Jessica Tom's Blog, page 5
July 9, 2018
Short post about Food Network Star - Episode 5 - Take This Title & Run With It
Well, folks, that was the end of the road for me. I'm going to take some time to reflect before I post my thoughts here. But here's a short statement I posted on my Instagram:
July 4, 2018
#FoodNetworkStar Episode 4 Recipe: Ketchup Shrimp
I made these for July 4th, thus the plates :)
Oh I know what you were thinking when I said I was making ketchup shrimp on Episode 4.
Ew, ketchup? That’s an insult to shrimp.
But trust me, ketchup shrimp is a nuanced and complex dish. If I didn’t mention its main ingredient in the title, you wouldn’t even know it had ketchup.
But I think ketchup is great, so I let the dish wear its name loud and proud. So what’s the story behind it?
Ketchup shrimp is a treasured Tom family recipe. I’ve eaten it for as long as I can remember. Without fail, my dad makes it for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but he’s also known to make it just because. And why not? It just takes a few pantry ingredients + shrimp. It seriously takes 10 minutes or so.
But ketchup shrimp isn’t a Tom family invention. In fact, it’s a staple in many Chinese-American households. When you think about it, ketchup is a magical ingredient. It’s sweet, a little tart, and has tons of umami, a “meatiness” that fills your mouth.
When Bobby and Giada announced that our challenge was to make a typical weeknight meal, I immediately thought of ketchup shrimp. It's fast, interesting, and has a bonus: if someone else got the shrimp before I did, you can easily use this same recipe (with some considerations for the meat) with chicken or pork.
RECIPE
Ketchup Shrimp
1 lb shrimp, cleaned with shells on
10 cloves garlic
3-inch knob of ginger
1 tbsp vegetable oil
½ cup ketchup
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tbsp Chinese black vinegar (if you don’t have this, you can substitute rice vinegar or even balsamic vinegar)
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Peel ginger. Finely dice the garlic and ginger. Heat a frying pan on medium. Add oil and heat until shimmering. Add garlic and ginger and saute until fragrant and golden, about 2-3 minutes. Remove the garlic and ginger, while keeping the oil in the pan.
Increase heat to high. Add the shrimp in the fragrant oil and saute for 2-3 minutes on each side, until the shells have a bit of color on them. Remove the shrimp and add them to the garlic and ginger.
Mix all the remaining ingredients together -- ketchup, hoisin sauce, black vinegar, and worcestershire sauce. Add to the hot pan and reduce for one minute, until just slightly thickened. Add the shrimp, garlic, and ginger and stir, coating the shrimp with the sauce. Keep stirring until the sauce is thick and clinging to the shrimp, about one minute more.
TIPS & TRICKSOne of my goals as a cooking teacher is to eliminate the need for a cooking teacher. So I try to explain why steps are the way they are. For example, why do you cook the garlic and ginger first, remove them, and then add the shrimp? Well, garlic is notorious for burning and turning bitter, so it needs to be cooked at a medium heat. Shrimp needs a high heat to achieve browning. When you saute the ginger and garlic on medium first, you ensure you don’t burn the garlic, and you also flavor the oil for the shrimp.
This dish is endlessly adaptable. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever made the same version twice. Sometimes I’ll add sriracha, sometimes soy sauce or fish sauce. Sometimes I’ll add sesame oil. The proportions are very flexible, so feel free to experiment.
Yes, keep the shell on! The shell has so much flavor. Think of it this way -- seafood stock is made from crustacean shells. By keeping the shells on, you are getting both the meat, and a super-concentrated “broth”.
So you have the shell on, how do you eat it? That's up to you. Personally, I suck the sauce and use my tongue and teeth to finagle the meat out. Sometimes some shell will accompany your bite… just spit it out. My husband peels the shrimp, and then swipes up the sauce on the serving plate. Whatever floats your boat, but remember -- shells are your friend!
July 3, 2018
Recap of #FoodNetworkStar Episode 4: Panic on the Panel
Wow… wow! I just watched the episode and I’m actually still shaking -- even though I knew what happened.
