piperdown

Get all the crap done, that I can't do while working. So I run some errands, take the dog for a long walk, perhaps catch up on the back log of Tivo'ed TV shows. If I'm lucky, spend some quality time with my girlfriend. I also try to take some time and reflect on the week in the kitchen. I especially did this if I had a bad week. Just go over what went wrong and how I can fix it.

I agree with Chris, the ingredients aren't that expensive, so the food costs are pretty low. I did a 7 course Thai dinner party once, and I was shocked at how little it cost me to do it. Plus, a lot of the miz for the dishes are similar, it's just the saucing that is different, and maybe a few other things, so I would assume that very little goes to waste in these restaurants, which lowers food cost as well.

If anyone feels like seeing the CMT documentary (as well as others), they can be ordered from this website.

The Blues Brothers Everytime I see that I still expect to hear "No coke...Pepsi"

Monty Python's The meaning of life

If you do have problems let me know. I'm coming back to Kingston in a few weeks, and I'd be happy to order one, and bring it down with me. I used to be a grad student in the Biology department (and I think I sold you some furniture when I was leaving). It would at the very least same you some duty fees. As for stuffers, I use a Grizzley that I got off Amazon.com. It works great, and I've never had a problem with it.

This is definitely one of the best restaurants in the Berkshires (Whetleigh is also very good), Chef Platt always delivers a great meal at very reasonable prices for the quality of what you get. Plus the restaurant itself is amazing. The entire dining area is lit by candles, with no light bulbs to be found anywhere. Definitely gives the feel of a country inn. Chef Platt is also a pretty nice guy. I stopped in before dinner service, to ask him some questions about culinary school, and he took the time to talk to me and give me some great advice. It's a bit off the beaten path, but well worth the trip

Yeah I read that article the other day, and it really makes the case for getting pork form small local producers. Bacon...sooooo tasty though.

At our restaurant we rinse chicken breast. This is mostly to get rid of the slimy kind of feel to them supposedly. It never made much sense to me as after we rinse them we then store them in marinade, so it seems like a waste of time. It's what the chef wants though, and we are very careful to avoid cross contamination possibilities. At home when I'm roasting chickens I rinse them, but then give them time to dry, so that the skin is nice and crispy. Not sure if it's necessary, but it's the way I was taught, s i just keep it up. Other than that I only rinse fish, mostly whole fish so that that some of the slimy coating is removed.

It's possible that they use a smoked cheese.

I do like that idea. I think lemon or lime zest would be a great addition. With a micro plane I should be able to get the zest fine enough. Thanks for the suggestion Bombdog.

I've made a few sausages out of this book now, and wanted to try my own recipe. I'm thinking of doing a pork sausage with some Thai flavours. I was planning on using some chili's, garlic, and Thai basil, but was questioning whether to use fish sauce as the liquid base. What do you all think? Maybe dilute it with water. I'm just afraid that the fish sauce might over power the sausage and make it taste too salt. I was also thinking of using lemongrass, but think it might be too woody, and give it a weird texture. Any other ideas?

I made the wild mushroom quiche the other day for breakfast at my Mom's inn, and despite my best efforts to screw it up, it came out delicious. I had to make two, and despite only having one cake ring, I found a springform pan around the same size (couldn't have been more than 2 1/4 inches high. The dough is so easy to work with, and rolled out beautifully. The first problem came when I went to blind bake it. I only had enough beans for one, and unfortunately had used the last of my rice the night before. The smart thing to do would have been to bake them separately, or go to the store, but it was cold out, so I split them between the two. This led to some puffing around the sides, and well as the crust getting a little too dark. A crack did appear in one of them, and I was pissed to find out I had thrown away the left over dough that I had saved just in case. So when it came time to fill, a lot ran out. The other one didn't leak too much. So I messed up a bit, but the taste was still great. Most of the guests loved it (some apparently didn't eat mushrooms, so just picked them out), and my mother thought it was the best quiche she's ever had. I really want to make the Roquefort one, but I think it might be a bit too strong tasting for some guests. Definitely would make this again though. So far I've cooked about 10 things from this book, and every one of them has turned out stellar.

