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Here's another article where we got some recognition for the chicken. There's a photo if you scroll down a bit. Top Fried Chicken in Los Angeles on FoodGPS.com Thanks, Josh!

These lists are fraught with problems, but I'll save the modesty for another time. It's just a cool thing to have happen. Woohoo!!

*ZZ Top reference

I guess I'm an oddball, but I actually enjoy making family meal.

It can be a means to gain respect in the kitchen. If you can take a few bits of meat, two links of sausage and a handful of shrimp and make a decent paella, you earn a few points. If you can cook up a nice pasta dish for the staff, it might help you get promoted to working the pasta station.

One of the things I enjoy about the process is that there is a hidden vocabulary in food. Cooks usually understand better than most people how to build flavors and how certain dishes are put together. If you can put together a tasty version of risotto while still setting up your station and not babysitting the risotto, you earn a few points. Or say if you work in a French restaurant, but can make something other than French food, you may earn a few points by demonstrating some versatility. In LA especially, if you can pull off some decent Mexican or other Latin food, you'll earn a few points from the Latino cooks, but also from the staff, who generally know and love Latin food, too. Getting compliments like that from people who really know food is very satisfying to me.

Similar to comedians that rarely laugh at another comedian's act and simply say, "That's funny," cooks are often short with praise, just saying, "That's good." If they come up for a second helping, that's a compliment. If they ask you to describe how you made something, that's probably the highest compliment you'll get.

Sometimes, family meal is actually better than the food that's going out to guests because someone put a little thought into it, paid attention to it, and put some love in it. Some of the best family meals I've ever had: an extra lamb leg made into a Roman-style lamb stew enriched with egg in the sauce, braised beef cheeks in a sweet-sour sauce, chicken in mole negro, couscous with pine nuts, currants, apricots and spices, chilaquiles (tortilla chips tossed with an enchilada type sauce and eggs), and enfrijoladas (corn tortillas dipped in refried black beans).

Here are a few guidelines for impressing the other cooks with your family meal prowess:

-Plan ahead a little. If you know it's your turn to cook family tomorrow, have an idea in mind so that it seems like it was a no-brainer for you. Just like for customers, have a protein, a vegetable of some kind, and a starch. Maybe something crispy or crunchy if it needs textural contrast.

-Think simple preparations, think family style, think comfort food. If possible, choose dishes that can be started and left to cook unattended. Good candidates are rice dishes, pasta dishes, roasted or braised dishes. Or stir-fry dishes, but do it in a way where you don't spend a ton of time cutting vegetables and such.

-Keep the garlic and onions on the side or in minimal amounts. And definitely cooked rather than raw. FOH staff can't deal with guests properly if they have dragon breath.

-Maybe spend a few bucks of your own money to buy a few dozen tortillas or a good curry powder blend. Just something to set it apart. Since most cooks only use what's on hand, all meals start from the same ingredients, and they all start to taste the same. It's like having a secret weapon.

-Use inexpensive ingredients as the core of your family meal. Your chef doesn't want to see the staff eating steak. Plus, part of the ethos is transforming something inexpensive into something tasty.

-Just like for customers, it's worth the 30 seconds it takes to arrange the food a little bit, sprinkle a little parsley on on it, and pretty it up a little. Maybe not to the same degree, but something a little better than dumped out onto a sheet pan.

But compared to January where I didn't really work at all, I'll take this abundance of work while it's here. Although it's showing no signs of slowing for us. Knock on wood.

Also, at this job, there's definitely a relationship between workload and rewards, so it's good to receive a bit more for my efforts. When I've been on salary, it's virtually impossible to keep morale up when there's more to do, more hours needed, and the same paycheck.

Plum Tart with Chambord Creme de Beurre Noisette.

The crust is pate brisee, a classic French pie or tart dough. This dough is quite forgiving - easy to patch or re-roll. No greasing or blind baking is needed in this case. I worked in a bakery, but I didn't make the baked goods, so this was still outside my comfort zone. General pastry rules apply: keep the butter in visible bits or pieces, and handle the dough as little as possible to prevent gluten formation and melting/blending of the butter into the dough.

Plums from Chile - they weren't the best, but I love plums and they were the most interesting of the fruits available. Also, everyone else made pears, so I wanted to switch it up a little.

It was my first time making creme de beurre noisette, which is a filling used by bakers consisting of eggs, flour, brown butter, and sugar. When it's baked, it reminds me of baked frangipane, but it's not made with nuts. The brown butter brings a nutty flavor, so that's probably what made me think of it. I flavored this one with Chambord, which is a cassis (black currant) liqeur. It's one of those components that is actually better to eat before it gets baked, like cookie dough or pastry cream. I could eat a bowl of it like pudding! I think next time I would put a layer of the filling across the bottom of the tart, use a tiny bit less fruit, and make the crust a bit thinner. Plum and Chambord is a good combination. I would just increase the proportion of creme de beurre noisette by any means necessary.

I'd definitely make this again.

The first prong of the new plan of attack is I'm working for a caterer. I'm learning the catering business because I think my skills and temperament may be better suited to that than restaurants. It's still cooking, it's still a solid days work (when there are catering gigs), but it's more project oriented in approach, organization, and timeline. Quite a bit different than a restaurant, where they goal is to be ready for anything on the menu, and make it 75 times, exactly right and exactly the same, every night. Catering is more like make it exactly right ONCE, for 75 people.