What. A. Nail-Biter.
Okay, but before we get to The Craziest Challenge ever, let’s start at the beginning. The Mentor Challenge! A straightforward cook. No teammates. No theme. Just make your go-to weeknight dinner in 30 minutes, then present.
After episode 3’s somewhat over-intellectualized tofu ratatouille lasagna (I’m Chinese… and French… get it????), I decided to do something that spoke for itself.
My dad is famous for his ketchup shrimp, a sweet and savory dish that he makes for special occasions or just because. Don’t worry, it’s not just ketchup. It also features Worcestershire sauce, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, and loads of garlic and ginger. Ketchup shrimp ✅. (Stay tuned for this recipe.)
My husband is obsessed with mushrooms and I usually have some sort of mushroom in the fridge at all times. Roasted mushrooms ✅✅.
If I ever make rice or beans, I’ll usually make a big batch on Sunday and then make variations throughout the week. Brown rice with a sweet lap cheong sausage ✅✅✅.
pssst.... the lap cheong sausage isn't burnt ... those are pieces of seaweed :)
Once I got to judging, I saw one empty seat. The guest judge was someone I knew very well… me.
Honestly, I didn’t really see this as part of the challenge. Maybe it was a survival tactic, maybe I was just being dense. I just started critiquing my presentation and food as if I were talking to a friend. I wasn’t thinking about PRESENTING, or a ticking timer, or the fact that I was sitting next to Bobby Flay and Giada de Laurentiis.
In the end, that helped me. I was able to be myself and show my food knowledge without getting too self-conscious.
And… I won the challenge! Giada said my presentation was “organic and real” and Bobby said the dish was “homespun, but at the same time there’s a really great elegance and finesse to it”.
That was a huge deal to me because I had been in the bottom three the week before, and I felt like I had a lot to prove -- not just to Bobby, Giada, and the other finalists, but also to MYSELF. I needed to prove to myself that in this field of accomplished chefs and TV food personalities, I could also hold my own.
And then here’s where things get crazy. My Star Challenge advantage allowed me to pick who would sit alongside me on a judging panel. But… this wasn’t a team challenge, and we would all be judged individually.
What would your strategy be?
I did the first thing that came to mind: pick a team of strong players who would all elevate the conversation and each other. Judging on a panel requires a certain rhythm and chemistry and the best panels have an easy rapport. So I picked people I had worked with before and knew could deliver a dynamic, high-level conversation: Adam, Christian, and Palak.
Was it a risk to bring such strong competitors on my panel? Maybe! But remember at that point I didn’t know that I’d be pitted against any of them. I just knew that I wanted to be surrounded by people who jived with me and would push me to perform at my highest possible level.
In this challenge, we had to provide commentary while Bobby and Giada cooked, and then judge their dishes. Judging the judges is quite the awkward situation. You have to be critical, but at the same time, they’re the mentors. By definition, they know better than we do.
You start to second-guess yourself. Was the bread burnt? Yes... but if Giada did it, maybe it’s supposed to be that way?
Little did we know, but Bobby and Giada purposely made mistakes in their cooking, baiting us to say something. As Bobby said, “Whether you guys picked out those flaws -- and were willing to say it out loud -- will definitely play into our decision.”
Lucky for me, I was able to summon all my food description skills, and I was safe. Whew!
Then came the craziest thing that has happened this season: the bottom four had to cook their versions of Bobby and Giada’s dishes. If there are four words you don’t want to hear about your cooking challenge, they are: Sudden. Death. Thunderdome style.
I can only imagine what Adam, Palak, Harrison, and Amy were thinking as they were cooking. I just knew that I had seriously dodged a bullet. Challenges are hard enough, but add the stress of finding out you were in the bottom, having to reconceive your mentor’s dish, cooking like your life depends on it, and knowing that you have a 50% chance of being kicked off -- that’s enough to really mess with your head and throw you off your game.
Sadly, Adam and Harrison were eliminated. They were both super strong contenders, and it was at this moment that it clicked: at this stage, one small misstep could send you home.
Halfway through the season. No room for mistakes. Things are getting real. See you next week!
