Lesson 61: Mangia Mangia!

Today's recipes were from the Northwest region of Italy. It seemed like we had a lot more food than usual today, which can be seen in the picture above. Along with the 7 recipes that were planned for today, some students made some extra recipes with the available ingredients. So lets get to the food, shall we?

Insalata di Olive, Sedano, Aglio e Cipolla: I made this salad with thinly sliced celery hearts, green olives, red onions, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, fresh oregano, and a minced hot cherry pepper. The salad marinated until we ready to serve it at the end of class.

I also made the Costolette alla Valdostana, a breaded porkchop stuffed with fontina cheese. I pan fried the chops and finished them in the oven. They were finished with white truffle butter.

The Riso Al Gorgonzola was a risotto dish finished with gorgonzola, heavy cream, and fresh parsley:

The Calamari Ripieni di Gamberi was a classic seafood dish from Liguria consisting of squid stuffed with chopped shrimp and breadcrumbs. The stuffed squid was then braised in white wine and tomatoes for an hour.

We made a batch of fresh pasta again today to go along with the Ragu di Cinghiale, a wild boar ragu:

The Cipolline Agro Dolce was an amazing side-dish. These cipolline onions were slow roasted with sugar, red wine vinegar, fresh sage leaves, and extra virgin olive oil. Yum!Each group made this final dish a little bit differently: Sfogliata di Radicchio. This is supposed to be a puff pastry tart with radicchio, golden raisins, anchovy fillets, and black olives. Our group decided to eliminate the puff pastry and grill the radicchio to make a warm radicchio salad. The other groups incorporated the puff pastry in different ways.

The extra puff pastry was used to make pastry parmesan twists! I've made these once for a sorority pot luck in college :)

We also had some beautiful heirloom tomatoes that we roasted with some garlic and olive oil:

Another student made a "dessert risotto" by making a rice pudding with the arborio rice:

There was also another dessert served in martini glasses, but I got caught up in cleaning at the end of class and forgot to take a picture :(

Today was another great class! Italian cuisine is definitely my favorite!

Miso Glazed Cod

Tonight I had a lovely dinner that I just had to share with you all.  It has been especially difficult thinking of meal ideas for my family because of several allergies and food preferences from my parents.  I thought of a dish that would satisfy everyone, a fish recipe that my mom has made several times before: Ellie Krieger's Miso Glazed Cod. I have always loved it and was really excited for her to make it again tonight.

I made a spinach & mushroom side-dish that complemented the fish perfectly.  Here is the recipe:

1 T. coconut oil

1 shallot, minced

1 tsp. fresh ginger, minced

1/2 bag frozen mixed mushrooms, defrosted

1 package fresh baby spinach

2 tsp. Bragg's Liquid Aminos (or soy sauce)

1 tsp. Emeril's Asian Essence

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper

1 tsp. toasted sesame seeds

Heat a large saute pan on medium-high.  Add the coconut oil.  Saute the shallot and ginger until soft (1-2 min).  Add the mushrooms to heat through.  Add the spinach and lower the heat to medium-low.  Cook until the spinach has wilted.  Mix in the Bragg's Aminos, Emeril's Essence, and red pepper.  Serve and top with sesame seeds.

It was a treat to have my mom cook the fish.  I'm sure all cooks can relate when I say I don't really enjoy the meals I make as much when I spend a lot of time cooking them.  

Hope everyone had a great weekend!  I'm excited for the amazing Italian recipes I'll be cooking up in school this week!

Lesson 60: Pasta Heaven!!

Yesterday's class began with a written exam on the recipes we have made the past couple of weeks.  I actually don't mind test-taking, especially when it's just on memorizing the methods/procedures of recipes (much better than taking any business exams in college).  I think I did well, so the day was off to a good start!

This class was probably my favorite class so far in culinary school.  We spent the day making fresh pasta with classic sauces.  Pasta is comfort food to me since my mom's homemade pasta with tomato sauce was always my favorite as a child (and still is!).  I was all smiles today while kneading my very own pasta dough and rolling it out into thin sheets.

