Enchiladas and Eggs

Today’s Chef Instructor: Barbara Rich

Today’s Menu: Black Bean Enchiladas with Chili Tomato Sauce and Pumpkin Seed-Tomatillo Sauce; Guacamole; Jicama Orange Salad and Coconut Pineapple Flan.

This meal was fabulous! So flavorful yet light. We were taught how to “segment” oranges so they look pretty in a salad. Mine didn’t quite come out like Chef Rich’s but I will work on that.

One of the things that Chef Rich taught us right off the bat is “Efficiency is your best weapon in the kitchen.” That means you need to be organized! The French term “mise en place” means put in place. If you watch Food TV you will see that the chefs have all the ingredients pre-measured into little bowls or plates. At NGI the ingredients for each course are measured out and place on a parchment lined tray with the name of the recipe written on the parchment. When the Chef is ready to start the dish the tray comes out. Mise en place is something I have always been bad at and have vowed to do in the future. Another way to stay organized and efficient in the kitchen is to clean up after yourself. Keep you prep space clean and free of clutter. It may take a few extra minutes but sometimes you need to go slow to go fast.

Another of life’s cooking lessons that Chef Rich taught us is NEVER buy minced garlic in a jar!!!! Personally I do not do this but have seen it in other people’s refrigerators. The problem with this item is you just don’t know how old it is. Chef Rich did say that many restaurants do buy the whole garlic cloves that have been peeled but come on folks – for the amount of garlic we all use at home it won’t kill you to use fresh garlic and mince it yourself. You really should use a knife to do this as opposed to a garlic press and definitely don’t mince it in the food processor – it will get too mushy. If you want to know how to mince garlic I’ll come over and show you.

The third lesson pertains to seasonings – “You can always add more but you can’t take it away.”

The afternoon session was a little weird for me. It was dedicated to eggs. As a “wanna be vegan” I haven’t eaten too many eggs in the past few years but I’ve always had some doubts as to whether this food is really that bad to eat. ASSUMING you can get eggs from chickens that are treated HUMANELY, eggs seem to be somewhat of a perfect food. They are rich in protein (they actually have the highest NPU (Net Protein Utilization) rating of any food), vitamins A, B6, B12, D, E Choline, Potassium, Folic Acid and Calcium. Eggs have gotten a bad rap because of their high cholesterol content but there is a school of thought that the human body, which produces its own cholesterol, will compensate when we ingest cholesterol. What is the truth? Who knows? All I can say is I made a poached egg today it tasted fantastic! Guess I’d better change my profile from mostly vegan to part time vegan.

On a more personal note I have been exploring the city by foot and by subway this week. Last night I walked around Brooklyn for about two hours searching for interesting restaurants and shops. I did come across a restaurant nearby called the Double Windsor which is across the street from Farrell’s Bar and Grill. When I got home I Googled the Double Windsor and took a look at a number of reviews from patrons. What I found is an interesting rivalry between the Double Windsor (a Yuppie bar) and Farrell’s (a blue collar bar). Sounds to me like this is something that is happening in many areas of Brooklyn. Farrell’s is a unique place because they only serve Bud and Bud Light. That’s it! The Double Windsor has a variety of micro brew tap and bottle beers and also serves food. The funniest thing I discovered was the Double Windsor had to create a rule prohibiting children from the bar after 5:30 p.m. Apparently there are a lot of young families in the Park Slope/Windsor Terrace of Brooklyn and they and their Cheerios are taking over the bars and restaurants!

After I left school today I headed uptown to Macy’s to buy a pair of comfortable walking shoes. I just never seem to have the right shoes when I come to New York. After buying a pair of Merrell's (very comfy) I continued “north” and walked through Times Square and Rockefeller Center which were teeming with people – mostly tourists I’m sure. Had a slice of pizza from Ray’s Original Pizza which was featured on some TV show recently as being great pizza. It wasn’t.

That’s all for now folks. Is anyone really reading this blog by the way???? If you are please comment. I am getting lonely…..