Author Archives for Have Fork, Will Travel

About Have Fork, Will Travel

Office by day, home cook/baker by night, maker of many things. Food groupie always. Life is too short for bad food.

Time to define yourself

We all go through phases of deciding who we are, what we stand for, and what makes us tick. It happens several times throughout our existence, not just once and done. Different experiences and interactions cause us to grow and evolve over time, which is a good thing. No one wants to be static and never-changing, but you also have to stay true to yourself. For me, that meant figuring out what it means to be a food groupie. Everyone has an idea of what a rock & roll groupie is, and sports fans are simply a rose by another name.

I have always loved food, and grew up watching the Galloping Gourmet and Julia Child on television (thanks to my mom). The start of Food Network was a dream come true when we finally got cable. All food all the time. Even before I actively started collecting cookbooks, I had a good selection of books and various pans/dishware to be able to cook and bake better. Food has always been a full contact sport in my family (I’ve mentioned this before, and will probably do so again), so becoming a food groupie was destined in the stars (or pots and pans, you decide). The last few years have been interesting in that I consciously made the choice to push my skills and knowledge regarding food and cooking. You never really quit learning, you just change the focus and intensity. Once I started meeting chefs and talking to other food enthusiasts, I knew I had found my happy place. I still have an office job that pays the bills, but there is always some part of my brain that is percolating an idea about a meal, how to make a snack, or whatever the ingredient of the moment is. I will talk about food with anyone at the drop of a hat. My husband or coworkers can vouch for that.

That time I double-dog-dared Alton in 2017.

The definition of “groupie” is is someone who is a fan of a particular band, singer, or other famous person, and follows them around. Saying you are a “fan” means you like, prefer, or are into someone, a thing, or a group. They are basically the same thing. My interpretation for being a food groupie means that you love food, like trying new dishes in an adventurous way, enjoy learning about food (history, ingredients, people), and collect items and experiences that relate to your culinary journey. I collect cookbooks (1200+ so far) and like meeting celebrity chefs when I can. It is also why I created the Worst Cooks bingo cards when Alton was the guest chef, and kept making them for the past year and a half. By the way, we need more shows with real home cooks (like me!) pairing up with actual chefs to compete. I can be very perky and animated when food is involved.

My husband is very patient with the amount of cookbooks and baking pans that I have, and he is also my #1 taste tester. It’s a rough job, but someone has to do it. It keeps things interesting to grab a random book and try a new recipe, and many of the older ones have short blurbs about the recipe or things about the time. They are a version of food history in their own right. If you are able, grab one of your grandparent’s old cookbooks and take a look. You can even ask an older relative if they have any recipes that they can make from memory. My grandmother was that kind of cook. She used “a handful of this” or “pinches of that”. One of my favorite things is that they measured out her recipes and translated her handfuls/pinches into regular measurements and created a cookbook for all of the granddaughters.

I like being a food groupie, and wear the title proudly (how many people can say they hauled their Kitchenaid to an event to have Fabio Viviani sign it?). It means I am an adventurous eater, and quite happily going down the rabbit hole of learning more about the industry and ingredients. Talking about food with other people makes us happy. If you doubt me, just ask someone where to get a specific dish or how to fix something. There might be disagreements on which is better (BBQ or chowder people, I’m looking at you) but it’s more of the “best team” vibe.

food groupie /fo͞od grü-pē/: person who loves food, likes trying new dishes in an adventurous way, enjoys learning about food (history, ingredients, people), and collects items and experiences that relate to their culinary journey

Sous Vide Jerk Pork Tenderloin with Mango Salsa

sous vide jerk pork tenderloin with mango salsa

1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (you can use more if preferred)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
salt and pepper
2 1-pound pork tenderloins
2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
1 mango, pitted, peeled, and diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (I usually have more on hand because I love cilantro.)
3 tablespoons finely diced red onion
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 small jalapeno, seeded and finely diced

Set your sous vide temperature to 135 degrees F.

In a medium bowl combine the brown sugar, allspice, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, 2 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Rub mixture over tenderloins.

Heat oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the pork and sear until browned on all sides. Transfer to a plate and let rest for 10 minutes.

Place tenderloins and any leftover spice rub in a large vacuum seal or zipper bag (think freezer instead of storage weight). Seal using the water immersion technique or vacuum sealer on moist setting. Once the water temperature is at 135F, place the bag in the water bath and let go for 2 hours.

