Regional Cooking of Europe - Italy

This is Mookie. One morning chef came in the kitchen and told us all that he had an epiphany during the night and dubbed Ron , which is his birth name, Mookie. No one has called him Ron since. He says he is over 18 but I've yet to see his drivers licence. In fact now that I think about it, I have never seen him drive. Mookie challenges me to no end. If he isn't sticking a hand in one of my pictures thinking it is funny for the 100th time then he is scooping or shoveling, depending on the dish, food into his mouth in a way that would make any mother cringe. I tell him it's not so cute anymore but he's dead set on eating like it's his first meal in weeks. Maybe months. It's amazing the amount of food this little sprite can put away.

Mookie wrapped up the unit on Italy with some Sicilian fare. He marinated some olives with peppers, red onions, cauliflower, and carrots, then grilled some swordfish which he served with a sauce of fresh mint , capers, lemon juice and parsley that he had made earlier. A bit short of a demonstration though the fish was very tasty. The olive mixture was also quite nice and would get even better as it marinated.






To the rescue Chef Doug, who is the pastry and Baking Chef that is in the kitchen next door. (Remember, serious but with laughing eyes-a little mysterious?)

Chef Doug gave us a lesson on how to cook the perfect pizza. He had made the dough the night before and had it all ready for us to create our own personal pizza's.
We had a whole
smorgasbord of toppings to choose from and after assembling our pizza we baked them in Chef Doug's ovens to achieve a perfect crust. It was great pizza. It's amazing what the right oven can do.


The taste made me yearn for Italy.



It was a wonderful end to a busy week. A Friday pizza day. After class a few of us went and saw the new Indiana Jones movie. I still managed to find room for popcorn.


Goodnight.

Baking and Pastry - Muffins, Danish Dough, Puff Pastry and Chef Bruno Neveu

Today was another fast paced, dough making day. I kinda got my doughs mixed up. Not a pun. I really did get then mixed up! After beginning the morning with a lecture on puff pastry and a demonstration on muffins we then went into the kitchen to make a Blitz pastry, which is a quick method of puff pastry, a Danish pastry, which I think is a type of puff pastry but I need to confirm that tomorrow, and a "sponge " or starter for our bread on Thursday. The one thing that is confusing is that we have these doughs for different recipes at various stages. Some need double turns, some need single turns, some need to be in the refrigerator and some need to be in the freezer. I was a little mixed up for awhile. All I know is that these doughs are working tonight while I'm sleeping, and if I was a real Pastry Chef I would never sleep.


Dennis and my muffins came out nice. (above picture) Too nice. When I went to leave today they were gone! Maybe it's because we chose to use real muffins tins instead of the "flexi-pans" they had in the kitchen, I couldn't believe the difference in the browning.


It is very interesting how puff pastry works. There is no yeast at all, The only leavening agent is butter. It is all in the technique on how you incorporate the butter into the dough that will give it it's rise. For the Blitz, the butter is mixed in with the flour briefly so the butter is in fairly big pieces. You chill the dough first then roll it out in a rectangle then give it a double turn as shown in the picture sequence.













The Danish Pastry is a bit different because you make a butter "block" with butter and flour then add that to your dough separately. You proceed the same with rolling, then a single turn. I think.
Like I said, I got confused. We finished all our turns. Three for the Danish and two for the Blitz.
We made our sponge, which is yeast water and flour, that will work overnight and be ready to use in the morning for our bread dough.



At 11:00 a guest chef began a demonstration.
I was so enthralled but unfortunately had to tear myself away at 1:00 because I had to leave for an appointment. I could have watched him cook and listened to his accent all day. A French Chef, named Bruno Neveu. He prepared some contemporary dishes that you would see in France today. He began with a carrot soup that looked like it was going to be better than wonderful. Then he moved on to a sole that was stuffed with a salmon mousse and cray fish. I had to leave before the whole dish came together so I'm hoping that my classmate stayed to get some final shots. I know that this final dish involved a crayfish fricassee and a parsley emulsion. I hated to leave. I got a few pictures before I tore myself away.
I love the way that PCI brings in these Master Chefs for us to experience. I need to start keeping my afternoons open! Thank you PCI and Thank you Chef Bruno.


