It ain't easy being over-cheesed...y.

An uneventful but pleasantly rolling Monday evening. There was only one delivery boy, so I ended up jumping in and doing 4 runs through the night.

During prep, I made the slice pies from start to finish for the first time. The restaurant's slices are large squares that are cut into 9 pieces. Eight hundred grams of dough are stretched across the well-seasoned steel pan, then sauced with a simple cooked stewed tomato sauce, doused with some olive oil and salt, then cooked in the oven for 18 minutes. It's then taken out and topped with shredded moz, then baked again for about 10 minutes until the cheese starts to brown.

The thing is, when you are applying the cheese to the partially cooked sauced crust, you need to go light, because when the cheese melts in spreads out horizontally. I laid on the cheese so it looked right, with a minimal amount of red sticking out, but once cooked, you had slices of pizza that were out of balance -- too much cheese, not enough sauce and bread. You live, you learn.

ADDENDA:
The scale said 223.8 this morning. I'm a little surprised I'm maintaining my weight, I feel like I may be eating too much, or maybe it's just that I'm eating crappily -- the cold weather is maing me want to pack in heavy, fatty, sugary stuff.

BREAKFAST: 11am, slice of apple cheese pie, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: Noon, a variety of things from WF's cold and hot bar, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
Almost all vegetarian, mostly nasty. Zucchini latka tasted a bit like pooh, the falafel ball was laughably dry and crumbly, the seaweed salad was under seasoned, the potato samosa underspiced and the 'Chinese noodle salad' was just gooey.

PM SNACK: 5pm, 1 pizza slice, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 9:45pm, rigatoni with mushrooms, root beer, flourless chocolate cake, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING WATERING: 11:30pm, 1 quart

Cauliflower Power

This was the weekend of cauliflower. The restaurant has one off-menu special pie every night, usually something both original and "seasonal" -- I use quotes because some ingredients are technically seasonal, but in truth are available all year round. Sure, cauliflower is in season right now, but we get in imported from South America every day of the year.

Anyway, Chef A has been thinking in terms of soup-pizza: what soups could work well when baked on a crust. He decided on pureed cauliflower, a substance that has an oddly mashed-potato vibe to it. He was riffing out loud, asking for ideas. I've never been a fan of cauliflower -- my most recent experiences with it are when B orders a cauliflower pasta dish that smells like feet. I suggested mellow roasted garlic would be a nice complement.

So I go out to the markets to pick up cauliflower and chives. I steam the florets to soft with a few cloves of garlic, then put it all in the food processor, throwing in heavy cream, butter and salt as I go. Chef A makes a pie with four quadrants, each with the puree and different toppings -- fennel and provolone; cherry tomatoes and chives; mushroom and Gorgonzola; artichoke. Though I liked the tomato one as being the most visually attractive, all the pies were overwhelmed by their toppings, none having a strong cauliflower taste. So Chef A went back to the drawing board. I ran out and got another head of cauliflower, and we sliced the florets thin so we could roast them in the oven.

The next day, I asked Chef A how the special went and he said a customer had complimented the kitchen for producing their favorite pizza ever. I spent the day, outside the usual routine, making a new batch of cauliflower puree. This time I added 5x more steamed garlic, upped the roasted garlic and went lighter on the cream and heavier on the butter. The garlic was still mellow, but their was a creamier aspect happening without the heaviness of actual cream. At the end of m shift, I had A make me a special: first fresh moza is put lightly on the crust, as a layer of heat protection to keep the puree from burning. Then the puree is spread on, then it is topped with small amount of shredded provolone, roasted cauliflower and caramelized onion. It tasted nothing like feet, and the two cheeses and the mellow sweetness of the onions brought out the nicer earthy aspects of the vegetable.


ADDENDA:
On Sunday after work, I met E on bikes, we went grocery shopping, then went home and whipped out six pies, three pumpkin (from actual pumpkin, not cans) and three apple-cheese pie, involving cubes 0f sharp cheddar in the filling and grated cheddar in the crust. For the crusts, we used a vodka dough recipe, which came out perfectly flaky and light as advertised. It was crazy fun, and I noticed a lot of little things that I picked up in c-school as we went along.

I had a bunch of dough left over that went in the freezer, I wonder what pies I should make in the next few weeks....

SATURDAY BREAKFAST: 9:30am, banana, 2 frozen waffles, small ramekin of chocolate ice cream, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 4pm, roasted potatoes, cheesecake, orange soda, cauliflower pizza, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 7:15pm, fresh shrimp spring roll, sushi rolls, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING SNACK: 11pm, mac n' cheese casserole, 1 bowl. hunger 4/5

SUNDAY
BREAKFAST: 8:30am, apple, bagel with homemade hummus, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

BRUNCH: Noon, 4 pieces focaccia french toast, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 4pm, cauliflower pizza, root beer, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 9pm, small block of mac n' cheese casserole, half a small Wolfgang Puck frozen pizza, half slices of freshly baked pumpkin and apple-cheese pie, 2 bowl, hunger 4/5
Wolfgang Puck's frozen pizza was surprisingly clownish, thick crust even for a frozen pizza, overcheesed and not fresh tasting. I doubt he ever had anything to do with this commerical blandness, other than give his name to it.

Chumbawumba

There is a cake the restaurant makes for the weekend called (sp) Chumbaloni, a big lemony/anise flavored Bundt that's a little dry and perfect with coffee. The recipe is from the owner's grandma, it's typed on a piece of yellowed parchment, probably from the 1920s or '30s. Chef R translated it, and all the measures are either in cups or 'a little this' and a 'pinch of that'. Among other things, instead of using baking powder, we have these odd packets of vanilla-infused Italian baking powder. As I went along measuring the ingredients in the little old Italian woman-way, I weighed everything out on a scale. If the cake comes out good, we'll replace grandma's measures with the digital measures. Because you want the same grandma taste every time!

Some of the staff affectionately refers to the cake as 'chumbawumba'. A shot of anise-flavored liquor is a nice weighty flavor against the vanilla.

ADDENDA:
I think I'm going to make a slow fermented raw sauerkraut soon for the HVS and myself. She needs it for her vegan cleanse program, and it sounds like a tangy potentially lower-salt kraut thang for me. All I need to get is a bucket with a cover that fits inside the walls, a food-grade weight, and a wife who won't object to a bucket of wet decaying cabbage in the house.

BREAKFAST: 9:45am, apple, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 11am, mac n' cheese casserole, 3 chocolate chip cookies, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5 Surprisingly hungry early, must of been yesterday's riding.

LUNCH 2: 5:30pm, slice with mushrooms and onions, Teany tea, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK:9pm, ginger ale

DINNER: 10:30pm, lasagna, flourless chocolate cake, water, 2 bowl, hunger 4/5

PIZZA BIKE!!

