I've passed! The final Phase I practical exam consisted of Quiche Lorraine, Wilted Spinach, Chicken Mousse Quenelles, Sauce Madiera and Raspberry Roulade. I did pretty well, but I wasn't perfect. Only one student (in 30 years!) has achieved a 100% on a practical exam; my audacious goal is to earn the second hundo in school history, but its proving to be difficult. I knew I was out of the money when Mama proclaimed that my quenelles "taste like Chinese meat ball," which, although delicious, was not even remotely the goal. Oh well, next time!
Our first day with The Chef ("Napolean") and his assistant, lets call her Blondie, was surprisingly enjoyable. The new restaurant style format, although challenging, is far more exciting and the quality and complexity of the food we're turning out has been elevated. For instance, today the entree we made was Halibut Crusted with Mustard, Sun Dried Tomato and Walnut Paste. Ah, much better than Eggs Benedict or Seared Chicken.
We've been expecting Blondie to be a real pain in the ass, but today both she and Napoleon were, well, super duper nice. For example, I put our mise en place (MEEZE-IN-PLAS: food, ingredients, etc. prepped/measured a head of time) in the incorrect fridge, without a label. Last week, this would have been a foot stomping, tirade-able offense, therefore I apologized immediately. "Whigh ahre yhou hapologizhing? Yhou deedn't kneau weech rheefrhigeratuur tu yhoose!" Their kindness was frightening - it must be a trick. We'll see how long the honeymoon lasts.
Blondie is an interesting gal. Super Duper Cheesy would be a better name for her, but who's judging. She is one of those women who is truly overly obsessed with the color pink. Now I love pink, but she takes loving pink to a new level. She has a Chef's Knife with a Mary Kay Buick colored blade complemented by a Watermelon colored handle; this would be a cute accessory for a cocktail slinging housewife, but we are in a professional program for god's sake. Then, I saw her knife bag. Holy shit - the bag itself and everything in it is pink. The mass of tools she's acquired in a single shade is frankly, amazing.
Here is the Halibut recipe. Halibut is a great fish for dinner parties because although it can certainly be overcooked, it is much more forgiving. It can be cooked way ahead of time and then re-heated in a hot oven.
Mustard Crusted Halibut
Ingredients
4 Halibut Fillets, 6-7 oz. each
1/2 c. Ground Mustard
1/2 c. Dijon Mustard
1/2 c. Toasted Walnuts
1/4 c. Sun Dried Tomatoes
1/2 Onion, finely chopped
Methods
-In butter, sweat finely chopped onions in a saucepan until soft and translucent.
-Combine cooked onion, mustards, walnuts and sun dried tomatoes in food processor. Blend to make a paste.
-Top each halibut fillet with paste about 1/8" thick. Leave about 1/8" of an edge because the fish will shrink slightly when cooking.
-In sauté pan on medium heat (nonstick), heat clarified butter. When hot, place fish, crust side down, and cook until crust is browned. This should take 3-4 minutes on medium heat.
-Carefully flip fish and cook the other side on medium heat for 3-4 more minutes.
-Remove from pan and put onto a sheet tray and finish the fish in the oven at 350 degrees for 5-10 minutes. (If you have an oven safe saute pan, put the saute pan directly into the oven).
-Serve with a salad or green veggie.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
The Final Days of Being a Beginner
Its hard to believe, but my final week of Phase I has approached. I'm about to graduate from Cornichon to Minion. Before I have that privilege, I'll have to achieve a B+ or better on our written theory and final practical exams. The theory exam is cumulative of everything and anything we've learned the past 12 weeks and formatted as 100 short answer questions. Haven't these chefs ever heard of multiple choice?!
The practical exam is an entirely different beast. Everything and anything we've made is fair game. So far, we've been able to determine we will be making something with spinach and something with mushrooms. I should have written I've been able to determine. The Sherlock in me has been snooping around the clipboards by the delivery bay and I noticed an unusually large order for both items. We also know we're making Quiche Lorraine, courtesy of both Mama's inability to lie to us and her desire for us to succeed. She is the best. She will be missed.
Phase II sounds scary, exhausting and challenging, but promising for sure. For the last 12 weeks we've been pumping out eight servings of the daily menu (amuse, appetizer, entree, side dish and dessert) at 11:30am, sharp. For the next 12 weeks, the kitchen will be structured more like a restaurant. We will take orders from big time school staffers (The Head of Everything, his wife, The Academic Dean, etc.) and fire and pick up their orders as The Chef calls for them. There is no longer an 11:30am, sharp. There will only be when The Chef says so, sharp. Nothing will be predictable, ordinary or planned. We also have the most exciting event every Friday called Market Basket (think Iron Chef). Each Friday, we will be given a basket of random food and 2 hours to prepare a fabulous appetizer and entree. The food will be judged by local chefs (excellent, intimidating, often famous ones) and someone will win. I better win at least one of these things. The Head of Everything reminded us, again, there are no points for "Furhst Loozhair."
