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[NipplesAndToes23]

I made some chocolate chip cookies. Started with Kenji's recipe but with the following changes. I spilled some of the brown butter bringing it from 8 oz to probably 7 oz. After folding in the flour it for some reason seemed like it needed a lot more flour so I also added about 3 oz more flour. Here's how it came out.

The rows are the 3 batches. Batch number one just had an ice cream scoop onto the parchment paper. Number two was the same but with me pressing it down with my fingers. Batch 3 was the same but tearing the dough ball in half twice and putting the opposite ends together for extra cragginess. I made the mistake with batch 3 of putting it on the hot half sheet before tearing it though.

Those cookies look good as fuck.

 

[Etrian Oddity]

God, I just stumbled on the legendary white sushi chef vid from "The League," and I cracked up because of how much my friends would say that was me when I worked the sushi bar.

 

[entremet]

What is everyone's favorite cook book? (besides momofuku milk bar

I have a cookbook addiction.

Here's one of my shelves, which is half cookbooks lol.

Cellphone pic. Sorry.

My favorites:

Ad Hoc-Thomas Keller: A fancy pants chef take on American home cooking
Jamie's Dinner-Jamie Oliver: Still his best after millions of cookbooks authored
The Zuni Cafe Cookbook-Judy Rogers: Italian Spanish inspired book by a legendary chef

 

[InfiniteBento]

Finished ice cream class today !

Shown are Vacherin (sorbet ice cream cakes) , Bombe cakes, and Pineapple surprise ! Plus little parfaits with fruit of the forest sorbet and some meringue clouds thrown about.

 

[Mario]

Sunday morning breakfast for two with layered Nutella French toast stacks with bacon, bananas, strawberries, toasted walnuts, vanilla cream and maple syrup with a lime protein milkshake

The Nutella stacks I made with 5 slice of toast bread, spread with Nutella in between each layer. Then cut off the crusts and into a rectangle, then cut down the middle to make two layered blocks per bread stack. Dip and cover in whisked mix of eggs, cinnamon, and a little icing sugar and milk, and fry on a low heat.

Turned out pretty good. Will make again. Easier to make I think than my version using bread rolls and Nutella in the centre, and visually more interesting.

 

[BriareosGAF]

Harvest time here in Maine. Some beans from the garden:

Our cherry tree has been yielding finally so we made some jelly that didn't quite gel as much s we'd like but should still be fine for mixing into thing...

We've also got masses of elderberry, so we made an elderberry syrup. The stems are mildly toxic so you have to be careful in the separation.

Straining it out:

Should be good for pancakes and what not over the next few months.

 

[zbarron]

Wow. Everything on this page looks delicious.

I need to strip the seasoning off one of my cast iron skillets. I know we have several people here who use them and several who grill. I don't have a self cleaning oven and would prefer not to put lye on it so I'm trying to burn it off on my charcoal grill.

Has anyone done this before? I filled my 14.5" Smokey Joe with a full chimney of lit Kingsford charcoal and put the lid on with both vents wide open. I put the 8" skillet directly on the coals. At first it was smoking but it isn't anymore. Does anyone here know how long the coals will stay hot enough and for that matter at what temperature a dry cast iron's seasoning starts to flake off?

 

[OnkelC]

Great stuff, everybody!
The wife and I went on a trip to Strasbourg this week, some great food to be had there:

 

[le-seb]

This tartare looks rad.
And the éclair, oh man!

 

[Maiar_m]

I'm French and it's taken this post to make me want to go to Strasbourg (although it's still the other end of the country). That almond cake looks just perfect.

 

[Mario]

Made a 4 course meal for friends tonight.

Skipping the roast Camembert and toasted bread...

2. Rack of lamb with yoghurt and fresh mint sauce, falafel, on shredded red cabbage and carrot
3. Roast pork belly with yams, pumpkin, beets, and kumara
4. Dark chocolate ganache with gingernut and blended alcohol base, creme fraiche, sliced almonds, and gingernut crumbs

The ganache wasn't great. Instead of making it how I usually do by melting the chocolate and slowly mixing in cream, I looked up online the "proper" method of doing it by heating cream and melting the chocolate in. The result was a grainy texture that didn't set properly, as opposed to the silky smooth finish I normally get. Kind of sucked having the final course being a let down when I was on form for the first 3.

 

[zbarron]

Made a 4 course meal for friends tonight.

Skipping the roast Camembert and toasted bread...

