What could be worse?

Last night there was a lot of change in the kitchen. A new four course menu, and new table assignments. I was assigned garde manger, responsible for the appetizer. The fish is a barramundi in an Americaine sauce, served with mussels and shrimp, and garnished with cocotte potatoes. The meat is chicken grand-mere. Dessert? DELICIOUS dessert! A simple lemon tart.

The appetizer? A poached egg with hollandaise served over a macedoine salad and garnished with tomato “julienne”. The main components of this salad are two of my least favorite things – both egg yolks. Poaching eggs last night, one after the other with no more skill than my first poached egg in Level 1 or 2, I realized that I need to learn to like, or at least like to (and learn to) cook, things I do not like. It took me way too long to poach the eggs… and eggs only poach for 2-3 minutes. It took even longer to figure out whether my hollandaise was the correct texture and correctly seasoned. I presented ten minutes late.

Once again, some downward comparison to make myself feel better…. Well, I did present second (after Julia). Everyone else was even later than me. Some students presented after the fish was served.

So why is this titled, “What could be worse?”

Well, here is how things could have gotten (and did get) worse. Not immediately, but between then and now. I am sitting here, writing this entry, on the 6:05AM Amtrak from New York to Washington. I was scheduled on the 5:30 train. I arrived at Penn Station at 5:15, picked up a cinnamon twist donut and coffee at Zaro’s Bakery *yum* and proceeded to print my ticket. Then I realized that I had some time to refund a ticket from two weeks ago, so I went over to the customer service window where I spent at least five minutes explaining to a woman how the customer service representatives usually refund a ticket (using a credit card as opposed to ID). Not believing me, she called over another customer service representative, who, after another 3 minutes of explaining, confirmed that I was right.

So I finally got my refund, just in time to get to the gate and show the “ticket checker” my ticket. I had the wrong ticket. I asked, “Is there a kiosk nearby where I can just print the ticket?” She said yes, no problem and pointed to a kiosk 20 feet away. I printed my ticket. When I returned she looked SHOCKED that I was trying to get on the 5:30 train!? The train was pulling away from the platform and I felt like I was in one of those terrible heartbreaking movies where my long lost love was on a train departing from Paris and I was moments too late. I saw him sitting in the window of a train departing for some foreign city.

So now, after multiple less than satisfactory interactions to get my ticket rebooked and a short wait that seemed like forever next to (not really, just close enough to enjoy the odor of) a very smelly homeless man in the Amtrak waiting area (note: for paying Amtrak customers only), I am on the 6:05 train to Washington.

Note to self: it can always get worse.

Time flies by

Thanksgiving came and went. New York is bustling for the holidays. Next Saturday is Christmas Eve. This year is flying by and will be over before I know it. I aced my Level 2 Exam and Practical, and am now ServSafe certified. I am two weeks into Level 3.
Level 3 moves into real production. The class is divided into teams/tables of four. Each evening each team is responsible for a four course dinner. Each student is required to produce four plates of one dish (an appetizer, fish, meat, or dessert) and present at a certain time (8:15, 8:30, 8:45, and 9 PM respectively). The responsibility is individual and it is kind of nice to only worry about yourself. On the third day, Chef added an amuse bouche due at 8 PM. The amuse bouche is a team effort and requires team work and communication.
For the first rotation the menu was consomme printainer, skate a la grenobloise with cocotte potatoes, pork chop with pommes darphin, and tarte aux pommes. Last night, our first mock mid-term, required us to produce two courses (appetizer and meat -- consomme and pork chop) and present at a time picked from a hat (I got 8:17 and 9:17 respectively). I was second to present. All students got to start at the same time, so this is truly the luck of the draw. I was ready to present my delicious consomme at 8:12, but disaster twice struck my pommes darphin and I presented my pork chop closer to 9:30. Something was wrong in the kitchen last night. Potatoes were sticking to pans and burning left and right. Some students presented pork without potatoes. My potatoes were less than stellar, even on the second take.
Everything is so busy. At school, I feel like I am just trying to keep my head above water and deliver my dishes on time. At work, we are working on a big deliverable. Outside of school and work, I have had friends visit (and stay) every weekend since the week before Thanksgiving. We had our firm holiday party in Washington, DC, on Saturday and I am heading back Thursday for a team celebration. I worry that I am so busy that I am not enjoying things as much as I used to, not savoring every moment like I want to.
I actually missed my grandmother's 89th birthday last week. I just totally forgot... I only remembered today.
I used to read other culinary students blogs and think, "Interesting that they started a blog and didn't continue. People have no discipline." Now I wonder, do I have no discipline? Am I just like the rest?
Maybe culinary school has a way of taking over. Everything is so fast-paced - class, the exam schedules, etc. They expect you to learn so quickly, and practice at home, and you do... or I did and do. I find that I am a totally different person in the kitchen today. But still I am just exhausted. I dread the alarm.

Menu Project

Level Two is almost over... our final exam and practical is one week from today. It is very sad for me... I almost cannot believe it. I have learned so much but I feel like I have SO much more to learn and so many more experiments to try and mistakes to make.  

We have a menu project due today. The assignment is to write a menu using four of the appetizers, fish, meat, and desserts that we have learned to-date. I spent a lot of time developing the design and layout of my menu. I am graphically challenged to say the least, but am very happy with the way it turned out!  What do you think? 

I got my life back... at the expense of my sanity... and my blog

It is cold in New York now. Most of the leaves have fallen and been cleared.  The city may not be totally ready for snow (it was 60 degrees on Sunday), but ready for the holidays for sure.

Holiday decorations are lining and lighting Fifth Avenue. It is a beautiful time in New York. This is the first time I have been in New York for the holidays and I am committed to taking advantage of all that the city has to offer.

This past weekend my friend Rachel came to visit Whit’s End. She stayed in our extra bedroom and I got to play my ideal role of Inn Keeper... and I got to play tourist too! We spent Saturday exploring the city. We had lunch at my favorite pizza place (Angelo’s on 57^th Street) and dinner at one of my favorite restaurants (Blue Water Grill).

After dinner, after midnight, we went back to Fifth Avenue to enjoy the windows without fighting 1,000,000 tourists.

Bergdorf Goodman

On Sunday morning, after a delicious brunch of omelets and pommes darphin, and zucchini bread and strawberries, Rachel headed back to Washington. 

Rachel visited Whit's End for the weekend. We had a delicious Sunday brunch.

Sunday afternoon, Michael and I rented bicycles in Central Park and enjoyed a beautiful 15 mile bike ride around the southern tip of Manhattan.

It was a wonderful weekend full of good friends, good food, and good times. 

A meal fit for a medieval king

Level Two Day Three was sooo long ago, and the lamb shanks we made feel like a distant memory... but I did promise the recipe and I will deliver... and I will make them again because they are absolutely to DIE for! 

