David Hensley

I could never do just 2 day a week lol. This damnable business is my life, sadly. I have food in my veins...and mind, which is worse, I believe...

I thought the same, but un-egged, the noodles go from slippery to gluey before you can say "holy shit, all my noodles are glued together" lol Omit the egg if you like, but I rather liked the texture that they imparted.

I did use eggs to bind things, but ironically they were more useful as a lubricant lol. After cooking and seasoning my noodles, they tried to seize up on me, but after the addition of the eggs, they loosened right up. I had to use a small bowl for molding purposes, so the "buns" came out larger than I wanted them, and also quite a bit thinner than they should've been, which I plan to rectify today with the purchase of something appropriately sized. I also par-froze the "buns", to minimize any unraveling of the noodles, which turned out to be a non-issue. After my initial go at this, I can actually see doing this in a stick form, with a log-shaped burger, wrapped in noodles, then lightly pan fried until crispy. I'll keep you informed of any developments...

I did, in fact, make these last night, but due to some aesthetic issues ( they looked awful!), I chose not to take photos. I'm working on the method even as we speak, and as soon as I make them look the way I want them, You'll all see them! I used beef noodles for the bun, and a beef and pork mixture for the patty. I also topped it with a bok choy/ yellow pepper slaw. My biggest issue was simply sizing. The "buns" looked and tasted great, and I have to admit, I found the texture to be exceptional. I'll be using this process a lot, I think. While my burgers looked great on a regular bun, they were a bit small for the ramen disks that I made. My second attempt will nail it, hopefully.

Honestly, I don't think drying is all that harmful to the flavor, so much as the texture of them. I would also think that freezing or canning would adversely affect the texture of them. You could possibly prepare them first, say in a tapenade or something similar, and then can them. If I posessed that quantity of chantrelles, I'd just gorge myself on them till they were gone.

I'll be making these tonight, I swear it!

After some careful thought on the matter, and an honest conference with a longtime workmate, I realize that I'm just one of those strange people who probably wouldn't have ever gone in another direction. I've been cooking since I was seven, really. Where other kids would wake up and watch Sesame Street, I would sleep through it, because I knew that Julia Child would be on, right after, followed by Jacques Pepin, neither of which I would dare to miss! All through middle and high school, I would rush home from school, just so I didn't miss Great Chefs of the World, or The Frugal Gourmet. I can't honestly say that I come from a family of great cooks, because frankly, I come from a long line of people who prefer their meats boiled, and their vegetables fried. In almost 15 years of cooking, I've yet to prepare a meal for them that really garnered any compliments. It seems that I'm always just too high-falutin for their tastes lol. Thanks for the replies, keep them coming!

Hello! I'm David, and I'm relatively new to the forums here. I've read an almost overwhelming amount of threads here, and I have to admit, I'm completely hooked on this place! All of you seem to truly love cooking, and food, in their many forms. Personally, I'm a professional. I graduated from culinary school in '01, after several years already in restaurants, mostly fast food, and pizza. My first true restaurant job was a Bar & Grill in Baton rouge LA, which I still remember fondly, if not favorably. It has been quite the journey, from there to here, with its abundance of ups and downs. I love it, even for my yearly pronouncements that I'm going to walk away, and get a job in another field. HA! She always calls me back, that Siren of foodservice....I love her so... Why do you do it? What Siren do you hear, when you see fresh meat, or perfectly grown vegetables? Why do the chaos and the fire attract us? I always enjoy hearing the stories of others, especially my fellow cooks in the world! Why do we do it?

I seriously doubt I'll be able to revive a 7yr old thread, but I'll go out on a limb here. Having lived and cooked in Roanoke for about 6yrs now, I can honestly tell you that every restaurant I've been in here has simply been pretentious and overpriced, in exchange for sad service, and poorly prepared food...

Speaking of which, I'd also like to add that in a lot of cases, our choices of extra-curricular activities also lead to an above-average tolerance and stamina! Honestly, I can't remember the last time that I caught any kind of appreciable buzz from drinking a six-pack of beer, conversely, I know plenty of green cooks and culinary students who are falling down after the same amount...