As promised, let's turn our Raspberry Roulade into Charlotte Royale. This was one of my favorite desserts of Phase I. You can switch up the filling and replace the vanilla flavoring with lemon, strawberry, chocolate or whatever! It is impressive and delicious.
Charlotte Royale
Ingredients
Raspberry Roulade
2 c. half and half
1 vanilla bean (or vanilla extract)
5 egg yolks
5 oz. sugar
5-6 sheets gelatin
2 c. cream
Methods
-Slice roulade into 1/4" thick slices
-Line a medium sized bowl with plastic wrap
-Line the bowl with the slices of roulade, spiral side out, packing them in as tightly as possible. Basically, you want to form a "bowl" out of the slices. Chill the roulade bowl.
-Warm half and half and sliced vanilla bean over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
-While warming half and half, whisk together egg yolks and sugar.
-When half and half begins to boil, pour a small amount into the sugar and yolk mixture and stir immediately to temper the eggs and prevent omelet formation.
-Pour the remainder of the hot half and half into the yolk and sugar mixture and mix well.
-Pour the mixture back into a saucepan and heat over a low heat while stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. You are essentially making a Creme Anglaise, which is the base of ice cream.
-Continue to heat and STIR CONSTANTLY for about 5-8 minutes or until the mixture coats the back of the wooden spoon.
-Strain out vanilla bean shell from crème anglaise.
-Soak gelatin sheets in ice cold water, and mix sheets into crème anglaise while it is still hot. Powdered gelatin will also work - 1 gelatin sheet = 1/2 tsp. of powder. Set aside in refrigerator to cool.
-When creme anglaise is completely cool, whip the cream until soft peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the creme anglaise. You've now made a Vanilla Bavarin Creme!
-Pour the Bavarin into the chilled bowl lined with roulade and refrigerate for 24 hours.
-Turn Charlotte Royale out of bowl and glaze with apricot glaze if desired.
-Slice and serve!
The practical exam is an entirely different beast. Everything and anything we've made is fair game. So far, we've been able to determine we will be making something with spinach and something with mushrooms. I should have written I've been able to determine. The Sherlock in me has been snooping around the clipboards by the delivery bay and I noticed an unusually large order for both items. We also know we're making Quiche Lorraine, courtesy of both Mama's inability to lie to us and her desire for us to succeed. She is the best. She will be missed.
Phase II sounds scary, exhausting and challenging, but promising for sure. For the last 12 weeks we've been pumping out eight servings of the daily menu (amuse, appetizer, entree, side dish and dessert) at 11:30am, sharp. For the next 12 weeks, the kitchen will be structured more like a restaurant. We will take orders from big time school staffers (The Head of Everything, his wife, The Academic Dean, etc.) and fire and pick up their orders as The Chef calls for them. There is no longer an 11:30am, sharp. There will only be when The Chef says so, sharp. Nothing will be predictable, ordinary or planned. We also have the most exciting event every Friday called Market Basket (think Iron Chef). Each Friday, we will be given a basket of random food and 2 hours to prepare a fabulous appetizer and entree. The food will be judged by local chefs (excellent, intimidating, often famous ones) and someone will win. I better win at least one of these things. The Head of Everything reminded us, again, there are no points for "Furhst Loozhair."
As promised, let's turn our Raspberry Roulade into Charlotte Royale. This was one of my favorite desserts of Phase I. You can switch up the filling and replace the vanilla flavoring with lemon, strawberry, chocolate or whatever! It is impressive and delicious.
Charlotte Royale
Ingredients
Raspberry Roulade
2 c. half and half
1 vanilla bean (or vanilla extract)
5 egg yolks
5 oz. sugar
5-6 sheets gelatin
2 c. cream
Methods
-Slice roulade into 1/4" thick slices
-Line a medium sized bowl with plastic wrap
-Line the bowl with the slices of roulade, spiral side out, packing them in as tightly as possible. Basically, you want to form a "bowl" out of the slices. Chill the roulade bowl.
-Warm half and half and sliced vanilla bean over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
-While warming half and half, whisk together egg yolks and sugar.
-When half and half begins to boil, pour a small amount into the sugar and yolk mixture and stir immediately to temper the eggs and prevent omelet formation.
-Pour the remainder of the hot half and half into the yolk and sugar mixture and mix well.
-Pour the mixture back into a saucepan and heat over a low heat while stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. You are essentially making a Creme Anglaise, which is the base of ice cream.
-Continue to heat and STIR CONSTANTLY for about 5-8 minutes or until the mixture coats the back of the wooden spoon.
-Strain out vanilla bean shell from crème anglaise.
-Soak gelatin sheets in ice cold water, and mix sheets into crème anglaise while it is still hot. Powdered gelatin will also work - 1 gelatin sheet = 1/2 tsp. of powder. Set aside in refrigerator to cool.
-When creme anglaise is completely cool, whip the cream until soft peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the creme anglaise. You've now made a Vanilla Bavarin Creme!
