Lesson 41: Sweetbreads & Baby Back Ribs

Today started with a rather weird encounter with a lady on the elevator.  Everyone that was crowded in the tiny elevator got a blessing from this lady who assured us that we cannot be too sure if we'll be on this earth tomorrow and we should all live today as our last day (and continued with a prayer).  I guess it's not bad advice, since we should all realize how fortunate we are to have all of the simple things in life.  But, needless to say she exited the elevator on the psychiatric floor.

After that bizarre moment, I headed into kitchen 1401 to prep for the day's recipes.  Today was our first day of "Cooking Methods Review".  We went through all of the cooking techniques of the modules, so for the next 3 days we are simply reviewing these techniques with more in-depth recipes.

I was very excited (and kind of nervous) to work on the first recipe: Braised Sweetbreads.  The first time I ever heard of "sweet breads" was probably about 10 years ago at a French restaurant in NYC.  My sister was about to order them, thinking they were actually sweet breads (literally).  Thankfully, our waiter informed us what they actually were and she quickly refused them.  Since then, I forgot exactly what they were and thought they were cow's brains.  They are actually the thymus and pancreas of a calf or lamb.  Sounds yummy, right?

Preparing these sweetbreads is not all that glamorous.  They soaked in milk overnight and looked like a gloppy, slimy mess.  We blanched them in water with a little white wine vinegar. After we shocked them in ice water, Matt took charge and removed the outer membranes.  These seriously looked like brains..gross.

After dredging them in wondra flour, we browned them in a skillet with some mirepoix and added white wine and stock.  It simmered for about an hour and actually resembled a delicious-looking stew.  I was quite impressed.

As I told myself I was just eating chicken, I took a bite and could not get the brain image out of my head.  I have to admit that the flavor was good, but I really didn't like the texture all that much.  Maybe if I didn't see what it looked like before it was cooked or didn't know what it was then I would be less biased.  I don't think I'll be making sweetbreads for myself anytime soon, but maybe I would give it another try at a nice French restaurant.

Next on the menu: Chicken Supremes with a white wine port reduction.  We all took turns breaking down the chicken into supreme breasts (semi-boneless with the wing tip on).  Matt and I worked together browning the chicken in canola oil and finished cooking them in the oven.  In the meantime, mushrooms were being sauteed for the sauce.  When the chicken was done, we let them rest on a cooling rack and added some minced shallots to the pan.  We de-glazed the pan with the white port and added some chicken stock.  The mushrooms were added in and we let the sauce reduce down until it was nice and thick.  After mounting it with cold butter, we plated our supremes with the sauce.

The stuffed baked potatoes were very simple to make.  The recipe was kind of boring, so the class decided to add some extra ingredients to the potato mix to make it more interesting.  After putting the potato  "pulp" through a ricer, we added warm heavy cream, grated cheddar cheese, sour cream, and chives.  We topped some of the potatoes with bacon bits.

We actually piped the potato mixture in the shells to make them look pretty and professional, but they ended up overflowing a bit in the oven.  Still tasted good though!! :)

The ribs cooked the entire time we were in class.  The first few people to get to class made the rub and got them right in the oven.  Allison and I worked on making the barbecue sauce, which included a ton of extra ingredients that were not in the recipe.  We added tomato sauce, ketchup, worsteshire, chipotles, some of the spice rub, red wine vinegar, brown sugar, chicken stock, and sauteed garlic and onions.  It tasted like it needed something (it was very tomato-y), so Al added some extra spices at the end (like cinnamon and some more salt).  The sauce turned out fantastic!

I brought home some leftovers and made up a gourmet dinner for my brother.  I'm such a good little sister!

I also made him try some sweetbreads and he loved them!  He agreed that the texture was weird, but once you got past that it was pretty good.  My family asked me if it was good for you nutritionally and I actually have no idea!  I told my brother (who's a personal trainer) that it has lots of protein--helps build muscle! ;)

MLK Day Dinner

Shown above is the delightful dinner that my family and I enjoyed tonight.  Last week, I learned how to make Fish En Papillote and have been dying to make it ever since.  Tonight I finally got my chance!

