Rid here: we finally got our prices and now can move ahead. Are the prices where we want them?
Sorry, that's proprietary. But, we do have a new twist in this thing and that's the case we pack the jars in. Co packer dudes want us to go to a 6 bottle case from the standard 12 bottle case. Why? I dunno- something to do with how some food stores and distributors want their shipments now. We were told we could be one of the first companies "to ride this new wave". Hey, this aint some f**king surfing class. There is nothing cool or sexy or earth-shaking about a friggin box!
Stay tuned all you sauceheads out there.....we are getting ready to fire up those kettles for real.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
No more waiting!
Well......Michael and I have been emailing each other like crazy. He's in WIlliamsburg, VA. It has been determined that we will go into production the last week of Sept. Now, the questions becomes, is that gonna happen? Who the hell knows. But we need to establish a date in order to keep ourselves from jumping off some bridge somewhere.
We have not gotten the quick responses needed from our co packer guys. But we are on them, now. Hopefully we will get answers to move ahead with the nutritionals and processing approval from Cornell.
We will also need to forward all this info to the FDA so we can start cooking up these sauces and get them into our customers shopping carts!
SO---- this is the deal---we are going into production the last week of September. Hahahahahahaha.......absolutely.....yessireee....yup.....you betcha.......really.
(we shall see)
We have not gotten the quick responses needed from our co packer guys. But we are on them, now. Hopefully we will get answers to move ahead with the nutritionals and processing approval from Cornell.
We will also need to forward all this info to the FDA so we can start cooking up these sauces and get them into our customers shopping carts!
SO---- this is the deal---we are going into production the last week of September. Hahahahahahaha.......absolutely.....yessireee....yup.....you betcha.......really.
(we shall see)
Monday, August 23, 2010
The waiting game
Rid here: It's late August. Everyone is running away to grab their last minute vacation. Not me. No sir. I'm working. Trying to get anything done is impossible!!
We are still waiting for our co-packer to finalize ingredients and related pricing so Michael A. can do his final calculations to see how much these sauces are going to cost to make--and to see how much (or how little) we will make on them. We are also debating whether to run a 30 case batch (wait til we get orders before spending big bucks--but price per jar to make goes way up) or do we order 100 cases, (so if we get an order, we can fill it immediately, much better unit prices to produce). We don't want to have to wait 2-3 weeks to fill an order should one land on our desk. That's how long it takes for the co packer to prepare for a production run. If a new client wants it NOW, we better be able to respond.
Hopefully we get moving again this week. Nothing is happening and I am EXTREMELY frustrated by the slow pace. What pace? There isn't one. I'm from the advertising business. We live and breathe deadlines. BOOM! Meet it or die.
Ya wanna know how f***ing slow the pace is? They are rebuilding all the roads, installing new sewers and putting in about 5 miles of sidewalks in our neighborhood. They started 3 months after we started talking to co packers. They are just about done. We are still waiting to get something done. ANYTHING! Maybe a good price. Or a nutritional. Or a Mediterranean tomato sauce sample that's not pink. Or..... never mind.
We are still waiting for our co-packer to finalize ingredients and related pricing so Michael A. can do his final calculations to see how much these sauces are going to cost to make--and to see how much (or how little) we will make on them. We are also debating whether to run a 30 case batch (wait til we get orders before spending big bucks--but price per jar to make goes way up) or do we order 100 cases, (so if we get an order, we can fill it immediately, much better unit prices to produce). We don't want to have to wait 2-3 weeks to fill an order should one land on our desk. That's how long it takes for the co packer to prepare for a production run. If a new client wants it NOW, we better be able to respond.
Hopefully we get moving again this week. Nothing is happening and I am EXTREMELY frustrated by the slow pace. What pace? There isn't one. I'm from the advertising business. We live and breathe deadlines. BOOM! Meet it or die.
Ya wanna know how f***ing slow the pace is? They are rebuilding all the roads, installing new sewers and putting in about 5 miles of sidewalks in our neighborhood. They started 3 months after we started talking to co packers. They are just about done. We are still waiting to get something done. ANYTHING! Maybe a good price. Or a nutritional. Or a Mediterranean tomato sauce sample that's not pink. Or..... never mind.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Labels
Rid here: Well, I have finalized the labels for our four glorious simmer sauces. They are elegant yet have a sense of "inviting" to them. People seem to like them....and find them.... "inviting".
