It'sFoodTime!

Yaaay, an iPhone!

This has nothing to do with food (well, at least not yet), but I wantonly upgrade from a perfectly good blackberry pearl to an Apple iPhone. The iPhone is pretty sweet and does all of the usual smart phone stuff like calendars, contacts, camera, etc. However, it’s missing some basic functions like cut and paste, searching through contacts by typing in part of a name or company, and synchronizing notes between the phone and the computer. Email was really difficult to set up, and I’m still not 100% sure its really working. And, it’s tough to type on the virtual keyboard with my big thumbs. On the plus side, it has a fabulous google mapping app, a dedicated youTube app, a built in music/video iPod and a web browser that works identically to what you see on a computer. Now I can update my website on my phone – the cost has been justified!

After spending a good part of the morning yesterday installing, configuring, testing, swearing, fixing and ultimately declaring success, I took a moment to reflect on the number of Apple products that have made it into our home in the past three years. Entering 2004, I owned zero Apple products and considered Apple a bit player in the world of computers and consumer electronics. Then, I happened to become the executive in charge of a chip that Cypress Semi sold to Apple for a “circular touch pad” in this weird looking thing called an iPod. I’m always game for trying out and end customer’s products (try that with a WAN telecom switch …!), so Laura and I sprang for a pair of iPod Minis and an iTunes account. Let’s fast forward to September 2007 as I write this blog on my MacBookPro listening to music on my iPhone and take an inventory: 3 iMac G5s, 1 MacBookPro, 1 MacBook, 1 iPhone, 2 iPod Minis, 3 Video iPods, 4 iPod Shuffles, 5 iPod Nanos and an iTunes library with over 4000 songs and videos! And its not over! Every iPod we own is now an “old” model, even after three or four rounds of buying new models! Apple has created a machine that sucks money out of my pocket and then entices me back six months later to let it happen all over again. And again.

Amazing …!

– Chris

Shabu-Shabu

While eating at Restaurant Michael Mina recently, I had the opportunity to try the French Chef version of shabu-shabu. If you haven’t experienced shabu-shabu, you have missed out on a true delicacy. The dish is Japanese, and is essentially very thinly sliced Kobe beef that is cooked in a pot of broth, maintained on a small burner in the center of the table, that is shared by all persons at the table. The broth is initially flavored with various spices, sauces and an array of vegetables. As each person lifts a slice of beef with their chopsticks and drops it into the broth, the juices from the meat add to the flavor of the broth, causing it to evolve into a fabulous concoction by the end of the meal! After the meat cooks, which takes literally only seconds, the slice of beef is fished out with chopsticks and dipped in a thin, spicy sauce, that sometimes includes a raw egg (watch that if you are nervous about eating raw eggs – don’t let the waiter/waitress add the egg – I’ve always found they are understanding when I wave the egg away). The end result is a hyper-flavored slice of beef that literally melts in your mouth! Soooooo good that words can’t do justice! In Japan, shabu-shabu is considered a very high-end dish, and is priced accordingly. I’ve seen it priced as high as a hundred bucks a head!

I’ve tried to find good shabu-shabu in the US, and its surprisingly difficult given the popularity of Japanese restaurants in all major cities in the US. I guess its not a surprise that the best places I’ve found are in Washington D.C. and New York City. I have yet to come across a truly competent shabu-shabu in the San Francisco Bay Area, but I keep looking. Anyway, I was surprised to see shabu-shabu on the menu at Michael Mina’s so I had to give it a try as my appetizer at dinner a few nights ago. The dish is served with five pieces of the thin kobe beef, each wrapped tightly around a small bunch of delicate grasses and herbs and enoki mushrooms. The kobe wrapped bundle is dropped into a small bowl of broth that is heated by a sterno can, and then dipped in the thin herb sauce. It was really a good dish! But sadly, it was not shabu-shabu!

By the way, during one of my visits to Japan, my Japanese host told me that the name shabu-shabu comes from the sound at the table of the beef being swished around in the cooking broth and the dipping sauce. I’ve also heard that “shabu-shabu” means “swish-swish” in Japanese. Don’t know which is true … but, it does kind of sound like shabu-shabu-shabu-shabu…!

– Chris

Vacationing with the CIA

Click here to see the whole series!

No, NOT the Central Intelligence Agency! I’m off to the Culinary Institute of America, located in Hyde Park, New York for a one week long boot camp in late September. It turns out that I’ve got some time on my hands due to a transition between jobs, and I decided to put some of my spare time to good use! The CIA is one of the country’s biggest culinary schools, along with the French Culinary Institute and a few others, and one of the few that offer classes for those who are not pursuing the culinary arts on a professional basis. The boot camp I’m taking is the basic course, with emphasis on tool skills and preparing meats appropriately. Believe it or not, baking, broiling, frying, braising, poaching, sautéing and stewing are each appropriate for certain types and cuts of meat, and completely inappropriate for others. This week is targeted at unraveling these mysteries and building some expertise. The boot camp classes are integrated into daily campus life, and every participant is required to where a chef’s uniform when participating in the course! And, we start at 7am every day and run to 9pm! Except for the first day, when we start at 6am. Hmmm, I’m gonna be tired. That’s 3am California time!

I’ll be sure to take some time each evening to write about the days happenings and attempt to capture the highlights, lowlights, and just pure excitement of it all. Stay tuned…! Just for kicks, let’s take note that my weight is currently 205. Will it go up, or down, over the next two months…?! Place your bets!

– Chris