Knife Skills

It has been brought up to my attention that none of my friends really, really know how to use a knife properly. Now, you wanna know why chef's can do things so much quicker or why Rachael Ray can actually do her meals in 30 minutes? Knife skills. These are the best things to learn for efficiency and speed. When I was in culinary school I never EVER thought that I would be able to dice and chop the way they did on tv. Well, for the first two weeks I walked around with band-aids on all my fingers on the left hand. But slowly I learned. SLOWLY is the key word, don't rush your knife skills. You need to get the technique down first, then comes the speed.
After my 3rd quarter in culinary school I did a 6 month internship at one of the biggest catering companies on the North Shore, in Chicago. There I had no choice but learn how to be quick with my knife. All the guys were dicing and chopping faster than I had ever seen!

On my first day I saw a guy chopping mushrooms super fast, like a machine! I told the sous chef that I wanted to learn how to do that. He threw a 5 pound box of criminis at me and said, "I guarantee you by the end of the day you will be able to chop like that." That was at 8am, by 5pm and the end of my day, I knew how to chop like that. I ran up to my sous chef before I left and I said,
"Hey! How did you know I would be able to do that by the end of the day?"
"Easy," he said, "When you need to get something done, your body and mind will automatically figure out the fastest and most efficient way to do it! Tommorrow, we start on small dicing onions."

That 6 month experience was what put me ahead of everyone else in my class when it came to knife speed. My speed was always there unfortunately, my precision sucked! I had a chef that would take out a ruler and measure my small dice (brunois) and matchsticks (battonets), out of a 10 I usually got a 6, and I was very happy with that! My thought process was that you don't need to have perfect cubes if no one is really looking at them, it's not like my goal was to work at a French 6 star restaurant. I just needed speed and to get my veggies to the right size, not the right shape.

At my culinary internship, I learned several tips to help my knife skills. There are a few rules that one should do by in order to make their knife work for them.

1. Make sure your knife feels like a continuation of your hand. Your knife should feel very comfortable in your hand. If it is too long or too heavy it is not your knife. I am 5 foot 4 and I have realitively long limbs, but still my chef's knife is only 8 inches. It feels light and comfortable in my hands, the way a knife should feel.
2. Your knife does NOT have to be expensive, just comfortable and SHARP! Having a sharp knife is the best thing you can do for yourself. Belive me I have cut myself with a dull knife and a sharp knife, dull cuts hurt much more. A sharp knife will make your cutting fast, precise and easy. * I will say that I am a bit of a knife snob. But that is only because I bought my knives as an investment. They were a gift to myself when I graduated school and after 4 years they are still in perfect condition. I prefer to use Global Knives. They are very light and are made out of one piece instead of 2 (one for the handle and one for the blade). They stay sharp very long because of the special angle on the blade. *
3. GO SLOW. Learn the proper hand positioning and rocking motion of the knife first. Start practicing on onions and potatoes. Then move on to carrots and celery. All these veggies are cheap and always in need in your recipes! After that you can move onto other vegetables. The key is to really use your knife skills whenever possible. The more you use them, the more comfortable you will be with your knife. In the beginning it was very difficult for me to hold my knife right. It felt wrong and very uncomfortable. But over time I got used to it and now it is second nature. Just be patient with yourself. It can take months to get used to it. But be patient and practice often!

How Did This Happen??? Adventures and Battles with My Diet

Ok so I vowed to start eating really healthy and less in the new year. I am standing up in a wedding, attending another wedding and have my own wedding at the end of the year! So I have to be in the best shape!!! As of Sunday, I really tried to cut down my daily food intake as well as monitor the quality of it. Now before I can take this any further let me explain something. I love meat! I love chicken, fish, beef, pork, burgers, turkey burgers, chicken wings, ribs. I am not a veggie lover by any means. Becoming a vegetarian was NEVER my intention! But it happened! Totally, completely, accidentally! I didn't even realize it until yesterday night! I have had my protein intake with beans and hummus and stuff...but I just found that it was absolutely amazing that I was not craving meat! Then it hit me! Maybe I crave it all the time because I consume it too much! I haven't craved it at all! I have craved carbs though, which is ok, as long as it's the good carbs :)
I must say I am actually very happy and excited about this! I think it's a good chance for me to change what my diet wants and craves! Yeay!!!!
I will keep posting on my challanges and success with this! It may even inspire me to create vegetarian dishes! I will still be cooking meat though, only because my fiance' needs it.

