Brown Butter Potato, Local Barrelfish, and The Dynamic of Working for a Resort...

This is our resident grinder Willie, an essential aspect to our daily kitchen life. He does all the jobs no one else wants to do, and despite how gung ho a dedicated chef might be......there are always jobs they don't want to do, and if they say otherwise, they are either a robot or lying.

Anyways, Willie helped me out with this picture by holding up this Barrelfish we got from the fishermen at Cherrypoint. We are starting to develop a relationship with them and its worked out so far giving the success of the Wreckfish a week ago.

The fish was relatively easy to break down, no unique surprises or differences. I took a note from Brennan and decided to give it a quick cure with lavender, salt, sugar, and some fresh herbs. BRILLIANT TECHNIQUE for cooks to add flavor and a new texture to fish.

The fish was settled, now what do I put with it? Well, I've been obsessing with brown butter lately...this stems from reading IIF's blogs about brown butter puree. I wanted the flavor, I just need a more substantial medium.......POTATOES......!

Silky and delicious, they worked perfectly....start with making your brown butter and seperating the milk solids with a coffee filter. For those who have never made brown butter, this is the process where you take whole butter and cook it to a point where it takes on a rich, caramel flavor(in its most simple terms). I proceeded to blend the potatoe puree with the milk solids as if I were mounting with whole butter, the result is beautiful. As soon as I find some milk solids I am going to make this puree without the potatoes.

Lastly, on a "we as cooks note" I'll just say that I personally think every cook should work a couple years in a resort or major hotel at some point in their career. The range of experience you get is priceless. Brennan, Mike and myself were all branded in the fires of a saute station that carried 70% of a menu in a busy seafood restaraunt. The glory station. But that restaurant was just one of many we toured through at the resort. Every place you work has an effect on what kind of cook you become, you become the sum of your parts... It will dictate what holds value, and what you hold as an important trait for you as a line cook, and eventually as a chef. I can tell you with complete certainty that fast line cooks have the most success......but the next level is the fast line cooks that can do it with consistency.......quality.....and for lack of a better word....perfection..........

The only constant in our world, is constant hard work..........

(i sound tired dont I?)