Pizanos Pizza Of The Day

Today I partnered with Chef Nick Galvin to create there pizza of the day which features salami, shaved jalepenos, jalepeno infused honey and mozzarella!!!

Thursday at Tazzaria

So today is Thursday and my shift at Tazzaria starts at 4 pm so today I grabbed my pig tails that I smoked over the weekend and blasted to work early and as soon as lunch was done being served I set up a small work area.

I tossed the pig tails in cornstarch and dropped them in the fryer basket. I let them cook for a few minutes and they got just a little crisp on them. I tossed them in sweet chili sauce. Before heading to work I was trying to find some pickeled daicon to finish the tails off.

So I grabbed a bowl and LJ and I took them down stairs to my boss. We talked about what I should do differently but he had never had pigs tail. The awesome thing is that he liked them!! The truth is everyone who ate any of them liked how they came out.

This was an awesome feeling to do something cool and different and people liked it. I look forward to doing it again!

So it is almost 4 pm which means it is time to officially clock on and I already had my prep list for the night and on todays list....Gnocchi.

This is something I have only done one other times with the owner showing me how to do it. So today I made a batch x4 to make sure we have enough to get through the weekend. So I get on all my "mise en place" (look I used a fancy word).


Get the dough made and rolled out and Ryan takes enough for an order and then comes back into the kitchen with a bowl of gnocchi in a sage cream sauce and "here is your finished product". I will be honest......It was good, not dense and a nice texture.

Ryan even had LJ taste it....Even he said I did a good job. It even got back to James that I did a really good job on the gnocchi.

I think the rest of this work week I need to pay attention to Mike & Ryans  line so I can start breaking it down for them and learn where it all belongs......It was a good day at work.

First Recipe...Stuffed Quesadilla

Stuffed Quesadilla from Burrito (Fist City MX)

Ingredients:
1 lb Ground Turkey (I used a combo ground beef and chorizo)
2 Peppers
1 can of Pinto Beans
2-4 Burrito Size Flour Tortillas
1 small bag of Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese




Supplies:
frying pan
tongs

Open up can of pinto beans and place in bowl and put in the microwave for 3 minutes.
Brown your meat and 1/2 way through place in sliced peppers and cook with it.
Place meat and peppers in a separate bowl
Pour in Canola Oil in frying pan ( enough to cover the bottom of the pan )
Warm up in until it's get hot
Place tortilla in pan with oil and lay some cheese on 1st then scoop in mixture of meat and peppers and place inside of tortilla. With tongs as tortilla begins to rise fold in half (into a shape of a taco) and hold down until brown.Place on plate on top of paper towel for a few seconds .
Plate with Pinto Beans on top and garnish with cheese and your favorite Salsa

Todays thought

So I am new to the whole food blog trend and am still trying to make heads and tails of what to put in as content so please be patient. In the mean time here is a question. "Is culinary school really worth the time and more importantly money you are going to spend/ Or is it better to work your way up the ranks in a place you want to be?"

 This has actually been something I have thought long and hard about. I personally have a history in the kitchen but I left thinking I was making a better decision for my family (think i was wrong).The last chef I worked for was not a "classically trained" chef but he is damn good. The employer before that was trained with many years under his belt and involved in the culinary program at the community college in the city I was living in at the time. They were both great employers.

Now the reason for this question. The other day I am sitting outside the DMV with Lindsee (my oldest daughter) and there is a guy wearing his coat from the cullicary school in Fresno and I star asking him about the shcool and he was saying his hope was to become and head chef somewhere but was working at the Hilton in there kitchen making fruit platters...FRUIT PLATTERS! I do not want to spend 25 grand to make a fruit platter. Do not get my wrong I know you have to do the time after you get out of school but to be doing something that a off the street employee with basic kitchen experience can do is a bit on the lame side. You might as well start as a dishwasher (which I did!).

This is just a thought...if you disagree then let me know....I like to get hate mail!!