PRESSURE'S ON.

Just look at those cute little shrimpies. Apologies if you’re allergic to shellfish, but I chose this photo in lieu of the photo of a baby pig in the kitchen. I’ll spare you the gory details. Anyway, these shrimp and I got well acquainted this past week, as I’ve been volunteering at the James Beard Foundation.

If you’re not familiar, James Beard was a revolutionary chef who was dubbed the “Dean of American cookery” by the New York Times in 1954. He was a pioneer foodie, host of the first cooking show on TV, and author of over twenty cookbooks. Today, a James Beard Award is one of the highest culinary honors you can receive. After he passed away, his home in NYC became the headquarters of the James Beard Foundation, a non-profit that promotes “good food for good.” They host chefs from around the world to come in and create magnificent dining experiences for guests in the formal dining room.

On my first day as a volunteer, the dinner was hosted by Chef Pasquale Rinaldo from Capri, Italy. Little did I know going in that this was Chef Pasquale’s first trip to the U.S. and he did not speak English. Like none. This slight language barrier 1) made me want to learn Italian ASAP, and 2) proved to be somewhat difficult for prep. Needless to say, I misinterpreted a few instructions given in a modified form of sign language and had to redo a few things.

On my second dinner at the house, I had the chance to work with Chef Michael Brewer and Chef Amy Merhrtens from Copper Vine Wine in New Orleans. Being from the South, these two definitely spoke my language.

They were preparing a Mardi Gras feast fit for James Beard himself. The menu was divine, and included Crayfish Boil Gnocchi with Corn and Smoked Sausage (so creative!), and a Red Bean Cassoulet with New Orleans Smoked Sausage and Wild-Caught American Shrimp (hence all those shrimpies I had to peel and devein). Dessert was King Cake with Sazerac Syrup and Foie Gras. Whoa.

Wish I could’ve stayed to eat everything, but I had to run to class!

Speaking of class, we are getting down to the wire with less than a month of class before our externships. Eek! The past couple of weeks have been focused on two things. First, improv. No, not comedy improv, cooking improv. Think Chopped where you get a bunch on unknown ingredients, and you have to combine them into something magical.

We had two practice rounds of improv before our big improv test this past Friday. In these classes, we are randomly paired with classmates, which encourages creative teamwork and takes some of the stress off your shoulders. For our first round, we had to prepare an appetizer, entree, and dessert from the ingredients we were given. These included portobello mushrooms brown rice, beans, greens, squash and a few herbs. Jessica, Isabel and I made (unpictured) tempura green beans with a shoyu dipping sauce for an app, collard-wrapped mushroom veggie burgers with a lemon-dill bean spread and butternut fries, and a chocolate chip chickpea blondie for dessert. I need to recreate this meal stat. It turned out so so well.

Round two was focused only on the main course. When creating a meal, we are graded on it having the distinguishing factors of an entree. It must have protein, a green, shape/form, and a sauce. It must also be the appropriate portion size and served warm.

For this practice round, Tom, Janine and I made a Orange and Pomegranate Glazed Tempeh with Coconut Black Rice and Sweet and Spicy Vegetables. It was garnished with pomegranate seeds and popped quinoa. Thanks to Tom’s exceptional tempeh mastery, this dish was bomb.

After all of the practice and constructive criticism, our improv skills had to be put to the test. On Friday, we were assigned partners and showed up to class with no idea what ingredients we would be given. It really did feel like Chopped. Jessica and I stared at the ingredients and decided to make tacos. The one hitch was that there were no tortillas, and we didn’t know if it was possible to turn oat flour into tortillas that were not only flexible and structured, but were also delicious. After several test rounds, we nailed the tortillas, and filled them with chipotle smashed black bean spread, sautéed crispy kale, spicy grilled portobellos, and roasted sweet butternut squash. They were finished with a dairy-free cilantro lime crema and radishes. Salt. Fat. Acid. Heat. Check, check. As a snobby taco connoisseur, I must say these were mind-blowing, but I’m a wee bit biased.

The moment of truth just before the first bite…

And lastly, I left you hanging on the second thing we have been focusing on in class, and that is our Seasonal Dinner Project. This is kinda a big deal, so I’ll save all the details for another post.

Have a delicious week, my friends!

bon appetite,

J