Roasted Eggplant Spread/Salad Russian Style

It is not secret that I did not eat much as a child. If I did eat, then it was usually only my mother's food. I never ate at any one's house or restaurant. Being the picky eater that I was (and am) I was always afraid that other people would try and slip something in my food that I didn't like...and then I would start gagging at the table...and make a scene...etc etc etc. So my mother quickly learned that I was best fed with food from her kitchen and her hands.
I didn't like a lot of veggies as a kid especially things like eggplant and zucchini. However, this dish...oooh it makes me feel all good and warm inside. I don't know what it is? My mother made it for me when I was a bit older. It has lots of juicy tomatoes in it and nice fresh olive oil. *In Russia, my mother used to make it with sunflower oil which gave it a very authentic flavor.*

For the past few nights, this has been my dinner. I spread this salad/spread on a few pieces of toasted whole grain bread. Sometimes when I am being really bad, I will do it on good Russian "grey bread" or the American equivalent, sourdough bread.
Those simple flavors are sometimes all that I need...


Roasted Eggplant Spread

3 large eggplants
1 tomato
1/2 an onion
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste


1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Wash and dry your eggplants well. Place them on a baking sheet or roasting pan.
3. Poke some holes in the eggplants with a fork to give the steam somewhere to go.
4. Pour some oil on top of the eggplants so that they don't dry up in the oven.
5. Place in the oven and roast for about 45 minutes. Or until they look deflated, like the above picture.
6. Place them in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap so that they can "steam". This process will make the removal of the skin much easier.
7. If you have time, let the eggplants cool, it will be easier to handle them while removing the skin. If you are like me and you don't have time, then just put on some rubber gloves and work fast!
8. Remove the skin and cut of the top stem. Drop the cleaned eggplants into a colander and leave to drain for about 10 minutes. Usually, if I haven't had time to cool them, I place a bowl underneath the colander and stick it in the freezer. That way it drains and cools at the same time!
9. Place the eggplants on a large cutting board and run your chefs knife through it a couple times. Just rock your knife back and forth to create a paste. Place in a bowl and smash up a bit more with a spoon, just so that it's one "paste".
10. Chop up your tomato and onion finely. Add to the eggplant mixture along with salt, pepper and good extra virgin olive oil.
11. Spread on some good bread or even crackers and enjoy!

Greek Chicken with Potatoes

There was always this one Greek place that my parents and I used to go to when I was a kid. When you walked in, you could see those chickens rotating on the rotisserie...mmmm. As soon as I saw those juicy chickens I instantly knew what my order would be: Greek Chicken with herbed rice and potatoes. After culinary school I vowed to recreate the dish and used all my culinary skills to do so. I would sear the chicken and the potatoes, carefully browning on each side, then stuck it in an oven to finish cooking. Unfortunately, I failed, time after time...It tasted good...just not what I remembered. The potatoes were just not quite right. So after awhile I just thought that it's a Greek thing and I should leave it at that...
Until one day when I was getting my hair done at my hair stylist's house, who happens to be Greek. I smelled that familiar aroma in the air...earthy oregano, zesty lemon...I recognized it right away and said to her,
"Hey is your mom making Greek Chicken with potatoes?"
"Yup, you want some?"
"Bring it on!"
One taste of her mom's chicken and I knew I must have the recipe. It was just as I remembered it, except BETTER!
"How did you make this?" I asked her mom.
With her perfect Greek authentic accent, she explained the recipe to me. All this time, I was making it so complicated! In reality it could not have been simpler!
Stick it all in one pan and roast in its own juices with a bit of chicken broth. That's it! No searing and frying, just one pan! That very night I went home and made it...It was delicious, juicy, lemony and exactly as I had remembered it.
Just goes to show you...simplicity really is key :)

Greek Lemon Chicken and Potatoes

1 fryer chicken, cut up into pieces
2 whole lemons, zested and juiced
3 tablespoons of fresh oregano, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, sliced
5 russet potaoes, peeled and cut into quarters
2 cups chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

1. Pour olive oil in the bottom of a bakin pan to prevent chicken and potatoes from sticking.
*I used a foil pan so that clean up was a breeze! You also want to make sure that the pan is big enough to give the potatoes room. They should not be crowded, or else they will not develop the right flavors.*
2. Place the potatoes and chicken pieces in the pan and cover them well with all the zest, lemon juice and oregano. I also threw in the zested and juiced lemons in there. They make for a great presentation when they get caramalized in the oven.
3. Let the chicken and potatoes stand for at least 1 hour, just so the flavors get a chance to develop in the chicken.

4. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.
5. Place chicken and potatoes in the oven for 30 minutes. This will allow a nice crust to form on the chicken and give the potatoes a chance to brown up.
6. After the 30 minutes, turn down the temperature to 375 degrees and pour in the chicken stock and let it go nice and slow. You may need to rotate the potatoes once in awhile to make sure that they are browning up and softening up on all sides.
*The point of the chicken stock is to partially braise the potatoes. They should about half-way up the potatoes. You want them to have a golden color, but still be nice and soft in the middle. If some of the liquid has evaporated, feel free to add more stock or water.*
7. The chicken will be done when the juices run clear. The potatoes sometimes take longer than the chicken. I took my chicken out after about an hour, the potatoes still cooked for 20 more minutes, just until they could easily be broken with a fork.

*The potatoes should look golden brown on the outside and when you break them in half they will be white in the center, and golden yellow all around the center! The yellow comes from the lemon and chicken juices. Sometimes when I really want to impress the guests, I add a bit of turmeric to the cooking liquid, it turns them a nice bright yellow and is a great trick for rice as well. People will think it's saffron!"

An Oldie But a Goodie: Spaghetti and Meatballs

Ahhh spaghetti and meatballs, one of my all time faves! I swear, I always said that if I wasn't Russian I would be Italian! I love Italian food! Whether it's traditional Italian or Italian American, like this particular dish is, I can't get enough!
It's funny that in America we serve spaghetti with meatballs. In a traditional Italian family you would never see that happen. Here is a bit of a history lesson: When Italians emigrated to America, they never ate the two together. Sure they ate pasta and they ate meatballs, but mixing the two together did not start until they started serving it to a non-Italian clientele in some of the restaurants they opened in their communities. Italy is one of the few countries who enjoys their pasta or rice separate from their protein. Italians found that their other clientele needed to have both the protein and the starch together...and so Bada Bing Bada Boom Spaghetti and Meatballs were born!
Clearly, this is not one of the most healthiest dishes out there. However, after careful research and development in my own kitchen, I have found ways to keep it healthier and not sacrifice any of the flavor. I have also discovered a much quicker way to make this hearty meal. I used to talk to all the Italians I knew and get their mom's and grandma's recipes for spaghetti and meatballs and I cooked all day, just like the real Italian grandmothers. After I finished scrubbing the kitchen from all the tomato sauce splatters, I thought, "There must be another way." And there was! Of coarse with the help of Trader Joes Marinara I was able to create a wonderful meal in a little over an hour! I'm sure that there is an Italian grandmother right now (or her family) reading this and shaking her head in horror. Relax grandma, I'm sure your sauce beats mine any day, but this definitely comes in at a close second.


Meatballs

2 pounds ground beef, 80% lean
5 egg whites
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 whole onion, finely diced
1 large handful of Italian parsley, chopped
plenty of salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil for cooking

Sauce
1 can of Trader Joes Tuscan Marinara Sauce
1 whole onion, chopped
5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
8 large basil leaves, torn by hand into sauce
1 pound of whole wheat spaghetti

*By using whole wheat spaghetti and lean beef I was really able to cut down on the calories. Now they have this awesome pasta at Trader Joe's with flax seed in it! So I can almost feel good about eating this meal...almost.*

1. Combine all the ingredients except olive oil in a bowl and mix well with hands.

2. Pour oil into a deep and preferably wide pot; let oil get hot.
3. One at a time, roll the meatballs into about 3 inch balls and drop them into the pot. Be careful not to crowd the pan. Continue doing so in batches until all meatballs have been browned on each side.
4. Remove all the meatballs on to another plate.
5. Turn down the heat to medium and add onion to pan. Toss onion with oil. Continue cooking for about 15 minutes.
6. Turn down the heat and add the garlic and the tomato sauce. Let it cook for about 30 minutes.
8. Boil a pot of salted water for the spaghetti.
7. Add in meatballs and juices. Continue cooking until meatballs are cooked through and moist, about 20 minutes.
8. Remove meatballs and add basil leaves and spaghetti to sauce. Toss to coat and pour extra sauce on meatballs and spaghetti!


*This sauce is a bit chunkier, if you prefer it smooth you can just smooth it out a bit with a stick blender.*