Back to School

Faithful readers -- it's been way too long.

My apartment is partially unpacked, partially painted, and a complete mess -- the last few weeks have been slightly crazy, with the usual moving struggles but also some unexpected challenges (a newly discovered severe dust mite allergy, industrial-strength primer and paint to cover a smoky smell in the new place). Fortunately, I've had plenty of help from friends and family, and it's finally starting to feel like home.

I'm settling in nicely at the new job, and my evenings and weekends are kept busy visiting old friends still in the area, going to a college friend's wedding (enjoying a short reunion with a few former roommates), and meeting my parents for a weekend in New York.

Between all the work and play, I've even found a couple opportunities to go back to my alma mater for a superb public lecture series: Science and Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to the Science of Soft Matter. This semester-long course brings in famous chefs such as Wylie Dufresne and David Chang, covering topics ranging from molecular gastronomy to the art of sous-vide. Each chef describes his/her craft and passion for cooking, and together with the course faculty perform live demos to teach basic chemistry and physics concepts involved in cooking and baking. Basically, it's truly optimal entertainment for Nick (the scientist) and me (the amateur chef). We've attended two lectures: the first by Jose Andres, particularly appropriate considering he owns several restaurants in the DC area; and the second by Joanne Chang, owner of one of my very favorite restaurant/bakeries in town (previously featured on the blog), Flour.

Chef Andres introduced us to his organization, the Think Food Group, which includes his restaurants as well as an innovative food and beverage R&D team, and a philanthropy group. He showed us how he experiments with forms and phases of matter for a playful take on traditional dishes (a gorgeous, Chihuly-inspired clear sugar dessert filled with olive oil), shared a new restaurant concept (coming soon), and described his team's great work in Haiti.

Chef Chang talked all about the science of baking ("bakistry"), focusing on the key ingredients that make cake cake (there were highly successful samples distributed throughout the lecture hall). It was fascinating to learn about the role of leavening agents, fats, acids (who knew chocolate was acidic??), sugar, and flour, and how each one contributes to velvety, tender cake. She explained the science behind much of the kitchen knowledge which we experienced cake lovers take for granted (don't overmix batter (to keep from developing gluten, making the cake chewy), use buttermilk with baking soda together (the acid reacts and generates bubbles which give the cake lift)).

While the science in the evening lectures is light and fairly digestible (haha), the full-time class gets into much more difficult concepts. Let me tell you, if it had been offered when I was an undergrad, I would have fought tooth and nail to get on the roster. Boston locals, I highly recommend attending any one of the (free!) lectures left in the series...they're fun, educational, and quite tasty.