Longterm care Chef

Sticky toffee pudding. Caramel sauce and vanilla creme with lemon. Served warm and gobbled up fast. This is a favourite. We continue.

Let’s talk about the importance of having and maintaining standards. And having a qualified person on staff to protect service standards. I walked into this after a week off. Very distressing. This is Basa fillets that have not been drained of excess moisture. The egg wash is thin to none existent and the bread crumb was fresh and not roasted or allowed to dry before dredging these unfortunate fillets. About half of the work was salvaged and put into service The fillets here were puréed and minced for other suitable diets. The excess moisture alone can blow off breading and without sufficient egg wash and moist breading it was obviously heading to failure. This is not difficult work. But there are multiple points of failure in the simplest of work. Standards, and someone that can actively recognize and mitigate points of failure as work is in process is the only answer. In longterm care this is the point of failure. We continue.

Fresh work in longterm care getting done.

Pot roast with ale. Just ready to be covered and left for many hours.

Hello culinary world. Back from some real estate development (endless and exhausting demolition and construction). In preparation for retirement that is hopefully on schedule for about a year and a half away. Back to work only 3 to 4 days a week because summer is here and much to do on the properties. So be it. This is shrimp and bay scallop pasta in Pernod cream with fresh dill from all the way back in February!!

Smoking peameal bacon for a sandwich. 3 days of applewood smoke. Served on a bun with roasted beet mustard hit with a balsamic gastrique. Great gadget from Breville made this happen.

Boneless leg of lamb ready for the oven. Fresh garlic, rosemary and anchovy under the tomato. Cracked pepper and fresh thyme throughout. A couple of litres of red wine and so it begins.

Applewood smoked peameal bacon on a bun with roasted beet whole grain mustard tempered with a balsamic gastrique. Smoked the pork loin with the Breville table top smoker. Just so impressed with that smoker. Great sandwich. The mustard. The smoke. The meat.

Lasagna. Fresh pasta layered with homemade bolognese and béchamel. Mozzarella and Parmesan alternating with ricotta with a few egg yolks and nutmeg throughout. The alternate is sole with spinach pesto and lemon. Some white wine cream to tie it all together. Both dishes did well. Lasagna was fabulous. Ricotta makes everything fabulous.

In service. The Basa against a pot roast with roasted mushroom. Two good choices on a cool winter day.

Basa breaded in panko and fresh cilantro hitting the fryer. Service shortly.

Breakfast is served. Now lunch. Hand breaded Basa rubbed with cumin, coriander, garlic, salt, pepper and lemon zest and juice. Going against pot roast with roasted mushroom and red wine. Who will take the day? My money is on the Basa. Deep fried and served with homemade tar tar with lots of capers and fresh dill.

Roasted beet mustard with green peppercorn, honey and roasted garlic. For a peameal bacon sandwich.

Just out the door. Peameal bacon on a bun with roasted beet mustard and a garden salad. Also, pan seared breast of chicken with mushroom and white wine glaze on a bed of flash roasted concasse tomato with fresh basil, garlic, olive, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and lemon zest. Boom.

Pizza in service. Crust performs beautifully. Structure and tenderness. It is a hybrid pizza/focaccia crust. Will publish crust recipe later today.

As we speak. The test pizza is out of the oven. It’s a fine day

Starting the day. 6:30 am. Roast beef, fire roasted tomato for pizza sauce, water for oatmeal, a cup of tea for me.

The lamb shank in service against chicken cacciatore. The cacciatore is all fresh and good. But the there is this. Lamb off the bone on a bed of seasoned mashed potato. A few Brussel sprouts to be ignored because you can’t stop eating the lamb and creamy buttery mashed. Flash roasted the bones and simmered gently to extract marrow and collagen. Reduced and added to the deglazed sauce from the skillet. Then just slightly thickened with corn starch. Cooked through until service. Added the pieces of lamb back to the sauce just before service. Overcooking the lamb at this point would be devastating. Salt balance. Heat through and send it. Out it goes.

Roast pork with mushroom risotto and gingered squash. The alternate is baked beans with salad and fresh cheddar and chive cornbread. The pork dominated. But the cornbread was really good.

Lamb shank braised in red wine with mushroom, garlic and rosemary. Served on a bed of seasoned buttery mashed potato hit with a pinch of nutmeg. A few brussel sprouts and we are in service. Ran the lamb shank against chicken cacciatore, rice and fresh broccoli. The lamb crushed the chicken. The chicken was good, all fresh and fragrant. But the lamb shank took the day handily.

Nicoise potato. Putting the last bit of colour on them. Olive oil, fresh rosemary, green olives , garlic, red pepper and mushroom tossed in a light balsamic vinaigrette hit with some lemon zest. In a moderately fast oven. Only a little moisture in the chamber as the balsamic vinaigrette on the mushroom must be allowed to vaporize and mushroom to caramelize. Keep your eyes on your fries.

Fresh apple coffee cake just out of the oven. Will drizzle with fresh caramel sauce. The kitchen is filled with smells of apple, cinnamon and the braising lamb shanks just steps away. It’s a good day.

Roast pork loin just out of the oven. Sitting on a bed of mirepoix awash in white wine and light chicken stock. Dressed with lemon, garlic, rosemary, nutmeg, Belgian anise, cracked pepper and pinch of sumac.

Gently it goes. Hour by hour. Too fast and the meat will be stringy and bled of fats and we cannot have that; can we. Small bubbles gently rolling over the meat. The meat will come off in chunks. Fats rendered, but intact. Tendon and sinew will be soft and delicate providing structure to the pieces of lamb as it comes off the bone. Almost there.

All in. Where everything comes together. Magic time. This never gets old, no matter how many times you do it. The sound. The aroma. Every head turns as the pan is deglazed and fills the kitchen with wine, herbs and rich browned meat. Never gets old.

All most there. Wine and stock lay in wait.

Glazing the pan and ready to braise these shanks. Mushroom, onion, anchovy, green peppercorn, cracked pepper, garlic, fresh rosemary and red wine. There is a lamb stock made earlier as well.

Oh yes, as we speak. Lamb shanks. Let it begin.

Roast lamb with fresh broccoli and roasted potatoes. The alternate is hand breaded sole. The sole is marinated in lemon zest and juice, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin and coriander. Served with fresh tar tar sauce: lots of capers, unsweetened gherkins, lemon and fresh dill.