Day 63: We Are Now Seven

We've lost two from our class and we are now seven. It was a rough start to the week, and I'm slowly getting back into the grove after last week's exams.

Today we are baking again and are making pies ~ strawberry rhubarb with a strudel topping banana cream and chocolate cream. Chef has given us the recipe for a pie crust bottom of 3, 2, 1, 1 ~ the ratio for flour, shortening, milk, salt. For today, we will be using 6 oz flour, 4 oz shortening, 2 oz milk, 1/8 tsp of salt to make our pie crust.

The fruit pies will have a strudel topping which is a mixture of sugar, flour and cold butter. To this you can add additional ingredients if you like such as rolled oats or chopped walnuts. The filling for the fruit pies ~ rhubarb and strawberries are macerated with sugar.

The cream pies are made using the pastry cream recipe and then adding mashed bananas for the banana cream pie and grated chocolate for the chocolate cream pie. When making my cream pies I added chocolate to my banana cream and so ended up with a chocolate banana cream pie along with a banana cream pie.

In preparation for tomorrow's baking class we made the dough for English muffins. The procedure for this recipe is somewhat complicated. Instead of adding the yeast to warm water, we added it to warm milk. To the yeast and milk, pastry flour was added to create a sponge yeast mixture which we put in a warm spot to proof for about 15 minutes. To make our dough for English muffins we used the electric mixers by first adding our two flours (pastry flour and bread flour) and baking powder, and then adding a water and salt mixture in stages until combined. Next the sponge and then the butter were added until a ball formed. The ball of dough was kneaded and then wrapped in plastic and put into the refrigerator to be used for the next day.

The day was wrapped up by a class discussion around the expectations for the semester. Chef will be quizzing us each day as well as asking us to do some research on various topics to prepare us for our final exams.

Day 62: Nothing Easy

We are making cream rolls today. There is nothing easy about making a cream (jelly) roll. Making the sponge cake for the cream roll is not an easy task. I know this because mine didn't come out as it should. My cake was a little dense instead of light. Still not too bad, but a lighter cake would have been better ~ especially when trying to rolling it without breaking it. I don't know that anyone in the class had success in making the perfect cake. Some cakes were over cooked and couldn't even be used for cream rolls. Some didn't rise properly, while others rose too much.

To make the sponge cake for the cream rolls, we used egg whites, egg yolks, sugar, salt, vanilla, milk powder, water, honey, cake flour and baking powder. The egg whites and egg yolks are first beaten until light using an electric mixer, then sugar, salt and vanilla are added, and then the milk powder and honey that has been mixed with water.The cake flour and baking power are sifted and folded into the mixture to create a batter for the sponge cake. The batter is poured into a lined baking sheet that has been butter on both sides. Buttering the underside helps keep the parchment paper stick to the baking pan. A half inch flat cake is preferred for the rolled cake that we are making today.

While the cake is still warm, we roll the cake and leave to sit in parchment paper until we are ready to add the cream. The parchment paper should be sprinkled with a light layer of sugar so that it doesn't stick to the parchment paper when unrolling.

The cream that we are making today is an orange cream. The ingredients for the cream filling are: egg whites, sugar, water, gelatin, orange liqueur (optional), cream cheese, orange zest, orange juice and heavy cream. The orange zest gives the cream a nice boost of flavour.

For plating we are making two fruit coulis and some creme anglais. We've made fruit coulis before, but this is the first time I've attempted to make creme anglais. Creme anglais is the base for making ice cream. Cream anglais is made with heavy cream, sugar and egg yolks. To make creme anglais, I start off with heating the cream in a pan. The warm cream is added to beaten egg yolks and sugar a little at a time to temper it. Once I've tempered the egg yolk and sugar mixture, I pour it into the pan with the rest of the cream and continuing whipping it over the heat until it begins to thicken and has a smooth texture. I can remove it from the heat and it's ready for use when cooled. If you were making an ice cream you would add additional ingredients such as vanilla, chocolate, berries, etc. The mixture would then be poured into an ice cream maker. Chef said that the volume would increase to almost one and a half.

At the end of class Chef spoke to us about our buffet project. Chef gave us a few ideas for set up and food ideas. It's important to remember the vegetarians and those that have a gluten allergy.

Day 61: Order In The Kitchen

It's a new semester and there's a little bit of havoc in the kitchen. Cooking basics is running tandem with our advance class in the kitchen. Our new Chef (not new to the school, but new to us) is teaching both classes because the patisserie that was suppose to be teaching cooking basics for their first two weeks was a no show. Order in the kitchen was certainly not a problem for Chef as he worked back and forth between Basic and Advance classes providing instruction in how to make our bake goods for the day.

Things happen and you deal with what needs to be done. Chef was great at accommodating both classes in a crunch. I think this is partly attributed to the fact that Chef has run a few businesses in the past and if someone doesn't show up for work, that he knows how to balance the team to get things done. And a lot was done today.

We started our day off with making the crust for our tarts. This involved first creaming the salt, sugar and butter together, mixing in the egg, milk and vanilla, then cake flour and baking powder. The sugar dough was rolled out and cut into rounds to line tart shells. The bottoms were pricked with a fork and filled with rice before baking. Pricking the shells and filling with rice prevents the pastry bottoms from rising. A tart shell is shallow and room is needed for the filling. My lemon tarts disappeared and they were no where to be found at the end of the day. However, I'm hoping a little birdie will bring me one back so that I can have a little taste ~ I need to know if I did a good job or not.

Chef had us make two types of tarts today ~ lemon tarts and fruit and pastry cream tarts. To make the lemon filing, ingredients included: lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar, eggs, and heavy cream. All ingredients were mixed together and then poured into the partially cook tart shells. e lemon mixture was poured into the partially cooked tart shells and placed into the oven to bake at a temperature of 350 F until the lemon became set.

For the pastry cream we needed heated milk and sugar, eggs, cornstarch and sugar and butter. We used the pastry cream for our fruit tarts. The tart's base is pastry cream and decorated with a variety of fruit. Fruit available were kiwi, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries. We were all left to our imagination to decorate this tarts as we wished.

As an extra Chef had us make upside down cakes. Chef prepared the cake mixture for all of us to share. For the upside down fruit we used a granny smith apple and a few slices of pineapple. These were sauteed in a pan with butter, sugar, pineapple juice and a pinch of cinnamon. The fruit mixture was put into the bottom of a loaf pan and topped with the cake batter and put into a 350 F oven to bake. This cake is very moist and delicious too!

With the baking all done for the day, Chef spoke to us about our two projects for the Advance class. We also received one of our two course books and will be getting a black hat, black scarf and a black apron.

Day 60: Level One Exams Over ~ Next Week Level Two of Chef de Cuisine

All exams are over and I have passed both practical and theory for Cooking Basics. Next week I begin level two ~ Advanced Cooking. Level two starts off with ten weeks in the kitchen and five in the classroom with theory.

At the end of class we bid farewell to one of our classmates who is moving out to the East Coast. It was celebrated with a presentation of his certificate by Chef and a speech. Pictures were taken and cake was eaten.

The class presented Chef with a cookbook on grilling to give her more inspiration for her new venture. Chef is opening a smokehouse restaurant in cottage country and is leaving to prepare for a summer opening. If you happen to be in the town of Bala check it out. I'm hoping to make a visit there myself this summer.

Day 59: Dish Hands

Not much going on in the kitchen for me today. The other half of the class is doing their final practical exam. Those of us who did ours the day before are on clean up duty.