If you want to catch up on all my Food Network Star posts, click here.
June 25, 2018
Recap of #FoodNetworkStar Episode 3: Summer Bites Bash
The task: host a summer party for a group of young tastemakers. You have six minutes to shop in the Food Network Star kitchen and then you’ll drive to the venue with all your ingredients.
I knew everyone would rush to the protein fridge, so I chose to go vegetarian with a tofu ratatouille terrine. I wanted to make something that not only said “summer” but also fit in with my personal story. My mom’s side of the family lives in Quebec and France, and my dad’s side of the family is from China. So… tofu ratatouille was born.
I had a plan, I had the ingredients. I just needed to get to the venue. Oh those crates in the car trunk? Don’t worry about them…
Of course, that would be too easy, and Giada and Bobby called us to throw in a twist: this was a team challenge -- with the people in our car -- and we had to follow the theme in our crate.
Ours was… Pasta Fest! Our crate had a bunch of Italian ingredients, as well as ingredients to make pasta: 00 flour, eggs (chicken and duck), semolina... Once we got to the on-site kitchen, we also had pasta rollers and shaper boards.
I was already going to make a layered terrine, so it was easy enough for me to add lasagna sheets and --- yes -- ricotta, to make a pasta dish.
That’s right, my tofu ratatouille didn’t just have tofu as the binder. It also had 50% ricotta, plus some sour cream, miso, fermented tofu, and the three basils -- all contributed depth and richness. I’m not sure why I told Katie it didn’t have cheese. Call it competition amnesia?
I know what you’re thinking when you hear “tofu”. You think bland, dietetic, “why????”. But it had a ton of flavor. What it did *not* have was binding stability, at least while all the other components were hot.
I anticipated this and layered everything in a slotted hotel pan so all the juices could drain out and the lasagna could have a better chance of setting. I placed a weighted hotel pan on top of the slotted one, chilled it, and hoped for the best.
I think the tofu ratatouille lasagna could have worked if …
a) … I was able to execute my original ratatouille terrine idea. The veggies would smush with the tofu mixture, creating a solid, sliceable block. Lasagna sheets don’t smush. They’re a slippery, impermeable barrier and that’s what hurt me. And...
b) … it had chilled overnight. All my components were warm which loosened the tofu mixture. Not saying an overnight chill would have made this into the perfect lasagna, but it definitely would have helped.
Presenting at the Bites Bash was a lot of fun, if a little crazy. Six minutes isn’t a lot of time to present our dishes, do a demo, and interact with the audience. But that’s the challenge and it must be met.
I loved working with Rebekah and Katie. They are strong, driven women and I felt we really came together as a team. The best part of the Bites Bash was feeding and interacting with the guests one-on-one. We could just relax and do what we love best -- sharing food and food conversation.
By the time elimination came around, I knew my dish had some issues, but I didn’t know how it compared to everyone else’s. Everyone is doing their best -- but is your best enough? Are you learning fast enough? How much will that one miscalculation cost you?
I was in the bottom three, but I was safe. This was my second time cooking alongside Rebekah -- first in Orlando and second at the Bites Bash. She has a pure, giving heart and has a contagious enthusiasm for food.
Lessons learned for next round: 1) Don’t make anything that needs time to set, 2) Don’t say something is cheese-less when it actually does have cheese, 3) Roll with the punches. If the terrine works, but the lasagna won’t -- don’t do it!, 4) Stay true to your roots and culinary POV, but don’t go out of your way to make something “different”.
As always, grateful for all your support! I’ll see you next week on Episode 4!
June 21, 2018
Food Network Star Episode 2 Dish: Yellow Chicken Curry with Spaghetti Squash
The challenge: make a dish in the shades of your spatula. The options were: red, yellow, purple, green, and red. Which one would you want?
