cooking disasters

Well, I have to say this...working in the kitchen is definitly a learning process. For instance, I have learned that when cooking with Tony 2, do not ask for advice and any advice he gives you, listen to it but then think about it before you actually do it. On the last 5 times he as actually offered advice, 4 of them turned out to be horribly wrong and screwed up what I was doing. Granted, it could have been because I was doomed to fail in the beginning but I am not sure. Like when he told me to 'add no liquids' to the potatoes when making the duchess potatoes, but then after they turned out to be towers of cement (which he got a good laugh mocking me with the manager for a day or two later) I checked out with the manager and other 1st cook (that took over a couple days later) that apparently the potatoes are the same as mashed but adding a few eggs yolks for the mass amounts I was doing stops them from sagging.

I have found out that speciality vegetables here are not considered good fair. I was recently told by the management that we should have no frozen vegetables on the line but all fresh. So, I took this to heart and have started to put out only fresh vegetables instead of one fresh and one frozen. Apparently this was a rule that was considered and put in to effect about 2 months ago but the office never seemed to get around to telling me about it. Guess it was one of those moments when the managers decide something in their office, sit back and tell their office walls "this is the way it should be done" and the cooks magically hear what they say and abide by the rules. Problem is we have 7 days in a week and 2 spots of vegetables to fill, which means in one week I have to have 14 vegetables out. Now when we only have 9 (carrots, celery, onions, mushrooms, zuchinni, turnip, cabbage, red and green peppers) to put on the line and we really can't use some items on their own. Also, for some reason, even though we have been told to use all these vegetables for suppers, we haven't seem to be ordering any more vegetables to compensate for the supposed increase in using them.

So, I tried something new and instead of giving them steamed cabbage (because I have pretty much steamed all the vegetables) I braised the cabbage instead, which was a nice process and good product, in my mind. Sautee onions and apples in bacon fat, throw in cabbage with a sachet of one cinnamon stick, clove, bay leave, juniper berries, sugar and 8 parts water to 1 part red wine (I had to use the non-alcoholic cooking wine which is way too salty) and 1 part red wine vinegar.

***Of course, here I had to vary the recipe since I didnt have a satchet nor have whole cloves or a cinnamon stick or have anything close to resembling a juniper berry. I added ground cinnamon and cloves. This definitly changed the appearance of it from probably the bright green it was supposed to be to a more dullish brown/green colour.***

Cover all that and put it in the oven at 350' for 20 minutes or so covered. It stews the cabbage quite nicely and gives it a nice spicey bite to it which I found rather interesting. However, everyone else in camp seemed to look at it and ruffle their noses at it. Out of the entire batch I think only 4 people had some (me being one, and the one that took the most).

One thing I found funny about the whole time I was doing it was that Tony 2 saw me measuring out the ingredients and reading from my recipe notes and he laughed and said "you are following a recipe??!?!" and walked away laughing. This I found funny coming from the guy who has a black binder of recipes in his station that he brings in every time he cooks. He makes the same things from the binder every time (meatballs, marinara sauce, steak sauce) and every single time he reads from the recipe religiously. I would have thought that after the 10th time he made the item he would have had it memorized by now.

People in camp are also getting a little testy and frustrated. It seems we have been weathered in since last Monday. No planes have been able to go in or out, and even the phone lines and internet connection has been a little wonky the past couple days. There have been guys here stranded for 2 days now, working on their time off, and their cross shift has been stranded in YK staying at hotel rooms waiting for the chance to fly in. Of course, since I am not flying till Sept 9th I am not bothered or phased by it but now I am starting to get anxious since if no planes fly in then that means no groceries and with no groceries means no produce for salads. Ever try making a salad without veggies? Wonder how long I can get away with giving them weiner salads before the vegetarians and health nuts start to complain.