Our time spent in the Production kitchen with Chef Janet has been a great education in and of itself. We had the opportunity to make a duck liver pate using the sous vide cooking method. Chef showed us how to clean the liver and remove the veins and with her instruction I prepared a cure of salt, a tiny bit of sugar and some Armagnac and carefully coated the liver with the mixture. Chef then shaped the duck liver into a log and rolled it in parchment paper and then plastic wrap.
Chef brought a circulator into the kitchen, the machinery looked like something you would attach to an aquarium to filter the water. We filled a deep hotel pan with hot water and placed the circulator into the water. Chef turned on the machine and it gave us an instant read on the water temperature. After explaining and showing us how the circulator worked Chef programmed the temperature she wanted and we waited for the water to come to 65 degrees Celsius. The pate was tied off at both ends to ensure no water could get in and then submerged into the circulating water. The circulator basically circulates the water around the food item and keeps a constant temperature so even cooking is achieved. The pate cooked in this manner (sous vide) for a little over an hour afterwards we quick chilled it and let the flavors meld in the refrigerator for a few days.
Next, we learned how to remove all the bones from a chicken while keeping the integrity of the body and meat. Using our boning knife we carefully scraped down the inner bones away from the outside flesh. The process begins by removing the wing tips, wishbone, and then starting with the bones at the neck you work your way through to remove the major bones in the wings and upper cavity. Turning your chicken around and going through the back end we remove the thighbones and the leg bones. Lastly, removing the rib cage, breastbone and backbone is the trickiest part since the meat is the thinnest on the backside. Once that is complete the chicken is ready to be stuffed with anything from your culinary imagination.
I wanted to use ground pork as my base stuffing and I complemented that with Thai chili sauce, water chestnuts, aromatics (carrots/onions/shallots/garlic), shiitake mushrooms, mint, Thai basil and a little cilantro. With time running out I decided to take the items home to serve for dinner and just sauté the stuffing at school so I could use it already cooked.
Last night, I stuffed the chicken right before I was ready to roast it – and by using toothpicks and kitchen twine I carefully closed both ends of the bird. I made sure that the stuffing registered at 145 degrees on my thermometer before I took it out of the oven and ensured the crispy skin was golden, layered with lots of seasonings. After a short rest, I sliced the chicken like a roast and each slice exposed the spicy pork stuffing inside. The novelty of a boneless stuffed chicken opened up my mind to lots of different ideas for stuffing like a pork tenderloin surrounded by mushroom duxelles. Dinner was delicious accompanied by garlicky string beans splashed with soy and a peppery Arugula salad with vine ripe tomatoes. A dish I will certainly make again and again.
Showing posts with label stuffings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stuffings. Show all posts
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Piggly Wiggly
Our second night in the new kitchen still feels awkward. We are so used to coming into class with a set of recipes and a game plan that it throws me off not knowing exactly what we are trying to make for that night.
Our first big buffet is on Wednesday and everything needs to be presented no later than 8:30 pm so we won’t have a lot of time to prep that night. Our goal last night was to get as much as we could done in advance.
I am in charge of all the pork dishes. I’m doing a stuffed roasted boneless pork loin that will be stuffed with sweet Italian sausage, a pork forcemeat, dried apricots, sweet breads, bread crumbs, and herbs. There’s also a rack of Pork that I frenched and will use a dry savory herb rub when I roast it. I made the pork rillette and cooked the pork pâté last night in a bain-marie at 350 degrees until the internal temperature was about 145 degrees.
I started the evening by preparing two potato gratins, one with thinly sliced potatoes, with a layer of dried plums in the center all bathed in heavy cream. The other gratin I made was a potato fennel gratin with parmesan and crème fraiche between layers of potatoes. The gratins were baked, bubbly and set aside to cool so that on Wednesday they will have melded flavors and we only have to heat them up.
Other menu items include: Arancini (risotto rice balls), a roasted beet salad with goat cheese, stuffed quail, salmon with spinach and mushroom duxelles wrapped in puff pastry, veal roast, glazed ham, rice salad, black beans, fresh fruit and a blueberry cobbler.
I’m hoping all the dishes will be a success, we make our “customers” happy and "Th-th-th-that's all folks!"
