Pokey cook ISO her inner speed demon.

There was lots of culinary action @ Chez Chefty last night. I was impressed that my stove held up. It may be tiny & electric, but it gets the job done.

The night began with chicken stock. I started with a whole bird. It took me forever to section that chickadee into parts. As I hacked away, with very little attention to form or efficiency, I toyed with the idea of going to Costco and buying a box full of whole chickens so I could butcher one every day for a week. That's a lot of fowl, I know--though I could make heaps of stock, which would be great to have on hand to satisfy my occassional risotto cravings.

***Tangent Warning***

The point is, I am in desperate need not only of skill practice, but also speed & knife drills. Being out of school and out of a professional kitchen has not helped me in this department, where I've always needed all the help I can get anyway! I received my evaluation from Hearth a few weeks ago and overall it was pretty strong except for...

Areas of Weakness: Speed

I recall the first day I trailed there. I had to dice very finely and uniformly carrots, fennel, and celery for a sardine dish. It took me about four hours, seriously. I asked the cook how long it typically took him to do that same piece of prep and he was like, uhh...45 minutes? (Slaps forehead.) Needless to say, I never got to do that job again. But with time I got better and faster. I know it's all about continuity and repetition, and the task before me now is to find a way to recreate these patterns in a home kitchen. One solution may be to invest in a stopwatch. Timing all my prep tasks will probably take some of the fun out, but it will be good training.

***Tangent Over***

After the mildly frustrating chicken deconstruction, I tossed the pieces into the oven to roast up a bit. I got the stock on the burner at around 9 and let it simmer all night. This morning it was a lovely golden hue and I was very pleased indeed.

With the cooked chicken, I made a sandwich salad for lunch. The dressing was an experiment and it came out pretty tasty... two types of mustard, a spot of mayo, some white wine vinegar, minced chervil, and a spoonful of honey. Also added some green apple for crunch. I love it when you can cook one thing and get multiple dishes out of it. Ah, economy!

Between the stock and the chicken salad, I made a dinner that was unexpectedly terrific: kale & cannellini beans. Sounds very vegan, I know--and it was!--but it was delicious. I had never eaten kale before and if you haven't either, I recommend you check it out. It is a curly green, so when you cook the leaves, they soften but they don't lose their structure and become mushy. The texture is pleasant and silky. Taste-wise, I'd say kale beats most other cooking greens easily; it's mild and almost sweet. Oftentimes you'll see recipes for collards and other greens that include ham or bacon--with kale, that amount of fat would probably be overpowering. I made the kale last night with onions, roasted garlic, a mix of sweet dried herbs (fennel, lavendar, thyme) and some white wine. I reduced the wine till it was almost syrupy, then added the kale (which got simmered in salted water first for about 8 minutes) and a can of cannellini beans. With a final squeeze of lemon juice and a bit of zest, dinner was on the table. Really satisfying and flavorful. I'm going to look for kale at the market this weekend so I can experiment some more.

So that was Wednesday. I've got a pile of dishes awaiting me at home, even though I washed as I went! The plight of a cook with a small kitchen, limited supplies, and no dishwasher.

On the menu tonight:

Whole wheat pasta gratin with beans, fresh pesto, tomato & ricotta.