Tuesday, February 27, 2007

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

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