How to Almost Not Make Cranberry Apple Bread

True story of how new recipes get rigorously tested and tweaked in the house of a Chef.

Mission: Cranberry-Apple Bread.

Recipe As One Might Intend to Make It:

2 c Apples, peeled, cored and diced
3/4 c White Sugar
2 T  Vegetable Oil
1 Egg

Pie Project: Early Summer Stunner

Thimbleberry Coconut Raspberry Pie

Say WHAT??

The Thimbleberry described here is native to the Northern Michigan landscape where my lovely wife grew up. It is like a raspberry but pungently tart and floral, and so soft that one does not chew them, one crushes the velvety drupelets against the roof of the mouth with the tongue. They can barely be harvested and carried back to the house without crushing them, so the only form in which they can travel to Missouri is as a jam.

Cooking Hacks: Rapid Cooler Defrost

One of the most fun aspects of being a chef: it's a Decathalon.

Cook. Manage. Create. Repair. Solve. Improve. Train (retrain!) Pay. Receive. Organize.

In order to succeed, you need to at least be able to cross the finish line in every one of these categories (whether or not you are the Best at them all.)

This post deals with the category of experience: Solving Problems You Are Not Trained To Solve at times when solving them is essential. Picture this: Restaurant chef stripping off white uniform coat with blue piping on the cuffs to shimmy into a dark, dusty corner and wrench a piece of broken equipment back to life until service is over. That's what we call "Living the Dream." (Culinary students take heed!)

A Big Slab of Trouble

It's Saturday evening, and I'm checking over the many coolers and freezers before checking out for a day of rest.