Cinnamon Rolls! Holllerrr!

I made cinnamon rolls today. They were successful. I ate 3 of them. I was going to stop at 2, but in the midst of being frustrated by my mom I ate a third, and now I'm feeling pretty sick. Almost the story of my life.

Here are pictures as I have promised. Enjoy!
I didn't take into account how cinnamon rolls can puff up in the baking process, so my pan got a little overcrowded. Also, while i was squeezing out some cream cheese frosting onto the cinnamon rolls to make it pretty, the ziploc bag i was using exploded. So I was left to slather the sugary, cheesy goodness all over the top.

Week 3

This week consisted of a lot of cooking. Rather than complaining and becoming an annoyance like that of the previous post, I am just going to update you on what happened this week.

Monday.
Nutrition class. 7am-2:30pm. I woke up at 5:30 and left at 6:30 because I thought it was important for me to eat breakfast. I was tardy to class. Oh well, that isn't too bad, right? Wrong! So incredibly wrong. 2 tardies=1 absence. 2 absences= F. You do the math. We went over 4 chapters from the book. I was dying during that part. Next, we actually cooked. We were separated into groups and were assigned different things to create. Sorbet, pizza, pilaf, etc. We were assigned the pilaf. It wasn't that great. The only delicious item was the buttermilk sorbet. It was smooth, it was creamy, and it was absolutely fantastic. Later on, I got a huge stomachache. I dont think that's particularly a good thing.

Wednesday
I made some Korean braised short ribs. Those were actually pretty delicious and almost fall-off-the-bone tender! I also made another spicy rice cake dish. I kind of added too much pepper, but then again I like black pepper. So those who liked Black Pepper, really liked that dish. Those who didn't, I dont really care about what they thought. Sorry, no pictures!

Tuesday & Thursday
Who knew making stock was such hard work? I thought you just threw everything in the pot, bring it to a boil, and let simmer until all the flavors release. Apparently that is not the case.
Let me fill you in if you're interested on how to make beef stock CORRECTLY. First, you get some beef bones and you roast them. Yes, you roast them bones. You roast them until they look completely tan (like the color of cinnamon sticks). In the meantime, make a sachet, which is a bag you make out of cheesecloth filled with some peppercorns, parsley stems, bay leaf, and thyme. Then, you are going to collect some fat given out from the bones and slather the bones with some tomato paste. Sound weird, but just do it. And you continue roasting until the tomato paste turns black, NOT burnt, just black. WTF, right? I asked Chef what the difference was between black and burnt, and he said you can smell it. And if it's burnt it was still chipping off. So, it's all in your best judgment I suppose, as long as you don't burn the product. Burning it will make your stock taste burnt. After than you need 2 parts onion and 1 part carrot and 1 part celery. Roughly chop them into large pieces because you are going to be simmering for over 6 hours. Now, with the fat that you've collected you are going to put that into a hot pan and sautee the veg until they are nicely browned. Now you're going to throw the bones into a pot and fill it with COLD water until it just covers the bones. Bring it to a boil and reduce it to a simmer. The 3rd hour in throw in your veg and sachet. Total cooking time should be 8-12 hours for best result. And then you're going to cool it down in a water bath if you're going to be storing it. (throwing it in the fridge afterwards is going to solidify the fat, making it easier to remove the fat.) The funniest dialogue of the night:
Chef: So, what do we do with the fat?
(People are yelling out different WRONG answers, but one in particular struck me as hilarious)
Anonymous: (with confidence) You put it on a hamburger, Chef!
Chef: (Wtf-ed) A HAMBURGER????

We used the stock to make an espagnole sauce (A brown mother sauce using the brown stock we made above) for the steak we were given. Chef said ours wasn't quite there yet, but to me it tasted pretty, darn awesome. It was velvety, flavorful, and SEXY! If you want, I can let you know how to make it! Just let me know! So delicious with some beef.

That night, I went home and decided to make a Korean Snack. It's like a bread with cinnamon sugar and peanut filling. When it's nice and hot, it's pretty divine. For these, I DO have pictures! Hoorah!





I took a bite out of the one on top (or 2 bites) after eating four myself. I made more than ten, but when it comes to eating my family can be a BEAST! So these were completely gone by the end of the night. I made these at night, by the way. Now, I'm going into the kitchen to make some cinnamon rolls. If it is successful I will be sure to post pictures up of my creation.

Chopped and SCREWED. T Pain of having sucky knives.

