Lisa Shock

As long as the seal was tight, I see no issues. My main concern would be about hydration, if it's picked up humidity from the air, or dried out too much, depending on your location. But, that's minor. AP flour will last a long time.

Here buy this one http://www.amazon.co...anese gas stove Looks good. I would like to mention that I visited my local Ace Hardware today and noticed that the butane canisters have warning on them stating they should not be stored at temps above 120°. That said, they are pretty compact and the burner looks good, so I'll probably carve out some space on the laundry room shelves for a couple of burners and a 6 pack of fuel. -And store the fuel in a Camwear Polycarbonate Food Storage Container just to be safe.

I guess I should also mention that I'm kind of afraid to buy a cheap burner at an Asian market. With all of the food related scandals coming out of China over the past decade or so, I fear shoddy workmanship which could result in a fire if I try to use it. I'd rather just buy a real grill for around $150 and know that it's been tested.

So, for storage in the un-airconditioned garage, you would prefer butane? Please note that I would be cooking out in the yard or on the patio, so, ventilation is not an issue. I'm just concerned about storing something that might get used once every 5 years.

Here's why I don't want to store a bunch of charcoal just for emergencies: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2169/will-charcoal-self-ignite-if-wet -Even dry, the oxidation rate in my 126°+ garage could spell big trouble. I do plan on getting a Weber kettle to make grilled pizza and may occasionally have some charcoal around, bu I won't be storing a 2-3 week supply for emergencies. Thanks for the reassurance about the propane, I do have a yard but not much access to twigs. Since I do have space in the garage and the back patio, I think I'll look at full sized grills instead of those dinky portable camping/emergency stoves.

I've been thinking about getting a burner/stove for emergencies and have questions about the fuel types. I see propane and butane containers pretty commonly and I wonder how well they store and for how long. I don't want to need them and find they're empty. My garage here in Phoenix can get to 126°+ in the summer and I am concerned about fire safety. (I definitely do not want to store charcoal.) I could store a limited amount of fuel inside the house, maybe a few bottles.It's dry here and with the high heat, certain things wear out a lot faster: batteries, elastic, and rubber gaskets all come to mind. I was reading about solid fuel tablets, but reviews of systems that use them keep mentioning that they leave a lot of residue. I have standard commercial chafing dishes for catering, and keep fuel for those in my laundry room, a sort of compromise between the garage and indoors proper. Once again, space there is limited. Can anyone list the advantages/disadvantages of the various types of fuel and what's best for reliable long term storage?

I'd cook a couple of days' meals in advance, things that hold ok cold/room temp (picnic food, pies) and work from there. In particular, I'd look long and hard at anything in the fridge and see if you can make it into a pie, don't forget savory pies, out of it. I'd try to have extra water for handwashing, plus lots of paper towels and disposable plates and flatware so you don't have to wash up. I'd also be filling my coolers with ice. I'd also like to remind people to only cook like this in well-ventilated areas. Carbon monoxide is a silent killer.

Yeah, those Wilton gel colors are for room temperature icing, not cooking sugar.

This was the olden days of yore, the 1970's. I was taught the '3-5-7 day rule' Three days was really liquidy stuff like quiche custard base. Still, my suspicion is that someone has been putting hot stockpots under your pan in the walkin.

I'm thinking you shouldn't hold any longer than 3 days. I recall in older sanitation classes any custard bases should be held for no longer than three days. It could be the cream, if you're using manufacturing cream, but, then again, it could be anything -there are many variables at play here. Do you wipe down your walk-in with sanitizer daily, do a big cleanup weekly and take everything out and sanitize monthly? If not, it could be due to a build up of nasties in the walk-in. Have you checked the walk-in temp with a portable thermometer to not only check the temp but see if the thermometer on the unit is accurate? Are you sure people aren't putting large hot items (like stockpots) in the walk-in near your custard? Made sure no one leaves the door open for long periods of time? A few degrees difference makes a HUGE difference in food safety. How's your dishwashing station? Are you starting with dry pots, or using ones still wet from the wash? Are you washing the pumpkin cans before opening them? Anyway, it could be a lot of things. And, I agree that a week is far too long to hold a mix like this.

Croquembouche can be time consuming, depending on how fast and accurate you are with assembly. You can make the nougatine base, the marzipan flowers, puffs and filling the day before. The sugar has to be done that day and you need to juggle it on and off the heat to keep it in a dippable consistency. -All the while keeping in mid that once filled, the puffs are getting soggy. Once the main tower is assembled on the base, you'll need a spun sugar setup to make the decoration. It should be served as quickly as possible. We allow 5 hours for students to make their first one in class. Do you have 5 hours to dedicate to this right before serving your meal? An option that many brides choose is to have a decorative Croquembouche with no filling in the puffs. This can be made and held in a dry environment for a day or two. (you may wish to run tests to how long it takes for spun caramel sugar to crystallize in your environment) For the dessert, sugar is spun, puffs are filled, dipped in hot caramel sugar, and plated with a little spun sugar just before being served. If I were cooking a big meal like this and a dessert, I'd make a cake or something complete the day before so that I could be free to cook the main meal.

