Culinary Art

So while browsing through the Fall 09 issue of Gastronomica, I came across an awesome article on Pauline Baynes. You may not recognize the name, though you should since she is responsible for the original illustrations in the Narnia series as well as being involved with Tolkien on some of his non-LOTR works.

Apparently she was involved in food projects illustrating cookbooks and her art adds on to the classic feel of the old cookery texts.

Pauline Baynes (1922–2008), best known as the ‘Narnia’ artist, had also illustrated three cookbooks: Recipes from an Old Farmhouse by Alison Uttley (1966), Kitchen Essays by Lady Jekyll (1968), and The Times Cookery Book by Katie Stewart (1972). [via Too Many Books...]

Being a closeted illustrator/artist, looking at these pieces, the very intricate and elaborate works, definitely surges inspiration in picking up the sketch pad again. Mainly, though, this points me a step closer to finding the illustrated swine butcher chart that I will need as a base design for my permanent skin work to be done at some point this decade.

Intro to baking finals are today.

Thus far I have a C in the class due to my inability to study hard enough for the written exams. My production is on point though and hopefully that will save me from failure.

Luckily I'm also working with a great team and our final product usually kills!

Next semester I will be taking on a larger credit load as a mere experiment and to advance a little quicker.

In the meantime, I'll worry about finishing up the next two days and doing as well as possible.

Missing All the Fun

So, I've been absent for a minute. Again with the time restrictions and the trying to balance everything in my life. I've got quite the number of things I have to blog about so check back tomorrow for some more fun. I haven't even updated gone through my RSS in at least a week. EEK!

In the meantime, check out my sweet pastry work here. Heh.

First Week. [Culinary School]

It is now Thursday and I have completed my first week of Intro to Baking and Pastry, and although I could have done better, it was not a complete catastrophe. We took our first quiz, it was (thankfully) an open book quiz. Following that it was production time. We got to make a few items and this time we worked it a bit differently. Instead of making every recipe a group effort, we each took one recipe and worked on it. First we had the Strawberry Shortcakes. (I ate almost all the left over strawberries). I had nothing to do with these, other than the fact that they were done by one of my teammates, I had no hand in their making. They ended up having too much baking powder due to a recipe miscalculation. The taste was not very tastey. Overall appearance was great though.

Then there were the Popovers. Also made by the same person who worked on the aforementioned shortcakes. They appeared to be good upon being removed from the oven, but once out in the open, they flopped. They were bit floury in taste.



Then came my Sour Cream Muffins with Streussel Topping.These were entirely my creation. The taste was on point. The appearance kind of sucked because: 1. I overfilled the cups with batter 2. My streussel butter was too soft and didn't bake well and 3. I didn't let them sit and cool for long enough so they fell apart upon removing them from the tray. Overall they were delicious and they're in a bag at home waiting for me.

Then last, but not least, were the Ham and Cheese Scones. Also not my creation, but part of my team's effort to bake. Not exactly what went wrong here, but the dough was very pale and bland, and it took forever to bake.


This week my team was responsible for Sanitation and we made sure the place was spotless at the end of class. Next week, we're Sous Chefs. Can't wait to see what all that's going to entail.

Edumacation Progress. [Baby Steps]

I made it on Wednesday to my appointment at the Art Institute to speak with an Admissions Consultant. I got a tour of the campus grounds where the culinary program takes place. A lot of it reminded me of the grounds at L'Academie, but AI had a few more tricks up their sleeve. They have an awesome part of the program where you work on the front end of the restaurant (dining room). They actually have a 4-star restaurant set up on the 12th floor near the kitchen classrooms, name Culinaire, where you serve random guests and are responsible for the operations on that side of the room. This does not take place, if I understood correctly until about your Junior year.

They have a lot more classes that go with the curriculum than a regular school does. For example, for my electives I will be able to choose classes such as Web Design or Photography. Basically anything they offer as long as it's approved by the Dean.

It was all really exciting. Being there, talking to them about it, and (although I know they're probably just worried about taking my money) they were super encouraging and helpful about everything. The campus is conveniently located about 10 minutes away from where I work currently, so that will dissolve commuting issues.

At the moment the only thing we're waiting for is for all the financial aid paperwork processing tobe completed. I locked down an appointment next Tuesday with an Admissions Officer and should everything be kosher, I should be commencing classes come April 1st. I'm really trying not to overexhert myself in anticipation just in case something comes up and this doesn't materialize, but I can say that I am doing everything in my power to achieve this. Stay tuned, more to come.

Tacos of the Sea

I came across a list of the best spots to have fish tacos at in Southern California.

Whether kitschy Mexican restaurant or mini-mall taco chain, the drill is the same. Wrap 'em with foil and love. [Serious Eats]

This reminded me of The Fisherman's Cove, my grandparent's Mexican-style seafood restaurant in El Paso, Texas. The place where I spent some of my most awkward years before, during, and after high-school. Where I learned work. Back-breaking work. Everything from dish-washer to server to line chef to buss boy. I ate some fantastic foods, even when, at the time, seafood was my least favorite type of food.

I grew up around the hot stoves and the steamy kitchen. Peeling shrimp. Chopping up produce. Setting up plates. The whole nine yards. I learned a lot of my current culinary cognition from watching my uncles play around with fire and knives. Showering my palate and dowsing my taste buds with the likes of Camarones a la Diabla, Langosta Veracruzana, Coctél de Pulpo, Ensalada de Cangrejo, amongst a million other deliciouis dishes prepared and served by my family, at what seemed to someone be reasonable prices.
That's me at the far left in a puddle of cousins and a faded uncle at the door.
The story of the restaurant is pretty much as clear as it gets when it comes to analogies to the family history. The Rise and Fall of the House of Gamboa. Of sorts. The story is a long one that I hope to recount and start making sense of through a number of posts, being that it is a long one, with many, many characters, and many, many stories.

My grandparents proudly stand before their successful business, still quite ignorant of it's soon-to-come, pre-mature demise. El Paso Times, 1995