Goodnight.

Baking and Pastry - Apple Pie, Bisquits, Quiches and Scones

We were baking fools today. Flour was flying. We made four different types of dough. One bonus was you can keep making the doughs in the same bowl, which made for minimal dishes, the other was that you experienced the taste of unbelievable biscuits (above) and scones, (below) fresh from the oven. The biscuit melted in my mouth and transported me right back in time to my grandmother's kitchen.

We began this morning with a flaky pie crust for an apple pie. Very different from the more crumbly short dough we made on Friday. This dough was made with cold butter and cold water. The key is to make sure you have pieces of butter (about the size of peas) incorporated in your dough that will melt and create steam that lifts the dough up to make little air pockets and creates the flakiness. That went right in the refrigerator to chill and we moved on to scones. This dough, made with flour, sugar, baking powder, fruit, heavy cream and honey came together very quickly. You shaped the dough into a round then cut it in wedges. A dryer dough than the biscuits and very easy to work with. The biscuit dough was a bit wetter but still fairly manageable to roll and cut.














We made a pate brisee which is not a very common dough anymore. It is made with room temperature butter and has eggs and a little lemon juice in the dough. We used this for our Quiche.

Lastly, we finished our apple pie. Chef Doug came from the kitchen next door to give us the demo on All American Apple Pie. I guess Chef Thomas felt that a true American Apple Pie needs to be taught by an American.
Chef Doug teaches the morning pastry class in the kitchen next to ours so I see him daily and have talked to him on occasion. He very nice and has quite the sense of humor. He looks stern but you see him laughing behind his eyes. We baked our pies in his revolving oven and he was giving me a bad time about the height of my pie and my hesitancy to operate the oven. These kitchens feel so territorial to me and I get so shy about over stepping boundaries. Plus there's the whole intimidating Chef thing. I turn into a bobbling fool.
Anyway, I made my pie, cooked it and brought home my wares to feast on. It resembled the Matterhorn. Maybe I was subconsciously offering tribute to my European Chef, Thomas. Or maybe I'm a loser pie maker.


Jim and Ginna came over to sample the whole lot. Biscuits, Quiche and Apple Pie.

How lucky are they?
Goodnight.

Garde Manger - Salads

How refreshing to learn some new and different salads. Or at least new to me.
Either way, they were all delicious. Watching the Chef demo these recipes I became so excited: my Easter Brunch menu dilemma was being solved before my eyes. I knew my family wanted a ham, but I wasn't sure which sides I wanted to prepare - until this morning! By the time school was over, I had practiced three new salads and finished my shopping list for Easter.
The school had another chef visiting today. We had to be done by 11:oo so we could sit in the special class by Chef Raimund Hofmeister, CMC/AAC, a master chef (one of some sixty in the world who has cooked across the globe-including a job as head chef for the Regan's while they were in the White House...Google him-he's amazing!)
So quickly, we made three salads. First was a watermelon and red onion salad with watercress. The simple and refreshing mix was a nice combination of sweet and sharp. The next salad was a roasted beet salad, dressed in simple wine vinaigrette and served over some bib lettuce. The last salad was composed of warm haricots vert with prosciutto and gruyere. The vinaigrette was light: lemon juice and white wine with shallots. A perfect combination. Just before I plated my salad chef told me to hold off. They were preparing lunch for the visiting chef and needed some sides of salad to serve him after the demo. My salad for this Master Chef?? Talk about nervous.
I cleaned up my station and headed out to the demo kitchen where I became lost in the story and cooking of this Master Chef. What interesting and different cooking experiences he had had.
He made us three different versions of Gazpacho: a thousand-year old White Gazpacho, "Ajo Blanco de Malaga" (before tomatoes were introduced to Europe), a five-hundred year old "Salmorejo," and a Gazpacho Rojo de Sevilla - a modern recipe. All three were unbelievable.
Next he made fresh seafood sausage that he poached then sautéed and served over a lobster sauce. Incredible is all I can say. I can't wait to try to make these at home.
This demo began at 11:00 and by now it was after 2:00. He said who's staying for the lamb?
I knew I didn't want to miss a thing I'd stay as long as he cooked. He made a beautiful rack of lamb served over a ratatouille that was surrounded by alternating scallops of white potatoes and Sweet potatoes.
It was a picture. (His recipe came with a diagrammed plating method!)
Before I left, I plated up the trio of salads and set them out where there was a lunch set up for him and left feeling so lucky to have experienced this class and this chef.
His passion and love for food was contagious.
Goodnight.

