Today was all about moist-heat cooking, and combination cooking. So we talked about poaching (both shallow and deep), steaming (including En Papillote), boiling/simmering, braising, and stewing. I have always had trouble poaching things, and now I know why. The key to poaching is to use a flavorful poaching liquid (which is called a cuisson), and DO NOT LET THE WATER BOIL. You only want the water at 140 - 165 degrees. Remember that boiling water is 212 degrees, and that's too high for the delicate things you will be poaching (like fish for instance). It will take longer to cook, but the protein will cook slower and stay more tender and retain more of this own juices and moisture.
Another good trick for poaching is to put a circle of parchment paper on top of the item you are poaching, if you are shallow poaching something. This will retain the moisture and recirculate it through the food, and you could even start it off on top of the stove, and then end in the oven. Do not use foil to cover, however, the acid in the water will react chemically with the foil and produce off-flavors.
Braising and stewing are liquid cooking techniques for heartier dishes (compared to poaching). The difference is that you braise large portions of meat, and you stew smaller bite-sized portions. You start both on top of the stove, and end in the oven. I have done stewing and braising in the past, so everything I learned here reinforced things that I already knew.
After the lecture, we went over our production for the day. Here is my team's menu for the day:
- Wild mushroom and goat cheese strudel
- Peppery beef stew with butternut squash
- Saffron risotto
- Braised Swiss chard
I made it back to the kitchen, and we started the work. I ended up prepping the mushrooms and working on the wild mushroom strudel. I cleaned and cut up the mushrooms. We also had some dried porcini mushrooms that I reconstituted in hot water. I chopped these up finely for the beef stew, and we used some in the strudel filling as well. I made the mushroom filling on the stove, and then set it aside to cool.
While I was working, the others in my team worked on the beef stew, risotto, and the swiss chard. I didn't mind this too much because I have made beef stew before, so I know how that goes. I've also done risotto, and so I was ok to yield those particular assignments.
During the morning, the Chef did a fresh pasta demonstration. He showed us how to make the dough in a food processor, which was easy. Then he rolled it out in a pasta machine, and he was so impressive the way he did it. Very inspiring, I want to make fresh pasta now, of course! When I eventually tasted the finished product of the pasta, it tasted great, loved it.
Anyway, once the mushrooms were cool, I crumbled the goat cheese, and incorporated it in the mushrooms. We tasted, and seasoned the mushrooms. We got out the phyllo dough, and made 2 strudels. I didn't have a very difficult time working with the phyllo, we kept it in the fridge until we needed it, and I made sure we kept it covered while it was out so it didn't dry up. I took a phyllo sheet, painted it with melted butter, and then put another sheet on, painted it, and then another, and painted it. I put the mushroom filling in, and then rolled it tightly. Last, I brushed the strudel with butter. We put these in the fridge for baking later.
We were really ahead of schedule today, and so I assembled the mis en place for the strudel sauce. We need Demi glace for the sauce, and guess what. There wasn't any. So I had to make it. Chef told me what to do -- I took a quart of veal stock and reduced it by half. Then I used a lie (thickener) of cornstarch and wine to thicken the reduction. I got it to the nappe consistency (coats the back of a spoon), and then it was ready. It took a while to reduce, but the aroma was so good. I got a few compliments as I was making this sauce. I finished the sauce by melting butter, sauteing in garlic and shallots, deglazing with white wine and reducing it until almost dry (au sec). Then I added the demi and simmered for 5 minutes. I strained it, added herbs, salt, pepper. We tasted it, and it was good, but we felt it could use something else, like acid. Chef suggested some wine or madeira, but I kind of hate that raw alcohol flavor, I am sensitive to it. He suggested lemon juice, and that was a good thought. We added it, and it brightened up the sauce considerably.
When the strudels were baked to golden brown, I sliced them on the diagonal and arranged them on the plate. The others worked on the other items, and fairly soon, we had everything done. The risotto was good, but could have been creamier -- I think it was started too soon, and not enough liquid was used. The beef stew tasted great, nothing at all wrong with it. The swiss chard was fine, but swiss chard is bitter, and I am not a big fan of bitter greens. But it was braised swiss chard, and this was the theme for the day, so that's why it was on our menu.
