Physiology of Taste - Bulby, Spiced Aromatic, Sharp

This is the last day of the Physiology of Taste unit. The recipes we made emphasized the "Bulby" flavors and the "Spiced Aromatics," along with another tangy sauce that had a note a note of "Bitterness," sometimes referred to as "sharp," in it.

I was off today. For some reason, probably the Monday blues after spending a weekend in Carmel, I was having trouble focusing. I wanted to be back on the balcony of the Lodge at Pebble Beach, sipping wine, enjoying the view and watching the golfers come in.

Back to the kitchen.
The first recipe we made went ok. It was a seared Tilapia with a Grapefuit-Shallot-Ginger Sauce.
Grapefruit is considered Tangy and Sharp at the same time. (Like some chocolate.) We reduced it down to bring out the sweetness and rounded it out with a little butter to finish. We served it with some slices of grapefruit and Roasted Green onions that had a topping of nuts and dates. Very unusual, though it worked.

The next dish would have been nice if I had been paying attention, and not ruined it with so much soy. It was braised kale that we served with a spiced-rub shrimp in a coconut sauce, which came out a bit too salty. Chef asked my partner and I if "we were back on the crack pipe." He comes up with some interesting comments.

Tomorrow is another final. For this one, we were given a list of ingredients that will be available to us and we have to come up with a dish that uses some of the flavor profiles we have been working on.
Pork is our meat, or rather our platform. Other ingredients on the list are cabbage, turnips, prosciutto, Gruyere cheese, and apples.
Looks like a "stinky" and "sweet" day.

Goodnight.