Garde Manger

Do you ever feel like life is just moving too fast? I need a pause button for my life so I can catch up.
How did Easter sneak up so fast and why in the world did I tell my children that as long as they came home the Easter Bunny would make them a basket? Was I crazy? Four Easter Baskets, a graduation party, Easter Brunch and head-on into my Garde Manger unit and the start of our banquet preparations. Calgon or Zanex take me away. (Maybe both)

Garde Manger is a term that was originally used to describe a food storage area.. Preserved foods such as hams, sausages, and cheeses were held in this area. Over time, this term has evolved to define the station in a professional kitchen that prepares and specializes in cold foods. Hoers d' oeuvres, appetizers, sandwiches, salads, condiments, sauces, pates, terrines, fresh sausages and cheeses. This two week course will end with our whole class working together to present a "Garde Manager" banquet.
Today was spent mostly on banquet planning and learning and practicing a basic vinaigrette, and mayonnaise.
After that we were all dismissed early so we could sit in on the demo of Martin Yan that was visiting the school. What a treat. One of the original TV chefs, his knife skills were amazing. He only used one knife for everything he did. I was hoping that he would demo his boning of and entire chicken in twenty eight seconds but he didn't. He made a few dishes including a whole cooked fish. (I tried to get a picture but I was not quick enough - as you can see) Accomplished, entertaining and efficient, I felt like I was watching a piece of history.
I went to buy his new book and his famous knife that he designed after class, but it was a mob scene. I guess I'll have to go to Sur La Tab and pay full price.
Oh well.

Goodnight.

Essentail Skills 3 - Veal

After having Chef Peter as an instructor for two days, I wised up an began my day with a double espresso before I left for school, and a coffee for the road. I needed a little caffeine to keep up with him.
He began by getting veal shanks prepared and in the oven for Osso Bucco. A rustic Italian dish created by braising veal shanks in wine, stock, and vegetables. This is traditionally served with a risotto Milanese. The braising process was basically the same as the previous days recipes - just a different cut of meat.
He then fabricated some medallions from a veal loin, pounded, floured and seasoned them and in a blink of an eye put together, a Veal Piccata and a Veal Marsala. He really emphasized speed and technique when making these quick sautes and a pan sauces. If you dilly dally and waste to much time checking your recipes or cook your sauce to long you won't get good results. A pan sauce is quick. Brown your meat, take it out, add your alcohol, reduce and finish, add the meat back in to warm and plate immediately.

In the case of the piccata, the medallions were browned very lightly. White wine was used for the alcohol and the sauce was finished with butter, lemon juice and a touch of cream. Almost like a beurre blanc. The veal for the Marsala was browned more deeply. Mushrooms were sauteed before the sauce was finished with, of course Marsala, then some stock.
A little trick I learned was to always "refortify" your dish with the flavoring used before serving. So in this case he splashed a bit of Marsala in the finished dish to really pick up the flavor in the sauce.I have a new partner now. His name is Glenn (the soup winner of our first final). We did fairly well with putting together our recipes. A little slow with the pan sauces so our first sauce got a bit too thick. Glenn, if your out there, we need to pick it up - no more "Beer -Pong" on school nights!"


Thank you Andrew for browning up all are lamb shanks for tomorrow. Isn't he cute?
(Chef Peter calls him one of the "wake and bakes.")

It's been a fun few days with Chef Peter. He is teaching a Hobby class this weekend; "Smart and Simple Dinner Party" and asked me if I wanted to come and help at his class. I jumped at the chance.



Goodnight.

Essential Skills 2 - Potatoes

I switched from my morning class to the afternoon class just for today. It was a good experience to be with a different class and a different chef. I thoroughly enjoyed Chef Udo's style and personality, and enjoyed seeing a few people I had met in the Serve Safe class. I also came away with a new appreciation of my class when it comes do doing dishes.