We are now waiting to fix the Mediterranean Tomato simmer sauce. The co-packer keeps using this big ass blender that whips up whatever is in the kettle. I think its making certain ingredients milky--thereby making the tomato sauce pinkish in color. No. We need it to be red. Fresh garden-like red. It will happen. In our lifetime...we hope.
We also now need to get new nutritionals for each sauce. And final ingredient lists to add to the label. In our lifetime, we hope. It takes so f**cking long to get anything done!! I feel like I'm stuck in a big vat of molasses.
We are also weighing the idea of running 100 cases for our first run instead of just 30 cases. Don't want to be caught shorthanded if someone wants to order a significant amount. Don't want a bizillion jars of sauce in our garages either. (Actually, we can warehouse them at our co-packer. Costs oodles more $$ though. Uggh. But like they say, you can't make money without spending money.
Stay tuned...there is a lot coming as we approach production day.
We are now waiting to fix the Mediterranean Tomato simmer sauce. The co-packer keeps using this big ass blender that whips up whatever is in the kettle. I think its making certain ingredients milky--thereby making the tomato sauce pinkish in color. No. We need it to be red. Fresh garden-like red. It will happen. In our lifetime...we hope.
We also now need to get new nutritionals for each sauce. And final ingredient lists to add to the label. In our lifetime, we hope. It takes so f**cking long to get anything done!! I feel like I'm stuck in a big vat of molasses.
We are also weighing the idea of running 100 cases for our first run instead of just 30 cases. Don't want to be caught shorthanded if someone wants to order a significant amount. Don't want a bizillion jars of sauce in our garages either. (Actually, we can warehouse them at our co-packer. Costs oodles more $$ though. Uggh. But like they say, you can't make money without spending money.
Stay tuned...there is a lot coming as we approach production day.
Monday, August 16, 2010
In the land of mushrooms!
Rid here: Today, Michael A. and I went to a mushroom farm in West grove, PA. It was fun and we learned a lot about how mushrooms are grown.
That's all.
That's all.
Big Test Day Round 2 – FML ???
Michael A. reporting on round 2 of “testing”. You’ve already heard from Rid that all went well…sort of, and the sauces tasted…well, FABULOUS…
Now I’d never say that Rid exaggerates, its just his, what did I call it? Oh yes, his exuberant emotionalism. But I have to say he’s not exaggerating very much at all. The sauces did taste very, very good. They ranged from a low of 4 (on a 1 – 5) up to a 5. Rid’s Roasted Red Pepper Basil Cream sauce kicks ass!
Thursday started out much the same as the week before. Kids and dogs at camp/day care, wives working (God please continue to Bless them) and Rid and I driving up the road. When Rid asked me this time how I thought the day would turn out I said “forget it, I’m not predicting a thing! Just look how last week turned out"! We get to the co-packer and first thing are the women walking in at the same time saying “hi, we’re here for the R & D test day”. Ahh, wait a minute, Rid and I are here for the R & D test day! Is this the start of an FML day?
Well, turns out that there was a schedule screw up (see Rid’s earlier blogs about the food industry) and the co packer folks were trying to work it out. Oh, and also, it was the day the co packer had the “INSPECTORS” in, just to add a little excitement to the day. (BTW, they did fine with the inspection) So “M” worked with the ladies and “C” worked with us. C starts working on the sauces and of course Chef Dave is there to assist. Piccata turns out good. Bottle it up and move on. C is moving at his usual pace (don’t get me started) and the Marsala Marsala mushroom soup! FML… “C” I say, before making any more decisions about OUR sauces please consult with us first. C tells me that maybe he should have chopped the mushrooms in the first place. Suffice it to say that was not the best thing to say to me, you know the customer, the guy PAYING FOR ALL OF THIS! Along with a few other pithy comments from C and I was just about to loose it!
