PBS and chef Hubert Keller

It's been an exciting, but grueling week. I've been working really hard on my capstone project, a research paper, and my sommelier training, and working 10 hour days on the "Secrets of a Chef" set.

Monday was my first day on the set, and the first day of filming. Above is a picture of the set, we're filming in the Fleur de Lys kitchen, which is really beautiful. And yes, that's Hubert Keller, and he's a really nice guy.

He also makes incredibly beautiful food. He has a great eye for presentation. The stuff he makes for the show is simplified for the home cook, but still very tasty. Above is a salmon ceviche, from the second day of filming. At this point it was sitting under the lights for a bit, so it was far prettier on camera. Filming adds a whole different set of complications to cooking, it's interesting to see behind the scenes.

For my Wednesday morning Advanced Restaurant Desserts class, we had the pastry chef from Botero at Encore give a demonstration. She made fried tempura cheesecake, and dressed it up to look like a sushi roll. It was really cute, for the "ginger" she used shaved pear, and the wasabi was white chocolate that she intentionally seized with water and green food coloring. The cheesecake was molded into a tube, then frozen, rolled in hazelnuts, battered, then fried. She topped it with thinly sliced bananas, caramelized some sugar on top, then sliced it.

We didn't get to plate our own desserts for lack of time, but we will have two really pretty (and delicious) platings next week, and the chef was a really cool lady, so it was definitely worth it.

I had a little bit of time to throw together dinner last night. It doesn't look like much, but the flavor was really great. I made an American bison tri-tip, with mole and Arrogant Bastard Ale demi glace, and a pumpkin and Pecorino gratin. With a little tweaking, this dish could be something incredible, I had to stop my boyfriend from stealing it off my plate before I could finish!

Today was another long day of filming. I was an extra on the set again (I'm going to be on TV!), today chef Keller prepared several "sliders", above are scallop, bacon, and spicy mayo sliders.

Chef Keller's parents owned a bakery in France when he was growing up, so he also made millefuilles, they were really beautiful, and when they brought the leftovers backstage, they disappeared really quickly.

He loves burgers, here's another style of "slider", seared salmon, topped with cucumbers and some smoked salmon instead of bacon. He also made bison and king crab sliders, and braised beef cheeks.

Filming is a bit arduous, and completely different from working the line in a normal kitchen, but the experience really helps add to your creativity and versatility, so I truly appreciate the opportunity. Plus, I get to be on TV; granted, I'm in the background pretending to cut and stir things, but it's still pretty cool!

Now it's time to drink wine, make dinner, and study for my midterm tomorrow. I'm going to be going back to the set after class, working an event on Saturday, then filming again next week. No rest for the weary!

Until next time, adios!

Bonfires, beers, and bratwurst.

Friday morning I woke up to the sound of barking puppies. At 4 am. Not exactly the most gentle way to start your day.

The cuteness makes up for it though, and my endlessly patient brother walked me down to the local coffee shop so that I could achieve optimal caffeination, then we strolled along the pier at Venice beach, drinking our java and watching tenacious surfers ride the intermittent waves.

After our walk, we took the puppies to the dog park, then visited Cook's market in El Segundo to grab groceries for dinner. Kristine (my brother's wife) prefers simple fare, so we stuck with steak, potatoes, and carrots. My brother popped a couple of wines and helped me prep dinner, then afterwards we grabbed some firewood and another bottle of wine and headed back down to the beach.

There were surprisingly few people out on a Friday night, which worked out well. We staked out a good fire pit, sat in the sand, and drank Syrah from plastic cups while conversing about politics and philosophy, the lull of the waves and occasional jet leaving LAX our only interruptions. It was a perfect evening.

The pups decided that 4 am was indeed the optimal time to practice their vocalizations, so Saturday morning was also a little "ruff". (Oooh, sorry about the pun!) I tried jamming a pillow over my head to no avail. Oh well, sleep is for the weak.