I don't know about the UK, but, in America, culinary schools and regular universities offer hotel/restaurant management degrees which essentially are FoH programs. Students learn about managing people, purchasing, bookkeeping, costing out menus, POS systems, inventory control, etc. -plus a little bit about cooking. Yes, there will be classes on wine and high-end service in general, but, that's part of FoH. Without, say, some wine knowledge, it would be difficult to supervise a sommelier.

Not acceptable. Everyone needs to able to hear what's going on, including 'hot behind', 'knife behind', 'quemo', etc. He's also at a huge disadvantage if there's some type of accident, he won't hear glass break, etc. Then there's just the normal flow of orders being placed, dishes being 86'ed, calls to make things on the fly, complaints -there's a lot you absorb in a kitchen, even if the talk isn't directed to your station.

Same here, the heat kills bacteria in the eggs and the milk/cream.

I forgot to mention the humble cost card, which you will be forced to learn about in school, but, may not be taught at work. Whole television shows (Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, Restaurant Impossible) have been constructed to display unschooled restaurateurs' inability to create a cost card. It can mean the difference between profit and bankruptcy. Sanitation is also an area where a school environment may excel over a real-world application. School will probably offer (the good ones do) an advanced sanitation course like ServSafe, whereas to work in most counties you just need a food handler card which can be gotten by answering 20 really basic questions. School will also drill you on cleaning schedules and equipment cleaning procedures.

One big difference between culinary school and on the job training is depth of knowledge. Working, you'll learn your restaurant's menu and style and what your head chef likes, and not much more. So, you'll wind up with an in-depth knowledge of, say, Portuguese food but with no grounding in pastry fundamentals. Even with a bunch of books, and a good knowledge of French, you're missing the hands-on instruction you'll get at school. -Whether it's help fluting mushrooms, boning a whole chicken intact, or learning the feel of underdeveloped gluten in bread dough, there's a lot of hands-on education in school. Also, as time goes by, you will be at a big disadvantage without a degree. Most chefs have them now, if not master's degrees, and, twenty years from now I expect that having at least a bachelor's degree will be absolutely necessary. Most people I know now, at mid-life, are returning to school to get the master's to be able to progress at work.

Lisa - can you describe the differences between Tahitian and Mexican vanilla beans and do you have a preference? I have Tahitian vanilla beans that are wonderful but have never used the Mexican variety. I know this is going to sound stereotypical, but, Mexican beans are kind of spicy. The flavors are bolder, with an edge sort of like how cinnamon is hot, without being really hot -or cinnamony. Mexican is a good choice when you're using vanilla along with other spice flavors, it stands out more. Tahitian is a different species, and is more subtle and floral. Tahitian also tends to have a bit more of the red liquorice notes to it -at least when starting a batch of extract. It's good in dishes where it's the only spice, like pots de creme or pastry cream. The nice thing about the B-grade beans on eBay is that they are cheap enough to try several and maybe share with friends. Or, make big batches of extract to give as gifts for the holidays. The homemade stuff is remarkably better than store-bought.

Don't overwork, make sure the fat stays in fairly large, pea-sized chunks, don't over-moisten. You can sub out half the ice water for cold vodka to lessen gluten development.

I vacuum seal mine. I am still using ones I bought 4 years ago on ebay, they are still moist. I've got Tahitian and Mexican, paid about $10/lb at the time.

It may or may not be helpful to prick them a few times with a fork.

Try rolling it out very thin, cutting into diamonds, sprinkle with kosher salt and maybe some dry herbs and bake to make crackers. Docking may or may not help them.

Meat dries out when it is cooked at too high of a temperature. Grilling doesn't ordinarily dry any meat out unless one's grill happens to ordinarily be at an incorrect temperature. Sous vide doesn't keep chicken moist because the bag is sealing things in. Sous vide CAN keep chicken moist IF the correct temperature is used. But, then again, any technique can keep meat moist as long as the temperature is regulated and correct. You can have tough dry chicken in a soup, if it's cooked at the wrong temperature.

I am reminded of the Chicken Tikka Masala episode of Heston Blumenthal's In Search of Perfection. He marinated chicken in yogurt and spices, and a control with just a spice rub. He then ran an MRI scan and found that the yogurt helped the spices penetrate the meat much further than the spices alone were able to move. I believe that buttermilk may be similar enough to have the same effect. But, you need to add a flavoring agent to it see the effect.

Exactly! I worked for a month at a mom & pop place on the east coast that the locals loved. We used the same Dawn mixes as the chain place a couple blocks away, but, we changed our oil religiously. We also didn't water down the fillings.

Do you have access to an electrical outlet? I try to bring my slow cooker if I can. I make the item in advance and just re-heat on site. Some ideas: NM style flat enchiladas, green chile stew, a hearty soup, coq-au-vin, bœuf bourguignon, stew, etc.