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PassionateChefsDie

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Everything posted by PassionateChefsDie

  1. If she's a chocolate nut, I posted a marquise recipe I've won more womens hearts with this recipe than anything else. Marquise Dressed up with a few raspberries on top and a dusting of Cocoa and if you bold enough piped white chocolate on dark chocolate disc wishing happy B-day though if your handwriting is anything like mine, the counter willl be full of try outs before you go for it! Easy to make as good as your chocolate! Hope this helps Stef
  2. The best 1 I did was a six year olds B-day, she wanted to eat at the local 3 rosette restaurant(Top 10% in UK) proceeded to order a steak Black and Blue I was blown away. It's never been more of a pleasure to cook for a child we pulled the stops out for that Girl she impressed us that much!
  3. Has to be a chicken, with rocket and a good homemade pesto (a little heavy on the parmesan) with smoked bacon. Definetly wish I didn't live with a vegetarian now!
  4. Hi All I've just recently got into making Sour Dough my starter(Made just from flour and water no other additions) is now about 3-4 months old has a lovely balance of sourness, just need to find some rye and caraway to finish it! I have made normal bread and had some very high compliments even though I'm not a traditional Pastry Chef but a good Tournant. I understand about forming a nice skin, I know to make sure its proved to it's limit, I understanding about slashing and blowing the dough. But I've come across a strange problem that I've not encountered before! Whilst my sour dough is proving(Wish I had a digital camera now) it seems to pull the skin apart cracking, which means I'm putting it in the oven a little to early. The crumb is nice I have the odd hole about the the size of a pen, it's a little dense but thats because I get scared when I see it cracking it looks like it's over proving and about to drop(Though its underproved if I prod it), am I possibly over working my dough(Though by hand it seems a bit strange)? Thanks before hand Stef
  5. If we are to take the economic view surely it simply comes down to the middle classes having more time to prepare food nothing to do with education! The families from poorer incomes both HAVE to work or single parents have to, giving them less time for preparation of food. It's far easier and quicker to open the pre-packaged meal and put it in the microwave, and if your looking for speed of preparation the only criteria is whether it tastes good not its nutritional or calorie value and whether your family will eat it. Reading this thread back you could be left believing that America's poor are obese and malnourished, now I personally dont believe this. The point has been raised its more expensive to purchase fresh food in the poorer areas, surely it comes down to consumer demand? These stores stock what sells, whats the point of having 3 aisles of fresh fruit and veg when 2 of them are going to get thrown away?
  6. Does it really come down to money, surely it's just simply that 6 chocolate bars equal our daily quota of calories, obesity doesn't come down to diet but eating too many calories, we're not talking about malnutrition! We now live a much less physical life(Computer games and TV!) now on eitherside of the Atlantic, a lot of the manual work has been taken on by the developing countries, meaning we need less calories and with generations before us teaching us our eating habits we will eat more than we need! The freedom of choice and the fact that too many children dictate what they eat at the table rather than the adults(The real ? is why)! When I was growing up my parents didn't ask me what I wanted for tea and then go ask my brother what he wanted for tea, we were given it and told to eat it and be grateful(But Bobby wont eat this or that what are our children becoming?)! I believe this is true for this side of the Atlantic and as someone said to me along time ago America sneezes and we catch the cold! Just a UK perspective we're starting on this subject
  7. I never heard that one. Why not? Do people want to eat dirt (let alone pesticides)? ← Washing mushrooms is a no-no but I belive this is more about wild mushrooms the hours I've spent with chanterelles and a mushroom brush(they use to come in 10 chips, a week later they'd all be clean as I slowly got through them !) It's down to the amount of water already in them, you cant fry them they just stew(I can vouch for this get a chanterelle and try washing it, also would like to add that washed mushrooms dont keep so somethings going on, I'd say it depends on the mushroom, did Mcgee do it with all mushrooms or just a button!) after being washed though for buttons I dont think it really matters or morels. But back to the original post I got probs with the word organic so the normal farmer sprays his crops twice a year to keep the infestations down, and then the organic farmer has 2 infestations meaning he had to spray twice, so why's he's organic and the other isn't! I thougt anything that grew was organic? Most organic guidelines give the farmer the opportunity to save his crop its his living at the end of the day, just not routinely!
