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Monday, March 28, 2011

teach to learn, learn to teach


You have heard it "those that cant do - teach - and those that cant teach - teach gym" as the old saying goes but I guess those people already know how to cook. As old as I am I learn something new everyday and I mean every single day and as a constant learner I am now learning how to teach, how to pass on what I know to future generations.

Cooking is one of those arts that you can never stop learning, you may be good at one thing but you might need help with another so there is a never ending supply of things to learn. Today I taught a young student interested in embarking on a career in the culinary arts two of my favorite things to make. Eggs and dessert and what better eggs than Davidsons - Safest Choice, all natural eggs.

Brunch is a no brainer in my world and thats only because I've made it hundreds of times and since it is something so second nature to me it is one of the easiest things for me to teach since it is all technique, no recipe here. We started boiling water and separating eggs for the hollandaise while we thumbed our way through some pages of the Larousse Gastronomique.

While things were whisked and resting and english muffin toast was toasting we got our plates ready with some cucumbers, carrots, avocado and salmon.

Watching her do the "oh my god this is gonna be good" wiggle that some people do when they know they are about to taste something delicious was enough good feeling to last me for weeks.

This tasted fantastic, no doubt, but she has such a refined sense of smell and taste for her age it is exciting to think of the wonderful future she has ahead of her and to listen to her dissect the flavors was very impressive. She had two I had one - she liked it that much. Toasted english muffin with smoked salmon and avocado drizzled in copious amounts of hollandaise with a carrot and cucumber salad, you have seen this one before.

When we had our fill of eggs benedict we made a flourless chocolate cake out of the left over egg whites for dessert - this sealed the deal for the day. Chocolate, raspberries and cream foam how can you not like it? "Give a man(woman) a fish he(she) can eat for a day, teach a man(woman) how to fish he(she) can eat forever, show a man(woman) how to cook fish and everyone is happy" thus spoke Christo!

16 comments:

FOODalogue said...

So nice of you to share your knowledge -- it looks like she learned well!

Marjie said...

She looks pretty happy to have learned from you!

Sam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchen said...

How fun. You really jump into cooking to teach a student Hollandaise first. I would say she was very brave and perhaps so were you.
Sam

Christo Gonzales said...

raise the bar high so that when you get used to that height the little hurdles are like stepping stones.

Anonymous said...

So fun and very rewarding isn't it to teach others how to cook!

♥peachkins♥ said...

That looks so good and you must've been so proud!

You are so inspiring!

Angie's Recipes said...

omg....that egg yolk oozing out and flowing over...that's just exciting!

Stephanie said...

Really nice! As someone who loves to cook and used to be a teacher, I can fully appreciate how satisfying combining those experiences must have been.

Unknown said...

It looks like you did a great job teaching as making a perfect egg is not easy. I love that you had her read through Larousse Gastronomique, great reference book.

Magic of Spice said...

How wonderful, you can tell how excited she was. Both dishes are stunning!

mely said...

Great teaching job! Lucky student. Very rewarding moment.

Winelady Cooks said...

Great post. It's amazing how much we know, share it, and then continue to learn more. The children are lucky to have you.

Thanks so much for sharing,
Joanne

Lori Lynn said...

I bet you are an awesome teacher.
LL

Anonymous said...

That is the most delicious looking egg ever. I swear.

Vickie said...

Hi Christo - finally getting back to my blog reading and couldn't wait to read your jewels. I loved this post. How rewarding to to help a young person and I especially enjoyed your description of the good feeling it evoked. Very nice - made me smile.

Heguiberto said...

How great that you are having this great opportunity to share your cooking experience with this kid, serve as an inspiration and at the same time learn with the process. And the dish couldn't be better, breakfast food rocks!
Cheers,
Heguiberto
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