What a way to end the week.
We wrapped in the kitchen at about 4:45pm today, and being Friday, everyone was out of there in about 2 seconds. I was still packing up when Chef Wicki came over and told me that the score on my test earlier this week was "pretty good". I replied that I hadn't had a chance to look up my mark yet. (They are posted online.) He informed me that I got 100%! The only one in the class.
In the kitchen my group made: Oxtail consomme and tomato bisque.
Interesting tidbit from today: A consomme is a a stock or broth that has been made clear. A stock or broth is usually cloudy, and you clear it up by adding a "clearmeat" and bringing it to a simmer. In this case, the clearmeat consisted of egg whites, ice water, and vinegar. The science behind it: the egg whites in the clearmeat coagulate as the broth heats up, collecting all the suspended solids. The clearmeat rises to the top of the leaving a clear consomme, which you strain through coffee filters.
What I had for lunch today:
Chicken Gumbo
Pork Picatta with Tomato Basil Sauce
Starch: Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Veggies: Mixed Vegetable Julienne with Herbs
Bread: Challah
Friday, January 14, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Interesting Day
We had a snow storm last night; 20cm of wet, heavy snow. It was mostly done by 7am, so the majority of businesses, government offices, and schools were delayed opening until 10am. The Culinary Institute was on that list. I should have figured out that since the building was closed until 10am, there would be no lunch because the students that prepare lunch weren't there. Hindsight is 20/20, live and learn, etc, etc.
Also due to the storm, a lot of students didn't show up for Stocks, Soups, and Sauces which runs from 12pm-5pm. Out of a class of 18, only 8 showed up, myself included. Chef Wicki told us that since there was no lunch service today that he would prepare something for us to have at the 3pm break.
Awesome! A meal prepared by a European chef with CCC designation. (CCC = Certified Chef de Cuisine, the highest professional culinary recognition and accreditation in Canada.)
Well, Chef took advantage of the small, intimate gathering andslipped us some tongue prepared cow's tongue.
I made a silent pact with myself when I started this course that I would be open to trying whatever I needed to in order to have the full experience.
While I wouldn't go out of my way to have it often, it wasn't too bad....think spongy roast beef. I had three slices since, as mentioned above, I didn't have lunch. Chef also made us a wild mushroom risotto and a Marchand de vin sauce (red wine sauce) for the cow's tongue. The risotto more than made up for the boiled cow's tongue.
A few days ago my group made an oxtail broth, so Chef had us all try some oxtail meat that day. (I'd take oxtail over cow's tongue.)
So in summary, the week isn't even over yet and I've eaten parts from both ends of a bovine.
The weather forecast doesn't look too bad for the next 24 hours, so the "What I had for lunch today" section should be back to normal tomorrow.
Also due to the storm, a lot of students didn't show up for Stocks, Soups, and Sauces which runs from 12pm-5pm. Out of a class of 18, only 8 showed up, myself included. Chef Wicki told us that since there was no lunch service today that he would prepare something for us to have at the 3pm break.
Awesome! A meal prepared by a European chef with CCC designation. (CCC = Certified Chef de Cuisine, the highest professional culinary recognition and accreditation in Canada.)
Well, Chef took advantage of the small, intimate gathering and
I made a silent pact with myself when I started this course that I would be open to trying whatever I needed to in order to have the full experience.
While I wouldn't go out of my way to have it often, it wasn't too bad....think spongy roast beef. I had three slices since, as mentioned above, I didn't have lunch. Chef also made us a wild mushroom risotto and a Marchand de vin sauce (red wine sauce) for the cow's tongue. The risotto more than made up for the boiled cow's tongue.
A few days ago my group made an oxtail broth, so Chef had us all try some oxtail meat that day. (I'd take oxtail over cow's tongue.)
So in summary, the week isn't even over yet and I've eaten parts from both ends of a bovine.
The weather forecast doesn't look too bad for the next 24 hours, so the "What I had for lunch today" section should be back to normal tomorrow.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
BusyBusyBusy
The vision: This blog was supposed to have daily entries.
The reality: This new venture is keeping me REALLY busy.
While the TV shows pile up on the DVR, I find myself either spending the evening studying for a test or doing an an assignment. Even on the days that I have neither test or assignment, I still have to know what to do in the kitchen for that day, so every day is like an unofficial mini-test. Plus the added degree of difficulty....I have to do all this while trying not to cut my fingers off or burn myself on the multiple hot surfaces/open flames I am exposed to when not at the cutting board. But for the first time in a long time.....I'm not complaining.
