Finally some time to sit and reflect..... and cook too!

Moving is all over with and we're finally installed in our new place. It's been so surprising to all of us to feel and see the momentous differences between the East Side of town and the West where we now make our home and it's affected us all in positive ways.... kind of like finding a place where you belong and comfortable again, and it is. Definitely a good move but it took it's toll on all of us, even though we thought we'd rested, we hadn't and it showed in this last week's daily grind, we just couldn't get our energy back and we dragged all through the week.... until it came to Friday afternoon when we collapsed, exhausted and not being able to even move.....

But today is Sunday morning and we're feeling much recharged and much, much better. School is still good and our grades reflect it. YAY! It's been a punishing week with complicated dishes on the menu but came out of it with flying colors and very tasty food to enjoy. I've still got some Roast Duck in the fridge whispering to me.... except in school the sauce was "au natural" while I cooked up some Orange-Tamarind Glaze instead to pump it up. It was awesome and lent just the right touch of sweet/sour to hit your taste buds in the right way. MMMmmmmm!

Something amazing happened to me Friday at school when talking to one of my Instructors at Le Cordon Bleu when discussing sauces, come to find she loves Mole and she was surprised I make my own (but of course!...) and one thing led to another and discussing Mexican Food I come to find that she had been a customer of mine at "Quinta Belina"! Amazing! (yes, she was very impressed....). More amazing is that I still run into people sometimes that remember our little place and were customers..... so satisfying and a great ego boost as you can imagine. Anyway, made my day.....

More than ever and as I delve more into the French way of things since the school is all French technique that I find my appreciation for good and authentic Mexican Food grows. There is also a sadness there when I realize that it's not easy to find and what there is mostly a poor version and people come to believe this is what Mexican Food is.... You'd think that with all the Mexicans in the US we would have better representation, right? But it seems they get amnesia as soon as they cross the border! So it's up to those of us that believe we need to present, maintain and conserve the true cuisine of Mexico, done the old way following the classic preparations and techniques along with whole, natural ingredients so we can show how wonderful our food is and why we can't let it die out. Heavy duty Mexican Food is where it's at.

Yesterday at school it was Canard Poele Aux Navets or Roasted Duck with Turnips, and while it was scheduled to be served with a natural sauce, I was given permission to improvise and so I came up with a sweet apple cider vinegar glaze that had citrus undertones and was absolutely perfect with the richness of the duck. Also made Sole Meuniere which was amazing yet to me, it doesn't hold a candle to my very favorite, duck. I got an extra duck to bring home and while I was debating whether to make Duck Confit or another roasted duck, I settled on a crispy skinned duck with an Orange-Tamarind Sauce plus a Duck Mole with hints of Cinnamon, Cumin and Cardamom. As I write this the aromas of the sauces waft over the kitchen giving us anticipatory feelings of our soon to be devoured meal...... I love food!

So, going back to Mexican Food and that Mole I created I thought you'd appreciate a different take on this classic dish. Don't worry if you don't like duck (OMG!) since you can use Chicken, Turkey or even Pork instead, ok? Make enough so you'll have leftovers to use later with "Enmoladas", Nachos, Chilaquiles, over refried beans, on top of Huevos Rancheros, as a dipping sauce, with potatoes......

For those of you that think Duck is not a very Mexican ingredient to use in this dish let me tell you that our Spanish invaders found Mucovy Ducks happily living in Mexico when they got here, the Europeans had a larger duck type to use for foi gras and the smaller one was replaced by a larger species from Spain. You'll find plenty of duck recipes in Mexico (I've got a great tamale recipe I'll post soon) but turkey was used mostly in Mexico so Mole was originally conceived with wild turkey, the bird guys, not the drink, ok?

Mole de Pato (Duck Mole).- A rich sauce for a decadent dish.... satisfying and amazing!

