How Do You Stay Happy When Work is Stressful?
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Sunday, January 22, 2012
I saw a survey a while ago for people who work in high stress jobs. It was titled, "How do you stay happy when work is stressful?" I don't know that "staying happy" is the correct word, but certainly being able to manage stress is a necessary attribute of a successful Chef. Food is very important to a Chef. It is the nature of our business. Our training, career, and pride revolve around the food we produce. We want things to be perfect. We learn to hope for the best and to plan for the worst. Great planning and organization makes all tasks, all events, even small disasters, more manageable. But life doesn’t always allow perfection. That bastard Murphy walks in the door and despite all our best efforts and planning everything goes to hell.
One of my worst days ever was as follows: We had an off-site catered event, a plated dinner outside for 500 people. Each course was prepared by a different restaurant and crew, we had the entree course. We arrived, organized, tested equipment, and planned based upon the equipment provided. We had 6 ovens and 54 pans of product to cook for our one course. When we got to the 30 minute mark (time to jam!), we found that 2 ovens were down and 2 more were filled with the next chef's product. We had to cook 54 sheet pans/hotel pans in 2 ovens and serve in 30 minutes! We improvised, used grills, braisers, ovens, stove tops, etc and got the job done, albeit hyperventilating the whole time. When I got home I posted in facebook, "Today was one of those days when you just want to crawl under a rock and f__king die."
During these times of high stress/duress I hold on to my sanity in several ways:
- First, I try to look at the bigger picture… today will end, tomorrow will come and I will still be alive and have my family, even if this work day ends in the worst way.
- Second, break things down into bite sized pieces. Don’t look at the sinking Titanic, instead, look at the one or two life rafts and keep them afloat. Do what’s doable. Keep moving ahead. Breath.
- Third, I take comfort in knowing that I have done all I could to avert whatever disaster has struck. If I have planned correctly, staffed and prepped correctly, and both me and my staff have handled “the situation” to the fullest of our ability, then there is nothing more that can be done… ride it out and try to plan for or alter this type of event in the future.
Want to read more? See the Archives
How Restaurants Can Beat the January Blues
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Virtually every restaurant goes through cycles of busy seasons followed by slow seasons. In many ways, the slow season is the hardest to deal with, not only because of the obvious lower revenue, but also because slow times are "the devil's play ground". Your staff will become lackadaisical, ticket times will take too long, they will find more problems with their jobs and their teammates. Experienced managers and chefs know this cycle and plan for how to deal with it.
Tim Julius, Assistant F&B Manager at the Tulalip Resort Casino, has these words for his managers now that the Holiday Season has ended:
Now that the New Year is here, once again we are afforded the luxury (?) of having some slow days / slow sales periods Monday thru Thursdays (I believe that typically we hold strong Friday night thru Sunday).
As John Carter likes to say: 'Let us be successful by plan rather than accident.'
"We have talked about utilizing the down periods to get cleaning done, offer vacations, and re-train and/or cross-train. Let’s make best use of the down times so that when the busy times come we are better and stronger, and able to give our guests a "WOW" experience. Slow days breeds complacency. Slow days are more difficult to manage on a whole than busy days. We need to be actively proactive (actually doing something) versus passively proactive (talking about doing something)."
"As Manager’s, you may have some plans or goals in your mind, however, do your Supervisors have a clear understanding of what it is you want to have accomplished on the slow days?"
For example, it is one thing to communicate to your Supervisors "now is another good time to be going over SOP’s and re-training the team", versus "next week, I want Supervisor X to teach group Z about process A”. In the first version, it is vague about who / what / when, and if we leave it up to the Supervisor to determine it, we lose time and opportunity (please be honest with yourselves and ask yourselves “would my Supervisors take the initiative or would they wait for another Supervisor to do it?).
Another example to look at is the Space Race.
President Eisenhower said “we will win the space race”.
President Kennedy stated that the United States should set as a goal the "landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth" by the end of the decade. Who / what / when.
Please make sure you and your Supervisors have clearly defined training plans for the slow period which we always encounter during this time of year. Let’s not rest on our laurels, let’s keep widening the gap between us and our competitors.
Let us be successful by plan rather than accident.
Want to read more? See the Archives
Scallop Potato Pie
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
This is the first in a whole series on Side Dishes. If you want to serve something more than a simple plate with a generic protein, veg and starch, then coming up with the main component of a dish isn't as hard as creating the sides to go with it. The sides need to add interest to the dish, and should offer different textures, contrasting colors and flavors. If the main item is heavy and rich, then at least one of the sides should be light so as to help "refresh" the pallet.
This scallop potato pie side dish is an excellent adaptation of your traditional scallop potato dish. It is given an extra "kick" with Tillamook sharp cheddar and havarti cheeses, adding extra flavor and complexity. Then it is cut into discs, stacked, and wrapped in brik dough (Feuilles de brick). The result is this up-scale version of scallop potatoes.
