ChefJohnny
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Posts posted by ChefJohnny
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Sorry about the delay in posting. Ive been away for a week. Back to business.
Butternut Squash Farce for angolotti
Just to start off, at the restaurant we cook the butternut sous vide. If you do not have access to a vaccum sealer, I would suggest roasting the squash.
Peel the squash and seed the bulb end. Slice everything into evenly small pieces. Toast some fall spices, i.e. star anise, cinnamon, black pepper, all spice, cloves, etc. and grind in a coffee mill/spice grinder. Combine squash, spices a little sugar and salt and roughly 1/4 cup EVO in a big bowl and coat. Into the vac bag and sous vide until soft. While HOT, spin in blender and pass through a tamis.
Thats the farce. We use it with Fines Herbs pasta in a sage cream with pecans and crispy sage.
Enjoy.
Chef Johnny
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J&W Norfolk and J&W Charleston closed and both merged into one in Rawleigh NC.
Whoops--I'm pretty sure you meant Charlotte, NC--a good distance from Raleigh.
I attended L'academie de Cuisine in Gaithersburg, MD because I didn't want to move for culinary school, I didn't want to spend 2-4 years in culinary school when I already had a degree, and because it was a solid option. I am a big fan of my own alma mater (really, who isn't?), but I think the fit is the most important thing when choosing a school. If I'd been single and hadn't had a mortgage I probably would have tried for FCI since it's only a 9-month program and I would have enjoyed spending a year in NYC working while going to school. But that's not how my life was set up, and really, it hasn't hurt me.
I would seriously consider the length of the program when you choose a school. You've already been in school for, what, 6 years if you have a master's degree? Do you really want to devote another 2-4 and take on that much more debt to go into a poorly-paid field? I was in and out of my program in 1 year with 6 months of paid externship experience, which was great and got my foot in the doors where I needed it to be. I don't personally place much value on an associate's degree for an adult returning student. And nobody has really cared that I don't have an associate's--not even the community college culinary school where I now teach, which only cared that I had a BA plus my L'academie certificate and ServSafe certification.
I hope you can visit any serious contenders. Keep in mind that most students love where they go. You're probably more interested in the school's devotion to supporting its alumni--I have maintained close ties with the alumni director at L'academie, which is a fulfilling relationship that has paid off for me years after completing my certificate.
My mistake. Thanks for the correction.
-Chef Johnny
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--By the way, you know youre from CIA if you spend half your life DEFENDING it against J&W. --
Funny, in the 15 years I've been out I've never once had J&W come up in conversation about serious cooking schools.
Really, then what schools come up (or came up) in conversation?
The most typical ones for me were J&W Providence (no other), CIA, Cordon Bleu (Paris), and FCI, also FPS for pastry. The J&W in Norfolk was an absolute horror story as well as a few of the Cordon Bleu's in America, thats why only the Paris and Providence are noted in my conversations with people.
J&W Norfolk and J&W Charleston closed and both merged into one in Rawleigh NC. I happen to agree that Norfolk was absolutly terrible. Charleston was OK (I did a few competitions there) but the facilities were quite old. J&W NC is all brand new, and quite an incredible campus.
-Chef Johnny
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One more thing, I never intended my original post to "bash" one school. Since J&W wasnt listed in Piperdown's original post, I thought Id add my school to the list. Just so everyone knows, all the crap thats being said now, has nothing to do with me. Im just defending my position on the topic. Thanks.
-Chef Johnny
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A bit biased? What you must understand is that every school has its bunch of kids that are just there because they dont know what to do with their life and their parents want them to go to college. Im sure you dont want another bachelors degree as Chef Johnny might have mentioned since you have your Masters.
Personally you should consider a career in the food field not in the kitchen since you have your masters already. Im only saying this because by now you have probably figured out the money sucks and the hours are long. Are you deadset on attending a culinary school? I wish I had just started workign in the industry and skipped school and the 56 k I now owe.