I certainly wouldn't - the point I made about the flour sacks notwithstanding, bakery has given me incredible endurance, intense heat resistance (especially in the arms), interesting scars, and the upper body strength of a man twice my size. Unfortunately, it means I look kind of funny in formal wear, but on the upside nowadays when I attend a wedding I'm in my dress whites anyhow and the big shoulders just fill those out nicely. I'll give you that one too! I haven't been able to find a long-sleeve shirt, other than a chef jacket, which will fit my shoulders, and my arms too. I also prefer my good egyptian jacket, for almost every formal occasion. What a life we live, Panaderia!

Feel free to call me out on this one, but half of the reason that I love being a chef, is the almost superhuman endurance that you fully EARN while doing it. I'll give you the repetitive stress injuries, I'll give you the unhealthy addictions aspect of it. I'll also state that being in this business for almost 20 years, you learn to ignore the pain, under almost any circumstances. I've lost focus, and splashed screaming hot grease all the way up my forearm, and simply gone on to finish the task. I slipped and fell just the other day, not spilling a drop from the 200 pan I was carrying, I just got up, and continued to my buffet line. I don't claim to be any better a chef than any of you, but I don't think that anyone has yet mentioned the few redeeming attributes that this job can teach you... Its a hard-knock life that people like myself live, but I don't think any of us would trade it for anything...

You have several options to explore here... I'd recommend letting it warm up a bit, as your yeast wakes up and provides you some lift, it'll soften the dough, and you should be able to roll it much more easily. Another option, is to beat your dough. Starting at the center, gently, but firmly use you rolling pin to flatten the dough with a series of well placed smacks, always maintaining an even thickness. Hope it helps.

My personal pet peeve these days, believe it or not, is the overwhelming use of the term "aioli". I'm sick to death of every damned flavored mayonaise out there being referred to as Aioli! Traditional handmade mayo, flavored with real, raw garlic? Thats aioli! Your personal mix of Hellman's, dijon mustard, and raspberry vinegar? Not at all....

Elite athletes? I'm gonna say no, primarily because athletes get paid ridiculous money to entertain people, and Chefs don't, no matter how entertaining they may be! Physically, I'll agree to some similarities, especially in the areas of endurance, damage resistance, and complete awareness, but in the end, I'll simply say that Chefs are not athletes, so much as a different species of human altogether...

I also tend to use some kind of Escoffier preparation almost every day. Alongside of my regular cooking textbooks, The Escoffier Cookbook was a mandatory at my culinary school. I even use it at home, which leads me to marvel at what an impressive and time-tested tome this is! I don't know if there's any truth to it, but I've heard that his many names for dishes, no matter how small the variation of recipe was based not on regional differences and titles, but rather from a need to name more dishes than any other chef in the world. Good old fashioned egotism, basically... My order for MC was delayed, and so I d-loaded the above as something to occupy me while waiting. It is a remarkable compilation, and I felt it was worthwhile reading through those methods that he regarded as fundamental to all the recipes. There are quite a number of things I have marked as something to try when I get the time. I was also interested how there is a specific name for every slight variation of a basic recipe. I wonder if that has something to do with every region having its own signature interpretation on a dish.

I think I just decided on dumplings for dinner....

I have to agree with just about everybody here! I think you've all made valid points, most of which I can confirm from personal experience. I grew up in a town which carried both cream- and dream- sicles, of which I loved both. I also loved Flintstone's push-ups, the orange sherbet on a stick, inside a cardboard tube. These days, I dislike them all, as my love of ice cream of any kind has greatly waned. I persistently try to "upgrade" my home dining experience, by substituting better ingredients than the original recipes called for, and have had good success. I've also "upgraded" recipes completely, and come away sad. I find that if I crave a childhood favorite, I should simply eat that, because that will truly be the flavor I recall, and also want. I also find that sometimes, I want something completely exotic, yet based on an idea that my fondest memories keep. In the end, I can only come to the conclusion that if you like it, then eat it, and never question it, or feel guilty about it. Even as a professional Chef, of almost 20yrs now, I sometimes just want some stove-top stuffing, or ramen noodles after a long, crappy day at work... Is that wrong? I think not...

Personally, I had it in a vegetable soup prepared by a friend. Although the soup was good, the clover seemed to dominate the flavor profile. That was my only real experience with red clover, so I'm sorry I couldn't be more help...