Sharp Cheddar-Havarti Scallop Potato Pie |
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| 8 | Oz | Tillamook Sharp Cheddar Cheese |
| 3 | Oz | Havarti Cheese |
| 4 | Tbl | Butter cut into ½ Tbsp Portions |
| 3 | Oz | Sweet Onion, chopped fine |
| 2 | Ea | Bay Leaves |
| 1/2 | Tbl | Salt |
| 1 | Tsp | White Pepper |
| 1 | Tbl | Garlic, Minced |
| 2 | Cups | Heavy Cream |
| 2 1/2 | Lb | Yukon Potatoes, peeled, sliced 1/8" thick |
Place parchment paper down into a 4” half hotel pan. Lay down one even layer of potatoes. Sprinkle 2 Tbsp. Of onion over entire layer. Sprinkle handful of cheese mixture over the top. Squirt a small amount of cream over entire layer. Repeat.
After 2nd layer distribute ½ of butter onto layer. Repeat until everything is utilized. Bake @ 375° for 40 minutes covered with foil.
Chill in the walk-in. Once cooled and set, cut around edges of pan taking off any burnt edges. Turn pan over onto cutting board. Tap bottom of pan until the potatoes fall out. Using a #80 ring mold, cut scallop potato into rounds (use the leftover pieces for a scallop potato hash for another meal).
Remove one sheet of brick dough from package. Lay one disc in center of brick dough. Top with about 2 Tbl of shredded cheese, then top with another disc. Fold one edge over potatoes, rotate slightly and fold tightly again, repeat until covered.
Repeat. Brush with egg. Chill until ready to be cooked. Keep covered in walk-in. Re-therm in 325° convection oven on low fan for about 18 minutes.
Taste of Tulalip Gala Dinner 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
This year Tulalip Resort Casino held their third annual Taste of Tulalip Food & Wine Event. It was a 2 day food and wine experience, kicking off with Friday’s Taste of Tulalip Gala Dinner, hosted by “Thirsty Girl” Leslie Sbracco. Saturday followed with the Grand Tasting featuring the Tulalip Chef’s exquisite cuisine samples and 65 wineries from Washington, California, and Italy. This post is about Friday’s Gala Dinner.
The Taste of Tulalip Gala Dinner is a seven course food & wine pairing featuring fantastic food and exquisite wines. According to F&B Manager Lisa Severn, Tulalip’s philosophy regarding culinary events is “Do it right or go home.” The menu for this year’s dinner again shows that the Tulalip Chefs and Sommelier Tom Thompson know how to do it right. There were 400 seats available and the event sold out several weeks in advance, a testament to the growing popularity of the event.
For the Chefs, the challenge was, ”How do you serve 7 courses of restaurant quality food to 400 people at once?” Each course had to be plated and served to order. For a typical plated banquet function for a large group, there are usually only 3-4 courses (soup, salad, entrée, dessert) with only the soup and entrée courses plated to order. And the entrée course is usually pre-plated 5-15 minutes ahead of the serving time and stored with covers in a hot box, ready to be served en mass to large parties. But we wanted the food served from the oven to the guest with no holding time. So we set-up six plating lines with 6 people on each line so we could mass produce 400 plates directly into the waiting hands of the service staff.
We had prepped, planed, organized, and were now ready to execute service. Towels in hand, 7 professional chefs, 36+ support staff to help plate, additional crew to man the ovens, and an army of servers, we were ready to dance. Now we impatiently wait for the word “Go!” wondering if you missed anything.
Your mind is racing, going over the plate-up for the nth time, trying to discover the one thing you missed, the one possible obstacle which you didn’t make a “plan B” for. Your crew looks at you sideways as you explain again what your expectations are.
The first course is supposed to be served at 7:35 pm, but, of course, things run late, 15 minutes late. Now you’re recalculating your firing times and communicating it with your staff. The kitchen is set to go with over 45 staff crammed into it. I can’t simply walk over to my oven crew, it’s too crowded. So I walk around the back hallways 3 or 4 times to communicate new instructions to my staff. The other chefs are doing the same.
Then, its go time! Everything is in high gear now, commands are short and direct. “Get that food moving!” “That’s too much sauce, use less!” “Line 2, speed up!” “Clean up those plate edges!” “More garnish on Line 2!” “Sauce on 4!” “Lamb on Line 3!” “Why the f___ are you giving me rare lamb racks, I want medium-rare. Fix it!” “Only 20 more for this course” “Done! Stop! Clean-up and prepare for the next course. Good job everyone!”
Each course only took about 15 minutes to serve. For each course, all six lines and 40+ kitchen staff worked to produce that one course; then clean, reorganize, and do it again until after 3 hours of riding an adrenaline wave, we slammed through dessert. Our work was successfully completed, we could finally take a deep breath, relax… and suddenly realize… ” holy hell am I tired!”