Prepare the salsa by putting the mango, bell pepper, cilantro, onion, lime juice, and jalapeno in a medium bowl. Mix well and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and keep chilled until ready to use.

When the timer goes off, remove the bag from the sous vide bath. Let rest 10 minutes, then remove from the bag and pat dry. Slice the tenderloin and serve topped with the mango salsa.

Is the year half over, or has the adventure just started?

June 30th is the midway point in the year, with July 1st starting the downhill of the current yearly cycle. If you look at the year as half over, then you most likely have already started planning Christmas and New Year 2022 events. If you take the position of the yearly cycle has only partially started, it frees you up to see where the 2021 adventure can take you. I think most people are in the middle of the two, kind of seesawing back and forth depending on the moment and topic. I think that can be applied to food as well. Is the day or meal half over, or is one part of your brain looking ahead to dessert or deciding what to fix later? I am definitely the latter, always thinking about food and what I can create with what is in the pantry and fridge.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Have you decided what you are fixing for the 4th of July? I know for sure I am making ice cream (time to get back into the tradition my dad started when we were kids), most likely corn on/off the cob of some sort, and maybe even toss ribs or tri-tip in the smoker. I don’t know what the weather is where you are, but in the Central Valley it is HOT. I love cooking and baking (but dislike the obligatory dishes that go along with it) and the extended heat creates challenges to find ways of prepping or preparing meals without spending a lot of time in a hot kitchen. I’ve switched my bread proofing and baking schedules a little, so that the majority of the bulk rise is done overnight and baking can be done early in the day to mitigate heat buildup in my small kitchen. Canning is also challenging as the hot water bath turns half the house into a sauna. I think if I ever won the lottery, I would use part of the money to make an outdoor kitchen just for that reason. I’ve also started utilizing my collection of small appliances and the sous vide. The toaster oven can handle pretty much everything needed for a dinner for two, and the electric grills work well enough for a quick burger. Nothing quite replaces using the BBQ for certain things, but sometimes you don’t want to brave 100+ for just a few small chunks of animal meat.

Do you have a favorite small appliance? Several? Which ones make life easier for cooking at the end of the day? I love the Instant Pot and the Zest rice cooker. My Anova sous vide is another one that is becoming a regular part of the kitchen crew, plus the zippy red toaster oven (adult Ez-Bake). We actually had to buy a new coffee maker (Ninja) because the old one up and kicked the bucket a month ago. Talk about major researching and debate as to what to purchase! The hubby wanted certain features, and I just wanted something that would make coffee. In the end, we found one that made us both happy campers. Now, the big discussion on the weekend is drip or pour-over.

Stay cool, keep hydrated, and drop a comment on which kitchen gadgets you love or hate.

California is open for business – restaurant review

Our state opened all the way up on Wednesday, which is a good thing for many businesses. Restaurants in our area had been open at a percentage, so it wasn’t a complete opening of floodgates. I had purchased a beer club membership for my husband for Father’s Day, so we went to the restaurant to have dinner and pick up our membership goodies. I’m not going to name it, suffice to say it is a popular chain restaurant that has beer.

We got to the restaurant around 6:15pm. The restaurant was not busy yet, with a 20 minute wait time. Given the fact that they were adjusting to seating volume, that wasn’t too bad. There was room in the bar area, and for some reason everyone else that checked in was given the option of sitting in the bar except us. Maybe we looked too old for bar seating, though some older regulars had it all figured out. In they went. If that had been an option that we were made aware of, we would have taken it. We were able to be seated at a table fairly quickly enough though.

They have a code to scan on the tables for the menu instead of handing out physical menus. It is a great idea when it works. Unfortunately, the online menu was still indicating to-go only and if you hit the back button, it took a long time to refresh so you could see the menu. The app was even slower. We wound up asking a couple of times for a paper menu before we finally got them.

It seems like our server was new, and couldn’t keep track of the 6-8 tables she had. We almost got someone’s order three different times while we were there. The establishment doesn’t set the tables ahead of time, so we had to ask a few times for plates and utensils when the appetizer was delivered. The table across from us ordered a salad and it took almost 5 minutes for someone to bring them silverware. Our first beers took 15 minutes to arrive to the table after the order was placed (it wasn’t very busy yet, just steady), we had to bug the server a couple of times for my husband’s second beer (that took another 20 minutes to receive after placing the order), and we don’t believe she ever took the order for my second beer. After another 15-20 minutes we told her to cancel it since we wanted to wrap up the meal and leave, and she couldn’t find it on her tablet.