Braised Lamb Shank

Braised Lamb Shank

(Recipe taken from the The International Culinary Center Classic Culinary Arts Level Two text book)

Ingredients

2 lamb shanks, excess fat trimmed and discarded, bone trimmed if necessary 

40 g olive oil

150 g onion, cut into large chunks

150 g carrots, cut into large mirepoix

4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

100 g celery, cut in 1-in pieces

2 sprigs of thyme

1 sprig of rosemary 

150 g white wine

150 g red wine

500 g brown stock 

150 g very ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped 

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Procedure

1. Trim the lamb shanks of excess fat, leaving a thin layer on the shank. Season the shanks with salt and pepper.

2. Heat a saute pan and add the olive oil. Add the lamb shanks. Saute until brown on all sides. Remove and set aside. 

3. Add the onion, carrots, garlic, and celery to the saute pan and cook a few minutes until golden in color. Drain excess fat and add the herbs. 

4. Add the wines and scrape and deglaze the sucs. Add the stock and tomatoes and season lightly and then return the lamb shanks to the liquid.

5. Tightly cover the saute pan and place in a 300-325 degree oven to braise for approximately 2.5 hours.

6. When the shanks are tender, remove the saute pan from the oven, remove the lid, and let the shanks rest for 10 minutes.

7. Carefully degrease the cooking liquid by skimming the fat off the top with a ladle.

8. Remove the shank from the pot and set aside in a warm place, covered.

9. Reduce the cooking liquid until it reaches a sauce-like consistency. Taste and adjust the seasonings as desired. 

Optional: Cut the meat from the bone and place it into the hot sauce (to reheat for service).

Lamb shanks? I asked my mom, who said that she has cooked them before. She cooked them for my father and he was very pleased.  He told her, "This is a meal fit for a medieval king". 

Why is my dad always right?!

Nutty Oatmeal Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Twice in the past two weeks of craziness, I woke up with "nothing to eat" for breakfast. I hadn't been to the grocery store in days. I didn't want oatmeal... and anyway, the bananas were past ripe for oatmeal. I couldn't have cereal... we had no milk. There was no bread, no bagels, nothing. So I decided to use the bananas, purchased for 20 cents each at the corner fruit stand, to make something delicious. I made one dozen, ate two, and shared the rest with the doormen. Since the muffins, I have also shared tarts and quiche with the doormen, so now the doormen ask me every morning (including this morning when I returned from my run) "What are you cooking today?" This morning I had to reply, "I have too much work to do!" And that is absolutely true. The world of consulting is full of ebbs and flows and right now, two men down, we are trying to stay afloat. It is lunch time and between work meetings and document development and emails, I have squeezed in one coffee. After running five miles. I think it is time for food. 

But before I go and make some lunch, I have to share this delicious muffin recipe, adapted significantly from Joy of Cooking. After all I promised. And I should probably memorize the recipe because I have some more bananas getting overripe and I haven't been to the store. 

Nutty Oatmeal Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins - a Whit's End Test Kitchen creation

Preheat the oven to 375F. Prepare a standard 12-muffin pan.

DRY Ingredients

Whisk together:

1.5 cups AP flour

.5 cup oatmeal 

2 t baking powder

.5 t baking soda

1 t ground cinnamon

,25 t ground nutmeg

.25 t ground cloves 

.25 t salt 

Stir in: 

.33 c walnuts,

.33 c semi sweet chocolate chips 

This is really where you can stir in .66 c or a little bit more or a little bit less of anything you want. The recipe called for only walnuts. I wanted to add some chocolate chips. You could probably add coconut, different nuts, white chocolate chips, or whatever you have. Like I said, this recipe was developed when I had nothing to eat and no time to get to the store.

WET Ingredients

Whisk together in a large bowl: 

1 large egg

.75 c packed light brown sugar

1.33 c mashed ripe bananas (don't skimp on the bananas - the recipe says 2-3 but it is more like 2-4. Put them in a 2-3 c liquid measuring cup and use a whisk to mash them)

6 T veg oil

1 t vanilla 

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix together with a few light strokes until the dry ingredients are moistened. Do not over mix - this will make tough, yucky muffins! The batter should not be smooth! Divide the batter among the muffins - I use a .25 c measuring cup, and it usually works out about right. 

Bake about 18 minutes. Do not over cook - they will darken and dry out and they will be yucky! 

Let rest for 2-3 minutes before removing from the pan... or don't. I can never help myself from reaching in, burning my hand... and my mouth, and regretting it... but they really are delicious and they smell delicious too.

Serve as soon as possible. Don't make these ahead. They take about 10 minutes to prepare, and 20 minutes in the oven, so really... wait to make them. There is no butter to soften and nothing to bring to room temperature, so you can really make them last minute. If you ask me these muffins (and all muffins) begin to deteriorate after a few hours. 

Resetting the clocks of my life

It has been exactly two weeks since my last blog entry. I know, I know it is pretty inexcusable. I am not really going to try to catch up.... but I will summarize.

Wednesday night I cooked approximately 100 eggs. Not kidding.

Thursday morning, October 27, I woke up to find that I was locked out of my work computer. For two weeks I had been receiving reminders to change my password, but I kept pushing it off and then I forgot. And I got locked out. Lucky for me I have two other computers - one desktop and one of those little notebooks. I turned on my desktop and couldn't access the internet, so I used my little notebook until my password was reset.

Thursday night I had some much needed non-school, non-work related activity - I went on a tour of the Food and Wine Test Kitchen that was organized by school, then to dinner with a friend and her sweet little girl, and then, with a couple of glasses of wine in me, went to yoga.  Michael was in Boston for a meeting and I would join him on the weekend for his law school reunion.

Friday morning I woke up and my desktop computer gave me the blue screen of death. This is problematic and very upsetting as this is the computer that has all of my photos and that I upload photos to. In fact, at that time it was my only way of uploading photos. Now, after two weeks of having no time to take care of essentials, I have a memory card full of photos and no way to transfer them to my computer.

So Friday I also find out that I need to be in Washington, DC for a big work meeting on Wednesday, which means I will not be able to attend class and my perfect attendance award is going down the tubes. On Monday I had brought home a chicken to practice dressing and quartering (part of the Level 2 practical), so I thought to make it for lunch on Friday. I got the chicken quartered, browned, and into the oven and then got pulled into meetings and that chicken sat on the kitchen counter until I left for class, and even after I went to class. Friday evening we start desserts with cremes. I used to love dessert. I used to be good at dessert. Culinary school has taught me I need far more practice that I thought possible, and certainly more than I have time for these days.

I set my alarm for 5:30 AM to give myself time to clean up the kitchen and pack before the 7 o'clock Amtrak to Boston. I roll over. It is 6:27. If it had been 6:35 I would have given up and not gone. But give up with 33 minutes to wake up, pack, and get to Penn Station? No way! So, in my pajamas, I pull the suitcase off the top shelf, throw in anything lying around, and run out the door at 6:35. And I mean RUN. I am sweating by the time I reach York and hail a cab. I hold my breath until I reach Penn Station, pay the cabbie, and continue my run down the escalator (I am thankful I didn't do a nose dive), from 7th to 8th Avenue underground, to the ticket kiosk. The kiosk will NOT print my ticket. It is 6:55. They are going to close the doors of the train and the train is going to leave with out me. I bolt over to Customer Service and attempt to cut the line by ducking the red (metal) velvet rope. The rope catches my backpack and the whole thing falls over on me. But do I stop? No. I get my ticket and get on the train as it is pulling out of the station.

