billyeats on IReallyLikeFood

Saturday, 24 March 2012

My Restaurant Kitchen Experience

Do you remember that first moment you fell in love with cooking? Maybe it wasn't an instant revelation. Perhaps the love had always been there or it gradually grew.

Everyone must have had their moment when cooking wasn't simply a task or a necessity to feed yourself. It's like reading an amazing book or watching an incredible movie, and your curiosity is booming at an all time high.

You are captivated, locked in, and the joy swells inside you while chopping vegetables, seasoning a chicken roaster, unwrapping a rack of lamb for the very first time, or touching a piece of Mahi Mahi and knowing it's perfectly cooked.

My love story doesn't include that one magic moment. I fell in love with cooking two summers ago.

I had always been handy and resourceful in the kitchen. I knew recipes, certain culinary basics, and instead of eating out or depending on the dining hall like every other college kid, I nixed my meal plan and cooked for myself. My confidence slowly rose in the kitchen, but I knew little of anything.

I needed a job to earn money for tuition my junior year. I hit the streets in early march to job hunt at the local restaurants in Ocean City, NJ.

With the previous summer's sandwich and salad station experience at hand, I landed a job as a broiler cook in a high-paced popular seafood restaurant. I had never cooked seafood before or worked on a broiler in a restaurant.

Terrifying doesn't even begin the describe my shaken nerves entering that kitchen the first day. Luckily, the head chef Bryan took me under his wing and put me at ease. He taught me everything I know now that goes beyond the necessary skills needed to survive in that seafood kitchen.

That summer I learned how to use chef and filet knives. When September rolled around I loved the fishy smell that stuck to my hands. I could peel, devein, and butterfly 20-30lbs of shrimp a day in no time at all. I didn't fret or internally freak out when the entire line was filled with tickets and the printer wouldn't stop shooting out more orders.

I wished for nights when my oven would be stuffed with 15-20 entrees and I could only depend on the touch of my hand and the quickness of my eyes for fish, lobster tails, or shrimp to be sent on their way to a customer.

In the kitchen I learned to grow and love my third hand, a pair of tongs. I always had a pair of tongs and a dry rag stuck in my hands or around my waist.

I looked forward to those nights where we would pump out 400-500 dinners, lose six pounds from sweating, and feel like I just took a dip in the ocean nearby.

The ultimate cooking high is discovered in a dinner rush when all madness ensues. You lose your mind, get lost in the weeds, and dig yourself out by shoveling entrees in and out of the oven.

I learned about the different types of fish, where they came from, how they tasted. and the various ways to cook the types of fish.

The attraction couldn't be stopped again this last summer. So, I went back for another 3-4 months to live in the kitchen at Spadafora's Seafood Restaurant and Market.

Do you have a moment when you fell in love with cooking? Have you worked in a restaurant kitchen? If yes, then did you enjoy that experience?

What's Your Take on Competitive Eating?

Like any young hot-blooded American, my competitive nature was conditioned from an early age. I played almost every sport, worked hard, and excelled to beat out my competitors. Despite my competitive nature, I have mixed feelings about competitive eating.

With a society that largely suffers from childhood obesity and unhealthy diets, does this so-called sport send the wrong message?

When I was younger, like any growing boy, I could eat a ton. Due to nonstop sports I was always eating.

I remember one night after wrestling practice everyone on the team met at Cheeburger Cheeburger. We competed with one another in a race to see who could eat the 1 lb burger the fastest, and perhaps, be daring enough to eat two. I ate two 1 pounders. I was lucky to have a high metabolism and a meal like that didn't affect my health in a drastic way due to my lifestyle.

I initially enjoyed watching competitive eating, especially the Nathan's Hot Dog eating contest. It's truly a sight to see a person eating 60 plus hot dogs in 12 minutes.

I have mixed views on this subject. As I previously stated it's interesting watching these trained eaters compete with one another. But, food is sustenance. Food gives us energy, keeps us healthy, and is meant to be enjoyed. By presenting this perspective on food and treating it merely as means to a competition, then we can lose respect for what we eat.

I think competitive eating should not be glorified the way it is today.

Do you think there's nothing wrong with a little hot dog eating contest? Are these competitions feeding our youth the wrong message?

Beer Bread Recipe
- At almost every family party one of my sisters brings homemade beer bread. Before the main course is served everyone crowds around the beer bread and munches away. My family loves beer bread. Whoever brings it always has two loaves on hand. I have a big family and we can eat.
  
  I'm not entirely sure where my sister's got this recipe. It is very simple and delicious.
  
  Ingredients:
  - 3 cups of self rising flour
  - 1/2 cup of sugar
  - 12 ounces of beer
  - 2 tablespoons of butter
  Directions:
  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease the loaf pan with butter. Mix the flour, sugar, and beer together in a bowl. When mixed well enough, evenly place the dough in the loaf pan. Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter and pour it over the top of the dough. Pop it in the oven and let it cook for 50-55 minutes.
  
  You are not home free yet. For good beer bread you need a tasty dip to accompany it to the party. For the best dip you need to buy Tasteyfully Simple Spinach and Herb Dip Mix. It is worth it to buy the entire bottle. The bottle can make up to 7 cups of dip.
  
  Ingredients: (For 1 Loaf of Beer Bread)
  - 2 tablespoons of Tastefully Simple Herb and Spinach Mix
  - 1/2 cup of mayonnaise
  - 1/2 cup of sour cream
  Add and mix these ingredients together in a bowl. Place the bowl in the refrigerator to cool and wait for the beer bread to be ready.
  
  Have you made beer bread before? Do you have a different beer bread recipe?

Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Buffet

Do you dare dream of such a place? Where the ice cream options are limitless and you're free to choice whatever you like. I grow tired of being forced to buy one small pint at the grocery store. Ben and Jerry's ice cream costs a pretty penny.

My dream is to attend a party where the host serves a Ben and Jerry's ice cream buffet. Every flavor imaginable would be available and you could choose a scoop or even a pint of whatever you pleased.

The flavor options go on forever. There are too many Ben and Jerry Flavors to count.

I still remember my first spoonful of Half Baked and thinking, "cookie dough, brownies, vanilla, and chocolate ice cream...it can't get better than this." Oh it got better, much better.

You would be surprised at the unusual types of ice cream. Recently, Ben and Jerry's released a Jeremy Lin inspired kind called "Taste The Linsanity" with fortune cookies that caused a little uproar.

The ice cream flavor lords even created a "Schweddy Balls" flavor based upon the Saturday Night Live skit.

If I were in the fortunate position to scoop away at the buffet, I would choose my three favorite kinds.

3. Red Velvet Cake

I tried this two months ago. I wasn't expecting the smooth and silky similarities to actual red velvet cake. Sometimes, you can get the ice cream and cake in one pint.

2. One Cheesecake Brownie

I discovered this late night friend in college at the university convenience store. They offered a limited selection of ice cream options, but I wasn't disappointed when I plugged a spoon of this in my mouth.

Cheesecake and brownies are two of the greatest foods in the world. When smashed into a tiny container of ice cream they truly create an unforgettable taste memory. It's hard to put this pint back in the freezer after ripping the plastic seal off.

1. Everything But The...

The ellipsis says everything about this ice cream. Its greatness never ends. This is my favorite Ben and Jerry's ice cream flavor.

This pint contains a jumble of vanilla and chocolate ice cream, white chocolate bars, peanut butter cups, chocolate covered almonds, and the best ever toffee chunks.

I feel as if I'm on a treasure hunt, digging through sand, and overjoyed by the wealth of variety and riches I find in a tiny pint of ice cream.

If you attended a party or restaurant with a Ben and Jerry's buffet, what flavor would you target first? What's your favorite Ben and Jerry's ice cream flavor? What's the most unusual flavor you have encountered?

My 3 Favorite Places to Eat Crab Cakes

"Crab cakes and football," that's how Maryland does it. Yes, I'm a Marylander and we do boast the best crab cakes around. There's nothing better than an incredible, rich, and tasty crab cake to lift your spirits on a beautiful summer day. Please don't tell me you're allergic to seafood or dislike crab because I may just cry and men who love football don't cry.

Whenever I'm away from my home state I'm hesitant to take the leap of faith to try a crab cake on a menu. I may be bold enough to order a crab cake sandwich if nothing appetizing on the menu lures me in. A bad crab cake can almost always be hidden by two buns, lots of tartar or cocktail sauce, lettuce, and tomato.

A truly amazing crab cake needs nothing extra. I judge my crab cakes by taste and texture. When I say texture I am referring to the type of crab meat in the crab cake.

A crab cake with solely back fin or crab claw meat tends to be overpowered or filled with too many bread crumbs and it leans more towards the mushy side.

An ideal crab cake finds the balance of jumbo lump and back fin crab meat with the right amount of filler. if necessary, that adds flavor.

People eat crab cakes because they don't want to burden of breaking open and searching for the meat within the actual crabs. I know, a great summer day is found with a bushel of crabs and case of beer. But not everyone is cut out for that.

If you happen to find yourself in Maryland be sure to visit one of my top three crab cake restaurants.

3. Calvert House Inn Restaurant & Pub

This small and old restaurant is located on Route 1 between historic Hyattsville and the University of MD/College Park area. I've been eating there my whole life. I ordered take-out from there the other night and got myself two crab cakes.

Their crab cakes are broiled with the perfect balance of jumbo lump and back fin crab meat. You easily forget about the tartar sauce on the side when biting into them. They weigh about 5 oz a piece and cost $27 for the entire meal.

2. Jerry's Seafood

This restaurant used to be my favorite place to find the ideal crab cake until the new number one came along. Their crab cakes are a little more pricey than the Calvert house.

You eat two crab cakes for $33 or pay one more dollar for the "Crab Bomb." This colossal crab ball is made out of 10 oz of jumbo lump crab meat, loved with Old Bay, and baked. If you prefer the fried side then you can choose the normal crab cakes which are cooked to your liking.

Either way you can't go wrong. If you hate fillers in you crab cakes, then this is the place to go since they claim to have "Absolutely No Filler!" For me, Jerry's jumps to the 2 spot with their tempting options and promise of jumbo lump.

1. Timbuktu

For the best crab cakes out there you need to hit up this place in Hanover, Maryland, a couple minutes away from Arundel Mills Mall. I first ate here with my brothers and sister five years ago. My brother begged us to go with him for the crab cakes. He called them "heavenly." He told no lies.

The "Famous Timbuktu Crab Cakes" costs $27 and each cake weighs a staggering half pound due to jumbo lump overload.

These crab cakes are so famous that you can even order 4 or 24 to be shipped to your home. They package them with ice packs in coolers to keep them fresh.

I love eating at these restaurants, but I'd much rather prefer sitting at a long picnic table, banging on crab shells, sucking crab meat and old bay out of claws, and drinking beers. Also, whether deep fried or broiled, nothing beats a homemade crab cake. You don't have to be in Maryland to make a great crab cake.

Are you a crab cake fan? Where restaurant is your favorite crab cake located at? Have you made crab cakes before?