Should have been studying in class... but am doing so tonight. It's going to be a tough exam with almost 200 multiple choice questions. These are the hardest type of exam ~ there's only one answer!

Day 58: Judgement Day ~ Final Practical Exam. Glad It's Over ~ But Wish I Could Do It Over

Today was the final for the practical exam of Cooking Basics. Unlike the other tests we've been having throughout the course, today we were timed on service. We were not only scored by our Chef, but a Chef from outside the college who has his own establishment in the food industry. All plating was blind and both chefs did not who's plate they were scoring.

I tried a couple of different techniques and garnishes for today's exam. Some were good and some were not so good. I think that for an exam it's likely more important to stay with what you know. However, that being said there were a couple of things that I did for the first time that turned out really well. I wasn't overly pleased with my dishes ~ but we're all hard on ourselves when it comes to finals. Today was no different and the pressure was on. I took pictures of three of my dishes but didn't get a chance to take a picture of my last ~ the chocolate mousse and Genoise cake dessert.

Tomorrow while half the class is preparing their final dishes, the rest of us will be on kitchen duty for clean up. I'm planning on doing a little bit of studying tomorrow as well for the final theory exam.

Day 57: Cirque and Final Practical Exam

This weekend I had the opportunity to work along side the Executive Chef responsible for all meal for the Cirque Du Soleil Quidam performers. It was an enjoyable experience working with talented people as well as having the opportunity to meet the many people it takes to put on a show like Quidam ~ from the performers to the backstage folks to the IT guy.

The crew of Cirque Du Soleil is served two meals per day by the Executive Chef and his staff. For the lunch meal my job was to grill the chicken and prepare and grill vegetables. After lunch was served, I started on the mise en place for the following day's brunch. I diced onions, sliced mushrooms, diced ham, prepared sliced bacon and breakfast sausage on baking pans.

Each lunch and dinner, the crew is offered two soups, two types of proteins, a starch and one or two vegetables. They also have access to a salad bar and a sandwich bar. Approximately 100 individuals are served at each meal.

I hope to have many more opportunities working in different establishments before I graduate. The experience is different at each and at each I learn a few good tips that I can use in the kitchen.

Today was different. It was my final practical exam in the kitchen. In preparation for service of a four course meal, we worked on our two day prep. I was able to complete most of my prep with the exception of tourne potatoes. I will have to work on these tomorrow as I will need three to complete my plate.

This morning went by quick as I did my prep on my mushroom soup ~ which I'll have ready for tomorrow by heating, adding a little more cream, tasting and seasoning if necessary and creating a garnish and then plating for scoring.

My risotto will need a little more work. Risotto is something that you do not want to prepare a day ahead. I've got my caramelized onions and bacon cooked along with a chicken stock so I'm ready to get the Arborio rice cooking for a creamy risotto when it's time to plate for scoring.

I will be needing a little more work for my main. I've got the forcemeat stuffed chicken supreme done and need only to sear on the skin side in a pan and then finish off in the oven. My ratatouille will needed to be cooked after I dice my eggplant which I didn't do today because it browns. The required tourne potatoes aren't done, so I will need to do these first thing in the morning. The last thing to do for this dish is the white sauce, which I know won't be a problem. Everything should go well as long as I don't forget about my pans on the stove.

If you want to learn how to tourne a potato, check out how in this video from Le Courdon Bleu. The tourne is seven sided and looks like a football. It's a skill that takes some practice. It also helps if you have a certain type of knife too ~ but not necessary.

The chocolate mousse dessert is done with the exception of a few garnishes. I've already got my chocolate garnish and berry couli done and may add some sugar work or other element. I won't be sure which until I get in the kitchen and see what products are available.

With my final theory exam ~ I've got to get going on studying/reading the course book. The exam is 200 questions.

Day 56: 500 Questions

Today was all about review for our finals next week. We completed a 500 question review test in preparation for the final test on theory. Chef also spoke to us about the requirements for the test in the kitchen. We'll be making a full meal that includes an appetizer, main and dessert. We will get one day for our mise en place and the next day will be spent on finishing each dish and presenting it at a designated time.

The two day prep is really important ~ I will need to write out what needs to be done this weekend. I'll also be studying for our written test that takes place on our last day of school.

During our review test, Chef pulled each of us aside and talked about how we did in the kitchen this week and what we needed to improve on for our final in the kitchen. I've got a few things going on in my head to up my presentation for each dish. I know that I need to add something to my risotto dish to make it stand out more ~ give it that wow factor. I may do a test run this weekend to see how it will work out. I'd love to ace it in the kitchen.

There was no kitchen time today... so when I got home, I made a nice sandwich on Ace ciabatta bread stuffed with buffalo mozzarella, basil, tomato fresh ground pepper and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. I picked up the buffalo mozzarella at Sam's Cheeses at the Hamilton Market. Great texture and taste. Ace Bakery has the best bread! I usually get their baguette, but decided to try the ciabatta ~ an excellent choice for making a sandwich.

Day 55: Part Two ~ Tour of Cirque Du Soleil Kitchen

Cirque Du Soleil has arrived in town. By chance Chef met the Executive Chef of the Cirque Du Soleil touring show Quidam. Chef hooked the afternoon class with a tour of the kitchen and opened up the tour to our class as well. I decided to check it out.

First off the Executive Chef was very gracious in opening up his kitchen for us to see. We are told that the team is comprised of six ~ two of which are front of the house. They serve about 140 cast members each seating ~ lunch and dinner. The Executive Chef tells us that he has never made a dish twice for Cirque Du Soleil. I think that is an amazing feat in it self.

The Executive Chef and his team work for a company that has been hired by Cirque du Soleil. His menu is reviewed by Montreal prior to each week. He allowed us to have a look at his menu for their tour in Hamilton. Duck confit was one of the dishes. His ribs are most asked for. He tells us that he makes the best ribs in three hours. Hmmm. Come to think of it, he did mention he was from Texas. Not sure, but with all that beef, he must have it in his blood to make good BBQ.

The kitchen is all portable. They even have their own kitchen sink should one not be provided. They've got everything that you could think of. Their two refrigerators hold deli and fruit. The coffee station is built into the box that it is stored in for mobility. Two grills, two ovens, about four or six hot plates and even a Robo Coup and Vitamixer. They've got a mobile pantry with all their herbs, sauces and dry goods. They have one trailer that holds all their equipment, cold food, dry food and their personal belongings (clothing, etc.). The Executive Chef was kind enough to show us all of it ~ from the kitchen, to the dinning area, to the trailer. It's amazing!

What a great opportunity and this is something that might be of interest to me in the future. I like to travel, and I'm a hard worker. I enjoy food, I enjoy making food for others. I would love to experience working on a tour like this or similar. I'd love to get the opportunity to make great food and learn while doing so. What more could I ask for? (No comments from the peanut gallery please!!)

I'm attending Cirque Du Soleil ~ Quidam in Hamilton this Friday. I look forward to all the well fed and happy performers that I'll be watching and enjoying. It should be a great show, and my first Cirque De Soleil show.

Day 55: Full Service

As we prepare for our last week in the kitchen with our finals in the kitchen and theory we put together a full meal. The day starts with an appetizer that needs to be plated by 9:00 a.m. followed by the main of stuffed chicken supreme with a white sauce, ratatouille, and tourned potatoes to be plated at 11:00 p.m. and a dessert of chocolate mousse plated by 12:00 p.m. It's all about the timing and mise en place today.

