Smitty

Some favorites of our staff are: A Simple Stir-Fry with strip steak scrap: Slice (well-chilled) scrap thin on deli slicer Marinate overnight with soy, sherry, red pepper flake, Chinese 5 spice, chipotle powder stir fry in hot oil (in small batches if necessary) Julienne veggies dusted with corn starch (peppers & onion, parcooked green beans, cabbage, or summer squash are what we have around most of the time) Remove cooked meat, add veggies. Cook 90% of the way (the CS should thicken the residual liquid in pan while veg cooks) Add meat back to the pan. Adjust seasoning with soy, rice vinegar, and mirin Serve with sticky or basmati rice Coconut-Cabbage Soup with the salmon scrap: Salmon scrap cut into bite-sized pieces. handful finely diced onion + 2-3 cloves minced garlic 1 head shredded napa cabbage 2-3 tablespoons red curry paste 1 tablespoon madras curry powder 1 can coconut milk Splash of white wine Broth/Stock Indian Chili powder to taste Sweat onion and garlic w/ salt, madras curry & chili powder until translucent. Increase heat add curry paste and white wine to loosen it up a bit. Sautee until paste starts to brown. Add salmon pieces, stir until salmon is coated with curry mixture and starts to cook. Add cabbage and enough stock to cover (Veggie is preferred, chicken kind of takes over the dish) Bring to a boil. Stir in coconut milk, reduce to simmer. Simmer until salmon is cooked through (5-minutes). Adjust seasoning A polish guy in our kitchen makes beef paprikash quite a bit and that is always popular I also have the Staff Meals from Chanterelle book. I've used some recipes from there. They are usually well-received.

I've heard that pork burgers are pretty popular in southern Indiana and Illinois. I was first exposed to them at a tailgate with a friend from Indy. He was using frozen pre-formed patties from a local packer, so there must be a market for them. My friend used a bbq rub to season and served them with mustard, onions, and pickle. They were quite good.

One of the first things we did in my cereal science class after a lab on milling wheat flour was do whats called a wet gluten test. Simply make a dough of about 50% flour 50% water. Let it sit for a minute or two then run it under cool water while rolling the dough ball in your hands. After a few minutes the starch will rinse out of the dough and leave just the gluten behind. Everyone in the class enjoyed it. It was a fun hand-on activity in a class that was usually anything but. You could use this technique to demonstrate the difference in protein content among different types of flour.

One block south at 340 N. Main St. It is a pretty small place. Gravity's Website

Simon's place is called Roast and is in the Book Cadillac downtown. To the original poster: I second the recommendation that you look at Bourdain's 'Ruth Belt-Detroit' segment for a couple of places that are quintessentially Detroit. The brewpubs mentioned are worth a look too. If you have the time to take a bit of a drive (40 minutes from downtown). I like Gravity Bar and Grill in Milford. It is located in on an old style small-town Main Street which is a nice setting. Ann Arbor is also about a half an hour away and has some good places.

slop - anything that can be prepared quickly for the staff meal smegma - protein/fat/scum that oozes out of roasting meats, cools and coagulates (particularly poultry) ninjas - the banquet servers at the place I work, they wear head to toe black uniforms. on the fly - pretty self-explanatory heater/square - a cigarette a tourist - someone slacking off or watching silently while others are busting their ass Recently one of our cooks has taken to yelling out "What time is it?" and everyone answers "Tool Time!" (from the sitcom "Home Improvement") when a certain person walks past the line to punch in. It's mean but the guy really is useless.

