I decided that while I wait for space to become available
I would try asking places to stage for them
Since I am very intersted in the art of Charcuterie
and in nose to tail cooking that requires finesse
I set about asking Via Twitter
and emails to several of the Charcuterie people
That I follow, KFACharcuterie,
Salt and Time and Antionelies Cheese
if they took stagers
If that's even the word for it.
Initially KFA said they were already full,
but then told me
Yes, to come by on Sunday
and Monday afternoons.
Salt and Time contacted me via e-mail
and said "sure we like stagers,
when and how often do you want to?"
I told them I was starting w/ KFACharcuterie
on Sunday and Monday, and would be happy
to work any other hours,
as well as sign an NDA if it was a problem.
I have not heard back.
Kinda sad.
Maybe he's busy.
I'm still excited about KFA on Sunday
Next, I contacted Foreign and Domestic
a very recognized restaurant here
with a husband wife team with resumes like stars
Ned The chef owner husband part of the team
e-mailed me back to call him in the
morning at the restaurant to set something up,
I did, and left a message, then called again
and spoke with some one who informed
me that Ned was not in yet and that she
"had my information, and would give it to him"
I waited, but didn't hear.
Then, I e-mailed them, gave them #'s and told them how
excited I was. Also, that I understood how hectic it
can get in a restaurant, and to call at his convenience.
I also tweeted "@ForeignDomestic Staging...when to call?"
Hope I'm not being too pesty.
I know I'm pestering
I really want the opportunity( maybe just show up with my knives?)
Heh, just a little too creepy
It's just that there are a lot of younger,
formally culinary trained
people in Austin who are just as hungry for the chance,
and who might get it before I do.
Please,
Call
Back.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
Making Sausage
I decided to teach myself how to make sausage. I bought Rhulman's book, read and ordered stuff, and gave it a try. The first attempt was a recipe straight out of the book. I hated it. I must have been doing something wrong. The texture was off and it was so strong of garlic, until I reeked for days after eating it.
Back to the cutting board.
The next try was only marginally better. This time I tried a recipe I made up, still adhering to salt and fat ratios by weight, but this time using spices I know my husband prefers. I was cooking cajun for his birthday party, and wanted to make a homemade sausage and dirty rice dish. I combined both beef and pork...blech. Still not outstanding, and according to Mitch, not hot enough. That will remain in debate since the only thing the man does not put hot sauce on is cereal.
The next try was several months and a lot of reading later in preparation for our anniversary dinner. This was a big deal; 100 guests. So my experiment started well in advance. I had wanted to make a pork and veal based sausage (which sent the kids in the house into fits about me using a baby animal) I did it nevertheless, since the last combo of beef and pork was just too beefy tasting. I also wanted to utilize some of the produce from the garden: onions, poblanos and herbs.
So after purchasing by meat, dicing and freezing it, I traipsed out to the garden and harvested green and yellow onions, poblanos and cilantro. Yes I was thinking Mexican-ish flavors. I also had read in a post by Addie Broyslea about sausage making where she used salt pork as the added fat, instead of just fat back as Rhulman suggests. Just be careful if you do this. I got mine too salty and had to grind up another bunch of meat to adjust. I do like the smokey flavor it adds though.
I roasted 5 poblanos, chopped two kinds of onion coarsely, threw in my spices: salt, a ton of black pepper, cilantro, 1 preserved lime,1/2 apple, some garlic ground it on the medium grind then added chili garlic paste, and some siracha and sugar. I moistened the mixture with water and a little beer. Then made up a pattie to taste. It was good, but not quite as Mexican as I thought it would be. My sister who was here confirmed my feeling that it was good as is, even asking to take some home bulk style for her family. Then we stuffed sausage. It made a LOT. We served it oven roasted, then over a bed of caramelized onions and peppers with homemade brioche rolls.
The next sausage foray was successful, too, albeit a lot more work. It was also to be a dish served at the anniversary party. I wanted to have a non pork, non red meat sausage, which meant poultry or fish. I already had fish dishes for the buffet planned, so poultry it was. I decided to do a twist on Turducken, and make a Turducken sausage, but with some Asian flavors, So it was chicken thighs and drumsticks, turkey legs and thigh meat from a duck, along with all of its skin. Then I had to use vegetable collagen casings UGH. They are tiny and break a lot. I seasoned the meat with garlic, ginger, green onion, salt and then moistened it for the mixing stage with mushroom soy sauce. Once it was determined the flavor was right, we set about stuffing. Initially Sasha and I were hand extruding it through this very tiny hopper thingy, it was murder. I thought well, lets put it into the hobart attachment and machine stuff it. I hated the look of it. The additional mixing created by the process was emulsifying the meat and turning my pretty Turducken sausage into hot dogs. O.K, so we halt the process and return to the hand done method. This necessitated (because of how tiny the diameter of the extruder pipe, and the smallness and fragility of the casing) me standing on a chair and using my whole body weight to get enough force to push the meat through the pipe and into the casing. While I was pushed, Sasha held down the sausage stuffer front, simultaneously supporting the casings. Then when the plunger part would reach the bottom, we would have to pull all the casing off the pipe, and because of the intense suction, it would take two of us to be able to pull the plunger back out in order to reload. Once we figured the method out, it went a little more smoothly, and we ended up with a good amount of nice looking sausage. The sausage however, was the only thing nice looking when we finished.The table, counters and floor were a mess. I was blissfully unaware until after I twisted the last link, Sasha looked at me and said " We look like we have been having a war in here with a diaper full of poop, and you're the casualty." I looked down, and sure enough I was covered. It was all over my shirt, on my neck and in my hair. I don't think I'll ever get away from the messy part of creating...I guess it's just like when I paint: blissfully unaware, and totally covered in paint. We served the Turducken sausage oven roasted, too. It was cool because it made it's own sauce in a way, and after it came out of the oven I drizzled it with some black sesame oil. To accompany the sausage, from the garden we picked and pickled in sushi vinegar a salad of Japanese eggplant, shredded savoy cabbage, julienne cukes and carrots and slivered baby onions. There were no leftovers. I love it when that happens.
