you are most welcome..guess the pic's looked tasty enough to eat as well..
CHEF

Bump

Well, attempt #1 didn't work.  Still bowed significantly.  In case it affects the directions, by strips of wood, I meant something similar to this:


Soaked it for a good 48 hours.  Water was discolored when taking it out.  Also, to make sure I got your directions right, I had the following (from top to bottom):
weights - didn't measure but was at least 150 lbs, probably 200+
plywood
saran wrap
cutting board
wax paper (only had enough for 1 level)
plywood
basement floor

Any ideas where I went wrong?

gonna say weight, takes Tons of foot pounds to stop wood from warping while drying from a soak, less you have a kiln to do it in...
I was semi serious in the front end of car..500 to 1000lbs should hold it down, while drying out..
sorry..


and I am still sticking by my orginal statement, I am a cook...

last time I did this, I set a commercial Refer on top of the board, and filled it with cinder*block....

Thanks for the info.

Will try again with some serious weight.

However, the 2-day soak didn't help the glue holding the strips together, as the end strip on both sides is coming apart a bit.  Am thinking at some point this might be a lost cause, but it was free as in beer.

IF IT IS SEPARATING DO NOT SOAK IT AGAIN, you may be able to weight it down and warp it back, but,,no more water...

sounds like you may need to do as suggested above or trash it..sorry..

Chef,
After cooking, we normally have enough for seconds.  Let's assume the food is still hot.  I've always been told that the food must cool down before going into the refrigerator.
Is this hogwash or should I be following this advice?
Thanks in advance.  I enjoy this thread!

HOGWASH,,you want to get that food cooled down asap.

the time between really hot and really cold is the most dangerous time for bacteria to grow. remember bacteria is everywhere, soon as you set the food out, it is covered with it,
well unless you live in a filter aired house with special lights, vacuum sealed doors and wear tyvec suits..

for large commercial kitchens there is a patented paddle, that you keep in the freezer, used for stirring stocks, soups and sauces to cool down those 40 gal pots as quickly as possible and get into refrigeration.
so as soon as you finish eating it is best to start getting those left overs boxed, bagged and chilled down asap..

soups and stock should be laid out in cake pans in your refer to cool them quicker before packaging for freezing etc...

good question, not sure we covered that one as yet..

Thank you and glad you enjoy the thread

CHEF

glad to be of assistance

chef

This is probably a dumb question, but that never stops me.  

When making gravy, I understand the concept of making a roux using hot fat and flour.  Cook the meat, separate meat from drippings, add flour to drippings, and heat until browned.  At least, I think that's what it takes...maybe I'm more ignorant than I think.

The problem is that I almost never have enough fat to make the roux!  I browned a pound of regular Jimmy Dean sausage last week, and had to add two tablespoons of butter just to get enough fat to completely mix in three tablespoons of flour and not have clumps of dry flower left over.

The gravy turned out fantastic, but I wonder if I'm doing something wrong.  I remember biscuits and gravy at campfire breakfasts in Scouts, but I don't remember whether anyone had to add fat to the drippings.

Is it just normal to add some fat to have enough, or am I buying the wrong kind of sausage, or...?

more questions (most of these came up during reading the 80 pages).

what's the difference between chopping and dicing?

What does it mean when a vegetable is to be "trimmed"?


How do you test to hire a chef?  Passion obviously is #1, but what types of things do you make them do to see if they really know their shit or if they are just talking shit.
and how does that change from type of restaurant to type of restaurant.  obviously if you are hiring for some 5 star place, ti's different than chile's in some areas, but not others.

So I'd like to thank douglasmorris99 for his help.  I have family coming in to visit this weekend and I wanted to put something together that would, hopefully, blow them away.

We talked for a bit about what I'd like to make happen, and this was the end result:



Italian Sweet and Sour Tuna atop Mushroom Duxelle with Fettucine Alfredo and Grilled Asparagus

Italian Sweet and Sour Tuna
Ingredients

* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 large onion, cut into chunks
* 4 tuna steaks
* 1 cup red wine vinegar
* 1 cup sugar

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low, and continue to cook and stir until the onion is very tender and dark brown, 15 to 20 minutes more. Remove the onion from the skillet.



