I Ain't Hear No Bell (Puts Up Dukes)

    You want more? I've been sitting in my computer chair that's not even a comfy executive rollie chair, but standard issue wooden rocking/desk chair (I always think I am going to fall when I lean) for the past 3 hours bringing new material to you Jabronies. Not to mention I'm still in the same clothes I hiked in earlier today (lifts harm, smells armpit, faints).
    I'm just going to cut to the chase and show a bunch of pictures of food I get to eat 'erryday and other miscellaneous things because I'm too tired to blow your minds with philosophical comparisons of mountains and kitchens...

Those baked New Zealand mussels I was talking about

New Zealand lamb

Squid Ink Risotto...one of the best things I have eaten here

Demo Mania

    One of the added advantages of going to one of the best culinary schools in the world, if not THE best (depending on whom you ask) is that you get the very best industry leaders to come and speak or do a demo right on campus. At any given time something might be going on in either Danny Kaye Theater or Anheuser Bush Theater. And it's not just culinary icons wowing CIA students (if its someone famous, get there super early); a lot of times its student-run clubs putting on a demo (you'll see pics later), or an instructor doing a chef demo. For instance, there is a Spanish wine tasting tomorrow night? I mean COME ON!! Your not going to get this stuff at your everyday community college culinary program (suck it J&W). After the jump I have a ton of pictures from the demos I have attended over these first few weeks.

Catskills More Like Bearkills

    I don't know how to start this post any other way other than that I saw a friggin' BLACK BEAR on my hike this morning...I'm telling the end of the story first. You just got Tarantino'ed. Walk with me, people.

Obviously not the bear I saw, but I have a soft spot for hilarious bear pictures...and this is the creme de la creme

    It's not until my trek down that I spot other human life in the form of a man and woman. I stop an chat for a moment, warning them of the wind and little visibility towards the summit (dark clouds, haze, snow/hail mixture....Naria basically) before they tell me they saw a black bear on their way up...here's how the conversation went down:


Man & Woman: Are you out here hiking by yourself?
Me: Yeah I'm new to the surrounding area an love to hike. I was up here a few weeks ago though so I'll be fine.
Man & Woman: Brave. Watch out for the bear down there. he crossed the path on our way up.
Me: ....What? Did you just say bear? Is it gone?
Man & Woman: We saw him only a couple hundred yards down the trail. He crossed right over the path as we were hiking up. You'll probably see him when you hike down.
Me: Is it safe to hike down???
Man & Woman: (Man laughs HA) Ohhh it's just a little black bear! Black bears are harmless, especially up here. They're not like grizzly bears, he wont hurt you. In fact if he sees you he'll probably run up a tree or something...
Me: ....Well, thanks! Have a nice hike!

    As soon as they were out of sight I picked up a large rock in my hand and kept it there for the remainder of my hike. Although they looked like pro adventurers and knew what they were talking about, I wasn't taking any chances. I don't care if I encounter Snuggles the bear, if he tries to attack me in the wilderness I'm going to bash his bear brains in.

I'd have no qualms with ending you, Snuggles

    I'm on edge the entire way down, stopping ever few minutes, looking around and being absolutely still. Then the trail opened up a bit with a clearing surrounding it. A few hundred feet off the trail was the small black bear, probably shorter than me if it stood up. He didn't even see me but I wasn't sticking around if mama bear showed up...at that point I might as well bash my own brain in with the rock. I felt a little ridiculous walking by hikers with a giant rock in my hand, but its still a fucking bear! They eat PEOPLE! I'm sure the hikers knew there stuff but I'm not taking their word for it...look at Grizzlyman for chris'sake! Watch the movie "The Edge"--"Bob! He's a man-killahh!"   

Come at me, bro!

     I know this is a food blog and bears have nothing to do with food unless you kill and eat one but I think its important to show some other things that also peek my interest besides just food. I don't just draw inspiration from food, but everything around me. I love to hike and I think working in a kitchen and hiking a mountain lend themselves to more comparisons than you would think, but that's for another post... More pictures after the jump.

