Class #9: Sandwiches

In this week's class we would be preparing sandwiches as well as a side dish for a complete plate. We would draw out of a hat for our category of how we would prepare our sandwich.  The categories were: grilled, panini pressed, open faced and stacked (layered).  None of these scared me and I was pleased when I drew grilled as I planned to go beyond the basic grilled cheese sandwich.  Once I learned there was sliced turkey in the fridge in our lab kitchen I thought a nice pesto would go great on a grilled sandwich.  I also decided a nice spinach salad on the side would pair with it nicely .  So I began my mise en place.  Do you know what "Mise en place" means?  It translates to "Everything in its place".  It's what Chefs do before they begin to actually cook their meal.  They prep all their ingredients first and stay organized as they go.  They peel, chop, and measure out ingredients before starting a single cooking step.  It helps keep the cooking process stay on track so you can dump the ingredients in as needed instead of say, burning your butter as you're still chopping an onion.  It's a process I'm gradually trying to adapt as I'm not an organized neat cook but I want to be and this process helps and makes me feel more like a chef each time I set out my little bowls of ingredients.


Anyway, back to sandwiches.  I was on the search for pine nuts and couldn't find any and almost ditched the pesto idea when I saw sunflower seeds.  I thought this would work as all I really needed was an oily seed/nut ingredient to process with oil, basil & parmesan cheese - yup, that's all there is to pesto.  So, with my turkey, cheese & pesto grilled sandwich I decided to make a spinach salad with bacon vinegarette.  This is a salad my friend, Joy, had introduced me to a long time ago and I've made it once before and thought it would pair so well with my sandwich.  The salad starts by frying up some bacon, getting it nice & crispy.  Then pour your bacon drippings in a bowl and you'll whisk in syrup (yes, pancake syrup) & balsamic vinegar to taste. I just played with portions until I felt it was just right - sweet with a tang.  It's sooo good - you really must try this flavor combo.  Once my sandwich was grilled to perfection I tossed my spinach with the vinegarette knowing I had to do this at the very last second as the spinach wilts SO quickly.  Chef was pleased as I got a 25 out of 25!  YES!  I was very, very happy and enjoyed eating my work.  Hats off the to the Chef...that would be me in this case. ;)

NOTE: The portion I actually served was much larger but I forgot to take a picture until after the Chef and I had tried it!

Class #8: Eggs - I "crack".....

Even though this class is over, I am still going to post what happened in each class as though it hasn't been weeks since my last post.  I don't think the time is relevant but I do want to be consistent in my posts so you have something new to read and keep coming back.  :)

With that said, let me tell you about Class #8, which was all about eggs.  For this class we learned we would have to cook eggs in 4 ways: over easy, over hard, sunny side up and poached.  With our poached egg we would make eggs benedict making hollandaise sauce by scratch. We would also need to create a side dish to go with it of our own choosing. 

It all sounds so easy, right?  Make 4 eggs, a sauce, a side....BUT let me tell you, eggs is where I cracked (pun intended). It ended up being my least successful class and left me doubting this whole cooking thing.  It started with the Chef giving us a presentation of how the 4 eggs should look and be prepared.  This gave us an idea of what consistency we were looking for in the final presentation.  After that we were on our own.  I thought I'd start with a sunny side up egg and if I screwed it up I could make it my over hard egg.  Well, I did screw it up and that's where I started to lose confidence.  I turned it into my over hard egg but wasn't pleased. I moved on to the over easy egg which basically means you have to flip the egg over (without breaking it) and end up with a very jiggly egg indicating over easy.  I cooked it a little too long and ended up with over medium.  The Chef confirmed this as he was walking by - so my first do-over.  My 2nd attempt worked out fine - phew!  Then I moved on to sunny side up.  I didn't cook it long enough on my first attempt as the Chef checked it out it still had slimy white parts - my second do-over.  My next attempt failed as I broke the yolk when flipping.  Grrrr!  This was not going well.  FINALLY, I completed all my eggs.  I had my sunny side up egg showing it's pretty golden egg on top - perfectly cooked.  Then my over hard which is the yolk broken and all the egg cooked through (not scrambled).  My over easy was flipped and jiggly and my poached egg was pretty too.  A poached egg gets dropped in simmering water that has vinegar in it (this keeps the whites all together) and the yolk is not cooked through.  So I let my eggs sit to the side for the teacher to view them.  
Here's where I really went wrong.  I decided to make fried potatoes for my side. To start this side dish I sauteed some leeks in butter.  I then added my thinly sliced potatoes which actually made my leeks turn into, as the Chef would later call them, "Burnt Bits". I actually like the crispy onions that carmelize on potatoes and thought that's what I had done, but not so.  The Chef let me know what I called "Carmelized" was indeed "Burnt".  So, if that wasn't enough as I served my egg and poured the hollandaise sauce on top it occured to me that my egg was now cold as I left it to the side with the other eggs. I should've put it in the warming oven so the Chef would be served a nice warm egg.  To sum it up, I ended up with a 20 out of 25 on this dish - a B!  I was devastated - so disappointed in myself.  I let myself down more than the Chef, knowing I could've done better.  Luckily my disappointment only lasted a week and by next Monday's Lab I was out of my funk and ready to learn more - no more burnt bits from me!