As I mentioned in my Episode 2 recap, I was pretty happy with yellow. You can go sweet: mango, pineapple, oranges. You can go savory: curry, turmeric, spaghetti squash, corn, yellow squash, endives…
the dish as it appeared on Food Network Star
In the end, my teammate Adam and I chose to go savory and made a chicken meatball in a coconut curry with crunchy spaghetti squash and pickled corn. What I love about this dish is the different textures. Oftentimes, curries or stews suffer from sameness syndrome -- an unexciting monotony because everything kind of blends into each other. We tried to avoid that, building flavors and textures from top to bottom, including an al dente spaghetti squash, a creamy curry with bell peppers, a pillowy flavor-packed chicken meatball, bright and fresh pickled corn, and toasty coconut.
I’ve slightly adapted the recipe from what we did during the competition, and made it more suitable for a single person to cook in a home kitchen. For example, here the meatballs are smaller and simmered in the curry, rather than pressure cooked. On the show, I used a method of blanching, salting and squeezing the spaghetti squash (described here), but that’s a bit labor intensive with all the other components so I left that out here.
Also, since this was a team challenge, I’m not exactly sure what Adam did. So… I filled in the blanks with what I know and love.
RECIPE
Yellow Chicken Curry with Spaghetti Squash
1 2-lb spaghetti squash
Curry
1-inch knob of ginger
1 large onion
3 cloves garlic
2 yellow bell peppers
1 lemongrass stalk
1 can coconut milk (reduced fat or full, whatever your preference)
2 oz yellow curry paste
Meatball
1 lb ground chicken or turkey
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
3 tbsp dried chopped onion
1 tsp black pepper
Pickled Corn
½ cup water
½ cup white vinegar
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
3 ears of corn
½ tsp grated ginger
¼ cup grated coconut
Slice the spaghetti squash and remove all the seeds. Microwave for 15 minutes.
Prepare your curry ingredients. Mince the garlic and ginger and dice the onions and bell peppers. Heat a large pot to medium-high and add olive oil. Add all the ingredients and season with salt. Sweat until onions are semi-translucent, about 7-10 minutes. Add the coconut milk and curry paste. Slice lemongrass into three large pieces and add to pot. Simmer for 5 minutes.
To make meatballs, mix all ingredients until just incorporated. Do not overmix or else the meatballs will be too dense. After the curry has simmered, make small, loosely-packed meatballs and gently place them into the curry. Simmer with the lid on for 10 minutes.
To make the pickled corn, add the water, white vinegar, sugar and salt to a small saucepan. Heat on medium-high until sugar and salt have dissolved. Take off heat. Slice the corn kernels off the corn and add to pickling brine. Add grated ginger. Let sit for at least 10 minutes -- the more time, the better!
Toast the coconut in the oven using the broiler, or use the toast setting on your toaster oven. Remove when golden brown.
Scrape the strands out of the spaghetti squash. The interior strands should still be crisp, like biting an apple. Remove the lemongrass from the curry. Place the spaghetti squash on the bottom of the plate, then add curry and meatballs, pickled corn, and toasted coconut.
We got some flack for our plating, so if you have a better presentation idea, let me know :P.
TIPS & TRICKSDon’t worry about browning the meat or onions. The curry has so much flavor, that it would overpower any browning flavors anyway. Plus, brown would ruin the yellow look!
The microwave can be your friend! I love it for vegetables because it heats the existing water in the plant -- unlike steaming or blanching which *adds* water, resulting in a potentially waterlogged or diluted end-product.
I’m a fan of adding chopped dried onions into my meatballs. They act like bread crumbs -- absorbing the meat juices, adding texture and lightness -- but also bring a lot of flavor.
June 19, 2018
Food Network Star Episode 2 Recap: Destination Videos
Ok… let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Or rather, the rats.
Some important reminders and clarifications:
The rat line was only one take of many. Once I said it, I knew it was wrong. My teammates also steered me in a different direction. Think of it as a first draft -- a first draft that everyone sees. As you saw, the presentation Bobby and Giada saw had no mention of rats.
Some people think I said my mom ate rats. Ew, no! I meant that she had pet cats to eat the rats. I realize that’s only slightly better and still an offbase story, but worth a clarification all the same.
