SEARED SCALLOPS OVER BRAISED ENDIVE, RED WINE GASTRIQUE
PAN SEARED SIRLOIN STEAK OVER CARMELIZED BRUSSEL SPROUTS, AND POTATO ROSTI WITH CLASSIC BERNAISE
ROASTED CHICKEN OVER BRAISED LEEKS WITH CREAMY GOAT MILK CHEDDAR POLENTA, AND CANDIED TOMATOES
Saturday, October 18, 2008
HOME COOKING WEEK OF 10/18
SEARED SCALLOPS OVER BRAISED ENDIVE, RED WINE GASTRIQUE
PAN SEARED SIRLOIN STEAK OVER CARMELIZED BRUSSEL SPROUTS, AND POTATO ROSTI WITH CLASSIC BERNAISE
ROASTED CHICKEN OVER BRAISED LEEKS WITH CREAMY GOAT MILK CHEDDAR POLENTA, AND CANDIED TOMATOES
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Wednesday and thursday
Hey everyone,
Here is the video of chef Herves lecture today, Lecture
Sorry it took me so long to upload google video has stopped working for me...
Below are some pictures from yesterday! First is a picture of my tourne potatoes. Im getting a lot more consistent as you can see but its still very difficult to get them perfectly. Next is a picture of a carrot cut into pasayne (1/2 in x 1/2 in x 1/8 in squares cut in half to make triangles). Its amazing how much waste both of these cuts produced. 4 Whole carrots yielded only about 3/4 c. of perfect pasayne. As you can see the potatoes (2 to start) didnt yield much better at all. The scrap pile is 4-5 times bigger then the tourne. Fortunately the school utilizes the scrap and doesn't throw any of it out. The potato scraps will become roasted potatoes, while the carrot scraps will be shredded for the salad bar.
Monday is my culinary theory practical which I am very excited about! Chef Emma promised me a challenge so I can wait to see what I get.
Hope all is well with everyone,
Love,
Saul
Here is the video of chef Herves lecture today, Lecture
Sorry it took me so long to upload google video has stopped working for me...
Below are some pictures from yesterday! First is a picture of my tourne potatoes. Im getting a lot more consistent as you can see but its still very difficult to get them perfectly. Next is a picture of a carrot cut into pasayne (1/2 in x 1/2 in x 1/8 in squares cut in half to make triangles). Its amazing how much waste both of these cuts produced. 4 Whole carrots yielded only about 3/4 c. of perfect pasayne. As you can see the potatoes (2 to start) didnt yield much better at all. The scrap pile is 4-5 times bigger then the tourne. Fortunately the school utilizes the scrap and doesn't throw any of it out. The potato scraps will become roasted potatoes, while the carrot scraps will be shredded for the salad bar.
Monday is my culinary theory practical which I am very excited about! Chef Emma promised me a challenge so I can wait to see what I get.
Hope all is well with everyone,
Love,
Saul
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
TUESDAY!
Hey everyone,
Today with chef Emma we finished our moist heat cooking methods and went on to our dry heat cooking methods. First thing we got to do was my personal favorite method, Braising. Before we started cooking we all watched a demonstration on a dish called beouf burginone. It is a classic french dish composed of stewed beef chunks marinated in red wine, mushrooms, bacon, pearl onions, and herbs. If anyone would like a recipe I can post it (it takes 2 days to prepare)
BROWNING OF BEEF IN BACON FAT FOR BURGINONE
After this demonstration we also watched a braised short rib demonstration with 2 variations, One braised with stock, and the other with just water. Also in the braise was red wine, mirepoix, thyme, and tomatoes.
