If You Plan To Go To San Francisco...

Here we are in San Francisco, two newbies trying to find our way around, asking the bus drivers if we going in the right direction while still attempting to maintain composure.
After arriving Friday night, my Aunt rescued us from the airport and drove us up to her wonderful house in the mountains outside of SF. It's a wonderful community of Norwegians, Norwegian descendants, or people who belong to the club. Trees stretch up into the sky, the air is free from the San Francisco pollution, and since it is not official in a town, there is a lack of cars stringing all the way back to the city. A very lovely getaway.
A tour and a shower later, Adam and I braved traveling into the city. About an hour commute into the city by BART and buses, we finally reached out destination; the civic center in the middle of the SF.
Taking more buses, we went to Haight Street. A beautiful street lined with artwork, consignment clothing shops (cheap, unique and fabulous clothing; I was in heaven! Too bad I'm broke..), restaurants, cafes/bars, and other knickknack shops, this street was full of personality. We stopped for refreshments at a kick cafe, where I ordered a carrot ginger juice. Now, if I don't belong here, I don't know where I'd belong.
Wanting to see where Adam is interning at, we walked an hour to Noe Valley Bakery. Up and down hills, over a bridge and a number of photograph stops later, we ended up not at grandmother's house, but the bakery. This place is wonderful; the employees were happy, the baked goods were fantastic and they even make their own puff pastry dough. Uffda! The interior was nothing less than inviting and beautiful.
After the staff members helped us get directions, we acknowledged hunger tugging on our stomachs and ventured again another hour to a wonderful French crepe restaurant, Crepevine. It took longer than expected, since Adeara's purse got caught on a seat and she did not make it off the bus. After a number of blocks of trying to run after her and a bus full of humored passengers, we finally got her and were back on track.
I ordered the savory crepe called Milano. Packed full with grilled eggplant, mushrooms, roasted garlic, spinach and tomatoes with mozzarella, cheddar and cottage cheese, this crepe was fantastic! It was served along with a mixed green salad and house potatoes. A deliciously shocking twist to the salad? Kale. Strange, but amazing.
Adam ordered the El Baron. A 1/2 lb of ground chuck accompanied by grilled red onions, mushrooms, avocado, jack and cheddar cheese. He also received a salad and potatoes. After one bite, his eyes widened and then his face was taken over by a look of complete enjoyment. "This... is so good."
I ordered a carrot juice (seriously, how many cities offer carrot juices? I love this place!) and our table ordered a few dessert crepes to share. Orgasmically delectable, the crepes were not only beautiful, but the perfect end to our day.

Slow Food Cooking: Caramelized Mushroom Tart

Foods of Change Photos

Ice Carving with David Jensen!

To view the video of his demonstration, Click Here!!!

For those of you who do not know, David Jensen is an Executive Chef with Iowa Health Systems. Having no formal training (he originally went to college for technology), he taught himself passionately about the vast world of culinary arts.
Continually having to prove his worth, David found peace in the art of ice sculpting. Honing in on that skill, he managed to develop into an expert. He even carved an eagle sculpture for Nancy Regan's Presidential First Lady's reception.
For the American Culinary Federation Scholarship Dinner of 2008, six chefs came down to Ottumwa to prepare a course with one of the six students that won a scholarship. Being one of the six that received a scholarship, I was paired with David Jensen. Completely clammy and a stomach full of flies, I was petrified at the thought of me messing up the entire soup course; Caramelized Onion Soup with Saffron. But to my luck, David met me with an open mind and open arms. He had made me feel completely comfortable and even showed excitement over my love of classic cartoons.

"Know your cuts, know your flavor profiles, know your international cuisine; Don't work for money, work for love." -David Jensen

Becoming the Intern

One of the requirements for graduating from the Indian Hills Community College Culinary Arts Program is the completion of a six week internship. Having no idea where to apply (and completely ignoring the task of emailing pleas for acceptance) I finally sat myself down, researched vegetarian restaurants and sent out messages asking to sell my soul for the chance to work for them. This list consisted of a few restaurants in the San Francisco area; Chez Panisse, Cafe Gratitude, and Greens Restaurant.
As I clicked the send button on each of the emails, my heart stuttered. What if they say no? What if I don't get a reply? What if they ask for a resume and then decide I'm not good enough?
Calming myself down, I closed the computer. I had to keep my thoughts focused on getting the perfect internship. How wonderful it would be to work with Alice Waters, or learn to cook filled with complete gratitude at a vegan restaurant.... but what kept going through my mind was Greens. As much as I craved the possibility of working at these restaurants, something drove my heart to Greens. I would be more than excited to work at any of these restaurants, but I would be in complete bliss to work with Annie Somerville at Greens Restaurant in San Francisco.
Days went by without reply. Anxious, I imagined sending out thousands of emails and being accepted only by a vegetarian branch of McDonald's. When discussing my anxiety with Adam McGoldrick, one of my classmates, he admitted to me that he had yet to send out his requests.
I drug him to my room, sat him down with me and searched for the perfect bakery in San Francisco for him. Finally, we found his perfect match: Noe Valley Bakery. I assisted him in writing the requests to a few bakeries, yet after we found this one, the search was over. We sent the message, crossed our fingers and passed time going to a movie.
Upon our return, Adam ran to his computer. Not noticing, I took off my coat only to be interrupted by a gleeful shriek. Adam had received a reply from Noe Valley Bakery. I gave him a congratulatory hug, laughing hysterically, then I remembered that I still was still lacking an internship. In fact, I was quite butt-hurt at the fact that I had waited two days for no reply and Adam waited only two hours to be relieved of his anxiety.
Curiously, I checked my email. Facebook, facebook, real food challenge, food declaration, and Annie Somerville. Not fully realizing that I too had received a confirmation from the restaurant of my dreams, I opened it calmly, read, and sat in silence. It took no less than a minute, then I lept off of my bed into another hug with Adam, this time giggling wildly.
Thank you Astred. Please send me some information on the internship program at Indian Hills Community College. Do you have the dates?
Annie Somerville
Executive Chef
After sending back the dates, a description of the internship program and a few questions of my own, I received the full a-okay. I am interning at Greens restaurant in San Francisco.
Check out their website! Read a little about this nationally recognized restaurant, the role they play in the slow food nation and the wonder of ---> Greens Restaurant.

