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Dear Chef:
"I need to make 2 large trays of Shrimp Scampi for a function this coming
Sunday July 19th. I wanted to know if I cooked the shrimp and the scampi
sauce today and froze it for defrost and to be placed over the pasta on
Sunday, would this be okay??????
I also have to make two trays of Chic, Broc, and ziti and Chick scalopini. I have
to go to the christening at 11am and then go home and cook to be at the hall
at 1pm so I am looking to save as much time as possible. I would really
appreciate any shortcuts you can provide me with.
Thank you so much in advance."
Darlene
Saugus, MA
Dear Darlene:
Here it is Saturday morning and I just now got to your question - so I don't know how
much or how little you've already done to prepare for your upcoming event. What
you've offered to do is a rather large undertaking and should be treated as such.
Your question regarding freezing the shrimp would depend primarily on whether or not
the shrimp was previously frozen. Most pre-cooked shrimp bought from the grocery
store is shipped in frozen, and thawed at the store, then placed in the showcase for
you to buy. So even though you bought it thawed doesn't mean that it wasn't once
frozen. With that said, you'd want avoid refreezing any food that was previously frozen
for a few reasons. The freezing and thawing proccess has a tendancy to change the
texture of the food - often tough or rubbery. Also, the food begins to break down and
lose its integrity. Finally, bacteria grows at an alarming rate during this whole process. I
always recommend using seafood the same day, or the day following its purchase date.
The scampi sauce however can be frozen ahead, but there would be no need to freeze
it since it would stay good in you refreigerator for up to a week.
The chicken, broccoli, and scalopini can be made up to three days ahead and kept in
the refrigerator, also eliminating the need to freeze. The ziti should be made the night
before, then baked just prior to the event.
Sunday will allow absolutely NO time to "cook" ANYTHING, so please don't attempt it.
The only thing that you should be doing on Sunday is heating the food that was
previously made, with maybe the exception of the shrimp. The shrimp could be
purchased fresh on Saturday, then cooked on Sunday while everything else is being
heated (if possible). Your cooked shrimp can then be added to the heated scampi
sauce.
In short, the best advice I can offer you is; spend your entire Saturday cooking
EVERYTHING. If you really want to save time you can even cook the shrimp Saturday.
It won't be perfect reheated, but as long as its not overcooked during the reheat, it
won't be bad - and it would be unlikely that anyone would notice that the shrimp was
reheated.
You've got to keep in mind that when you're cooking for groups of people everything
changes. Sometimes shopping patterns, cooking styles, and even the recipes
themselves need to be altered. Cutting corners and simplifying the process is the name
of the game. This is why most cateres use pre-made store bought food items from
wholesale clubs. Sam's Club for instance sells a frozen Chicken Picatta dish that is
nothing less than awesome, and would serve as a perfect replacement for a Scalopini.
Sometimes being a great caterer simply means knowing where to "find" the best food,
not neccessarily "cook" it. The most important element being the final outcome - that
everyone gets fed and has a good time. Of course a certain level of humility would
need to be exercised in order to operate in this way, because most people want to
personally take the credit for turning out a great dish.
I often tell my students that cooking is about 30% preparation. There's no such thing
as being TOO planned or organized. Besides a shopping list, in the future consider a
"prep list", a "to do" list, and a "to bring" list. The more organized you are, the greater
your chances are of having a successful event - with a lot less stress.
I hope things go well for you and everyone else on Sunday.
Tastefully yours,
Chef Shane
"I need to make 2 large trays of Shrimp Scampi for a function this coming
Sunday July 19th. I wanted to know if I cooked the shrimp and the scampi
sauce today and froze it for defrost and to be placed over the pasta on
Sunday, would this be okay??????
I also have to make two trays of Chic, Broc, and ziti and Chick scalopini. I have
to go to the christening at 11am and then go home and cook to be at the hall
at 1pm so I am looking to save as much time as possible. I would really
appreciate any shortcuts you can provide me with.
Thank you so much in advance."
Darlene
Saugus, MA
Dear Darlene:
Here it is Saturday morning and I just now got to your question - so I don't know how
much or how little you've already done to prepare for your upcoming event. What
you've offered to do is a rather large undertaking and should be treated as such.
Your question regarding freezing the shrimp would depend primarily on whether or not
the shrimp was previously frozen. Most pre-cooked shrimp bought from the grocery
store is shipped in frozen, and thawed at the store, then placed in the showcase for
you to buy. So even though you bought it thawed doesn't mean that it wasn't once
frozen. With that said, you'd want avoid refreezing any food that was previously frozen
for a few reasons. The freezing and thawing proccess has a tendancy to change the
texture of the food - often tough or rubbery. Also, the food begins to break down and
lose its integrity. Finally, bacteria grows at an alarming rate during this whole process. I
always recommend using seafood the same day, or the day following its purchase date.
The scampi sauce however can be frozen ahead, but there would be no need to freeze
it since it would stay good in you refreigerator for up to a week.
The chicken, broccoli, and scalopini can be made up to three days ahead and kept in
the refrigerator, also eliminating the need to freeze. The ziti should be made the night
before, then baked just prior to the event.
Sunday will allow absolutely NO time to "cook" ANYTHING, so please don't attempt it.
The only thing that you should be doing on Sunday is heating the food that was
previously made, with maybe the exception of the shrimp. The shrimp could be
purchased fresh on Saturday, then cooked on Sunday while everything else is being
heated (if possible). Your cooked shrimp can then be added to the heated scampi
sauce.
In short, the best advice I can offer you is; spend your entire Saturday cooking
EVERYTHING. If you really want to save time you can even cook the shrimp Saturday.
It won't be perfect reheated, but as long as its not overcooked during the reheat, it
won't be bad - and it would be unlikely that anyone would notice that the shrimp was
reheated.
You've got to keep in mind that when you're cooking for groups of people everything
changes. Sometimes shopping patterns, cooking styles, and even the recipes
themselves need to be altered. Cutting corners and simplifying the process is the name
of the game. This is why most cateres use pre-made store bought food items from
wholesale clubs. Sam's Club for instance sells a frozen Chicken Picatta dish that is
nothing less than awesome, and would serve as a perfect replacement for a Scalopini.
Sometimes being a great caterer simply means knowing where to "find" the best food,
not neccessarily "cook" it. The most important element being the final outcome - that
everyone gets fed and has a good time. Of course a certain level of humility would
need to be exercised in order to operate in this way, because most people want to
personally take the credit for turning out a great dish.
I often tell my students that cooking is about 30% preparation. There's no such thing
as being TOO planned or organized. Besides a shopping list, in the future consider a
"prep list", a "to do" list, and a "to bring" list. The more organized you are, the greater
your chances are of having a successful event - with a lot less stress.
I hope things go well for you and everyone else on Sunday.
Tastefully yours,
Chef Shane
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technical difficulties. We are working to resolve this problem and plan to
resume the show in February 2010.
However, we ARE still accepting online question submissions from our
members. Just click the "Ask a question" link below to submit your question
to the Chef. You can also listen to a previously recorded episode by clicking
one of the links to the right.
Thank you for your patience.