[Hunger Art]Total Utilization of a Duck

by Mike Pardus

In keeping with our inter-blog discussion on consomme and total utility of food products, I offer this video series in 3 parts (again, YouTube limitations).

The action moves pretty quickly and assumes that you already know how to “break down” a bird. If there’s interest, I’ll shoot a “Poultry Butchering 101” video later this week.

Oh, before you watch, I’d better explain something.

This demo came out of a discussion about the immorality of wasting food – specifically food that an animal has died to give us. In the video, I talk a lot about total utility and avoidance of waste from a purely financial perspective. Some of my students are at the cutting edge of the sustainable food movement and understand the morality perfectly well while others haven’t yet gotten that far yet: they like to cook, it’s fun, it’s on TV, it’s cool, that’s it.

Whether they are from one camp or the other, if they make it to the next level, they’re going to have to survive in the restaurant business for a long time before they can hope to make an impact on the morality of their peers and the public.

I’m telling you all of this because my monologue mostly addresses the business end of the chain and I wanted you to be sure that you were aware of its primary intent.

Oh, and one more thing, I can already hear some of you asking “But what about the morality of charging $200 for a few duck scraps?” That’s like asking an artist to justify the price tag on a painting relative to the cost of the paint. You’re not paying for the paint – you’re paying for the work created from the paint using years of hard earned, accumulated skill.

Wow, that took more words than I wanted to use…start the video, Bob.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

The best sauce in the world is hunger.

[Hunger Art]Total Utilization of a Duck

by Mike Pardus

In keeping with our inter-blog discussion on consomme and total utility of food products, I offer this video series in 3 parts (again, YouTube limitations).

The action moves pretty quickly and assumes that you already know how to “break down” a bird. If there’s interest, I’ll shoot a “Poultry Butchering 101” video later this week.

Oh, before you watch, I’d better explain something.

This demo came out of a discussion about the immorality of wasting food – specifically food that an animal has died to give us. In the video, I talk a lot about total utility and avoidance of waste from a purely financial perspective. Some of my students are at the cutting edge of the sustainable food movement and understand the morality perfectly well while others haven’t yet gotten that far yet: they like to cook, it’s fun, it’s on TV, it’s cool, that’s it.

Whether they are from one camp or the other, if they make it to the next level, they’re going to have to survive in the restaurant business for a long time before they can hope to make an impact on the morality of their peers and the public.

I’m telling you all of this because my monologue mostly addresses the business end of the chain and I wanted you to be sure that you were aware of its primary intent.

Oh, and one more thing, I can already hear some of you asking “But what about the morality of charging $200 for a few duck scraps?” That’s like asking an artist to justify the price tag on a painting relative to the cost of the paint. You’re not paying for the paint – you’re paying for the work created from the paint using years of hard earned, accumulated skill.

Wow, that took more words than I wanted to use…start the video, Bob.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

The best sauce in the world is hunger.

Mayonnaise Machine

One of the easiest ways to make mayonnaise is in a Cuisinart food processor. I suppose there are other brands that work as well, but I’m not a fraking Consumer Reports reporter and I’m not about to go out and test them all.

The default configuration of the Cusinart (bowl with blade, lid and stomper) is ideally suited to making mayonnaise and any cold emulsion sauce where oil must be “whisked” into a watery suspending medium. (It is also great for water-in-oil emulsions.) What makes this machine such an effective and, I should add, convenient instrument of emulsification, is the broad and rapidly spinning blade that hugely increases the surface area upon which the oil is broken into droplets and the means by which the oil is delivered to the blade.

Note the hole in the bottom of the stomper in the lower-right hand corner of the photo below.

The Machine From mayo

That hole is there for at least two reasons:

1. It helps to prevent stomper from creating a vacuum and getting stuck when you try to remove it
2. It allows you to use the stomper to dribble a liquid substance (such as oil) into another substance (such as egg) without having to stand there wondering why you needed to go to school to find work as a statue.