Alex was excited to take me to Wurstkuche, a sausage restaurant in downtown LA, and I happily obliged. I never refuse complimentary beer and sausage...

They had a case with an impressive array of house-made sausages, some more exotic than others.

We ended up with some German Oktoberfest brews, and (clockwise from top left) buffalo-beef-pork, rabbit-rattlesnake, Belgian fries with blue cheese walnut and Thai peanut sauce, and a duck and bacon sausage, my personal favorite.

The sausages were cooked over a super-hot grill, so the outside was crisp, the inside was bursting with flavor and juicy, and the fries were on-point. Topping were caramelized onions and tangy sauerkraut. The selection of house-made mustards didn't hurt either.

I will definitely be visiting this Wurstkuche again next time I'm in LA, the food was really good, and the service was welcoming. I also have a special affinity for German beer, and they were happy to indulge me with about 20 or so different brews on tap. My kind of place!

After another beer, some coffee, and plenty of relaxing puppy-cuddling time, I had to head back to Las Vegas.

The drive coming home is really spectacular; on a clear night, you can see the glow of Las Vegas from hundreds of miles away. When you break over the crest of the mountains surrounding the valley, light spills out in front of you, as though the stars had been ripped from the sky and tossed to the ground in a technicolor fury. Vegas is a spectacle like no other, and I'll always love her for that.

Tonight is all about homework and whatever sleep I can slip in edgewise, as we begin filming for "Secrets of a Chef" tomorrow. This coming week is going to be very busy, but I'll try to keep up with blogging as best as I can.

Adios!

Puppies, Los Angeles, and more big news.

I woke up this morning, packed my bag, and hopped in the car to head off on the 15 towards Los Angeles.

Save for my unrequited love of singing in the car, the drive was uneventful. I used my solo time to contemplate the coming weeks; then upon arrival spent hours cuddling with puppies.

We went to C & O Trattoria for dinner, near Venice Beach, where we had been several times before.

That's my brother in the picture, happily posing with the house Chianti. It's a self-serve wine ordeal, you simply use a crayon to mark how many glasses you've had. Gotta love the honor system!

They have gigantic portions, so we split a dish. Tonight's special was pasta with a pesto cream sauce, and very fresh shrimp, scallops, and swordfish. The pasta was al dente, and the seafood was flavorful and perfectly cooked. Very simple, but often the simple things are the best.

Dinner was followed by more puppies, and my last bottle of 03' Donatella "Prima Donna" Brunello di Montalcino, a truly great wine.

I've also been asked to assist some very amazing chefs at the Food and Wine magazine's grand tasting event next Saturday, the 6th. I'll be working with a Food and Wine best new chef winner, as well as Gail Simmons, and quite a few former Top Chef contestants including Fabio Vivani, who loved my food last time we met. It's a real honor, and I'm constantly humbled by being offered all of these incredible opportunities.

So I'll live it up for the next couple of days, then return to Las Vegas to work with Hubert Keller and several other highly regarded chefs.

It's going to be a good week.

Adios!

The Basque country, and putting it all on the line.

It's coming down to the wire...

As some of you know, I applied for a chance to win a stage in the Basque region of Spain, under the chef Martin Berasategui, in his 3 Michelin star restaurant in Lasarte. I was told about the competition by my school's career advisor before the registration was open, and applied as soon as it was possible. Since then, I've checked the site every day, watching as other contestants signed up. Every time I think about it, my heart races a little.

I've always wanted to go to Spain, and it seemed like the contest was created just for me.

I bared my soul through my blog, put up pictures of my food, and kept working towards my ultimate goals by staging in 1 and 3 Michelin starred restaurants here in Las Vegas. I sent in my resume, and wrote an essay explaining why I wanted this opportunity. I told them about my experiences on the line in fine restaurants here in Las Vegas, about my love of cooking and food. I pulled together resources, and had a friend help me make a video since I didn't own the equipment myself. There wasn't much time to make the video, so I chose simple dishes that required little prep time.

