Nutrition and Healthy Cuisine - The Final

I am so happy that this unit is over. It has been a intense three weeks and I am so ready for a change. I decided to stay up and watch Top Chef even though I planned to be in the kitchen by 6. I got completely hooked when I found out one of the teams was doing a orange and asparagus salad! That's what I was doing for my salad. (A bit different caliber though.) Well, their salad was not received too well by the judges. Was this an omen? Should I make a last minute recipe change? I almost called my friend Jackie, who is a die hard Top Chef fan for a consult.
"Go to bed" I heard my inner voice of reason say. I listened. Besides I wasn't planning on having my salad become a sexual experience like the Top Chefs did.

Despite all my angst, the final went well. I was pleased with my Asparagus and Orange salad which was very well received by Chef.
I blanched the asparagus then chilled them in the dressing until they were nice and cold. The dressing consisted of reduced orange juice, thickened with an arrow root slurry, a mixture of balsamic and sherry wine vinegar, shallots and just a little olive oil.
I had to watch those calories!
It was refreshing and flavorful.

My main course was a simple saute of chicken scallops with sauteed mushrooms and a wine, shallot and stock reduction. I would have liked just a little butter in there but with a rich chicken stock and a splash of lemon, the flavor was great. Very clean. I attempted to tourne ( a cut that makes a seven equal sided football shape) new potatoes. They looked pretty darn good until I sauteed them in the glace de volaille and they lost their sharp edges. Oh well live and learn. Chef liked my flavors, appreciated my attempt at tourneing a potato and loved my salad.
I kept the calorie count at just over 500. (If Ryan's calculations are correct.)

Tomorrow we say good bye to Chef Parker for a couple weeks and began our unit in Baking and Pastry with Chef Thomas.
I'm so excited...in just a few short weeks I'll be a pastry angel! I hope.

Goodnight

Nutrition and Healthy Cuisine- More Barley, Falafels and Tahini Sauce

This was our last day of Nutritional and Healthy Cuisine. It has been nice to learn a few techniques to create flavorable dishes with less fat and calories. We made a stir fried Barley pilaf that was quite tasty.
We also made a Jerk chicken and Falafels with a
yogurt Tahini Sauce. It was a mellow day with
plenty of time to begin our mise en place for tomorrow's final. It's like a weekly routine now.

Our mission, if we choose to take it, is to create a dish, complete with starch, vegetable and a side salad that is under 550 calories.
I have been playing around with a few different menus and let me tell you, it is not an easy task to keep a complete meal at this caloric level that is worth eating.

We get a ingredient box that doesn't make me jump for joy. Maybe a jumping jack at best.
Chicken, again! Cabbage, again!
Another report with recipes and caloric breakdowns.
Help. Ryan.
Is it cheating that you help me? I helped you for years.
What would Doug say? (WWDS)

Goodnight

Nutrition and Healthy Cuisine

More healthy cooking. I'm starting to feel like I did when we were in essential skills two. Too many vegetables. The boys in the class are getting a little rambunctious. They were starting to wear on me today. Having had four daughters, I'm not used to this boyishness. They are great when Chef is around but as soon as he leaves they're back to food fights and towel snapping. Some of them are so young. I suppose it's a good balance to my intensity. Keeps me from being too serious.
I forgot my camera today so hopefully Nick will come through and send his shots. If not, you'll never see how the Wild Rice Succotash looked. Or how my roasted ratatouille didn't looked roasted. Or how a Potato Rosti with Celeriac doesn't look that much different from a regular potato Rosti.

(Nick just came through with some picts but this is the only non blurry one)

I thought I would really like nutritional cooking but I don't. You have to worry too much about all the fats and oils.
In moderation is my motto.

I miss butter.

Goodnight

Nutriton and Healthy Cuisine - Barley, Soba and Hearty Greens

Chef took away our butter today. We are now, after months of sauteing in oils and finishing our sauces with butter, having to develop flavor with out too much fat. We will rely on reduced stocks, wine, juices, herbs and spices.
We began without as much as a reflection on fusion and jumped right into Nutritional Cooking.
We arrived this morning to a wonderful vegetable stock that Chef had made for us to work with. We began with a barley salad. (above) Cooking this grain in the stock helped to give it some flavor. We roasted some cipollini onions to add to the barley along with some leeks. We steeped some currants, chili's and orange juice together then added it to some curry, lemon juice and honey. All this was tossed with the barley and left to marinate for awhile.
The next dish we made was a soba noodle salad. We used an arrowroot slurry with stock to thicken this dressing. This enabled us to cut back on much of the oils normally used. This Asian flavored dressing (soy, ginger, lime, garlic) was tossed with the noodles, a scattering of sauteed shitakes and blanched snow peas to create a very nice chilled salad.
The last recipe we prepared was a warm salad using beet greens, radicchio, arugula and spinach. The dressing again was thickened with an arrowroot slurry incorporated with orange and pomegranate juice to from vinaigrette. Only one tablespoon of oil was used. Flavorful and healthy!
What a concept. It does take more planning and prep to use this stock and slurry method. Especially if you want to have a cold salad like the soba noodles. A good a flavorful stock takes time, but once you have some on hand, the possibilities are endless. Thanks Chef.

Goodnight.