Chef Rainone to 'share the passion' at Monroe College

(l to r) Monroe College chef Ed Moon with chef Rob Rainone

The Sharing the Passion series at Monroe College School of Hospitality and the Culinary Arts continues on Nov. 19 with Rob Rainone, executive chef of Larchmont Yacht Club, Larchmont, N.Y., presenting and cooking for culinary arts students. He will prepare braised veal cheeks served over black truffle and Parmesan polenta. Rainone, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, previously was sous chef at Roundhill Golf Club in Greenwich, Conn.; Coveleigh Club, Rye, N.Y.; and was banquet chef at caterer and event manager Abigail Kirsch, Tarrytown, N.Y.

The event will take place at 12 p.m. in the Culinary Arts Center. Sharing the Passion is a series of culinary demonstrations this fall, where accomplished chefs share their passion for cooking with the students in Monroe College's Culinary Arts Center.

A tutorial on sautéing mushrooms

by William Franklin, corporate executive chef, Nestlé Professional, and the Mushroom Council

Editor's note: This article was mentioned on page 4 of the November 2009 issue of Chef Educator Today.

Mushrooms are immensely versatile, and every chef should know how to properly sauté them. From a culinary standpoint, one could sauté mushroom varieties every day of the year and create a different dish simply by adding different herb and spice combinations and adjusting the length of the sauté. Sautéed mushrooms can transform and enhance most any dish. They make excellent toppings, garnishes, garnitures or outright protein substitutes. One of my favorite preparations is the classic duxelles. Not only does it really intensify the natural flavors of mushrooms, the finished product has a multitude of great culinary applications. Sautéed mushrooms can be "the center of plate," play a critical support role or simply serve as the background flavor notes that keep customers coming back to the same expertly crafted dish without really knowing why.

Sauté literally means "to jump" in the pan, and keeping this in mind is fundamental to doing it well. Sautéing is typically a quick process using a small amount of fat or oil over relatively high heat. If using sliced mushrooms, one should only sauté small amounts and be careful not to overload the pan. Regardless of the pan size and volume of mushrooms needed, excess steaming or stewing should be your first indication that something isn't quite right. The pan size, amount of available heat, and volume of mushrooms must be balanced if a strong and proper sauté is to be realized. For something different, you may want to try distilling sautéed mushroom and use the resulting intense liqueur in sauces and foams.

Sautéing is my favorite mushroom cooking technique because I believe it best develops their unique, rustic, woodsy notes and highlights their wonderful fifth savory taste, called umami. Basically, umami comes from amino acids, particularly glutamic acid, which is ever present in mushrooms. The reduction of moisture during the sauté highlights these savory properties. Sautéing allows us to bring out that deep, savory, brothy, rich or meaty umami taste sensation. Umami, in some applications, can counterbalance the need for salt, especially where mushrooms are either featured or are simply a minor component.

In the past years, I've noticed a foodservice trend of using mushrooms as a meat alternative. I think this trend is going to stick around because it's easy to do and always proves very satisfying for customers. As Americans become more knowledgeable about food and the number of foodies increases, consumers are also becoming more aware of how mushrooms are used in world and regional cuisines. Capable culinary craftsmen use mushrooms to their advantage. I've noticed consumers are more appreciative of mushroom flavor profiles, and how different cooking techniques can change a mushroom's "mouthfeel." I believe people are also more aware of their nutritional benefits. Mushrooms are the only vegetable or fruit containing vitamin D, and they also have lots of antioxidants.

How to sauté fresh sliced mushrooms

Step 1: Choose the correct pan for the amount of heat and size of mushroom using and select a fat or oil with a fairly high smoking point, such as clarified butter, canola oil, etc.

Step 2: Heat the pan and oil over medium-high heat, and tilt the pan away from yourself, allowing the excess oil to pool into the pan's distant edge, and then add the sliced mushrooms. This technique has saved my fingers numerous times from being burnt with splashing hot oil.

Step 3: Toss the sliced mushrooms to evenly distribute the oil, then leave it alone to sauté. Patience is key in sautéing mushrooms. You have to allow their moisture to reduce in order to properly caramelize them.

Step 4: When the mushrooms have caramelized, they will turn brown around their edges. Toss the pan again when they have reached this point.

Step 5: Add salt, if needed, with your seasonings. It's important to wait until the mushrooms are just finished so you can better judge how much salt or seasonings are needed.

Step 6: Toss the seasoned mushrooms to evenly distribute flavors. Mushrooms are finished sautéing when they have a nice, browned, caramel color.

Cultivated mushroom varieties

• Button mushroom: The most popular mushroom. They represent approximately 90 percent of mushrooms consumed in the United States. Flavor: They have a fairly mild taste and blend well with almost anything.

• Cremini: Also called baby portabellas, these are close cousins to button mushrooms. They have a light tan to rich brown cap and brown gills. Flavor: They have a deeper, earthier flavor than whites with firm flesh.