From mayo

The Cuisinart is not great for making less than 8 ounces of mayonnaise, and I use it only when I need at least a quart. I use a stand-mixer when I need to make much more than a quart, and for smaller amounts the best machine is an immersion blender (or blender-on-a-stick, if you prefer) or you can use a whisk and bowl. However, none of these let you walk away from them while the oil is being introduced.

Here is a slideshow that shows me (my hands really) making mayonnaise at work this Saturday past. I’ll anticipate at least one question about the recipe by saying that I often use whole eggs rather than yolks alone because it produces a lighter bodied and flavored sauce which I prefer for many preparations involving raw vegetables. The mayonnaise you see being constructed in the slide show was being made for dressing a chicken salad.

The best sauce in the world is hunger.

Mayonnaise Machine

One of the easiest ways to make mayonnaise is in a Cuisinart food processor. I suppose there are other brands that work as well, but I’m not a fraking Consumer Reports reporter and I’m not about to go out and test them all.

The default configuration of the Cusinart (bowl with blade, lid and stomper) is ideally suited to making mayonnaise and any cold emulsion sauce where oil must be “whisked” into a watery suspending medium. (It is also great for water-in-oil emulsions.) What makes this machine such an effective and, I should add, convenient instrument of emulsification, is the broad and rapidly spinning blade that hugely increases the surface area upon which the oil is broken into droplets and the means by which the oil is delivered to the blade.

Note the hole in the bottom of the stomper in the lower-right hand corner of the photo below.

The Machine From mayo

That hole is there for at least two reasons:

1. It helps to prevent stomper from creating a vacuum and getting stuck when you try to remove it
2. It allows you to use the stomper to dribble a liquid substance (such as oil) into another substance (such as egg) without having to stand there wondering why you needed to go to school to find work as a statue.

From mayo

The Cuisinart is not great for making less than 8 ounces of mayonnaise, and I use it only when I need at least a quart. I use a stand-mixer when I need to make much more than a quart, and for smaller amounts the best machine is an immersion blender (or blender-on-a-stick, if you prefer) or you can use a whisk and bowl. However, none of these let you walk away from them while the oil is being introduced.

Here is a slideshow that shows me (my hands really) making mayonnaise at work this Saturday past. I’ll anticipate at least one question about the recipe by saying that I often use whole eggs rather than yolks alone because it produces a lighter bodied and flavored sauce which I prefer for many preparations involving raw vegetables. The mayonnaise you see being constructed in the slide show was being made for dressing a chicken salad.

The best sauce in the world is hunger.

Beef Consomme – The Movie

From Consomme Demo

by Mike Pardus

A lot of chatter about making consomme on Ruhlman’s site this week and some confusion I’d like to clear up. Making consomme is not difficult, but attention must be paid, rituals observed, and rules followed. Apparently, seeking clarity is part of the human condition. Remember: it’s the journey toward clarity that’s important, it teaches us so much.

The video is in two parts – YouTube couldn’t swallow it whole. Please understand that, while shot at the CIA, it was done in one take, by me, using a small, hand held camera. The quality (or lack there-of) does not represent the standards of official CIA video productions.

Here’s the Basic formula to yield 1 gallon:

6 quarts white beef stock ( chicken stock will do)
3# very lean ground beef(or chicken) – I prefer heart meat
1# standard mirepoix, chopped fine
12 egg whites, lightly frothed
1 small onion brulee
10-12 oz fresh tomatoes (Use canned or tomato pure in the winter)

Consomme, The Movie, Part Une: The Journey Begins

Consomme, Part Deux: Finding Clarity

The best sauce in the world is hunger.

Beef Consomme – The Movie

From Consomme Demo

by Mike Pardus

A lot of chatter about making consomme on Ruhlman’s site this week and some confusion I’d like to clear up. Making consomme is not difficult, but attention must be paid, rituals observed, and rules followed. Apparently, seeking clarity is part of the human condition. Remember: it’s the journey toward clarity that’s important, it teaches us so much.

The video is in two parts – YouTube couldn’t swallow it whole. Please understand that, while shot at the CIA, it was done in one take, by me, using a small, hand held camera. The quality (or lack there-of) does not represent the standards of official CIA video productions.