After more than a decade of riding bicycles for the purpose of pleasure, commuting, communing, meditation, fitness, sanity, environmental sustainability, and sporting cool spandex outfits, this evening I road a bicycle professionally. The bike I road was probably a full four times heavier than Lance Armstrong's bike, and its purpose was not just to carry the human passenger but also to carry PIZZA!

Due to being unusually short staffed, I volunteered for a delivery shift at the restaurant. After folding boxes and hanging out for a while, the orders started coming in and soon I was pedalling all over Prospect Heights. Lots of brownstones, nice old apartment buildings, some with nice views of Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Museum.

The bike itself was a glorious example of form meeting function. It was a Worksman bicycle, a low-gravity pizza delivery model. The front wheel was a smaller 24" circumference, with a large steel box attached to the frame above it. The box was free of the steering column, meaning when you turned the front wheel, the steel box remained flush straight, similar to the experience of steering a car.

By 8pm, the delivery rush had me hitting 2 and three addresses on each run, with no time to hang out in between. One I had to come back to because I missed a salad, another gave the wrong address and phone number, or at least it was written incorrectly or something. By my last run, a single portion of rigatoni to Eastern Parkway, I was thoroughly enjoying the momentum that can be built up in such a heavy bike -- once you get it moving with a little effort, you've banked a lot of energy in that bulk and...it wants to keep moving -- even up hill. And down hill, well, it's like cruising on a express train, with luxurious padded seats.

The bike was awkwardly front-heavy. I chatted with the owner's wife towards the end of the evening, and seemed surprised that I was swooning over the bike. She was the one who went to the factory to buy the bike, and was planning to get a second one, but the delivery people really didn't like it. They preferred the crappy mountain bike whose basket didn't quite fit the pizza boxes. This Worksman is a classic, over-built and designed for its purpose. It delivers.

The money I collected over the evening went in to a pot. I wasn't really paying attention to tips, but when the count was done at the end of the night...well, I made a couple of bucks more during that one-time dishwashing shift. Now I see why only college kids and newly-arrived immigrants do this job. Still, next time I order in, I'm giving the delivery person an extra buck.

ADDENDA:
Lifted weights for the first time in years today -- but just on the arms, shoulders, and chest. Biking has given me a certain kind of strength, but the strength needed to haul hot heavy trays of pizza and bread out of a furnace of an oven with speed (and yoga's full wheel position and most inversions) require an upper body strength I just don't have right now.

BREAKFAST: 9:30am, organic chex with good millk, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 1:30pm, leftover pasta with shrimp, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 2:3opm, chocolate ice cream, 1 freshly baked chocolate chip cookie, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 6pm, cheesecake, water, couple pieces of bread, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 10pm, margherita pizza with sausage and broccoli rabe, rootbeer, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING DRINK: 11pm, 1 beer

The cook's dirty lil' buddy.

This evening I cooked a three-course meal for B and my friend Y, who was bringing over her new paramour -- and if she felt strong enough to introduce him, well, it could be something. For appetizer, I simply took my leftover butternut squash risotto, balled it up, dipped in flour, then egg wash, then panko crumbs and deep fried them in peanut oil. Once out on a plate lined with paper, a shake of grated cheese and your good.

I cooked off one of two containers of risotto, about 15 balls. Even though they came out pretty crisp and ungreasy, they ALL went. I guess my guests liked them! Deep-fry, the cook's dirty lil' buddy.

For the main course, I was inspired by a food podcast interview I heard while riding my bike out to Coney Island this morning. A woman was describing her food memories of escargot while growing up in France. She recently started eating them again and was surprised how crappy they were compared to the memory. According to experts she consulted, escargots are always kind of chewy and flavorless -- the reason it's such a classic dish is the butter it's served in, which has parsley and garlic in it.

So I took a cup of parsley and a clove of garlic and processed it to a fine dice. Added a cup of soft butter and let it go till it was a nice light green paste. then added salt to taste. Not a fan of snails, I cleaned and deveined a pound of fresh shrimp, brined it a little, then rubbed the parsley butter on it to rest in the fridge.

I didn't use a recipe, just went by taste. I used elephant garlic, which is milder than normal garlic -- so if you use too much, it's garlicky but not unpleasant. The parsley was a nice flavor enlivened by all the butter, but I goofed. In addition to salting the sauce to an appropriate amount, I over-salted the cooking water. The whole dish was about a half-step into overseasoned. Not a salt-trap, but definitely tasted salty. Upon first bite while tasting for doneness out of the water, I also noticed it was weirdly tough. I went into the fridge and -- ah! I used bread flour by mistake, instead of AP. I would of rolled the pasta less if I knew. Still, the guests ate up their plates, so it wasn't so bad. And the shrimp -- despite the brining, weren't too salty and cooked to a nice tender place.

Whipped out a portion of plain linguine, boiled it while sauteing the shrimp in olive oil and a little parsley butter, then put the pasta and more parsley butter in the pan to cook together for a while. Plated, finished with grated cheese and a few sprigs of parsley. Chef Al would of yelled at me if I didn't add that damn garnish.

Desert was some chocolate chip cookies I whipped up from the extra semi sweet chocolate I had on hand from making the ice cream, a nice sandwich o' sweets, very simple and direct, to end a slightly frou-frou meal. Ice cream was pleasantly undersweet, cookies crisp and fresh.

ADDENDA:
Holy crap, the camera on my phone sucks. I swear the plate looked more appetizing than that!

BREAKFAST: 9:30am, organic cornflakes with organic (but not good) milk, .5 bowl

AM RIDE DRINK: 10am-1pm, quart of WF-brand organic sports drink

LUNCH: 1:30pm, mac n' cheese casserole, black cherry soda, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM TASTING: 7pm, spoonful of chocolate ice cream
Very rich, but on the edge of not being sweet enough. Weird, unsweet is not a flavor you expect out of ice cream.

DINNER: 8pm, 3 arancini, linguine in parsley butter with shrimp, chocolate chip cookies and chocolate ice cream, 1 beer, seltzer, 2 bowl, hunger 4/5

Barack n ' Cheese

Tonight I cooked a dish that I have a long history with. Originally, my dad would cook a simple mac n' cheese casserole, a couple of Kraft boxes of dry pasta and bright orange powder mixed with some butter and milk, and some hot dogs sliced into it. Delicious, simple, comforting. In college, I took it a step further. Into the Kraft boxes would be kielbasa, mushrooms, and onions. I'd "sautee" the veg and sausage, but looking back, I clearly overcrowded the pan and steamed everything to a particular lack of flavor.

As my interest in cooking gained steam in recent years, I still desired the comfort of mac n' cheese, but the visual of the glowing Kraft powder kind of made me think that there must be something real that the fake stuff is based on. Using this recipe, followed to the letter (minus the ham) yielded an authentic if not over-the-top mac-n-cheese. I made it for parties, for relatives, for guests -- all to some pretty nice praise.

