jerk chicken with coconut rice & beans

Tableside Day 2 was jerk chicken with coconut rice & beans and mango salsa (from the tuna poke salad).

I love jerk chicken because of it's smoky spiciness. I thought it was high time that I tried making it. And I also thought it would be popular because it's chicken and rice, things that most everybody will eat.

The recipes I found for the chicken and the rice both involved long lists of ingredients, and I was excited about the complexity of spice.

I even got my hands on some Jamaican rum for the chicken marinade.



In Jamaica the rice is made with pigeon peas, but here we substitute kidney beans.



After marinating the chicken I wrapped each piece in foil and baked until the chicken was cooked to temperature (165F). Then as orders came in I would unwrap the packet and sear the chicken on a cast iron pan in front of the customer. Sadly this did not produce the charred effect that I was looking for - grilling would have been much better. I think the chicken is meant to be grilled, because it allows the molasses in the marinade to caramelize (or something) and adds the characteristic smoky flavor.



Also the rice was a bit too hard - I should have used a starchier rice (instead of parboiled Uncle Ben's), that would've soaked up more of the coconut milk. The mango salsa ended up being the best part of the dish.



Not surprisingly, I only sold about half of what I made. Was disappointed, but it just means I'll have to make jerk chicken again.

tuna poke salad

Besides my Advanced Baking and Garde Manger classes, the second half of this third semester has been spent on the service side of the PCR. While the white-tablecloth atmosphere of the dining room has been a welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of the Latin Quarter and Cafeteria, there is almost zero cooking involved.

I say almost zero because I went through the positions of server, host and manager before I got to the position of tableside - the only cooking position! Strangely enough, most everybody shied away from this position, probably because it meant prepping on your own time and having to cook in front of guests.

I was excited because of the challenge, but also because I missed cooking. So I had this plan where I would cook a different protein each day of the week: tuna, chicken, pork, beef and lamb. Sadly, this plan did not work out because the spring buffet was during this tableside week, along with the faculty flex day. So I nixed the beef (kimchi fried rice) and lamb (vindaloo curry).

The week started out with a tuna tartare salad, similar to one I have eaten at Roy's Hawaiian Fusion restaurant. I remember marveling at the different layers (stacked with the help of a ring mold) and all the flavors of different things I liked to eat blending together (spicy tuna, avocado, etc.).

Upon Google research I found this tuna tartare salad recipe that I liked. So then I sent to tweaking the recipe.

First I cut sushi-grade tuna into cubes, then marinated it in a combination of rice wine vinegar, mirin cooking wine, soy sauce, ginger, sambal chili and sesame oil.



For additional elements I prepared:
mizuna greens (with vinaigrette similar to the tuna marinade)
mashed avocado (with lime juice)
mango cucumber salsa (see recipe here)
toasted sesame seeds (black & white)
wonton chips (wonton wrappers cut in half and deep-fried)
sliced radishes and sprouts for garnish



Everything was fine until I started on the radishes with a mandolin slicer and cut the tip of my middle finger off. Besides bleeding like crazy and getting light-headed, I had to finish prepping everything with one hand.



The order in which I ended up assembling the salad was: greens, tuna, avocado, mango, radishes, sesame seeds and sprouts, then wonton chips around the stack. Chef Ogden informed me that what I thought was tuna tartare was actually tuna poke because of the marinade.



I assumed that the tableside dish wouldn't be popular because of the rawness of the tuna, and because it wasn't a hot dish. I was wrong. Orders came in one right after the other, and me and my awkward latex gloves (terrible for trying to sprinkle sesame seeds but necessary due to the cut finger) wheeled the tableside cart around from table to table until the special sold out.



One of my customers put this picture of me on facebook and lots of people liked it... but oh the awkward gloves!!!

(Side note: my finger has completely healed - the tip is just a little bit flat, haha.)

spring buffet

Besides the annual fundraiser, we also have a semi-annual buffet luncheon in the PCR that draws in the campus/greater SF community. For a mere $17 there were unlimited appetizers, entrees, desserts and coffee/tea.

I was an entree server (citrus fennel mahi mahi or mushroom chicken anyone?) but managed to get a few photographs of the appetizer side of things.

Fruit and cheese plates, pretty standard. Ice sculpture swan? Not as much.



Cold cut platter (here are some buffet platters I assembled last semester when I was in meat lab).



Sushi plates (to see sushi I've made before, read this blog post).



Kale salad (here's a recipe you can try at home).



We had 100+ people come through, and as a server it was very pleasant interacting with the clientele (especially when contrasted with the experience of serving in the cafeteria). Surprisingly enough there was a contingent of German study abroad students, and upon discerning this I was able to practice some of my German and be of some assistance at the same time (in identifying meats and what not). Strange the skills that will prove useful in the most unexpected of places...

wok on the wild side

The theme for the fundraiser this year was "Streets of San Francisco". Each chef instructor had a booth that showcased some element of the city.

Chef Rhea (downtown campus) did farmers markets (more specifically, the Alemany Farmers' Market). Everything at her booth was made from fresh fruits and vegetables. I really liked the jars of different pickled vegetables.



Chef Morse did Korean fusion food, and he had everything from these bulgogi tostadas to soju spritzers.



Chef Oakley did Chinatown, and the decorations were amazing - the ice sculpture dragon was featured of course. I saw him killing it with the wok, really living up to the "wok on the wild side" name.



Chef Hammerich did Italian food, with freshly made pasta dishes and these delightful arancinis (fried risotto balls).



Chef Ng (night lab) did Fisherman's Wharf, featuring the fresh oyster bar. I felt sorry for all the shucking that his students had to do! But of course the oysters looked great.



Chef Hodgson did Ghiradelli Square, replete with chocolate fountains and sweets of all kinds. Marianne and I made the multicolored marshmallows used for dipping.



Chef Ogden did the beach, featuring mini bread bowls of cioppino, the Italian-American seafood stew that originated here in San Francisco. The decorations were amazing - sand and seashells and a lot of Chef's windsurfing equipment.



Last but not least the Five Star Club (culinary/hospitality extracurricular club) had a booth to cover Mission Street, or Mexican/Latino-American food. We had veggie empanadas, pulled pork tostadas and shrimp ceviche.



Besides the ticket price of $75, we also raised a lot of money from the silent and live auctions. I ran the slideshow for the live auction, and it was very exciting to watch the bidding process (egged on by the bonafide emcee/auctioneer). We auctioned off everything from a Chef Ogden whole hog butchering class to a Chef Hammerich-catered dinner cruise, raising well over $10,000. A very successful fundraiser indeed.

ice sculpture dragon

Things have been busy at school. The biggest news being that the school is considering shutting down the cafeteria to close the $250,000 budget gap. Needless to say, we've been doing everything in our power to make sure this doesn't happen, both so culinary students can continue to have a place to test their skills and so other City College students can continue to have a place to get an affordable, nutritious and tasty meal.

A lot of push went behind our annual Wok on the Wild Side fundraiser. Chef Oakley spent the entirety of a Garde Manger class carving an ice sculpture dragon. First, maneuvering the block into place.



Chef's rough sketch of the sculpture was comical to us, only because we knew just how elaborate and professional the sculpture would be, and the sketch was kind of the opposite of that.



First Chef cut out the arm piece - this was to be set aside and fused back into the block (to stick out like arms) with the help of ice water slush.



As we sat and watched, the dragon took shape. First it appeared very similar to the sketch.



The detailing makes all the difference - the eyes didn't even get carved till last but just the ridges and scales made it come to life.



And bite me, of course ;)