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Report from Charlotte 2009 Regional Conference
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Several of our members competed in Charlotte
Paul Jenson received a Silver Medal in Hot Foods
Two students from NSCC competed in professional categories
Stephanie Riling competed in Cold Food platter
Stephanie Goss competed in Cake decorating and received a Bronze Medal
Our Chapter also received an Award.
Chapter Achievement Award
ACF Middle Tennessee Chapter; Nashville, Tenn.
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The following chefs were recognized for their achievements:
2009 ACF Southeast Regional Chef of the Year Award Winner
P. Richard Brumm, CEC
Chef de Cuisine
La Gorce Country Club
Miami Beach, Fla.
ACF Greater Miami Chapter Epicurean Club
2009 ACF Southeast Region Chef Educator of the Year Winner
David Weir, CEC, CCE
Associate Professor
Daytona State College
Daytona Beach, Fla.
ACF Central Florida Chapter
2009 ACF Southeast Region Chef Professionalism Award Winner
Edmund Chinners, CEC, CCA
Operations Manager
Sodexo
Columbia, S.C.
ACF Midlands Chapter
2009 ACF Southeast Region Hermann G. Rusch Chef’s Achievement Award Winner
Wolfgang Bierer, CMPC, CEC, CCE, AAC
Corporate Executive Chef, Retired
Nestlé Professional
Cleveland
ACF Chefs of the Low Country
2009 ACF Southeast Region Pastry Chef of the Year Award Winner
Heather Hurlbert
Executive Pastry Chef
Cherokee Town & Country Club
Atlanta
ACF Greater Atlanta Chapter Inc.
2009 ACF Southeast Region Student Chef of the Year Award Winner
Andrew Addleman II
Sous Chef
Chowders Seafood/River Rocks
Rockledge, Fla.
ACF Space Coast Chapter
2009 ACF Southeast Region Student Team Regional Championship Winner
ACF Western North Carolina Culinary Association; Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, Asheville, N.C.; Michael Aanonsen; Shannon Ginn; Steven Goff; Anna McClintock; and Travis McCloud. The team was coached by Charles deVries, CEPC.
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The Middle Tennessee Chapter Gets a Lesson in Sushi |
Check out the Photo Gallery for the Jan. Meeting
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Unless you are in a culinary school or taking a class somewhere, the opportunity to sit for an hour and learn something new, doesn't come along too often. Well this past January meeting at Glencliff Comprehensive High School was just such an opportunity for our members. Chef Peter Hua- Sushi Chef of Wasabi Sushi Bar in Opryland Hotel was our guest and provided us with a great demonstration.
Making sushi at home is easy to do. Ingredients and equipment can be found at Japanese and Asian foods stores as well as at most large food or grocery stores. Sushi making does requires a small amount of initial practice. You can use these techniques for making the California Rolls or to make other variations with different fillings as sushi rolls are extremely versatile and you can make endless varieties.
As a general rule, Peter recommended that when making sushi at home, use cooked or frozen products. It is not always easy to find very fresh seafood from day-boats. In Japan and China, only deep ocean clean fish are used to make sushi - NO CATFISH!
Peter gave us a very simple list of beginning equipment:
Bamboo sushi-roll mat
Clean cutting board
Sushi knife or very sharp knife
A pack of roasted-seaweed (Nori)
Wood spoon or wood or plastic rice paddle for spreading rice
Plastic wrap
Rice Ingredients:
1 cup rice vinegar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbs salt
8 cups uncooked Japanese medium-grain sushi rice
8½ cups water
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Wash the rice thoroughly - until all milky color is gone- let rice sit in water for 30 minutes. Drain rice in colander and transfer to a heavy pot or Rice Cooker; add water. NOTE: To improve the texture of the rice, after rinsing, let the rice drain 30 minutes in the refrigerator before cooking (put the strainer with the rice in a large bowl to catch the water).If you don't have a rice cooker, place rice and water into a large heavy saucepan over medium-high heat; bring just to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Turn off heat and let rice rest, covered, for 15 additional minutes. When rice is done cooking and resting, transfer to a large bowl; loosen rice grains gently with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon by cutting and folding (do not stir, as this will crush the rice). NOTE: Either use the rice soon after preparing it, or cover it with a damp cloth to keep it moist. Do not refrigerate the cooked rice. Sprinkle the cooled rice vinegar mixture over the rice, mixing together as you sprinkle (add enough dressing to coat the rice but not make it damp - you may not need to use all the vinegar dressing). Let cool - do not refrigerate.
