Junior Members

Junior Members

Junior Members Corner by Charlie Young

Kitchen Tips

Today’s tip is just a reminder to you but I have a little additional information that may be of some relief to some of you. As you know it is a MUST to wear your slip resistant shoes in the kitchen. This is for your own safety as well as a coworker you may stumble into while on your way down to the floor. Being on your feet a lot can become tiresome to you especially if you have or have had back and knee problems. Here is what I have found.

Many of you have seen and commented about the odd looking shoes I have been wearing for the past year that has a spring in the heel. I admit it was strange looking to me at first too. Having had both back and knee surgeries, I was very much interested in the benefits the shoes had to offer. I have been very much impressed with the results. To give you an idea as to how well they absorb the shock of your every footstep when walking, I bought a pedometer for myself. They use the jarring of each footstep to keep count of how many steps you walk in a day. (10,000 recommended). I had a day at the office that had eating out for breakfast, getting my mail from the post office, lunch, two complete trips around the Providence Hospital complex, grocery shopping and a lot more. By the end of the day, the pedometer said I had only walked 127 paces. The shoes rendered that pedometer useless. It works with regular tennis shoes.

Here is the good news for you. This shoe company Z-Coil, now has a slip resistant shoe that you can wear in the kitchen and have the benefits the spring has to offer. I bought another pair with the slip resistant bottom to use. I talked to the store owners, managers and told them what I did. They said if anyone was interested in getting some of the chef/slip resistant shoes just come to them, try on a pair(they have test surfaces to try them out on) if you like them tell them that you want the “Chef Charlie” special and they will give you 10% off the purchase price.

The store is located at 1222 Augusta Road, West Columbia. (803)-796-9393 It’s right beside Nortans Stereo and Bojangles near 12th street.

Keep those kitchen tips coming to vballcharlie@aol.com.

Charlie Young

Junior Members Corner by Charlie Young

Peeling Kiwi

Here is an easy way to peel kiwi skins with minimal effort and excellent results.

First cut off the ends of the kiwi with a sharp paring knife.

Then go to your silverware drawer and get a soupspoon.

Slide the spoon just under the skin and twist it around, scraping against the inside of the peel while not cutting into the flesh. Do this sliding the spoon all the way through to the other end of the kiwi, completely detaching it from the skin.

Then, just slide the kiwi out of the skin.

Looking at the peeled skin will be like looking through a hollow pipe.

After that you can slice and dice the fruit in whatever manor your desired dish calls for.

PS: If the kiwi is still kind of green and firm, just gently roll the fruit in the palm of your hands in a similar way you would do a lemon to free up juice, just don’t press too hard and crush the fruit

Junior Members Corner by Charlie Young
This month in “Kitchen Tips” we are featuring two popular recipes. A special thanks to Jim Lassiter The Executive Chef at Lexington Medical Center for giving us a recipe for mussels. Also to Jimmie Jackson CEC, CCA, CDM, CFPP. The food service director at Still Hopes Retirement Community for giving us your basic Crepe’s recipe.

We like those time and energy saving tips that can be used both in your home kitchen as well as in a big kitchen.Keep them coming to me.

I wish You “Easy and Fun Cooking”

MOULE A LA POULETTE ( MUSSELS IN POULETTE SAUCE)
PREPARATION FOR MUSSELS:

1 PT. WATER
1 CUP WHITE WINE
1 MEDIUM SIZE SHALLOT
12 PARSLEY STEMS
1/4 CUP CARROTS, JULIENNE
2 SPRIGS FRESH THYME
4 OUNCES PELUGRA BUTTER
4 QUARTS FRESH MUSSELS

BRING THE FIRST 6 INGREDIENTS TO A BOIL FOR 3 MINUTES. ADD THE CLEANED MUSSELS, BEARDS REMOVED AND COOK FOR 5 MINUTES, COVERED, STIRRING ONCE AFTER 3 MINUTES. WHEN MUSSELS HAVE OPENED, THEY ARE DONE.