My first assignment and presentation went really well. My first test also went well. I have no marks back on any of these things, but this is also a change for me....I actually feel confident that I did well on these things before I get official word.
As for daily entries, I was thinking....at the bare minimum, I guess I could post what I had for lunch. One of the inclusions in my tuition is a "student tasting card"; the idea is that students taste what has been prepared (by students) that day. In other words, I get to eat a pretty fancy meal every day.
A meal consists of: one of two soups or salad, one of two entrees + starch + veggies, bread of the day, dessert, and a drink "off the line" (fountain pop, juice, coffee or tea). I usually skip the dessert because I don't want to weigh 450 pounds by April....but the desserts made by the pastry arts students and would easily run $8-$12 in a normal restaurant.
By the way....the cost of the above mentioned meal for the general public: $9.25.
Here is what I had today:
Vegetable Soup (I prepared the vegetable broth for this soup)
Blackened Salmon with Creole Shrimp Hollandaise
Starch: Pommes Chateau
Veggies: Spaghetti Squash, Mushroom Flan
Bread: Cuban Bread
Coffee
The dessert I skipped: Strawberry Bavarian Cream + chocolate walnut brownie
Mmmm....yummy.
The reality: This new venture is keeping me REALLY busy.
While the TV shows pile up on the DVR, I find myself either spending the evening studying for a test or doing an an assignment. Even on the days that I have neither test or assignment, I still have to know what to do in the kitchen for that day, so every day is like an unofficial mini-test. Plus the added degree of difficulty....I have to do all this while trying not to cut my fingers off or burn myself on the multiple hot surfaces/open flames I am exposed to when not at the cutting board. But for the first time in a long time.....I'm not complaining.
My first assignment and presentation went really well. My first test also went well. I have no marks back on any of these things, but this is also a change for me....I actually feel confident that I did well on these things before I get official word.
As for daily entries, I was thinking....at the bare minimum, I guess I could post what I had for lunch. One of the inclusions in my tuition is a "student tasting card"; the idea is that students taste what has been prepared (by students) that day. In other words, I get to eat a pretty fancy meal every day.
A meal consists of: one of two soups or salad, one of two entrees + starch + veggies, bread of the day, dessert, and a drink "off the line" (fountain pop, juice, coffee or tea). I usually skip the dessert because I don't want to weigh 450 pounds by April....but the desserts made by the pastry arts students and would easily run $8-$12 in a normal restaurant.
By the way....the cost of the above mentioned meal for the general public: $9.25.
Here is what I had today:
Vegetable Soup (I prepared the vegetable broth for this soup)
Blackened Salmon with Creole Shrimp Hollandaise
Starch: Pommes Chateau
Veggies: Spaghetti Squash, Mushroom Flan
Bread: Cuban Bread
Coffee
The dessert I skipped: Strawberry Bavarian Cream + chocolate walnut brownie
Mmmm....yummy.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Assign-what-ments??
For the first time in over 15 years, I have a couple of assignments to work on. Whose idea was it to go back to school again??
Assignment #1 is for my "Nutrition for the Culinary Professional" course. I have to write up a 2-page paper and do a 5-10 minute PowerPoint presentation about how nutrition has combined with the culinary world. (The example used in class was Jamie Oliver.) I think I'll take a Canadian slant and write about the Podleski sisters of "Looney Spoons" & "Crazy Plates" fame. Greta (chef) and Janet (registered nutritionist) were very influential in developing my culinary background many years ago.
The second assignment is for "Stocks, Soups & Sauces". I have to do a 3 to 6-page paper about 3 hot sauces and/or soups with their respective historical backgrounds. My original plan was to do Puttanesca Sauce (sordid history), Chicken Fricot (family history), and Gazpacho (just 'cause me likey). Issues: Fricot is a stew and does not qualify, and the gazpacho is cold, so when I re-read the assignment and realized it was about hot soups & sauces, that one fell out too. So I am back to looking for 2 hot sauces and/or soups to research. (HINT: I'm taking suggestions up to Wednesday.)
So, week #1 is under my belt (or apron, I guess). A hectic week, but manageable so far. My knife skills definitely need a lot of practice (and 15-years of deprogramming). Otherwise, the theory was all comprehensible.....unlike "entropy"; 20 years later and that concept STILL hasn't sunk in.