Taste of Tulalip Gala Dinner Menu 2011
click the images to enlarge
Smoked Kurobuta Pork Belly, Maple Vanilla Gastrique
Parsnip Puree, Fois Gras, Bacon Jam, Halloumi Cheese wrapped in Jamon Iberico Prosciutto
Chef Brent Clarkson
Long Shadow’s “Poets Leap” Riesling Columbia Valley, WA 2010
Thai Curry Kabocha Squash Bisque
Tempura Vegetables with Five-spiced Cherry Reduction
Chef Dean Shinagauwa
Va Piano Vinyards “Bruno’s White II” Sauvingnon Blanc Columbia Valley, WA
Southwest Duck Breast with Hydro Bibb
Baby Heirloom Tomatoes, Gruyere, Pine Nuts, Pecorino Crisp
Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette
Chef John Ponticelli
Reynvaan Vineyards “The Contender” Syrah Walla Walla, WA 2008
Grilled Wild King Salmon with seared Apple, Pear, Fennel Confit and Chevre
over savory Brioche-Apple Bread Pudding
Cinnamon and Autumn-Spiced Lamb Chop with Huckleberry Demi
Chef David Buchanan
Sparkman Cellars “L’ Autre” Pinot Noir Eola-Amilty Hills, OR 2009
Corliss Estates “Cabernet Sauvignon” Columbia Valley, WA 2006
Refresh
Ruby Pink Grapefruit Segments
Blood Orange Reduction Pepette
Chef John Jadamec
A Study in Beef
Kobe New York Strip Loin in Chanterelle Cream
Kobe Prime Rib in Baby Boy Blue Sauce
Kobe Tenderloin in Huckleberry Demi Glace
Smoked Yukon Mash with Sage, Seasonal Ratatouille
Chefs Gerry Schultz & John Jadamec
21 Gram’s “Red Blend” Columbia Valley, WA 2007
Sweet Ending
Warm Chocolate and Peanut Butter Pudding Cake
Peanut Tuile, Frozen Banana Nougat, Butterscotch Sauce
Chef Nikol Nakamura
Charles Drug Lot XIV Zinfandel Port Napa, CA
What Other Blogs have to Say About the Taste of Tulalip 2011
- Seattle PI's Sassy City Girl
- Wine Foot
- My Wine Pal
- Sips & The City
- The Everett Herald
- Tasting Room Magazine
- Write For Wine
- My Wine Pal - Magnum party wine list
- My Wine Pal - Friday's Taste of Tulalip Gala Dinner
- Tulalip Resort Casino promo
Related Posts:
Smoking Policy in the Kitchen
Friday, September 16, 2011
Should your Line Cooks Smoke?
What are your thoughts and/or policies regarding smoke breaks for your Line Cooks?
I've been in restaurant kitchens for over 30 years and in that time it seems like line cooks, chefs, cigarettes are always found together. Watch Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations and you will see the stereotypical professional cook who always has either a cigarette or alcohol in his hand. I love Bourdain because he gives an un-adulterated view of the psyche of the kitchen culture.
But what effect does all these smokers have upon the hospitality industry in general, and upon your kitchen specifically? It’s generally known that smokers take more breaks than non-smokers. And in some establishments this causes resentment and/or animosity for obvious reasons... the non-smokers do more work. Several other issues come into play as well. For instance, if your saucier has just finished his cigarette and is now putting the finishing touches on sauces for service, is his ability to finesse a sauce compromised by the cigarette he just inhaled? I think that smoking a cigarette during work compromises one's ability to taste accurately. So much so that in one kitchen I oversaw no one was allowed to smoke during service. We did lots of pan sauces and I expected the cooks to taste each sauce before it hit the plate.
 Smoking Skeleton Image Source |
Do Smokers get Special Treatment?
Smokers are also difficult to regulate. On the one hand you need them in the kitchen prepping for service or slamming out food during the dinner rush. On the other hand, the worst smokers need a cigarette on a regular basis otherwise they become frustrated and lose focus. So you're left with either trying to accommodate smokers, and therefore show special consideration for them which you don't show for non-smokers. Or you hold everybody to the same bar regarding breaks and start documenting your smokers who cannot perform their jobs correctly without having a cigarette every hour.
One possible solution to this mess is the way in which breaks are taken. Many states suggest or require two fifteen minute breaks and one thirty minute break for every eight hour shift. One possible solution is to break the two fifteen minute breaks into four 7 1/2 minute breaks or six five-minute breaks for smokers. This allows the same amount of time for breaks but just divides them up into more frequent segments. The difficulty with this is tracking it and making sure that again the smokers aren’t stretching their breaks and ending up with an hour and a half worth of breaks while your non-smokers are only getting the standard hour.
So what are your thoughts and experiences on this topic? What solutions have you implemented in your kitchen? Is there conflict in your kitchen between smokers and non-smokers? Do you believe that smoking during service impairs a cook's ability to taste? Do smokers deserve more breaks than the rest of the staff? Follow the discussion at Chef's Resources on LinkedIn.
MyPlate Replaces the Food Pyramid
Saturday, June 4, 2011
The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday announced that it has scrapped the often maligned food pyramid for a new cleanly designed plate icon that illustrates the key takeaways of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines, including eating seafood twice a week. Read more...
Visit the ChooseMyPlate.gov website for specifics about the new guidelines.
FishList - Wholesale Seafood for Chefs
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Dave Goldstein contacted me regarding his new website FishList.com and after cruising through the site I decided to give them some props here. Dave is a 5th generation seafood business guy and the concept which he and his business partner Eric Spett have designed looks as if it may succeed where others have failed. The site just went live in April.
