Deep breath!

Last week was positively exhausting.  Our stand was more or less kosher for Passover, with the result that we were more busy every day of chol hamoed than we are on a usual weekend.  Every evening, we were crewed by two of the three really fast employees plus me, and it was still barely enough to stay on top of all the checks.  They were working double shifts most days, though I was only available evenings, so I was in charge of finishing up the closing and left work most days at 2:30 AM.  When it was all over, I had a nice day off with a 4-hour nap followed by going to bed at 10 PM.

Nonetheless, it was a week with a lot of gratification.  The coolest was when one of the chefs, who is the head chef of the flagship restaurant and the brother of the owner, said that it was clear that I was going to be part of the next generation of the restaurant.  It was also pretty heartwarming the day I arrived and everyone in the stand cheered.  The worker who trained me, and who occasionally acts as shift manager told me that the management is very satisfied with me.

Last night was much calmer as much of our regular clientele was busy with mimouna.  The people who did come were some variety of "oh good, it's still KLP here" and "you mean you haven't switched back to regular bread yet?"  I got into a funny argument with a customer about it.

-Why don't you have regular bread?  Passover ended yesterday.
-Yes, but chametz isn't allowed until tonight.
-But mimouna was yesterday!
-No, mimouna is tonight because, although Passover ended last night, because of Shabbat, there's no halachic way to acquire chametz until tonight.  So we don't have regular bread yet.

And now I want mufletta and I don't have any mufletta.  Maybe I'll learn to make mufletta.

Achievement unlocked: working check without a break

Last night, I worked check/ovens from 7 PM until 10:30 without asking anyone to relieve me for a few minutes so I could rest.  And it was a pretty busy evening, too, though the peaks were fortunately small and spaced out.

It's hard for me to tell how much of this success is because I'm improving and how much is because two of the first three times I worked check were during disasters.  The first time, we just simply didn't have someone else to be checker, so I jumped into the role.  The third time, we were short of meat for the sandwiches and people were grumpy.

More sweary language ahead

Gah!!!!  I know that it's annoying that we have a policy not to make any changes to menu items.  I can understand that, having been told no by the cashier, you thought you would ask the person actually making the sandwich to make an exception for you.  But, when I tell you no, do NOT refer your request to the person on the complete effing other side of the stand!  Just because he has a penis does NOT mean he is higher up in the chain of command.  On the contrary, the fact that I'm running check means that I'm sort of his boss for this particular shift.

Seriously, if you want me to violate management decisions in a manner that is going to make my life harder later on ("But they changed it for me last time!"), being a sexist prick in the middle of a difficult shift isn't going to get me to change my mind.

Warning: Bad word ahead

Dear Asshole,

I would love to take your order.  However, I am currently cooking on the line, as is evidenced by the knife in my hand and the fact that I am standing right next to the food preparing to slice it.  If you look two meters to your left, there you will find the nice young lady taking orders at the cash register.  I know that we serve food traditionally prepared by men, but this is the 21st Century.  Do try to keep up.

Passover shopping list

I may or may not be crazy.

Seder plate
-1 egg
-1 shank bone
-Romaine lettuce
Seder itself
-Good red wine
-Parsley
-Salt water
-Matzah
-Horseradish
-Charoses
       -Apples
       -Walnuts
       -Cinnamon
       -Nutmeg
       -Gross kiddush wine
Dinner
-6 hard-boiled eggs
-Gefilte fish
       -Get recipe from husband's grandmother
-Chicken soup
       -1 pullet
       -1 large onion
       -4 large carrots
       -1 bunch parsley
       -1 bunch dill
-Matzoh balls
       -4 eggs
       -1 tbsp. rendered chicken fat
       -Matzoh meal
-Meat entree
       -3 large or 6 small osso bucco
       -Red wine
       -Root vegetables
       -Garlic
       -Stock(?)
-Vegetarian options
       -TBD
-Potato kugel
       -Potatoes
       -Onions
       -Eggs
       -Matzoh meal
-Zabaglione
        -6 eggs
        -Sugar
        -Some sort of flavorful beverage that isn't coffee
        -Some sort of fruit

Totals
2-3 bottles of good red wine
1 bottle of awful kiddush wine
Various other beverages
Matzah
Matzoh meal
2 dozen eggs
1 shank bone
3-6 osso bucco
1 Romaine lettuce
1 horseradish
8 potatoes
4 onions
1 bulb garlic
8 carrots
1 bunch dill
2 bunches parsley
1 package walnuts
1 lb apples
Some sort of fruit
1 pullet
Chicken fat
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Salt
Pepper
Sugar

Well, that's embarrassing

The greatest travesty in the unnecessary kitchen gadget world, the Rollie Eggmaster, was invented in Israel.  Proof that being a Start-Up Nation doesn't mean that everything your produce is a good idea, even if it happens to earn you a ton of scratch.

