relatuit

I like to play a game with myself......how many can I produce where I cut the wedge of potato exactly seven times (one for each side) and then neatly snip off the ends? It really wows people when you can just spin them out like that. (especially when you're showing them how to do it!) It's a matter of memorizing the arc and leaving the right width in the center as you make each successive cut. Of course, there is a great deal of potato trim only suitable for thickening soups; I can think of so many other ways to cut them that are more efficient potato use.

Crackers are just really really thin flat bread, or you can think of them as savory tuiles. As long as it's thin, and flat, and crispy, you can pretty much call anything a cracker. I make them all the time and yes, you can take a basic sweet tuile batter, eliminate most if not all the sugar, increase the egg white and butter (the coagulation of the albumin mitigates the spreading properties of the melted butter), and herb it, cheese it, flavor infuse it anyway you want. The coolest thing about making your crackers with templates instead of rolling them out is that you can shape them while hot just like a tuile. Plus it's fun, and only takes about 2 minutes to whip up a batch of batter (including melting the butter!) About 5 minutes to bake a batch, but I usually bake them twice to get a uniform golden color. If you're not familiar with templates, you can just spread out the batter in circles with the back of a spoon and break them into shards when cool. You guys should really try making your own. Sprinkle them with cracked pepper, black sesame seeds, lobster roe dust...the possibilities are endless!

Ziplocs...hmmmm If you use the small ones and squeeze out all the extra air? I just like the convenience of the little blocks - throw them in the simmering sauce and let it do its "flavoring" thing. No muss, no fuss. Maybe those little ziploc craft bags - like the ones people put dusting powder or illegal substances into to sell? They'd be a small enough amount, I think!

Whoa...mint...it will take over your whole garden if you let it. Definitely a winner in the survival of the fittest war. You should dig it up and confine it's roots with a buried tub. Smells great when you mow it down though. I harvest my fresh herbs, whirl them in a food processor a little olive oil , to make a paste, then freeze them in ice cube trays, pop them out, cryovac them, and then I have cubes of "close to fresh" herb blends to use on hand even in the winter. You can do some pretty interesting and complex pestos with an assortment.

Haide, As I read through all these posts I felt I just HAD to respond. Yes, Snoop and Steve are both right; being a woman in a restaurant envronment can be personally taxing at best. Especially if you're the woman and you're "IN CHARGE". Some men and even other women will go to any lengths to undermine your position and authority, even as they smile to your face. And getting to a place where you are that woman in charge has it's daunting moments. Can you "bark with the big dogs" while still retaining your "female" qualities? It's quite a juggling act. Are you aggressive enough? Man enough? It's a strange mix of excitement and tediousness, anxiety and pride, tears and laughter, failures and successes. And most of the time, the dedication goes unnoticed and unrewarded. I've always said "Good work is always rewarded with...more work". Make sure you know what it is you're getting into before you do it. When you do, don't choose a school because it simply has a big name. Go visit. Talk to students away from their instructors, and ask instructors questions that require them to let you know how they truly feel about their students. Is it a high-production "get-em-out-the-door" kind of place that has a graduation every month, where instructors can hardly get to know the students' names before they're gone? Is it a place where students have the time and opportunity to truly explore what it is they will supposedly be doing for the rest of their lives, or are they simply going through the motions? You know, it's a lot like restaurants...for every big-ticket, famous name chef, there are many hundreds of working grunts (great word, Steve) who work every bit as hard, many of whom are very talented...it's the same with smaller and less-recognized schools. And they are generally a good deal financially. All of them will teach you the same basics - that's why they call them basics. Go for a management option if you can. Anyway, it's certainly your life - but think long and hard about it. Long and hard, and then think some more. Good luck!

Oh well, looks like someone's already taken the cucumber vein, but here goes... "It's too soft", garde manger quipped demurely "No, too short", whispered she, nodding surely "Should be firm, nice and long, crispy sweet, smooth and strong! Not for my salad, cucumbers too early!" an attempt.

Go, Mamster! I like my aluminum pans too.