Photos: Penta’s New Culinary Arts Kitchens; This Ain’t Home-Ec!
Posted on 28 August 2008 under Chefs, Culinary Arts Programs, Instruction, Kitchen Gear, Photos, School Lunches | 2 Comments
Update, August 29 - The Toledo Blade has posted an article about the new Penta facility this morning, along with more photos.
A couple days ago I blogged about Chef Mike Sader joining Chef Jim Rhegness as an instructor in the Culinary Arts program at the new Penta Career Center facility in Perrysburg, Ohio. I totally blew that, as Chef Denise Schaefer teaches there as well and I didn’t mention her whatsoever. Sorry Chef Denise! 
I’ve mentioned previously (but I’ll do it again anyway!), Chef Denise was inducted into the American Academy of Chefs in a ceremony July 13, 2008 in Las Vegas. I’ve also previously blogged about the type of work her students are capable of, particularly this Chuck Tender Wellington I enjoyed for a lunch this past January.
This evening we were able to walk through Penta’s new facility, southwest of the I-75 Buck Rd. interchange south of Toledo. Each of the three teaching Chefs have their own separate, professional teaching kitchens, which we’ll look at shortly. But first, a couple comments …
First, these kitchens are built for teaching at the high school level, meaning 11th and 12th graders. This is NOT a college! Students come in from 16 high schools in a five-county area. I know of a few colleges with administrators that would faint if they could have kitchens that are THIS GOOD!
Chef Jim has asked me to mention and PUBLICLY THANK Calphalon, specifically, the company’s MASSIVE donation of ALL the pots and pans in these kitchens, totaling over $10,000 in equipment. The Chefs and the school administration are more than thankful for this donation as what they now have is exactly what was needed.
And Chef Mike would like to point out that there are, in fact, two days in a weekend! Being such a hard-working Chef at some rather innovative restaurants in the Toledo area, he’d totally forgotten about this. Now that Chef Mike is teaching at Penta, Mary and I are wondering what he’s going to think when he finally realizes he doesn’t have to work at all during the summer months!
Ok, on with our brief photo tour (click on any of these images for a larger version) …
Windows in the new Culinary Connection restaurant open into Chef Mike Sader’s teaching kitchen. Let’s step inside … (more after the jump!)
Review: It’s A Santoku Knife … It’s A Shear … It’s A Sheartoku!
Posted on 8 November 2007 under Kitchen Gear, Knives, Reviews: Products | No Comments
It’s not too often I see any new kind of kitchen gadget that’s actually useful. But I’d spotted this little beastie in a store the other day and instantly became curious. Made by KitchenAid, manufacturer of the venerable stand mixers, this device is called a Sheartoku. Quite simply, it’s a 4.5″ santoku knife with an additional non-sharpened section. Apart, the santoku can be used just like any other. But hooked together with its rotating appendage (which is fairly thick and cannot be sharpened at all), it becomes quite a nice pair of kitchen shears.
This morning after picking one up, I took it over to Chef Tad Cousino of the Frog Leg Inn for his opinion.
Chef Tad can sharpen a kitchen knife exceedingly well. He uses a sharpening steel for the main sharpening then finishes the edge with a diamond sharpener. He was rather impressed with the santoku section of the Sheartoku, giving it, on a scale of one to five, a “Doode, this is flippin’ sweet!” The santoku held an edge quite well, staying sharp even after cutting the bottoms off a few fresh dumpling squash.
The santoku only has the dimples/divots/whatchacallits on the right side. The left side of the blade is flat so it works correctly as a shear. If you’re left-handed, this might be a problem when using just the santoku … but we’re not sure as none of us are left-handed.
Connected with the rest of the device to create shears, the action is snug. The pivot is pressure-fitted into the other side. It also has a bit of a ball on it. Because of this, there’s smooth blade-on-”blade” action all the way down as the shear is closing.
Our one concern is whether or not the metal continues all through the handles. We really can’t tell. If not, the plastic might separate from the metal under pressure. But we did put a lot of pressure on the handle when cutting the bottoms off those squash and nothing moved.