SEARED SHORT RIBS FOR BRAISE
Both of these processes took 2-3 hours so before i talk about the taste of those recipes ill go on to discuss what I personally made while waiting (rather impatiently because they were so tempting)
So we had the option of brasing either short ribs or chicken legs. I chose chicken legs with some inspiration of seeing marsala wine on the shelf. Here was my recipe:
Maple Marsala braised Chicken (this one got me a high 5 from Emma)
2 Chicken Legs
1/2 onion medium dice
1 small carrot medium dice
1 stalk celery medium dice
3 cloves garlic halved
2 sprigs thyme
1/2 c. marsala wine
2 C. Chicken stock
1/4 c. maple syrup (i used grade B)
~2 T. Lemon Juice
2 T. Buerre Manie (uncooked roux 1 part butter or fat and 1 part flour kneaded together)
Season your legs with S & P then sear in a hot pan. Reserve on the side. Add mirepoix and cook until slightly browned. add Marsala wine and reduce until au sec. Add maple syrup and chicken stock and thyme. Bring to a simmer, then add back chicken, cover with fitting lid, and place in oven at 300 degrees for 1 hour. Once finished remove from oven, remove chicken pieces, and add lemon juice to taste, s & p to taste, and buerre manie to thicken. Make sure you add enough lemon juice to give some sharpness to the dish so its not overly sweet.
MY FINSIHED CHIX WITHOUT SAUCE
While this was going me and two others were put in charge of making some fresh pappardelle pasta to eat with the burginone while the rest of the class was tasked with mashed potatoes. I got to use my pasta machine again! that has been proving very valueable at school. (Everything we cooked today we would eat as our lunch) Any way I mixed up the dough and then rolled out one sheet of pasta, cut it and passed the rest over to the others in the class. once the pasta was rolled out It was cooked and then it was tossed with butter, salt, pepper, and fresh chopped parsley. It was a perfect accompaniment to the heavy braise. The short ribs were amazing, they fell apart in the pot, on the fork, and in my mouth. Their sauce coated my whole mouth and made my stomach very happy. The Burginone was also incredibly tender, and the red wine sauce surounding it was delicious, sweet, savory, and very rich.
UNCOOKED PAPPARDELLE
Once all of our braises were done we all went upstairs into the dining room with our food, and ate our Spread (Emma says this now since I said the word smorgesbord was funny with a british accent.)
MY PLATE (BURGINONE)
MY PLATE (BURGINONE, SHORT RIBS, CHICKEN)
Thats all from frost bitten Montpelier,
Love,
Saul
Today with chef Emma we finished our moist heat cooking methods and went on to our dry heat cooking methods. First thing we got to do was my personal favorite method, Braising. Before we started cooking we all watched a demonstration on a dish called beouf burginone. It is a classic french dish composed of stewed beef chunks marinated in red wine, mushrooms, bacon, pearl onions, and herbs. If anyone would like a recipe I can post it (it takes 2 days to prepare)
BROWNING OF BEEF IN BACON FAT FOR BURGINONE
After this demonstration we also watched a braised short rib demonstration with 2 variations, One braised with stock, and the other with just water. Also in the braise was red wine, mirepoix, thyme, and tomatoes.
SEARED SHORT RIBS FOR BRAISE
Both of these processes took 2-3 hours so before i talk about the taste of those recipes ill go on to discuss what I personally made while waiting (rather impatiently because they were so tempting)
So we had the option of brasing either short ribs or chicken legs. I chose chicken legs with some inspiration of seeing marsala wine on the shelf. Here was my recipe:
Maple Marsala braised Chicken (this one got me a high 5 from Emma)
2 Chicken Legs
1/2 onion medium dice
1 small carrot medium dice
1 stalk celery medium dice
3 cloves garlic halved
2 sprigs thyme
1/2 c. marsala wine
2 C. Chicken stock
1/4 c. maple syrup (i used grade B)
~2 T. Lemon Juice
2 T. Buerre Manie (uncooked roux 1 part butter or fat and 1 part flour kneaded together)
Season your legs with S & P then sear in a hot pan. Reserve on the side. Add mirepoix and cook until slightly browned. add Marsala wine and reduce until au sec. Add maple syrup and chicken stock and thyme. Bring to a simmer, then add back chicken, cover with fitting lid, and place in oven at 300 degrees for 1 hour. Once finished remove from oven, remove chicken pieces, and add lemon juice to taste, s & p to taste, and buerre manie to thicken. Make sure you add enough lemon juice to give some sharpness to the dish so its not overly sweet.
