Slow Cooker Tips

May 20th, 2010 by chefkevin

Posted in Foodie Ramblings..., Recipes & Repairs || 25 Comments

It’s Greek to Me Greek Salad

May 16th, 2010 by chefkevin

It’s Greek to Me Greek Salad
By Chef Susan Irby,
Author of Substitute Yourself Skinny: Cut the Calories, Keep the Flavor with Hundreds of Simple Substitutions!

it’s greek to me greek salad
CALORIE SAVINGS 263

Substitutions such as reduced-fat or nonfat feta cheese save on calories and fat; however, cutting back on the amount of extra-virgin olive oil in dressings is another key factor in keeping your recipes slimming.

½ head red leaf lettuce, washed, dried, and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 English cucumber, diced
2 large tomatoes, diced
¼ cup chopped red onion
¼ cup chopped red bell pepper
¼ cup chopped pitted kalamata olives
½ cup reduced-fat feta cheese crumbles
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano leaves
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Sea salt to taste
Black pepper to taste

1. In a large mixing bowl, toss together the lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, olives, and cheese. Separately, in small bowl, whisk together the oregano, oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Pour over the lettuce mixture and toss well to coat.

2. Serve on salad plates as an entrée or side dish.

SERVES 4 Serving size: ¾ cup

CALORIES PER SERVING Original recipe: 440 SYS recipe: 177

NUTRITIONAL BREAKDOWN Fat: 15g Carbohydrates: 8g Protein: 4g Sodium: 469mg

Skinny Secret
This recipe has so many great flavors in it that you can skip on the heavy salad dressing, which can add up to over 500 calories to an otherwise light salad.

From Substitute Yourself Skinny by Chef Susan Irby, Copyright © 2010, F+W Media, Inc. Used by permission of Adams Media, an F+W Media, Inc. Co. All rights reserved. Photos by Albert Evangelista.

The above is an excerpt from the book Substitute Yourself Skinny: Cut the Calories, Keep the Flavor with Hundreds of Simple Substitutions! by Chef Susan Irby. The above excerpt is a digitally scanned reproduction of text from print. Although this excerpt has been proofread, occasional errors may appear due to the scanning process. Please refer to the finished book for accuracy.

Author Bio
Chef Susan Irby has worked with multiple Master Chefs including George McNeill, Todd English, and Ming Tsai. Known as the Bikini Chef, specializing in “figure-flattering flavors,” Chef Susan is host of The Bikini Lifestyle with Susan Irby The Bikini Chef on KFWB News Talk 980 in Los Angeles and author of The $7 a Meal Quick & Easy Cookbook, The $7 a Meal Healthy Cookbook, and Cooking with Susan. She has cooked for several celebrities including Patrick Swayze, David Spade, Kate Sagal, and Bill Handel, and appeared on The Patti Gribow Show and KLAC Los Angeles and numerous other media outlets. She lives in Orange County, CA.

For more information, please visit www.susanirby.com.
Become a fan of the Bikini Chef on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.

Posted in Recipes & Repairs || 16 Comments

Five Basics from the Refrigerator

March 13th, 2010 by chefkevin

Five Basics from the Refrigerator

Pancetta
Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Cheese
Eggs
Ricotta Cheese
Spinach or Lettuce

I always have a chunk of pancetta, un-smoked bacon, on hand. I use it to give flavor to lean cuts of meat when sautéing. I like it mixed with onions when I am making a risotto, or use it with eggs to make a frittata.

A hunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino knows no bounds in the kitchen. Eaten out of hand with a glass of wine, it is pure heaven and the simplest antipasto when guests drop in. And if that were not enough, when it is grated it is perfect not only over pasta, but also mixed into vegetables or soups. When it is shaved, it is the perfect special “something” on top of a salad or in a panino.

If you have eggs, you have it made. Eggs are a near perfect food; boil them, poach them, fry them, turn them into a frittata. Or make eggs in purgatory with tomato sauce and serve them on a bed of wilted spinach and supper is fine and full of richness with little effort.

Ricotta cheese… what can I say? Eat it as is for a healthy lunch, or serve it warm with honey and nuts for dessert; use it in fillings, or make a ricotta, Parmigiano-Reggiano and spinach sauce for pasta. On Sunday mornings I like to treat my family to ricotta cheese blintzes.

