Professional Chef

• The Desire You don not have to be the most skilled or coordinated to be the best you only need to want to do it enough to not give up the first time if you are not 100% happy with how it turned out.


• Freshness It is better to have good quality and freshest ingredients than to have the most expensive ingredients in the world. Allow what is in season help you decide what to cook. Vegetables are cheapest and the best quality when they are available fresh and local.


• Stay organizedThis is the single most important thing to rember if you you are organized you can enjoy the process and the event if you are not you will be stressed and things will not turn ot as well


• The right gear Now I am not suggesting that you buy every new gadget you can find but a few good pieces of equipment makes all the difference it is very frustrating to spend an hour on your special dinner and it not turn out because you tried to make something work and it was not up to the job.


• Become famous for a few items not every dish in the world Learn to cook 4 or 5 dishes really well and maybe a handful of desserts that is all you really need. In a restaurant about 6 dishes on the menu will make up better than 50% of the items sold. I can not tell you how many times I asked myself if everyone walking in tonight was going to have crème brulee or if I had cut enough filets or if the amount of lobster that I had poached would last the night because I had so many orders.<


• Make it tasty first you can make it fancy later While it is true that we eat first with our eyes if it tastes bad your guests will not want to eat it at all. When you are learning to make a recipe or developing a new one work first on flavor the presentation will come later.


• Simple and honest is better than extravagant and complicated Just because something has 40 different ingredients doesn't mean it is better than something that has 6. Both simple and complex have a place but do not over do it.

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Professional 600 6Qt Stand Mixer - Empire Red

• It has the power - I have used mixers in the past that would bog down and over heat mixing a block of room temperature cream cheese. The 575 watt motor will knead even the toughest dough.



• So easy to clean - You do not have to break the whole thing down to clean it and you pull out the bowl and the attachment and wipe it down it that is it..



• It is the Industry Standard - The Kitchenaid pr 600 mixer is the top of the line in stand mixers. Consumer trade magazines and customers consistently rate the 6 quart Kitchenaid mixer at the top of the list in quality and price.



• Status Symbol-For a chef there is no greater status symbol than the Kitchenaid pro 600 mixer. Friends will often remark about it and neighbors will want to come over and use it.



• Consistent -Most recipes any more are developed using a Kitchen Aid mixer so you will always get consistent results by using the same one the person who created the recipe intended. Nothing is worse than spending an hour working on a new recipe and it not work out because of a failure in your equipment.

Professional 600 6Qt Stand Mixer - Empire Red

Crème Brulee is one of the most popular desserts right now. Every upscale restaurante has it on their menu. It has an elligant refreshing flavor and is easy to make in advance as well as a very impressive additon for dinner parties or get togethers.

The inside of one vanilla bean (split and scrape out the insides)
31/2 cups of heavy cream
3/4 teaspoon of salt
7 egg yolks
1 cup granulated sugar
1 whole egg
½ teaspoon of vanilla extract
¼ cup white chocolate chips

1. Combine first two ingredients in a medium saucepan and heat until it is just starting to scald (i.e. steaming but not burning) Remove from heat.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the next 4 Ingredients try not to stir in to much air.
3. While whisking, ladle in about half cup at a time of the hot cream mixture from the saucepan into the egg mix. After adding about a cup in the mixture will be tempered and you can pour all of it back into the sauce pan and stir slowly for several mine until it is cool enough to stop it cooking.
4. Skim the top of the mix of any foam or bubbles the foam keeps the custard from being smooth then Pour into ramekins with the white chocolate chips in the bottom Fill about 3/4 full.
5. Bake at 350 in water bath (so water is about 2/3 up the side of ramekins) for about 25 minutes or until the custard is set
6. Then chill for several hours
7. Sprinkle sugar on top and heat with a torch in several layers serve with fresh berries and whipped cream.

Sorbet is a quick and easy frozen dessert. Sorbet is made from simple syrup (water and sugar cooked to a boil) and fruit There is no milk so this dessert is light and perfect in the summer for your guests. Also, a scoop of sorbet in a cocktail will amaze your friends. They will say it is the best drink they have ever had.
Ingredients
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 pints fresh or frozen blueberries (6 cups)
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tblsp Vanilla Vodka (Optional)

Preparation
1. In a saucepan, bring sugar, 1 cup water to a boil. Add salt and simmer 2 minutes. Transfer sugar syrup to a metal bowl and let cool to room temperature.

2. In a blender, purée sugar syrup, blueberries, and lemon juice. Strain and discard seeds and skin. Cover and chill sorbet mixture at least 30 minutes and up to overnight.

3. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to a freezer-safe dish, cover, and freeze until hard, at least 1 hour and up to overnight

Start with some thing you like to eat. Who cares if you can make a great beef Wellington if you don't like it

To bring out the best flavor in your desserts serve them (other than frozen ones) slightly warm. A screaming hot piece of apple pie alamode only melts the ice cream and makes your guest hurry into eating something that not only burns their mouths but is not as delicious. For desserts, your taste buds work best at a moderate temperature.

Going to make ice cream or a great Italian frozen something? Make it up a day or two in advance and let it set up in the freezer to get more firm. It won't melt so quickly when served and it is much easier to work with.

If that ice cream did not work or had to many ice crystals in it, leave it out for a few minutes. Or you can carefully soften it in the microwave a few seconds at a time just be sure to stir each time. Another tip is to jet it melt and little and you can re season by adding sugar or more lemon whatever and then respin it in your ice cream freezer. It is always good to have an extra insert for your electic ice cream freezer to keep in the refrigerator freezer at all times. If a chocolate Sorbet does not work the first time in the, this refreeze tehcnique is what we do and it is fine.

Melted vanilla ice cream, (custard is better that means it has egg yolks in it) with a little brandy to taste or coffee works real well as a dessert sauce in a pinch for fruit or apple strudel or a soufflé.

Please do your self a favor and buy good quality equipment, you do not have to own a four hundred piece set of pots and pans or a five thousand piece knife set. In truth you only need a few well chosen tools to start and if taken care of they last forever. Believe me when I tell you that I have thrown away all kinds of money trying to save a few dollars. The set I use now works better so cooking is easier, looks great so my friends are all impressed and it will never go bad.