Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Attitudes of a Pro Bartender

As a bartender, you are often the most important face of the establishment for which you work, the person who comes into the most personal contact with the customer. So if one word sums up what your attitude should be, it's "professional".

No matter how bad you may be feeling, no matter if you had a fight with your partner before you left home, or your feet hurt, or your child is giving trouble at school, you have to put all that behind you, put a genuine smile of welcome on your face, and look forward to making everybody who comes up to your bar feel happy and special.

Wear clean, appropriate, smart clothes; it's particularly important to wear comfortable shoes as you are going to be on your feet for hours at a time. Make sure that you present a clean well groomed appearance, especially your hands, which will be the focus of attention as you mix and serve drinks and snacks. Hair should be neat and tidy, not flopping around, people with long hair may want to tie it back in a pony tail or barrette, this makes it easier to work and is more hygienic. Your employer will probably have a dress code which you should stick to.

It's very important that the bar is kept clean and well organized with supplies of cocktail makings fresh and ready to hand. Whenever there is a quiet moment, you should be cleaning, tidying preparing and polishing. This will carry you through those hectic times when the orders are coming at you one after the other like bullets flying in a shoot out! A gleaming, well presented bar encourages the customers to buy, and that is your job of course.

Of course, you need to offer a sympathetic ear to those people who think the bartender is their personal psychiatrist, but never get too involved in a conversation. Non committal sympathy is really all that's required; it's not a good idea to give your opinions on what a fool they have been!

It's important to give correct measures, and to pay attention to what the customer asks for. If he asks for a splash of soda, then a splash, not a deluge, is what he should get. And of course, it's vitally important to pay attention to giving correct change, if you are handling cash, and to keeping the account straight, if you are making up a tab. You should also work on cultivating your memory, so that when someone comes in and asks for"My usual" you know what that is!

You need to pay attention to the law. You should have a very responsible attitude to underage drinking, and don't be afraid to ask for and examine i.d. if you think someone is underage. Making a mistake or being neglectful in this area might get both you and your employer into serious trouble. And you should understand and apply both the law and your employer's policy on serving people who are clearly seriously drunk.

It's also your job to make sure that customers are not harassed, especially women on their own who aren't looking for company. The bartender should be that lady's protector.

If you see someone hesitating over the cocktail menu, don't be afraid to make a suggestion. Keep up to date with the latest trends in mixology (the art of mixing cocktails), but memorize the recipes of the old tried and true favorites like the Screwdriver, the Rusty Nail, and the Manhattan, the Pina Colada, the Bloody Mary and more, which customers will ask for again and again.

If you suggest something interesting and delicious, especially to younger women, who may not be experienced drinkers, the customer will feel that you are paying special attention to them, and hopefully a good tip will result. On the important subject of tips, they will of course form a large part of your income. Customers who haven't yet tipped you will notice your reaction to what other guests are tipping, so always look pleased and grateful even if someone leaves you a stingy, mean little amount. Never angle for tips, this just embarrasses everyone and makes you look bad. If you do a great job, the tips will flow.

Altogether, the attitude of a bartender should be service and customer oriented, highly professional, kind, responsible and hard working. Bartending may be just a temporary job between other jobs or when working your way through college, or it may be a serious long term career. Either way, your attitude to the job can make it a very enjoyable and rewarding experience.

Cocktail Mixing for the Beginner

Everybody enjoys sipping a cocktail, and there are literally thousands to choose from. Most bartenders have their own secret recipe that has the customers coming back for more. So how do you start as a beginner cocktail maker?

First, gather your equipment together. You need a good cocktail shaker, large but not too large to handle comfortably, stainless steel is generally the preferred material. You need a jigger, with which to measure ingredients, a muddler, for crushing sugar, a juicer, for extracting juice from citrus fruits, a long handled mixing spoon and last of all a fine mesh strainer. Of course, you will also need a sharp knife for cutting the fruit which so often features in tropical inspired cocktail offerings. As you get more experienced you will want to add to this collection, for example more than one size of strainer, a grater for nutmeg and chocolate toppings and so on.