I'll end with the 4 rules of making a stock:
1. Use only cold water
2. Never boil
3. Never stir
4. Never cover
On to week #2......and these assignment thingies.
Assignment #1 is for my "Nutrition for the Culinary Professional" course. I have to write up a 2-page paper and do a 5-10 minute PowerPoint presentation about how nutrition has combined with the culinary world. (The example used in class was Jamie Oliver.) I think I'll take a Canadian slant and write about the Podleski sisters of "Looney Spoons" & "Crazy Plates" fame. Greta (chef) and Janet (registered nutritionist) were very influential in developing my culinary background many years ago.
The second assignment is for "Stocks, Soups & Sauces". I have to do a 3 to 6-page paper about 3 hot sauces and/or soups with their respective historical backgrounds. My original plan was to do Puttanesca Sauce (sordid history), Chicken Fricot (family history), and Gazpacho (just 'cause me likey). Issues: Fricot is a stew and does not qualify, and the gazpacho is cold, so when I re-read the assignment and realized it was about hot soups & sauces, that one fell out too. So I am back to looking for 2 hot sauces and/or soups to research. (HINT: I'm taking suggestions up to Wednesday.)
So, week #1 is under my belt (or apron, I guess). A hectic week, but manageable so far. My knife skills definitely need a lot of practice (and 15-years of deprogramming). Otherwise, the theory was all comprehensible.....unlike "entropy"; 20 years later and that concept STILL hasn't sunk in.
I'll end with the 4 rules of making a stock:
1. Use only cold water
2. Never boil
3. Never stir
4. Never cover
On to week #2......and these assignment thingies.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
I'll be speaking French in no time
With the amount of French words I have heard in an English-language setting, there is no doubt how much the French have influenced the culinary world. In the extremely short time I've spent in my stocks, soups, and sauces course, here is a handful of terms:
Mise en place: Preparation and assembly of all ingredients and equipment needed before a dish is cooked. (Literally: "everything in place")
Mirepoix: A 50/25/25% mixture of onions, celery, and carrots used to flavour soups and stocks.
Sachet: An aromatic mix of bay leaves, thyme, cracked peppercorns, and parsley sprigs wrapped in cheesecloth used to flavour soups and stocks
Bouquet garni: same type of deal as a sachet, except made from fresh ingredients such as celery, carrots, leek, and thyme sprigs all tied together in a bundle with kitchen twine
Roux: A thickener for sauces made by cooking equal parts of fat and flour
Remouillage: Re-using the bones from a stock a second time around to make a weaker stock, that is in turn used instead of water to make a new stock
I'm pretty sure if you make a remouillage too many times in a row you probably disrupt the space-time continuum somehow.
That is just the tip of the iceberg of the French terms swirling around in my head. All of this is being taught to me by Chef Hans Wicki, a chef from Switzerland (where French is an official language).
BTW, Chef: French for "chief"
At this rate, I should be bilingual by next week.
Mise en place: Preparation and assembly of all ingredients and equipment needed before a dish is cooked. (Literally: "everything in place")
Mirepoix: A 50/25/25% mixture of onions, celery, and carrots used to flavour soups and stocks.
Sachet: An aromatic mix of bay leaves, thyme, cracked peppercorns, and parsley sprigs wrapped in cheesecloth used to flavour soups and stocks
Bouquet garni: same type of deal as a sachet, except made from fresh ingredients such as celery, carrots, leek, and thyme sprigs all tied together in a bundle with kitchen twine
Roux: A thickener for sauces made by cooking equal parts of fat and flour
Remouillage: Re-using the bones from a stock a second time around to make a weaker stock, that is in turn used instead of water to make a new stock
I'm pretty sure if you make a remouillage too many times in a row you probably disrupt the space-time continuum somehow.
That is just the tip of the iceberg of the French terms swirling around in my head. All of this is being taught to me by Chef Hans Wicki, a chef from Switzerland (where French is an official language).
BTW, Chef: French for "chief"
At this rate, I should be bilingual by next week.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
A New Chapte........zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
The "Observation/Fact of the Day" will have to begin tomorrow. All a can say now is:
Holy Moly....steep learning curve. Tired......must sleep.
Holy Moly....steep learning curve. Tired......must sleep.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Stay Tuned
Hi. The plan for this blog is two fold; to keep people up informed with what I am up to at the Culinary Insititute and to act as sort of a study guide for me.
Classes start the first week of January 2011.....stay tuned.
Classes start the first week of January 2011.....stay tuned.
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