I had enrolled in the new beer club as a gift for my husband, which is why we went to dinner to pick up the product. All of the staff have t-shirts that say “ask about our beer club”, and our server had no idea on anything about it. Every question was met with a blank stare and “I don’t know”. She had to keep asking the manager for answers or what to do. The customer service issues continued in different ways. My husband’s napkin fell, a bus person picked it up, didn’t check to see if anyone might need a new one, and the server acknowledged when we asked for a new one but never brought one by the time we left 40 minutes later. The manager did have his hands full in our section. There seemed to be plenty of staff on the floor, and only our area seemed affected.

As to the food, my husband’s jambalaya was good. My order however, was not a happy event. I had ordered the double cut pork chop, which they were out of (it took the server 15-20 minutes after we placed the order to tell us) so I picked the half rack of ribs and two chicken thighs (the options were 1 breast or 2 thighs). The server repeated he order back correctly, but unfortunately, a thin chicken breast was what was delivered. Both of the proteins were cooked well, but the white cheddar potatoes were both gummy and dry (I didn’t know that was possible). The garlic roasted vegetables didn’t have very much garlic, and also were charred and underdone at the same time. The vegetables were perfect when I reheated the leftovers the next day. Then, when I was getting ready to pay, I noticed that the server hadn’t taken my first entrée off because of the order change. The cashier remembered that we had gotten there around 6 and gave us happy hour pricing on the beer (this might be a training issue for the server). What normally would have taken an hour to hour and a half took almost three hours for dinner.

I might not be a professional cook, but I have worked in restaurants and served tables. It is poor customer service to drop the appetizer on the table with a clunk and walk off without checking to see if anything else is needed. At that point we hadn’t even received plates, napkins or silverware. We had to ask twice. The major issue was a new waitress that had no idea what she was doing at all. She couldn’t keep track of her tables even though she had a tablet with her that had the information. She also had very long nails (I remember when I was 20) which made it so she punched orders in wrong, and she couldn’t retain the information long enough to make the correction. We had to keep repeating the order to her.

I will give props to the manager. He was aware that there was something amiss in our section and kept checking on all of the tables. He was very apologetic about any issues, and I’m sure that things will be addressed in a timely manner. It is an establishment that we frequented before the pandemic, and we will definitely give them another try. I think we’ll wait a few weeks so that the newer staff can be brought up to speed. Fingers crossed.

Happy Fri-yay!

In case you haven’t noticed, we are almost halfway through the year (I know you just checked the calendar). Hopefully you are somewhere that isn’t unbearably hot yet. The Central Valley has had a lovely week of temperate weather, albeit extremely windy at night. Next week will be higher than normal, with the projection of 111 on Tuesday (ugh!). I will be staying inside as much as possible, and I know the dogs will be happy that I’m still working remotely.

Our area is surrounded by farmers, so we can get a wide variety of fresh produce all year long. I haven’t been able to find ramps or fiddleheads to try to cook with, but I think those are mostly East Coast beauties. The stone fruit is starting to really come into season, so much that I had to completely pick all the fruit off one of the plum trees this week. I already know that I’ll be processing it this weekend into jam, pickles, and at least one pie (or several smaller ones). The second tree will be ready to start picking fruit next week, and the third type will be ready in about a week. Add to that the 40-year-old grapevine is having a bumper crop year, so there will be raisins galore. That will come in handy for my fair entries this fall.

Yes, the Big Fresno Fair will be up and running this October. The competition book went live online last week, and I’ve already started plotting my entries. I think my record for the fair one year was 44 items entered between Home Arts, Fine Arts, and Floriculture buildings. This year should be as hectic as the rest have been, and I am fully prepared to rush out the door and hope paint dries on the way to turn things in. Some things will never change.

I never tell anyone what categories I enter things in until after everything is dropped off. Once that is done and I can find my kitchen again, I put together a “where’s Waldo” score card and post it for anyone that wants to play the home game. The building is fairly large, but the entries are not always grouped together by division and category. Therein lies the fun of hunting for everything. It usually takes us an hour or so to track it all down. All I will tell you is that the goal is to make it this year a memorable one.

Do you enter in your local fair? What are your favorite memories of going to the fair (food, rides, livestock, home arts, etc.)? Let us know in the comments.

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