Sushi Ingredients for the Crazy Ali roll:
Large cucumber
2 to 3 avocados
tempura shrimp
sushi nori (seaweed in squares)
crab meat or imitation crab sticks
Chinese hot sauce
Avocado |
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Lay the Bamboo sushi-roll mat on a cutting board with bamboo strips going horizontally from you.
Place a sheet of plastic wrap on top of the bamboo mat . Place the Roasted-Seaweed (Nori) (shiny side down) on top of the plastic wrap.
Spread a thin layer, 3/4 to 1 cup, sushi rice over 3/4 of the nori leaving approximately one inch of uncovered nori at each end Note: It helps to wet your fingers with cold water when you are patting the rice onto the nori.
Lifting with the bottom plastic wrap, turn over the nori/rice sheet onto the bamboo rolling mat.
Arrange strips of avocado, cucumber, tempura shrimp and a line of chili sauce along the center of the rice; top with crab meat.
Placing your fingers on the ingredients, carefully bring the bottom end of the rolling mat and the plastic wrap up and over the ingredients (tucking the end of the nori to start a roll). Pull back the rolling mat and plastic wrap, as necessary, so it does not get rolled into the sushi. NOTE: Roll tightly with firm pressure.
Continue rolling the sushi and pulling back the rolling mat and plastic wrap, as necessary, until you have approximately 1 to 2 inches of the top of the nori showing. Rub a small amount of cold water on the edge of the nori and bring the nori around so that it completes the sushi roll.
Gently squeeze the rolling mat around the sushi roll until it is firm and forms an even roll (be carefuly not to squeeze too hard, as you may crush the ingredients or squeezed them out).
Lay a thin slice of avocado along the top of the roll and gently using the bamboo roller press the avocado to form a tight coating.
Carefully slice the sushi roll - get 6 pieces from this roll.
Chef Hua garnished the top of each Crazy Ali Roll with a little red caviar and served on a platter with Wasabi (Japanese horseradish),
Soy Sauce, and
Pickled Ginger
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| Sushi Dining Etiquette
At most sushi bars, the waitress will offer a hot towel to wash your hands so you can pick up sushi with clean fingers. At home use hot washcloths.
With your Sushi order, you will be served some pickled ginger, a small mound of wasabi, and soy sauce. Eat a slice of pickled ginger after each variety of sushi to cleanse your palate. It is not proper to mix the wasabi with the soy sauce.
Sushi is meant to be finger food, quick and tasty. It is preferable to eat sushi with ones hands rather than with chopsticks, but both ways are acceptable in America.
Eat the whole sushi roll at once. It is not appropriate to eat part of a piece of sushi and place the other piece back on a plate. Once you have picked something up you should eat all of it.
Do not dip the rice portion of the sushi pieces into the Soy sauce as it becomes too moist and can cause sushi to fall apart. Simply dip the topping or the seaweed (Nori) in the soy sauce before eating.