REMOVE THE MUSSELS AND DISCARD ONE SHELL. CUT THE ATTACHMENT. ARRANGE ON WARM PLATE. PLACE ON WARMING RACK.

STRAIN MUSSEL ESSENCE AND PLACE BACK ON STOVE.

PREPARATION FOR SAUCE POULETTE:

1 PINT MUSSEL ESSENCE
1 TSP TARRAGON
½ CUP CREAM
4 OUNCES PELUGRA BUTTER
1 WHOLE EGG
SALT AND PEPPER TO TASTE.

IN A HIGH WALL SAUTOIR, POUR IN MUSSEL ESSENCE, ADD TARRAGON AND CREAM. REDUCE TO DESIRED CONSISTENCY. REDUCE HEAT AND SWIRL THE SOFTENED AND CUBED PELUGRA BUTTER ONE PIECE AT A TIME. STILL ON LOW HEAT, ADD EGG, STIRRING CONSTANTLY UNTIL WELL INCORPORATED.*

SALT AND PEPPER AS NEEDED.
PLACE SMALL AMOUNT ON EACH MUSSEL AND GARNISH WITH REMAINS OF THE STRAINED MUSSEL ESSENCE.

Basic Crepe Recipe

Crepes, made from a smooth egg batter are, used in both sweet and savory dishes. It is important to let the batter rest before cooking; the resting process relaxes the gluten in the flour for tender crepes. This recipe makes 12 crepes; the leftovers can be frozen for later on rolled up with jam and eaten as a quick snack.

Prep: 5 minutes plus chilling:
Cool: 20 minutes
3 large eggs
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups milk
About 4 tablespoons melted butter
2/3 cup all-purpose flour

In blender at medium speed, mix eggs, milk, flour, salt, and 2 tablespoons melted butter until completely smooth and free from lumps.

Transfer to bowl and refrigerate at least 1 hour, or overnight. Whisk batter thoroughly just before using.

Heat nonstick 8-inch skillet over medium-high heat; brush lightly with melted butter. Pour scant ¼-cup batter into pan; tip pan to coat bottom. Cook crepe 1 ½ minutes, or until top is set and underside is lightly browned. With high temperature spatula loosen crepe; turn and cook other side 30 seconds. Slip onto waxed paper. Repeat with remaining batter, brushing pan lightly with butter before cooking each crepe; stack cooked crepes.

Each crepe: About 80 calories, 3 grams protein, 6 grams carbohydrate, 4 grams total fat (2 grams saturated), 62 mg cholesterol, 140 mg sodium

Chef Jimmie Jackson CEC, CCA, CDM, CFPP

Junior Members Corner by Charlie Young
KITCHEN TIPS: Mayonnaise

 

Here is a kitchen tip concerning Mayonnaise. Suppose you are making potato salad. You run out or just want an option that has maybe less fat because you are watching your intake of fat grams.

One way could be to make your own, but then, you may be concerned about not having pasteurized eggs.

Another way is to use some of that miracle spread substitute but personally I never liked the taste of any of them.

Here is a substitute that came from one of my patients who got the idea from a relative in Germany.

Use Cottage Cheese. Just put it into the blender and blend till soft and creamy like mayo. You could add some Extra Virgin Olive Oil for extra flavor but keep up with the amount of fat grams per serving.

I made a large potato salad for a potluck dinner at church using cottage cheese, told everyone what I had done and they couldn’t tell what it was even knowing what was used.

By the way:

2.5 grams of fat in ½ cup of low fat cottage cheese.

88 grams of fat in ½ cup of mayo

You do your own math if you are keeping up with your daily intake of fat grams.