Got lettuce? Mix the leaves with good olive oil, salt and pepper, and top with fried pancetta croutons. Throw on a sliced hard boiled egg, and lunch is ready!

And all of that is within the five basic ingredients in the fridge…

The above is an excerpt from the book
“Ciao Italia Five-Ingredient Favorites: Quick and Delicious Recipes from an Italian Kitchen”
by Mary Ann Esposito.

Copyright © 2009 Mary Ann Esposito, author of Ciao Italia Five-Ingredient Favorites: Quick and Delicious Recipes from an Italian Kitchen

Author Bio
Mary Ann Esposito, author of Ciao Italia Five-Ingredient Favorites: Quick and Delicious Recipes from an Italian Kitchen, is the creator and host of the long-running PBS series Ciao Italia, celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2010. She is the author of eleven successful cookbooks, including Ciao Italia Slow and Easy and Ciao Italia Pronto! She lives in Durham, New Hampshire.

For more information, please visit www.CiaoItalia.com.

Posted in Foodie Ramblings..., Recipes & Repairs || No Comments

Cookin’ With K Rock!

March 11th, 2010 by chefkevin

Hey There!

What a blast we had in New Minas at Sobey’s last night! Colin and Kate from K-Rock radio were there hanging out with me and Tara (and the rest of the class of course).

Great food (their words, not mine), lots of tips and info (as usual), and lots of laughs… as is normal when I’m “in the house”

Check out these pics…

I gave them a call this morning to talk about it. Click this to listen…

Chef Kevin, Colin & Kate – March 11, 2010

You can check out their thoughts on all this at their website at K-Rock radio here:

www.k-rock893.com/rockalarm

Don’t miss out on the fun… drop into the nearest Sobey’s store (or elsewhere) that I’m teaching in and sign up!

CYA soon…

Yours in Food & Friendship,
Chef Kevin

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“Waste Not, Want Not” and Make it Delicious!

February 21st, 2010 by chefkevin

“Waste Not, Want Not” and Make it Delicious!
By Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali,
Author of Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy: A Feast of 175 Regional Recipes

There is no more appropriate time than now to think about how and why we cook. Food is a way of connecting with the people who surround us. Through it, we communicate emotions like love, compassion and understanding, and there is no better opportunity to communicate with our children than at the table. It’s where we can discuss our values of life that are important to us as individuals, as a family and as a part of the world we live in.

As overconsumption and greed have come to haunt us, now is a time for reflection. We should be looking back at the generations before us to understand their approach to the table. Growing food, shepherding animals, foraging for the gifts of nature is all part of respecting food. Nothing needs to be wasted. Bread can be recycled and used in soups, casseroles, lasagnas and desserts. Water is carefully conserved as in the pasta recipe I share below where the same water in which vegetables are cooked is used to cook the pasta that follows, and then that is saved for soups or for making risotto.

When one respects the food we prepare, it also leads to a more sensible and balanced intake of proteins, legumes and vegetables.

So “waste not, want not” and make it delicious!

Excerpt from Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy (Alfred A. Knopf, 2009)

FRESH CAVATELLI WITH CAULIFLOWER
Maccarun ch’I Hiucc

Serves 6

Cauliflower is one of my favorite vegetables, and I regret that many people don’t sufficiently appreciate its unique flavor and nutritional value. This is not the case in Molise, where it is cooked often and creatively, as exemplified by the following two simple vegetarian pasta dishes. The first recipe, maccarun ch’i hiucc, is zesty with garlic and peperoncino.

½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for the pasta pot

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

7 plump garlic cloves, peeled and sliced

½ teaspoon peperoncino flakes, or to taste

2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

1 large head cauliflower, cut in small florets

1 batch (1½ pounds) Fresh Cavatelli (preceding recipe), or 1 pound dried pasta

1 cup freshly grated pecorino (or half pecorino and half Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano, for a milder flavor)

Recommended equipment: A large pasta pot; a heavy-bottomed skillet or sauté pan, 12 inch diameter or larger

Fill the large pot with salted water (at least 6 quarts water with 1 tablespoon salt), and heat to a boil.

Pour the olive oil into the skillet, set over medium-high heat, and scatter in the sliced garlic. Let the garlic start to sizzle, then toss in the peperoncino and parsley; stir and cook for a minute. Ladle in a cup of the pasta cooking water, stir well, and adjust the heat to keep the liquid in the skillet simmering and reducing gradually while you cook the cauliflower and pasta.