FishList.com allows Chefs and seafood providers to network, buy and sell online. Others have tried this in the past and have not been very successful, but Dave Goldstein and Eric Spett have analyzed the mistakes of previous businesses and have launched a more streamlined approach which simply pulls buyers and sellers together and allows them to work out the purchasing details. This eliminates FishList as being another “middle man” and the hassles which go along with too many people involved in the process of product ordering, special requests, product quality, product returns, etc.
FishList.com places an expansive seafood product database right at your fingertips. With so many different options, you'll always be able to find what you're looking for. FishList gives you the power to search for products based on cut, quality, location, or any other criteria you may have. And if it's a great price you're after, you can always go to their "Overstocks & Specials" section to see if you can find the perfect steal.
Finding a new seafood supplier that can fulfill your needs can be tough. And even if you do find one, it's not always easy to make sure it's a supplier you can trust. Unfortunately, this is why many seafood buyers are "stuck" with a small group of suppliers to choose from. FishList.com fixes that problem for good. Not only will you be able to find every supplier that has what you need, but you'll also have all the information necessary to decide whether a supplier is ultimately worthy of your business. You'll have access to in-depth supplier profiles for company bios, distribution areas, location and contact details, and the shipping and storage companies a supplier uses, among other things. If it's trust you're worried about, you can check out a supplier's feedback to see what their customers have had to say.
The best thing about FishList.com is that it allows you to make the most of your time. Stop wasting time searching for seafood and trying to weigh your options. With FishList, you can find tons of suppliers and products in no time. If you see a supplier you like, add them to your favorites for one-click access to their detailed profile and inventory. If you see a product you're interested in, add it to your Watch List– a tool that lets you keep track of and compare all of your options side-by-side. You can even mark off your best options so you can quickly reference them later if you need to.
When you have a FishList account, you'll be able to sit back and let the suppliers come to you. If you're looking for a specific product at a specific price, using their powerful search tools isn't the only way to find it. You can also create a Wanted Ad, which matches you up with potential suppliers and gives them a way to find you. If you need product on short notice, no need to worry. Urgent Requests let FishList suppliers know exactly what you need and when you need it. FishList.com lets suppliers compete for your business, so you never have to settle for anything less than the ideal product at the ideal price.
John Q. is opening his own neighborhood seafood restaurant. He doesn’t have extensive relationships with any seafood suppliers, so by default, he contacts one of the largest seafood suppliers in the U.S. – one of a handful of companies that dominate the seafood industry. By going with one of the large suppliers, John knows that while he may not get the absolute best products and customer service available, he at least knows that the product quality and service will be acceptable. A seafood buyer like John Q. has no consistent and reliable way of finding smaller suppliers who could possibly fulfill his product needs. Furthermore, even if John is able to find one of these small suppliers, he has no means of evaluating that supplier in terms of product quality and customer service. This lack of information and connectedness seriously hurts both John Q. and the small supplier. John is stuck having to deal with the large suppliers and doesn’t have the luxury of “Shopping around” to save some serious cash. Additionally, if the large supplier doesn’t have what John is looking for, John must either pay a premium for the supplier to find it elsewhere, or he must settle for another product, or no product at all.
On the other hand, small seafood suppliers suffer from a perpetual inability to compete with the large suppliers. The business of selling seafood wholesale is characterized by tiny profit margins – often times only a couple percent. These types of margins make it almost impossible for a small supplier to afford the costs of advertising on a mass scale, while the large suppliers don’t think twice. The scarce number if truly valuable resources currently available to the seafood industry are simply too expensive for small suppliers, meaning that the only way to seriously grow your business is if you’re already a large company.
FishList.com eliminates all of these issues along with many others. Using FishList.com, John Q. can locate and compare products from various seafood suppliers, big and small. Furthermore, John can look at a supplier’s feedback, to make sure they are legitimate, and will provide the level of quality and service he is looking for. Seafood suppliers can use FishList.com to make their inventory visible to the entire world. When someone searches for Shrimp, for instance, products offered by small and large suppliers alike will appear side by side. For the first time, seafood buyers can freely choose which product to buy from which supplier based on their own criteria, instead of having to settle for what they can get their hands on, while every supplier has a platform to show how great of a business he or she has.
FishList.com will revolutionize the seafood industry. For the first time, the industry will be fair, competitive, and efficient, giving it and all of its players a real chance to grow and improve.
The Purpose of a Recipe - a Chef's Perspective
Monday, April 18, 2011
The Purpose of a Recipe
Among the many tools which a Chef has at his disposal a standard recipe template is among the most important. The importance of a recipe to a Professional Chef is both practical and theoretical. It is meant to include the technical aspects of a dish while also teaching the artistic combination of flavor and texture. A recipe communicates the ingredients and procedures the chef uses to make his creations. It is this tool which allows the chef to train and replicate his skill to his staff.
The Recipe: a Guide for Success
A Chef who keeps all of his recipes in his head must do all the cooking himself in order to make the recipes correctly. He will not be able to get consistency from other employees unless he puts it into recipe form to give to his staff. If the Chef scribbles all of his recipes on scraps of paper, again he will have difficulty maintaining a positive guest experience from his food. Of course, a recipe is not perfect, and the kitchen crew still needs to learn how to make final adjustments on seasoning and consistency in order to match the Chef’s palate. In this sense a recipe is a guideline, a way for the Chef to point his crew in the proper direction. But in the end, cooks need to know the palate and expectations of the Chef in order to reproduce the recipe to his standards.
