April, 2010

Apprentice H / Culinary Learning / Eggs — No Comments
22
Apr 10

Practice 2

They talk about Preview, Practice, Process. You can watch the lesson and think about it but the key really is practice.

I had been watching and learning but not putting the information to actual use. Now I have the one hand egg break down and made my first “omelet.” I snuck ahead and watched the omelet exercise. The next morning I hit the kitchen and I did it, not so pretty, but on the first try, it was an omelet just in time to hear my 4 Year old daughter say “No Omelet!”

Kind of a let down to have good and bad news. Bad because she didn’t want MY OMELET, but good because I got it. And she recognized what I had made as an omelet. Nice, right?

On her redo of just eggs, I got it just right and managed the “flip,” even though it was over the sink to be safe. I think the key was working with a fork to keep it unstuck and being a bit rough with the product like Teaching Chef says.  The second try was better too. I think I timed the introduction of the eggs better. The butter visual clue was frothy and something I had not considered before. My daughter loved the eggs and even asked for more.

User Name: H       Smart Kitchen Rank: Apprentice

Food Safety / New — No Comments
14
Apr 10

Safe Food Handling More Important Than Ever

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are an estimated 76 million U.S. cases of food borne illness annually resulting in 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths. The Food and Drug Administration inspected fewer than one quarter of U.S. food production facilities annually and failed to take regulatory action against more than half of those that violated standards in fiscal year 2007. These inspection statistics do not include all the foreign farms and food production facilities that export their wares to our shores. There has never been a more important time to be proficient in your food handling. Sign up to learn about the launch of SmartKitchen.com. We will have lessons on many things culinary, including professional grade food handling. P Chef

Apprentice H / Culinary Learning / Eggs — No Comments
13
Apr 10

Practice

I am an eater and I think I was lucky to be asked to work with some of the content pre-launch for Smart Kitchen but man, I didn’t think I could get the one hand egg crack down.

Teaching Chef, in the Smart Kitchen Instructional Video, made it look so easy. After 3 tries I was close. Finally, I got the technique once. I called it a day on a win.

User Name: H       Smart Kitchen Rank: Apprentice

Healthy Eating / Ingredients / New — No Comments
12
Apr 10

A Consuming National Problem

An interesting graphic showing the amounts of fresh or processed food consumed per capita per country can be found on the New York Time’s Website. Some US citizens are fighting back the trend with the help of the SmartKitchen.com, where average people learn to prepare fresh foods “like a chef from the comfort of their own home in 10 easy lessons.” The best part after improved health, is the taste and sense of accomplishment. And joining the SmartKitchen.com only costs $9.95 a month.

Healthy Eating / Ingredients / New — No Comments
10
Apr 10

The U.S. Leads in the Consumption of Frozen & Pre-Packaged Foods

According to the New York Times’ Graph of Food Consumption in the US, the U.S. leads in consumption of pre-packaged foods and eats 31% more pre-packaged food than it eats fresh food. Obesity in America, where 67% of us are overweight according to a 2008 study by The World Health Organization, is less surprising when you consider that Americans ingest more packaged food per capita than any other country on Earth. There are a lot of reasons we are doing it, one has got to be the belief that cooking is too hard, or too slow. Smatkitchen.com has solutions that are easy and fast ways to cook healthier food for you and your family.

P Chef

Dairy / Farming / Ingredients / Locriculture / New / Produce / Restaurants — No Comments
9
Apr 10

New Food Safety Bill Worries Small Farms

The Locavore or Locriculture movement may be on the ropes, if large food producers and the Federal Government succeed in imposing new, stringent reporting requirements on the little guy. Small Farmers fear that costly regulation and enforcement will erode their meager profits and drive them from the business they are so passionate about. It would be a shame to force family farms from the market place just as the public is coming to appreciate the health and taste benefits of eating local. There is some hope in that the bill may be tailored to allow the amount of regulations to match the volume of crops produced. As of this writing, it is believed that the final bill will exempt farms selling produce directly to consumers from their own farm stands, which while beneficial won’t cover farmers delivering, in small quantities, to your favorite, sustainable and locally conscience restaurants. P Chef

New / Sea Food — No Comments
6
Apr 10

Last Sardine Factory Slated to Close

The last domestic sardine factory is Prospect Harbor, Maine is slated to close. The Stinson Plant, owned by Bumble Bee Foods since 2004, will be closing on 4.18.10. The company claims that Federal regulations on the haul of Atlantic Herring are forcing the close, but changing domestic tastes, which have strayed from “the Little Fishies” (as quoted by Robert McNaughton, Elliot’s older brother Michael in ET) are sure to have played a role as well. Sardines are highly nutritious, but even efforts by celebrity chefs to promote them have not boosted their consumption. We wish Prospect Harbor, the backdrop for John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row, all the best in replacing the lost jobs and reinventing itself. In general & when teaching a lesson on Umami, smartkitchen.com will miss their wares as well.

P Chef

New / Restaurants — No Comments
4
Apr 10

Musso & Frank’s Edith Carissimi Passes

We were saddened to hear of the passing of Edith Carissimi, a member of the family that owned and ran the storied Musso & Frank’s restaurant in Los Angeles. Opened in 1919, Musso & Frank’s is Hollywood’s oldest restaurant. They have been doing it “Old School” since it was actually just “school.” Writers like F. Scott Fitzgerald of Gatsby fame or Raymond Chandler of the detective novels, frequented the grill, enjoying period meals like Sauerbraten & Potato Pancakes or Braised Beef a la Mode. Today’s stars, ranging from Johnny Depp to Keith Richards appreciate the grill and drink down, the ambiance, left behind by past legends like Charlie Chaplin or Mickey Rooney, along with their cocktails and meals. If you are in Hollywood, you should stop in. Musso & Frank’s Grill is a place out of history. Edith and her mission will be missed.  Musso & Frank’s Grill http://www.mussoandfrankgrill.com/

P Chef

Healthy Eating / New / Restaurants — No Comments
3
Apr 10

A New Diet Calculus

The dieting industry has long considered 3,500 calories as equal to one pound of fat. It is their Golden Rule. The idea being don’t eat the calories, or burn them off and one pound of fat disappears. New ingredient rules and calorie counts in places like New York city are proving the rule, if not necessarily false, at least more complex. “Food Banners” and “Ingredient Listers” have claimed that their rules would reduce the obese in NYC by 150,000 members in 5 years. They are NOT ON TRACK and the refutation threatens further draconian legislation, notably food regulations built into the Obama Care law. There is some mild math to explain the disparity, having to do with energy and the weight of protein versus fat, but basically the body adjusts its metabolism over longer time frames and requires less fuel to power itself as weight declines. For now the Banners & Listers are being forced to rewrite their claims; changing “at least a pound of fat burned for 3500 calories” to “up to a pound of fat burned.”At SmartKitchen.com we support free people making culinary decisions. We are against food bans. We believe, instead, in moderation, education, and fresh foods (and exercise) as the best path to health. Join us at www.smartkitchen.com to learn more about our philosophy. 

P Chef