-Pour the Bavarin into the chilled bowl lined with roulade and refrigerate for 24 hours.
-Turn Charlotte Royale out of bowl and glaze with apricot glaze if desired.
-Slice and serve!
Monday, July 6, 2009
Days Thirty Six to Forty
We have been waiting, desperately, for these days to arrive. No French Food Days! Mama has taken over the classroom and is filling our repertoire with Asian delights. The aroma of Steamed Pork Buns, Chicken Satay, Summer Rolls, Egg Rolls, Pad Thai, Vegetable Pilau, Curry Chicken, Naan and Peking Duck were seeping into the school's hallways all week. I have a natural affinity for this kind of grub (genes), but I wasn't the only one excited. The Chef and his advanced minions kept poking their noses into our kitchen. They were being nice to us. Their smiles and willingness to share the good equipment truly demonstrates how darn delicious her recipes are.
Mama, being Mama, fully intended to feed the entire school, and everyone's family, boyfriend, girlfriend, neighbor, etc. We made enough food to feed armies. If there were leftovers, she packaged them up for all to take home and share.
Unfortunately this week marked my official fall off the "eat only until you're full" wagon. I simply couldn't get enough. I told Mama if I don't fit into my wedding dress, I will fully blame her egg rolls.
This recipe is something she's famous for.
Pad Thai
Ingredients
1 lb. Chicken, Shrimp, or Pork (or any combo of all three)
1 lb. Thai flat rice noodles
1 T. chopped onion
1 Tsp. chopped garlic
2 eggs
1 T. sugar
1 T. soy sauce
1 T. fish sauce
4 T. vinegar
1 Tsp. pickled white radish
2 c. fresh bean sprouts
1/2 c. coarsely ground peanuts (additional for garnish)
1 c. scallions, slices into 1/2" long pieces (green parts too!)
Lime wedges (for garnish)
Paprika (for garnish)
Jalapeno Pepper, sliced (for garnish)
Canola Oil
Methods
-Soak the rice noodles in warm water until soft - about 15 minutes. Drain the noodles and set them aside.
-In a large, nonstick saute pan (use a big ass pan or you will end up with a mess), heat about 1 T. canola oil until warm. Add beaten eggs and let cook. When bottom of egg "omelet" is cooked, gently stir eggs to cook through. Remove from pan and set aside.
-Add another T. of oil to the pan. Saute the onions over medium heat until they are soft and begin to darken. Add the garlic, and meat. Cook on medium heat until the meat is cooked 50%.
-Add the softened noodles, sugar, soy sauce, fish sauce and vinegar to the pan. Mix very well using two large utensils. Push the noodles closest to you towards the back of the pan while pulling the noodles furthest from you to the front of the pan. Mix for about 5 minutes on medium heat.
-Add the pickled white radish and bean sprouts to the pan. Mix well and cook until the bean sprouts are slightly tender and the meat is cooked - about 5 minutes.
-Add the chopped peanuts and sliced green onion. Stir well and remove from heat immediately.
-Plate noodles and top with 1 tsp. of chopped peanuts and a pinch of paprika. Serve with 1 or 2 wedges of lime, and a few slices of jalapeno pepper.
Mama, being Mama, fully intended to feed the entire school, and everyone's family, boyfriend, girlfriend, neighbor, etc. We made enough food to feed armies. If there were leftovers, she packaged them up for all to take home and share.
Unfortunately this week marked my official fall off the "eat only until you're full" wagon. I simply couldn't get enough. I told Mama if I don't fit into my wedding dress, I will fully blame her egg rolls.
This recipe is something she's famous for.
Pad Thai
Ingredients
1 lb. Chicken, Shrimp, or Pork (or any combo of all three)
1 lb. Thai flat rice noodles
1 T. chopped onion
1 Tsp. chopped garlic
2 eggs
1 T. sugar
1 T. soy sauce
1 T. fish sauce
4 T. vinegar
1 Tsp. pickled white radish
2 c. fresh bean sprouts
1/2 c. coarsely ground peanuts (additional for garnish)
1 c. scallions, slices into 1/2" long pieces (green parts too!)
Lime wedges (for garnish)
Paprika (for garnish)
Jalapeno Pepper, sliced (for garnish)
Canola Oil
Methods
-Soak the rice noodles in warm water until soft - about 15 minutes. Drain the noodles and set them aside.
-In a large, nonstick saute pan (use a big ass pan or you will end up with a mess), heat about 1 T. canola oil until warm. Add beaten eggs and let cook. When bottom of egg "omelet" is cooked, gently stir eggs to cook through. Remove from pan and set aside.
-Add another T. of oil to the pan. Saute the onions over medium heat until they are soft and begin to darken. Add the garlic, and meat. Cook on medium heat until the meat is cooked 50%.
-Add the softened noodles, sugar, soy sauce, fish sauce and vinegar to the pan. Mix very well using two large utensils. Push the noodles closest to you towards the back of the pan while pulling the noodles furthest from you to the front of the pan. Mix for about 5 minutes on medium heat.
