Anthony Bourdain is my hero!

Last night I was lucky enough to see Anthony Bourdain speak at UCLA's Royce Hall with my good friend, K.  I should start this blog off by saying that we had a delicious meal at Glendon Kitchen & Bar in Westwood.... we shared some yummy apps and $5 martinis!  A very cool space with attentive waitstaff and great atmosphere.

But back to Anthony.  I anticipated that this event would consist of his ranting about the various Food TV folks that he dislikes, discussions about weird "squiggly things" he's tried in different parts of the world and a plug for his new book Medium Raw.  And he did not disappoint.  He touched on all of those things but also showed a dare I say, softer side of Tony (if I may call him that).  He has a 3 year old daughter and has admitted to being somewhat of a changed man as a result of her birth.  But deep down he is still the crass, sailor-mouthed chef that we all know and love.

He gave us some of his likes (LA's ethnic "strip mall" food, In N Out Burger, Top Chef, the original Iron Chef, Mario Batali and Jonathan Gold), some of his dislikes hates: Sandra Lee (and her "dead deer eyes"), Guy Fieri (who "needs to grow up and take his sunglasses off of his head"), Hell's Kitchen ("there is no way those people are good chefs"), as well as some people that may not know where they stand: Alice Waters (with whom Anthony had a recent public squabble about her wanting shark fin soup as her last meal ), Rachael Ray (only since she sent him a fruit basket) and Bobby Flay (who he referred to as "smug" but a great chef).

Some favorite lines/moments from the evening: 

Why we watch Man vs Food: A show where the host goes to different spots to eat the largest _____ (fill in large/disgusting/fattening food here):  "We watch Man vs Food for the same reason we watch Siegfried and Roy - because this is the week he might die."

Regarding his 3 year old daughter: "The last thing I wanted to do was raise one of those obnoxious 'foodie' children" then proceeded to tell a great story about a recent trip to France when his daughter, on her own, ate a raw oyster then pointed to a lobster and said "Sebastian" (referring to the animated character from Little Mermaid), and proceeded to eat that too.

Discussing some of the chefs on the Food Channel: "I really like Giada DeLaurentiis - she makes good food.  She does have a freakishly large head."

Favorite question from an audience member (who asked Reddit.com users to help him come up with the best question): Audience member: "Nigella vs Giada in a knife fight... who would win?"  Anthony: (after a moment of consideration): Nigella (referring of course to Great Britain's own Nigella Lawson).

His short list of places to visit before you die: Saigon, anywhere in Vietnam, San Sebastian, Spain, Bahia, Brazil.

He gave his rules for traveling and eating well: 1) If you are lucky enough to travel, make the most of it. 2) Have an adventure (don't get your picture taken in front of the Starbucks in Taiwan), 3) Don't worry about "dirt" (try new foods, even if it is from a shack on the street) and 4) Observe local customs, do what the locals do and be polite.

He touched on his new "Softer side" and how he used to just care about how food tasted and nothing more.  He now cares about where it comes from and how it's going to affect his child. He plans his business trips around visits with his in-laws in Italy.  He buys organic at Whole Foods.  His priorities may have shifted, but he still swears and drinks and talks about his peers.  He is Anthony Bourdain and he's so cool, even Ron Jeremy was a member of the audience last night. 

My final thought from last night is a quote:  There has never been a better time to be cooking, there has never been a better time to be a chef."  I hope this is true.

Are you a fan of Anthony Bourdain or does his snarky attitude rub you the wrong way?  Any other favorite "celebrity chefs"?  Feel free to post them below!

Chow for now!  :)

I'm about to gain some serious weight....

Class was really fantastic tonight because we finally got to COOK!  Last week we were split up into teams of four, or in our (Team 3's) case, five chefs.   Typically an executive chef, sous-chef, prep cook and dishwasher makes up a team.  Each team gets an oven, a microwave, a prep table and we all share the various kitchen tools and supplies.  Tonight was OBVIOUSLY our first night in the kitchen. I didn't see anyone running with knives but it was definitely a free for all.    I really had no idea how well our team would work together (four woman, one man, age range 18 to 50-something, many different ethnicities and backgrounds) but I was very proud of our outcome. I felt like we all put a ton of work in and did a nice job together.  It can be hard to give up control in the kitchen so this is a new goal for me

In each class going forward, Chef Debbie will lecture a bit, set up a demo and then send us in to the kitchen to fend for ourselves.  Each team gets a total score of up to 5 points based on certain criteria set for each dish we make.  Although she didn't tell us, I am 99% sure we got all 5 points.  We rocked.

Now...to go back to the beginning of class.... today's lesson was quickbreads.  Chef showed us how to prepare an amazing coffee cake layered with apples and cinnamon.  Then she gave us a bunch of recipes - went over each one and sent each team on their way with one recipe to create for a grade. Our team got the "Country Biscuits" recipe.  I think they tasted good, but I would probably add more green onion.  For all the pretty colors and textures, there wasn't the punch of flavor I would have expected.

Country Biscuits

2.5 lbs of all purpose (AP) flour
3/4 oz salt
2 oz sugar
2 oz baking powder
14 oz unsalted butter, cold, 1/4 in dice
24 oz whole milk
3/4 c cheddar cheese, sharp, grated
2T green onion, thinly sliced
1T dried thyme [our team used dill as the kitchen was out of thyme]

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees 
• Sift the dry ingredients together making sure they are evenly blended 
• Combine the butter with teh dry ingredients, cheese, onions and thyme. The mixture should look  mealy; do not overmix. 
• Add milk and stir until mixture is just holding together. 
• Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surfacel knead until it forms one mass, approximately 5-6 kneadings.  If dough is too dry, add milk as needed until the dough holds together. 
• Roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/2 in.  Cut with a floured bscuit cutter and place the biscuits on a parchment lined sheet pan. 
• Bake until tops are light brown, sides are almost white and the interiors are still moist (approx 10-15 minutes).  Cool and eat!

At the end of class we all got to sample each team's product: blueberry muffins, lemon poppy seed muffins, cream scones and apple sour cream coffee cake.  I may be biased but I think our biscuits came out close to the top when comparing every one of the quickbreads to it.  This is a feat for me because I am NOT a baker.  I guess this is what teamwork is all about!

Team 3's biscuits - came out pretty good - what do you think?

In class we also talked a bit about Chino Farm (or Chino Nojo)  Here's a review.  This farm supplies some of the most amazing west coast restaurants with their produce (Alice Waters' Chez Panisse for one).  Chef nearly drooled when telling the class about the experience so now I want to go visit.  It's not to far down in Rancho Santa Fe.  Anyone up for a road trip?!

My bed is caling out to me.   Chow for now!  :)