There's an interesting stigma amongst restaurant line cooks that cooks that can't hack the restaurant kitchen do catering. But catering usually is better money, shorter hours, more creativity, and less wear and tear on the body and soul.

I'll take it!

The only downside so far is that it's usually not as steady as a restaurant gig. But I'm cutting down on my monthly overhead, so that should take a little of the pressure off during the occasional slow week. And I definitely can use a little more flexibility in my schedule than when I was working 75-80 hours a week at the restaurant.

So far, so good. Today we had a good chat about how to proceed from here. We're going to push ahead with plans to keep us busy during the gaps. Gotta keep bringing the pain.

I moved back to LA almost exactly a year ago. I served as a sous chef at a new cafe and bakery, which was one of the most engrossing, demanding, and challenging things I've ever done. I worked hard, did the best I could, and learned a ton. We were fortunate to be very busy, even during hard times for most restaurants. Most of the time, it was just a race to keep up with all the food we were selling. I had a great team of cooks, we figured out a lot of things as they were happening, and the guests seemed to enjoy it. Good times.

At one point, it seemed like I had found a home where I could be for a long time - indefinitely, even. There were some areas of difference of opinion, difference of style, and difference of priorities. At first, it seemed like those differences could be complementary. Ultimately, I decided, it wasn't the right fit for me. I wish them continued success and every happiness.

I spent most of January sitting in my bedroom thinking about all the things I coulda/woulda/shoulda done, but more importantly, all the things I wanna/hafta/will do next.

One of those things is writing more regularly. Perhaps the cliche'd blogger resolution. But there's a multi-pronged plan in the works. More on that as it develops. Thanks for reading.

~Tad

But in casino restaurants, thanks to unions and big staff, it's expected and required for all employees to get two consecutive days off. Because everyone gets a true "weekend," there's a peculiar turn of phrase, "Today is my Friday" (meaning it's the end of my workweek) or "Today is my Monday" (meaning it's the beginning of my workweek). I often overhear it in the hallway and employee dining areas, in various accents. No matter what the person's native tongue, these specific phrases are what's used to communicate the concept of a personal weekend.

It's funny how life works. A new opportunity came up, and although wasn't looking for such a drastic change, it seemed to meet both sides of the test. I'm learning a lot, in a new environment, with a new corporate culture, surrounded by new people, and also earning a fair wage with full benefits.

Granted, not all aspects of my new situation are as perfect as I'd like them to be. There are still the daily annoyances, adjustments, and compromises. But between the newness of it all, the work itself, and the upward trend, it seems like the right choice.

Learning or Earning. Or maybe both!!

Hard water, and consequently, softened water.

Low humidity, and consequently, dry skin and spontaneous nosebleeds.

Finding a new local pub.

Finding a new late night taco joint or taco truck.

Elsewise, so far, so good.

But a lot can happen in a couple of months. A friend of mine, with whom I have done lots of catering and teaching, was offered a gig at a plush new hotel on the Strip in Las Vegas. I want to get more experience with opening new restaurants, and in a variety of circumstances. After getting over some hesitations, I am officially bound for Las Vegas.

Although I have a few concerns, it's an amazing situation with lots of resources, lots of upside, good people involved, and sky's the limit potential. Beyond our restaurant, Las Vegas has representation from the best chefs in the world, and there is an audience to support the finest of fine dining - all the way down to $4.99 prime rib. I'll have lots of opportunity to eat and work in some excellent restaurants. There's a lively ethnic food scene as well, with ready access to international ingredients. Although I'll miss being near the ocean, there's apparently lots of recreating do in the foothills surrounding Las Vegas, Lake Mead, etc. For me personally, another draw is the very real possibility of buying a home or a condo, which is completely out of reach in the LA area.

It's so ON!! I've been imagining that clap and wave of empty hands that dealers do in Las Vegas, always accompanied by, "Good Luck."

As per usual, I won't speak about specifics, but I'll continue to post about my experience in Sin City and as a cook. I reserve the right to edit or delete any post or comments that may be too identifiable.

[...]

People, people
We got to get over,
Before we go under
People, people
We got to get over,
Before we go under

Hey, country
Didn't say what you meant
Just changed
Brand new funky President

Stock market going up
Jobs going down
And ain't no funking
Jobs to be found

Taxes keep going up
I changed from a glass
Now I drink out of a paper cup
It's getting bad

People, people
We got to get over
Before we go under

Listen to me
Let's get together and raise
Let's get together
And get some land

Raise our food like the man
Save our money like the Mob
Put up a fight down on the job

[...]

Hey, give yourself a
Chance to come through
Tell yourself, I can
Do what you can do

People, people
People, people
Hey, people, people
Don't you see what's going on

People, people
We got to get together
Get on the good foot
Change it, yeah

Got to get together
And get some land
Raise our food just like the man
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey

I got to say it again
We got to get together
And buy some land
Raise our food just like the man
Save our money, do like the Mob
Put up your fight right on the job

We gotta get over
Before we go under
Time's getting short, Lord

Country, do you know
Just what I meant
We just changed, we got
A brand new funky President

I need to be the Mayor
So I could change

Some things around here
I need to be the Governor
I need to be the Governor

Or the President!

"My last chef had a palate where he kinda liked things that tasted like vomit. Really. Kinda acid-ey, and bitter at the same time - like vomit. Sometimes he would make a sauce, and I thought it tasted like vomit. I had to get out of there."