For the past two classes, and until the last class, we were simulating the routine in which the midterm will be administered. We choose a folded up piece of paper which has a letter and number on it. The letter represents the kitchen role we will be cooking as (garde manger/saucier, or poissoner/patissier), and the number represents the order in which we present our dish.
Because we knew which positions we were going to be cooking as, the important part was the number in which we presented. I drew the last presenter spot both times so far. Which is a real help. It not only gives you more time for your first dish, but it also pushes back your last dish. If you present first, your next dish is still due up 30 or so minutes after your first. If you present last, your last dish is still due up 30 or so minutes after your first, which is up to 30 minutes after the first presenter. Basically, you get an additional 30 minutes for everything.
With that said, even though you think you have time... you really don't. I laid everything out and waited until 25 minutes to go to get my fish cooking. My flan was already out of the oven at this point. So I got my fish cooking, removed it when it was barely done, and started reducing my sauce. Chef Rob didn't notice because he was assisting someone with something else, but I was 3 minutes late. I guess I learned that I will need 30 minutes before I start the fish.
Its incredible how much time it takes to reduce sauces. Its also difficult to time everything as far as getting your plates in and out of the oven and reheating your fish and other components of your dish. The timing is SO crucial that if your plates are PIPING hot, and you put on a cream sauce it may actually evaporate the liquid and turn into a brown crust on the plate. Am I just saying this to dramatize the importance of timing? No. I'm not that much of a queen. It happened to the person I was working next to.
But timing is important. Do you want cold food, or even warm food? You want hot food! A hot plate helps, but too hot can be detrimental. You want hot food on pretty hot plates, as if it came straight out of the pan and neatly organized (or strategically tossed) onto your plate. If 4 people order a the shallow poached flounder, 4 people get the exact same looking plate. We have the option of rolling or folding the flounder. However, you cannot serve two rolled and two folded. Its a detail oriented service, like any service should be.
Anyhow, my plates could have been hotter, and the shrimp was slightly overcooked. Shrimp takes NO time to cook. I know you know that, but I'm just reiterating. And, reinforcing it for myself.
Moving right along, the flan, or creme renversee, was the desert. In fact, the flan was done before the fish was done, chilling in the fridge (literally). All I had to do was make the rolled up cookies (tuilles?), for which I already prepared the batter, and had it chilling in the fridge as well.
Let me tell you how to make a flan. Its too simple to ever really justify buying a mix. ESPECIALY since the mix is probably the same procedure minus the eggs.
Caramel:
200g sugar
touch of water
few drops of lemon juice helps
Custard:
500ml milk
1/4 vanilla bean (or extract)
75g sugar
3 whole eggs
Make the caramel first. Heat the sugar until it melts, and then to a golden color, the color in which you want your caramel to be. The darker the more bitter (which actually contrasts the sweetness of the flan nicely). The lighter, the sweeter, which can be overpowering and make it too sweet, so choose a happy medium.
Pour these into ramekins and let set.
Yyou don't want your flan to have air bubbles inside. With that said, combine the eggs and sugar. Whisk together, trying not to incorporate too much air (if any) . Have the milk boiling with the vanilla. When it comes to a boil, remove it from the heat. skim off some of the bubbles, and temper the egg yolk mixture with some hot milk. Then combine it all. Combine without incorporating too much air. When fully incorporated, strain through a chinois, and then skim the bubbles off the top again.
Let cool a little bit, then add it to the ramekins.
Put the ramekins in a pan with sides at least 2" tall, pour boiling water into the pan coming between 1/2 and 3/4 up on the ramekins, and pop it all into a 325F oven.
35-45 minutes later, take them out (when they stop jiggling when touched), and immediately place them in the fridge for a while. Let cool. Invert onto a plate.. and there's delicious homemade flan!
So, my sugar was on the darker side. At first I was worried, thinking it was going to be too bitter. It was on the bitter side. BUT, Chef Rob actually reassured me that a) the French love the sugar this way, and b) the custard was perfect and in all, it was a great job. Americans like their caramel sweeter, who am I to disagree? But I was thrilled that he claimed mine was really good. I would have preferred a lighter caramel (I failed to mention that Chef Rob assisted me in making the caramel, and said it was fine. I'm glad he didn't reneg his earlier opinon.)
Also, I tasted it, and to be perfectly honest, the custard was delicious, and the sugar wasn't super bitter, and in fact, it was quite complimentary!
At the end of class we had a little pow wow to kill some extra time. I'll end this post with something he mentioned. He opened a book called "Becoming a Chef," and mentioned that it had some really great quotes. He went on to explain how one of the best chefs (was it Escoffier?) would go home every night, and write in a journal, explaining his kitchen mishaps. What he did, why something went wrong, what was done to compensate, and just reflections on the days work. This blog is my journal. If for no other reason, I will have this to enjoy and reflect on my learning experience, and hopefully become a better chef.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Catching up...
Well hello. I know I’ve been pretty bad with this posting (but hey, not too many people read it anyways). Either way, you’ll all be happy to know that although work still blows, it’s picking up a bit. Unfortunately I have been a poor blogger, not updating you with my super exciting life in the kitchen class.
I’m still in Level 3. We’ve been working alone now. Although I worked by myself for our first beef bourguignon dish (and struggled!!), I have been doing poissoner and patissier, which is a lot easier. Like… A LOT easier. For the most part, fish only takes a hot minute to cook. And for the most part, the desserts we make are baked for a while, and we have plenty of time to sit around and twiddle our thumbs. We really have no excuse for our desserts to be late. But the garde manger/saucier side has it rough.
There is practically no time to eat in level 3. We don’t get family meal, and we barely have time to eat the food we make. Not to mention, we’re each making 4 complete servings of 2 dishes!
Oh, you’ll all be super excited to know (sarcasm?) that my dad is getting me a pretty dope digital camera for the merry ole Christmas. I will then be able to show you exactly what a cocotte is, and the process of making it, and I can show you my kitchen whites... etc, etc.
We also got new hats. We used to wear a cylindrical, open-ended piece of paper. The school estimated that they will save thousands of dollars a year if they get us our own hats, and we wash them. I think we are the guinea pigs, and the incoming classes will have to pay for them when they enroll. These caps are flatter, closed, cotton caps, with a little bit of elastic in the back. They’re interesting. But at least we don’t throw away the paper all the time. I like them for that reason. They also make us look a little sleeker. But who really cares.
Ok. I see I left off at the poached eggs and poached chicken dish. After that I worked by myself on a Farmer’s soup and beef burgundy. This was the same set of dishes we did in the last class (which is, in fact, 4 classes later), however, I did the dessert and fish portion of it this time around (a flan and shallow poached flounder).
The soup is a real pain vegetable broth based soup! First and foremost, you need to take some of your trimmings and make a vegetable stock. That’s the first step. You also need to cut a bunch of vegetables (carrots, turnips, potatoes, leeks, celery) into batons (jardiniere) and then into 1 cm squared by 1 mm thick tiles (the leeks and celery are left in their original shape, but cut into tiles). That’s a LOT of taillage (cutting) for a pretty plain soup. While you’re doing this, you need to sear your beef, and vegetables for the beef burgundy and get them in the oven. It’s a really difficult set of dishes to get your timing right. When I did it, I over salted the soup, and didn’t think about watering it down with some extra vegetable stock I had leftover. I was aware of it, but didn’t remedy it. I added a little water, but not enough. Salt is a powerful spice, and although I thought I was getting a grasp on its power, it was a humbling experience to present such a salty dish. I need to work on that, amongst other things.
I also want to take this moment to redact some things I said recently about being “2nd” in the class. That is bullocks. My classmates are pretty damn intense. We are a gung-ho, get to business class. We are not, however, a cut throat, “I hope your food burns” type of intense, we are all very helpful and supportive of one another, but I feel I am level with or slightly above or below a number of the other people in the class. So I take back my pride in being “2nd” in the class, because it’s really worth nothing now.
Moving right along, the beef burgundy I made, because I was pressed for time, was not fully developed. The flavor was there, but the sinews didn’t break down enough. It was delicious, but it wasn’t right. All this will change.
In between then and now, I worked with a teammate, making seared pork chops with pommes darphin (shredded potatoes packed into a pan and fried), with a salad nicoise as the garde manger dish. Both of which were pretty good according to the chef. And then we started working alone in the poissoner/patissier section. I feel, probably because of all the excess time we have in these positions, my food has been coming out pretty good.