As to defend the CIA, a culinary school is what you make of it. For those who drool over TFL it might be cool to be taught by a fish cook. Personally I know that the chefs at the CIA NY have Michellin stars, have run major successful restaurants, and have more connectins in the industry than any other culinary school. This is what it comes down too, connections.
The "fish cook" you refer to was just an example of ONE NEW chef that we got. If you want to compare, we also have starred chefs, chefs that have run multiple successful restaurants. Youre comment "we have more connections" crap, you and your buddy Chiantiglace should get some cold hard facts before you go rant.
My $.02
-Chef Johnny
Just curious, what second rate restaurants run by second rate chefs do you work at? Or maybe its a hotel restaurant. I take you both as the "union" type of people. In the lack of interest to make a seperate post, this is directed to yourself as well as Chiantiglace.
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A bit biased? What you must understand is that every school has its bunch of kids that are just there because they dont know what to do with their life and their parents want them to go to college. Im sure you dont want another bachelors degree as Chef Johnny might have mentioned since you have your Masters.
Personally you should consider a career in the food field not in the kitchen since you have your masters already. Im only saying this because by now you have probably figured out the money sucks and the hours are long. Are you deadset on attending a culinary school? I wish I had just started workign in the industry and skipped school and the 56 k I now owe.
As to defend the CIA, a culinary school is what you make of it. For those who drool over TFL it might be cool to be taught by a fish cook. Personally I know that the chefs at the CIA NY have Michellin stars, have run major successful restaurants, and have more connectins in the industry than any other culinary school. This is what it comes down too, connections.
My mistake, I totally missed the whole Masters Degree thing.
-Chef Johnny
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You know your from Johnson and Whales if you spend half your life explaining why you chose Johnson and Whales over CIA. To me that says it all.
You are at the French Laundry no? Well the recent Executive Pastry Chef Francisco Migoya left a little over a year ago to come teach at what school? CIA, thats right. I still remember his opening speech first day of class, he basically guilt tripped everyone in to trying harder because the only reason he was at CIA was because it was the best, and he wanted to be a part of it.
Every single Johnson and Whales graduate I have worked with felt the need to explain to me why they chose Johsnon and Whales after I mention I am going to CIA, or I am CIA. For some reason I never needed to explain myself.
Promote your school all you want, its great, but if your lead promotion is to balance out with the competition (as one from over there might think) then your not helping anyone's decision, you have just turned in political.
Always remember (for everyone), culinary school is just a base, a stepping stone, a starting block (that is if you have not already had one). Culinary school does not make you who you are. I give you an example, Sam Mason and Johnny Iuzzini, one Johnson and Whales and one CIA. They are both friends, incredible at what they do, and if you asked them their advice on school they would tell you school is school and to make sure you get what you need out of it. Trust me, school did not make them, years of pushing harder, studying on their own time, and great mentors made them who they are.
So piper, if you want to check out CIA I have a autobiography/blog you can see it here. I will be posting progression on my externship at The Breakers soon too.
First of all, spell it correctly. Johnson & WALES. Secondly, how does one post about my school, that was not mentioned in the original post, count as "spending half my life explaining..."
You dont have to explain why you chose CIA, because you went to a lesser school. People ask why someone chose a Ferrari. I doubt anyone would care to ask why you chose a Honda Accord.
Its great you have TFL's Pastry chef. The entire time I was at TFL, the only CIA people in the kitchen were from tours from Greystone. Unlike myself, who was invited to come, through hard work and diligence. I have since left TFL, with one of the sous chefs, Ryan Fancher, to open up a new restaurant in Sonoma. With us, we also have The Exec. Pastry BEFORE Francisco.So the only reason you have Francisco, is because Octavio left. So be glad. Of course he is going to give you the whole "CIA is the best, thats why Im here." I dont think he would walk into class the first day and say that its not. Hes paid for that.