2. Place the tuna steaks in the same skillet over medium-high heat and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Remove the tuna steaks to a serving tray; keep warm.



3. Stir the vinegar and sugar together in the same skillet until sugar is dissolved. Return the onions to the pan, and simmer until the liquid reduces and is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Return the tuna to the pan and cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Place the tuna on the warm serving tray and top with the onion and sweet and sour mixture.





Mushroom Duxelle

(For the record, I don't really like mushrooms.  This Duxelle, however, was AMAZING.  I'm beginning to think it wasn't the mushrooms I didn't like, it was the way they were prepared!)

Ingredients

* 3 Tbsp butter
* 1/2 pound cremini or wild mushrooms, washed clean and finely chopped
* Salt and pepper
* 1/2 cup of minced shallots
* 1 Tbsp dry white wine (e.g. Sauvignon Blanc)
* 1 garlic clove, minced
* 2 Tbsp pine nuts
* 2 Tbsp sour cream
* 2 teaspoons lemon juice
* 1 Tbsp chopped parsley
* A couple dashes of cayenne pepper, to taste (mhoffman:  I found that a 1/4tsp gave "a little something extra" to the Duxelle, without making it spicy/hot)

Method

1 Melt butter in a large skillet on high heat. Add the mushrooms and shallots. Saut� for 5 minutes stirring frequently.

2 While the mushrooms are cooking, heat a small skillet on high heat. Add the pine nuts. Cook, stirring frequently, until they begin to get a little toasted. (Keep your eyes on the nuts, they can burn pretty quickly.) As soon as they begin to toast, remove the pan from the heat and put the pine nuts into a small bowl. Set aside.

3 While the mushrooms are cooking, sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Once they have cooked for about 5 minutes, add the garlic and a tablespoon of dry white wine. Cook for an additional minute and remove from heat. Put mushroom mixture in a bowl, add the toasted pine nuts, and set aside to cool.(be sure all liquid is gone)

4 Once the mushrooms have cooled down a bit, mix in the lemon juice, sour cream, and parsley. Add more salt and pepper, if needed, to taste. Sprinkle on cayenne pepper, to taste. hold to the side while you grill the tuna.

(Sorry, missed getting pictures of the prep, but here it is getting ready to go into the oven to hold warm)



Fettuccine Alfredo

cook fettuccine as directed on package.if you're making your own pasta, you know what to do as well

Ingredients

* 1/4 cup butter
* 1 cup heavy cream
* 1 clove garlic, crushed
* 1 heaping tbs ground black pepper
* 1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan/romano and or assigio cheese
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
* salt to taste

Directions

1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium low heat. Add cream and simmer for 5 minutes, then add garlic and cheese and whisk quickly, heating through. Salt to taste, Stir in parsley and cooked pasta, mix, plate and top with sprinkled cheese (I would toast under broiler or with torch and get that crusted appearance and re-plate)



Grilled asparagus

Ingredients

* 1 pound fresh asparagus spears, trimmed
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat grill for high heat.

2. Lightly coat the asparagus spears with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Grill over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes, or to desired tenderness.



Assembly

Slice your Tuna, place your pasta in a semi circle around the top of the plate, top with Parmesan/assigio/romano blend and toast or torch on your now warm service plate, place a big tablespoon of Duxelle in the center, lay slices of tuna uniformly over the duxelle(youu can leave steak whole) add your grilled asparagus at the bottom with the tips laying over about 1/2 the tuna giving it a 3 dimensional appearance and present. Height, Color, Flavor, and required ingredients.









Other Tips / Preparation Order

1) Make duxelle hold in warm oven, 200 degree (mhoffman: this tip - to keep food warm in the oven at 200F - was perhaps the most valuable cooking advice I've ever received)

2) Poach lightly about 2 min the asparagus, cool, place on tray with a bit of olive oil and roll to coat season with salt and pepper, set aside

3) Make and hold warm Alfredo sauce in 200 degree oven

4) Cook Pasta, drain, toss with a bit of olive oil, hold in bowl covered with damp towel ditto oven

5) Grill tuna and asparagus on very hot coals or gas. Again like a steak, medium /medium rare

6) When turning tuna, quickly lay out asp on coals, they cook quickly, watch them

7) Pull tuna and asp..let tuna sit about 4 min place tuna in oven

_MaH

sorry been BUSY.....