Now I have two options for the menu at APOMO
Back to the cutting board.
The next try was only marginally better. This time I tried a recipe I made up, still adhering to salt and fat ratios by weight, but this time using spices I know my husband prefers. I was cooking cajun for his birthday party, and wanted to make a homemade sausage and dirty rice dish. I combined both beef and pork...blech. Still not outstanding, and according to Mitch, not hot enough. That will remain in debate since the only thing the man does not put hot sauce on is cereal.
The next try was several months and a lot of reading later in preparation for our anniversary dinner. This was a big deal; 100 guests. So my experiment started well in advance. I had wanted to make a pork and veal based sausage (which sent the kids in the house into fits about me using a baby animal) I did it nevertheless, since the last combo of beef and pork was just too beefy tasting. I also wanted to utilize some of the produce from the garden: onions, poblanos and herbs.
So after purchasing by meat, dicing and freezing it, I traipsed out to the garden and harvested green and yellow onions, poblanos and cilantro. Yes I was thinking Mexican-ish flavors. I also had read in a post by Addie Broyslea about sausage making where she used salt pork as the added fat, instead of just fat back as Rhulman suggests. Just be careful if you do this. I got mine too salty and had to grind up another bunch of meat to adjust. I do like the smokey flavor it adds though.
I roasted 5 poblanos, chopped two kinds of onion coarsely, threw in my spices: salt, a ton of black pepper, cilantro, 1 preserved lime,1/2 apple, some garlic ground it on the medium grind then added chili garlic paste, and some siracha and sugar. I moistened the mixture with water and a little beer. Then made up a pattie to taste. It was good, but not quite as Mexican as I thought it would be. My sister who was here confirmed my feeling that it was good as is, even asking to take some home bulk style for her family. Then we stuffed sausage. It made a LOT. We served it oven roasted, then over a bed of caramelized onions and peppers with homemade brioche rolls.
The next sausage foray was successful, too, albeit a lot more work. It was also to be a dish served at the anniversary party. I wanted to have a non pork, non red meat sausage, which meant poultry or fish. I already had fish dishes for the buffet planned, so poultry it was. I decided to do a twist on Turducken, and make a Turducken sausage, but with some Asian flavors, So it was chicken thighs and drumsticks, turkey legs and thigh meat from a duck, along with all of its skin. Then I had to use vegetable collagen casings UGH. They are tiny and break a lot. I seasoned the meat with garlic, ginger, green onion, salt and then moistened it for the mixing stage with mushroom soy sauce. Once it was determined the flavor was right, we set about stuffing. Initially Sasha and I were hand extruding it through this very tiny hopper thingy, it was murder. I thought well, lets put it into the hobart attachment and machine stuff it. I hated the look of it. The additional mixing created by the process was emulsifying the meat and turning my pretty Turducken sausage into hot dogs. O.K, so we halt the process and return to the hand done method. This necessitated (because of how tiny the diameter of the extruder pipe, and the smallness and fragility of the casing) me standing on a chair and using my whole body weight to get enough force to push the meat through the pipe and into the casing. While I was pushed, Sasha held down the sausage stuffer front, simultaneously supporting the casings. Then when the plunger part would reach the bottom, we would have to pull all the casing off the pipe, and because of the intense suction, it would take two of us to be able to pull the plunger back out in order to reload. Once we figured the method out, it went a little more smoothly, and we ended up with a good amount of nice looking sausage. The sausage however, was the only thing nice looking when we finished.The table, counters and floor were a mess. I was blissfully unaware until after I twisted the last link, Sasha looked at me and said " We look like we have been having a war in here with a diaper full of poop, and you're the casualty." I looked down, and sure enough I was covered. It was all over my shirt, on my neck and in my hair. I don't think I'll ever get away from the messy part of creating...I guess it's just like when I paint: blissfully unaware, and totally covered in paint. We served the Turducken sausage oven roasted, too. It was cool because it made it's own sauce in a way, and after it came out of the oven I drizzled it with some black sesame oil. To accompany the sausage, from the garden we picked and pickled in sushi vinegar a salad of Japanese eggplant, shredded savoy cabbage, julienne cukes and carrots and slivered baby onions. There were no leftovers. I love it when that happens.
