The last few weeks have been some of the hardest of my life. I experienced an incredible loss and the person I care about the most experienced an unimaginable one. It's really made me think about what is most important to me. Do I really want to spend 12 to 14 hours a day at work, waking up next to a sleeping girlfriend only to get home and crash at 3 am and do it all over again? Do I really want to miss out on what could possibly be the best times in my life? I have sacrificed my life for my work ethic and its killed a lot of the passions that I had. I want to be present in my life and the life of the people surrounding me. I was lucky enough to have some time off scheduled for the weekend after the loss; for once I felt like I was gaining something of a more normal lifestyle. Unfortunately, on my first day back to work, the truth smacked me in the face. I walked into a place where no one gave a shit if the house burned down or not. The mediocre had risen to the top and was doing its best to keep itself there and keep others who care not only about the job but about the people that work there and the doing good quality work. So many people just care about being there when the bosses are around. Like I like to say, "Its not who you know, its who you blow."
I have worked for 7 different restaurants, three in the hometown, one in Virgina (closed not long after I left), two in NYC and one in Philly. And, I can only say that in two of those places did I see how to do things right. I wanted to change some aspects and I have adopted the ones that I liked. Truthfully, I'm still searching for my patron, my chef, my mentor. I thought that I was going to get one in Philly but it didn't pan out. I want to work for someone who inspires me and shows me how to do things right, but do I really need that? These 5 other places have taught me so much about how not to conduct yourself professionally and as a leader of a kitchen, I doubt I'm ever going to need that person. I need to be that person for myself.
In that vein, I'm making some changes in lifestyle both temporarily and permanently. More on that later
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Seared Tuna with baby arugula, pickled red onion,
and a ginger sesame vinaigrette |
OK! Rant over on to the good stuff, food! No new restaurant reviews for this entry but a couple of things that I created and really like for the upcoming seasons. First is a seared tuna loin with pickled red onion, baby arugula, and a ginger sesame vinaigrette. The hardest part about this dish is the vinaigrette. You need to balance the soy and ginger and sesame really well other wise it tastes like bad Chinese food. I used part sesame oil, part blended oil, about a tablespoon of soy, rice wine vinegar, and brunoised ginger, shallots and garlic. It was slightly sweet, salty, and definitely had that ginger bite to it. To pickle the red onion I brought equal parts red wine vinegar, rice wine vinegar and sugar to a boil and poured that over the thinly sliced onion and just let it sit for about an hour before serving it. Tuna was just seared with some salt and pepper but had I had more time I would have possibly made a spice rub with some coriander, star anise and maybe some sesame seed. Either way this was a really nice dish that would work really well with out the tuna or bulked up as a larger salad for a light dinner/lunch option.
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Stripped Bass with pea shoots, avocado, pancetta
and a horseradish cream |
The next one I got use one of my favorite fish, Stripped Bass, and an ingredient I am liking more and more, horseradish. I love that delicate flavor and texture that Stripped Bass gets when its been cooked perfectly, its so sweet and fresh tasting, I can't get enough of it! We can get really big fish here straight from Montauk, up to 40 pounders! With that comes big stubborn bones down the back, nothing like your typical salmon or trout, bass have huge collars that extend really far down the back and huge heads. Hard to butcher, but make a great fish stock! On to the dish it self, Stripped Bass with pea shoots, avocado, and pancetta with a horseradish cream. I made the cream with creme fraiche, lemon juice and prepared horseradish, it was good but didn't have that bite that fresh horseradish has. Had I used that the cream would have been even better, simultaneously opening your sinuses with the heat from the horseradish and the cooling of the palate from the creme fraiche and the avocado would have been spot on. I would have liked to incorporate the fat that I had rendered out of the pancetta, an Italian seasoned and rolled bacon, to incorporate that into the cream for a little fat but again just a note for the next time. The pea shoots were great for crunch and a slight bitterness that played well with the richness and sweetness of the cream and fish. All in all, one of my favorites for a long time. I loved it, the guys liked cooking it, the servers sold it well and the guests loved it.
This week, Turkey Chili from home and Coq au Vin Blanc from work!
