Chef DMD

Asian Cuisine - Southern China

2008-05-23T02:06:00.001-07:00

Our menu for Southern China had the following dishes on it:

Spinach Velvet Soup
Char Siu
Char Siu Bau
Steamed Whole Fish
Stir fried squid with bean paste
Buddha's Delight
Hong Kong Fried Chicken
Beef Balls

Spinach Velvet Soup is a chicken stock based soup where cooked spinach is hand minced and added to the stock along with whirled in eggs and an amount of cornstarch as a thickener, and garnished with ham. This week our egg whirling didn't work out very well and the soup was the correct texture but Chef said the flavour was a little mild, otherwise a very good soup.

Char Siu is a cantonese bbq pork, where a Char Siu Bau is a bun containing the bbq pork. The char siu itself is pork butt which is marinated and then roasted while being basted with honey and sesame oil. This is then shredded and mixed with a sauce of shallots and dark soy, and wrapped in a dough to form a bun. The dough is light and fluffy, as well as being sweet. Chef said our final product was very good, the dough was the right texture and the pork was very flavourful. He did comment that the dough thickness on the bottom of the bun was thin. Otherwise, this dish turned out very well.

Steamed whole fish is simply that - a whole fish scaled and cleaned, and then steamed whole. Once finished cooking, the fish is seasoned and has ginger and green onion sauce spread over it, which is then coated with hot oil poured over the fish to release the flavours. While our fish was very attractive going into the oven, it didn't fare so well on the way out due to a temperature-adjustment mishap. However, it was mostly the appearance that had been impacted as the Chef said the fish still had good flavour and texture.

Stir fry squid with bean paste is a dish where squid is cleaned and then scored on a bias, then boiled to create a large surface area for the squid to pick up sauce. It is then combined with a bean paste including fermented black bean paste, chilies, peppers, and onions. This is stir fried together and served immediately. Chef had no particular comments on this dish, it was the right flavour and the squid was a good texture, not overdone.

Buddha's Delight is a tofu and vegetable dish combining the flavours of shiitake mushrooms, cloud ears, and tiger lily buds, along with bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, bean sprouts, carrots, sui choy... the list goes on. Obviously the point of this dish is to be a delightful vegetarian feast, with all of the ingredients combined in a wok to cook, and then served hot. Again there were no particular comments on our presentation of this dish, the flavour was good and it was what Chef was expecting.

Hong Kong Fried Chicken is a marinated chicken which is then battered and deep fried. It is then topped with fried onions and a red sauce. This was a particular sticking point on this dish, as many people mixed the chicken with the sauce completely which ended up softening the batter and changing the texture of the dish. We served it correctly, with the chicken merely topped with the sauce once cooked. Chef did note that while the flavour on the chicken and the sauce were fantastic, the onions were slightly firm and could have used a little more cook time.

Beef balls are a staple of the well-known Cantonese "dim-sum" menu. This is a mixture of ground beef with seasonings including palm sugar, oyster sauce, rice wine, and dried orange peel. The mixture is then rolled into meatballs approximately 2 inches across. These are steamed until done and served immediately. Chef said that the pork fat included in our dish was cut a little too coarsely, and that while the dish was very flavourful it seemed to taste too much of the beef itself and the seasonings weren't coming through enough.

Asian Cuisine - Western China

2008-05-14T14:01:00.000-07:00

Our menu for Western China this week was:

Tea smoked quail
Sweet and sour cucumbers
Stuffed eggplant
Kung pao chicken
Da dan mian
Ma-puo doufu
Stir fried long beans
Fish flavoured pork shreds
Spicy fried beef shreds

Tea smoked quail is a wonderfully flavoured dish served with the Sweet and sour cucumbers. The quail is smoked in a mixture of rice, mandarin peel, cassia bark, jasmine tea, brown sugar, and star anise. Once done, it is wok fried to complete the cooking process. The cucumbers are julienned and tossed in a dressing of chili, garlic, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, and sesame oil. Chef commented that our presentation for the salad side was very nice on this dish, while the quail was peculiar as we served 2 on the plate, one halved and the other whole, stacked on each other. While the presentation was slightly off, the flavour was excellent on the quail, as well as on the salad.

Stuffed eggplant is a dish of eggplant sliced almost the whole way through then stuffed with a ground pork mixture containing green onion, ginger, and garlic. Once stuffed, the eggplant is patted with cornstarch and deep fried to give it a crispy outside. Finally, the cooking process is finished by braising the eggplant until it has absorbed the braising liquid, giving it some extra infused flavours. For this dish, Chef was happy with the flavour although he commented that it could have used a little extra time braising or some more braising liquid to get a little more of that flavour in the dish. However, the flavour was generally good and the presentation was nice on this dish.

Kung pao chicken is a spicy chicken dish where the chicken is marinated and then wok fried to cook. Once done, the oil is drained off the pan, chilies are fried in a small remaining amount of oil to activate some of the spice in the oil, and then the chicken is returned to the wok and a sauce is added to coat the chicken. I made this dish extra spicy and Chef was very happy with the flavour and spice on the dish. The presentation was very good as well.

Dan dan mian is a noodle soup dish where the noodles are served on a sauce of soy, rice vinegar, sesame paste, chili and sesame oil. The chicken stock is served in a side bowl to this and is added to the noodle and sauce mixture when ready to eat. Chef was happy with our presentation and our flavour on this dish, with no particular criticisms.

Ma-puo doufu is a tofu and ground pork dish, where the pork is fried in a sauce mixture until nearly done and then the tofu is added. Chef commented that our presentation was nice on this dish and that the flavour was fantastic, exactly what it was supposed to be.

Stir fried long beans is a simple dish of long beans blanched and then stir fried in a garlic, ginger, and rice vinegar sauce. I added some peppers and chili paste to the sauce to bring some heat and extra flavour to the dish which Chef enjoyed. The presentation was simple but worked, and he was overall happy with the dish.

Spicy fried beef shreds is a dish of shredded beef that is marinated and then stir fried. Once brown, the meat is removed and vegetables are cooked with some chilies to give spice, but should not be overcooked to prevent loss of colour and texture. The meat is then combined with the vegetables and they are glazed with sesame oil and served. Chef commented on the good flavour in this dish and was happy with our presentation.

Fish flavoured pork shreds is another dish with a confusing name, as there is absolutely no fish in this dish. However, the combination of ingredients leaves the final product with a slight fish taste. The pork is seasoned in dark soy sauce, then wok fried. Once done, the pork is removed and wood ear mushrooms and water chestnuts are added to the wok to cook briefly, and then green onions, ginger, and garlic. Wine is sizzled in and all ingredients are combined back in the wok along with a sauce mixture which is cooked until thick and then glazed with sesame oil and served. Chef commented again that our flavour was very nice on this dish and that the presentation worked well also.

Asian Cuisine - Eastern China

2008-05-09T01:03:00.000-07:00

Our menu this week for Eastern China included:

Seaweed Soup
Jellyfish and White Radish Salad
Pearl Balls
Emerald Shrimp
Shanghai Sweet & Sour Spareribs
Red-Cooked Duck
Bean Curd in Oyster Sauce
Yangchow Fried Rice

Seaweed soup is just as it sounds, a soup with nori in it. It also has shredded pork as well as egg whirled in just before service. Chef said that our soup turned out with the correct flavour and consistency, and used our soup as a demonstration for incorporating the egg so the strands were well formed.

The Jellyfish and White Radish Salad is a straightforward salad containing sliced jellyfish and daikon in a peanut oil based dressing. The key to this dish is that the jellyfish is incredibly salty and needs to be soaked at least overnight in fresh water to draw out the salt content. Even at this point, the salad may require extra sugar to compensate for the saltiness. Our salad definitely fell into this category and we added quite a bit more sugar to it. However, at service Chef said our flavour ended up being good although some of our jellyfish was cut into strands that were a little long.

Pearl balls is a steamed dish where a pork meatball is rolled in rice. The steaming of the rice causes the rice to stand on end during cooking giving a prickly appearance to the dish. Chef was very happy with our presentation for this dish as the rice appeared just as it should. Also, our flavour was very good on the dish and it's accompanying sauce.

Emerald Shrimp is a dish given its name by the colouring of shrimp an emerald green. Chlorophyll is extracted from spinach and is then applied to shrimp to give it the desired colour. Chef was happy with the colour on our shrimp and said our presentation was in general very good. The flavour itself was also fantastic on this dish.

Shanghai sweet and sour spareribs are just as they sound, a sparerib dish with sweet and sour sauce. The spareribs are marinated and then cooked in 2 phases in a wok - first deep fried and then pan fried to give a brown colour to the ribs. A sauce is then added to the wok and thickened down, and the ribs are served like this. Chef commented that we had cooked the ribs well and that they had become tender enough - if cooked too short or too long, the ribs will be too tough. Our sauce also had good flavour, and while the presentation was fine we served a large amount of ribs on a single plate, too much for a single person.

Red-cooked duck is a dish which uses the "red-cooking" method. This is a common eastern Chinese cooking method where a protein is marinated in dark soy-sauce before cooking. When cooked, the soy sauce gives the protein a red tinge, hence the name. For this dish, the duck is marinated in the dark soy and then braised. The recipe for this dish called for a chili to add some spice, and I added extra chilies for more heat - the end result was spice at a level just right, and Chef was happy with the flavour and the spice in this dish. Our presentation was good for this dish as well.

Bean curd in oyster sauce is a simple dish where bean curd is wok fried to give it some texture and then has a sauce added to the wok to flavour the curd. Our dish had good flavour, although Chef commented that the curd could have used more cooking time to give it more texture. Otherwise, the presentation was good and he was happy with the dish.

Yangchow fried rice is a specialty of the eastern Chinese region, receiving it's name from Yangchow city. The dish requires eight ingredients above and beyond the rice itself, which can generally be adjusted to suit the taste of the cook. We cooked the rice this time with shrimp, pork, duck, sausage, peas, green onion, mushroom, and egg - all cut very small to blend in well with the rice. Chef was happy with the presentation and flavour on this dish from us.

Asian Cuisine - Northern China

2008-05-02T00:11:00.000-07:00

Our menu for our Northern China session was as follows:

Hot and Sour Soup
Jiao Zi
Vinegar slipped fish chunks
Mo-shu pork
Mandarin Pancakes
Lamb on rice sticks
Stir-fry Bok Choy

The prominent flavour combination for northern Chinese dishes is sour-oily.

Hot and sour soup is often recognized in North America with a red colour - this is a soup which is not prepared in the traditional northern Chinese method. The traditional soup is given spice by adding ground white pepper, which should be felt at the back of the throat when eaten. An important aspect of this soup is the addition of the egg just before service. The soup needs to be an an appropriate temperature so as not to instantly scramble the eggs but instead allow the egg to "whirl" into the soup creating long thin strands. For our soup, the presentation was nice and flavour was good although the mushrooms were slightly underdone and the sour flavour was slightly too subdued. Also, the eggs had not formed the appropriate strands.

Jiao Zi are potstickers or dumplings, filled with a seasoned cabbage and ground pork mixture. These dumplings are served with a vinegar and ginger dipping sauce. Our dumplings were cooked well and presented well, and had a good flavour. Chef commented on the amount of ginger in our dipping sauce saying it was heavy.

Vinegar slipped fish chunks, while perhaps having the least appetizing name on the menu for the day, was one of the most flavourful dishes. This is a dish of marinated fish (the chunks) which is wok fried and then finished ("slipped") in a red rice vinegar sauce. Our fish was cooked well although had broken up during cooking and the pieces were too small for Chef's liking. However, he said our sauce had amazing flavour and was one of the best he had tasted all week.

Mo-shu pork is a shredded pork dish which is served with Mandarin pancakes as a side. The pork is marinated then cooked with bean sprouts, mushrooms, and tiger lillies, and is coated with a sesame-oil and chicken stock based sauce. The mandarin pancakes have their dough prepped and then are rolled into shape in sesame oil in pairs, and then cooked in a pan. The two pancakes cooked together with a layer of oil between allow a crispy and a soft side to be produced on each pancake. For this dish, our flavour and presentation were good, Chef did not have any particular comments regarding it.

Lamb on rice sticks is a marinated lamb dish which is cooked with leek, carrot, and bamboo. The rice sticks are cooked in a hot oil and instantly puff up in size when cooked. Traditional service is to cook the rice sticks and immediately remove them, serving them pure white. I cooked our rice sticks slightly longer to give them a light tan colour, which Chef commented on. I mentioned I had done it intentionally and he pointed out this was not the traditional form of service on this dish. The lamb and sauce were both very good in presentation and Chef was happy with the flavour.

Stir fry bok choy is a quick vegetable dish where bok choy is cooked with garlic and onion and served with a sauce. Chef said our dish had a very nice presentation and the flavour of our sauce was excellent on this dish.

Asian Cuisine - Korean

2008-04-25T04:39:00.000-07:00

We made the following dishes for our Korean service:

Soo Jeung Kwa
Jahb Chae
Dak Chochu Jang Doekum
Dubu Jolim
Kohng Namool
Ojingo Pokum
Bulgogi

Traditional Korean eating is done with all dishes served at once, buffet style, so our service followed this format. All dishes had mise en place done ahead of time and were cooked just before service.

Soo Jeung Kwa is a beverage flavoured with ginger, cinnamon, and persimmons. It has a strong, pleasing flavour and is good for cleansing the palatte. Chef said our flavour was very good, but we had not toasted the pine nuts which garnished the drink.

Ojingo Pokum is a spicy wok-fried vegetable dish. The colours and flavours of onions, peppers, carrots, and mushrooms are combined with squid to create this dish. Chef did not have any particular negative comments regarding this dish and said our flavour was excellent. This was one of my favorite dishes of the day.

Kohng Namool is a bean sprout salad. Ours turned out well although we may have missed removing the bean from some of the sprouts. Again, Chef said the flavour was good on this dish.

Bulgogi is a meat dish where meat is marinated and then cooked on a grill or wok fried and served with a spicy sauce. I worked hard at making our sauce for this dish give an extra kick, and it turned out very tasty. Chef was happy with our presentation on this dish and said the flavour of the meat was very good

Dak gochu jang boekum is a chicken dish in which the chicken is marinated and then boiled with the marinade to create a sauce for the dish. Chef was happy with the flavour on this dish and our presentation was good.

Dubu jolim is a tofu dish where tofu is cooked in a frying pan along with garlic, onion, and red peppers to add flavour. Again, Chef commented positively on our presentation and flavour, without negative feedback.

Jahb chae is a noodle and spinach dish, which also ahs onions, carrots, and mushrooms. Chef said this dish was nice but was perhaps not sweet enough.

Hacmul jungol is a seafood soup containing squid, shrimp, oysters, and clams, alnog with mushrooms, cabbage, and onion. Chef commented that our soup was flavourful but was perhaps overcooked, leading to incorrect textures in the ingredients.

Asian Cuisine - Japanese

2008-04-17T14:40:00.000-07:00

This week in Asian cuisine we prepared the following Japanese dishes:

Asari Clam Soup (Asari no ushio-jiru)
Vegetable Maki Sushi (Futomaki)
Spinach w/ Sesame Dressing (Horenso gomea-ae)
Chicken, shrimp, mushroom custard (Chawan-mushi)
Pork Teriyaki (Buta teriyaki)
Duck and soba noodle soup (Kamonanban Soba)
Vegetable and Shrimp Tempura
Sweet bean paste dumplings (Gamo-anko manju)

Asari no ushio-jiru - This is a very light flavoured soup with the stock created during the cooking process of the clams, with sake and shoyu (Japanese light soy sauce). The soup is garnished with daikon or watercress, as well as yuzu citron or lemon zest. The stock should be very clear with no floating sediment. As in all Japanese dishes, the flavour should be balanced, sweet nor sour overpowering the other.

Our soup turned out quite well, the stock was very clear and we had plentiful clams, some shelled and others not for presentation. The soup was served in a more traditional western bowl which did not suit the Chef. The Chef said the flavour was quite good, although the sour was slightly strong and it could have used a little more sweetener to balance that out.

Futomaki - A dish any sushi-eater should be familiar with, this is a roll made from vegetables briefly cooked in marinade to enhance flavours. The vegetables should maintain their texture and be cooked just until tender. The roll should have the vegetables perfectly centered, with a layer of rice being one grain thick on the toasted nori (seaweed) before rolling.

Our roll turned out very well, with the vegetables centered well and the roll holding together well. Chef commented that our presentation was a little basic but worked, and that there wasn't a lot negative to say about the dish.

Horenso Gomea-ae - This is a dish of cooked spinach tossed in a sesame seed dressing. The key to this dish is to ensure that the spinach does not get over cooked and that it is thoroughly squeezed to remove as much excess water as possible so that the flavour in the dressing is not diluted.

Our presentation and flavour for this dish was very good. However, the spinach was still too wet, thus diluting the flavour of the dressing. Chef commented that the flavour was excellent, but it was simply not strong enough due to the water still on the spinach.

Chawan-mushi - This is a custard dish of chicken, shrimp, and shiitake mushrooms steamed to produce a velvety texture. The key to this dish is appropriate cooking time to ensure the custard has cooked but is not overdone.

Our custard ended up being overcooked, causing the dish to be too firm. Outside of this fact, the flavour was as intended and presentation was fine, although affected by the overcooked custard.

Buta teriyaki - This is a marinated pork dish which is then grilled and basted with the teriyaki marinade to produce a moist and flavourful piece of meat.

Our presentation for this dish was very good, the appearance of our pork skewers being very good on the plate of rice. Chef commented that the flavour also was quite good, although it hadn't quite soaked into the meat enough, requiring more marinating time.

Kamonanban Soba - This is a flavourful duck soup with soba noodles which should have a clear broth and long noodles. The duck is briefly cooked to golden in a pan along with green onions which are then added to the soup.