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Cooking Wild With Jeff Fisher & Friends
Fisher to host dinner benefiting Second Harvest Food Bank |
The organizer and creator of this event is an active member of the MTC-ACF, Mark Rubin, Director of the Second Harvest Culinary Center. Other members include Robert Siegel, Melissa Linkenhoker, Claudette Patterson, Cathy Hoormann
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| NASHVILLE, TN, October 14, 2009 — Titans head coach Jeff Fisher hosted his 3nd Annual “Cooking Wild with Jeff Fisher & Friends” on Monday evening, October 14th , at the Culinary Arts Center at Second Harvest Food Bank, the beneficiary of event. Just a few days after the season kicked off, Fisher found time to raise funds for the neighbor non-profit, located just a few blocks away from Baptist Sports Park. |
Head coach Jeff Fisher |
The one-of-a-kind culinary event featured Coach Fisher as he teamed with top local professional chefs to produce a five course “Tennessee grown” meal for patrons. The talented chefs that created the amazing culinary experience for the intimate VIP crowd included Chef Mark Rubin of Second Harvest, Chef Brain Uhl from Cabana, Chef Guerry McComas of Yellow Porch, Chef Erica Thompson of Flyte, Chef Hal Holden-Bache of Eastland Cafe and Chef Nancy Vienneau along with support from Robert Seigel, and Cathy Hoormann.
The evening began with a cocktail reception and silent auction where guests mingled and visited with Coach Fisher. Then, the Wild Game Dinner was a culinary delight of exotic food and fine-paired wines by Lipman Brothers. The evening also included Coach Fisher sharing some engaging stories during dinner and a rare question and answer session about the upcoming season.
“This is one of my favorite events,” said Fisher of the VIP evening, which is a continuation of his “Jeff Fisher & Friends” charity events. The third year proved to be another successful fundraiser for Second Harvest and will continue to be an annual charity event for “Jeff Fisher & Friends.”
ABOUT SECOND HARVEST
Today, Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee is one of the largest and most comprehensive of over 200 food banks and food distribution centers nationwide. During the 2003/2004 fiscal year, Second Harvest distributed more than 14.5 million pounds of food to hungry men, women, and children. Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee was named 2003 Affiliate of the Year by America's Second Harvest. The Food Bank is proud to share this prestigious award with the thousands of supporters and leaders who have supported Second Harvest over the past 25 years.
Area Chefs Guerry McComas of Yellow Porch, Brian Uhl Cabana Restaurant, Erica Thompson Flyte Restaurant, Coach Fisher, Nancy Vinneau, Robert Siegel, Mark Rubin and the Sous Chef from Yellow Porch
click here to view a beautiful set of images from this event |
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Chef Rock Harper
Cooks For Babies
Hell's Kitchen winner and National Spokesperson for the March of Dimes prepares a tasting menu at Viking Cooking School.
Harper's career began in Washington, where for six years he served as executive chef at B. Smith's at Union Station. In 2007 he won a spot on the third season of "Hell's Kitchen," a Fox reality TV show on which British celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay verbally abuses young talent to "show them the ropes" of the restaurant business. After a brutal battle in the season finale, Harper defeated then-26-year-old nanny and personal chef Bonnie Muirhead. The prize: a $250,000 one-year contract at Terra Verde and B-level celebrity status that won him coveted spots at food festivals around the country. |
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Chef Harper was invited to Nashville to give this demo as a thank-you to the participants of the Chef's Signature Event, and as a small fundraiser. As a National Spokesperson for the MArch of Dimes, he travels the country hosting fundraising events and promoting the March of Dimes Mission.
Representing our Chapter was Michael Osborne, Kim Ingram and Robert Siegel. However, Ozzy had the flu and so Hailey, his wife came to the demo.
Chef Rock made two different dishes, the recipes are reproduced below. Above is a picture of our Secretary, Kim Ingram with chef Rock.
All in all, it was a nice way to say thanks for participating in the Chefs Signature event, and we hope to see you again. |
Pan-seared Branzino with Black Bean and Corn Salsa and Shallots
4 (5-ounce) branzino fillets, skin on
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add enough oil to thinly coat the bottom of the skillet, and let oil heat. Add the fish, skin side down, and sear for 3 minutes. Turn fish with a spatula and cook through, maybe just a few seconds more. Serve over salsa and garnish with roasted shallots.
