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.