Recipe Template as an Artistic Tool
Ultimately a recipe is a template by which a chef educates his staff to meet his criteria for flavor and technique on any given dish. The goal is that the staff would be able to replicate the taste, texture, and presentation without the chef’s help. In practice this means that the cook’s palate will be able to recognize if an ingredient’s flavor profile has changed and then make the correct adjustments on the recipe in order to still meet the chef’s expectation regarding flavor profile and texture.
For instance if a recipe calls for 1 cup of onions or garlic the actual quantity may change depending upon the season as well as the variety of onion or garlic being used. This is because onions and garlic have different intensities of flavor based upon the variety, the season, and the region grown and therefore the recipe will need to be adjusted accordingly. So again the recipe is a guide for the staff to understand the chef's intent.
Choosing a Recipe Template
There are many different programs for recipe templates available for the chef to use. Some use expensive proprietary software which incorporates invoices, inventory and recipes all into one program. Other templates use a Word document, Excel, Publisher or Access. Of the less expensive options my personal preference is Excel because it is such a powerful program and you can accomplish not only writing the recipe, but also costing a recipe. Another benefit of using Excel for your recipe templates is that you can put multiple recipes on each tab. So if your signature plate has a specific starch, a special veg, a unique sauce, a special condiment, and a specific preparation for the signature item itself, you can put each of these recipes on a separate tab in an Excel sheet and yet have them all together in one Excel workbook.
After choosing the program you'll use for your recipe template (Excel, Word, etc.) you'll also have to determine the recipe writing style you will use. Some chefs use a chef’s shorthand style of recipe writing which is useful for experienced cooks, especially if they have had culinary training. Other chefs write very detailed instructions for their recipes so that anyone can understand them. Most recipes you read online or in cooking magazines such as Gourmet or Bon Appétit use this second style of recipe writing.
Here is a good example of the difference between the two recipe writing styles: “Place the onions in a pan over medium heat and slowly cook until translucent” is an example of the long way to write a recipe. The shorthand method would simply state “Sweat the onions.” Both phrases mean exactly the same thing and experienced cooks will understand exactly what is expected by “sweat the onions”, but less experienced cooks would not grasp the concept. The chef’s shorthand method is actually more accurate and much faster to read in a professional kitchen. Other common shorthand terms used by professional chefs include: “sear the meat”, “chiffonade”, “reduce au sec”, and “blanch” are but a few expressions. Each of these words or phrases condenses an entire technique into a simple phrase or word.
In the end, the style of recipe writing which you use will depend upon the culinary education of the people you are writing the recipe for. Home cooks and staff lacking a culinary education or high-end restaurant experience will need the “supersized” version of a recipe with complete details of how to execute it properly. Staff who have a culinary education or who have worked in high-end restaurants however will benefit from and prefer the chef’s shorthand method of recipe writing.
Blackberry BBQ Jidori Chicken
Sunday, October 17, 2010
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Blackberry BBQ Jidori Chicken with Northwest Succotash & Sharp Cheddar Potato Croquette |
Jidori Chicken
I used Jidori Chicken for this dish because it is such a wonderful tasting chicken. The Jidori Chicken is a very high-end, quality chicken which is free-range raised. It has a natural chicken flavor and retains its moisture better than a normal chicken.
The Jidori Chicken website describes their chicken as follows:
' “Jidori” is a Japanese term and the simplest translation means “chicken of the earth.” It was a term we first began using around 15 years ago to market to the many talented Japanese chefs heading the kitchens of some of the best restaurants in Los Angeles. These chefs began the “Asian-fusion” cooking movement that demanded the freshest quality ingredients much like their sushi traditions. From there Jidori ChickenTM quietly spread to include all chefs from a variety of backgrounds and training. As each executive chef or sous chef left to open a new restaurant, the chicken followed. These restaurants still include Puck’s Spago, Splichal’s Patina and Nobu’s Matsuhisa among many others.
Our birds are raised cage-free, fed all natural grain with no meat byproducts, and without any hormones or steroids. Unlike any other poultry company here in Los Angeles, we truck our bids live daily into the heart of the city from California’s Central Valley and process them under strict HACCP guidelines with USDA inspection of every single bird. '
For The Chicken:
8 Each 10 oz Free Range Airline Chicken Breast
3 ½ Cups Blackberry Marinade (recipe below)
For Blackberry Marinade:
1 1/3 Cup Heavenly BBQ Sauce
2 Cup Blackberry Syrup (coffee syrups)
2 Tbl Kosher Salt
1/4 Cup Hot Water
Preparation For Blackberry Marinade:
Using hot tap water, dissolve the salt completely. Add BBQ sauce and syrup, mix well. Place in 1 gal freezer zip-lock bag, add Chicken, marinate for 18 hours in refrigerator.