1 Duck, rinsed and pat dry (you can use whole, thighs & legs or magrets)
Sat & Pepper the outside well

For chicken:
1 large chicken, cut up
About 8 cups of water
1/2 onion, in quarters
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1 celery rib, cut in half
salt to taste

Sauce:
6 mulato peppers
4 ancho peppers
6 pasilla peppers
6 whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/4 teaspoon anis seeds
1/3 cup sesame seeds
2 inches of a stick of mexican cinnamon
1/2 cup of raisins or prunes
1/2 cup almonds, peeled
1/3 cup of raw pumpkin seeds
3 small roasted tomatoes
3 garlic gloves, peeled & roasted
1 large ripe dark-skinned plantain, peeled, thickly sliced (or more, to taste)
1/2- 1 cup smooth Peanut Butter, optional
1/2- 1 cup sugar, optional
1 Tablet of Mexican Chocolate (Ibarra or Abuelita Brand), cut in pieces
Chicken broth from cooking chicken or make your own
1/2 cup of oil or lard to fry the ingredients
Salt to taste

If using the duck, stab it with a knife all over (little holes so fat will drain out) and place on baking pan in 400 degree oven and cook until done or 170 degrees with a thermometer. About 1 1/2 hours. Baste with the fat in the pan after 45 minutes and about every half hour after that to crisp the skin. If you're using duck then don't use lard or oil for any of the steps below, use the rendered duck fat to add more flavor (or save for french fries...OMG!)

If using chicken or turkey: Put the ingredients in a large pot, cover with water and cook, simmering until done, about 45-60 min. Skim foam off the top as you see it, keep it clear.

If using pork, cut it up in cubes and sear until golden brown in a pan with a little lard or oil over med-high heat. Reserve.

To make the sauce: Take the dried chiles, split them open and remove the stem, seeds and veins, flatten down. In a large pan on the stove, over med heat, toast the chiles (you could dip them in oil if you wanted to) until fragrant, turning so both sides get done. Once done, place them in a bowl or pan with hot water and allow them to soak until they are soft, about 1 hour or so. Toast all the spices in the pan until they become fragrant, turning them to prevent their burning. If you have a food mill or coffee grinder, once toasted grind them well and reserve in a bowl until ready to use them. In the pan with a little oil in it, roast the fresh produce like the tomatoes and garlic, you can throw in the raisins or prunes here too.

Now, in your blender, place the soaked chiles along with their soaking liquid and blend them until you obtain a smooth puree. Then you will add the toasted and ground spices to this, incorporating so everything is smooth and velvety. Then add the tomatoes, garlic and plantain. As you blend things and need to empty the blender glass, add more stock as you need it to help the blender along, have a large pot ready with a little lard or oil (unless using duck) over med heat ready to receive the smooth puree, add to this as ingredients are processed and mix, mix, mix.

The plantain is here to thicken and lend some sweetness to the party, while the peanut butter adds a nutty undertone while thickening as well. Depending on your preference, you can add more or leave without, but a lot of people thicken mole with toasted tortillas or pieces of bread and to be honest, these don't inspire me since they don't bring much flavor. I also don't like to thicken my sauces with flour or other "thickeners" as a rule if I have something that can thicken naturally while imparting their own flavors and textures.

You should have a thick like paste at this point that needs to be fried in the pan with lard, oil or duck fat. Mix, scrape off the bottom and be sure you cook it well. You will have something akin to a bubbling cauldron by now, taste it again so you are sure you're on the right track, you can add some of the reserved chicken broth to get the consistency you need, thick so it's really coats the back of a spoon and has "body". Now add the chocolate if you want and mix to allow to melt. You should be tasting all the while so you know whether or not you will be wanting to add more chocolate, some sugar or not, more plantain, peanut butter, your choice.

You need to let this sauce come together, over very low heat, mixing every now and then so it doesn't burn or stick on the bottom. Adding more broth if you need to and tasting. Once the duck is done, allow to rest and split it in 6-8 pieces, reserve the back portions which you will put in the sauce as it cooks to give it even more flavor. If you're using Pork, now is the time to add it to the sauce and let it finish cooking along with the sauce. The meat will release juices which will flavor the sauce. Let the meat get very tender before eating, ok? Or you can use a pressure cooker to speed things along. Allow this to cook at least 1 hour (or more in a regular pot, the pressure cooker will be less) or come to this point and turn off the heat, save it and finish it the next day to allow for even more flavors to come through. This gets better with age and turns into "recalentado".....

When I made this in Puerto Vallarta I used a huge "cazuela de barro" (glazed terracotta pot) which is THE thing to use with wooden spoons, it also allows more flavors to develop and the glazing makes them better than non-stick while being great heat retaining vessels. My neighbors would walk by to try and guess what was cooking on the three large cazuelas bubbling in my outdoor kitchen (usually Asado de Boda Zacatecano, Mole y Salsa de Cacahuate).... aromas of our homeland, fragrant and full of flavor!

