Cuisine on The Green

I was recently invited to do a cooking demonstration at the Cuisine on The Green Fundraiser at The Golf Club at South River. It was an absolute great, beyond great experience. Small things I tell you, but I was sold when I got there to setup and saw a posterboard with my name, a picture and a writeup on me.

I did two cooking demo's on Thai Spring Egg Rolls and they went great. First demo, my mic didn't work so the sound guy spent the whole demo holding the mic pack while I spoke. Was definitely interesting and a bit funny. The guests were great (okay so everything was great.lol) so it was an overall good experience.

Food Network (I mean Cooking Channel) here I come!

Off Topic....Sort of

Hello People. Its been awhile since I've posted my last blog and yes it has plagued me and sat at the back of my mind every other day. I'm working on getting back on the schedule but I've had what I originally thought of as distractions but were really blessings.

I've been working with an new event planner and so far I've done two events for her in the past month with another one setup for May. I've been working with a committee that is putting together a local food competition next year (happy just to be involved with the group actually). I've been invited to do a family day in May. I've been invited to do a cooking demonstration for a fundrasier in May. Ive been working on a new website for the Spice Rack which should definitely be cool when it's done. I've also done a few small tastings that went well for some potential clients.

I'm back in school taking what I believe are the most boring (but most useful classes) I have ever taken since I started in culinary school. Oh, yes I'm in culinary school and should b wrapping up one of the two programs I'm in this fall and the other in the spring. Which is good because the cooking part of cooking school is great, but the book part....umm. Oh, and the classes are: Small Business Law and Food, Beverage and Labor Cost Control. I avoided them for as long as I could, but they caught me as I knew they would.

I think that's all. Oh, and I just moved.lol. Anyway, I am working my way back and should a food blog to you guys in the next couple weeks. Thanks for looking out and following me nd The Spice Rack!!!

Gravlax

Gravlax

Our adventure for today is Gravlax. First and always, remember to enjoy cooking and exploring ingredients. The joy in cooking is different for us all. For me, it's to look and taste what I have created, to experience and share with others an extension of me, my personality, my heart.

Now, too be clear, there is a difference between “Smoked Salmon” and “Gravlax”. Smoked salmon is a fillet that has been cured then hot or cold smoked. Gravlax is a raw salmon fillet cured with salt, sugar and dill typically served as an appetizer. There are quite a few appetizers you can make with Gravlax and your imagination is the limit. I made a few different appetizers and dishes with my salmon. Feel free to email me for the recipes. We will also venture into smoked salmon platters as one of our later projects.

Okay, so let’s get started.

Ingredients
2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons sea salt
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 1-pound salmon fillet, skin on
1 cup chopped fresh dill, divided
Dill Sprigs
Mini Pumpernickel Slices

Dill Mustard Sauce
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
3 tablespoons grapeseed oil or canola oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons honey mustard
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

Yield: Makes 4 servings

You want to start with a fresh 1 lb salmon fillet. There are some things you can do to make sure the salmon is fresh. First, when you press it with your finger it should spring back and not leave a fingerprint. The salmon should smell like the ocean, but not smell “fishy”. I’ve you’ve bought a whole salmon, the eyes should be clear and bright, the skin should be shiny and slippery and the gill should be a deep red color. Try to get wild salmon if possible because it’s the best salmon to use.

Gravlax:
First you want to heat peppercorns and coriander seed in small skillet or frying pan on medium-high heat (sidenote: you can use a mix of white and black peppercorns 1 tsp of each your choice. It would add another dimension to the dish, but not having it isn’t a deal breaker in this case). Be sure to shake the skillet frequently to prevent burning. You should start to smell the spices as they heat up and the seeds will also start to jump slightly. The whole process should only take 2 ~ 3 minutes.

The next step is to crush the spices in a mortar and pestle. I have one because I think they’re cool and they do a wonderful job of crushing spices (and because they’re cool!). If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, you can always transfer the spices to a work surface, cover them with a kitchen towel (avoid terry cloth) and use a heavy pan or pot to crush the spices. Transfer the spices to a small bowl and add salt and sugar. Below is a before and after shot for the peppercorn mixture.

Using a small knife with a sharp edge, poke around 10 or 12 holes into the skin of the salmon. Piercing the skin will allow the spices to work their way into the salmon fillet.

Sprinkle around 1/3 cup chopped dill in the bottom of a glass baking dish. Try to find a dish that is slightly larger than the salmon fillet you’re working with. Place salmon, skin side down on top of the dill.