I decided to go to the grocery store and choose whichever fish looked best.  My mom and I agreed on the wild cod.  I eliminated the julienne vegetables in the papillote because they just weren't hearty enough for me.  I love vegetables and want a huge pile of them with my meal, not a few fine julienned strips.  Instead, I added sliced cherry tomatoes, minced shallots, a sprig of rosemary, and a sprig of thyme.  I drizzled the fish with a crisp white wine blend and some extra virgin olive oil.  After adding a twist of lemon and sealing up the parchment pouch, it steamed in a 425 degree oven for exactly 10 1/2 minutes :)    

It was cooked perfectly!  For my mom and I, I plated the fish with tomatoes over a bed of sauteed rainbow swiss chard and shallots.  I drizzled some balsamic glaze for an extra bit of sweetness.  

For my brother and dad's dishes, I placed the fish over some leftover risotto from Friday's class.  

I also roasted broccoli and my one true love, Kabocha Squash:

My mom thinks I may turn into a squash from the amount that I eat.  I love this squash as a snack, in a sandwich for lunch and as a side with dinner.. it's wonderful, so you should try it!

Sammy tried some extra fish and was asking if he could have more:

I think Lillie liked the fish, but when I asked her she just wanted to play:

My pugs are just too cute:

I also recreated another dish from school this weekend.  I made the Lima Bean Stew from Thursday's class.  I added some parmesan at the end and blended it with an immersion blender to make a lima bean soup.  It was very creamy and delicious.  I brought it over to my grandpa for lunch because I knew he would love it (he did!)

Can't wait to get back to school tomorrow and try out some new recipes!

Restaurant Review: Langosta Lounge

You may see a trend in the location of restaurants that I choose to review for this blog.  Asbury Park has an amazing restaurant selection.  Last night, my parents and I made reservations at Langosta Lounge.

The restaurant is located right on the boardwalk and is within walking distance from our beach house.  We are currently not staying at our beach house in the winter months, but still choose to drive the 20 minutes to enjoy the great atmosphere and cuisine at Langosta.  The restaurant serves up caribbean-style menu items that matches the eclectic, oceanic decor.

Several restaurants by the shore are suffering during winter months, but Langosta is certainly not one of them.  We were lucky to get a reservation on a Saturday night (the manager knows our family after our frequent summer visits).  We were seated in a cozy corner of the restaurant right by the window so we had a view of the ocean.

Langosta has a full bar (with outstanding mojitos), but we usually choose to bring our own wine and pay the $15 corkage fee.  Last night, we enjoyed a full-bodied Zinfandel to accompany the robust flavors of food.

Immediately after being seated, we were given a fresh bread basket with a roasted garlic & tomato olive oil and an herb butter compote.  My mom and I love the crunchy breadsticks with the creamy roasted garlic.

For our first course, my dad ordered the Lobster Rolls.  We have ordered this as an appetizer before and were expecting sushi rolls.  However, they are very literal when they mean Lobster Rolls.  Fresh lobster salad is piled on top of 3 mini potato rolls.  At first, I thought the potato rolls were so low class to accompany lobster salad, but the soft doughy bread was the perfect pillow for the lobster.  

My mom and I split a simple house salad.  The salad was served in an oversized bowl with a vinaigrette on the side.  The shredded beets and carrots added the perfect sweet touch to a rather simple and boring salad.

For my main dish, I ordered the Eco-Fish of the Day.  Gooseberry Cod (which is just a type of wild cod) was topped with a lemon-herb relish.  I was afraid that this relish would be too lemony, but it had an array of other vegetables and spices mixed in and added the perfect flavor and crunch to the fish.  The cod was steamed to perfection and was flaky and buttery.  All of this was atop a creamy sundried tomato risotto.  This dish was seriously perfect! I loved getting every component of the dish in one bite-- a little bit of fish with the salsa-like topping and a touch of risotto.  It was a burst of flavor and textures in my mouth!  Even the vegetables on the side were perfect--broccolini with onions, collard greens, peppers, and carrots-- all wonderfully cooked and seasoned.

