Techniques, the importance of…..
One thing I always try to teach new cooks that I work with, if that Technique matters more than a recipe.
More times than not, I always get asked for recipes, wether it be from family or friends, and I always try to tell them that cooking is more about the process of the actual cooking….not the recipe itself
“If you know a good recipe, you can make a good dish……but if you know a good technique, you can make 100.”
-Michael Symon
So lets talk about what I mean the basic cooking techniques are the following:
Boiling; Poaching; Steaming; Roasting; Braising; Grilling; Pan Fry; Deep Fry
(As a home cook, you’re most likely not goin to deep fry at home.)
Boiling/Steaming/Poaching/Braising: These are considered “ Wet Methods”
Boiling is probably the most common of the wet methods, you boil pastas or grains
Poaching is a little more delicate and requires a touch of finesse like poaching an egg or a piece of fish
Steaming is the use of water vapor to cook with as apposed to submerging in liquid, many cuisines use this.
(Chinese Steamed Dumplings; Mexican Tamales; Rice can be steamed wrapped inside banana leaves)
Braising is one of my favorite ways of cooking, its a great way to prepare meats, the key is the right cut of meat, you need cuts that have more connective tissue and fat content which is crucial for delicate and tender braises (you wouldn’t braise a fillet mignon), this is something you can put in a crock pot and let cook for hours on end.
Roasting/Grilling/Pan-Deep Fry are called “Dry Methods”
Roasting is probably the most used method of cooking at home, this can be done in the oven or on the stove, and just about anything can be roasted.
Grilling is a fun way to cook outdoors, grilling is usually done over a gas or charcoal grill, the best flavor comes from charcoal
Frying is used by cooking food in partially or fully submerged in a fat at a high temperature. There are many kinds of fats that an be used this goes beyond just regular oil, there’s coconut oil, animal fats (lard made from pork fat; duck fat; beef fat; schmaltz made from chicken fat)
All of these techniques can produce and endless amount for meals, the more practice you have with these the more dishes you can make at home, so don’t worry if you have a recipe and are missing a component like a certain vegetable, us what you have in the fridge, 9 times out of 10 it can be cooked the same way.
New Beginnings…
This has been a weird time for all of us, a world wide pandemic has turned my industry (amongst others) on its head and upside down. Philly is on it’s way back to a regulated normalcy in some ways but most things with be forever changed. I myself was left in a position of uncertainty as I was laid off from my job due to Covid, and was struggling like many others to receive unemployment from the state ( I had just moved back from New York last November, so it took forever to process.
While pondering what moves to make or even contemplate where to go next, my mind went in so many directions…….Do I work on a pop up? Should I work on starting a business (and at this time?)??Should I sell focaccia out of my house? I literally was in a rut and just felt that I was at my wits end…. After nearly 3 months of quarantining, jobless, I started to look around for ads, it was time, and I was anxious, and out of shape to say the least! And then I saw an ad for a Chef de Cuisine position for a husband and wife own restaurant…..
Branzino restaurant near Rittenhouse Park has been around for 16 years, I can’t tell you how great an accomplishment that is in an industry where margins are decreasing at an alarming rate, and the demand for new new new is so high nowadays. Luan Tota and his wife Dori are there day in day out making it happen. I applied for the job, Luan texted me that day, we met the following day, and I a tasting for him the day after….. Just like that, we really clicked and had a good connection. It just felt right. The space itself has been refurbished after they had a fire to the building a few years back, so it felt like a new restaurant but still had plenty of vintage charm.
The first weekend we were open, it was just Luan and I in the kitchen…..no cooks, no dishwasher….Just me and the man banging it out. it felt great to just cook for people again. It actually rained the first night, and since we were only allowed outdoor dining what could you do??? The customers didn’t even care, they were happy just to be out! I have always that thing tend to work out as long as you keep a clear mind and show some patience. I feel great about this opportunity and can wait to spread my wings to create a menu that will have people craving to come back to! There is a beautiful back patio that is no doubt one of the best outdoor spaces in the city!
