RAHiggins1

But aren't bleeps, snarky attitudes and sniping, like the obligatory guy with the kewpie doll haircut, the main attraction of Top Chef? It's not like this is a show about cooking - it's just another Real Housewives/Rock of Love/Dancing With the Stars "reality" crapfest set in a kitchen. ← No, Hells's kitchen is a reality crapfest. These guys are all picked from the bleeding edge with formidable backgrounds in the industry. We respect these people's talents. We watch the show to see what they create and how it's judged. The reality format, product placement and cheesy scenarios are endured to get to the meat of the show. Otherwise we would be stuck watching pastry chefs carry eight foot tall cakes through an obstacle course to get it on the presentation table in time, while their partner chainsaws an iceblock into a porpoise.

Bordain knows he is a commodity. He knows that people will flock to whatever he says or does. Simply by participating he is selling the Bordain experience, promoting himself. He, like all celebrities must keep the presence present or he will end up on "The Surreal Life". So, it's in Bordain's best interest to blog, judge, etc... Whatever it takes to stay in the spotlight.

Of course you would not experience it as a patron. I watched Ramsay fire a member of his wait staff on opening night (Boiling Point) for drinking water from a bottle while standing where the patrons could see him do it. How far worse would the F-bomb be? Go work in a kitchen, it's F this, F that, F everything and get that effin plate to the line. Harsh language is common in any blue coller job. You as the customer shall never bear witness to it though. I would guess in a situastion where you are dining at a chef's table in the kitchen the staff would keep their language in check.

Ok, so Quinoa is a new one to me. So I looked it up. As usual I'll share my findings below. I thought this episode was "eh". Mostly because I liken it to the first 2 months of american idol where they show horrible singers that made it to the judges solely for entertainment value. I am certain things can only take an upward turn as this series progresses. I would like to point out that a lot and I mean a lot of how people seem to be acting is a direct result of the director and his editors attempting to make the show more appealing than 16 chefs in a kitchen. The following is blatantly stolen from wikipedia. "Quinoa has a light, fluffy texture when cooked, and its mild, slightly nutty flavor makes it an alternative to white rice or couscous. The first step in preparing quinoa is to remove the saponins, a process that requires soaking the grain in water for a few hours, then changing the water and resoaking again, or rinsing it in ample running water either in a fine strainer or in cheesecloth. Boxed quinoa typically has been pre-rinsed for convenience. A common cooking method is to treat quinoa much like rice, bringing two cups of water to a boil with one cup of grain, covering at a low simmer and cooking for 14–18 minutes or until the germ separates from the seed. The cooked germ looks like a tiny curl and should have a slight bite to it (like al dente pasta). Alternatively, one can use a rice cooker to prepare quinoa. To that end, one volume of quinoa should be combined with two volumes of water. Vegetables and seasonings can also be added to make a wide range of dishes. Chicken or vegetable stock can be substituted for water during cooking, adding flavour. It is also suited to vegetable pilafs, complementing bitter greens like kale. Quinoa can serve as a high-protein breakfast food mixed with honey, almonds, or berries; it is also sold as a dry product, much like corn flakes. Quinoa flour can be used in wheat-based and gluten-free baking. For the latter, it can be combined with sorghum flour, tapioca, and potato starch to create a nutritious gluten-free baking mix. A suggested mix is three parts quinoa flour, three parts sorghum flour, two parts potato starch, and one part tapioca starch. Quinoa flour can be used as a filling for chocolate. Lastly, quinoa may be germinated in its raw form to boost its nutritional value. Germination activates its natural enzymes and multiplies its vitamin content. In fact, quinoa has a notably short germination period: only 2-4 hours resting in a glass of clean water is enough to make it sprout and release gases, as opposed to, e.g., 12 hours overnight with wheat. This process, besides its nutritional enhancements, softens the grains, making them suitable to be added to salads and other cold foods."

Morrocan Inspired Chicken Kabobs Cut 4 Chicken breasts lengthwise into 1" x 1" strips. Mix together 1/2 cup of olive oil and 2 Tbsp of Morrocan seasoning blend. I get mine from a super target, it comes in a tin labeled as morrocan inspired seasonings. Mix the chicken in and let it marinate at least an hour, the longer, the better. Push the chicken onto the smaller type bamboo skewer. I push the skewer through from the side and then twist the chicken a half turn before pushing back through again, repeat until skewer is full. I usually get 2 strips on one skewer this way and they remain uniform in size. Broil in oven until the chicken browns nicely. These can be done in advance and cooked and served quickly. Serve with Tsatsiki or mix more of the spice into plain yogurt and let it refrigerate at the same time as the kabobs. Tadeek (spelled phonetically) Make Basmati Rice. Remove from pot, melt butter in the rice pot, add rice back being careful to not stir it. Cover with a towel and cook on low for 30 minutes or until a golden crust has formed in the bottom of the pan. Carefully remove rice without disturbing the crispy rice crust. Place a plate face down on the pot and flip the pot allowing the crust to invert itself onto the plate. Season with salt and serve as an appetizer. This is a finger food, please only eat with your right hand.

