#tdcamp

Anything that I want to say seems so cliché but it’s all true and at the same time not really accurate.  My life is forever changed because of this experience.  I have met some amazing people, tasted some incredible food, and learned so much more than I could ever have anticipated. 

I have a book full or recipes and notes so I can go back and re-live every day and try to figure out what I really took away from it.  I figure this will be the only reasonable way for me to get through the inevitable post-camp depression.  That, and trying the recipes that I’ve learned.  :)

Camp started like every other, with the crew outside grilling up something delicious.  Today it was Bavarian meats and pretzels.  We were treated to smoked trout, blood sausage, ham, and pork chops.  At the end of the table was a selection of various sauces and mustards, and Nutella.  At first I was confused thinking maybe it was some delicacy where you put Nutella on your ham.  Then I realized that it was for the pretzels.  Silly me. 

Our first chef was John Sundstrom from Lark.  He kicked things off by showing us how to clean a geoduck and then making a lovely ceviche.  I can’t actually remember if I’ve ever had geoduck before, but this was lovely.  Tender, just the right amount of clamminess with a hint of sweetness. 

We then learned how to properly cook a port tenderloin.  Silver skin can stay on, and it should be cooked to about 155 F to get it to a perfect medium rare.  Yes, medium rare pork.  There was a little debate about whether or not this was ok, and the general consensus is that the Health Department is out of touch and too restrictive.  Go figure.

We finished off with John’s take on Summer Pudding – a traditional English dish.  Crunchy brioche with summer berries and whipped cream.  Simple, elegant, perfect.  He taught us two methods for making a canelle – Tom did not see the purpose of making whipped cream into that particular shape.  I tend to agree.  I would love to see dessert with a cube of whipped cream.  Now THAT would be visually pleasing and very interesting.

Even though he spilled the beans and told us he would be coming at the happy hour on Tuesday, it was a treat to see Jason Franey from Canlis.  Our previous demonstrator’s food was simple and elegant, Jason’s was complicated and elegant, just what you would expect from the 5th chef to helm Canlis in 65 years. 

He taught us how to make a peach gazpacho, little did we know that cold soups would be a theme for today.  That and using a Vita Mix blender.  I’ll need an entire post dedicated to the gadgetry that was discussed at camp.  You should get excited about that post.  I know I am.  He then showed us all how to peel tomatoes (poorly) and stuff and wrap a chicken breast to get it ready to sous vide.  Complicated elegance.

Up next was one of my faves – Miles Janes from Dot’s Delicatessen.  A friend of mine took me there a while back and I was oh so happy to see so many innards in one place!  I asked for the works and Miles was kind enough to give me a little bit of everything to try.  Incredible.  When I saw that he would be there I was hoping I’d learn the secret to his liver mousse or his terrines.  I have to admit that I was a little disappointed when I saw we were making cold soup and steak.  That quickly disappeared. 

He showed us how to make a chilled tomato soup that was so different in technique from Jason’s peach gazpacho.  Both soups were souptastically delicious.  It’s just so fascinating to see how different chefs approach a similar dish. 

We did get to eat some of Miles’ cured salmon – it was so simple and so perfect.  It tasted almost raw with just a hint of smoke and swimming in sorrel sauce.  It was while we were making this sauce that we learned that parsley – when blanched to the point of softness – can be used as a natural food coloring.  So cool. 

For his last dish, grass fed cote de beouf which is fancy for an fucking incredible rib eye steak.  We learned about what it takes to make demi glace (a shit ton of beef broth) and the appropriate amount of time that meat should rest before serving (about half the cooking time).  The fancy steak was nestled in a red wine/demi glace sauce and decorated with butter sautéed chanterelles.  It was all the flavors you want when you are enjoying a steak with a super fancy name.

Next we switched it up a bit and learned about how to be a moonshiner from Ben Capdevielle from Captive Spirits Distillery.  They make the Big Gin that I won earlier in the week for getting  trivial question right.  He showed us what you need to get started, it’s actually pretty inexpensive and simple.  He talked to us about how to flavor liquor, where to go to get supplies, and where to find some fun recipes to try.  So fun.

