Did you honestly just eat that?

November is in full swing and I am suffering from my annual case of the "November Blues". There is something very interesting and strange about the eleventh month of the year (which originally was the ninth month of the year in Roman days ~ novem means nine). For years I have struggled with it. My mood is dark and I am generally more sleepy than any other time of the year. Perhaps it is the time change, maybe the realization of winter looming and then again, maybe it's just November! What ever it is, it's in full swing here and the funk in on!

Already eight days have passed in my new class, Foundations III. We will focus mainly on proteins in the class and will be graded on plating techniques with the protein, a starch & vegetable. The chefs are allowing a good deal more creativity regarding what & how we prepare the side dishes. We have only 2 written exams and 1-2 weekly graded presentations. The graded plate presentations are a hefty portion of our grade. We must be aware of color, height, simplicity & flow of the plate. We work in groups of two this rotation. This is SO MUCH better than the larger groups. Our plate for the day is to be ready to present at a set time to Chef.

So here is a picture, I wish I could say it was a plate I prepared but it's not.... It is however a great photo of something called an Airline Chicken Breast. You must remove the breast from the chicken and then take off the lower part of the wing. Remove the meat and skin from the "upper" part of the chicken wing. From that point you can cook the breast anyway you wish. Sear & bake, broil, grill.... You can also stuff the breast! Take a paring knife and insert it in the upper edge of the meat. You are basically creating a pocket in the breast. Make up a stuffing and use a pastry bag to insert that stuffing mixture into the "pocket" of the breast.

In class this week I stuffed my airline breast with the following. It was delicious!!!

Spinach

Tomatoes (Sun dried & some roasted with thyme & garlic~ then diced)

Cream Cheese

Shallots & garlic

I sauteed the shallots, added the garlic. Tossed in the spinach and wilted it. Then added the tomatoes. Finally I added the cream cheese and mixed it together until smooth. Placed that in the pastry bag and filled the chicken breasts. Then I seared the breast skin side down. Flipped it over and finished it in an oven at 350F until the internal temperature was 165F. Enjoy!!!

Army Guy and I presented our plate. We received 30/30 for our efforts.

Below is a chart of an Angus Steer. This chart shows you the main "Primal Cuts" of meat. These primal cuts can then be cut down farther into the Chuck-roast or Ribeye we are more familiar with. For a bit of terminology clarification... a Butcher is the individual who kills & dresses the meat of the animal. The Fabricator is the individual who cuts the raw meat into smaller pieces. I can see why the dude at the store would rather be called a Butcher than a Fabricator... Butcher just sounds better! But technically, he is the Fabricator. To Carve the meat refers to cutting the meat after it has been cooked. Now, when I finish this class I won't be qualified to be a Fabricator but I will be prepared & have the knowledge needed to fabricate primal cuts of meat for my own personal use.

Since the protein is the star of the plate, it is critical that we learn to prepare it properly! What is the best way to cook that roast, steak, loin, etc. Would it be best to use dry or moist cooking? For example, areas of the steer that have been worked a lot like the Chuck (shoulder), Brisket, Plate and the Round (back-end) generate cuts of meat that will require moist cooking methods to get those meats tender. They have a good deal of connective tissue and therefore are not naturally tender. Here ends your meat lesson for today!

I have shared plenty of stories with you regarding some of the knuckleheads in class. 5th Wheel made it to Foundations III but I have to share that Dr. Do-little did not. He is either taking the last class over or decided that this is not the route for him. I guess I'll just have to wonder.....

Not everyone in the class is a challenge. I have met and gotten to know a few really great young ladies! Bride-2-B is newly engaged. I think the question was popped within the first few weeks of class in August. She can only wear the ring when she is home and early on developed some sort of skin irritation on her finger. We had to tease her about the dime-store product she received from her honey & that gave us all a good laugh. At 22 she has a bachelor's degree from Univ. of Virginia and is now pursuing her passion for cooking. She is a personal chef and cooks for an elderly couple. We get some great stories about the meals she has prepared for them and from time to time we even participate in menu creation ideas. Additionally, she has her own catering business. I get the feeling it is just starting and she is picking up jobs here and there. I admire her spirit and her spunk! Every morning she arrives with a smile and warm "good morning". We have had the chance to work together a few times. This class is a bit more fluid with partner paring and I hope that B2B and I will get to work together more before we finish class. For such a young women she has an amazing pallet and can pull flavors and tastes together really well.

Then there is Chick-fil-A.... she is also young, very young. When discussing an opportunity for the three of us to get together, I mentioned meeting for a glass of wine. Well, we would have to go to a family friendly location and sit on the restaurant side because she isn't even 20! Who knew? Anyway, she is very funny and also has a keen understanding of food and flavors. She works the late shift at her job some days and the 7AM start time can be a challenge. She generally rolls in just as Chef is closing the door and jumps into line tying her apron. Just like B2B, with a smile and a great attitude she begins the day!