Boursin is a fantastic soft cheese and very versatile with great melt and flavor profile...

share your research please....
and thanks for sharing..
CHEF

again Welcome to the thread..thank you for joining us and for sharing your experince and what has bought you here..
Your soup comment holds a bit of truth but,,MANY restaurants today use frozen,,keep that in mind..and not always a sound judgment...

onion soup

recipe


really..

beef stock
onion
red wine...

boil..season serve....




ok, here is a true
French Onion Soup
Gratin'

Ingredients

   * 4 tablespoons butter
   * 1 teaspoon salt
   * 2 large red onions, thinly sliced
   * 2 large sweet onions, thinly sliced
   * 1 (48 fluid ounce) can chicken broth
   * 1 (14 ounce) can beef broth
   * 1/2 cup red wine
   * 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
   * 2 sprigs fresh parsley
   * 1 sprig fresh thyme leaves
   * 1 bay leaf
   * 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
   * salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
   * 4 thick slices French or Italian bread
   * 8 slices Gruyere or Swiss cheese slices, room temperature
   * 1/2 cup shredded Asiago or mozzarella cheese, room temperature
   * 4 pinches paprika

Directions

  1. Melt butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Stir in salt, red onions and sweet onions. Cook 35 minutes, stirring frequently, until onions are caramelized and almost syrupy.
  2. Mix chicken broth, beef broth, red wine and Worcestershire sauce into pot. Bundle the parsley, thyme, and bay leaf with twine and place in pot. Simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove and discard the herbs. Reduce the heat to low, mix in vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Cover and keep over low heat to stay hot while you prepare the bread.
  3. Preheat oven broiler. Arrange bread slices on a baking sheet and broil 3 minutes, turning once, until well toasted on both sides. Remove from heat; do not turn off broiler.
  4. Arrange 4 large oven safe bowls or crocks on a rimmed baking sheet. Fill each bowl 2/3 full with hot soup. Top each bowl with 1 slice toasted bread, 2 slice Gruyere cheese and 1/4 of the Asiago or mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle a little bit of paprika over the top of each one.
  5. Broil 5 minutes, or until bubbly and golden brown. As it softens, the cheese will cascade over the sides of the crock and form a beautifully melted crusty seal. Serve immediately!

as a Picatta sauce is rather light tasting I would do a very simple angel hair tossed with cracked black pepper and assigio or Parmesan and fresh green beans with a bit of fresh garlic, saute'd

BRAVO BRAVO...wonderful job..excellent presentation and a gifted talent in following directions..BRAVO....very well done..

only change I can offer is..

Medium rare on the tuna and slice it thinner, on a bias as you would flank steak/london broil..beyond that,,again,,take a bow..4

ETA  I have to say what the challenge was, mhoffman wanted a childhood, favored comfort food, bought up to a more adult and accomplished cooks ability..and the above is what we decided bought it there...



CHEF

Thank you for your feedback, Chef.  The moment I cut into the tuna, I knew I had cooked it too much.

On that, a few follow-up questions so I can improve on it even more:

1) To prevent overcooking the tuna next time, should I reduce the amount of time I sear each side on a high heat (2 minutes apiece), or should I reduce (or even omit) cooking them further in the sauce?  My initial thought is the latter, though it's possible I seared each side too long and it continued to cook while off the grill.

2) It never occurred to me until I was staring at the tuna in front of me –– should I pay any particular intention to how I cut the tuna with regard to the grain?  I know that on a steak you want to cut with the grain (as going against it can make it tougher to chew) but this is a totally different protein.  In fact, as I'm cutting it on the bias, I wonder if cutting it with the grain would cause it to fall apart into a big mess, whereas cutting against the grain makes it hold together better.

Thank you again for the recipe, Chef, and again for your feedback!

_MaH

Thanks Chef.

Shall give that French Onion soup (is it really french?) a shot here this week.

Made my first Bechmel sauce (for the Croque Monsieur's) on sunday.

