Ask a Chef

angelxsss

Cutaway_Collar wrote: »

No Sir. No microwave stuff. I want to do it myself, soup to nuts with a conventional oven. I have tools to process dough and make cream, ganache etc.

he's the fanciest fancy person to ever have fancied. Fancy and quick is the name of the game. I would guess some sort of fried doughnut would be pretty fast. But my guessing is just for fun, I don't know anything

mweckler

@Cutaway_Collar I was able to put together banana bread in about 10 minutes. How quick are you looking for? The longest time is gathering ingredients, and preparing them. Why don't you tell me what you are looking for and I can get you some recipes?

mweckler

@LL5lifts Then I would suggest the same prep method parboil to soften the outer edges then lay them on a foiled lined sheet tray and bake. The problem is the sugars in the vegetables caramelize quicker than the insides cook. So the outer portion starts to burn while the inside is still underdone.

TouchofFruit

mweckler wrote: »

Louise1491 wrote: »

Will you marry me and cook me foods every day? Anything. I'm not fussy.

@louise1491 I am already married so sadly it is not legal where I live to have more than one spouse, plus I can barely handle the one I have lol. I can cater for you or cook and ship you foods. Or I can help you make sense of recipes, and show you that they really can be easy to follow.

do you cook at home too? or are you all chef'd out by the time you get home?

mweckler

@TouchofFruit I am forced to cook at home too as my wife, who by the way, went to culinary school, has "forgotten" how to cook. Somedays I get motivated and make fancy things, like a white wine butter poached shrimp with crab legs, or the balsamic vinegar reduced shrimp pasta I made the other day. Then there are days like today when it is me and the kids and it will be pizza either frozen, or delivery depending on how I feel.

dc8066

mweckler wrote: »

@TouchofFruit I am forced to cook at home too as my wife, who by the way, went to culinary school, has "forgotten" how to cook. Somedays I get motivated and make fancy things, like a white wine butter poached shrimp with crab legs, or the balsamic vinegar reduced shrimp pasta I made the other day. Then there are days like today when it is me and the kids and it will be pizza either frozen, or delivery depending on how I feel.

I don't want to marry you or anything like that, but I'd like to move in so I could eat with your family

yayamom3

mweckler wrote: »

MsAmandaNJ wrote: »

How many knives should one have? I have a paring knife and a santoku (the ex got the chef's knife). The santoku is used most often and for chicken breast, pork, beef, fruit and vegetables.

@MsAmandaJean it is personal preference I have many many manu of varying sizes and shapes lol. A good 6 or 8 inch chef's knife, also known as a utility knife, can do most anything you need to do in the kitchen. The santoku knife is a chef's knife just a Japanese style, it can be used for most things the chef's knife can do, except the tip of the chef's knife is pointed and the santoku of rounded. If you are breaking down whole chickens or working with proteins that have bones, get a flexible boning knife, and a paring knife. The biggest thing is making sure they are honed regularly and keep them sharp, as you are more likely to cut yourself on a dull knife.

@mwecker What is your opinion on ceramic knives? I've always wondered about them.

mweckler

@dc6088 Feel free to stop by, let me know what you like and I will make it.

mweckler

@yayamom3 I do not have much experience with ceramic knives, but I can see them being very prone to cracking and chipping, which could leaves bits of ceramic blade in the food you are making. Or if you drop the knife or if it gets too cold it could shatter. But it is all a matter of preference, for me I like a lighter Japanese style knife, because of 2 tendonitis surgeries, and issues with my radial nerve, I can work longer with a lighter knife than I can with a Western style full tang hefty knife.

mweckler

@LL5lifts Not a problem.

mweckler

Sift the powdered sugar then measure out a cup. Depending on the type and age of the recipe if it was printed or handwritten it could be 1 Cup powdered sugar, sifted, or 1 Cup powdered sugar sifted the comma placement determines whether you measure than sift or sift then measure. Without seeing the entire recipe it is hard for me to tell for sure, but you will be safe to sift first and ask questions later lol. Does it also state to sift all the dry ingredients together or just the powdered sugar?