After yesterday, I don't have the panic attack and get started on preparing my mise en place. I've got sliced onions sprinkled with thyme, sliced bacon and garlic macerated with salt. The pan is hot and I start with sweating the onions. Chef would like to taste the caramelized onions in this dish. I've got my veal stock in a pot heating and my arborio rice ready to add to the pan.


It's going well for me and I'm working on my garnish. Chef has pancetta in the box and I decide to take three slices and place them in a large pan and cook them in the onion. What I'm trying to do is keep it's shape of a round. I think that the oven also allows for less grease. It's working for me and I have three rounds for the garnish. I do well with this dish on my plating as well as taste. So far so good.

Our next dish is more complicated with the number of ingredients and the techniques required. For the chicken supreme we need to butcher a chicken. The chicken supreme is deboned chicken breast and drumette stripped of it's meat so that you see the bone only. With the bones we are making our own chicken stock that will be used for the white sauce. The first thing to do is make the farce (stuffing). I've got this on the go and leave it to cool because I'll be adding the meat from the thigh of the chicken and then grinding it with the mushroom, parsley, onion mixture in the Robo Coup. My chicken is seasoned with salt and pepper and I'm stuffing it with the farce. Skin side goes down on the pan of hot oil to sear for nice colour. Once it's ready (the skin will loosen from the pan) I put it in the oven to finish cooking.

My mise en place for the ratatouille is ready and I've got that going in the pot. I'm adding an extra vegetable of brussel sprouts to my plate and need to blanch them. I so busy working on my tourne potatoes and have forgotten about my white sauce. My onions were burnt and so was the pan :-(. I have to start over and it sets me back. But I don't forget about the sauce this time around. I'm quickly running out of time now and I can only tourne two potatoes. I need to get them in the boiling water or they won't get a chance to cook. I know that I won't have time to saute them so instead I toss them in some butter and salt. I think they look nice, but I know that they don't have the colour that Chef wants.

It's getting close to 11:00 p.m. and I'm starting to plate my dish. I manage to get my plate over to the staging area a minute or two late. Chef likes the appearance of my plate and that my chicken has been cooked perfectly, but does mention a few technical errors. I'll need to work on my tourne potatoes in picking up the pace. I need to make sure that they are cooked and sauteed giving them good colour. My ratatouille is overcooked but has nice flavour. The vegetables should be al dente ~ I'll need to time them better next time.

Two dishes under my belt and one more to go. Yesterday we did most of the prep on our chocolate mousse dessert and we only need to plate it today. I've got one more garnish to create and I've decided on some sugar work. I'm going to use a random pattern because I don't have a lot of time. A few raspberries, mint leaves, candied lemon zest, blackberry couli and sugar work will be used to plate.

My plating doesn't go as I'd like it to. I forgot to bring my squeeze bottle and trying to plate my couli doesn't go too well for me with a spoon. I need more work on this dish to perfect my chocolate mousse to get it more light and airy. I couldn't remember how to make the sugar for the sugar work so tried to make it with lemon juice and sugar instead of water and sugar. It's all about trial and error. You only learn from your mistakes and from this you get better. My candied lemon zest was an experiment and that went well. Sometimes you win, sometimes you loose. As long as you learn it really doesn't matter which.

Back at home I play around with plating thinking about how I can plate my chocolate mousse dessert. Not only is it fun plating ~ it's also fun eating what I plate.

Day 54: Whip It Up!

I woke up late today! How did I not hear the alarm go off? Up until today, I've heard it go off every morning, sometimes even hearing it twice or more because hit the snooze button.

When I get to school, everyone is already in the kitchen. I find out that today, we are to make mushroom soup and a chocolate mousse dessert. I've made both these dishes in our first three weeks in kitchen. Seems like a long time ago and now I'm charged with finding out if I can remember how it's all done. We get to look at our recipe bible (personal recipe books), so it's not as bad as it sounds.

Making mushroom soup isn't very hard at all. My mise en place for this dish is minced onions, thyme, minced garlic, and sliced mushrooms. I get my soup pot and put some oil in it and get it hot. The onions go in and I season with salt and pepper, then add in the minced garlic. After I deglaze the pan with white wine, I saute the mushrooms and add water ~ just enough to cover them and then some. I leave the pot to simmer and clean my work area. When the mushrooms have cooked out developing it's flavour in the soup, I put the immersion blender through it to make it smooth. The pot is back to the stove over medium heat and I add cream. Once I've got the right texture and the soup is heated through, I test it to make sure that it's seasoned properly, adding a pinch or two of salt and pepper.

I'm ready to plate and have a few garnishes to top the soup off. I've cut some chives on an angle, red pepper that has been small diced and cut on an angle and slices of mushroom that have been cut on the round of the mushroom top.

After Chef has tasted and critiqued my soup, I take a little break and relax a bit before we start on our next dish ~ a chocolate mousse dessert.

It's time to whip it up! To make the chocolate mousse dessert, I need to make a sponge cake (aka. Genoise cake). This requires a good arm using a wire whip. If I should make it a career, I will look like a tennis player. My whip arm will look larger than my other arm.

First off I get my mise en place for the chocolate mousse and sponge cake. I want to make sure I have everything and that I don't forget anything. The last two weeks in the kitchen, every dish that we make will be marked by Chef.

To make the sponge cake, I need whip sugar and eggs until they are light in colour and airy in texture. When I've done this, I can stir in sifted flour alternating with melted butter and vanilla. It's important to not over stir the batter. The sponge cake needs air ~ the air that was created from whipping it until light in colour and airy in texture. My cake pan is lined with parchment paper and rim buttered. The batter is poured in and put into the oven. I take it out when it's perfectly baked and cool it on the baking rack after I've removed it from the pan and peeled the parchment off the bottom of the cake.

My arm is now ready to take on some egg whites. It's important when whipping egg whites that your bowl is dry and that no water gets into the egg whites. If this happens, your egg whites will not become stiff. I've done it properly and my egg whites are stiff.

Next I need to whip together cream and sugar. The two get whipped until it resembles whip cream.

With my chocolate and butter that has melted over a bain marie (hot water bath), I mix it into my egg whites, and then mix in the whip cream. Once it's all incorporated, I pour it into a pipping bag and put it in the refrigerator.

I'm ready to start building my chocolate mousse dessert. I slice off about a quarter inch from the bottom of the sponge cake. I get my ring mold and cut a round. I get a strip of acetate and dip it in chocolate on one side and carefully (as best I can) insert it into the ring mold, chocolate side on the inside. I set this in the refrigerator for the chocolate to harden and while waiting, I clean my work area.

The chocolate has set and I pipe in the chocolate mousse, cover and label, and it's back into the refrigerator for tomorrow to finish off plating.

Chef wants us to take our left over chocolate mousse and sponge cake home tonight. I have no problem with that. I like this and when I get home, I make a dessert for my neighbour. Here's what I came up with. I hope they enjoyed it.

Day 53: Projects, Tests, Black Boxes

I start the week with handing in my finished project. The last of for semester. My last two weeks are going to be so busy with tests and black boxes. Today is not an exception.

We start the day off with a test on fish. Last week was fish week and Chef wants to know how much we learned, and the easiest way to find out is to give us a test. It's a good thing I like fish, and this helps me in passing my test.