I left the Sheartoku at the restaurant for others to use, so we’ll see what happens over the long haul. It’s looks good so far though.
For $9.99 at Meijer and Target, the Sheartoku should probably find its way into the Christmas stockings of quite a few cooks this season. They’ll get shear enjoyment out of it.
Knives: Keeping Your Edge in The Kitchen
Posted on 11 September 2007 under Kitchen Gear, Knives | 3 Comments
I have a confession to make; I’m a knife fanatic.
I’ve lost track of how many knives I’ve owned over the years. But I didn’t own my first knife until I was 17. When I was about 10, I was making a car out of a cardboard box. I’d borrowed dad’s “jack-knife” and was cutting the door opening, but got impatient and decided to start from the other direction. Did you know those types of knives close when you jab them into something to make a hole? Mom cleaned up the blood and told me to put the knife away. I was 10 … didn’t listen … moments later, did the same thing again … 35 years later, I still have the scar from where they closed the flap on the side of my right index finger with three stitches that afternoon.
In the summer of 1979 at the age of 17, up at the Chicago-YMCA-based Camp Martin Johnson in Irons, Michigan, we all thought it was cool to have those cheap “hunting” knives hanging from our belts in black leather cases. Of course, our idea of hunting was to get the right meat for the camp’s evening meal out of the Koegel’s truck and cart it into our spotless cafeteria kitchen to start prepping it … Those knives only came out of their cases in “show off” mode. Heck, we didn’t know how to sharpen them whatsoever, let alone “properly”.
About ten years ago at the Duty Free Store in the westbound lanes of the BlueWater Bridge between Sarnia and Port Huron, I picked up a “MacGyver knife”, a Victorinox Swiss Army thing that was hefty and had all kinds of cool stuff built in. That knife is still in my pocket, right now. This is the longest I’ve ever owned one knife so far.
It was only a few years back that I realized decent kitchen knives were available. I wanted one of the $150 models I saw being used on Food Network, but I could only afford the Farberware Pro set at Meijer, $60 for seven knives. The bottom knife in the above photo is the 7″ chef’s knife from that set. I love the weight of that knife. The “tang” of the blade, or “rear end” of the metal for the blade itself, goes all the way back through the handle, which is two halves riveted onto the tang itself. By itself, that 7″ knife is almost $20 in some stores.
The Farberware Pro knife set had come with a sharpening steel but I had know idea how to use it. I’m probably lucky I haven’t had more stitches from knife-inflicted wounds with all the flailing I did. I’d bought the ceramic sharpener when I’d gotten the knife set, and that worked fairly well.
Chef Tad finally taught me how to use the sharpening steel the right way:
First, moisten a towel. Wring out any excess water and fold in quarter. Placing the handle in your hand, put the tip of the steel on the towel. Now slowly, starting from the base of the handle, draw the blade toward the towel at about a 25 degree angle. Draw one side of the knife down, then the other, using moderate pressure. Do this several times until you start to feel a sharp edge. After sharpening, you may feel the edge ever so slightly rolled up the blade. If you feel this, simple draw the knife back from bottom to top towards the handle. This will knock the roll off the edge.
Hmmm … seemed to work pretty good. I still couldn’t shave with the knife though.
A recent trip to IKEA taught me something. On the package for their own sharpening steel, they indicated the steel doesn’t work unless it’s made from a tougher steel than the blades being sharpened on it. Well, duh! In an instant, I realized I’d bet money on the sharpening steel from the Farberware set being the same steel as the knives. The IKEA shapening steel came home. But still, those Farberware knives were maddening to sharpen, and haven’t held an edge yet.
This past Friday afternoon when I went in through the kitchen door of the Frog Leg Inn, Chef Tad muttered to Sous Chef Janelle, “… where’s a knife … a really big one …” … and all I could find was a metal ladle while he had a single-handled curved pizza knife about 18″ long. I got to looking at the knives being used in that kitchen. I mean, a good look. It dawned on me they weren’t at all the expensive Food Network knives. Those razor-sharp beasties at the Frog Leg Inn were simply the NSF-rated food service/institutional knives from GFS Marketplace.