mweckler

How much do you like the cookies? You can do 2 things, make the batter to the point you add the powdered sugar, split it in half. In one half use sifted measured powdered sugar, in the other use measured sifted powdered sugar and see which is the most like the original recipe. If you want them to be as close as possible, if not you will be fine to sift then measure and bake away.

chocolate_owl

Cooking things: have you ever tried making pie dough with a food processor, or do you stick to a pastry blender? Apart from the obvious (quality knife, scale, food thermometer, etc.) what equipment or gadgets are your biggest assets in the kitchen? Is there a method to plating food so it looks super pretty, or is it purely artistic (and I'm just bad at it lol)?

Restaurant industry things: do you think Yelp is a good thing or a bad thing? Has your part of the world been struggling to find reliable kitchen and wait staff? How long do you tend to stay in one place or with one menu before wanting to try a new concept?

French_Peasant

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this.

One thing that has been perplexing me lately is, I would like to make my pie crusts with leaf lard and some butter (I learned to make them with Crisco, which is great for a flaky crust, but I would prefer to use natural fats...and to me regular lard tastes a little too much of the barnyard: great for roux, or quiche, not so great for pie). Stores don't seem to carry it, and what I can find on Amazon is expensive ($20/14 oz from some artisan butcher, and Tenderflake is 10+ per lb). Is that probably the best I can find, considering I won't be ordering it in bulk?

Butter, of course, is the standard, but to me it seems more difficult to handle, but maybe I should just practice and figure it out.

Also, what are your favorite cookbooks, and your favorite books about cooking? (ie, Mastering the Art of French Cooking vs. My Life in France).

leeshults

Will your share your recipe for Creme Brulee and is there a way to make it "lighter" in calories without losing the taste? Thank you!

mweckler

@chocolate_owl Yes I have used a food processor for pie dough and it works out quite well. The biggest asset in my kitchens and the part of the test I give to every cook who applies for a job is to set up a cutting board. It sounds like a simple thing but I check to see if they put a wet towel or nonskid mat under it to keep it from moving around. Being safe is a huge thing when you work in a place where everything around you can maim, or kill you lol. Another things is a good sharpie marker, non-slip shoes these are valuable tools to have. If you mean equipment you can do most things by hand if you have the determination, but things to make life easier, like immersion blender, robot coupe, high power Vitamix blender, sous vide machine, good heavy bottom skillet, and a thick bottom sauce pan.

Decorating plates is subjective, as is all art. You don't need to be good just make it either look very neat, or slap it on and let the food land where it may. You may not think you did a good job with the finishing touches but we are also our own worst critics. So play around when you have time and practice if you are that worried about it, in the end if the food looks good and tastes good that is what people will remember. But if you are wanting to earn a Michelin Star or work for a high end place, then practice until your hands fall off and strive for perfection lol.

Yelp is good to a point, you will always get those people who are always going to find a negative no matter what you do. People will tear a place to shreds for the smallest reasons, the one rule I have when trying a new place is I go into the bathroom and look there, if it is neat and clean proceed to eat. But if they can not keep a clean bathroom what are the odds they can keep a clean kitchen? Gross I know. Sadly trying to find good staff is like pulling teeth, so I am not sure if it means the economy is turning around and getting better allowing people to stay in their roles longer, or if there is a lull where people are starting culinary school earlier and staying through to a Bachelor's degree. Or if youtube, Food Network, and the cooking channel are making every person with aspirations of being a star filling their heads with a false sense of what it is like to work in a real kitchen. For me it depends on the kitchen, if I like the environment, the management listens to me and respects my ideas, I will stay. I had a place hire me on with promises of a work life balance, and so much money, and time off and all this other stuff and I believed them, went to work for them to find out that they had not fired the person I was replacing and I had to lie to the guy for a month about why I was there. Long story short I bailed on that place as soon as I could.