Our first big buffet is on Wednesday and everything needs to be presented no later than 8:30 pm so we won’t have a lot of time to prep that night. Our goal last night was to get as much as we could done in advance.
I am in charge of all the pork dishes. I’m doing a stuffed roasted boneless pork loin that will be stuffed with sweet Italian sausage, a pork forcemeat, dried apricots, sweet breads, bread crumbs, and herbs. There’s also a rack of Pork that I frenched and will use a dry savory herb rub when I roast it. I made the pork rillette and cooked the pork pâté last night in a bain-marie at 350 degrees until the internal temperature was about 145 degrees.
I started the evening by preparing two potato gratins, one with thinly sliced potatoes, with a layer of dried plums in the center all bathed in heavy cream. The other gratin I made was a potato fennel gratin with parmesan and crème fraiche between layers of potatoes. The gratins were baked, bubbly and set aside to cool so that on Wednesday they will have melded flavors and we only have to heat them up.
Other menu items include: Arancini (risotto rice balls), a roasted beet salad with goat cheese, stuffed quail, salmon with spinach and mushroom duxelles wrapped in puff pastry, veal roast, glazed ham, rice salad, black beans, fresh fruit and a blueberry cobbler.
I’m hoping all the dishes will be a success, we make our “customers” happy and "Th-th-th-that's all folks!"
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Absolutely Stuffed!
I have to report that I am thoroughly and happily addicted to Kona coffee. We brought back a few pounds of java from our fall trip to the Big Island. It is so smooth and intoxicatingly good – a very satisfying cup – that softly nudges me into the day.
This morning, the Kona is brewing, I’m also enjoying fresh blackberries with farm-fresh vanilla scented yogurt – so good! Lastly, I’m also thrilled to be able to take better photographs of the dishes we create in class with my new iPhone. No more yellowy pictures, the iPhone is really amazing.
Last night, was all about stuffings (Farce)…stuffings are composed of cooked or raw finely chopped ingredients. Stuffings can be used into terrines, pâtés, galantines, ballottines and spread on croutons. Stuffings in the French kitchen go way beyond what I considered a stuffing. For instance, Chef demonstrated a mousseline, made with chicken, egg whites and cream. He macerated the chicken in a food processor then mashed it through a fine drum sieve called a tamis. Afterwards, added beaten egg white and lightly whipped cream to form a lighter then air mousseline that can be made into a terrines, quenelles, etc. Chef also made chicken liver pâté and we were able to snack on it with crusty baguette slices later in the evening.
Our main dish and dinner for the night was a Paupiette de Boeuf (Stuffed Escalope of Beef). Chef hauled out a top round of beef and trimmed off the excess fat. He sliced the meat for our mise en place (prep work). We covered the slices of top round with plastic wrap then flattened the beef with a mallet. It was comical, at one point I didn’t know if I was working in a kitchen or a wood-working shop with the constant banging echoing throughout the stations.
Our stuffing was ground pork, mushroom duxelles, and fresh herbs that we prepared a little ahead of time. Once our meat was thin enough, we placed a few tablespoons of the stuffing on the meat and proceeded to roll and tie it. Dusted lightly with flour and seared in a sauté pan, the meat was set aside until the braising liquid was prepared. Once we sautéed our mirepoix, we returned the beef to the pan and added veal stock, bringing that up to a simmer then covered to cook for 20 – 30 minutes. In the meantime, Chef decided we should all make rice pilaf to go with our dish so we sprinted to get that together.
Once the meat was cooked, we removed it and kept it warm, we degreased the sauce and reduced it – sound familiar? The sauce was finished with a little butter swirled around the pan, we plated the beef which was sliced on a bias and we napped the beef with sauce and used a ramekin to form the rice on the plate. All four dishes were presented to Chef, who commented that the sauce was reduced too much and needed some salt and the plates could have be hotter. Overall, the flavor of the beef was underwhelming, meat stuffed with meat…my only choice was to dig in since it was my dinner for the evening.