With the test over, we're back in the kitchen and Chef gives us our assignment. We can make whatever we like as long as we have one protein, one starch and two vegetables. Chef has pork and chicken. Our group is assigned chicken and we get a bit of a break to think about what we will be making today for Chef to taste and/or critique.

I've checked over the black box filled with ingredients and plan out what products I want to take advantage of. When we get the go ahead, I pick up a butternut squash and some long beans. I'm thinking pasta and start off with gathering the ingredients to make fresh pasta. As I leave my dough to sit for a bit wrapped in cling wrap, I get the pasta dryer and set up the pasta maker.

It's all about timing today. We have about two hours to complete a main dish. I do my mise en place with my vegetables by first cutting the butternut squash in large dice cuts. I am sauteing the squash in a pan over the stove seasoning with thyme, sage, salt and pepper and then put it in the oven to finish off.

I have a pot of boiling salted water and blanch the long beans. I will be sauteing them in butter just before serving. I do the same with the julienne red pepper.

The pasta dough has sat enough and I work on running the dough through the pasta machine five times to achieve the proper thickness. Then put it through again cutting the flattened dough into fettuccine and hang them to dry.

I'm ready for the chicken and clean my station making sure that I do not have any of my other ingredients nearby. It's important to not cross contaminate my meat with my other products. I've got half a chicken to work with and I decide to work with a half breast. I debone the chicken breast with skin attached and season it with salt and pepper. I've got a hot pan on the stove with oil in it and I put the chicken skin side down. I need to brown the skin and as soon as it has browned, it easily separates from the pan. I flip it over and put the pan in the oven to finish off cooking.

Now I'm ready for to cook the pasta in a pot of boiling hot water. Fresh pasta doesn't take too long. It's about 5 minutes and it's done. While the pasta is cooking the chicken is now ready. I remove it and let it rest on my cutting board. With the pan and it's chicken juices, I make a cream sauce for the fettuccine. I've put shallot in the pan to sweat seasoned with salt and pepper, I add in the garlic and then deglaze with some white wine. As soon as it has reduced, I add in the cream. I let the cream reduce and I'm ready for the pasta to be added and the roasted butternut squash and toss lightly.

All ingredients are cooked and ready to be plated, long green beans have been coiled to look like the fresh pasta before it's cooked. The pasta is plated in the other corner opposite. I have sliced the chicken on an angle and plated it between the long beans and pasta. I coil my red peppers and my plate is complete. I'm ready for Chef to taste and critique.

Busy day... and at the end Chef tells us that we're in for another black box day.

Day 52: Fish And Chips And Vinegar, Vinegar, Vinegar ... Pepper, Pepper, Pepper, Salt

Last day of fish week and Chef has us making fish and chips and snapper en papillote.

I'm starting to get use to the idea of having dinner for breakfast. Actually, I have breakfast before school, so having dinner at anywhere from 9:00 a.m. is probably okay. Some say you're suppose to have your biggest meal at lunch anyway.

One of my colleagues has been looking forward to making and eating fish and chips. The mere mention of fish and chips brings a smile to his face. Today Chef has prepared a beer batter for us to use with our fish, which is sole. If you don't have any beer, you can substitute with any bubbly beverage such as ginger ale or soda water. By-the-way, you won't get drunk on this batter either, there isn't enough beer in batter on the fish to get you drunk.

To go with the fish we are making sweet potato fries. Chef has a mandolin that can make waffle cuts and we are all taking turns cutting our sweet potato. I'll have to dig out my mandolin and find out if I can make waffle cuts. With fish and chips you need tartar sauce and we are making our own. Mayonnaise is the base for the tartar sauce. We've made mayonnaise before and it's made by beating two egg yolks with oil and then seasoned with salt and pepper and a couple of drops of lemon juice. To the mayonnaise we add gherkins and capers.

After break and cleanup we get a demo on how to clean a whole fish by Chef. We need to know how to fillet a fish should the occasion arise. We each get our own fish and break it down so that we have fillets for our dish. I am using a white snapper and it is already drawn (guts removed) and need only remove the fins, scales and then cut two fillets (round fish have two fillets ~ one on each side) leaving only the bones behind. I've seen my dad do this so many times - hopefully I'll soon be as good as he is in the kitchen.

En papillote is a great way to cook lean fish. The fish is sealed in parchment paper by making an envelope. When the envelope has puffed up, the fish is ready. In my envelope with the fish, I add slices of lime, sliced scallions, minced lemon grass, kafir lime leaves, salt, pepper and butter. To go with our fish, Chef has asked us to prepare a starch and vegetable. I decided to go with a vegetarian sushi, string beans and julienne red peppers.

Day 51: Today is Fry Day

Today we are making seafood two ways ~ pan fried and deep fried. For those of us who have never cleaned squid (I'm one of them), Chef shows us how to clean them. Chef also shows us the difference between a female and a male squid. On the outside they look the same, however, on the inside they are different.

After cleaning our squid we slice it making rings. We're making calamari and have set up a breading station ~ flour, eggs, and panko crumbs. Squid cooks very quickly and takes no time in the fryer (hot oil in a pot) to cook. Do not walk away, because your squid will more than likely overcook and become rubbery. To go with our calamari we are making a dipping sauce. Chef shows us how to make a sweet and sour sauce that is nothing like the stuff you get at the food court. Chef's version of sweet and sour sauce if very yummy.

Our next dish today is pan fried salmon. I have pan fried my salmon with skin on. If you choose to leave the skin on you will need to make sure that it is crispy. In a hot pan with oil, the fish should be fried skin side first and then flesh side. Make sure to season the fish with salt and pepper before pan frying and then hit it with a sprinkle of salt once it's done cooking.

To accompany the fish, Chef asked us to make a salad. My salad is rather large as I didn't know the size of fish fillet that I would be working with. Rethinking this plate, I could have stacked my salad ingredients topping it with the fish. There's something about height that makes a dish look so much more appetizing... Well at least that's my opinion.

Day 50: Practice, Practice, Practice

Today we are making salmon wrapped in baby spinach and coated with panko crumbs. The result is a nice presentation of layers. To start, the salmon is pan fried in a little oil. The baby spinach is blanched very quickly in hot water before wrapping it around the salmon. We drain the water from the spinach before it is breaded and then deep fried. This dish is very labour intensive. If you don't have a lot of time, this isn't a quick meal to prepare. To go with the fish, I made diced potatoes (hash browns), pearl onions, and brussel sprouts.

I was not too happy with my plating today. My berry coulis was not working for me at all. I think that except for the coulis, my plate would have looked pretty decent. My salmon was cooked perfect, the pearl onions and brussel sprouts looked good, the hash browns were even cooked nicely. I have no idea what happened when it came to plating the berry coulis.

Tomorrow is another day and I know I'll do better. Practice, practice, practice.

Day 49: Jambalaya { jəm-bə-ˈlī-ə }

As we start fish week, we end with a pot pie and start with a jambalaya. For some reason I have a hard time pronouncing this word. Since the beef needs to braise for a while, we are making the beef stew first so that it can braise in the oven. To get the stew going, we need to dice up some red and green peppers, onions. The beef is cubed, dredged in seasoned and browned. We are adding a few different flavours to spice up the stew ~ this will not be your typical pot pie. After about two hours in the oven the beef stew is put into a bowl and covered with puff pastry and baked in the oven until the pastry puffs.