UPDATE
title change was inspired by Sabina. (do you get what i added there, sabina? i know. I'm a Jeanius. What? I just did it again!)
After i sent a delightful email of complaint to the company that sent me the knives, they responded speedily. I might have received the demo, thus explaining the craptastic nature of the knife set. They claimed they had never received a complaint on this product and that the knives should come sharp. I returned the product and they should be sending me NEW knives (which it better be or i am going to blow a fuse. a huge fuse). Meanwhile, i bought a knife sharpener from IKEA. YEAYUH! (i <3 ikea) it's for insurance just in case the new knives suck and i dont want to deal with the whole returning and complaining ordeal again. I felt better the next day after i sent the email btw. I dont stay upset for long. =] Thank you all for listening to me rant!

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Today was the first day in the kitchen.
My hands reek of onions.
We chopped, diced, julienned. It was fun. Hooray, right? No, because I sucked and my chef's knife sucked even more. Even if i tried to suck as much as my knife did I couldn't. It would be an impossible task. So, currently I am frustrated and angry. The chef's knife (which is the most important knife) that I purchased that came in a set was complete CRAP. The blade is far from straight. It is crooked, dull, and everything lame and stupid! I was trying to saw through an onion and it couldn't even do that! Yes, "saw" because it wouldn't even chop through the onion if i tried. frustrating! Some of the knives have handles with scratches and knicks on them. WTF! This was my first time using them. I called the site where I ordered the knives. It was passed business hours so I got the answering machine and of course I left a message. I checked the website and I'm supposed to report any damages 2 days after deliver. I received it on Tuesday, but I wasnt home when it was delivered. So as of my 2 days are over! FML! FML!FML! The "sucky" knife at home is like the best knife ever compared to this crap chef's knife. I've never been so irritated in my life. This also came with a vegetable peeler, which doesn't peel but butcher everything. So technically it's a vegetable killer. what a piece of crap!

Moral: They say money doesn't buy happiness. Well, let me assess this statement. If I had more money I would have been able to buy a knife of fantastic quality, where even the slight motion of the knife can cut through 10 bricks. Thus as a result I would have been happy. In other words, Money would have bought be happiness. The lack thereof bought me anger, frustration, murderous thoughts, hatred, and a bad mood.

Abestkitchen.com, this is for you. I HATE YOU.

Food Porn: Explicit Material

To all you perverts who thought this would be regarding sexually explicit acts with food you need to get your head out of the gutter in addition to getting some psychiatric help. And for those of you who are still wondering, what the heck is food porn??? Let me tell you. Food porn consists of pictures of food that make you drool and lust after the opportunity for a taste, but alas you cannot. It's a tease! But a beautiful, probably delicious tease. I made a collage of dishes that I had made in the past. I haven't taken pictures of food in general for a while now, but now I feel the need to pick up the hobby again. Actually, now that I think about it, picture taking was never really a hobby of mine. Nevertheless, I have decided that now it should be. What do you think?


If you've created some good eats of your own share your food porn with me! Let me have a look so we can both marvel and bask each other's drool-inducing art and talent. But beware, when you are viewing food porn on an empty stomach this behavior can be hazardous, dwindling on the fringe of self-torture. I am telling you this out of experience my dears.

The Perfect Egg.

I know, but don't say it. I'm not addicted to blogging just yet. I just felt like sharing. I watched a movie called TAMPOPO after coming home from Spago. It centers on food. Great movie! For all you Foodies it's a must watch.
After watching this scene from Tampopo I realized that it takes great skill to perfect the egg. Yes, the egg. To cook it so that it remains golden, fluffy, and mouth watering. I want to perfect the egg. After watching this clip, I've been trying, but failing. Can you prepare the perfect egg? Have you ever tasted one? (If so, SHARE THE GOODS! WHERE? WHEN? WHAT WAS IT LIKE?)Okay, I just made myself incredibly hungry.

First Fine Dining Experience: Spago.

Thank you, Dine LA! Thanks to you, I had a three course lunch at Spago in Beverly Hills for 28 bucks! What a bargain! And let me tell you, it was one of the happiest days of my life. I think I'm hooked on fine dining. It's too bad I can't afford to enjoy it on a regular basis. Maybe I should start looking into getting a rich boyfriend. Before I forget I just have to mention that the hostess at Spago was 10 ft tall because it amazed me in so many levels. Anyway let's focus on the bigger picture here and get straight to the point. My meal consisted of the following:

Bread and Butter
There is nothing better than starting off a meal with some quality bread and butter. The bread was amazing. The butter was not room temp so it was difficult to spread. I used the wrong knife to spread the butter. The fact that I was a noob to fine dining was pretty apparent, I'm sure. I wasn't too fond of the fact that the butter was whatevers. Thank God the bread made up for it.