Your sauce will gel and become a paste which you can then store for future uses like Enchiladas or whatever, all you need to do is add some broth to it for it to come back. It keeps a long time in the fridge so you have an amazing meal ready in no time at all. Or you can freeze in individual servings (zip lock bags) so you can just boil in hot water or nuke it and an ordinary meal becomes extra-ordinary. This will be amazing!

Now make a lovely Frisee salad with a nice vinaigrette, some crisp veggies and some rice pilaf and you've got one incredible meal! Impressive for company but a guilty pleasure for a night of staying in.....

I hope you will at least try this one time so you can see what I'm talking about.... There are so many variations to mole you'd have a hard time keeping up with all of them, but it's fun to try. I've got some incredible fruit based moles which I'll share soon too. But in the meantime, savor every spoonful.... talk soon....

It's back to the same old grind ..... only more so!

With the holidays out of the way, sorry for the lapse in postings but went back to school and we've been covering so much space lately I only have time to come up for air now and then, that I just let it go..... it's the weekend and so I have a couple of minutes to stop and assess the damage (more or less) and I can take some time to give updates on our adventures.....

School is going at a furious pace. Truly. No more "book learning" and time to breathe, it's now "hands on" all the way and so everything we've talked about and seen is now on our plate..... or I should say on the plates we need to present to the Chefs who then criticize it down to: finish (or napè), texture, color, seasoning and look, plus how long it took to produce, did you follow the appropriate sanitation methods, did you work "clean", did you present correctly, did your knife cuts impress?. It better be 100% perfect or points get deducted, so far I've got a 4.00 GPA, I've got to insure I don't lose points or my average will go down (Oh no!)... and we can't have that, can we? So you can say everyone is feeling the pressure which is building each and every day.... plus after doing this, you have to clean the whole kitchen, pots and pans, throw out the trash and mop the floors.... all must be impeccable!

Got handed a 75 recipe PDF file and we're presenting from 4 to 6 recipes on a daily basis. We've got 3 hours to do it, including the base needed and everything else that each recipe entails. These can be from a very basic Bechamel Mother Sauce to a Navarin D’Agneau Printanier :( Lamb stew with Spring Vegetables) sound familiar? Made this for Ricardo's birthday so I've got a head start on this one and I'll take as much help as I can... - Cotes De Porc Charcutiere w/ Pommes Puree :( Pork Chops w/ Mashed Potato & Demi Glace Sauce w/ Gherkins - Escalope De Veau al a Crème Petits Pois al a Francaise: (Escalloped Veal w/ Mushroom Cream Sauce) - Ballotine de Poulet Grandmère (Deboned Chicken w/ Mushroom Dressing) - Canard Poele Aux Navets: (Pan Roasted Duck with Turnips - or other such delights..... (yes, we get to take it home or eat it...YUM!)

Considering that all dishes are classic French Cuisine means that should a recipe call for a specific sauce base or preparation, everything must be made without short cuts! You've got to make the Consomme or stock to use starting with roasting the bones (for color and flavor) along with aromatic vegetables (more color and flavor), cooking it to achieve the desired color, taste and texture expected THEN proceed to prepare the rest of the recipe.... lots of hard work at a fever pitch and people running around like headless chickens as you can imagine! Know something else? We don't use blenders or food processors. All whipping, blending and such is done by hand with a wire whisk and yes, my arm is ready to fall off..... (there are modern appliances here and the kitchens are state of the art, but you need to learn the classic ways before you can proceed to the other stuff which will come later).

This block, Culinary Foundations II, brings new Master Chefs to learn from and we have two, a very experienced female and a strict male Chef from Laos (who sometimes I can't understand, but I get the gist of what he wants mostly.... sometimes not), but they are picky and very demanding. We are doing very well and more than holding our own and it's been quite exciting really..... exhausting, nerve wracking, satisfying and frustrating all at the same time. At the end of the day you are T I R E D! Loving it!

To top of our return to school, we were greeted by a New Year's snowfall just outside the school, it was lovely..... just what we wanted to see and there it was, little plumes of snow floating towards us while all was quiet (seems than whenever it snows, the world get quiet- why is that? I love it!) Once again we're in our warm kitchens while snow falls upon the maples.... MMmmm.
But getting back to food and for those of you that love fish, here are two recipes that are equally wonderful with them. The first one is a traditional "Fish Fumet"..... lovely and light, while the second one is a basic tartar sauce type only much, much better and I like it on almost everything! So tasty..... hope you enjoy them....

