Joisey

-- have had this argument many times with my father who is a union representitive and he laughs when I try to explain how hospitality is different and that you cant apply union practices to a restaurant enviroment,the creativity is sapped and the kitchen ceases to function as a progressive enviroment when work to rule practices come into play.-- Absolutely 100 percent true. If kitchens were unionized, ultra fine dining would cease to exist in this country. There are so many unique dynamics and grey areas in the kitchen environment, and none of them fit into the classic union shop mold. I did it for 7 years in Atlantic City and refused promotion twice because I didn't want to deal with Local 54 and its idiotic rules. Half the cooks know that the rules hold restaurants back, but it's the other half that keep things the way they are...as long as they get their fat check with minimal work, everything is copacetic.

After having a couple of those paper hats actually catch on fire (I think one was arson but can't prove it) I won't make my cooks wear them. Honestly, I'm pretty lenient about head gear, except there has to be some variety of it. I also don't care about facial hair as long as it's groomed. This business can suck in so many ways, but one of the good things is that you can be a good team player AND have your own strong personality. I don't want a bunch of homogenized robot soldiers.

Here in the United States, cooks that are represented by the Hotel and Restaurant Union (HEREIU), especially those in Casino kitchens are among the highest paid in the country. When I started in Atlantic City I was making 13.40 an hour, leaving at 16.10. Figure in your 40 dollars a month (Union Dues, which gets you your complete family benefits) and you're talking over 20 bucks an hour. Working in a Union Kitchen is a completely different and "unique" (one word for it), but for pure cash/benefits and a 40 hour week, it's hard to top.

Out here in Portland, a lot of restaurants have a mandatory kitchen tip-out. The minimum wage here is almost 8 bucks an hour including restaurant workers, so this is how owners justify paying their cooks less than what they deserve. A lot of the waiters get bitchy about it, but that's life. I've worked in a couple of places, one where the owner insisted that I take a tip share as the Chef (very small place). The other I refused my share, but took a set "gas stipend" out of tips per week so that I could fill my tank to get me to and from work. When I was in Atlantic City, the waiters (union shop, of course) with a little seniority were making 12-14 bucks an hour AND getting huge tips. Not uncommon for senior waiters in the best rooms in town to pull down six figures for a 35 hour work week.

Egg Noodles and Dinty Moore.

I use dark chicken almost exclusively now. It's lighter on the palate and acts as a nice base for whatever you want. Plus it's easier dealing with chicken bones than it is with veal bones.

Fish stock is a great thing to have around. Use it for court bouillon or make a consomme that will blow your dinner guests away.

The key seems to be ensuring each potato is coated with liquid before it gets layered in the pan. If you have two or three potato slices stacked up with no liquid in between, it's going to take longer to cook and give you an uneven finished product.

I like the disposables because you always have them on hand. Convenience factor is high. However, I've been on the other end of trying to pipe something warm/hot out of them (duchesse, twice-baked potatoes) and the heat stretches the bag out at the tip, causing blowouts and sometimes second degree burns. I try to stick to canvas and do a good job maintaining it (nothing worse than a mildew smelling pastry bag when you need it).

--The recipes need more furniture. I'm looking for more "on-a-bed-of(s)" or is that so nineties?-- If they would tweak that to include beds, foams and dusts, it would be even better.

I've got this spaetzle press that looks like a madoline with holes rather than a blade on the flat part and an open bottomed cup that slides back and forth over it. You put the dough in the cup and rapidly go back and forth, it's effortless and kicks out perfect sized dumplings. After years of killing my wrists on perforated hotel pans, it is a godsend. I think I got it from a company called ChefWare, it was cheap too..ten bucks.

if you vacuum seal it and put it on ice, it should be fine. I used to pull out lobster meat for bisque garnish and it holds OK on ice in saran, so a sealer would work that much better. The boil/shock method works really well to get the meat out of the shell, you just need enough heat to release the meat from the inside of the shell. I've used skewers to get raw meat out of shells without first steaming them, but it's kind of tricky and can mess up the meat, which you need intact for tempura.

--citrus twice-baked seasonal brioche with a balsamic relish -- This thing is great. I'll bet there are people doing it and trying to figure out why it is funny.

With garbage like this article, is it any wonder that Ramsay has an adversarial relationship with the media? Personally, I like the short sleeves, I always roll mine up anyway. For every burn I've gotten from having exposed arms, I've hooked five ladles/steamer handles/etc with the cuffs of full length sleeves.