Ok, that being said, I totally own being off the mark in this presentation. I had a hard time wrapping my head around the challenge: pick a food outside your comfort zone, tell us why it’s outside your comfort zone, and then make a personal connection to it. ::head spins::
The fact that it was a burger was another challenge. I’m very familiar with burgers! I eat them, I make them, but I had to create some sort of distance so it was outside my comfort zone. Enter: a story about my mom not eating meat because resources were scarce. I wanted to talk about my mom’s humble childhood and how I grew up appreciating foods that celebrate abundance -- like a Hawaiian burger with two types of meat.
If you think that sounds like a lot to explain… yeah! And try doing it in one minute. I think I got too caught up in meeting the challenge requirements that I didn’t think about the most important thing -- describing the food in the most mouthwatering way.
Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s talk about the Mentor Challenge: create a dish in shades of yellow and then deliver a podcast describing that dish.
I was surprised to hear that our very first cook in the Food Network Star kitchen would be a team challenge. I really wanted to show my stuff. But I was really happy being paired with Adam. It can’t hurt to have a teammate who knows the ropes, plus has experience hosting TV shows and podcasts. It’s kind of the jackpot.
Chicken curry with spaghetti squash, pickled corn, and coconut chips
I think we worked together really well -- from dish conception to execution to podcasting. I’m glad we got yellow. I’m also glad we picked a curry -- even if it didn’t photograph that well. All in all, really happy with that challenge.
Now onto the Star Challenge...
psssst.... can you see my tanline from my Episode 1 outfit?
Even though I felt really confident about our Star Challenge presentation, I thought the other team -- Amy, Harrison, Manny, Rebekah, and Samone -- did really well, too. They also transitioned from presentation to presentation, something that didn’t even occur to us.
But we were safe. And that meant I was safe.
photos courtesy of Food Network
Whew! Another whirlwind week in Food Network Star-land. What did you think?
PS: Last thing about rats and then I hope to put this to bed forever. For better or for worse, I have an affection for rats. Here’s my dog posing next to his rodent collection. I probably have a higher tolerance for rat talk than most :P.
Do you like my rodent collection?? They are my pride and joy
June 12, 2018
Food Network Star Episode 1 Dish: Miso Skewer en Papillote (aka 2-in-1 Surprise Skewer)
Okay, so you’ve been dropped onto a fake beach in the middle of an amusement park. What now? You cook, of course!
I've watched enough seasons of Food Network Star to know that the first challenge usually involves your signature dish. But here was this season's twist: it had to park-friendly. Explicitly, that meant no utensils, and it had to be plated on servingware normally found in an amusement park. Implicitly, that meant a world of intangible things that you might expect from park food.
my signature dish in its normal form
What are those intangibles? Here were the musts I considered:
Fun -- think churros and Groot bread
Light -- this was a water park after all and I didn’t want to serve anything too heavy or hot
Easy and relatively unchallenging -- no one comes to an amusement park to take culinary risks
When you're not good at hiding your discomfort ...
... and panic.
So I decided to convert my miso-glazed halibut with turmeric tiles into a skewer, cooked en papillote. The parchment papillote would keep the dish neat, ensure everything inside was warm and tender, and provide a little mystery.
on the show
at home
In my presentation, I ended up calling this a “Two-in-One Surprise Skewer”. After our cook, I had looked around and seen people had beautiful dishes -- all visually exciting colors and textures. I had… a brown paper pouch and a piece of brown bread. Blech.
[image error]
"Everyone likes their own personal packet. And it tastes good."
So I tried to spin the negative into a positive. Can’t see what you’re eating? It’s a surprise! Don’t know what’s inside? It’s actually two things, a skewer and brothy veggies to sop up with the bread.
Sadly, neither the park guest, Giada, nor Bobby commented on my expert re-branding. But it didn’t hurt me either :P.
RECIPE2-in-1 Surprise Skewer (aka Miso-Glazed Turbot and Zucchini Skewers with Turmeric Veggies and Garlic Sesame Naan)I changed this recipe a bit from what I cooked on the show. My original signature dish used yellow squash, and that’s what I used here. On the show, I couldn’t find/they didn’t have any yellow squash, so I ended up using bell peppers.