So, Saturday, I picked up the 10″ chef’s knife you see in the top of the picture up above.
When I took it out of the package, it was rather dull. I drew it maybe five times each side on the IKEA sharpening steel.
Holy smoke. In all the times I’d tried previously, the Farberware 7″ knife has never been that sharp. This 10″ knife is actually dangerous. It’s a kitchen knife that I’ve rapidly learned to respect. I even like the design of the handle better.
One-by-one, the knives in the Farberware set will now be replaced. I have the “expensive” one out of the way, so the rest will each be less expensive.
I don’t need no stinkin’ $150 knife. And neither do you.
Of course, after a while, I might need the black knife wrap … you know … so I can take the whole batch of real knives on trips with us when I intend to cook … I mean, duh …
An Oversized Corn Cob Cooker
Posted on 13 August 2007 under Camp Cooking, Kitchen Gear, Michigan Cuisine | No Comments
Back on June 27th I posted a pic of a camping-grade deep fryer that I’d picked up at Cabela’s in Dundee and made corndogs with for family and friends on June 30th. On July 15th I posted a pic of an industrial-sized pot filled with over a hundred cobs of corn. Combining the two, the deep fryer came in quite handy for boiling 24 cobs of corn for dinner for Caleb’s birthday celebration. I do believe this thing’s going to come in handy for lots of fun jobs.
IKEA Kitchen Goodies
Posted on 29 July 2007 under Kitchen Gear, Shopping | 4 Comments
Ok, Dorothy, here’s part of your answer to your comment from my last post:
“As interesting as the food is, what else did you guys get??”
What to do, what to do … what the heck do you do with all those spices on the back of your stove? I always left them on the back of the stove. Really, they’ve always been there. There were also plenty more in the cupboard above the stove. If I wanted one, I’d open that cupboard … and the cupboard was so full, the spice would jump right into the pot unassisted, bottle, lid, the whole shebang.
Yeah, that sucked. Overspiced everything. And the labels added no flavor, just fiber.
A couple months ago I started lookng for a simple shelf to hang under that cupboard. Unfortunately, I didn’t find anything … until yesterday, at IKEA in Canton. In the bottom of the above photo, there’s a 31 inch bar under that cupboard. Hanging from that are a couple shelves. The shelf is actually wire, as they’re sold as “dish drainers”. But they obviously make great spice shelves. On the left is another shelf below that other cupboard. I didn’t connect the rod hangers to it, just fastened it directly to the wall. It works fine. Then, just above the stove is an 18 inch flat magnetic bar. Hung on it are three spice tins. Once I toast some of the peppercorn’s Jaden sent along, one of these tins will be their home. Total cost of this setup at IKEA? About 30 bucks.
I also found some mighty-fine china for food photos:
Black-on-white, white-on-black, makes purple and green food look wonderful, eh? I could shape something like a dirty shoe on this stuff and some-body’d eat it. How much? Well, the big plates were $2.99 each, you can figure out the rest from there. Yes, the carrier was extra, but was worth the $7.99.
Oh, yeah, had to get a new French coffee press. Bigger than my last one (which was broken … funny story there), this beastly thing was $12.99.
The 47 inch rod on the left was $10.99, so adding the hanging cutting boards and paper towel holder with the serrated front edge came to about $35. On the right there is another one of those 18 inch flat magnetic bars, doing the job it’s intended for. At GFS a 12 inch magnetic knife bar is almost 20 bucks. These 18 inch flat magnetic bars at IKEA are $5.99.
No, those aren’t “expensive knives”, Dorothy! Those are Farberware Pro from Meijer, Bed Bath & Beyond, or wherever. Most of these are in a set for $67 - $70. I added a couple extras, like the Santoku, for less than 10 bucks each. The most expensive item hanging there? That sharpening steel, at IKEA yesterday for about 20 bucks.