My mom also ordered the Gooseberry Cod, except had it Curry Style.  The large portion of fish was on top of an array of mixed vegetables and rice noodles, all coated with a slightly spicy and sweet curry sauce.  I couldn't decide which preparation of fish I liked more, mine or the curry.. but I must say I was very satisfied with my choice!

My dad ordered the Sugar & Spice Short Ribs.  These short ribs are absolutely incredible.  They taste like they have been slow cooking for hours and are so tender and juicy.  They were served over slightly chunky mashed potatoes (that were perfect for mopping up the sauce from the short ribs) and crisp broccolini.  

We all agreed that this was the best meal we have had in a while and that Langosta never lets us down with great food and a fun atmosphere.  The service is always superb and the food is consistently out of this world!  I cannot wait to go back!

Lesson 40:Grains

We cooked 5 different types of grains today: Long grain rice, short grain rice, farro, wheatberries, and quinoa.  

Each student had to make a recipe of rice pilaf and risotto.  To make the rice pilaf, I cooked a small amount of onions (about a tablespoon) in a touch of butter.  I added the rice and heated it through for a minute.  I added chicken stock, a bay leaf, a thyme sprig, and lots of salt.  Salt is the key to making a flavorful rice pilaf.  We were taught to taste the stock mixture and add salt until it tasted a bit over-salted.  I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome.  It looks like just plain rice, but it actually was flavorful (and not too salty).

Next, I made a serving of risotto.  Like I mentioned in the previous post, I love making risotto.  It's so satisfying to keep stirring, gradually adding more broth and watching the rice become creamy and rich.  I finished my risotto with whole butter and a nice handful of parmesan cheese.  Not too long ago, I watched Anne Burrell on Secrets of a Restaurant Chef make risotto and saw that she vigorously shook and stirred the risotto after she added the final ingredients.  I have never seen this before and always thought that risotto should be carefully stirred beginning to end.  Chef Karen used the same technique as Anne Burrell and showed us that the final vigorous stir with butter and cheese off the heat makes the risotto extra creamy.  She was right! If only I had mascarpone cheese to finish it off (we called up for it, but it didn't get there until the very end of class).  If I was in my own home, I would have taken a big spoonful of the mascarpone to eat, but I controlled myself in class ;)

While we were taking turns making our individual pilaf and risotto dishes, each group worked together to make Farro with Sausage, Wheatberry salad, and Quinoa Salad.

The farro with sausage was by far my favorite.  It had lots of Italian flavors and just a hint of spiciness from the red pepper flakes.  I loved the addition of red kidney beans.  Farro is an interesting grain.  It is simply cracked wheatberries.  In this dish, it tasted like a heartier rice.  

I also love the crunchy texture of wheatberries.  We cooked and cooled the grains and then tossed them with a sherry vinaigrette and added tomatoes, scallions, and olives.

We didn't have much luck with the quinoa salad.  It tasted good with the lemon vinaigrette, scallions, and red peppers...but it turned out a little mushy.  I have never had problems making quinoa before (I make it all the time at home!) but for some reason I had a lot of trouble with it yesterday.  The first time I attempted to cook the quinoa, I used too large of a pot, so the quinoa was cooking unevenly.  In my second attempt, I overcooked it and it turned too brown and dry.  I finally passed over my duty of making quinoa over to Henry.  He followed the same exact directions, and it still turned out mushy.  I'm convinced that the ratio of liquid to quinoa was off.  

Dana also prepared a "dessert quinoa" that Chef Karen told us about.   It was basically like a rice pudding made with quinoa.. I never thought to do that before!!  I'm not crazy about bananas and rum in dessert, so I want to try making it at home with other flavors like pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg!

Today was less chaotic than other days and we actually got out early!  I ventured to the train station to catch the early 5:03 train equipped with lots of food for my family and some extra vegetables for chopping skills over the 3-day weekend!

