Mozzarella

My friend asked me for mozzarella recipes and I remembered I had grabbed recipes from the Team USA during their workshops. We got together and the ingredients to make homemade mozzarella. It was a lot of fun and work as well. Temperature control I found was the most important factor in making the cheese. Instead of doing the boiling bath method, we did microwaved it for a short time because we did not have the proper gloves. The mozzarella I think turned out really well!

Fish fabrication

We've learned how to fabricate both flat and round fish. The day before I made a la meuniere. I breaded two fish fillets and then sautéed them in butter. The fish only needed to cook for a little while because the meat is so tender. I pulled the fish out of the butter and drained it, then added wine and lemon to the leftover butter to make a sauce. The fish was very delicate and the Cajun seasoning with the lemon tasted very flavorful and brought a tingling sensation to your mouth. 

Today we cooked fish four different ways. One way I steamed fish. I didn’t add as much butter as last time and sprinkled some onions and other seasonings with it before letting it steam in the oven. Another way we cooked it was panfrying. I added butter and some oil in a pan and let it heat up. I seasoned and breaded the trout and placed it in the oil. The fish only needed a minute to cook  before being flipped and then quickly taken from the heat so that the fish would still be tender and stop cooking.

                I also deep-fried fish. I breaded and seasoned the fish before placing it in the vat of oil. It only needed a few minutes as well before being pulled from the heat. Lastly, I broiled a fillet. I lightly coated the fish with butter so it would not dry out and placed in the broiler to cook. Once the fish had some nice color I pulled it from the heat. 

deep and pan fried fish fillets

a la meuniere 

Breakfast Day #1

Today we learned several different ways on how to cook an egg. One way was the French Omelet. For this method, I had to scramble the bottom of the pan of eggs with a fork to ensure that all the eggs were evenly cooked. When the eggs had cooked enough together, I flipped the egg on its other side for a very short amount of time before flipping it again and adding the toppings. For the omelet to be French I had to flip both sides into the middle and then turn it on its back to form a nice oval.

                For the crepes all we had to do was ladle the right amount for the pan. I moved the pan in a circle, so the batter would reach around the pan in a nice circle. Once the side was cooked I flipped it over and let the other side get some color.

French omelet

Crepes

 As a group, we made caramelized apples for our crepe filling. First, we sautéed the apples in butter before throwing in brown sugar and cream to let it braise for a few minutes to soften.

                The American omelet actually took me the longest to figure out. I had a few goes at it but finally was able to flip it correctly. The first step is to let the garnishes sauté for a minute before adding in the egg. To make sure the bottom wouldn’t brown, I had to lift the edges of the egg and let the raw on the top go under it. Once the top of the egg wasn’t so raw I had to flip it over and let it cook like with the French omelet. However, once it was fully cooked, all I had to do was flip it in half and take it off the heat.

                With French toast, we soaked the bread in the batter and griddled the pieces until they were cooked all the way through. Another way we cooked an egg was poaching it. I let an egg soak in vinegar for a few minutes before letting it drop in a hot pot of water. Once the egg solidified into an oval and the whites were set, it was ready to take out of the pot. 

Elderquest #2

The elderquest is a monthly catering event for our program, so we had the opportunity to feed them again. This time around, our class is more knowledgeable and have figured out the general procedures of time management, sanitation and mise en place to be successful in the kitchen. The day before, we had split into teams and prepared and cut everything for the entree we were going to serve. It was so well prepared, we had time to do some freestyle cooking and work what we wanted to. I decided I wanted to practice cooking a soup since I've only done it in a team, but not as an individual activity. I first sauteed the vegetables in oil before throwing in the potatoes and stock to let it simmer. Once the potatoes were soft enough, I blended the soup and and pureed it to the right consistency.

For the catering event all we had to do was saute the vegetables for the ratatouille before letting them cook the rest of the way in the hot box before service time.

                For the chicken and potatoes, we roasted them in the oven together. The potatoes had to be blanched before being roasted so it would finished around the same time the chicken was done.

                Pesto was made by blending the ingredients together, we had to make sure the consistency was correct and that it had good flavor.

Potato Puree

Pot Pies!

                This particular recipe I've been excited to make all block long! As a classic that my mom made all the time as a kid, I've always wondered how to make it homemade.

For the chicken pot pie, our team had to sauté the onions until they were sweating and then began adding in the other vegetables. Immediately after, we added in some stock to help soften the vegetables and basically braised the vegetables until they softened. Then we mixed in the veloute sauce and placed the pastry crust over the top. Lastly we let it bake in the oven until the crust was a golden brown.

                The couscous was very similar to risotto. We first sautéed the onions and then had to boil stock before adding in the starch. Once the couscous and onions were mixed together, we covered it to steam and pulled it off the heat. In 5 to 10 minutes the couscous soaked all the moisture and it was ready to be seasoned and then served.

The pot pie with and without the crust

Couscous

Soup

                Today we learned how to make some of the thick soups. My team was assigned to complete the cream of broccoli and celery root puree soups. Because we had to make 2 gallons per soup, we took some time to do the math and the conversions. We cut what we needed to measure it out. The puree was quite easy. We let it the root and onions sweat before adding in the stock and let it simmer for about half an hour. Then once the root had softened enough, we pureed it with an immersion blender. After adding salt and pepper for taste we let it simmer again. We then poured in the heavy cream to thicken. Once we tasted it, we decided to use puree the soup just a bit longer since it was still chunky and not as smooth as it should be. Once it was pureed again, the mixture had a perfect consistency.

Celery Root Puree

Midterm

For the midterm, I was assigned to cook a veloute sauce. The chicken stock came to a boil and I made a slurry of hot stock and roux before mixing it into the rest of the stock. I whisked it in and added a little more roux before taking it off the burner

                I was also assigned the espagnole sauce to make. The first thing I did was roast a few chicken carcasses. I let the bones roast for about 15 minutes. I timed the roasting so that I could have all my vegetables ready to sauté. The mirepoix caramelized in clarified butter and browned even more with the tomato paste. I threw in the stock and chicken carcass and brought it to a boil. I turned the heat to a simmer and let it cook for only an hour and a half. The reduction happened faster than 2 hours so I took it off the heat and let it cool.

                I chopped mirepoix for the vegetable stock and piled it into a stockpot with cold water and a bouquet garni. I let it simmer for an hour and once it cooled I strained the stock.

                I also steamed carrots. I used parchment paper and utensils to hold it down to keep the moisture in.

                I had to grill poach and chicken for my moist and dry heat method. I forgot about my thighs on the grill so I had to redo the whole thing and use wings. I seasoned them and then let it cook much shorter since it is a very lean piece of meat.

                I am still getting confident in poaching a chicken to the perfect amount of doneness. I combined water, wine and butter to a sauce pot and then added the chicken breasts. I used parchment paper to cook the not submerged top half of the chicken and I let it very gently cook. I learned that being fully prepared with mise en place really does pay off. I still am working on multitasking and had a few hiccups, but luckily nothing that took too long. I also am still learning how to poach.