Our very last demonstration was from Ethan Stowell.  The final final as everyone kept saying.  By this time the campers were well versed in making fresh ricotta, the benefits and joy of using a Vita Mix blender, and how to maintain digestive excellence.  Apparently an unofficial theme always emerges at camp, these were ours.  Fitting with our unofficial theme, he kicked it off by making ricotta for his Fresh Ricotta Bruschetta with pine nut salsa verde.  His version of ricotta involved whole milk and buttermilk to create the curds. He suggested we use the leftover whey to make a creamy polenta.

He followed up with his chilled English Pea soup with a poached duck egg.  We learned that for a puree, you should cook it fast and cool it fast while making sure to cook all the ingredients gently (no charring, or scorching).  He used Pellegrino to make his soup, not for any particular reason.  That’s just how he rolls.  Love that.   

The final final dish was steamed clams with guanciale & sorrel.  For those of you who don’t know, guanciale is air dried, cured pork jowels.  MMMMMM yummy pig parts.  For this dish we learned that ES doesn’t believe in chopping garlic, he slices instead.  He says that chopping the garlic releases too much of the negative garlic flavors.  Negative flavors is a term that I learned here at camp, it’s a nicer way of saying the icky parts of some ingredient. 

And there it was.  The last demo, the last chef, the last culinary master who will teach us at camp.  We barely had time to process this fact before we were shuffled off into another charter bus for field trip #2.  This time, Herschell entertained us with some “bus songs” aka 80’s sitcom theme songs.  Sally and I ROCKED the Fresh Prince.  Just sayin.

We were all handed sunglasses with tags on them.  Mine were red and my tag said “Daisy Duke.”   Turns out, our tags indicated what boat we would be on for our ride across Lake Union!!!  Our destination?  Westward – Josh Henderson’s newest venture, still under construction!  We were served freshly shucked oysters and hot dogs from the hot dog pontoon boat.  Perfect.  We got a tour of the new space that will become an oyster/seafood bar and grocery.  I can’t wait to go!  Then we were herded back onto the boats – Desi was the captain of the Daisy Duke.  Clearly I was on the best boat.  :)

Everyone was trying to speculate what the theme of the final final dinner would be.  Nobody guessed that it would be Tom’s Cuisine of China!  When we got back to the Palace Ballroom, the venue was transformed (thanks to the VERY hard work of the incredible staff).  Red lanterns, Buddha beers, and platters of duck decorated the room.  At the front where the demo kitchen once stood, was now Tanaka’s Karaoke Garden.  LOVE. 

I didn't get a lot of sleep last night.  I was up late writing my Day 3 summary because I knew I needed to get it all down before I went to sleep otherwise I wouldn't be able to sleep at all.  When my carpool buddy Sally picked me up, I was definitely sub-human.  We made our now regular coffee stop at Cloud City and made our way to Camp.  As we were walking towards the Palace Ballroom, we could see the crew and campers outside making their way through the breakfast line.  It was Ranch Style Breakfast day.

On the grill was what I can only describe as a brontosaurus steak.  It looked like something that Fred Flintstone would have eaten.  I was immediately reminded of the scene in The Great Outdoors when John Candy takes the steak challenge.  "Eat the gristle boy!!!"  This is just how my brain rolls.  

Alongside the slices of the Brontosaur that was drizzled in homemade BBQ sauce, we were treated to buttered and grilled Texas Toast, fluffy scrambled eggs, and cowboy beans.  AHmAHzing.  Just what I needed to help me suck down my much needed 4 shot vanilla latte.  

If I was sub-human en route to camp, the grill, the smells, the food, and of course the people were fueling me with energy.  Suddenly my exhaustion turned into excitement about the day.  :)

We kicked things off with Garret Melkonian making showing us how to make Arabic bread - two varieties.  I found this to be the most challenging demonstration, not because the recipe was difficult, but because the recipe wasn't fully printed in our little binders.  I was feverishly taking notes, so much so that my pen ran out and I had to seek out a replacement!  Luckily I found another purple pen.  I know, it was a close one.  