Came out ok, maybe a little too much flour taste (probably because I put too much flour in I'm thinking. ), but it was hidden by the sandwich.

but it didn't burn, scorch or turn to mush, so I can live with that for try #1.

thanks,
I remember the other one
what's mincing?

congrats on your new experience..floury taste is not cooking your roux enough, cooled roux needs to have a nutty smell to it and a bit browner than you would think.
unless you used a very light oil, canola, light olive oil...then it may be a bit lighter in color and slightly less with the odor of nuts..

CHEF

mincing is dicing to the extreme just before the item turns to Pulverized..(dicing is a bit more Squaring off as well as seeking uniform size)

yes, I wouldnt reduce the searing as much as I would not simmer the cooked fisht quite that long..
Bias cut are at an angle across the grain, same as you would cut flank..
tuna is basiclly handled as beef in the butchering process..and holds the same type of "grain"

again, great job..glad it came out so well..
CHEF

Chef,

I've recently found myself to be frustrated when it comes to breakfast in the morning.  I love, love, love eggs for breakfast, but feel like I'm starting to hit a wall when it comes to meals.

So far I've done:

- Breakfast soft tacos (like regular soft tacos, only with scrambled eggs, cheese and sausage instead of the beef/chicken/carnitas/etc.)
- Eggs Benedict
- Omelet
- Sausage, Egg & Cheese sandwich
- SEC open-face sandwich with a hollandaise sauce (an "American" spin on Eggs Benedict)

And today I tried some strange combination of a bruschetta, accented with a small amount of minced serrano pepper and cilantro, topped with a poached egg.  It wasn't bad.  The yolk mixed with the other ingredients was delicious, but it was odd in that the bruschetta was cold/room-temp and the egg was hot.

Anyway, I'm desperately searching for some new kind of "egg-centered" breakfast that isn't a frittata or quiche - ideally something that could be made in about the same time as all the aforementioned meals (it is breakfast, after all, and I am on a bit of a time crunch).

Any recommendations?  I love the combination of hot sausage, egg and sharp cheddar, but don't want to stay dependent upon that combination, lest it lose its allure.

_MaH

ETA:  Just saw your reply to my earlier questions.  Thank for the pointers, yet again!

Thanks
you the man, errr Yes Chef.


Ok, just made our own mayonnaise.  First batch came apart (it was the wife's job and she had it in the blitzer and it blitzed too much and came apart, oh well, that's why you experiment)
2nd batch came out nice.
Mayo isn't one of my favorite foods, but it came out real nice.

smoky ham, Gruyere cheese, mayo on a french roll, real nice sandwich.

Ok, here's a challenge for you the Chef
how do i get my wife to put everything back where it goes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.   (yes, I know, 4 lanes to Hawaii and all that)

Not Chef
But try this
We've done this a lot lately, it's killer and very rich.
Gordon Ramsay's sublime scrambled eggs

YouTube video of Gordon Ramsay cooking the eggs

The video is embedded at the first link also
You HAVE to watch the video or it won't make much sense.

Gordon Ramsay’s Sublime Scrambled Eggs

6 large free-range eggs
3Tbs ice-cold butter diced
1-2  tbsp crème fraîche  (sour cream works ok if you can't find creme fraiche)
Freshly ground sea salt and pepper (you can use regular salt if you need to)
Few chives, snipped (substitute with green onion if necessary)
2-3 chunky slices of rustic bread, such aspain Polaîne, to serve (Fresh French Bread works too) (any thick rustic bread works)

1 Break the eggs into a cold, heavy-based pan, place on the lowest heat possible, and add half the butter. Using a spatula, stir the eggs frequently to combine the yolks with the whites.

2 As the mixture begins to set, add the remaining butter. The eggs will take about 4-5 minutes to scramble – they should still be soft and quite lumpy. Don’t let them get too hot – keep moving the pan off and back on the heat.

3 Meanwhile, toast the bread.

4 Add the crème fraîche and season the eggs at the last minute, then add the snipped chives. Put the toast on warm plates, pile the softly scrambled eggs on top and serve immediately.

you bring that soccer player into my thread?


be bringing in shoemakers next I guess...

would you like to piss in the pantry, burn the table cloths and fuck my wife while you're here

in reading the thread if you hadnt notices..my success with wives in NOT my forte'

Depends, Do you have beer??????????