So when my wife asked me to make mac n' cheese for her on election night, I looked forward to making this recipe, now that I have c-school behind me. The first thing I changed up was the cheeses. Cheddar and moz stayed, thought I went aged and extra sharp with the cheddar. I replaced jack with gruyere. Gruyere is the basis of mornay sauce, basically the French equivalent of the cheese sauce needed in mac n' cheese. I followed the recipe, this time knowing exactly how to deal with a roux. I didn't measure anything, just tossed stuff in and when it seemed to be too thick, started adjusting.

I did one tray of plain for B, and one with some mix ins. In honor of my dad, I picked up some Nathan's hot dogs, and in honor of college, I caramelized some onions and cooked down some criminis. The final result of my mac n' cheese was good, not great. The cheddar flavor was a bit too sharp, the hot dogs a little bit flacid, and the olive oil I cooked the veg in gave an odd note against the absolute dairy-ness of all that cheese, milk, and butter. My next attempt, though, is going to totally steamroll! Sweet Italian sausage is probably the way to go, with a quick sear then put into the mix in a partially raw state before baking, mmmm...

ADDENDA:
After a yoga class with the HVS, we snickle snacked at the studio's cafe. HVS is undergoing a 3-week vegan cleanse program with a very limited menu, so in solidarity I ordered a porridge dish that is a staple of her new diet. Kitchari is made with lentils, rice, kombu, water, and that's it. Bland as a flat road in Kansas, it had a weird skunky aftertaste that was actually pleasant. I know Ilsa is on the warpath for me to eat simple and bland, I hope this counts!

BREAKFAST: 7:30am, apple, .25 bowl, hunger 3/5

AM WATERING: 9am, quart of water

AM SNACK: 10:15am, homemade oatmeal bar, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 1:15pm, fresh potato knish, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
Ate this at Yonnah Shimmel while riding by. Thank Sheba for society supporting institutions like this.

PM SNACK: 5pm, vegan brownie, cup of kitcheri, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 8pm, mac n' cheese caserole, coconut-based vanilla ice cream, 2 bowls, hunger 4/5

Look at my fine balls

On the left, balls of dough shaped with my left hand. On the right, balls of dough shaped at the same time with my right hand. They're a little bit rough, but workable. Monday is a slow day, and while Chef A went down to the basement to try to fix some broken chairs, I worked on my dough rolling technique. A 12" pie is 200 grams, cut with a bench scraper (seen above left) from a big blob poured out of the mixer. If you were to take this blob and bang it flat into a pizza, it would be uneven, unround and flat and crisp in one spot and bubbly and airy (and quick to burn) in another.

By rolling the dough into an orb, these things are smoothed out. The motion takes the dough around in a circle on the cold stone surface, with the edge of the hand closest to the surface tucking the bottom of the ball underneath itself, pulling and stretching the exposed surface of the ball into a smooth, even skin.

The evening rolled on, the timer failed, we burned a few sheets of slices. Life goes on.

ADDENDA
B stayed away from work today, so this morning we went to a nice coffee shop for a bagel, then wandered around the aisles of Pathmark together, gawking at the pancake-wrapped sausage on a stick and buying up stuff to make a big ol' Obama Mac n' Cheese thing tomorrow.

BREAKFAST: 10am, lox and cream cheese on a bagel, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

AM SNACK: noon, half pint of cake batter-flavor B&J ice cream, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 4pm, parsnip soup & 1 slice of pizza, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 7pm, black cherry soda, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 9pm, small plate of spaghetti with meatball, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING WATERING: 11:30pm, quart of water

An essential step to making frozen pizza delicious

Saturday was a bit hectic when I rolled in at 11am, the time when we opened for lunch. Chef C had been there since 9am prepping, and still had a number of tasks to accomplish. Fortunately, customers were few and far between for a couple of hours, and we were able to bang out chocolate cake and tiramisu while baking off focaccias and slice pies. Chef A came in around 2pm, and before I knew it, it was time to leave to meet B for a dinner party in Brooklyn.

Sunday's brunch service was a lot busier, which gives hope to the thought that this may work out for the restaurant. Chef A was in for the early shift, and we started off with the dough and baking, and finishing up a cheesecake. Chef A gave me a list, and I went around the corner to pick up the basics for parsnip soup. I was given some simple directions (as it's a simple soup), and I chopped a bunch of veg. As I softened the onion, carrot, and celery in the large pot, it occurred to me -- my old c-school friend mire poix! I understood why Chef A instructed me to start with sauteeing these 3 vegetables, rather than just boiling the life out of them like with the parsnip main ingredient. (Sauteeing those 3 vegetables to soft rather than boiling them to soft with the other ingredients gives a very distinct, classic and yummy base flavor that simply boiling will not give.) By the time had all the soup blended, it was 4pm it was time to go to Westchester for my mission o' mercy.

ADDENDA:
My father had an un-ironic button that said, "Better Living Through Chemistry". He was a chemist who earned his PhD in the 60s, but I don't think the button was referring to LSD, but more like new-fangled 'plastics' and fluoridated water.

At the dinner party I attended Saturday evening, a guest contributed a bundt-shaped rum cake, with a butter rum glaze and chopped walnuts embedded in the crust -- very cool and retro. Even more retro was the fact that it was made with not one, but TWO Duncan Hines's mixes, a cake mix and a pudding mix.

I'm sure some colleague of my father was responsible for the formula of the cake I ate Saturday evening.

Sunday, I trekked up to Westchester to visit a recently married friend for dinner and a mission. Her husband has restaurant experience similar to mine, and made a hearty and soulful chicken florentine, was really nice and comfortable hanging out in the kitchen. After, I made two sheets of brownies from scratch in the kitchen. One sheet was straight and the other used butter I cooked up with five, um, 'oregano cigarettes', cough cough. My friend's mom is undergoing chemo and radiation, and all sorts of peeps have been kicking medicinal herb her way, but she has a hard time smoking.

You can't make something like that for someone without trying it to see what they're in for. After such a big meal, I knew it might take a while. I didn't really feel anything till I was riding my bike home around 11:30pm, and all of a sudden Tompkin's Square Park seemed big and and easy to get lost in (it's literally a park where you can see one side from the other.) Despite eating pizza everyday, when I got home, the frozen pizzas in the fridge spoke to me.

