/r/kitchenconfidential was my spot, seriously miss that. No going back though, needless to say

I’d put Trick of the Tail on there too!

When we started dating, my soon-to-be-wife (later this week!) made me a scarf. A couple years later she crocheted me a queen sized blanket. Those two things are genuinely my prized possessions. I’m a sucker for handmade gifts like that.

The greatest gift she ever gave me though was sticking by my side through cancer treatment. I’ll never be able to repay that love and kindness but God knows I’ll spend the rest of my life loving her

So American cheese (the real stuff) is actually real cheese. It’s basically just cheese with an emulsifying salt added to it, usually in the form of sodium citrate or similar. This salt is what makes American cheese melt so well, you can actually buy it and melt it into other cheeses to make them melt like American cheese. Or you can make it yourself by mixing baking soda and lemon juice

I don’t smoke anymore, but back when I was working as a line cook I used to smoke like a chimney. I’m real happy I stopped, my sleep took a while to get better but now it’s way more restful then when I smoked. Weed is chill in moderation, not if it’s your only way to relax after a long day of too many hours under high pressure.

Still get a bit of a craving every now and then, but I think it’s just when I’m bored.

Mise en place is essential in my mind and one of the most important skills I learned early on in culinary school. At home if you don’t want to dirty a ton of dishes, you can organize ingredients (veggie ones anyway, still need bowls for spices/liquids) into small piles on your cutting board. Then just grab a bench scraper or the side of your knife and toss the ingredients in as needed.

Also, get a kitchen scale. You won’t need it all the time but it’s so much easier to just stick a pot on top of a scale and add 500 ml of chicken stock than it is to have to measure 2 cups in a separate container. This is especially good if you’re looking to blanche/simmer something in a flavorful liquid like stock or broth