Fish Fumet .- The best (the only) bones to use for fish fumet are saltwater white-fleshed fish bones. (If you can get the head included, that’s great, but remove the gills and eyes before using. This is what you want for it contains the most gelatin that will give the flavor you want) Fish to use are sole, halibut, flounder, turbot, etc. Do not use bones from fattier fish like trout, salmon or mackerel. Your best bet is ask your local fishmonger for bones or next time you serve fish, save the bones when you fillet it, freeze and use for this.

1 oz Butter (solid)
4 oz Yellow Onion, chopped fine
2 oz Celery, chopped fine
2 oz Mushrooms, quartered
4 lb Fish Bones
8 fl oz White Wine
Water (as needed to cover)
½ ea Bay Leaf for sachet (put these in some cheesecloth and tie them up, put in)
¼ tsp Black Peppercorns for sachet
8 ea Parsley Stems for sachet

Butter the bottom of a heavy stockpot or sauce pot. Place the onion, celery, mushrooms (called a white mirepoix) in the bottom of the pot and the bones over the top of it. Cover the bones loosely with a round of parchment paper. Set the pot over low heat and cook slowly for about 5 minutes, until the bones are opaque and begin to loose juices.

Add the wine, bring to a simmer, and add the sachet and water to cover. Bring to a simmer again, skim, and let simmer for 30-45 minutes. Strain through a Chinois or fine strainer or even a strainer with some cheesecloth or towel. Cool, in a cold water bath, and refrigerate.
NOTE: This is a lovely fish consomme that can be used alone or as a base for other sauces. Use this as a poaching liquid for fish, you can continue to simmer it until you reduce it and use like a more concentrated sauce or glace, use as a base for fish stew or chowder, paella and many more....
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Remoulade Sauce.- A "tartar sauce" with all the trimmings, so if you like a cold sauce for fish, chicken, pork or whatever.... this is it. Easy to make and yummy to eat....

½ fl. oz. White wine vinegar
1/2 oz. Dijon Mustard
2 ea. Egg yolks
1 Pint Canola or vegetable oil
¾ oz. Capers, Chopped Fine
3/4 oz. Gherkins, Chopped fine
1/4 oz. Parsley, Chopped Fine
1/4 oz. Chervil, Chopped fine (you can just use all parsley if you like and omit this)
1/4 oz. Tarragon, Chopped fine
1/4 oz. Dijon Mustard
¼ oz. Anchovy essence (I use the oil from a can of anchovies, a drop at a time)
Salt and Pepper

Place the egg yolks in the bowl and beat with a whisk until pale yellow. Add white wine vinegar and beat well. Combine ingredients (mustard, salt, pepper) and add to the egg yolks. Mix well. Very slowly, almost drop by drop begin adding the oil beating continuously. Once the emulsion forms (it begins to thicken, this is the mayonnaise base), you can add the oil slightly faster. If the mayonnaise becomes too thick, thin with a little of the vinegar. (or water if already tart enough) Gradually beat in the remaining oil until it is fully incorporated and emulsified.

Adjust the tartness and the consistency by beating in a little lemon juice at the end. Add capers, gherkins and the rest of the ingredients. Refrigerate for at least 15 min, serve.
NOTE: You could skip over making your own mayonnaise but it's great this way, if you do then just use the mayo you've got and add the rest in and season. You can also add celery, endive, red cabbage or the like and turn it into a dressing for these too.....
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Sorry I'm not including more recipes but I will, soon. Right now it's getting late and sleep beckons more than anything else, just need to catch up and get back before I can devote time to fun pursuits. Looking to move closer to school, interviewing all over, doing volunteer projects with other Chefs to get experience, network and job leads while still do my "home" stuff..... The good thing is that it makes you want to get up in the morning and face the new challenges and that's amazing to have. Hoping everyone is well and happy and the New Year is off to a great start for all..... Talk soon

I Need More Hours in My Day.... but what else is new?

More and more, culinary school is taking over our lives leading us to forgo pastimes we enjoyed in the past in order to make more time to ...... sleep. Early mornings filled with very cold floors or spending the day in warm kitchens with aromas of bubbling stocks or bakery ovens finishing off quiches or focaccia or other projects have virtually captured our waking moments.... our off hours are a mix of eating something quick, sleeping or just finding the time to be able to sit down.

