5 Point infraction

Once again the health department has descended upon us...actually she is really quite a nice lady. I guess I was trying to make it sound dramatic. She talked to me about a few things we needed to work on and I asked questions to see how I could make some areas better. Our space is small and odd both for the kitchen and pantry/storage (our rooms are not perfectly square/rectangle) so I really try to have good questions for her in able to help us utilize our space while staying within the boundaries of inspection.

This inspection my Sous Chef Roberto decided he would buy a can drink from the machine out in the main dining area...but unfortunately for us he had placed it on top of the ice machine. 5 points for open drink stored on top of ice machine! Drinks must be in 'to-go' style containers with lids and a straw, BUT also be in a designated area away from food products...like maybe a shelf over the dish sink area.

Last inspection we scored a 98, 2 points for textured ceiling in storage area. Its supposed to be smooth and non-porous. We got that fixed. This inspection I suppose we have to settle for a 95!

Once again our 100 score has eluded us! ~

[Sous Chef Roberto has adequately been given a hard time and the inspection was a few weeks ago, but in keeping with our relentless jokes and hard times I waited till now to post this so we can get another few weeks of ribbing out of it]

Bread-Less Cajun Pork Sandwich!

From time to time I get to enjoy samples that are brought to me from food purveyors. THANK YOU HALSEY FOOD SERVICE! (Yes it's a shameless plug for my local, notice I said LOCAL, Food Service provider) - for those 2, 4oz center cut boneless pork chops!!!

(Note: sorry Sous Chef Roberto and PW, you weren't working at the time or I would have shared! LOL!)

As the kitchen director for a private academy these things do happen, and when they happen its my duty to try out the quality of a food product before I go letting anybody else eat it! Or let my students be subject to a possible menu item without testing it first!

Since I have been on this 'eat foods styles from other diets' food kick in order to further educate myself in eating patterns, trends, and fads I chose to apply this concept to my free samples!

Looking around I found a partial onion and a few slices of provolone cheese hanging out in the fridge. Before caramelizing the onions I rubbed down the chops with some Cajun seasonings (very similar to blackening seasoning). After the onions were done I quickly pan seared and cooked the chops. They were very thin and lean meat. While they were still hot I put a piece of cheese on each chop. Going back to the pan i swirled a thin pat of butter around till it melted all the way and picked up the remaining flavor of the onions and seasoning, then pouring it over the onions.

Taking one cheese topped chop I piled it high with caramelized onions flipping the other chop with cheese over on top of it! I waited just long enough to be able to handle it without burning myself and let the juices run down my arm while I happily munched it down.

Cajun rubbed, pan-seared center cut pork chop sandwich with provolone and caramelized onions:

The Man's Meat Paleo Pizza Crust!

But seriously it can be for women too if they like this much meat! I suggest using ground pork of some form, whether it be Italian sausage, breakfast sausage, or just ground pork. I suppose hamburger may work but sometimes it doesn't seem to be as cohesive as pork.

Flatten ground pork down with hand or parchment paper and rolling pin. I would suggest a half inch thickness, some will melt away. Make sure you at least have parchment paper, silpat, or something nonstick underneath.

Bake the meat in a sheet tray or pan. My meat crust was baked in 350 degree (F) oven for about 15 minutes. You need to make sure and use a sheet tray or pan to catch the grease and juice that will cook out so you can drain it off. And just like the cauliflower crust in my previous post, you would then top it with sauce, cheese, and whatever else you desire! Then put back in oven till the toppings are done or cheese is melted.

This should easily be Paleo, Keto, and Atkins friendly! LOL!

Cauliflower Crust

I am not on the Paleo diet. But as we go thru different fads and diets I like the creative thinking that inspire people to do different things with food. And wanting to be versatile in my technique for self education and my clients, I tend to try the new recipes that start circulating. Maybe even putting my own spin on it! ~ Lets start with the Cauliflower Pizza Crust.

