How a professional chef uses a Spark at home

“The cobbler’s child is always the worst shod.” Nothing could be more true for those working in food service.  After spending extensive hours working in a kitchen, the last thing you want to do when you get home is head straight for the kitchen.  Yielding to the ease of take-out is often the reality of life.

Among Chef Kara’s accoutrements: a Japanese carbon steel knife, peeler, measuring spoons and a FireBoard Spark. She opts to carry her valued tools in a tool box from a hardware store.

This is not always the case.  There are those passionate about food creation like FireBoard Spark user Chef Kara Anderson.  She spends her weekends working in her kitchen at home teaching her son Xavier the value of a home cooked meal, and the pride of accomplishment.

Click the video below  to see Kara, and Xavier preparing Baked Pork chops on Ratatouille with Potato Rolls. Watch for her using a competition series probe to monitor the rolls.

Chef Kara Anderson passing her professional knife skills to her son Xavier

A temp probe in dinner rolls??  As it turns out, Kara spent some time working in a pastry shop, which is where she picked up the habit of temping her baked goods for consistency.  The slender profile of the FireBoard competition probes are ideal leave-in probes for delicate, smaller items.

Family Dinner: Chef Kara and her family work together to create their meals like this Baked Pork Chop on Ratatouille with Potato Rolls.

Kara has shared with us her family recipe for these potato rolls.  Check it out below, it calls for mashed potatoes.   Kara mentioned that she bakes a batch of these rolls anytime she has leftover mashed potatoes.

Beverly Brown’s Potato Rolls

Yield: 36 

4 Cups whole milk

2 Cups mashed potatoes

2 stick butter, plus more for brushing on after baking

¾ Cup sugar

2 tsp salt

3 tsp yeast

8 Cups bread flour, divided

5 eggs

Salt for garnish. 

Combine milk, mashed potatoes, butter, sugar and salt in a saucepan. Heat on low flame until the butter is melted, whisking until the mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. 

In a small bowl combine 1 cup of the flour with the yeast. Add to the cooled milk mixture. Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook. Add 2 cups of bread flour and mix on medium speed. When the flour is incorporated add all the eggs, followed by the remaining four. Mix on medium until a dough ball has formed, continuing to mix until the dough is smooth but still slightly sticky. This should take about 7-10 minutes.  Turn dough out into a buttered bowl and cover with a damp towel, placing it in a  warm area of the kitchen or house (i like to put mine on the front porch in the sun!) to rise for 1.5 hours or so. The dough should double in size.  Turn dough out onto a lightly floured counter and portion into 2oz rolls. Place on a buttered cookie sheet, or baking dish (we like to use cast iron pans for ours, but any baking dish will work!). Cover with damp cloth and allow to rise again for an hour. Bake at 375degrees until they reach an internal temperature of 190. When you remove them from the oven immediately brush tops with butter and sprinkle with salt.

Warm Potato Rolls just out of the oven receiving a modest amount of butter.