Chefs Dish It Out

[The Hot Pepper]

Are you a chef? Cooking with heat? Dish it out! Tell us your stories (good and bad), menu creations, etc.

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(This was created so TB could tell us about his new job. But all chefs, please chime in!)

 

[The Hot Pepper]

I agree somewhat. I should clarify. There is excellent dried pasta and some dishes fare better with it. Like tubular pasta that needs to hold up, and if you are going to bake after. Also, it acquires a nutty flavor in the drying process. You have to get the good imported stuff or know what you are looking for, the good stuff has a rough surface (so the sauce clings) from a special cooper extruder, and they only use hard durum-wheat flour, etc. Some restaurants just buy junk and also don't know how to cook it properly. Fresh pasta allows for more soaking of sauce, is softer with a good chew, and better for other applications. Using dried pasta for ALL your dishes is a cop out. Fettuccine and papparadelle (ribbon) are much better with fresh. I'm not a fettuccine alfredo eater, that seems to be a big American thing, but that pasta shape is universal and awesome. I like it with a meat sauce (like lamb or short rib ragu). Papparadelle, same thing. Both of these are better fresh, the way the sauce, meat, and cheese all incorporate and cling, the papparadelle being almost like a deconstructed lasagna. Where if dried, more separate flavors.
 
So there are many shapes, and some are better dried, some fresh. So a loose guideline is tubular = dried, string or flat = fresh (except super thin which would break), odd-shaped = either. The best Italian restaurants will serve both dried and fresh depending on shape and preparation. And any restaurant just ladling sauce on top of plain pasta is not a real restaurant, that's not how you serve pasta. You cook it with the sauce in the end. It becomes one. And with fresh it soaks up all that goodness, with dried it's more of a cling. But you never serve sauce on top.
 
So yes, I do expect a real Italian restaurant to have a pasta machine, or someone rolling and cutting flat pasta. Some will even dry their own.
 
My gripe is with restaurants that just resort to the box pasta for everything. Using all box shows they don't care. If you're going to run an Italian restaurant, actually make the food! Don't get me started on frozen gnocci... ravioli... tortellini! These should all be FRESHHHHHHHH!
 

 

[salsalady]

Feesh gnocci?  YUCK! 
 
Just kidding you, Boss.      Pasta should be tossed with the sauce and cooked in.  I hate marinara ladled over spaghetti and it separates with all the watery stuff in the bottom. 

 

[Scovie]

Agree 100%. It is like a pizza joint that uses frozen dough, ever heard of THAT? God, I hope not.

And those god damm mexican restaurants that use Costco bulk chips. Not much pisses me off more. There is a brand of chips that I can get at Hanks that is 10times better than chips served at our local mexican joints. They don't even make their own tortillas, but even a stack of purchased tortillas cut up and fried to order is a vast improvement on these roof shingles they try to pass of as authentic corn chips.

You know what REALLY burns my ass?





Flames about 3 feet high.

 

[salsalady]

You know what REALLY burns my ass?





Flames about 3 feet high.

or trying to light your farts on fire. 
 
  
 
or launching bottle rockets out of your butt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMZ_m1SC-OQ

 

[The Hot Pepper]

With you Scove. Some of the Middle Eastern joints make their own pita bread here. It's so damn good. Sometimes I just walk by and get one for a buck, hot out of the oven, and eat it plain. These are not "pita pockets" these are real pitas, just a flatbread, and it makes the sammies oh so much better! I avoid the joints where they just open the Aladdin brand pita bag or other. Those things just never taste right, especially if you've have them fresh and hot from the oven. Doesn't cost much either. It's not like the other joints can't do it. The sandwiches end up being the same price. Shit, I'm sure it costs LESS. It usually does, to make your own ANYTHING. Some of these joints lack effort, and they also think that the customer doesn't care. Wrong!
 
Also. Burger joints making buns or using a local bakery to find their perfect bun. So much win. And handcut fries please! No frozen bags!
 
It's these little things that make all the difference.

 

[Scovie]

100% THP. I want to go to NYC. Alllllll that I have heard, seen on TV, read in magazines, internet etc. but you describing those Pita's got me all melty inside. lol

A long time ago in Salt Lake City was a burger joint McDonalds style. I say that because everything was plastic and tera cotta colored tile and drive thru's. At the time there were like 10 locations, ( I haven't been there in years). Anyway, the owner owned a cattle ranch for his burger joint, he would age the beef, and every piece of the cow went into the burger. They baked their buns on site, and pushed their taters through a cutter. "No freezers" was his policy. You can imagine the best burger, ever. I hope that guy is still in business, and is a BaJillionaire.