Jambalaya { jəm-bə-ˈlī-ə } is a Louisiana French dish. It's first know use was in 1872. For me, this dish is their version of paella { pä-ˈe-lə, -ˈā-; -ˈāl-yə, -ˈā-yə },which is a Spanish dish with it's first known use to be 1892. This all according to Merriam-Webster.

Jambalaya consists of a number of ingredients: rice, sausage, shrimp, tomatoes, onions, garlic, herbs and spices. I put a little extra heat in my dish. I think it was from the Thai hot sauce. Chef likes the heat, but reminded me that for the main stream eaters, that I should not put too much heat into this dish. As a garnish to finish off this dish I skewered a few shrimp seasoned with salt and pepper and paprika. I grilled these on a hot plate.

** Pictures courtesy of my classmate. I forgot to bring my camera to school today.

Day 48: Steak and Chicken ~ Do I Need To Say More?

It's been weeks of intense cooking in the kitchen and I am nearing the end of Cooking Basics. Each day ends with me exhausted from a great day of cooking and today is no exception.

When we arrive in the kitchen today, Chef has us measuring out the ingredients for a focaccia bread. We've made this bread a number of times now so have this down. I've begun experimenting a little and have added dry herbs of rosemary, basil and pepper to the flour. While we are waiting for the yeast to bloom we start in our next dish.

With the chicken that we had cut up, we have a boneless breast with wing attached remaining. With this we are going to barbeque. Yesterday, we made our barbeque sauce that we will be using today. To speed up the process we will sear in a pan with oil the chicken ~ skin side making sure to season with salt and pepper. This goes into the oven now at 375 F to finish cooking.

While the chicken is cooking in the oven, Chef wants us to make a starch and vegetable to serve with it. I decide to make oven baked tomatoes seasoned with rosemary and thyme (and salt and pepper to tasted) and a green pea risotto.

When the chicken has finished cooking in the oven, I cook it on the grill to finish it off with the barbeque sauce. I plate my chicken, tomato and risotto for Chef to critique.

During my preparation of the first plate, I have managed to knead, raise and roll out my dough for the focaccia. It's now in the oven baking so that it can be used for the steak sandwiches.

We are using a striploin for our steak sandwiches. To get it ready for the grill I season it with salt and pepper. The accompaniments are grilled green and red pepper, sauteed mushrooms and onions, and Swiss cheese.

I'm cooking my steak to a medium-rare on the grill trying to get some nice grill marks. This takes no time at all, but you do need to keep an eye on the steak top make sure that it doesn't over cook. It's also very important to not pierce the steak because you will release juices and this will dry the meat out. When flipping your steak you should use tongs. If you are using a fork, stick it in the fat when turning for best results.

As I build the sandwich ~ focaccia bread for the base, layering with Swiss cheese, mushrooms and onions, sliced striploin steak, grilled green and red peppers and focaccia bread for the top of my sandwich. It's an amazing sandwich. I like how the sauces from the mushroom and onion do not make the bread soggy.

Our day ends with a review of poultry and meats in preparation for our test on Monday. Homework this weekend is to study for the test and finish my project.

Day 47: Meat Week Continues

One dish I had been curious about is osso buco. I didn't know what it was nor did I know what it tasted like. I was very excited to learn that we would be making this dish today.

My preparation for the osso buco includes a fine brunoise of celery and carrot that will be used later in the sauce for the osso buco. A mirepoix of diced onions, celery and carrot and a tomato that will be braised with the osso buco and veal stock in the oven.

Osso buco made using the braising technique. As with most braising dishes, the meat is cooked for a very long time at a low heat. Osso buco is no exception. The meat used in this dish is the shank. Portion size is about an inch and half to two inches. Before we braise the shank, we dust it in seasoned flour and season it salt before it is seared on both sides in a pan with oil. The searing gives it a nice colour and also looks in moisture which helps when braising for long periods of time.

Once the shank has been seared I move it from the pan and sautee the mirepoix. After I have deglazed with red wine, I add some flour to make a roux. The flour is cooked out and I add back in the beef shank to the pan and add veal stock, a canned plum tomato, basil and thyme, covering with tin foil and place it an oven of 325 F to cook. It takes about two hours at this temperature and at that time the beef should be tender and falling off the bone. To slow cook the beef shank the oven would be set at 250 F.

When the osso buco has finished cooking, I remove it from the oven and leave the shank to rest covered in foil. The sauce is strained to remove the mirepoix. The liquid is reduced to about half and tasted to make sure that it's been seasoned properly. A gastric (red wine vinegar and sugar) is added to the reduced liquid and reduced more to achieve a thin sauce. Just before serving, I add the fine brunoise of celery and carrots to the sauce and ladle over the plated osso buco. Because the celery and carrots have been finely brunoised, it doesn't take long to cook in a hot sauce.

While the osso buco is cooking in the oven we make our chicken fricassee. I start off with the mise en place for this dish. The chicken is dusted lightly with flour and seasoned with salt and pepper. I also prepare some asparagus (the vegetable for this dish) by peeling it and julienne onions, minced garlic and slided shallots, sliced bacon, bay leaf, thyme and green apple for the white sauce. The fricassee starts off with lightly searing the seasoned chicken pieces in a pan of hot oil. It's important for this dish that you do not brown the chicken. The seared chicken is removed and I sweat the shallots, bacon, bay leaf, thyme and green apple to release their flavours. I deglaze the pan with white wine and then add some flour making a roux. When the flour has been cooked out I return the chicken to the pan and add chicken stock, cover with tin foil and place it in the oven to cook at 325 F.

I am serving asparagus and spaetzle with the chicken fricassee. While the chicken is cooking in the oven I get my vegetable and risotto going. The asparagus is peeled and I blanch it in hot salted water and cool it down in cold water, and drain. Closer to plating I will saute the asparagus in a little bit of butter and water. This will give the asparagus a light butter glaze that isn't heavy or greasy.

Spaetzle is basically a very small flour dumpling. The spaetzle mixture consists of one egg, salt, pepper, nutmeg, all purpose flour and milk. The batter is smooth and the consistency of a fish batter. To make the spaetzle you need a special tool used for making spaetzle. It has holes in it like a colander with a holder to hold the batter while allowing it to slide back and forth across the holes. Over a pot of boiling salted water the batter is dropped into the water with the spaetzle maker. When the little dough dumplings rise to the top, it is ready and can be strained from the water and I let them rest on a baking sheet. The next step for making the spaetzle for our side dish is to saute them in clarified butter giving them a bit of colour. Just before the spaetzle are removed from the heat I toss them with fresh parsley.

When the chicken is cooked through I take it out of the oven. I remove the chicken and strain the liquid that will be used to make the white sauce. The liquid is reduced, cream is added and seasoned with salt and pepper to taste.

Today we also made barbeque sauce that will be used for grilled barbecue chicken tomorrow. I've made a barbeque sauce before. However, I've never made a cooked barbeque sauce, which is what we made today. The ingredients going in to the barbeque sauce are: toasted peppercorns, caraway, cumin, mustard seed, all spice and fennel (and ground afterwards), onions, garlic, salt, pepper, Worcestershire, sun dried chili powder, paprika, brown sugar, red wine vinegar, molasses, honey and tomatoes. The sauce is cooked until it has reduced and further develop the flavours, then buzzed with the immersion blender for a smooth texture.

Two braised dishes and a barbecue sauce today. Homework? I'm tired and don't know how much I'll get done tonight.