Lesson 39: Legumes

Today started off with a little test-taking.  All of the written tests have been really easy so far.. We are given the questions beforehand, so it's just a test of retaining the information and remembering all of the important details of the cooking techniques.  I think I did well.. hopefully I didn't forget anything!!

As soon as we handed in our tests, we got started on preparing our mise-en-place for today's recipes.  Chef asked me which recipe I'd like to work on, and I immediately responded with the lentil ragout!  The recipe sounded really interesting and tasty.. plus I always like to choose recipes that I would be interested in recreating at home.  I'm going to definitely try making this again (with a few variations) for my grandpa since I know he loves lentils.

The recipe starts off by rendering bacon (I'm going to try using pancetta next time).  I added some mirepoix, leeks, and garlic.  After they sweated a bit, I added tomato paste and let it cook for another couple of minutes.  Next, I added the lentils, chicken stock, and sachet d'epices (which I made with parsley stems, bay leaf, peppercorns, caraway seeds, and lemon peel).  The mixture simmered, covered for about an hour.  I loved the thick texture and all of the flavors.  This could also easily be made into a soup by adding extra broth.

Al worked on the baked beans, which turned out delicious!  I love baked beans and will be making them from scratch from now on, instead of opening up a can like I usually do!  When we took them out of the oven they were beautifully glazed on the top.

Henry made the lima bean stew, which was my favorite dish of the day.  I absolutely love the oversized beans in a thick, creamy broth with chunks of pancetta!

Allison was back today after being sick for a while!  She was in charge of the Cuban black beans and did a fantastic job spicing up the recipe at the end by adding some fresh cilantro and cumin.

I am so upset I didn't get a picture of the falafels!  Matt worked on the falafels and made a zesty chickpea mixture with a bit of a kick.  I loved the little bit of spiciness these had!  We all had fun experimenting with the best ways to cook these so they were crispy, yet cooked through.  The first few times we fried them they were very brown and crispy on the outside, but still too soft and mushy on the inside.  In the end, Henry showed us the best technique by smashing them just a little so that they cook evenly when we fry them.  It worked perfectly!

Most of the class made falafel pitas with yogurt-tahini sauce and salad, but I loved my falafel just on its own!  The falafel had so much flavor, that it needed no condiment or bread filler!  I'm definitely going to experiment with these at home and try baking them (for a healthier touch and to see if they cook all the way through-- I will use Henry's technique and flatten them a bit)

I learned a lot about working with beans today.  Since we had limited time in the kitchen, we had to use the fast-cooking method for beans (by boiling them for an hour).  However, Chef told us that beans taste best when they are soaked for 24 hours prior to using them for a recipe.

We also made another little random treat today in the kitchen-- a Bloomin' Onion!   Kim mentioned that she wanted to make it for her superbowl party and didn't know how, so Chef spontaneously called for a beer to be delivered for the beer batter and demonstrated exactly how to prepare the onion, batter it, and fry it.  YUM!  The pastry class even shared some marshmallow topped parfaits that they made today.. It was a goood day!

Tomorrow Chef Karen will be back for our lesson on grains.  I am making risotto tomorrow, which I love to make.  I think the slow, attentive cooking process is so soothing (is that weird?)

Lesson 38: Potatoes and Souffles

Today we were greeted by Chef Anna, our new Chef Instructor.  I must say, I love her spunky sense of humor and intelligence in the kitchen.  She really made the day a lot of fun!

She owns her own hotel/restaurant in upstate NY called Ruby's Hotel.  I checked out the website today and noticed that she specializes in creating a menu with fresh, organic ingredients.  Most of the produce even comes from her own garden.  My food philosophy is largely focused on local, organic foods and creating simple dishes out of the best ingredients, so I loved reading that her philosophy on food is similar to mine.  Maybe one day my parents and I will take a little road trip to have dinner at her restaurant!

