Today I presented my country project on Morocco. I was nervous about speaking in front of everyone but I think it went well. Last night I prepared food for my presentation while watching Top Chef ~ which is one of my favourite reality shows. Fried eggplant and couscous is what I decided to have the class sample as my dishes from Morocco. The fried eggplant was topped with garlic, lemon zest, parsley and a fig vinaigrette. My couscous salad had red peppers, red onion, dried cranberries, parsley, lemon juice and an olive oil vinaigrette. I usually put pine nuts in my couscous, but last night I decided to toast them and they ended up being overdone. I broiled some cherry tomatoes on the vine in some salt, pepper and olive oil. The couscous was topped with these and sprinkled with chopped green onions. Everyone seemed to enjoy the two dishes.
In preparing my Moroccan dishes for today, it gave me an opportunity to practice my mise en place. I organized my products and did my preparation dicing all the vegetables ~ brunoise, which is a 1/8 x 1/8 x 1/8 dice. A sharp knife is important when cutting food products in a uniform size. Chef said that it is a dull knife that is the cause of most cuts in the kitchen
Two other presentations were presented ~ Lebanon and Vietnam. Two very interesting cultures and foods that we've all come to love to eat. Pho is a huge favourite to many and especially to Chef.
We then continued on with more theory (Legumes, Grains, Pastas and Other Starches) and followed up by going to a few of Asian grocery stores in the area to check out their products. I managed to find preserved beans which is used for making a black bean sauce used in Asian dishes. The label indicates that the beans are processed in a traditional method and is rich in nutrition, being the best kind of seasoning for Chinese food.
No homework tonight for class. But I do need to put together my resume.
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