Archive | January, 2012
Chef Amanda Hartigan

Interview with Chef Amanda Hartigan

by on January 31, 2012 in Contests, Interview with a Chef, Recipes

Amanda was one of the contestants with the highest number of votes in the ChefUniforms.com Cash for the Holidays Contest, and is February’s Chef of the Month! Below is a short interview with Amanda about her experiences in the contest and her career thus far, followed by a recipe that she submitted. Bon Appétit!

1.  How did you go about getting all of your votes? What did you do that helped the most (Facebook, Emails, etc)?

I created a page on Facebook with the link and information for the contest and sent it out to all my friends and family. I also updated my status on Facebook everyday with the link reminding people to vote and pass it on. Family members also shared my link and my Grandparents e-mailed their whole address books to help me get votes. I also had co-workers vote for me and they passed it on as well.

2.  Why did you want to become a chef?

I wanted to become a chef because I have always loved to be in the kitchen. Ever since I was little I loved baking for my family or helping my mom make dinner.

3.  What fabric and style of uniform do you enjoy wearing most?

I love the women’s pants! I bought my first few pairs 3 yrs ago when I graduated from college. And I am still wearing the same ones today, so I am very happy about winning the gift certificate because I could use some new ones!

4.  Do you enjoy dining out in your free time?

Yes I do, my boyfriend and I love to check out new restaurants in the area. We also live close to NYC so sometimes we will plan a trip to head into the city and just go from restaurant to restaurant.

5.  Do you see any changes in food trends?

I have noticed at the restaurant I work at that when I make a dessert special, the homey more rustic desserts will sell rather than the more intricate ones. I think this is because of the hard economic times we are living in. People find comfort in the more homey desserts because it reminds them of a better time perhaps.

6.  What are your future plans for your business?

I hope to one day open my own place, but with the economy the way it is, nothing is going to happen soon.

7.  Is there any one thing you would have done differently in starting your culinary career?

No, I don’t think so. I like where I am at in this stage of my career.

8.  What advice would you give to someone who wants to go into culinary school?

Take every opportunity that is offered to you while in school; absorb as much information as you can because it will help you once in the industry. If you can, work while you’re in school, I did and was able to take what I learned in school and use it at work. Some of my friends did not work while in school and were very nervous about their first job out of school and even just trailing at a restaurant. A part-time job will help boost your confidence and your skill level.

9.  Would you please send us a recipe (either a favorite food or one you made up) to post for our readers?

This is a recipe I make at Nisi (the Greek restaurant I am the pastry chef at). They are Greek cookies called Kourabiedes which have roasted almonds and are coated in powdered sugar. They are very popular!

Kourabiedes (Powder Cookies)

1 lb.         Butter
1 C           Powdered Sugar
1 1/3 T     Vanilla Extract
4 1/3 C     AP Flour
1 ½ T       Baking Powder
1 2/3 C     Almonds, Roasted and Chopped
1 T           Brandy

Method:
1. Roast Almonds (whole with skins) till they are golden brown inside, set aside to cool.
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add the vanilla and brandy to the creamed butter mixture.
4. Add the flour and baking powder gradually, mix until incorporated.
5. Chop almonds into large chunks once they are cool and add to the mixture.
6. Shape dough into crescent shapes, bake in a 325*F oven for about 12 min.
7. Allow cookies to cool a little then sift powdered sugar on top, once the cookies are completely cool cover them in powdered sugar (firmly press the sugar on top of the cookies). Store in an air tight container.

Thanks again to all who participated in the ChefUniforms.com Cash for the Holidays Contest!

Bake for Family Fun!

by on January 28, 2012 in Food Events, Holildays, Recipes

February is Bake for Family Fun Month! This month, families across the nation are encouraged to spend some time together in the kitchen. If you’re looking for an activity that will bring the family together but won’t break the bank, baking is the perfect choice. The Home Baking Association designated February as Bake for Family Fun Month, because it is important for kids and parents to have an activity that they can share. And what can be better than a fun activity that ends with a delicious treat? The HBA even went so far as to make a schedule to use as a guideline for those families who wish to participate in the fun.

(Click on the links to see what each activity is all about)

Week 1

General:

Let’s Get Started Baking!