I also used turbot here because my local Whole Foods was out of halibut. Feel free to use any firm, thick white fish like halibut, turbot, or cod.
Poached Vegetables
4 cups water
1-inch knob of ginger
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
½ head Napa cabbage
3 yellow zucchini
Skewers
2-inch knob of ginger
6 cloves of garlic
¼ cup white miso
2 ½ tablespoons mirin
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
1 lb firm white fish like halibut, turbot, or cod
Naan
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic
Pinch of salt
Splash of sesame oil
Black sesame seeds
1 naan
Preheat oven to 400°F. Peel and dice ginger. Slice Napa cabbage into ¼ inch strips. Slice zucchini into ¾” half moons. Add water, ginger, salt, turmeric and peppercorns to a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the Napa cabbage and zucchini and lower to a simmer for 3-5 minutes, until the cabbage has wilted and the zucchini is fork-tender, but still firm.
Puree all the skewer ingredients (except for the fish :P) in the blender. Cut fish into 1” cubes and mix with the miso marinade.
Use pre-cut parchment paper squares, or cut them yourself. Lay out skewers diagonally on the paper. There should be at least one inch of room on each side of the skewer. If not, trim your skewer.
Lay out one square. Spread a bed of cabbage along the diagonal of the square, where the skewer will be. Build the skewer, alternating zucchini and fish. When done, place the skewer on the parchment paper. Trim the corners of the parchment paper “wings”. This will reduce excess paper. Crimp the edges of the parchment paper by rolling and pinching, sealing the skewer.
Place on a sheet tray and bake/steam in the oven for 13 minutes.
As the fish cooks, make the garlic sesame naan. Add olive oil and garlic to a small frying pan. Slowly bring to a simmer, until garlic is lightly golden. Add sesame oil. Brush oil on naan with a pastry brush. Toast in the oven or on a grill. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Serve hot so your guests can open the pockets and enjoy the aromatic steam.
Episode 1 Dish: Miso Skewer en Papillote (aka 2-in-1 Surprise Skewer)
Okay, so you’ve been dropped onto a fake beach in the middle of an amusement park. What now? You cook, of course!
Usually the first challenge on Food Network Star involves your signature dish. But here’s this season's twist: it had to park-friendly. Explicitly, that meant no utensils, and it had to be plated on servingware normally found in an amusement park. Implicitly, that meant a world of intangible things that you might expect from park food.
my signature dish in its normal form
What are those intangibles? Here were the musts I considered:
Fun -- think churros and Groot bread
Light -- this was a water park after all and I didn’t want to serve anything too heavy or hot
Easy and relatively unchallenging -- no one comes to an amusement park to take culinary risks
When you're not good at hiding your discomfort ...
... and panic.
So I decided to convert my miso-glazed halibut with turmeric tiles into a skewer, cooked en papillote. The parchment papillote would keep the dish neat, ensure everything inside was warm and tender, and provide a little mystery.
on the show
at home
In my presentation, I ended up calling this a “Two-in-One Surprise Skewer”. After our cook, I had looked around and seen people had beautiful dishes -- all visually exciting colors and textures. I had… a brown paper pouch and a piece of brown bread. Blech.
[image error]
"Everyone likes their own personal packet. And it tastes good."
So I tried to spin the negative into a positive. Can’t see what you’re eating? It’s a surprise! Don’t know what’s inside? It’s actually two things, a skewer and brothy veggies to sop up with the bread.
Sadly, neither the park guest, Giada, nor Bobby commented on my expert re-branding. But it didn’t hurt me either :P.
RECIPE2-in-1 Surprise Skewer (aka Miso-Glazed Turbot and Zucchini Skewers with Turmeric Veggies and Garlic Sesame Naan)I changed this recipe a bit from what I cooked on the show. My original signature dish used yellow squash, and that’s what I used here. On the show, I couldn’t find/they didn’t have any yellow squash, so I ended up using bell peppers.
I also used turbot here because my local Whole Foods was out of halibut. Feel free to use any firm, thick white fish like halibut, turbot, or cod.