Keep those kitchen tips coming. My address is vballcharlie@aol.com

Charles Young Junior Member President
Midlands ACF Chapter

Junior Members Corner
KITCHEN TIPS

This month’s tip comes to us from Jim Huntington CEC
Jim is the Executive Chef at Laurel Crest Retirement Community.
He calls it “Perfect Rice, Every Time”

1. NO FAIL RICE

.1 CUP OF RICE
. 2 CUPS LIQUID (stock, broth or whatever)
. POT OR PAN WITH COVER THAT FITS WELL (oven proof)
. OVEN AT 450 OR CONVECTION OVEN AT 425
. ½ SWEET ONION, FINE DICE

Heat pan/pot on stove top add 2oz olive oil
Add onion
Add rice, sauté another 2min
Add liquid and bring to a boil
When rice comes to a boil, cover tightly and put in the oven, set timer for 20 minutes.
Remove rice from oven and uncover. You will have perfect rice, every time. The only differentiation will be if the oven is not at proper temperature. If this happens and rice is not done,(you’ll have water still) return pot to oven and check every 5 minutes. You will eventually have perfect rice.

TIP #1: “Taste the Water”… Taste your rice water, before covering and putting it into the oven! If it taste good, then so will the rice. If it is too salty, well……you know what the result will be!

REMEMBER: (Another small tip) “You can always add salt; you can never take it out.”

TIP#2: Cook rice in the oven with a tight cover on pot. In 20 minutes you will have perfect rice!

TIP#3: Never, ever take a cooking utensil (like rice pot above) out of the oven without doing two (2) things.
1. Indicate to all around you: “hot pot! hot pot!” 2. put a dry, clean towel on the handle of the utensil where someone might grab the item and burn themselves! If you are a young aspiring chef at home or in the workplace, you do NOT want to anger the chef or others you work with or at home. Keep those tips coming to: vballcharlie@aol.com

Charles Young Junior Member President
Midlands ACF Chapter

Junior Members Corner
KITCHEN TIPS

Thank you for all the comments about our Junior Members Corner featuring some helpful and resourceful kitchen tips. Please feel free to share any ideas you may have so that we can pass them along and help each other to get better in the culinary fields.

To pass along your ideas please forward them to me at vballcharlie@aol.com Lets get a bunch in so that we can possibly share more than one each month. This month’s tip features the use of fresh ginger.

If you are going to use fresh ginger and want it in chunks or thin slices then just prepare it in whatever way your recipe calls for. If you want to add it for flavor but don’t want the larger pieces or slices then here is what you can do.

Cut or break into whatever size pieces you can easily hold in your hand (2″-3″ usually or individual fingerlike parts from how the root grows), peel the bark from around your fresh ginger, body wrap those individual pieces in clear plastic wrap and put into the freezer. When you need to use it for flavor just grab a piece from the freezer and use your hand grater to shave the very small flakes into your dish. It will grate just like cheese would and not have any large pieces nor will it mush up on your grater like it would if you were using it at room temperature.

Hope to be hearing more from you soon.
Happy Cooking
Charlie Young
Junior Member President ACF Midlands Chapter

Junior Members Corner
KITCHEN TIPS

 

I would like to feature a Kitchen tip each month for the Junior Members of the ACF that can also be beneficial to everyone in both the home and work kitchens. I want to get the ideas from you, and then pass them on for others to be able to use. I want ideas that can save time, energy, space or emergency substitutions if you suddenly realize you are out of something and have no time to get what you usually would use.

As we work towards getting greater membership in our chapter, these ideas can spread to help more and more chefs and home cooks in their respective kitchens. What a great way to help each other continue to learn.

Please forward your ideas to me and make sure the subject area has something to do with ACF or kitchen tips in it so that your ideas won’t get deleted as spam. My email address is:

Charlie Young, CCA – Junior Member President, ACF – Midlands Chapter

I welcome your comments and ideas and look forward to hearing from you.

The first idea I would like to share is something I came up with. If you like to make mashed potatoes from scratch then this is a real time saver. I personally like to use new red potatoes with the peelings. Cutting them up for quicker more even cooking can take some time in quantity even with the sharpest of knives. I had a brainstorm one night at home making French Fries. My simple French fry press cuts the potatoes nice and even with no large pieces of peeling. Wow!! Just drop the potato in, push the handle down and you can average about one spud every 3 or 4 seconds. What a way to get the job done more quickly and not sacrifice any quality in doing so.