 So, here you see....cold poached egg with pan fried potatoes & burnt bits.  :)

Class #7: ACF Meeting

Where in the world have I been? It's been weeks, I know.  And since my last post I have moved into a new house and been buried with work and just trying to keep up with everything.  It seems the blog is where I dropped the ball. I'm still going to class regularly and trying to maintain my A, so let me try to catch you up on all I've been doing in the last few classes before the semester ends! 

I left off with Class #7.  Here is what happened in that class on Monday, November 1st:

     I went to class as usual tonight and thought it was odd when no one else was showing up and class was starting in a few minutes.  I had to keep checking my phone to make sure it was the right date and time and I didn’t forget something.  Just then our teacher showed up as he teaches a class right before ours with four fellow classmates behind him and said “I see you all didn’t get the email - we’re meeting at the Country Club tonight”.  I was surprised and excited – I’ve wanted to go to the Country Club where our teacher is the Executive Chef.  So we drove to the other end of town to meet the rest of the students at Twin Oaks Country Club where the monthly ACF (American Culinary Federation) Meeting was being held tonight.  This was a rare opportunity for us to be a guest at one of these meetings and to go instead of our normal class (which tonight was a relief for most as our lab assignment was going to be breaking down chickens).  We not only got to miss out on cutting up chickens, but we’d be eating some delicious & creative dishes created by the Twin Oaks staff.

     ACF Members were present at the meeting as well as guests from all over including Big Cedar Lodge who we had the opportunity to meet and visit with for a few minutes.  The meeting began with a reading of the minutes.  Then we got to watch presentations by the Twin Oaks Chefs showing us a salad, appetizer, entrée & dessert all prepared table side.  The first presentation was the salad which had pears and apples and candied pecans with cayenne pepper which was a nice touch of heat with the sweet. The appetizer prepared was a sweet potato pancake with pulled pork and julienned apples on top with a beet gastrique and sage whip cream (which had us all intrigued). It was topped with a fried sage leaf.  For the entrée the Chef prepared a beef stew with tomatoes and burgundy wine and mirepoix vegetables on top.  The dessert was cleverly created with dried ice so ice cream could be made table side.  Pumpkin ice cream was paired with chocolate ravioli filled with blueberries & cream cheese. 

     They kept mentioning samples and that we’d get to taste the dishes but I really didn’t think we get but a bite of each. I was very pleasantly surprised when around the corner were all the dishes prepared buffet style and we were told we could help ourselves.  The buffet also included fresh rolls with honey butter and roasted potatoes.  My favorite dish was the appetizer – I just loved the combination of flavors with the pork and that sage whipped cream.  The entrée was my 2^nd favorite as I thought the meat was cooked to perfection and the sauce had such an earthiness to it that was perfect for their Fall menu.  

     I’ve experienced table side dishes before including a Caesar salad and steak Diane but I’ve never had a whole meal served table side nor been served an appetizer or dessert in this way.  I was impressed to learn these new dishes and some creative food combinations such as the sage & whipped cream. I plan to whip this one up at home in my own kitchen.

