Chef BV

Wow, thanks for the replies. It's going to be a big change for me cooking in NYC, but it is my passion. I'm just worried about making ends meet with bills and rent. I'll figure it out I guess. Keep up with the advice. Does there happen to be a thread on here about making it in NYC for cooks?

I'm just a cook coming from little old Charlotte, NC and moving to NYC to follow the dream. I'm wondering how much line cooks generally make in good kitchens so I can have an idea for interview purposes. I don't want to ask for too little and I don't know how much too much is because it's NYC, it's a completely different beast. Any help in this subject would be so very helpful. Thanks a lot!

I'm a chef and it looks like I'll be moving to Hanover in the early fall. Are there any good restaurants to work at in the area or surrounding? I'm talking fine dining or upper scale casual dining that utilizes local food. Any help would be great. Thanks in advance!

Thanks everyone, that's exactly what I was looking for. But man, I didn't realize they would cost so much. Looks like I'll be heading to Home Depot sometime soon. Thanks for the help!

I've seen a device before that can be filled with any liquid and it would allow you to control the amount of liquid being dispensed, say, hot soup into shot glasses. I want to buy one, but I don't even have a clue as to what it's called. It looks just like a china cap, but solid instead of perforated. There's also a lever on the handle that controls the opening and closing of the valve on the tip of the cone. If anyone could help me out with what this thing is and possibly websites to buy from, I'd be greatly thankful.

Vicious Wadd: Well, quite possibly, but you'd have to come in to find out wouldn't you? Do you guys do some sweet whipped egg white clarified consommes up at Staunton Grocery?

Wow, this question stirred up some good conversation. Thanks for all the info. I'm familiar with the reasoning and method of traditional clarifying of consomme. I had just never seen whipped whites used and now I have my answer. Thanks everyone. Also, let me get this straight: Whipped egg whites are added to the stock while cold and stirred with the other garnishes and as the stock heats, the whites will float up to the top with the rest of the stuff to form the raft, correct?

I was watching Iron Chef America and saw Morimoto use a mixture of mirepoix batonettes and whipped egg whites to clarify a kompachi stock. Can anyone clarify this and if it's correct, the reasoning behind using that technique? I would assume that it would be used to clarify a stock quickly since they are limited on time, but also maybe since using ground meat other than that of kompachi would skew the flavor profile. Using kompachi meat to enrich the stock would just be a waste of meat, right? Any technical insight would be great. Thanks!

Thanks everyone for the help, especially mkayahara for your specific answers. I can't get the link to work to Ferran's PDF, but I've collected a decent amount of base information to get some fun stuff rolling. Thanks again!

So, my CDC just bought me a spuma canister thingy to use for making amuse and no one in the kitchen is really experience with using one, so I was wondering about all the little things I should know about using one and what I can do with it. So far all I've made have been cream based foams from root veg purees or cheeses. What else can I do with this thing? A few specific questions: - Can I make water/fruit based foams from purees? Would that require an emulsifier/stabilizer such as an oil, gelatin or lecithin? - What are some proper ratios for the question above? - Is there a way to change the amount of air injected into the foam? Would that be affected by how many chargers I use? - How smooth does a mixture have to be to pass through the spuma nozzle without clogging? - How full can I fill the canister for use? - When I charge the canister, does the charger foam up everything inside at that moment, or does it only add air to the mixture as it's being dispensed? Thanks for taking time to read this and I appreciate any insight to this device.

Sounds great everyone, thanks for the help! I think I'll just be braising them tonight with onions and bacon, simple but hearty...

I have some stalks from some swiss chard that I cleaned a few days ago and I'm looking to see the best way to cook them. I'm assuming a braise or stew is probably best, but I was wondering if anyone had good ideas for the stalks. Thanks!