The first day we made the apple tart and a salmon served with rice and spinach. We made the pate brisee first (the dough, not sweet, with an egg) because it takes a while to rest in the fridge, followed by the apple compote filling. I browned the compote a little, which isn’t good, but I simply did not use the part that touched the bottom and browned, so it was fine. This was our first class working alone, and both sides were late in presenting. It’s just a matter of getting used to it. Let me say, we needed to sift through a huge bowl of spinach pulling off stems. That was a bitch. A few minutes of my life I wish I had back. But it adds to the final presentation.
My rice was the best among our group (that day). At the chef’s request I threw in some fresh chopped thyme, and added a nice amount of salt and pepper. I was impressed because it was indeed delicious. And the thyme added a little color contrast against the pasty white rice. Keep in mind, you just need less than a sprigs worth of chopped thyme leaves. It’s a very potent herb. The salmon was about ¾” thick, then partially cut down the middle, and butterflied open. Its a beautiful looking pattern that is made when the grain of the fish is butterflied, and then grilled with nice marks. Its really a delicious and beautiful preparation. Place the fish partially over the rice, some spinach on the side, and nap it with some sauce vin blanc (reduced wine with fish stock, reduced some more, then cream added and reduced again). It’s a delicious, delicate sauce that compliments most fish dishes.
The apple tart was served with a dollop of fresh whipped cream and a tiny piece of mint. My apple slices could have been a bit thinner, but they were still pretty good. The crust was perfect, and it all looked great.
The next class was my shining moment. We made a sautéed skate with pommes risolee (potatoes, turned to 5 cm football shapes, poached, browned in oil, finished with butter in the oven) and a genoise cake (basic sponge cake, with apricot filling and crème anglaise on the side).
The skate… Take a moment to look up what a skate looks like alive. NASTY. It’s a member of the sting ray family. Go figure. Not super disgusting, but still ugly. We only use the wings, and they’re pretty easy to fillet. ALTHOUGH, they have spikes on the top skin side and they’re disgustingly slimy, which is actually a sign of freshness.
This came out ok. Let me tell you, always a) heat up your pan with oil or clarified butter so that its super hot, and nothing will stick; and b) cook the fish on a HIGH heat, for a brief amount of time. The browned color is crucial.
Anyways, I really want to discuss the genoise. It’s a “simple” sponge cake recipe, but one of the most frequently used and most versatile in French pastries. You need to gently stir the eggs with sugar over a water bath, not exceeding 110F. I never quite made it to 110F. I was wondering how that was going to affect my cake. But I didn’t feel like stirring it over a water bath for much longer, so I just moved on (it was a good call). You fold in some cake flour, and pop that puppy in a pan and in the oven.
KEEP AN EYE ON IT. This goes without saying for everything you put in the oven, but a dry Genoise is just about worthless (not priceless). It’s ready when it just starts to separate from the pan, and the top center springs back to the touch. A golden color is desired, but if it’s ready, then it’s ready. I pulled mine out when it barely separated from the pan, but it was definitely cooked. Immediately invert it onto a cooling rack, drape some moist paper towels over it, and carry on with your life.
I returned to it after we presented our fish. We had plenty of time to finish the cake. When cool, you cut it in half and moisten the cut halves with a simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water brought just to a boil, finished with a splash of apricot brandy, specifically for this preparation). Here is where detail comes to play. You add a THIN layer of apricot jam to the middle. The two halves of the cake should fit back on each other nearly seamlessly. If you put too much jam, it looks pretty bad. The halves look like and are separated, and the cake is too tall. So get that jam in there, a nice thin layer. You WILL taste it, but it won't overpower the flavor of the cake you just made from scratch. Place the other half back on it and moisten the top with some simple syrup. Don’t drench the top. It will turn to mush. Then proceed to brush on a thin layer of apricot glaze (all over the top and sides). Press some toasted almonds on the sides to [attempt to] hide the seams, sprinkle powdered sugar on the top of each slice, and serve with some crème anglaise and fresh fruits.
I was really impressed with the way it turned out. I did not have a piece before presenting it to the chef. For all I knew it could have tasted like shit. But it looked like a million bucks (or a fine piece of genoise).
Right off the bat, chef was pleased with the presentation. It really looked great. I overheard him tell some other presenters that the crème anglaise should be spooned along side it, rather than directly under it. So I did that.
Most importantly, the taste… It was, and these are not my words, “perfect.” It was moist, had the perfect amount of filling, and the crème anglaise was also perfect. Everything was cold and refreshing, and the flavors were crisp and fresh. He said it was “perfect” and by far the best one of the night. Another chef walked into the class for some reason and Chef Rob said, “Hey, you gotta try this.” I didn’t want to indulge in this perfection I allegedly achieved so I did not listen to or look at his reaction, but I took the whole experience as a good thing. In fact, I didn’t even have a piece of the cake until the next day! I usually give this type of thing away to anyone who will take it, but I had to take it home and try it.
It’s friggin’ good. I have half of the cake left. If I weren’t house/pet sitting at my mom’s house all of my friends would have devoured it by now (I’d like to hope so at least).
I’ll put up a separate post with yesterday’s class. 3 pages of rambling should keep you busy for a while (and by you, I mean me!).
I’m still in Level 3. We’ve been working alone now. Although I worked by myself for our first beef bourguignon dish (and struggled!!), I have been doing poissoner and patissier, which is a lot easier. Like… A LOT easier. For the most part, fish only takes a hot minute to cook. And for the most part, the desserts we make are baked for a while, and we have plenty of time to sit around and twiddle our thumbs. We really have no excuse for our desserts to be late. But the garde manger/saucier side has it rough.
There is practically no time to eat in level 3. We don’t get family meal, and we barely have time to eat the food we make. Not to mention, we’re each making 4 complete servings of 2 dishes!
Oh, you’ll all be super excited to know (sarcasm?) that my dad is getting me a pretty dope digital camera for the merry ole Christmas. I will then be able to show you exactly what a cocotte is, and the process of making it, and I can show you my kitchen whites... etc, etc.
We also got new hats. We used to wear a cylindrical, open-ended piece of paper. The school estimated that they will save thousands of dollars a year if they get us our own hats, and we wash them. I think we are the guinea pigs, and the incoming classes will have to pay for them when they enroll. These caps are flatter, closed, cotton caps, with a little bit of elastic in the back. They’re interesting. But at least we don’t throw away the paper all the time. I like them for that reason. They also make us look a little sleeker. But who really cares.
Ok. I see I left off at the poached eggs and poached chicken dish. After that I worked by myself on a Farmer’s soup and beef burgundy. This was the same set of dishes we did in the last class (which is, in fact, 4 classes later), however, I did the dessert and fish portion of it this time around (a flan and shallow poached flounder).
The soup is a real pain vegetable broth based soup! First and foremost, you need to take some of your trimmings and make a vegetable stock. That’s the first step. You also need to cut a bunch of vegetables (carrots, turnips, potatoes, leeks, celery) into batons (jardiniere) and then into 1 cm squared by 1 mm thick tiles (the leeks and celery are left in their original shape, but cut into tiles). That’s a LOT of taillage (cutting) for a pretty plain soup. While you’re doing this, you need to sear your beef, and vegetables for the beef burgundy and get them in the oven. It’s a really difficult set of dishes to get your timing right. When I did it, I over salted the soup, and didn’t think about watering it down with some extra vegetable stock I had leftover. I was aware of it, but didn’t remedy it. I added a little water, but not enough. Salt is a powerful spice, and although I thought I was getting a grasp on its power, it was a humbling experience to present such a salty dish. I need to work on that, amongst other things.
I also want to take this moment to redact some things I said recently about being “2nd” in the class. That is bullocks. My classmates are pretty damn intense. We are a gung-ho, get to business class. We are not, however, a cut throat, “I hope your food burns” type of intense, we are all very helpful and supportive of one another, but I feel I am level with or slightly above or below a number of the other people in the class. So I take back my pride in being “2nd” in the class, because it’s really worth nothing now.
Moving right along, the beef burgundy I made, because I was pressed for time, was not fully developed. The flavor was there, but the sinews didn’t break down enough. It was delicious, but it wasn’t right. All this will change.
In between then and now, I worked with a teammate, making seared pork chops with pommes darphin (shredded potatoes packed into a pan and fried), with a salad nicoise as the garde manger dish. Both of which were pretty good according to the chef. And then we started working alone in the poissoner/patissier section. I feel, probably because of all the excess time we have in these positions, my food has been coming out pretty good.