• Portabella: A matured cremini mushroom. They have tan or brown caps and measure up to 6 inches in diameter. Flavor: They have a bold, meaty texture and flavor.

• Enoki: Tiny, button-shaped caps and long, spindly stems, usually eaten raw or as a garnish. Flavor: They have a delicate sweet flavor and slightly crunchy texture.

• Oyster: Can be gray, brown, pale yellow or blue. Flavor: Oysters have a very delicate flavor and a velvety texture.

• Maitake: Appear rippling and fan-shaped, without caps. They are also called "Hen of the Woods." Flavor: Maitake have a distinctive aroma, woodsy, roasted-chicken taste and a firm, crunchy texture.

• Shiitake: Brown umbrella-shaped caps, ivory gills and curved, woody stems that should be removed. Must be cooked. Shiitake have the highest umami content. Flavor: They have an intense, rich and woodsy flavor with a meaty, chewy texture.
  

Chef William Franklin, CMC, former dean of faculty at the National Cooking Institute, is a member of American Academy of Chefs as well as The Honorable Order of the Golden Toque.

Reese Scholarship to honor former IDDBA exec

The International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association has created the W.T. Reese Memorial Scholarship in honor of Willard T. (Bill) Reese, former executive director of the International Cheese & Deli Association, which was an earlier incarnation of the IDDBA. Two $5,000 scholarships will be awarded each year to students in a food-related major.

Reese helped grow IDDBA from a small Wisconsin-based cheese group to a multi-national association representing cheese, dairy, deli and bakery companies. For more information about the scholarship or the IDDBA, visit www.iddba.org.

HCCC, WomenRising to hold open houses for hospitality training initiative

Hudson County Community College (HCCC) and WomenRising Inc. will hold two open houses to inform prospective participants with the Community Partnerships in Hotel Employment (CPHE) program. CPHE is a free, 16-week job training and placement initiative that is operated by HCCC and WomenRising with funding help from the Jersey City Urban Enterprise Zone program.

The program provides participants with training and placement to entry-level positions in the hospitality industry. The program has classes in introduction to hospitality, basics of customer service, front office, housekeeping, basic computers, life skills training and culinary for hospitality. Participants who successfully complete the 16-week training period will earn 10 credit hours that may be applied towards an associate degree, three industry certifications from the American Hotel and Lodging Association and hands-on experience gained through internships at area hotels. CPHE is open to women and men 18 years of age and older who hold a high school diploma or GED, are willing to work flexible hours and meet the income guidelines for low- or moderate-income households.

The open houses are scheduled for Nov. 17 at 1 p.m. and Nov. 18 at 4 p.m., at WomenRising’s headquarters in Jersey City, N.J. Attendees should bring identification, proof of residence, birth certificate, social security card and proof of income. For more information, visit www.womenrising.org.

Ming Tsai addresses CIA graduates

Chef Ming Tsai, award-winning chef, restaurateur and television host and owner of Blue Ginger restaurant in Wellesley, Mass., delivered the commencement address at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA), Hyde Park, N.Y., on Nov. 6. The James Beard Foundation Best Chef in the Northeast talked to the 62 associate degree recipients about the value of cooking, hospitality and community service over celebrity status.

Chef Ming Tsai addresses CIA graduates

"Emeril [Lagasse], Mario [Batali] and Bobby [Flay] tell me I can have 10 restaurants," he told CIA students. "At the end of the day it is not about how much stuff you can collect. It's about enjoying the ride. We make people happy through food."

Tsai has hosted two television shows, authored three cookbooks and developed a line of eco-friendly bamboo kitchen products. He also is active with groups such as The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network, Chefs for Humanity, the Harvard School of Public Health's Nutrition Roundtable, Big Brothers Big Sisters, The Cam Neely Foundation and The Denis Leary Firefighters Foundation.

Hospitality professor named honorary MSU alumnus

Michael L. Kasavana, National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA) endowed professor in The School of Hospitality Business at Michigan State University (MSU) received the MSU Alumni Association's Honorary Alumni Award at last month's Grand Award Ceremony. The award is granted to individuals who have provided volunteer service to MSU on a local, state, national or international level.

Kasavana, NAMA endowed professor at MSU since 1999, is a member of the Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals International Technology Hall of Fame. He has written several books about the hospitality industry, including Managing Front Office Operations (eighth edition), Menu Engineering (third edition), and Managing Technology in the Hospitality Industry (fifth edition). He also serves as the MSU faculty athletic representative to the Big Ten Conference, the Central Collegiate Hockey Association and the National Collegiate Athletic Association, and also serves as chair of the MSU Athletic Council. The Kasavana family also contributed funding for the Kasavana/Schmidgall Faculty Research Endowment in The School of Hospitality Business.

