cooking with modern technology

There is something really great about living in our generation.  We have such advanced technology in the kitchen, from stand mixers, to induction stove tops, to now even convection ovens for the home, or "modern cook" as its so beautifully put in commercials and ads.

But how much do we really appreciate modern technology especially when it comes to cooking and food?

Well, I recently redid my kitchen and yes I bought a new oven and stove, and using the limited space and money I had, I of course could not go with a commercial 6 burner gas stove and oven.  Nor could I get myself a alto shaam, or combi oven (an oven that uses both dry and moist heat to cook), however what I could get I definitely did get.  Why, because now it is easier for the "home cook" to cook at home, like the top chefs do in the restaurants.  Well at least from a technology standpoint.

Companies like Cuisinart, kitchen aid, and of course sous vide supreme, have made it easier to cook at home.  Now in my kitchen I have lots of machines, and each one has its own purpose, just like my knives.  So I bought myself the new samsung convection oven, and to be honest the convection setting is the only setting I use.  Because it cooks all my food evenly, just like my sous vide machine.  The sous vide machine sits on the counter takes up less space than a microwave, uses less electricity then the oven, and the food tastes devine.

Technolgy really is a great thing, and living in an era where we can live healthy, by cooking healthier as well...well I'd take my sous vide supreme over an IPad, or smartphone any day.

 

Turned vegetables

Recently at work I was having a conversation with a colleague of mine, regarding the old way of cooking.  She said to me people don't cook like they used to.  The flavours are very monotonous nowadays, with people and chefs using parsley, thyme, basil and oregano in almost everything.  Well I agreed with her on that one, because for the most part that is true.  Look at herbs in the supermarket, its mostly parsley, thyme, and basil with a bit of mint, chives, and sometimes tarragon.

My question is why don't we use a wide variety of herbs and spices like we used to?  Why do we cut vegetables into wedges, sticks and cubes, why don't we go out of the box a bit.  That is what brought me to making Friday night dinner at home making chicken with turned vegetables all cooked sous vide.

Now before I get into cooking vegetables sous vide,  I want to explain what turned vegetables are.  First of all its an old technique in which a person uses his/her paring knife to trim the vegetables down in size to about 1.5 inches tall looks like a wine barrel with 7 sides.  So for generations culinary students have been saying its a waste of time and money when you can cube the vegetable and still present  the food nicely.  But I think that part of your appreciation for food is in learning how to handle food.  Also it takes time, you slow down and you cook, and of course cooking is relaxing, its a way to throw your worries away.  I would compare it to golf, but I think I am one of the very few people who is ok with a maxed out handicap in golf.

For example the other night I sat down on my couch turned a bag of potatoes and 5 turnips for dinner.  Best time I have had in a while.  You appreciate the vegetable, appreciate where it comes from and then also appreciate the finished product.

I wondered why techniques were in my opinion thrown out the window in North America.  We go to fancy restaurants and see the same thing over and over again.  I wanted to know the roots and my trip to France definitely satisfied my craving for real french cuisine, and French traditions.  I was working a busy dinner service at Les Bistrot De Lyon, and the Chef asked me to turn potatoes for the following day for a certain dish on the menu.  I gladly said yes, because I hadn't practised this since Culinary School and George Brown College.  So I brought up my 10 lb bag of potatoes from the cellar, (yes the potatoes were kept in dark cold place as intended), took a  bucket filled it part way with cold water and started turning my potatoes.  The chef came back a few minutes later to check up on me and commented at how slow I was working.  I told him back in Canada you don't see turned vegetables very often.  He reminded me of the reason of my trip and took a potato in one hand, pulled out a paring knife and quickly turned a perfect potato in less then 20 seconds.  I stood there imitating his every move and continued to practise my vegetable turning every night soon becoming the restaurants official vegetable turner, (well I gave myself that title).

So for dinner I turned potatoes, turnip, zucchini and fluted mushrooms.  I plated it family style like it was done back in the times of Escoffier.  I really enjoyed practising this art that is unfortunately in my opinion gettign lost in the wayside.

So directions for turning vegetables.
Hold the vegetable in your hand, cut the top and the bottom so you have an even top and bottom to hold the vegetable properly when turning.  Using your paring knife make a half moon shaped cut from top to bottom in one swift motion, so there is a smooth rounded edge now to your vegetable.  (pictures are posted below)

Cooking:
Root vegetables: I put the vegetables in a bag with some fresh garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil.  Vacuum sealed in and dropped it in the sous vide machine set at 190 and cooked them for 1 hour.

Mushroom and zucchini:  I seasoned it the same way as the root vegetables, but cooked them at 180 for 15 minutes since I needed gentler heat.

back to basics

I wanted to go back to the beginning or back to basics in a way, and talk about sous vide cooking, its pros and con, however I will focus on the pros, because they way over power the con.