 

[salsalady]

When I ran the restaurant, we cut the taters for fries, made sausage gravy and pancake batter from scratch, cooked potatoes and shredded 'em for hash browns (Boss, remember the discussion about the golden crispy with white interior hashers coming out of the brown bags like fries?  ), made all our own soups (except the Tomato Soup...never could do that one better than Campbell's ), muffins and desserts, breakfast & lunch specials... 
 
I can still rattle off the pancake batter recipe I learned from ol' Clancy at Axelson's Café ...."1/2 gallon buttermilk....1# 10oz flour....."
 
We also baked fresh biscuits, but I do admit to using Krust-eaz Buttermilk Biscuit Mix (NOT their Baking Mix, it has to be Biscuit Mix). 
 
One thing I've NEVER found in a restaurant is homemade corned beef hash.  It's ALWAYS out of a can.  Our restaurant is the only one I know of that made it from scratch.  It wasn't on the menu every day, but about once a month, we ran it for a Sunday special.
 
 
Sheet, it's conversations like this that bring up probably the only regret I have about living where we do....no access to all these really cool ethnic foods we're talking about.   
Oh, and Scovie, we went to the Stockyard Café over there by the Fairgrounds outside Okanogan for breakfast the other day.  It's a DIVE of a café, in desperate need of a good cleaning.  BUT they use real fresh potatoes for the hashbrowns, their 1/2 portion ham steak was the size of a dinner plate, the eggs were cooked perfectly to order for each of us, and it was FAST.  I'm thinking it was less than 20 minutes to get our orders.   
 
The "old boys" were over at their table drinking coffee, it was definitely one of those places where everyone knows everyone.  And reasonable prices.  But they do use packages gravy mixes and canned corned beef hash.  Aw, well, didn't order those... 

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Sounds like a place I'd like to eat SL. Did you own it, or you were a manager or something?
 
Sometimes it takes knowing what to order, which kinda sucks, but it's true. You had that slammin' breakfast but knew what not to get. Not that it's bad but when you want homemade, you can easily tell what is not. Diners here usually always use canned corned beef unless they are upscale. And bistros and Southern restaurants and such usually make it but they'll make a different variety, like jerk chicken hash to name one I've had. I think I've seen short rib hash too, not sure.
 
Cubes of cooked potatoes and cooked meat, uniformly cut... spiced, and fried. Not really hard is it? Especially since you use cooked meat and taters! Whatever doesn't sell at dinner makes the morning hash. Better than a can!
 
Wait! I've had chorizo hash from the Cuban joint and it is killer! They even serve a version with eggs on top. Beat that! I didn't think about it because they don't call it hash. But it is.

 

[salsalady]

There's a lot of names for hash, often called "scrambles" if the eggs are tossed in with it.  And those "short rib hash" or 'jerk chicken scrambles' are probably using up last nights dinner special! 
 
I was the owner of the café, opened it when I was 24.  Knew how to cook good grub...didn't really know how to run a restaurant though.  We were running profitably in a small place with total seating for about 25 for a few years, then the building sold.  We moved into a different building about triple the size, had to do a complete remodel ($$$), never really got profitable after that.  Eventually had to shut 'er down.   
 
Boss, you just made a reference to something we did that I think made a difference.  We cooked the spuds, then ran them through a shredder on the largest plate so they were huge shreds (1/2" wide by 1-2" long) not the small thin shreds we've discussed before or the uniform diced things. 
 
Beef hash, chorizo hash.....mmmmmm...with eggs on top? MMMMMMMmmmmmm! 
 
But y'all will probably ban me because I only eat over hard eggs (or "cremated" as I like to say.  The ones fried in butter with the crispy brown lacy stuff....MMMMMMMMMMMmmmm).  Actually, I used to eat over medium...but after working in food service for years, and just about the time my break rolled around and I got the breakfast plate with OM eggs....here comes some customers....and there sat my breakfast....  
 
Eating cold slimy OM eggs     ....reheating in the micro....almost as ........
 
OH eggs it was---     

Which reminds me...at our Stockyards Café breakfast, I ordered scrambled eggs (just to be different).  When they arrived, there was one spot that was still soft and slimy.  I just kind of ignored that, folded it under and threw a little hot hashbrowns on top of that end.  By the time I was ready to eat that side, no more slimeys!   

