Spring Has Sprung!!!

Seasonings can be broken down into a few different categories including herbs, spices and condiments. The most popular seasoning known to the world of cooking is salt. Many professional and home cooks mis-use salt in everyday applications, not knowing how much to really use. In today’s culinary world, there are also so many varieties of salt, each one having many unique characteristics and flavor profiles, that it can get a bit overwhelming for the at home chef. but fear not friends, Chop Talk is here to help.
On this subject, an Exec Chef friend of Ergo told an interesting story about when he was a student at CIA. One day, the chef had students line up in front of a pot of butternut squash soup, everyone taking turns tasting a spoonful of the soup. After each of the students tasted, the chef added a teaspoon of salt and they all tasted again. He explained that it was amazing to see the subtle changes in flavor and viscosity (mouth feel) of the soup. The Chef Instructor lined them up and did it again and again, about 6 or 7 times, comparing the finished product to the original unseasoned soup. The addition of salt had changed the soup so immensely, that it almost tasted like a completely different batch of soup.’ Learning about the ingredients you choose to cook with will make a big impact on how much seasoning you must add during the cooking process.
So how do we find the proper balance of seasoning? The tongue has 5 known tastes; sweet, salty, sour, bitter and Umami. True balance is all about the marriage of those tastes on the plate and ultimately on the palate. When cooking with unfamiliar flavors or ingredients, taste them first! Try using classic flavor combinations that our culinary forefathers successfully paired. Practice makes perfect and as we learn the basics of taste and flavor, our ability to season will be much more successful.
There are many basic guidelines you may follow with regard to using herbs and spices, but remember, there are NO RULES to cooking savory dishes. You can change the flavor profile to what best suits your tastes. Some seasonings are much stronger than others, so begin using small amounts, and then add more as you feel fit. Heartier dishes such as stews and braises can be seasoned well with woody herbs like rosemary or thyme. Lighter dishes like sliced heirloom tomatoes and mozzarella cheese may only need a little parsley or basil to bring the palate to absolute harmony.
Other popular seasonings include vinegars, soy sauce, wines, spices such as; pepper, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, saffron and turmeric, even anchovies, chilies, and garlic. Using herbs can really make a huge difference as well, so try and find a reputable supermarket for your herb selection, or even better, grow your own. Some favorites include basil, tarragon, parsley, chives, dill, mint, oregano, lavender, thyme, and rosemary.
A great way to incorporate flavors into foods like chicken, steak and seafood, is to combine some spices and or herbs, then add them to an olive oil, creating a marinade. Submerge the protein in the flavorful marinade and let all those seasonings permeate through the food. Be sure to brush most of the marinade off before cooking, as it may burn. Other ways to use spices include making dry rubs, which can enhance flavor, color, and texture. This is an important step when preparing BBQ ribs as without the rub, most ribs may seem lackluster.
Armed with some knowledge, support and practice, you’ll be making some pretty tasty food in no time! Try some of these ideas out at home, and don’t be disheartened if your first attempts, or two, are unsuccessful. “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Don’t give up too easily; persistence pays off in the end.”
Chefs Spotlight
Chef Pete Silvano grew up in two industries. Food & apparel. Growing up, his father was either involved in a food concept or slinging thousands of shirts, hats, and anything else you could print something on. One thing is for certain he always ate good and had the newest and coolest clothes in the neighborhood. Once the cooking bug bit him there was no turning back. Technically he has been in the food industry all his life, but professionally, for 26 years. He has worked up and down the East Coast as well as out west in Arizona. He has worked under high caliber chefs from 6 different nationalities. With their training and guidance he has learned to cook several different cuisines and has excelled at them all.
Chef Pete has won numerous awards such as Rising Star Chef in 1994, and in 2010 he was rated as one of the top 25 Chef’s in the city in Jacksonville Magazine. He has done local radio and TV appearances in the past as well in Tampa and Fort Lauderdale. In 2012 he decided to follow in his dad’s footsteps and start an apparel company specializing in what he knows best: Being a Chef and having a passion for food and everything culinary. His company is called Chefs Life Apparel. The site has been viewed in over 800 cities worldwide to date. Chefs from all over the world have been ordering his one of a kind designs and comical slogan type shirts. Chef’s Life Apparel is now striving to be involved with foundations to give back and other culinary type companies for cross promotions. As of this year CLA has connected with Ergo Chef Knives and Chefs Roll, as well as doing a campaign this April for Cruz’s Crusade, to help a little boy with a bone marrow transplant. Check them out at www.chefslifeapparel.com and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Recipe courtesy of Chef  Pete Silvano 

Machu Piccu Peruvian Stew (Seco)

Ingredients

Where’s Randy? 
And last up, but certainly not least, are the ongoing adventures of Chef Randy, who will be appearing with the Ergo/Costco Road Show these next two weeks at the following locations, so mark your calendar and come out and say hello…you never know, you may even see your picture here in one of our next installments!

 
Till Next Time,
Ergo Chef