Ciabatta, Pizza, & Yogurt Bread

I usually try to get things done in batches for freezing since I have two young children. This morning after batching some banana waffles (made from those black bananas you throw in the freezer before they really go bad) I started several doughs.

Later tonight we will be having guests over for pizza (on the grill unless raining) and salad. Then at a later time I will bake off the dough I have for ciabatta. In Italy the ciabatta goes from crunchy crust and porous chewy crumb to the more dense heavy crumb. I have a high water content in my dough and am going for the crunchy, porous, chewy version. (picture & post later)

Yogurt bread is just something I am experimenting with. I like to adjust water content, ingredients, knead times ...mostly just to entertain myself and have fresh bread while figuring out what it does to the texture, crumb, and overall taste among other things.

Grilled Pizza pt.2

If you have some caramel sauce from either making it or buying it (particularly the dip you can buy in produce for apples works good as well!) a 1/8 to 1/4 cup of it spread thin on a thin crust then topped with marshmallows and semi-sweet chocolate chips makes and excellent dessert pizza! None of that pizza h-t apple pie filling and cinnamon roll icing on top dessert pizza...no!

New Son! ~ New Job!

Right now I am at home happily enjoying time with my newest son, Ezra Michael! I have two boys now and I am extremely happy! Ezra Michael and Tytus Nathaniel!

In August I start my role as the new Food Service Director/Executive Chef at a local private Christian academy that's also attached to a church. Its a start-up, meaning they have a brand new commercial kitchen (its only a few years old) that is used by the church for conferences and events but have 'just arrived' at a place where its time to really kick it in gear and 'take it to the next level' by offering school meals and other events on a regular basis.

In between feeding the new baby (and he eats A LOT) and spending time with Tytus while he adjusts to having a baby brother my wife allows me to work on menu's, a small-ware order that's pending, paperwork...and getting ready for the main priority, health department inspection. We just need to vent and put an exhaust fan in a pantry area that will house another 3 door commercial refrigerator. 

Getting Ready!

Smoking 2 pork shoulders w/apple wood. Going on hour 10. Gonna be ready for July 4th!

PPA = Effective Business Meetings

This is not a comprehensive list or theory on having business meetings. It's a quick decisive tool to help you decide if your doing the right thing by having one, or being part of one(if you have a choice).

Power, Plan, Action = Effective Business Meetings

I have been to many "business" meetings in my lifetime where nothing much gets done. Basically one of three things are missing:

• Power - before we waste a lot of time on having a meeting does anybody have the POWER to DO anything about what we are discussing? No? Meeting canceled. -PLAN and ACTION to implement but no one has the POWER to approve it.
• Plan - If there is no PLAN, or we come to a PLAN and no one has the POWER to implement it or make it happen(ACTION), why are we meeting?- POWER and ACTION to implement but no PLAN.
• Action - if the end result of any meeting requires no ACTION -or- If no ACTION can be applied to a PLAN, cancel it. We are wasting time. [Think budget-money, man-power, materials...] - POWER and PLAN but no one can implement the ACTION to make it work.

It breaks down to having the proper people available in a meeting. A PLAN meeting can be called to get everything ready for when the "budget, manpower, materials..." are available. But to often you have to schedule more meetings to revisit, modify, and update the PLAN.

Of course if this is brainstorming or one of those "collaborative mind trusts" to get some ideas on the table...by all means, call it. But don't call too many...It's like "Crying Wolf" people quit listening.

Keep people engaged, don't waste time, get things done.