Of course with any great meal comes clean up but even this was a good learning experience as we got to see how an organized kitchen looks and operates.  I thought the whole experience was a great opportunity and I am grateful that we were invited to participate. 

Next week's class is eggs, at least that's what we're hoping and that we don't have to break down those chickens that we missed doing tonight!

Class #6: Mystery Starch

**Class date - October 4th**
Tonight's class started with our 2nd exam.  This one was a little tougher as all the questions were multiple choice instead of matching like the last exam.  I think I missed one or two but won't find out for 2 weeks as we don't have class next week due to the fall break. 

So after our exam we headed straight to the kitchen and this time we drew out of hat the starch we would be preparing.  There were 14 different types to choose from which meant no partners this time.  We were on our own!  I was excited.  Yes, it's nice to collaborate with someone but it's a lot nicer to do your own thing.  Some of the types of starches that we could end up with were: Pasta dough, fettucini carbonara, risotto, potato lyonnaise, bulgar wheat, thai rice stir fry, spaetzle, etc.  I ended up with risotto milanese and I was very happy.  I felt like I had a little advantage because I've made risotto before and knew what the end product should be.  Of course we weren't just making risotto.  We'd also have to make a protein with it and vegetables.  Luckily I had done my homework and made sure I had a chicken recipe ready on my Droid should I need to access it in the kitchen.  I had planned for a lemon chicken so when I got the risotto I knew chicken picatta would be a perfect dish.  Once I found capers in the class kitchen pantry I was set. 

I spent a lot of time with my risotto as it takes quite a bit of stirring.  Basically risotto is arborio rice (which is an italian white rice) and you start by sauteeing the rice in butter and then add a little wine and reduce it.  Then you keep gradually adding chicken broth a little at a time until it evaporates as you keep stirring it constantly.  You keep adding broth until the rice is cooked and soft.  As we had to prepare everything to time out just right I took the rice off the heat a little early in fear that it would overcook and be mushy.  I then sauteed my chicken in butter and oil after I breaded it lightly in salted flour.  I removed the chicken from the pan and then made my sauce.  I used chicken broth to loosen up the bits and deglaze my plan.  I then squeezed the juice from one lemon and added capers and butter.  A quick taste and YUM - this sauce was delicious.  I love the tartness of the capers.  The only thing that had me worried was the timing. I knew I could have this all done very quickly but the CI wasn't ready to sample our dishes just yet. I had to figure out how to make sure all the components were still hot by the time I served it to him. It was a challenge but I re-heated my risotto again and added the final ingredients - parmesan cheese and butter. A vegetable selection had me stumped as I first started with a bag of broccoli but couldn't figure out how to make it work with my dish.  So I was thrilled when I discovered some asparagus.  I quickly sauteed some in chicken broth and a little of the caper juice. Once that finished cooking I warmed up the sauce again and was pleased that everything was at the same temperature. I then plated my dish.  Risotto in the middle, chicken on the side of the risotto, the asparagus on the side and the sauce poured on top.  The only thing I wish I done differently is present this in a deeper dish so the sauce didn't run as much since it was a very thin sauce. But aesthetically, a very eye-pleasing dish.

I think my CI was pleased too as he said it was very good and gave me 25 points out of 25 for this lab - an A!  The only thing, believe it or not, was the risotto could've been cooked more.  The CI said it had a little bite to it but he still thought it was tasty and looked good. I was very proud of this dish and proud that I did it all on my own.  I wish you all could have tasted it - it was very, very good.  :)

There is no class next week due to the holiday break, but the week after that is our cutting skills midterm exam.  So I'll be practicing my cutting in the meantime. . .

