Foodies BS Thread.

Not sure who eats chestnuts. I prefer oysters over coals.

 

Premade some treats for tmr

 

I bet the first two rows don't make it until tomorrow! Looks great!

 

I’ve made it to the home stretch with one last brisket for a lunch order tomorrow. Altogether, I moved 13 meal deals and 33 orders of sides. Each order was vacuum sealed with assembly and reheat instructions (if not picking up for immediate consumption).

This year’s menu:



Many of my customers want to cook their own main. It’s a sense of pride, I get it. I increased the variety of sides and found a sweet spot to getting orders, maintaining food/quality integrity, and keeping a strict timeline. I’m happy to pass along any of my recipes.

 

A M A Z I N G ! !

Everything on that menu sounds amazing on its own! I couldn't imagine putting a whole meal together from that!

 

Thanks, it just takes some planning!

As long as one person ordered a smoked main, I’d have the pit going. I factored in the cost of the meat and consumables to the meal deal, but they’re primarily paying full price for the sides ($30-$35 each).

In a nutshell, buy three sides and get a main ~1/2 off.

The bigger struggle was mapping out what sides could be built simultaneously. For instance, risotto is eyes/hands on the entire process… I made those overnight while maintaining the pit (make a risotto in an hour, check the pit, make the next one).

 

Best of all is He’s doin’ it bc he wants to not bc he has to. Made with the Love ‘n Passion that foods all about. Good on you, Man

 

Nice!

A couple of questions;

How do you reheat risotto?

Is the polenta firm or soft?

 

Reheat in a pan on low to medium low, depending on your burner. Add 1/4 cup chicken or vegetable stock as necessary to thin it out (repeatable until desired consistency).

*Edit: stir constantly until warm, about 10 minutes*

Soft like grits. I roasted hatch chiles back in September and had them sitting in the freezer.

2 cups polenta
4 cups water
4 cups whole milk
1 stick of butter
12 oz. of smoked Pepper Jack
16 oz. chopped hatch chiles
Salt, white pepper, and nutritional yeast to taste

 

Even more amazing.. you Sir are doing great things!

 

Thanks, risotto was a dish I was responsible for in the restaurant. We par cooked (wine and stock) and portioned the rice so it was finish with stock and garnish, off heat stir in cheese and butter when an order came in.

I plan a saffron risotto for Xmas dinner with lamb shanks, grilled rappinni. Orange creme brule for desert.

Soft polenta 10:1 (up to 12:1) liquid/polenta ratio by weight, firm is 6:1 (up to 8:1) the way I do it.

 

That makes sense for single orders, but I’m not trying to teach my customers how to par cook anything

 

Looked back at what I did for the polenta and it was still a 4:1 ratio. By your definition, a heckin’ firm polenta.

 

2C of dry corn meal is pretty light compared to 8C of milk/water

I go by weight, not volume.

 

It was 5:30 AM and I’d been cooking for 20 hours already. And a bourbon here and there. It’s HIGHLY likely I wrote it down wrong.

I normally dial in weights after I get a working recipe going. This one is a keeper, so I’ll get cracking after the holiday season.

Probably not the right way to do stuff or the kitchen standard, but I’ve never worked in a restaurant or had any training

These ‘illegal’ ventures are potentially funding a trailer build I can park in the back. Inspections and all, I dream of doing things above board and with the right equipment.

 

If you can create food miracles using conventional gear just think what you could do with a commercial setup. Not gonna lie but I’ve setup a few clandestine kitchens. Biggest drawback is getting power other than cost of course.

 

Doing stuffed chicken breasts for Xmas eve.

 

Merry Christmas you filthy animals!

 

And done.

 

Responsible for the bread tomorrow. New recipe Artisan White baked in Dutch Oven at 450. First tester round came out great. Great crust, good chew, lots of holes. Will need to smooth out the parchment paper if I want nice round loaves…as the dough is on the wet side when it goes in. May add some rosemary and brush with butter and sea salt for one of the loaves tomorrow.