Anyway at this point I left the area and tried to cool down. See Rid’s comments on my condition. Anyway, with Chef Dave’s help and M the sauces all got down. We learned a few things that needed to be tweaked. Bottom line is I think we are almost there. Rid and I will be working on sourcing mushrooms, sourcing all natural bases, etc etc. But we are on our way and in the end I don’t think it was an FML day!
Saturday, August 14, 2010
We did it! BOY, did we ever!
Rid sez: It's now early Saturday AM and I'm still thinking about the simmer sauces that we made on Thursday. You know, the small batch test....the day we would either dance in the streets or shoot ourselves.
Well, they ALL came out tasting fabulous. I'm talking Superb. Fantastic. I mean, really.....I'm not being biased here... they tasted like the sauce gods came down from their gas ranges in the sky and blessed these four little creations of ours.
Michael A. and I and our better halves all got together last night and sampled each according to the directions which will appear on the labels. Holy sh*t. That's all I can say about how good they tasted. If someone had told me they were made in a factory-and I didn't know that, I would've said they were crazy. They tasted like some super gourmet chef spent hours creating them. Well...duhhh... friggin gourmets DID make them. Us. And it has taken 8 months so far. And worth every blessed minute.
We now have samples of our latest batch. We are going to start getting real impressions from folks about what they think of them. They better not break my heart. We feel pretty confident that they will love them all. If they don't--they're f**king morons. Simple as that.....
We still will need to address some issues regarding the sauces. They each taste great but some of the textures aren't quite right and the processes need to be re-worked. Its not just what you use...it's how it's made, too. Like, you never use a high speed blender on olive oil--it turns to milk and ruins the color of your food. Stuff like that. We need the mushrooms in the Marsala sauce to be bigger pieces--ideally, we want slices. Might be tough to do.
I did need to calm Michael A. down on Thursday however-- there came a moment when he redefined the word, "pissed". I mean, this guy's blood pressure must've been 600 / 1000. There are those out there who have no idea about how lucky they are to still be alive this morning. I have never seen Michael's eyes get so small as they did Thursday afternoon. They looked like two little glowing red peas. I swear, I thought the guys was going to blowtorch the entire co-packing plant! I stayed verrry quiet.....
What was he so pissed off about? The mushrooms in our Marsala batch were cut too small. Waaaayy too small. Was I pissed? Nah. It's fixable.
He's fine now-(his eyeballs have returned to normal). And so am I. Life is good in sauceland.....for today anyway.
Next steps: fix the texture issues, new batch of Med. Tomato sauce, new nutritionals, new Cornell? Meet with PR people. Select label printer. finalize ingredients for labels, buy UPCs, Re-do videos, new photography of jars and beauty shots of entrees with our sauces, update the website with new photos and videos, buy liability insurance, meet mushroom people (mushroom issues abound), talk to buyers, etc.
...and that;s just Monday and Tuesday of next week.
Well, they ALL came out tasting fabulous. I'm talking Superb. Fantastic. I mean, really.....I'm not being biased here... they tasted like the sauce gods came down from their gas ranges in the sky and blessed these four little creations of ours.
Michael A. and I and our better halves all got together last night and sampled each according to the directions which will appear on the labels. Holy sh*t. That's all I can say about how good they tasted. If someone had told me they were made in a factory-and I didn't know that, I would've said they were crazy. They tasted like some super gourmet chef spent hours creating them. Well...duhhh... friggin gourmets DID make them. Us. And it has taken 8 months so far. And worth every blessed minute.
We now have samples of our latest batch. We are going to start getting real impressions from folks about what they think of them. They better not break my heart. We feel pretty confident that they will love them all. If they don't--they're f**king morons. Simple as that.....
We still will need to address some issues regarding the sauces. They each taste great but some of the textures aren't quite right and the processes need to be re-worked. Its not just what you use...it's how it's made, too. Like, you never use a high speed blender on olive oil--it turns to milk and ruins the color of your food. Stuff like that. We need the mushrooms in the Marsala sauce to be bigger pieces--ideally, we want slices. Might be tough to do.
