Starting light...a different egg salad.

So I figure it’s best to start simple with this kind of stuff. How many ways are there to boil an egg? 2.8 million if you ask Google… I didn’t want to sort through all of those, I just wanted the easiest and most “foolproof” way of getting a hard-cooked egg that is, well… Good! I also learned that “boiled eggs” is somewhat of a misnomer, apparently the right term is “Hard-cooked” eggs. Why is this? Hell I dunno. I’m just going with it.

Of course, boiling an egg wouldn’t really count as a recipe, but knowing how to do it right every single time with just the result I want WILL help me use my hard-cooked eggs in other applications, which most definitely will help me on the road to chefdom. My mind is already watering at the prospect of deviled eggs, or egg salad sandwiches, or salad nicoise….I don’t even know what that is except that it sounds French, and if it is French, then it must have either butter or eggs in it!

The problem I’ve always had with boiled..er..hard cooked eggs is that they are so stinkin’ unpredictable! The shells are a pain to get off, the whites are rubbery sometimes, and the little yellow orb in the center can be either green, grey, or yellow-ish. But rarely do I get the eggs you see on TV. The ones that slip out of their shells with ease, revealing an almost creamy white and a bright yellow and moist yolk. That’s what I wanted. And after a little research on the technique of really “hard cooking” an egg, this is the method I’m using, no crystal ball, intuition, or fancy gadgets. All I needed was a saucepan and an egg timer.

It took about a half hour total, from boiling the water to cracking the eggs open. These were just “sample” eggs. A sample of heaven was more like it! Quivering whites, and bright yellow yolks, fluffly, but just…a…tad… moist in the center. I could not stop myself from wolfing them down with a little salt and pepper. I stayed awake most of the night daydreaming about what I was going to do with this technique when I woke up!

And what did the day bring? A nice salad of course, with plenty of flavor from smoked provolone and some black pepper salami, a little saltiness from some kalamata olives, slight bitterness from some cute little baby mesclun greens, fresh tomatoes and some big fat crisp and sweet butter lettuce. I tossed on some shallot for a delicate little bite and whisked together a quick honey mustard vinagrette. But those eggs really brought everything together. I’ll probably be having quite a bit of fun with hard-cooked eggs in the future, and it’s probably good I started this course with a salad, as premature atonement for the gobs of butter, slabs of bacon, pot roasts, gravies, and baked treats to come.

That’s 1 day, and 1 dish down. Can’t wait for tomorrow’s adventure!

Le Cordon Josh - Allez Cuisine!

Le Cordon Josh

The Smallest Culinary School On Earth.

When the guy from Le Cordon Bleu told me the tuition would be about 50 grand, I politely said

“Uhh, wow…ya’know I don’t think I can hack that. Thanks though.” I hung up and thought to myself,

“Well, Culinary school just isn’t for me, I’ll never be a chef.”

And then I began to think about it. What is the difference between a chef and a cook? Searching the internet for answers, I found more questions and arguments regarding this quandary than answers. Chief of a kitchen, sauce-maker, sous-chef, and lots of other words in foreign languages (usually French) to describe the duties and characteristics of a “chef”.

After reading several definitions and arguments, I came to my own conclusions about what a chef really is. I decided that a chef is not just someone who cooks. After all anyone can follow a recipe and throw a dish together. I postulate that a chef is someone who has the creativity and desire to invent dishes of their own, and the knowledge to do so without a cookbook or recipe guide. A chef would share these creations with diners, be they paying customers or friends and family. And a chef would write down the recipe so others could enjoy their creations as well. A chef has a real love of food.

With this definition in mind, I am embarking on my own journey to go from cook to chef. I will make 500 original dishes all on my own. No cookbooks, no recipe guides, just my tiny little Kitchen and me here in Pasadena and some research on techniques and tools. I’ll write down what equipment I used to prepare and make the dish, along with the ingredients, techniques (as best I understand them), and will also include a photo of each one so I can remember it. If I can really create that many dishes on my own, using as many techniques as I can learn along the way then at the end of it I will feel perfectly confident answering the question “So are you a chef?” with a wide smile and a confident: “Yes I am.” As a token of my achievement, I’ll buy myself my very own bright, crisp, brand spanking new real Chef’s jacket, with my name on it.

I’m not going to restrain myself to one particular style either. If I want Mexican food, I’m going to try and cook it. Same goes for Italian, Chinese, Indian, American, and even French (if I dare). I’m going to include anything I make that’s mine, from 2 am grilled cheese sandwiches to the most extravagant concoctions I can conjure.

Of course there must be some sort of timeline for this project, or there’s no point in undertaking it. So I’m going with 15 months. That’s the time it takes to attend and graduate from Le Cordon Bleu in Pasadena. We’ll see if Le Cordon Josh can make a chef out of me in the same amount of time. It’s January 30, 2010. Day 1. Allez Cuisine!