  8. From a chefs point of view and the reason apperitifs shouldn't be pure spirit, I was lead to believe that Alcohol deadens the taste buds! So surely you'd end up with more alcohol in your mouth if you kept swallowing besides the point the world becomes cloudy. This was put to me that at a lot of the large tastings a lot off the time the wines people like, are at the begining not at the end. As a group of Wine proffesionals I'd be interested in your opinions from this point! Stef
  9. They sent out a letter about asparagus the other week (you can find it in past newsletters on their web). It isnt that it is out of season (website slightly confusing) but that they have had difficulty finding an organic asparagus grower who can meet their requirements - in both quality and quantity. They have therefore been working with a prospective grower but because asparagus plants take a long time to develop (apparently) they wont have any until next year. I've been using them ofor about 1 1/2 years - most of their veg and fruit is UK grown and of pretty good quality - the times it hasnt been when I have contacted them they have been pretty good and refunded. ← It is very late in the season if you crop too late you'll have nothing next year(I know this, my B-day's just gone and for years I've known that I'd be hard pushed to find good British Asparagus for B-day). And I lived in the Garden of England for years, I use to see it come in cut that morning, stems as thick as fingers and skins delicate enough you could eat most of it. It does take two years for first crop. Though how there having trouble finding an organic supplier sounds strange Asparagus basically needs a pit of manure cant see how thats non-organic! I'd imagine from what your all saying as they seem to be big on quality they dont want to provide you with an inferior product. Asparagus only crops for about 6-8 weeks and starts heading upwards only after the last frost, getting chopped when it reaches about 7-8 inches doesn't take too long to get to that height. If you crop too much you just kill your crop for next year, it needs to grow and die back.(So June is about the last of the British) I believe though haven't checked the gardening book just what I remembered and when the Asparagus man use to stop bringing it.!
  10. Just like to add slightly off subject! As mentioned so do Almonds and I have to maintain the calcium in my African Greys. I use ground Almonds for this purpose, I'm a bit confused about all this now, I know there fine with Almonds. Have to say they've got no hope of getting a cashew they always come in salted!
  11. Not sure whether this is a ? or a solution! But wouldn't bread flour be easier with the extra Gluten, having just come from a thread talking about Pasta and noodles! I understand that originally they wouldn't of used strong flour but now?
  12. I can back this up having 2 parrots I have to avoid all of the mentioned cyanide, as Birds are easily poisioned, for some reason even the the wood, though not apple for some reason! Isn't there a story about a man that ate a cup of roasted apple seeds and quickly died? Though arent bitter almonds full of this I was under the impression this was true and this is made into various products,also isn't immitation marzipan made from peach/apricot kernels! As for cashews did you ever wonder why you never saw them raw, the steam when there cooking is so poisonous it will blind you if it gets in you eyes! Look it up in any survival book cashews need to be treated with extreme respect!
  13. Not 100% sure about commercial but if you wanted to make sloe gin you just fill the bottle with pricked sloes 2/3 full then cover with Gin and leave for several months! Then decant cant imagine it's much different though is it not possible that the base alcohol is made using the other ingredients if its clear? If its got colour though I reckon distilation would remove it though not sure. When do those sloes come out? Stef
  14. I posted a Lemon Polenta cake here http://recipes.egullet.org/recipes/r1298.html reckon it would make a nice addition to the recipe. ← Thanks for the idea! How long do you normally soak the polenta? Chloe ← Just a little longer than the ingredients are being creamed together! Might want to take a little of the sugar out to compensate for the lemon wouldn't take much off try it as it stands if its too sweet take some off next time you make it.
  15. After reading all these wasn't going to say anything, but then the one thing that drives me up the wall is, watching them shove the leaves of salad into the shelfs in the supermarkets! I just want to push them out of the way do it myself not all of us like our salad leaves battered into mush before we buy it!
  16. I posted a Lemon Polenta cake here http://recipes.egullet.org/recipes/r1298.html reckon it would make a nice addition to the recipe.
  17. That makes sense I just been comparing pics and came to the conclusion the label was very similar to the 1970's vintage, was going to mention it but you've seen to of unraveled the mystery!