Take remaining spice mixture and rub into the top of the salmon, should look something like this:

Take the remaining dill and place it on top of the salmon. Cover with plastic wrap and press directly onto the fish. You’re going to need something to press the salmon down, maybe some heavy cans, a brick, or in my case a small cast iron pan (I placed a can inside the pan to add some weight). Refrigerate for 2 to 3 days. I ended up getting busy and my salmon sat for 4 days without any adverse effects. I’m wondering how long you can marinate the salmon and if it is a bad thing at some point (maybe I’ll try that someday….will keep you posted.lol)

After 3 days, remove the salmon (gravlax now) from the pan. Scrape off all the dill and as much of the seasoning as you can. It ends up looking like this:

To serve slice the gravlax on an extreme bias (45 degree angle) from the top of the gravlax to skin (be careful not to cut through the skin). This style of cutting allows for very pretty presentation in the cutting of herbs, veggies and various meats. In this case, its to give us nice size thin piece of Gravlax.

At this point, break out the pumpernickel bread slices and chow down. Now, if you choose, here is a dill mustard sauce that will go well with this Gravlax.

To make the Dill Mustard Sauce:

You want to whisk mustard and vinegar in a bowl (preferably a small one). Slowly add/whisk in oil. Add Chopped Dill and salt to taste, then season with Black Pepper.

Note: the sauce can be made a couple days ahead. Be sure to cover the bowl.

Our first food blog down. Please feel free to provide feedback or comments on what you liked and didn’t like. I’m all ears!

Me and The Spice Rack

I figure before we delve into recipes and other things (and by the way, our first adventure will involve Gravlax), I thought I would talk a little bit about me (and The Spice Rack).

I have been cooking for a long time. It is a place that has always been comfortable to me. A few years back, I realized that cooking was my destiny and there was no way to avoid it. It was then, that The Spice Rack was born (although it took me a whole year to come up with the name). I am a humble person, but I am confident in my cooking. My belief was/is that The Spice Rack could hold up to quite a few other catering companies out there. The problem was that I didn't want to just "hold up" or "compare to".

I wanted my dishes to both respect the ingredients and also be a true representation of who I am and what The Spice Rack is. You see, I believe that you should do what you love, and it should be a true representation of you. That said, I decided it was necessary for me to enroll in Culinary School. I currently attend the HCAT Institute at Anne Arundel Community College. I enrolled to pick up a few tips, but soon realized that it is a very serious program. And to my surprise HCAT has won quite a few culinary competitions (and that concludes my HCAT infomercial.lol).

Along the way, I received an Entreprepreneur's Studies Institute Scholarship, A Central Maryland Chef's Club Scholarship and I placed 2nd in the ESI business plan competition (couldn't beat out the bubbly math teacher). Long story short, as I approach the end of the two programs I am enrolled in, I see the difference in both how I treat ingredients, how it tastes and how it is presented.

The journey I'm on right now is to present food that warms the soul and is memorable to you weeks and months after the event is over. I want our cuisine to be reminiscent of the grandmothers and aunt's that we all have that cook that food we look forward to at family gatherings. I want our cuisine to play a part in making your intimate and/or elegant wedding an affair to remember. To me its not just about soul food, or Caribbean, Latin or Asian foods, its about presenting you a dish that you may never have tried or haven't had in a long time. In a nutshell, I want for all who encounter The Spice Rack to go on a journey with us to another region of the world, or to experience traditional American fare in such a way that you write home to momma about it!

That is who I am, what The Spice Rack is and what it will always be. Good food, Good People, Good Times and most of all... A Culinary Experience.

Welcome!

Hello again and welcome to the blogspot for The Spice Rack.

If you don't already know, my name is Jamaal Fuller and I am the Chef/Owner of The Spice Rack, an "Off-Premise" full service catering company. Our specialties include Caribbean, Latin, Asian and Traditional American fare. We have been operating for four years now and we are getting into our groove now. I'll talk about the history (and my history) of The Spice Rack in another blog.

The primary purpose of this blog is for me to open my world up to you and for us to share ideas and opinions. There will be instructional blogs and I also look forward to receiving input from and also learning from you guys. I am a humble student in this world of food and I always will be.

My hope is that through these blogs we can learn, share and laugh over a good plate of food.

I anticipate posting a blog every couple weeks, maybe weekly depending on what we're making.

Let's have fun.