Day 46: Practice Makes Perfect With Chicken Supreme

We're back after the long weekend and are cutting up a chicken that will be used this week. Today Chef wants us to prepare stuffed Chicken Supreme with two pureed vegetable, plus another vegetable and risotto. The background for the dish today is timing. Our task is to make sure that all items are timed so that they will be completed at the same time and plated hot for serving.

Chef goes through a demo of all the components to our dish. Explaining each ingredient for every part of our dish and how to cook each. With this information we are ready to begin our chicken supreme served with vegetables and starch. Chef also wants us to make a rye bread including additional herbs as an option.

First up is making the dough for the rye, proofing it, forming it, proofing it and then baking it.

As we will need a chicken supreme for our dish, I need to cut up a chicken and debone a half breast and remove part of the wing. The idea of cutting up your own chicken is cost effective and menu planning. The chicken breasts can be used for a chicken supreme dish, while the other pieces can be used for other dishes (which we will be preparing this week).

With our deboned chicken breast we want to stuff it with farce (stuffing). To make the farce I saute onions, mushrooms, spinach, garlic and thyme seasoning with salt and pepper. I allow the farce to cool before adding half the chicken meat from a leg of chicken. The farce is processed to a smooth texture and stuffed in to the chicken breast. I made a pocket in the chicken breast by cutting into it from the wing bone area. The chicken is seasoned with salt and pepper and seared in a hot pan with oil, skin side down, to achieve a nice brown colour. To finish cooking the chicken it is put in the oven at a temperature of 375 F.

The vegetables and risotto are started so that they finish at the same time as the chicken supreme. I'm kept on my toes today trying to get everything done at the same time. I manage to not be the last person to plate and present my plate to Chef!

Too tired for homework tonight!

Day 45: Victoria Day ~ No School Today

It's Victoria Day and there is no school today.

Be back tomorrow!

Day 44: Veggie Test and Black Box Day

I can tell you that the tests aren't as easy as we think they are. You do need to review and read your course text book. If you're wondering... I did study and did do well on my test. With our tests done and marked, we move back into the kitchen.

There was an assortment of goodies that we could choose from in the "black box". I chose some wonton wrapers with which I made fried wontons filled with a cream cheese mixture. To the cream cheese mixture I added an egg to help with the binding and additional spices and a minced thai chili pepper for some heat. I also made a dipping sauce using honey and red wine vinegar as a base.

There was some pork tenderloin in the black box and with this I made pork cutletts. The cutletts were seasoned before I breaded them with a dusting of flour, then egg, and last panko crumbs. I fried these in about an inch of oil in a saute pan and hit them with a sprinkle of salt when there were done.

Day 43: Chicken, Chicken...

We are using the remaining chicken today. The first dish is a chicken cutlet with risotto and carrots. A chicken leg needs to be deboned and flatten with a mallet. We've set up a breading station of flour, egg, and panko crumbs. Before breading the chicken, I season with salt and pepper. The chicken is pan fried to a nice brown colour and crispy texture.

I'm also making a sweet pea risotto, carrots and a mushroom sauce to be served with the chicken cutlet.

Our next dish is a poached chicken roulade. To make chicken roulade, I pound half a boneless breast of chicken to flatten it and season with salt and pepper. The farce is placed at one end and I roll the chicken in to a log. Cling wrap is used to wrap the log and the ends are twisted. I wrap the stuffed chicken again with tin foil and twist the ends. In a pot of boiling water I simmer the chicken until it's done to a temperature of 157 F. The chicken when removed will finish cooking to a temperature of 160 F.

The dish will be served with tourne cucumbers and a sour cream sauce. Plating will be done in a french classical style... and for my friend (you know who you are) I will be adding chives as a garnish.

Day 42: How to Cut Up A Chicken

I am butchering a chicken today. The chicken will be cut in to four pieces ~ two boneless chicken breasts and two chicken legs. Chef does a demonstration on how to butcher the chicken for those of us that were not in class the day before. I butcher my chicken and then get my mise en place for my dishes ready. With the remaining carcasses from the chickens that have been butchered, we make chicken stock.

For my first dish, I am making a stuffed chicken supreme with tourney potatoes and ratatouille. For the stuffing I am using swiss chard, onion, and mushroom and half a chicken leg (meat only). I've sauteed the vegetables and grind them with the chicken meat in the robo coup. The farce (stuffing) is piped into the chicken breast. The chicken is seared in a pan skin side and then turn over and placed in the oven to finish cooking.

Chef wants us to practice our knife skills and the tourne technique, so we are making tourne potatoes to go with our chicken supreme. Tourne is a cut that has seven sides and is the shape of a football. The other vegetables for my dish are string beans and julienne carrots. The ends of the carrots and beans in my dish are cut on an angle.

Chef would like to see a ratatouille and a cream sauce as well. Ratatouille is a fairly easy dish to make and I dice up eggplant, green and red peppers, onions and tomatoes and cook them in a pot. The cream sauce is made by first sauteeing a mirepoix of diced onions and celery, season with salt and pepper and make sure that it doesn't brown. I deglaze the pan with white wine before adding chicken stock. I strain the mirepoix and let the liquid reduce to half in the pan before adding cream to it.

If you're interested in learning how to cut up a chicken check out this video. Cutting up your own chicken will save you money. You'll also be able to make your own chicken stock too.

Day 41: Missing in Action

I was missing in action in the kitchen today... But the class must go on.

Today they made stuffed pork loin with a red onion jam. I have some gastric at home and will make the red onion jam. I was told it was good on toast and I'm sure it will be good with other dishes too.

Day 40: Potato Salad With Smoked Salmon

My day in the kitchen starts off with gathering the ingredients for a french bread. Today we are stuffing our french bread and Chef has given us cream cheese, chili peppers, cheddar cheese and sage. I spread out my ingredients so that they would show through in my bread. The fresh sage was a great tasting addition with the cheddar cheese.

For our potato salad we roasted the potatoes in the oven with their skins on. We pick small potatoes that were cut in half for use with the salad. Celery, onion, fresh dill, red pepper and green pepper were small diced and added to the potatoes. The smoked salmon was cut in a chiffonade and added. We made our own mayonnaise for the salad. Everything was mixed together and seasoned to taste.

Our last dish of the day was tortellini that we stuffed with a mixture of spinach, onion and ricotta cheese. The spinach and onions were sauteed and then added to the ricotta cheese. The pasta for the tortellini was made the same way that we've made it for linguine pasta. But this time we utilized the sheet of pasta and cut out circles with our ring moulds. A teaspoon of the ricotta mixture was placed on the pasta circle and folded in half and sealed with an egg wash on the edges. We pulled the ends together and pasted them together with more egg wash. The tortellini were put in salted hot boiling water. When they floated to the top, they were ready.

A simple tomato sauce was made for the tortellini. Onions, garlic, small diced carrots, and celery were sauteed and then tomatoes were added and seasoned with salt, pepper and sugar. The sauce was buzzed with the immersion blender to make it smooth.

Day 39: Potatoes, Potatoes and More Potatoes

Chef has declared this potato day. All recipes consist of the main ingredient ~ potato. We made four dishes today ~ scalloped potatoes, gnocchi, Pomme William, and Anna potatoes.

Since we are working on four recipes, time management is key. First off Chef has us boiling three potatoes in salted water ~ two for Pomme William and one for gnocchi. While the potatoes are cooking away, we peel and slice two potatoes for the scalloped potatoes dish.