Still sweating 30 minutes later, I open my suitcase to see what I packed and what I might be able to work with for the evening. The clothing selection is OK, but I do not have any toiletries. Lucky for me, the wonderful Westin hotel gives them for free and delivers them to your room! Within five minutes of calling the front desk to inquire the price, and finding out there was no price, a nice man delivered a whole bag of goodies (including nail polish remover!) to my room. Thank you Westin. You have a new, very loyal customer.

Sunday night we return home to a very smelly kitchen, because Friday's chicken lunch and all of the dishes used to cook the chicken are still sitting on the counter.

So Monday flies by, Tuesday I head to Washington to prepare for Wednesday. I stayed Tuesday night in the Sheraton there, which was quite unpleasant and lonely, but getting to bed at 8:45 PM was a beautiful thing and I was totally refreshed and ready for a work out on Wednesday morning. The meeting went well, but facilitating for 8 hours was pretty exhausting, so at 4:30 my team went for a glass of wine in our office lobby. Then I caught the Amtrak back to New York.

On Thursday I finally saw Michael again.

Friday I was refreshed. A day off actually did me good, I thought. It was a great day of delicious quiche and tarts that made up my and Michael's breakfast and dessert for the weekend, and made the doormen very happy. Saturday and Sunday were full of errands, but we did manage to have some fun on Sunday. We started the day with pastries (only one each since we are both on diets) and then drove out to Connecticut. We went wine tasting on a Travelzoo Local coupon I purchased for White Silo Farm and Winery. It was a beautiful day and we had a wonderful time tasting White Silo's wines. They make very interesting, very good wines from fruits and vegetables, believe it or not! The rhubarb and rhubarb semi sweet are my favorite. We had a nice walk through the farm fields, a picnic lunch in the winery, and then went driving through Connecticut.

We discovered some really delicious chocolatier in Kent, CT. Belgique. Absolutely worth a stop, or maybe even a trip. Priced at $65 per pound, you better not show up hungry.

We also found a possible location for Whit's End. The beautiful Chapel Hill at Blueberry Farm... at the base of the Connecticut Wine Trail. We are always finding "possible locations", but this one is special. So special. And so beautiful. sigh.


Then Monday. More pastries. Two awful genoise cakes - on the first I used AP flour instead of cake flour and the whole thing deflated and was like a brick, on the second I didn't butter the pan sufficiently and the cake would not come out. Even after using a knife around the edge (a pretty big no-no), it would not come out. I pulled it. Still stuck! Finally, piece by piece the cake came out. I had to rebuild it. Then? Lumpy pastry cream. Finally, and I think this is going to come back to bite me today, broken puff pastry.

I have got to get it together. I have to reset my "clocks" - my everything!

So today I woke up before 8 AM. Sounds late, for most people, I know. But I am one of those people that needs at least 8 or 8.5 hours of sleep... actually, maybe I need 10. Either way, I got up. I went for a 5 mile run in Central Park. I observed that the trees have finally begun to change color here in New York. The lake looked so beautiful reflecting red and orange leaves in the early morning sun. It is going to be another beautiful day. I can already tell. And I am a new woman. Well not new, actually old. But I am getting back to a place where I will run my life. My life will not run me....

Well, not until I start cramming for the Level 2 Exam, Practical, and ServSafe Exam... next week.

Pumpkin Pie

I have been looking all over for a pumpkin pie recipe that utilizes fresh pumpkin flesh. A whole month ago Michael and I went to North Fork on a wine adventure and picked up an $8 heirloom pumpkin. I also picked up one of those little inexpensive pie pumpkins at Agata and Valentina. I know that pumpkins are supposed to last a while but I started getting worried that my $8 pumpkin would end up in the garbage instead of my stomach. 

I went to yoga on Sunday morning at my new favorite and reasonably priced yoga studio (YoYoga). It is about 20 blocks away, so I like to run there and home for a complete workout. On the way home I passed a bodega that was selling small pie pumpkins. I realized that one of the pumpkins had six or seven stickers explaining how to make a pumpkin pie..... so I tore off the sticker and kept running, a bit faster just in case the bodega owner ran after me. 

When I got home, out of breath from outrunning the imagined bodega owner, I realized that this pumpkin pie sticker recipe was not particularly detailed or useful. But I was determined to make the pie as I have never made a pumpkin pie before and I already went through so much effort! Also, since I have gotten into a weekend routine of making pie.... I have also started a potentially bad habit of eating leftovers for breakfast. What would I eat in the morning if not pie?

So I sliced and seeded the pumpkins, put them on a cookie tray, and baked them for what seemed like forever. I removed them from the oven when they were easily pierced and peeled with a fork. Some were done in approximately 45 minutes (the slices from the smaller pumpkin) and others took almost two hours! I pureed the pumpkin in a food processor while it was still warm. I decided to go back to my Joy of Cooking cookbook (my new weekend friend for pie recipes) and substitute cooked, pureed pumpkin in place of canned pumpkin. I used cream and milk instead of condensed milk. The finished product was a fluffy, flavorful pumpkin pie. 

Michael gets the first slice of pumpkin pie... his favorite

What about this is appetizing?

Level Two Days Four and Five. Offals (organ meats) and Farces. More things that I will NOT serve at Whit's End. ... I know these are meant to save money/make money on typical "waste" products, but... who wants to order this crap anyway? And then, if you spent the resource to make something out of nothing where there is no return because your customer isn't interested.... you're more behind than you were in the first place.

The Offals evening consisted of lesson on giblets (poultry heart, liver, and gizzard), head cheese (see photo below), lights (cow or sheep lungs), sweetbreads, trotter, tongue, testicals... should I continue? Recipes included kidneys, liver, pan-fried sweetbreads, lamb (ended up being cow) tongue... etc.

Per Chef, Kidneys are "Like a bad night at Penn Station". Hmmmm.... enough said? No. Wait, one more thing to share... and then I am done. I promise.

Head Cheese

 Decide for yourself.

Braised Lamb Shank .... a delicious Saturday night dinner for Michael

Level Two Day Three focused on mixed cooking techniques. The Classic Culinary Arts Level 2 text book explains, "A braised dish (un plat braise), or braise, differs from a stew (un ragout) in that a stew uses more liquid and is mostly utilized with smaller pieces of meat and vegetables, as in a ratatouille." These techniques are very new to me. The only mixed cooking dish I made before entering culinary school was Boeuf Bourguignon by Julia Childs from Mastering the Art of French Cooking. A slightly adapted version is available here online.When I made that Boeuf Bourguignon I did what the recipe asked and it turned out alright, though I didn't really understand what the recipe was instructing.

On Wednesday we had two recipes -- braised lamb shank (jarret d'agneau braise) and rabbit ragout with vegetables and pommes puree. From the looks of these recipes and the types (rabbit?!) and cuts (shank?) of meat, I was slightly turned off. But these recipes were both fantastic! Yes, I just said that rabbit was fantastic! It is kind of like chicken, but a bit more meaty and flavorful. Also, the pommes puree turned out almost perfect.. Chef said, they were "delicious". His word this time, not mine. The secret to delicious potatoes in a restaurant? A LOT of cream, milk, and butter. Let me clarify "A LOT". We used two potatoes for our pommes puree. I added over 4 oz of cream, over 4 oz of milk, and over 4 oz butter. A delicious concoction? For sure! A wonderful dinner for a culinary student.