Serving the President

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Everyone always told me January was the slowest month of the year; I guess I've just never been normal! In the course of the past week, my class executed an amazing seven course luncheon for the board of directors at Indian Hills, I dined-out with Diana Garles, one of my dear friends, and her mother at Top of the Rock, finalized an internship at Greens Restaurant in sunny San Francisco, and applied for scholarships, on top of the normal school load. Whew! Despite the lack of sleep from an overload of excitement, I could not get myself to feel down!

For the president, we put together a contemporary American menu.
The appetizer: Thomas Keller's "Peas and Carrots".
The soup: Onion Soup with Orange "Kissed" Beignets.
The First Course: Caramelized Mushroom Tarts.
The Intermezzo: Cranberry Sorbet served in Orange Cups.
The Main Course: Olive Oil Poached Tenderloin with Pork Glaze, Sweet Potato Ravioli with Sage Butter and Chive Oil, and Roasted Winter Root Vegetables.
The Cheese Course: Whipped Brie de Meaux en Feuillete.
The Dessert: Simply Sinful ~ Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee, Chocolate Truffle, and Cheesecake Pop with Raspberry Coulis.

A bit shaky starting off, the dinner ended with all our sanity intact. The guests rubbed their belly with satisfaction, left with a smile on their face and the students ended the day with many valued lessons learned.

Lasagna and Eggplant and Berries, Oh My!!

For new years, a group of friends and I decided what better way to break in a new year than with food, wine and spirits? Many ideas passed through our minds, pondering constantly what would suit best for a group of hungry, and possibly inebriated, party-goers.
Salad was a must, and due to my dislike of lettuce and the need for more nutritional adequacy, the salad was a spinach blend with purslane.
Now to go with that? Then, like brilliant ideas always do, it dawned on me; lasagna. A perfect potluck dish, and can be made agreeable to everyone's taste, lasagna was the perfect solution. A snag soon produced in my plan, though easily solved, one person could not each the gluten. Tada! Another way to show off my creativity, I assured him that instead of lasagna noodles, I would use eggplant. Looking blank for a moment, then a flash of excitement shown in him eyes, he was up for it!! To make exactly what I wanted, I started from square one: Making the sauce.

What you'll need:

• 2 tbsp Olive Oil
  
• 2 Cloves Garlic, cut brunoise
• Mirepoix ( half of a red onion, one carrot and one piece of celery all cut brunoise; depending on what flavor I want to really stand out, I vary the amounts of the vegetables in my sauce.)
• 1 can Diced Tomatoes
• Fresh Basil and Oregano, shredded and added to taste
• Sugar and Salt, to taste

1. Heat the oil over medium/high heat in a saucepan and add the garlic, cooking until the aroma is potent and sweet.
2. Add the mirepoix, cooking 1-2 minutes. Then add the tomatoes, sugar, salt, basil and oregano.
   
3. Cook for approximately 30 minutes on low/medium heat, stirring occasionally and adding more oil as desired.
4. Place in a blender or food processor (I prefer a blender) and blend until desired consistency.
   

What I needed for the lasagnas:

• Freshly made pasta sauce
  
• 1 pkg Lasagna Noodles
• 1 head Broccoli
• 1 Small Bag Fresh Spinach or Half Bag of Frozen Spinach, thawed and drained
  
• 1 bag Boca Meatless Ground Crumbles
• 1 Eggplant
• 8 oz Ricotta Cheese
• 8 oz Mozzarella Cheese
• 4 oz Parmesan Cheese, shredded
  

1. Cook the pasta according to directions (fresh pasta is even more delightful, but that's a few more steps that I really should not discuss here...). While the pasta is cooking, steam the broccoli and thaw the Boca crumbles.
2. Slice the eggplant 1/2 inch thick, cutting off the skin to obtain perfectly rectangular pieces. ***All the steps with the two lasagnas are the same, just instead of pasta, replace with eggplant slices.
   
3. Place sauce on the bottom of a 9" by 11" casserole dish. Place the first layer of pasta down.
4. Add another layer of sauce, then a layer of ricotta cheese and the broccoli (I prefer to mash it so it spreads more evenly).
5. After adding another layer of the pasta, add the sauce, a second layer of ricotta cheese and the Boca crumbles.
6. Place a third layer of pasta, then a mixture of the parmesan and mozzarella cheeses and the spinach.
7. Placing your last layer of pasta, cover with remaining mozzarella cheese and sprinkle with remaining chopped herbs.
   
8. Cover with aluminum foil and cook for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F, then remove foil and cook an additional 10 minutes, or until cheese browns.

Being the last one to the party, since I still needed to dress after cooking, I asked someone to bring the food over to the house for me. By the time I arrived, a majority of the pasta was gone and I was unable to take a picture of my final product. Instead, I added a photograph of the almonds and dried cranberries that I used on the salad.
After heating approx. 2 tbsp honey in a frying pan, I cooked sliced almonds and the dried cranberries, stirring constantly, over high heat to help them caramelize. My secret ingredient? Nutmeg. When added to the top of a salad, this sweet and nutty mixture give the salad exactly what it always wanted; irresistibly and the chance to be the perfect eye candy!!