What should I do with this Culinary Arts Certificate and my Journalism Degree?

As the end of my culinary externship at the Austin Hyatt Regency nears, I find myself constantly thinking about what I’m going to do, what I want to do, and how I’m going to make money doing it. I’m beginning to really freak myself out, to say the least.

In my last post,“Chez Nous, Culinary Plans, and Catch-all Casserole,” I told you about my rather ambitious goal to start a culinary magazine. I am going to do this; this plan is not going away. In fact I’m in the first stages of developing the website, so that the girls and I can get started writing our articles, blogging and test cooking for our recipes.

Unfortunately, however this magazine, whether online or in print, is not going to provide for my family in any way, at least not initially. I’m getting married in September, and even though I’m relatively young, we plan to start having children pretty quickly. This means that I need to stop goofing off and get a “real person” job, as I like to call them.

Technically what I’m doing now, being a cook, is a real person job, but I don’t feel challenged for very long in a job like this. The first six weeks were challenging for sure because I was still taking class at night, but now It’s the same every day:  bake breakfast pastries, bake cookies, plate deserts, cut 20 chocolate cakes, make panna cotta, dip some fruit in chocolate; or some variation of that list.

At the end of the day I feel like I can do and be so much more with my culinary education than just cook.

I’ve been giving a lot of thought to what it is that I really want to do; what will challenge and satisfy my culinary desires. Essentially, I want to be a test cook and a writer. I want to be able to write recipes, cook food that tastes delicious, and share those recipes and experiences with others.

I haven’t seen any job postings here in Austin for a position like what I want to do. Someone with a culinary education as well as a journalism education who has experience in the food industry, like me, would be perfect for this style of writing for any publication. I just don’t know how to get started if no one is seeking to fill a position like this. I suppose I just have to start sending my resume and cover letter out blindly to any publication that has a culinary or food section and hope for the best.

The mere thought of searching for a job in that manner leaves me feeling very out of control, so instead of moping around like a lame duck I’ve chosen to do the one thing in which I can be in control, cook.

This recipe for Shrimp and Crawfish Etouffee is not something that I grew up eating. Given my cajun heritage and the fact that I grew up in such close proximity to cajun food in Orange, Tx I probably should have gobbled this dish up every Sunday, but I just began making this dish in college and I think that I’ve finally tweaked it to perfection.

For this recipe I bought 31/35 shrimp (medium size) with the shell on and deveined and peeled them myself. I then used those shells to make my own shrimp stock to go in the dish. This adds about an hour to the whole process, but it is incredibly worth it. I encourage you to make your own shrimp stock, but if you simply don’t have the time you can always use box shrimp or fish stock.

Shrimp and Crawfish Etouffee

For Shrimp Stock:

• 1tbs canola oil
• shells from about 1/2 lb of 31/35 shrimp
• 1 white onion – large dice
• 2 ribs celery – large dice
• 2 carrots – large dice
• 1tsp salt
• 3Qts water
• 4 whole peppercorns
• 1 clove
• 1 bay leaf
• 5 parsley stems
• 2 thyme sprigs

Note: The term 31/35 shrimp refers to the count. It means there are 31-35 head off shrimp of similar size per 1 lb.

1. Saute shrimp shells in canola oil till they turn pink, add onion, celery, carrot. Season with salt and saute to get a little caramelization/color and tenderness.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients; simmer uncovered for 45 minutes. The stock will reduce to about 1 3/4 C. concentrating the flavors and producing a delicious base cooking liquid. After 45 minutes strain through a mesh strainer or chinoise and reserve the liquid.

For Etouffee:

• 1 yellow onion – small dice
• 2 ribs celery – small dice
• 3/4 green bell pepper – small dice
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 stick butter
• 4 tbs AP flour
• 2 sprigs thyme – leaves removed and minced
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 bay leaf
• 1 tsp paprika
• 4 dashes hot sauce
• to taste kosher salt
• to taste fresh cracked black pepper
• 1 3/4 C Shrimp stock (see recipe above)
• 1/2 lb 31/35 shrimp deveined, peeled
• 1/2 lb cooked crawfish tails
• 3 green onions sliced thin on a bias
• 2-3 tbs finely chopped parsley
• 4 C. cooked rice pilaf

Note:
The size of your vegetables may vary from mine. It’s best to shoot for a ratio of 2 parts onion, 1 part celery, 1 part bell pepper. However, you can adjust these proportions to your own personal taste.

1. In a large straight sided saute pan melt the butter. Add the onion, celery, bell pepper and garlic; season with salt and black pepper. Saute until tender and translucent. Stir in chili powder, cayenne, paprika, hot sauce, bay leaf, and thyme.
2. Sprinkle in flour and stir to incorporate thoroughly. Allow the flower to cook for about 30 seconds to form a white roux. It will start to smell faintly like cookies baking in the background of all the other smells. Smell for it, you’ll know when it happens.
3. When your roux has reached the appropriate color/smell stir in the shrimp stock and simmer to reach nappe consistency. Turn the temperature down to medium-low and add the shrimp, cover and cook until opaque then add the crawfish and cook until heated through.
4. Turn heat off, stir in green onion and parsley. Serve over rice pilaf (see “Bake Shop, Garde Manger, and Certified Culinarians” for recipe)