Hope to be hearing from you soon

Happy Cooking
Charlie Young
Junior Member President
ACF Midlands Chapter

Junior Member Tip of the Month

PAELLA
The key to this seafood dish of Spanish origin is Saffron Rice, a must have ingredient, it is not Paella without it!

Junior Member Tip of the Month

AIOLI
The southeastern corner of France “the Provences” are composed of many regions and consider garlic mayonnaise, to be their “national dish”.

Junior Tip of the Month

Barbecue
Always barbecue more than you intend to eat that day. If you have taken the time to do the cooking, gone to the store for meat, why not cook what the pit can handle? Barbecue freezes quite well and becomes much more flavorful as seasonings are reheated later. Cook, eat and enjoy knowing that you have barbecue in the freezer for those wet, cold rainy days.

Lump Charcoal
Charcoal briquettes from the grocery store are not pure charcoal. The manufactures combine ground charcoal with fillers, binders and petroleum coal to the briquettes. These impurities burn all the way through the briquettes and you continue to burn these impurities while cooking your meat.

To avoid this use lump charcoal, it is very pure and clean. Lump charcoal has no foreign substances and it burns much hotter and faster than charcoal briquettes. And is a much better heat source.

Junior Tip of the Month

Wine Bottle Sizes

BOTTLE = the Standard size bottle which holds 750 ml. of wine or 4/5 quart

SPLIT (Champagne only) – 187 ml. or ¼ of a standard bottle

HALF BOTTLE = 375 ml. or ½ of a standard bottle

MAGNUM = 1.5 liters, the equivalent of 2 standard bottles

MARIE JEAN = the equivalent of 3 standard bottles (no longer produced)

DOUBLE MAGNUM = 3 liters, the equivalent of 4 standard bottles

JEROBOAM = approximately 3 liters, the equivalent of 4 standard bottles

REHOBOAM = approximately 4.5 liters, the equivalent of 6 standard bottles

IMPERIAL = approximately 6 liters, the equivalent of 8 standard bottles

METHUSALEM = approximately 6 liters, the equivalent of 8 standard bottles

SALMANAZAR = approximately 9 liters, the equivalent of 12 standard bottles

BALTHAZAR = approximately 12 liters, the equivalent of 16 standard bottles

NEBUCHADNEZZAR = approximately 12 – 16 liters, the equivalent of 12-20 standard bottles

SOVEREIGN = approximately 50 liters, the equivalent of 67 standard bottles

Junior Recipe of the Month

PAELLA

Cooked Saffron Rice 5 quarts
Mussels 2 lbs
Shrimp 5 lbs
Stone Crab Claws 5 lbs
Fillets of Cod 3 lbs
Cooked Chicken Breast 3 lbs
Chorizo Sausage 3 lbs
Garbanzo Beans 2 lbs
Pepperoni Sausage 2 lbs
Calamari slices 1 lb
Diced Tomatoes 3 lbs
Garlic Cloves 12
Sea Salt TT
Red Bell Peppers 6
Diced Yellow Onions

In a large cooking vessel, render the fat out of the diced chorizo and pepperoni sausages, then sauté the garlic cloves and diced onions in the fat. Add all other ingredients except the fillets of cod and the stone crab claws mixing well. Once mixed place the fillets of cod and the stone crab claws on top. Close the cooking vessel and bake in an oven for 90 minutes on medium heat.

Junior Recipe of the Month

AIOLI

Coarse Sea Salt 1 tsp Egg yolks 2
Garlic cloves 12 Olive oil 2 cups
Bread crumbs 1 oz Lemon ½

Place 1 tsp of coarse sea salt and 12 cloves of garlic in a mortar and pound it into a paste. Add 1 oz of bread crumbs and turn the mixture into a consistent paste. Then add the 2 egg yolks and turn for a minute before adding the 2 cups of extra virgin olive oil at a slow trickle until the mixture thickens, after about half the olive oil has been added, add ½ of a freshly squeeze lemon. Continue to add the olive oil until you have the desired quantity of AIOLI. This makes AIOLI for 6 to 8 servings.