Scalloped potatoes are layers of thinly sliced potato and onion covered with a béchamel sauce, baked in a casserole dish in the oven at about 400 F. For the scalloped potatoes made today, we sweat the onions in a pan. Between each layer of onion and potato, I season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. To make the béchamel sauce, milk is heated and infused with a two cloves and a bay leaf. To the milk I add a blond roux (butter and flour), stirring it until it thickens slightly. The béchamel sauce is poured over the layered potato and onion and put in the oven to cook.

When the boiled potatoes are ready, they are peeled and riced. With the one potato that has been riced we make our gnocchi by adding one egg and season with salt, pepper and and nutmeg and mix it all together adding flour until we get a light dough. The dough is rolled out in to long ropes and cut in to one inch lengths. With the back of a fork, each piece is lightly rolled to form rough looking shell. The gnocchi is placed in boiling water. When it floats to the to the top of the water it is ready to be served with some sauce or pan fried until it becomes lightly browned. We choose to pan fry the gnocchi in some oil and after browning toss with chopped parsley and plate for Chef.

Working with two riced potatoes we make a classic french dish called Pomme William. The rice potatoes are mixed with an egg and seasoned with salt, pepper and nutmeg. With the potato mixture I moulded a portion of it to the shape of a large pear, a small pear and an orange and dipped them in an egg mixture and then coat with panko crumbs. At this point they are ready for the deep fryer at 375 F. The Pomme William is cooked for a few minutes ~ enough to brown ~ and removed from the oil and seasoned with salt.

Our last potato dish is Anna potatoes. This a fairly easy dish to prepare and cook. With a potato we make paper thin slices and layer the slices in frying pay by overlapping them while forming a circle. Each layer is seasoned with salt and pepper and clarified butter ~ two or three layers is fine. The potatoes are cook on the stove until the bottom becomes browned and then put the oven to finish cooking. Before plating and serving the potatoes, the pan is placed in the salamander (broiler) to brown the top of the Anna potatoes.

Chef wants us to work on our project tonight ~ it's due in a couple of weeks.

Day 38: Puttanesca, Ravioli, and Double Baked

We are back to eating dinner at breakfast. Chef has listed for us to make today are puttanesca, ravioli, and double baked potato. Since the first two are pasta dishes, we measure out the ingredients to make fresh pasta. The meals are inexpensive to make and very easy ~ especially the first pasta. The pasta dough is mixed and will be left to sit and then made in to linguine pasta and sheet pasta.

The first thing that Chef has us do this morning is put the potatoes in the oven for the double baked potato. They are washed, and coated with oil and salt and put in to a 400 F oven to bake.

Because we are making a ravioli we are making the filling ahead of time so that it can cool. The filling for the ravioli is onions, mushroom, spinach, ricotta and some shredded Swiss cheese. The onions, mushroom and spinach are sauteed in butter and then put in the Robot Coupe to be minced. When the mixture has cooled we add the mixed ricotta and Swiss cheese and then mix again thoroughly and set aside for when we make our ravioli.

For the puttanesca sauce I prepared my mise en place (ingredients) ~ whole black olives, whole anchovy, whole capers, chopped canned tomato, sliced garlic, and chopped parsley. This is a very quick dish to make before making the sauce, I add the fresh linguine pasta to a pot of boiling salted water. I next add olive oil to a sauce pan to heat and add the olives and whole anchovy and let this cook for a bit before adding the tomatoes and sliced garlic and some of the tomato juice from the canned tomatoes and let it simmer to reduce. I add a couple of pinches of sugar and a pinch of pepper to the sauce but no salt because there is plenty of salt from the olives, capers and anchovy. The linguine that has been cooking for about five minutes is ready to be added to the puttanesca sauce and plated. Very quick and very inexpensive.

We're moving pretty quickly today and with one meal completed we work on our mise en place for the ravioli sauce ~ a cream based sauce. The onions are sliced, sun-dried tomatoes slice, red and green pepper diced, and the garlic sliced. I make the cream sauce by sauteing the onions in butter and season with salt and pepper, add the green and red pepper and deglaze the pan with white wine. Next I add the sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and cream and heat through and set aside for later.

Now that the filling has cooled for the ravioli, we start working on our sheet pasta. We make enough pasta for about five large ravioli and get them stuffed with about a tablespoon of filling. To a pot of boiling water I add my stuffed ravioli and get back to my cream sauce and cook it until it has reduced and ready for plating. When the ravioli floats to the top of the boiling water, I know that it is almost cooked. A few more minutes and I'm ready to plate and serve to Chef.

With two plates behind us we start working on our twice baked potatoes. We've shredded some extra old cheddar cheese that will be mixed in to the potato. Cooked broccoli florets are to be added to the mash potato mixture too. We each take a potato and slice it on top length wise and scoop out the flesh of the potato. The flesh is mashed and mixed with heated milk and butter, and the extra old cheddar and cooked broccoli florets. The potato mixture is put back in to the shell of the potato, and topped with some shredded cheddar cheese. I add some broccoli florets to the top to give it some colour. The potatoes are placed back in the oven to be double baked. When the cheese has melted it is now ready to be plated and served. Some of us put the baked potato under the broiler to give the cheese a crusty texture.

Taking a break from homework tonight ~ it's Tuesday!

Day 37: Two Rices ~ Pilaf and Risotto.

Today we started off with a test on stocks, sauces and soups. As with all our written tests there are 100 questions ~ true or false, multiple choice, and short answers. It was a tough test and I think everyone in the class did well.

We made two types of rice dishes today ~ a rice pilaf and a risotto. We decided on a pilaf to start so we diced up some onions, red peppers, green peppers, and carrots. For the rice pilaf we are using par boiled rice. This is a very quick and easy dish to make. In a sauce pan add butter, onions and season with salt and pepper. Next I add the red peppers, green peppers and carrots. When the vegetables are tender, the rice is ready to be added. It is stirred around to coat with butter and add water enough to cover the rice by about an inch. The rice is left to simmer on the stove covered until done. This is a vegetable rice pilaf which can be served as a starter or a side dish. Chef wants us to think about garnishes for our plates as I get mine ready for chef to taste and critique. I work on a carrot with my peeler to see what I come up with and create a little rosette that I can use for part of my garnish that includes dill and (yes!) chives.

After break we work on our next rice ~ a mushroom risotto. Onions are caramelized in a pan with butter and oil. Before adding the mushrooms I deglaze the pan with white wine. Now the aborrio rice is ready to add to the pan. I mix the rice to coat with the butter and oil before I add a few ladles of hot veal stock. I keep stirring the rice mixture adding more stock when the liquid has reduced by half. I keep repeating until the rice is cooked and then add some Parmesan cheese. The risotto should be loose and spread when plated. After plating I shave a bit of Parmesan on top of the risotto and it's ready to be served to Chef. This isn't the best dish I've plated I must confess. The serving size is too large ~ there are three servings on my dish! Should we make this dish again, I'll have to re-think my plating for sure.

Homework is to do more work on my business plan project. I'll have to look up my recipes and get them ready for costing and prep.

Day 36: Hollandaise Sauce ~ Not Bernaise Sauce

A few weeks ago I watched an episode of Top Chef Canada. The contestants were asked to make a hollandaise sauce. At least two of the chefs decided to add thyme to the hollandaise to give it a bit extra. The extra added up to being a bernaise sauce and not the hollandaise sauce (which is a leading sauce) that was required.