SATURDAY
BREAKFAST: 9:30am, toasted bagel with homemade hummus, 1 bowl, hunger 3/5

AM SNACK: 11:30am, pomegranate fizzy lizzy, .5 bowl, hunger 3/5

LUNCH: 4:30pm, 1 slice pizza, root beer, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 6pm, homemade acorn squash risotto, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 9pm, pumpkin soup, roasted chicken boob, sauteed mustard greens, lemon orzo salad, rum cake with ginger ice cream, 1.75 bowl, hunger 4/5

SUNDAY
BREAKFAST: 9am, apple, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 2pm, 1 slice, rootbeer, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 3pm, flourless chocolate cake, water, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 6:30pm, chicken florentine, roasted potatoes, 2 pieces bruchetta, 1 beer, water, 3 straight brownies, 1 magical brownie, 2 bowls, hunger 4/5

EVENING MUNCH: 12am, Amy's Frozen Margerita Pizza, quart of water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5
I used to eat a lot of Amy's brand frozen pizzas, though can't really stomach that quality of food anymore. It's truism that you really do need to be stoned to enjoy this stuff. I preheated the oven to the recommended temp, placed the frozen disc on the pizza stone, and after the recommended time, was still flibbidy flobbidy. I doubled the time, the top browned a little, but other than the outer rim, was still flibbidy. Upon eating, I realized that they over sauced and over cheesed the the pie, that it would probably burn before firming up. Bready and mushy, ick. The main difference between this pie and a normal Amy's is that instead of being coated in an indeterminate spray of grated cheeses, it had hunks of some sort of moz studded on it's surface. These said hunks melted down into a wet blanket. Bleah.

Salt and oil all around

Chef R roasted some pumpkin for the night's pizza special, but it came off bitter and unappealing, so she ditched it in favor of a simple artichoke and basil pesto pie. Early in the evening, a lot of kids and parents came in for trick-or-treating, up through the rush around 8-10pm. Kid, if you see a crowded restaurant, a line in the front, a crowd of people by the open kitchen waiting for take out, and and a harried staff running back and forth, then IS not a good time to demand candy.

Spent the hours before opening making cheesecake and portioning dough. Once we got rolling, I mostly plated/boxed and finished pies. Early on and near the end, Chef R showed me how to top a few pies, the main task of the lead pizza chef in the kitchen. One thing that surprised me that was not on the menu (which I spent the morning memorizing) is that every pie is topped with a swirl of olive oil and salt before hitting the oven. Some pies get less salt or oil (a puttanesca with anchovies, capers and olives just doesn't need a lot of extra salt, a zuchinne with squirt of basil pesto doesn't need to much more oil), but it's a constant.

It was a little quiet early on when usually it's a lot of kids with parents, due to the holiday. However, the delivery rush was thick and the restaurant was only 3 pies away from breaking its record of most pies sold in a night. At 10 pm, we made 5 large special order sheet pies for a wedding reception -- some dude got married on a float at the Halloween Parade and was catering his party with our pizza. I wouldn't want to base my future happiness and health tied forever with such a silly holiday, but basing it on some fine pizza doesn't sound too bad!

ADDENDA:
After I wrote yesterday's entry after dinner, felt antsy and weird. Hungry, but not hungry, just wanted to eat to entertain myself perhaps. I haven't felt this way in quite a while, and it was both annoying and a comfort. I guess this kind of feeding frenzy is ok every once in a blue moon, but any more and my pants will regret it.

Too much sugar, damn you Halloween! It's not my fault, ghosts and goblins forced all the sweets into my mouth!

LATE NIGHT BINGE: 10-12pm, potato chips, corn chips and salsa, a handful of peanut butter cups, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
Was tempted to break out a frozen pizza, but thought of the shame of having to write about it.

BREAKFAST: 11am, good yogurt with honey, nuts, vanilla, .75 bowls, hunger 3/5

PM SNACK: 1pm, flourless chocolate cake, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACKS: 1-9pm, a little Halloween candy here and there, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 6pm, black cherry soda, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 10pm, pizza with sausage, artichokes, moz, rosemary, olives, mushrooms, cheesecake, water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

Purée the day away

I spent a good part of the day cooking. First I made another puréed soup, this one for a dinner party on Saturday. I figure if the leftover soup I had for breakfast was so damn tasty, holding a batch for a few days will only help.

Roasted a sugar pie pumpkin while caramelized a sliced onion, boiled a yam and a couple of carrots in vegetable stock to soft, sautéed a sliced Macintosh apple in olive oil to soft and brown. All into the blender with some grated ginger, a blob of black strap molasses, a few teaspoons of sea salt and a dash of cayenne. It's now all in the fridge mellowing and coming together. Saturday I'll make the parsley oil for the garnish, and this time I gots me a squeeze bottle.

For dinner, I roasted an acorn squash along with the pumpkin, and once it cooled, I scraped it out into the food processor with a 10oz container of marscapone, and blended to smooth. Brought a couple of quarts of chicken stock to a boil, softened a diced onion in olive oil, toasted 2 cups of arborio rice to translucent, hit it with a half cup of sherry and let it cook off to dry. As I added a ladleful of stock to the rice one by one and stirred, I prepped a half pound of shrimp and tossed it in olive oil, salt and cumin just for giggles.

When the rice had absorbed and felt right to the tooth, I salted to taste. I threw the shrimp on a hot, hot grill pan. Took the squash purée and folded it in to the rice with a cup of grated parm. The spice in the shrimp marinade browned nicely, contrasting against the pale orange risotto.

I was blazing hungry, and took me half the bowl to realize the risotto needed a hell of a lot more salt. I salted the leftovers, and into the fridge for...maybe arancini?

ADDENDA:
Looking forward to getting back to work tomorrow.

BREAKFAST: 11:15am, half an apple, banana, homemade butternut squash soup, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5
The apple was organic, but from the west coast, so it was kinda unappealingly soft and low on flavor. I gotta get local, pesticides be damned. Soup was totally awesome as a leftover, I must make some freezer stock of this stuff.

PM SNACK: 12:45pm, handful of Reese's peanut butter cups. .25 bowl, hunger 4/5
I shouldn't have bought a Halloween candy that I used to love so dearly as a kid. I had a Reese's t-shirt that I wore through childhood up into high school. -sigh-

PM SNACK: 4pm, pickle

DINNER: 6:30pm, grilled cumin shrimp with acorn squash risotto, handful of peanut butter cups, quart of water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

The frozen aisle just ain't doing it for me anymore.

Just didn't feel like cooking today. After laundry and chores, ate some of last night's leftovers, but still felt unsatisfied. I needed to go to the local conventional supermarket to pick up detergent and Halloween candy (because no kid wants some sort of nouveau 'healthy' candy), so I had the idea of maybe buying some ingredients for a fresh lunch.

The packaged meats looked bleh, the fresh seafood not so fresh. I used to be a big fan of the freezer aisle, and I was stopped by a package of frozen falafel. I was about to buy it but made the mistake of reading the ingredients. About ten different spices, all dried, none fresh. No oil at all, which means you must fry yourself, microwaving not really being an option. To its credit, there weren't any preservatives in it, but that just underlined my final thought before putting it back on the shelf: shee-it, I can make this myself. Indeed, maybe next week.

This was the supermarket of my parents. Wandering around, missed them pretty hard amongst the frozen foods. Ended up just getting vegan boca burgers. Oh well.