The ideal cocktail is a balance between strong and weak alcohol, for example gin and martini, and sweet and sour flavors, for example sugar and lemon. Getting the right proportions is absolutely essential, as is consistency from drink to drink.

Start with a simple yet challenging cocktail, the Martini made with gin. Everyone has their own idea of the perfect Martini, personally I love a Dirty Martini (made with a little olive juice). Find a friend who likes Martinis, and practice making the most authentic offering. You will have no shortage of volunteers to be testers! Get a few classics like the Martini, the Highball, the Daiquiri, the Mojito, the Bloody Mary, the Margarita, the Pina Colada, and whatever you notice is a favorite in the better bars around your area, under your belt to give you confidence.

Once you have mastered these, check out some of the fancier cocktails, there are many recipe books and online recipes. It makes sense to use local ingredients where you can, for example, in the tropics, major on coconut, pineapple and mango, in colder climes, focus on warming brandy and chocolate concoctions and spicy mulled wines.

In general when you are building your own recipe, start out with the sweet element, then add the sour, then the weaker alcohol, for example curacao, and finally the strong alcohol. That way you can ensure you are getting the right balance. Don't forget the function of ice; crushed ice and whole cubes behave very differently, and the amount of ice you use will have a big influence on the way the drink tastes, especially as the customer gets down to the bottom of the glass. Too much ice can make the end of the drink insipid, you want to leave him looking forward to the next one, not feeling as if the drink was pretty weak and not worth the money.

Whatever you do, don't neglect presentation, try to match the glass and the decorations with the drink. A Martini definitely doesn't need a parasol and a couple of cherries, it should however be served in a good Martini glass. Pay attention to the temperature of the glass, nothing is worse than a chilled cocktail served in a warm glass fresh from the wash! A rim of salt or sugar, a twist of lime, properly crushed ice, all these are the finishing touches. Spend time working to make sure that you have mastered the art of presentation. Tropical cocktails look especially lovely if presented with a flower, but make sure the flower are washed, you don't want an ant running out onto your beautiful creation.

Mint and other herbs are currently very popular as finishing touches on many cocktails. Ask around local gardening friends to see if you can source small supplies of unusual things like lemon thyme and dill, which can be sensational taste enhancers and will really make your name as an expert. Remember these cocktail mixing techniques and you will be on your way to becoming a cocktail master.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Better indoor barbecue skills

If you're dying to grill, but can't because of poor climate or merely lack the room for any large outside range, then interior grilling is your most excellent bet. You can nevertheless get that "outdoor grilled taste" when grilling indoors among the a whole lot of other benefits. So what are some with the most excellent interior grilling tips, benefits, and tricks?

1) interior is safer. Use an interior electric powered grill to reduce using burning coals too the resulting smoke, meaning you can breathe less difficult without the need of worrying about affecting your health. The dripping weight in the grill is an additional possible danger which will end result in flare-ups, a specific thing an interior grill removes in the proverbial grilling equation. Some foodstuff blogs will frown on this, but its true.

2) period the meat to obtain that smoky, outside flavor. given that you aren't making use of charcoal but undoubtedly want that smoky, outside goodness, be certain to period the meat. Sprinkle the meat with salt and pepper prior to cooking, or create a "spice rub" with smoky-tasting ingredients, including smoked paprika or dried chipotle. utilize the rub evenly more than the meat and allow it arranged for a few of moments prior to placing the meat about the heat. There are lots of foodstuff blogs around with fantastic rub recipes.

3) pick from available versus make contact with grills. Open, ordinarily characteristic a lid for that contains steam, whilst make contact with grills are perfect for cooking fish, hamburgers, steaks, pork chops, and vegetables. make contact with grills could also be utilized to create panini sandwiches, and cook the meat in about half the time it requires for an available grill to work.

4) Heat the grill completely prior to dealing using the meat. guarantee the grill is correctly heated, typically to in between 375F to 400F, and remember to brush the grill with cooking or veggie essential oil prior to placing the meat about the grill. If making use of a make contact with grill, near the grill as lightly as feasible to stay away from squeezing all people yummy juices out.