MY FINSIHED CHIX WITHOUT SAUCE
While this was going me and two others were put in charge of making some fresh pappardelle pasta to eat with the burginone while the rest of the class was tasked with mashed potatoes. I got to use my pasta machine again! that has been proving very valueable at school. (Everything we cooked today we would eat as our lunch) Any way I mixed up the dough and then rolled out one sheet of pasta, cut it and passed the rest over to the others in the class. once the pasta was rolled out It was cooked and then it was tossed with butter, salt, pepper, and fresh chopped parsley. It was a perfect accompaniment to the heavy braise. The short ribs were amazing, they fell apart in the pot, on the fork, and in my mouth. Their sauce coated my whole mouth and made my stomach very happy. The Burginone was also incredibly tender, and the red wine sauce surounding it was delicious, sweet, savory, and very rich.
UNCOOKED PAPPARDELLE
Once all of our braises were done we all went upstairs into the dining room with our food, and ate our Spread (Emma says this now since I said the word smorgesbord was funny with a british accent.)
MY PLATE (BURGINONE)
MY PLATE (BURGINONE, SHORT RIBS, CHICKEN)
Thats all from frost bitten Montpelier,
Love,
Saul
Monday, October 6, 2008
MONDAY
Hey everyone,
Today in cooking theory we began to work our way through the moist cooking methods, as well as a science experiment testing the coagulation of proteins. (mind you that before that i shaved on the ride to work). Emma has a new chef who she is training for next year. His name is chef Jeffery, who is himself a NECI alumni. To begin the day, Jeffery gave us a salmon demonstration, in which he took and butchered a whole salmon. We then went on to create several dishes with our portions of salmon. Each of us made a poached salmon, (mine had a court bouillon poaching liquid, and a lemon dill bechamel sauce). Then we each made our own en papillote (in parchment)
To do this you take a heart shaped piece of parchment paper, add your fish and arromatics, wrap it up then bake it in the oven. Mine came out deliciously and I ate it too quick to take a picture. Fortunately I can describe it for you. First I layered a julianne of carrots, zucchini, and onion. Next the herbs, thyme, parsley , and dill. The salmon went next followed by my compound butter from last week, and fresh lemon slices.
Court boullion poaching liquid
1/2 C. White wine
1 Qt water
1 lemon, halved
1 stalk celery
1/2 onion
1 bayleaf
3 peppercorns
1 T. vegetable stock base (or omit water and use veg stock)
3 sprigs parsley
Fresh dill to taste (to complement salmon)
Bring to a boil, reduce to a poaching temperature (165-185) then add salmon and cook until medium rare (5-7 minutes) remove from poaching liquid and finish with fresh lemon and dill.
Bake that for 13-15 minutes and it was delicious. We then continued to make a new soup for the church which was a lemongrass, ginger, carrot, soup. I got to strain the whole 6 gallons which took a good 45 minutes and gave my arm a good workout. There wasn't much more to today, but here are my notes for you to enjoy,
Love,
Saul
Today in cooking theory we began to work our way through the moist cooking methods, as well as a science experiment testing the coagulation of proteins. (mind you that before that i shaved on the ride to work). Emma has a new chef who she is training for next year. His name is chef Jeffery, who is himself a NECI alumni. To begin the day, Jeffery gave us a salmon demonstration, in which he took and butchered a whole salmon. We then went on to create several dishes with our portions of salmon. Each of us made a poached salmon, (mine had a court bouillon poaching liquid, and a lemon dill bechamel sauce). Then we each made our own en papillote (in parchment)
To do this you take a heart shaped piece of parchment paper, add your fish and arromatics, wrap it up then bake it in the oven. Mine came out deliciously and I ate it too quick to take a picture. Fortunately I can describe it for you. First I layered a julianne of carrots, zucchini, and onion. Next the herbs, thyme, parsley , and dill. The salmon went next followed by my compound butter from last week, and fresh lemon slices.
Court boullion poaching liquid
1/2 C. White wine
1 Qt water
1 lemon, halved
1 stalk celery
1/2 onion
1 bayleaf
3 peppercorns
1 T. vegetable stock base (or omit water and use veg stock)
3 sprigs parsley
Fresh dill to taste (to complement salmon)
Bring to a boil, reduce to a poaching temperature (165-185) then add salmon and cook until medium rare (5-7 minutes) remove from poaching liquid and finish with fresh lemon and dill.