ADDENDA:
I made falafel in c-school, it was a good recipe. For those readers who followed me here from Culinary School Confidential, just got my grades today from the 5th and final mod. Chef Al gave me the lowest grades of my experience, dipping my GPA just below what I needed for graduating with honors. However, it seems I'll be getting a grade for my externship, so no grade-grubbing necessary. Funny, I really don't care, except for that feeling of, "Oo, grade is not good enough, don't want to show my parents."

Went to yoga class today, just was not feeling it and zoned out by the time we started doing positions on the floor. Met with Ilsa about my diet n' stuff, and it seems an apple a day and some super-simple unreduced minimally cooked oil/minimal vegetable matter is in my immediate future. Baaaah!

BREAKFAST: 10am, organic chex with good milk, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH #1: 1pm, half a leftover homemade pizza, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH #2: 3pm, boca burger on whole wheat english muffin, ginger ale, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 7pm, pad see ew, water, small brownie, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING SNACK: 10:30pm, potato chips, handful of peanut butter cups, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
Oy. I didn't eat enough today. And after Ilsa's command to eat more fruit and veg...

Livin' La Pizza Loca Pt 2

The dough came out well. Speaking with Chef A yesterday at the restaurant, he said how difficult it could be to make non-ginormous quantities of dough. I started with Peter Rheinhart's recipe, adjusting with half double 00 flour and less water, which still came out really loose, adding more and more AP flour till it wasn't total goo. When the dough was taken out to work with this evening, it had set up nicely.

3 adults, 2 kids, one vegan. In the morning I churned strawberry ice cream and chocolate soy ice cream, slowly caramelized onions, sautéed criminis with garlic, prepped a tray of mise (buffalo and cow moz, parm, pepperoni, basil, thyme, raw sauce, cooked sauce).

Haven't made a proper blended soup since c-school, and it was a revelation. Easy to make and really delicious, no recipe, just threw in what I had on hand.


Peeled and roasted hunks of butternut squash. Softened a mess of diced onions in olive oil. Sautéed slices of peeled golden delicious apple. Into boiling water went peeled carrots and a yam. All went into blender, with some of the boiling water, maple syrup, salt, grated ginger, a dash of cayenne. An hour before the guests came, soup went into one large and one small pot on the stove top. To one, I finished the soup with heavy cream, the other with soy milk.

For garnishes, I roasted and steamed three multicolored peppers, then diced them together for a smokey relish. Took a head of parsley and blended it to smooth with a small amount of olive oil and a heavy dash of salt. I had no squeeze bottle on hand so the spooning of the parsley oil was a bit sloppy. Regardless, this mildly sweet soup was an excellent opening round. I stamped 2" rounds out of one flattened dough and painted them with garlic-infused olive oil and a shake of salt for a cracker-like garlicky pizza accompaniment for the soup.

After popping out a round of kid-made pies, whipped off the adult pies. I ran my oven at 500 instead of 550, and for convenience's sake used parchment under all the pies to get them in and out of the oven easier. (Right now I have a folding metal peel that just sucks, doesn't hold lubricating flour very well, need to get a short-handled wooden peel.) The temp, the paper, and perhaps the dough didn't lend itself to good browning. Next time, I'm gonna go hotter, lose the paper and perhaps add either a dash of sugar, honey, or milk to the dough, in a quest to find the ideal dough for the oven I have. Cow margarita, buffalo margarita, mushroom & cherry tomato, and a few variations, nothing that crazy.


For dessert, in addition to the ice creams, I balled some extra pizza dough into little nuggets and dropped them into about 400 degree peanut oil. Took a few minutes, but they browned nicely, not greasy at all, and puffy and steamy in the middle. Finished with powdered sugar, they were mildly sweet, yet had that certain yeasty tang that makes pizza dough pizza.

ADDENDA:
Probably the trickiest part of the night was having 2 non-English speaking kids assemble pizzas. Fortunately, the dough wasn't too loose and they got the concept of stretching pretty ably. I've never actually sat in front of my oven and watched the pizzas cook, but sitting with them was a mini-revelation, watching the yeast rise the dough in the first minute, the cheese melting into pools, then finally just bubbling away and browning.


BREAKFAST: 9:30am, bagel and cream cheese, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 3pm, spinach pumpkin ravioli, chocolate bar, water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5 Ravioli is a bit disappointing, I rolled the dough a bit too thick, so it came out a bit too tough. The pumpkin filling is pretty good though, the balsamic reduction plays well against the pumpkin and marscapone.

DINNER: 6:30pm, butternut squash soup, various homemade pizza slices, vanilla ice cream with deep fried pizza dough balls with powdered sugar, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

Livin' La Pizza Loca Pt 1.

Monday night is a slowish night at the restaurant. I came in at 3 for a 5 opening, and I popped out a round of tiramisu, assisted on a balsamic reduction for topping the night's special pie (a butternut squash creation) and blended a load of basil and parsley into olive oil to create a basil pesto of sorts for another special pie.

Early in the evening I was sent across to the sister restaurant (which is closed Mondays) to slice some prosciutto and some spicy salami. I haven't spent much time on the slicer -- I think the amount time spent warning me about the slicer is greater than the time I've ever spent on one. Oddly enough, the owner was poking around the restaurant and gave me a tutorial on the slicer, ending up doing 4/5 of the slicing I needed to do. Then he showed me how to clean it properly, ending up pretty much cleaning it himself.

The rest of the night was mostly stretching dough, finishing pies, plating and boxing, cutting bread, and just ebbing and flowing with the personalities in the shop. A customer came in, a regular, in which everyone nick named 'the penis', as he has an oddly bell-shaped head and acted overly ingratiating and needs a lot of attention. I wonder if I've ever been given a nickname by the staff at any restaurant?

ADDENDA:
I spent the morning prepping whatever could be done in advance for dinner tomorrow night, when the HVS will swoop down with a small crowd of her family in town from Israel. I made some triple chocolate soy ice cream, a batch of creme anglais (which will become vanilla and strawberry ice cream), and a batch of pizza dough. The dough will be used for pizzas, garlic bread (to go with some squash soup), and some sort of deep fried pizza balls with powdered sugar to go with the ice creams.

It's a bit weird spending my morning making dough, letting it rise, then scaling and balling it at home...then going to work and doing the same thing. Living la pizza loca!

BREAKFAST: 8:30am, toasted onion bagel with homemade hummus, .75 bowl, hunger 3/5

LUNCH: 5:30pm, 2 slices, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 9:30pm, small portion of spaghetti with meatball, root beer, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING WATERING: 11:30pm, quart of water

EVENING TASTING: 11:45pm, spoonful of vanilla ice cream

A Weekend of Brunch

The restaurant started brunch this weekend. Due to crummy weather Saturday, it was quite dead. In the kitchen, an extraordinary amount of dough was made, on top of a large amount of dough prepared the day before. Rather than using a dough with 10-20% old dough mixed in, the day started with 100% old dough -- dough that was made the day before and refrigerated in ball form over night. The pies came out snappier on the outside, more tender on the inside, and a more developed, complex flavor. As Chef A and the manager/owner's wife (let's cal her Mow) were discussing this revelation, I butted in by saying, I don't know if you want to know this, but the neighborhood's main competitor ages their dough in a fridge for almost 2.5 days.