Class #5: Mystery Soup

**written on Monday, Oct 4**
Sorry for the late blog post.  Another crazy week but I do want to tell you about last week's class before I take tonight's class.  One of the first thing's the CI shared with us was that he started a new food blog that consists of recipes and experiences and such. I find it so coincindental that just two weeks ago I told him I had started a food blog and asked for permission to take pictures during class.  He thought it was cool that I had a blog and so how funny that within two weeks he has one of his own.  He says he hopes to have a website within 3 years.  I think I'll take a little credit for his new social media outlet.  :)

So, last week was all about soup.  There were 8 soups to draw from out of a hat to determine which we would be making during class.  The only one I didn't care to draw was split pea and luckily I didn't.  I got Roasted Poblano Pepper & Corn Chowder.  I was excited about this one becuase it used ingredients I've never used before. 
I actually got to be in charge of roasting the peppers and this meant putting them directly on the gas heat and as the CI said "let them toast like marshmallows where they get black".  I did just that and then wrapped them in plastic wrap which steams them and makes it easier to peel off the skin.  We peeled them, cut them and took all the seeds out.  The CI made a point to tell us "Don't rinse them in water because you'll rinse away your flavor".  Glad he told us this as your instinct is to wash off the burnt skin bits but he said a little of that will add some flavor to the dish.  We diced the peppers and added that along with onions and corn and then some cream to our broth. We pureed all the ingredients until it was a soup like chowder consistency.  For our garnish we made a lime sour cream that my partner made a lattice design with and added some parsley. 
Well, you would've thought that was the only thing we would have to make for our soup entree but no, the CI likes us to just "whip something up" on the side.  I think it's what he's usually in the mood for - to taste test a hundred times. This time he asked us to make a bread/muffin/biscuit and our own preserves to go on.  Preserves?  From scratch, not out of a jar?  Yup, from scratch...oh, boy, this made me nervous.  Of course he was happy to help us through it once we decided on an idea with flavors that would match our soup.  I immediately thought of sweet to balance our heat so I suggested a peach (since the kitchen didn't have mangos) lime preserve.  The CI really helped us with the balance of sugar and vinegar to our cut up peaches and fresh lime juice.  The final result was soooo super sweet but preserves usually are and the CI was pleased. My partner loved it so much and said I could have the rest of the soup, which was perfect for me because I really liked our soup. It had just a touch of heat to it - not too much and I think it was pretty tasty.
We got to sample everyone's soup this time and one team made the shrimp bisque and it was my favorite - so rich and delish.  I'll have to try that one at home.

Here's a pic of our soup.  Next week - starches. 

Class #4: Potato Soup

With deboning a chicken and making Coq au Vin and a very crazy busy week I have found myself about to take class #5 tomorrow and have yet to tell you about class #4!  Soooo let me do that now.

To start off we learned about the 5 mother sauces, which are:

1. Veloute' - Sauce with light stock & roux (fat & flour)
2. Bechamel - Sauce with milk & roux
3. Tomato - Sauce with tomatoes
4. Hollandaise - Sauce with eggs, lemon juice and oil
5. Espagnole - Sauce with tomatoes, stock & roux

So after our CI expressed his disappointment that no one read the book this week (I hate disappointing the CI but I did debone a chicken - doesn't that count?) he did an overview of the chapter on Stocks & Sauces.  We watched a video on each of the 5 mother sauces being made and learned all about the types of stocks and the difference between that and broth. Broth is clarified stock.  Stock is where you get all the flavoring from either vegetables, chicken and/or beef.  We learned about mirepoix which is 50% onions, 25% celery and 25% carrots.  We then learned about deglazing (using liquid to take bits off bottom of pan), carmelizing (cooking natural sugars out of food) and what goes in a sachet (peppercorns, bay leaf, parsley, garlic & thyme). 