 

[The Hot Pepper]

I like sunny side up but sometimes places don't know how to cook them and the yolks are cold. I like crispy edges too! Shoot, even better in bacon fat lol. Crispy edge sunny side up, done right, covered with a tin so the yolk and tops of whites cook—no goo!
 
Over easy is the safer bet. But I need the sunny side for toppers, as in, on top of biscuits and gravy!
 
Or poached mmmmmm. With any type of benedict, of course.
 
Over hard, the sulpher taste/smell comes out. Not for me. 

 

[Scovie]

I like sunny side up but sometimes places don't know how to cook them and the yolks are cold. I like crispy edges too! Shoot, even better in bacon fat lol. Crispy edge sunny side up, done right, covered with a tin so the yolk and tops of whites cook—no goo!
 
Over easy is the safer bet. But I need the sunny side for toppers, as in, on top of biscuits and gravy!
 
Or poached mmmmmm. With any type of benedict, of course.
 
Over hard, the sulpher taste/smell comes out. Not for me. 

Best post in all of THP. Ever.

Period.

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Egg King approval? Wow!

 

[Scovie]

Egg King? Awesome.

Sofa King Awesome.

 

[salsalady]

Take 2---(frikin hate tablet back-button......)

Boss, get yor ass out here to a NWCH and I will cook your eggs any way you want!!! ferget the USDA under-cooked eggs warnings....




SSU w/ crispies......Oh yea.... I can do that! but the cup-over....hmmmm..more of a (not poaching or basting...STEAMING!)

'K! Steamed SSU eggs with crispy edges!


Is that the order???
 
edit- I'm confused....but that's not unusual!    Boss are looking for SSU with the covered/cooked tops thing or not?
 
using bacon grease or butter to baste is also  mmmmmmmmm......
 
 
 
Poached schtuff?   NOT a fried egg to order!!!!  
 
 
 
Poach away, and slather it under days of sauces.....it ain't no FRIED EGG!!!
 
 
 
Sheesh! I'm posting like a hippy in Texas!   I'd better do some channeling to get back in touch.
 
BRB!

edit- OK.....grounding, grounding, back in touch...."come join the congress"...
http://fairycongress.com/

Aw-crap- I always get in trouble after that last re-wine-
 
 
 
I'm challenging TB, Scovie, TheBoss, JayT, (paulky but he's AFK for a while....away from KITCHEN! Beeotches! )) to an Over Easy Egg COOK OFF!    What the heck, add in others.
 
1 Pan,
2 eggs
3-must be flipped
4-cut it to show no slimy's in the OE egg. 
 
 
5- bonus for video!
 
Fry 2 and Off you Go!!!

Automatic win for doing an OE with crispies!!!

 

[Darthpepper]

What the hael is wrong with you people?! They're called dippy eggs!

From this mornin

We went through 14 eggs and a loaf of bread

The girlies love them some dippy eggs

Runny yoke egg sammie mmmmmm

http://thehotpepper.com/public/style_emoticons/#EMO_DIR#/drool.gif

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Those look like good eggs sir!
 
Now I know I need to ask for dippy eggs.
 
I see a lid there... did you cover for a sec? Yes SL I was saying cover to get rid of the goo! You want the goo gone lol. The goo will usually be a ring around the yolk, and many times, the yolk is cold too! Damn restaurants. Covering for just a few seconds solidifies the top (the goo turns firm) and then you take it off quickly for a perfect egg. Yolk still runny! You just want the goo gone that's it. I already got approval from the Egg King. Best post ever!
 
wiki wiki wiki wiki http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Sunny-Side-up-Eggs
 
Check THAT! Now that's a crisped edge sunny side up egg! I like Darth's too though. No goo! The one is the pic a little too crisped for me. But you get the idea. I'll take it somewhere in between. A bit more crisping.

 

[Darthpepper]

Yes sir, cover just long enought to gone the goo. I pretty much do it just like the how to you posted. As far as I know, "dippy eggs" is a PA term, but I could be wrong. I'm curious what reaction you'd get by ordering them in the big city.

 

[The Hot Pepper]

YES YES YES cover to get rid of the goo!
 
And I see crisping on your edges!
 
Now I know that is a PERFECT EGG! PERFECT!!!!
 
On top of biscuits and gravy... damn. That would be... just... perfect perfection!

 

[Darthpepper]

Upon googling dippy eggs, it seems a popular term in the UK, Ireland, Australia, and PA. I hope the egg king approves

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Goo Gone Cooking Spray