I cooked for Mo Rocca (of the Daily Show) once, but didn't know it until later. I almost got the chance to cook for James Taylor. He was performing at Tanglewood, and his manager called to see if we were still open. Unfortunately we weren't, and since I was the only cook left, and at that point still only working the cold side, the bartender decided not to re open. I probably would have fucked it up, but the chance could have been fun.

After a trip to the Bouchon Bakery in NYC, I decided to try making Macarons at home. It was quite the process, but I think the hardest part was getting teh almonds ground finely enough. I just could justify paying the high price of almond flour. The recipe I used was from Keller's Bouchon cookbook, and I have to say, these might be teh best cookies I've ever had. Definitely not an everyday treat (I just can't imagine grinding all those almonds over again), but I definitely want to try different flavours. I just wish I knew about this thread earlier, it would have answered quite a few questions. Overall though I'm pretty happy with the results.

I don't think it matters on most things, but with high protein liquids I think it does matter. I think it has to do with protein coagulation (from what I remember of McGee's), and long proteins sticking to each other. I've found this to be especially true for Fondues. My friend and I were stirring a pot each on a stove, and I kept the same direction, and he mixed it up. His turned out much clumpier, and mine was pretty smooth. His end of the table got the clumpy one.

I remember seeing that documnentary. It was fun to watch. Of course this was way back when food TV Canada actually showed some great docs. They did a few on the Boccuse D'Or, which were great TV.

I hear Brain Sandwiches are big in Indiana. Well, maybe big is too strong a word.

You should do what Bourdain did, and move over to the Travel Channel.

A cover is basically a customer. So two people at a table, or a two top, would be two covers. It's usually used to describe the number of people done in a night. For example "last night was pretty slow we only did 85 covers."

To update you all, I have decided to wait for culimary school. I'm in the process of trying to get into a really good kitchen (the one I work in now is OK, but not the level I want something better). I think I do need to see more of the industry before I make the time and financial commitment of school. I talked to a chef I really respected the other day, and he had similar advice. He also had quite the opinions of some of the schools which was helpful. Thanks to everyone for their advice and recommendations, they've really helped a lot.

Mostly because the public doesn't know or care. The chefs they see are are celebrities, and figure for the most part it's a pretty well paid job. I still get pissed off at servers who come back to the kitchen complaining they only made a few hundred in tips, while I slaved away in a hot kitchen for twice the amount of time and a quarter of the pay. Doesn't really make me feel too sorry for them. Especially since most of our servers suck, and screw up ticket after ticket.

A few weeks ago at the restaurant I cook at, a guy came into the kitchen asked who made his duck, and then gave the cook a $100. It was insane, and we were all left gapping. Never seen that before, and probably won't for quite some time.

I'm sorry, I never meant for this to turn into a pissing contest about culinary schools. I just wanted to know why people chose the schools that they did, were you happy about the choice and what schools offered what. I also kind of wanted to know peoples opinions about schools based on the quality of people working beside them in the kitchens. That being said I do appreciate all the information so far, it has been quite helpful. As to Johnson and Wales, the reason that they weren't on my list is because I hadn't yet recieved the information I requested. I just got their package yesterday though, so I'll read what they send in the next day or two. It does sound interesting though, and I know Rhode Island does have some great restaurants, which would make it easier to find employment while going to school. I guess I should also mention some of the reasons I'm thinking of going to culinary school. I've always cooked, and always tried to experiment with new things. That being said I don't think I have the technical skills to really make it in a good kitchen right now. Being somewhat older, and just starting out, I feel that culinary school would give me a quick solid base, so that I could go into a real kitchen and start learning properly. I'm not one of those people that think I'll be a high level cook straight out of school. I pretty realistic about what it's going to take, and what I'll have to put up with to get there. This summer working in a restaurant was one of the hardest yet most fun of my life. I worked 65-70 hours a week, did 200-300 covers a day, and all for less then I was making stocking shelves in High school. But again I looked forward to coming to work every day. So thanks again for all the information so far, and if people have more keep it coming, I really do appreciate it.

Does anyone know how long fatback keeps in the refrigerator? I just found some that's a few weeks old that I forgot to freeze. It smells OK, but I'm a little concerned to use it.