That's all there would be to it! There is no must not take satisfaction in people clean grilled flavors any time with the year! when you can see, with some seasoning, the most suitable grilling surface area and also a high quality item of meat or veggie to grill, you can have that clean out-door taste nearly any time with the year. You will also fill your kitchen area with fantastic smells which will possibly draw everybody within the home for you begging to request "what are you currently grilling" and "is it nearly done". if you ever expertise this, know which you are undertaking it right!

Friday, March 30, 2012

Fall outdoor recreation this fall

Autumn! It's the perfect time to entertain outdoors - most of the errors are gone, the sun is not scorching even though it is warm enough to enjoy an afternoon or evening murals, and a good thing bounty to serve as outdoor dining .

Because the day is shorter in the autumn, autumn special attention to the lighting and temperature in outdoor recreation.

Illumination

The earlier sunset will afford you an ideal opportunity to bathe in the evening light outdoor spaces. Use a soft light, but heavy use of it. Try dozens of votive candle jars and glasses, to protect the flame from the wind, hurricane lamps or kerosene lamps. Create a comfortable lounge area, and with a glowing light.

Heating

According to climate and outdoor space, you will use to recover from the cold of the night will be different. If you have a yard (and allow the laws of the community), bonfire night is a wonderful set up an informal gathering. In the small garden, consider self-contained fire pit or chimenea.

For a more formal, you can install heating propane powered. These units provided in the heating power and price range. Or, drape attractive free throws, each chair for your guests, or blankets around their shoulders, to resist the night air.

Of course, you have to take into account the advantage of the fall of your decorating scheme and table set in wonderful colors and textures.

Color

The autumn color is deep and rich - brown, dark red, burnt orange, gold, dark green, the color of hay. Settings and tablecloths, fresh flowers, the central focus, and even food, repeated use of these tones. Scoop out the pumpkin and other squash and water containers, vases suitable for them. Large potted chrysanthemum, bright colors. Orange Chinese lanterns, bright rose fruit, stem red or orange berries, or chili. Packing vibrant maple vow of candlesticks or napkin ring around the sumac leaves. Sunflower head, can be scattered on the desktop, or to remain on the stems in a container.

Texture

Autumn texture, plain and simple. Play, if your gathering is informal - the corn roast, bonfire, jeans and a sweater at night. Cover your buffet table linen or cheesecloth, dish towels as napkins. Trade-off with apple or pear thick hemp rope to hang your wallpaper. Or use rattan placemats and wicker baskets. Terracotta Warriors and Horses pot dishes, great paper plate holders.

If you are held in an exotic outdoor dinner to sit down, linen tablecloth, hydrangeas and leaves a subtle texture. Will increase the unexpected elegance of your settings, try your indoor and outdoor dining table. Draw a small gourd used as a place card gold lettering. Blooming roses in crystal vase to decorate your table.

Whether you hold a harvest of rural dance or fashion sit-in dinner party of eight on the outside entertaining this autumn autumn!

The establishment of the "trading spouses " relationship , taught by cooking

Last night I saw a television program. , Which is quite hilarious and disturbing at the same time.
In fact, I said to my mother when I first heard about it. I called her to chat, she told me she saw this program, known as "trading spouses". The name is not terrible?

I could not believe my mother looked at such things.

However, she told me about it, it sounds lively, so I decided to check it out, when it came to my time zone (we have a 4-hour time difference). She is correct, it is lively. So, I saw last night with my husband.

Now, I'm not a big reality show fan. So, I will be the second point.

So, anyway, last night's show was two husbands, the market place. One is a lawyer living in New York City, Manhattan - he changed the low-income workers living in the country places in Georgia.

(Okay, just to clarify your mind may go to other places - on the sly ...)

So you can imagine, the differences in lifestyle!

The guy in the country, his first time flying to New York, he was blowing from the speed of life. The children of the rich is great, but his wife was a witch. Shocked, he never in a restaurant, you need to dress and make up about 2-3 million, boasts its own beach house, terrified, when someone walked into the kitchen, their shoes sand, nagging and to promote relevant son, for his bar mitzvah the right to freedom of expression - especially after having an affair as the cost of the wedding.