I knew that getting back into my old cooking routing would take a while, not having forgotten that the prime qualification for working in a restaurant are strong legs to support your standing ALL the time and if you're lucky to be able to take a break, you'd sit and sometimes regret being able to do that because getting up just brought home the point again..... sore legs, sore feet. Comfortable, well cushioned shoes are worth their weight in gold and having gel insoles is amazing! But this time, four years after selling our last restaurant time has caught up with me and I still need more time to get used to marathon standing sessions while keeping the pace of a busy commercial kitchen.

Yes, I am sore and tired. All the time, but the old saying: "feel the burn" or "no pain no gain" or any of those other inanities don't really bring home ANY point. Maybe when I felt the pain I could look forward to loosing pounds or sculpting a leg I'd be more into it, but now it just feels like "Ouch!.... I know some day I won't notice it at all..... someday, but today it's very much my companion. Oh well.... such is life.

This week there will be no weekend wind down, we're still working on the Pizza competition for Thursday but we've submitted recipes and I can count on having all my ingredients supplied which is good. We also volunteered (this is a big deal in the culinary world so you get to work alongside Certified Master and Executive Chefs who ordinarily wouldn't let you touch their flour or onions) for a couple of events: "The Wine Tasting Le Cordon Bleu 2010" and the "Baking & Liquor Experience" where we prepped and set up the events while assisting the head Chefs with their planned menu items. For the Wine Tasting it was mostly serving and decanting work plus a cheese tray (yummy smoked Gouda, Parmigiano Reggiano, Camembert, red grapes) and a selection of wines and Champagne.... for the Baking and Liquor Experience we had to make Focaccia and a selection of Quiches since it wouldn't be good to have people leave the school "under the influence" after all the wine and Champagne plus the liquors they made. We also demoed the making of Limoncello, Apple Infused Brandy, Sangria, Faux Irish Cream and Kahlua.

We also filled in the time hand-making Gourmet Dog Biscuits. Yep, for doggies Xmas stockings and made with all natural ingredients you'd want to eat. Whole wheat flour, cornmeal, lots of bacon and turkey sausage and some bacon fat..... the thick, firm dough was a challenge to roll out and cut with very nice dog bone cookie cutters and while they were baking, the aroma of bacon made everyone hungry but since everyone was busy sampling the selection of quiches we made (bacon, mushroom, spinach / leek and chives / mushroom / sausage and spinach / sausage and mushroom) all finished with a great aged Gruyere..... it only added to the "ambiance"....the quiches were very nice, tasty and smooth.

Focaccia was Rosemary and Lavender Herb. Also very nice, fluffy and comforting, but here at home we made 4 small quiches and focaccias with more of a selection to suit our tastes: Classic Quiche Lorraine, Sun Dried Tomato and Ham, Spinach and Leek, Goat Cheese and Kalamata Olives and our focaccia was Rosemary, Goat Cheese with bitter greens and grapes, caramelized onions and olives, tomato, capers and thyme..... the aromas are heavenly! Plus with a salad on the side makes for a wonderful supper and it didn't take long at all.

So for today I'll include a Quiche and Focaccia recipe you can try and I hope you do. They're both easy to make and give enormous rewards. Oh and yes, real men do eat quiche!......Mmmmm

Rosemary Focaccia.- Lovely flavors are infused into this wonderful bread which, depending on the additions can become a meal or a side....

1 package active dry yeast
5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour plus additional for kneading
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (or more)
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt

Stir together 1 2/3 cups lukewarm (105 to 115F) water and yeast in bowl of mixer and let stand until creamy, about 5 minutes. Add 5 cups flour, 1/4 cup oil, and 2 1/2 teaspoons table salt and beat with paddle attachment at medium speed until a dough forms. Replace paddle with dough hook and knead dough at high speed until soft, smooth, and sticky, 3 to 4 minutes.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead in 1 to 2 tablespoons more flour. Knead dough 1 minute (it will still be slightly sticky), then transfer to a lightly oiled bowl and turn dough to coat with oil. Let rise, covered with plastic wrap, at warm room temperature, until doubled in bulk, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Press dough evenly into a generously oiled 15- by 10- by 1-inch baking pan. Let dough rise, covered completely with a kitchen towel, until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 425F. Stir together rosemary and remaining 3 tablespoons oil. Make shallow indentations all over dough with your fingertips, then brush with rosemary oil, letting it pool in indentations. Sprinkle sea salt evenly over focaccia and bake in middle of oven until golden, 20 to 25 minutes.