Here’s the Basic formula to yield 1 gallon:

6 quarts white beef stock ( chicken stock will do)
3# very lean ground beef(or chicken) – I prefer heart meat
1# standard mirepoix, chopped fine
12 egg whites, lightly frothed
1 small onion brulee
10-12 oz fresh tomatoes (Use canned or tomato pure in the winter)

Consomme, The Movie, Part Une: The Journey Begins

Consomme, Part Deux: Finding Clarity

The best sauce in the world is hunger.

Upscale NYC Market Charges ‘Energy Surcharge’

Eli Zabar has decided to provoke his customers to think about about how the high cost of oil is affecting food prices by adding 1.8 % to the cost of whatever they purchase. It doesn’t get much dumber than this folks. On the other hand, I suppose Eli might have recruited Al Gore to follow customers as they shop and point out how much the production of every loaf of bread and wheel of cheese contributes to global warming.

Upscale NYC Market Charges ‘Energy Surcharge’

The best sauce in the world is hunger.

Rocco Dispirito Dances with Absurdity

I think Rocco Dispirito needs a new publicity agent. You know the kind I mean: an agent who will not let him take on work that actually has something to do with who he is (a chef) and not make him look foolish.

Beginning with his embarrassingly awful reality show “The Restaurant” RD’s media work has been so terrible that it only shows up on my radar screen when it is so bad that I cannot ignore it. The last time I paid any attention to him he was endorsing cat food. Then this morning, the news that he is going to be on “Dancing with the Stars” showed up in my inbox.

I’m sorry, I am not making this up. Now I’m begging to wish I did not write this.

The best sauce in the world is hunger.

Rocco Dispirito Dances with Absurdity

I think Rocco Dispirito needs a new publicity agent. You know the kind I mean: an agent who will not let him take on work that actually has something to do with who he is (a chef) and not make him look foolish.

Beginning with his embarrassingly awful reality show “The Restaurant” RD’s media work has been so terrible that it only shows up on my radar screen when it is so bad that I cannot ignore it. The last time I paid any attention to him he was endorsing cat food. Then this morning, the news that he is going to be on “Dancing with the Stars” showed up in my inbox.

I’m sorry, I am not making this up. Now I’m begging to wish I did not write this.

The best sauce in the world is hunger.

Outstanding in the Field

From Out Standing in the Field Event 2008

From Outstanding in the Field Menu

Melissa Kelly is a big name- James Beard Award winning chef, owner of Primo in Rockland, Maine; a 2nd Primo in Orlando; a 3rd in Tucson- she’s a “Celebrity Chef” in every sense of the term.

But in our house, she’s best know for hiring Penny and Samantha – two of my daughter’s favorite baby sitters. Sierra, my daughter, won’t even let me think about hiring sitters who are not aspiring chefs. If you can’t talk about how may covers you did on Saturday night or compare notes for working a wood fired oven, you’re not sitter material. Period. So, Melissa Kelly is a big name in our house because she hires Sierra’s “ Big sisters”.

There’s another important name in our house – Anita Eisenhauer, Chef Instructor at the CIA and the woman Sierra chose to interview for her third grade project on “Influential Women”.

So, when Anita and Melissa teamed up with Jim Denevan and his Outstanding in the Field project to bring a “farm to fork” event to the Hudson Valley, and they invited Sierra and I to help prep and then attend the dinner as guests…well, Sunday was booked.

It was a long day – we got up early to make ginger-peach muffins to bring to the Chefs, helped prep at the CIA, then changed cloths and drove up to Greig Farm in Red Hook, NY to sit at a table for 120 set in a cornfield and enjoy a bountiful feast in a beautiful place under a clear sky with a full harvest moon rising.

And it was a fantastic day- I got to see my students in a full blown display of hard work fueled by passion; I got to watch, help, and hang out with good friends and colleagues; I got to witness the logistics of an unlikely, but hugely successful culinary theater production; I got to make new friends and dine with them in a fairy-tale setting; and best of all – I got to watch my little girl watch her heroes prove that strong women doing hard work can make magic. I’m incredibly grateful to Anita and Melissa for that.

The best sauce in the world is hunger.