Chef said that our soup was very flavourful, the taste being good although the stock was cloudy. The duck was cooked well, but the pieces should have been a little smaller than they were cut. Lastly, the noodles had broken and some were short, a bad presentation item in Japanese cuisine.

Tempura - Tempura is a batter used to cover ingredients to be briefly deep fried, producing a crispy coating for the item. Mastering the creation of a tempura batter takes years of training under a Japanese chef to create a batter which is light and produces the appropriate shapes and texture when deep fried. We used shrimp, zucchini, sweet potato, and mushrooms for our tempura.

Our tempura turned out quite well, with appropriate texture and flavour. We had not prepared our shrimp appropriately for the tempura batter - they usually have the tail removed and are straightened to create a long, straight piece of tempura. Outside of this, Chef was very happy with our presentation and flavour of our tempura dish.

Goma-anko manju - This is a dish of azuki beans cooked and then puréed to create a sweet paste (anko) filling for dumpings which are then steamed.

We added dark sesame seeds to our dumpling batter, adding an extra visual element to the presentation which ended up working fairly well. We did have some issues preparing our paste and it didn't turn out exactly as we expected, and during cooking our dough seemed to become a little too sticky.

Dinner with DMD - Belated Valentines Day

2008-02-23T21:57:00.000-08:00

Valentines day has come and gone, and this year I didn't have anyone to share it with. My current schooling got me thinking what I would make that special someone had I been given the opportunity. I started planning a menu and I came up with an asian based theme accented with orange that I wanted to follow. As an appetizer, I started with a vegetarian sushi-roll of avacado and orange. For the main course, I made an orange-marinated grilled chicken in teriyaki glaze, with tempura sweet potato, broccoli, mushrooms, and zucchini, and the requisite rice side. For desert I planned on an orange sorbet, but I wasn't able to put together tonight as I was lacking some of the tools to accomplish it properly. I'll do this again in the near future and will have everything then.

Anyway, I was very pleased with the end result. The sushi roll was very tasty, I was worried it might be too bland but it turned out very well. Unfortunately my rolling skills aren't up to par yet and I passed on taking a picture of this flavourful yet visually not-quite-so-appealing dish. The main plate however turned out perfectly and I was very happy with it. Here you go:

So that's it, Valentine's has come and gone... maybe somebody is out there reading this thinking "I sure would have enjoyed that" ... maybe not, but I sure enjoyed making it.

Soon on Dining with DMD, "Zoli's b-day dinner that he missed out on!"

Bon appétit,

Mark

Introduction to Baking Week 5 - Baguette, Pecan Pie, Bird's Nest Cookies

2008-02-07T00:31:00.000-08:00

Introduction

This week we are preparing the classic French Baguette, along with Pecan Pie, and Bird's Nest cookies. We were also supposed to be doing a Lemon Meringue pie, although due to a meeting happening at the school, time constraints prevented this.

Practical

Chef demonstrated the correct method for rolling out our baguette after our dough had enough time on the bench. He commented that this dough should be benched at room temperature so that the yeast will have enough strength to help "burst" the dough once it goes in the oven. He explained how the size of a baguette is regulated by the government in France, and that the hardest part in preparing it is rolling it out properly.

For the Bird's Nest cookies, Chef demonstrated how we should roll these out as well, along with holding the sides of the cookies in when making the indentation for the "nest."

Observations

While the baguette was the simplest recipe of the day in terms of ingredients, it turned out to be the most complex in preparation, ensuring appropriate quality standards were met along the way.

Our pecan pie turned out quite well, although I felt the texture was slightly too gelatinous, although this may have changed had it sat longer to cool.

Our bird's nest cookies turned out quite well, retaining the appropriate shape and not having any of the jam filling overflow during cooking. The texture and flavour were quite good.

Unfortunately due to the time constraints this week we were unable to get much feedback from the Chef regarding out work, although I was generally happy with the outcome.

World Cuisine - France

2008-02-06T23:45:00.000-08:00

Introduction

The French cooking style is considered to be one of the most refined, modern and elegant manners found in cuisines all over the world. Food is part of their culture, and famous French chefs make most exquisite dishes after original French recipes that have made France famous since centuries ago. However, the diversity and changes that characterize this cuisine are what makes it interesting. By the early eighteen century, bread and cereals were the basic ingredients in the daily diet. French fries have been introduced to this country in the XVIII century and gained so much popularity that they have been kept as part of the traditional French cuisine. Only with the beginning of the XIX century food has become a social etiquette and more sophisticated dishes emerged, mainly served in high societies. The improvement of transportation, especially the introduction of train, marked the culinary revolution, since every peasant had access to more elaborated meals, ingredients and condiments. Vegetables that grow on fertile French lands include potatoes, green beans, carrots, turnips, aubergines, courgettes, famous French mushrooms, like champignons, oyster mushrooms, porcinis and truffles. As a tradition kept along the course of history, wineries are spread all over the country, producing most refined French wines, served daily by locals.

From: http://www.cookbookwiki.com/France

Recipes

Soup a l'ognion

Servings: 4-6

6 large onions (about 5 pounds), sliced thin
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 quarts beef broth
twelve 1/2-inch-thick slices of French bread, toasted
3/4 pound coarsely grated Gruyère

Preparation

1. In a large pot cook the onions in the butter over moderate heat, stirring frequently, for 40 minutes, or until they are golden brown and well caramelized.
2. Sprinkle the onions with the flour and cook the mixture, stirring, for 3 minutes.
3. Add the broth slowly, stir the soup constantly until it comes to a boil, and simmer it, covered, for 20 minutes.
4. Season the soup with salt and pepper.
5. Serve soup in warmed bowls. Top with toasted bread to cover surface, cover with cheese and broil to melt and slightly brown cheese.

Blanquette de Veau

Servings: 8

10 ounces pearl onions
4 1/2 pounds veal shoulder, boned, trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces
9 cups (or more) chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth
3 fresh thyme sprigs
2 bay leaves
5 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 pounds celery root (celeriac), peeled, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
4 large carrots, peeled, cut into 1 1/2-inch lengths
3 medium turnips, peeled, each cut into 6 pieces
8 ounces button mushrooms
6 ounces haricots verts or other green beans, ends trimmed

3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 cup whipping cream

1/2 tablespoon (about) fresh lemon juice

1/2 bunch fresh chives, cut into 2-inch pieces (optional)

Preparation

1. Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Add pearl onions and cook 1 minute. remove onions from pot. Trim ends and peel.
2. Add veal to pot and cook 4 minutes. Drain veal; rinse with cold water.
3. Rinse pot and return veal to pot. Add 8 cups chicken stock and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes.
4. Add thyme and bay leaves and simmer until veal is tender, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes longer.
5. Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons butter in another heavy large pot over medium heat. Add pearl onions, celery root, carrots, turnips, mushrooms and 1 cup chicken stock. Cover and cook until vegetables are tender and almost all liquid has evaporated, about 15 minutes.
6. Add haricots verts and cook until just tender, about 2 minutes.
7. Drain veal, reserving 2 cups liquid (if less than 2 cups cooking liquid remains, add enough stock to measure 2 cups). Mix veal into vegetables.
8. Melt remaining 3 tablespoons butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Mix in 3 tablespoons flour. Cook until butter mixture turns golden brown, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes.
9. Whisk in 2 cups reserved cooking liquid. Cook until thickened, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Stir in whipping cream. Season sauce to taste with fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper.
10. Pour cream sauce over cooked veal and vegetables. Garnish with fresh chives, if desired, and serve immediately.

Practical

Our full menu for French cuisine was:

Duck liver pâté
Soup a l'oignon
Blanquette de Veau
Nouilles au beurre
Poivrons Rôtis, Courgettes farcie
Orange chocolate mousse

Duck liver pâté (or paste) and soup a l'oignon (onion soup) are self explanatory. Blanquette de Veau is veal served with vegetables in a white sauce. Nouilles au beurre is pasta tossed in butter. Poivrons Rôtis is roasted pepper, similar to the peperonata prepared during Italian week, although the french dish is usually quartered peppers rather than thinly sliced. Courgette farcie is zucchini cored out and stuffed with it's own flesh mixed with other vegetables or perhaps a protein or cheese. The orange chocolate mousse is simply that, a chocolate mousse with orange flavoring.

Observations

The foods cooked this week all had excellent flavour and richness. Unfortunately the duck livers were not available at the start of our class, so the finished product had not chilled enough by the end of class. While still flavourful, the pâté having some warmth left to it meant it had not acquired the proper texture. I got started on the onion soup right away and ensured we caramelized the onions slowly and very well. The end result was an incredibly flavourful soup which I quite enjoyed, and Chef commented on the excellent flavour as well. The blanquette de veau was quite good, although our timing was slightly off on the side dishes, so we ended up serving only the zucchini with the blanquette, which Chef commented was appropriately cooked and flavoured. We then served the noodles and peppers together, which were both cooked well, but Chef mentioned that it would have been nice to have everything plated at once. Lastly, our mousse was very light and flavourful, and there was a good balance between the chocolate and orange flavours, which Chef was happy with. Apart from some timing issues, a good day of cooking.

World Cuisine - Italy

2008-02-06T15:26:00.000-08:00

Introduction

When contemplating the history of Italian cuisine, it is important to remember that Italy did not exist as a unified country before 1870; prior to that, it was a diverse collection of kingdoms and principalities. Indeed, as Kyle Phillips notes in the introduction to his translation of The Art of Eating Well, only a small percentage of “Italians” actually spoke Italian prior to the 20th century. This political (and cultural) diversity is mirrored by the wide variety of climatic and topographic regions that the Italian peninsula spans. Because of these conditions, there exist a great variety of dishes in the Italian repertoire.

Similarly, one needs to remember that most recipes in the Italian repertoire have come down to us from generations of poor, hard-working people. While the feasts provided by the Medici, Estes and Lombardi are the stuff of legend, court fare was more closely identified with French and Austrian cuisine and subject to changes in fashion and taste. This has little to do with what we now identify as Italian cooking, which was largely dependent on locally and seasonally available products and which probably evolved very slowly over the centuries.

The Italian cuisine is characterized by some specific unique dishes, like pasta, risotto and pizza, which are served in all parts of the country. However, regional differences may occur in the cooking process of a meal, resulting in variations of the same recipe, or unique specific ones of a single area, like the Napoli pizza, specific to the Neapolitan region. Also, Peperoni Imbottiti is another specific Neapolitan dish, and consists of stuffed bell peppers with Eggplant and bread crumbs. In the Tuscan region, harty soups are a common thing, as well as fish stews. Cacciucco and scottiglia are some of the specific Tuscan stews. Other Tuscan specialties include “alla fiorentina” steak, ribollita, a thick vegetable soup and fagioli all'uccelletto, sautéed beans in garlic and sage with tomatoes. In the Piedmont region you can find a special dish called fonduta, containing melted cheese dip of milk, eggs and white truffles. Also, boiled Veal tongue and fish assortments like Anchovies, eels, Carp, Trout, and snails are available in all region. Lombardy is well known for Milan related dishes, such as spaghetti Milanese and minestrone alla Milanese, and for other specialties such as creamy Gorgonzola and polenta. rice and peas are specific for the Veneto region, where you can also find calf's liver fried with onions, shellfish, eels and dried Cod. In Genoa region pesto is the main ingredient, and in Norcia, the Italian cuisine capital, you can find Pork dishes, black truffles, and hand-made pasta like ‘strozzapreti’. Sicily is rich in fruits and seafood, as well as Sardinia, which is also known for sausages, sweet green olives, and Lamb steaks.

From: http://www.cookbookwiki.com/Italy

Recipes

Minestrone

Servings: 4

1 oz olive oil
2 oz bacon, diced
8 oz onions, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
4 oz celery, paysanne
4 oz carrots, paysanne
1.5 quarts chicken stock
4 oz zucchini paysanne
4 oz potatoes paysanne
10 oz tomato concasse
2 oz tomato paste
4 oz chickpeas, cooked
4 oz cannelini, cooked
2 oz parmesan cheese, grated
Thyme, fresh chopped
Salt and white pepper to taste
Optional: cooked pasta (generally small pieces, not long noodles)

Preparation

1. Place oil and bacon into saucepot and sweat, do not brown
2. Add onions, garlic, celery, carrots and sweat until onions are translucent.
3. Add chicken stock and bring to simmer over medium high heat and simmer for approximately 20 minutes.
4. Add zucchini, potatoes and tomato concasse, tomato paste and simmer for 10 more minutes until vegetables are tender. Do not overcook.
5. Add cooked chickpeas, cannellini (and pasta if desired), simmer until all ingredients are hot
6. Adjust seasonings, garnish soup with parmesan and chopped thyme just prior to serving.

Involtini di Pollo

Servings: 4

Stuffing
8 oz chicken thigh meat, ground
0.5 oz butter
0.5 oz shallot
1 egg white
Salt and pepper to taste

4 chicken breast pieces
2 oz stuffing
4 pieces fresh sage
4 thinly sliced bacon

Preparation

Stuffing
1. Bone and grind the chicken thigh meat
2. Dice and sauté shallots, cool, set aside.
3. Place meat, shallots, and egg white in robot-coupe and pulse.
4. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Assembly
1. Cut each chicken breast in half and pound lightly, dip inside of breast in flour, shake of excess.
2. Place a small piece of fresh sage on top, add 2 oz of stuffing and roll the breast around stuffing, then wrap with bacon and hold together with toothpick.

Sauce
1. Prepare sauce from roasted chicken leg, bones, scraps, and mirepoix. Reduce to glaze consistency.

Cooking
1. Sauté each side lightly in whole butter and set aside until service.
2. Season with salt and pepper to taste, bake in oven at 350°F until done, serve with sauce.

Practical

Our full menu for our Italian menu was:

Minestrone
Gnocchi "Piedmontaise"
Involtini di Pollo
Spinach & Peperonata
Saffron Risotto
Zabaglione

Minestrone is a typical Italian soup, and while it is common it does not necessarily have a set recipe, normally being made from whatever fresh vegetables are available along with meat scraps. Gnocchi "Piedmontaise" are gnocchi made from potato, egg, and flour. Involtini di Pollo is chicken breast and sage wrapped around a ground or paste chicken filling with bacon wrap. Peperonata is grilled pepper sautéed, in this dish we added spinach as well. Risotto was made as our previous recipes, with the addition of saffron. Zabaglione is a desert of whipped egg whites and cream flavoured with brandy, combined with strawberries tossed in balsamic vinegar.

Observations

I was excited for this week's world cuisine class as I love Italian cooking. Our starter minestrone turned out quite well and was very flavourful, a good start to the day. Unfortunately we had some problems cooking our gnocchi, perhaps due to adding too many to the water at once, and they ended up clumping. Once we started again, they turned out fine, although Chef would have preferred slightly less colour from sautéing. Our Involtini di Pollo turned out well, although Chef mentioned it was done well and if it had been cooked much longer it would have easily become overcooked. The spinach and peperonata, along with the saffron risotto both turned out very well. Our zabaglione was also very good, with an appropriate blend of flavours while maintaining a light texture.

North American Regional Cuisine - Cuisine of the South

2008-01-25T05:25:00.000-08:00

Introduction

Our first menu for cuisine of the south was:

Grilled Quail with spicy eggplant relish
Tomato aspic on bibb letuce salad
pecan-encrusted catfish with orange-scented sweet potatoes
Succotash of corn, hominy, and baby lima beans
Slow cooked greens
Hush Puppies
Peanut Brittle

Our second menu was:

Watermelon and watercress salad with shallot citrus dressing
Fried green tomatoes with blue cheese and roasted red pepper sauce
Southern fried chicken with cream gravy
Pan roasted butternut squash and turnips
Peach Cobbler

Observations

Chef commented on the fact that quail is a very delicate bird and would cook very quickly. We were cognicent of this while working on the dish and cooked the quail just right. Along with the eggplant relish, the dish turned out very well. I've had tomato aspic before and it's not my favorite dish - somehow a dish which constitutes what is essencially gelatanized tomato juice doesn't work well for me. The succotash however was a very nice dish that I thought tasted very good. The hush puppies and peanut brittle also turned out very well.

The watermelon and watercress salad was suprisingly tasty and very refreshing. I will definitely be keeping this recipe in mind for a warm summer day. Our fried green tomatoes tasted fine although they were slightly undercooked so were a little tough. The southern fried chicken came out perfectly and chef was very happy with the dish, as well as with our gravy, saying they were exactly how it should taste. The peach cobbler tasted good but the crust was slightly too thick. The other dishes didn't really have anything of note to them.

Introduction to Baking Week 2 - Carrot & Banana bread, Sweet tart dough

2008-01-24T04:43:00.000-08:00

Introduction

This week we are preparing Italian rosemary rolls, carrot bread and banana bread. We will also be preparing a sweet tart dough which will be used in the preparation of lemon bars and streusel kuchen.

Practical

The preparation of the rosemary rolls is similar to previous weeks work. The carrot bread and banana bread use the drop method of cooking into appropriate sized pans - for these we must be sure not to over-mix the dough as it is being prepared.

While preparing the sweet tart dough, chef explains the need to ensure all the butter is blended in well, as large pieces of butter will melt during baking and create imperfections in the cooked pastry. We also learn that we must dock (puncture) the dough before cooking it to allow steam to escape, otherwise the pastry will puff up while cooking and create an uneven finished product.

Observations

After preparing the sweet tart dough, while rolling it out we realized that there were still some pieces of butter which may not have been blended in well enough. This seems to be a fine line between ensuring products are adequately mixed and not over-mixing the final product. Although we had some small pieces of butter present, the dough cooked well and our lemon bars and streusel both turned out well.