With the pasta water at a rolling boil, drop in the cauliflower florets, and cook them for about 3 minutes, until barely tender. Drop in the cavatelli, stir, and return the water quickly to a boil. Cook another 4 to 5 minutes, until the cauliflower is fully tender and the pasta is al dente (if you are using dried pasta, it will, of course, take longer).

Lift out the florets and cavatelli with a spider or strainer, drain briefly, and spill them into the skillet. Toss well, to coat all the pasta and vegetable pieces with the garlicky dressing, then turn off the heat, sprinkle over the skillet the grated cheese, and toss again. Heap the cauliflower and cavatelli in warm bowls, and serve immediately.

CHOCOLATE BREAD PARFAIT
Pane di Cioccolato al Cucchiaio

Serves 6

This recalls for me the chocolate-and-bread sandwiches that sometimes were my lunch, and always a special treat. And it is another inventive way surplus is used in Umbrian cuisine, with leftover country bread serving as the foundation of an elegant layered dessert. Though it is soaked with chocolate and espresso sauce and buried in whipped cream, the bread doesn’t disintegrate, and provides a pleasing textural contrast in every heavenly spoonful.

8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

8 ounces country-style white bread, crusts removed

½ cup freshly brewed espresso

2 tablespoons dark rum

2 tablespoons sugar

1 ½ cups chilled heavy cream

1 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Recommended equipment: A large rimmed tray or baking sheet, such as a half-sheet pan (12 by 18 inches); a spouted measuring cup, 1 pint or larger; 6 parfait glasses or wineglasses, preferably balloon-shaped

Put the chopped chocolate in a bowl set in a pan of hot (not boiling) water. When the chocolate begins to melt, stir until completely smooth. Keep it warm, over the water, off the heat.

Slice the bread into ½-inch-thick slices, and lay them flat in one layer, close together, on the tray or baking sheet.

Pour the warm espresso into a spouted measuring cup, stir in the rum and sugar until sugar dissolves, then stir in half the melted chocolate. Pour the sauce all over the bread slices, then flip them over and turn them on the tray, to make sure all the surfaces are coated. Let the bread absorb the sauce for a few minutes.

Meanwhile, whip the cream until soft peaks form, by hand or with an electric mixer.

To assemble the parfaits: Break the bread into 1-inch pieces. Use half the pieces to make the bottom parfait layer in the six serving glasses, dropping an equal amount of chocolatey bread into each. Scrape up some of the unabsorbed chocolate sauce that remains on the baking sheet, and drizzle a bit over the bread layers. Next, drop a layer of whipped cream in the glasses, using up half the cream. Top the cream layer with toasted almonds, using half the nuts.

Repeat the layering sequence: drop more soaked bread into each glass, drizzle over it the chocolate sauce from the tray and the remaining melted chocolate. Dollop another layer of whipped cream in the glasses, using it all up, and sprinkle the remaining almonds on top of each parfait. This dessert is best when served immediately while the melted chocolate is still warm and runny.

©2010 Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali, authors of Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy: A Feast of 175 Regional Recipes

Author Bio
Lidia Matticchio Bastianich, coauthor of Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy: A Feast of 175 Regional Recipe, is the author of five previous books, four of them accompanied by nationally syndicated public television series. She is the owner of the New York City restaurant Felidia (among others), and she lectures on and demonstrates Italian cooking throughout the country. She lives on Long Island, and can be reached at her Web site, www.LidiasItaly.com

Tanya Bastianich Manuali, Lidia’s daughter and coauthor of Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy: A Feast of 175 Regional Recipe, received her Ph.D. in Italian Renaissance art history from Oxford University. Since 1996 she has led food/wine/art tours of Italy. She lives with her husband and children on Long Island.

Posted in Foodie Ramblings..., Recipes & Repairs || 2 Comments

Healthy Bread in Five Minutes

January 14th, 2010 by chefkevin

Hi There!

Recently, I’ve been looking over my copy of a new bread book, “Healthy Bread in Five Minutes”. It’s a great book written by Dr. Jeff Hertzberg and Chef Zoë François. I’ve got some bread raising as we speak and can’t wait until supper to tear into it with my pea soup

I thought I’d share this article with you. In it the authors talk about differences white and whole grain breads, and outline nutritional differences as well…

Eating Well Should Be Healthy Too!
by Jeff Hertzberg, M.D., and Zoë François,
Authors of Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day: 100 New Recipes Featuring Whole Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, and Gluten-Free Ingredients

After the release of our first book, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, in 2007, we started hearing from our readers. Many of them wanted to share their experiences with our innovative, time-saving, based on long-term dough storage. Many others had questions, so we set up a website and blog that were designed for questions and discussion. Most of the questions directed at me sounded something like this: “You’re the doctor, what’s with all this white flour in the bread?”