One potato, two potato, three potatoes.....Did you know that there are 7,000 different varieties of potatoes in this world? I see maybe 10 different types in the produce markets around here. Where are the other 6990? I recently took a trip to Argentina (via Taylor-Made Tours; see my links) and came across these beautiful wild potatoes in a cooking class.

I'm straying.....back to class.

We learned which types of potatoes worked best for the various cooking methods. Your "mealy" (also known as starchy) potatoes have a high starch content and thick skin. They are low in sugar and are best for baking, deep frying and mashing. Your "waxy" potatoes (fingerlings, Yukon gold’s, reds) have a low starch content and are better for steaming boiling and roasting. They are too glutinous for mashed and contain too much moisture for deep frying.

With that said... we took some russets and made Gratin Dauphinoise. You really can't go wrong cream and Gruyere. We then put together a nice grilled potatoes salad using red potatoes and dressing it with basil vinaigrette. Next some classic Lyonnais potatoes (fried potatoes and onions), little steamed tourners with parsley and butter and finally some French fries.

Tomorrow...

…four potatoes, five potatoes, six potatoes more.

Goodnight.

Essential Skills 1 - Pesto

Today was the day. Our class was now reduced (no pun intended) to 16 of us "morning culinary" students. We were all a bit frightened and a bit intimidated by Chef Parker (left).

Now, the proper etiquette in the culinary profession is that you address the Chef as "Chef" or "Chef Parker," a formality that adds to this intimidation. When he asked us questions it was not just "yes," or "no" it was "Yes, Chef. No Chef. Thank you Chef." I noticed that this is how these master chefs address each other also.



But, there is some joking between them which helped eased our nerves. Like when the pastry chef came in to help our chef start a video. He said upon leaving "let me know when you culinaries need to know how to turn on the oven. I'll send someone from Baking and Pastry over." We all laughed and as soon as the door shut Chef said, "Those dough boys, they think they know everything." Chef has cooked more and in more places that I can even imagine. He runs a tight ship in the kitchen, has been around the block a few times and thank goodness has a sense of humor! We watched a short clip about the innovating food from the Spanish Chef Ferran Adrià (I don't think we will be doing these type of dishes for awhile.) Then we got our first Cooking Demo.

Pesto.
Yeah, that's right pesto. From Ferran to pesto.

Damn. I already know how to make Pesto. A week of Food Safety for Pesto??
Well, I thought I knew how to make pesto. I watched this Master Chef take simple ingredients and somehow bring them together in perfect harmony.
No processor. Just a mortar and pestle, fresh garlic and basil, pine nuts, a little cheese, and salt and pepper.

It was as if the famous Fernand Point's words from our reading the night before were coming alive for me. "A bearnaise sauce is simply an egg yolk, a shallot, a little tarragon vinegar, and butter, but it takes years of practice for the result to be perfect."

Chef Parker sauteed up some chicken and before we knew it we were all enjoying some wonderful fettuccine with fresh pesto and sauteed chicken. He told the class he liked to end with having lunch together. I don't think that is going to be a problem.

Goodnight.

Culinary School Day Five - Serve Safe

There is something about Fridays that just lifts your spirits. Knowing that you made it through another week and anticipating a long leisurely weekend ahead of you makes getting up at 5:30am not so bad.

My last day of Serve Safe. That's enough to lift anyone's spirits. We finished up our final chapters and reviewed the whole unit. The school was hosting a state culinary competition that weekend (yes, cooking has become a sport - they even have the Culinary Olympics) so there was some visiting chefs that were at the school to judge the contest.

One of the chefs(Charles M Carroll) gave our class, along with the other culinary and baking classes in progress, a motivational speech promoting his new book (pictured above).

Leadership: Lessons From A Chef

Finding Time to be Great

He was a phenomenal speaker. Inspiring and motivating. I left that day pumped up and ready to go. Bring it on! I was ready to take that test, get in the kitchen and start cooking!

In my eagerness to "give my all" I found myself volunteering to help out at the competition the next morning...

So much for sleeping in on Saturday.

Goodnight.