One thing the streusel recipe did not call for was a fruit topping; although we used a jam layer between the pastry and the cake filling, the final product seemed a little dry to me. Chef commented that generally a fruit layer would be placed on top of the cake filling, which would have added some moisture to the final taste.

Our Italian rosemary rolls, along with carrot and banana breads both turned out very well.

World Cuisine - Switzerland

2008-01-23T05:30:00.000-08:00

Introduction

Switzerland is an Alpine European country that has stated as a compact country for centuries. Being a neutral country during both world wars, Switzerland has been the refuge place for a lot of German, Austrian and Italian writers, such as Thomas Mann, Stefan George and Ignazio Silone The food culture of Switzerland has been influenced by its neighbors, especially Italy and France. Pasta and pizza are very familiar in Switzerland, people serving them in restaurants as well. Over the years a distinctive culture with strong regional differences has developed inside the country. Some parts haven’t been influenced by cultural and food differences found in other countries, and have developed their own eating habits. The Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris var. cicla) found in Swiss cuisines, with its long white stems, is actually influenced by the Mediterranean cooks for flavoring soups and rice dishes. Swiss chard is a popular vegetable nowadays, even being the most important vegetable in the Nice region, and is has also grown abundantly in the districts around the Rhône valley because of its resistance to cold weather. chocolate, one of the main characteristics of the Swiss cuisine, has been known to this region for centuries. Lindt, Nestle, and Kraft are just some of the main chocolate factories in Switzerland, and of course, the most refined chocolates and its derivates in the world. The Swiss Cuisine is reknown all over the world for its delicious taste. Some of the commonly found cuisines are: Aargau (carrot Cake), Acelgas Guisadas (Braised Swiss chard), Acqua Di Miele Alla Luganese (Honey water), Aelplermagronen (the Alpine Farmer's macaroni with applesauce) Pasta, Almanzo's Favorite Swiss Steak Beef, apricot Flan (Valais), Aris' Swiss cheese and Green Beans, asparagus Swiss, asparagus Swiss Souffle, aubergine/Swiss cheese Casserole, Avocado-Bacon-Swiss cheese Omlet, Baby Swiss Stuffed Portabellas, Blackberry-Filled Sandwich Cookies (Luxembourgli) blueberry Risotto with Boletus (cep), Boneless Leg of Lamb Stuffed with Swiss chard and feta, Boysenberry-Filled Sandwich Cookies (Luxembourgli) etc.

From: http://www.cookbookwiki.com/Switzerland

Recipes

Chopf Salat

Servings: 4

1 head butter lettuce

Dressing

1 oz shallots fine dice
1 oz cider vinegar
2 oz light olive oil
2 oz chicken stock
2 oz heavy cream
1/4 oz prepared mustard
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
Salt, pepper, sugar to taste

Preparation:

1. Core, clean, and wash butter lettuce in a large quantity of water.
2. Drain and place on paper towels and refrigerate to get crisp until needed.
3. Combine all ingredients for dressing in a bowl with a whisk, season to taste.
4. Toss lettuce with dressing just before dressing.

Note: Lettuce will wilt quickly in the dressing, do not toss ahead of serving time.

Eminceed Pork "Zürcher Art"

Servings: 4

1 lb pork tenderloin, trimmed, sliced 1/8" thick
flour for dusting
oil as needed

2 oz butter
2 oz shallots diced
8 oz mushrooms sliced
1 oz brandy
4 oz dry white wine
6 oz demi-glace
4 oz whipped heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
chopped parsley

Preparation:

1. Trim and cut the pork into 1" x 1" x 1/8" thick slices (emincee)
2. Sesason and dust the sliced meat with flour just before cooking
3. Heat a sauté pan, add a thin layer of oil, heat the oil and sauté the meat int he hot oil until lightly brown. remove the meat and set aside (do not overcook).
4. Heat the pan again, add butter and sweat the shallots and mushrooms.
5. Deglaze the pan with brandy, white wine and reduce.
6. Add the demi-glace along with any juices collected from the meat and reduce the sauce to a creamy consistency.
7. Add the meat, bring to a simmer, season the sauce with a little fresh lemon juice, salt, pepper.
8. Add the whipped heavy cream at the last minute and fold into the sauce but do not boil any more.
9. Sprinkle with chopped parsley when serving.

Practical

Our full menu for our day of Swiss cooking was:

Flädli Suppe
Chügeli Pastetli
Gschnätzlets "Zürcher Art"
Green Beans
Broiled Tomato
Spätzli
Chopf Salat

The suppe was simply a consommé prepared with chopped crepe. Our preparation order started with the consommé, followed by the crepe batter. We then prepared the proteins for the chügeli and the gschnätzlets, along with the remainder of the vegetable prep work. Last, we prepared the spätzli dough and set it aside to refrigerate before cooking.

Observations

Something which came to me in this third week of World Cuisine is that there are a lot of foods out there which are similar or related to another cultures, yet has a local or regional twist to it. Chef describe the Gschnätzlets as a sort of Swedish stroganoff, and with the dish finished, I could definitely find a resemblance there.

Our consommé turned out very well, it was quite clear and very flavourful. Adding crepe as a garnish was an interesting touch, and I enjoyed the end result. Chef commented on the clarity of our consommé and said the dish was quite good, although there was some chopped parsley floating in the bowl - this had been mixed into the crepe batter and was separating in the soup.

Our Chügeli Pastetli (chicken mousseline piped and poached, served with a mushroom and cream sauce in puffed pastry) turned out well. However, instead of portioning the mousseline as it was being piped into the poaching liquid, we cooked long strands of it and portioned it afterward, resulting in harder edges on the cooked product. While this decision had no impact on the flavour of the dish, it didn't present as well visually as it could have.

The Gschnätzlets "Zürcher Art" dish was very good, the sauce having good flavour and texture, and the meat being prepared appropriately without being overcooked. The vegetables turned out well as did our spätzli, although the spätzli was slightly small due to the tool we used to portion it into the cooking liquid. Our Chopf Salat was very good as well, the dressing having a nice flavour and coating the lettuce appropriately without weighing the dish down.

North American Regional Cuisine - Mid-Atlantic States

2008-01-17T23:54:00.000-08:00

Introduction

This week our focus was on the cuisine of the Mid-Atlantic states. We cooked two menus of food, which were comprised of the following:

Menu 1

Beets, Belgian Endive and Feta Salad
Scallops, Mushrooms and Asperagus
Shaker style turkey cutlet
Croquette Potatoes
Potatoes Parmentier
Green Beans
Spaghetti Squash
Ginger pound cake with warm cranberries

Menu 2

Navy Bean Soup
Waldorf Salad
Sauteed Soft Shell Crabs on Fennel Salad
Braised Short Ribs
Buttered Homemade Noodles
Red Swiss Chard and Spinach Sauté

Observations

For our first menu, due to lucky market conditions we used white asperagus for the scallop and mushroom dish. This added an extra visual flare to the dish although the flavour was the same as green asperagus. The Belgian endive salad was flavourful and quite a refreshing dish. Overall Chef commented that our presentation and taste was good, although we overcooked the pound cake on the first try and had to make it again, resulting in late service.

When discussing the second menu, Chef made the point that while the menu included soft shelled crab, it was not an ingredient that would be locally available and thus likely never served in our area. As a comparison, we made the dish with frozen soft shelled crab, and then prepared some fresh live dungeoness crab as well. The texture and flavour of the fresh crab was obviously quite superior and there was very little comparison to be made between the two. For our homemade noodles we used whole wheat flour instead of white flour for a twist, and while the noodles turned out well, they were slightly chewy. This could be a result of over mixing, or simply a difference caused by the whole wheat flour. Again, our presentation and flavours were good for the second menu.

Introduction to Baking Week 2 - Pie, Cinnamon Rolls, Foccacia

2008-01-17T02:22:00.000-08:00

Introduction

This week we are preparing three dishes - pie dough which will be used to make an apple pie, sweet dough and caramel glaze to make cinnamon rolls, and foccacia dough.

Practical

During the preparation of our doughs, we are reminded not to overwork our doughs while preparing them, as this will cause the doughs to become tough. We start by preparing the foccacia dough as it will go in the proofer to rise. We then prepare the pie dough and leave it to rest while we simultaneously prepare our caramel glaze and sweet dough.

Observations

After the preparation of our foccacia dough, Chef commented that it looked like we had added too much water. However, after allowing to rise and baking, our foccacia was quite good. Where others' dough hadn't risen evenly or completely, ours had and baked well.

Our pie dough was light and fluffy once baked, although our apple mix was slightly tart once the pie was baked. Chef didn't have any particular comments regarding our pie.

Our cinnamon rolls with caramel glaze were very good as well. Chef commented on the good flavour of the rolls, especially warm out of the oven.

World Cuisine - Russia

2008-01-16T01:57:00.000-08:00

Introduction

Each country’s national culture is also reflected in their cuisine and the Russian cuisine follows this path. The culinary aspects of Russia are also respected ambassadors of many Russian traditions and life styles. Many dishes which were appreciated in antiquity are still popular today, while new dishes are being invented by Russian chefs on a regular basis. Many traditional Russian dishes became known all over the world from the times of Peter the Great when hundreds of European cooks traveled back and forth to Russia cooking for the tsar’s banquets. Several new spices were adopted by the Russians - many of which had French origin - as the French cooks were among the most famous of those times. Some Russians stick with the original recipes for some of their traditional dishes, such as Pelmeni or meat dishes, while others prefer to bring new life to old recipes and add new ingredients and exotic spices which were unknown to Russians hundreds of years ago. Agriculture has always been used extensively in Russia and Wheat, Rye, Oats and millet were the main ingredients for any meal for centuries. Bread was and still is one of the food elements that are never absent from a Russian table. Bread is used with soup and the main course, although sometimes it may be left aside if the dish contains potatoes or pasta. Baking is also present since times immemorial and all grain based food products used in the past are still present today in one form or another. Meat is yet another essential element in the Russian cuisine. Hunting was extremely popular in Russia and it provided a large proportion of the meat that Russians consumed. Wild animal meat was gradually replaced by farmed animal meat although some of the most appreciated Russian dishes are prepared with boar or moose meat. Fish is also popular with a large variety of dishes and there are hundreds of fish species that are used in delicious and often extremely sumptuous dishes. The huge Russian forests also provided people with different types of berries and nuts which also find their way in today’s Russian dishes.

From: http://www.cookbookwiki.com/Russia

Recipes

Borscht

Servings: 4-6

1/2 oz butter
1 oz bacon, diced
4 oz onions, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 oz celery, diced
2 oz carrots, diced
4 oz green cabbage, chiffonade
12 oz beets, diced
1 oz tomato paste
3 cups chicken stock

2 oz potatoes diced
6 oz tomato concasse
2 oz sour cream
Fresh lemon juice
Fresh dill, chopped
Salt and white pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Place the butter and bacon into a sauce pot and sweat, do not brown
2. Add the onions, garlic and sweat until translucent
3. Add the celery, carrots, cabbage, beets and sweat.
4. Add the tomato paste, chicken stock and bring to simmer over medium high heat and simmer for approximately 20 minutes.
5. Add the potatoes, tomato concasse and simmer for 10 more minutes or until all the vegetables are tender - do not overcook.
6. Adjust seasonings with lemon juice, salt and pepper.
7. Garnish soup with sour cream and fresh chopped dill just prior to serving.

Pojarskie

Servings: 4

4 oz bread, crust removed
2 oz whole milk
1 chicken, whole
2 oz butter, softened
Salt and pepper to taste
2 oz butter
2 oz oil

Preparation:

1. Cut the crust off the bread and soak in the milk, set aside.
2. Bone the chicken, ending up with approximately 1lb boneless/skinless chicken meat.
3. Grind the chicken through a medium die, add the bread mixture, butter and seasoning, then grind through fine die.
4. Divide the chicken meat into 4oz patties and shape to look like a pork chop, place on saran wrap, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
5. Apply standard breading procedure, set aside until needed.
6. Pan-fry the pojarskie in the butter and oil mixture until golden brown on the outside and cooked in the center.

Salmon Kulebyaka

Servings: 4

Brioche Dough:

1 1/2 oz milk
1/4 oz sugar
1/4 oz yeast

3 oz bread flour
1 whole egg
1/4 oz salt

2 eggs whole
10 oz bread flour
3 oz butter, melted

Rice Filling

1 oz butter
1 oz onion, diced
1 cup rice
1 1/2 cup chicken stock

1 oz butter
8 oz mushrooms, diced
1 oz lemon juice

2 oz butter
3 oz onion, fine dice
1 egg, hardboiled, chopped
1 egg yolk
Salt and pepper to taste

12 oz salmon fillet

Preparation:

Brioche dough:

1. Combine the milk and sugar, heat to 110°F then add the dry yeast and rehydrate for 10 minutes.
2. Combine first flour, egg, and salt in a bowl, then add the milk and yeast mixture, blend with wooden spoon until smooth.
3. Slowly add second flour, egg, and melted butter.
4. Knead the mixture by hand until the dough is smooth, slightly shiny and warm.
5. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and proof for 45 minutes or until doubled in size.
6. Punch down the dough, knead slightly and retard.

Rice Filling:

1. With the first set of ingredients, prepare a rice pilaf.
2. Melt butter and sauté the mushrooms over high heat, finish with fresh lemon juice.
3. Heat a sauté pan and butter, sauté the onions until translucent and place into a bowl.
4. Combine the cooked mushrooms, rice pilaf, hard boiled egg, raw egg yolk and seasoning.

To assemble:

1. Roll out the dough to 1/8" thick and spread a 1/2" layer of rice mixture in the center of the dough, the size of the salmon fillet.
2. Place the salmon fillet on top of the rice and add another 1/2" layer of rice on top of the salmon.
3. Egg wash the edges of the pastry and fold the brioche over the top to cover the rice and salmon.
4. Place the seam at the bottom and eggwash the top and make marks with a fork.
5. Proof for approximately 20 minutes before baking.
6. Bake at 375°F until dough is golden brown on the outside and salmon fillet is cooked in the center, to about 145°F.

Glazed Carrots

Servings: 4

1 lb carrots, tournéed
2 oz butter, whole
1/2 oz water
1 oz brown sugar, granulated
Salt and white pepper to taste
Parsley, chopped

Preparation:

1. Parboil the prepared carrots until tender.
2. Heat a sautépan, add the butter, water, and brown sugar, bring to a simmer and add the carrots.
3. Heat the carrots tossing them until they are glazed.
4. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Garnish with chopped parsley when serving.

Glazed Turnips

Servings: 4

1 lb Turnips, tournéed
2 oz butter
1/2 oz water
1 oz maple syrup
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch of cinnamon
Parsley, chopped

Preparation:

1. Parboil the prepared turnips until tender.
2. Heat a sautépan, add the butter, water and maple syrup, bring to a simmer and add the turnips.
3. Heat the turnips tossing them until they are glazed.
4. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste and add a pinch of cinnamon.
5. Garnish with chopped parsley when serving.

Glazed Beets

Servings: 4

1 lb beets, whole
1 oz butter
1/2 lemon juice, fresh squeezed
2 oz maple syrup
Salt and white pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Boil the beets in salt water, whole in their skin until tender.
2. Drain, cool and peel the beets, cut into wedges.
3. Heat a sautépan, add the butter, lemon juice and maple syrup, bring to a simmer and add the beets.
4. Heat the beets tossing them until they are glazed.
5. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.

Practical

Our plating for the day was to serve the Borscht first, the Pojarskie as an appetizer style dish second, and finish with the Salmon Kulebyaka served with the vegetable side dishes.

We started by preparing the Borscht and getting it cooking. Once the soup was going, we deboned and prepared the chicken and got it shaped and in the fridge to cool. We also prepared the rice filling for the kulebyaka at this time.

At this point we prepared the brioche dough for the kulebyaka and set it aside to rest. We then prepared our vegetables to be served with the kulebyaka, and blanched those that we could.

At this point we were able to serve our Borscht. We were able to follow this shortly with breading the pojarskie, cooking it and serving it as well. We then finished preparation on the Kulebyaka, laying down the rice layer and placing the salmon on top, then another rice layer and wrapping the whole thing with the brioche dough. This was put into the oven to cook as we finished the vegetables with their glazing and seasoning. Once the kulebyaka was cooked, the whole dish was served.

Observations

Due to the beet content, Borscht has a very interesting red colour. It is also very flavourful, and the vegetable content makes for a very healthy yet filling dish. Chef commented on the appropriate consistency of our dish - borscht is a thin soup with vegetables, so the liquid should not be thick or stewy.

The pojarskie was an interesting dish. The first thing I thought of was that shaping a chicken based dish like a pork cutlet was peculiar, however after cooking and tasting the dish, either it actually does taste like pork, or your mind fools you into thinking it tastes like pork. For this dish Chef commented on the appropriate colouring of the breading after cooking, and appropriate seasoning to the dish.

Our kulebyaka came out very well. It was quite flavourful with the salmon cooked quite well. We were getting close to over-doing the salmon, as it had started to lose some moisture, but it was still very good. Chef commented on our rice being an appropriate consistency and sticking together well, not falling apart or out of the pastry when it was cut into. Overall, a very good dish. The vegetable accompaniments were fairly standard for us and there wasn't much to comment on regarding them.

North American Regional Cuisine - New England

2008-01-10T22:20:00.000-08:00

Introduction

While our focus in North American Regional Cuisine is going to be on specific regions and their culinary ingredients and dishes, Chef will also be relating the work to ingredients local to the Vancouver area. While understanding the regional cuisines will give us a broader picture of the variety in culinary, the reality is that we work in a specific market with an abundance of certain ingredients. These fresh ingredients bought locally are generally preferred when preparing dishes due to enhanced visual appeal, flavour, and texture of fresh product over those which have been frozen and transported over great distances.

