Candied Apples!

With the days getting shorter, the air getting colder, and today being Halloween, I decided to post a recipe for something sweet. Candied apples! 

I have never made (or eaten) a candied apple. I've had caramel apples before but wanted to see what a candied apple tasted like (and if the recipe was any easier). It wasn't any easier... And I probably would have enjoyed a caramel apple more. Here's how I came to this statement: caramel is easier to handle, has less ingredients, and is WAY easier to eat, in this case (and tastes amazing!).

Now I'm not gonna lie to you guys, they didn't turn out very good... Because of two reasons: 1) I've never had a candied apple and have no idea how the finished product is supposed to look/taste and 2) I went against my better judgement to follow a recipe. There are several other factors that I could add on to this list, like my candy thermometer possibly being broken and having never cooked sugar on an electric stove top (I had been spoiled rotten with a gas stove at my parents home and cried a little inside when I found out that not every house/apartment has gas stoves...). But we'll stick with the first two listed.

Not to turn this post into a cooking class, but I'm going to go into cooking sugar for just a minute.
When cooking sugar you have several stages that can be reached that will make the sugar do a variety of different functions.

The stages are:
Syrup                   @ 230*F (110*C)
Soft Ball              @ 240*F (116*C)
Firm Ball             @ 248*F (120*C)
Hard Ball             @ 260*F (127*C)
Soft Crack           @ 285*F (141*C)
Hard Crack          @ 302*F (150*C)

Now, in my opinion, I think the sugar should have been cooked to Soft or Firm Ball stage (so you can at least bite into the thing) but in all the recipes I've reviewed (making sure it wasn't just my recipe that was leading me astray) said that you should cook the sugar to 300*F to about 310*F. Again, I'm no expert in candied apples. As I was cooking the sugar, the pastry student inside me cringed a little thinking how hard the sugar would be if I cooked it to that temperature. So I decided to not cook it that long and boy am I glad I didn't! I cooked the sugar to what I thought would be about 235*F but I can't trust my ghetto candy thermometer so I don't know if that's accurate or not... When it got to this point I dipped one of my apples to see what it would be like after it had cooled a little. Well, once I started turning the apple in the candy, I knew it was time to dip them all. But by that time the sugar was starting to cool and as I coated the apples, the sugar was going onto them in a very thick layer. It wasn't how I planned it at all!

Long story (somewhat) short, the sugar to apple ratio is off which makes it hard to bite into and gets frustrating (so frustrating that you take a knife to it). And I still have no idea how a candied apple is supposed to turn out. Mine look like all the pictures on Pinterest, so I must have done something right, right?

After this confusing go at candied apples I think I will try it again, but this time I'll experiment a little and see if I can't come up with a recipe that looks and tastes good.

Here's the recipe I used:

Candied Apples

Ingredients

2 cups sugar
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 teaspoon red food coloring
3 to 4 apples (I used Granny Smith apples)

Utensils

A medium size sauce pan

A rubber spatula (preferable one that can withstand high temperatures)

A baking sheet

Wax or parchment paper (or a silicone mat)

A candy thermometer

3 to 4 lollipop sticks or thick skewers

What to do

- Wash the apples and remove the stems. 

- Insert the sticks into the top of the apple going about half way into it. Do this to all the apples, set aside.

- In the medium sauce pan, add all of the ingredients together and stir until it's all incorporated (make sure to scrape out the corn syrup or it will not be exactly 1/2 cup).

- Cook over a medium flame (for an electric stove, cook at a 5 or 6). Once it starts boiling, don't touch it.

- Let it boil until it gets to about 240*F (116*C) [the original was 310*F], then take it off the heat.

- Immediately start dipping the apples. Tip the pan slightly in order to cover the apples all the way.

- Transfer to the baking sheet with wax paper. Let sit until cooled.

ENJOY!

Let me know if you have any suggestions on how to improve my recipe or if you have any questions!

Thanks for reading!

Le Bouillon's Dinning Review

Well, it's been a while....
I've been busy with work and school and haven't really had time or very many things to write about.

Speaking of work, Le Bouillon just had a dinning review come out and the reviewer LOVED it!

The reviewer wrote:


"The small plates are where Le Bouillon truly excels. They are where it becomes more than just another French bistro - it becomes a place to have an experience."

"... That's a task he [Kulik] leaves to the servers, and, in my experience, they do a brilliant job. When I asked one server which charcuterie we should order off the short list, she suggested two: the house-made lardo, which is cured pork fat, and the house-made lanza, cured pork loin. Both, she said, are ones the restaurant is proud of. I owe her a cocktail, because both were fantastic."

"Kulik and Jordan have created a menu designed for adventure that encourages diners to break from convention and order in a free, fun way — in a new way. I encourage you to do that, too."

Click here to read the full article.



So far so good in the dish pit. I've gotten better at it and don't contemplate quitting every half an hour.
I also had some visitors request to see me. My dad's boss, Jim, and his wife, Fern, stopped in to say hello as they were passing through the area. I was so surprised that they came it. It was nice to get to talk with them.

I did find out that I have earned my very own custom Le Bouillon apron! It is still getting tailored but when it's finished, I'll post a picture of it!
I was so happy when I received it that I could have cried. Chef Dan brought it to me at the end of a busy night and said "This is for you, try it on and let me know how it fits. You've earned it." I had to tell myself to stop smiling because I probably looked really stupid standing there washing dishes with this huge smile on my face...

