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.