2. Rack of lamb with yoghurt and fresh mint sauce, falafel, on shredded red cabbage and carrot
3. Roast pork belly with yams, pumpkin, beets, and kumara
4. Dark chocolate ganache with gingernut and blended alcohol base, creme fraiche, sliced almonds, and gingernut crumbs



The ganache wasn't great. Instead of making it how I usually do by melting the chocolate and slowly mixing in cream, I looked up online the "proper" method of doing it by heating cream and melting the chocolate in. The result was a grainy texture that didn't set properly, as opposed to the silky smooth finish I normally get. Kind of sucked having the final course being a let down when I was on form for the first 3.

That all looks so good. You have some very lucky friends.

I was wondering though, what camera and lens are you using for your shots? They always looks great with perfect DOF. Is the lighting natural or do you use reflectors or anything?

The only food photo I've taken lately is this

This is the haul from my garden. I get about a pint of tomatoes every 3 days give or take and my son devours them.

 

[Divvy]

Made a 4 course meal for friends tonight.

Skipping the roast Camembert and toasted bread...

2. Rack of lamb with yoghurt and fresh mint sauce, falafel, on shredded red cabbage and carrot
3. Roast pork belly with yams, pumpkin, beets, and kumara
4. Dark chocolate ganache with gingernut and blended alcohol base, creme fraiche, sliced almonds, and gingernut crumbs



The ganache wasn't great. Instead of making it how I usually do by melting the chocolate and slowly mixing in cream, I looked up online the "proper" method of doing it by heating cream and melting the chocolate in. The result was a grainy texture that didn't set properly, as opposed to the silky smooth finish I normally get. Kind of sucked having the final course being a let down when I was on form for the first 3.

That looks incredible!

 

[NipplesAndToes23]

Y'all are killing me in here.

 

[Mario]

I was wondering though, what camera and lens are you using for your shots? They always looks great with perfect DOF. Is the lighting natural or do you use reflectors or anything?

My best looking photos and some I have shown previously are taken with a Canon 550D and a 50m 1.4 lens.

However, the above and everything in the last couple of months is just my iPhone 5S with Instagram magic. The results aren't as good, but its "good enough" and is a bit more practical.

 

[zbarron]

My best looking photos and some I have shown previously are taken with a Canon 550D and a 50m 1.4 lens.

However, the above and everything in the last couple of months is just my iPhone 5S with Instagram magic. The results aren't as good, but its "good enough" and is a bit more practical.

Bravo! My post editing is limited to lens correction, white balancing, and noise reduction.

 

[InfiniteBento]

I'm staging at a Michelin starred restaurant tonight and I'm nervous as hell, guys.

I'll be staging at Boka in the city and working along side Meg Galus. Ahhhhhhhh

 

[OnkelC]

Best of luck and success!

OT, went shopping for sweets at the Haribo Factory outlet yesterday:

 

[Keen]

Good luck with the staging ^^

Have some stuff I want to post. In the meantime, here's some Eggs Atlantic. My store didn't have muffins, so made do with butter fried toast.

 

[Zyzyxxz]

I'm staging at a Michelin starred restaurant tonight and I'm nervous as hell, guys.

I'll be staging at Boka in the city and working along side Meg Galus. Ahhhhhhhh

Just listen to what everyone has to say and don't be afraid to ask for help. They know you are green and would prefer you not to mess up before you ask for help.

Other than that best advice I ever got was when the chef starts mad yelling at everyone just keep your head down and cook.

 

[BriareosGAF]

I'm staging at a Michelin starred restaurant tonight and I'm nervous as hell, guys.

I'll be staging at Boka in the city and working along side Meg Galus. Ahhhhhhhh

Stoked for you! It's always a dream to do something like this but the golden handcuffs of software development have me shackled.

 

[Mario]

Roast kumara pasta with parsley, basil, pine nuts, Parmesan, and raw egg (the result of a collaborative cooking date with a vegetarian).

 

[InfiniteBento]

So my stage went incredible. One of the best experiences of my life. The executive pastry chef was kind and helped me with learning quenelleing. I did it fairly well considering I've only done it one other time. I plated desserts, prepped, cleaned and did a bunch of stuff for 10 hours. I successfully avoided cutting myself, breaking anything, or spilling anything. It was fucking incredible. I tried so many different things and she plated some desserts and let me eat them since I'm fairly new to fine dining. She drove me home since it was late and in the car told me she loved working with me and wants me to work for Boka. She wants to show me more and teach me/mentor me in the pastry world. She's strongly interested in me taking on a paid position. I couldn't believe it. I cried. I've been working so hard this past year so I can help my mother (she's in a homeless shelter right now) and to hear the executive pastry chef of three restaurants tell me I did great....ive never felt so strongly before. She is going to contact me Monday to discuss the next step .

