Last time we talked about chopping and dicing onions. Now the next technique we need to talk about is the julienne. The word julienne of french origion meaning to cutin tinto square strips 1/8 of an inch x 1/8 of aninch by 2 inces. To do this you need a sharp knife, I recomend a 51/2 inch to 7 inch santoku knife. We will use a carrot for this demonstration because it is the most diffacult.
1. Peel carrot and cut both ends off.

2. Cut carrot into a squre by taking your knife down one edge of the vegitable then rotate placeing the flat side down on the board. then continue until it is squared on all sides.

3. Now cut the carrot into 2 inch sections

4. Next cut the carrot into 1/8 inch sheets lenghtwise

5 now lay sheets out flat and cut into 1/8 inch strips

Now you have nice julienned carrots which will jazz up any salad or any dish of sauted vegitables.

How important is technique

The biggest most important thing about preparing food in the upscale food industry is Technique. This may seem like a scary work but don't let i frighten you. When preparing food for this stage of the industry every thing has to be picture perfect, not at home. I am going to review some of the different techniques used to make you preparation go easier and faster. When you read my recipes you will see it calls for chopped, diced or minced onions. Yes there is a difference. Chopped= a thicker random cuts on the onions into larger pieces, Diced= precision cutting so that everything is uniform in size, and minced = the finest cut which is almost the same as shredding. Now when preparing food for the cooking stage remember the more uniform you product is in size the more evenly it will cook.

chopping onions;
1. Peel a medium size onion and cut in half

2. Place onion cut side down on your board.

3. With a sharp knife, sharp knives are a real important part of food preparation, Slice through the center of the onion twice horizontally carefully not cutting all the way through the other side.

4. Now take your knife place the point where your cut stopped at the heel of the onion on you horizontal cut. Make 4 equal vertical cuts strait down evenly spaced across the surface of the onion. You will end up with a onion octopus which is all still connected at one end.

5. Take your knife and cut across your vertical cuts starting at the end spacing them and equal distance apart. approx. 1/4 inch.

Following these tips will result in an evenly diced onion. I know it sounds complicated but with practice you will end up cutting onion in a fraction of the time and with no tears. lol......
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http://redneckchef.netii.net

Fine Dining Cooking Made Easy

First Let me tell you a little about me, I am Jesse Wright born in New England in 1971. I was born with a Passion for food and helping people enjoy the different pleasures the flavors can bring. At the age of 5 my mother had me standing on a chair teaching me how to cook. I have spent most of my life working in the food industry. I moved to Florida in 2007 where i worked under the top Master Chefs in the state writing recipes and menus. After working in a 5 star private club in Saint Petersburg, Fl. preparing food for Governors and Mayors ect.... I thought to my self why should only people who can spend $40 and up per plate be able to appreciate this quality food. I decided to sit down and put a cookbook together with recipes and preparation explanations. Follow the recipes step by step and you will see the success. The first cookbook in this series is Five Star Dining on A One star budget it is available on cd-rom ($12.00) and in print ($10.00). Contact me at firefighter_0376@yahoo.com for information.

Throughout the week i will be posting different recipes and cooking tip so keep checking back.
http://redneckchef.netii.net