Bake that for 13-15 minutes and it was delicious. We then continued to make a new soup for the church which was a lemongrass, ginger, carrot, soup. I got to strain the whole 6 gallons which took a good 45 minutes and gave my arm a good workout. There wasn't much more to today, but here are my notes for you to enjoy,
Love,
Saul
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Inventory managment and produce taste test
Hello everyone,
Today in inventory management (5 am) we did the usual, sweeping and mopping the coolers, receiving, processing, and putting away the orders, and taking inventories of the "A" freezer, and B, C, D, E, F, and G coolers. After all of the muscle work, we got to do an awesome produce taste test of some exotic ingredients. Chef Herve took us into the lecture room and it began.
We tasted many fruits and veggies including: Sunchokes, chayotes, avacado, papaya (you would have loved it dad), jicima, celery root, endive, water cress, passion fruit, ground cherries, tomatillos, fresh coconut, yucca, and several more.
Chef Herve unleashed some awesome humor none of us have ever seen today. He told us that back in the day in france they would make ash trays out of hollowed out coconut shells. He also shared many great recipes for the ingredients we sampled.
Next week we get to do an oil and vinegar tasting, which will include olive oils from 5 different continents, nut oils, and many herb and vegetable oils. We will also taste many different vinegars, and although we dont get to taste it, Herve has a 30 year old bottle of balsamic vinegar that cost over 60$ for the 1 oz. bottle he has. It came from years ago when NECI did a dinner for some big wigs who ordered 5 of the bottles and one was left over, so chef Herve has it. Unfortunately the little bit of vinegar that was left in the bottle has evaporated but we do get the opportunity to smell it.
Any way I have uploaded the portion of the lecture i remembered to video tape and you can watch it here (warning it is sometimes difficult to understand) : HERVE LECTURE
Love you all,
Saul
Today in inventory management (5 am) we did the usual, sweeping and mopping the coolers, receiving, processing, and putting away the orders, and taking inventories of the "A" freezer, and B, C, D, E, F, and G coolers. After all of the muscle work, we got to do an awesome produce taste test of some exotic ingredients. Chef Herve took us into the lecture room and it began.
We tasted many fruits and veggies including: Sunchokes, chayotes, avacado, papaya (you would have loved it dad), jicima, celery root, endive, water cress, passion fruit, ground cherries, tomatillos, fresh coconut, yucca, and several more.
Chef Herve unleashed some awesome humor none of us have ever seen today. He told us that back in the day in france they would make ash trays out of hollowed out coconut shells. He also shared many great recipes for the ingredients we sampled.
Next week we get to do an oil and vinegar tasting, which will include olive oils from 5 different continents, nut oils, and many herb and vegetable oils. We will also taste many different vinegars, and although we dont get to taste it, Herve has a 30 year old bottle of balsamic vinegar that cost over 60$ for the 1 oz. bottle he has. It came from years ago when NECI did a dinner for some big wigs who ordered 5 of the bottles and one was left over, so chef Herve has it. Unfortunately the little bit of vinegar that was left in the bottle has evaporated but we do get the opportunity to smell it.
Any way I have uploaded the portion of the lecture i remembered to video tape and you can watch it here (warning it is sometimes difficult to understand) : HERVE LECTURE
Love you all,
Saul
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
tuesday and wednesday update
Click pictures to enlarge and leave comments!
Yesterday in chef Emma's class we got to do more grains, starches, and vegetables. Everyone got to make our own batch of polenta, but then we each got our own individual grains. I got to make Kamut, and cous-cous Here is the food lovers companion definition of kamut:
"The name "kamut" comes from the ancient Egyptian word for "wheat." Considered by some to be the great-great grandfather of grains, kamut is a variety of high-protein wheat that has never been hybridized. Thirty-six kernels were brought to Montana in the late 1940s and, at this writing, the grain is grown commercially only in that state. Kamut's kernels are two to three times the size of most wheat. Not only does this grain have a deliciously nutty flavor, but it also has a higher nutritional value than its modern-day counterparts. In the United States, kamut is available only in processed foods. It's used mainly for pastas, puffed cereal and crackers. Because cultivation is limited, kamut products are hard to find, and are generally only available in health-food stores."
