Asado negro made in USA

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La cocina Venezolana tiene en su haber miles de sabores e influencias, influencias que van desde la cocina española a la cocina árabe (intimas amigas ambas) pasando por variaciones propias de los ingredientes a disposición y diferentes regiones.

Uno de los platos emblemáticos de la nuestra cocina es el asado negro. 

Pero, como hacer un asado negro? Querido lector le receta del asado negro varia de casa en casa y cada cocinero le pone su sazón. Aca le voy a contar mi experiencia con mi primer asado en el exilio.

Estando en los estados unidos el primer reto que tiene el cocinero es encontrar el muchacho Redondo el muchacho del Carrizo!!! Como le traduce uno al ingles el muchacho Redondo? Porque si uno pide “a round boy” se lo van a llevar preso por pedofilo.

El muchacho Redondo es un musculo de la pata trasera de la Vaca bastante fibroso y apto para cocciones de largo tiempo y altas temperaturas, en ingles este corte se llama “Eye of the Round” siendo e Round el grupo completo de la pata posterior de la res.

Ahora antes de entrar en la receta…que va a ser breve porque la idea de este blog no es ponerme a escribir recetas si no experiencias en la cocina y relacionadas con la misma, les doy estas advertencias 1) La cocina se va llenar de humo, bastante hume, si usted vive en casa o apartamento en USA se le va a disparar la alarma de incendio asi que abra las ventanas y ruegue porque los vecinos no llamen a los bomberos y 2) es un plato que se toma dos días (uno marinando la carne) y al menos dos y media casi tres horas de cocción para un muchacho de dos  kilos.

Despues de dorar muchacho poner la marinada

Para hacer el asado pueden seguir la receta de sumito en youtube yo la verdad cambie ciertos ingredientes (agregue clavos de olor al marinado y aji dulce).

Es importante no limpier mucho el muchacho para que la grasa absorba el sabor del papelón, el papelón en USA lo pueden conseguir en las tiendas mexicanas bajo el nombre de piloncillo.

Ahora después de la cocinada les cuento quienes se sentaron en mi mesa: Stephanie mi conpañera y complice culinario, Ian y su esposa Kristina, Juan y Jenni Urbina. Yo  al probar el primer bocado tuve que aguantarme las ganas de llorar y gritar no joda!!! Esto es un Asadooo!!!! Porque no hay nada como la cocina para resaltar, recordar y compartir la identidad y nustra cultura.

Producto final, la salsa se puede tamizar para un mejor acabado.

Un noche de grandes sabores y buena compañía como debe ser!!!!

Salud!!!

Tourism and immigration

“Don’t  confuse tourism with immigration!” replied the Devil…..

I have the fortune to know a handful of people that had made cooking not only their life but also their profession. Among them Ian Hutchings, Chef at LUC an amazing restaurant in Corvallis, Oregon.

Ian’s approach to cooking is very meticulous and at the same time very spontaneous, is the king of cooking that makes you feel that everything is going to be jus perfect, thanks to great ingredients choices and amazing technical knowledge. Also, is the kind of cooking that comes just after you had been doing it for such a long time, that is hard to remember when you started.

Ian in action at LUC

Being invited to somebody’s kitchen is an extreme act of trust, for the first time I was fortunate enough to have the chance to share the kitchen with this great chef and friend. After having cooked a thanks giving dinner and breaking down a pig together (in other works playing around) Ian invited me to help in the kitchen due to a impromptu absence of the kitchen helper and several innuendos from me, that were more like “I you need somebody one day I would love to do it…please?”.

I joined Ian a Wednesday and a Saturday being the last one a very heavy shift since everybody is out for dinner.

Now here is where things get real, I am not going to romanticize my position I was the dish washer/helper/utility of kitchen.

I want to emphasize that for me it was amazing for several reasons. First I got to see Ian in action, and pick his brain. You never stop learning in the kitchen but when you are playing with the big boys you can’t help yourself to ask about everything.

Second I got to remember and feel again the rush of a professional kitchen, after having some experience in the restaurant industry (many years ago) it felt just great to feel that rush and the “don’t’ mess things up, not even a soup!!” feeling.

The menus were, as always, a good example of a farm to table proposal great executed dishes like a beets salad with goat cheese vinaigrette, hand made pappardelle in 12 hour lamb sugo, a wonderful bavette with lobster sauce (a meat lover delight) among others. All perfectly executed, planned and put in scene by Ian.

The point of these words is that, after doing it I could only think: “How can you do it every night?” “With a family too?” I came home exhausted with good memories but with a great insight.

I see people wanting to start restaurants and talking about “how amazing would be to open a little restaurant”. But there are a few things to remember and consider.

There is not such thing as a little restaurant, cooking for other people means work!! Don’t believe me? Try and organize a 10 persons dinner party with entrees, first, second and dessert.

When you are cooking in a restaurant you are not cooking for friends you are cooking for costumers, and it doesn’t matter how nice you are they will demand nothing but perfection from you. You have to deliver!!! This creates a good deal of stress on you.

Is extremely hard on your family, the way I had seen this working is because this chefs have amazing and supporting partners that understand their passion. But trust me is a hard test for you and for them.

Having a restaurant dream? Find a way to help in a professional kitchen one night. Then after doing it ask yourself “can I do this every night? “ “What if my name was on the menu of the restaurant? ” “What if my money depended on the success of the restaurant?”

I am lucky enough of being able to play with the dream and get some lessons from friends like Ian. However those are questions worth asking yourself.

Some people just like to cook and they are amazing at it, some had done it and have a good idea of what implies, others just like the idea and have a romantic idea of it, but don’t forget one thing is tourism and other immigration.