If you want a cauliflower crust that works start with this link: http://detoxinista.com/2012/01/the-secret-to-perfect-cauliflower-pizza-crust/  It has great pictures and instructions! I am not trying to re-invent the wheel but maybe discuss what happened when I used the same recipe and pics/illustrationsand give you some insight.

Pulse the cauliflower down. I have a full size processor but it was still better to do one head of cauliflower in two batches.

If you stop a little bit before this stage they say you can use the cauliflower as a 'rice' for stir-fried rice! (I will try that out in the future also and give you a report whether or not its worth it)

The recipe was correct, you basically get 4 to 5 cups of 'rice size pieces of cauliflower.

Boiling water. Salt goes in the recipe so I did not 'salt' the water.

Cooking/simmering.

Strainer.

Flour sack cloth or cheesecloth liner.

And drain.

Pull together.

Now here is where I deviated just a little, people were talking about how hot and wet the cauliflower was and whether they needed to wait a bit for it to cool down? NO! Just get out a rubber spatula or small pot and mash that baby down until you can't get any more out...no need for handling it with your hands!!!

Dry crumb clumpy texture, ready for mixing.

Add ingredients. Here is where the recipe called for goat cheese, I substituted with cream cheese with great  results. In the future I think adding real shredded Parmesan would help in taste and structure in addition to cream cheese.

Mix. I like to use my hands.

This technique I actually use on my pizza dough because I hate cleaning up and dealing with flour. Use two pieces of nonstick sprayed parchment paper with mixture in between. You don't actually even need to 'roll' the dough out, use it to smooth the dough out. I push down on rolling pin and smash outward feeling the thickness and watching it spread even.

Hand contour (spray your hand with nonstick spray so it doesn't stick) your crust so it looks like what you want.

Bake it according to recipe. I have some dark spots because I let it get a bit thin in these areas.

I started basic because I wanted to really taste and observe the crust. So sauce and cheese.

Throw back in the oven on the stone. (still re-using the same parchment paper under it). Looks good! Looks like a boring old cheese pizza! LOL

Crusts holds together like a real bread or dough. Some parts even crunchy with a bit of chew. Will it ever replace a real pizza crust or fake somebody out? Nah, I don't think so...maybe small kids! But the taste is neutral enough and recipe technique ingenious enough to be a great idea! (and great Carb replacement)

Not to shabby!

Next Time: 

THE MAN'S ALL MEAT PALEO PIZZA CRUST!!!

Mercy Ships on 60 Minutes!

The organization I worked with for over 8 years, running the kitchens/galleys on 3 different ships (one at a time, LOL) and also at the IOC (base) in East Texas, is on 60 Minutes this Sunday at 6pm Central time! This was shot on the Africa Mercy (the ship where my wife and I served our last year with Mercy Ships in Liberia West Africa) on location in Togo. 

Friends, family, & fellow food service people if you ever wanted to know a little bit more about what I did, how we lived, and the kinds of services Mercy Ships provides to developing nations...this would be the show to watch.

I can't wait to see people I know on national television working with Mercy Ships! Oh, how I miss them so much! And the job!!!

This Sunday, February 17th, 60 Minutes will air a 12 minute segment on Mercy Ships, with Scott Pelley reporting. Filmed on board the Africa Mercy in Togo! 

If you're in the United States/Canada, we hope you'll tune in and watch. Check your local CBS station for times.

If you are outside of North America you may watch it here on line from Monday, February 18th: http://www.cbsnews.com/60-minutes/

ipad/iphone download app is here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/60-minutes-for-ipad/id403426652?mt=8

~ Tyrone

True Portions

I use 2oz portion cups a lot. From SAMs (Club) they average about 1 cent for the lid and the same for the cup. Total investment costs 2 cents. - Also known as condiment cups.

Quite a few people in the 'business' make the mistake of not measuring, or weighing for accuracy. I always go by weight unless something is pre-packaged and portioned for me. Some of you will say this is a no brainer, but I can't count the times I have seen this miscalculated in costs and portion control. Different products can physically take up the same amount of space but not weigh the same.

