Grapevine Accuracy: 75%

Jim showed up in class today. He was late.

We studied Brazil today. The heart of Brazilian food is the intersection of indigeneous Guaranis, Portuguese, and West African influences, the West Africans of course arriving on the continent by force. But they brought palm oil, peanuts, rice, yams, plantains, and the cooking methods of deep-frying and pot-stewing. The Portuguese brought linguisa, salted cod, and, according to Chef Patricio, "crimes and disease."

I was sous chef today, which meant I checked in the produce delivery and put it away (with lots of willing help -- people are always eager to see what ingredients we have received.) I went to the butchery to pick up the protein order (a pork butt, 5 flank steaks, a 5 pound box of frozen shrimp, a ham hock, and 2 pounds of chorizo.) I fetched and washed up for my classmates, and then I worked on prep for tomorrow's class: I shucked 12 ears of corn and cut off all the kernels, then puréed them with basil. Then I cooked the mixture over low heat with chopped onions, lard, and paprika until it changed consistency, becoming dry and less sticky. It's apparently the basis for a Chilean tamale dish.

Today we had mixed greens; "feijoada completa," a much-simplified version of a classic complex dish of black beans and smoked pork; shrimp empadhinas, braised collards greens, rice pilaf, yucca chips and a cassava cake which was .... odd.

You can see that Chef Patricio is interested in plate presentation: in fact, he's the first chef since Chef Duffy (back in February) who is very concerned with presentation. He has a collection of homemade sauces and oils that are used strictly for plate decoration.

Here are the shrimp empadhinas, atop some shrimp sauce and fried taro:


And here's the feijoada, with rice, collard greens, yucca chips, and a cute little julienne of tomato:


Every day, three or four chefs come into our classroom right at service time, and they eat lunch. "You know why they come here?" Chef Patricio asked. "Because we make the best food."

After we ate, it was my job to make sure that the classroom was left in spotless condition, but again, it was easy. Andy, Silvia, and Andrea all stayed and helped with the final wipe-down, and to chat with Chef. He's really critical, but in a very encouraging and supportive way.

For example: Andy reached for something above his head, on top of the refrigerator, and inadvertently pulled over a sheet pan full of dried pink shrimp shells. As they rained down over his head and onto the floor, Chef said, "Oh, you've ruined my project! I'll have to start over. No need to pick them up! They go right into the garbage."

"I'm very sorry, Chef," Andy said.

"Oh, it's okay. Accidents happen. I wash those shells out, then put them into a low oven until they are dry. Then I grind them up with some spices, depending on what kind of cuisine we are making: nutmeg if it's French, or paprika and cumin, and I make a kind of a flour. Then you can stir a big spoon of it into the sauce you are making for a most delicious flavor."

No harm, no foul.