--NY and Jersey, the hub of Ital-American cuisine. Really though, the sanctimonious bashing of chains as a dining decision while cavalierly upholding the standards of a group that extolls guilty pleasures and favorite convenience foods for fun is hypocritical .-- Yup. Go see the Applebees/Tyler Florence thread for more of the same.

I've eaten worse Italian food than OG in places that should have been a lot better.

That's SO not hot.

--i find that it works well to knead butter and flour together then whisk it in bit by bit, bringing it to a simmer in between.-- Technically called Buerre Manie, a technique you don't widely see used today. You can get a similar result with oil and flour, something we used to call a "quick roux". Another thing to consider when deciding how to thicken the sauce is the fat that cooks out of the meat. Everyone knows that fat equals flavor; if you aren't worried about dietary concerns, tightening the sauce with a little stiff roux will also emulsify the fat into the sauce giving it a much richer flavor. If you're going to skim the fat off the sauce after cooking, go with a reduction or a little slurry to preserve the sheen of the cooking liquid.

Moby..The consomme gets reduced by about a third and then I pour it onto a half sheetpan with a silpat. When it's cool I use a plastic knife and cut cubes. I wish I had thought to take pictures, maybe next time. It looked like a standard galantine, with a duck breast inlay and duck farce studded with balsamic onion and diced apple. The only thing I will do differently next time is cold smoke it for a bit after it is cooled, I still am not completely fond of plain, cold chicken skin. Your duck terrine looks excellent (awesome pistachio crust!) but you do have the thick fat outer layer I was talking about. Try it with Chicken skin next time and make the stock afterwards, you'll have a great soup to go with a killer galantine.

I make marrow dumplings with Fergus' recipe and wonton wrappers. They make a nice side to a duck dish.

If you dredge whatever you're braising in flour first before searing you'll usually have enough thickening power to tighten up the sauce. If not, you can add a little roux or slurry and cook it out for similar results. Sometimes you can even get some thickening by what you're using for mirepoix...a fine diced potato added to your basic mirepoix will break down during the cooking process and thicken the final sauce.

Moby...that's a really nice looking terrine. I love the reduction sauce. At the restaurant I work at, I made a Duck Galantine (using chicken skin, duck skin is too fatty). With the leftover duck bones and chicken meat I made an amazing Duck/chicken consomme, let it gel, then served cubes of it with the galantine slices. It's all about total utilization.

Yes, you want to use plastic wrap. Not only will it help you when removing the terrine from the mold, but when you are doing your final assembly before cooking you can press down slightly on the plastic-wrapped farce to ensure that the meat is evenly distributed into the corners of the mold. I use a hinged mold and I can say that cooking times will vary for each individual terrine, there is no set time for the type of mold you are using. Just one of those things you have to stay on top of. Remember, low and slow. You can sometimes have problems with product distribution in aspic terrrines, due to the effect of gravity on the internal product before the aspic sets. Sometimes you'll see terrines that are "bottom heavy" (it happens with headcheese also). The easiest way to solve this is to make sure that you are using a good amount of product so there is no place for it to settle. When you are ready to cut, you may need to run the mold under some warm water to release it, but many times it will come out quite happily on its own. Use a nice sharp slicing knife with long, even strokes (don't "saw" it) and you'll get a good even slice. If any of the garnish pops out, it's easy to put it back in and nobody will be the wiser.

I've had this discussion before, and for me it all comes down to your attitude. Knowledge is power, but it's how you use it after you get it that makes the difference. I attended CIA when it still had some minimum entrance standards, but I could see that those were on the slippery slope to nonexistence even then. J&W was an up and comer but not quite on the same level. Fifteen years later it seems like there is a culinary academy on every corner. I've worked with CIA and J&W guys who were great, and some that could F up boiled water. I now tell people who are curious about school to get some experience first, do some stages and make sure that you know what you're in for. Don't waste your money from the get-go. I wish I had waited a little while instead of going in fresh out of High School. I also recommend checking out some of the better community college programs around. There are some serious programs producing fine cooks. Atlantic County Cape Community College outside of Atlantic City NJ is one, Sullivan Community College in Southern NY is another. I've had employees from these places who were just as good as any "big" school, and they paid a fraction of the cost. I would also tell people that if they are looking into Western Culinary Institute in Portland, OR to spend their money on a new car or vacation instead. This school cranks out some of the most inept "cooks" I've ever seen.

--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. -- I've had fatback that went bad after only 4 days in the fridge; Of course I'm not sure how old it was before I bought it. I break that stuff down and freeze it as soon as I get it now.