For Cooking the Chicken:
Pat chicken dry. Pan-sear in olive oil over medium-high heat skin side down first until deep brown. Turn over, sear for 1 minute, and finish in 350° oven until chicken reaches 165° (about 20 minutes). Let rest 2 minutes then carve on bias.
For Blackberry BBQ Sauce:
½ Cup Bodacious BBQ Sauce (recipe below)
2 Cups Blackberry Gastrique (recipe below)
Preparation For Blackberry BBQ Sauce:
Combine the Basic BBQ Sauce with the Gastrique and mix well.
A few years ago I tried to make a menu cycle which would include a different BBQ sauce for every day of the month. This was one of my most favorite recipes, made even better with the addition of the Blackberry Gastrique in the recipe above.
For Bodacious BBQ sauce:
2 Cups Masterpiece BBQ sauce
¼ Cup Honey
¼ Cup Molasses
¼ Cup Brown Sugar, packed
¼ Cup Apricot Jam
3 Tbsp Cider Vinegar
1 Tsp Granulated Garlic
1 Tsp Coarse Black Pepper
¾ Tsp Lemon pepper
1 Tsp Crushed Red pepper flakes
¼ Tsp Liquid Smoke
Preparation For BBQ Sauce:
Combine all and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Chill.
For Blackberry Gastrique:
1.5 Tbsp Shallots, minced
½ Cup Merlot
¾ Cup Fresh Blackberries cut in half
2 Tsp Sugar
2 Tsp Honey
Pinch of Sea Salt
¼ Tsp Black Pepper
¾ Tsp Sherry Vinegar
Preparation For Gastrique:
Sweat shallots until translucent. Add merlot and reduce over medium heat until almost dry. Add berries, sugar, honey, salt and pepper to reduction. Simmer until juice is slightly thickened. Remove from heat, add vinegar.
On The Plate:
1 Each Chicken, cut on the bias
1 1/2 Oz Blackberry BBQ Sauce
8 Oz Succotash or other favorite vegetable
8 Oz Tillamook Cheddar Mash Potatoes or other favorite starch
Chilean Sea Bass with Apple Lacquer
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Apple Lacquered Chilean Sea Bass
over Savory Fennel-Butternut Squash Bread Pudding
with Asparagus, Spaghetti Squash and Apple Beurre Blanc
Chilean Sea Bass has been a “hands off” fish for a number of years due to sustainability issues. But now Seafood Watch reports that there is a sustainable option for Chilean Sea Bass which I hope to utilize occasionally.
I am working on a new dish for an up-coming event and need a small appetizer or large amuse bouche item. I thought I would kill two birds at once and develop an entree version as a fall menu item as well. Here is my entree version. The amuse bouche version will not include the asparagus, squash or beurre blanc, but will include smaller versions of the Bread Pudding, Chilean Sea Bass, Apple Lacquer and something for a garnish.
The dots in the Beurre Blanc are drops of the Apple Lacquer. The dark specs on the Chilean Sea Bass is parsley which I should have spread more evenly and chopped a little finer. I love the lattice or fan design of the asparagus. I used the spaghetti squash to cover the bottoms of the asparagus, thus giving more "flow" and balance to the design. There is some thyme in the bread pudding, so I used thyme as a garnish. The savory bread pudding is exactly that... savory, not sweet like a dessert bread pudding. I designed it as an accompaniment, and as a way to get "elevation" on the plate. A key component of plate composition is "elevation". Of course, when the Chef asks for elevation on the plate, the cooks will usually make some unsavory suggestions!
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Auction of Washington Wines 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Auction of Washington Wines held their annual charity event at Ste. Michelle Winery again this year which raises money for Seattle's Children's Hospital. I had the opportunity to work at this 3 day occasion which featured food and wine from Washington State. They raised $1.4 million this year! On Thursday, August 19 the first event opened with the Barrel Auction & Picnic with the Winemakers. This event featured many Washington wines, and creative food selections provided by the chefs of Tulalip Resort under Executive Chef Perry Mascitti.
Tulalip’s Blackfish Wild Salmon Grill (which I oversee) featured a lightly smoked sockeye salmon with a rub made of five peppercorns, orange peel & anise, and finished with an Apple Glaze for a cooling affect. This was served over a fresh homemade spring roll filled with diacon, bean sprouts, English cucumber, apple, carrot, Thai basil, zucchini, napa cabbage and laced with a sauce made of hoisin & gochujang (a Korean red pepper paste). I had intended to have a 3” chive for a garnish but forgot to load it on the truck.
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Five Pepper, Orange Peel, Anise Crusted Sockeye Salmon wtih Apple Glaze & House Spring Roll
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Working in the Blackfish tent we ran into a little problem shortly after opening a 4:00. We had a beautiful $5,500 outdoor Viking grill (I want one for my backyard!), which suddenly stopped working on three quarters of the cooking surface. Last year, the Viking grills worked perfectly, so we were caught off guard when it went down this year. We quickly rolled another grill into the station, and we limped along until that grill came up to temp. It's always nice to have people lining up for your food, but not when it's due to faulty equipment. Thankfully the guests were very gracious and engaged in conversation and wine tasting while they waited a few extra minutes for us to get back on track.