So later that day, while I chopped an extraordinary amount of dried apricots for the scones on the new menu, Mow asked me more about my time a the main competitor's kitchen. The main reason they don't hold dough for so long, I explained, is because there simply isn't enough space in the fridges. Still, the result was clearly superior and I think Chef A is going to brainstorm with R on how to finagle the space. It was nice, I felt a new comfort with Mow, my wonkish interest in pizza legitimized me in her eyes a little. Starting to get to know the different personalities in the shop, getting more comfortable overall.

On Sunday, the weather was much better, as was business. The back kitchen was responsible for many of the new brunch dishes, but there were a few mini pies as well as a couple of baked egg dishes that the pizza kitchen covers. (With time, I suppose I may get my hands in these as well.) It was a relaxed shift, as much of the dessert-prep and dough already done; along the way, I watched as Chef C was topping the pies -- he had a certain deftness with balance and even spread with toppings. My own dough-stretching skills seem to be improving, and I can now roll a ball of dough into a tight sphere with one hand. Now I need to work to roll two balls with two hands.

ADDENDA:
The dishwasher was throwing up and bleeding through the nose and had to leave. Almost spent Sunday eve doing dishes, but fortunately someone else came to do the shift.

Ate crapilly on reflection, need some healthy fare tomorrow.

SATURDAY
BREAKFAST: 9am, banana, granola with good milk, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 2:30pm, 1 slice pizza, 1 piece flourless chocolate cake, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM WATERING: 3:30pm, 2 pints of water

PM SNACK: 5pm, fancy orange soda, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 7:30pm, pork fried rice, wonton soup, water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

SUNDAY
BREAKFAST: 9:30am, pumpkin donut, bagel with hummus, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 1pm, mini tarte flambe-like pizza, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
Slow period, rolled a mini pie, topped with olive oil, then a twirl of crème fraiche loosened with cream out of a squeeze bottle, some caramelized onions then thin batons of prosciutto. Charred nicely, the best lil' lunch pie I've had in a while.

PM SNACK: 3pm, ricotta cheesecake, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 6:30pm, half a pastrami sandwich, half a plate of fries, pickle, 1.5 bowls, hunger 4.5
I can't believe there was a time I'd eat a whole sandwich and a whole plate of fries.

Slamming Dough

Everyone was feeling excited/nervous/edgy for tomorrow, the first day of opening early to serve brunch. That meant there was extra to do this morning, prepping for the additional egg dishes and French toast (using focaccia!), revising the menu up to the last minute, and Chef R working with the backroom kitchen staff to pump out rounds of brunchy salads and French toasts to the staff.

So it was down to C and me to make two huge rounds of dough -- for today and tomorrow, when we will be serving the whole menu, as well as a few brunch pies -- the carbonara has a raw egg dropped on it half way through the cooking.

We banged out a flourless chocolate cake, then Chef R sent me to the supermarket to pick up a cartload of groceries -- usually a list of 6 items would be a small handful, but when it's 10 pounds of potatoes, 4 pounds of brussel sprouts, 4 dozen eggs etc, it adds up.

We scaled and balled dough, which seemed to last forever, but I did notice that I'm getting faster without losing precision. Not a lot faster, but it's the upward trend we're looking for. C was over the moon because we were pretty much done with out prep, and focaccias and slice-pies coming out of the oven before 5, a rare event it seems in the restaurant and even more unusual because of the large amounts a Friday requires. I guess my presence is appreciated.

From service to close, the night flew by. I finished & plated/boxed pies for a while, but spent most of the time slamming dough, enjoying my increasing familiarity with how dough feels and acts, particularly according to temperature -- the warmer the dough is, the gooier and looser it gets, making it much quicker to stretch, but much easier to get too thin and tear.

Chef R pointed out different flaws I was producing in the dough throughout the night, but at the end she complimented me, saying that I was a huge help and felt I was 'clicking' in well. I've had so many horrendously horrible managers in jobs with tons of layers of management -- who would have thought such a good one would appear where there is almost no level of dedicated management?

ADDENDA:
Ate weirdly at the restaurant, but that's because odd food presented itself. Up until now, I was in the non-anchovies camp. I got over any strong negative feelings in c-school, where fish like anchovies and fish paste were discovered to be miraculous flavor enhancers that could make a dish. (Anyone who won't eat anything with anchovies in it, despite them being finely blended or diced, is an IDIOT.) I sampled a pie with the traditional strips of anchovies and it's very strong fishy/salty flavor was....not bad. I had a second little slice and enjoyed the fishy flavor more, the salty blast a little less. Interesting.

BREAKFAST: 8am, whole wheat English muffin with homemade hummus, water, .5 bowl, hunger 3/5

AM SNACK: 11am, banana, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 1:30pm, black cherry soda, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 2pm, 3 pieces of french toast, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
Chef R was experimenting with the new brunch menu, giving it out to the staff.

LUNCH: 5pm, 2 square slices, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
So much better than frozen!

PM WATERING: 7pm, quart

PM SNACK: 9pm. 2 small slices of sardine pie, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
Pie sent back from customer, divvied among us workers.

PM WATERING: 9:15pm, quart

EVENING SNACK: 10pm, small square of ricotta cheesecake, ginger ale, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

Kitties don't like my oatmeal bars. Stupid kitties.

This morning I took my mountain bike to the trails in Van Cordlandt Park in da Bronx. I took two donuts with me from my local gourmet donut shop. (Yuppie -- who, me?) After a long subway ride, once I got into the park, I paused for a moment of donut appreciation. Eating fresh artisanal donuts on a crisp fall day in the middle of a forest, there is nothing quite like it. Don't know if it made me feel closer to nature or closer to donuts.

ADDENDA:
While riding my bike back from the deep forests of the Bronx, I met stray kitties in two different neighborhoods. I offered both a piece of my oatmeal bar (the only food I had on me), but neither had the slightest interest.

BREAKFAST: 8am, good yogurt with honey, raw cashews, vanilla, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

AM SNACK: 10am, 2 good donuts, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 2pm, WF sports drink, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 3:30pm, homemade spinach pasta scraps with sauce, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5
The variable sizes and shapes (and particularly thicknesses) really brought the point home about how important the shape of pasta is, how it creates the relationship with the sauce.

PM SNACK: 4:30pm, homemade oatmeal bar, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
Still think it's too sweet, but the butter/brown sugar/hint of rum flavor is pretty friggin' great, despite that.

DINNER: 6:45pm, frozen pizza, homemade vanilla ice cream, 2 bowls, hunger 4/5
I cooked this exactly to box spec, which allowed for a pizza stone. So how was it?

