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