I did need to calm Michael A. down on Thursday however-- there came a moment when he redefined the word, "pissed". I mean, this guy's blood pressure must've been 600 / 1000. There are those out there who have no idea about how lucky they are to still be alive this morning. I have never seen Michael's eyes get so small as they did Thursday afternoon. They looked like two little glowing red peas. I swear, I thought the guys was going to blowtorch the entire co-packing plant! I stayed verrry quiet.....
What was he so pissed off about? The mushrooms in our Marsala batch were cut too small. Waaaayy too small. Was I pissed? Nah. It's fixable.
He's fine now-(his eyeballs have returned to normal). And so am I. Life is good in sauceland.....for today anyway.
Next steps: fix the texture issues, new batch of Med. Tomato sauce, new nutritionals, new Cornell? Meet with PR people. Select label printer. finalize ingredients for labels, buy UPCs, Re-do videos, new photography of jars and beauty shots of entrees with our sauces, update the website with new photos and videos, buy liability insurance, meet mushroom people (mushroom issues abound), talk to buyers, etc.
...and that;s just Monday and Tuesday of next week.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Ground Hog Day part 3
Rid sez: Well, Michael A. and I have been busy getting ready for ANOTHER batch test this Thursday. We have been tracking down the cheapest real wine we can-- which is hard to do in PA because youre forced to pay retail. Yes, retail, because of the damn liquor laws in PA. You cant ship from out of state either and you cant buy in bulk. We also found organic mushrooms instead of some gawd awful dehydrated mushrooms. Hair net guy at the co-packer never let us know if the price we got for organic is cheaper than the dehydrated. Ahhhhrrgghhh!!!
At this rate, the sauces will retail for about $80! (kidding-I hope)
So, thursday is another big day and the sauces better be good. And they better be all natural. And so on...
Will we EVER get these friggin simmer sauces to market? Who the hell knows. At this rate, we'll be too old to run the company when they hit the shelves. Dimentia will set in and we won't even remember doing all this work. Hmmm.... maybe thats a good thing.....
I gave a manager at a nearby major food store chain a sample of our Piccata to try, which we made last week. He's going to take it home and try it. Hope it doesn't put him in the hospital.
Also--we need a good food PR person. Know anyone?
Stay tuned.
At this rate, the sauces will retail for about $80! (kidding-I hope)
So, thursday is another big day and the sauces better be good. And they better be all natural. And so on...
Will we EVER get these friggin simmer sauces to market? Who the hell knows. At this rate, we'll be too old to run the company when they hit the shelves. Dimentia will set in and we won't even remember doing all this work. Hmmm.... maybe thats a good thing.....
I gave a manager at a nearby major food store chain a sample of our Piccata to try, which we made last week. He's going to take it home and try it. Hope it doesn't put him in the hospital.
Also--we need a good food PR person. Know anyone?
Stay tuned.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Holy Simmer Sauce!
Last night we made chicken Piccata using our Piccata simmer sauce made in yesterday's batch test from hell.
It was..... Perfect. Awesome. Dead on. Fabulous! My wife Connie, who claims NOT to be a "sauce person" (can you believe that?) said it was the best Piccata she had ever tasted. Michael's wife, Kathy said it was wonderful. Perfect.
WTF FML OMG LOL!!
You may think this is some self-patronizing bullshit, but the truth is (for me anyway) is that last night's chicken Piccata was the best I had ever had. Really. As good as the best I've ever had in a fine NYC restaurant. No, better. Really. Shocking........wow.
The weird and scary part is, it was better than the sample we had made for comparison.
So, if we can make these sauces taste as fine as last night's, and do them all as all-natural? We have a monster hit on our hands. People will break down the f**kin doors to buy our sauces. Really.
Tonight, crazy Dave tries it. We will hear from him.
It was..... Perfect. Awesome. Dead on. Fabulous! My wife Connie, who claims NOT to be a "sauce person" (can you believe that?) said it was the best Piccata she had ever tasted. Michael's wife, Kathy said it was wonderful. Perfect.
WTF FML OMG LOL!!
You may think this is some self-patronizing bullshit, but the truth is (for me anyway) is that last night's chicken Piccata was the best I had ever had. Really. As good as the best I've ever had in a fine NYC restaurant. No, better. Really. Shocking........wow.
The weird and scary part is, it was better than the sample we had made for comparison.