We plated everything up, put the presentation plate on the counter, and then put the rest on a big platter. Lunch was ready on time again. The food was overall really good. I think I liked the selections better from yesterday, but I had a good lunch sampling everything. The strudel was the thing I made from start to finish, and I thought it was quite good.
There were some great desserts set out for us at lunch. I had a great Boston cream donut, and a chocolate mousse served in a cookie tuile. The mousse was fantastic. Loved it.
After the lunch, we went back in the kitchen to critique the food, talked about how things went during the morning, what went right and wrong, and just debrief on everything. It again was a good discussion and I liked the critique. If something was not very good, or burned, or something like that, I really liked the way Chef Bruno went about talking it over. He never made you feel bad, and the comments were never personal. Very professional. When you watch tv shows with food tastings, the judges or the tasting panel sometimes get really nasty and mean -- this isn't what happens in real life in a kitchen. People have a lot more sense and are way more mature in a professional kitchen. I love that. If something went wrong, you of course acknowledge it, and the feedback is constructive so you can get better at it next time. It is a great life lesson that I learned this week, just about food criticism.
In the afternoon, each team got a list of "mystery ingredients" in a "Market Basket". On Friday we have to use the ingredients to make a first course, an entree, a starch, a veg, a sauce, and a garnish. No recipes are given, so we have to do it all ourselves.
We got together in groups, and started to think it through. Here is our list. (What would YOU make?)
- Rack of Lamb
- Anchovies
- White Turnip
- French Lentils
- Plum Tomatoes
- Eggplant
- Zucchini
- Yellow Squash
- Mesclun Mix
- Thyme
- Nicoise Olives
- Dijon Mustard
- Let the ingredients speak to you, and point you in a direction of how to go with your meal planning.
- Try to come up with a theme for the menu. Sticking to a sensible theme will be easier on the guest, rather than going from one type of food to a drastic different type of food.
- Shape your courses with the theme in mind.
- Remember that the main course needs to have a sauce accompaniment, and a garnish that is edible and functional. The garnish has to make sense.
- The first course is a smaller plate, and can be meat, or veg, or starch, or combination. It also needs a sauce or a dressing, and a garnish, but on a smaller scale.
Anyway, I am set for tomorrow, I understand the big picture of what we'll be doing, and I'll be fine.
Tonight's dinner is at the American Bounty Restaurant on campus. I am so NOT HUNGRY AT ALL. Nothin'. Maybe by the time we eat I will have an appetite. It has just been non-stop food, and I love it of course, but I can only eat at this pace for maybe like one more day! I think this is the most surprising thing of the week for me, the lack of appetite. But when you are cooking all day, and your adrenaline is up, you really don't feel like eating.
By the way, I love the atmosphere of the kitchens at the CIA. I love being in it with all the people working on their food. I never experienced this before, but it is so great. Also, all the students I have had contact with are so eager and earnest, and want to help. There are no slackers at all. They are all like little puppies who want to please, and they are always asking, "What can I do? What do you need?" These young chefs are great! I am so inspired by them. The expectations are so high here. In every classroom there is a sign that says "Sense of Urgency". In other words, you need to have a sense of urgency in what you are doing, work deliberately with purpose to get that thing done that you are doing because someone out there is waiting for their food, and you want to please that person and satisfy them. I think this is an outstanding motto. You can apply this to your life in so many ways, not just with cooking.
Also the concept of mis en place is reinforced here all the time. It doesn't just mean have all your ingredients ready. It means, have your ingredients prepped, have all your pots and pans and trays ready, keep your station clean, have everything ready and in its place, help people who need it, etc. And not just in the kitchen - keep your life organized too! You need to have your mis en place for your LIFE! Ok, as you can tell, I am totally buying into this philosophy of cooking, and life. I think I already do this in my life, but it is reinforcing it for me a lot.
I guess those are the major insights for the day for me. But they are fairly heavy insights, eh? Ok -- I'll be seeing you after dinner!
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