Actually the only con I can think of is th  fact that it cooks over a long time meaning more electricity being used, however its really a pro, since it uses less electricity then an oven.

The theory behind cooking sous vide, is that the food is put in a vacuumed seal  bag, and temperature controlled water circulates around the bag in a way massaging the food as it cooks, but most of all, its the exact temperature controlled water that is what makes the technology so fascinating.  Because the temp is controlled you can continuously cook anything without over cooking.

For example, when I cook a steak in restaurant, either you sear the meat on a super hot grill or in a 400 degree pan.  Either way you can get a medium rare steak.  However the meat will cook in levels.

WELL DONE - where the grill marks or sear is
MEDIUM WELL - right underneath the marks, the meat is pretty close to well done
MEDIUM- heat hasn't fully reached to this part of the meat
MEDIUM RARE -  centre
MEDIUM -heat hasn't fully reached to this part of the meat
MEDIUM WELL -  right underneath the marks, the meat is pretty close to well done
WELL DONE - where the grill marks or sear is

Now this is the best case scenario if the grill cook prepared your meat properly, but what happens if he or she didn't, then you are stuck with a piece that is unevenly cooked.  Another issue I find , people say wheres the talent in putting a piece of meat in a bag and cooking it.  Actually that's where the talent lies.  to be able to know the exact temp needed, know how to manipulate and change the food by infusing flavours, adjusting textures, and most of all adapt to new flavours, I think is talent.

Infusing different flavours to make things like ice cream, yes ice cream , is a relatively simple idea, however who would have thought that making ice cream can be done in a sous vide machine.  Also because not as much spices are needed in the bag you save more money, and you also get a higher yield of your product.

Now what are some other pros to cooking sous vide.  Because cooking is done in a temp controlled water bath, you get even cooking throughout.  So your chicken breast that people are scared to cook for fears that it will come out dry, well put it in the sous vide machine at 160 for approx 20 minutes, and you have the juiciest piece of chicken ever.  Not going to serve ti right away, because your guests have not arrived yet, that's ok.  The meat will still stay moist and juicy.

Now the same can not be said about all vegetable.  Green vegetables still have the chance of going too dark, so you must be sure not to overcook them by leaving them in the water for too long.  However vegetables like potatoes and turnips, can stay in a bit longer if you leave them at a low enough temperature, i.e. not going over 185 degrees maximum.

Sea bass and tips on cooking fish

As you can see in a previous post, I posted pictures of my sea bass appetizer.

First and foremost, always remember, the quality of the product makes a big difference in the outcome of the product.  Just like when you cook with wine, you should only use wine that you would drink as well, not just any old crappy box wine, so too when purchasing meat, make sure you are buying a good product only.

With anything that you cook in the sous vide machine, you input the temperature that you want the end result to be at.  Meaning if you are cooking a medium rare steak cook your steak to approx. 130-135 degrees f. 

When it comes to fish I prefer my fish medium rare to medium.  Now that doesn't mean that the fish should be pink inside as in a red piece of meat, in fact the temperature of fish is purely by degrees in heat, not by colour.  So for example a medium rare salmon fillet, will have just lots its rawness colour.  That would mean the entire meat of the fish is now pink not the slight redish orangish that you would see in raw salmon meat.  However the texture of a medium rare fillet of salmon is soft and tender.  The meat is still held together and comes apart perfectly at the seams.

So when I cook fish I cook its to 140 degrees f, and for me that is between medium rare and medium, the colour of the meat has changed, but the texture of the meat of the fish is still very soft and tender.

As with anything you cook sous vide (which means under pressure or vacuum packed), because its so evenly cooked you must take your product out of the bag and sear it to give a texture that people expect.

Now for the sea bass.  Yield 2 portions.
2 - 3 oz pieces of sea bass
3 saffron leaves or 1 pinch of saffron powder ( I prefer Spanish or Iranian)
1 Pinch of Salt and Pepper
1 splash of a semi sweet wine (ie Riesling from Niagara)
1 knob of butter

Vacuum seal and place in 140 degrees f water for 30 minutes.

Take the bag out of the water.  Take the fish out of the bag and reserve the liquid from the bag.  Using a hot pan, melt some butter and noisette it.  Place the sea bass skin side down until it pulls away from the pan (approx 2.5 minutes).  Take the fish out of the pan, then pour in the liquid from the bag, let it boil for 30 seconds then whisk in a small amount of butter to finish the sauce.

Place the fish on top of your garnish, crispy skin side up, and with a spoon, drizzle the saffron sauce around it giving a contrast on the plate of yellow (sauce), white(fish), and brown/black (skin of the fish).

Bon Apetit