Regional Cuisines of Europe - Itlay

Nicholas A. Olla. Now that's Italian. Cute as a button, the nicest guy in the class and also one with class. (He even listens to opera and is one of the few men rather than boys in the kitchen that does dishes- thank you Nick!) I found out today that he used to work for Air Italia until post 911 then decided to follow his passion and become a chef. He put on a slide show of some personal pictures he had of a trip he took to Italy that were fantastic. Enthusiastic about this cuisine and knowledgeable. He made some Potato Gnocchi with a Liomone sauce that was to die for. He used his homemade Limoncello in the sauce. Seems it takes a few months to really mature so I think he'll have to give me some of his so I can make it at home.

He carefully mixed the grated potatoes with the eggs and cheese. Then he added the flour in slowly until it was just thee right consistency to roll .
After we feasted on Gnocchi's chef made a Veal Scaloppine with Lemon and Fennel and a Chicken Saltimbocca, which translates as "jump in the mouth". That's how good it is!
You pound out a chicken breast then layer it with sage leaves, thinly sliced prosciutto and some Parmesan cheese., You saute the rolled breast then finish it off in the oven. Meanwhile, back in the pan you create a wonderful sauce with shallots, Marsala, mushrooms and butter. The veal was also a saute then finished with a pan sauce of white wine, stock, a little lemon and of course - butter.


I've got to stop eating like this.

Goodnight.

Essential Skills 3 - The Final: Meat, Fish & Poultry

For today's final we prepared four different dishes, complete with starch and vegetable. In the previous finals we prepared recipes that we had made in class. Today, however, three of the four dishes were ones we had never made in class. We were given the recipes for these dishes ahead of time, so of course I did a dry run at home, and, once again, the Traina's graciously offered to be official tasters.

Jimmy Allen says he going to start a tasting blog.


The four dishes I made today were Veal Marsala, Salmon En Papillote, Apricot and Bourbon Grilled Chicken, and Pork Chimichurri Kabobs.
I was pretty excited about my Chimichurrri sauce. I had a spice blend that I bought on my recent trip to Argentina, so I brought it in today and added it to my sauce. I had made a batch Monday night for dinner and received rave reviews. I knew I needed practice on the grill since this is one thing I never do. This has always been my husband's domain. I tried to get him to give me a grilling lesson, but I realized that after 30 years on the BBQ, perfection can't be taught in a night. He said it was a "sense." I needed something more concrete than that. I tried recruiting my good friend Terry (The BBQ Queen) but she was at the Keith Urban Concert. (Terry, I can't believe you chose Keith Urban over me!)
I had to go it alone. I resorted to my book and the clock. I poked it every few minutes and prayed a quick confession for all the times I yelled at Eric for overcooking the meat.
I think I got lucky. My pork and chicken were both cooked perfectly. I served the pork over rice with some grilled squash and black beans. I made some couscous with sauteed carrots and onions, and some green beans with butter and toasted almonds to accompany the chicken.

The veal Marsala came together fairly quickly. I sauteed a mix of mushrooms before making the pan sauce and served it with pureed potatoes, and a julienne of carrots and zucchini.

The Salmon E Papillote was the simplest to prepare and the one recipe we had made in class. A mix of julienned vegetables, stock and herb butter baked in a parchment pouch. This I served with rice. It did get a bit hectic at times and I was a little worried about the time, but eventually it all came together.
I felt good about my dishes as I presented them.
It seemed chef liked them as well. I received full points on all four of them along with some nice comments. Coming from a chef of his caliber, I savored every word.

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.