Thus far in class we have fabricated fish, chicken, turkey breast & duck. Because the antics of the knucklehead brigade are too good to not share.... Yesterday we fabricated duck. You basically cut the duck up just like a chicken. Ducks don't generally come WOG (without giblets) so this fine quack had all the goodies inside. Duck livers are rather tasty (so I am told!) and while this is not foie gras (fwa-gra) or specialty fattened livers, these can be prepared as pate or simply sauteed. So while Chef did the demonstration there was some banter regarding duck liver and how tasty they are. So, Motor Mouth (this dude does NOT have an off switch!) says "I'll eat one"! Another student dares him to do so ... raw. I am not 100% sure how it all happened but before we all knew it, Chef had given him a raw liver. AND this kid put it in his mouth! ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? Well, he turned about six shades of green and purple and finally spit it out. I simply don't get it....

Tomorrow is Friday and week two will come to a close. The whole process is going so quickly and by the end of this class I'll be half way through the program. The stress of "what's next" is beginning. I have to try really hard to put those thoughts on the back burner and LIVE IN THE MOMENT! I don't want to miss any of this by looking at the next step. Those old habits are REALLY hard to break!

Till next time!

Chicken Fricasse & Mystery's Solved!

The last two weeks have been really busy! I am SO sorry for missing the opportunity to update you last week! I'll do my best to fill you in on the last 8 days of class!


5th Wheel and I parted ways and I was on to a new group of 4. This time I joined up with "Dr. Do-little" (or is that Dr. Do-nothing?) and two others. Could it possibly be that I am the one with the issues?? NO! Don't believe it! DDL was in a group with Army Guy two weeks ago and he is actually the one who came up with this nick-name! We began the week preparing Coc au Vin, Chicken Fricassee & Beef Bourguignon. The big challenge with Chicken Fricassee is to sear the meat WITHOUT applying any color. WHAT? That is nearly impossible because your pan needs to be really hot to sear and generally color just happens. Anyway... we managed. Moving forward from here when we cook we must also prepare a starch and a vegetable to complete the plate. We are also being judged on that plate for balance, color & contrast, height, etc. Considering that rice, risotto & potatoes all have a similar blah color like the chicken fricassee, it was a challenge. We decide on glazed carrots.... DDL jumped on that so not to have to work on any of the meat production. 2 hours to cut and glaze carrots... hum? Tuesday we roll into roasted chicken with a pan gravy, roasted rack of lamb with a port wine reduction and roasted pork loin with ginger.

One of our team of four was absent that day so each of us needed to take hold of the proteins and complete the task. All the while being aware of the others so that we knew what was happening. And we needed to make the sides to complete the plates for presentation. I prepare the pork loin with green beans bascaise & roasted garlic mashed potatoes. The Dr. prepares the roasted chicken & the other guy (can't come up with a good name for him...) roasts the rack of lamb. During clean up there was a bit of a scuffle between the Dr. & I as he attempted to clean up our table and nearly put the grated Parmesan cheese back into the panko bread crumb container. WHAT? I stopped him and he obviously didn't like that and told me to kiss a certain part of his anatomy. At which point I responded with the childish well you can kiss mine! And tossed in that if he would use his head (and nose) if he was unsure of something I would not have had to correct him. Now... know that this altercation has been brewing for two days. He is poky and lacks initiative. UGH! Wednesday when we arrived to prepare Poeler Duck with caramelized apples & Boeuf a la Mode he apologized for his behaviour and we forged a new working relationship.....




I was nearly doing cartwheels on Thursday when Chef said we could choose our own groups of two for the Mousse & Forcemeat preparation that day and Friday. Army Guy and I partner-up and begin to prepare our Chicken Ballentine. So, here's what you do. You debone the chicken. Each of us were to use half the bird. Remove the breast & wings. Take the wing bones out and remove the skin. Set the breast aside. Working the the thigh & leg, carefully scrape the meat from the bones. You are basically turning the thigh & leg inside out as you remove those bones from the meat. Cut off the bone just below the ankle knuckle leaving that knuckle attached to the end of the chicken leg. Now you have a boneless chicken thigh & leg. Separately you take the breast meat, egg whites, heavy cream, salt & cayenne pepper & mix all that up in the food processor. This makes a chicken breast paste. You then force (Forcemeat ... get it?) the meat mixture through a sieve and create a very creamy, mousse like consistency meat paste. Add some freshly chopped sage & mix that in completely. Once you have that done you put that mousse into a pastry bag and squeeze it into the thigh & leg. Filling the space that once used to contain the bone with a creamy meat treat! Sear that thigh & leg portion to give it nice color then pop it into a 350F oven for 30-40 minutes. When you slice into it there is a wonderful surprise inside! Serve it with a chicken supreme sauce and it is DELICIOUS!!! Now, the reality is that in a restaurant setting you would need to charge a hefty price for that chicken.... it takes a great deal of time to prepare. But what a wonderful technique and a labor of love for those special people in your life!!! If you get this at my house, you'll know how you rank!! :)




So, week five was complete! The next three final days of Foundations II would consist of two practical exams and a final written exam.