The first day we made the apple tart and a salmon served with rice and spinach. We made the pate brisee first (the dough, not sweet, with an egg) because it takes a while to rest in the fridge, followed by the apple compote filling. I browned the compote a little, which isn’t good, but I simply did not use the part that touched the bottom and browned, so it was fine. This was our first class working alone, and both sides were late in presenting. It’s just a matter of getting used to it. Let me say, we needed to sift through a huge bowl of spinach pulling off stems. That was a bitch. A few minutes of my life I wish I had back. But it adds to the final presentation.
My rice was the best among our group (that day). At the chef’s request I threw in some fresh chopped thyme, and added a nice amount of salt and pepper. I was impressed because it was indeed delicious. And the thyme added a little color contrast against the pasty white rice. Keep in mind, you just need less than a sprigs worth of chopped thyme leaves. It’s a very potent herb. The salmon was about ¾” thick, then partially cut down the middle, and butterflied open. Its a beautiful looking pattern that is made when the grain of the fish is butterflied, and then grilled with nice marks. Its really a delicious and beautiful preparation. Place the fish partially over the rice, some spinach on the side, and nap it with some sauce vin blanc (reduced wine with fish stock, reduced some more, then cream added and reduced again). It’s a delicious, delicate sauce that compliments most fish dishes.
The apple tart was served with a dollop of fresh whipped cream and a tiny piece of mint. My apple slices could have been a bit thinner, but they were still pretty good. The crust was perfect, and it all looked great.
The next class was my shining moment. We made a sautéed skate with pommes risolee (potatoes, turned to 5 cm football shapes, poached, browned in oil, finished with butter in the oven) and a genoise cake (basic sponge cake, with apricot filling and crème anglaise on the side).
The skate… Take a moment to look up what a skate looks like alive. NASTY. It’s a member of the sting ray family. Go figure. Not super disgusting, but still ugly. We only use the wings, and they’re pretty easy to fillet. ALTHOUGH, they have spikes on the top skin side and they’re disgustingly slimy, which is actually a sign of freshness.
This came out ok. Let me tell you, always a) heat up your pan with oil or clarified butter so that its super hot, and nothing will stick; and b) cook the fish on a HIGH heat, for a brief amount of time. The browned color is crucial.
Anyways, I really want to discuss the genoise. It’s a “simple” sponge cake recipe, but one of the most frequently used and most versatile in French pastries. You need to gently stir the eggs with sugar over a water bath, not exceeding 110F. I never quite made it to 110F. I was wondering how that was going to affect my cake. But I didn’t feel like stirring it over a water bath for much longer, so I just moved on (it was a good call). You fold in some cake flour, and pop that puppy in a pan and in the oven.
KEEP AN EYE ON IT. This goes without saying for everything you put in the oven, but a dry Genoise is just about worthless (not priceless). It’s ready when it just starts to separate from the pan, and the top center springs back to the touch. A golden color is desired, but if it’s ready, then it’s ready. I pulled mine out when it barely separated from the pan, but it was definitely cooked. Immediately invert it onto a cooling rack, drape some moist paper towels over it, and carry on with your life.
I returned to it after we presented our fish. We had plenty of time to finish the cake. When cool, you cut it in half and moisten the cut halves with a simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water brought just to a boil, finished with a splash of apricot brandy, specifically for this preparation). Here is where detail comes to play. You add a THIN layer of apricot jam to the middle. The two halves of the cake should fit back on each other nearly seamlessly. If you put too much jam, it looks pretty bad. The halves look like and are separated, and the cake is too tall. So get that jam in there, a nice thin layer. You WILL taste it, but it won't overpower the flavor of the cake you just made from scratch. Place the other half back on it and moisten the top with some simple syrup. Don’t drench the top. It will turn to mush. Then proceed to brush on a thin layer of apricot glaze (all over the top and sides). Press some toasted almonds on the sides to [attempt to] hide the seams, sprinkle powdered sugar on the top of each slice, and serve with some crème anglaise and fresh fruits.
I was really impressed with the way it turned out. I did not have a piece before presenting it to the chef. For all I knew it could have tasted like shit. But it looked like a million bucks (or a fine piece of genoise).
Right off the bat, chef was pleased with the presentation. It really looked great. I overheard him tell some other presenters that the crème anglaise should be spooned along side it, rather than directly under it. So I did that.
Most importantly, the taste… It was, and these are not my words, “perfect.” It was moist, had the perfect amount of filling, and the crème anglaise was also perfect. Everything was cold and refreshing, and the flavors were crisp and fresh. He said it was “perfect” and by far the best one of the night. Another chef walked into the class for some reason and Chef Rob said, “Hey, you gotta try this.” I didn’t want to indulge in this perfection I allegedly achieved so I did not listen to or look at his reaction, but I took the whole experience as a good thing. In fact, I didn’t even have a piece of the cake until the next day! I usually give this type of thing away to anyone who will take it, but I had to take it home and try it.
It’s friggin’ good. I have half of the cake left. If I weren’t house/pet sitting at my mom’s house all of my friends would have devoured it by now (I’d like to hope so at least).
I’ll put up a separate post with yesterday’s class. 3 pages of rambling should keep you busy for a while (and by you, I mean me!).
Friday, November 30, 2007
Work work work… and relax
First and foremost, I’ve gotten this far without really expressing how much I hate my job. But I think it deserves a little blurb. I hate my job. I didn’t mind paralegaling at the law firm, late hours and a low salary, but this one (legal department at a massive mutual fund/asset management firm), with shorter hours (especially when I go to school) and twice the pay, sucks lamb tongue. It’s just a couple of the people, but that’s enough to do it. You may have gathered that I am a reasonably bright young adult, graduated from a reputable college, with a lot of ambition to succeed and do my best (particularly in the kitchen). But this job… Let’s just say, I can’t wait to be in a real kitchen.
So I am still doing the garde manger/saucier role. I was supposed to work by myself, but it seems like another member of our class dropped out!? That’s currently unofficial, but missing the first two classes of a new level seems a little suspect. (By the way, we ran into the guy who got "left back." He's in a class with his buddies so I think he's happier there.) So I didn’t work by myself, but instead this one guy in Level 4 who was doing a make-up class, ended up working by himself. He should have already done the class recipes multiple times, mostly by himself, and be good at it. He was pretty late on the dishes, particularly the main dish, and the quality was sub par at best.
I was working with my new partner, who mentioned that she took not one, but TWO leaves of absence, and currently works in an Italian restaurant. She showed up for our level 2 final, and according to everyone, she was hot shit. But you know what. I think she’s just tepid shit. I’m not being mean, she’s pretty good (and perhaps better than me), and fairly quick, but she’s not the scalding hot, fresh steaming shit on the sidewalk on a cold winter day.
Anyhow, we had to make 2 dishes. The first was pretty amazing (they both were, but a sauce hollandaise is a pretty special sauce). It was a poached egg on a bed of macedoined vegetables, topped with hollandaise. The hollandaise isn’t really difficult, but it is technical. I’ll give a brief review that I think you could replicate without seeing it.
2 egg yolks
Tablespoon of warm water (and some more on the side)
200 mL clarified butter
Lemon juice
Small pinch of Cayenne Pepper
Salt
1) Bring about an inch of water to boil in a russe (saucepan, anything you can place a metal bowl over without the bottom touching the water, or the bowl falling into it).
2) In a bowl, combine the egg yolks, tablespoon of water, and a few drops of lemon juice (can add the lemon at the end, and probably will have to adjust the acidity with the lemon). Whisk it a bit. Then turn the boiling water down so that it’s still steaming, but not boiling. Place the bowl over the pot and whisk away. If it gets too hot, and it will, remove it from the pot. You’re not trying to aerate it so much, but you’re cooking the egg without scrambling it.
3) You’re ready for the butter when a whisk leaves a visible streak of bowl underneath and closes in on itself.
4) If you can get some help, the butter step would be a lot easier, but if not, take the pan off the stove top. Place a damp (wet, but not sopping) towel over the top and cradle the bowl in it. You can add more water to make it a sturdier set up. Take a ladle or so of the butter and hold it over the bowl (DO NOT DUMP IT IN). start whisking, and odds are drops of butter will fall into the bowl. That’s the speed and amount you want to add the butter in, especially at first. Keep whisking. Keep ladling.
5) When you start to see a glisten on the hollandaise, a nice sheen come over it, its time to stop. You may need to add more water before you get her so it’s not as thick as a mayonnaise.