It's a joke.   Sorry, we like the eggs, like his recipes too.

Ok, I've got a new idea for a challenge for you.
But it will take a while to write up, something different and hopefully enlightening for us.

That has to be a typo.
48oz of chicken broth??????????????

That's 6 cups –– sounds right to me.

On the Mushroom Duxelle recipe Chef gave me, I began to think that 1/2 lbs of Cremini mushrooms was a typo as well.  But I gave him the benefit of the doubt (he does have more experience than me, after all!) and realized that it wasn't a mistake as they began to shrink while being sauteed.

So, 6 cups for a soup?  Sounds right to me...

_MaH

well,, not to be a prig but eggs is eggs and though the variables are nearly endless in their preperation, they are still cooked whole or scrambled,,fried or poached Baked or broiled....so. that said

first look in the index for yorkshire and add cooked sausage to the pan as you pour in the batter, called pigs in a blanket or toad in the hole...
or
take an italian leaning with a

Strata

Ingredients

   * 3 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
   * 3 cups chopped zucchini
   * 2 cups cubed fully cooked ham
   * 1 1/2 cups chopped onions
   * 1 1/2 cups chopped green pepper
   * 2 garlic cloves, minced
   * 1/3 cup vegetable oil
   * 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
   * 1/2 cup half-and-half cream
   * 12 eggs
   * 4 cups cubed day-old bread
   * 3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
   * 1 teaspoon salt
   * 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions

  1. In a large skillet, saute the mushrooms, zucchini, ham, onions, green peppers and garlic in oil until vegetables are tender. Drain and pat dry; set aside.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and cream until smooth. Beat in eggs. Stir in the bread, cheese, salt, pepper and vegetable mixture.
  3. Pour into two greased 11-in. x 7-in. x 2-in. baking dishes. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.


Bacon tarts

Ingredients

   * 1 teaspoon butter or margarine
   * 12 bacon strips
   * 6 eggs
   * Fresh parsley sprigs

Directions

  1. Lightly grease six muffin cups with the butter. In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until cooked but not crisp. Drain on paper towels.
  2. Cut six bacon strips on half width-wise; line the bottom of each muffin cup with two bacon pieces. Line the sides of each muffin cup with one or two bacon strips. Break an egg into each cup. Bake, uncovered, at 325 degrees F for 12-18 minutes or until whites are completely set and yolks begin to thicken but are not firm. Transfer to a serving plate; surround with parsley.

Breakfast Pizza
Ingredients

   * 2 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
   * 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
   * 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
   * 2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
   * 1 cup fresh eggs or egg substitute
   * 2 tablespoons fat-free milk
   * 1/4 teaspoon salt
   * 2 green onions, chopped
   * 2 tablespoons diced sweet red pepper
   * 1 tablespoon finely chopped jalapeno pepper
   * 1 garlic clove, minced
   * 1 (16 ounce) package pre-baked Italian bread shell crust
   * 1/2 cup salsa
   * 3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese

Directions

  1. In a nonstick skillet, cook hash browns, cumin and chili powder in 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat until golden. Remove and keep warm. In a bowl, beat egg substitute, milk and salt; set aside. In the same skillet, saute the onions, peppers and garlic in remaining oil until tender. Add egg mixture. Cook and stir over medium heat until almost set. Remove from the heat.
  2. Place crust on an un-greased 14-in. pizza pan. Spread salsa over crust. Top with egg mixture. Sprinkle with hash browns and cheese. Bake at 375 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

are a few Ideas...

thank you

CHEF

you are making 2.5 quarts of soup. give or take.

well that was wrong

okkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk, Chef is always right after all.

Can I make 48oz from a chicken base rather than buying a can of chicken flavored water?????

A new and hopefully interesting type of challenge for the chef.  (I mow weeds in a big tractor all day, the radio is broken, it's boring, this is the kind of stuff I think of)

Welcome Chef, and thanks for joining us on Restaurant Dreams, I'm Jeff Methods, your host.