Every student made their own batch of pasta dough (even though we only used one batch per table).  The dough is made from 3 simple ingredients: flour, salt, and eggs.  We each had a mound of flour with a pinch of salt and made a well in the center.  We cracked 3 eggs into the well and gradually incorporated it into the flour with a fork.  Once it started forming a dough, we brought it together with our hands and kneaded it until it was firm.  We let our balls of dough rest while we prepared the sauces and other components to our dishes.

Here is an example of creativity in the kitchen:

After the dough rested, it was time to roll it out using the pasta machine:

Along with the pasta, we also made gnocchi.  Gnocchi is also super easy to make, and soo delicious!  We baked potatoes and scooped out the filling into a ricer.  We riced the potatoes on a sheet pan in a single layer so they would cool quickly.  After they cooled, we mixed the potatoes with a few handfuls of flour (one handful for every potato used), egg yolks (one yolk for every potato), salt, and nutmeg.  Once the dough was formed into a log, we let it cool in the refrigerator.

We formed out gnocchi by rolling out the dough into a very thin log, cutting small pieces, and rolling each piece on the back of a fork.  The gnocchi take only a couple of minutes to cook and are done when they come to the surface of the boiling water.  I made a cherry tomato sauce to top the gnocchi by sauteing cherry tomatoes and onions in some melted butter and olive oil.

We used our pasta dough to make 2 types of pasta: ravioli and trenette.  For the ravioli, we made a filling with roasted butternut squash, Italian amaretti cookies, mostarda di frutta, parmesan, and nutmeg.  Making the ravioli brought back memories of making homemade ravioli in Italy with my sister back in September :)

The ravioli was served with a browned butter sage sauce MMMM!

The trenette was served with potatoes, haricot vert, and a pesto sauce made with garlic, pine nuts, basil, olive oil, and parmesan.

We even had a few different types of prosciutto to taste with our pasta feast!  

After class, I dusted the flour off my face and walked around the city to kill a couple of hours before my first night of wine class.  

Wine class was absolutely wonderful!  Richard Vayda is the instructor and he is just full of information about wine.  I learned so much!  The room was set up very impressively (I wish I got a picture..maybe next week) with 9 wine glasses, a spit bucket, and a binder of information at each seat.  There was a beautiful cheese spread with cheeses that were paired with the wines we tasted.  Here are the 9 wines I tasted last night and my notes on them:

1. Pinot Grigio delle Venezie, Zonin 2008: $10   Light, citrus, grapefruit, slightly acidic, bright, pleasant, fresh

2.  Hawke's Bay, Chardonnay, Babich Wines 2007: $18   Clean, Sweet, fruity, apple/pear, heavier than the Pinot Grigio

3.  Alsace, Pinot Gris, 'Reserve Personnelle', Trimbach 2001: $38 Heavy, rich, thick, smooth, the flavor lingers, ripe apple, honey  **My favorite white wine of the night

4.  Champagne, Brut, Nicolas Feuillatte NV: $32  Light, apple, vanilla, wood, slightly acidic, dry

5.  Muscat de Beaumes de Venise, J. Vidal-Fleury 2005: $32  SWEET, honey, apricot, dry

6.  Willamette Valley, Pinot Noir, Benton-Lane 2007: $18  Light, sour, cherry, young, nice acidity

7.  Medoc, Cru Bourgeois, Chateau Greysac 2004: $20  Heavy, dark, dense, tannins, blackberry, cedar

8.  Valle de Uco, 'Numina', 'Gran Corte', Salentein 2004: $43 Fruity, ripe, blackberries, dark in color ** My favorite red wine of the night

9.  Porto, 'Six Grapes Reserve', Graham's, NV: $30  Heavy, thick, sour cherry, very alcoholic, dark purple in color

I really enjoyed the class and learned so much.  Can't wait to try more wines and learn more about the different wine-making regions in the next class!