Practical

We started our first day in North American Regional Cuisine with a review of knife skills, emphasizing proper cutting technique and safety. We then began our work on New England cuisine by preparing a clam chowder. During preparation, the cream in ours broke due to the temperature getting too high and Chef demonstrated a method of saving the key ingredients by discarding the liquid, briefly rinsing the solid ingredients to remove any remaining curdles, and starting again with prepared clam nectar instead of using our own nectar from steaming clams. Our end result was quite flavourful although not holding quite enough depth to the clam flavour as we would have liked. We then prepared a New England boiled dinner, a piece of meat boiled with vegetables, sliced, and served. This dish is designed to take an inexpensive, likely tough, piece of meat and tenderize it; the end result, however, is a meat that is very low in flavour. This dish is accompanied by fresh creamed horseradish sauces to make up for lack of flavour in the meat itself. We then prepared a peach and blueberry cobbler, which was fairly standard fare. Our group mixed up a fresh blueberry frozen cream as a garnish for this dish which worked out quite well. We prepared baked beans, which were flavourful but the liquid had not reduced to a thick enough consistency by the time we needed to serve them. Along with the baked beans we prepared a Boston brown bread, a bread which is very similar in texture to a bran muffin. We served this with an apple-cinnamon butter which was very tasty. Lastly, we served red snapper with steamed clams which ended up being a very tasty dish, although we served a little too much liquid with the dish.

Blog Notes

Our Chef for this class is not huge on written assignments and has asked that we keep these journals short and to the point, so there will not be as much information here as I usually post. If anyone has any questions, feel free to let me know and I'll be happy to expand on anything for you.

Introduction to Baking Week 1 - Cookies, Muffins, Rolls

2008-01-10T04:35:00.000-08:00

Introduction

Our first week in Intro to Baking started with a quick overview of the class and some of the methods and procedures we would be using. Some of the terms we reviewed were:

Leavener - an ingredient or process that produces or incorporates gases in a baked product in order to increase volume, provide structure and give texture.
Sugars - The most common sugar being sucrose, refined from sugar cane, there are a variety of sugars used in the bakeshop including demerara, sanding sugar, regular granulated, cubed sugar, brown sugar, superfine or castor sugar, and icing or confectioner's sugar. There are also liquid sweeteners such as honey, maple syrup, corn syrup, and molasses.
Simple Syrup - a combination of sugar and water.
Mixing methods - while there are a variety of mixing methods used, we focused on the straight dough method, a mixing method for yeast breads in which all ingredients are simply combined and mixed, and the creaming method where softened fat and sugar are vigorously combined to incorporate air.
Punching down - folding down dough after fermentation in order to expel excessive gas pockets and even out the dough's temperature.

Recipes

Blueberry Muffins

Yield: 12 muffins

8 oz all-purpose flour
4 oz sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
8 fl oz milk
4 fl oz unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
6 oz blueberries, or other frozen berries
1 tbsp lemon zest

Preparation:

1. Sift the dry ingredients together.
2. Stir together the liquid ingredients, including the melted butter.
3. Stir the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients. Do not overmix. The batter should be lumpy.
4. Gently fold in the blueberries and lemon zest.
5. Portion into greased or paper-lined muffin cups and bake at 350°F until light brown and set in the centre, approximately 18 minutes.
6. Cool the muffins in the pan for several minutes before removing.

Soft Rolls

Yield: 24 rolls, 50g each

385g water
23g fresh yeast
670g bread flour
13g salt
64g sugar
32g milk solids (powdered milk)
32g shortening
32g butter

Preparation:

1. Mix all ingredients together, allow proofing until dough has doubled in size. Punch down.
2. Divide dough into 50g units and round.
3. Roll to desired length. Twist into shapes as desired.
4. Brush rolls with water and finish with sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or corn meal.
5. Place on sheet pan.
6. Proof once more.
7. Bake at 400°F until done.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Yield: 2 dozen cookies

360 grams pastry flour
2 grams baking soda
2 grams baking powder

238 grams butter
238 grams sugar

50 grams eggs (1 large egg)
150 grams peanut butter, smooth
6 grams salt

Peanut pieces, Granulated Sugar

Preparation:

1. Stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder, set aside.
2. Cream the butter, add sugar and continue creaming.
3. Gradually add eggs followed by peanut butter and salt.
4. Add dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix to make a firm dough.
5. Divide dough into 2 logs and cut each log into 12 pieces.
6. Roll each cookie into a ball and place on pan. Press down. Using a fork, place criss-cross markings on surface of each cookie.
7. Lightly brush with water and sprinkle with granulated sugar and press peanut pieces into cookies.
8. Bake at 350°F until golden brown, approximately 12 minutes.

Observations

Our first day of baking went relatively well, with some delicious yet fairly simple formulas (bakeshop talk for recipe) being followed.

Our muffins turned out very well. They had a good colour to them after baking and were light in the middle. Some of the class had issues with over-mixing their dough which caused the muffins to be very flat and run across the bake pan rather than rising. This demonstrated that over-mixing can drastically effect your final product, and when following a muffin-method recipe mixing should only be done just so that the ingredients are together, not trying to smooth out the batter altogether.

The peanut butter cookies also turned out well, as was the case for most of the class. The biggest issue here was baking time, ensuring that the cookies were removed from the oven early enough that carry-over baking would not over cook the cookies. This is something that will mostly come with experience observing baking as cookies will always be soft in the oven so firmness cannot be used as a doneness indicator.

Our soft roll formula was where we encountered the most difficulty. Our dough did not rise very much while proofing, perhaps due to a mis-calculation of yeast required. Although we corrected the yeast before proofing the dough, it took quite a long time to proof. Once punched down and rolled out, we were unable to roll it into uniform shapes, so some of the final rolls were slightly misshapen. While the finished rolls were light and tasted fine, we were behind on time so we hadn't glazed them which gave them a dull luster rather than an attractive sheen produced by glazing. Chef noted the size inconsistencies and glazing while reviewing our finished product.

Overall, a mostly successful first day in the bake shop.

World Cuisine - Scandinavia

2008-01-09T02:28:00.000-08:00

Introduction

Scandinavia is the geographical region encompassing the Scandinavian peninsula in Northern Europe. It includes the countries of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. Scandinavian cuisine is generally based on simple cooking styles, often very mild and not spicy. While most of Europe emphasizes lunch as the main meal of the day, dinner is emphasized more in Scandinavia, with a quick cold lunch being served and dinner being served by 6pm. A similar custom to the traditional English tea is also observed where bread, biscuits, cookies, pastry and coffee are served around 2-3pm. Norwegian cuisine often consists mainly of a meat dish, with vast wild areas providing an abundance of fish and game - smoked salmon being one of the most famous food products related to Norway. Danish cuisine normally consists of high levels of meat and less vegetables, due to the climate not providing plentiful time for agriculture. Thus, many dishes rely on seasonal fruits and vegetables, as well as including many preserved meats. Lack of vegetation due to long winters causes a similar situation in Sweden, where root vegetables such as rutabaga and potatoes are used along side abundant fish, particularly Herring, to create many traditional Swedish dishes.

Recipes

Cucumber Salad

Servings: 4

2 Cucumbers
2 oz Sour Cream
1/2 oz Cider Vinegar
1/2 oz Vegetable Oil
Pinch of granulated sugar
1/2 tablespoon chopped dill
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Peel, cut in half lengthwise and seed the cucumbers, slice crosswise very fine, sprinkle with salt and let them stand for 30 minutes (this is known as "purging" which is done with high moisture vegetables such as cucumber or eggplant to prevent dishes from becoming over-moist)
2. Drain the cucumbers and squeeze/pat dry.
3. Combine sour cream, vinegar, oil, sugar, and dill.
4. Add cucumbers and mix thoroughly, season to taste.

Frikadellen - (Meat Patties)

Servings: 4

3 oz Onions, fine dice
1 oz Butter
1 1/2 oz Pork butt, ground on medium die
2 Eggs
1/2 oz parsley chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste
Breadcrumbs as needed

Frying mixture:

4 oz butter
4 oz oil

Preparation:

1. Sweat the onions in butter until translucent; cool and add to the meat
2. Add eggs, parsley and seasoning to the meat and mix thoroughly, add breadcrumbs if mixture is too moist
3. Season and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
4. Scoop meat into 2 oz patties and dip in bread crumbs to coat the outside.
5. Pan-fry the patties in butter and oil mixture until golden brown on the outside and cooked thoroughly.

Creamed Potatoes

Servings: 4

1 1/2 lbs Red Bliss potatoes
Heavy cream as needed
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Peel, wash and cut the potatoes into 1/2" cubes
2. Place potato into a sauté pan, add heavy cream until almost at the top of the potato.
3. Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer, then place in oven and cook at 350°F until potatoes are tender and cream has almost been absorbed. Season to taste and serve.

Green Beans

Servings: 4

1 lb Green Beans, trimmed
1 oz butter
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. String and parboil green beans in boiling salt water for approximately 6-8 minutes, stopping when desired tenderness is achieved.
2. Shock beans in ice water, drain and chill until needed.
3. Heat a sauté pan, add butter, let it get light brown then toss beans until coated and re-heated. Season to taste and serve.

Sautéed Mushrooms

Servings: 4

2 oz Butter
1 oz Onion, diced
1 lb Mushrooms, quartered
Salt and White Pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Sweat the onions in butter until translucent.
2. Add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper, sautéing until cooked and the moisture has evaporated.

Practical

We started the day by preparing the cucumber for purging as this would take some time to sit, as well as wanting to serve the salad first. Once the cucumbers were prepared, we mixed the dressing and left it to chill.

Next we prepared the meat mixture for the frikadellen as this also needed to chill briefly. The meat was ground then mixed with seasoning, covered and placed in the refrigerator to cool.

We then worked on preparing our mise-en-place for the remaining vegetable dishes so they could be quickly finished when the frikadellen was being cooked. We prepped the beans as called for, and removed the stems and quartered the mushrooms.

Once we were satisfied with the amount of liquid purged from the cucumber it was dried and mixed with the dressing, then served. We then pan-fried our frikadellen while sautéing the beans and mushrooms, and plated these three items and served them.

Observations

While we have prepared the mushrooms and beans many times before, we usually sliced the mushrooms rather than quartering, so that was a slight change. I personally prefer quartering as I find the mushrooms hold their shape better and provide a more substantial flavour when eaten individually quartered rather than sliced. The cucumber salad was very good, the dill flavour going well with the crispness of the cucumbers. Chef noted that we need to be careful with the amount of salt used for purging as it can be very easy to make the dish excessively salty this way. While ours was still fine, we probably used just a little too much salt.

The frikadellen was very good, although quite difficult to cook well. As with all breaded items, if cooked at too high a temperature, the bread crumbs will quickly go beyond golden brown to dark or even black. This means that a combination of appropriate size and shape along with low pan-frying temperature must be used to achieve appropriate results. Our first attempt did not finish cooking before the bread crumbs were too dark, and while our second attempt remedied this after flattening out the patties slightly, Chef noted our colour was still slightly dark. The best patties in class were a very nice brown and well cooked through, obviously done at a more appropriate temperature than ours were.

Back on the blog train

2008-01-09T02:23:00.000-08:00

Well, it's a new year and school has started again so I'm getting back to blogging about what I'm doing. This semester will bring many more entries as I'm three cooking classes which each require a journal - North American Cuisine, World Cuisine, and Introduction to Baking.

That being said, the format will change slightly as our focus shifts away from basic techniques to understanding the variety of culinary which exists in the world. New things will be production timelines as well as full recipes being included, while safety (although still the most important part of commercial food production) will not be explicitly reviewed unless something specific is noted that week.

That's about it for now, here comes the first entry!

Week 10 - Combination cooking techniques

2007-12-10T04:39:00.000-08:00

Objective

The successful preparation of multiple dishes using combination cooking techniques. Organization and preparation to be used to ensure a complete dish is ready to serve at once and no parts of the dish are left to sit before service.

Sanitation and Safety

This week we will be using chicken so the normal sanitation and cooking procedures apply. Outside of this factor, there aren't any special considerations beyond regular kitchen safety and sanitation.

Information

This week we will be preparing the following dishes:

Braised lamb shanks with parsnip purée, roasted vegetables and mint sauce
Chicken blanquette with herbed potato gnocchi and buttered green beans
Beef Bourguignon with pappardelle (large fettuccine) in herb butter and glazed carrots
Coq au vin with broccoli almondine and chateau potatoes

Chicken blanquette is a chicken prepared with a white sauce, so while we will sauté the chicken briefly as part of the combination cooking method before finishing cooking in liquid, it is important that the chicken does not take on any colour. The sautéing should be brief and heat reduced slightly so that no colour is taken on by the chicken.

The beef bourguignon will require marinating before stewing, so it is important to prepare the marinade ahead of time. The meat should be cut into equal pieces to ensure even cooking throughout the dish and then placed into the marinade, covered, and placed into the refrigerator to sit - the longer the better, up to several hours.

Coq au vin is a chicken dish which will be simmered in a combination of chicken stock and red wine after being browned in a pan with clarified butter. We also add brandy and flambé the chicken to enhance the flavour characteristics of this dish.

Practical

The braised lamb shanks require approximately 2 hours to cook, so we start on them first. The lamb shank is seared in a braising pot on all sides until golden brown. We add bay leaves, garlic, rosemary and seasonings, along with red wine and broth to come approximately 2/3rds the way up the meat. This mixture is brought to a simmer and covered, then placed in the oven to cook. Once done, the shank is removed and the jus is strained and thickened just slightly, at which point the dish is ready for service. The parsnip purée is prepared by boiling potatoes and parsnips in separate pots until tender. They are then passed through a food mill to mash and combine them. Butter, cream, and seasoning is blended in to finish the dish. The mint sauce is a combination of vinegar, sugar and chopped mint. They are combined and placed in a pan to heat briefly - the purpose is not to overly cook the mixture and ruin the colour of the mint, but to warm it up enough to allow easier blending of the ingredients flavours.

The roasted vegetables are prepared per our previous recipes.

For the chicken blanquette, we briefly cook the chicken in a pan while avoiding cooking long enough to get any colour on the meat. We then place the chicken in a sauce pan along with carrot, celery, onion pique, and a boquet garni and then cover with cold stock. The mixture is brought to a boil, skimmed, and then simmered for approximately 30 minutes. We remove the chicken from the stock and strain the stock, adding a roux to prepare a velouté sauce. We then add a liaison (egg yolks and cream) to thicken the sauce further. The chicken is sliced and warmed in the sauce and then served.

We prepare the gnocchi and green beans per our previous recipes.

The beef bourguignon marinade is a mixture of garlic, onions, carrots, parsley, a bouquet garni, peppercorns, salt and red wine. We cut the beef into appropriate sized cubes of equal size and place them in the marinade to soak under refrigeration. Once completed, we remove the meat from the marinade and drain it, while straining and setting aside the remaining marinade to be used later. The beef is then dredged in flour and sautéed in oil until browned. We add tomato paste and cook briefly, then add the marinade, quartered tomatoes and brown stock to cover the meat. This is covered and cooked in an oven until the meat is tender - time will depend on the quality of meat being used. Once done, the meat is removed from the sauce and the sauce is strained, discarding the solids. Quartered mushrooms are sautéed in butter and added to the meat and sauce, and pearl onions are boiled and added. The mixture is simmered for 10 minutes to blend the flavours and is then ready to serve.

Pasta and carrots are prepared per our previous recipes.

The coq au vin is prepared first by fabricating the chicken into 8 pieces. The pieces are dredged in seasoned flour and then browned in a pan with clarified butter. Once browned, we add brandy to the pan and ignite to flambé the chicken. Once the flame dies, we add a bouquet garni, garlic, red wine and chicken stock which is brought to a boil and then reduced to simmer. The pan is covered and the chicken cooked until tender. While the chicken is simmering, we sauté bacon and onions in another pan until the fat from the bacon has rendered and the onions are tender - at this point we add mushroom caps and cook briefly until tender. Once the chicken has cooked, it is removed from the pan and the sauce's consistency is adjusted with a beurre manie, then it is strained and seasoned. The bacon, onion and mushroom mixture is spooned on to a platter with the chicken placed on top, and sauce ladled over the dish. We prepare croutons to serve with the dish as well.

Broccoli almondine and chateau potatoes are prepared per our previous recipes.

Personal Observations

This week was full of incredibly hearty and flavourful dishes. The combination cooking method lends itself to dishes in which the flavours are very blended, making each bite a satisfying one. Beyond that, it allows the use of lesser cuts of meat which will become tenderized in the slow cooking process of stewing or braising. All of our dishes were very flavourful and tender, I had no complaints about our dishes this week.

Chef's Observations

For the most part this week Chef was very happy with our work. The braised lamb shank dish turned out well and was also presented well. For our chicken blanquette, the sauce was a good colour but the flavour was slightly overpowered by the aromatics used in the preparation. Our gnocchi were the appropriate texture and flavour, but were not quite round enough. Otherwise, the dish was very good in presentation and flavour.

The beef bourguignon dish was very good flavour wise, although the sauce was not quite the deep red colour Chef wanted. The pappardelle and glazed carrots were both very good. Our coq au vin dish was very good, the sauce was the right colour in this instance although was a little light on the flavour of the wine used to prepare the dish. The presentation and the broccoli were good, although the potatoes were slightly overdone. Overall a good dish with a few adjustments that needed to be made.

Week 9 - Fish

2007-12-03T02:54:00.000-08:00

Objective

Successfully preparing fish dishes using different cooking methods, including poaching and pan-frying. Organization and preparation to be used to ensure a complete dish is ready to serve at once and no parts of the dish are left to sit before service.

