Cookin No. 42 - The Trials and Tribulations of a Cook

Today, I was straining the fryer as usual; going through the same moves and all, when something went wrong. I still can’t pinpoint what happened, but suddenly there was a searing hot pain in my leg, and when I looked down, the 350o oil was spraying all over my right leg. I am proud of myself when I didn’t scream like a girl, instead I said:

“OH *bleep*, that hurts, *bleep bleep* that’s hot, Danny this is *bleeping* hot, *BLEEP* *bleep* hot *bleep*”

Instead of dropping everything, I turned the nozzle off, that the oil was coming out of, and went to examine my leg. What is really strange is that all I could think about was, how great it was that I had just shaved my legs, so the guys wouldn’t see a hairy mess, and how if I get a nasty scar, it won’t look good in the summer when I show a little leg. I must be demented, or vain. Hmmmm. Danny ran and got me some burn cream and an ice pack. Being the ghetto thugs that we are, we duct-taped the ice pack to my leg. Yet another reason why duct-tape is the best invention ever!

That’s the thing, in the kitchen, when we don’t have the proper tool, we make something to help us out. Usually aluminum foil and duct-tape are our handiest tools. These are the tricks that you learn. If a sauce breaks, just add water. Something not cooking fast enough, add stock and cover it. Don’t have a lid, use another pan.

This evening, Dominic, the GM made an interesting dumpling, that was actually really tasty. He purred shrimp, scallions, garlic, bacon, oil, salt and pepper, and formed them into little balls, then coated them in cornstarch, and deep fried it. He served it with a poached egg yoke, wasabe and soy sauce, and sarache sauce (A hot chili sauce). They were actually really good; they would make a nice appetizer. I would make a wasabe mayonnaise to serve it with, and make a trio of sorts. The shrimp dumpling, some ahi tuna slices, and a mini duck confit spring roll.

Confit, (pronounced confee), means to cook something in its own fat, so duck confit, is usually braised, and because duck is very fatty to begin with, it becomes super tender and juicy, and the meat falls apart, looking a bit like pulled pork. It is absolutely delicious!

Well, that was my wonderful night at work, burned myself, and got some good ideas. Hopefully I will survive tomorrow.

Bon Appetite

Cookin No. 41 - A year Sabbatical Ends

Well, it has been a long time, a year actually. I apologize for the lack of posts on my behalf, I am sure that you are all know about how life can get very hectic and cluttered at times. So what happened in that year sabbatical that I took?

I graduated from school with flying colors, and landed myself a job at a local restaurant called Sweet Basil, http://www.sweetbasilbarandgrill.com/. I am only a pantry wentch, which means that I do appetizers, salads, and some hot entrees. I still work part time at Wegmans also, though having two jobs is starting to wear me down. I enjoy working at the restaurant though. I have learned so much, and I feel like I can finally call myself a professional cook.

See, school was just about accumulating knowledge, processing it, and applying it. Besides, you get out of it what you put into it. I honestly didn’t know how much more there was to learn though. At the restaurant, I learned tricks, how to make things cook a bit faster, how to move fast and work efficiently during a busy rush, how to deal with the weeds and how to get out of them. Restaurants are different beasts all together; you have to work well with your coworkers, because otherwise it could all go up in smoke.

I am one person in a three man team. When I first started, the restaurant was still quite new, so we really weren’t that busy. It was good for me to get myself ready for the holidays. That was where we really got kicked around. Suddenly business boomed, and instead of doing a nice service of 80 people, we were doing 120 in three hours! We thought that things would slow down after new years, but we are staying pretty consistent doing 100 and more people on Friday and Saturday nights, which is really good for a tiny restaurant in the middle of cornfields.

My boss, Chris, went to school at the cordon bleu in Pittsburg, so his background is very classic French. He has been in the industry for quite a while, and really has taught me a lot. He’s a good guy too, which I feel fortunate to have my first boss be so nice. He is quick to flare up though, but I learned to just ignore him, and keep doing what I’m doing. Because if I listen to him, I can get sucked into the irate mood and things fall apart. I don’t like being upset, so I try to just smile and whistle a good tune. It doesn’t always work out that way though. But at least I try.

The souse chef, Danny, graduated from the same school at me, six months before I did. So I actually knew him, he’s a good kid and I have enjoyed getting to know him. We have a lot of fun joking around, and all the sorts of things that happen behind the scenes.

Speaking of behind the scenes, what they say about the happenings in restaurants is true. Just read Anthony Bordane’s, a Kitchen Confidential, and I need not say any more about what its like to work in a kitchen. At first it was a bit of a culture shock, but I have grown accustomed to it. I just keep whistling while I work ;).

Well, this is a short entry, but I just wanted to give you a quick hello, and to let you all know that I intend to come back with more. More about the kitchen, and more about all that I’m learning.

Until then, keep whistling and enjoying food.