The guy of their city's cultural impact. The house was exhausted and messy; the nightmare and the kids! They are completely out of control.

Unfortunately, I've seen the bad children in real life - but it has been for some time. They were hit, fighting, ignoring their mother, and told people to "shut up" - Can you believe it? This is a good behavior in front of the TV staff and visitors? This is really terrible.

So, here are two examples of poor family relationships. The child of a wealthy family, well-behaved - but they can not enjoy their family life, because it is "going out, go with the mother being wound up so tight, she twisted the enjoyment of all. Low-income families and family life - but a smoke, because the mother can not stand her children.

Oh - and you know my mother about her bratty child what to say? She said she tried everything. "She wanted to sit down and talk with them, she would like to take away the toy, she tried them sitting in timeout she wanted it all, but to no avail. Hmmmmm It seems that she left One of the most important controlled, loving, hit the cross of the caboose.

When parents "get it" loving, appropriate, consistent discipline, their young means that they will be controlled, loving the child's behavior, they are 6,7 up to.

- Children not be happy, if they do not sanction. You can see their faces. whiney, control the child's tragic. For this problem, everyone around them.

When was the last time you seen the pain, as well as discipline of children? You did not. I mean, yes, bad attitude, or any of the rapid disappearance of the correction a few minutes, but they are basically happy, content and security.

So, anyway, back to my story.

Each family received a $ 50,000 trade. Catch the visiting spouse, other family spent $ 50,000 of their decision. The rich answer to solve the low-income families? Buy a house, the transformation - and basically improve material wealth.

The country's answer to a wealthy family? Family relationship counseling, cooking classes, and family vacation time.

You guessed it - the rich man's wife turned - she plans to use $ 50,000 to pay for her son's bar mitzvah! !

However, I will say one thing. The people of the state is correct, and family needs. The less "stuff" and pay more attention to the focus of the "relationship".

In fact, he is downright clever. He showed that the # 1 way to build family relationships ...... cooking.

Keke. Wake-up call?

Cooking to create family ties - all ages - all capabilities. Too bad the people of the country there is no wisdom, discipline, too many children.

So, if you have been leading the race from the child - do not forget the relationship side of things. And do not overlook the most simple and the most interesting (he), I mean "interesting" way to spend time with your child - cooking! !

Alfredo on Earth who he is

Italian pasta, wide face wearing no other than a lot of good, middle-aged Parmigiano cheese and butter, but it is such a simple preparation, the Italian people do not even think this is a "secret".

Waverley in his famous book "Italian Food" (New York, 1971), root wrote: "wide surface aluminum burro in the hearts of every visitor with Rome, possibly because the original Alfredo , making its services an opera scenes reminiscent of success. this is the same ribbon shaped egg pasta up to be known as the dry noodles in Bologna; people burro preparation is a wealth of really Rome did not add inter grated cheese and butter, pasta - a lot of butter recipe called for doppio burro, double butter, which makes it a golden color.

So who is Alfredo? Alfredo di Lelio, this is his full name, is an inspiration to raise this exciting new dishes, the chef in the restaurant he opened in Rome in 1914. This is a simple traditional Roman dishes to prepare. Obviously, he created his wide face all'Alfredo during pregnancy when his wife lost her appetite. Bring back her appetite, and he was ready for her eggs wide bar surface with Parmigiano cheese and butter nutritious dishes. This may give him for his "triple butter" idea of the wide bar surface.

He is an extravagant character, gold cross, He was obviously a donation in person for his paper thin wide strip surface by Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, the famous silent movie star. In the fifties and sixties, Hollywood discovered Rome. Paparazzi photographer actors, such as Tyrone, Electric Power, Ava Gardner, Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor or Sophia Loren in front of a wide surface all'Alfredo photos around the world famous restaurant. Restaurant run buy his grandson, and the golden forks are still to serve the dish for special occasions.