-Add the pickled white radish and bean sprouts to the pan. Mix well and cook until the bean sprouts are slightly tender and the meat is cooked - about 5 minutes.
-Add the chopped peanuts and sliced green onion. Stir well and remove from heat immediately.
-Plate noodles and top with 1 tsp. of chopped peanuts and a pinch of paprika. Serve with 1 or 2 wedges of lime, and a few slices of jalapeno pepper.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Day Thirty Two
A real fight broke out today. It was between two of my favorite characters, Little Accountant Man and Numero Uno Dummy ("The Dummy"). The Dummy has been nettling us all; in short, he is arrogant. Arrogance is a particularly frustrating flaw when the offender so obviously lacks intelligence. Harsh words, I know, but I've had it up to here with The Dummy.
The dispute began brewing immediately after The Dummy and Little Accountant Man were partnered up; a Raspberry Roulade started it all. I must admit, the daily desserts and pastries we produce are the source of anger for many of us. People complain that had we wanted to learn how to make cakes and cookies, we would have enrolled in the Pastry, not the Culinary program. I don't mind the desserts, and perhaps that is evidence of my past life as an engineer. Just FYI, they say a textbook Pastry Chef is precise, numerical and high strung while a Culinary Chef is artistic, erratic and more often than not, intoxicated.
The Dummy especially despises desserts. To avoid confrontation, many of his previous partners, including myself, happily accepted the dessert task of the day and let him hack up chicken or flambe fruit - far more appropriate activities for a male chauvinist. The Little Accountant Man, however, didn't feel like making the Raspberry Roulade, either. So back and forth, back and forth like preschoolers screaming, "That is my play-dough!" "I don't want to take a nap!" and "You clean up the legos!" two grown men bickered over who was going make what. The antics continued throughout our entire production and culminated during cleanup.
I was on mop duty (again!) and watched the bickering turn into anger.
"Okay buddy, if you have such a problem with the way I wipe down tables, why don't you come over here and say it to my face!"
"I'd be happy to my man, in fact, I'd be happy to come over and do more to your face than talk to it!"
As the two bolted toward each other, grabbing for each others neckerchiefs, I watched in horror thinking, 'Somebody take their knives away!'
Then, like a superhero, Mama swooped in. This woman is incredible. Her language barrier is utterly deceiving as she is one of the most perspicacious people I know. She had quietly been following the altercation all day and was waiting in the wings (the dish corridor) for this very moment.
With her arms outstretched between the two children, she hollered, "You haa to luh each othur!" LOVE, she preaches! She followed the warm statement with, "I take lot of point from your grayed today!" I guess tough love is a more accurate description of her mantra.
Roulade is a versatile cake that can be flavored, filled and formed in to many desserts. One of the most impressive is a Charlotte Royale, which is a dome shaped cake, filled with Bavarin cream. Let's take this puppy step by step, as we did in class. Try making the Roulade first, and we'll turn it into Charlotte Royale at a later date.
Raspberry Roulade
Ingredients
6 egg whites
6 egg yolks
6 oz. sugar
4 oz. cake flour
Pinch of salt
Pinch of baking powder
1 T. melted butter (Clarified works best)
Methods
-Separate the egg whites from the egg yolks
-In a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk together the egg yolks and 3 oz. of the sugar. Mix on high speed until "ribbon stage" or the mixture is pale yellow and has increased in volume. Set this mixture aside.
-In a mixer fitter with a whisk attachment, make a French meringue. To do this, begin with the egg whites only and mix on high speed until the volume starts to increase (no more than 1 minute). Switch the speed to LOW and begin adding the remaining 3 oz. of sugar. Add the 3 oz. of sugar to the egg whites in 8-10 small pours, waiting about 1 minute between each addition. After all of the sugar is incorporated, mix on low speed until stiff peaks form. Stiff peaks are when you pull the whisk out of the egg whites and a peak forms and remains.
-Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder - set aside.
-Now, you're going to combine the meringue with the yolk mixture. Before incorporating, give the yolk mixture a quick whisk to revive it as was probably resting for awhile while you made the meringue.
-With a silicone spatula, incorporate about 1 c. of the meringue into the yolk mixture.
-Fold the remaining meringue into the yolk mixture in three parts.
-Fold the sifted flour mixture into the egg mixture. Do not overwork.
-Pour the cooled, melter butter into the batter and incorporate.
-Dump the roulade mixture into a sheet pan (jelly roll pan) lined with parchment paper. It is best to put Crisco on the pan, under the parchment, to get the parchment to stay in place.
-Gently spread the batter all over the pan to make an even, smooth cake - do not overwork or you'll deflate the meringue.
-Stick your thumb into the corner of the pan, all the way down so it touches the bottom of the pan. Drag your thumb along the sides of the pan, touching the bottom, to clean the sides.
-Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until light, light brown and the cake springs back when you touch it.
-Immediately upon removing from the oven, run a pairing knife along the sides of the pan to release the roulade. Sprinkle sugar all over the top of the roulade (this will prevent sticking when you turn the roulade out of the pan).