6) Add salt, acid (lemon juice) to taste, and a pinch of cayenne. That’s it. Use immediately, or hold in a warm place. Too cool and the butter will solidify and fall out of emulsification. Too hot and the eggs will curdle. It’s a fragile sauce. Best when used immediately.
That’s a long in depth description, but you should be able to make a hollandaise with it.
The vegetables (carrots, turnips, peas, green beans) were cut down to macedoine, about the size of the peas, boiled a l’anglaise, individually, combined, then molded into a ring in the center of the plate. The eggs were poached (water with a little vinegar, or else you’ll have egg water) cleaned up and rinsed in a warm salty water bath. We placed it over the veggies, some hollandaise, and an “X” of two julienned tomato slivers on top.
It was beautiful, and tasty. Really delicious actually.
The next was a roasted chicken. One we made before, but this one was really good. We trussed it nice and tight.
Here’s an aside, when we’re told to get the temperature of the chicken by sticking the thermometer in between the thigh and the body, you would think it’s too thin to get an accurate reading. But when you truss it properly, it’s so compact that it is actually the best place to get the temp since it takes the longest to cook, and it’s actually pretty dense. We’re talking getting a good truss.
What was pretty difficult for me, and I took my time doing it in an effort to comprehend what I was doing, was butchering the already cooked chicken. I am super confident in hacking away at a raw carcass, but a cooked chicken is more delicate and you can ruin a beautifully cooked chicken if you do this incorrectly.
Anyways, class went well, and we had some time at the end. Chef Rob says, “Who feels good about butchering a chicken?” And the words, “I DO!!” popped out of my mouth and my hand went straight up.
He said, ok… everyone, come here, Edwin’s gonna butcher the chicken and explain what he’s doing. What’d I just get myself into? I was a little nervous, but I knew what I was doing. Everyone huddled around and so I went… “First, you remove the wishbone…”
By the way, the title of this post reflects the fact that we bust our asses to get our meals done within the schedule he sets forth, but when we’re done with our 2 dishes (which get present first and third, we have about an hour to relax, clean up, watch other people… etc. Also, I have a feeling this level is gonna breeze by. Hopefully we all do well, but it’s so intense and quick, you don’t have time to look back.
So I am still doing the garde manger/saucier role. I was supposed to work by myself, but it seems like another member of our class dropped out!? That’s currently unofficial, but missing the first two classes of a new level seems a little suspect. (By the way, we ran into the guy who got "left back." He's in a class with his buddies so I think he's happier there.) So I didn’t work by myself, but instead this one guy in Level 4 who was doing a make-up class, ended up working by himself. He should have already done the class recipes multiple times, mostly by himself, and be good at it. He was pretty late on the dishes, particularly the main dish, and the quality was sub par at best.
I was working with my new partner, who mentioned that she took not one, but TWO leaves of absence, and currently works in an Italian restaurant. She showed up for our level 2 final, and according to everyone, she was hot shit. But you know what. I think she’s just tepid shit. I’m not being mean, she’s pretty good (and perhaps better than me), and fairly quick, but she’s not the scalding hot, fresh steaming shit on the sidewalk on a cold winter day.
Anyhow, we had to make 2 dishes. The first was pretty amazing (they both were, but a sauce hollandaise is a pretty special sauce). It was a poached egg on a bed of macedoined vegetables, topped with hollandaise. The hollandaise isn’t really difficult, but it is technical. I’ll give a brief review that I think you could replicate without seeing it.
2 egg yolks
Tablespoon of warm water (and some more on the side)
200 mL clarified butter
Lemon juice
Small pinch of Cayenne Pepper
Salt
1) Bring about an inch of water to boil in a russe (saucepan, anything you can place a metal bowl over without the bottom touching the water, or the bowl falling into it).
2) In a bowl, combine the egg yolks, tablespoon of water, and a few drops of lemon juice (can add the lemon at the end, and probably will have to adjust the acidity with the lemon). Whisk it a bit. Then turn the boiling water down so that it’s still steaming, but not boiling. Place the bowl over the pot and whisk away. If it gets too hot, and it will, remove it from the pot. You’re not trying to aerate it so much, but you’re cooking the egg without scrambling it.
3) You’re ready for the butter when a whisk leaves a visible streak of bowl underneath and closes in on itself.
4) If you can get some help, the butter step would be a lot easier, but if not, take the pan off the stove top. Place a damp (wet, but not sopping) towel over the top and cradle the bowl in it. You can add more water to make it a sturdier set up. Take a ladle or so of the butter and hold it over the bowl (DO NOT DUMP IT IN). start whisking, and odds are drops of butter will fall into the bowl. That’s the speed and amount you want to add the butter in, especially at first. Keep whisking. Keep ladling.
5) When you start to see a glisten on the hollandaise, a nice sheen come over it, its time to stop. You may need to add more water before you get her so it’s not as thick as a mayonnaise.
6) Add salt, acid (lemon juice) to taste, and a pinch of cayenne. That’s it. Use immediately, or hold in a warm place. Too cool and the butter will solidify and fall out of emulsification. Too hot and the eggs will curdle. It’s a fragile sauce. Best when used immediately.
That’s a long in depth description, but you should be able to make a hollandaise with it.
The vegetables (carrots, turnips, peas, green beans) were cut down to macedoine, about the size of the peas, boiled a l’anglaise, individually, combined, then molded into a ring in the center of the plate. The eggs were poached (water with a little vinegar, or else you’ll have egg water) cleaned up and rinsed in a warm salty water bath. We placed it over the veggies, some hollandaise, and an “X” of two julienned tomato slivers on top.
It was beautiful, and tasty. Really delicious actually.
The next was a roasted chicken. One we made before, but this one was really good. We trussed it nice and tight.
Here’s an aside, when we’re told to get the temperature of the chicken by sticking the thermometer in between the thigh and the body, you would think it’s too thin to get an accurate reading. But when you truss it properly, it’s so compact that it is actually the best place to get the temp since it takes the longest to cook, and it’s actually pretty dense. We’re talking getting a good truss.
What was pretty difficult for me, and I took my time doing it in an effort to comprehend what I was doing, was butchering the already cooked chicken. I am super confident in hacking away at a raw carcass, but a cooked chicken is more delicate and you can ruin a beautifully cooked chicken if you do this incorrectly.
Anyways, class went well, and we had some time at the end. Chef Rob says, “Who feels good about butchering a chicken?” And the words, “I DO!!” popped out of my mouth and my hand went straight up.
He said, ok… everyone, come here, Edwin’s gonna butcher the chicken and explain what he’s doing. What’d I just get myself into? I was a little nervous, but I knew what I was doing. Everyone huddled around and so I went… “First, you remove the wishbone…”
By the way, the title of this post reflects the fact that we bust our asses to get our meals done within the schedule he sets forth, but when we’re done with our 2 dishes (which get present first and third, we have about an hour to relax, clean up, watch other people… etc. Also, I have a feeling this level is gonna breeze by. Hopefully we all do well, but it’s so intense and quick, you don’t have time to look back.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Aaaaaaaaand… GO!
It’s been a long 7 days since our last class. It was also our last class of Level 2. Everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and cooked their birds perfectly, supposedly. I could write a post on my thanksgiving and all the wonderful food we prepared, but I’ll spare you the glory.
There was a different air in the place. Every time we advance a level, and for that matter, all of the Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday classes, a new class comes in. The last class that came in was only a level below us. The new class is a whopping TWO levels below us. There were people asking ME how to tie their neckerchiefs, and about their side towels. But to be honest, this was not much of a concern. I was thinking about Level 3.
The new class is now on the second floor. The Kitchen is a lot older than the one we were using, but it feels like it has more of what we need. First off, there are about 5 or 6 scales for measuring ingredients. Our last class had, at best, 2. The pots and pans looked a little more beat up and weathered… but that just means they’ve been around and have tasted more food.
Oh, an interesting point to consider. Level 3 is all about consistency and TIME MANAGEMENT. We have 4 sets of recipes that we do every 4 classes. The recipes consist of a soup/appetizer, fish, entrée and dessert. The first 4 classes we work in teams of 2, then we go solo. As a team, we only need to do 2 of the recipes, and when we go solo, we still do 2.
Most importantly, there is a time frame. Chef Rob wants them done at a certain time, and that is a pretty set time. He did state, I’d rather your dishes be 10 minutes late and perfect, than on time and incomplete.