In a word, crappy. There is pretense to healthiness -- the uncured pepperoni and an unknown percentage of whole wheat flower in the crust. While the ingredients list doesn't have 1,000 ingredients that I remember from the frozen pizza of my youth, it's still 3 servings per pie -- which means I just ate 1000+ calories and over 80 grams of fat. Let's not talk sodium. No, this is not healthy.

So if this is not healthy, I'd hope it would give me some visceral pizza pleasure. The crust tasted stale and cardboardy, the cheese was totally anonymous despite the listing of smoked provolone after moz, but the sauce had a nice level of sweetness to spice, provided by a little paprika. Still, taken all together, it tasted a lot like....a frozen supermarket pizza. Which is to say, crappy.

What does one eat before jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge?

Got my cook on this morning, since my only obligation was attending a staff meeting at the restaurant at 3pm. My goal was to do a batch of mushroom tomato sauce, and make hummus and pumpkin ravioli. First two got completed, but I didn't have enough time to cook the pumpkin filling and make the spinach pasta dough.

The tomato sauce was a bit experimental, aided by a food processor for the first time. Previously, I was sticking close to the Batali recipe, but now, well, why not just go do what feels good? I remembered what my dad would throw into his sauce, and worked from there. A diced onion softened in olive oil, with the addition of diced Italian cooking peppers. A pinch of salt, then a mess of finely minced shitake and portobello mushrooms, cooked down. One can of whole tomatoes mushed by hand, then another can of whole tomatoes blended to smooth. One bunch of oregano, minced. Two heads of mashed roasted garlic, right out of the oven. Simmered on low for an hour, threw in a cup of minced parsley. Salted to taste. Cooled, put into containers, then into the ice box.

While simmering the sauce, I split a pumpkin, cleaned it, smeared it with maple syrup, and cut side-down into the oven for an hour (along with the foil-wrapped garlic). Took a half container of spinach, threw it in boiling water for 60 seconds, then into an ice bath. Puréed the shocked spinach in a blender with a little water to smooth, then took 3.5 cups of flour and made a well, into which 4 eggs and the spinach liquid went into the middle. After about 15 minutes of hand mixing and kneading, the dough was ready to rest in plastic. Using my new pizza dough balling skills, I rounded it nicely, like a nice lil' green sphere.

Simmering, resting, roasting. Threw all the hummus ingredients in the food processor -- 2 cans of drained chickpeas, half a container of tahini, juice of 1.5 lemons, one head of roasted garlic, olive oil, a bit of salt. Let it go for a while, tasted it, added pinch of salt and a little chickpea liquid, then finished it. Packaged into the fridge, then on I went.

Scooped the pumpkin out of the skins after cooling, and into the food processor unil liquid. Spread out on a baking sheet then put back in the oven for 10 minutes to dry. Once out, into a mixing bowl with a bit of marscapone, Parmesan, cinnamon, nutmug, and melted butter that I hit with balsamic and maple syrup as it was browning. Mixed, tasted, salted, refrigerator.

Once again, a mountain of dishes faced me. My wife, after working in an office all day, probably wouldn't want to come home to that. So, despite not having an industrial dishwashing machine on hand (or any dishwasher at all), I got it all done and out of the house on time.

After the meeting, I was at K's house way uptown, and we were just loungin' n' talkin', comfortable and neither of us especially wanted to leave the apartment. So I made refrigerator soup -- soup with whatever was in the fridge. Into boiling water went a few rough chopped peeled carrots and a single white potato. Two yellow peppers I roasted on the burner. Once the carrots were soft, into the blender with some of it's water, milk, olive oil, butter, diced garlic and ginger, salt, pepper, a dash of nutmeg and cinnamon, a blurb of molasses. Sliced a bagel thinly, some olive oil and salt and onto a baking sheet to crisp and brown. Soup well blended and seasoned, garnished with the smokey diced yellow roasted peppers. Bagel chips came out surprisingly good, the soup was pretty nice.

When I got home around 9:45, banged out the spinach pumpkin ravioli (6 portions of 8 raviolios, 2 portions of spinach linguine, a large portion of scraps which will make a good meal -- why did I throw out these pasta scraps till now?!)


ADDENDA:
On the way to the restaurant, as I was riding my bike over the Brooklyn Bridge, I came upon a scene of a man teetering on the edge of the bridge, with the intention of flinging himself off. A helicopter hovered on the opposite side of the bridge, cops blocked off traffic in both directions, and police boats stood by in the harbor. I number of cops, with ropes clipped to the handrails, slowly approached and spoke to the man.

My first reaction was sympathy for this poor fellow -- what dire straights he must be in to get to this point, or perhaps he's mentally unbalanced, or both. Does he have parents, children, loved ones who will be harmed by his actions? My second reaction was curiosity -- did he eat lunch today? And if so, what? What does one eat before jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge?

And thirdly was guilt -- here I was, gawking at this stranger's awful ordeal, rubber-necking and being idly distracted along with all the tourists and ne'er-do-wells.

BREAKFAST: 10:30am, organic chex with good milk, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
In the midst of cooking, was going to finish the salad for breakfast, but it went all stinky.

AM TASTINGS: 9am-1pm, a few spoonfuls of hummus, a few spoonfuls of tomato sauce, a spoonful of pumpkin ravioli-filling, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 3pm, cup of good hot chocolate, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
Chef R made it for everyone at the meeting.

DINNER pt 1: 5:30pm, slice of streetza, chocolate pound cake, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5
From a crap joint called "Cheesy Pizza", believe it or not. Not very good.

DINNER pt 2: 7:45pm, carrot soup with bagel chips, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING WATERING: 9:30pm, quart

Exploration in the Freezer Case

I've been eating a lot of high-end pizza lately due to my time in the restaurant. How amazing it would be to eat that kind of pizza in the convenience at home, without the expense and time of delivery. Obviously, I'm not the first person to think these things. Today at the market while finally restocking my kitchen, it occurred to me that I hadn't really bought any frozen convenience food in quite a while. It used to be a good 1/3 of everything I got -- frozen White Castle burgers, burritos, breaded fish and chicken, Asiany snackie things, the whole gamut. But the main contender was always the frozen pizza.

And they all kind of sucked. But even pretty crappy pizza isn't THAT bad. So in the name of having some comfort food around the house for B while I spend some late nights at work, I went through the frozen pizza aisle and selected a handful of brands, from the Wholefoods house brand up to a chi-chi Wolfgang Puck number. Over the next few weeks I'll give them a try and critique them here.

ADDENDA:
Used up the last of the pancake mix in the freezer, which I made pre-c-school. Tasted pretty good, I mixed it minimally, came out the lightest and fluffiest yet....but misses that certain pancakey flavor we achieved in class. Next time I make the mix, gonna riff on the school recipe.

AM SNACK: 7am, banana, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

BREAKFAST: 10:30am, pancakes and bacon, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

LINNER: 5:45pm, veggie burger and a little salad with fries, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING SNACK: 8pm, vegan apple crumble cheesecake, seltzer, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING WATERING: 9:30pm, quart

I would have called-in drunk, too.

