Lisa Shock

I make Santa Fe style flat enchiladas in a slow cooker: put down a dab of sauce (red or green chile sauce, vegetarian style is more flexible, you'll wind up using about 24 oz total in the dish) then 3-4 corn tortillas, then ¼" layers of whole- cooked or refried beans, sweet corn, cheese, spanish rice, finely sliced raw veggies like carrot & cauliflower with a little sauce poured over, with tortillas separating each layer and a little sauce poured in to moisten. Top layer gets a lot of sauce poured over, then a layer of cheese. You can add layers of precooked meat if desired. Serve with extra sauce if needed, the tortillas really absorb a lot. Does Coq au Vin count? You need to make potatoes or noodles separately.... Pizza Rusitca, northern style: it's a pie with a regular pie crust, filled with ricotta/egg mixture with cured meats, I often add chopped spinach or broccoli and some diced onion to boost the nutritional value. Frittata: you can use fresh veg, potatoes, etc. or use cut up leftovers. Some of my best frittata have been made with leftover lasagna. This is one reason why I freeze small amounts of leftovers. Eggs in purgatory, use a simple recipe: just tomato sauce, a pinch of pepper flakes and eggs. Serve with crusty bread. Sushi cake. Ok, it's not a traditional casserole in that it isn't baked. But, it's good in summer and can be assembled hours in advance if kept in the fridge. (it actually works better if you let the layers in the pan rest with some pressure on them for a couple hours) Use plastic wrap to line your pan, I use a round one.You can get creative with the rice, I make an orange layer with grated carrot added. And, I like to make an inside layer of sliced avocado, it does get exposed to air and doesn't turn color as quickly. Anyway, you can decorate the top and sides with all sorts of thinly sliced vegetables, Japanese pickles, etc. in addition to or instead of fish. Ideas.

Sometimes, it's for a deeper, more complex flavor. That said, I have been mostly doing single flavor stocks (just chicken and water, or onion and water) in the past few years and really like the clean, identifiable flavors.

I use a Cambro container for preferments that will be retarded under refrigeration. That and any dough stored in the fridge.

I don't like breakables in my kitchen, just like the work kitchen. I just use the metal half-sphere bowls from Ikea; they don't weigh much so you aren't lifting much more than the dough itself, they wash easy, won't break, won't spontaneously explode, can be heated with a torch if needed, and will take a lot of abuse from other kitchen activities.

Ratio is highly flawed, don't trust it. Professional Baking has most of what you are looking for, as does The Professional Pastry Chef, and the upcoming Bread book by the Modernist Cuisine Team will have more. But, honestly, there's already a ton of information online. (although the MC team should give us better data) And, of course, attending a culinary school pastry program will get you even more information. I don't know of anything that will totally free you from recipes. You may have noticed that there aren't any cookbooks or websites about free-form baking without recipes. In culinary school we memorize charts for things like ingredient amounts in all the types of custards, etc. While it's true that I can make a more informed guess about something (will it turn out as a runny sauce or a firm custard) I'm still mostly following formulas that I memorized. Even in master level classes, formulas are handed out and disaster may strike if they are not followed precisely. Sure, in some cases, you can make liberal substitutions, but in other cases something simple as replacing the recipe's orange flower water with orange oil will destroy it. And, or course, we use scales for a reason. Even simple American-style recipes which use volumetric measurements for dry ingredients are too unreliable for professional chefs.

I just realized that there's no 'Last Chance Kitchen' this year.

I make mine with grocery store block mozzarella and cream -and lots of garlic, but, it doesn't taste like what people expect. I don't like cheddar cheese (or Jack, or a well, a lot of cheeses), so, it suits me fine. That said, when cooking for others, the Modernist cheese is the way to go.

Search for 'gratin pan' on eBay, you will find a nice selection.

I was taught in a Bread Baker's Guild class that one of the big nationwide manufacturers told the instructor that their AP flour blends vary by region. A bag of Xxxx Xxxxx is different in Vermont as opposed to Georgia.

The best answer I can give you is maybe. AP flour varies in gluten content by manufacturer and region of the US. In the SE, it is closest to cake flour because most of it gets used for making biscuits. In the NE, it's almost as high in gluten as bread flour, since a lot of it gets made into bread. In the middle of the country and West, it varies. Check to see if the label gives you a protein content, and that will tell you how to proceed in mixing flours. 5-7% is cake flour, 8-10% is pastry flour, bread flour is 14-16%, and bagel flour is 18%.

When I was in culinary school, we were told a main course standard plate should be 5oz protein, 4oz veg, and 3oz starch. (plus garnish, pan sauce, gravy, pickles, whatever) This assumes that an app or salad was served first, and maybe a dessert later.

This may or may not work, but, I have in the past replaced an automobile fan belt with pantyhose. Just cut one leg off, loop it around and tie a knot as tightly as possible. It will slip a little as the knot passes over the wheel, but other than that, it works and lasts a remarkably long time.