Quarantine Cooking Tips
As we continue in what seems like a never-ending stay at home lifestyle, mostly all of us are cooking at home more, myself included. This can be a but daunting for people (especially the way things are right now durning COVID times), so I though I’d make a list of some ways to help streamline the home cooking process and give some pro tips to help streamline your meal prep time and allow you to think ahead in ways you may not have thought about before.
I love roasting whole chickens at home, the whole house smells great and you get a great yield out of a whole bird. Always save you bones for stock or soups, nothing should go to waste!
When grocery shopping cut up vegetables a head of time: things like cauliflower, or cabbage go a long way and will help yourself stay organized.
Use up those leftovers!
Yesterdays roast chicken can be todays chicken salad;
Got a bunch of cooked veggies….turn it into a frittata for breakfast.
Just about anything can be turned into a sandwich
Clean as you go! It’s makes a world of difference
The humble potato is one of the most versatile ingredients on the planet (gnocchi, mashed, baked, hash browns, roasted, fried)
Don’t be afraid to let you creative flag fly, try something new and add it to your repertoire
Focaccia……an obsession……..
Where do I begin……
I grew up in South Philadelphia, it is the land of hoagies, meatballs and chicken parms, enough pasta to feed you until you couldn’t walk. And we also had plenty of Italian bakeries baking bread, Sundays we would always have tomato pie, which is basically just a square pizza with tomato sauce. It is probably one of the most nostalgic foods for me, square pizza in general… I absolutely love it because it is more dough. Now pizza in general is one of the most subjective foods there is in my opinion, between the vast differences between styles, to techniques, and also just how one personal preference can dictate whether or not they like it. Coming up as a cook, I have always had a side passion project of breads so I got my hands on as many bread books as I could, I was very book smart about bread, but like all crafts, you only get better with practice and repetition. One line I would always try to tell my cooks is that: “Having the knowledge on how to do something, and being able to actually execute it are two entirely different things.”
In 2011 I moved to New York City to take a leap and jump right into the deep end of my industry, I got a job at Locanda Verde as a Jr Sous Chef, Karen DeMasco was the pastry chef her team made fresh focaccia daily for bread service…….and let me tell you, it was the bees knees. I was used to much denser breads kind of like those sicilian style pizzas I grew up eating these were airy but had such a crisp crust, it was like was shown a whole new world! When I tell you I lived off of this bread, I ate it just about EVERY day! I took home the leftover ones at night, I couldn’t get enough of it. I needed to know how to do it, but I was never one to just take someone else’s recipe and just make that, so I began to tinker…….
This day and age there has been a great uprising is local flour milling and boy can I tell you what difference this makes! Anywhere you see a farmers market nowadays you can spot a stand that has flours, and meals that are milled within a very short time frame of you purchasing it. So needless to say creating a flour blend is just another added layer to the tinkering process. When it comes to bread baking there is a basic rule of thumb you follow, it is called the Bread Bakers Percentage: Which refers to your recipe measurements by using percentages of the flour by weight vs the other ingredients. (Flour will always be at 100% and in most cases water will be anywhere from 60-90) And as far as ingredients go all you need for good bread is flour, water, yeast, and salt. Now I’ve been using a base recipe at around 75-85% water or hydration and that has been my sweet spot. When it comes to bread there are many factors/variables you need to consider: time; temperature; the type/power of oven you use, etc…..
Focaccia is a great bread to cook at home because it is a great intro into bread, but for me, I never really moved on from it, because I never am 1000% happy with the result. Chefs are in a constant loop of trying to make things better, taste more flavorful, or be more efficient….
We are in a paradox of a search for perfection, but what can actually be perfect, I don’t think it is a pedestal we at to reach the top of, instead we strive to push ourselves to climb a never ending mountain of progression……And that is how I feel about my Focaccia above any other foods I make………
“You are always looking at all of the nuances that make your perfect loaf.”
“Continually tweaking……and that’s obsession!”
-Nancy Silverton