Preschool:

Create and Pretend with Rainbow Dust

Everyone Loves Pizza

Flat Bread

Light-as-a-Feather Multigrain Pancake Mix

Kindergarten:

Butterfly Art for Very Hungry Kids

1st Grade:

Good Day Granola

4th Grade:

Basic Pizza

Week 2

General:

Baking for your Valentine

1st Grade:

Cookie Pop Art

Let’s Plan a Party

2nd Grade:

Quilt Cake

Week 3

General:

History of Leavening

2nd Grade:

Apple Dumplings

Quilt Cake

Science of Baking

3rd Grade:

Exploring Pancakes

4th Grade:

Baking Traditions: Tortillas, Soft Pretzels & Stone Soup Bread

Soft Pretzels

Week 4

General:

Muffins, Done the Way you Like Them

Preschool:

Sugar Cookies Go Whole Wheat

4th Grade:

Sharing Cocoa Cupcakes

What’s your favorite thing to cook with your family? Leave us a comment below and tell us!

For more information on Bake for Family Fun Month or to find some great recipes for the whole family, visit www.homebaking.org.

National Canned Food Month

by on January 25, 2012 in Food Events, Holildays

With January coming to a close and February just around the corner, it makes you think about your plans for the upcoming holiday festivities. No, I’m not talking about Valentine’s Day, I’m talking about National Canned Food Month! This is the month where we get a jump start on that spring cleaning and give some of our canned goods (that have not yet expired) to those in need. It’s also the time of year that we re-evaluate the way we eat, and decide if our diet is healthy and well-balanced. To help us do this, the Canned Food Alliance has updated and simplified their food pyramid to only include canned goods. This is to show us that canned goods are comparable to fresh, cooked and even frozen foods in their nutrient content, and can be substituted for most of the foods we eat every day.

The following infographic comes from the Canned Food Alliance, and encompasses the main food groups and their relative portion size, as well as some examples of canned goods that fulfill those dietary requirements.

Join ChefUniforms and give to the needy this February. You’ll be glad you did!

National Pie Day!

by on January 23, 2012 in Food Events, General Chef Talk

Today is National Pie Day, one of our favorite holidays here at ChefUniforms.com! This holiday began on January 23rd, 1986 in order to commemorate the 75th birthday of Crisco’s “Serving Foods to Families Everywhere” campaign. Why 1/23? Because enjoying a good pie is as easy as 1-2-3! 2012 marks Crisco’s 101st birthday and Americans everywhere are celebrating in their own personal ways. The American Pie Council’s dedication to spreading the word about the benefits of pie on a person’s body and soul drove them to create a list of a baker’s dozen ways to enjoy and celebrate pies:

  1. Attend a pie Festival! Attend the Great American Pie Festival in April at Lakeside Park in Celebration, FL.
  2. Eat Pie! Make it yourself, pick it up at the store, or order it for dessert. Any way you choose, eat some pie today.
  3. Make a pie! If you’re going to bake a pie, today’s the day! You can even combine this one with #3 to make the festivities that much yummier!
  4. Teach others how to make pie! If you don’t know how to make it, find someone who does and learn. Or, simply call Crisco’s very own Pie Hotline (1-877-FOR PIE TIPS) to speak with a live pie expert, and ask any pie question you can think of!
  5. Have a pie-making contest! Invite the best bakers you know to compete for prizes. Have cooking teachers, pastry chefs and other pie lovers to be the judges and give scores based on texture, taste, and overall quality.
  6. Share a pie! Whether it’s homemade or store-bought, share a slice with a neighbor or friend.
  7. Have pie night! Celebrate the miracle that is pie amongst family and friends.
  8. Give a pie! Have a charity contest for pie eating (or throwing) and donate the proceeds to your favorite food-based charity.
  9. Sample some pie! Pie retailers can introduce customers to pie through special sales and promotions this National Pie Day. Restaurants can offer a pie sampler plate or a free pie with dinner.
  10. Hold pie activities! Stage some activities for kids including pie-making, poetry and art contests. Teach math, science and world history through pie (this one is probably easier for math with pie graphs).
  11. Remember pie! Call older members of the family and ask them to give you some pie recipes. Talk about your favorite pies and your favorite memories associated with them.
  12. Do pie things! Sing pie songs, read pie poems and books, and make some pie graphs.
  13. Eat more pie! There’s always room for one more slice of pie…

What’s your favorite type of pie? Do you like it a la mode or just by itself? Leave us a comment below and tell us all about it!