Chef Rob
The first time we met him was in one of our last classes in Level 2. He came up to our class and was pretty strict. Asking why some people had their aprons off while we were still in class. He was very succinct. “I don’t want to see the book in class, you better bring notes, and be prepared.” That was our initial impression. Downstairs in Level 3, Chef Rob seemed really different. He was very nice, and was helping us out, not trying to break our balls or anything. He helped us with our food, and brought us necessary pots. The assistant chef showed us a technique of cooling down our marmite that we were using for our consommé. He didn’t just tell us, he brought us the bain marie with ice. I did not expect such assistance, but it was very much appreciated.
Chef Rob walked around the class assisting everyone, seeing what he had to work with. But as a team’s time approached, he focused more of his attention on them, giving pointers on serving, and finishing the dish. Speaking of which, service is more heavily graded in level 3. Presentation, temperature of the food (as I have learned the hard way with my mashed potatoes), cleanliness of the plate, temperature of the plate, etc., is all scrutinized more carefully. Finger prints on a plate is unacceptable. A bowl of soup is served with a plate and a doily beneath it.
We’re working on the details now. But Chef Rob seems really great so far. He’s enthusiastic and loves to teach, so he said. He is definitely on par with Chef Tom. Most importantly, he was very nice in the critique of our food. We did a pretty good job to begin with, but where we were slightly off, he was very nice in explaining what went wrong and how to fix it the next time.
Moving right along, I was paired up with the new girl. I won’t mention her name yet because I don’t know her well enough to trust that it’s ok. But she was the one who did really well on the test, and I was ready to learn a thing or two. What I do know is that she is quick with the knife. She is confident in her cuts, and makes them quickly. She worked on the julienne and cuts for actually making the consommé, including mixing in the meat and egg whites, etc. I worked on the macedoine garnish for the consommé. The consommé was the first thing to be prepared, with a service time of 8:00. As a refresher, the consommé is a disgusting mush of lean meat, julienned veggies, chopped tomatoes and egg whites, gently simmered in beef marmite. After a little while the mush starts to congeal and form a raft at the top. You have to let the raft collect all the fat and particles and then ladle out the consommé into a chinois, degrease, and serve over the macedoine of vegetables.
Ours was looking great from the beginning, so chef said. Everything was going really well until my partner accidentally cracked some pepper into the consommé. It’s supposed to be peppered before it’s ladled, and only salted afterwards. He said the first thing he tasted was pepper. We also had a little fat on top, which may have been a result of using a fat laden ladle. I also put too many vegetables in the bowl.
It was a little stressful getting the dish served but we did it. Imagine those Iron chefs plating 5 or 6 master dishes in about an hour (including prep work)?! That’s damn impressive.
The next dish we got cracking on was a poached chicken. I don’t feel a chicken, or any meat really lends itself to being poached. But it was actually not bad. I’ll make this description very brief. First we wash, remove the wishbone and wingtips and poach the chicken in cold water. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 2 minutes. Take it out, and put it in an ice bath to stop the cooking. Next we’re supposed to cover with stock and bring to BELOW a simmer for about 20-30 minutes. I mentioned this previously, but I believe most, if not all of the cooking times we are told is more than enough. The chicken cooked in less than 20 minutes, and it was almost 160 degrees, which is ok, but can be considered over cooked. That’s barely enough time to make enough cocotte and prepare the rest of the vegetables that go in the dish.
Either way, the dish came out about 5 minutes late, but everything was cooked perfectly minus that fact that we cooked the potatoes in the broth we served it in, which lent itself to being a little on the cloudy side. Not the end of the world. The food and our plates were hot, and the taste was good, especially considering it was a poached chicken.
After this dish, we were done. Some other people needed to present their apple tart, but we completed our dishes. I feel, for our first class, we did a great job. Chef was pleased with everyone in the class, and we all (including the chef), set a good impression.
I’m not exactly sure what’s on the menu for the next class, but I am working alone. I will be doing the garde manger and saucier positions alone, and I will be on top of my game. This is my first chance to shine, and I’m sure I will. I’m not user when I became so competitive, maybe it was day 1, but I guess I am only out for me. When you work as a team, you obviously succeed and fail as a team, but when you go solo everything that’s great was created from your own to hands, and everything that sucks came from your own ass.
Some words to live by in Level 3: discipline and consistency.
There was a different air in the place. Every time we advance a level, and for that matter, all of the Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday classes, a new class comes in. The last class that came in was only a level below us. The new class is a whopping TWO levels below us. There were people asking ME how to tie their neckerchiefs, and about their side towels. But to be honest, this was not much of a concern. I was thinking about Level 3.
The new class is now on the second floor. The Kitchen is a lot older than the one we were using, but it feels like it has more of what we need. First off, there are about 5 or 6 scales for measuring ingredients. Our last class had, at best, 2. The pots and pans looked a little more beat up and weathered… but that just means they’ve been around and have tasted more food.
Oh, an interesting point to consider. Level 3 is all about consistency and TIME MANAGEMENT. We have 4 sets of recipes that we do every 4 classes. The recipes consist of a soup/appetizer, fish, entrée and dessert. The first 4 classes we work in teams of 2, then we go solo. As a team, we only need to do 2 of the recipes, and when we go solo, we still do 2.
Most importantly, there is a time frame. Chef Rob wants them done at a certain time, and that is a pretty set time. He did state, I’d rather your dishes be 10 minutes late and perfect, than on time and incomplete.
Chef Rob
The first time we met him was in one of our last classes in Level 2. He came up to our class and was pretty strict. Asking why some people had their aprons off while we were still in class. He was very succinct. “I don’t want to see the book in class, you better bring notes, and be prepared.” That was our initial impression. Downstairs in Level 3, Chef Rob seemed really different. He was very nice, and was helping us out, not trying to break our balls or anything. He helped us with our food, and brought us necessary pots. The assistant chef showed us a technique of cooling down our marmite that we were using for our consommé. He didn’t just tell us, he brought us the bain marie with ice. I did not expect such assistance, but it was very much appreciated.
Chef Rob walked around the class assisting everyone, seeing what he had to work with. But as a team’s time approached, he focused more of his attention on them, giving pointers on serving, and finishing the dish. Speaking of which, service is more heavily graded in level 3. Presentation, temperature of the food (as I have learned the hard way with my mashed potatoes), cleanliness of the plate, temperature of the plate, etc., is all scrutinized more carefully. Finger prints on a plate is unacceptable. A bowl of soup is served with a plate and a doily beneath it.
We’re working on the details now. But Chef Rob seems really great so far. He’s enthusiastic and loves to teach, so he said. He is definitely on par with Chef Tom. Most importantly, he was very nice in the critique of our food. We did a pretty good job to begin with, but where we were slightly off, he was very nice in explaining what went wrong and how to fix it the next time.
Moving right along, I was paired up with the new girl. I won’t mention her name yet because I don’t know her well enough to trust that it’s ok. But she was the one who did really well on the test, and I was ready to learn a thing or two. What I do know is that she is quick with the knife. She is confident in her cuts, and makes them quickly. She worked on the julienne and cuts for actually making the consommé, including mixing in the meat and egg whites, etc. I worked on the macedoine garnish for the consommé. The consommé was the first thing to be prepared, with a service time of 8:00. As a refresher, the consommé is a disgusting mush of lean meat, julienned veggies, chopped tomatoes and egg whites, gently simmered in beef marmite. After a little while the mush starts to congeal and form a raft at the top. You have to let the raft collect all the fat and particles and then ladle out the consommé into a chinois, degrease, and serve over the macedoine of vegetables.
Ours was looking great from the beginning, so chef said. Everything was going really well until my partner accidentally cracked some pepper into the consommé. It’s supposed to be peppered before it’s ladled, and only salted afterwards. He said the first thing he tasted was pepper. We also had a little fat on top, which may have been a result of using a fat laden ladle. I also put too many vegetables in the bowl.
It was a little stressful getting the dish served but we did it. Imagine those Iron chefs plating 5 or 6 master dishes in about an hour (including prep work)?! That’s damn impressive.
The next dish we got cracking on was a poached chicken. I don’t feel a chicken, or any meat really lends itself to being poached. But it was actually not bad. I’ll make this description very brief. First we wash, remove the wishbone and wingtips and poach the chicken in cold water. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 2 minutes. Take it out, and put it in an ice bath to stop the cooking. Next we’re supposed to cover with stock and bring to BELOW a simmer for about 20-30 minutes. I mentioned this previously, but I believe most, if not all of the cooking times we are told is more than enough. The chicken cooked in less than 20 minutes, and it was almost 160 degrees, which is ok, but can be considered over cooked. That’s barely enough time to make enough cocotte and prepare the rest of the vegetables that go in the dish.