I had come up with a spreadsheet to prepare for these exams. To help focus my efforts and create the plan. Monday's practical would be a little easier in that they were set menus we were to know and prepare. For example, Veal Marsala, pommes anna & carrot vichy. We would be given the menu upon arrival, have five minutes to review the recipes & then be ready to present our plates to the chefs in 1 hr. 45 minutes. My menu.... Grilled Oriental chicken breast, pommes puree (the sexy way to say mashed potatoes) & tourned roasted winter vegetables. UGH! You read that right, tourned. That means that my veggies needed to be turned out into those little football shaped seven sided treasures! I have NOT been good at practicing those little buggers the last 5 weeks. While my plate was not perfect it did earn a fair grade and I was pleased when I left class Monday.



Now for the Mystery Basket on Tuesday. Here is where my spreadsheet came in handy. The chefs will give us a protein, a starch & a vegetable.... we are to create a plate. They had shared the seven possible proteins & five possible starches. Needing to have a game plan, I laid my spreadsheet out by categories. If I get pork for example, it would be pounded, sauteed medallions with marchand de vin (red wine) sauce. If I got arborio rice, it would be risotto Parmesan. They are not testing us on how creative we can be... they are testing us on the techniques we have just spent 5 weeks learning. Basic risotto, basic pilaf, basic saute, roasting, etc. Use the recipes we have worked in class, don't get crazy!!! The whole test is complete in 2 hours. When we are given our three items we have 15 minutes to check the coolers, dry storage & spice area and prepare our menus. We must turn those menus in and that better be what you present. NO changes! My items.... rack of lamb, potato, green beans. Lamb was the ONLY meat I had not touched in class!!! Nor have I ever prepared it before in my life! Thank goodness for my spreadsheet!!! My menu.... Roasted rack of lamb with a port wine reduction, pommes puree & green bean bascaise. While my beans needed a bit more salt and my lamb a bit over done I was pleased with the results and thankful the test was over!



We take these practical tests in groups that begin in 10 minute intervals. There are five folks in my group and that is TOO BIG for the space we have to work in. This is not a new bitch and one that will likely continue as we move through this program. The only way it will improve is if 10 or so students fail to move on or quit. I work to keep focused and carve out my space. My goal is to learn all I can and get my hands on as much product as possible throughout the process. The 5th Wheels & Dr. Do-Little's need to move out of the way!!




Wednesday was our written final, 75 questions. Multiple choice & fill in the blank. I was heading into the written test with an A and wanted to keep it that way!! I am pleased to report I did in fact earn the grade I set out to. I guess this older dog can be taught a few new tricks!!! I do sometimes think I cooked better before I started school..... now I am very aware and almost paranoid that I am doing something wrong! Seems silly and likely will smooth out. I hope anyway!


We have had a mini break for the last few days and Monday begin the final Foundations class. This new round focuses on proteins, butchery & fabrication of meat. We will learn a great deal more about plating foods and portion balance. I have checked out the syllabus and see that we have a test already on Monday. We'll be tested on what we have learned in the first two classes. This will be a written test on vocabulary, techniques & equipment. No way to know how to study.... better hope I really am retaining what I have learned the last 12 weeks!


I am finding that Atlanta is a beautiful place to be in the fall!! The crisp mornings and warm afternoons remind me a great deal of the years I spent in Fort Worth, TX. My little nest receives a good cross-breeze and beautiful sunshine. George & Olive are enjoying the open windows while relaxing on the recently acquired window perches. They have squirrels, birds & lizards to see from those windows and it keeps them busy for hours! I am missing my friends and family a great deal but I can sense the love and support you are sending my way! It's strange to be without the football hoopla of Notre Dame this fall but the good news is that those Fighting Irish are on my TV here every Saturday! I have even been able to watch my Purdue Boilermakers a few times. The joys of cable TV... this is certainly a new thing from my years in Texas. NEVER did those Boilers make the TV in those days!!!


Thanks for taking the time to keep up with my adventure!! Til next time....