I cant wait to post more photos of what's to come in here. :')

 

[BriareosGAF]

So my stage went incredible.

Wonderful story, Bento, congrats, hope it turns out well for you and your mother.

Mario, I love pasta dishes with egg. Learn a new word for sweet potato all the time... the kumara didn't make it too starch heavy? I get that feeling from pasta e fagioli occasionally.

 

[zbarron]

Congratulations Bento. That really is great to hear. I wish you all the success in the world. You deserve it.

 

[OnkelC]

Congrats, Bento!
That sounds more than promising. I wish you best of luck in the negotiations process.

 

[Mario]

Mario, I love pasta dishes with egg. Learn a new word for sweet potato all the time... the kumara didn't make it too starch heavy? I get that feeling from pasta e fagioli occasionally.

I didn't think so. Kumara is only half the starch of potato. Though I was trying to keep the rest of the pasta light and drained it well when it came off the boil. If I would have added a creamier cheese or cream itself to the sauce it probably would have been too heavy. As it was, it was already pretty filling.

 

[Zyzyxxz]

So my stage went incredible. One of the best experiences of my life. The executive pastry chef was kind and helped me with learning quenelleing. I did it fairly well considering I've only done it one other time. I plated desserts, prepped, cleaned and did a bunch of stuff for 10 hours. I successfully avoided cutting myself, breaking anything, or spilling anything. It was fucking incredible. I tried so many different things and she plated some desserts and let me eat them since I'm fairly new to fine dining. She drove me home since it was late and in the car told me she loved working with me and wants me to work for Boka. She wants to show me more and teach me/mentor me in the pastry world. She's strongly interested in me taking on a paid position. I couldn't believe it. I cried. I've been working so hard this past year so I can help my mother (she's in a homeless shelter right now) and to hear the executive pastry chef of three restaurants tell me I did great....ive never felt so strongly before. She is going to contact me Monday to discuss the next step .

I cant wait to post more photos of what's to come in here. :')

Congrats, I've always wanted to work in a michelin level restaurant but the stars didn't align and I didn't make the opportunity happen for myself. Stick it out for at least a year or more if you can. Now you are one of us industry folk.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Thanks for all the cookbook suggestions! Seems like I have a lot of recommended ones to choose from...

So my stage went incredible. One of the best experiences of my life. The executive pastry chef was kind and helped me with learning quenelleing. I did it fairly well considering I've only done it one other time. I plated desserts, prepped, cleaned and did a bunch of stuff for 10 hours. I successfully avoided cutting myself, breaking anything, or spilling anything. It was fucking incredible. I tried so many different things and she plated some desserts and let me eat them since I'm fairly new to fine dining. She drove me home since it was late and in the car told me she loved working with me and wants me to work for Boka. She wants to show me more and teach me/mentor me in the pastry world. She's strongly interested in me taking on a paid position. I couldn't believe it. I cried. I've been working so hard this past year so I can help my mother (she's in a homeless shelter right now) and to hear the executive pastry chef of three restaurants tell me I did great....ive never felt so strongly before. She is going to contact me Monday to discuss the next step .

I cant wait to post more photos of what's to come in here. :')

What an amazing story! Bravo!

I've always wanted to work in a michelin level restaurant but the stars didn't align and I didn't make the opportunity happen for myself.

Isn't there still a chance that you may make it someday?

 

[Zyzyxxz]

Isn't there still a chance that you may make it someday?

Eh I'm getting ready to open my own restaurant in fact possibly several concepts over the next two years.

If I was going to go stage it could only be for a week or two purely for educational purposes but if I had gotten into the industry in my younger years and had some early guidance I probably would have went the stage route in either New York or Europe.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Eh I'm getting ready to open my own restaurant in fact possibly several concepts over the next two years.

I'm sure you'll be a great success!

If I was going to go stage it could only be for a week or two purely for educational purposes but if I had gotten into the industry in my younger years and had some early guidance I probably would have went the stage route in either New York or Europe.

...stage?

 

[le-seb]

...stage?

Internship, I guess (that's what a stage is in French).

