Sweet/Sour, Umami, Hanger Steak and Herbs

We had our herb/spices and tasting chapter in class today.

Got organic herbs donated from a local garden and had some dried ones as well - after smelling a few unfamiliar ones, I made a few notes.

• Star Anise- smells like licorice (which I do not like)
• Juniper Berry- smells like a nasty berry
• Cumin - holy damn don't take a big whiff
• Allspice - surprisingly pleasant, reminds me of Christmas and apple pie
• Pineapple Sage - smells like dirty gym socks
• Tumeric - spiced dirt
• Purple (sweet) Basil - much better when cooked, smells a little nasty fresh
• Lemon Basil - amazing delicious lemony basil aroma
• Texas Tarragon - another licorice smell
• Sweet Bay - the forest
• Mexican Oregano - peppery oregano
• Vietnamese Coriander - lemony musky air
• Thyme - ITALIA

After the assault on my nose (and accidentally exhaling into the dried oregano and sprayed it everywhere) - we switched to dill vs sweet pickles. Obviously I scarfed both down.

Then was the dreaded lemon tasting. Added salt to one slice, sugar to another slice, then salt + sugar to another. The salt + lemon was absolutely and utterly dreadful. Sugar and lemon was delicious - I generally do that with my lemon garnish in a restaurant anyway. Salt + sugar wasn't that bad - but the salt totally eff's up the taste.

Next was my favorite part! Cheesssseeeeeeeee tastingggg. I've never met a cheese I didn't like so I was especially excited about this part. We sampled...

• White Cheddar - delicious
• Smoked Gouda - delicious
• Gorgonzola - delicious (even the mold)
• Brie - creamy, pungent but delicious
• Feta - extremely strong by itself! much better with food
• Mozzarella - delicious, creamy, not overpowering
• Manchego - firm and buttery
• Swiss - delicious
• And others I forgot the name

We practiced our knife skills - I still suck at cutting a straight line. I have issues with my Julienne and Batonnet cuts. I had maybe 2 ~perfect cuts out of 2 potatoes and 2 carrots. Mostly plankish, and always one rectangle in with the other end perfectly square. My cubes made from these were rather cute tho! I even minced a potato for shits and giggles.

The class split up and made spinach ravioli on one side and calamari on the other. I, being a masochist, picked the calamari side. The steps to making calamari are much more... disgusting than I imagined but I manned up and did it. Here are step by step pictures in case you are curious.

A. Thaw frozen squid. Cut through arms near the eyes. With thumb and forefinger, squeeze out the inedible beak which will be located near the cut. Reserve tentacles.

B. Feel inside mantle for chitinous pen. Firmly grasp pen and attached viscera; remove from mantle. Wash mantle thoroughly and drain. It is now ready for stuffing. Make rings by cutting across mantle. Arms can be chopped, minced or left whole.

Procedure No. 2 -- Cutting Strips and Pieces

A. Thaw frozen squid. Cut through arms near the eyes. With thumb and forefinger, squeeze out the inedible beak which will be located near the cut. Reserve tentacles.

B. Feel inside mantle for chitinous pen. Firmly grasp pen and attached viscera; remove from mantle.

C. To cut strips or pieces, lay the mantle flat and cut down the center from top to tail. Spread open and wash thoroughly.

D. Cut mantle into size strips or pieces desired. Arms can be chopped, minced, or left whole. E. Soak the calamari in lemon juice until they turn pink. F. Make a batter of flour, salt, pepper and a bit of cayenne. Fry and nom! If that didn't get you in the mood for some seafood, nothing will. Paul (classmate) trimmed some hanger steak of the fat then pound the crap out of it to make it tender. Apparently a cow only has 2 pieces of hanger steak on it so they are rare and expensive. We seasoned the steak with kosher salt and pepper and then pan seared it. I have never in my life grilled/pan seared an entire steak (only strips for stir fry and quesadillas) so I was a little apprehensive. Heated up 1 Tbs of oil in pan (very important to heat oil first!) then seared the steak on both sides. We were supposed to do it medium rare, but 1) that makes me gag and 2) I accidentally overcooked it. Was very tasty but was so full from all the other food I had eaten that morning so I only ate a few pieces. I still prefer rib eyes. The last thing we made was fresh scrambled eggs (classmate has a farm with organic Araucuna chickens she plucked this morning from their bums). Seasoned the eggs with basil, oregano, chives, etc. The eggs were a little undercooked for my taste but the basil was delicious. Reminds me of the eggs I make with tomatoes and onions. Next class is dry/wet methods of cooking. Can't wait.