Apprentice H

Apprentice H / Breakfast — No Comments
13
Oct 10

Amazing Pancake Results.

I am almost getting sick of myself at still being amazed by Smart Kitchen.

At our house, we try to have a Sunday breakfast policy of family made pancakes or French Toast done together. This past Sunday we were using a recipe from Joy of Cooking and my 5 year old who has been tagging along on my lessons in the Smart Kitchen beta test suggested that we add orange juice to the pancake batter. I said “sure” without thinking about it.

But then my new Smart Kitchen brain kicked in. “What about the extra liquid in the batter?” Can you believe it? Unbidden the answers came. “More flour and maybe a touch more baking powder. 2 eggs should still be okay.”  Who was I?

We made the changes and poured the liquid portion of the batter into the divit Teaching Chef had taught me to make in the flour and which I had taught my daughter to make.

She whisked it all together in the big bowl as I pre-heated the cast iron skillet. My daughter timed our adding in the batter by the heat of the skillet, using the butter as a visual clue. Together, (safety first with kids & stoves) we poured in the first spoons of batter. She watched for the visual clue about when to turn them and scared her Dad flipping them, but actually did a great job. 

OMG the pancakes were the best I’d ever made. That’s the shock, in a good way, of this Smart Kitchen. They break things down so you do different steps. A 5 year old was doing it. Now its kind of embarassing that over the last 40 odd years, I’ve made a lot of pancakes and these were the first that were truly great. Just practicing solo didn’t get me there. A few simple changes and the ability to improvise learned from Smart Kitchen did. We, my 5 year old and I, made 5 star, good restaurant quality food. She’s not really an eater like her old man but she had 4 pancakes yesterday and 3 more (reheated) today. 

And I admit to having a few pancakes myself. They were like a treat, crispy, with just the right sweetness and orange tang. I didn’t want to risk wrecking them by adding syrup, even the real maple stuff. I actually had to exert some will power over the cakey goodness or I might have demolished the pile of them we were saving for the kids’ breakfasts this week.

That’s another Smart Kitchen thing. We do a bit more planning and make pancakes for a few days while we have the gear out. They keep and are real economical. I’m thinking of them now and can’t touch them so I’m writing about them instead. I can’t wait until next Sunday to see if we can do it again. I will be really excited to have those great pancakes be more than a fluke.

If I get bold, I might experiment with some of the batter to make something a bit more savory. Maybe add in some spreadable cheddar or some feta into the batter and see how that turns out. We will keep you posted.

Apprentice H

Apprentice H / Culinary Learning / Sea Food — No Comments
22
Sep 10

Thanks Lesson 4: Introduction to Cooking Methods

My “nice” wife brought home some “nice” salmon that was on sale. She was excited to grill it the BBQ but I had just finished working through Lesson 4, which includes Sautéing and Pan Frying. That was going to be a problem. Forget the BBQ all I could think of was that good looking salmon sizzling in the pan.

I tried to convince my wife to have our salmon prepared in a Combination Pan Fry, which I learned in the lesson was searing in a properly heated pan at Medium High Heat and then finishing the meat in the oven at a moderate heat. Optionally, if we were feeling fancy, we could De-Glaze the pan and make a faboooolous sauce. Having pan fried fish on the brain all afternoon and now here was a perfect specimen. I wanted to go whole hog with the new technique.

I got up the courage and asked to split our fish, which is never a good idea for the fish or the marriage. My understanding wife understood my enthusiasm and relented. She left me half a salmon filet so I could try the pan and oven route, as she went out to the grill.  

They talk about Preview, Process, Practice ™ in the Foundation. I had already “Previewed” the Lesson on Pan Frying and I guess also “Processed” it because, with that fish filet on the counter, I thought I knew what to do.  I heated the pan, like I was taught, added my fat like I was taught and at what must have been the right moment I added my salmon. I was worried it was going to stick when it was time to turn it over, but it didn’t. And miraculously, I knew when to turn it. I must have “Processed” that too. A bit more on the second side and the salmon went into the oven for a quick Finish Cook. Feeling Cocky, and deserving, I broke out some Sam Adams Octoberfest Beer and after a swig for courage, I De-Glazed the pan. Apparently I’d “Processed” that too because I did it and it worked. About the time I was done with the sauce the salmon was ready in the oven. I took it out and covered the fish with my pan sauce.

I was amazed.  I had never tasted anything so good probably, because I’d never cooked it myself. After I ate I was giddy, like a kid with a good math score. I had to brag so I sat down and emailed the story in to Smart Kitchen.

Pan searing a fresh salmon, I felt like someone else. Maybe like one of those futuristic Matrix characters who download an instruction tape and magically know a new skill. Except for me, it wasn’t fiction. I was eating the delicious proof, a tender pan seared salmon accented by a pan sauce. And my wife was jeaolous. WOW!

Seriously, thanks Lesson 4. And thanks Smart Kitchen. I sure think you have a smart way to learn to cook.

User Name: H       Smart Kitchen Rank: Apprentice

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

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