Now I have two options for the menu at APOMO
APOMO:The Goal
APOMO is an acronym that stands for "A Place Of My Own" and will be a restaurant in central Texas.Here I hope to record the progress of a dream coming true.
I am Helen Markow,I am the future owner and cook. I hesitate to use the word chef since I have never been to formal cooking school; although I have worked in the food industry since I was 16.
For the last 6 years I have owned an run my own Catering company, but the issues with renting space to cook in, and the schlepping around have burned me out. I want to cook and have people come to me, not be told what to cook, and drag it all over the place.
The concept is really nothing new. It will be a farm to table, nose to tail eatery. We will use locally sourced, seasonal, sustainably and humanely raised, organic produce and meats. I don't plan on adhering to one type or genre of cooking. My philosophy is "Local food, Global flavors."
What I can get from my garden( seen here if you zoom in) I will. Otherwise I'll use local organic farmers/suppliers.
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=131+brushy+creek+trail+hutto+texas+78634&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x8644db5288a49151:0x6d1964b29f96b85b,131+Brushy+Creek+Trail,+Hutto,+TX+78634&gl=us&ei=OS0TToyoKOLW0QGJ1_GhDg&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBUQ8gEwAA
I love the idea of taking the freshest ingredients available, on a daily basis, and letting them speak for themselves with simple clean preparations. It's like every day is a basket challenge. Though I will probably utilize the challenge in the restaurant more on a weekly basis, with variations in the daily specials. Nothing we serve, from our bread to our meats will be made out of house. While I wait to find a spot (we are looking for second generation space, and investment funding) I am learning to make sausage, cure and butcher meats, and filet fish. I am learning to make cheese, and am experimenting with menu items and recipes. Cecelia(my daughter) is teaching herself pastry and bread making. I would really like to stage somewhere great to learn more quickly. That is probably the most frustrating (aside from not having the restaurant space) part. So much trial and error.
APOMO will also be certified green before opening. We will compost waste for our gardens, and recycle any oil for alternative fuel. Our dishwasher will sanitize with heat rather than chemicals, too. I plan on hosting a Soup Kitchen Sunday, which will provide a free meal to those who wish to partake. This will serve two purposes: one, to cut down on kitchen waste by utilizing perfectly edible, but not necessarily sale-able, and two, to provide volunteer opportunities for people wishing to serve in the community.
I have to battle the feeling that it will not happen soon enough, and just focus on the end goal, while I learn, learn, learn. There is so much. Until space is found, I'll document my recipe success's and failures, my visits to sites, and the ups and downs of it all.
More will be written later.
I am Helen Markow,I am the future owner and cook. I hesitate to use the word chef since I have never been to formal cooking school; although I have worked in the food industry since I was 16.
For the last 6 years I have owned an run my own Catering company, but the issues with renting space to cook in, and the schlepping around have burned me out. I want to cook and have people come to me, not be told what to cook, and drag it all over the place.
The concept is really nothing new. It will be a farm to table, nose to tail eatery. We will use locally sourced, seasonal, sustainably and humanely raised, organic produce and meats. I don't plan on adhering to one type or genre of cooking. My philosophy is "Local food, Global flavors."
What I can get from my garden( seen here if you zoom in) I will. Otherwise I'll use local organic farmers/suppliers.
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=131+brushy+creek+trail+hutto+texas+78634&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x8644db5288a49151:0x6d1964b29f96b85b,131+Brushy+Creek+Trail,+Hutto,+TX+78634&gl=us&ei=OS0TToyoKOLW0QGJ1_GhDg&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBUQ8gEwAA
I love the idea of taking the freshest ingredients available, on a daily basis, and letting them speak for themselves with simple clean preparations. It's like every day is a basket challenge. Though I will probably utilize the challenge in the restaurant more on a weekly basis, with variations in the daily specials. Nothing we serve, from our bread to our meats will be made out of house. While I wait to find a spot (we are looking for second generation space, and investment funding) I am learning to make sausage, cure and butcher meats, and filet fish. I am learning to make cheese, and am experimenting with menu items and recipes. Cecelia(my daughter) is teaching herself pastry and bread making. I would really like to stage somewhere great to learn more quickly. That is probably the most frustrating (aside from not having the restaurant space) part. So much trial and error.
APOMO will also be certified green before opening. We will compost waste for our gardens, and recycle any oil for alternative fuel. Our dishwasher will sanitize with heat rather than chemicals, too. I plan on hosting a Soup Kitchen Sunday, which will provide a free meal to those who wish to partake. This will serve two purposes: one, to cut down on kitchen waste by utilizing perfectly edible, but not necessarily sale-able, and two, to provide volunteer opportunities for people wishing to serve in the community.
I have to battle the feeling that it will not happen soon enough, and just focus on the end goal, while I learn, learn, learn. There is so much. Until space is found, I'll document my recipe success's and failures, my visits to sites, and the ups and downs of it all.
More will be written later.
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