Junior Recipe of the Month

Almond Ganache

Semisweet chocolate – 9 oz.
Heavy cream – 16 oz.
Salted butter melted – 3 oz.
Powder sugar – 3 oz.
Almond butter – 2 oz.
Almond liqueur – 1 oz.

Chop the chocolate into pea-size pieces, place in large metal bowl.
Bring the heavy cream to a boil and add to the bowl of chocolate and melted butter.
Wisk to blend. Stir until the chocolate has melted, then add the powder sugar and almond butter.
Stir in the Almond liqueur and allow to cool.

Junior Recipe of the Month

Maple Pudding
Mix 4 tablespoons corn starch with ¼ cup cold water. Add to 2 cups scalded milk in top of double boiler, stir until smooth. Add 1 tablespoon sugar, ¼ cup maple syrup and pinch of salt. Cook 15 minutes, remove from stove, add ½ teaspoon vanilla and ½ cup Grape Nuts. Fold in one stiffly beaten egg white, Serve with custard sauce or whipped cream.

Junior Recipe of the Month

Pomegranate Cocktail

4 parts vodka (2 oz.)
2 parts pomegranate juice (1 oz.)
1 part grenadine syrup (1/2 oz.)

Combine all ingredients with cracked ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake well and strain into chilled cocktail glass.

Food For Thought

A pound of Saffron can range in retail price from $500.00 per pound to $5,000.00 per pound.

Food For Thought

If you are allergic to dried apricots, why would some wine drinkers like “drink young” wines like a Chardonnay instead of a Cabernet Sauvignon?

Food For Thought 
December 2007

Protein
One of the best plant sources of protein is almonds. Ounce for ounce, almonds contain nearly as much protein as lean meat.

Food For Thought 

Provence
Provence is no doubt the most amazing single region located in the southeastern corner of France. Soupe aux Moules (Mussel Soup), this recipe uses mussels that have been opened in a fragrant mix of wine and herbs.

2 lbs mussels, opened with white wine over heat, shelled and immersed in a little of the cooking liquid
2 oz olive oil
1 sweet onion, finely chopped
1 leek, including the tender green parts, thinly sliced
3 tomatoes, concassee
Large pinch of fennel seeds pounded to a powder
The mussels’ decanted cooking liquid and water to measure 4 cups Salt
4 egg yolks
Freshly ground pepper
4 semidry slices bread, rubbed with a garlic clove

Prepare the mussels, sauté onions and leeks 10 minutes add tomatoes, fennel, bring to a boil, add mussels cook 20 minutes on low heat salt TT. Mix the egg yolks with olive oil and pepper TT. Add egg mixture to the broth stirring 8-10 minutes over low heat, stir in mussels, place garlic bread slice in soup plate and ladle soup into bowls. Serve 4

Food For Thought

New Foods Fool Your Belly

French company Danone is concentrating on special fibers that slow the rate at which food travels through the digestive system, delaying gastric emptying to make people feel full for longer.

Kraft is developing starches that are resistant to being broken down by the body. Starch usually behaves like a sugar but Kraft’s version is more like fiber, which is slow to digest and does not cause a spike in blood-sugar levels.

Food For Thought

Antioxidants Cardiovascular Health

Pomegranate juice contains a higher level of polyphenol antioxidants than other beverages, including red wine, green tea, cranberry cocktail juice or blueberry juice. Polyphenol antioxidants are particularly effective at:

· Neutralizing damaging free radicals
· Preventing oxidation of LDL cholesterol
· Oxidation of LDL cholesterol which is associated with plaque build-up in blood vessels
· Preserving nitric oxide, a key chemical in the body for regulating blood flow and maintaining vessel health

IF ITS’ FOOD

Junior Tip of the Month
-December 2007

Vitamin E Nutshell of Nutrition

One of the best natural sources of vitamin E in alpha tocopherol form is almonds. Only one ounce of almonds contains 37 percent of the recommended Daily Value of the important antioxidant. Vitamin E is believed to play a role in preventing heart disease, certain kinds of cancer and cataract formation.