Either way, the dish came out about 5 minutes late, but everything was cooked perfectly minus that fact that we cooked the potatoes in the broth we served it in, which lent itself to being a little on the cloudy side. Not the end of the world. The food and our plates were hot, and the taste was good, especially considering it was a poached chicken.
After this dish, we were done. Some other people needed to present their apple tart, but we completed our dishes. I feel, for our first class, we did a great job. Chef was pleased with everyone in the class, and we all (including the chef), set a good impression.
I’m not exactly sure what’s on the menu for the next class, but I am working alone. I will be doing the garde manger and saucier positions alone, and I will be on top of my game. This is my first chance to shine, and I’m sure I will. I’m not user when I became so competitive, maybe it was day 1, but I guess I am only out for me. When you work as a team, you obviously succeed and fail as a team, but when you go solo everything that’s great was created from your own to hands, and everything that sucks came from your own ass.
Some words to live by in Level 3: discipline and consistency.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Level 2 – Complete
I suppose this is the equivalent of a final in a college level class (considering the school is an “accredited institution”). And I was nervous as if I was taking a final in college.
The first thing we did was take the written test, or the “theory” portion. This was basically the same as any other written test we took so far. Chef Tom provided the materials we needed to know, in detail, the class before. We were wondering if the other chefs were going to provide the information the way Chef Tom did. You had to either, leave your notes at school and not study them, or just be an idiot, to score less than a 95 on these tests/quizzes.
I did perfectly on the written portion. I may have been the only one to not have a couple of points taken away. At least that’s the impression I got after talking to everyone that night, most of whom seemed to be upset about losing a few points here or there.
After this portion of the test, we had a looong boring lecture on different pieces of restaurant equipment, and how to perform simple maintenance on them. Apparently, one girl passed out and was full on snoring. Everyone got a kick out of that.
After this lecture and a nerve wracking family meal, we had our practical.
We had 20 minutes to perform each of a few different tasks. The first was butchering the chicken. I was most comfortable with this. I practiced this a lot, and decided that I would rock it. I sure did. Let me list a few (hopefully all of the steps)
1) take out the wish bone;
2) manchonner the wings (cut off the tip and the two boned part, and clean the edge of the remaining bone);
3) make a cross (pull back the remaining wing pieces and score a cross into the back of the bird where the wing pieces meet);
4) cut along the inner thighs to start to separate the legs. The cut should connect with the horizontal line of the cross on the back of the bird (Leave as much skin on the breast as possible);
5) pop the thighs (physically pop the thigh bones out of their sockets);
6) being careful to keep the oysters in tact, remove the legs;
7) twist, tear and cut out the remaining back bone;
8) on the inside of the chest, score the cartilage down the center;
9) pop the chest in half (like the thighs) and remove the breast bone;
10) cut the breast in half down the middle;
11) return to the legs and manchonner the tips (expose the end of the drumstick);
12) cut the joint between the legs and thigh; and
13) scrape the meat away from the thigh bone, exposing the bone.
This may not mean a whole lot to you, nor will you be able to butcher the chicken properly if you were simply reading this list, but I promise you it makes perfect sense to anyone who has an idea of what needs to be done, and have been shown before.
The next thing we did was fillet a trout. First we had to remove the scales. I HATE THIS! Scaling fish is such a pain and it’s so messy. Scales flying all over the place, and getting stuck on the knife. Speaking of which, I sharpened my fillet knife the night before, as I found it to be quite dull.
My first fillet was perfect. It was flush against the bone and very clean. The second half was less than perfect. I was starting to get a little nervous about this. I managed to relax and just carefully finish taking off the fillet. It wasn’t bad! It just wasn’t perfect. I removed the bones, clean up the edges, and it was ok.
The next part of the test was to take 2 potatoes and turn as many cocottes as possible. Chef suggested we get 8 out of each potato, though I personally felt my potatoes were on the smaller side and this would be difficult. I pointed it out to him, and he said do the best you could. In 20 minutes I was able to get 8 or 9 piece. They were not as nice as I would have liked. I really go frustrated since my pieces were so thin. Apparently, it was ok, but if I could have only attempted 6 per potato, I would have been happier. And I still would have only turned 8 or 9, but of better quality. One guy got about 15, though his were a little on the small side, and this new girl who will be in our class, got all 16, and apparently they were perfect. Her fillets and chicken were perfect as well, so I was told by the guy working next to her.
Lastly, we needed to make an herbed mayo. This calls for 1 egg yolk, a teaspoon of Dijon mustard, salt, white pepper, a teaspoon of vinegar, and 150mL-175mL of oil. I whipped my butt off and made that mayo. The herbs we added were chives, which we chopped and added at the end. I thought it was pretty good, well, I know it was pretty good, but chef felt it could have used a touch more vinegar and a touch more salt. But I know it was good.
I know this because besides the new girl, who apparently did everything pretty perfectly, I got the second highest score in the class (which should make me second in the class, but I guess its 3rd with the new girl). I got an 88 on the practical. The other guy, I’m led to believe got an 89 or 90. Not much higher. But I think an 89. With the combination of the theory and the rest of the quizzes, I got a 95 and change in the class, which I am extremely proud of. It could, theoretically (or empirically) put me at the top of the class, but I personally believe I am second.
Ultimately, I’ve neglected to quote chef mainly due to the fact that I forgot to, but he said something that is very important. When all is said and done, and we graduate, no restaurant or chef will ever ask your grade. They will see what you can do with a knife and how well you cook. So this 95, second in the class business is worth its weight in the useless nonsense it is. (But it’s still a 95!)
The first thing we did was take the written test, or the “theory” portion. This was basically the same as any other written test we took so far. Chef Tom provided the materials we needed to know, in detail, the class before. We were wondering if the other chefs were going to provide the information the way Chef Tom did. You had to either, leave your notes at school and not study them, or just be an idiot, to score less than a 95 on these tests/quizzes.
I did perfectly on the written portion. I may have been the only one to not have a couple of points taken away. At least that’s the impression I got after talking to everyone that night, most of whom seemed to be upset about losing a few points here or there.
After this portion of the test, we had a looong boring lecture on different pieces of restaurant equipment, and how to perform simple maintenance on them. Apparently, one girl passed out and was full on snoring. Everyone got a kick out of that.
After this lecture and a nerve wracking family meal, we had our practical.
We had 20 minutes to perform each of a few different tasks. The first was butchering the chicken. I was most comfortable with this. I practiced this a lot, and decided that I would rock it. I sure did. Let me list a few (hopefully all of the steps)
1) take out the wish bone;
2) manchonner the wings (cut off the tip and the two boned part, and clean the edge of the remaining bone);
3) make a cross (pull back the remaining wing pieces and score a cross into the back of the bird where the wing pieces meet);
4) cut along the inner thighs to start to separate the legs. The cut should connect with the horizontal line of the cross on the back of the bird (Leave as much skin on the breast as possible);
5) pop the thighs (physically pop the thigh bones out of their sockets);
6) being careful to keep the oysters in tact, remove the legs;
7) twist, tear and cut out the remaining back bone;
8) on the inside of the chest, score the cartilage down the center;
9) pop the chest in half (like the thighs) and remove the breast bone;
10) cut the breast in half down the middle;
11) return to the legs and manchonner the tips (expose the end of the drumstick);
12) cut the joint between the legs and thigh; and
13) scrape the meat away from the thigh bone, exposing the bone.
This may not mean a whole lot to you, nor will you be able to butcher the chicken properly if you were simply reading this list, but I promise you it makes perfect sense to anyone who has an idea of what needs to be done, and have been shown before.
The next thing we did was fillet a trout. First we had to remove the scales. I HATE THIS! Scaling fish is such a pain and it’s so messy. Scales flying all over the place, and getting stuck on the knife. Speaking of which, I sharpened my fillet knife the night before, as I found it to be quite dull.
My first fillet was perfect. It was flush against the bone and very clean. The second half was less than perfect. I was starting to get a little nervous about this. I managed to relax and just carefully finish taking off the fillet. It wasn’t bad! It just wasn’t perfect. I removed the bones, clean up the edges, and it was ok.