Immediately invert a rack over pan and flip focaccia onto rack, then turn right side up. Serve warm or at room temperature.
NOTE: You can also make this by hand, kneading the dough until it comes to a good consistency and use any cookie sheet or baking pan, although something with a slight lip would help, but remember this can be a free form bread so don't worry and go ahead and use what you've got.
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Bacon and Cheese Easy Quiche.- One of the easiest and nicest "clear out the fridge" dishes you can make, plus can be for guests, breakfast, candlelit supper or instead of pizza....

4 large eggs
¾ cup of heavy cream
¾ cup of milk
½ cup of grated cheese (Swiss, Gruyere but you can use any melting cheese)
¾ cup of bacon, chopped
1 cup onion, chopped (or use caramelized)
1 teaspoon parsley, chopped (or your favorite herb)
1 large pie shell

Lightly beat the eggs in a bowl. Add the cream, milk, cheese, bacon, onion and parsley. Mix gently to retain the air, preferably with a whisk. Pour into the pie shell.

Quiche Crust.- This dough is called "pâte brisée" in French (pronounce "pat breezay"). It is the base for all quiche and pie recipes. If you take the time to make your own crust, your quiche will taste a million times better (at least!) than if you buy it ready-to-use. The ingredients below are enough to make 2 thin crusts so make two flavors.

1 and 3/4 cups, unbleached, all-purpose
1 stick unsalted butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon of crème fraîche (or sour cream if you can't find it)
1/2 teaspoon of salt.

The base ingredients are the flour, salt and butter. The egg and crème fraîche are here to help them stick together (plus the egg will give the crust a nice golden color). But you can use a basic pie crust recipe you like too.

First sift the flour over a large bowl and add the salt. Cut the butter in tiny cubes. Incorporate the butter to the flour with your finger tips or fork(you can use a food processor if you like) The dough will feel like coarse sand grains between your fingers. Push the flour and butter mix on the sides of the bowl, digging a hole in the center. Break the egg and pour it in the hole in middle of the bowl. Beat it a little with a fork then use a wooden spoon to incorporate the flour little by little. Add the crème fraîche or sour cream and mix again until the dough is homogeneous. (Alternatively, or if the dough is still dry, pour a few drops of water and knead.) Use your hands to knead the dough and form two balls of the same weight. Place the balls of dough in plastic wrap and let them rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour before using or freezing. Let the dough warm up a little before rolling it out.

If you have a quiche pan or a pie pan.... but I've also used a spring form pan which allowed me to add more filling ingredients, but use what you've got.

Bake at 320 F for 35-40 minutes or until the shell is cooked. If the top is getting golden too soon, put a sheet of foil over the top for the first half hour or so and take off for 10 min so it will get nice and golden brown and won't burn. If your pan is deeper, allow more cooking time and the foil is mandatory, ok? Keep watching it since depth will determine the time in the oven.
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Another day and even though it's Sunday I need to go to the laundromat to get clean Chef's coats for school, UGH! I hate the laundromat but whatever, must be done or we'll never pass review, our coats must be spotless! I also need to go to the market but fear I won't have enough time for everything or we won't get any time to just rest before taking on another heavy week, so might need to split the marketing throughout the week.... we'll do what we have to do and get more flexible, our bodies will tell us if it's too much.

Best to all, hope you try these recipes and let me know how yours turned out. Stay warm and safe and we'll talk soon......

The Michelin Guide and the Best Restaurants......

Almost finished with one of the reports I'm to do regarding Chefs and their never ending quest for perfection in the culinary arena. If you're serious then the only ruler by which this is measured is to obtain a Michelin Star. You can get one, two and the maximum of three Michelin Stars and then you are at the zenith of perfection, in food that is. Should you desire to "take it up a notch" then you'd go not just for the food but for ambiance, service and whole experience and that's measured along with the stars with "knives and forks" for the couverts, and the top is to get five of them, not the black ones mind you but the red. Then there is nowhere up to go, you're at the very top of perfection in all aspects. You could also get as many points as you can from the Gault Millau (20 being the top) and Egon Ronay's or the Good Food Guide, maybe the AA Guide can give you some diamonds, all in all these are lists that Executive and Master Chefs dream of receiving at their restaurants.