I actually found myself a bit intimidated as the chef gave us our class assignment: make Potato Soup and a bread of our choice.  No instructions, no recipe, no CI does it first and we copy - just make vegetable stock and make potato soup from it. I know, I know - it's just soup but it's a soup I've never made before and have to present to my CI who will taste it and tell me his opinion on it.  After getting new partners to work with you could tell most of the class was a bit inimidated so he promised he would help us in the kitchen and he did.  We made our vegetable stock using our leftover pieces of veggies that we practiced our 8 cuts on.  Then we covered that with water and added our sachet to make the stock.  We then strained that to have our veggie broth as our base for our potato soup.  My partner diced up potatoes as I fried up some bacon for our garnish.  We were doing fine with the CI's help to guide us along.  What's funny is the first time he came over he said we were going to starve him to death on how little we were making so we chopped up a bunch more potatoes and I guess we got carried away because we ended up at the end with soooo many veggies that we had to throw out. That wasn't good, but our potato soup actually turned out okay after we added buttermilk and half & half and then got to use an emulsifier to puree our soup.  With some dashes of salt & pepper it was actually started to taste pretty decent.  We served it in cute ramekins and garnished with bacon bits, cheddar cheese & green onions and some toasted bread to go along with it.  We got lucky on the bread as the baking class before us had plenty of extra loaves laying around for us to use. Overall we got a good review with some small tweaks for improvement but our CI was pleased with our product being our first potato soup we both ever made.

Next week (I guess that would be tomorrow) we draw out of hat a type of soup that we have to make from scratch.  There are 7 different ones to choose from.  I just hope I don't end up getting split pea soup...blech.  My husband will get all those leftovers FOR SURE. 

New Recipe

Coq au Vin Blanc

Recipe from: Rachel Ray Magazine

Taste Rating: 9 out of 10

Execution Rating: 8
Learned: The flavor of Pinot Grigio instead of Moscato
as my white cooking wine

So from the thighs and breasts of the chicken I cut up I decided to make Coq au Vin (Chicken with White Wine).  I have three different recipes for this dish - one that is very amateurish and turns out more to be more like country smothered chicken, one that is a little more advanced using white wine and one that is from my simple french cook book and uses red wine.  I decided to go with the white wine version.  I didn't take pictures along the way so I am providing the recipe for this one to help explain the process and to share a very good recipe with you that is worth trying.

3 Tbsp EVOO                                                                            4 sprigs of thyme

1 lb boneless chicken breast, cut into 2” pieces                     2 cups chicken broth

1 lb bones chicken thighs, cut into 2”pieces                           2 cups dry white wine

2 Tbsp flour, plus more for dredging                                        ½ cup heavy cream

4 slices of bacon, chopped                                                       8 slices of break

1 lb of frozen pearl onions (about 2 cups)                               2 garlic cloves

  *(I used sliced onions)                                                           Butter for spreading

1 bay leaf                                                                                  Parsley for garnish

Heat 2 tbsp of EVOO, in a large skillet over med-high heat.  Season the chicken with salt & pepper, dredge in flour & add to the pan in single layer; do not crowd the meat.  Cook the chicken until browned about 4-5 minutes on each side.

While the chicken is working, heat a large Dutch oven or deep skillet over med-high heat with the remaining EVOO. When the oil is hot, add the bacon & cook until crisp, about 5 mins.  Remove the bacon with slotted spoon & drain on paper towels.  Pour off a little bacon fat, leaving a thin layer in dutch oven.  Add the onions, thyme (whole sprigs), mushrooms & bay leaf.  Cook until onions have a little color and mushrooms are tender, 7-8 mins.  Add 2 tbsp flour to dutch oven and cook for 2 mins.  Deglaze with chicken broth and cook for 5 mins.

Over high heat add the wine to the cooked chicken in skillet and scrape up bits.  Reduce the liquid for 5 mins, then add the chicken & wine to the broth & vegetables in dutch oven; stir to combine.  Stir in the cream, lower heat to a simmer & reduce sauce for about 5 mins.

Toast your bread and rub garlic across the hot toast and butter lightly (oops...I obviously buttered heavy as you see it in the picture). Cut slices of toast corner to corner.  Remove the bay leaf & thyme from sauce.  To serve, fan toast triangles across plate, lining up points and top with chicken & sauce. Top with bacon & parsley.

I followed the recipe exactly except I added a bit of cornstarch at the end to thicken it up a little more and I used sliced onions instead of frozen since I couldn't find them.  The final result was a total success as the kids even ate it and my husband praised me multiple times while eating it. With 2 cups of wine and bacon I knew it was going to be good. :)  If I would change anything it would proabably be the presentation, it just didn't show quite as good as it tastes.If you do try it, please share pictures and your process. I would love to hear how you did.