Ask a Chef

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mweckler

MissBeeGonz wrote: »

Do you ALWAYS wash your hands?

I find that going an entire day without washing my hands really adds a lot more flavor into the dishes I hand craft. LOL, yes I wash my hands a million times a day, I also fully break down clean and sanitize my work station between tasks, to reduce the chance of cross contamination.

Cross contamination is how most people get sick from food, if I am working with raw chicken, then just wipe off the cutting board or even change the cutting board and put it on the same unsanitized work station then work with fruits or vegetables or other items that are going to be eaten raw the chicken juices could get into them and make people very sick.

There is a lot to be aware of when cooking for the masses, some people take that very seriously, like I do, then sadly there are others who do not, which is why I add safety questions into my interviews and check up on my new hires to make sure they are following the rules.

mweckler

happilymegan wrote: »

What's the weirdest dish on your menu?

On my current menu there is nothing really weird, but at a casino I worked for they had competitions for the line cooks to submit ideas for monthly specials and some of those were very strange. Someone suggested a Russian mother in law which was a hotdog topped with russian salad dressing, coleslaw, bacon, mustard, and pickle. Just an odd combination of things, and people need to keep in mind when making a special item it needs to appeal to the majority of people so it sells well.

Francl27

What's your favorite recipe for eclairs that I can find online? Chocolate or praline, ideally. I want to make some this week end but there are just too many recipes out there (also, nothing too complicated - but I can make pate a choux and pastry cream and glaze so I should be set).

And how do you manage to lose weight while being a chef? Seriously... Obviously for main dishes it's probably easier, but desserts? Man, I LOVE baking, but I have absolutely no self control when it comes to homemade baked goods. There are so many things I want to make but never do because I'd eat the whole batch...

Anyway, do you know any good single serving recipes for pastries?

mweckler

@Francl27 I was lucky enough to learn pastries from an amazing pastry chef, who has won 2 Food Network challenges, 2 Gold medals in the World Pastry Olympics and is currently writing his own pastry cookbook. I will look for the recipe for eclairs when I get home and transcribe it and message it to you.

I am not sure what equipment you have at your house or tools and things like that so if I say something and you have questions let me know.

Get a cookie sheet and wax paper, fold the paper into rectangles like a grid depending on the size of the eclairs you want to make. Then take a marker ad bisect the rectangles and that diagonal line is going to be your grid for piping out the choux paste. This will give even sized eclairs, then bake them, Once the choux has been baked you can wrap them in plastic and freeze them and defrost them in small batches so you do not overindulge on them.

For me the weight gain was an issue, from life, and stress, and other factors I developed Binge Eating Disorder and had it diagnosed last year, but I had battled it not knowing what was wrong for years prior. So that allowed me to gain weight. But like everything know your limits, and watch how much you take in. Sweets are my go to item and always have been, so I am sort of my own worst enemy at times, because I can make creme brulee, cheesecake, cakes, frostings, whatever I want whenever I want. So I had to teach myself restraint, but I still slip up and over indulge from time to time.

For single serve recipes, if there are things you enjoy and you have a recipe for them I can scale down the recipe to a 1 or 2 person serving size for you. But with most pastries you can prepare the dough, or the base then break it down to smaller pieces and freeze the rest for another day, or make the whole thing and give away 2/3rds of it to family and friends. Or like me I make the stuff at work then hand out "samples" or force feed the people who work for me lol.

Francl27

mweckler wrote: »

@Francl27 I was lucky enough to learn pastries from an amazing pastry chef, who has won 2 Food Network challenges, 2 Gold medals in the World Pastry Olympics and is currently writing his own pastry cookbook. I will look for the recipe for eclairs when I get home and transcribe it and message it to you.

I am not sure what equipment you have at your house or tools and things like that so if I say something and you have questions let me know.

Get a cookie sheet and wax paper, fold the paper into rectangles like a grid depending on the size of the eclairs you want to make. Then take a marker ad bisect the rectangles and that diagonal line is going to be your grid for piping out the choux paste. This will give even sized eclairs, then bake them, Once the choux has been baked you can wrap them in plastic and freeze them and defrost them in small batches so you do not overindulge on them.

For me the weight gain was an issue, from life, and stress, and other factors I developed Binge Eating Disorder and had it diagnosed last year, but I had battled it not knowing what was wrong for years prior. So that allowed me to gain weight. But like everything know your limits, and watch how much you take in. Sweets are my go to item and always have been, so I am sort of my own worst enemy at times, because I can make creme brulee, cheesecake, cakes, frostings, whatever I want whenever I want. So I had to teach myself restraint, but I still slip up and over indulge from time to time.

For single serve recipes, if there are things you enjoy and you have a recipe for them I can scale down the recipe to a 1 or 2 person serving size for you. But with most pastries you can prepare the dough, or the base then break it down to smaller pieces and freeze the rest for another day, or make the whole thing and give away 2/3rds of it to family and friends. Or like me I make the stuff at work then hand out "samples" or force feed the people who work for me lol.

I want that cookbook!

I have piping bags for the eclairs. But yeah, I try to make what I want for when I'm going to meet with friends, or bake sales, that way at least I can just eat a bit and give out the rest, lol.

mweckler

@Francl27 once the cookbook comes out I will let you know.

PhedraJD

I would love to be able to cook pastries, and/or pies. I can follow a recipe, and do okay cooking. I've baked bread, cookies and muffins but nothing more serious that that. Any tips for someone who wants to learn how to make pastries and pies?

Taylor076097

What is it really like to work in an industrial kitchen? I've been offered a few jobs bc of people I know and they know I have the skills, but being a home cook and even cartering is totally different than being in a commercial kitchen. Any advice for transitioning over?

mweckler

@jdelaroy yes buy a food scale and start weighing out the ingredients, baking is very precise so the best recipes to use are the ones in weights. Start small and expect to mess up more than once, and accept that failure is ok while learning. Also even if something does not look pretty at the end it may still taste good. Follow the recipes exactly and wait until you are comfortable with the basics before you start modifying and changing recipes on your own. Each ingredient used is baking has a purpose so too much flour, too little baking soda, or baking powder can negatively affect how an item bakes up.

mweckler

@Taylor076097 an industrial kitchen like bulk banquets and caterings, or like an ala carte restaurant kitchen? Restaurant kitchens - imagine everything around you is on fire, and no one knows how to turn on the water, then add in loud noises, and somehow the heat all around you gets even hotter, then some weird person is shouting in your face and you have no idea why. But then it all goes quiet and you realized the fire is out, the screaming has stopped, and everything is calm once more.

Caterings and Banquets - Prepping massive amounts of food for hundreds of people at once, much quieter and calmer than restaurants if properly managed, still very hot and loud, until the day of the event then imagine everything is on fire around you and no one knows how to turn on the water as you try to feed 400 people within a few minute window.

mweckler

Just made a tree nut free pesto sauce, it turned out very nice, then put it on a flatbread crust, and topped it with fresh mozzarella cheese.

ericatoday

Louise1491 wrote: »

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.

Fine. I'll handle the one you have and you can be a slave to my stove. Sorted!

Hahahaha girl we'd be good friends.

yayamom3

I hate cilantro. When a recipe calls for it, I usually substitute parsley. Is there a better choice?