National Soup Month

by on January 13, 2012 in Food Events, General Chef Talk

Every year in January, we celebrate National Soup Month here in the U.S. Though it is an American holiday, National Soup Month celebrates all types of soups from around the world. In recent years, other countries have started to get into the mix and celebrate their own National Soup Month in their unique way. As for ChefUniforms.com, we’ve decided to share some little known soup facts with our loyal readers. Bon Appétit!

  1. Americans eat over 10 BILLION bowls of soup every year!
  2. Women eat more than twice the amount of soup as men.
  3. Soup can be traced back to as early as 6,000 B.C. and used to be made out of hippopotamus!
  4. Soup used to be known as “sop”, and was a piece of bread served with a broth poured over it. As time progressed, the sop was poured into deeper bowls, and the liquid became the focus, rather than the bread. Sop became Soup, and the bread was then dipped into the liquid and eaten. Today, the word “sop” is used to soak something up.
  5. Each year, 99% of American homes purchase soup.
  6. Soup is a $5 Billion per year business.
  7. In the late 1700s, the King of France was so vain that he commanded his royal chefs to create a soup that would allow him to see his own reflection in it. Thus, consommé, or clear broth, was born.
  8. In the French court of Louis XI, the women’s meals were mostly soup, because they were afraid that chewing on solid food would give them facial wrinkles.
  9. Back in 17th Century Europe, thin soups were all the rage. This is because the soup spoon was invented so that the large, frilly ruffles that the men and women wore around their necks would not get dripped on.
  10. Before going on stage to perform, Frank Sinatra asked for chicken and rice soup in his dressing room.

What’s your favorite type of soup? Leave a comment below with your favorites, or send us a recipe and we’ll post it!

A Presidential Appetite

by on January 11, 2012 in Food Events, Recipes

For the past 3 years, First Lady Michelle Obama has transformed the White House’s backyard into a thriving fruit and vegetable garden. She has been using the fruits and vegetables that she grows to feed not only her family, but the local community as well, as part of her Let’s Move campaign to curb childhood obesity and promote healthy living across the country. Everyday Health was able to get an exclusive interview with the First Lady, and even added some seasonal recipes that were inspired by Obama’s garden.

Click the link below to read the whole story, and get some great ideas for seasonal dishes, with recipes to help you get back in shape!

http://www.everydayhealth.com/healthy-recipes-pictures/10-fall-recipes-inspired-by-the-white-house-garden.aspx#/slide-1

Chef Jose Luis Usquiano

Interview with Chef Jose Luis Usquiano

by on January 9, 2012 in Contests, Interview with a Chef, Recipes

Jose Luis Usquiano

667 Votes

Jose was one of the contestants with the most votes in the ChefUniforms.com Cash for the Holidays Contest, and is January’s Chef of the month! Below is a short interview with Jose about his experiences in the contest and his career thus far, followed by a recipe that he submitted. Enjoy!

The Interview

1.       How did you go about getting all of your votes? What did you do that helped the most (Facebook, Emails, etc)?

Email, my friends’ Facebook pages, coworkers, etc…

2.       Why did you want to become a chef?

The reason being, I would like for people to know my work and to be able to show others what I learned in my culinary experience.

3.       What fabric and style of uniform do you enjoy wearing most?

I love the ones that have mesh panels.

4.       Do you enjoy dining out in your free time?

Yes. I do enjoy going out to have lunch or dinner on my time off. That is how I’m able to try new dishes. I learned new combinations of tastes and styles of foods, especially plates from different countries. This is how I’m able to experience other culinary cultures.

5.       Do you see any changes in food trends?

Yes, well going to different places that serve international food, I can say that the culinary art is changing and everything is in the imagination of the cook.

6.       What are your future plans for your business?

Being from Peru, I have not seen many places to eat the food of my country, and I would really like to one day open a Peruvian restaurant. It would be really traditional, and would show people how good Peruvian food is!