So, if we can make these sauces taste as fine as last night's, and do them all as all-natural? We have a monster hit on our hands. People will break down the f**kin doors to buy our sauces. Really.
Tonight, crazy Dave tries it. We will hear from him.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
FML?
Rid's response to today: I'm just not quite sure what Michael's problem is. He needs to emote more. Tell it REALLY like it is... Whatever. He captured the play by play of the day accurately, (see post below) however it certainly was NOT an FML day.
IT WAS A F**KING WTF DAY! IT WAS A FRIGGIN "IM GONNA LOSE MY MIND" DAY!!!
Look, if you're thinking of going into the food biz with that super secret sauce recipe that grandma makes--the recipe that has been handed down for four generations....DONT DO IT. There is the real chance that you will end up needing psychiatric counseling. This food game is a friggin nightmare. Okay, It's FML. But, it's also WTF on steroids.
Right now, I feel like FML stands for: FAT MENTAL LOSER. That's me alright.
Yes, we want our simmer sauces to be all natural. They have to be. The only "all natural" thing going on here though is my need to pee every four hours!
So, we have to go back. Do this whole charade over again. Make sure all our ingredients have no preservatives or flavor enhancers in them. Next week, we'll probably discover that the friggin water isn't all-natural and that we need to import water from Iceland or something. WTF.
Okay, okay. Gimme a second to catch my breath..... Im okay now. Im about to pour myself another drink and realize that that this day has been a blessing. (God help us). Had we moved forward, using these ingredients--AND-- had we gone to a major food chain, like Whole Foods, who we REALLY want to do business with at some point in the future (because our simmer sauces ARE really fabulous), and found out that our sauces were blacklisted because of some crap in the stock base AND the friggin denatured wine-- well.....I'd just go wander off somewhere and blow my f**king brains out.
So, I'm now looking on the bright side. This day saved our lives. Really. We also learned more in one day about production and food prep than we could've ever hoped for.
We saved our Simmer Sauce company, too.
IT WAS A F**KING WTF DAY! IT WAS A FRIGGIN "IM GONNA LOSE MY MIND" DAY!!!
Look, if you're thinking of going into the food biz with that super secret sauce recipe that grandma makes--the recipe that has been handed down for four generations....DONT DO IT. There is the real chance that you will end up needing psychiatric counseling. This food game is a friggin nightmare. Okay, It's FML. But, it's also WTF on steroids.
Right now, I feel like FML stands for: FAT MENTAL LOSER. That's me alright.
Yes, we want our simmer sauces to be all natural. They have to be. The only "all natural" thing going on here though is my need to pee every four hours!
So, we have to go back. Do this whole charade over again. Make sure all our ingredients have no preservatives or flavor enhancers in them. Next week, we'll probably discover that the friggin water isn't all-natural and that we need to import water from Iceland or something. WTF.
This is me in the middle, flanked by crazy Dave on my right and Michael A. on my left.
We look dorky and happy here, don't we? Dorky? Yes. Happy? No.
Okay, okay. Gimme a second to catch my breath..... Im okay now. Im about to pour myself another drink and realize that that this day has been a blessing. (God help us). Had we moved forward, using these ingredients--AND-- had we gone to a major food chain, like Whole Foods, who we REALLY want to do business with at some point in the future (because our simmer sauces ARE really fabulous), and found out that our sauces were blacklisted because of some crap in the stock base AND the friggin denatured wine-- well.....I'd just go wander off somewhere and blow my f**king brains out.
So, I'm now looking on the bright side. This day saved our lives. Really. We also learned more in one day about production and food prep than we could've ever hoped for.
We saved our Simmer Sauce company, too.
The Big Test Day…Also known as FML Day!
Michael A. here, you know, the suit, Mr. Calm, the cool, analytical balance to Rid’s exuberant emotionalism. Today was the day we went to the co-packer for the 3 gallon test batches, work out any minor kinks and get ready for the real thing. And my head exploded!!! More about that later…
The day started out great. Kids at camp, dogs at doggie day care, wives working at real jobs (God bless them). Driving up to the Amish country Rid asked me how I thought the sauces would turn out. “Oh, I think 3 out of 4 will be fine but for a couple of minor tweaks, the 4th one will probably need some work”. “It will be fine.”