Rabbit Ragout with Vegetables and Pommes Puree

I am tired... and it is only dinner time!

Next, we finished out the lamb shank. We plated it on top of some lemony currant polenta.

Jaret D'Agneau Braise

This was absolutely a class of first experiences for me. This was the first time I worked with rabbit, or lamb shanks, and couscous  -- I grew up in a a steak and potatoes or lamb and rice or something and pasta home. When I moved out on my own I didn't feel the need to fix what worked. Now I realize that there are so many other options! So when Chef said there were extra lamb shanks and we were welcome to take them home and practice, I ran over to the fridge and grabbed myself a couple -- free dinner for Michael and me.

Saturday night, I made these lamb shanks again... they were so easy to get in the oven and it was nice to have some time to sit and relax and have a glass of wine with Michael before dinner!

Lamb Shanks ready to go in the oven

Dinner time! 

I used a couple variations here based on what I had in the house...  I quickly cooked some asparagus, made pumpkin rosemary couscous with some pumpkin I had cooked for a pumpkin pie, and chopped some leftover beets from lunch and tossed them on top. The finish took less time than it took me to reduce the sauce. The timing was perfect. It was terrific! This really worked out to be the most flavorful, colorful, wonderful meal.

Next time you have still fresh leftovers try tossing them in your standard recipe for something new. Let me know how it goes! As Chef Greg would say, "Great success or horrible disaster?"

Boiled Meat. Level Two Day Two

It wasn't really "boiled". It was "simmered" or "poached", but it was all the same to me... and meat cooked in hot water was one of my least favorite things... until now. Believe it or not, there is a significant difference between boiling, simmering, and poaching. Boiling happens at 212 degrees Fahrenheit whereas simmering happens between 185 and 205, and poaching happens between 165 and 195. These temperature difference and the resulting agitation produce significantly different results. Thank you to the French Culinary Institute for teaching me this.

Once again I teamed up with Julia, which recently has become a recipe for success. Julia is a beautiful, young girl with a great personality. We agree on most things, which is really uncommon, but we haven't talked religion or politics, and my mom always told me that you shouldn't. We have very compatible work ethics and approaches in the kitchen. We turn out great dishes that are just about spot on... and usually, as far as we are concerned, delicious. We have very similar tastes that I would describe as very classic French but still very American. Neither of us are afraid to glow when Chef says good things about our latest creation... or pig out on our own dishes or family meal. Julia helped me to the floor when I passed out, and handed me her water bottle.. Remember? But she didn't freak out and laughed with me about it the next day, telling me how I rolled over my station before falling down. I am really happy I found someone like this in my Culinary Arts class.

So we made Blanquette de Veau, Riz Pilaf (Veal Blanquette with Rice Pilaf) and Pot au Feu, Sauce Raifort (Simmered Beef with Horseradish Sauce). The Pot au Feu takes over three hours so I knew that we would start with this dish, get it going, and then multitask the Blanquette de Veau. But class started with a bit of confusion that threw me off base for the rest of the evening. Half of the ingredients that I had prepared were unnecessary. I cut an onion in half and put it on the flat top to blacken. Chef yelled, "Whats burning?" In a million years I didn't think he was talking about my onion. I went right on my way doing what I was doing, cutting up mirepoix for the marmite to use in the Pot au Feu. Again, Chef yelled, "Whats burning?" Julia replies something like, "Maybe it is our onion?" And Chef wants to know why we are blackening an onion like the recipe says, and tells us to ignore the first half of the recipe, and confuses the hell outta me. But we ignore the first half of the recipe and get the Pot au Feu going and then move onto the Blanquette de Veau (our dinner).

The rice for the Veal was a disaster... or the closest thing to a disaster I have encountered lately. Things have honestly gotten SO much easier in the kitchen which has made me happy, but perhaps made for a less exciting or funny blog. I know you like reading about my terrible taillage, my watery ratatouille, burnt hands, etc, but none of this was any fun for me. So the rice? I have never had a problem making rice before, but I have never made rice in an oven. The oven is supposed to be better/easier for large batches of rice and frees your stove top for other things (like two big braising pots), so I gave it a try. Mistake. The rice is supposed to cook for approximately 17 minutes. So after 17 minutes I opened the oven, and immediately saw that the parchment lid was brown. It was burnt. The rice was dry and crusty. The liquid had evaporated and the rice hand not cooked through. The parchment lid was covered with cooked, burnt, browned rice. Julia and I looked at each other and kind of shrugged  Should we start over? We had the time to start over but decided to try to fix it. I added 1/2 cup of water and put it back in the oven with a new parchment lid. After ten minutes I checked on it, and the rice was still hard. Now there was no turning back, no time to start over. So I added another 1/2 cup of water and waited ten more minutes. Still crunchy, but it would have to do. Of all things, who screws up rice?

The veal was cooked perfectly. This is a very rich stew, so Chef says proper plating is four or five pieces of veal... it may be proper in a high end French restaurant but it is insufficient for me and Julia and I know it will be insufficient for Michael and his boys. I properly plated one dish...

Blanquette de Veau, Riz Pilaf

And then I just piled the rest on to my plate. It was rich and delicious. And yes, Julia and I finished the whole recipe.

As the end of the evening came near, we finished up the Pot Au Feu. Presentation was at 10:15. I was already dreading my 4:30 AM wake-up and my 5:30 AM train to Washington, DC so I quickly washed my station and packed up the Pot Au Feu with a special recipient in mind. My colleague in Washington, DC has been my taste tester of all things for years. Like me, he travels for work. He spends two to three nights per week in Washington, DC, away from his wife and family, so I like to feed him when I am able. I brought him the Pot Au Feu on Tuesday and he plans to reheat them for dinner. He said he would post a review on my blog....

"As a Chef, your reputation is only as good as your last dish." -- Chef Will

Blueberry Pie

I made a blueberry pie yesterday with a recipe from Joy of Cooking... I had two slices last night... and a slice for breakfast this morning. The crust was sweet and flaky and the blueberries were perfectly flavored with sugar, lemon, and a bit of cinnamon. The one problem was that a lot of liquid came out when I cut it!  I used 4T of corn starch and the bottom crust wasn't broken or soggy... but the juice just flowed out! It didn't thicken as much as I think it should have. Is this normal? Do you have any suggestions? 

I also got a new pair of shoes (worn here)... my second purchase in six weeks... actually, that isn't true. As Michael points out, he bought them for me. I am one lucky girl! 

Showing off my Blueberry Pie and new shoes

Blueberry Pie fresh from the oven

Level Two Day One

I cannot express how significantly things have changed in six weeks since I enrolled in the French Culinary Institute Culinary Arts Program. Level One is now over. Behind me. I aced the paper exam and ended Level One with an A+ average. Don't be fooled.. I still think that September was one of the most difficult months of my life... but I don't think that all ten months will be so bad.

After my Culinary Arts Level One exam was handed in on Wednesday evening, I took a Culinary Arts Level Two book from the box on Chef's desk. I immediately opened to Lesson One and reviewed the material. I quickly noted that many of the recipe components were things that we had done before. I was relieved. However, I learned that Level Two requires completion and plating of four full plates (i.e., the full recipe). There is little room for error.... I don't get to pick the "best" julienne or cocottes... if you over reduce a sauce, you won't have enough... etc.

