Day 10: Fourteen Cooks. All with Great Menus ~ No One Chopped.

We started off the day with presenting our homework in front of the class. "Black box" items provided by Chef (a la Chopped a cooking competition program on the Food Network) were to be used as ingredients in creating a three course menu. Appetizer: grapefruit, avocado, baby spinach, and quail; Main Course: short ribs, couscous, portobello mushrooms, and dates; Desert: brioche, pecans, and mascarpone. I knew from the start what my desert was going to be. I had to think a little harder to put together my appetizer and main course. Here's what I came up with:

Appetizer:
Garlic and Honey Glazed Roasted Quail
Salad of Avocado, Grapefruit and Baby Spinach

Main Course:
Braised Short Ribs in a Smoked Portobello Mushroom Sauce
Saffron infused Couscous with Dates, Dried Cranberries, and Pine Nuts
Zucchini and Baby Carrot Spears

Desert:

Brioche Bread Pudding with Candied Pecans

and Lemon Mascarpone

If you can see the dishes as I've described them, then I've done my job. If I can make these dishes as you have envisioned (sight and taste) them ~ then I've done an even better job. That's my opinion and I hope to not disappoint!

We ran through another chapter in our textbook ~ Understanding Fish and Shellfish. By the end of the course I should be able to cut up chicken, fillet a fish, and trim meats and cook them all using various methods learned. There will be foods that I have never tried cooking at home and only have had at a restaurant. There is lots to learn and I'm looking forward to all of it.

I found today that there are many in my class that have never tried a lot of the foods discussed. Some have never eaten an avocado or know what brioche is. As one of my colleagues mentioned today, there is no excuse for not being able to build a menu with product you don't know about. If you have the Internet, you can research almost anything. That's what my colleague did and came up with a menu to prove it.

Two and a half weeks to go with theory and we are in the kitchen. (woo hoo!) Chef has been keeping our interest with her food stories that relate to the subjects being taught. We are always in good humour which makes the class go fast.

Lots of food sampling today. It started out with one of my classmates who brought in a home made lasagna for everyone to try. It was very good indeed. Then throughout the day two of the chefs that are teaching in the kitchen brought in food for us as well. We had Jambalaya (a Louisiana creole dish of Spanish and French influence), Beef Bourguignon (a standard of French cuisine), Red Snapper two ways ~ en papillote (in parchment paper) and a la meuniere (a technique used where the fish is sprinkled with lemon juice and chopped parsley, and freshly prepared hot brown butter is poured over the fish hitting the lemon juice creating a froth), and Chinese Dumplings (using handmade wrappers). All were very yummy!

More reading and another menu to create from Chef using "black box" items for homework tonight.