Sanitation and Safety

When serving fish it is important to ensure you are purchasing it from an approved supplier. Fish can be infected with a parasite, and the supplier should be freezing the fish for an appropriate amount of time to remove any concerns regarding parasites.

When filleting fish, it is important to remove all of the pin bones, usually with fish pliers, to prevent a choking hazard.

Information

In week 9, our prepared dishes are:

Salmon poached in court bouillon with bearnaise sauce, rice pilaf and summer squash noodles
Red Snapper en papillote with crostini and potato aioli
Fish bonne femme with buttered asparagus and pommes nature (parsley potatoes)
Pan-fried Trout with capers and lemon with pommes chateau (sautéed potatoes) and cauliflower au gratin

The salmon fillets to be poached are fabricated and de-boned before cooking. To cut the fillet, the knife is placed just behind the gills and you cut down to the spine, then turning the knife towards the back of the fish and cutting along the spine, ensuring you stay on the bone without cutting through it. Once this piece is separated from the rest of the fish, you can trim out the surface of the rib cage, followed by trimming upper and lower fins. The skin is then removed by cutting with the blade nearly parallel to the skin, keeping as little meat left behind as possible. Once the skin is removed, the pin bones must be removed, generally with fish pliers. At this point the whole fillet can be cut down into portion sizes and is ready for cooking.

"En Papillote" is a cooking method where the ingredients are sealed in a parchment paper envelope and steam in their own juices in the oven. The whole envelope is then served as is, so the guest can experience the aromas of the dish as they open the paper. The envelope is formed by folding a sheet of parchment paper in half and cutting it to an appropriate size to contain the ingredients. The ingredients are placed inside, and the edges are dabbed with oil to help establish the seal. The sides are then pinched together and folded over to form a seal for the envelope. The whole item is then placed in the oven for cooking.

Fish bonne femme is prepared by shallow poaching, where the poaching liquid only comes partially up the side of the meat. We also cover the fish with buttered parchment paper to keep moisture in.

Practical

For the poached salmon dish, our order of preparation will be to start with the court bouillon itself, followed by the rice pilaf and prep on the summer squash noodles, with the béarnaise sauce being prepared while the salmon is poaching. We first prepare the court bouillon to be used in the poaching. This is a combination of water, white wine vinegar, lemon juice, mirepoix, aromatics and seasonings brought to a boil and then simmered for 30-45 minutes. Once completed, it is strained and used to poach the salmon, which is cooked submerged until slightly firm and flaky, but still moist. Bearnaise sauce is prepared the same as our previous hollandaise sauces, but tarragon is added during the preparation of the reduction, as well as chopped tarragon is mixed in to the sauce itself to give extra visual appeal and flavour.

Rice pilaf and summer squash noodles are prepared as per our previous menus.

As the red snapper en papillote will be cooking in the oven, it will take the longest to prepare in this dish. We julienne cut some leek, carrot, celery and red pepper and place it in the papillot envelope with some basil butter and the fish. The papillote is sealed and placed in the oven to cook. The classic aioli is prepared by mashing potatoes and then adding egg yolk and mixing together. Oil is then added to form a sauce. The aioli is seasoned and prepared for service. We prepare crostini by rubbing sliced baguette with garlic butter and topping with julienne red peppers and toasting in the oven. The aioli is used as a dip for the crostini on our plate.

The fish bonne femme is shallow poached on a bed of sautéed shallots, mushrooms and parsley, using white wine, lemon juice and fish stock as a liquid. The fish is shaped into rolles (paupiettes) and placed on the bed of ingredients. The liquid is brought to a simmer and the fish is covered with parchment paper. At this point the dish can be finished in either the oven or on the stovetop; we continue cooking on the stovetop. Once the fish is cooked, it is removed from the pan and kept warm while a sauce is prepared from the liquid remaining. The cuisson is reduced and a velouté is added. The sauce is finished with monté au beurre, at which point the dish is ready to serve (fish and sauce together).

The buttered asparagus and pommes nature (parsley potatoes) are prepared following our previous procedures.

For the pan-fried trout, we start by preparing a seasoned flour mixture with salt and pepper. Clarified butter is heated in a pan and the trout fillets are dredged in the flour, then excess is patted away. The fish is pan-fried on each side until done. The fish is set aside and kept warm while a sauce is prepared from the pan. Excess butter is poured off, then whole butter is added and browned in the pan. Lemon segments, capers, and parsley are stirred in and seasoning is adjusted. The sauce is then ready to serve with the fish.

The cauliflower au gratin and pommes chateau are prepared following our previous procedures.

Personal Observations

Coming in to this week I was concerned about my personal taste for fish and the fact that I generally don't enjoy it. That being said, my most recent experiences with fish have found me enjoying it, merely preferring meat dishes rather than disliking the fish itself. This weeks dishes may change my outlook on fish, especially if I'm the one preparing it. The salmon was very flavourful and tasty, and the béarnaise sauce went very well with it. "En papillote" was a new cooking method to me, which produced an incredible smelling dish only to be matched by the wonderful flavour. The fish bonne femme was also very good, with the mushroom sauce not overpowering the flavour of the fish but complimenting it well. The pan-fried trout was also very good. Overall, I really enjoyed the dishes this week.

Chef's Observations

For the most part our dishes this week were quite good in the flavour and presentation department. Our poached salmon was very good and our red snapper en papillote was good as well, although we slightly over-toasted our crostini. We caught it just before it became inedible, so it was extra crunchy, but not burdened by a burnt flavour.

Our fish bonne femme turned out well, although we added a bed of sautéed mushrooms to the dish which ended up leaving the plate overpowered by mushrooms. The fish and the sauce themselves were fine, along with the accompaniments, but our addition this week didn't work out well. The pan-fried trout was very good, while slightly light on capers, it otherwise didn't need much improvement.

Blog Notes

For those who are interested, I have managed to actually get a job in the industry! I'll be working at a new casino which is opening this month, so I'm pretty excited about that. It's going to be an interesting environment to work in, not a small kitchen or even large kitchen, but there are 4 restaurants in the casino, likely on top of regular cooking services! I'm not sure exactly where I'll be working, whether it's restaurant or in a back kitchen somewhere, so I'll provide more details as soon as I have them. Bon appétit!

Week 8 - Chicken Fricassee, Flat Iron Steak, Veal Scaloppini, Breaded Pork Cutlets

2007-11-26T06:21:00.000-08:00

Objective

The successful preparation of the assigned main dishes along with accompaniments, including appropriate timing ensuring the highest quality dish is served. This week we serve two dishes per day, bringing coordination of two whole plates into the picture.

Sanitation and Safety

There wasn't much new in the way of safety or sanitation topics this week - the usual regarding handling of proteins, especially chicken. These are topics we're rapidly becoming familiar with.

Information

For week 8, we prepare the following four dishes:

Fricassee of Chicken with broccoli in pecan butter, buttered green beans, and rice pilaf
Grilled Flat Iron Steak with pommes allumettes, aioli, maitre d'hotel butter, and broiled tomato
Sautéed veal scaloppini in white wine lemon sauce with risotto milanese and brussels sprouts amandine
Breaded pork cutlets with pommes nature, glazed carrots, and sautéed spinach

For the chicken fricassee, we will be de-boning the chicken before cooking it. Our order of cooking will be to start the fricassee and follow that up with the rice pilaf while prepping the broccoli and green beans. The vegetables and their sauces are done just before service, once the chicken has neared completion.

The flat iron steak is cooked a la minute, just before service, so we prepare the rest of the accompaniments first so they are ready when the steak is finished. The aioli is prepared and set aside in the fridge; the same is done with the maitre d'hotel butter. The tomato is prepared and put in to cook close to the same time the steak is started.

The veal scaloppini and cutlets are being fabricated from a pork tenderloin. We first trim the tenderloin of excess fat and silverskin. We then make a butterfly cut for the cutlets, and some smaller cuts for the scaloppini. These are then pounded out to appropriate thinness and set aside for cooking. For the scaloppini plate, the risotto and brussels sprouts are started first once the meat is prepared. As they approach the desired doneness, we cook the scaloppini and serve the dish. For brussels sprouts, it is important to pay attention to their size - if they are too large, such that they are more than a mouthful, they should be cut in half after cooking. This is primarily to enhance the service to whomever will be eating them.

It is a similar situation for the pork cutlets, which will cook quickly. Once the meet is fabricated and ready for cooking, we prepare the potatoes for the pommes nature. The glazed carrots are next, and as they approach completion we do the cutlets along with quickly sautéeing spinach.

Practical

The fricassee of chicken is started by de-boning a whole chicken. We cut the thigh away from the carcass then cut around the "ankle" of the drumstick to disconnect the connective tissue. When the meat is free from the bone, we can then work the bone out of the lower portion. The thigh is then cut where the remaining bone is and trimmed away from this bone, which is pulled out, along with any remaining cartilage. For this dish we then cut this piece into two. From the carcass, we then break away the wishbone to allow easy access to trimming the breast. The breast is trimmed away and also cut into two pieces. The process is repeated for the other half of the chicken, giving eight pieces from a single carcass. The chicken is seasoned with salt and white pepper and sautéed in butter without browning; onions are added and cooked until translucent. The pan is deglazed with wine, chicken stock is added along with a sachet and the pan is covered and cooked for 30-45 minutes. Once done, the chicken is removed and held while the sauce is strained, has a thickener such as flour added and brought to a boil. We then add some cream, nutmeg, and any seasoning adjustments. The sauce is returned to the chicken and it is ready for service.

The pecan butter is prepared by heating butter in a pan until it begins to brown. Chopped pecans are added and cooked in the butter to merge the flavours. Broccoli which has been cooked and shocked is then tossed in this mixture and is ready for service.

Buttered green beans and rice pilaf are prepared per our previous methods.

There is not a lot of new preparation involved in the flat iron steak. The steak itself is rubbed with seasoning and cooked on a grill to desired doneness. The pommes allumettes are potatoes chopped to matchstick style and cooked per our regular french fry method - blanched in the deep fryer at 250ºF until tender then set aside until service, at which time they are deep fried at 375ºF until golden brown and served. Maitre d'hotel butter is a blend of whole butter, chopped parsley and lemon juice, wrapped in a tube shape in saran wrap or parchment paper and chilled; this is then sliced off in medallions and used as a sauce for our steak. The broiled tomato is a tomato cut in half, rubbed with sugar and broiled until tender. It is then topped with a seasoned bread mixture and broiled once more before service to give colour to the topping.

Aioli is made per our previous method.

After the scaloppini is prepared as described above, we dredge it in seasoned flour then pat away any excess. We heat clarified butter in a pan and sauté the veal. Once the veal is done and set aside to keep warm, we add chopped shallots to the pan and sauté them. The pan is then deglazed with white wine and lemon juice. A brown veal stock is added and reduced, and a sauce is formed by swirling in butter (monter au beurre). The seasonings in the sauce are adjusted and the scaloppini is served along with the sauce. For the brussels sprouts amandine, we first peel any undesirable leaves away from the sprouts and then cut a cross in the base of them to promote even cooking; they are then boiled to appropriate doneness. We melt butter in a pan and cook garlic and almonds until the nuts are slightly browned. The cooked and drained (and cut if necessary) sprouts are tossed in the sauce and ready for service.

Risotto and spinach sauté are prepared per our previous method.

Once the pork cutlet is prepared per the description above, we coat it in flour, put it through an egg bath, and then dip in bread crumbs until completely coated. The cutlet is then pan-fried until the breading has a golden brown colour. It should be served with a slice of lemon to provide a light acidic flavour.

Pommes nature and glazed carrots are cooked per our previous method.

Personal Observations

This week was a good week for learning and experimenting more with presentation as I felt fairly comfortable with the flavours in all of the dishes. Overall I felt that we did a good job. Our fricassee was done well, and the steak turned out well also. Both pork dishes were very good, and our accompaniments were good across the board.

Chef's Observations

Chef commented that our fricassee of chicken dish had an overpowering lemon flavour. We had garnished the dish with lemon zest and after checking over it again, suspect this flavour had interfered too much with the dish. As well, our broccoli was slightly overdone.

Our flat iron steak dish was very good, the main issue with it was our butter had probably been out of the fridge too long before service, or we waited too long to serve the chef, but rather than getting the butter as a whole piece on the steak it had already melted. Otherwise, presentation and flavour was very good on this dish.

Our presentation for our scaloppini was very good as well, although our lemon sauce was quite strong. We served very little sauce because of it's intensity, and chef commented on the lack of sauce - we countered with the strength of it, and he understood why we hadn't served more. However, this showed that something wasn't quite right, and the sauce perhaps could have been thinned with a stock.

Our pork cutlet dish was very good and chef didn't have much feedback for us apart from the good job we did on it.

Week 7 - Roasted Beef / Chicken

2007-11-19T03:36:00.000-08:00

Objective

The successful preparation of an oven roasted chicken, as well as an oven roast of beef. These dishes are combined with the preparation of side dishes, introducing preparation of multiple dishes simultaneously and the timing required to have them finish at appropriate times for fresh service.

Sanitation and Safety

As usual when dealing with meat dishes, separate cutting boards must be used to prevent any cross contamination with vegetables being prepared. While we are preparing Hollandaise, we don't need to worry about holding it in the temperature danger zone for too long as we are simply presenting and discarding any remainder.

We must also ensure that meats are cooked to appropriate temperatures. Chicken must reach 165°F to ensure any bacteria are destroyed. As dark meat takes longest to cook on a chicken, we take the temperature between the leg/thigh and the body, ensuring the thermometer is deep enough to be reading the correct temperature. The roast beef simply needs to be cooked to appropriate doneness, but we must measure at the thickest point to ensure accurate reading of the center of the roast. Lastly, when using our thermometer, we must be sure to wash and sanitize it before placing it back in its pocket container, so that it is clean for the next use.

Information

During week 7 we prepare our first complete dishes, one on each day of class. On the first day we prepare a whole roasted chicken with pan gravy, accompanied by savoyard potatoes, glazed carrots, and broccoli hollandaise. Day 2 was the preparation of a roast beef with jus lie, accompanied by yorkshire pudding, garlic mashed potatoes, glazed beets, and duxelle stuffed tomatoes.

Both pieces of meat require attention before cooking. For the chicken, we will truss it, tying the limbs up and pulling them close to the body of the bird, forming a uniform shape. The primary function of trussing is to ensure even cooking throughout the chicken - on top of this we are also enhancing appearance. The beef requires similar preparation to ensure even cooking, and is tied to hold together and form a uniform shape for cooking.

The preparation of the individual pieces are generally something we are all familiar with, but these two days are our first preparing and presenting a whole plate at once. This means that tasks which take longer must be started earlier and at appropriate times to ensure that all dishes are finishing at the same time, allowing for a hot and fresh presentation. For day one, this means the chicken must be rubbed and placed in the oven first, as it will take the longest to cook. We will then prepare the savoyard potatoes, which will be baked as well. Lastly, we do the carrots and broccoli. When the chicken is done, it can be cut for service while the pan gravy is made. Along with the temperature reading from the thermometer, we can read the degree of doneness by the clarity of the juices running from the chicken, as well as the looseness of the joints.

A similar timeline is followed when preparing the roast beef. The roast is put in first, followed by boiling the potatoes for mashing. Yorkshire batter is prepared and set aside in a cooler to chill for half an hour. The beets and tomatoes are then prepared, and gravy is finished while the roast is resting.

We are asked to make a decision as to what doneness we want the roast beef cooked to, and then ensure that it comes out as such. The temperature ranges are:

Rare - 125°F
Medium Rare - 135°F
Medium - 145°F
Well Done - 165°F

We also pay attention to the texture and springiness or sponginess of the meat which gives us an indication of doneness. Where juice clarity can be used for chicken, it is not an indicator of doneness for red meat.

An important factor to pay attention to when carving beef is to ensure we cut against the grain of the meat. If we cut with the grain, the meat can come out tougher and may be stringy or fall apart, while cutting against the grain ensures as much tenderness as is possible.

Practical

We start our roast chicken dinner by preparing the chicken. It is rinsed and then trussed. We rub down the chicken with a mixture of paprika, salt, thyme and black pepper, and vegetable oil. The rub covers the entire outside of the chicken as well as the inside cavities. We also place small pieces of seasoned butter underneath the skin on the breasts to add extra moisture and flavour. A bed of mirepoix is prepared in a roasting pan and the chicken is then placed on this, and set in the oven to roast. When finished, the bird is set aside to rest for 10 minutes while pan gravy is prepared by deglazing the pan with chicken stock and then thickening the liquid with a beurre manie. The chicken can be cut into appropriate pieces and is ready for service along with the pan gravy.

Savoyard potatoes are prepared by peeling potatoes and slicing them most of the way through, keeping the potato whole. Clarified butter is heated in a sauce pan and used to sweat onions and bacon. The pan is then deglazed with some chicken stock. The potatoes are placed in the pan and chicken stock is added to cover to the top of the potatoes. The pan is brought to a simmer, and then placed in an oven to finish baking. The dish is ready when the stock has been almost completely absorbed and evaporated. The potatoes can be quickly darkened under a salamander for visual and flavour appeal, and then served.

Glazed carrots and Broccoli hollandaise are prepared per our previous classes.

Before starting on the roast beef, we trim any silverskin as well as excess fat - appropriate amounts of fat are left for flavouring, but not in excess. The roast beef is then prepared by tying and rubbing down with salt, pepper, mustard seed, and a little garlic. Clarified butter is heated in a pan and the roast is seared on all sides. A bed of mirepoix is prepared in a roasting pan and the roast is placed on it and put in the oven to cook to desired doneness. When finished, it is removed and set aside to rest for 10 minutes while the jus lie is prepared by deglazing the pan with wine and brown stock. The liquid is strained, brought to a simmer and a small amount of a slurry is added to thicken it slightly. The jus lie is seasoned and ready to serve along with the sliced roast.