Teaching students the farm-to-table-to-craft beer connection

by Lacey Griebeler, Chef Educator Today

Editor's note: This article was mentioned on page 6 of the November 2009 issue of Chef Educator Today.

Back in September, I had the chance to attend Denver's Great American Beer Festival (GABF), which included the Farm to Table Pavilion. This inaugural event was organized by the Culinary School of the Rockies (CSR) of Boulder, Colo. The students worked in association with independent craft brewers and local chefs, farmers and ranchers to create beer and food pairings for two groups of 250 select GABF attendees. The students impressed me with their professionalism and their dedication to creating amicable pairings using local ingredients and craft beer.

CSR chef-instructor Adam Duyle was there to oversee the event. Duyle took a few minutes to talk with me on the philosophy behind teaching students about craft beer and local food pairings.

CET: How did this program get started?
Duyle: The program got started basically to recognize the need for a farm to table program, to teach people how to work with a farmer. It's easy to pick up the phone and call a purveyor and have product delivered to you. But what's it like to actually go to a farmer and say, "Hey, what are you growing? What are you doing? What's in season?" There's a difference between ordering a tomato and knowing when to use a tomato. That's what we try and do in the program. You work with that. Colorado is all too often known for its ranchers--we do [produce] here year-round, and that's something we highlight as well. In Colorado, we go a little bigger; we kind of call "local" within the four walls of our state. Technically, the definition is within 100 miles--that's what people have been known to use it as. But we're a little more spread out here in the mountains, so we work with that. It's not beyond the farmer down in Paonia to make the four-hour drive up here [to Boulder]. So we learn to work with them, and we teach [the students] what the flavors are. And in all honestly, through the food you taste here tonight, we're the middle man. We take a delicate cooking process to it. We lightly season it. We don't add 17 seasonings. We don't do multiple cooking processes. We don't have seven different garnishes. Most of these plates will have three flavors; that's it. Highlight what came out of the ground. If you start there, it's hard to mess it up.

CET: What role do local beverages such as craft beer play into this philosophy that you're teaching the students?
Duyle: It's huge because you look at what people are referring to and what's become popular: the carbon footprint. So if you've got the 99 craft breweries that we've got in the state of Colorado here, why are you buying a beer made in Europe and having it shipped over here when you can go right our your back door, talk to your brewer and say, "Hey man, what do you have on tap? What are you making this week? What are you doing?" Perfect story for you: Two weeks ago down in Paonia-Hotchkiss, I was with one of my friends who's a brewer there, and we did a dinner down there. The day after, we went and met a farmer on his farm: Next year, we're growing hops. That's what happens.

CET: How are you teaching the students to taste beer and use that as a catalyst for creating their dishes?
Duyle: Focus on the classic three C's. Either cut it, contrast it or compare it on the palate, to learn what to do with it and where it goes. The big thing for them is I don't want them to learn how to cook a dish; I want them to learn how to present a menu and have it flow through. So what they need to learn is to have it work the whole way through. You don't want to start with a high alcohol [beer] and then go to a low alcohol. You don't want to start with something that's just going to annihilate your palate because you won't taste the rest of the menu. A lot of times in school, you get so focused on one plate, and that's not reality. Reality is you're creating a menu. You're creating an experience. If you can find someone who instead of coming into your restaurant to have dinner, they have an experience, they'll come back.

CET: Do you feel this concept for the Culinary School of the Rockies would work in other parts of the country?
Duyle: Definitely would. It would work anywhere because everywhere you go, you can grow your own food. You can brew your own beer or make your own wine. All it is is learning how to build a relationship instead of picking up a phone.

Culinary School of the Rockies students and chef participants at the 2009 Farm to Table Pavilion at the Great American Beer Festival (photo courtesy of the CSR blog)

GABF Farm to Table Menu (courtesy of CSR's blog):

• Roasted cherry tomato and burrata bruschetta, paired with Steamworks Third Eye Pale Ale
• Terrine of rabbit with pheasant and sour cherry, paired with Boulevard Two Jokers Double Wit
• Chilled corn soup with pepper relish and chile oil, paired with Boulevard Long Strange Tripel
• Cassoulet of rabbit, paired with Deschutes Hop Trip
• Confit of pork with sage and Mmacerated peaches, paired with Deschutes The Dissident
• Duo of bison: roasted rib-eye and braised shortrib with carmelized brussel sprouts, paired with Great Divide Fresh Hop and Yeti Stout
• Confit of lamb with polenta and fig jam, paired with Clipper City Uber Pils and Oxford Organic Amber
• Smoked and braised pork cheek with grits and guacamole, paired with Left Hand Sawtooth Ale and Porter
• Corn cupcake with brown butter honey buttercream, paired with Steamworks Conductor
• Spiced biscuit with peaches, paired with Steamworks Ale Diablo
• Mascarpone cheesecake with peach reduction, paired with Steamworks Ale Diablo