If the mock midterm was an overpopulated deer and I was a Monrovia, Indiana deer hunter, I would have KILLED IT! Or if the mock midterm was Shea Stadium in the 1960s and I was John Lennon of the Beatles, I would have ROCKED IT! Ok, now I'm letting things get out of hand, it wasn't that perfect. But my point is that I was incredibly pleased with my performance during our mock midterm, and I happened to do really well.
We were allowed to enter the kitchen at exactly 5:45pm, and drew a slip of paper out of a bowl that told us at which station we'd be and which two recipes we'd be working on (either a fish and a dessert or an appetizer and a meat dish). C4 – Salad Nicoise and Pork Chop with Peppercorn Sauce BABY. We had 10 minutes to review our notes for each recipe and jot down as much as we wanted on a single slip of paper, and then it was Go Time. Considering that the last time I made the seemingly-easy-yet-ridiculously-time-consuming Salad Nicoise I was a few minutes late and my ingredients were slopped on the plate, I wanted to do this one right (Duh, it actually counted this time.) I immediately started cooking the ingredients for the salad, boiling the potatoes and hard-boiling the eggs on the flat top. I also pulled the rack of pork chops out of the fridge and began butchering and cleaning the bones. I took the extra meat and bones, along with some carrot and onion mirepoix and bacon pieces, and browned everything in a pan to start the Sauce Espagnole (which is a component of the Sauce Poivre Vert). As each of my salad garnishes was done, I seasoned them and set them aside. Once the chops were properly portioned and the bone tips were clean, I set those aside in the fridge for later use. I made my vinaigrette for the salad, and began the pork sauce by sweating some shallots and peppercorns and flambéing it all in cognac. Once the sauce was on the fire, I made my Pommes Darphin, a potato garnish for the pork, and set that aside on a rack to drain some of the grease. Phew! At about T-minus 30-minutes until salad presentation, I cleaned the Boston lettuce, laid it out on four plates and took the seeds out of a few Nicoise olives. I realized that I had forgotten the anchovies, had a mini breakdown yet quickly found a container of them in one of the refrigerators – crisis solved. I plated each component separately, giving them a run through the vinaigrette first and a last pinch of salt: tuna, hard-boiled eggs, peeled tomato strips, green peppers, green beans, potato rounds. Each plate got sprinkled with Nicoise olives and chopped parsley, and the mound of tuna in the middle got a little curled anchovy. I took a peek at the clock behind me, and sure enough I was right on. I prepared my "slim" arm muscles to lift the heavy black tray with four ceramic plates, and yelled "Coming through!" as I made my way to the front of the kitchen. I handed each of our two proctoring Chefs a plate, smiled my best "Be nice, I'm fragile" smile at each of them and high-tailed it back to my station to start the pork. It had crossed my mind briefly that I should have brought my palms together and bowed low, but then I decided that not everyone has my sense of humor and it's best to not appear like a smart*%s so I was glad I had quietly returned to my station. Maybe some day the world will understand me…
The chops got seared, and then placed in the oven until they registered at 135˚F (they need to sit for a few minutes, during which they'll continue to cook and come up to temperature). I got my plates nice and warm, seasoned my sauce until I was pleased with its taste and arranged a small bunch of clean watercress on each plate. Two wedges of Pommes Darphin were placed next to it (and got a last pinch of salt…I wondered if I was overdoing the salt on these potatoes - there is such a thing as too much…). Each plate got a pork chop (with the bone on the left, making a large 'b'), and my lovely brown sauce got poured over the lower third of each chop and pooled on the bottom of each plate. Again, the muscles and the yelling, and another dish presented right on time. It took me a few minutes to realize that I was done…no more frantic cooking or running around trying to get things done – I had completed the mock midterm! All of a sudden, I felt the overwhelming sensation that the entire shindig had lasted 12 hours, maybe even 12 days. I couldn't remember how long I had been standing there at my station, chopping and searing and pouring. It was like time had stopped - or had been ticking by at double speed, I couldn't decide. I did a quick uniform-moisture check, wondering how long I had been trapped in this oven-hot hellhole. Result: not too bad, and that helped me remember that it had only been 3.5 hours.
After we were all cleaned up, and the kitchen was sparkling clean again with no hint that there had just been a franticly stressful event, we gathered at the front to hear Chef quickly read off her comments and critiques. I got a smiley face (the only one in the class!!! J ) for my "perfectly seasoned Salad Nicoise." Too bad I used the wrong type of anchovy….how does that happen?? My pork was cooked very well, the sauce was delicious yet the potatoes were too salty. TOO SALTY. I'll take that as a compliment! Overall, the night was great, and I was so proud of myself. I presented both dishes on time, and was incredibly pleased with the taste of everything. The best part? No recipe cards…I did it all by my little self.
I came home to a sleepy husband, and "accidentally" slammed the front door, "dropped" my keys on the wood floor and "stumbled" in my closet. He stirred, and I immediately took liberties, "OMG you're awake!! Yay! Honey, I did so well! I was on time and the pork was good but potatoes too salty but then the salad got a smiley and the eggs were good I ate one but that's about it oh I had a little pork too the sauce was good and peppercorny but the flambé went WHOOSH! and I almost burned my station ha ha ha silly me how funny if I had bowed with 'Hail Caesar' to Chef ha ha ha omg you're awake! Honey? Honey?.....oh well." I guess some people have to get up at 6am…
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