The next part of the test was to take 2 potatoes and turn as many cocottes as possible. Chef suggested we get 8 out of each potato, though I personally felt my potatoes were on the smaller side and this would be difficult. I pointed it out to him, and he said do the best you could. In 20 minutes I was able to get 8 or 9 piece. They were not as nice as I would have liked. I really go frustrated since my pieces were so thin. Apparently, it was ok, but if I could have only attempted 6 per potato, I would have been happier. And I still would have only turned 8 or 9, but of better quality. One guy got about 15, though his were a little on the small side, and this new girl who will be in our class, got all 16, and apparently they were perfect. Her fillets and chicken were perfect as well, so I was told by the guy working next to her.
Lastly, we needed to make an herbed mayo. This calls for 1 egg yolk, a teaspoon of Dijon mustard, salt, white pepper, a teaspoon of vinegar, and 150mL-175mL of oil. I whipped my butt off and made that mayo. The herbs we added were chives, which we chopped and added at the end. I thought it was pretty good, well, I know it was pretty good, but chef felt it could have used a touch more vinegar and a touch more salt. But I know it was good.
I know this because besides the new girl, who apparently did everything pretty perfectly, I got the second highest score in the class (which should make me second in the class, but I guess its 3rd with the new girl). I got an 88 on the practical. The other guy, I’m led to believe got an 89 or 90. Not much higher. But I think an 89. With the combination of the theory and the rest of the quizzes, I got a 95 and change in the class, which I am extremely proud of. It could, theoretically (or empirically) put me at the top of the class, but I personally believe I am second.
Ultimately, I’ve neglected to quote chef mainly due to the fact that I forgot to, but he said something that is very important. When all is said and done, and we graduate, no restaurant or chef will ever ask your grade. They will see what you can do with a knife and how well you cook. So this 95, second in the class business is worth its weight in the useless nonsense it is. (But it’s still a 95!)
The Quintessential
So this was our first class sans that one guy. It was a little different. The air felt a little more mature, if that’s possible. I know the guy’s partner was happy to not work with him, so maybe that helped the atmosphere. Ultimately, Chef Tom seemed really pleased about it. Not for “failing” or leaving a kid behind, but because he did the right thing and the class was filled with able and intelligent chefs-to-be.
Anyhow, we took our HACCP test. I am writing this post 3 days after it happened, and therefore my mind isn’t preoccupied with the HACCP. In fact it’s preoccupied with the Level 2 final that we’re taking in 2 hours. But you’ll hear more about that later. I'm pretty confident that I passed the HACCP test, but who knows for sure. I did some last minute studying, and I think I secured a few of the answers that could have otherwise had me retake the test. But I'm not worried about it.
I’ve titled this post as I did because these are two of the most popular, and exemplary vegetable preparations in French cuisine. Chef Tom was glad that we had almost an entire class to just these two fairly simple dishes. And after tasting them, I understood it.
The ratatouille calls for a tomate fondue as its base, and, according to the recipe, we add the other ingredients to this base. However, Chef Tom said it’s important that we cook the vegetables separately, and combined them afterwards. I’m not exactly sure why this makes a difference, but I think its concentrates the individual flavors which are then incorporated in the tomate fondue to meld with the other flavors. The eggplant is a little bit of a disappointment. It turns to a mush, but that’s what eggplant does.
I must say, Chef demoed some of the cuts, particularly the pepper tiles, which were about a half inch to ¾ inch squared, and my partner made them about a cm squared. They looked fine, but I was cutting vegetables at ½ inch squared and hers were smaller, and therefore incongruous. Did this make a difference? Not at all. But to me, I was a little disturbed by it. I’m getting a little picky on some things. It can be bad, but when we’re showed something, as Chef repeatedly tells us, it’s to reproduce, practice and learn. Not to do it a bit differently, unless we’re given permission to do so (en votre facon).
Anyhow, we combined it all, let the flavors mesh, and we served it in a round mold shape, with some chiffonade of basil on top. It was gorgeous, and very flavorful, particularly for a mostly brown vegetable mush. The next dish, however, was better, in my opinion.
The Confit Bayaldi was a beautiful pinwheel of colored vegetables baked in the oven on a bed of sautéed onions and peppers. We filled a round ring mold with the onions and peppers and carefully laid out the sliced eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash and tomatoes around like a pinwheel, within the ring. It took a little finesse and time (something you probably don’t have in excess in a restaurant), but it really looked beautiful. The flavors were delicate but together they made a delicious dish.
Considering we only had to make these two dishes, we had plenty of time, and as tradition has been playing itself out, Chef talked to us about his life experiences for the remaining hour that we had.
This was our last class until the final, and our last class with Chef Tom, not including the final and the lecture we were going to have on kitchen equipment. Chef Tom has been our first impression of the French Culinary Institute and to the professional kitchen. And what a good first impression it was. He is indeed a great chef, and despite his military background, is pretty easy going and very lenient. He talked a big talk, but hey, he walked the walk.
We learned a lot from him, and now its time to see what the other master chefs of the FCI can bestow on us. (after the Level 2 test that is)
Anyhow, we took our HACCP test. I am writing this post 3 days after it happened, and therefore my mind isn’t preoccupied with the HACCP. In fact it’s preoccupied with the Level 2 final that we’re taking in 2 hours. But you’ll hear more about that later. I'm pretty confident that I passed the HACCP test, but who knows for sure. I did some last minute studying, and I think I secured a few of the answers that could have otherwise had me retake the test. But I'm not worried about it.
I’ve titled this post as I did because these are two of the most popular, and exemplary vegetable preparations in French cuisine. Chef Tom was glad that we had almost an entire class to just these two fairly simple dishes. And after tasting them, I understood it.
The ratatouille calls for a tomate fondue as its base, and, according to the recipe, we add the other ingredients to this base. However, Chef Tom said it’s important that we cook the vegetables separately, and combined them afterwards. I’m not exactly sure why this makes a difference, but I think its concentrates the individual flavors which are then incorporated in the tomate fondue to meld with the other flavors. The eggplant is a little bit of a disappointment. It turns to a mush, but that’s what eggplant does.
I must say, Chef demoed some of the cuts, particularly the pepper tiles, which were about a half inch to ¾ inch squared, and my partner made them about a cm squared. They looked fine, but I was cutting vegetables at ½ inch squared and hers were smaller, and therefore incongruous. Did this make a difference? Not at all. But to me, I was a little disturbed by it. I’m getting a little picky on some things. It can be bad, but when we’re showed something, as Chef repeatedly tells us, it’s to reproduce, practice and learn. Not to do it a bit differently, unless we’re given permission to do so (en votre facon).
Anyhow, we combined it all, let the flavors mesh, and we served it in a round mold shape, with some chiffonade of basil on top. It was gorgeous, and very flavorful, particularly for a mostly brown vegetable mush. The next dish, however, was better, in my opinion.
The Confit Bayaldi was a beautiful pinwheel of colored vegetables baked in the oven on a bed of sautéed onions and peppers. We filled a round ring mold with the onions and peppers and carefully laid out the sliced eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash and tomatoes around like a pinwheel, within the ring. It took a little finesse and time (something you probably don’t have in excess in a restaurant), but it really looked beautiful. The flavors were delicate but together they made a delicious dish.
Considering we only had to make these two dishes, we had plenty of time, and as tradition has been playing itself out, Chef talked to us about his life experiences for the remaining hour that we had.
This was our last class until the final, and our last class with Chef Tom, not including the final and the lecture we were going to have on kitchen equipment. Chef Tom has been our first impression of the French Culinary Institute and to the professional kitchen. And what a good first impression it was. He is indeed a great chef, and despite his military background, is pretty easy going and very lenient. He talked a big talk, but hey, he walked the walk.
We learned a lot from him, and now its time to see what the other master chefs of the FCI can bestow on us. (after the Level 2 test that is)
Monday, November 19, 2007
A taste of Italia at the FCI
Last class we made ricotta and mozzarella for a reason. We were going to use it in our raviolis for this class! That’s to say we made ravioli – the pasta and filing from scratch – gnocchi, risotto and rice pudding! The rice pudding was made from risotto rice, and it was pretty interesting.
Anyhow, the first thing we had to do was make the pasta. It’s pretty darn simple. One egg, some flour and salt, a touch of oil and that’s about it. Mix it together and then knead it like a mofo, for about 10 minutes. Chef told us a pretty nifty trick. Instead of kneading like a mofo, all you really have to do is incorporate it all, give it a minute or so of kneading, and then just start rolling it through the pasta roller, folding it, and re rolling it. This, in effect, replaces the kneading, and it does something else. It gets the dough flat and ready to be rolled after you refrigerate it. This is a pretty nifty shortcut, if nor nothing else, it replaces the grueling kneading step. However, as everyone waited to “knead” their dough on just 2 pasta rollers, I spent the time kneading it. Chef said it was perfect and to just pop it in the fridge. Sweet. Nothing like keeping it old-school.