Lesson 59: Boeuf Bourguignon-- Bon Appetit!!

Today was our last day of regional French cuisine.  What better way to end this section of the module than to make the classical French dish, Boeuf Bourguignon.  I obviously love the movie Julie and Julia (part of my inspiration for this blog) and I have been dying to make this dish ever since I saw it.

Jessica and I immediately got to work prepping the ingredients and getting our mis en place together.  The recipe we followed was much like any other recipe you may have seen, starting with searing the beef cubes and then adding onions, carrots, tomato paste, garlic, burgundy wine, veal stock and a sachet d'epices (herbs wrapped in cheesecloth).  The mixture simmers for hours until the beef is tender.

We use only the best wine at culinary school:

Considering how much wine we use in this recipe (32 oz), I would think using a better wine would make a huge difference.  

While the stew was simmering, I shocked and peeled pearl onions and glazed them in butter and sugar.  I also sauteed mushrooms.  These were both added to the Stew at the very end, along with a shot of Marc de Bourgogne (kind of a mixture between brandy and wine?).  

The other members of the group got working on the gratin of shrimp.  There were several components to this dish, starting with making a shrimp stock:

From the stock, they made a veloute (shrimp stock whisked into a blonde roux).  Then, they made the gratin mixture with sauteed shrimp, shitake mushrooms, tomatoes, Marc de Bourgogne, heavy cream, and the shrimp veloute.

Chef Erica gave us an extra recipe to try that is very popular in the Burgundy region: Oeufs en Meurette.  We each prepared this individually.  It's nice to have one recipe during class to prepare and plate on your own.  This dish is very interesting and unlike anything I've ever tried before.  I knew I would love it as she was explaining it.

I started off by making the sauce.  I rendered bacon lardons and reserved them for plating.  In the rendered bacon fat, I caramelized a small amount of mirepoix.  Then, I added about a cup of red wine.  I let that reduce by about 3/4.  Next, I added a ladleful of veal stock.  I thickened the stock with a very small amount of beurre manie (kneaded butter and flour).  While my sauce was cooking, I made a croute by toasting a circle of bread in clarified butter.  I also poached an egg.  It is very interesting how every chef has taught us a different way of poaching eggs.  This method was by far my favorite.  I made a whirlpool in my poaching liquid (with a little white vinegar) and gently dropped my egg in the center:

The egg whites stay in tact and it came out perfect!

Here's how we plated this dish:  I spooned a puddle of the red wine sauce in the center of my plate.  I placed my toasted croute in the center and topped it with the poached egg.  I scattered the reserve bacon around the croute.  A simple garnish of chopped chives added the perfect touch.

Seriously, this was amazing.  I loved breaking into the yolk and getting the perfect bite of egg, crunchy toast, salty bacon, and syrupy sauce.   All of the flavors were perfect together!  Like I said, it was unlike any egg dish I have ever tried!

Around 4:15, we started rounding up all of the dishes and plating them for presentation.  Here is the finished shrimp gratin:

It was delicious!  Very creamy and rich!

We also prepared a Salade Lyonnaise, which is frisee topped with a warm vinaigrette, poached eggs, bacon lardons, and croutons:

We also had Brains-of-the-Silk Weaver.  I ate BRAINS!!!!    

Just kidding..  It was just a simple cheese spread made with farmer's cheese (kind of like ricotta or cottage cheese) and herbs.  We spread it on croutes and toasted them in the oven:

Here's our finished Boeuf Bourguignon (Julia Child style--in the Le Crueset pot):

And plated up:

I got home and tried to teach my mom how to say "Boeuf Bourguignon" because she pronounced it "Boing-ing-yon".  Oh, mom..

Overall it was a great day!!  

Booooon Appetit!!