By the way, you know youre from CIA if you spend half your life DEFENDING it against J&W.
-Chef Johnny
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Thanks Johnny!
BTW, how do you sauce these veg based agnolotti? A simple herbed butter (like in Piemonte)
or something else?
Youre Very Welcome!
I cant recall off the top of my head what the sauce was for the celery root ango. I will find out tomorrow when I get in the kitchen. As for the others, the basil ango had a tomato butter ( reduced tomato water, then whisked in butter) with crispy basil, the butternut ango has a sage cream with pecans and crispy sage, forest mushroom ango with a duxelle cream, and the carrot ango was simply with a little buerre monte with parsley.
-Chef Johnny
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Celery Root Farce for Agnolotti
Ingredients:
2-3 each Celery root
1 large white onion
1/4# unsalted butter
1 cup Chicken Stock
Cream to cover
8oz Mascarpone
Ground brioche
- Peel the celery root with a knife and chop into an even sized medium dice
- Julienne the onion and sweat in the butter until soft and translucent... NO COLOR
- Add the celery root, stock and enough cream to cover.
- Bring to a boil, reduce to low and cover. Cook until celery root is soft.
- Strain out the cream. Spin the onion/celery root until smooth.
- Add the mascarpone and combine. Add the brioche until the correct consistency is reached.
- Put into piping bag and make some awesome ango!
P.S.- We like to emulsify some white truffle oil into the farce for some added luxery. This was on our Thanksgiving tasting last year.
-Chef Johnny
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Just to add some ideas for farces, we have used celery root, butternut squash, basil, and carrot. If you want some recipes, just say the word.
-Chef Johnny
[EDIT] Sorry about the double post.
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Just to add some ideas for farces, we have used celery root, butternut squash, basil, and carrot. If you want some recipes, just say the word.
-Chef Johnny
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I definitly would not ingest the aromatherapy oils, since im sure they are not fit for consumption. Flavored oils are very easy to make, but usually dont impart much flavor, but that depends on what kind of oil. Most of the time, the oils are used primarily for color. The French Laundry book has some great recipes for oils, too.
-Chef Johnny
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I gotta admit, whenever I do tastings at home, as much as I want to be around the table and such, I always end up spending most of the time in the kitchen. Not that Im complaining, since the kitchen is my second home!
But, the most time I spend at the table is to explain what Ive done and why Ive paired it with ______. I highly admire the home cooks that can pull off a decent tasting menu AND spend some quality time at the table with the guests.
If you want some of my menus, Id be glad to send em if youd like.
-Chef Johnny
[EDIT] And in regards to the plate, I am also a plate-aholic. I go to any lengths necessary to get the perfect plate to compiment my food. Ive spent upwards of $60+ dollars on a single plate from Gumps SF. (If youre from the Bay Area and know what kind of store Gumps is, you can understand. For example, they are one of 2 companies that are allowed to carry Thomas Kellers line of flatware and such.
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I am a recent Johnson & Wales University graduate, in June 05. Maybe Im a bit biased, but I feel the education that I got was top notch. I was accepted to CIA Hyde Park as well, and also toured both campuses. After much thought, research, and consideration, I chose J&W becuase it offered a great all around education, awesome kitchens, great classes and class sizes, and, at the time, the only ACCREDITED bachelors degree in culinary arts.
It was very very hard work to go the full 4 years but totally worth it. You not only get a great education, but also the networking possibilities are endless. The Chef-Instructors there are some world class chefs, hailing from the worlds greatest kitchens, as well as champion competition chefs. Right out of college, I was at The French Laundry, by way of one of my Chef-Instructors, Chef Rolando Robledo, who was the Chef de Poisson at TFL before coming to J&W to teach.