Here are a few that jumped to my mind. I don't know if they are common but they are widely used where I am at. "stomp on it" - put a grill weight on a steak or burger to get it to hockey puck consistency quicker. "How long on that well done?" "8 minutes" "Stomp on it!" 'quick one' - a short break for the bathroom, a smoke or other. ex. "Yo, I'm clear, takin' a quick one" 'Mota' - parsley or other chopped herb garnish ex. "Got any mota" or "Tienes Mota" 'Jackson Pollock' - a cook who is getting sloppy, especially while saucing ex."Hey, Jackson Pollock, I'm sick of moppin' up your **** over here"; may also be used as a verb "Dude you pollocked that plate, set me up a new one" 'Add water and stir' - all set, feeling good, ready for service. ex Chef: "How are we lookin?" Cook: "Add water and stir at this point"

I add mushroom paste(shrooms + caraway seeds + olive oil to texture in a robocoupe) during the aromatic sweat to just about every brown sauce that I am going to strain. Also any time you can roast veggies before you use them in a sauce it a good thing. I'm looking forward to reading the responses in this thread

I was just going to post the same thing. I've never liked eggs. I like them in fried rice or occasionally a soft-boiled one on a salad but that is it. Part of me really wants to like eggs because they are cheap, quick and one of my favorite things to cook. I am more than happy to cook a half dozen omelets for friends after a night at the bar. Every year or so I try to eat an omelet or a fried egg but I have never acquired a taste.

yes and yes I think growing up playing a variety of sports helps me in the kitchen. There is the obvious advantage of having experience pushing forward through fatigue or pain in physically demanding situations. Also, both sports and professional cooking require hand-eye coordination, teamwork, improvisation and concise communication. The first time I worked a busy shift on the line I remember thinking that it was so much like playing hockey (or any team sport for that matter). I also think my interest in music is an asset. I don't have the strong sense of visual art that many chefs and cooks cite as a strength but I can get the inspiration for a dish from a song or even a harmony. I don't really know how to describe it. Maybe it just helps me to get my subconscious working. Songs with repetitive, simple rhythms also help me alot during prep ( 'London Calling' just came up on my iTunes shuffle, fitting as that is one of my favorite prep-songs). Music is also a great icebreaker with co-workers/employees. If you have a broad appreciation of it you will be able to connect with a wider range of people. One last thing, in my 'other life' as a student I have to work in laboratory settings. This has helped to drive home the importance of having a solid 'pre-game' plan for "materials and methods" (the mise of the scientific community). I think it also helps by developing observation and problem identification/solving skills.

There are a few scientific papers on the subject. this is from the abstract of a paper on ScienceDirect (the full text is paid-content) where vaccum-fried are judged against traditionally-fried foods by a sensory panel. It sheds a little light on the process. from Science Direct

I've never had or seen what you are describing but it definitely sounds interesting. I found this at simply-thai.com

In Lansing Michigan (next door to Michigan State University) a chain of carts called "El Oasis" have popped up in the past 2 years and have been very successful (from my observation). They are even open in the winter (nothing like a great pastor taco in 15 degree weather ). One is about a block from my place. I actually got a Torta from it a couple of hours ago. They even serve beef tongue and cheek. (and had civiche before the health dept got wind of it) Here is some coverage from locals: Lansing City Pulse Lansing Food News from Spartan Tailgate (a MSU sports message board) Spicy Biscotti I know Lansing probably seems like an odd place for a chain of taco carts but it actually has a pretty large Hispanic population (for a mid-sized northern city) because of the manufacturing and agricultural history. That said the clientle (from my unscientific study) is at least 75% non-hispanic.

← My dad (from New England with an English mother) begrudgingly called it "toad in a hole" here in Michigan. He always made the point to my mom (German-Polish) that it wasn't the proper name but still called it by her regional name anyway. I also find it funny that after this long together my mom has got him calling Yorkshire Pudding "pop-overs" (that probably makes my nan turnover in her grave) My dad used to throw together SOS as a quick lunch for the kids. My mom finally let him tell me what "SOS" meant when I was about 10...but I wasn't allowed to tell my younger brother...yeah right Side topic: my dad used to call corned beef and cabbage. "New England Boiled Dinner" (it usually included redskin potatoes and carrots as well). Is that a common thing? I've never heard it referred to that way by anyone else. EDIT: nevermind, a google search shows that 'New England BD' is a pretty widely used.