-Cover the sugar coated top with another sheet of parchment paper, and turn the pan over, flipping out the roulade. Peel away the parchment that was in the oven, and replace it with a new sheet of parchment.
-Long ways, roll the cake into a log, being careful to keep the parchment papers on the top and bottom sides of the cake. Let the warm roulade cool in this rolled position for 15-20 minutes.
-Unroll the roulade and discard the top piece of parchment. Brush the cake with simple syrup to add moisture to the cake. Spread a THIN layer of raspberry jam over the simple syrup.
-Roll the roulade back up as though it were a sushi roll, using the bottom piece of parchment like a sushi mat.
-Dust the cake with powered sugar or frost with whipped cream.
The dispute began brewing immediately after The Dummy and Little Accountant Man were partnered up; a Raspberry Roulade started it all. I must admit, the daily desserts and pastries we produce are the source of anger for many of us. People complain that had we wanted to learn how to make cakes and cookies, we would have enrolled in the Pastry, not the Culinary program. I don't mind the desserts, and perhaps that is evidence of my past life as an engineer. Just FYI, they say a textbook Pastry Chef is precise, numerical and high strung while a Culinary Chef is artistic, erratic and more often than not, intoxicated.
The Dummy especially despises desserts. To avoid confrontation, many of his previous partners, including myself, happily accepted the dessert task of the day and let him hack up chicken or flambe fruit - far more appropriate activities for a male chauvinist. The Little Accountant Man, however, didn't feel like making the Raspberry Roulade, either. So back and forth, back and forth like preschoolers screaming, "That is my play-dough!" "I don't want to take a nap!" and "You clean up the legos!" two grown men bickered over who was going make what. The antics continued throughout our entire production and culminated during cleanup.
I was on mop duty (again!) and watched the bickering turn into anger.
"Okay buddy, if you have such a problem with the way I wipe down tables, why don't you come over here and say it to my face!"
"I'd be happy to my man, in fact, I'd be happy to come over and do more to your face than talk to it!"
As the two bolted toward each other, grabbing for each others neckerchiefs, I watched in horror thinking, 'Somebody take their knives away!'
Then, like a superhero, Mama swooped in. This woman is incredible. Her language barrier is utterly deceiving as she is one of the most perspicacious people I know. She had quietly been following the altercation all day and was waiting in the wings (the dish corridor) for this very moment.
With her arms outstretched between the two children, she hollered, "You haa to luh each othur!" LOVE, she preaches! She followed the warm statement with, "I take lot of point from your grayed today!" I guess tough love is a more accurate description of her mantra.
Roulade is a versatile cake that can be flavored, filled and formed in to many desserts. One of the most impressive is a Charlotte Royale, which is a dome shaped cake, filled with Bavarin cream. Let's take this puppy step by step, as we did in class. Try making the Roulade first, and we'll turn it into Charlotte Royale at a later date.
Raspberry Roulade
Ingredients
6 egg whites
6 egg yolks
6 oz. sugar
4 oz. cake flour
Pinch of salt
Pinch of baking powder
1 T. melted butter (Clarified works best)
Methods
-Separate the egg whites from the egg yolks
-In a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk together the egg yolks and 3 oz. of the sugar. Mix on high speed until "ribbon stage" or the mixture is pale yellow and has increased in volume. Set this mixture aside.
-In a mixer fitter with a whisk attachment, make a French meringue. To do this, begin with the egg whites only and mix on high speed until the volume starts to increase (no more than 1 minute). Switch the speed to LOW and begin adding the remaining 3 oz. of sugar. Add the 3 oz. of sugar to the egg whites in 8-10 small pours, waiting about 1 minute between each addition. After all of the sugar is incorporated, mix on low speed until stiff peaks form. Stiff peaks are when you pull the whisk out of the egg whites and a peak forms and remains.
-Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder - set aside.
-Now, you're going to combine the meringue with the yolk mixture. Before incorporating, give the yolk mixture a quick whisk to revive it as was probably resting for awhile while you made the meringue.
-With a silicone spatula, incorporate about 1 c. of the meringue into the yolk mixture.
-Fold the remaining meringue into the yolk mixture in three parts.
-Fold the sifted flour mixture into the egg mixture. Do not overwork.
-Pour the cooled, melter butter into the batter and incorporate.
-Dump the roulade mixture into a sheet pan (jelly roll pan) lined with parchment paper. It is best to put Crisco on the pan, under the parchment, to get the parchment to stay in place.
-Gently spread the batter all over the pan to make an even, smooth cake - do not overwork or you'll deflate the meringue.
-Stick your thumb into the corner of the pan, all the way down so it touches the bottom of the pan. Drag your thumb along the sides of the pan, touching the bottom, to clean the sides.
-Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until light, light brown and the cake springs back when you touch it.
-Immediately upon removing from the oven, run a pairing knife along the sides of the pan to release the roulade. Sprinkle sugar all over the top of the roulade (this will prevent sticking when you turn the roulade out of the pan).