He seems to have a good palate and strong ideas overall. That said, he seems to have a fondness for going to red chile sauce as first impulse. (he mentioned it as an option for the group challenge) I'm waiting to see how many more times this season he jumps to making red sauce right away.

Episode 2's main challenge brought some odd results. Yes, the chefs had to produce a large number of portions (27?,) but, each market basket had good food (no processed foods, no tricks like the Food Network shows) in it and they had 2 hours to cook. Then the teams produce mostly really simple plates. Compared to what was produced during the quickfire, the main round's food was a letdown for me. Obviously, some people worked better in groups than others. IMO, some of the drama was overdone editing, but, a couple of contestants are really grating on my nerves now... It was interesting that Mei and Katsuji's mutual distrust led to a decent team strategy of everyone tasting each component on the plate and presumably working to ensure flavorful harmony. The yellow team, oddly enough was so nice they didn't really check each others food nor did they taste the final combination.

The conching machine was invented by Rodlphe Lindt it slowly, over the course of days, grinds the cocoa mass into very fine gains and coats each grain in cocoa butter (making tempering possible,) and aerates the chocolate altering the flavor. The chocolate is usually conched until the cocoa is reduced to grains finer than the tongue can feel, giving the chocolate a very smooth texture. Every company has different machines and lengths of time for making each of their products. Baking chocolate isn't conched as long as couveture is, for example. And, this is why serious confectioners don't use supermarket chocolate chips to make bonbons.

Yeah, not everyone will buy, you'll still get some 'free lunch' types, but it will be far fewer than if the sample tray is sitting out, so you'll go through fewer samples. And, those people who are interested will probably be happier and buy more because you took time to interact with them and cared enough to mention features of your candies. (real chocolate, no trans fat, we roast the nuts ourselves, handcrafted, etc.) Don't forget to try and sell an additional item with their purchase, too. If they go for a ½lb assortment, be sure to ask: 'do you need to get any other gifts?' 'do you need to get a treat for your family' 'would you care to purchase an extra treat for yourself?'

Honestly, having people ask for samples is a good idea. I have in the past worked for a couple of high end confectionery retailers, and they view sampling as part of the sales process: the proverbial foot-in-the door. They never just have a tray of samples sitting out. The trick is, if you have time and aren't swamped, is to do directed sampling where you give the sample and then talk about the features of the candy as they eat. Then show the packages available, and mention anything else relevant like shipping.

I also am clueless as to your reference to 'so many ingredients' when fine chocolate is generally cacao, sugar and occasionally vanilla, and very occasionally lecithin. Agave nectar has different properties than cane sugar, and as such will remain a liquid, which is not generally the direction one wants to go in making chocolates. Conching is the step that makes all the difference, as mentioned above. Chocolate candies as we know them did not exist before the invention of conching. (chocolate was primarily a drink back in the before-times) Buying chocolate couveture isn't all that different from buying cocoa in the end. Someone else still chose the variety beans, fermented them to their own specs, dried them (with or without smoky fires,) and then processed the beans. The flavor profile is determined early on in the process, long before the cocoa mass is extracted. The end of the process gives texture. The best suppliers of chocolate do a great job all along the way. That said, you can always ask the sales reps for samples, some of the companies have dozens of chocolates to choose from each with its own unique story.

Yeah, garlic doesn't fall into either the herb or spice category. And, yeah, for the most part fresh herbs are the way to go, with, for me, the exception of dry oregano, if I am using herbs. Depends on the dish whether I use herbs and/or spices. (usually a combination not an either/or scenario) I am not one to put black pepper in everything, I only use it very occasionally. That all said, I think that your herb vs spice battle is an artificial contrivance.

You might want to invest in some desiccant packets if you want to keep any of the boiled sugar sugar candies (nut brittles, hard candy, etc) crisp and fresh. Humidity is the enemy of a lot of these candies. BTW, you can re-use these packets, just bake in a low oven for an hour, cool and seal in a container or vacuum seal. And, Lowe's also puts out scratch n dent appliances in a special aisle at big discounts. Sears has special regional outlet stores where they gather a large selection of such items, it's a department store filled with oddball, slightly abused items.

You know, I have some dried tomato powder, spinach powder, and some dried red bell pepper powder I have used to color bread showpieces my only fear is that if I use them (particularly for icing) that I'll wind up with oddly flavored products. Beet does work well, it generally makes a hot pink and the flavor complements sweets.

Punch! Old-school real punch, like from Wondrich's book. lemon sorbet limoncello

Yeah, most of the really weak competitors were in early seasons. I will however, always remember THIS incident from Season 9. And agreed that appearing on the show opens up a world of opportunity, even the culinary student from Season 1 has gone on to fame and fortune.

I was fairly amused at some of the interviews where contestants spoke of the show itself being such a respected, high level type competition. All I could think of is season 1's culinary student and all of the personal chefs in many seasons. Sorry, I like the show, but, this isn't the Culinary Olympics, or Bocuse d'Or.

Apricot Confections can be made up to a month in advance, and aren't cooked at all. They can be made vegan by subbing coconut cream for the sweetened condensed milk.