Black Bean and Corn Salsa
2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
6 ounces frozen corn, thawed
1 large beef steak tomato, seeded and finely diced
1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 clove garlic, chopped 1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
1 cup tomato juice
1 medium red onion, finely diced
1 lime, juiced
Salt and pepper to taste
In a mixing bowl, toss all of the ingredients together and let sit for 1 hour. Roasted Shallots 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 8 large shallots, roughly cut 1 tablespoon fresh thyme Salt pepper Melt butter in an 8 to 10-inch oven-proof saute pan and then add shallots, thyme, salt and pepper. Transfer to oven and roast until lightly browned, stirring often. Remove pan from oven and set aside., The freshness of the fish is the most important element of this dish; if Branzino (Branzini is the plural form) isn't available and at its height of freshness, substitute black bass or red snapper. |
Seared Scallops with Gnocchi and Morel Mushroom Cream
Serves 4
Olive oil, as needed
12 U-10 sea scallops, dry. Be sure connector muscle is removed
Kosher salt and fresh black pepper, as needed
Gnocchi recipe, to follow
Morel Mushroom Cream Sauce, recipe to follow
Heat a non-stick skillet on medium high. Add olive oil. Season scallops with salt and pepper and place in the pan carefully. You may have to do this in two batches in order to get a good sear. You don't want to put all the scallops in the pan at once if the pan isn't large enough, it will coot the pan too much. Continue to cook for about 5 minutes until the scallops are about halfway done. Turn scallops and finish. Place the scallops on a paper towel, to absorb the excess oil.
To assemble dish
Heat gnocchi in boiling water for about three minutes. Drain and toss gnocchi with morel cream in a saute pan until heated. Serve scallops over gnocchi with morel cream sauce. Garnish with Cheese and enjoy!
Gnocchi - FOOD MILL OR RICER NEEDED FOR THIS RECIPE
3 pounds russet or Idaho potatoes
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 egg
1 pinch kosher salt
1/2 cup canola oil - for storing
Boil the whole potatoes until they are soft (about 45 minutes). While still warm, peel and pass through vegetable mill / ricer onto clean cutting board or counter. Set 6 quarts of water to boil in a large pot. Set up ice bath with 8 cups ice and 8 cups water near boiling water.
Make well in center of potatoes and sprinkle all over with flour, using all the flour. Place egg and salt in center of well and using a fork, stir into flour and potatoes, just like making pasta. Once egg is mixed in, bring dough together, kneading gently until a ball is formed. Knead gently another 3-5 minutes until ball is dry to touch.
Roll baseball-sized ball of dough into 3/4-inch diameter dowels and cut dowels into 1-inch long pieces. Flick pieces off of fork or concave side of cheese grater until dowel is finished. Drop these pieces into boiling water and cook until they float (about 1 minute).
Meanwhile, continue with remaining dough, forming dowels, cutting into 1-inch pieces and flicking off of fork. As gnocchi float to top of boiling water, remove them to ice bath. Continue until all have been cooled off. Let sit several minutes in bath and drain from ice and water. Toss with 1/2 cup canola oil and store covered in refrigerator up to 48 hours until ready to serve.
Morel Mushroom Cream Sauce
2 ounces dried moreI. mushrooms
Warm water, enough to cover the mushrooms
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2cup diced shallots
1 quart heavy cream
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper
2 Tablespoons sliced chives
1 Tablespoon thyme leaves
Place the dried morels in a shallow bowl. Pour the warm water over the morels. Allow to sit for at least 1 hour. Strain the morels, reserving the liquid. Cut the rehydrated morels into 1 /4-inch thick rings.
In a saucepan, over medium heat, add the oil. Add the morels and the shallots. Season with salt and pepper. Saute for 6 minutes. Add the reserved and strained morel liquid. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 4 minutes. Add the cream and continue to cook for 6 minutes or until a nice consistency. Season with salt and pepper. Add the herbs, remove from the heat and keep warm. |
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