The first recipes in Level Two are Pommes Darphin and Roast Chicken, Grandmother Style and Sauteed Venison Loin with Sauce Bordelaise. We made the chicken first, for dinner. It was a simple recipe (a French Culinary Institute Classic that shows up again in Level Three). It turned out well, our plating was beautiful, and it tasted delicious. I will make this at home, for sure.

Plating Poulet Roti Grand-Mere

 Poulet Roti Grand-Mere (dinner)

Dinner was delicious!

Onto part two: Sauteed Venison Loin with Sauce Bordelaise. I. HATE. VENISON. I realize that my distaste for venison may be a result of too much time spent with hunters in an earlier life. Chef explained that most people who hunt have never been trained in Culinary Arts.. One thing that many hunters forget is to let an animal get out of rigor before butchering it. This usually takes two to three days. I don't think any of my friends wait two or three days before butchering... let alone cooking. When venison was cooked, and it was frequently, the whole apartment and/or home filled with a terrible smell. A smell of death. Truly.

Venison, according to the USDA, includes meat from deer as well as elk, moose, carribou, antelope, and pronghorn.... We were given elk. The kitchen didn't smell and we did a good job cooking it to a perfect medium rare. We plated the tenderloin cuts with a slice of pommes darphin.

Plated Venison (Elk) Tenderloin with Pommes Darphin

I couldn't eat the venison. Like I said, it didn't smell, but the texture was... not beef.  AND I made an EXCELLENT pommes darphin... A perfect golden brown. Beautiful. So I gave my partner, Julia, the venison and ate a whole "potato pancake" for dessert....

Pommes Darphin

Yes, I ate the whole potato pancake... after I had five scoops of homemade icecream (no lie)  for Family Meal dessert. Self control (or portion control?) has gone out the window!

Level One FINAL

I studied. For 48 hours every non-working, waking moment, I studied. I left home earlier than usual to ensure that I arrived early enough to get my mental mis en place. I entered the French Culinary Institute as anxious as I have ever been for a test. Kind of pathetic, maybe, since I feel like I have been taking major exams for my whole life.... from the PSAT, to the SAT, all through college and graduate school, the GRE and even the LSAT.  But this test was a bit different. I was going to be in action and observed. And this test mattered... to me.

This day was worth 20% of my Level One grade (Theory Final and Practical Final)... and I still hadn't received my second kitchen evaluation (Eval 2). So 40% of my grade was still outstanding.

Culinary Arts Level One Grading 

I went to the locker room, changed, and headed upstairs to the fifth floor kitchen where the exam was going to be held. A new, different kitchen. There is something about kitchens, that you learn as a Chef - knowing your way around is one of the most important elements of success. The Iron Chef frequently wins because he is in his kitchen - he knows where things are, he knows the equipment, he is comfortable, etc. An experienced Chef walks into a new kitchen, and immediately inventories the kitchen to learn where everything is and map it out in his/her head. So this was the plan for us. Can we or not enter a new kitchen and quickly get the lay of the land and be prepared to work? I thought I maybe bought myself a couple extra minutes. No such luck.

On the forth floor landing I looked up to see one of my classmates coming down. We were not yet allowed on the fifth floor. The chefs were setting up. Great I thought. Now I have really done myself in. You see, I do not like to interact with anyone before an exam... especially people who are amped up for the same exam. Throughout college I purposely avoided all classmates on exam day. I arrived at exams at least three minutes late and sat outside of the auditorium listening for the shuffling papers and chit chat to quiet down. Then I would wait a few more minutes for papers to be handed out and the test to begin. Approximately 10 minutes into the exam, I would enter the auditorium, get an exam from the professor, find my "away from everyone" seat, and begin. The 10 minutes never made much difference, but the mental frame did. Wednesday. I entered the library full of students cramming for exams. Mistake. My heart started racing. My mental mis en place disappeared.

I ate an apple hoping to distract myself, but it didn't help. At least I won't be hungry during the exam. You see, I have developed a technique of eating the evidence... which is a potentially dangerous habit if you are caught. If something isn't cut right, if a carrot isn't a julienne or if things aren't similarly sized, I hide the evidence in my stomach. Yes, I eat it... Don't you remember when your teacher caught you passing notes in middle school? Did you ever put that note into your mouth and chew as fast as you could? I did. This is the same principle. With a note about that cute boy, if you moisten it and chew it, and spit it out when your teacher threatens to go in your mouth and get it, it cannot be read. With food, if you eat it, no one has to know how bad it looked or tasted. But during an exam when people are looking over your shoulder observing and questioning your every move, this is probably not a good idea. You do not want to be accused of eating the evidence... because that might be considered cheating. Ok, so I must cut proper taillage.

At 5:40 we made our way up to the fifth floor kitchen where we were asked to wait outside until 5:45. I quickly realized that we had MUCH less space than we had in class. This was a restaurant setup. Each student had approximately two feet of space - enough for a cutting board and a couple of bowls. There were people on each side of you and behind you in the aisle. This was not going to be fun. I quickly began inventorying the kitchen and the "good" stations - stations with only one student behind or only one student on one side.

At 5:45 we entered the kitchen. We were told to stay away from the stations - that they would be assigned. Why did I waste my time? I should have known better.

I was assigned to an undesirable station... between two other students, and half of my two square feet was taken up by a conduction burner.

The exam tasks were written on the white boards. The exam was in three parts. All students would complete part one at the same time, and then parts two and three would be traded off.

Part One: Taillage - Julienne one carrot, Macedoine one turnip, Emincer 1/2 onion, Ciseler 1/2 onion, Ciseler Shallot and reserve for Part Three.

Part Two: Tournage - Turn one artichoke and remove choke, Turn one potato and make eight cocottes.

Part Three: Tomato Fondue

... I am going to spare you the step-by-step details of the exam because the anticipation is often SO much worse than the exam itself. I will summarize the high (or low) points below.

Part One: I had a strategy. 1. Follow the rules. Make sure you wash your vegetables. Never put an unpeeled vegetable on the cutting board. Make sure your peeled vegetables stay separate from your unpeeled vegetables. Save your mirepoix in separate bowls. Got all that? Ok. 2. Do the "easy" stuff first. For me, this means the onions and shallots. Emincer went better than usual. I cut all the way through on one piece of the ciseler and had some trouble, but it worked out. Macedoine the turnip. For me, bigger is easier. 3. Finish with the carrot. I HATE julienne. I can NEVER get my cuts to 1-2mm. But I did get them to 3mm, which was better than I hoped for. But then Chef yelled one minute and I was only through 1/3 of the carrot! My hands started SHAKING! Then I noticed that the student to my left was only starting his shallot, and his onion wasn't yet cut. Then I noticed that I shouldn't be noticing what other students are doing. I remembered what someone told me, "I think this test is more like a swim meet (or triathlon) than an academic test. Keep your head in the game for each individual task and you’ll do great." And I thought to myself, "KEEP YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME." Ok, five seconds wasted. Carrot and strategy 4.Whatever you do, FINISH. Dump the extra in the mirepoix bowl at 5 seconds. Chef yells 10 seconds. Ok, I got through 90% of the carrot with my hands and knife shaking.. I put the julienne carrots on the plate, and dumped the rest of the carrot in the mirepoix bowl. We were asked to leave the kitchen for evaluation.