Yorkshire pudding batter is prepared from eggs, milk and flour mixed together and then chilled before use. Once we are ready to cook them, we add oil to the outside placements of a muffin pan and heat the pan in an oven at 475°F. Once the pan is very hot, we remove it from the oven and pour the batter into each prepared spot on the pan. The pan is then placed back in the oven to cook for approximately 20-25 minutes, ensuring we do not open the door or cause other temperature variations which may cause the yorkshire to fall. Once golden brown and firm enough that they will stay standing, they can be removed from the oven and served.

Duxelle stuffed tomatoes are prepared by peeling and seeding tomatoes, which should be halved or have the top cut off in an appropriate manner such that they can be stuffed. A mix of panko, garlic, parsley and olive oil is prepared to top the tomatoes with. We then sauté shallots and garlic in butter until tender. Finely chopped mushrooms are added and sautéed until dry. This mixture is seasoned and cooled. We stuff the tomatoes with the duxelles (mushroom) and top with the panko mixture. This is placed under the salamander to warm and add colour to the panko mixture, and is then ready for service.

Garlic mashed potatoes and glazed beets are prepared per previous classes.

Personal Observations

Having the opportunity and challenge of preparing a full dish was very exciting. It also allowed us to begin learning more about plating complete dishes rather than the single items we had been preparing previous to this. The savoyard potato dish was very interesting to me during our first day of cooking as I hadn't prepared potatoes this way before. The result was very delicious. Our hollandaise seemed a little thinner than usual, although we attributed this to the classes clarified butter having boiled over and not being of top quality. Overall, the first day went very well and the individual dishes came together to plate at the same time.

We were well organized on our second day as well, and expected everything to go well even with the specter of having to make yorkshire pudding properly hanging over us. However, with some guidance from Chef our yorkshires turned out very well, although I may have pulled them out of the oven about a minute too early. The duxelle stuffed tomatoes was a new dish to me, but very flavourful and it turned out well. The rest of the components on the plate were fairly standard fare and worked well - our group even went so far as to add to the mushroom theme by blanching and some sliced mushrooms and quickly sautéing in butter, then adding this to the center of our plate.

Chef's Observations

Chef's biggest comment regarding our chicken plate was our presentation. We had the different dishes spread out a little too much which didn't create the look he wanted, but he quickly corrected this for us and showed us what we needed to be doing the next time. This is somewhere that experience will really be the only guide to get better, and I'm happy to have his instruction.

Our presentation for our roast beef plate was much better, and the biggest flaw this time was that I hadn't sliced the meet against the grain. Unfortunately the cut we had was shaped in such a way that I thought I was cutting against the grain, but actually going with it. Fortunately, the beef was high quality and still very tender, although in most situations this would have been a very bad outcome. Otherwise, the flavour and texture in all of the components on the plate were very good, including our mushroom addition.

Week 6 - Potatoes, Rice and Pasta

2007-11-12T05:20:00.000-08:00

Objective

To familiarize ourselves with the proper selection of potatoes for the dishes to be made with them, along with the variety of rices and what they are used for. Also, an introduction to fresh pasta preparation and cookery.

Sanitation and Safety

Potatoes that have been exposed to excess light will develop a green colouring on their skin which is an indication that solanine is developing. This is a toxic substance that can cause illness if consumed in sufficient amounts. However, it is easily removed by peeling. Rice has the potential to be contaminated with endospores of the bacillus cereus bacteria which can result in the bacteria being present once the rice is cooked. Danger can be avoided by following proper cooling and hot holding techniques to prevent the growth of the bacteria.

Information

In week 6 we prepare many potato dishes, along with some rice and pasta dishes. An important factor in preparing potato dishes is the selection of an appropriate type of potato. Potatoes are broken down into two general categories: mealy and waxy. Mealy potatoes (or starchy potatoes) have a high starch content and a thicker skin than waxy. They have a low moisture and sugar content, making them appropriate for baking and deep-fat frying. Varieties of mealy potatoes include russet or Idaho potatoes. Waxy potatoes have the opposite properties of mealy: a low starch, high moisture and high sugar content. This makes them appropriate for boiling and sautéing, as they will not fall apart while boiling as mealy potatoes would. Their high moisture and sugar content makes them inappropriate for deep-fat frying. Varieties of waxy potatoes include red potatoes and new potatoes.

With this information in hand, we prepare the following potato dishes:

Duchesse Potatoes
Croquette Potatoes
Hash Brown Potatoes
Rösti Potatoes
Pommes Nature
Pommes Chateau
Roasted Potatoes
Potato Gnocchi

Rice is typically selected for an application based on the length of its grain: long-grain, medium-grain, and short-grain. Long grain is typically the most widely used and versatile - it remains firm, fluffy, and separate when properly cooked. Short-grain rice has more starch and becomes tender and sticky when cooked. Sushi and Risotto both use short grain rice because of these properties. With appropriate rice selection, we make:

Basic Simmered Rice
Rice Pilaf
Risotto Milanese

Pasta is prepared from an unleavened dough of liquid mixed with flour, the liquid usually being egg and/or water. Flour can be used from almost any grain, and the dough can be coloured and flavoured with herbs, puréed vegetables, and is then extruded into a wide variety of shapes and sizes. This week we prepare a fresh fettuccine noodle to be used in a Fettuccine a la Carbonara. We also prepare a Spaetzle, a German dumpling made from a dough of eggs and flour.

Practical

We start potato cookery by preparing Duchesse and Croquette potatoes. They both start with the same base of potatoes boiled in salted water until tender, drained and left on a sheet pan so excess moisture evaporates. The potatoes are pressed through a food mill and have butter and seasonings mixed in, followed by egg yolks. At this point the duchesse potatoes are placed in a piping bag and piped into single portion spirals, brushed with clarified butter, and placed in the oven to bake just until the edges are golden brown. They are then ready for service. The croquette potatoes are rolled out by hand and cut into even length sticks. They are placed in the fridge to chill, then rolled in flour, egg wash, and bread crumbs. Once breaded, they are deep fried until golden brown and served.

Hash brown and rösti potatoes also start from the same base. Potatoes are boiled until nearly done, and then brought out of the water and allowed to dry. They are then grated and prepared for finishing on the stove-top by sautéing. With some clarified butter in the pan, hash browns are cooked until brown, keeping the grated pieces mostly separated. They are seasoned and ready for service. The rösti is cooked similarly in a pan with some clarified butter, but is pressed together in a fairly thin layer, allowing the starchiness of the potatoes to hold the grated strands together. Once appropriately browned on the bottom, the rösti is flipped like a pancake and allowed to brown on the other side as well. Once the colour is appropriate, the rösti is ready for service.

Pommes nature are "natural potatoes" - potatoes are turned, boiled until tender, tossed in butter and parsley, and served. Pommes chateau are prepared by turning potatoes, boiling them until they're almost ready, finishing them by sautéing, and serving. For roasted potatoes, we cut the potatoes to even sizes, place them in a roasting pan with oil and spices, and cook in the oven until done. They should be served right away to keep their temperature.

The gnocchi is prepared by boiling potatoes until done, and then putting them through a food mill. The milled potatoes are mixed with eggs and seasonings, and then flour is added to form a medium-soft dough. The dough is rolled into approximately a 1cm roll, then cooled. It is then cut into short pieces, and pressed with a fork to create a shell shape. The shells are cooked in salted simmering water until they double in size, at which point they are ready for service. We prepare a tomato sauce to serve with the gnocchi.

The basic simmered rice is prepared by measuring an appropriate amount of water to rice, bringing the water to a boil, adding the rice and covering the pot. The heat is lowered and the rice is cooked until done. It should be fluffed with a fork and then served while hot.

Rice pilaf is done by heating butter and olive oil in a sauce pot and sweating an onion and bayleaf in the heated liquid until they are tender. Rice is added and stirred to coat completely, ensuring the rice does not brown. Boiling chicken stock is added and seasoned with salt. The pot is tightly covered and placed in an oven to cook for 18-20 minutes, until the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is fluffy and tender. The bay leaf can be removed, the rice fluffed with a fork and served.

We prepare the risotto by starting with heated butter in a saucepan, which we use to sweat minced onion. The arborio rice is added to the onion and butter and stirred to coat the grains well. Wine is added and the mixture is stirred until the liquid is completely absorbed. Simmering stock is added one ladle at a time, allowing the rice to absorb the moisture completely before adding another ladle. This process takes about 18-20 minutes to incorporate the appropriate amount of stock, after which some butter and grated cheese are mixed in, and the rice is served immediately, to ensure the rice is not overcooked.

Our pasta dough is made by combining eggs, oil and salt in a bowl. The mixture is poured into a flour bowl and slowly the flour is incorporated into the liquid until the dough is dry and will not absorb any more flour. The dough is wrapped and set aside at room temperature to rest for 20-30 minutes. Once rested, the dough is rolled flat and passed through a pasta cutting machine to cut to appropriate size. The pasta is placed in simmering water to cook. We prepare the carbonara sauce by sautéing bacon until done, but not crispy, and then allow the pan to cool slightly. We combine eggs, heavy cream, and parmesan cheese, and add this to the bacon.
The cooked noodles are added as well and the mixture is heated until the eggs thicken the mixture. It is seasoned and ready for immediate service.

The spaetzle dough is prepared from eggs, water, salt, nutmeg, and flour, mixed together in a bowl. The consistency of the dough can be adjusted by adding more flour if necessary. The dough is then passed through a large-holed colander or "dumpling grater" over simmering water so that the dough falls into the water in small dumpling pieces. The dumplings are cooked until they float to the surface, about 2-3 minutes, then removed and refreshed. After refreshing, they are drained well as they should not be left to soak. They are then sautéed in butter and finished with chopped parsley, and ready for service.

Personal Observations

I was looking forward to everything on this weeks menu as an avid potato, grain, and pasta fan. None of the dishes disappointed me. The piping of the duchesse potatoes wasn't an easy procedure and will take some more practice to do as smoothly as Chef demonstrated. The hash browns were straight forward, but keeping the rösti in form while flipping it presented problems at first. After a few attempts this was sorted out - again, practice will help the whole thing move smoother in the future. The pommes nature and pommes chateau were both fairly straight forward, although the pommes chateau came out of the water a little too early and were slightly undercooked when presented.

The rice pilaf was a fairly easy dish that turned out very tasty. The risotto was very good as well. There isn't much to be said about simmered rice, I've made this many times - although I think I will follow my own method for preparation next time rather than adding rice to boiling water and blindly covering to simmer for an arbitrary amount of time.

The spaetzle was a new dish completely to me. Our preparation of it was slightly impacted by our being ahead of schedule and working on it before Chef had demonstrated it.

The fresh pasta was fairly simple, and the carbonara sauce very tasty. This was as close as we've gotten thus far to preparing a whole dish, and it turned out very well.

Chef's Observations

For the most part our potato dishes turned out very well. Chef said the duchess and croquette potatoes were good, as well as the hash browns and rösti. The pommes nature were very good as well, but the pommes chateau were slightly undercooked. The roasted potatoes were fine.

Our tomato sauce and gnocchi were used as an example for some of the other in class as to how the dish should appear - the sauce had a very good flavour, and the gnocchi was well formed and cooked.

Our simmered rice was slightly undercooked and as a result, a touch grainy, said Chef. Our pilaf and risotto were both very good. Our spaetzle was good, even though we hadn't waited for the demonstration. Chef said it could have used a little more colour from sautéing though.

The fresh pasta in carbonara sauce was also very good, with very good flavours and appearance, although the pasta was slightly chewy, perhaps from overworking during preparation or not having been put through the pasta cutter on a thin enough setting.

Week 5 - Breakfast / Egg Cookery

2007-11-05T04:38:00.000-08:00

Objective

To understand the preparation and serving of breakfast dishes. This includes the preparation of a variety of egg dishes, and eggs themselves done many different ways.

Sanitation and Safety

None of the foods prepared this week are generally reason for concern. Batters are prepared from relatively benign ingredients, and the results are not considered potentially hazardous foods. Eggs do have the potential for having come into contact with salmonella previously, but this concern is resolved by safe handling of food including proper hand washing, and the appropriate cooking temperatures being observed when preparing dishes.

Information

In week five we prepare some batter based breakfast dishes, pancakes and crepes. We also prepare a Quiche Lorraine, along with a Fritatta. Along with these, many egg dishes are prepared, which are French Toast, a French Omelet, and Shirred Eggs with ham. Eggs themselves are prepared as:

Poached
Scrambled
Over Easy
Over Medium
Over Hard
Soft Boiled
Hard Boiled

Key to egg cookery is to ensure that eggs are cooked an appropriate amount of time. Obviously, under-done eggs are not appealing, so they need to be cooked well enough. However, eggs cannot be overdone or they will quickly take on a rubbery texture and lose their fresh and light appearance. When cooking an egg in a pan, it is important to not let the egg pick up too much colour. An omelet should remain light, perhaps with a slight darkening. Scrambled eggs should not have any colour and be moist and fluffy.

Practical

Our practical time this week is cut in half by our mid-terms. However, as breakfast dishes are generally not large time consumers, we are able to move through quite a few dishes in one afternoon class.

We start with pancakes and crepes. We start by preparing our crepe batter as it is best when it has had time to sit for approximately an hour. We mix together eggs, egg yolks, water, milk, sugar, salt, flour, and melted butter, ensuring that an even consistency is found without over-whipping the batter. We cover it and place it aside in the fridge to sit for an hour. Once it has sat, we heat a small crepe pan and pour the batter in so it just coats the pan. The crepe cooks quickly, and once set and light brown it is flipped over to cook a few seconds longer. It is removed from the pan and ready for service.

Pancake batter is made by mixing bread flour and pastry flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, buttermilk, beaten eggs, and melted butter together. This batter comes out slightly lumpy but should remain this way - if over-whipped it will start to lose it's lightness and the pancakes will not turn out as well as they could. The batter is ladled into a warm pan coated lightly with vegetable oil, cooked until bubbles appear on the top and flipped. Once the bottom is browned the pancake is ready for service.

Our Quiche Lorraine is prepared by first lining a pan with prepared shell pastry and cooking it until it starts to fluff, to ensure that it will have an even doneness after cooking with the rest of the quiche ingredients. Once done, we prepare diced onion and bacon by sautéeing it and then allowing it to cool. Once cool, this is placed into the pastry along with some cheese. We prepare some egg whites beaten to a peak and fold this into a a mixture of flour, milk, cream, egg yolks. This is poured over the ingredients in the pastry, and then placed in the oven to bake for approximately 25 minutes. It is then ready for service.

The Frittata is started by sautéing mushrooms in butter until tender, and then adding chopped jalapeno pepper. We add some diced roasted pepper, green onions, and cilantro and sauté until hot. Some beaten eggs are added and this mixture is cooked evenly by lifting the eggs periodically to allow uncooked egg to flow beneath. Once they have begun to set, cheese is sprinkled over the eggs, and the dish is placed in a salamander to finish cooking. It is then ready for service.

The omelet is a similar procedure to the frittata, but we fold the egg when it begins to set instead of allowing it to set flat. Meats and vegetables are cooked or blanched before starting the omelet. Eggs are whisked together and seasoned, then poured into a pan and stirred until they begin to set. The cooked egg is pulled from the edge of the pan to the center allowing raw egg to run underneath and cook. After the egg begins to firm up, the filling and garnish is added, and the omelet is folded as desired. It can be turned over and cooked if additional time is required. The omelet should not have excessive colour, and the insides should be very soft when finished.

French toast is made by whisking together eggs, cream, salt, and some cinnamon to taste. This is placed in a shallow pan and thick bread slices are soaked in the mixture. They are cooked in a heated pan until well and evenly browned on each side, and then ready for service.

Shirred eggs are prepared by lining a small dish with thinly sliced baked ham. An egg is broken and poured into the dish without breaking the yolk. This is seasoned with salt and pepper and placed in an oven to bake until it begins to set. We then add cream and grated cheese and return to the oven to finish cooking. The dish is ready when the egg is cooked and the cheese has melted, and should be served immediately.

Poached eggs are prepared directly in lightly boiling water. Vinegar is added to the water which will help the eggs keep their shape when they are added. The eggs are cooked until the desired doneness is reached.

Scrambled eggs are prepared by whisking together eggs and milk and seasoning to taste. The egg is poured into a heated pan and stirred continually while it cooks. The eggs are done when they have set and are still moist and fluffy. They should not be overcooked to avoid colour or firmer texture.

Personal Observations

We ate a lot of eggs this day in the kitchen, but they were all prepared differently and I wasn't bored of the taste at the end of the day. Shirred eggs was a new experience for me and a very tasty dish, and simple to prepare. Ours was slightly undercooked so I will definitely keep cooking time in mind next time I prepare this dish.

The crepes were slightly intimidating, and are very fragile. However, once I was used to how they behaved it became relatively easy to cook them and they were very tasty.

Our french toast was excellent, although I often prepare this dish for myself already so I knew what to expect. Our pancakes were very good as well.

It was nice to learn how simple it is to prepare a quiche or a frittata, both wonderfully flavourful dishes and easily modified to whatever ingredients are on hand. I will be preparing these more often myself now that I know what is required.

Chef's Observations

For the most part Chef's observations were positive this week. Cooking eggs to the appropriate doneness is the primary issue that came up with our dishes.

Our quiche and frittata came out very well, as did our pancakes. Chef said our crepes could have used a little more colour, but otherwise were presented well, and had a good texture and flavour.