She seems to like it too much to do that. She's probably one of those people with skinny genes. People I resent. LOL! ← I think she's gotten a little top heavy since last season. TB would know, I'm sure he's stared at them up close.

2 Chicken Breasts 1 Stick Butter 1 Cup Bread Crumbs 1/2 Cup Grated Parmesagn Cheese ¼ Cup Olive oil Juice of 2 Large Lemons ¼ Cup Capers 1 Tbsp Caper Brine 1 Tsp Salt ½ Tsp Pepper Saran wrap or a large ziplock bag. Directions; Mix together bread crumbs, grated cheese, salt, and pepper and set aside. Lay chicken breast flat on cutting board and slice in half so that you have 2 flat pieces of chicken from each breast. Place chicken in bag or cover with saran wrap and pound until meat is a quarter of an inch in thickness. Carefully dredge the chicken in the seasoned bread crumbs until well coated. Melt butter in a fry pan. Once melted, draw the fat off the surface with a spoon and discard. Add the olive oil to the butter. Heat the butter-oil mixture to medium high heat and brown the chicken one piece at a time. Browning happens quickly, be sure to not over cook the chicken as this will make it dry and tough. Set chicken aside once it is all browned. Bring butter mixture to high temperature and add lemon juice, capers and caper brine. Bring to a full boil and allow to reduce for 3-5 minutes. To serve, place chicken on top of pasta ( I prefer bowtie lightly coated in basil-garlic pesto) and spoon sauce and capers on top of chicken. I like to top the dish with grated Parmesagn and Asiago cheeses.

from the original airing?

Good point, I had forgotten about that. I mean, it's common for regular people not to know, but as a chef? You've got to me kidding me. Even if you always buy it jarred, isn't that one of those pieces of knowledge that you just have in that profession? It's like the classic sauce to end all classic sauces! The one we still use everywhere! ← It is if you want to serve anything with a flavored Aioli.

When I saw the list of "Classic dishes", I was smiling. I'm pretty sure I could pull off anyone of them fairly well. I've been somewhat embedded in the so called classics the last couple of years. I usually research each one thouroughly prior to my first attempt. Except Chicken Piccata, I've been making Piccata in veal and chicken form since the 80's. My recipe is solid, I've openly shared it with anyone who asks and I've gotten many compliments. I use bread crumbs. So when they got to the Chicken Piccata, the first thing I said is "That's not chicken piccata!", as they were setting the plates down. Then the judges started discussing how chicken piccatta is made. All the judges agreed that you use egg and flour. Tom Collichio refers to the dishes presented as being A la Milanaise. Which is correct, sort of. From the Oxford Dictionary- milanaise, à la Dish garnished with spaghetti, tomato sauce, and ham or tongue. Also food dipped in egg and a mixture of breadcrumbs and cheese, then fried. Collichio then says that it's supposed to be prepared with egg and flour. Chicken dipped in flour and egg is what I know as Chicken Francese. Chicken Francese Recipe Back when I first started making the dish (Piccata) I used flour mixed with grated parmesagn, but at some point migrated to seasoned bread crumbs with parmesagn. Both are barely noticable and help the chicken to brown. Chicken Piccata Recipe from Bon Appetite 1998 Anyways, my point is that everyone got it wrong, including me, for using bread crumbs. But, hey that's the way I make it. As a side note, I guess VEAL Piccata would have been too politically incorrect to do on the show. Odd that no one minds when they eat all that food with veal stock and demiglace, but put a tender piece of young calf in front of them and they scream like little girls. just my 2¢

I called Dekalb Farmer's Market but they refused to give prices over the phone. Last year they were selling the sack for $1 less than the bin with the tongs price (How ludicrous is picking out crawfish with a pair of tongs?) I think I remember it being under $3 a pound. Last year in LA the price was under $1 when I was there. How many pounds do you have to buy to make it worth the gas to go get it?