Up next was Taylor Hoang teaching us how to make chicken Pho (Pho Ga) and Bo La Lot.  Taylor is from north Vietnam so her recipe and technique were very different from my mom's who is from the south.  Taylor didn't roast any of her proteins, onions, ginger, or spices.  She did offer up that you could, but for her recipe you don't.  Her Nuc Mam was also much sweeter than my mom's. Nothing compares to what you grew up with!!! 

Both dishes, the Pho and the Beef dish, were delightful.  And I loved listening to her describe her experiences while traveling through Vietnam.  The regional food differences are fascinating.  I called my mom tonight and told her all about it, she echoed Taylor's observations that some ingredients are just not available in the north so they are simply not used (bean sprouts, basil, etc.).  It was fun to learn someone else's recipe.  

Next up, Marx Foods was hoping to expand our pantry basics with a tasting of some of their more interesting and lesser known products.  Two things stood out to me, the butternut squash seed oil and the Szcheuan Buttons, aka an Electric Mouth Party.

Once we had all agreed that we loved all the things, we were herded onto a charter bus that took us east to Bella Luna Farms.  What a beautiful property.  Everything on the grounds were perfectly landscaped and groomed.  The feel of the farm was old world mixed with modern touches.  Amazing.

I killed a chicken.  Very badly.  I was all gung ho about it on the trip over there, but thinking about doing something like that and then actually doing it are two totally different things.  I was all nerves and adrenaline and my hatchet missed the first time.  I panicked.  I kept hacking and the chicken kept moving.  It was horrible.  I got nervous and panicky and I honestly don't remember a lot of what happened next.  I think the shock started to set in and I mentally blacked out.  I'm pretty sure I made an ass out of myself in some way or another, because that's what happens when I get nervous and panicky.  

Then I had to gut the chicken.  Strangely enough, this brought me back to earth and I regained my focus.  This part didn't bother me as much as the former part did.  But it did bother me.  I won't go into the gory details, because I'm still trying to process everything that happened.  I'm still not really sure how I feel about it, but I set out to do it, and I did it.  As horrible as it was and as badly as I did, I still did it.  

I'm thankful for the wonderful and kind farmers who walked me through the process, and I'm thankful for the chicken who gave its life so I could have this life experience.  I will never do it again.  I'm not gonna lie, this put a bit of a damper on the rest of my day.  That was unexpected.  I think I was just in shock from it all.  I got cleaned up and headed into lunch to try to get my shit together.

Lunch was amazing.  We sat in this lovely pseudo greenhouse that was draped in grape vines.  Beautiful.  Lunch was apple cider braised goat with avocado and edamame.  It was wonderful.  Some of the campers made butter so we had that with our bread.  Fresh butter made from raw milk, so fluffy and creamy and sweet.  Dessert was a house made flax bread with frommage blanc, honey, and blueberries.  It was summery and it was lovely.

Then they herded us back onto the bus to get back to Palace Ballroom for the final demonstrations of the day.  The bus ride to and from the farm was filled with booze, naturally.  The crew really knows how to keep us happy from start to finish. 

Up next was Daniel Vaughn - Texas BBQ master.  He imparted his vast knowledge of the best techniques and ingredients to make the best BBQ he knows how.  I took copious notes.  One thing that stood out to me was his rub philosophy.  There are a lot of rubs out on the market with a lot of ingredients.  Something to consider is that only salt and sugar will actually be absorbed into the meat.  Everything else sits on top of the skin, preventing the creation of the crust that everyone wants to see.  

We sampled his beef short rib, bone in pork loin, and baby back & spare ribs.  I have to say that he is a big fan of pepper in his rub!  His meats came out with a beautiful smoke ring, with that lovely smokey flavor that you want with BBQ.  Fantastic.

Finishing out our day was Jessie Oleson Moore of cakespy.com.  I have to tell you that I was SO happy to finally have a baker at camp!  I love to bake and it was great to hear her talk about desserts and their origins.  But even more, to learn about her little technical tips and tricks.  She and I share a love of the process of baking so the Smith Island Cake she demonstrated was what I would call the perfect candidate for one of my late night baking sessions.  I can't wait.