New job!

I feel silly not having written since I started my first kitchen job three weeks ago.  So far, I'm loving it.  I'm working at a gourmet fast food stand, which is great because it means I get to do a little bit of everything, but it isn't too technically difficult for a total newb.  My coworkers are a mix of people looking to get into the industry and students trying to earn some pocket money.

There is one frustration, though.  For the past week, I've been doing more cash register than actually food preparation.  We need at least three people to run the stand - one for the cold line, one for the hot line, and one for register.  I know how to do 90% of the work for the lines, but because I don't have that last 10%, which are small but important details, there's no choice but to put me on register when we're short on people (which is often).

I've learned a few new things about myself.  The first is that I thrive in the stress of the peak.  I already knew that I'm pretty good in a crisis in terms of staying calm and doing what needs to be done.  Peaks are just like crises except that the consequences are much smaller.

And now I need to rush off for work and finish this thought later.

Rumors of artichokes' edibility are greatly exaggerated

I tried making carciofi alla giudia for the first time.  This was also my first time making artichokes.  They came out lovely, but I definitely didn't pull off enough leaves or trim off enough of the top of the artichokes, so they were only about 60% edible.

 

Who was the masochist who first figured out you can eat artichokes?

Here's a fun bit of history from נוסטלגיה אונליין - שימור התרבות הישראלית, which is dedicated to feeling nostalgic about Israeli stuff.  Their Facebook page posts interesting photos and old-timey advertisements.

This is an ad from the early 40s encouraging women to enlist to cook for the British military during WWII.  I especially enjoy their correct use of the 3rd person feminine verb form, a verb form which periodically falls out of use in the Hebrew language.



"Wanted: Cooking Soldiers.  For the women's auxiliary forces, cooking soldiers are wanted.  Women age 40-45 will be accepted for this work, as for other tasks.  The cooks will receive additional training after they pass the regular training.

"Although these draftees are under the terms of the general service, they will nonetheless be given service placements in Palestine."

New Cholent Discovery

I suppose that a first post to a new blog is supposed to outline what the blog will be about in general, the author's purpose in starting the blog, etc.  But to heck with that because I made the best cholent discovery today.

Rosemary is really, really tasty in cholent!  It's not a typical cholent flavoring, but the rosemary did an excellent job of preventing the flavor from becoming overbearingly heavy as is cholent's wont.  I used two sprigs of rosemary with 1 kg of beef (so 1 per lb of meat for the Americans) plus kidney beans, barley, carrots and onions.  I also used a few shakes of Worcestershire sauce, which gave the flavor a nice depth.  No potatoes, which is also highly untraditional for cholent, but I think I may actually like it better that way.

Few things in life make me as happy as setting a new record for the most delicious version of a dish I've ever cooked.

[insert picture here]

Full recipe:

olive oil
1 heaping tbsp honey
1 kg meat (I used 500 g short ribs and 500 g shank)
2 yellow onions, chopped
1 package dried kidney beans (soaking optional but recommended)
4-6 carrots
1 cup pearl barley
5-6 eggs
Worcestershire sauce
salt
1 strip kombu (optional)
2 sprigs rosemary

1. Heat oil in a dutch oven or similar pot
2. Add honey to oil and let dissolve
3. Sear meat in honey/oil, then remove and set aside
4. Add onions and cook until completely wilted but not yet starting to crisp (this makes the onions sweet and eliminates pungency)
5. Re-add the meat
6. Add beans with enough water to cover
7. Add carrots, pearl barley, and eggs, plus enough water to just barely cover
8. Give 4-5 good shakes of Worcestershire sauce
9. Add a bit of salt, maybe 2 tsp., but not too much because kosher meat has salt and there are no potatoes to absorb the extra salt
10. Optional: add a strip of kombu.  I'm not sure this actually does anything, but it's supposed to add a bit of umami and make the beans softer
11. Add two sprigs of rosemary
12. Bring to a boil
13. Either reduce the heat to an absolute minimum and let cook overnight or put into an oven on low heat overnight.  Keep in mind that this is a dish meant to be assembled before sundown on Friday and served right out of the oven at Saturday lunch.  8 hours is probably sufficient, but you can let it go for 18 hours without problem