Ask a Cook

[Whomp]

That's a neat story Drewcifer!

I've been pretty fortunate to eat at some great restaurants in my lifetime. I will be experiencing two of my favorites at Michael Mina and Nobu in Las Vegas this week .

Have you ever met chefs like Michael Mina or Charlie Trotter?
One of the interesting trends I've noticed in Chicago is fusion food (IE Indian with Latin American). Have you ever worked with fusion food?
What type of outlay would you expect for the type of restaurant you'd like to own? Investors?

 

[punkbass2000]

Do you like your own food?

I generally enjoy food, made by myself or not. I almost never eat anything directly from the menu at work anymore; I'm tired of it. I usually just come up with minor variations for fun.

 

[punkbass2000]

Do you have any tip bake poached eggs properly ?

Poaching an egg shouldn't be too hard. Boil some water an add vinegar to it. Once the water is at a rolling boil, crack the egg in without breaking the yolk. Wait until it's fully cooked and lift out with a slotted spoon. Voila.

 

[Jawz II]

Here's one I like:

Get some chicken. As much as you want: doesn't matter. Slice it up; not really thin, but not too thick, maybe 1/4". In fact, this doesn't really matter either, but it's easiest to cook this way. Heat some oil in a pan. You do not need a lot of oil, ever. Put in the chicken. Cook until it's a light brown. If you do it thin as I suggest, you shouldn't need to cut it up to check if it's cooked, though you may want to the first few times until you're comfortable. After that, add a bit of water to your pan (this is called "deglazing" and is usally done with a stock [chicken stock, in this case], but water is fine). The water should steam more or less instantly; you do not want water hanging around in your pan. Throw in some diced tomato and sliced garlic. I would use one or two tomatoes, depending on size and a whole head of garlic (yes, the whole head, not just a clove). These should cook quite quickly. You might want to deglaze again, but I couldn't easily explain to you via this medium whether or not you would. It shouldn't be a disaster either way. At this point, add in some 35% cream. A fair bit. Maybe 1/4 litre, depending on how much you've made. What you're about to do is called "reducing". This is a general term, and basically means you're boiling out the water of your sauce, increasing the flavour. For a cream sauce, like this, you're primarily making it sweeter. Add in some paprika. Not too much, just enough to make the sauce a light pink. It can get grainy if you add too much paprika. As you're reducing the sauce, you can turn up the heat, if you like. Be sure to keep the sauce moving. Once the sauce gets fairly thick, it's done. You can use this with any pasta, but I would be inclined towards long pastas. Fettuccine, more specifically. Hmm, that seem as easy written as it is to make Ask questions.

thank you, that sounds pretty easy. when i make this, ill eat it with rice (cant cook pasta, remember?)

question: how do i cut the chicken in slices? id have to defrost it first, and then take out the bones, yes?

i guess youre talking about chicken breast (im a leg man), isnt it easier if i just buy chicken breast instead of a whole chicken?

also, im gonna use less garlic, since well i dont like too much of it (im thinking 1 or 2 cloves) that wont mess it up too much, yes?

paprika has to be cut in pretty small pieces if i want it to color the sauce pink, yes?

PS. another unrelated question: how come in fancy resturaunts, they bring you a tiny little meal and charge you 4 times as a regular one would cost?

im looking at the plate and going: ok thats great, now get me another 17 of those and i should be fine. jaysis.

 

[punkbass2000]

thank you, that sounds pretty easy. when i make this, ill eat it with rice (cant cook pasta, remember?)

OF course, do what you like No rules in cooking.

question: how do i cut the chicken in slices? id have to defrost it first, and then take out the bones, yes?

i guess youre talking about chicken breast (im a leg man), isnt it easier if i just buy chicken breast instead of a whole chicken?

Yes, in this case I would just buy a boneless, skinless chicken breast or two.

also, im gonna use less garlic, since well i dont like too much of it (im thinking 1 or 2 cloves) that wont mess it up too much, yes?

Should be fine. A recipe is just a guideline.

paprika has to be cut in pretty small pieces if i want it to color the sauce pink, yes?