Poached Vegetables
4 cups water
1-inch knob of ginger
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
½ head Napa cabbage
3 yellow zucchini
Skewers
2-inch knob of ginger
6 cloves of garlic
¼ cup white miso
2 ½ tablespoons mirin
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
1 lb firm white fish like halibut, turbot, or cod
Naan
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic
Pinch of salt
Splash of sesame oil
Black sesame seeds
1 naan
Preheat oven to 400°F. Peel and dice ginger. Slice Napa cabbage into ¼ inch strips. Slice zucchini into ¾” half moons. Add water, ginger, salt, turmeric and peppercorns to a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the Napa cabbage and zucchini and lower to a simmer for 3-5 minutes, until the cabbage has wilted and the zucchini is fork-tender, but still firm.
Puree all the skewer ingredients (except for the fish :P) in the blender. Cut fish into 1” cubes and mix with the miso marinade.
Use pre-cut parchment paper squares, or cut them yourself. Lay out skewers diagonally on the paper. There should be at least one inch of room on each side of the skewer. If not, trim your skewer.
Lay out one square. Spread a bed of cabbage along the diagonal of the square, where the skewer will be. Build the skewer, alternating zucchini and fish. When done, place the skewer on the parchment paper. Trim the corners of the parchment paper “wings”. This will reduce excess paper. Crimp the edges of the parchment paper by rolling and pinching, sealing the skewer.
Place on a sheet tray and bake/steam in the oven for 13 minutes.
As the fish cooks, make the garlic sesame naan. Add olive oil and garlic to a small frying pan. Slowly bring to a simmer, until garlic is lightly golden. Add sesame oil. Brush oil on naan with a pastry brush. Toast in the oven or on a grill. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Serve hot so your guests can open the pockets and enjoy the aromatic steam.
June 11, 2018
My Thoughts on Episode 1: Are You a Main Attraction?
And so it begins. Food Network Star premiered last night and it. Was. Wild.
That one episode was filmed over multiple days, so it’s crazy to see all that time condensed into one action-packed 45 minutes or so.
Here are some of my thoughts and behind-the-scenes factoids.
We the finalists didn’t meet or talk to each other before that first scene on the beach. There’s a term in production called “on ice”. That means we can’t talk to each other so our pure, untainted impressions and interactions are caught on camera. So if we look awkward and unfamiliar with one another, that's because we had just met!
First thought when I saw everyone’s presentations: Wow, this is going to be a lot tougher than I thought.
It was really hot… about 85°, plus the lights and heat of the kitchen. Producers carried giant bags with waters and we’d gulp them down between on-camera time. I got a crazy tan in my cutout jumpsuit. Let’s see if we hid it successfully in episode 2. :)
There were lots of hair, makeup, and wardrobe people walking around, making sure you looked perfect -- especially in that intense heat. You almost don’t even need to look in a mirror, because you know there are dozens of people making sure not a hair, pant cuff, or lipstick swipe is out of place. HOWEVER! No one will jump in during the cook to fix you up. When the clock starts, it doesn't stop.
Before the cook, I kept saying to myself, “taste your dish, taste your dish”! I told myself to make an extra papillote packet. And… guess what I did not do. :P Just goes to show that you can know ALL the cooking competition no-no’s and still forget to do them in the heat of the moment.
That being said, I did taste the miso glaze and the turmeric veggies, just not all together with the fish. I felt good about my dish and thought it was something different from the other finalists.
During judging, Bobby made a comment that didn’t make the final cut. He said, “you never know what’s going to resonate with anyone. Jess, you happened to be talking to a vet and that resonated with him.” Talk about a lucky break!
Before the judging, my jumpsuit broke -- my mind was racing and I tried to go to the bathroom without unbuttoning it. Oops! Someone from wardrobe had to do an emergency sewing job just minutes before we filmed.
Living through this episode was intense -- lots of location changes, extreme moments of activity then slow moments of waiting, lack of sleep because of nerves. I tried to meditate anywhere I could: in my hotel room, nestled among the palm trees at Volcano Bay, in a sports bar at CityWalk… I was a little worried the show would film me meditating and I’d look like a crazy person.