Tonight's episode is for The Denver, a Family Pub.

Bangers, burgers and beer is their motto and they have an interesting concept.

Let's talk to the owner, Dave and have him explain it.

Dave:   We always liked Chili's and Red Robin and Applebes, but honestly, they are all the same.  Everything tastes the same, looks the same, and acts the same.   That's why their name is all over the stores, so you don't forget where you are at.  Btu clearly they must be doing something right, for millions of Americans eat at one every night.   We think there's a nice market for good, interesting food priced in that $8 to $13 range with some nice drinks on the side with an atmosphere for the whole family.  Yes, everyone has done this concept, but somehow we're different.  

The restaurant holds about 150 when full, we have tables, booths and a reasonable sized bar.   Rent is about $5,000 a month, and it's in a not quite a strip mall, it's not a free standing building.  (that rent would be outrageous).  The town is about 100,000 people and is effectively a bedroom/commuter for a bigger metro area about 15 minutes away.  Wages are good, but living here isn't cheap.  Some disposable income, but it's not SF or NY.       We have a slightly British look to it inside, darker wood, heavier beers,   Football (both kinds) on the telly's in the bar, but no telly's where people are eating.  

The bar has a big normal bar with tables down the other side,  a lot of beers on tap.  (Actually Chef, good question, which makes more money, canned/bottled or tap???, I would guess tap, but I don't really know), 5 to 10 wines and good selection of basic hard liquors.   Knowledgeable bartenders, not just some college kid and on busy nights a cocktail waitress to handle the tables.  The full menu is available in the bar.  

The menu has about 20 to 25 items on it.  3 to 5 appetizers, 2 soups, a few salads, about 10 entrees, and a couple deserts.    Burgers run about $7-$9 and entrees run $8 to $13, with some specials higher.   The menu is much more limited than the chains for we don't use all the same stuff, we make almost all our foods in house and very little is frozen or prepared.  our labor costs are higher, but our food costs are lower.  We have daily and weekly specials (burger of the week, pasta of the week, today's special) and all entrees come with soup or salad.  Fries and onion rings are fresh cut and made in house.     Weekend nights the specials go a little higher priced with sometimes a nice prime rib, or a better steak, and Saturday and Sunday we have a brunch menu with a couple special breakfast items.  

Jeff:   Well gosh gee, Dave, this sounds great, why are you on restaurant dreams?

Dave, To be honest, we're getting our ass kicked, we opened in the middle of the recession and it's been much harder to pull people away from the big chains with their big advertising budgets and apparently we need a new marketing campaign.   On a busy friday night, we can turn the tables once, but that's relatively rare.  People like the food (so they say), but the repeat customers still haven't built up.   Our kitchen manager was caught stealing and got fired and so we're looking for a new person to lead the kitchen and we're not sure what type of person we're looking for besides someone with passion to be the best and improve and how we find that person, since EVERYONE talks a good game.

Jeff,  What about the front of the house?

Dave:   Well, that's another problem.   Finding and keeping good talented wait staff is tough.  All of them are either going to or graduated from the college 15 minutes down the road and think they are the best waitress ever and to be honest, they are not.   So, not only how do I improve them but how do I find better people to replace them?   I really believe service is at least as big a part of dining out as the food is, and bad waitstaff can ruin lovely food.  And I'm TIRED of comping tables for crappy service.  

Jeff:  and the financials?

Dave:   Well, we make money, but just enough to usually pay my "salary", we're not actually getting a return on investment, which of course, was my IBM retirement money so it would be nice to actually get some of that back.   Some months can be pretty ugly.  We've been open a year but we still don't seem to be hitting that sweet spot.   The brunch is well received, but usually pretty sparse.   Actually Football sundays we do a pretty good business, up until the local team is out it, which last year only took about 5 games, which hurt us all into December and January.    The weather was harsh last winter, but to be honest these are excuses, if we can hit that sweet spot, people will come for the food and service no matter what the weather or the sports, but I don't know how to get there without breaking the bank.    I am in this, after all, to make money at some point.

Jeff, thanks Dave for that tour of the restaurant and all your issues, so, after commercial break, let's hear from Chef.