Anyhow, while the dough rested we did a few things. We started simmering the rice pudding risotto in milk and vanilla. Twice the milk boiled over right under our noses. Not the end of the world, but still, it sucks that we weren’t attentive enough to catch it before it happened.
So as the rice pudding boiled and the dough rested, we boiled, peeled and air dried some potatoes for our gnocchi, made a tomato sauce (similar to our tomate fondue), and started to prepare the ricotta stuffing. It was multi-tasking at its best.
The cheese filling was ricotta, parmesan, salt, pepper, an egg yolk and cream (and a few chopped herbs). Oddly enough, the ricotta which was sitting in the fridge for a couple of days was a little on the dry side. I guess it was sitting in breathable cheese cloth and not in a closed container.
I added a significant amount of cream but the mixture still seemed a little dry. But I didn’t want to over do it because I knew, ultimately, it would melt, which it did, and it was delicious.
We rolled out the pasta dough and made our ravioli. In the interest of time, and for the heck of it, I cut out my ravioli, but I didn’t shape them. Most of the people in class used round molds. I just left them “rustic.” I’m definitely a fan of this approach. It doesn’t affect the flavor, you get a little more pasta, but you also get an old world feel, rather than a cookie cutter, over worked product.
It was really good, and if you like rustic, it looked great too.
The gnocchi was surprisingly delicious as well! I thought it was going to be really bland, but it was quite tasty and had a nice texture. We riced the potatoes, then sifted some flour over it. After making a well, we put an egg or two in the middle and combined it all. Some salt and pepper and working it as little as possible, we combined it all, and rolled out a long log. Chopped the log and straight into the boiling water. A few minutes later, gnocchi was floating at the top, and bam, done.
It was a really productive first half of class. The next half we made a saffron risotto, which is a really simple preparation.
Our Risotto was less colorful than some other people’s. The recipe called for a pinch of saffron. And that’s all we put. However, we were told that in small batches for customers, we should use more saffron so it’s more colorful, and the customer could appreciate it more. It was like the difference in color between an orange and a blood orange. It’s clear the blood orange is a better looking product. I asked to try my classmate’s to see the difference. Very little difference, if any. My partner did however stir in a heck of a lot of butter at the end. It was a ridiculous amount, and I decided she could take it home.
At home we don’t have chicken stock at our disposal, so we just use chicken bouillon. In fact any recipe that calls for chicken stock that I’ve made in the house, I have used chicken bouillon to make a broth. It’s perfect, and adds a nice amount of salt, but not too much (or is it MSG?). But the risotto comes out great.
So we lost that guy in this class. He seemed pretty pissed, but I’m sure he was more pissed after we left and he could think it over and talk with his friends about it. But I think he knows it’s for the best. I think he’s going to redo level 2 when the next class gets to it. Turns out his buddies from Staten Island are in level 1 now, and he will probably be in their class. So maybe it’s better for him. I do know that he is going to act like a know-it-all in their class, but he’s probably gonna be just as bad as he has been, which will piss a bunch of people off.
Who knows, maybe it’s a humbling experience, or a realization. I’m sure he’s going to be a marked man if Chef Tom has his way, but then again, if you got left back, you should be watched carefully to make sure you don’t waste more time and money.
Next class he wave our HACCP/SafeServ test, and then we have the rest of the class to make ratatouille and another classic vegetable dish, confit bayaldi. I’m sure there will be plenty of time to discuss life with Chef Tom.
OH, one more thing. There were two visitors in our class who were making up a missed class and both of them were quite on the annoying side. Particularly this asian guy who was, supposedly, in the middle of studying at med school. He was such a douche bag, and I hope he never makes up a calss with us again. he was so annoying. Which makes me appreciate some of the good people, and friendly, not annoying, characters in our class.
Anyhow, the first thing we had to do was make the pasta. It’s pretty darn simple. One egg, some flour and salt, a touch of oil and that’s about it. Mix it together and then knead it like a mofo, for about 10 minutes. Chef told us a pretty nifty trick. Instead of kneading like a mofo, all you really have to do is incorporate it all, give it a minute or so of kneading, and then just start rolling it through the pasta roller, folding it, and re rolling it. This, in effect, replaces the kneading, and it does something else. It gets the dough flat and ready to be rolled after you refrigerate it. This is a pretty nifty shortcut, if nor nothing else, it replaces the grueling kneading step. However, as everyone waited to “knead” their dough on just 2 pasta rollers, I spent the time kneading it. Chef said it was perfect and to just pop it in the fridge. Sweet. Nothing like keeping it old-school.
Anyhow, while the dough rested we did a few things. We started simmering the rice pudding risotto in milk and vanilla. Twice the milk boiled over right under our noses. Not the end of the world, but still, it sucks that we weren’t attentive enough to catch it before it happened.
So as the rice pudding boiled and the dough rested, we boiled, peeled and air dried some potatoes for our gnocchi, made a tomato sauce (similar to our tomate fondue), and started to prepare the ricotta stuffing. It was multi-tasking at its best.
The cheese filling was ricotta, parmesan, salt, pepper, an egg yolk and cream (and a few chopped herbs). Oddly enough, the ricotta which was sitting in the fridge for a couple of days was a little on the dry side. I guess it was sitting in breathable cheese cloth and not in a closed container.
I added a significant amount of cream but the mixture still seemed a little dry. But I didn’t want to over do it because I knew, ultimately, it would melt, which it did, and it was delicious.
We rolled out the pasta dough and made our ravioli. In the interest of time, and for the heck of it, I cut out my ravioli, but I didn’t shape them. Most of the people in class used round molds. I just left them “rustic.” I’m definitely a fan of this approach. It doesn’t affect the flavor, you get a little more pasta, but you also get an old world feel, rather than a cookie cutter, over worked product.
It was really good, and if you like rustic, it looked great too.
The gnocchi was surprisingly delicious as well! I thought it was going to be really bland, but it was quite tasty and had a nice texture. We riced the potatoes, then sifted some flour over it. After making a well, we put an egg or two in the middle and combined it all. Some salt and pepper and working it as little as possible, we combined it all, and rolled out a long log. Chopped the log and straight into the boiling water. A few minutes later, gnocchi was floating at the top, and bam, done.
It was a really productive first half of class. The next half we made a saffron risotto, which is a really simple preparation.
Our Risotto was less colorful than some other people’s. The recipe called for a pinch of saffron. And that’s all we put. However, we were told that in small batches for customers, we should use more saffron so it’s more colorful, and the customer could appreciate it more. It was like the difference in color between an orange and a blood orange. It’s clear the blood orange is a better looking product. I asked to try my classmate’s to see the difference. Very little difference, if any. My partner did however stir in a heck of a lot of butter at the end. It was a ridiculous amount, and I decided she could take it home.
At home we don’t have chicken stock at our disposal, so we just use chicken bouillon. In fact any recipe that calls for chicken stock that I’ve made in the house, I have used chicken bouillon to make a broth. It’s perfect, and adds a nice amount of salt, but not too much (or is it MSG?). But the risotto comes out great.
So we lost that guy in this class. He seemed pretty pissed, but I’m sure he was more pissed after we left and he could think it over and talk with his friends about it. But I think he knows it’s for the best. I think he’s going to redo level 2 when the next class gets to it. Turns out his buddies from Staten Island are in level 1 now, and he will probably be in their class. So maybe it’s better for him. I do know that he is going to act like a know-it-all in their class, but he’s probably gonna be just as bad as he has been, which will piss a bunch of people off.
Who knows, maybe it’s a humbling experience, or a realization. I’m sure he’s going to be a marked man if Chef Tom has his way, but then again, if you got left back, you should be watched carefully to make sure you don’t waste more time and money.
Next class he wave our HACCP/SafeServ test, and then we have the rest of the class to make ratatouille and another classic vegetable dish, confit bayaldi. I’m sure there will be plenty of time to discuss life with Chef Tom.
OH, one more thing. There were two visitors in our class who were making up a missed class and both of them were quite on the annoying side. Particularly this asian guy who was, supposedly, in the middle of studying at med school. He was such a douche bag, and I hope he never makes up a calss with us again. he was so annoying. Which makes me appreciate some of the good people, and friendly, not annoying, characters in our class.
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