We get there and meet Chef Dave, the consultant who has been helping us. Rid has talked about him. Chef Dave is a great guy, a wack job, but a great guy. We really love this guy. He has done so much to help us I can’t say enough. But he is a wack job!
Anyway, we meet with the production manager, one of Rid’s “M’s”, you know the hair net guy. And the R & D tech, “C”. C starts off with, “you know, I’ve worked in restaurants before and I never saw Marsala with tarragon in it”. Rid says that’s the way we want it. “And I never saw Piccata sauce made with sherry”. Rid, with slightly gritted teeth, “That’s the way we want it”. “Well ok, just thought I’d mention it”. Well I thought, this is an interesting way to start out.
So out to the production floor, staff busily filling jars with raspberry jam, salsa is next and then blueberry jam and so on… We gather in the corner where C has his test area and the test KETTLES! Rid and I are excited, this is it, we are on our way! We decide to start with the Piccata sauce. C starts measuring ingredients, Chef Dave is there to clarify the recipe and we are cooking. (No pun intended) By the way C says, you know these low sodium stock bases we are using means you can’t call it “All Natural”. WHAT? FML… (I recently learned from one of Kathy’s nieces a new internet slang term the younger generation is using. It fits perfectly. Look it up if you never heard it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FML
Anyway, here we are. No “natural” sauces! M reminds me we could use the “All Natural” stock bases but of course they have much more sodium – SALT, in them. Meanwhile the sauce C is whipping up in the kettle tastes like…blahhhh. What happened to our great Piccata sauce? Well, when you go from that little sauté pan, in your kitchen, on the stove it’s not quite like the big kettle cooking away at 210 degrees. Things happen to ingredients, flavors change, etc. Long story short we test a few things, add this, change this and well maybe it’s sort of ok. Rid and I are eating it tonight and will let you know how it turns out. Meanwhile let’s get the “All Natural” stock bases in here and redo the recipes. M says well should we even bother to do any more today if we are changing the recipes? We decide to try the Marsala since the mushrooms are already out.
Rid and Dave run out to get lunch and I’m with C. He starts making the Marsala. By the way he says, you know using this “cooking wine” means you can’t call it “All Natural”, it has preservatives in it. WHAT? FML. Oh he adds, forget Whole Foods, they have a list and this stuff means they will never, ever let it in their stores! And then my headed just exploded…FML!!!!!!!
The whole reason to use cooking wines was to help with the cost. Now we are back to using the real stuff. But in PA that means buying from the state controlled liquor store. And much higher prices! FML…
So the day ended. I haven’t even told you about the lemon problem in the Marsala recipe. Rid can tell you about that if he wants. So now we are going back next Thursday. To use the “All Natural” stock bases. And the real, EXPENSIVE, wine. And maybe, just maybe it will turn out better than today. FML…
The day started out great. Kids at camp, dogs at doggie day care, wives working at real jobs (God bless them). Driving up to the Amish country Rid asked me how I thought the sauces would turn out. “Oh, I think 3 out of 4 will be fine but for a couple of minor tweaks, the 4th one will probably need some work”. “It will be fine.”
We get there and meet Chef Dave, the consultant who has been helping us. Rid has talked about him. Chef Dave is a great guy, a wack job, but a great guy. We really love this guy. He has done so much to help us I can’t say enough. But he is a wack job!
Anyway, we meet with the production manager, one of Rid’s “M’s”, you know the hair net guy. And the R & D tech, “C”. C starts off with, “you know, I’ve worked in restaurants before and I never saw Marsala with tarragon in it”. Rid says that’s the way we want it. “And I never saw Piccata sauce made with sherry”. Rid, with slightly gritted teeth, “That’s the way we want it”. “Well ok, just thought I’d mention it”. Well I thought, this is an interesting way to start out.