Chef A is the third and final chef I had yet to work with. He a skinny bearded fellow with glasses similar to mine, probably around the same age. He works weekends and Mondays, and has his own catering company. When I came in at 1pm, Chef A hadn't arrived but the owner was in, flittering around the kitchen.

I went straight into it, calculating how much dough we needed then started to collect the mise. Chef A showed up around 1:30, doing his thing. He reviewed my calculations, teased me a bit about measuring in lbs and not kg on Saturday (!), then made the dough with me. Both Chefs R and C have their own little details and flourishes on how they make this crucial component, and Chef A was no different. After resting for an hour, he said it was good dough -- in response to his teasing, I said that I make many mistakes....once.

Spent the afternoon rough-chopping all sorts of root veg for a soup, then scaled out and balled a mess of dough. At some point, there was a kerfuffle because the dish washer for the evening called in "sick," but judging from his history and habits, it was assumed he was alcoholically derailed. Chef A jokingly asked me, "how are you with a dish washing machine?"

At around 5:30, Chef A asked me to fill in on dish duty -- no other washer could make it in. He said he knows it's not my job and I'm not getting paid to be there, but they'd pay me the going rate for a dishwasher. I really did not want to wash dishes all night, but I really did want to be a valued part of the team; so I said yes, whatever needs to be done I'll do it. The South American kid with lots of tattoos and minimal English gave me a semi-sign language tour of the dish station and where things go. And then I was off washin'.

Way back when, I had a friend who was connected to the 'zine culture (pre-blog) because she was a manager at Kinko's. She had a friend who traveled the country working as a dish washer, and writing about life. It's dirty, wet, and low-paying, but dishwashing jobs are easy to get. And calling in drunk may piss people off, but doing so won't get you fired!

I was bummed not to be in the kitchen. But when I actually got into it, I didn't mind it -- mindless busy work, allways something to do. I think the one thing I hated about all the staff positions I've held in graphics was all the down-time, being left to my own devices to look busy while glued to a desk. Before I knew it, the restaurant closed, my new friend in the back offered up any pasta of my choice, I ate with the front of house peeps. Did some mopping and exchanged kind words with Chef A and others. And then I was off riding home with some wet cash in my soaked pants. Too bad I didn't have any advance warning, I would have worn my rubber pants.

ADDENDA:
According to Wired Magazine, blogging is dead -- there is too much driftwood produced by media outlets, skammers, and nincompoops. The new hotness is...twittering. Restricting myself to 140 characters....could be fun but....that's not really writing. I'm doin' this for myself as well as the reader.

BREAKFAST: 9am, banana, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 12pm. BLT on rye with fries, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
Really need to get groceries. Just not a lot in the house that wouldn't require a solid 45 minutes of prep and cooking. Went to my local diner, where I used to eat as a treat every weekend -- now, I can barely stomach it. The bacon is sooo industrial and salty, the fries so generic and soulless. Still, it was cheap-ish, fast and convenient.

LUNCH 2: 5:30pm, margarita pizza, black cherry soda, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 9:30pm, small spag & meatballs, root beer, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
Had a half-sized small portion, which is still pretty big.

In Search of a Slice

On Saturday I did a 'prep' shift in the restaurant from 11:30-6, which was definitely more intense than everything I've done there up to this point. First thing, a group of 20 Swedish dentists came in for a private party -- C and I banged out 20 pizzas for them without a hitch, we had dough prepared yesterday and it was predetermined what they'd be getting.

However, everyone ordered dessert and all of a sudden the restaurant was out of all the desserts -- all of which are made on premises by the pizza chefs. We had to call in the owner's teenage son to help with pulling 20-odd espressos. And we needed to make dough for a Saturday night, which is a large double batch. And tonight's special pizza had pumpkin to be roasted.

I helped C measure out the dough stuff, then I got to work making a ricotta cheese cake, then the tiramisu again. Unlike with Chef R, there was a lot to do in little time and C couldn't really watch over my shoulder to direct me. After a few hours, the 3rd chef came in: A, a bearded fellow with a blunt manner. Chef R is the manager/chef de cuisine who does cook but is half out the door in management while Chef A seems to be the main cook, C the 2nd string, and now there's me: the semi-competent apprentice!

During the shift, ingredients ran out a few times. So I had to run to the nearby supermarket to stock up. It was constant turmoil until the minute I left. Fortunately, it was quiet for the first hour, and it was relatively easy to escape.

On the way home, biking from Prospect Heights to the Lower East Side, I blasted the Pixies on my iPod and let the waves of stimulus just work itself out of my head. It was a feeling similar to the combination of weariness and exhilaration after riding a hard 100 miles on a bike, minus the ass pain and angry shoulders. It's a good feeling. I dig it.

ADDENDA:
Sunday, I woke up early and rode about 54 miles on my bike, encompassing the ride up to the Bronx as well as the Tour de Bronx itself. It's a free ride, and the economy showed its effect -- no free t-shirts and miserable food at the rest stops. Some rest stops were giving away this newish 'fuze' beverage. The labels made all sorts of claims but the taste was just overly sweet, slightly syrupy. Whatever.

I pretty much skipped the rest stops and by the time I was in the northern end of the Bronx, I started looking for a slice joint to get something in my belly -- when riding distance, you should eat before you get hungry, and I was on the edge of losing my steam. The neighborhoods around Eastchester were pretty working class, and every trafficked intersection had lots of fast food and Chinese takeouts...but no pizza. How can a neighborhood not be sprinkled with slice joints? When I finally got to an elevated subway station, I knew instinctively there HAD to be a slice joint near the entrance. I looked around and indeed, a block away was pizza. Sometimes it's great to live in the city in which you grew up.

SATURDAY
BREAKFAST: 9:30am, organic chex, good milk, quart of water, .75 bowl, hunger 3/5

LUNCH: 2pm, mini margarita with caramelized onions and mushrooms, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
No time to eat this, had to grab bites while measuring ingredients for dough and making assorted desserts.

DINNER: 8pm, Chinese brick, 2 bowls, hunger 4/5
I've learned two things to handle the take-out brick -- be hungry enough, and don't get the carb combo. A lomein and fried rice, deadly; broccoli & protein and fried rice, much more manageable.

SUNDAY:
BREAKFAST: 7:30am, good yogurt with honey, raw cashews, vanilla, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

AM SNACK: 9:45am, 2 good donuts, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

AM SNACK: 11am, 1 "granola" bar, bottle of fuze, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 1:30pm, slice pof pizza, bottle of gatorade, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 4:30pm, eggplant parm hero, bottle of cream soda, 2 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 5pm, handful of hot eggy cakes from vendor in Chinatown, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 5:45pm, ear of corn from street fair, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 7:30pm, kimchi, kalbi, white rice, smore, vanilla ice cream, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
At a Japanese BBQ place with various HVSs.