Part Three: Tomato fondue. Nothing exciting here. We were asked to leave the kitchen again. Chef tasted each plate of tomato fondue, at least once and sometimes three times. .... I did use a bit too much garlic and the liquid didn't evaporate 100%..... I probably should have strained it before plating, but I didn't. At least I knew my technique was solid.

Part Two: Surprisingly, the turned artichoke and potato cocottes went A-OK. They were not "perfect" but they were "good enough".

The practical exam was over. We had 30 minutes over dinner to worry about the written exam, and believe me I did worry. But, thank goodness, it ended up being a walk in the park... except for the part about "What makes a brown stock brown?" where I repeated the same answer three or four times and wrote down just about anything else I could imagine. I confidently handed in the test.

Level One. Complete.

Seeing Chef Greg, who had returned for another ServSafe lecture, I came back to his Day One question -- "Great success or horrible disaster?"

Honestly? I think that these six weeks have been a GREAT SUCCESS!

Thank you for sharing them with me.

The last day of Level One... Lamb and PANIC

Monday night... Culinary Arts Level One Lesson 19. Lamb. This was the last lesson of Level One... our exam is scheduled for Wednesday evening. We had two recipes to complete - marinated lamb chops and lamb stew (navarin) - a demo of leg of lamb on the bone, and then review for the final exam and practical. I kind of wanted to forget the lamb... forget the entire evening. I was already focused on the exam. I just wanted to get through the evening, enjoy some tasty lamb chops, and know that I would ace the final.

Sometimes nothing happens as you wish. The evening was disorganized and frustrating. During the early demo we were told to complete the lamb chops before dinner, to eat for dinner... maybe I misheard? Those who know me will tell you this isn't likely. It is nearing 8 PM. Dinner is scheduled for 8:30 PM. Suddenly Chef announces that our priority is the stew... which will certainly not be done in time for dinner and wasn't supposed to be presented until the end of the evening. I put the lamb chops in the fridge. So, we are told that we're not taking dinner... we will eat the leg of lamb... the leg of lamb that we were told would feed 10. There are 16 hungry culinary students! I am quickly certain that this will not be enough food. And it is a HOT day outside and in the kitchen. And frankly, I don't really know that I want a wintry leg of lamb for dinner.  If we want anything besides leg of lamb we are instructed to go to the fifth floor to buffet. The clock strikes 8:30, I turn down the heat on the stew, and I make a mad dash for the fifth floor. I pick up some salad and fruit.

When I return, I take some lamb from the leg on the front table. Chef told us that these are a "big hit" for large gatherings or dinner parties. It looked and smelled delicious. But it was the most strange (not in a good way) lamb I have had in my life. Harsh? No. Honest. I LOVE leg of lamb. I have no problem with leg of lamb, foot included, but... there were tubes in my lamb. Tubes? Yes, tubes. For the first time since I was, I don't know, five years old, I played with my food. I stuck the fork through the tubes and dangled it from high. I dangled it in Julia's face. Do I need to say that this was pretty unappetizing... I might even describe it as disgusting? Well, it was! But I was starving... and ate it anyway. I ate it because it was lamb or starve... but PLEASE do not invite me over for a leg of lamb like this.

So I made it through a very unsatisfying dinner. I made it through the stew and lamb chops. I packed up the lamb chops to share with Michael's boys tonight. It is the best looking "takeout"/"delivery" I have seen. Don't you think?

Lamb Chops -- Cotes D'Angeau ave Ratatouille

Delicious delivery

We reviewed for the exam. It is 10:30 PM. Chef announces that before we go we will do one practice run of making eight cocottes from one potato in 15 minutes. Cocottes are these AWFUL five centimeter long, seven sided oval, football shapes with blunt ends... something like the photo below (but not exactly, because these are so un-perfect).

Cocotte potato practice

I get my potato, choosing one that is a "good" size and shape -- relatively symmetrical and long enough to get 10 centimeters of usable potato. In my practice at home I quickly learned to never choose a lumpy or twisted potato for cocottes. You will never succeed. I get through my cocottes in the allotted time with Chef Will peering over my shoulder... He comes around to my bowl. "You might get a 7.5 or 8," he says. WHAT!?     I am deflated. "This is not what you wanted to hear?" Chef asks. I am so annoyed! Then I panic. I run to the locker room, quickly change, and run to the subway. I pick up three potatoes before I make it home. The next 48 hours is a mad dash to improve... I am in a state of total panic.

And now I receive an email from Dad: "I expect a A+ for something you enjoy". This is worse than Organic Chemistry. I cannot sleep.

Dinner Party Pork

Culinary Arts Level One Day 18... the other "white meat"... pork.

As a child, there were few things I wouldn't eat. My mother frequently described me as the family "garbage disposal"... that is when I wasn't "tuber" for my television obsession. Meat-wise, I refused anything white and dry. Mothers, worried for their children's health - God bless them, have a terrible way of overcooking chicken and pork. Thanksgiving Day chefs always overcook the turkey either on purpose or by accident. All of these things, for me, always needed lots of apple sauce, honey, or ketchup (Heinz only). I love Heinz ketchup. 

Until recently, the recommended internal cooking temperature of pork was 160, ensuring dryness... Luckily for me, the USDA recently revised it's recommended pork temperature to 145... but Michael won't eat it this way, so we'll need to work around that for this dinner party! 

We made this pork recipe that was absolutely delicious! Everyone in class was walking around saying, "This may be my favorite day yet."... "How good is this?"... "It is so simple to make, I could make it at home any night"... "How is this for an anniversary meal?" That is right. This recipe is AWESOME! There were no leftovers.  And, even better? It is easy to make and easy to duplicate... so you can make one, or have a real party and make three, four, or eight at a time. The recipe says serves four, but I promise you, it won't. It is too delicious! 

Ginger-Marinated Pork Fillet with Sweet and Sour Sauce 

(Recipe taken from The International Culinary Center Classic Culinary Arts Level One text book)

Ingredients

For the Meat and Marinade

50g ginger, peeled and emincer

2 garlic cloves, emincer

2T honey

1/2 Jalepeno pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped

4T nuoc mam or fish sauce

2T oil

600g pork tenderloin, trimmed

For the Stock and Sauce

20g oil

300g pork bones and trimmings 

50g carrots, mirepoix

50g onions, mirepoix

2 garlic cloves

100g tomatoes, quartered

bouquet garni

500g veal stock

For the Gastrique

85g honey

85g cider vinegar

For the Garnish

Zest of 2 limes, julienne

60g ginger, peeled and julienne

60mL water

60mL sugar

Procedure

For the Meat and Marinade

1. Place all the marinade ingredients into a hotel pan and add the pork, turning the meat to cover with the liquid. Cover and marinate for 2 hours.
2. Remove the pork from the marinade and brush off any clinging marinade.