<commercial break>

Jeff:  let's have a big welcome for Chef, the man of 40 years experience who is here to take a look around, ask questions and hopefully some advice for Dave.  Chef, over to you.

O wise and powerful one, please please please tell me how to make gyros.  I want to make the meat, the pita, and the tsaziki.  I would love to find a source for the meat alread made but I've been to every high end grocery store in Dallas and no one carries it that I can find.

Seems simple.  I think I'll try that this week.  Thanks for the response.

How do I get my julienne sweet potato strings crisp?  Thought this would be easy, but made a bunch to garnish my duet of crab cake and fried green tomato and they were soggy.  Fried the next batch longer, and they turned before crisping.  What did I do wrong...  I went to the oil within a few minues of shoe stringing my sweet potato.  Thanks!

you did lightly flour the potato?

No... Guess lightly flouring the potato would have done it?

"The Caesar salad is almost universally credited to Cesar (Caesar, in American English?) Cardini, a chef and restaurant owner (with Italian heritage), in Tijuana, Mexico who created it around 1924.  The story goes that he had run low on provisions when a fairly important party of customers arrived so he pulled together this salad from whatever he had around. caesar4 It is almost certain that he used romaine lettuce, coddled eggs (soft-boiled), garlic, Worcestershire sauce, lemons, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, croutons, salt and pepper. There were probably no anchovies, dry or Dijon mustard, and white or red vinegar in the original version. In latter versions, however, all of these ingredients become rather common. The salad was a hit and Cardini eventually moved north to California and started bottling his dressing and selling it commercially. It went on to become one of the most sought after salads in restaurants around the world."

Bravo...


ingredients
•1 head romaine lettuce
•3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
•3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
•1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
•1/2 teaspoon salt
•1/4 tablespoon ground mustard
•1 clove crushed garlic
•1 egg
•1 lemon, juiced
•freshly ground black pepper
•1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
•1 1/2 cups garlic croutons
•1 (2 ounce) can anchovy filets
Directions
1.Clean lettuce thoroughly and wrap in paper towels to absorb moisture. Refrigerate until crisp, at least 1 hour or more.
2.In a bowl or jar combine oil, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, salt, mustard, garlic and lemon juice. Whisk until well blended.
3.Coddle egg by heating 3 cups of water to boiling. Drop in egg (still in shell) and let stand for 1 minute. Remove egg from water and let cool. Once cooled crack open and whisk egg into dressing. Whisk until thoroughly blended.
4.Mash desired amount of anchovies and whisk them into the dressing. If desired set aside a few for garnish.
5.To assemble, place torn lettuce leaves in a large bowl. Pour dressing over the top and toss lightly. Add the grated cheese, garlic croutons and freshly ground pepper, toss. Serve immediately!


the dressing breaks down quickly..you can make it ahead by adding a touch of mayo, just enough to bind it together if making the salad fresh at service time is prohibative..

with the threat of salmonella and eggs going on right now, I WOULD NOT risk using a coddled egg until a all safe bell is rung..

CHEF

thanks
But when I need an egg I walk about 30 feet to the coop and get one.
doesn't get any fresher than that.

Ok
it was good, not great  
Probably my fault, but not sure why.
some tang, not a lot, which I think is really what you are supposed to be driving for.  Ithink it 's more of what non-classic ceasers I've had and not aiming for the right thing.  My wife really enjoyed it and I thought she wouldn't like it at all, so maybe it's just I was thinking of something different.  
I just guessed on the lemon juice.  (how much juice is in a lemon?)

I guess, most times I've had it (and not in any super fancy places) it's been "creamy", which I suppose is making it ahead of time with mayo?????

but, it's worth doing again
It will be impressive at a dinner party, whipping that up in front of them.

why coddle the egg?  (which is certainly the first time I've ever done that, very interesting)  Why didn't they just use raw?  i mean, it damn near is raw
I suppose it uses less of the whites, since they get "stuck" to the shell.

ohhhhhhhhhhhh
need a side dish
Baked pork chops with Piquant sauce on the menu this weekend.

what should I do for a side?

I can offer 5 or 6 different "picant" sauce varieties..what are you doing?