[shroomgirl]

Years ago I was on a decom board for a culinary school in STL......this board was mainly made up of exec chefs. The goal was to set student curriculum goals for the next 10 years. What styles were vogue, what techniques, which equipment was necessary for them to learn to use, and what gaps did we see in the current program.


Utelizing raw products to make different dishes.....how to use the scraps in the kitchen, how to buy in bulk and save $ by basic prep of same ingredients.
Skills smart homemakers utelize (especially those with small children)
Skills personal chefs use
Skills scratch restaurants use


This was printed in another thread, Just thought it needed more eyes to see it......every student, every newbie caterer should really think about logistics of staff/prep....shoot, why limit it? it's needed throughout the business.....Ok,there's a few minutes left.....

An example would be:
whole poached chickens turned into:
chicken strudels
chicken pot pie
chicken salad
chicken and dumplings
chicken soup
chicken pasta salad
etc.....
potpies and strudels freeze very well. Thus you've just saved in labor.

Chuck Roasts:
pot roast
BBQ sandwiches
shepard's pie ( american style)
enchiladas
if it's viable chunks, veg beef soup

Ground meat:
meat loaf
meat balls
sloppy joes
all freeze well

Rolls/bread can be made into bread pudding, strata or french toast....well and bread crumbs or stuffing/dressing

Left over bananas from breakfast make great breakfast breads or cake or ice cream topping if you are making desserts too.

It'd be great to have an open menu.......make plans but alter them if you find a deal or have product in stock you wanna move. etc.....guess I'm saying the less specific you are the better for you.

Market Vegetables instead of listing them
Sandwiches, ditto
Entree with salad and rolls instead of elaborating.
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[bughut]

If you have the freezer space, I agree, it's the ideal way to cook.

A huge pot of Bechamel can be portioned and frozen for lasagne, cauiflower cheese, The list is endless.
Same with a rich tomato sauce. Saves so many man hours if the base for so many dishes is ready made.

When i can, I make a huge venison casserole.Plenty of gravy. keep the veg whole tho so i can strain off some of the meat and shred it for venison bridies (small puff pastries) I freeze small batches of gravy ( always handy) and add back to the casserole some of the chopped veg. 1/2 of which is frozen to make a cobbler at a later date with roquefort scones. rest of the veg is Chefs perks (mine)

[tigerwoman]

when we had a daily cafe one of my happy lightbulb moments that made us alot of money over the years was to cull the cases of strawberries when they came in and on a daily basis and take the soft but not rotten ones (too soft for fruit salad but very tasty never the less) and puree them and freeze in 32 oz containers, we then pulled containers throughout the year for an add in to the fresh lemonade we made - upsale on a product that would have otherwise ended up in the garbage!

[shroomgirl]

I freeze pesto and basil in oil for use throughout the year.
Peaches for "local food" meal Jan-April