chefreit

yeah, even in less-than-large batches. Did you just take a poke at me, Tommy?

I r-a-r-e-l-y follow a so called "recipe". I'll see a concept, spin-it, tweak, or just plain steal it. The trick is not in following a recipe; it's having good technique that produces a delicious final product. Anyway here are a few......... >Lemon grass ravioli stuffed w/ pan seared scallop & ocean herbal butter I add a spoon of ginger broth made with a touch of Galliano liq. to the bottom of the warm plate so they don’t stick; it also gives a wonderful aroma. I use the exploding concept from Chef Grant Achatz of Trio. Sorry that all I have time for now............

Sorry Fresco..... Let's start over. Hi! My name is Harry. (I went through this once already with Tommy) That got a little heated and I'm still new to this whole message board thing. Anyway, I usually speak from an industry point of view. Harry Reiter Executive Chef Sodexho NBIMC

Also you get even cooking. And you don't with steam? When cooking in large batches. No..... You don't.

Also you get even cooking.

I felt the same way. Being from Jersey didn't help either. I never felt so uncomfortably inspired in my life!

Putting potatoes, apples, onions, rutabagas, turnips, carrots, celery root, parsnips, eggplant, yucca, taro, potate, calabasa, plantain, that are going to be fried golden brown! Or baked au gratin, or roasted-------- or WHATEVER, INTO WATER! ("I'll never put on a life jacket again chief .. /JAWS reference) This is just adding water to your fryer oil, longer cooking time and bad texture to your final product. I never do it.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Hey Carolyn! What a great article WOFC! It really brought me back to those three rainy-------------- wonderfully inspirational days I spent in Napa. Being from “The Garden State" I find it hard to express myself without hand gestures. Me and the guy from, Barilla were like the only guyz from Jersey. Oh, and a few friends of "The Family" who are probably buried in one of those vineyards. You made it possible for my wife to see what I was trying to say for the past month. I loved Jose Ramones, deconstruction and reconstruction, of classic dishes. In fact, after the first night when he revealed his amuse of "meat & potatoes" you could usually find me carousing around his demos, waiting to see what he would do next. Maybe it would be, "foie gras with cotton candy & pine nuts!" Also I see photo of, "Culalibre Foie Gras with lemon cube" was that great or what!? The chef told me he made the topping (I think it was some sort of tweak on dulce leche) with Coca Cola. I thought I was the only person who would ever admit to cooking with soda. Did we run into each other? I was usually seen grazing around “Andy Boy” represented by, Chef Bill Casico’s of Hullaballoo. That guy was a rabe genius! Also, I was the guy waiting for the bus on that dark stretch of road, night after rainy night…… Harry R Executive Chef Sodexho NBIMC

Hi everyone! Speaking of bread machines, I pick a used one up at a garage sale last year. Well, last week I started playing with it for the first time. Long story----- short. Last night I made a hearty, lump crab, white cheddar, roasted onion & ancho chili loaf.

A native of Jersey City, (Shit! someone had to be..) I grew up on these belly busting delights. You see, if you ask a White Manna Grill man the secret he will tell you, the trick to making a good White Manna burger is to keeping your face off the grill! This is not as easy as it sounds... Just stop in, say about 2am on a weekend and count how many times the grill man almost burns his nose on the grill. However, I must say comfort food is relative and if you grew-up in my neighborhood, this is one of them "comfort foods."

The amount of samples I get is almost “PORNAGRAPHIC” in nature! “Pure gluttony, I tell you!” In fact it is prompting me start a daily thread, called: “What I cooked for dinner tonight.” Here is a quick inventory of my (home) refrigerator, 2 Frenched racks of lamb 1 PISMO (Canadian) 2lb Dungeness crab claws 3 lb u/8 freshwater blue prawns 3 -5 short rib racks 1 center cut loin of tuna 2 cvp T-bone Steaks 2 B/I Filet Mignon (Buckhead Beef) GOOD STUFF;} 1 lb of Phillips Lump Crab Meat 2 cvp breast of duck logs of imported goat cheese pancetta in wine 1 picnic shoulder of pork Minors Specialty Bases: crab, lobster, ancho, calamata olive, roasted onion, bell pepper, sundried tomato, clam, shrimp, and crème fraiche Rc Fine Foods Bases: Passion fruit, mango, kiwi, peach compound, lemon grass extract, chipolte powder, Pastry cream And that’s why tonight I’m having Tyson Spicy Breast Nuggets………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Chefreit