Our last dish after dinner break was stuffed vegetables (tomato, zucchini and mushroom caps). We prepared a stuffing that consisted of sautéed smokey bacon, mushroom, tomato and zucchini trimmings, garlic, shallots and thyme. We cut the zucchini into 2 inch lengths, stood it up on its side and scooped out three-fourths of the flesh. We hollowed out the tomatoes and prepped the mushroom caps as well, then seasoned and sautéed in a little oil to gain color. We added freshly grated parmesan to the stuffing mixture, then carefully filled our vegetables. Returned to the sauté pan, our vegetables were standing at attention dressed with a touch more of parmesan. We added a few tablespoons of chicken stock to the pan and placed it into a 350 degree oven to complete the cooking process.
My partner, Marcella, and I plated our veggies on extremely hot plates, not trying to make that mistake again. We arranged 1 tomato halve, 1 zucchini and 1 mushroom cap in single file on the plate with a sprig of thyme in the zucchini. Chef enjoyed the presentation, and said our zucchini was cooked properly and the plates were sufficiently hot. Phew, some redemption at last!
This morning, the Kona is brewing, I’m also enjoying fresh blackberries with farm-fresh vanilla scented yogurt – so good! Lastly, I’m also thrilled to be able to take better photographs of the dishes we create in class with my new iPhone. No more yellowy pictures, the iPhone is really amazing.
Last night, was all about stuffings (Farce)…stuffings are composed of cooked or raw finely chopped ingredients. Stuffings can be used into terrines, pâtés, galantines, ballottines and spread on croutons. Stuffings in the French kitchen go way beyond what I considered a stuffing. For instance, Chef demonstrated a mousseline, made with chicken, egg whites and cream. He macerated the chicken in a food processor then mashed it through a fine drum sieve called a tamis. Afterwards, added beaten egg white and lightly whipped cream to form a lighter then air mousseline that can be made into a terrines, quenelles, etc. Chef also made chicken liver pâté and we were able to snack on it with crusty baguette slices later in the evening.
Our main dish and dinner for the night was a Paupiette de Boeuf (Stuffed Escalope of Beef). Chef hauled out a top round of beef and trimmed off the excess fat. He sliced the meat for our mise en place (prep work). We covered the slices of top round with plastic wrap then flattened the beef with a mallet. It was comical, at one point I didn’t know if I was working in a kitchen or a wood-working shop with the constant banging echoing throughout the stations.
Our stuffing was ground pork, mushroom duxelles, and fresh herbs that we prepared a little ahead of time. Once our meat was thin enough, we placed a few tablespoons of the stuffing on the meat and proceeded to roll and tie it. Dusted lightly with flour and seared in a sauté pan, the meat was set aside until the braising liquid was prepared. Once we sautéed our mirepoix, we returned the beef to the pan and added veal stock, bringing that up to a simmer then covered to cook for 20 – 30 minutes. In the meantime, Chef decided we should all make rice pilaf to go with our dish so we sprinted to get that together.
Once the meat was cooked, we removed it and kept it warm, we degreased the sauce and reduced it – sound familiar? The sauce was finished with a little butter swirled around the pan, we plated the beef which was sliced on a bias and we napped the beef with sauce and used a ramekin to form the rice on the plate. All four dishes were presented to Chef, who commented that the sauce was reduced too much and needed some salt and the plates could have be hotter. Overall, the flavor of the beef was underwhelming, meat stuffed with meat…my only choice was to dig in since it was my dinner for the evening.
Our last dish after dinner break was stuffed vegetables (tomato, zucchini and mushroom caps). We prepared a stuffing that consisted of sautéed smokey bacon, mushroom, tomato and zucchini trimmings, garlic, shallots and thyme. We cut the zucchini into 2 inch lengths, stood it up on its side and scooped out three-fourths of the flesh. We hollowed out the tomatoes and prepped the mushroom caps as well, then seasoned and sautéed in a little oil to gain color. We added freshly grated parmesan to the stuffing mixture, then carefully filled our vegetables. Returned to the sauté pan, our vegetables were standing at attention dressed with a touch more of parmesan. We added a few tablespoons of chicken stock to the pan and placed it into a 350 degree oven to complete the cooking process.
My partner, Marcella, and I plated our veggies on extremely hot plates, not trying to make that mistake again. We arranged 1 tomato halve, 1 zucchini and 1 mushroom cap in single file on the plate with a sprig of thyme in the zucchini. Chef enjoyed the presentation, and said our zucchini was cooked properly and the plates were sufficiently hot. Phew, some redemption at last!
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