauce, roasted pecans, whipped cream and of course a cherry on top (or blueberry). Blueberry sauce is easy as pie. 2cups fresh blueberries, 1/4 cup sugar up to a half cup depending on your sweet tooth, half teaspoon orange zest and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon apply heat, stir frequently and wait for the magic to happen. The sauce is ready when the berries burst and it has thickened. Serve hot or at room temp.
Classic Hot fudge
Vanilla ice cream (2 scoops), hot fudge by the gallon, mixed nuts or your preference, whipped cream, and a cherry.
My wife Amber's favorite is a butterscotch sundae.
Vanilla ice cream, butterscotch, mixed nuts, whipped cream and a cherry. Simple and Delicious
I love a cookies and cream.
One scoop chocolate and one vanilla, hot fudge, crumble Oreo cookies, whipped cream and a whole Oreo on top.
Well that was a few I'll post pictures Sunday night.

An Introduction & Mission Statement

As to an introduction, my name is David Arnold and I am a father, husband and aspiring culinary student taking the long journey to becoming a chef. My wife Amber and son Atticus will feature in this blog periodically, though mostly it will be my journey through school. I tried out culinary school in 2008 but had issues with financial aide( regulation changes with the finacial meltdown)and had to drop out. So I gathered my hopes and joined a local community college, American River in Citrus Heights, Ca. So instead of $7,000 a quarter for school now I paying about $2.50 after the bog fee waver ain't public schools grand.
The purpose or mission of my blog if fairly simple. I want to catalog my journey through school and if I answer any questions or help anyone along the way I will consider that a boon. Mostly I just want a place to vent my frustrations, gather my thoughts, and jot down ideas along the way.