-Cover the sugar coated top with another sheet of parchment paper, and turn the pan over, flipping out the roulade. Peel away the parchment that was in the oven, and replace it with a new sheet of parchment.
-Long ways, roll the cake into a log, being careful to keep the parchment papers on the top and bottom sides of the cake. Let the warm roulade cool in this rolled position for 15-20 minutes.
-Unroll the roulade and discard the top piece of parchment. Brush the cake with simple syrup to add moisture to the cake. Spread a THIN layer of raspberry jam over the simple syrup.
-Roll the roulade back up as though it were a sushi roll, using the bottom piece of parchment like a sushi mat.
-Dust the cake with powered sugar or frost with whipped cream.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Days Twenty Nine to Thirty One
They blindsided us with escargot and calf's liver, all in the same week. "Whut ease zhe ahntrhay toodhay?" The Head of Everything inquired. "Le Foie De Veau A L'Echalotte," Chef replied. I've never seen the Head of Everything so hungry. "Oh yhes!" he replied, as I do when I see a margarita. "Hav zhem surve me twho."
Liver is a love it or hate it piece of meat. Everyone has someone in their family who loves it. Liverwurst, by the way, does not count since it is only 20% liver at most. Have you ever seen a whole calf liver? Its huge. Bigger than a whole chicken. Intimidating in a floppy, sinewy, organy kind of way.
It didn't taste nearly as bad as it looked. After chef's morning demo, we cornichon usually spring out of our seats, tasting spoons in hand, and skip up to the chef's table to get our breakfast. We are required to taste EVERYTHING. We were visablly unenthused about tasting the liver. As I expected, it was just okay. The texture is too smooth and the aftertaste is too prominent for me.
The escargot were surprisingly good. We served those little guys doused in compound butter (a butter flavored with fresh herbs and garlic), over a small circle of freshly baked puff pastry. How do you buy fresh escargot? You don't. You buy canned. They even used canned in Paris.
The liver recipe is below. The Head of Everything believes, "Evrheeone shood knowe ow to mhake guud lhivur." It is a cheap meat that feeds half of the world.
Also included is useful information about deglazing pans, a wonderful technique.
LE FOIE DE VEAU A L'ECHALOTTE (Veal or Calf Liver with Shallot)
Ingredients
Calf Liver - sliced 1/4" to 1/2" thick
Flour
Salt
Pepper
Clarified Butter or Oil
Shallots
1/2 c. Red Wine Vinegar
1/2 c. white wine
Methods
Begin heating a pan over high heat. Slice liver 1/4" to 1/2" thick and coat with flour, seasoned with salt and pepper. Put clairified butter in the pan (or oil) and heat until bubbles begin to form. Drop in the liver. Sear it for no more than 1 minute and flip. Sear the other side until just cooked. Calf liver should be cooked through, but have a slight tint of pink in the middle. Remove it from the pan, cover it with foil and let the meat rest.
Now comes the deglazing part. Deglazing is a must in French cooking - it is the only way to make a rich, flavorful sauce. Its also a good way to clean a crusty pan. When the pan is hot, pour white wine (water, stock, or whatever) into the pan and scrape the crusty stuff off the bottom and sides with a wooden spoon. If the crusty stuff was burnt, discard the deglazing liquid or your sauce will be bitter. If the crusty stuff was brown, you can reduce the deglazing liquid until the pan is almost dry and it will be a tremendous base for a sauce.
While the liver is resting, deglaze the pan with white wine. When pan "au sec," (or the white wine has cooked away and pan is nearly dry), add the sliced shallots to the pan. Sweat the shallots until soft and add the red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. Reduce the sauce until it thickens and finish the sauce with 1 Tbsp. of butter before serving over the liver.
Liver is a love it or hate it piece of meat. Everyone has someone in their family who loves it. Liverwurst, by the way, does not count since it is only 20% liver at most. Have you ever seen a whole calf liver? Its huge. Bigger than a whole chicken. Intimidating in a floppy, sinewy, organy kind of way.
It didn't taste nearly as bad as it looked. After chef's morning demo, we cornichon usually spring out of our seats, tasting spoons in hand, and skip up to the chef's table to get our breakfast. We are required to taste EVERYTHING. We were visablly unenthused about tasting the liver. As I expected, it was just okay. The texture is too smooth and the aftertaste is too prominent for me.
The escargot were surprisingly good. We served those little guys doused in compound butter (a butter flavored with fresh herbs and garlic), over a small circle of freshly baked puff pastry. How do you buy fresh escargot? You don't. You buy canned. They even used canned in Paris.
The liver recipe is below. The Head of Everything believes, "Evrheeone shood knowe ow to mhake guud lhivur." It is a cheap meat that feeds half of the world.
Also included is useful information about deglazing pans, a wonderful technique.
