Thursday/Friday

THURSDAY

So I know I am late.. But it is all good:) So Thursday and Friday I had my kitchen class, Culinary Fundamentals. 

Thursday we made Consommé. And Consommé is a flavorful, crystal clear soup with NO fat. You make it by making the Clarification. The Clarification is made up of Egg Whites, Ground Meat, Salt, Tomato, Garlic, Peppercorn, Parsley, Thyme, Carrots and an Onion Brûlée. An Onion Brûlée is a peeled and halved onion that is grilled and blackened on a flattop. 

You add all of those ingredients together and you chill it. The reason for the Clarification is as it says, to clarify the stock. The Meat, Tomato and Egg Whites all work to absorb impurities. 

When you finish the Clarification, you then put stock in a pan and start to bring up the heat. Then you add the Clarification. And you stir CONSTANTLY until it reaches 145 degrees. Then you let the stock simmer. As this happens the raft forms. The Raft is the Clarification in the stock, it floats to the top. You then create a window in the Raft to skim the stock to take out the fat and impurities. 

And for the Garnish we used Carrots, White Turnip, Yellow Turnip and Celery Root. All cut as Brunoise. Which is a very small cube shape. And we are to boil them until tender. Then add them to the Consommé. 

My Consommé turned out wonderful and Chef said it was great, but I let it simmer a little too long. 

See how clear it is? It should be crystal clear.

And that is all I did on Thursday. It was then time for some lunch! And for lunch I had Beef Stew and Salad and Consommé for dessert I had an Apple Custard Tart.

And for dinner I had Vegetable Lo Mein. And Wonton Soup. Smoked Bean Curd and Celery Salad. BBQ Ribs. And for dessert I had a Glazed Fruit Tart and Cream Puffs.

Let me just say, it was SOOOOO delicious. 

FRIDAY

In Friday's class we made Consommé and Mashed Potatoes and Potato Leek Puree Soup. 

We will be making Consommé quite a lot, just so we get used to it. We were taught how to make some Mashed Potatoes by using a Food Mill. A Food Mill looks like this:

It is how we "mashed" the potatoes. 

I did great on all of them! Chef told me my were "fantastic" and told me I did a "great job."

I was SO happy! Cuz I thought I did awful haha

My lunch consisted of Bread and Desserts.. There wasn't enough time for me to get any food:/ 

But I think it was a sign that I shouldn't be eating as much? haha

And for dinner I had Shrimp, Alligator and Okra Gumbo. Buttermilk Fried Chicken, Whipped Potatoes, Braised Greens and a Chicken Pan Gravy and Cornbread. Oyster Po Bay. Roast Virginia Ham with a Sweet Potato Butter on a Biscuit. 

And for dessert, Eclaires. 

It was SOOOOO delicious:) 

And so my journey continues..