I loved hearing from people, “We were told that we had to come try your salmon!” And I saw a number of faces coming back for seconds and even thirds, which is always a nice complement. Knowing the caliber of the Chefs here I know that all of them received similar adulations for their food as well.
We do a lot of off property events each year in order to contribute to various charities as well as to promote the resort. Two years ago when we were doing the food show circuit I heard a lot of comments like, “You guys really do this kind of food in a casino?” But this year at events I'm hearing more and more often, “We’re always glad when we see Tulalip is one of the food providers. You guys always do such a good job.” That puts a big smile right on my face. It makes me proud to work for a company which provides us with all the resources, both in product and labor, which we require to do a fantastic job.
Everything was made by hand for this event.
Tulalip’s banquet Chef Gerry Schultz and Garde Manger Chef John Pontichelli
Pastry Chef Nikol Nakamura featured an assortment of desserts--
All the above took place at the Barrel Auction & Picnic on Thursday. Then there was the Gala Dinner event a few days later on Saturday. Chef Perry had designed a gorgeous plate called "Two Lambs Dancing in the Moonlight" which featured Lamb Shank wrapped in Filo over smoked Peach Coulis and a Lamb Napolean layered with Safron Potatoes over Pea Puree with Onion Jam and Mint Foam. I brought my camera but we got way too busy trying to serve 500 people from 2 ovens! This made for an extreemly stressful and painful evening. We had several other things go wrong on us just before the time to start plating. In the end we were successful at pulling this off, but it was brutal getting there. Since I didn't have time to take pictures, here are a few teasers.
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Dungeness Crab Stuffed Shrimp
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Dungeness Crab stuffed Jumbo Shrimp over Blackberry Beurre Rouge with Zucchini wrapped Sunrise Blend Rice
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My recipe style disclaimer: I have decided to leave my recipes in their original format rather than convert them to standard cookbook language. Recipes written for a professional kitchen use different verbage than recipes written for cookbooks. Professional kitchen recipes assume that the cooks have a solid understanding of culinary terms and techniques. My recipes are written in this "Chef's Shorthand", meaning that clear culinary terms are used for procedures where possible. This cuts down on a lot of extra words and makes for quick reading in the kitchen. For instance, most cookbooks will have the following phrase for cooking onions, "in a pan over medium heat add oil and cook onions without caramelizing until translucent". In Chef's Shorthand this entire phrase is replaced by "sweat onions". That's it, short and sweet! And it means exactly the same thing. If you are a professional cook, or have been to culinary school, then you should be familiar with most of the terms. If not, then please use our dictionary link for the terms you are unfamiliar with and enjoy learning something new! Or post a question, I'd love to respond. |
Dungeness Crab Stuffed Shrimp
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12 2 1 1/2 1/8 1 1/2 1 1/2 2 3 1/2 Pinch Pinch 3 |
Oz Tbl Tbl Tbl Tbl Tbl Tbl Tsp Tbl Cup
Oz
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Dungeness Crab meat lightly pressed Shallots, minced Fresh Chives, minced Fresh Parsley, chopped Fresh Tarragon, chopped Red Bell pepper, brunoise Yellow bell pepper, brunoise Dijon Panko Mayo (Bestfoods) Kosher Salt Cayenne Fresh Scallop, side muscle removed, pureed |
Procedure for Stuffing: Flake the crab so the leg meat is shredded. Gently fold all ingredients together. |
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20 1 6-8 2 |
Each Cup Oz Tbl |
13/15 Shrimp, P&D, Tail-On Leeks, thin sliced into discs Dry White Wine Whole Unsalted Butter, chilled |
Procedure for Shrimp: Preset oven to 375 degrees. Form the stuffing into 20 equal balls, about 3/4 oz each. Place the shrimp on your cutting board w/ the cut side down, add a portion of the stuffing, fold the tail over the top, fanning the tail. Repeat all. You may need 2 pans to cook this amount. Layer the leeks onto the bottom of the pan. Gently add the shrimp, add wine around edges of pan. Add butter. Bring to a simmer, cover, finish in 375 degree oven until the stuffing is cooked through (about 10 minutes). Discard leeks & wine. Arrange Shrimp over Blackberry Beurre Rouge. |
Notes:
- 13/15 Shrimp P&D Tail-On means: Jumbo shrimp (13 to 15 per pound), which are Peeled & Deveined but have left the tail portion of the shell on.
- Beurre Rouge is a red wine butter sauce.
- the purpose of the scallops is to add texture, binding power, and complexity.
Blackberry Beurre Rouge
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1 2
4 1/4 1 1/2
1/4
8
2-4 Pinch |
Tbl Tsp
Oz Cup Tsp
Cup
Oz
Tsp |
Shallots, sliced Unsalted Butter
Blackberries Merlot Raspberry Vinegar
Heavy Cream
Unsalted Butter, chilled, cubed
Honey Sea Salt |
1) Sweat
2) Add, reduce au sec
3) Add, reduce to consistency (by about 2/3)
4) Slowly add, whisking constantly over low heat.
5) Finish TT |
The rice is a Sunrise Blend Rice from Inian Harvest Company. I made zucchini ribbons by slicing long, thin strips of zucchini on the Mandoline, placing two ribbons in an 8 oz souffle cup (oiled), and filling it with the hot rice. Bake it for about 7 minutes at 350 degrees just to soften the zucchini. Gently flip onto the plate and let the contents slide out.