If you really are passionate about doing this, I would HIGHLY consider J&W. Its expensive, but you get what you pay for. Its a world class education that can take across the globe. I went to the Providence RI campus, the first one. Not as beautiful as the CIA campuses, since our money goes to chefs and our kitchens, not groundskeepers. Every year I was there, I was on the Culinary Competition Team, and every year we left the New York Food Show with Gold Medals against CIA.
And my $.02, the CIA are a bunch of kids that talk the talk, but definitly cant walk the walk. Ive been up to the CIA Greystone here in Napa, and its only 1 big kitchen for everything. One big open floor, with a "hot" side and pastry side. Thats it.
J WHAT? J WOO!!! (JWU)
-Chef Johnny
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To be completely honest.... I have no idea? :: scratches head :: Its just the way its always been done. hmmm....
-Chef Johnny
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28 yolks, 2 whole eggs, 1 kilo + 500g AP flour, 1/3 cup milk, 2 tbsp EVO, pinch of salt.
Thats our standard recipe. Granted, that makes ALOT of dough, but break it down and youve got some great pasta!
-Chef Johnny
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I agree. Thats a great demo up there! Good job!
Ive made this things a million times, and once you understand the basic movements and fold overs, its pretty simple. Just dont think about it too much. Roll out the dough, pipe the farce, fold over, crimp with fingers, then cut. No more. This is definitly one of my favorite pastas.
Did you know agnolotti means little pillow in Italian?
-Chef Johhny
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Whats funny is I didnt even notice that Rancho Gordo posted 4 spots above me. lol
-Chef Johnny
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Thanks for the compliment of starting a new thread because of my post! This is actually something I LOVE to do a lot! It's a great way to be creative in quite a simple & cheap way. The thought behind it, at least for me, is to take one PERFECT ingredient, whether an apple, or a carrot, a tomato, bacon, beef, etc., and use it in as many ways as possible. Stretch you mind to the walls.
I like to start with the phases of matter; liquid, solid, and gas, and go from there. Lets take a beautiful heirloom tomato from this past summer. How can I use it as a liquid? Tomato water! How can I use it as a solid? Keep is whole? Maybe punch it into plugs like Michel Bras? Dry it and use it as a chip or grind it into a powder? Can I take the pure essence of a tomato and turn it into a foam or cloud?
This is my thought process when I want to do something like this. it works with basically anything. A little different when it comes to proteins, but you get the point.
"Expand your food by expanding you mind."
-Chef Johnny
[EDIT] BTW, some of my favorite ingredients to do a degustation with are tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, pork, beef, ramps, asparagus, and corn, among others.
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Thats Duck Breast, Maple-Kuri Squash Puree, Pinot Noir Caramel
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We use a great local company here in Napa called Rancho Gordo. They have all kinds of heirloom beans and lthe like. Awesome people. We use them at EdK and we also used them at TFL.
-Chef Johnny
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I highly recommend The French Laundry Cookbook. Although most think that the TFL cookbook is only for seasoned chefs, there are a ton of great things for a novice cook to learn, such as knife cuts and stock and sauce production, etc. Granted, the bulk of the recipes are geared towards more experience chefs, there are so many great recipes that even the most novice can re-create. Take a look, read it though, and go for it.
-Chef Johnny
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I like that! great idea! what dish did you use them in?
t
I called it "Textures of Carrot". It was Carrot Agnolotti (Carrot farce in Fine herbs pasta dough), carrot top puree, carrot foam, and carrot powder. It was a great dish, now that I think about it. Anyway, it was the "pasta" course of a 9 course vegan menu we did a while back.
-Chef Johnny
EDIT : Just wanted to add, that we did make a vegan pasta dough, using egg substitute and soy milk and such. i just figured someone may point that out.
What to do with a jar of black truffles?
in Cooking
Posted
Hache the black truffles and add them at the last second to rissotto with some whipped lemon creme fraiche. Add a little truffle oil before serving. INCREDIBLE. Thats one of the most requested dishes at our restaurant, even when its NOT on the menu.
-Chef Johnny