I don't have a single piece that is in the $600 range but the value of my knives greatly outmatches the value of my car. My guess $1800 is to $800 PS. Does the fact that my moped is worth more than my car make me more of a cook?

I like it. Cook's jargon shall inherit the earth!

I use the lingo at home all the time. My roommates (none in the industry) found it strange. The first time I asked "How many beers do we have all-day" before making a last-call run to the store I just got a room full of . Now they are all up to speed. I even heard one of them drop a "behind" the other day when he had to squeeze around someone at the dinner table. I thought of another one as well. You know you are a cook when...it isn't a 'cut' until it requires stitches. My dad told me he cut himself when he was prepping a salad the other day. I looked at it and said "No, You just nicked yourself."

Thanks. Italy is one of the countries I am most interested in (Spain and France being the others). I will look into that group. Lots of good info there, thanks. This seems like the most likely option for me. I have thought about doing some culinary specific training after completing my BS in Food Science and if that could open the door to work in Europe all the better.

Thank you for the information

I am also interested in this type of apprenticeship after I finish my bachelor's in the states (in a year and a half). I would need to be paid in order to swing such an adventure. My grandmother was an English citizen, my great-grandparents on the other side immigrated from Germany and Poland. What are my options for getting permission to work in the EU?

I'm glad to see there is some discussion fo my hometown here on E-gullet! I'm a student at MSU and have lived around here most of my life The mid-Michigan area doesn't have a good foodie reputation but there are good meals to be had. All of these recommendations are lunch or casual places. I work in the industry and do not head out for fancy sit-down dinners much, so I can't really offer any advice on that. First of all: Breakfast The Jukebox Grill, Coral Gables, and Golden Harvest (in Lansing) all offer fresh and honest dinner breakfasts, all reasonably priced. The Rest of the Day: -Lamai's Thai Kitchen - on Michigan Ave in Lansing (less than a mile west of E.Lansing), The place is a hole in the wall, single-proprietor. Great buffet. It can be tough to find a seat some days because it has created quite a following - There is another place in south Lansing called Taste of Thai that is a bit more upscale (al-cart for dinner) and nearly as good. The Soup Spoon Cafe- Michigan Ave (3-4 blocks west of Lam Mia) - Only open for lunch (I think), simple menu, they keep it seasonal. Three fresh soups everyday, good place for a soup & sandwich or a simple pasta dish. The whitefish chowder is my favorite. The Knight Cap - Michigan Ave in downtown Lansing. A tiny place that is a Lansing institution. It has been hit or miss the last few times I've been but even when the food isn't great the atmosphere makes up for it. It is like stepping into the fifties when you walk through the door. Altu's Ethiopain Cuisine- also on Michigan Ave in a run-down strip mall (just east of the Lansing/EL border). I haven't eaten there but have heard good things. Could be worth a try. Woody's Oasis - Various locations - they have built a nice local chain with 2 deli-style locations, a food-court place on campus, ready to eat snacks and wraps sold through coffee shops on campus and a bar/restaurant in downtown EL. Pretty good Mediterranean fair, I love the lamb kabob. The bar location also has a nice selection of beers on tap. Palace of Jamaica- South Washington Ave (Lansing, the southern-most end of the Washington Square shopping district) - The place is definitely substance over style (in fact the crowd from the liquor store next door can be downright scary) but the food is second to none. It's just a lunch counter/takeout place with a few small tables but the best jerk chicken or stewed goat within 100 miles (at least) Los Tres Amigos on E. Grand River in EL (3 other locations) - this place has exploded from it's start on Lansing's south-side. They now have a quick service storefront at Frandor Shopping Center and a bar/resturant near EL's "student-ghetto." I haven't tried that location (it's the newest) but the others offer the best mexican in the area. You can even get house-made menudo. Finally, a shameless plug for the place I work. The State Room at Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center (Harrison Rd). It is not well liked in another eGullet thread but I should say that there is a new chef and FotH manager since then. I think the quality has improved a lot in the past year. Take it for what it's worth I hope you enjoy your time in Lansing.