And congrats, InfiniteBento!
So happy to see that you've made the good choices!

 

[HiResDes]

Making pulled pork tacos, mixed a bunch of recipes that all call for jalapeños, wanted to try and get a little habanero flavor in there, if I deseed them will that cool down the spice considerably?

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Internship, I guess (that's what a stage is in French).

Ah.

 

[InfiniteBento]

Making pulled pork tacos, mixed a bunch of recipes that all call for jalapeños, wanted to try and get a little habanero flavor in there, if I deseed them will that cool down the spice considerably?

Late to this but it should. You can also blanch them to try to cut that heat a bit too.

 

[zbarron]

I made coconut Macaroons again.

It's not a pretty picture and there is no sense of scale but each one is about the width of a can lid. I don't know how they got so big. I had them harden in front of my AC since if I left them in the kitchen the chocolate would still be liquid.

 

[codswallop]

Last weekend, I made a Kvæfjordkake:

It was pretty good. The butter cake / pound cake that makes up the base was a little undercooked in the centre, but apparently that's normal (and intentional) because you bake the cake and 'meringue' (not quite meringue) at the same time. This cake making malarkey is starting to grow on me.

I also made dhal and a coconut fish curry last week, which I'm only really posting because I thought the photo was nice:

 

[InfiniteBento]

I made coconut Macaroons again.

It's not a pretty picture and there is no sense of scale but each one is about the width of a can lid. I don't know how they got so big. I had them harden in front of my AC since if I left them in the kitchen the chocolate would still be liquid.

Did you let them set before baking? Sometimes, from what I saw in class, if you didn't let them set before you baked them they got huge or weirdly shaped. It could also be overwhipping of the egg whites so there was a lot of air during the baking process.

 

[zbarron]

Did you let them set before baking? Sometimes, from what I saw in class, if you didn't let them set before you baked them they got huge or weirdly shaped. It could also be overwhipping of the egg whites so there was a lot of air during the baking process.

I used a recipe calling for meringue and sweetened condensed milk. If they sit they leak the milk. I'm not complaining about the size. It was probably air in the meringue. I whipped them until stiff peaks formed. If anything it was kind of fun that way. My problem with them you can't see in the picture. I woke up and the chocolate had bloomed pretty bad. It still tasted as good but it looked really ugly. I tried tempering the chocolate but I was working with a $3 pocket thermometer and a mix of dark and semi sweet chips.

 

[InfiniteBento]

I used a recipe calling for meringue and sweetened condensed milk. If they sit they leak the milk. I'm not complaining about the size. It was probably air in the meringue. I whipped them until stiff peaks formed. If anything it was kind of fun that way. My problem with them you can't see in the picture. I woke up and the chocolate had bloomed pretty bad. It still tasted as good but it looked really ugly. I tried tempering the chocolate but I was working with a $3 pocket thermometer and a mix of dark and semi sweet chips.

Oh oh ! I see what you mean. The only recipe I've learned uses apple compote for moisture, egg whites, sugar, and dried shredded coconut only. I'm curious about using sweetened condensed milk though cause that sounds really delicious. This makes me want to experiment since I have some coconut in my cabinet... >

Tempering chocolate is a pain in the butt so I totally know that feel The only method we use in school incorporates butter into it to help with binding and flavor. I'm curious to know how it will be once we do chocolate sculptures and learn about how different chocolates work in desserts. I know certain types work best for tempering I'm just not sure exactly what types those are. I do admit that I'm a sucker for single origin chocolate as of late tho.

 

[EatChildren]

Random shit I've made lately on a whim.

Clockwise from top left;
- Mustard beef burger with guacamole and blue cheese sauce in a coconut flour fried eggplant bun with sweet potato chips.
- Blackberry marinated chicken wings and roast radish, pumpkin, zucchini salad.
- Braised pork spare ribs, rich blue cheese, and salad drizzled with the best smoked honey I've had in my life.
- Iono, slutty pancakes.

 

[zbarron]

Oh oh ! I see what you mean. The only recipe I've learned uses apple compote for moisture, egg whites, sugar, and dried shredded coconut only. I'm curious about using sweetened condensed milk though cause that sounds really delicious. This makes me want to experiment since I have some coconut in my cabinet... >

Tempering chocolate is a pain in the butt so I totally know that feel The only method we use in school incorporates butter into it to help with binding and flavor. I'm curious to know how it will be once we do chocolate sculptures and learn about how different chocolates work in desserts. I know certain types work best for tempering I'm just not sure exactly what types those are. I do admit that I'm a sucker for single origin chocolate as of late tho.