Good question! The recipes in our first book were based on the traditional European repertoire, which meant lots of white flour. When people challenged me, I had to admit that I love a well-made white baguette, though I eat more whole grains than ever before. Variety is the spice of life, and I’m not ready to completely give up white flour. Every slice of bread doesn’t have to represent a completely balanced meal. But, people asked for recipes with more whole grains, and they were backed up by some heavy hitters in the nutrition world. The American Diabetes Association now endorses whole grains as a preventive for the development of diabetes. And the U.S. Department of Agriculture is similarly pushing for more whole grain intake. We decided to write a second book, Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day, to give people more nutritious alternatives to white flour.

Whole grain nutrition: So how does whole grain flour stack up against white flour? White flour is milled strictly from wheat’s endosperm, the white part of the wheat kernel containing almost exclusively starch and protein (mostly gluten). There’s nothing wrong with starch and protein, but you’re missing all the benefits you get from whole grain’s “germ,” and all the fiber from the bran (the dark outer coating of the wheat kernel). Whole wheat includes the germ, which is packed with vitamins, anti-oxidants, and healthy oils. It’s a particularly rich source of Vitamin E, which, when combined with Vitamin C-containing foods, make one of the most powerful anti-oxidant combinations known. Please pass the homemade orange marmalade on whole wheat bread!

Whole wheat also includes bran, which doesn’t have vitamins and anti-oxidants — that’s wheat germ’s chance to shine. But bran has its own very special role to play, and I’d love to tell you all about it. Unfortunately, it seems that food professionals have some sort of gentle-person’s agreement about talking about the digestive tract, so if you’re interested in learning more about bran’s role in digestion, here’s a great website for you: Fiber: How to Increase the Amount in Your Diet, from the American Academy of Family Physicians. The family doctors seem pretty clear that fiber from whole grains prevents a wide range of health problems.

The other frequent question from readers was whether our books are a good fit for vegans (those who don’t eat meat or any other animal products, including eggs, and dairy). Most of our non-enriched recipes (that’s the majority of both books) are vegan in the first place. While many other whole grain authors use skim milk powder in whole wheat bread to tenderize it, we decided against that, mainly to keep things simple (fewer ingredients = simple). For vegans, the second book includes alternatives to butter in the enriched recipes. In our first book, butter was the animal-based ingredient that appeared most often. In Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day, we give alternatives to butter, including canola oil and zero-trans fat, zero hydrogenated oil-based margarines. We also talk about the new products being sold as “butter substitutes,” usually made with vegetable oils, but also flavor-enriched with whey and other non-fat products of butter. Technically speaking, most of these are not vegan because of the whey, but check the ingredients as there are exceptions.

Fruits and vegetables in the bread: OK, who told the USDA to increase the recommended fruit/vegetable servings to nine (for a person whose ideal weight is 150 pounds)? I have a friend who says he can’t even name nine fruits and vegetables! Those are half-cup servings — is anybody really getting this much in their diet? I can tell you that I am not. There are some good rules of thumb, such as “two-thirds of the plate should be vegetable or fruit.” That helps, but even so, I don’t think I’m making my quota. That’s why we included a chapter in Healthy Bread about breads that are fortified with fruits and vegetables, sometimes ground finely, and sometimes chunky. We were amazed at how well this works, despite our fears that this stuff would weigh down the bread. Every little bit helps.

Gluten-free breads: I once interviewed a prominent gastrointestinal specialist from one of the country’s finest University hospitals, where his practice includes the treatment of celiac disease (intestinal allergy to wheat gluten). We talked about celiac disease, but I also asked him about people who aren’t celiac, but simply don’t feel well when they eat wheat. According to the Mayo Clinic, about 1 out of every 113 Americans have celiac disease. They become unpleasantly ill when they eat even small amounts of wheat gluten. The science is pretty clear on how to treat celiac patients: eliminate all gluten from their diet. Chapter 9 in Healthy Bread was written with them in mind. But the science is unclear on what to tell people who say they don’t feel well when they eat gluten, but don’t have celiac disease. My gastroenterologist friend has a very clear answer for those people. He tells them “don’t argue with success.” If you feel better when you avoid gluten, then decrease or eliminate it. So Healthy Bread is a book for those people well.

