Posted on 12/19/2012 11:47:18 PM PST by nickcarraway
Holiday cooking catastrophes are nothing new, but when you're in the restaurant business, they can be doubly disastrous.
See also: - Chefs, What's on Your Holiday Wish List This Year? and What's Your Most Horrifying Kitchen Accident Story?
This week, Valley chefs and restaurateurs share their holiday cooking horror stories and let us know how they recovered from them.
Chef Taylor Domet, North, Kierland Fire years ago, I was working at a resort restaurant and let my executive chef help me with a Christmas event -- a plated dinner for 120 people. He said, "I'll take care of the chickens." Ten minutes before plating, he left for the night and I assumed he did what he said. The first five plates we sent out came back with undercooked chicken. It was almost a disaster. We managed to bring the chickens up to temperature and execute by the skin of our teeth! Lesson: Always double-check your misé en placé -- even if the executive chef prepped it himself!
Silvana Salcido Esparza, Chef and Owner, Barrio Cafe and Barrio Queen My biggest cooking screw-up was Christmas 1991. I was starting a new catering project, and it was my first paying gig. My staff was on site, but I got stuck at a train crossing and I had the food. I got there 15 minutes late and the host had already ordered Domino's. My staff and I went home, with hundreds of dollars worth of shrimp and finger foods, and had our own party. The following day, I signed up for culinary school in Scottsdale. To this day, I have a phobia about being late for catered events.
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com ...
blueberries? - blue meat? - cool - now if we can just get them to baste themselves in wine beforehand
of course Im into tripe and squid too - both excellent if prepared properly
GASP!... so do I, Kraft has a pretty good one... LOLOLOL
There are many wonderful traditions that Modernized, American Italians’, (meaning the setting aside of Slaughtering of a farm animal on the backyard patio,(rolling eyes)) that are still observed on various Holidays, almost all of which pertain to food..
One that is still common, having a religious cogitation, is the eating of seven different fish and seafood, on Christmas Eve.. However, that too has been somewhat modified.. The boiling of live Octopus, and Eel, has met with some growing resistance in recent years.. Ha!
We still observe a few of the more widely, and socially acceptable, traditional entrees, deserts, and appetizers on our Holiday fare.. A somewhat unique Lasagna, and/or, Ravioli are always present in the feast.. Snails, and Squid are still favorites among my brood.. Side dishes, Italian hors d oeuvres, canapes, and finger-foods are in abundance, and add color and variety to the festivities..
See post #44... Seven fish on Christmas eve..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feast_of_the_Seven_Fishes
I’m just another Southern Italian/American, greaseball I guess.. LOL.. MERRY CHRISTMAS.. Carlo
My wife used to cook turkey in a paper bag in the oven. This is safe, since the turkey cooks at 350, and paper doesn’t burn until 451.
Except that one year, she stapled the bag shut.
The staples heated up, caught the bag on fire.
She yelled for me, and I opened the oven, and sprayed it with the fire extinguisher.
That’s when I learned that it’s best to use water if you want to eat things after they catch fire.
I began dating my wife in November the year I met her, and she invited me to Christmas Eve dinner with her family.
My grandmother was Italian, so the feast wasn’t a total surprise, but...I fell into the trap of feeling as though I had to eat everything put in front of me...out of politeness.
It damn near killed me. I was so distended, I really did feel like I was going to bust. It was so bad, I never made that mistake again. I politely but firmly refused the offers of more food in the future, and I never had that same kind of experience again.
Plus,there was a lot of food that wasn’t up my alley, yet I ate it to be polite. THAT was how much I loved the girl I had been dating just over a month...:)
You know I am an Italian, as was my first wife.. I’m assuming that your bride is an Italian, so you have my condolences.. You are on target about keeping your head when confronted with Italian hospitality, especially on the holidays..
The only way the food will stop coming is when you pass out, become rude, or pull a weapon.. That said, I miss the traditions, as bizarre as they often were.. Buon Natale!
Did you stuff the bird? A neighbor got a Weber and decided to do a stuffed turkey. The stuffing absorbed too much of the smoke to be palatable.
Turkey was fine, but it took forever, especially when "insulated" by the stuffing.
Try Maine. IIRC, the children's book Blueberries for Sal takes place in ME.
Both Sal and a bear cub are eating blueberries on the same hill, out of sight of their mothers...
Don't remember the rest, other than each are recovered by the correct mother for a happy ending.
We definitely stuff it. An average size bird takes 3-1/2 to 4 hours. It takes longer to cook with the stuffing in it. We use the recommended cooking time in the Weber instruction book and it works perfectly.
I use plain charcoal and don’t put wood chips on it, so no smoke flavor.
You MUST use the “indirect method” (ie, charcoal in containers at the edges of the kettle, NOT underneath the bird) and align the trap doors on the grate over the charcoal containers. That way you can recharge the charcoal hourly. When I was starting out with the Weber, I accidentally used the “direct method” (ie, charcoal all over the grate like you’re doing a steak) and it ruined the turkey — burned on the bottom.
Also be sure to put a Weber foil pan under the bird to catch the drippings for gravy. Put a 1/2 to full cup of water in the pan; otherwise the drippings boil away into nothing.
It really is foolproof and produces wonderful roasted turkeys. Here in Northern CA we can do them year-round, too.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.