[Sca-cooks] kitchen tips

[Gretchen Beck]

One more, basic planning:

  1. If you are going to use electric appliances (roasters, griddles, 
fryers, mixers, or [god forbid] a microwave), check which outlets go to 
which breakers ahead of time. Don't trust what the site says, don't trust 
what the owner says -- test it yourself. A small portable fan is great for 
this. It's a big help if you can lay out where to plug things in ahead of 
time.

(I confess, one feast where the breaker kept blowing on the roaster, and 
the oven/stovetop was full, we finished the hoochee in the microwave -- not 
something I'd recommend as a general practice, but it got the job done on 
time without really affecting the taste)


  2. In your walkthrough, test the ovens. Turn each one on and see how (and 
if) it heats. If it has a pilot, make sure you know how to light the pilot 
and turn on the oven. If there is more than one oven, turn them both on 
together (I've been amazed with the contortions you have to go through to 
get some site ovens to work properly -- better to know ahead than to end up 
experimenting the day of)

3. Measure the insides of the ovens and count the oven racks. Don't rely on 
your or the sites baking sheets fitting into the oven.

4. Parchment paper is your friend. Parchment paper is your cleanup crew's 
friend. As is PAM.

5. Costco sells those little rubber kitchen mats at reasonable prices. They 
can be the difference between walking and limping at the end of the day.

toodles, margaret