Friday Night Eats: Gigi's

    My inner circle of friends and I have made it somewhat of a tradition here at school to go out to dinner once a week at a new place in the greater Hudson Valley region. Usually its on a Friday night since we are older/have been to college/fought in a war (Seth, hats off to you kid) and pregaming in a dorm is not always our highest priority ("DO YOU WANNA DO A SHOT!?!?".....seriously, how old are we?) Don't get me wrong, I love the nightlife. In fact we went out last night to the local bar "Darby's" and had a blast despite the Marist College Rugby semi-formal that was dominating the bar. I am, however, equally content with going out to dinner with friends, dropping a Jay-Z sized dough sack on a great meal (all in the name of research, don't worry mom), laughing and chatting about food and restaurants, then walking back to my dorm with a full fledged food coma. The point I'm trying to make is that I'm glad, blessed even, that I am older and have been to college prior to coming to the CIA because it allows me to take this school seriously. I see so many kids straight outta high school and it dawns on me that THIS is their college experience. Yes, CIA is a college, but its not COLLEGE...so no, I don't wanna go to a Hooka bar with you...sorry BRAH!
    Anywhooselle, the first restaurant in the "Friday Night Lights Eats" series is Gigi's. Listed as Mediterranean, Gigi Trattoria also boasts some serious Italian flair. Quick side note: The restaurant is owned and operated by the ex-wife of Giovanni Scappin--head lunch chef at Caterina de' Medici (our renowned Italian restaurant on campus). Word has it that when they split, she got the restaurant and he opened "Cucina" in Woodstock, NY (looking at the website this looks worth the trip for the series). This is the part where I forget the food and just ramble for days. In my defense, Jackie Chan's "The Drunken Master" is on TV so I am easily distracted. Food and pictures after the jump aka if your a n00b, click "Read More"

Things To Come

    I have a butt-load (always wondered how you quantify "a butt load") of other things to to add such as:

• pictures from demos I've gone to recently
• food from our production kitchens and dining halls
• Thoughts on CIA thus far, and breakdown of the curriculum
• Restaurants I've gone to with friends

    For now I need to get to bed, have to be up at 5:00 am for kitchen class where I will make New England clam chowder woooo! Then its pack and home to the 518. More to come tomorrow night. 

CIA Day One (Am I Really Here)

 

Roth Hall...where everything goes on

     I'm not going to dive too deep into the whole moving in thing because "this ain't my first rodeo" (thank you UB) so I cut to the chase and talk about some fooooood. The first week was dedicated entirely to orientation, and it was the same stuff I had for UB Orientation. During the first week we were required to eat in the East Wing Dining Room in Roth Hall on campus. East Wing is an interesting thing for a few reasons. First, its a 2 course sit down lunch and dinner plus dessert in a fancy dining room, which will take all of 90+ minutes of your time. Each time you sit with 5 new strangers from orientation and its the luck of the draw when your in line, so its important to strategically place yourself close to beautiful girls and away from the creepy kid with the eyes. Here are some pics I gathered during my orientation week, enjoy.

A crustini type thing with sauteed mushrooms, and a red wine reduction

Prosciutto, grapefruit, port wine reduction, baby arugula

Tomato soup, gryuere grilled cheese

The waterfall in front of my dorm...you can fish in that pond by the way

 Holy textbooks batman! Got all these during orientation 

Your King Has Returned From Exile....With Presents

"[O,o,o]Okay. This is the first record I've made under my own name.
And the first one I've made under my own control entirely without anyone else telling me what to do in certain places.
Some of the stuff I like very much. Some of the stuff I quite like. and I don't hate any of it, so I've settled for this... music.
I can't decide which piece to start with, so I won't start with any of the pieces I've already started.
I hope you like what you hear [hear,hear,hear,hear,hear...]"
~ DJ RJD2

    The last few weeks at home before I shipped off to CIA were a real cluster-fuck in terms of making sure all the necessary documentation was taken care off. Us Hahm's always cut it close. Seriously, just picture the scene in Home Alone when the McCallister's are RACING to get to their gate at the airport. That's me and my family in a nut shell...but in all facets of life. Movies? "eh...well find seats in the dark, anyone die in the first 10 minutes?" The exception to the rule: my dad. He's notoriously early for everything, as in he will catch the first 10 minutes of the movie BEFORE our movie. Aside from all that, I really was busy for the duration of my summer vacation; hence the absence from my command post.
     You are probably wondering what the hell those lyrics up above have to do with this post, so allow me to elaborate. First off, they're lyrics taken from the song "Salud", by RJD2. I realize that the majority of the people who read this post won't know who that is, i.e. my family, grandma, her bridge group (had no idea I was a hit with the older crowd?) but I was feeling like this blog was begining to become to forced; too stagnant, so I decided to step away from it for a bit so I could stockpile photos and stories like Russian nukes during the cold war. I was constantly being told to "update my blog" by people who read it, and I was all set to unleash everything I had been saving over the summer when the funniest thing happened...I just decided not to.
    I erazed all the stuff I was saving and have decided to start with new, fresh material (no one wants to hear about a burger I ate in late June). If it looks moldy and smells, throw it out. In a nutshell that song embodies my triumphant return because I was done with everyone telling me to keep it going when I knew it wasn't heading in the direction I wanted it to, and I couldn't decide what to start with so I didn't start with any of it, and am starting over..."I hope you like what you hear" (Actual food related ranting and photos in the next post)