The "D-System"

Last night I got home just before 11 pm and was greeted by "Yay, you're home, let's go for ice cream!" Although I don't have much of a sweet tooth I have a soft spot for Jen and her requests so the three of us --Charlie the Chihuahua, Jen and I -- headed for the nearest Baskin Robbins... and found it closed. Our next choice was DQ but on our way there we found a Wendy's and Jen settled for a Vanilla Frosty (I think that's what it's called). I ordered one in solidarity much to Charlie's delight who ate most of it and what he didn't eat is probably still on his chin -- unless it's rubbed off on my pillow. Yes, Charlie sleeps on my bed. Between my legs when I'm there, on my pillow when I'm not.

Taking advantage of Jen's sugar rush (this is a woman who goes to sleep at 10 pm) I chattered on about the goings on at work. It was not very busy and I have learned little -- I put together our Mahi Mahi and Grouper entrees. Simple execution: season the fish, flour (in the grouper's case), sear presentation side down, maybe cheat a little by finising in the oven, sauce it, daily starch, veg. and voila!

Panicked moment came around 7 pm when we almost had to shut the place down as the hoods and oven refused to stay on for more than 20 seconds -- something about a breaker problem -- and Chef was beside himself about the whole situation. "Not today!" he kept muttering to himself. It doesn't help to learn that both repair/maintenance guys are out of town today and tomorrow. Isn't the point of having two maintenance guys that one backs the other up in case of emergency? Oh well... We'll have to see what happens tomorrow. Today we managed to get them going by turning off all the appliances that we could do without so that we didn't overdraw on the power supply. Do we really need this panini maker? How about the line freezer? I'll just unplug it for now, make sure you turn it back on when you leave for the night.

I guess functioning in a kitchen is about more than having culinary knowledge. It seems to be about flying by the seat of your pants. It's about learning how to fix faulty fridges/freezers/grills, about how to improvise. I believe Bourdain calls it the D-system in his book "The Nasty Bits". I'd give you a quote but I'm too tired to locate it, so you'll just have to get the book yourself. I'm going to sleep.