Here is the recipe for the salad I made with my kamut:
INGREDIENTS
2 C. Cooked Kamut
1 T. Sherry Vinegar
1 T. Sugar
2 Cloves minced garlic
2 minced scallions
1 t. crushed red pepper
2 T. chopped fresh parsley
3 T. olive oil
1/4 C. white wine
Saute Garlic and scallions in 1 T. of the olive oil hot pan for 30 seconds. add white wine and reduce. Add vinegar, red pepper, sugar, and cooked Kamut. Remove from heat then add other olive oil and toss in fresh parsley.
Cous-Cous and Kamut
My polenta was simple but delicous and had roasted garlic, crushed red pepper, asiago cheese, thyme, and butter. I made a firm polenta in which the ratio was 1 part polenta (corn meal) to 4 1/2 parts liquid (I used chicken stock and milk). after cooking the polenta for 25 minutes (stirring constantly) i folded in all of my goodies. Here is a picture of mine cooking:
Since my polenta was a firm variation, i put it into a hotel pan and let it firm up while we went to breakfast. After breakfast (Coffee and orange juice), I sliced up my polenta and fry-u-lated it. Nothing is better for breakfast then crisp, garlicy, spicy food. And what a great alternitave to french fries.
Motley crew at breakfast
Next I got to prepare my cous-cous which i steeped in vegetable stock, bay leaf, cracked pepper, thyme, garlic, shallots, and fennel seed. The best way to prepare cous-cous is to add equal parts boiling liquid to the dry pasta. Cover it and let it sit for 5 - 10 minutes then fluff with a fork. This was delicious, spicy, and savory.
Next we did a science experiment which was awesome. We tested the effects of an cooking vegetables in the presence of an acid, a base, salt, and we had a control. We tested the three different pigment groups, flavinoids (white veggies), the caretinoids (orange vegetables, oil soluble), and the chlorophyll (green and water solouble). Salt overall makes all vegetables more intensly colored and crisper once cooked. The acid (vinegar in our case), made the flavinoids brighter although they came out rubbery. The Base (baking soda) ruined almost all of the vegetables and left them discolored, except the chlorophyll group (acid ruins them so this makes sense). If this doesnt make sense here are the pictures:
Top to bottom: Acid, Base, Salt, Nada
Any way next after lunch,(salad bar and turkey noodle soup), we got to make a potato smorgesbord as chef Emma called it. The word smorgesbord in an english accent is one of the funniest words ever. I got to make the Potatoe Rosti (a thin and crispy pancake similar to a latke), And mashed potatoes. There were 7 different preperations made in all from pomme frites to bilinis (and i did ask chef Emma but we had no caviar or smoked salmon). I made a brown butter sauce for the gnocci. Essentially you cook the butter until it browns then add lemon juice and sage, plus salt and pepper. Any way i went home feeling very, very full.
above is chef Emma making a kid who
said he didnt like buttermilk mashed potatoes
drink buttermilk
And today i had knife skills at national life. We learned a lot about how leeks grow and how garlic germinates and how to treat the product because of it. Leeks have a long white part and a green leafy top. This is because the chloropyll only develops in the part that the sun has access to. Leeks are covered in sand daily to hide the newly grown part to make a longer white section. Dirt is therefore pushed further into the leek as it grows. This is why, if you have ever cleaned a leek, you must take special care to go through all of the layers to remove the grit.
Anyway besides the interesting science lesson we got to do some busy work including a julliane of 2 cases of leeks (of course a perfect 1/8 in x 1/8 in x 2 in.) Cases weigh 40 # each by the way. After that 2 more cases of pears had to be peeled, cored and poached in a vinegar and sherry mixture for a salad fashion show that takes place this friday. This all went very quick and then i went home for the day. The foliage on the drive home was beautiful:
(state building)
(far building is school)
Lots of love to all,
Saul
Yesterday in chef Emma's class we got to do more grains, starches, and vegetables. Everyone got to make our own batch of polenta, but then we each got our own individual grains. I got to make Kamut, and cous-cous Here is the food lovers companion definition of kamut:
"The name "kamut" comes from the ancient Egyptian word for "wheat." Considered by some to be the great-great grandfather of grains, kamut is a variety of high-protein wheat that has never been hybridized. Thirty-six kernels were brought to Montana in the late 1940s and, at this writing, the grain is grown commercially only in that state. Kamut's kernels are two to three times the size of most wheat. Not only does this grain have a deliciously nutty flavor, but it also has a higher nutritional value than its modern-day counterparts. In the United States, kamut is available only in processed foods. It's used mainly for pastas, puffed cereal and crackers. Because cultivation is limited, kamut products are hard to find, and are generally only available in health-food stores."