The deadline for entries is the 31st of this month, then they will announce the winners on November 22nd. At this point, all I can do is wait, fingers crossed, to hear the results.

My only hope is that the people judging the contest will be able to see my intense passion for food and cooking. My goal in life is to someday open a restaurant, to someday have a Michelin star myself. Being able to do something as incredible as this would be a huge step in that direction, and I'm humbled by the chance to even apply for such an extraordinary opportunity. I'm not going to pretend that I have it in the bag, or that I'm better than anyone else, but in my heart I don't think that anyone out there could possibly want to win this more than I do.

If I don't win, I will be disappointed, but it won't be the end. I will apply again, I will keep knocking on doors, keep putting in 100% effort into everything I do, because this is so important to me, this is what I want to do, and nothing will stop me from trying to get there.

That's what passion is all about.

For now, I'm going to try to focus on everything I have going on here, and keep hoping for the best. Tomorrow morning I'm heading to L.A. to see my brother, so I'll be sure to blog and tweet about the fun I'm sure to have over the weekend. On Monday afternoon, we start filming, and we're doing 11 hour days in the kitchen for the next two weeks.

So to my friends, thanks for letting me put this out there, and for being as supportive as anyone could possibly be. For the people at Sammic and Martin Berasategui, thank you for the opportunity, and I really, really hope to meet you soon.

Deseame suerte.

Adios.

Building up to something great

We finally got our schedule for the PBS filming of Hubert Keller's show, "Secrets of a Chef", and I'm looking forward to working with Chef Keller again, he's a really great guy.

We're doing intensive sessions, 11+ hour days starting on next Tuesday, lasting for two weeks. I'll be getting the set ready and prepping ingredients, and this time I'll probably get to be on the show itself. Cool stuff!

My sommelier classes are going quite well, I really enjoy tasting all the wines, and learning about all the little intricacies that go into making them. After the last class on Sunday, I talked to my father about Sherry for about 45 minutes... he told me of his time in Spain, and knew the best places/situations in which to drink each of the four types, hopefully sometime soon I can follow his advice. We have our first test this Sunday, I'm not really sweating it. I've been doing damn well in the blind tastings thus far.

After the test, we start level two, delving deeper into the regions that the wines are produced, a lot of interesting geography. I'm especially looking forward to learning about the Spanish wines (surprise, surprise), since I have a bit more experience with the French and Italian varietals.

School's going well also, inching ever closer to my Bachelor's degree. My instructor loves my capstone project, a huge relief because a lot of other people had to re-think their entire concept, I don't envy them.

Other than that, I'm leaving Thursday morning to visit my brother and his wife in L.A., they just got two adorable Great Dane puppies that I want to cuddle with. They're food and wine lovers as well, so I should have interesting blog fodder in the next few days.

Adios por ahora!

School days...

I'm still buried under homework, and I will be for the rest of this quarter, hopefully I will get some relaxation time for the holidays.

Classes are going well, though, despite the enormous amount of work I'm having to do for them. I'm also almost done developing a new recipe for the San Pellegrino competition, I will post pics of it when I get the recipe where I want it.

I'm enjoying my advanced restaurant desserts class, I like the precision of pastry work, but the early morning hours aren't my thing. I did make this really nice (tasty) plating of roasted pear, chamomile jus, brown butter-hazelnut financiers, and pear sorbet. I love pears, so this was satisfying.

So much for my brief blogging respite. I will try to do something interesting to blog about soon, but you ,may have to wait until next week for a post of significant substance.

Ciao!

Video for Basque Stage

I just got my video back from editing for my Basque Stage application....

He did a really good job editing it, the music's kind of dramatic, though!

PAPRIKA!!!

Don't laugh at me, you can tell I'm nervous and over-enunciating. The quality is better on the vimeo website, too, so if you want to see a better version follow this link.

Ciao!