Today we made lots of buttery, creamy potato and root vegetable dishes.  We began by tourne'ing more carrots and parsnips (still extremely difficult, but I'm getting better the more I practice).  Later on in the class we blanched and "glazed" them in a reduced syrup made from chicken stock, sugar, and butter:

We peeled and partially cooked thin slices of potatoes for our potato gratin (shown at the very top of this post).  To assemble the gratin, we layered on the potatoes, gruyere & parmesan cheeses, and warm heavy cream.  Soo unhealthy, but sooooooo good!!

We also made pureed potatoes and sweet potatoes.  For the Idaho potatoes, we simply cooked the diced taters and smashed them in a ricer.  I whisked in some melted butter, warm cream, salt, and pepper.  Each group added a special addition to their mashed potatoes-- my group added roasted garlic.  I must say, the other flavored potatoes were pretty awesome too-- wasabi & caramelized onion.  For the sweet potatoes, we just seasoned it with melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, all spice, and nutmeg.  Very sweet and yummy!

The two most interesting dishes of the day were the Carrot Timbales and the Broccoli Souffles.  A carrot timbale is like a souffle, but had more of a gelatin texture and did not rise that much.  The hardest part about making the broccoli souffle was whipping the egg whites by hand.  No electric mixers at culinary school apparently!  Got my bi-cep workout today at least hehe.  Loved that Chef Anna called me "Betty Crocker" because I had to use a toothpick to test the souffles.  She cracks me up!   Here's a picture of our beautiful souffles (that sadly fell after siting out too long)

I felt so full from all of the rich, creamy dishes of the day that I only had room for one more carrot timbale when I got home.  Soon after I had some cheesecake (lets be serious, I never skip dessert!)

Tomorrow we have another quiz (boo)  Then, we will be cooking legumes!  I'm excited to make falafel pitas and baked beans!

Lesson 37: Poaching

To be honest, I wasn't too impressed with poaching today.  I was hoping that it would be like steaming, another healthy way to prepare proteins and vegetables.  It was definitely very healthy, but not as flavorful and interesting as steaming.

Yet again, I have practically no experience with poaching (with the exception of eggs- which I am horrible at)... I'm beginning to really realize how little experience I have with cooking techniques!  Learning how to poach is definitely essential and I tried to absorb as much information today as possible.  For most of our dishes, we were instructed to make a "court bouillon", which is a poaching liquid that usually consists of wine, an acid (vinegar and/or lemon juice), stock, and a variety of spices and herbs.  This "concoction" is what adds flavor to what is being poaches, as opposed to using just water.  It is also essential to season the items very well!

Today we "deep-poached" salmon tranches, whole fish, artichokes, and cauliflower.  I learned that artichokes are a lot of work to prepare in exchange for a small amount of edible parts.  I now know why I have always just bought artichokes prepared in specialty food stores, jarred hearts, or frozen hearts.  But now I'm in culinary school and I have to trim each and every choke :-/.

The one dish that I really enjoyed today was the sole polippote with leek fondue.  I began by fillet'ing 2 flat fish (I think they were actually flounder..).  I rolled each fillet with the leek fondue (sweated leeks and orange zest).  I buttered strips of parchment and wrapped them around each fish roll-up.  The liquid that they shallow-poached in consisted of a very sweet white wine (like a Moscato), fish stock, lemon juice, and shallots.  

Once the liquid came to a simmer I placed the pan in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes (flipping the roll-ups halfway through).  When the fish was done, I took it out of the pan and strained and reduced the sauce.  I added a bit of beurre manie to thicken it (kneaded butter and flour) and a few splashes of heavy cream.  I added a touch of lemon juice and mounted the sauce with whole butter.  The result was a creamy, sweet, zesty sauce served with a moist, flavorful fish.  I loved the flavor and texture the leek fondue added to the fish.

Unfortunately, we were given bad news today and Chef Karen will no longer be our Module 2 Chef (except for on Fridays).  Chef Anna will take over starting tomorrow!  It is always interesting to get a new chef and learn different tips and techniques, so I am sure tomorrow will be a positive new experience!  Looking forward to upcoming challenges and pressures in the kitchen!!