LE FOIE DE VEAU A L'ECHALOTTE (Veal or Calf Liver with Shallot)
Ingredients
Calf Liver - sliced 1/4" to 1/2" thick
Flour
Salt
Pepper
Clarified Butter or Oil
Shallots
1/2 c. Red Wine Vinegar
1/2 c. white wine
Methods
Begin heating a pan over high heat. Slice liver 1/4" to 1/2" thick and coat with flour, seasoned with salt and pepper. Put clairified butter in the pan (or oil) and heat until bubbles begin to form. Drop in the liver. Sear it for no more than 1 minute and flip. Sear the other side until just cooked. Calf liver should be cooked through, but have a slight tint of pink in the middle. Remove it from the pan, cover it with foil and let the meat rest.
Now comes the deglazing part. Deglazing is a must in French cooking - it is the only way to make a rich, flavorful sauce. Its also a good way to clean a crusty pan. When the pan is hot, pour white wine (water, stock, or whatever) into the pan and scrape the crusty stuff off the bottom and sides with a wooden spoon. If the crusty stuff was burnt, discard the deglazing liquid or your sauce will be bitter. If the crusty stuff was brown, you can reduce the deglazing liquid until the pan is almost dry and it will be a tremendous base for a sauce.
While the liver is resting, deglaze the pan with white wine. When pan "au sec," (or the white wine has cooked away and pan is nearly dry), add the sliced shallots to the pan. Sweat the shallots until soft and add the red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. Reduce the sauce until it thickens and finish the sauce with 1 Tbsp. of butter before serving over the liver.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Field Trip to The Farm
We drove out to the middle of nowhere to tour a sustainable, organic and humane farm which specializes in raising rare and endangered breeds of livestock. The middle of nowhere, by the way, is beautiful. Rolling green hills, clean air, no cell phone service - it was a nice break from the hustle and bustle of urban life.
I pulled up to the Manor House on this 880 acre farm and my jaw dropped. I've never seen such a magnificent home. And the kitchen in the home - unbelievable. We started our livestock tour at the barn. I've never seen such a magnificent barn, either. Admittedly, I haven't spent much time on farms, but if they all look like this one, then I've got a new aspiration. The interior reminded me of a Ralph Lauren store. The barn houses the Shire horses - no joke, I've never seen such magnificent horses. They are the tallest of the heavy horse breed (larger than clydsdales), and have a kind disposition. This farm manages 30 Shires, plus a one week old foal, named Jane. It is a large number of Shires considering only 4,000 remain worldwide. I had a little crush on the Shire stallion, Edward. I couldn't help but snap a picture of him.
The calves were adorable. Most of the veal in the United States is not humanely raised - here, they are allowed to run, play, and eat real food, opposed to only milk. Highland cattle (the furry one pictured) and Ancient White Park cattle are raised along with Shorthorn cattle. The farm's veal is wildly popular in the area and has been picked up by many local restaurants - at a pretty penny. The farm's veal runs about $18 per pound - wholesale. The steep price tag has a lot to do with the Certified Humane slaughter techniques employed by the farm. Animals which are inhumanely slaughtered are usually frightened and the presence of adrenaline and state of the animal's muscles (tense and tight) at the time of slaughter will greatly affect the taste and quality of the meat.
My favorite stop of the day was the pig pen. We watched a giant Gloucestershire Old Spot sow give birth to piglets. These too are a rare breed with about 1,000 purebreds in the world and only 6 breeding boars. This farm owns one of the boars, and geez does he have the life. He's allowed to roam the farm's wooded areas freely and every other day, the farmer's drop four or five sows in his woods. They pick the girls up a few days later, and 90% of the time, they're all pregnant. The sows are good for 5-10 litters, until they get too big and accidentally start squishing (and killing) the piglets when they lay down. The dirty girl in the picture below is one such sow - she had her 10th litter about a week ago and squished all but one piglet. They'll let her hang in the mud for a few weeks (primarily to allow her hormone levels to drop) and then send her to slaughter.
We were treated to a fabulous lunch on the Manor House terrace. The farm's chef prepared turkey, roast beef and barbeque pork sandwiches (the turkey, beef and pork was raised, slaughtered and cooked on site, the cheese was aged in caves on site using milk from the farm's own cows, and the micro greens were picked fresh from the farm's produce beds that morning). Talk about fresh.
As a parting gift, we were given on of the farm's famous chickens (not live, but ready to pop in the oven). These chickens are raised from day old chicks and allowed to roam free. They are humanely slaughtered on-site (every Wednesday) and brined for six hours prior to packaging. Walking through the slaughterhouse and touring the killing room was a bit unsettleing, but a certain peace of mind is achieved when you know exactly where your dinnner came from. Hooray for all the organic, sustanable, certified humane farms in the world. These places are tremendously difficult to run successfully - it takes owners who are dedicated to certain practices for the right reasons, staff who share the owner's passion and consumers who are willing to support the products these farms produce.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Week Nine (Days Twenty Eight to Thirty Two)
We had two interesting visitors this week.