As I expected, our french toast was spot on. Chef said our poached eggs and shirred eggs were both slightly undercooked, but otherwise done very well. There weren't many other criticisms of our work on breakfast dishes.

Blog Notes

Mid-terms are over and I think I did a pretty kick-ass job on most of them. I guess I'll have to wait and find out!

Week 4 - Vegetables

2007-10-29T03:01:00.000-07:00

Objective

To familiarize ourselves with the selection and preparation of vegetables to be used in a variety of cooking methods. This includes the appropriate cutting and portioning of those vegetables and presentation for service.

Sanitation and Safety

Certain vegetables arrive in the kitchen very dirty, for various reasons. In terms of leeks, they are a bulb vegetable which grows underground and has tight layers within which dirt is easily trapped, and must be washed away before preparation. In terms of some leafy vegetables such as spinach, which are difficult to cultivate without the use of fertilizers or pesticides, they must be cleaned to ensure none of these are passed through to the consumer of the dish in which the vegetables are used.

Information

During week 4 we prepare many different vegetable dishes while exploring the different cooking methods, which can generally be broken down into three categories:

Dry heat - Broiling, Grilling, Roasting, Baking, Sautéing, Pan-Frying, and Deep-Fat Frying
Moist heat - Poaching, Simmering, Boiling, Steaming
Combination - Braising, Stewing

Vegetables can be broken down into the following categories as well (some examples included):

Flowers/Buds - Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cauliflower
Fruit-Vegetables - Avocados, Eggplants, Peppers, Tomatoes
Leafy Greens - Mustard greens, Spinach, Swiss Chard
Fungi - Mushrooms, Truffles
Bulbs - Bulb onions, Fennel, Garlic
Pods and Seeds - Corn, Legumes, Okra
Roots and Tubers - Beets, Carrots, Parsnips
Stalks and Shoots - Artichokes, Asparagus, Celery
Baby Vegetables - A vegetable which has been harvested prematurely or purposely bred hybrids to form true miniatures.

A consideration when cooking vegetables is the effect of acid or alkali in the cooking liquid. These effects vary from vegetable, but can be broken down based on the pigment family contained within the vegetable.

Chlorophyll - gives vegetables a green colour, found in spinach, broccoli, and many more. When cooked with an acid, vegetables with this pigment will turn from bright fresh green to a drab olive green, but will maintain a firm texture. When cooked with an alkali, the colour will stay bright green, but the texture will turn mushy.
Carotenoid - gives vegetables an orange or yellow colour, found in carrots and tomatoes. When cooking with an acid or alkali, the colour of a carotenoid will not be affected, however acid will keep the vegetable firm while alkali will make the vegetable mushy.
Flavonoid - are broken down into two further categories, flavonoid anthoxanthin and flavonoid anthocyanins. Anthoxanthin is found in white vegetables such as cauliflower and will turn yellow when cooked in alkali, while maintaining its colour in acid. Anthocyanins are found in red vegetables such as red cabbage, and will turn blue in an alkali while maintaining colour an acid. As usual, acid will keep the vegetable firm, alkali will turn it mushy.

With this information in hand, we proceed to the recipes.

Practical

Partly due to the low cooking time required for vegetables, and general low prep time, we are able to get quite a few dishes in this week. We prepared:

Broccoli Hollandaise
Cauliflower au Gratin
Buttered Green Beans
Spinach Sauté
Summer Squash Fettuccine
Grilled Vegetables
Vegetable Tempura
Baked Butternut Squash
Maple Glazed Carrots
Pan Fried Zucchini with Aioli
Glazed (Harvard) Beets
Ratatouille

Broccoli Hollandaise is prepared by cutting broccoli florets of equal size, and pointing the stems for appearance. The stalks can have the green skin removed and the inner white cut in a tourner to be cooked with the florets. The broccoli is then blanched and refreshed (or shocked), then warmed and dried. Hollandaise is prepared per our previous lessons experience and drizzled over the broccoli, and served.

Cauliflower au Gratin is prepared by cutting cauliflower into florets of equal size, blanching in salt water and refreshing. Once well drained, this is then tossed in a béchamel sauce prepared per our previous experience, sprinkled with parmesan cheese and then placed under a broiler to brown. Once the sauce has an appropriate brown colour and before it burns, it is served.

Buttered green beans are prepared by blanching and shocking the beans, which are then reheated and tossed in butter seasoned with salt. They are served immediately to maintain temperature.

Spinach sauté is prepared by properly cleaning and washing spinach. Sweat minced garlic and shallot in olive oil over medium heat. The spinach is added and sautéed until hot. It should then be seasoned with salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste, and served.

While summer squash fettuccine sounds like pasta is involved, we are in fact preparing the vegetables to appear as a noodle in this dish. The zucchini and squash have their peel trimmed but not wholly removed to leave some colour, and are cut into thin lengths as long as possible to resemble a thin noodle. Butter is melted over medium heat and we then sweat julienne leeks, then add the squash and zucchini. The combination is cooked until thoroughly heated and tender, with frequent tossing. It is seasoned with salt, pepper and lemon to taste, and garnished with chopped herbs for service.

Grilled vegetables are prepared by cutting to uniform size around medium to large dice while skewers (if wooden) are soaked in water. A marinade is prepared of rice wine vinegar, vegetable oil, garlic, herbs and spices. Vegetables excepting the mushrooms are blanched and shocked. The vegetables are soaked in the marinade for 30-45 minutes and are then placed onto the skewers in an even pattern and grilled until done, indicated by slight browning and some charring.

The vegetable tempura is started with a batter of eggs, water, baking soda and flour. The ingredients are combined and kept as cold as possible to keep the quality of the batter high, either kept on an ice bath or in the fridge while vegetables are being prepared. We prepare a dipping sauce of soy sauce, mirin, rice wine vinegar, lemon juice, and wasabi powder. The vegetables are cut into uniform sizes, placed in a flour bath for dusting to help the batter cling to them, then are battered and placed in a deep fryer. They should be cooked through but not overcooked, removed from the deep fryer and patted down on a paper towel to remove excess oil. They are then served with the dip.

Baked butternut squash is prepared by first peeling the squash and then cutting it into a medium dice. It is placed in a buttered pan, seasoned with salt, pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, and brown sugar. Lemon juice is drizzled over top along with some additional butter, and the pan is then placed in an oven at 350°F to cook until tender, around 50 minutes.

The maple glazed carrots are peeled and cut into a tourner shape. They are then parboiled in salt water and refreshed, maintaining firmness. They are then sautéed in butter until tender. They are seasoned with salt, pepper, and maple syrup, then garnished with parsley and served.

Our pan fried zucchini is prepared by peeling the zucchini while leaving some skin for colour. It is then cut with a bias to lengthen the cuts, while ensuring pieces are equal size. The pieces are powdered with flour, dipped in an egg bath, and then coated with bread crumbs. They are then pan-fried in vegetable oil until the crumbs have browned and the zucchini is tender. The aioli is prepared similar to a mayonnaise with the addition of tarragon. Once the zucchini is cooked they are served with the aioli as a dipping sauce.

Harvard beets are started by cooking the beets until tender for easy removal of the skins, as well as preparing them for their glaze. The glaze is a combination of sugar, vinegar, salt, and pepper which is brought to a boil and stirred until the glaze is thick and clear. The beets are added and stirred gently to coat completely, then served while warm.

The ratatouille is made by first preparing eggplant, onion, green and red pepper, zucchini, in a medium dice. Mushrooms have their stems removed and are quartered. We then prepare tomato concassée (tomatoes skinned, seeded, and roughly diced). Once the eggplant is cut, it must be purged - this is the process of removing water from a vegetable that contains excessive water. It is lightly salted and placed in a colander or on paper tower to allow water to drain away for around 45 minutes. We then sauté the onion along with some chopped garlic in olive oil. The peppers, eggplant, zucchini, and mushrooms are added and sautéed until tender. We then add the tomato, along with some tomato purée or paste as needed, and stew for about 5 minutes. The ratatouille is then served hot.

Personal Observations

I was very excited about this week as we began to prepare actual dishes rather than simply the bases for dishes. Although mostly simple in preparation, none of the dishes disappointed in flavour, aroma, and general enjoyment of preparation or tasting.

While the broccoli hollandaise was not a complex recipe, it was nice to have something to taste our fresh hollandaise with. Along with hollandaise, I am becoming a big fan of béchamel sauce - it's light and creamy flavour went very well with the cauliflower, and using the salimander to give it a glaze added extra visual and flavour appeal.

Getting into coating and battering vegetables for frying was interesting as well. I don't know what you can fry that comes out tasting bad (assuming you do it right), so this was going to be a good flavour experience as well. I was surprised at how simple the tempura batter was to make, and it turned out very well. I'll be doing this many times for myself.

For the most part the cooking turned out well this week. The major folly came in our baked butternut squash. Unfortunately when preparing the spice mixture for tossing with the squash, I added too much salt. I knew it, the others in my group knew it, and we sat there hoping that we could cook it away by adding more cinnamon or believing that after cooking the flavour would not be as prevalent. While it's our responsibility to be food conscious in the kitchen and not throw food away on a whim, I look back and should have made that decision on this one. The squash came out salty rather than the buttery-sweet it should have, and this would easily have been rectified with a new spice mixture. Apart from this, we had some minor timing issues getting the correct tenderness with some vegetables in a few dishes, all cases of having undercooked them, but otherwise I was happy with our work.

Chef's Observations

In general, Chef's observations were positive this week and we didn't get too much feedback that we weren't already expecting. I take this as a good sign that we at least recognize what we're doing wrong - the next step is correcting it and making sure things are right before service next time.

Our broccoli hollandaise turned out well, with our turned stems being a little more al dente than Chef would have liked, but otherwise the hollandaise was fine, and the broccoli was drained of water well enough so that it wasn't pooling on the plate. Our cauliflower au gratin turned out well, along with our buttered green beans and spinach saute. Chef was happy with our squash fettuccine, saying we had a good texture and flavour to the dish. Our grilled vegetables were good as well.

The vegetable tempura turned out very well, Chef did not have any negative comments on this.

As expected, the immediate comment on the butternut squash was the saltiness. We knew this was coming and couldn't do much about it at this point. Otherwise, the dish was presented well and the texture of the squash was fine, it had not been overcooked. However, the saltiness simply overpowered the sweetness we were trying to capture in this dish, so it did not turn out well.

Our maple glazed carrots turned out well, although some of our cuts were irregular leaving some of the pieces firmer than others. The pan-fried zucchini turned out nicely as well.

Our Harvard beets was another dish where the vegetable had been undercooked. We tried to rectify this by cooking it longer in the glaze, but had to be careful not to heat the glaze too high otherwise it would burn and the entire dish would be ruined. After getting the beets slightly more tender, we served the dish, but it was not enough. Beyond this, we couldn't decide on an attractive presentation and ended up giving Chef just a pile of beets, on a plate which was not spotless.

Our ratatouille, one of the more difficult dishes to get a proper consistency from, we did very well. It turned out very stewy, as it should have, rather than too soupy or saucy. Chef commended us on a job well done for this dish.

Blog Notes

Not much to say this week, it's midterms coming up so I'm studying. Good times. See you next week!

Dining with DMD - Monday, Oct 22, 2007

2007-10-22T20:05:00.000-07:00

Dining with DMD will be my segment on things I've cooked at home which I feel are worthy of note. They may or may not be related to recipes I've done at school.

Tonight I had planned to prepare BBQ steaks with broccoli and hollandaise sauce for myself and my cousin. I planned this before reading todays kitchen work list, which happened to include... broccoli and hollandaise! So, I got to make this twice today, and I must say that without having to work in a group and being in control of all variables makes for a result which I am much happier with - whether or not the same would happen in class would be a good subject to debate.

Anyway, short and sweet - some pre-marinated steaks from Save-On-Foods (not the greatest cut of meat, hence the marinade, but flavourful and fits well into my poor student budget), along with a stalk of broccoli, the florets cut into bite size pieces and the stalk peeled and turned to make bite size pieces as well. All of this was steamed to readiness and then shocked to stop the cooking process there. A fresh hollandaise without reduction, just a basic egg yolk/clarified butter/lemon juice mixture. Very smooth, fantastic texture and body. The broccoli and steaks were plated, and hollandaise was liberally applied. Tasty!

So, what did you eat tonight?

Week 3 - Sauces

2007-10-21T21:36:00.000-07:00

Objective

To familiarize ourselves with the preparation of the different mother sauces (Béchamel, Velouté, Espagnole, Tomato, and Hollandaise) and some of their derivative sauces.

Sanitation and Safety

When preparing certain sauces such as fresh Hollandaise, where the primary ingredients are butter and egg yolks, and those sauces must be held at a temperature within the Temperature Danger Zone to maintain their form, it is pertinent that these sauces are either used within 1.5 hours from preparation or discarded. They should not be held for any longer than this, nor should they be stored and used as leftovers at a future time.

Information

During week 3 classes, we prepared the following sauces:

Béchamel
Mayonnaise
Hollandaise
Beurre Blanc
Tomato Coulis
Green Pepper Coulis

A Béchamel sauce was traditionally made by adding heavy cream to a thick veal velouté. The most common preparation method now is to thicken scalded milk with a white roux and add seasonings. Béchamel is used for vegetable, egg, gratin, and pasta dishes. It should be rich, creamy and absolutely smooth with no hint of graininess. An oignon piqué (studded onion - onion studded with cloves) is used to flavour the sauce during preparation, but these flavours should remain complimentary and not overpower the clean milky taste of the sauce. The sauce should be the colour of heavy cream with a deep lustre and coat foods lightly without tasting of the roux used to thicken it.

Mayonnaise, while not prepared from one of the mother sauces, is an emulsified sauce which has a similar preparation method to Hollandaise and Beurre Blanc (other emulsifications) and so is included here.

Hollandaise sauce is an emulsification of egg yolk and butter, generally seasoned with an acidic ingredient such as lemon juice. While these ingredients cover the sauce in its most basic form, for more flavour a reduction of wine, vinegar, and shallots can be used to give the sauce more zest. To prepare the emulsification, clarified butter is whisked into egg yolks. Egg yolk contains lecithin, a natural emulsifier which allows the sauce to form without breaking. The butter must be added slowly to allow the emulsification to occur. The egg yolks are warmed over a baine marie (double boiler) to the appropriate temperature and then removed for the butter to be added. Temperature plays a critical roll in the creation of this sauce, as letting the eggs get too hot will result in cooked eggs, while letting it cool too far will allow the butter and thus the sauce to solidify. The final sauce should be smooth, buttery, with a pale lemon-yellow colour. It is very rich but light in texture, completely lump free, and should not exhibit any signs of separation. It should be frothy and light, not heavy like a mayonnaise, and should withstand glazing under a salamander or broiler without breaking.

Beurre Blanc is an emulsified sauce which is made without egg yolk. In this sauce the small amounts of lecithin and other emulsifiers found naturally in butter are used to form the sauce. They are thinner and lighter than hollandaise or bérnaise sauces, ending up smooth and slightly thicker than heavy cream. Made from three ingredients - shallots, wine, and butter - the shallots and wine are reduced to provide flavour while the butter becomes the sauce. The end result should be rich and buttery, with a light, acidic flavour that responds well to other seasonings.

A coulis is a sauce made from a purée of vegetables or fruit thinned down to sauce consistency. It is often made from a single vegetable base which is cooked with flavouring ingredients and then puréed. A coulis is generally cooked with very little fat and can be offered as a healthful alternative to heavier classic sauces. The tomato coulis we are serving is merely the appropriate vegetables and seasonings prepared and blended, without cooking. The green pepper coulis is cooked first, prepared with a stock and flavouring ingredients before being blended and strained for service.

Practical

Along with the sauces we are preparing this week, we are also making a vegetable stock and learning how to prepare clarified butter. The vegetable stock is a straight forward procedure of sweating vegetables in oil, adding cold water and seasonings, and boiling for 30-40 minutes. This is a useful stock for vegetarian dishes or dishes which don't require a strong flavoured stock base. Clarified butter is made by melting whole butter over low heat - if the heat is too high the butter will boil or burn, neither of which are conducive to clarification. As the butter melts, there will be solids which float to the surface - these are skimmed off. After the solids have been skimmed away, there are two layers of liquids left in the bowl, a top layer of butterfat and lower of milky water. The top layer is ladled off into a clean pan and kept as the clarified butter, the lower layer is discarded. If the butter is not clear enough at this point, the clean pan can be warmed and the process repeated.

Our Béchamel is prepared by adding the oignon piqué to the milk and bringing to a light simmer - milk will very easily boil over or burn, so heat control is important here. This is simmered for approximately 20 minutes, while in a separate pan a white roux is prepared. The oignon piqué is removed from the milk and the hot milk is then slowly added to the roux while stirring constantly to prevent lumps. Once the two are wholly combined, bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer, add seasoning and cook for 20-30 minutes. The sauce is strained through a conical strainer lined with cheesecloth, and the sauce is ready for service.

The mayonnaise is made by placing egg yolks into a bowl and whipping until frothy. We add salt, white pepper, mustard, and some wine vinegar and whisk to combine. We then add vegetable oil at a very slow rate, practically a drop at a time, while constantly whisking to allow the mixture to emulsify. If the mixture gets too thick we can thin it with some of the remaining vinegar from the recipe or by adding a few drops of hot water. Once all the ingredients are combined, the seasoning is adjusted and some lemon juice is added to taste. The mayonnaise is now ready for service.