Rosie, Please forgive my vagueness, as this new consulting gig is still in the formative stages. Nothing has been written in stone, so to speak. Below, please find a few of my ideas: Smoked Swordfish Carpaccio with sweet mustard & onion aioli Grilled White Polenta Pan Seared Monk Fish Scallops wrapped in pancetta, w/ porcini duxelles and rosemary Sage Sausage stuffed Breast of Veal, with cognac roasted Granny Smith's Apples Pumpkin Squash Au gratin These are just a few ideas off the top of my head. Please keep in mind that the "Special" menu would change on at least a weekly basis. I am a firm believer in following the calendar with regards to what I serve. I would choose from only the freshest of ingredients, giving great consideration to what is in season, so as a result Pumpkin will not be offered in the spring and watermelon will not be served in February. Sincerely, Harry R chefreit@optonline.net

Thank you SK, I'm going to address these issues as soon as possible. Also, I would like too invite you and 3 guests back for dinner in the very near future. As the new Culinary Consultant for Prego, you have given me insight as what to look for. Sincerely, Harry R

My wife and I just returned from dinning at China 46 tonight. We had passed there many a time before, but never thought much of Chinese food in NJ, most of which is Chinese Take Out. We always preferred the coffee houses and restaurants off of Mott St. in NYC, like Hop Shing's or one of the several subterranean dinning establishments. I really enjoy going to restaurants that don't serve the typical General Tso Chicken, or shrimp with lobster sauce, while these are foods good enough to eat, they have been over "Americanized" Eating Chinese is more than calling for Take Out . The staff was charming and attentive to our every need (once we discovered how worthless a radio shack pocket translator really is) We began our meal with a piping hot bowl of Shanghi Wonton soup. I don't know who this Shanghi guy is but he makes very delicate yet flavorful wonton soup However, we could have done without the garnish of tough spinach leaves. We decided to try a little of "NJ DIMSUM". First we ordered juicy pork dumpling with crab, they were delicious. They came out in a bamboo steamer and looked like little flowers with the garnish of crab roe. Next time however, I will pass on the shrimp balls. Next we had pan seared pork buns...WOW! The dough appeared to have been semi steamed then place in a very hot skillet to brown the bottoms and make them crunchy. We then ordered dinner, my wife loves mie fun and the menu said "ANY KIND MEI FUN” She told them please no curry and no water chestnut anything else okay, you surprise me. I ordered the Crispy Duck with Plum sauce, the duck in fact was very crispy and served over a bed of lettuce to reduce the fat on the plate. My wife had much fun with her mei fun and I am just duckie with my crispy critter. We ended our dinning experience with fresh orange wedges and fortune cookies. And this time the fortune told went very well with the ending "in bed" Would love to be apart of the new expedition in January, please keep me updated. Thank you. Mr. and Mrs. Chefreit

Hi Rosie, Look forward to chatting more with you in the future. Anyway here is the address. 651 Anderson Avenue Cliffside Park, NJ

I do off premise, email me for more details. Anastaia's Catering

Anyone ever been to Prego in Cliffside Park, NJ? I have a chance to get involved with this place and would like too know more about them.

Next time have a couple of packages wonton skins as a back-up plan. These work just as well. Also in this case you could have prepared the pasta dough (in flat round disk or sheets) the day before, or week before, for that matter, then thaw when needed, this way there are no surprises. We used this method for stuffed pastas at Italian hotel I at worked in Portonovo, Italy and it worked just fine.

Take this show with a grain of salt(;}. Remember this is TV! They make food too complicated. Remember the most important part is to create, eat, play,enjoy,and have fun with. In the culinary world it's the rule breakers entice our curiosity.

"I know it was you, Fredo. You broke my heart. You broke my heart." This guy is the kiss of death. He is to Michael Corleone, as the show is to Fredo.

A pan broil will sear the fond to the meat it-self. Also I prefer a seasonal fruit emulsion to a heavy pan sauce.

Answer: sometimes don’t ask why? I’ve found using an old fashioned iron skillet or flattop works the best for this, start cold, finish hot, serve rare (chipolte & basil crust with pomegranate syrup or blood orange emulsion .