All this health talk makes me a bit wary. When I used to see patients, I turned over every rock to figure out how to reduce their risk of chronic disease — quit smoking, get more exercise, do your routine screening exams, and eat a healthier diet. But I’d hate to see people become obsessed with their diet, and specifically, about the bread. If you can pack some extra nutrition into the bread, and you like the flavor, by all means, go for it. But don’t let it destroy your appreciation for great bread and other foods. As we said in our first book, if you worry about the bread, it won’t taste good.
© 2009, Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François, used with permission of the Authors

Author Bios
Jeff Hertzberg, M.D., coauthor of Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day: 100 New Recipes Featuring Whole Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, and Gluten-Free Ingredients, is a physician with twenty years of experience in health care as a practitioner, consultant, and faculty member at the University of Minnesota Medical School. His interest in baking and preventive health sparked a quest to adapt the techniques of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day for healthier ingredients.

Zoë François, coauthor of Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day: 100 New Recipes Featuring Whole Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, and Gluten-Free Ingredients, is passionate about food that is real, healthy, and always delicious. She is a pastry chef trained at the Culinary Institute of America. In addition to teaching baking and pastry courses nationally, she consults to the food industry and is the creator of the recipe blog www.zoebakes.com. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband and two sons.

The authors answer bread questions at their Web site: www.healthybreadinfive.com.

Posted in Foodie Ramblings..., Foods That Heal || 8 Comments

Chef Kevin At Home

July 4th, 2009 by chefkevin

Hi There!

This poor old blog of mine is a bit dusty. Haven’t been in here for a while to clean up the place

Far too busy these days keeping up with my weekly cooking classes, recipes to assemble for these classes, some catering to get ready for this summer, a coconut business/website to run (with my wife’s help thankfully), our country band back on the road again (YeeHaw!), and everything else that has to be done. No… I’m not whining… just explaining my absence… yet again…

Anyway… I had to take a few minutes and let you know what’s been going on around here. Life has been busy, and as a result of our hard work many folks around here are covered in coconut… literally. Coconut oil has amazing nutritional and healing properties that are too valuable to ignore. Rather than go on about them, you can go here for information

The Down East Coconut Company

I’ve been busy with some demos on the coconut side as well, and there are some mighty fine recipes on our coconut site that people have really flipped over. Have a look and let me know what you think.

Our cooking classes at Sobey’s are going through an evolution, you might say. The company is changing direction a bit and focusing more directly on specific topics and food items, which makes for a more educational, rather than simply recreational, format. I agree with this direction, and am creating extra info pages to go with most of the new classes, along with the recipes I put together, that is.

The price is also going up quite a bit, but it’s been too low for too long. Considering that food costs never go down something had to be done on that, and there’s not many places you can go for a two hour session of food entertainment at $15.00.

We’ll see how the classes evolve over the next little while and I’ll let you know what develops on that. There have been a lot (and I mean a lot) of comments on the changes from concerned folks, which is natural considering many are long-time attendees going back years in many cases. We’re like family in my classes, and I enjoy everyone’s company each week, as apparently they do mine Don’t want to see that evaporate so I’ll try to see that everyone is appeased… a full-time job…

Don’t have too much time right now, so I’ll sign off for “a while”. I just wanted to get you up to date on things in the life of a “Chef on the Road”.

‘Til I get back at it here…

Yours in Food & Friendship,
Chef Kevin

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Atlantic Canada’s Choice For Organic Coconut Products

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Chef Gone Coconuts…

April 4th, 2009 by chefkevin

Hi There!

I haven’t had time to write a thing on here for about three weeks now, and for that I will apologize. However, I did say back in my first post a couple months back that I would write what I could, when I could… so I guess I’m right on track

The reason I’ve been busier than normal is because I’m starting up another business right away. Once I have the company name registered and the website up and running I will send Y’all a link to it, but for now I’ll let you know what it’s about…

I buy pure virgin coconut oil from a company in Toronto to use in my cooking. An excellent product, top quality, and cheaper than anywhere else on the planet! The Crystal Coconut Company and I began discussing a partnership of sorts, in that I will be providing my support to their customers with recipes and advice (like I do for you guys).