We picked up a lot more stuff, but not food-related. Dorothy, ya’ gotta come out to see the rest! Oh, right, we’re not done shopping yet … but you know, it’s been a while. Get out here!
The Portable Omelet Buffet Kit
Posted on 18 July 2007 under Catering etc., Kitchen Gear | 1 Comment
A few months ago, 14-year-old Adam and I did an omelet buffet for Mary and her girlfriends. At that time I’d picked up some decent catering-grade storage containers for the omelet filling mise en place, which worked rather well, and had a couple commercial-grade non-stick frypans from Wear-Ever Lincoln Foodservice. Since then there’s been plenty of discussion about my doing other omelet buffets for various purposes, such as Senior Centers. I’d picked up a Pro-Cook M0005 portable butane gas stove from GFS Marketplace for $27, along with some butane canisters (a pack of four for $7).
The thing’s been in my closet for … three months? No, must be four …
The talk has continued about my doing the omelet thing on a regular basis. Looking through a Cabela’s catalog last week I found their three-burner cast iron stove. I mentioned this to Mary, that I could cook an omelet on each of the outer burners while sautéeing fillings in the middle, similar to how they do it at the Marriott World Center in Orlando. She liked that idea. But then I added up the necessary hose, the carry bag, a filled 20 lb lp gas bottle, and we’re suddenly way past $100 for three burners. And I still needed another 10″ fry pan.
Then something clicked: I remembered I’d looked at single-burner stoves similar to the Pro-Chef at an Asian grocery in Ann Arbor … for $17! I had one burner already, and could get the other two for $34, carry cases included. So yesterday, I did just that, picking up two Thunder Range stoves, and more butane for running all three stoves. I also picked up the other 10″ pan at GFS.
The picture shows the completed kit, minus utensils. The pans came to $55, the cookers were a total of $61 (if the three were the same Thunder Range brand they would have been $51), eight cans of butane was $14, and the mise en place containers came to $15 or so. So, over a period of four months I spent about $145 putting this kit together, instead of over $200 going the lp gas route that I could only use outside.
Let’s see … need some fiberboard plates … plasticware … paper napkins … ummm … oh, yeah, eggs! … right, and maybe some cheese …
Ed Levine and The “Food Sur-Thrival Kit”
Posted on 17 July 2007 under Ingredients, Kitchen Gear | No Comments
Over on Serious Eats, founder Ed Levine talks about an interesting concept: a “Food Sur-Thrival Kit”.
Everyone has their own version of a Food Sur-Thrival Kit, a small group of reasonably priced go-to foods that we try to keep around at all times, so that no matter how bedraggled we feel when we get home, we can whip up a pleasure-inducing, satisfying meal in twenty minutes or less any time of the day or night any day of the year. You not only survive on these foods, you thrive on them. Hence the name.
I like Ed’s list. It’s a lot more creative than mine. Of course he’s been at this a little longer than I have. I think he’s seen “The Producers” a few too many times based on how he’s maxxed out on his bialy stock …
Here’s my own Food Sur-Thrival Kit:
- Chef Geno’s Spices - I keep four spices from the Alden Mill House in my pantry at all times: Farm Market Salad Seasoning: Great on salads, fish, pork, etc., I found out right away it’s also excellent on eggs; Pork & Poultry Seasoning: A nice rub for both pork and poultry, it’s good for these items when used in other dishes as well, such as chicken salad; Miracle Blend: I probably go through a full pound of this stuff every six months or so. A mix of Kosher salt, pepper, garlic powder and other niceties, this is my go-to spice for everything from fried or scrambled eggs, to mashed potatoes, steamed, blanched or fried vegetables, and countless other uses.; Malibar Island Pepper: A 50/50 mix of both Malibar Island and Tellicherry peppers, this stuff is so fresh, you can stick your nose in the jar, take a BIG whif, and not sneeze! Oh, and it tastes great, too!
