Monday, as with every single other Monday ever in my entire life (excluding those that fall on national holidays) was pretty frantic. We each had our recipes for the night (as Saucier, I had the pork chop) and we were back to the 'ole canapés again. In order to make us sweat even more buckets in the kitchen hell, chef threw in the Pots de Crème as a bonus dessert. We all had the next 3 hours planned out, and got to work immediately.
Our canapé ingredients were teetering towards Asian cuisine, which is interesting because we're usually given completely different, seemingly unrelated spare ingredients from all over the school. We had the choice of whole quail (the actual bird, not its eggs), Thai chilies, Thai basil, red peppers, ginger, sweet soy glaze, chives, green curry paste, lemongrass and pea tendrils. Lots of spice and lots of great, bright flavors. Keeping in mind that we are allowed to use these ingredients along with anything that can be found in the entire kitchen, we chose to make little spicy quail croquettes with a sweet Asian dipping sauce. I got started on the croquettes – boiling potatoes and running them through a food mill to get them nice and mashed and frying quail meat with the chilies, basil, chives and green curry paste. It all got mixed together, rolled into small bite-size balls and deep fried until golden brown. My teammate made the sauce by reducing lobster stock with some lemongrass pieces and then mixing in sweet soy and ginger. He also took the quail skin and deep fried it to make a little crispy garnish for the plate. Divine! We got a great review from both chefs and our classmates were clamoring to get one (we'd finally learned our lesson and made more than the four canapés we present). I love this part of class! When you see the box of random ingredients, most that you've never worked with before, it can seem a little daunting; but once your creative juices start flowing and you begin to compile this little mini bite in your mind it is so FUN!
I got started on my pork chop, finishing off my green peppercorn sauce and making my Pommes Darphin. As I neared presentation time I seasoned and seared the chops then finished them in the oven. A neat bunch of watercress gave the plate a nice pop of color, and the whole thing went up on time. My sauce was a little thicker than they prefer (a splash of stock or water would have cured that) but the flavor was great and the chops were Beaut! It's definitely one of my favorite recipes to make and, besides the two-part sauce that takes a while to cook, is not incredibly hard. We had it for our mock midterm though, so the odds of pulling the pork chop for our midterm are very low…very low indeed.
As mentioned, we're venturing to one of my favorite US cities for Memorial Day – Dallas, Texas. Yes, I used to call it Dall-ass, Tex-ass…until I visited for the first time and fell in love. I think the city holds such an appeal for me because I have so many fond memories from past visits: celebrating both my mother-in-law and sister-in-law's weddings, sitting on the tropical patio of Taco Cabana experiencing Texas queso with tortillas for the first time, a late-night walk early in our relationship on which Steve and I realized we had something incredibly special and watching my young brother-in-law open train after train present as I celebrated Christmas with my new extended family. I can't imagine what fun memories, window shopping and hot-weather adventures this trip will hold, but I know for sure it will involve some amazing food. I predict that my dear mother-in-law will force me to cook for her the entire weekend, which is fine because I will force her to make her famous cakes and cookies the entire weekend, so we'll be even. While this thought excites me, I can't help but feel a little nervous about the prospect of showing off my new skills. When I first started school, I was only comfortable in my small, familiar apartment kitchen with my own personal pots and pans and utensils. The tables have turned lately, and I find that I'm only fully comfortable and confident in the industrial and sterile kitchens of FCI. There's a certain confidence that comes with knowing that if you ruin a pan you won't have to pay for it, the expensive fish you're burning didn't come out of your paycheck and if you catch something on fire there's a huge hood above the stove that will keep everyone safe. When I cook at home now I am constantly thinking "Keep your cool and make sure you look like you know what you're doing" and "Don't mess this up! That beef was $7.99 a pound" and "Oh crap…pick that up off the floor and throw it back in the pot…he didn't see it." It makes me nervous to think about cooking in someone else's gorgeous newly renovated kitchen, one that I'm still afraid to walk through, while others watch and learn and will ultimately be expecting to taste the most delicious thing they've ever tasted. What if I can't pull it off? What if I burn something so badly we have to order pizza? What if the whole table gives me those, "Sure…it's great…tastes…interesting" looks when they're asking themselves what I've really been doing three nights a week since January. Of course, a good excuse would be to just drink too much wine before dinner and claim that I'm too tipsy to get in front of the stove or wield eight inches of sharpened steel. Just one problem – I'm going to have to start drinking…pronto.
RANDOM RECIPE OF THE DAY
Spicy Peanut Lettuce Wraps
Serves 2 for dinner and 4 for appetizers (depending on how hungry you are)
You Will Need:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small cubes
salt and pepper
3 T cornstarch
1 bunch scallions, sliced on an angle in 1/4" pieces
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup diced mushrooms
3 bunches baby bok choy, sliced thinly (white and green parts)
1 can water chestnuts, chopped finely
1/2 cup peanuts, chopped finely
2 T red pepper flakes
1 head iceberg lettuce, rinsed and separated
1/4 cup sweet rice wine (mirin)
4 T sesame oil
2 T vegetable oil
3 T teriyaki sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
Asian Dipping Sauce
Heat 2 T sesame oil and 2 T vegetable oil in a non-stick pan. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and dust with 2 T cornstarch. Add the chicken to the pan and remove with a slotted spoon when done.
Add the rest of the sesame oil to the pan and sweat the scallions, mushrooms and garlic for about 5 minutes, or until they start to release a strong aroma.
Pour in the remaining liquid ingredients and the red pepper flakes, baby bok choy, water chestnuts and peanuts; return the chicken to the pan and cook until the bok choy wilts. Once wilted, remove everything with a slotted spoon, leaving the liquid in the pan, and reserve in a serving bowl. Whisk in the remaining 1 T cornstarch to thicken the sauce and bring to a boil; once it is thickened sufficiently pour over the reserved mixture.
Serve with iceberg leaves and a general Asian Dipping Sauce (recipes can be found online).
Ah.. the return of the recipes!Those canapes also sound amazing.
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