For the Stock, Sauce, and Gastrique

1. While the pork is marinating, start the reinforced stock.
2. Heat the oil in a large sautoir and brown the bones and trimmings. Add the mirepoix and caramelize. Add the garlic, tomatoes, and bouquet garni. Briefly cook.
3. Degrease if necessary and add the veal stock to deglaze. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer, and reinforce for 30 minutes.
4. Strain the reinforced stock.
5. Heat the honey in a russe and cook until it reaches a dark caramel color. Deglaze with vinegar and cook briefly to combine flavors.
6. Reheat the reinforced stock until full-flavored and nappant. Add the gastrique a little bit at a time until a sweet and sour balance has been achieved.

For the Garnish

Make a simple syrup with the water and sugar. Add the zest and ginger to the sugar and water mixture and cook gently until ginger is tender, approximately 30 minutes. Remove zests and ginger, and set aside for garnish. 

For the Finish

1. Heat 20g of oil in a saute pan. Season the tenderloins and brown well. Remove to a sizzle platter and place in a 350 degree oven to finish cooking. Cook the pork until it reaches an internal temperature of 145. Remove and let rest.
2. Slice the pork fillet diagonally, set 4 to 5 slices on a warm plate, and nap with the sauce. Garnish with lime zest and ginger julienne. 

Well, here is full disclosure... and perhaps a bit of venting about my own attempts to remake our French Culinary Institute masterpieces at home.

So I say "easy to make"... after approximately six weeks in culinary school, after completing the recipe in a culinary kitchen, etc... the truth is that so many things that are "easy" in a restaurant kitchen are just NOT easy at home... and REALLY NOT easy in a standard New York City apartment "kitchen" - a hallway.

Flambe? Not that it is called for in this recipe, but the other night at home I completely failed fearing that I might melt the plastic microwave positioned above the stove.

Honestly, at home, where are you going to get 300g pork bones and trimmings to reinforce a stock? And where are you going to get the high quality stock anyway (and yes, that matters)? At school, we have half of a pig lying on the Chef's table. It has two legs. My classmates are asking, "Which half is it?" Chef beats up the carcus with a knife for 30-45 minutes and brings us bowls of bones and trimmings. So easy! And veal stock? Yes, we had huge bones and industrial ovens for that.

So what are some solutions for the home cook? I haven't figured them out yet. Well, they do sell 8 oz of veal stock at Agata and Valentina for $5... but besides being a MAJOR ripoff, that isn't sustainable when the person paying the bills is (probably, though not certainly, rightfully so) complaining about ever escalating grocery bills. So, you see. I haven't figured it out either. If you have, I applaud you. And if you have any good ideas or secrets, or a half a pig or veal bones lying around, or even a huge kitchen to share, PLEASE let me know! 

Sauce Bordelaise

Culinary Arts Level One Day 17. Only two more days in Level One. Pork and Lamb. But first, Beef. The group of food that is called beef includes many of my favorite things... tenderloin, roast beef, steak, and hamburgers. Believe it or not, I am really a meat and potatoes gal.

Steak Frites

When I was little my mom would allow us to choose what we wanted for our birthday meals. My birthday is in March so grilled options were not available in Upstate New York. So, as I was limited to winter meat options, dinner was a competition between roast beef with potatoes and green beans, leg of lamb with rice and green beans, and veal chops (I am sure mom remembers what she served with them).

Nothing hilarious or terrible happened. I stayed upright. As I consumed at least sixteen ounces of steak (everything we cooked) and french fries, you probably could have rolled me out of the kitchen. I wanted to share the recipe for bordelaise sauce that we served on a filet medallion. Sauces can really make or break a dish. This one? It was delicious! Enjoy!

Filet de Boeuf et Sauce Bordelaise

Sauce Bordelaise 

(Recipe taken from The International Culinary Center Classic Culinary Arts Level One text book)

Ingredients

For the Reduction

250 g brown sauce (espagnole or demi-glace)

40 g shallots 

3 g cracked peppercorns, mignonette

1 sprig thyme

1 bay leaf

250 g red wine 

For the Sauce

40 g bone marrow, poached

Few drops of lemon juice (optional)

Salt and Pepper

10 g cold butter

Procedure

1. Place all the reduction ingredients into a sauce pan and place it over medium heat. Reduce 80%, add the brown sauce, and cook for 10 minutes.

2. Pass the sauce through a chinois and add salt and optional lemon juice; the lemon juice is used to accentuate the flavors, but it should not dominate. 

3. Bring to a simmer, remove from heat, and monte au beurre.

4. Poach the marrow by plunging it into lightly simmering salted water. Cook for several seconds and refresh in ice water.

5. Dice the poached marrow and add to the sauce. 

Marrow is a little bit much for some (including me), so if you don't like it, don't do it. It won't kill the sauce and it is a whole heck of a lot of fat anyway. But absolutely don't skimp on the butter! 

Did you say steak?

In honor of one of my favorite things of all time... steak. I still remember the first time I saw this movie. Enjoy.

The day the lights went out

Culinary Arts Level One Day 16. Poultry continued. Game birds. Duck and quail. Exam Three. Everyone arrived early on Monday. I am not sure why, but suspect that it was because we had an exam. Exam three of four, the fourth scheduled for Friday, and the final scheduled for next Wednesday. Once again I am well prepared, but nervous still. I partner with Suzanne in the front and center station. She was supposed to pair with Andrew, but Andrew hadn’t arrived yet. She probably should have waited for Andrew. I feel bad about what happened next.

Chef Phil handed out the exams. I moved through the exam more quickly this time, having learned that run-on sentences and piles of information don’t get you any more points than the points for getting the question right. You’re just revealing the extent of your nerdiness (remember, not good in culinary school). In fact, if you get a detail wrong, you may end up getting points deducted.  Not that this happened to me, but it could. So I moved through the exam and went back to setting up my mis-en-place. Ok, everything is OK. Right? Well..

Chef Phil called us up front. I moved around to the front of my station, to Suzanne’s station. I had my composition notebook and was taking notes as Chef Phil dressed the duck for Sauteed breast and braised leg of duckling with orange sauce. The legs had been removed and prepared. The first breast was removed from the breast bone and ribs. Chef was talking about the different cooking methods being used in preparing the legs and breasts- wet and dry. I started thinking, “Cooking methods? There are three. Ut oh. There was a three part question on the exam. Did I answer the wrong question by answering the three types of heat transfer? Oh God. Catherine, you are here to learn. Pay attention. Worry about that later.” Back to the breast. The second breast was being cut from the rib. “I might throw up, I thought, I haven’t thrown up since 7^th grade, so this is impossible.” I started feeling slightly off balance. I got very hot. I put my hand on Suzanne’s station to steady myself. And then the lights went out… from the outside in. I went down. I don’t know how I went down, why I went down, or how long I was down for… but I was out cold on the kitchen floor.

I woke and class had stopped. Everyone had turned, asking “Are you ok?” I sat a moment, assuring them I was ok, but was immediately concerned about myself and concerned that they were overly concerned. I don’t know why this happened, but I am a healthy person.  Julia, I think, gave me her water bottle. Normally I don’t share, but I didn’t think twice about this, remembering how hot I was in my last conscious moments and gulped the water down. I looked down and there was blood on my hand. I guess I caught Suzanne’s knife on the way down.