- Breakfast Stuff - I could easily eat breakfast meals for every meal, every day. Mary and I are not discussing the possibility of actually having our own Bed & Breakfast someday as it just seems the right thing to do. I have the Wear-Ever Lincoln Foodservice non-stick skillets as the cook-up eggs better than any other I’ve tried. Of course, there also have to be eggs, olive oil, 2% milk, Italian bread for toast, Alden Mill House Miracle Blend, and unsalted butter to put it all together correctly.
- Boneyard-brand Hot Sauces - From Aerosmith’s lead axe-man Joe Perry, these aren’t just any hot sauces. The Boneyard Brew has a rich tomato flavor, followed by a habañero pepper “kick”! The Mango Peach Tango sauce is sweet and mild, being excellent on omelets and such. I have my own batch of recipes for these sauces located here.
- Chicken breasts, pork steaks, ground chuck - These are my mainstays for entrées for variety. The versatility from these three items is pretty strong.
- Sweet Baby Ray’s Original BBQ Sauce - People seem to picky about their BBQ sauce around this house. This is the one we’ve all agreed on. Chef Tad at the Frog Leg Inn in Erie mixes this with raspberry puree for one of his current pork rib specials. It’s that good.
- Popsicles - Around here, the improptu dessert of choice!
Cottage Food on the 4th of July
Posted on 10 July 2007 under Eat This Blog, Ingredients, Kitchen Gear, Shopping | No Comments
I admit it: Mary and I weren’t on American soil on the 4th of July. Well, yes, we were in the morning, but by noon last Wednesday we were in Canada. Not just any Canada either. The Canadian First Nation unceded reservation of Walpole Island, located in the northern part of Lake St. Clair. We love it there! Mary’s brother owns a cottage right there on the St. Clair River (leasing the land from the First Nation people). There’s no phone, no internet connection of any kind, and only halfway-decent TV reception. Just Mary, the dog, and myself.
Before taking the ferry over, we stopped at a Kroger in New Baltimore, Michigan, for groceries for those next few days. Back in the meat case, we found these beautiful “gourmet” Angus burgers:
Ten Favorite Kitchen Gadgets
Posted on 30 May 2007 under Kitchen Gear | 4 Comments
Back on my Butane Cooker post, reader (and full-time harrasser) Sandy Squires posted a comment that started with this:
You have a grill, a butane cooker, a deep fryer, a crock pot, and a torch. You have fancy knives, special dishes, and a coffee maker. You have … Tell us a little about your list, top to bottom, of favorite gadgets.
This list wasn’t too difficult to come up with. It does, however, indicate that I do love gadgets just because they’re, well, gadgets! Yes, I’m a geek, so much so that I have a shirt from Microsoft that simply says “Geek” on the front. Maybe, just maybe, Mary’s right in knocking back some of my suggestions for purchases. But only maybe … 
So, without further ado, here’s the list:
‘Kitchen Collection’, An Update
Posted on 6 March 2007 under Kitchen Gear | No Comments
When I wrote up my review of Kitchen Collection at the Horizon Outlet Center a few days ago, I didn’t mention that I’d told the ladies at the store I was going to do so. However, apparently they told the Regional Sales Manager, who called the national office down in Chillicothe …
So anyway, I’ve received an email from the main offices of Kitchen Collection, which updates the info I put in my post about Lodge cast iron. The email is below, reprinted with permission:
Hey Dave!
Thanks for the great review of our store in your blog entry. You noted that our Lodge assortment doesn’t include all pieces. Actually our on-line site has a few more Lodge pieces than our stores. You can always order on-line or by phone but if you’re not in a hurry and don’t want to pay shipping, your local store can special order anything on-line and have it shipped to the store on the next truck (usually 2-3 weeks).
We’re glad to have such a loyal customer.
Sincerely,
Trish Tickle
Kitchen Collection - Marketing
Chillicothe, Ohio
During our subsequent phone conversation, Trish also pointed out that you’re welcome to call their toll-free sales line at (888) 548-2651 Monday - Friday from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. EST with questions about their products. What’s interesting about the folks at the other end of that line is that they’re mobile. Ask a question about something, and if they don’t know the answer, they’ll head to the product in the warehouse and try to find out the right answer.
Thanks again, Trish!
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