The first was Walter Scheib, the former executive chef at the White House. He was at the school assisting the Head of Everything with a charity event and decided dine with our class for lunch. We served him scallop quenelles with sorrel cream sauce, lamb and lentil stew, and molten chocolate cake - this was one of our more sophisticated lunch preparations. Good thing he didn't join us two days earlier; we would have sheepishly dished up scrambled eggs and pont neuf potatoes (steak fries). He cleaned his plate and therefore Chef, Mama and The Chef were happy with us.
Scheib was hired by Hillary and served through W.'s two terms. Prior to working at the White House, he was the executive chef at the Greenbrier, a hoity-toity resort in West Virginia, known as the romping grounds for senators and representatives before these Lobbyist's are Evil days. His wife read a notice in the Times declaring the White House chef had resigned and before Scheib knew it, she had written him a cover letter and dusted off his resume.
Out of four thousand applicants, he was a top twenty finalists and was tasked with serving dinner to Hillary and nine of her buddies. "I knew I had a good shot when I walked into the room and it sounded good - happy diners sound a certain way. Silverware should clank against plates, ice should shake in empty cocktail glasses - talking and laughter, especially laughter, are all signs of a healthy restaurant." He looked at Hillary and knew he was in the top three - at least; she was gnawing on a rib bone from the rack of lamb. She asked him for a thirty second 'why I should hire you speech' and he nailed that too. He talked about what it means to be an American chef, blah blah blah, and finished by making the key point that he prepared a delicious meal not only appropriate for small, intimate gatherings, but a meal which could easily be served at a 500 person state dinner.
White House Executive Chef sure sounds like a cool job. When you work in the residence, your clearance level is Top Secret Presidential Proximity. That means you are allowed to be alone with The President - no secret service in sight. Cabinet members are not granted that kind of clearance. Scheib had wonderful stories of Hillary in hair rollers, Bill requesting Big Macs and the Bush's obsession with Tex-Mex.
Our second visitor was Michel Richard. Yes! MICHEL RICHARD. Some of us nearly began jumping up and down, while others simply stared in disbelief when he waddled into our kitchen. He looks like Santa Claus, but more rotund. He mumbled something to us in a thick French accent, and although none of us understood, we replied, "Yes Chef!" in perfect unison. Unfortunately, he wasn't there for us beginners. The advanced students were each preparing six course tasting menus to be judged by Michel Richard. Seriously, that is a holy shit opportunity for any culinary student.
The network of old-school French chefs is proving to be a tremendous asset to my education. Viva la France.
The first was Walter Scheib, the former executive chef at the White House. He was at the school assisting the Head of Everything with a charity event and decided dine with our class for lunch. We served him scallop quenelles with sorrel cream sauce, lamb and lentil stew, and molten chocolate cake - this was one of our more sophisticated lunch preparations. Good thing he didn't join us two days earlier; we would have sheepishly dished up scrambled eggs and pont neuf potatoes (steak fries). He cleaned his plate and therefore Chef, Mama and The Chef were happy with us.
Scheib was hired by Hillary and served through W.'s two terms. Prior to working at the White House, he was the executive chef at the Greenbrier, a hoity-toity resort in West Virginia, known as the romping grounds for senators and representatives before these Lobbyist's are Evil days. His wife read a notice in the Times declaring the White House chef had resigned and before Scheib knew it, she had written him a cover letter and dusted off his resume.
Out of four thousand applicants, he was a top twenty finalists and was tasked with serving dinner to Hillary and nine of her buddies. "I knew I had a good shot when I walked into the room and it sounded good - happy diners sound a certain way. Silverware should clank against plates, ice should shake in empty cocktail glasses - talking and laughter, especially laughter, are all signs of a healthy restaurant." He looked at Hillary and knew he was in the top three - at least; she was gnawing on a rib bone from the rack of lamb. She asked him for a thirty second 'why I should hire you speech' and he nailed that too. He talked about what it means to be an American chef, blah blah blah, and finished by making the key point that he prepared a delicious meal not only appropriate for small, intimate gatherings, but a meal which could easily be served at a 500 person state dinner.
White House Executive Chef sure sounds like a cool job. When you work in the residence, your clearance level is Top Secret Presidential Proximity. That means you are allowed to be alone with The President - no secret service in sight. Cabinet members are not granted that kind of clearance. Scheib had wonderful stories of Hillary in hair rollers, Bill requesting Big Macs and the Bush's obsession with Tex-Mex.
Our second visitor was Michel Richard. Yes! MICHEL RICHARD. Some of us nearly began jumping up and down, while others simply stared in disbelief when he waddled into our kitchen. He looks like Santa Claus, but more rotund. He mumbled something to us in a thick French accent, and although none of us understood, we replied, "Yes Chef!" in perfect unison. Unfortunately, he wasn't there for us beginners. The advanced students were each preparing six course tasting menus to be judged by Michel Richard. Seriously, that is a holy shit opportunity for any culinary student.
The network of old-school French chefs is proving to be a tremendous asset to my education. Viva la France.
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