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.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
World Cuisine - France
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
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:
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.
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 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
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
Introduction
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:
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.
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
RecipesMinestrone
Servings: 4
1 oz olive oil2 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
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.
Friday, January 25, 2008
North American Regional Cuisine - Cuisine of the South
Introduction
Our first menu for cuisine of the south was:
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.
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
- 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
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.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Introduction to Baking Week 2 - Carrot & Banana bread, Sweet tart dough
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.
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.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
World Cuisine - Switzerland
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:
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.
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
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.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
North American Regional Cuisine - Mid-Atlantic States
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
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.
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