BARAO

Barao es un termino con filiacion nautica que denota a un barco que por una razón u otra no puede moverse. 

Hace mas de dos meses llegue a Caracas con el plan de una brave vacacion visitar a mi familia, amigos y escapar de nuevo a los Estados Unidos, pais que me ha hospedado por mas de tras anos. Al tratar de renovar mi Visa me encuentré que pasados dos meses la espera continua sin ninguna respuesta por parte de la embajada americana.

Sin embargo, estar "barao" te fuerza a reconectarte con elementos que habias dejado atras que habias olvidado y que de cierta forma son parte de ti es que ser Venezolano viene con una idiosincrasia que te permite estar "Jodio pero contento" asi comenzó mi perigrinaje para optener documentos (cédula, pasaporte y licencia) recuperar mi identidad legal ha sido una empresa titánica. Pero reconectarse es útil y sano. Reconectarse con ese viaje en carrito, metro, el perro caliente, la trampa criolla, la picardía ese sabor criollo que nos ensalsa.

Aprender a tocar cuatro, comer platano y tal calí son joyas que solo con los ojos del exilado son bien apreciadas.

Los cuentos son varios ahora el tiempo no alcanza pero por ahora, sigo barao pero contento.

After 6 moths in my final destination (Corvallis, Oregon) I've decided to return to this blog and finish my story from the end of my trip. I will be writing the rest of my trip and experiences from my memory.

Albuquerque

I made it to Albuquerque NM, I am really tired last drive was pretty long and tomorrow I wan to make it to Kingman, Arizona to put me closer to the border with California, that way I will have more time to visit the Mohave and maybe stay one night there. Today, the ride was pretty good, driving with a shining sun and blue skies can really help me to keep going.
I fond out that making videos, pictures and thinking how to put this blog together really helps me to kepp me bust.
In Albuquerque I treat myself with a nice seafood dinner in a close by restaurant, I had Shrimps Veracruz and a couple of Bohemia. Now I am really ready for bed.

Leaving St Louis

In my room OK

Change of plans

Life is always making you to change, adapt or just to say fuck it!!!. On my way to Tulsa I realized that the person that I was to stay with ( a friend of a friend) could not longer host me. So I had to keep driving to Oklahoma city.
I hate driving at night for several reasons, one of them is that like my mom I always like to think in the worse case scenario and the other is that being from Venezuela driving in a Highway at night is a instant trigger for traumatic stress disorder, since we had seen all kind of events in that setting.

The entrance to my room #141

Pretty decent he?

Tomorrow I will head to Albuquerque, New Mexico and from there Arizona.

Wild Mushrooms Risotto

My stay in St Louis was great!! I even had the time to make a decent wild mushrooms rissotto in my friends house. Today I really felt the loneliness of the road, is pretty hard to keep your mind busy and I feel that I am running out of self reflection topics.

Sweet delay

One of the things that stress us out is being delayed, we had created this false sense that we MUST be somewhere at some specific time. The truth is, that the only place you have to be is exactly where you are in that specific moment.
I woke up in St. Louis in my friends Vanessa and Max house, I had planned to start driving three hours ago, but Vane just made pumpkin pancakes, with sausages and cheese.... How can you not accept this treat and sweet delay??
I will get to the road in the perfect moment, whenever it is.

KY to MO drive, first stage of the trip

(ESPANOL) Manejando desde KY a Missouri

From Kentucky to St Louis

A big cross and a big truck

Finally I made it to start driving, it was very hard to leave my neighborhood specially with all those parties and great feelings and good wishes. I must say I had been blessed with good friends.
The drive to St. Louis was pretty smooth, even if all may car was packed with all my belongings. I was concerned of iced roads but, lucky me, the weather had been improving exponentially since last Friday.

Entering St. Louis

Once I got to St. Louis I went straight to my friend Vanessa lab, she works in the Washington University School of Medicine in the genomic center, a pretty impressive institution that was involved, among other exiting projects, with the initial human genome sequencing.
We spent part of the night in the lab, she is learning FACS (cell sorting) a very exciting immunological technique and I got to peak a little. We took a break to go to the SCHLAFLY tap room for beers and dinner and back to the lab.

My friend Vanessa rocking after working late in her lab 

Today we are having a short session in the lab and then some Yoga and maybe some walking around St. Louis.
Hopefully this trip will keep getting better and better and you, the reader enjoy it as well.

Getting ready

Many people wonder what it is to get ready.

Well, the truth is that we really don't know. Since when we have to get ready for something really big we realize that we never were ready for it.

Somebody close to you is dying?

You never were ready for it, and when it finally happens I can assure you, that you will feel really not ready for it.

Changes in life happens, just like shit, and is definitely not getting ready what helps us to overcome them, enjoy and make the best out of it.

Two years ago, give it or take, I moved from my country of birth (Venezuela) to my adoptive country (Italy) an then to another adoptive country (United States of America). Even if I always knew that i wanted to leave Venezuela and I liked to think that I was ready to do it, I found myself in situations that I was never ready for and that for some people would had been very stressful.

Now I am about to start another move, from Northern Kentucky to Corvallis, Oregon and I will driving across the United States, for almost 3,500 miles.

I had been packing for a week, and guess what?

There is a winter storm all across the area that I am going to be driving trough and a lot of snow/ice alerts.

I had been changing my route further South every two days.

So here I am, ready but not ready, in my home, after having already said almost all the goodbyes, trying to figure when and where to start driving.

I will, possibly, start driving tomorrow and I will take you with me in my trip on the roads of the United Sates.