Here's the recipe. It's really simple. I always have eggs and vanilla extract on hand and I had leftover chocolate chips from making cookies so I just needed to buy a can of condensed milk and the coconut. Keep in mind this version uses sweetened moist coconut. If you are using desiccated unsweetened it uses This Recipe.

Random shit I've made lately on a whim.
Clockwise from top left;
- Mustard beef burger with guacamole and blue cheese sauce in a coconut flour fried eggplant bun with sweet potato chips.
- Blackberry marinated chicken wings and roast radish, pumpkin, zucchini salad.
- Braised pork spare ribs, rich blue cheese, and salad drizzled with the best smoked honey I've had in my life.
- Iono, slutty pancakes.

Very nice looking. Did you make the bun for the burger? How was it? I've never heard of one like that.

 

[le-seb]

Um, the 'bun' looks like somewhat regular eggplant slices to me.
That's clever, by the way, will try this at home ...

 

[The Technomancer]

Oh shit we have a cooking thread? I've just started really getting into cooking the last year or so, following this for sure.

 

[Mario]

Random shit I've made lately on a whim.

...

Clockwise from top left;
- Mustard beef burger with guacamole and blue cheese sauce in a coconut flour fried eggplant bun with sweet potato chips.
- Blackberry marinated chicken wings and roast radish, pumpkin, zucchini salad.
- Braised pork spare ribs, rich blue cheese, and salad drizzled with the best smoked honey I've had in my life.
- Iono, slutty pancakes.

Some great looking, and presumably tasty, food.

Can you elaborate on how the blackberry marinade is done, and what it does to the chicken flavour? The wings certainly look interesting with a richer, deeper colour.

 

[InfiniteBento]

Update for culinary GAF ! Meg Galus, the executive pastry chef of Boka in Chicago reached out to me today after finally discussing my internship with her higher ups.
She offered me a paid internship position which will have me as prep cook and plater for the Michelin starred restaurant.

I accepted the offer and begin in less than two weeks. I feel like crying from how happy I am. She eventually wants to train me to open and close full pastry service by myself. I couldn't believe it when she said it. The position will be on weekends and will alleviate me from working during the week after class (I've been pulling 15 hour days since class started three months ago. Aka class in the am and work until late pm). So not only will I be able to focus on my pastry school work, I will also be working in a kitchen.

I'm so fucking overwhelmed with feelings right now. Omg.

 

[Divvy]

Congradulations, that's absolutely amazing!

 

[Keen]

Update for culinary GAF ! Meg Galus, the executive pastry chef of Boka in Chicago reached out to me today after finally discussing my internship with her higher ups.
She offered me a paid internship position which will have me as prep cook and plater for the Michelin starred restaurant.

I accepted the offer and begin in less than two weeks. I feel like crying from how happy I am. She eventually wants to train me to open and close full pastry service by myself. I couldn't believe it when she said it. The position will be on weekends and will alleviate me from working during the week after class (I've been pulling 15 hour days since class started three months ago. Aka class in the am and work until late pm). So not only will I be able to focus on my pastry school work, I will also be working in a kitchen.

I'm so fucking overwhelmed with feelings right now. Omg.

That's awesome! Congrats!!

 

[OnkelC]

Update for culinary GAF ! Meg Galus, the executive pastry chef of Boka in Chicago reached out to me today after finally discussing my internship with her higher ups.
She offered me a paid internship position which will have me as prep cook and plater for the Michelin starred restaurant.

I accepted the offer and begin in less than two weeks. I feel like crying from how happy I am. She eventually wants to train me to open and close full pastry service by myself. I couldn't believe it when she said it. The position will be on weekends and will alleviate me from working during the week after class (I've been pulling 15 hour days since class started three months ago. Aka class in the am and work until late pm). So not only will I be able to focus on my pastry school work, I will also be working in a kitchen.

I'm so fucking overwhelmed with feelings right now. Omg.

Congratulations! That's a great way to start a career. Best of luck for the assignment and please keep us updated.

 

[BriareosGAF]

I'm so fucking overwhelmed with feelings right now. Omg.

Congrats! It might be fun to have a listing in the first post with the restaurants that various regular posters work at--I travel a bit for work (mostly LAX, SFO, SEA because it's the game industry) and it'd be fun to drop in where fellow IronGAFfers work.