The hollandaise sauce we make is a two step process. First we prepare the acidic reduction which will flavour our sauce. We combine peppercorns, white wine vinegar, lemon juice, shallots, and water in a pan and reduce by a little more than half. This reduction can be prepared ahead of time and stored chilled for use later. The hollandaise itself is prepared by placing egg yolks in a metal bowl and adding the reduction; these are thoroughly whisked together over a baine maire until the mixture thickens up enough that the whisk will leave a trail. The mixture is removed from the heat while continuing to mix to stabilize the temperature. The butter is then added a little at a time while the sauce is being mixed continuously. After incorporating all of the butter, the sauce should be seasoned and served - cayenne pepper optional for some extra zing!

Beurre Blanc is started by ensuring the butter being used is cut into large dice cubes, and kept chilled. We use the freezer to ensure adequate chilling in a short period of time, but the butter should not be frozen, just cold enough so that it will not instantly melt in a hot pan and ruin the emulsion we are creating. Once this is done, we combine white wine, white wine vinegar, seasoning and shallots in a saucepan and reduce. Over low heat the butter is then slowly added to the pan piece by piece while continually whisking. The cold butter can be used to keep the temperature down while the pan is over heat. Once all butter has been incorporated, the sauce is strained to remove shallot pieces and any other lumps. The sauce is then ready for service.

The tomato coulis was a simple procedure of preparing the ingredients and then blending them. The tomatoes have a cross cut through the skin and are blanched briefly then put in an ice bath to ease the removal of the skin. Once skinned, the tomatoes are seeded and ready to use. Cilantro is chopped, along with green onions and salt and pepper are added to taste. The mixture is blended together and strained to create an even consistency. It is then ready for service.

Our green pepper coulis was made based on a red pepper coulis recipe - obviously quite similar, but the green pepper producing a slightly tarter and not as sweet result. We heat oil and saute garlic and onion until translucent without browning - the browning will add a bitter flavour to the sauce. The peppers are then added and sautéed until soft. The pan is deglazed with white wine and chicken stock is added. The mixture is brought to a simmer and then cooked for approximately 15 minutes. It is blended and strained for consistency, seasonings are adjusted and the sauce is then ready for service.

Personal Observations

While the preparation of emulsions seemed like a difficult task, our group got through all of the emulsions without having one break. Patience and a sore whisking arm are the sign of a job well done while working on these sauces. With very few and very similar ingredients, it is wonderful to find the variety of sauces we can produce.

I had concerns about the tomato coulis as we were using cilantro in it which is not one of my favorite herbs. However, as part of my work in the course I am trying to open my palate to any and all flavours we produce, and in the end I really didn't have any problem with it.

All other sauces had a wonderful flavour and I was continually thinking of how I was going to incorporate them into my meals over the next week.

Chef's Observations

For our vegetable stock, Chef said our colour and aroma was good, but that the stock likely could have used a little longer simmering.

Chef was generally happy with our béchamel - it had good flavour and aroma. The thickness was perhaps a little off but could easily be adjusted. A good effort.

Our mayonnaise turned out well - a good thickness, good flavour and texture. Chef didn't have any issues to point out with it.

Our hollandaise and beurre blanc were both very good. Chef was happy with the colour, texture, thickness, and flavour of these sauces - a very good job by our table.

The tomato coulis was blended with the rest of the classes, and Chef said the result was good. Our pepper coulis had a good colour while some others had browned their vegetables or caused other discolourations. However, we did not simmer for long enough to get the sauce to an appropriate thickness. The flavour was good, but it needed to be a little thicker.

Blog Comments

Again, my group-mates for these sauces were taking pictures during our preparation - I'm just waiting to receive them before posting them. Hopefully they'll be in soon. Next week is vegetables - SOLID FOOD! Along with incorporating some of the sauces we've made, so I'm excited to see (and more importantly, taste) what we're going to produce.

The Temperature Danger Zone

2007-10-11T13:35:00.000-07:00

Zoli asked for more details on the Temperature Danger Zone (TDZ), so here it is - A primary focus in food safety is the control of bacteria. Foods become potentially dangerous when they are allowed to meet the criteria for breeding bacteria. Bacteria need the following to thrive:

F - food
A - acidity (appropriate pH levels, between 4.5 and 7)
T - temperature

T - time
O - oxygen
M - moisture

Bacteria love FAT TOM, so we try to eliminate as many factors as possible when storing foods. Unfortunately there isn't much we can do about their food source, as they're on food. Acidity depends on the product you're cooking. Oxygen is generally present, as is moisture. That leaves us with time and temperature.

Most bacteria grow best between 41 degrees Farenheit and 140 degrees Farenheit (some are resistent to cold and heat so these numbers do not apply, but they are a good general rule). They need approximately 20 minutes to replicate. Bacteria are practically always present, but letting them replicate to the point where their numbers become dangerous can be avoided. 2 hours of bacteria growth is considered the limit for keeping food safe.

So, when we put this all together, we end up with the Temperature Danger Zone - you cannot have foods in the unsafe temperature range for more than 2 hours. When you chill a cooked product, it should not take more than 2 hours to go from 140 to 41. The same is true for warming a food up. Also, a food should not pass through the TDZ more than 3 times, including initial preparation.

This might bring up more questions, but I hope it at least gives you some answers.

Week 2 - Soups (Thickened only)

2007-10-09T21:01:00.000-07:00

Objective

The familiarization with the preparation of clear soups including broths and consommés, thick soups including cream soups and purée soups, and other soups such as bisques and cold soups.

Sanitation and Safety

When using leeks as an ingredient, ensure they are thoroughly washed as they are typically a very dirty vegetable. While preparing cold soups, be aware of the temperature danger zone while chilling them and ensure they pass from 140°F to 41°F within 2 hours.

Information

All soups will be prepared per the textbook recipes. Garnishing and plating will be up to us. Ensure proper temperature of the serving bowls - warmed for hot soups, chilled for cold soups.

Cream of mushroom soup - The cream of mushroom soup uses flour as a thickening agent. To ensure flour blends well with the chicken stock, warm the stock before adding it to the mirepoix and flour blend. Also, add the stock in 3 stages to facilitate mixing of the ingredients. We will purée the soup after cooking with mushrooms to get a maximum flavour blending.

Split pea soup - Split pea soup is a purée which is thickened by the starch in its own ingredients, primarily the peas. After cooking, the ham bones or ham hock will be removed so the meat can be cut from it and cubed to be re-used in the soup. With the ham out, the soup will be puréed to an appropriate consistency. After puréeing and placing the meat back in, ensure the soup is warmed to appropriate temperature for serving.

Vichyssoise (cold potato-leek soup) - This cold soup is thickened with cream just before service. As it is a chilled soup we will pay attention to the temperature danger zone and ensure it is chilled quickly enough. The soup is puréed once the potatoes are cooked, and then strained to ensure appropriate consistency. As the soup is thick, use a utensil to push the soup through the strainer to retain maximum flavour and ingredients.

Practical

As the Vichyssoise would require chilling, we decided to get to work on this immediately to give us enough time to get it cool enough. We sweat the leeks in butter ensuring not to brown them. The potatoes and chicken stock are added and simmered for approximately 45 minutes before being puréed and strained. We then place this in the fridge in an ice bath to chill.

Due to limited availability of ham hocks, we are sharing with another group. While the recipe calls for bacon as well, we rely only on the ham for meat flavouring. The ham hock is slowly cooked to release some fat and flavouring. The stock is added with split peas, and brought to a boil. It then simmers for 1-1.5 hours before removing the ham hock and puréeing the soup. The meat is cut off the bone and cut medium dice and put back into the soup. It is brought back to a simmer and ready for service after seasoning.

The cream of mushroom soup starts with us sweating the mirepoix along with mushroom stems, making sure they are not browned. Once done, the mixture comes off the heat and flour is added. This is then briefly cooked for about a minute while stirring continuously. We then add in the warmed chicken stock in 3 stages, mixing the whole time. The soup is brought to a boil and then reduced to a simmer to cook for 45 minutes. The soup is then strained and put back on the stove with the mushroom caps and cooked for another 10 minutes. It is then puréed, cream is added, and it is seasoned and ready for service.

We prepare croutons for the garnish of the split pea soup - sautéed in a pan with some oil to ensure the croutons hold their shape in the liquid soup, we then spread some garlic butter on them and place them in the oven to melt the butter.

We plate the cream of mushroom soup first, with 5 sliced mushrooms on the surface in a circle.

Next, we present the Vichyssoise, with a garnish of chopped green onions.

Finally, we present the split pea soup with croutons.

Personal Observations

Unfortunately having to share the ham hock really cut into our experience with the split pea soup, although working with another team was fine. In this case, too many cooks did not spoil the broth, and it turned out quite well.

While cooking the cream of mushroom soup, I could see the colouring of the herbs and spices coming from the sachet. This should have been an indicator early on that we were a little heavy on pepper. Tasting before service revealed that the soup was a tad peppery - not a problem for my personal taste, but not what we were aiming for unfortunately. Otherwise, a fantastic aroma and texture to this soup, very tasty.

Previous encounters with chilled soups have always been a mixed bag, so I was excited and concerned at the same time to try my own hand at making one. The sweating leeks in butter created such a wonderful aroma that you really couldn't imagine anything which tasted bad coming from this creation. I was happy to get this in the fridge right away to ensure proper chilling and then concentrate on garnish and our other soups. Once seasoned and plated, a very enjoyable soup.

Chef's Observations

For our cream of mushroom, Chef would have preferred the raw mushroom slices we used as garnish be blanched first, otherwise the appearance was fine. He showed us how the soup coated the back of the spoon indicated a good consistency and thickness of the soup. On tasting, he mentioned that the flavour was good although overpowered by the pepper as I had noticed. Unfortunately at this point there wasn't anything to be done about it, but be aware in future creations to take it easy on the pepper.

For the Vichyssoise, Chef was happy with the colour, texture, and plating - our attention to chilling the bowl was noted. The flavour was good, although when he asked us if we had added cream we realized we had missed this final step. The soup was still quite good, but would have benefit from adding cream.

The collaborative split pea soup ended up being our best showing. The consistency and thickness were good, as well as the texture. Flavour was good and appropriately seasoned. One point Chef made was our extra crouton garnish placed on the edge of the plate may take attention away from the soup itself, and suggested avoiding that in the future. Otherwise, a very good soup.

Blog comments:

This might be (maybe?) a little shorter than last week's entry because we only had one day of class this week due to holiday yesterday. Also, one of my teammates on this prep was taking pictures so I'll post them as soon as he e-mails them to me.

Week 1 - Knife skills and Stocks

2007-10-02T21:28:00.000-07:00

Objective

The introduction of basic knife techniques, as well as sanitation and safety. To understand the preparation of stocks, the base of all things soupy and saucy.

Sanitation and Safety

Basic sanitation - wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands. Any time your hands touch a surface which has not been sanitized or a food product other than the one you're working on, wash your hands. Chef says we can never wash our hands too much.

Knife safety - be aware of your knives at all times. When moving about with your knives, keep them at your side, no swinging or pointing with them. When cutting, keep the fingers of your off hand curled over such that your knuckles are a guide. This allows safe and efficient use of your knife without any danger of cutting your fingers.

Information

Knife skills (sharpening) - To sharpen your knife using a steel, hold the steel upright in front of your body in your off hand. Place the heel of the knife at the tip of the close side of the steel with the blade at an approximate 20 degree angle to the steel. Rotate your wrist so that the length of the blade passes over the steel, all the way to the tip. Repeat the steps with the opposite side of the blade on the far side of the steel.

Knife skills (cutting) - Place your off hand fingers on what you intend to cut with the fingertips folded towards the palm of your hand. Use your knuckles as a guide for the knife while moving the knife back and forth in a rocking motion to achieve the cuts.

Knife skills (dimensions) - Review the different dimensions of vegetable cuts, which are:

Julienne
Matchstick
Batonet
Pommes Frites
Pommes Pont Neuf
Brunoise
Small, medium, large dice
Paysanne
Turned (tourner)

Stocks - The base for all soups and sauces, we start with bones, mirepoix, and herbs (generally in a boquet garni or sachet d'épices) to produce one of the five "mother" stocks:

White Stock (Veal)
Brown Stock (Beef)
Chicken Stock
Game Stock
Fish Stock

A good stock is characterized by its clarity, lack of grease, and flavour, although a stock will not be seasoned until used in a future recipe.

A Mirepoix is a mixture of onions, carrots, and celery, large diced, used to flavour stocks, stews, and other dishes.

Practical

We started knife skills by practicing sharpening our knives before getting some carrots and onions to practice cuts on. It is important to square vegetables as appropriate for cuts to come out right. After practicing julienne, matchstick, batonet, and brunoise, we started working on turned vegetables (tourner). The most difficult vegetable cut to master, you shape the vegetable into a 7-sided football shape which will be approximately 5-6cm long and 2cm across in the middle.

We begin stock preparation with our brown stock as it will take the longest. We rinse the bones under cold running water and then place them in a roasting pan with vegetable oil in an oven to brown. Once browned, the bones go into the stock pot with cold water. The roasting pan is then de-glazed. This process involves heating the pan and pouring some water in, mixing with the juices as well as working to scrape the pan free of any pieces of flavour adding bits left behind during the browning. This mixture is then poured in to the stock pot as the pot is brought up to a simmer. Regularly the pot would simmer with the bones for quite some time before adding the mirepoix and sachet, but due to time constraints in the class, we proceed with this immediately. We also forgo skimming and de-greasing due to time constraints on this stock. The mirepoix is caramelized in the roasting pan, again picking up flavours from the browning of the bones. Tomato paste is added and once well mixed, this combination goes into the stock pot as well. The stock simmers as long as it can before we remove it from the stock pot. This is done through a "china" (chinois) strainer lined with cheese cloth. The stock is ladled out of the pot and poured through the chinois, rather than direct pouring, to prevent sediment or other small particles resting at the bottom of the pot from passing through the cheese cloth. At this point the stock is evaluated.

A similar process is followed for a chicken stock. As the chicken bones are much smaller the stock does not take as much time to make, therefor we can follow the regular process more closely. The bones are rinsed under cold running water before being placed in a stock pot and brought up to a simmer. While simmering, the stock is skimmed to remove floating matter, which will help keep the stock clear. The stock is also de-greased as much as possible, although further de-greasing will occur once the stock has cooled. The stock should simmer for 4-5 hours before adding the mirepoix and sachet, but again time constraints move us to this a little earlier than normal. The mirepoix and sachet go right in to the stock. We leave this in as time permits (normally this should be an hour of simmering) before using a chinois lined with cheese cloth to filter the stock as it is ladled into another container. The stock is now ready for evaluation.

Personal Observations

Knife work is obviously going to be a very important part of the work we do here. However, I felt fairly comfortable making the cuts we were instructed to do, and believe that I need to concentrate on consistency of cuts to have them all coming out the same size. The "motion of the ocean" exercise was an interesting way to measure skills, I will practice this further. This involves using flower as your cutting subject and practicing cuts through it - as you "cut" the flour away from the main mass, it rolls over creating "waves" - hence the name of the drill. It's also very easy to see consistency of cut sizes, or rather, my total lack thereof. It's obvious that the tourner is the hardest cut, and while I thought I was getting the hang of it with carrots, potatoes present a whole different problem. The cut has to be modified for the texture of each vegetable you're handling. Chef demonstrated a method for cutting onions which has solved one of my long-standing issues with them - having them fall apart while cutting. While skinning the onion, leaving the bottom intact enough such that the "root" is in place will hold the onion together. Then cut the onion in half through the root to make it more manageable. From here, you can slice off widths of the onion as necessary, or you can make horizontal and vertical slits in the onion to produce diced or brunoise cuts.

While we didn't get to skim or de-grease the brown stock, we did plenty on the chicken stock and I think it's going to be similar procedure across the board, especially after watching Chef working on his white veal stock. The flavour of the stocks was what I expected - very subtle tastes with nothing overpowering. Flavour enhancement will come with the use of the stocks in recipes further down the line.

Chef's Observations

My brunoise turned out ok, my julienne cuts were a little inconsistent in size. The batonet cuts were good. My multiple attempts at the tourner got better, but were not just right. Either too long, too large, or incorrectly shaped.

Our groups' chicken stock was good, it had nice clarity and was fairly well de-greased. Chef said the flavour and aroma were good, overall a good effort. The brown stock would not be clear due to the addition of the tomato paste, so we couldn't judge on that factor. Also, due to our time constraints we were unable to degrease during cooking so there was extra grease. However, the aroma and flavour were good, so a good end result.

Blog notes:

No pictures or recipes this week, everything was pretty basic. If you've gotten this far, you must really be interested in stock!

Welcome to my blog!

2007-10-02T20:37:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

For those who have arrived here and do not know me, my name is Mark Douglas, and I am a student at the Art Institute of Vancouver's Dubrulle Culinary Arts program. A part of our homework for our kitchen classes is to keep a culinary journal of the work we do on a week to week basis. As we're allowed to type out our journals and hand them in that way, I figured I would take it a step further - type out my journal and post it online for my friends and family to see what I'm up to, as well as hand the same journal in to my instructor.

This is just a quick introductory post to get the blog going, I'll be posting my journal for my first weeks class in the next couple of days - it is due next Tuesday as we have a long weekend, but that would normally be Monday.

A few notes about what you'll see - I'll be breaking down the journal entries into a few categories:

1) Objective - the objective (duh) of classes for the week
2) Sanitation and Safety - any specific sanitation and safety rules to follow during the week
3) Information - Theory and general information about our tasks
4) Practical - Execution of the tasks
5) Personal / Chef's observations - Personal observations regarding the classes, and chef's critique of our work.

On occasions where our results warrant so, I may also take pictures and include recipes.

Lastly, information about the school can be found here:

http://www.artinstitutes.edu/vancouver/culinary/

By the way, I'm not anywhere near being an actual chef yet, but that's the end goal, hence the title of the blog. For the purists out there, please don't come down on me too hard about this :P

Thanks for checking in,

Mark