I would imagine that the burden is on the restaurant and the star chef. The location is something they select. The hotel would simply agree to rent them the space. I certainly do not see any celebrity chef letting motel 6 tell them how to operate.

Explain this then...... ← Ha ha ha ha ha ha.... nailed. Of course I'd hold up a bottle of piss too if you paid me enough. Hell, if you paid me even.

Yea, I've been there. Good and cheap are so seldomly found in the same market. Their prices are so close to Whole Foods', you might as well go there. The food we ordered was good though. But, all that stuff I can make for myself.

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We use Halperins - they do a very nice job with lots of stuff. I got fresh mussels last week and they were nice, Salmon is always prime. Monkfish was very nice and if it comes in to them bad they don't send it out - Call and talk to Barry - he is my rep - tell him the "guy" at the Golf Club of Georgia sent you on The mini crab cakes are good too - We make our own large ones , but the small ones they have are really nice. Price wise - a little higher - but the quality is A++ ← They look like they are restaurant sales only? No retail presence that I saw. ← For convenience's sake I usually go to H-mart as it is closest. Most of it is still from small counties overseas with few regulations in place to ensure quality. For mudbugs, I go to dekalb Farmer's Market and buy them by the sack, we then do a true louisiana boil with at least 2 sacks (70lb). Which we will be doing soon. My wife and I are contemplating going to Jazzfest in New Orleans, if so we will stock up on shrimp there. Along with french bread to freeze, you just can't get the same quality bread at 2000ft above sea level.

Seafood Paella over an open fire, how could you not call it fine?

Blow torch and some Ahi Tuna Roast Lobster by wrapping in aluminum and throwing in the fire's coals Bring a gas grill and use it as a 2 eye burner. It's gas. Not sure what kinds of meat you intend to prepare. You could make in advance, Tartare or Carpacchio. Beef or Pork slow roasted on a spit can be a wonderful thing. If you bring the gas grill you could braise just about anything. I find it really hard to cook at the location and not arouse palates. How do you mask searing meat over an open flame and why would you want to?

I started to post this as a reply to Doodad's topic on kitchen production methods. Then I decided to make it a new post. My experiences are somewhat different as I never found my way into anything really considered "Fine Dining". As a manager of "Waffle House" I can tell you that being in the zone when pushing plates can be an awesome experience. The busiest day of the year is christmas and it's 24 hours of pure hell. Imagine your busiest night and extend it to 3 full shifts, non-stop. Although they don't usethe same terminology, you still find the same basic positions of Grill, Saute and Garde Manager, just no sauces. BOH and FOH share the same space. All of it in plain view of the customer. But if you watch, you see that orders are called, foods are pulled out and proteins go on immediately. The same communication takes place, except that there are no tickets to refer to, once its called the cooks have to remember what it is, period. At one time I could recall any order currently down in waffle speak. I also worked at Jocks and Jill's which Atlanta people should remember, it was a bar and grill with a full kitchen. The menu was designed without taking any of the kitchen into perspective, or the kitchen was not laid out well to cook the orders. Busy nights were always chaos. BOH and FOH were always at war. I walked out the first time the "Certified Chef" shorted my check about 30 hours most of which was overtime. Prior to all that I was a cook in the Marines. Ever make meatballs for 1200? Eggs to order for 1200? Needless to say, it was an experience. Cooks however are cooks and we acted as unruly as any other off duty cook should, the whole kitchen was under 25 years old except the dining facility manager who was usually in his 3rd or 4th enlistment. I can tell you, you never want to mess up whatever food you were responsible for in a Marine Corps Galley.

You can't stop them from leaving, unless you re-evaluate their worth and compensate them accordingly. It might be better pay, it might be more responsibility. Try to understand what your employee really wants for themselves and then determine if that is within your means or not. Then, you start looking for their replacement. You can accept resumes and interview people to call upon once you need them.

Roy F. Guste Jr.

Yes and no. I think originally my intent was to find a suitable replacement for high starch foods and mashed spuds in particular, but that has evolved into finding ways to offset said starches. I am of the mind that we have to balance things better. When we try to eliminate foods from our diet, especially foods that we love, we find ourselves making short term changes that do not stick. I want to eat what I like and alter it to a more nutritionally acceptable level. I am definitely learning a lot here in the process. Keep up the great posts!

Miso Shrimp Udon

I have not tried this but it looked good when I read it, Shellfish Paella with Fregola

My ex-wife's family in Okinawa, Japan would cook fresh spinach and stir mayonaise into it and eat it.