The food is never still for it is always evolving, morphing according to traditions and fashion, there are also food trends to consider since the public tends to follow these and in order to keep up one must keep track of where food is heading in order to stay current and "trendy". Now you can say that classic dishes never go out of style and for the most part you'd be right, except that people are fickle and want to try whatever is the taste du jour and with that force change. You can see it to this day, even in Paris, where the classic French standards are hard to find even today, instead being replaced by lighter versions of dishes following the nouvelle cuisine movement that had been going on for eons yet the change was profound when famous chefs made it the norm. The emphasis was on lighter versions, long cooking times were shortened to bring fresher flavors out and more emphasis was placed on presentation. Gone were the heavy sauces and long cooking meats that were replaced with lighter complements with fresh, local ingredients using herbs to bring the best out of a dish.

Today we've got something very similar in the "Slow Food" and "Farm to Table" schools of cooking which mean to once again bring fresh, local ingredients, cooked naturally in a lighter style delivering more nutrition and healthful qualities to all. It seems funny to me, this "new" way of cooking which simply mirrors the way we've been cooking for quite a while. Mexico has long been into fresh, local produce (hence all the regional specialties), organics and slow cooking methods that accent flavors naturally. I remember working this way in our first restaurant in Puerto Vallarta where we even had a local lady growing all our vegetables, beans, herbs and had all our fish directly from local fishermen, straight from the fishing boats- nothing processed, frozen, canned- even our tortillas got fresh masa made daily. I can tell you that it made a big difference and people commented all the time how was it possible that everything tasted so differently..... it was wonderful.

Going back from the tangent I took, while doing my research I came upon an article (after reading through the Michelin Guide) from the Wall Street Journal regarding Mexico City being one of the Greatest Food Cities in the World, if you want to read the entire article go to http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123215425094092359.html it completely got us thinking of all our favorite places in Mexico City and the nostalgia trip was amazing!!!! While we are familiar with more than a couple of the places mentioned in this article, the others we don't know about will surely occupy a "must see" place on our next visit.

Here again we are presented with a food movement a la nouvelle cuisine in Mexico. Yet there seems to be more restraint in changing the classics around due to the loyalty from everyone plus having to accept that the original classics are pretty darn perfect. How could you make Chiles Rellenos any better? Or how about a traditional Mole or Cochinita Pibil? No can do and you'd be right, these dishes are more than just amazing. How about the perfect Tacos al Pastor? Done right these little bites are a religious experience, believe me, but they have to be right because mediocre doesn't cut it. We still talk about the tacos at El Pastorcito in Mexico City, their taste is permanently etched into our taste buds and anytime we've tried to find replacements, we come away sad and discouraged. There is no substitution for the real thing, done the whole way......

I will continue on my homework project since I don't want to do it tomorrow, still working on a new recipe which I'll need for the Student Competition next week for the most addictive Pizza..... Had a long list last week and by elimination I'm down to two possibilities. I will check with Purchasing on Monday to see if they are able to obtain my needed ingredients, if they can, I can promise a bomb! I'll report next week on the competition and see what the rest have dreamed up. I also want to see who the judges will be since that could influence my choice from something international and a bit more complex to maybe something more familiar that will be more acceptable, but we'll see.....

In any case with the holiday over with I can now settle down to the daily schedule and plan non-holiday menu's. For today and considering the chilly temperatures here (and lots of other places) I will share my version of French Onion Soup we had yesterday..... MMmmmm!

French Onion Soup.- A quicker version to the classic recipe but just as good, easy to make and oh so satisfying.....

6 large red or yellow onions, peeled and thinly sliced.
Olive oil
1/4 teaspoon of sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 cups of beef stock
1/2 cup of dry vermouth or dry white wine
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon of dry thyme
Salt and pepper
8 slices of toasted French bread
1 1/2 cups of grated Swiss Gruyere

In a large saucepan, sauté the onions in the olive oil on medium high heat until well browned, but not burned, about 30-40 minutes (or longer). Add the sugar about 10 minutes into the process to help with the caramelization. The onions will reduce considerably, they must be a deep rich brown color but don't burn them.

Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add the stock, vermouth or wine, bay leaf, and thyme. Cover partially and simmer until the flavors are well blended, about 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Discard the bay leaf.

To serve you can either use individual oven-proof soup bowls or one large casserole dish. Ladle the soup into the bowls or casserole dish. Cover with the toast and sprinkle with cheese. Put into the broiler for 10 minutes at 350 degrees F, or until the cheese bubbles and is slightly browned. Serve immediately.