We are making a real breakfast and today Chef has us making eggs benedict. This is my favourite breakfast ~ there has been only one time when it was made perfect ~ all others have been okay or not good at all.

Before we get started on eggs benedict, we make a potato bread. Yeast is set to bloom in warm water and a potato is boiled until soft then peeled. The potato is riced with a ricer and added to the dry ingredients of bread flour, rice flour, milk powder, sugar, and salt and optional ingredients of rosemary, thyme, pepper, Thai green chili pepper and cheddar cheese. To the dry I mix in the yeast and water and an egg. I kneaded then leave to proof in a warm spot.

When the dough for the potato bread had proofed, the dough is divided and I formed them in to small bread pans then leave to proof again. Once they doubled in size, they were put in to a 400 F oven. Potato bread is so light and moist because of the extra moisture from the boiled potato. This is one bread I will not have a problem eating a lot of.

For the eggs benedict we make the hollandaise sauce first. It's really easy to make. I have always thought that it was complicated to make. Chef demonstrates the steps for making the hollandaise sauce. The first thing that you do need to do is clarify some butter. I get the task of clarifying butter for half the class to use. To clarify butter you need to heat the butter so that the the liquid and solid in it will separate. The solid is removed by skimming from the top. Clarified butter is also referred to as ghee.

An egg yolk seasoned with salt and white pepper (Chef likes black pepper and this is what we use) is whisk over a bain marie (warm water bath). To the whisked egg yolk, lemon juice and clarified butter is added until a smooth creamy texture is achieved. The hollandaise sauce is covered with saran wrap lying directly on top and set aside to be used later.

We are not using an English muffin (which is traditionally used) for our eggs benedict. Instead we make a potato pancake for the base layer. A raw potato is shredded and seasoned with salt and pepper and a few drops of lemon juice to keep the potato from oxidizing. I added a little bit of minced Thai green chili. The shredded potato is made in to a patty and cooked in oil until cooked on the inside and crisp on the outside. Salt The finished potato pancake is seasoned with salt and set aside. Canadian back bacon is fried in a saute pan being careful to not burn.

In hot salted water (160 F to 180 F) and a tablespoon of vinegar I poached an egg. An egg is carefully dropped in to the hot water being careful not to break the yolk. The poached egg should be soft and should be checked on throughout cooking to make sure that it has not been overcooked. I plated the eggs benedict starting with the base layer of potato pancake, Canadian back bacon, poached egg, and hollandaise sauce.

Class ended today with a visit to a kitchen supply store. I picked up a pan that I can use to make Genoise cake (sponge cake) or cinnamon rolls at home.

Homework this weekend is to study for our test on stocks, sauces and soups.

Day 35: Black Box Without the Box

Another fun filled day in the kitchen! Chef tells us that we will be making polenta with a salad and macaroni and cheese. I've never had polenta let alone eaten it. All I know about polenta is that it is made with cornmeal. That you can buy it in the grocery store ~ I've seen it in the shape of a sausage in a yellow wrapper.

We start the day off with making the polenta because we need it to set before we will be using it. Polenta is made by cooking one part cornmeal to approximately three to four parts hot water. Our polenta will be infused with a few ingredients to give it flavour. We have added onion, Thai chili pepper, garlic, bacon all finely chopped. I've also added corn, salt, pepper, basil, oregano and thyme. I sauteed these and then added the cornmeal and water mixing until I got a smooth creamy texture. The polenta mixture was poured in to a loaf mold to set in the refrigerator to be used later to make a salad with.

I made a vinaigrette for the salad. The ingredients used are three parts apple cider vinegar (you can use red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, white vinegar, etc. instead if you like) to one part olive oil, minced garlic, minced Thai chili pepper, lime zest, lime juice, salt, pepper, honey, maple syrup, Dijon mustard (which is an emulsifier), fish sauce, and sesame seeds. Mix them all together and you get your dressing for the salad. Salad today is a spinach salad. We set this aside for later too. It will give the vinaigrette time for the flavours to mingle.

Chef has decided that we will be having macaroni and cheese for breakfast today. It's a pretty easy dish to create. We are adding caramelized onions, with about half a Thai chili pepper minced and minced garlic seasoned with salt and pepper, deglazed with white wine.

In a sauce pan we are making a roux ~ which is usually one part flour and one part butter (or fat). This is the thickening agent that will be used for the cheese sauce. The roux is tempered with hot milk which is the liquid used for the cheese sauce. I used a separate bowl to temper the roux using a whisk to combine to a smooth texture before adding to the milk which has already been seasoned with salt and pepper and a bay leaf. The milk mixture was cooked until it started to thicken. This is usually when it coats the back of a wooden spoon. With the stove off, grated cheddar cheese is added to the milk mixture. The cheese sauce should not be too thick or too thin.

The pasta is cooked to al dente in salted water, drained and added to the cheese sauce and checked for proper seasoning. At this point you can add some more salt and pepper if needed. The sauteed onions and cooked macaroni is mixed together with the cheese sauce and poured in to a casserole dish. The macaroni and cheese is topped with bread crumbs that have been mixed with melted butter and finely chopped parsley and baked in a 450 F oven. When the top is browned, it is ready to serve.

The polenta has set and we are cutting shapes to be pan fried in oil until crispy. With polenta you have to be careful when turning it over during cooking because it is very soft and can break apart easily. Using a spatula the polenta is turned over when it has browned on the bottom and separates from the pan easily. Do not try scrapping it off the bottom ~ because, one: it is not ready, two, because it will break. When the polenta is cooked and draining on a paper towel to remove some of the oil, I hit it with some salt. I start plating my polenta. The spinach is layered on a serving plate and sprinkled with my vinaigrette and topped with my polenta. This is a very good appetizer or starter.

When I was cooking the polenta in oil, the corn from the polenta started to pop. This was happening to four of us who decided to put corn in our polenta. Note to self: No more corn when cooking in enough oil to fry and not saute.

After a little break Chef gives us a black box. There isn't a real black box. The black box is a list of ingredients that we must use in making a dish. We don't know what the ingredients are before hand and must make the dish on the fly in a certain amount of time.

The ingredients in the black box are pasta, spinach, and cream. Chef requires that we complete the dish in 45 minutes ~ this includes plating and ready for Chef to taste and critique. This test is about process and  time management.

With the black box ingredients I am making the lemon dill cream pasta dish that I had already made this week. I get started on making the pasta dough because it has to rest for a bit in saran wrap. Next I start on my mise en place for my sauce ~ sliced onions, leeks, garlic, red pepper, and spinach. The pasta machine I'm using isn't working to well, so I get to break open a new one. I'm having trouble with that one, so Chef gives me a hand. Chef finally gets it going and hands it over to me to finish rolling and then cutting  in to linguine. I leave the linguine to hang and dry while I start sauteing the onions and leeks seasoning with salt and pepper. My pot of salted water is boiling and I add my pasta. Fresh pasta takes about five minutes to cook. I continue sauteing with adding my garlic and red pepper. I deglaze with white wine and add my spinach. I added cream pan and waited for it to reduce before adding in my pasta. I gave it all a good toss and then plated it on a hot plate for Chef to taste and critique.

I had a very busy day with no time to stop. I did not eat my breakfast of macaroni and cheese nor my  polenta and spinach salad. My macaroni went home for later and I offered the salad to a colleague in the advance class.

I need to put more work on my project. Maybe I'll work on the recipes and plan out my mise en place.