Junior Tip of the Month

ALLA DIAVOLA is a method of cooking chicken. The chicken is split open, flattened and grilled while being basted with olive oil. When ready it is crisp outside and soft within.

Junior Tip of the Month

Choux pastry, a sticky dough that’s officially termed pate a choux. Pronounced pot-a-shoe, it is the paste from which éclairs and cream puffs are prepared. Cooks who shy away from pastries might be taken away by French words like choux. But choux translates as “cabbages.”

Junior Recipe of the Month

Fruit Cake

This recipe is a great for seniors and the young at heart during the holiday season.

32 oz minced assorted candied fruit
16 oz fine minced raisins
16 oz fine chopped pecans
16 oz fine chopped walnuts
16 oz fine chopped Brazil nuts
1 cup cake flour
1 cup sugar
5 cup kosher blackberry wine
TT vanilla

Combine candied fruit with all dry ingredients in a large bowl until texture is grainy. Add wine and vanilla TT. Spoon into greased tube pan and smooth top with a spatula. Bake immediately at 350*F until cake springs back when lightly touched and a cake tester comes out clean, approximately 90 minutes. Allow cake to rest and cool completely.

Food For Thought

Induction Technology

Induction technology is special in its ability to go, within the drop of a pin, from very low temperature to extremely high temperature with great heat diffusion. This technology is comparable to none. The production of heat starts when the magnetic field comes into contact with the saucepan.

Junior President’s Message

Appreciation

A WORD OF THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND CONTINUED SUPPORT IN THE FUTURE. As Junior Member President I will continue to inform and keep our membership abreast and representative. Our Junior Members Corner is continuing to evolve; any ideas or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. I am looking forward to serving as your Junior Member President in the future.

I will be seeking this up coming year to grow our junior member officers and membership, we have a unique opportunity to become a better and stronger chapter through our junior membership; which is diverse and experience in ways which can be utilized to strengthen and grow our chapter.

It is an honor to be a member of the world’s greatest cooking organization. With your continued support we can grow beyond our wildest dreams.

IF ITS’ FOOD

Junior President’s Message

The Holiday Season

Yes, the holiday season is upon us and as we continue to strive for culinary excellence in our everyday events, it is becoming increasingly important to remember food safety first.

Hand washing, time-temperature abuse, cross-contamination are just a few of the important aspects of food safety to remember for a safe holiday season. And as we know to over indulge in alcohol, large consumption at holiday parties can lead to significant impairment of judgment, perception and the ability to recall and record memory. A standard drink is:

One 12-oz of bottled beer or wine cooler
One 5-oz l glass of wine
1.5-ozs of 80-proof distilled spirits

The proof number is twice the percentage of the alcohol content measured by volume at a temperature of 60*F, therefore “80 degrees” proof is 40% alcohol by volume; most of the other 60% is water. Up to two (2) drinks per day for men and one (1) drink per day for women and older people is not harmful for most adults (over the age of 21 years of age).

Happy Holidays!

IF ITS’ FOOD

Junior President’s Message

As we learn more about gastronomy and the art and science of cookery the student chef has a responsibility, a noble responsibility to serve customers safe food. Having a positive and good attitude towards food safety is critical and must be based on knowledge of standards, best practices and regulations of food safety in the industry.

whittakerwilliams@msn.com
IF ITS’ FOOD!

Junior President’s Message
Competition

Competition is a healthy way to stimulate our interest and desires to be the best that we can be with our culinary arts. Junior members have been invited to participate in the state of Georgia junior members Hot Food Team Competition. This event will take place on Sunday, December 4, 2005 at The Art Institute of Atlanta. This is an ACF sanctioned competition. ACF junior medals will be awarded to all competitors who achieve ACF gold, silver and bronze standards. Any junior members interested in participating on a team please contact me.