Add sauce, shrimp, serve!
Seafood Mary
Friday, July 16, 2010
This dish is a sampler appetizer of some of the Pacific Northwest’s favorite seafood. Dungeness Crab, House Smoked Sockeye Salmon, fumet poached Scallop and Shrimp… King Neptune himself would favor this dish. And it is paired with a Seafood Mary Sauce, which is an updated cocktail sauce using fresh horseradish and lime juice. I feel that this ‘lighter’ sauce compliments the seafood better than a traditional cocktail sauce which is thick and tends to cover and mask the flavors of the seafood.
Seafood Mary - serves 1
Ingredients:
3 Each Dungeness Crab Fancy Legmeat
1 Each U-10 Shrimp Alaskan Spot Prawn, poached, chilled
1 Each U-10 Scallop, poached, chilled, cut in half to form 2 disks
4 Tbl Cucumber, brunoise
4 Tbl Tomato Concasse
1 Oz Smoked Salmon on NW Skewer
1 Each Lemon Wheel, thin slice
1 Each Lime Wheel, thin slice
1 Each Lemon Wedge, curled
1 Each Fennel Sprig
1 Oz Seafood Mary Sauce
Procedures:
Gently poach the Shrimp to Medium in 1 Qt fumet seasoned w/ 1 Tbl Old Bay. Chill Shrimp in walk-in (do not chill in ice water as this will deplete flavor). If the shrimp is cooked properly it should be slightly translucent in the center after it cools. Do the same with the Scallop separately.
For assembly, use a Martini Glass or similar glass. Arrange the cucumber on one half of the bottom of the glass and arrange the tomato on the other half. Arrange the seafood in a presentable manner, trying to get each item to be visible out of the top of the glass. Place a slice of lemon and lime wheel between the two slices of the scallop. Add the lemon wedge and fennel frond garnish. Finish with the Seafood Mary Sauce, poured gently down the center of the seafood but not splashing it all over. Add another 2 oz of the Sauce to a side dish for dipping.
Seafood Mary Sauce Ingredients:
| 1 | Qt | V-8 Juice | |
| 3 | Tbsp | Tabasco | |
| 1 1/2 | Cups | Fresh Lime Juice | |
| 1 | Cup | Ketchup | |
| 3 | Tbsp | Fresh Horseradish, micro-planed | |
| 1/8 | Tsp | Sea Salt |
Seafood Mary Sauce Procedures:
Combine all and mix well. It may need a touch more lime juice or salt.
The Seafood Mary Sauce also goes well with fresh Oyster Shooters. I recommend using Grey Goose Vodka in the shooters and a splash of the Seafood Mary Sauce. There are over 65 varieties of raw oysters to choose from in the Pacific Northwest. That’s a lot of Shooters! And of course the East Cost also has a plethora of selections.
How To Organize Recipes
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Organizing your recipes on your computer can be a little daunting but ultimately is well worth the time to do. Once you have set-up your recipe organizational system it becomes very easy to both save and to find recipes. I used to labor over "under what category should I save this recipe so I can find it later? Should I save it under the entrée name or the sauce name?" Now I do both. That way when I go to my Halibut recipes I can see what sauces I have specifically paired with Halibut in the past. Or I can go to my Beurre Blanc sauce file and see all my Beurre Blancs to pick one for the Halibut which I used for a different application but may not have used for Halibut yet.
Most of my recipes are in an Excel format, but some are in Word and a few are even html web pages I have saved to a folder. I prefer Excel because it is easy to scale a recipe to feed 20 people or 2000. And Excel also allows me to put costing right into the recipe format to calculate my food cost % and appropriate sales price.
Below is a picture of part of my computer Recipe File. The small yellow folders are category names which have other folders or recipes contained in them. On the right side, the names with blue are actual recipes which I have not yet assigned to a category and so are as yet still unorganized.
The right half of the page shows the major categories I have chosen, a few of which refer to establishments I have worked at, but most of them are organized by food categories. The left half of the page shows some of the sub-categories. You can see my sub-categories for "Entrées" and also for "Sauces". On the left-hand side of the page, any file with a "+" in it has sub-categories. So, "Sauces" have the primary sub-categories of "Cold", "Hot", "Marinades", and "SpiceMix". And the sub-category of "Hot" has its own sub-categories of "Adobo", "Beurre", "Butters", "Cream", etc. Each of these sub-categories contain the actual recipes.
In the image below I have opened the "Beurre" sub-category file under "Sauces/Hot". In it you can see the actual recipes saved there. You can see that I have both Excel and Word recipe formats saved here. Using a file structure like this keeps your recipes very organized and searchable.
This final image (below) shows the full primary organization of my recipe file (on the left side of the page) with only the primary files showing. Note that the top most file is called "Recipe" and all other recipe files are contained in it and under it. This way I can back-up my entire recipe database simply by saving my "Recipe" folder because all other recipes are contained in it.
Back to Kitchen Management Tools
Northwest Berry Salad with Chevre
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