We used: Stove top, oven, scale, bowls, spoons, stand mixer and knives.
The second week in France focused on Central France. We made: Soupe a l'Oignon (French Onion Soup), Navarin d' Agneau (Lamb Stew, Farcis de Blettes (Stuffed Swiss Chard), Watercress Salad with Endive and Cucumbers, Emimces de Rognons de Veau (Sliced Veal Kidneys) and Pannequets au Citron (Crepes Stuffed with Lemon Souffle). Chef Seth also made Froi Gras appetizer. I'm not really sure if I enjoyed it. The flavor was incredible, but the texture is a little off putting. I was in charge of making the Lamb Stew and the Swiss Chard. The stew was wonderful. The flavor was rich and seasoned well. The vegetables were cook through just right and the lamb was tender. My Swiss Chard was good but could have used more salt. I was the only person in my class that liked the Kidneys. They were much firmer than I thought, but I liked the flavor. The stuffed crepes were very light with a nice sharp lemon taste. I have never had a good French Onion soup. This one was one of the best I have ever tried. We used: Stove top, oven, scale, bowls, spoons, stand mixer and knives.
0 Comments
This week we made aerated candies and confections. The menu featured Marshmallows (w/o egg whites), Nougat de Montelimar and Chocolate Nougat. The Marshmallows were a bit easier than last week, less time. Chef Sean made some of the marshmallows into s;mo The nougats were a bit of a challenge. The timing is crucial. On our chocolate nougats, I was melting sugar, melting honey and toasting nuts all at the same time. I'm not sure how I wound up with all of those tasks. As a result, my sugar was a to dark. Thankfully we had time to melt more sugar. The nougats were good. A little hard but good. Another group in class made great chocolate nougats. I wish I watched what they did! Our Nougat de Montelimar, on the other hand, was fantastic! The texture was great. And of course we dipped it in chocolate. This class was a lesson in patience and timing. I definitely need a little work on both.
This was France week 2. We made Ratatouille, Soupe de Legumes aux Petits Coquillages (Vegetables Soup with Shellfish), Le Blanc de Poisson Belle Mouginoise (Fillet of Fish Mouginoise), Filet de Porc Farci Lyonnaise (Stuffed Pork Tenderloin), Salade de Poire (Pear Salad) and Mousse au Chocolat (Chocolate Mousse). This was actually a very straight forward menu. Nothing was very complicated. The challenge came in the preparation. All of the cuts were VERY precise. For the Ratatouille everything was 1/2 inch. The soup required the Paysanne cut: a flat, square, round, triangular or diamond cut with dimensions of 1/2 in. x 1/2 in. x 1/8 in. It was worth the effort. That soup was delicious!! I was responsible for making the fish. That meant I had to fillet a snapper. Considering my focus is baking and pastry, this proved to be my challenge for the evening. With help from Chef Seth, I got it done. This is a visually beautiful dish. There are rows of cucumber, tomatoes and mushrooms. The sauce was a little thin. I needed to reduce it a lot more. But it still had a good flavor. The mousse was very rich and smooth.
We used: stovetop, stand mixer, oven, pots, bowls, spoons and knives. This week we started Crystalline candies and confections. We made Chocolate Nut Fudge, Peanut Brittle, Marshmallows and Pralines. All of the formulas were quite straight forward. The Peanut Brittle was fantastic! Chef Sean even made a Hazelnut Brittle. I did like the Pralines, although I stirred the sugar too much, so my last Pralines were a little crystalized. The fudge however was terrible! The addition of fondant contributed to the strange texture. It was a bit rubbery. The Marshmallows were an all day event. I did not think it would be. It seems very simple, boil sugar, make whip some egg whites and combine. However, if you timing is off in any way, it will not work. I think they tasted better before they were fully set. I put a few in the oven and I loved the way they tasted.
We used: stand mixer, scale, bowls, knives and spoons. On our last week in Italy, we made the food of Northern Italy. Our menu consisted of: Zuppa alla Pavese (Pavia-style bread soup with cheese and raw egg), Gnocchi Di Patate Di Parmesan Reggiano E Porie, Vitello Tonnato (chilled veal in a tuna sauce), Osso Buco Milanese, Cicirietta Salatata con Pancetta (we used endive), Risotto allo Zafferano (Risotto with saffron) and Panna Cotta, I made three dishes, the soup, veal and endive. The veal dish was the most interesting. I wanted to do that because it sounded so strange and I have never cooked veal. The veal was poached and chilled then served with a blended tuna sauce. Chef Seth said my veal was perfect! He also liked my soup. My extra buttery crouton saved the day. My endive was well cooked and the pancetta was crispy. Everything we made was rich and very well balanced. Our Panna Cotta never set up, but the taste was wonderful.
We used: oven, stove top, scale, blender, bowls, knives, spoons and chiller. The second week of Italian Cuisine focused on Central Italy. We made Tagliatelle al Peperoncino, Melenzane Ivoltino, Tomato Bruschetta with Roasted Garlic Aioli, Pollo alla Toscana, Polenta, Asparagi al Parmigiano-Reggiano and Tiramisu. I was responsible for making the Tagliatelle (pasta) and Asparagi (Asparagus). This was my first time making pasta. The dough itself was very simple to make. The difficultly came in rolling the pasta. Our pasta machines were not up to the task, so I wound up cutting by hand. While my cuts were not perfectly even, the pasta was tender and had a wonderful flavor. I love asparagus. However, asparagus with cheese threw me off. I was very good, but I think I will stick with grilled or roasted asparagus. Everything we made was great, but my favorite was the bruschetta. The flavor was fresh and sharp! I would welcome that aioli on any sandwich any day!!
We used: scale, stovetop, oven, pasta maker, mixer, bowls, spoons and knives. This week felt like a breath of fresh air. While we did temper and dip with chocolate, the lesson was focused on hard candy, caramels and toffee. The ingredients used are really simple, sugar, glucose, doctor, flavor and sometimes cream and butter. The challenge is in the cooking. If you are off 1-2 degrees in either direction your candy will be completely wrong. My difficulty came in making the creamy caramel. The first time, my measurements were off. The second time I cooked it to temperature (according to the recipe) it tasted terrible and the color was all wrong. The third and final time, I cooked to color rather than temperature and added cream at the end. The result, not creamy, but hard. The flavor was fantastic! Since I made a firm caramel, my team remade the creamy caramel, using a completely different cooking technique and came out with a great creamy caramel. Due to the humidity in the room, on day two we remade the toffee. It was way to sticky/soft to dip.
We used: bowls, scale, spoons, stovetop, marble slab, candy frame and candy thermometer. This week was all about molded/filled chocolates. We made Noble (Raspberry Ganache) and a Praline filling. We also made Cappuccino, Passion Fruit and Pistachio Macarons. The fillings were straight forward. The molds were a different story. You can't just pour and go. The molds must be properly cleaned and heated to between 85-92 degrees. The chocolate must be properly tempered and poured thick enough to hold filling but thin enough to not take away from the filling. Thankfully my chocolate was tempered really well. My chocolates came out perfectly. Since we have to do molded chocolates on the final, I'm glad my first experience went really well.
We used: Polycarbonate molds, bowls, scale, stovetop, spoons and proof box (to warm molds) |
AuthorKimberly-baker and food history enthusiast! Archives
March 2015
Categories
All
|