Below I illustrated with a simple video of shredded cheese. If you buy a 5lb bag of finely shredded cheese it's 80oz. If you have 2oz portion cups you would assume it would make 40 2oz condiment cups, no? No. It will make 80, and possibly 90. Yes, if the cheese were solid this could be argued. But that is part of the point I am making.

Getting your scale-out and weighing a few things as you do your daily prep can help you 'tighten up' those costs, orders, and preparation time which makes a smoother running kitchen and saves time & money.

*On a personal note, the 1oz condiment cups usually cost the same. I don't use them at all. If you are going to use just part of the 2oz cup it still looks like more and gives room for dipping in the case of a sauce.

A few more examples of using the cups and weight.

Sour Cream

Real Bacon Bits

Sometimes...

When I am not cooking, Tytus and I play with play dough...I think sometimes my creativity gets the best of me, AND my wishful thinking!

Sickness

It seems this winter season 2012-2013 has been the time for MUCH sickness...Both my immediate family, extended family, and close friends have been rotating sickness.

I personally had/have a lagging cough/throat problem left over from my pneumonia that seemed to have never gone completely away. My youngest son (baby) Ezra had RSV twice, the second time included an ER visit and hospital stay. My other son had a cold, virus, and ear infection (actually for both boys) and my wife has struggled with various ailments and trying to keep us healthy or happy while we were miserable! My sisters family, mom & dad, and various other friends at work and church have been combating colds,virus, flu...whew!

Needless to say this has effected my frequency of posting. But no worries mon, I plan to get back at it!

(photo courtesy of my old blog - Kitchen in Dangriga, Belize)

Cambro Sweet Experiment - Modern Twists on Old Classics

I entered a contest held by Cambro called Sweet Experiment: Mini desserts are making a big impact! Now is your chance to showcase your most creative mini dessert creation with Cambro's Dessert Glass and have a chance to win $3,000 in Cambro products! Free to enter — we send you the dessert glasses, you create the sweet experiment!

So I figured, hey, I can get a cool set of mini dessert glasses (6) and make some creative mini desserts. The $3,000 in Cambro products was for the business establishment that employs me in my food service role, so it was not entirely a selfish involvement. Ha! Who would not enjoy new products in the kitchen/food department that they work in?

Unfortunately, I did not win. But I had fun entering, receiving my free glasses, and being creative with the desserts.

I titled my dessert submissions 'Modern Twists on Old Classics'. In the below pictures are my submissions from left to right.

Left: S'mores, graham cracker pieces or crumbs, marshmallow, and chocolate. Easily heated in the microwave melting marshmallow cream and chocolate. ( either melt marshmallow in pan or use the marshmallow cream or sometimes called fluff, because if you try to melt this dessert to desired taste in the microwave the marshmallow expands in the glass and pushes other ingredients out)

Middle: Creamsicle, layered vanilla bean ice cream and orange sherbet topped with a mandarin orange slice...reminiscent of that popsicle offered at the corner store or ice cream man riding through the neighborhood.

Right: Peach Cobbler, layered peaches, banana bread, homemade granola, and caramel sauce...spices with a little cinnamon and brown sugar.

Calamari Pasta / Gragnano Italy

A few nights ago I wanted to throw something simple together and reached way back into the bottom cupboard because I knew there was a bag of 'gourmet' pasta back there somewhere. I say 'gourmet' very lightly because it seems everything nowadays is 'gourmet' or 'artisanal'. Humph. Whatever.

I just wanted to cook it up and use it. The one I found is called calamari because the pasta rings look thick cut and big like rings of real calamari that are usually fried and eaten as an appetizer at most restaurants.

