the Devastated Plate

The restaurant perspective

Posted on August 19, 2013 by Chef Rena

I work at a daycare. I used to work at restaurants and do catering and more… upscale things in the Food Service Industry. Hospitality Industry? Restaurants and Catering? It all works.

When I found that I wasn’t getting hours at the main restaurant I was working a few years ago, I pushed my way into being a Personal Chef. It worked, but it was not the amount of hours I really needed. I worked as I could, catering, special events, personal chefing… But I was living off my partner’s teat and not doing as well as I would like.

A friend of mine posted on FaceBook asking if anyone needed hours. I said, “YES!” He gave me the contact info, there was an interview and I was working the next Monday.

It wasn’t just cooking. I cook, I clean, I do errands, as well as other things. It has been a learning experience. And I have learned something that was staring me in the face from the beginning.

I have been working there for just over a month at this point and I just came to realize, I am running a fucking restaurant. Continue reading →

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Everyone has one – Pesto!

Posted on July 22, 2013 by Chef Rena

Pesto seems to be Italy’s word for ‘Salsa’, which we know is Spanish for ‘Curry’. Every country has a type of sauce that goes with all of their different dishes an gives them their individual flavors.

I made Pesto at work today. The garden had a bounty of basil, as well as other yummy things I will be plying the kids with over the next few days. I also had a bag of parmesan shredded cheese and various seeds to use instead of the normal pine nuts.

Yup, Pesto on it’s way! Continue reading →

Posted in Article | Tagged Chef Rena, Herbs, Pesto, Sauces, Technique | Leave a comment

A simple Granola

Posted on July 16, 2013 by Chef Rena

Recently, I have been working with kids. I feed them and they eat… some of what I put before them. One of the things they like more often than not is granola. I ran out of the store-bought stuff in the pantry and decided to make some. It is simple and much cheaper.

What you need is in most people’s pantries already. I have used both rolled and instant oats, so it does not matter what you have.

oats, about 3 cups

Seeds like sesame seeds, flax seeds or sunflower seeds, about 1 cup

Cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon, and a dash of any other sweet spices you may have, like ground ginger

Unsalted Butter, sunflower oil, olive oil, even coconut oil in any combination to make about 1 cup, possibly more

honey, 1/4 cup

molasses, 1/4 cup

vanilla or other real extract, 1 teaspoon

salt from a dash up to 1/2 teaspoon

Heat oven to 250(a cool oven). Use a sheet pan with a liner to make it easier to stir and transfer the granola.

Put cereal and spices together. Put oil, honey, molasses, vanilla and salt together in a sauce pan and heat/mix until it is fairly smooth. Coat cereal and spices in liquid. Spread on sheet pan without pressing in.

Cook @250 for 60-75 minutes. Turn and stir once @30min. Let cool in pan. Break into chunks and store in sealed container.

If you notice, I did not put any fruit in it. I find that the fruit, even if it is already dried, will burn, even at a low temperature. You can add fruits, like dates, raisons and apricots, when you are about to serve.

Posted in Article | Tagged Breakfast, Chef Rena, Healthy, Snacks | Leave a comment

Picture of the Day:Pizza!

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Chef Rena

A Margarita Pizza almost ready to go into the oven.

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Coffee Foot Scrub

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Chef Rena

… I hear your eyebrows scrunching together from here. Don’t worry, this is decadent.

I go through coffee. Many cups a day. This brings me the dilemma of disposing of the grounds. Many people just put them in the trash, filling land fills. Some people compost them or put them directly on acid-loving plants. I have even mixed dried, used grounds with wax for fire starters. There is always more. Continue reading →

Posted in Article | Tagged budget, Cheap, Chef Rena, Coffee, Health, Hygiene, Leftovers, Non-Food food | Leave a comment

Muffin Foster’s with Craisons.

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Chef Rena

It is winter outside my window. Cold, snowy and I need to make something hot for breakfast to fight that winter blah.

I made a purchase of a Pull-apart/Monkey Bread/Cobblestone Muffin yesterday that I did not eat. It, along with a few just past prime bananas, gave me an idea. Continue reading →

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Crouton du Fromage

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Chef Rena

… Yes. I just said ‘Grilled Cheese Sandwich’ in a haughty French accent.

Last night, we had a stew, which I entirely forgot to document. Ah, well. Along with that stew, we had some French bread. One of the baguettes was not cut into, so was still available at lunch time. It is cold out, I had several cheeses I could use so… Continue reading →

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Inventory

Posted on January 23, 2013 by Chef Rena

That is a word many of us abhor. It means hours, if not days, of moving things, counting things and keeping lists up to date that you only really see once a year, at inventory.

I am moving some of my pantry around and found I need to do the dreaded project. Not only is it because of what I do have, it is because of what I don’t have. Sigh.

Catering, especially, needs to have an accurate count of things. How many hotel pans, how many clam-shell to-go boxes, how many forks… Yup. I am not sure how many people do the same in their home kitchens, but I have to do it to keep the business and personal items separate.

What do I consider a business item and what personal? The line can be very blurred if it is something that I use every day, such as my hot water pot, which is actually a 50 cup coffee carafe that has only had coffee made in it once. Then there are the things, like the chafing racks for the hotel pans and sterno cans that are only used for hot food buffets.

I just hope that I remember to save the new list where I can find it, this time. I hate spreadsheets.

Chef Rena

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Two meals, one starch

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Chef Rena

Chef Rena says: “There is never a left-over. It is a pre-cooked ingredient.”

With this in mind, a two-meal use for mashed potatoes.

I had a bit of chorizo, some mushrooms and fresh basil one night. I made it into a ‘gravy’ and needed something to put it on. I was lucky enough to have a box of mashed potatoes. I decided to make the remainder of the box, which made about 5 servings.

Continue reading →

Posted in Article | Tagged budget, Cheap, Chef Rena, meal planning, Potato, recipe, Starch | 1 Comment

Apple and Cabbage Stew

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Chef Rena

I have to admit that one of the reasons I have not been as active in posting to the site is… Skyrim.

I can easily be entranced by such games. I think it is possibly because my whole life is a fetch-quest. But I have been thinking, as I make armor and kill dragons, about the cooking mechanic that is in the game. You can just buy things or eat the raw ingredients, but it is more efficient to have your food cooked before you head out to the next dungeon.

There are a few sites out there that have tried to make the items listed in the cooking menu and… I have to say it was not as appealing as it could have been.

So… While pillaging a dungeon after finishing a quest, I came across a few ingredients.

I was clearing out a dungeon after finishing a quest…