Here is the recipe for the salad I made with my kamut:
INGREDIENTS
2 C. Cooked Kamut
1 T. Sherry Vinegar
1 T. Sugar
2 Cloves minced garlic
2 minced scallions
1 t. crushed red pepper
2 T. chopped fresh parsley
3 T. olive oil
1/4 C. white wine
Saute Garlic and scallions in 1 T. of the olive oil hot pan for 30 seconds. add white wine and reduce. Add vinegar, red pepper, sugar, and cooked Kamut. Remove from heat then add other olive oil and toss in fresh parsley.
Cous-Cous and Kamut
My polenta was simple but delicous and had roasted garlic, crushed red pepper, asiago cheese, thyme, and butter. I made a firm polenta in which the ratio was 1 part polenta (corn meal) to 4 1/2 parts liquid (I used chicken stock and milk). after cooking the polenta for 25 minutes (stirring constantly) i folded in all of my goodies. Here is a picture of mine cooking:
Since my polenta was a firm variation, i put it into a hotel pan and let it firm up while we went to breakfast. After breakfast (Coffee and orange juice), I sliced up my polenta and fry-u-lated it. Nothing is better for breakfast then crisp, garlicy, spicy food. And what a great alternitave to french fries.
Motley crew at breakfast
Next I got to prepare my cous-cous which i steeped in vegetable stock, bay leaf, cracked pepper, thyme, garlic, shallots, and fennel seed. The best way to prepare cous-cous is to add equal parts boiling liquid to the dry pasta. Cover it and let it sit for 5 - 10 minutes then fluff with a fork. This was delicious, spicy, and savory.
Next we did a science experiment which was awesome. We tested the effects of an cooking vegetables in the presence of an acid, a base, salt, and we had a control. We tested the three different pigment groups, flavinoids (white veggies), the caretinoids (orange vegetables, oil soluble), and the chlorophyll (green and water solouble). Salt overall makes all vegetables more intensly colored and crisper once cooked. The acid (vinegar in our case), made the flavinoids brighter although they came out rubbery. The Base (baking soda) ruined almost all of the vegetables and left them discolored, except the chlorophyll group (acid ruins them so this makes sense). If this doesnt make sense here are the pictures:
Top to bottom: Acid, Base, Salt, Nada
Any way next after lunch,(salad bar and turkey noodle soup), we got to make a potato smorgesbord as chef Emma called it. The word smorgesbord in an english accent is one of the funniest words ever. I got to make the Potatoe Rosti (a thin and crispy pancake similar to a latke), And mashed potatoes. There were 7 different preperations made in all from pomme frites to bilinis (and i did ask chef Emma but we had no caviar or smoked salmon). I made a brown butter sauce for the gnocci. Essentially you cook the butter until it browns then add lemon juice and sage, plus salt and pepper. Any way i went home feeling very, very full.
above is chef Emma making a kid who
said he didnt like buttermilk mashed potatoes
drink buttermilk
And today i had knife skills at national life. We learned a lot about how leeks grow and how garlic germinates and how to treat the product because of it. Leeks have a long white part and a green leafy top. This is because the chloropyll only develops in the part that the sun has access to. Leeks are covered in sand daily to hide the newly grown part to make a longer white section. Dirt is therefore pushed further into the leek as it grows. This is why, if you have ever cleaned a leek, you must take special care to go through all of the layers to remove the grit.
Anyway besides the interesting science lesson we got to do some busy work including a julliane of 2 cases of leeks (of course a perfect 1/8 in x 1/8 in x 2 in.) Cases weigh 40 # each by the way. After that 2 more cases of pears had to be peeled, cored and poached in a vinegar and sherry mixture for a salad fashion show that takes place this friday. This all went very quick and then i went home for the day. The foliage on the drive home was beautiful:
(state building)
(far building is school)
Lots of love to all,
Saul
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