Taste is Everything

      Always taste everything, everything gets seasoned.  Everything must be able to stand on its own.  Always use a spoon.

Roasted Peppers

      Place peppers over open flame and char on all sides, place in bowl and cover with plastic wrap until skin has softened to peel, use bowl of warm water to peel and rinse, do not use running water in the sink, clean out the drain when finished

Blanching

      Use the largest pot for blanching in very salty water, do not blanch anything in bundles, example asparagus, immerse in ice water, 50/50

Sear or Grill Proteins

      Season with salt and pepper or dry spice rub immediately before placing on heat.  Ensure heat source is hot, with or with out oil, grapeseed preferred.  All meats seared in a pan or flat top need whole thyme and rosemary sprigs in the pan. If grilling, determine diamonds with 60 degree turns for grill marks.  When searing fish, allow for a solid brown caramel on meat before turning over.  When necessary, finish in oven with the fresh herbs.  Remove and rest, finish with whole butter, herb butter and fresh lemon.  Learn to poele.

Tomato concasse

      Blanch in boiling water with scored base and cored, shock in cold water and peel, seed and dice.

Heating Sauces and Soups

      Bring to a boil, skim and pass through chinois.  Evertime a sauce is transferred, pass through a chinois, taste, adjust with stock.  Fortify veal based sauces with a roasted veal bone. 

Washing Greens and Lettuces

      Rinse in ice cold water, remove from top of bin, do not pour it all out, this will pour the dirt and sediment right back into it, spin, layer in lexans, separate greens

Roasting eggplant

      When cut, salt and let rest 20 minutes to purge the water, pat dry and grill, roast or sear in cast iron pan

Veal Stock

      Blanch bones, drain and roast.  For 50# bones, 1 200 pan full of chopped onions and 1 400 pan split half with celery and carrot.  Use remoulage from previous batch of veal stock and water cover bones.  Caramelize veg in braiser or large sauté pans.  Caramelized ½ #10 can tomato paste or 1 200 pan of fresh tomato scrap.  Deglaze and reduce 8 btls of red wine to half.  Add peppercorns, bay leaves, herb sprigs.  Do not bring to boil, cover and let cook 16 hours, skimming constantly with ladel.  Remove bones for remoulage ( add water and more veg scrap in possible). Reduce veal stock and skim.

Veal Demi Glace

      Reduce veal stock slowly, skim constantly.  Pass through chinois into another pot when reduced by a quarter and again when stock has been reduce to half of its original quantity.

Chicken Stock

      Purge 50# bones, cover with water and bring to simmer, skim foam and drain bones and water.  Add 4 gallons of mirepoix vegetables with fresh herb sprigs, parsley, peppercorns and bay leaves, cover with water and cook low 6 hours, skim constantly.

Mashed Potatoes

      Keep potatoes in cold water, boil until fork tender in seasoned water.  Drain, dry on sheet tray or in stock pot to allow steam to escape. Hot whole milk, not boiled and cold butter diced chunks to be folded in after ricing potatoes.  Season with salt and pepper, pinch of nutmeg. 

Cooking Pasta

      Seasoned water, preferably a court boullion.  Drain when al dente and cool on sheet trays rubbed with a little olive oil, salt and pepper.  Do not rinse under cold water, flavor and starch are removed. 

Not my Favorite…

Truffle oil

Running water to thaw, plan ahead and slack in cooler

Dirty aprons, dirty uniforms, dirty station, leave no trace.

Cold butter for the guest

Steamers for vegetables

Gloves for ready to eat foods or wash hands each time

Precut, prefab products