Appetizer
Roasted Kabocha Squash and Pumpkin Soup
winter fruit compote, cardamom crème fraîche and cranberry coulis


THE SOUP WAS A WORK OF ART! There it sat before me. It had a golden orange backdrop contained in a vast white soup bowl, swirled with a radiant red and a glorious white ribbon sitting quaintly on top as the fruit compote rested gently in the middle. A work of art I tell you! Upon looking at it for the first time, I almost got teary-eyed. True Story. It was that beautiful. The soup spoon was awkward and breaking the surface of the soup was heartbreaking and exciting all the same. I LOVE THIS SOUP! With each sip I could taste the squash shining through along with an explosion of various other flavors lingering on my tongue. Each new sip was a new tasting experience. My tongue was going on a date with several different flavors with this one soup dish. It was magic. The soup went down my throat like velvet. To make my life changing story short, I became full. It was gone in a flash It was love at first sight, at first taste, and at the last desperate attempts to get every drop on my tongue.

Main Course
Grilled ‘Tandoori’ Loch Duart Salmon
with marinated cucumbers, cilantro-mint Raita and tomato-tamarind chutney



Who knew that warm marinated cucumbers in cilantro-mint Raita (I dont even know what it is) could be so perfect with Salmon? I think from now I think I will eat cucumbers warm as long as it is accompanied by the flawless raita. It was perfection. The salmon rested on a bed of marinated cucumbers and the Raita. The salmon was topped with magnificent full bodied tomato-tamarind chutney, which had a very rustic flavor to it. The chutney was then topped with what I will guess to be alfalfa sprouts. DELCIOUS! The Salmon was cooked to perfection, crusty on the outside, flaky in the inside. It was kind of hard to eat because we wanted to eat like fine diners, neatly and with sophistication. Needless to say it was difficult and I'm pretty sure I failed! We had to ask the waiter how we were supposed to eat the fish. Who knew? You eat it "normally." And that I can do. DELICIOUS! The fish looked small. But boy, was it filling! I tried to to eat a little slower this time. I will discuss how that went because it was nearly impossible.

Dessert
Chocolate Bread Pudding
salted butter pecan gelato


I've made bread pudding in the past once. I thought it was delicious. Compared to the one I had here...I now realize my bread pudding was a complete failure. The chocolate bread pudding at Spago was so rich! It came to us on an exquisite silver colored platter looking like a simple three layer chocolate cake drenched in chocolate sauce (which I am certain was made from actual melted chocolate). Now my description will start to be a little vague. Next to the bread pudding was a quenelle (after searching on google countless times I finally found out how it was spelled) of butter pecan gelato (TO DIE FOR) sitting on top of some white tasty thing. The white tasty thing was like...a marshmallow but with a different texture. I know, I am not helping. And there was a curvy black thing stuck in the ice cream. It was decorative, but edible, delicious, delicate, crunchy, and beautiful. The bread pudding melted in my mouth. The warm bread pudding contrasted perfectly with the gelato. PERFECTION. The only downfall was that I was so full that it was a struggle to finish. I tried to savor the dessert, but nevertheless finished it fairly quickly. How could I not? Happiness is not a warm gun. It's a delicious meal and a full stomach.

End Notes
I felt like I was going to explode at this point. I'm almost a compulsive eater, and being a fine dining restaurant the waiters never wait until your cup is empty. My cup kept on being refilled and thus I kept on drinking (Water, guys, water.) Our waiter, Bernard, was fantastic. He was outgoing, attentive, and fun. Thanks, Bernard.

OH YES! and the best part of the day. I SAW WOLFGANG PUCK. Yes, I spazzed out in excitement exclaiming, "OMG! THERE HE IS! THERE HE IS!" with my friend staring at me like I was a crazy fool. I shook his hand!!!! I told him I was starstruck and he was modest. SO CUTE! He said "By me? No no no." and patted me on the back. The people behind us hogged him! Roar. I wanted to get a picture with him but some man in a suit that worked at the restaurant stole him before I got a chance to ask him for a picture. I was only able to feebly bleet, "Mr. Puck..." (Question for all: Am i supposed to call him Chef Puck? Chef Wolfgang Puck? Mr. Wolfgang Puck?) I guess it was urgent. He went away and i was sad. But i'm still happy because I met him. I consider him a celebrity. So today consisted of my first fine dining experience and my first celebrity citing! I love food. Thanks be to food. Thank you Spago. Thank you Dine La Restaurant Week (best idea ever known to man). Thanks for this:


Photo Credits: Yuri Oh. Thank you. My camera was unavailable at the time.

PS Thursday I am going out on another outing for dinner. You see why I keep on Dine La, because it's another 3 course meal. HOLLERRRR!!!