7.       Is there any one thing you would have done differently in starting your culinary career?

My mother Beatriz Chale showed me how to cook when I was 10 years old. Afterwards when I came to the United States I had to cook for myself for necessity. I love eating so I had to cook a large amount of food. Because of this, my cooking improved as well as my culinary knowledge. This is when Chef Leon Teow gave me the opportunity to work beside him and direct me to what I am today.

8.       What advice would you give to someone who wants to go into culinary school?

I honestly believe and would say go to culinary school if you really want to work in the culinary industry. You must enjoy cooking, and not only because people would be calling you a “cook”, because you would just waste your money. The kitchen is a place that you have to love, and care about doing it right.

9.       Would you please send us a recipe (either a favorite food or one you made up) to post for our readers?

Ceviche de Pollo

  1. Cut a chicken in small pieces with skin and bone.
  2. Marinate the chicken with yellow hot sauce (Peruvian yellow pepper) for about one hour (the amount of hot sauce depends on how spicy you would like it).
  3. Fry cut red onion (julienned) until it is translucent (about one and a half red onions).
  4. Add a spoon full of chopped garlic with the onion until it is well cooked.
  5. Add a little bit of chicken base, then add the chicken and let it cook.
  6. When well cooked, turn off the stove and add a little lime juice. Stir well.

Afterwards, the chicken is served with white rice and yellow Peruvian potatoes

Thanks again to all who participated in the ChefUniforms.com Cash for the Holidays Contest!

George Washington Carver Recognition Day

by on January 5, 2012 in General Chef Talk

George Washington Carver was a scientist, botanist, educator and inventor (not bad for a day’s work!). He spent his time coming up with alternative crops to cotton that would be a source of food for the farmer, as well as improve his or her quality of life, by being both lucrative and useful in everyday activities. Products that he researched included peanuts, soybeans and sweet potatoes, but he is most recognized for his peanut research. He created bulletins for farmers with 105 food recipes that used peanuts and developed over 100 other products that were made from peanuts for everyday use. These products included but aren’t limited to: cosmetics, dyes, paints, plastics, gasoline, and nitroglycerin. George Washington Carver died on January 5th, 1943, which is why we celebrate his life’s works on this day every year.

Take a moment today to think of everything we use peanuts for in our everyday lives (there’s probably more than you think!). What are your favorite ways to use this legume-of-all-trades? Leave us a comment below for ChefUniforms.com!

National Drinking Straw Day

by on January 3, 2012 in Uncategorized

Happy National Drinking Straw Day! Every year, on January 3rd in the US, we celebrate the greatest invention since sliced bread. Actually, since the first modern drinking straw was invented back in 1888, it’s probably the greatest invention since the wheel! Since they were invented, drinking straws have evolved into something entirely different. The first drinking straw was made out of dry, hollow, rye grass, but was not adopted fully because it astonishingly made beverages taste like grass! As an alternative to this design, a man named Marvin Chester Stone wrapped a piece of cigarette paper around a pencil and coated it with wax so that it wouldn’t leak. Stone worked in a factory that made paper cigarette holders, so he had access to all of the materials he needed. So, on January 3rd, 1888, the modern drinking straw was born.

It’s been exactly 124 years, and the drinking straw has changed in its appearance, design, and material makeup. Today, we have plastic straws, glass straws, steel straws, bendy straws, crazy straws, spoon straws, candy straws, mini straws, wide straws, cereal straws, color changing straws, and many more to choose from, all in different colors and sizes. And, to cater to today’s health-conscious citizens, some companies are even selling BPA and toxin-free straws! Essential Safe Products is one such company, which is currently selling stainless steel drink straws, as well as glass drinking straws that are good for the environment.

RSVP Endurance ~ Stainless Steel Drink Straws, Set of 4

Glass Dharma ~ Set of 4 Beautiful Bends Glass Drinking Straws, 9.5mm x 9”, w/ Cleaning Brush

For more information and environment-safe cooking products, visit LiveESP.com!

As for today, please enjoy a beverage with a straw, and celebrate all that this great little invention has become in the past century.

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