So out to the production floor, staff busily filling jars with raspberry jam, salsa is next and then blueberry jam and so on… We gather in the corner where C has his test area and the test KETTLES! Rid and I are excited, this is it, we are on our way! We decide to start with the Piccata sauce. C starts measuring ingredients, Chef Dave is there to clarify the recipe and we are cooking. (No pun intended) By the way C says, you know these low sodium stock bases we are using means you can’t call it “All Natural”. WHAT? FML… (I recently learned from one of Kathy’s nieces a new internet slang term the younger generation is using. It fits perfectly. Look it up if you never heard it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FML
Anyway, here we are. No “natural” sauces! M reminds me we could use the “All Natural” stock bases but of course they have much more sodium – SALT, in them. Meanwhile the sauce C is whipping up in the kettle tastes like…blahhhh. What happened to our great Piccata sauce? Well, when you go from that little sauté pan, in your kitchen, on the stove it’s not quite like the big kettle cooking away at 210 degrees. Things happen to ingredients, flavors change, etc. Long story short we test a few things, add this, change this and well maybe it’s sort of ok. Rid and I are eating it tonight and will let you know how it turns out. Meanwhile let’s get the “All Natural” stock bases in here and redo the recipes. M says well should we even bother to do any more today if we are changing the recipes? We decide to try the Marsala since the mushrooms are already out.
Rid and Dave run out to get lunch and I’m with C. He starts making the Marsala. By the way he says, you know using this “cooking wine” means you can’t call it “All Natural”, it has preservatives in it. WHAT? FML. Oh he adds, forget Whole Foods, they have a list and this stuff means they will never, ever let it in their stores! And then my headed just exploded…FML!!!!!!!
The whole reason to use cooking wines was to help with the cost. Now we are back to using the real stuff. But in PA that means buying from the state controlled liquor store. And much higher prices! FML…
So the day ended. I haven’t even told you about the lemon problem in the Marsala recipe. Rid can tell you about that if he wants. So now we are going back next Thursday. To use the “All Natural” stock bases. And the real, EXPENSIVE, wine. And maybe, just maybe it will turn out better than today. FML…
We did the small "botch" test today....
rid sez: I'll post later....too busy busting up the furniture in my house right now.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Crazy Dave is king of chef consultants
Remember Davy Jones from the Monkees? Well, we aren't working with him--we're working with Dave Jones. Chef extroardinaire! this frggin guy created our samples and they were dead on. Fabulous! the guy is an effin genius.
Tomorrow we make our sauces at the co-packer. Am praying to the sauce gods today
. they said all will be fine.
Image via Wikipedia
Tomorrow we make our sauces at the co-packer. Am praying to the sauce gods today
. they said all will be fine.
Image via WikipediaTuesday, August 3, 2010
Is it Tea time?
So, while we wait for the small batch test later this week, we are looking at adding a line of 100% organic teas and tea blends to our "family". We'll see. Are we nuts? Let us know. Like the idea? Let us know that, too.
Back to sauce city..... today I meet with crazy Dave. He needs to create a small sample of each of our sauces for the co-packers this Thursday. This is a critical step. Like a rocket launch. Everything must flow smoothly and taste exactly as we want them. Dave's samples (based on our recipes) will be the taste guide for the food boys in Lancaster. Michael can't make it to the meeting with Dave and me, but will get to taste Dave's concoctions when he returns home from Baltimore.
Since Michael can't be there, I might just tell Dave to leave those capers out of the Piccata sauce. Ha!
I hate capers.
Michael A. and the rest of the friggin world like them I guess.....uggh. To me they look like little rabbit turds. Yuk. If you hate capers, let Michael know. Im still lobbying against them.
Back to sauce city..... today I meet with crazy Dave. He needs to create a small sample of each of our sauces for the co-packers this Thursday. This is a critical step. Like a rocket launch. Everything must flow smoothly and taste exactly as we want them. Dave's samples (based on our recipes) will be the taste guide for the food boys in Lancaster. Michael can't make it to the meeting with Dave and me, but will get to taste Dave's concoctions when he returns home from Baltimore.
Since Michael can't be there, I might just tell Dave to leave those capers out of the Piccata sauce. Ha!
I hate capers.
Michael A. and the rest of the friggin world like them I guess.....uggh. To me they look like little rabbit turds. Yuk. If you hate capers, let Michael know. Im still lobbying against them.
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