  18. I agree with what all have said but here's my penny's worth No ones mentioned bread, I mention bread purely because once you master bread everything from Doughnuts to Brioche become accessible, rarely has anyone got the time to bake all the bread they need! But it teaches you different results by modifying a simple combination of yeast, water, flour and adding enriching ingredients like butter, eggs and sugar. Next I'd agree with pan sauces, but reduction sauces because even a poor basic Jus can be improved drastically by reduction though as we got Cream and dark you could say you got 2 to master, and unburnt alcohol is nasty! A simple veg dish something like cabbage with smoked bacon, black pepper and butter to teach you that the garnishes and compliments make up the majority of the meal get these right and the rest fall into place But honestly you cant teach someone to taste if you know how to make a smooth bechamel it doesn't count if there's a taste of raw flour left! So taste and taste some more remember recipes are guidelines, and if you find someone whos tastebuds you respect, if they something tastes good listen even if you dont like it. Chefs constantly have to cook things we dont like but we still have to taste them sometimes even raw! Stef
  19. Hi Allan Would be just got to get regular work presently on the Temp market, it still infrequent, as soon as the full time job comes through your on. I'm just a fan of the slow food org love there magazine, not seen it for awhile is it still going? Stef
  20. Toby Hill was the youngest at 24 so you beat him by a year here's google search guess he beat him after though does mention British so who's the youngest ever! http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&clien...nG=Search&meta=
  21. Might of missed it never been but heard some good things you've got Italian Palmiro 197 Upper Chorlton Rd! Believe there also a member of The Slow Food org, please give some critisim if this is bad advice have thought about finding the money one day for a meal here! Stef
  22. As a chef I'd like to add that over the years you find that many of the recipes dont work in cook books! But I'd like to also add in discussing great chefs I made the statement that its as much about the ingredient, the retort was if only the ingredient was consistent. Sometimes it isn't, so surely for a true recipe the variety as well as the food type even down to the sugar content in the fruit should be mentioned. I'm sure I've read some where Bocuse says that flour from one miller is different from another! In pastry they become more a set of rules yet if those eggs are slightly bigger than the recipes, then disaster could be looming. Recipes are a source of inspiration, I find the best way to try and replicate something is to taste it first, then modify which we all seem to be doing any way. The best addition to any recipe is the taste buds as one chef said to me if you dont know what it tastes like raw how do you know when it's cooked. Surely recipes are only really time specific as the next influence trickles into the market place. So my final remark is remember recipes are guides not rules even Escoffier was trying to teach us this, 100 years on and will still haven't learnt! P.S. As for lemon Buerre Blanc made one recently I added more rind(Grated on the zester and sieved out before serving added to the white wine and vinegar and peppercorn infusion) to get the lemon perfume, and a little juice to sharpen at the end, as for the buerre blanc a bit of that a bit of this I made it too many times(it a bonus when theres a box of butter in the fridge)!
  23. Lemon Polenta Cake A modified frangipane 500 g Butter 500 g Ground Almonds 500 g Sugar 5 Lemons Juice and zest 8 Eggs 250 g Polenta Juice and zest lemons mix with polenta and leave soaking. Cream butter and sugar and add eggs when white add the rest of the ingredients and cook on 180'c for about 45 mins Keywords: Dessert, Easy, Cake, Italian ( RG1298 )
  24. Lemon Polenta Cake A modified frangipane 500 g Butter 500 g Ground Almonds 500 g Sugar 5 Lemons Juice and zest 8 Eggs 250 g Polenta Juice and zest lemons mix with polenta and leave soaking. Cream butter and sugar and add eggs when white add the rest of the ingredients and cook on 180'c for about 45 mins Keywords: Dessert, Easy, Cake, Italian ( RG1298 )
  25. See, I think sometimes one has to draw the line. Professional attitude has little to do with extending closing times for people who came in late to hang out in the bar. They got their food, and the waiter got his a** kicked hard by the Chef (and no doubt, got it kicked again by the GM later on). And, said waiter got a big fat tip that he didn't share. My point is that if that waiter had to actually make it happen -- without promise of a lot of extra money in his pocket -- he'd think twice about committing to having a bunch of cooks reopen their lines. ← Thats the difference if the customer isn't obnoxious and I've got whites on or haven't left the building and the waiter wants to serve them fine cook, the waiters got to hang around 1-2hrs after me! Thats what I'm paid to do, we are a service, I dont lock the front door! Yeah Ok if the following week they come back and are trying the same thing, they better hope I've not left the building! The customer needs to understand it's a favour not that we're obliging, if the waiter wants to agree before checking with the kitchen he better know how to cook! He'll be the one looking a prat if he has to go back and say sorry but the kitchens closed! Do that to him once and see if he'll try to put an order in after closing! As for tips thats a bone of contention in any establishment(And as many rules as establishments exsist, but as a rule they are pooled in the UK), but god help the Chef that moans to me about late orders because as a rule they are paid more basic and do get out before the waiter!
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