Starting by pan searing some Italian sausage then throwing the pan in the oven to continue to cook while I put together a quick marinara sauce with roasted garlic. Pasta water just started to boil so I salted it heavily then threw the pasta in...meanwhile the sausage came out of the oven and I put them in the pan with the sauce and let simmer till the pasta was done. Because of the size of the pasta I used a spider (instead of using a colander) to fetch all the pasta out of the water and dump it in the pan with the sauce and sausages.

Even when the whole dish was done the pasta still had a bit of a chew and great taste. I was surprised. So today I looked up the name of the pasta and where it was from because it seems like any knucklehead company is making any pasta shape they want and pass it off as being 'gourmet'. Well, there is an actual pasta called calamari that comes from Gragnano Italy where the company there still uses bronze cutting die  and they still air dry the pasta.

My wife and I loved it even before I checked for the origin of it, and like most dishes of this nature my wife said it tasted even better the second time around. She took it to work and shared it.

We usually buy bits of food things here and there 'on sale' and throw them in the cupboard or fridge to try later...sometimes disappointing, sometimes surprisingly good.

Silpat and PlayDough RCT #12.28.12

Random Culinary Tip

When starting to teach your child how to have fun and create with PlayDough use a Silpat (cooking/baking pan insert) as a play mat. No mess, no fuss, and works good for not sticking to table or other things. But really the first rule will be "DON'T EAT IT!".

Christmas Dinner

A lot of people have asked either my wife or I what we had planned for dinner, and or what we had for Christmas or Christmas Eve dinner. Hate to disappoint others but we usually don't do 'traditional' meals for holidays.

This year it was just us (wife and I) and the boys. There was to much sickness going on with friends and extended family so it was small and...no not intimate, remember we have two young boys...loud and rowdy, BUT FUN!

Back to the topic. On Christmas Eve I made Chicken Tortilla Soup (our own recipe) but I sure do miss the grilled whole chickens I used to get from Mi Pueblo's in California I used! They would grill those chickens out in front of the store and the rub/marinade they used on them was excellent! Kind of like a rotisserie seasoning, but much better. I searched online for a copycat recipe to no avail.

Christmas dinner was my own homemade thin crust pizza made with a dough I developed for it. Nothing secret or special to it except I know exactly how our family likes to eat and I like to put a few herbs and spices right in the dough and use certain techniques to get the crust and chew to come out just perfect for us. Oh, I made some breadsticks too...

Thoughts on Coffee

I have traveled quite a bit on ships, trains, planes, and automobiles thru the Caribbean, Central American, Europe, Africa, Canada, and of course the U.S.. I have also tasted and visited a few coffee places, estates, fields, and shops. That being said I will not call myself and expert except on the subject of my own palate. So for a moment lets knock out any one-off coffees and talk about chains and corporate. Here is what I found for my tastes...

Although I am from the South and Krispy Kreme seems to be the doughnut king when the light is on...it's coffee is lacking. Starbucks is great for specialty coffees and maybe buying their coffee and making it at home but why does their house brew always taste bitter, burnt, or harsh? My wife and I LOVE Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf both specialty and regular cup of coffee but this place is not found to many places in the USA, some high traffic cities and mostly California...and oddly enough a bunch of them in Malaysia! So still no everyday options for me. Waffle House has good coffee that is pretty consistent from coast to coast (because it is made the same) but lacks that inviting atmosphere and is not available for purchase at home. From what I remember Tim Horton's was pretty good (Canada) but that was a distant memory. Illy coffee imported from Italy is hands down my favorite coffee that my palate loves straight from the French press but OH does it cost a pretty penny.

But as I sit here today in the first of many Dunkin Doughnuts coming to my city in the South I am reminded of my trips to Boston and New York where every corner seems to have one on it. it also reminds me of why I love their coffee so much. I get just the regular coffee with cream and sugar (they add it) and the mix and taste seems to be just right for me every time. The price does not break the bank. Their take-home bags of coffee taste just as great when you make them at home and are affordable...and I guess their doughnuts aren't to bad either! (Wink!) But don't tell Krispy Kreme I said that.