I would just get some ground, dry paprika.

PS. another unrelated question: how come in fancy resturaunts, they bring you a tiny little meal and charge you 4 times as a regular one would cost?

Well, it depends on the restaurant, of course. To a certain degree, any prepared food is going to be expensive. Assuming the restaurant is not totally ripping you off, though, you're essentially paying for quality. Hopefully the ingredients are fresh and of high-standards. Also, the person cooking it presumably has a fair bit of expertise, which you're also paying for. That said, if you can't tell the difference, it's not worth it. That's like paying $500 for a bottle of wine when you're not a connoisseur.

 

[Drewcifer]

Have you ever met chefs like Michael Mina or Charlie Trotter?
One of the interesting trends I've noticed in Chicago is fusion food (IE Indian with Latin American). Have you ever worked with fusion food?
What type of outlay would you expect for the type of restaurant you'd like to own? Investors?

I've never met any famous chefs.

I have mixed feelings about fusion food. When it follows a logic built from the flavors and ingredients outward it can be very good, but a lot of it strikes me as being of the "hey look at me, I'm doing fusion" variety. I am more of a traditionalist, fusion for fusion's sake isn't my thing though the restaurant I run does incorperate elements of fusion into our menu.

To start a restaurant that is big enough to pay a decent living requires about $250k - $350k depending on what you want to do. $100k of that should still be in the bank when you open, you will need it to pay expenses until you turn a profit. A lot of restaurants fail because they are underfinaced when they open. When the time comes to open my own place I am going to try to get my current employers to be investors.

 

[MamboJoel]

Poaching an egg shouldn't be too hard. Boil some water an add vinegar to it. Once the water is at a rolling boil, crack the egg in without breaking the yolk. Wait until it's fully cooked and lift out with a slotted spoon. Voila.

Merci
Though I always have a problem with the egg staying compact...
It's not that I need to cook them everyday But I like "oeufs en meurettes" (eggs meurette ???)

 

[punkbass2000]

Ah, cool. I'd never heard of that style of egg before. I would suspect you shouldn't even need the vinegar if you're cooking in wine, but I can't say for sure.

 

[Swedishguy]

What would you eat: Pizza Calzone or Salad with Squid?

 

[punkbass2000]

Probably the salad.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

What would you eat: Pizza Calzone or Salad with Squid?

Calzone. I despise squid with a passion.

 

[Sophie 378]

Is sushi healthy, safe, and delicious - or full of dioxins, bacteria and slime?

 

[Xanikk999]

Is sushi healthy, safe, and delicious - or full of dioxins, bacteria and slime?

What are dioxins? And pretty much everything on this earth is filled with bacteria.

And i dont know what you mean by slime. Fish does not have slime oozing out of it.

 

[Sophie 378]

What are dioxins? And pretty much everything on this earth is filled with bacteria.

And i dont know what you mean by slime. Fish does not have slime oozing out of it.

Dioxins are a kind of toxin. Can be found in many things, from crematorium smoke to, yes, fish. Fish are also at higher risk of heavy-metal contamination. Bacteria: many things aren't full of live and pathogenic bacteria - e.g. freshly-cooked food, as the heat tends to kill them. Slime? Have you ever scaled, skinned and filleted several pounds of fish all at once? I assure you that some feel a bit slimy, and the thought of eating ones that feel like that does not exactly appeal.

 

[punkbass2000]

As with many foods, it depends on how it's prepared. So far as I know, done properly, it shouldn't be an issue. I haven't heard anything particularly bad about it, anyway. And yeah, seafood can often be "slimy".

 

[Swedishguy]

I ate lasagne at a restaurant in Stockholm today. As the chef laid lasagne on my plate he maid a grave mistake - he covered everything with plants probably found in the garden outside! Does it have to be like this!?

 

[punkbass2000]

 

[Swedishguy]

? Uh, I didn't know exactly what you meant by that...

 

[punkbass2000]

It seems as though you're complaining about fresh vegetables.

 

[Swedishguy]

It seems as though you're complaining about fresh vegetables.

No, I'm talking about weeds plausibly found in a ditch!