I saw Rebekah’s jambalaya and I suppose I kinda-sorta-knew it wasn’t exactly portable. But really, in that moment, I was just thinking about my own dish and doing the best I possibly could. I can’t control what the other finalists do or what the judges say, but I can control my dishes so that’s what I tried to focus on.
And here’s my final dish! I’ll post the recipe later this week.
Even though I won my head-to-head, I never assume I'm safe. I've seen enough twists and turns on this show to know better. But... I live to cook another day.
And come on people... how can you be too polished when you were born a gem? :P (I'm joking, don't skewer me.)
Next week we head to LA and the Food Network Star kitchen. Can’t wait for you to watch! What did you think of the episode? Anything else you want to know?
June 4, 2018
How I prepared for Food Network Star
I found out I was going to be on Food Network Star about three weeks before I left for shooting. This ended up being the perfect amount of time… long enough that I could get some stuff done, short enough I didn’t drive myself crazy with anticipation.
Since we’re about one week before the June 10 premiere, I thought I'd share what I was doing one week before filming...
What I did:
Sambos: the most iconic recipe in the Tom family and what I was talking about in the commercial (though you can't hear it)
Crystallize my own cooking -- Now was not the time to reinvent myself as a pizzaiolo or learn how to use liquid nitrogen. I could try on different identities another day -- now I had to double down on my own. Anyone who has seen Food Network Star knows what the best dishes are the most meaningful ones: the dish your grandma taught you rather than the crazy one you learned from a YouTube video. So before leaving, I wrote down all the dishes that have personal meaning to me. I thought having a go-to repertoire would help me stay focused *and* save me valuable time during those super-fast challenges.
Get the facts down -- That being said, I did brush up on some things. Remember, I’m a home cook. Never been to culinary school. Have never sold my food (save a bake sale here and there). And while I’d like to think of myself as very knowledgeable about food, I’ve never had a structure to learn (school) or people to hold me accountable (restaurant staff, paying customers). I also cook with a computer on-hand, so I can look anything up, anytime. Not so on set. So I studied things like: what’s the difference between a salsa verde and a chimichurri? What’s the correct cook temp for chicken? Pork? Lamb? What are the correct ratios for pasta dough? Things like that.
Outfits I sent for approval and were later rejected: too revealing, loud (like, they made noise), busy, white, etc
A shopping spree -- Before we left, the Costume Director reached out to us and told us what we needed to bring. Summery clothes, no white, no logos, limited black, no tight patterns, bright, solid colors are best. We needed 17-20 casual cook outfits and 7-8 elimination outfits. Twenty-eight looks! OKAY. So, I have a lot of clothes, but that is a lot. Remember, too, that there are some clothes that you just can’t cook in, like those with bell sleeves or delicate fabrics. And there are some clothes that are totally fine IRL, but don’t work on TV (too sheer, boring, kinda old, etc).
Crash beautification course -- Haircut. Eyebrow wax. Gel mani and pedi. Nightly facials. Daily exfoliation. Teeth whitening. Stop scratching elbows. I did more for this competition than I did for my wedding.
Get my head on right -- As far as I could tell, Food Network Star would be a mental challenge as much as a cooking/on-camera one. So I made sure to boost myself with tools that could relax, center, and empower me. This included packing a yoga mat, stretching strap, and massage balls. I also packed a veritable library of self-improvement books. There’d be no time for cramping or self-doubt. Go go go.
What I did not do:Change my knife skills -- I don’t hold my knife the correct way, choking up on the handle and pinching the blade. I hold my knife like a home cook, with my pointer finger across the spine of the knife. In a perfect world, I’d have better form, but with just three weeks to get ready, I didn’t bother to change my grip. As long as I cook good food and present it well, that’s all that matters.
Practice timed presentations on camera -- Well, how hard could it be? Turns out pretty hard… I'll let you decide how I fared on this one.
The premiere airs June 10 9|8c on Food Network and then runs for 9 weeks. Can't wait to watch with you!