Restaurant Review: Portofino Ristorante

Last night my family and I went to Portofino Ristorante in Tinton Falls to celebrate my dad's birthday.  We used to come here all the time until there was an incident with the valet making a dent in my dad's car.  The restaurant didn't handle the situation well, so we have been very hesitant to return.  Until last night...

We gave Portofino a chance to redeem themselves and serve us a meal that would convince us to return again.  However, this wasn't the case.  

The manager brought over the wine my dad ordered and I saw him look at me trying to decide if I was 21.  He casually went and asked to take away my glass (it must have been a mistake that there were 4 wine glasses on the table!) and my dad told him that I will be having wine.  Instead of just asking for my ID, which I would have preferred, he did the judgmental laugh while asking "are you 21? Wait, don't answer, I'll be a nice guy and give you wine anyway hahahahaha".  SERIOUSLY?!!!  I'M 22!  (I didn't respond quite like that, but I did tell him I'm 22) His response: "Hahaha, right, right".  This made me angry.  Even my dad was like "um, she has her ID if you'd like to see it.."  While my brother told him I was 16.  Thanks.

The appetizers took a long time to arrive, but at least we were satisfied with our dishes.  My mom and I shared the special fennel and blood orange salad.  Blood oranges are in season now and they tasted wonderful on our salad.

My dad and brother each ordered the sauteed calamari.  I didn't try it but they loved it!

So far so good, right?  We waited an extremely long time for our entrees.  It was nearing 9:00 and we got to the restaurant at 7:15!

Finally our dishes arrived.  I ordered the salmon al cartoccio.  I rarely order salmon at restaurants because I am usually very picky with salmon.  However, I really like the preparation of steaming fish in foil or parchment so I figured I'd give it a try.  It is really hard to dry out fish with this cooking preparation, since you simply bake it for a short amount of time (10-15 minutes) in the oven until the pouch steams.  

I took my first bite and believe it or not, it was EXTREMELY dry.  I was starving at this point so I ate most of it anyway, but the fish was unpleasantly chewy and not very flavorful.  I had to eat each bite with the salad that was nicely dressed with balsamic.  The potatoes on the side were flavor-less and under-seasoned.

My mom ordered the mahi mahi special.  Unfortunately her fish was dry too.  She didn't even have to taste it to know that it was over-cooked.  My mom could barely eat the fish and picked around at the vegetables around it. My brother had the rack of lamb special.  His lamb was not dry.  It was rare, as in completely raw.  He ate most of it even though I told him it was unacceptably raw.  He left a piece on the plate that even he couldn't eat because it was clearly not cooked at all.   We showed the waitress and she offered to cook it more.  No, we do not want you to cook the one bite of lamb.

There was nothing to complain about my dad's rigatoni carbonara.  It would have been really disappointing if a simple pasta dish wasn't good at this high-class Italian restaurant.  At least the birthday boy had a good meal!

Overall, not the greatest dinner.  That was strike 2 for Portofino, so it might be a while before we decide to return again.

Lesson 58: Cuisine of Provence, France

Today we learned about the cuisine of Provence.  I loved all of the recipes and really enjoyed the recipe that I worked on.  The first thing we did when we got to class was get the cassoulet from yesterday in the oven.  

Doesn't it look a lot better than yesterday, since it cooked for a few more hours:

This casserole had so much flavor!  The sauce really reduced down and glazed all of the meats.  It was wonderful!

Before I get to the dish that I worked on today, I'll tell you about the other dishes.  First up: "Filets de Sardines en Escabeche".  We fileted, marinated, and seared sardines and served them with an onion, garlic and cayenne saute.