What started as a small partnership discussion has blossomed into a full-scale distribution business for their products. My wife and I will be partners in a distribution company for pure virgin coconut oil, coconut flour, shredded pure coconut, coconut butter, etc from Vietnam… covering all four Atlantic Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, PEI and NFLD. A very big deal!

So, like I said, it’s a VERY busy time around here. Forgive me if I fall behind on this blog once in a while, as there will be a new website to run, and of course, a new coco blog to provide folks with recipes and ideas on how to best use this amazing product.

Stay tuned to this station for more info soon…

Yours in Food & Friendship,
Chef Kevin

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Posted in Foodie Ramblings... || 26 Comments

Sourdough Bread- How Do I Make It?

March 8th, 2009 by chefkevin

I had a question from my good friend Darlene in Ottawa today about how to make sourdough bread. I’m not a total bread expert, but I have friend that are…

Dennis Weaver and the folks over at Prepared Pantry have been at this game for years, and I refer to them for these kinds of technical bread questions. This from their site…

“Sourdough simply uses wild yeast in place of commercial yeast to leaven the bread. It relies on the wild yeasts that are in the air all around us and cultures those yeasts in a warm, wet environment created with water, flour, and sometimes other components.

When creating a sourdough starter, we always felt like we were on an expedition trying to trap invisible yeastie beasties with our flour and water concoctions. Because we couldn’t see the beasties, we were never sure what we had captured. While usually successful, we never felt like we were in control. Maybe that is the way sourdough bread should feel, a symbiosis with nature.

But there is an easier way: use commercial yeast in the starter. I know, that’s heresy to the sourdough bread zealot but we only care about the bread. Using commercial yeast is easier, it’s the alcohol from the long cool fermentation that creates the sourdough-like flavor, and the wild yeasts will eventually take over the starter anyway. Because it’s easy, it’s no big deal if you abandon your starter after a few weeks; you can readily start another when you’re back in the mood or have the time.”

Here is the link to their site that will walk you through it step-by-step…
How to make Sourdough Bread

Enjoy Darlene!… and everyone else of course

Yours in Food & Friendship,
Chef Kevin
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Posted in Recipes & Repairs || 8 Comments

Wedding Catering Advice

March 7th, 2009 by chefkevin

Hey There… me again…

I got an interesting (I thought) question today. Figured I’d share it with you in case you need or know of someone that can use the info. The question:

“I am doing my nieces wedding. She requested stuffed shells as they are italian lovers. I have no way to cook at the facility so must do it at home and deliver 30 minutes away. I have to time it perfectly . I have no problem cooking ONE 20″ x 14″ loaded pan of pasta however I have 3 ovens in my neighborhood which will have two pans (one on top of the other)loaded. How long should I cook them and at what temp.

I have a horrible fear of 170 people cutting into runny or uncooked pasta

HELP!”

Here’s my answer…

Tricky situation you have there. Whenever I do remote functions I try to rent a kitchen near the site to alleviate long travel times. Then I have a hotbox (potable warming closet) to hold whatever I need to at 150 degrees… a must. I would try to rent/source either one, but especially a hotbox, since you seem to have adequate oven space, although scattered around a bit. Don’t worry… I’ve done that too

If you can’t find a kitchen nearby, I would…

1. par-cook the pasta to VERY al dente and stuff them.

2. make your sauce and “cool it” so it doesn’t continue to cook the pasta until you’re ready to

3. pan the shells, sauce them, cover with foil and refrigerate

3. when ready, heat the pans at around 350 degrees until serving temperature, 140 or so (probably around an hour-ish) leave a cushion of 15 minutes

4. transport and store warm “somewhere”

Leave this to the last possible minute, and if necessary, make them wait for you, not the other way around. Weddings “always” run late… that’s pretty much a given. With all the receiving lines, speeches and stuff it takes longer than “you” will want. Explain to your niece the advantages of last minute service and them waiting 5-10 minutes, over the disadvantages of mushy pasta. It’s still a tricky venture, but that’s probably your best chance.

That’s my two cents… U.S. or Canadian

Relax! Make a good, solid, nearly foolproof plan, and just “let it happen”… nothing else you can do…

Feel free to add your two cents…

Yours in Food & Friendship,
Chef Kevin

Posted in Catering Info, Foodie Ramblings... || 21 Comments