I was a bit rattled, so I sat. I got up a few moments later. Chef Wanda led me to the back of the kitchen where she gave me some orange juice and one of my classmates, Andrew, brought me a chair. I drank the juice and sat with Chef for a few moments before returning to the demonstration, sitting. When the demonstration was over I went back to my station and began working on the duck.

I honestly couldn’t remember what the Chef had demonstrated. My recipe cards were no help. My cutting julienne and brunoise was totally off. I seared the duck legs as Suzanne instructed and seared my fingers at the same time. I cut my hand twice more, with the tip of the knife – highly unusual. Finally I gave up. This was dangerous. I had to leave. Defeated and embarrassed, with big blue band aids on my hand, I went home before dinner time.

So there are no photos from Poultry. Though, I have one request for my Colleagues (a request from my day-job boss)....

If this should happen again, please, you must …

“Take photos” he says.

I thought he was going to tell me to tell you how to help me… Raise my legs above my head (okay, even more embarrassing)? But no, “take photos because, of course, if I am going to be a true journalist and write a true story, I need to tell the whole truth… and I need to show myself on the floor. Passed out.” Well, there you have it. 

Sunday Papillotes at Whits End

After our walk on the East River Greenway, Michael and I walked West toward Agata and Valentina (my favorite grocery store) to pick up fixings for dinner. On our way we passed a cute new restaurant, East End Kitchen. We noted the “free bloody mary or mimosa with brunch” sign and stopped to look at the menu. They offer SNAPPER IN A BAG: mushroom duxelles, Landisdale Farm's crushed tomatoes for $20. I noted, “This is directly out of Culinary Arts Level One Lesson 12” just substitute bass for snapper. It was also exactly what I planned to make for dinner.

Bass en Papillote with Spinach Fettuccine

I have included the recipe below so you can try it at home. It looks like a lot of work and it is, but go ahead and make the Tomato Fondue, Duxelles, and Vegetable Garniture ahead of time… then assemble the papillotes at dinner time. I served the fish with 2007 White Label Chardonnay from our visit to Lenz Winery in North Fork, Long Island. It was a perfect match. 

Poisson en Papillote 

(Recipe adapted from The International Culinary Center Classic Culinary Arts Level One text book)
Yields: 4 Servings

Ingredients

For the Fish and Papillotes 4 fillets of bass (or other fish of your choice)
2 T veg oil
Fresh thyme sprigs
1 egg white, lightly beaten
White wine
Salt and Pepper

For the Tomato Fondue 7 oz ripe tomatoes
2/3 oz shallots, ciseler
½ oz butter
1 garlic clove
Bouquet garni
Salt and Pepper

For the Duxelles 7 oz mushrooms
1 oz shallots, ciseler
2/3 oz butter
¼ t lemon juice
Salt and Pepper

For the Vegetable Garniture 2 oz carrots, julienne
2 oz leeks, julienne
2 oz celery, julienne
½ oz butter
Salt and Pepper

Procedure

For the Fish 

Portion the fish. Coat the fillets with vegetable oil and fresh thyme and refrigerate (this is the marinade).

For the Tomato Fondue

1. Peel and seed tomatoes. Chop tomatoes coarsely. 
2. In a sautoir (straight sided frying pan), sweat the onions, shallots, and garlic in the butter until soft. Add the tomatoes. Cover with a cartouche and cook on low heat until the liquid has evaporated. 
3. Taste and adjust seasoning. 

For the Mushroom Duxelles and Vegetable Garniture

1. Chop the mushrooms. 
2. In a sautoir, sweat the shallots in the butter for 5 minutes. 
3. Add the mushrooms. Cover with a cartouche and cook on low heat until the liquid has evaporated. 
4. Taste and adjust seasoning. 
5. Cook the vegetable garniture separately a l’etuvee and season to taste. 

Assemble the papillotes

1. Season the flilets with salt and pepper. 
2. Place 2 T of Duxelles and 2 T Tomato Fondue on each piece of parchment. Place fillet on top, presentation side up. Top with vegetable garniture and a sprig of thyme. Moisten with a few splashes of white wine. 
3. Seal the papillotes with egg whites and folds to close. Lightly oil the top of the papillote. 

For Baking the Papillotes

1. Preheat oven to 450 F 
2. Place papillotes on a sheet pan and bake for 7-8 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. 
3. Serve in papillote to be opened at the table. 

It was another perfect Sunday…. Waking up to a azure sky... A beautiful walk along the river.... Another day in the kitchen... 

A delicious lunch of croque monsieur and bitter green salad with a glass of champagne on our balcony overlooking the river while Edward-the-Great played the piano.... A dinner of poisson en papillote and spinach fettuccine…And for dessert? The most delicious apple pie I ever made. Just perfect.

Monarch Migration on a Perfect Autumn Day

Friday night, Culinary Arts Level One Day 15, was the beginning of poultry. Chicken. Not one of my favorite things, but I don’t hate it like Michael does.  I think I might skip over this one because there are no photos (I forgot my camera) and really no good stories.  I will make the chicken again at home (against Michael’s wishes) sometime this fall and share photos and the recipes then.  

The weekend was beautiful and busy. Sunday morning I woke up and saw the sun shining and a beautiful blue sky. A light breeze came off the East River and through the bedroom window. The air was crisp but not cold. A perfect fall day.  A perfect day for an apple pie and a stroll in the park.

I hopped out of bed and, while Michael made coffee and read on the balcony, made pie dough. It is a quick process in the food processor, but it is super important to get the ingredients in there cold and not to let them warm up on the blade.

My whole life my dad told me, “Have your mother teach you to make pie crust. It is the best I have ever had.” Well, it is true. Last I tried my mother does make the best pie crust I have ever had…. And just last weekend my dad called and said, “You wouldn’t believe it but your mother made the best pie crust she ever made…. I don’t know how she does it.” I don’t think she will ever tell. My mother is amazing in the kitchen, and always improving (if that is possible). And yes, this has made my dad, and the rest of us, food (and pie) snobs. Anyhow, if you are new to pies (or even if you’re just not very good at making pie crust… most people are not), I recommend reading the opening of the pie section in the Joy of Cooking cookbook. There is a wealth of great information in this book if you read it… don’t just pull the recipes. My morning coffee routine is 100 times more satisfying since reading about the French press and learning how to store and make coffee.

When the pie dough was in the oven to chill (at least 30 minutes), Michael and I went out for a walk on a path called the East River greenway. Per NYCBikeMaps, the East River Greenway runs along the East Side from The Battery and past South Street Seaport to East Harlem with a 2.5 mile (4 km) gap from 34th to 83rd streets in Midtown where cyclists use bike lanes in busy streets to get around United Nations Headquarters.

We walked from 83^rd Street north to Randalls Island. It was a beautiful day and the sites were magnificent. Happy dogs playing in the sun, soaking up the sun, even lying on park benches. Children playing soccer on Randalls Island. Friends out running.  Couples strolling hand-in-hand. And, perhaps my favorite, Monarch butterflies migrating south to Mexico. I took a bunch of photos and have included some below.  

Bridge to Randalls Island

East River Greenway

If you have young children, check out this website (http://www.learner.org/jnorth/monarch/) and consider tracking the migration in the spring. It is quite magnificent.