We also made an assortment of Stuffed Provencale Vegetables ("Petits Farcis a la Facon du Vieux Nice).  A couple of people in my group worked on stuffing zucchini, tomatoes, and mushrooms.  They were beautiful, simple, and delicious:

The most complicated dish of the day was the Bourride.  This is essentially a seafood soup with a lot of different components.  The guys in the group started off by chopping up fish bones and trimmings for the fish fumet.  The soup was made with mirepoix, fennel, leek, garlic, tomatoes, potatoes, orange & lemon rinds, dry vermouth, and some herbs and seasonings.  Right before we served the soup they cooked the clams, snapper fillet, shrimp, squid, and mussels separately in the soup.  The garnishes included an aioli and a rouille spread on croutes:

I made the Tarte aux Blettes.  I started out making a pastry dough with flour, salt, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, egg, and cold water.  While it cooled in the fridge, I started on the filling.  I trimmed and cleaned a large bunch of swiss chard.  I chiffonaded the chard and added it to some grated gouda cheese, currants plumped in white rum, eggs, red currant jelly, heavy cream, diced apple, and toasted pine nuts.  After blind-baking the dough (partially cooking it without the filling) I added in the filling and baked the tart until it was set (about 45-50 minutes).This tart was truly amazing.  It was a lot sweeter than I thought a swiss chard tart would be, probably because of the sugar in the crust and the sweeter components in the filling.  Send me an e-mail (azick1987@gmail.com) if you'd like the recipe.. I know I'll be making it again!

After class I literally ran to the train station to try and make the 5:03 train.  It's my dad's birthday today and I wanted to make it home early enough to shower before dinner.  My brother called me mid-run, which slowed my pace and caused me to miss my train by less than a minute!!!  That's seriously the worst feeling ever..sprinting to the train station like a maniac and then not even making the train!! Ugh oh well!  

My family went to Portofino Ristorante for dinner.  Although we had a lovely evening, we were all a bit disappointed in this restaurant (which has been a long-time favorite restaurant up until recently).  I will be posting a review tomorrow!

Lesson 57: Cuisine of Midi, France

Um did it really snow again?!!!!!!!!!   All I have to say is it better not snow any more this winter or else I'm moving to California.

I got to class and we immediately began planning who was going to cook what and started prepping ingredients.  Aaron and I chose to work on the "Poulet a la Basquaise", which is just chicken with tomatoes, peppers, and prosciutto.  Aaron prepped the ingredients while I cooked.  

After the chicken was fabricated, I browned the pieces in duck fat: 

Next, I made the sauce by sauteing pancetta, onion, and garlic.  I de-glazed the pan with brandy.  Then I added red pepper, prosciutto, tomato concasse, sugar, piment d'espelette (an expensive French spice), white wine, and chicken stock.  I added the chicken back into the mixture and let it simmer:

Here was the final product.  It had a wonderful flavor and the chicken was really tender:

We each had to make the potato dish, "Pommes a la Sarladaise".  This is exactly like the Pommes Anna that we made last week except we added sliced truffles in between the layers..mmm.

And after the flip:We also used our duck confit that we prepared last week for a Salad of Duck Confit with Red Cabbage, Chestnuts, and Watercress ("Salade Cevenole").  I loved the chestnuts and walnuts that we coated in sugar and caramelized in the oven.

The final dish of the day was "Cassoulet", which is a slow-cooked bean and meat stew.  Since this stew is best if you cook it for a very long time, we started the cooking process and will continue cooking it tomorrow for optimal flavor.  This stew has a mixture of lamb, pork medallions, garlic sausage, duck confit, and navy beans.  The casserole is topped with breadcrumbs and more duck fat (if needed--ours was plenty moist).

I can't wait to try it tomorrow when it is done cooking!

Chef decided to show us another French dessert today.  She made a sweet apple mixture in a cast iron pan and topped it with puff pastry.  It finished baking in the oven and came out like this:

Then we flipped it on a plate.  How glorious does this look?

It was SOOO good!   We had some extra puff pastry and duck confit so Dana made some duck confit turnovers.  Asli also made a creamy mushroom soup that was excellent!   

After class I grabbed a drink with some of my classmates for Mardi Gras!  Now I can barely keep my eyes open and must get my rest for another day of cooking tomorrow!