Also, last week was the start of spring quarter at Metro. I have Cost Management, Humanities, and Cakes (my only lab class). This will be my first class with Chef Janet Mar and, I have to admit, I'm nervous. I've heard both good and bad things about the class and most of the bad things consist of students' tears being shed... So we'll see how this goes.

That's really all I have to write about right now, but there is a possible opportunity that I have and if it works out, you'll be the first to know. :)

Thank you all for your support and encouragement! It means a lot!

Kayla

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

This recipe will have everyone in your family thinking you're a super chef! It's delicious!
It is also labor intensive, so if you don't have a lot of time to make it, you can use a box broth and skip right to the Soup section in the instructions.

Classic Chicken Noodle Soup
Serves 4 to 5 people

Broth:
3 lbs chicken thigh, skin on, bone in.
7 pints water
3 medium carrots, roughly chopped
2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
1 small onion, quartered
1 clove garlic, smashed
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
6 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
2 sprigs thyme (optional)





1. In a large thick-bottom pot, combine the chicken, chopped carrots and celery, onion, peppercorns, garlic, herbs, and water.

2. Bring just to a boil, cover partially and simmer over medium-low heat for 30 minutes. Occasionally skimming off any unwanted fat and foam.

You can use a spoon (like I did here) or you can use a fine mesh skimming spoon (you can buy one here on Amazon and I know Wal-Mart also carries them).

3. Transfer chicken to a plate or cutting board. Remove the skin and discard.

4. Pull the meat off the bones and cut or shred into bite size pieces.

 

(If you are going to use your hands, let the chicken cool before doing this step.) :)

5. Return bones to the pot and simmer for 30 minutes.

6. Strain the broth through a small-holed strainer into another pot (if you have one; if not you can strain it into a large bowl, clean and use the same pot. Less dishes! Yay!) Discard the bones and veggies/herbs. Skim off any fat and season to your liking with salt.

7. Return the broth to the heat and boil until reduced to 2 1/2 quarts, about 30 minutes.


Soup:
2 medium carrots, peeled, cut diagonally
2 medium stalks celery, peeled, cut diagonally
1/2 lb noodles (I just used cut spaghetti)
   salt, as needed
   cooked chicken
2 Tbsp flat-leaf parsley, leaves only (optional)
1 sprig dill, chopped (optional)
If you're not making the broth: 2 1/2 to 3 quarts chicken broth










8. Add the sliced carrots and celery to the broth, cover and simmer until just tender, about 12 minutes.

9. In a saucepan, bring salted water to a boil and cook the noodles to al dente and drain.
(You can also par-cook them in the water and then finish them in the broth. Just make sure you rinse them before putting them in the broth.)

10. Add the noodles, chicken, and any other seasonings or herbs to the pot and bring to a simmer. Add salt to taste.

Serve hot.


And really, you can just have fun with it! Change up some of the spices/herbs, add peas right before you serve it, or use baby carrots instead of larger ones. :)
Again, it takes time to make the broth, but the end result is very tasty! If you don't have time to make this just any ol' day of the week, you can make this a special occasion dinner for when company is over.

Keep coming back for more recipes, tips, tricks, and stories!

Have a great day and bon appetit!

Dishes, Dishes, and More Dishes!

Holy cow.

I did my first paid shift in the dish pit last Saturday night (1/04/14) at Le Bouillon and I gotta say: I give mad props to all dish washers everywhere!

You would think that it was the easiest job out there... I mean, come on! All you have to do is put all the dishes into the machine, right?

WRONG!

At Le Bouillon (and most other restaurants) it is much more than that! You not only have to rinse and run the dishes through the washer, but you also have to listen for and be ready to run a dish to a chef (if it's not already in the kitchen) who calls for it, you have to continually check the big containers in the kitchen and empty them of all dirty pots and pans, you have to put the clean dishes back in the kitchen, and (in this particular establishment) you have to plate and finish the desserts!

Don't get me wrong, I really want this job. It was just a little intimidating to be shoved into it with no training, no walk-through of the kitchen, and it being a Saturday night to boot!

But I have learned so far that you have to treat it just like any other station in the kitchen: work clean, work fast, and work hard. I would say that keeping it organized is key, but there are so many "key"s that you can't pin one to be the most important...

Some of the many keys of the dish pit:
Keep it organized
Keep a pace (a fast one)
Keep moving
Keep the washer going constantly (you don't EVER want it to be still)
Keep rinsing
Learn what is high-priority
Get a system down
Don't take any yelling personally
If you have to, Step outside for a breather
NEVER mix up personals

The list could go on. I felt like I should have been sitting there with some paper and take notes on what all should be "done first".

Needless to say, it was crazy my first night. And the only reason I got out of there by 12:30 am was because a couple people stayed to help (but getting a chunk sliced out of my finger by an oyster fork and then bleeding through 6 Band-aids and it taking a good 10 minutes before I got it under control didn't help my situation either....).

All that, plus having a class that same morning at 8 am, totals up to being 14 hours on my feet (with an hour of rest in between). Let's just say that my feet were REALLY sore...

My advice: Don't go into a dish pit job thinking it will be easy! Or any job for that matter! Because most of the time, it won't be.
My other piece of advice: Never give up! Just because it's not an easy job or you don't think you can do it, doesn't mean giving up will solve the problem. Work it out. Ask for help. The earlier you ask, the quicker you can adapt and change.

Well, that's all for now. It can only go up from here, right?

~Kayla