FAMILY DAY

In week 9 (just two weeks to go before finals!!) we prepared for “family day”. This means that on Tuesday we prepped all the dishes that we served to our family and friends on wed. On wed we had 3 hrs to finish cooking, clean and get set up for our friends and family that arrived at 9pm. As a class the following dishes were split up amongst the 4 groups in class.

Coq au Vin

Chicken Pot au Feu

Korean Braised Short Ribs

Italian Braised Pork

Steamed Rice

Ratatouille

Polenta

Poached Chicken w/ Tarragon - Chef Demo

Since this was a very meat heavy meal Chef said that I could make a vegetable dish – so I decided on Ratatouille and Polenta - which we did in a previous week.

Our table did Korean Braised Short Ribs, Ratatouille, Polenta, and Steamed Rice

My friends that joined me for "family day" Christiann, me, Dana, and Michelle

Coq au Vin serves 4-6

Bouquet garni:

1 Carrot stick, 4 in.

1 Leek, split, 4-in.(piece

1 sprig Fresh thyme

1 Bay leaf

3 C. Red wine

6 Garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

2 ea. Chickens, 2 lb. 8 oz.-3 lb.

AP Flour, for dredging

Salt and pepper TT

2 oz. Clarified butter

4 oz. Brandy

1 C. Chicken stock

4 oz. Bacon lardons

18 Pearl onions, peeled

10 Mushrooms, medium, quartered

Beurre manié as needed

8 Large triangular croutons

1. Bring wine to a boil with bouquet garni and garlic and cook until the scent of alcohol is gone. Do not boil dry! Let cool.

2. Cut each chicken into eight pieces, and add to the cooled marinade, with a pinch of salt and black pepper. Let sit for as long as you can. Overnight is best.

3. Remove Chicken from Marinade. Save marinade.

4. Rinse Chicken and pat dry. Dredge in flour seasoned with salt and pepper.

5. Heat the clarified butter in a braising pan; brown the chicken.

6. Add the brandy and ignite. When the flame dies, add the marinade with the bouquet garni and garlic. Add the chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.

7. Cover the pan and simmer until the chicken is tender, approximately 40 minutes.

Adding small amounts of stock as needed.

8. In a separate pan, sauté the bacon until the fat begins to render. Add the onions and saute until they begin to brown. Add a bit of olive oil if necessary. Cook the bacon and onions covered, over low heat, until the onions are tender. Add the mushroom and cook them until tender.

9. Remove the chicken from the pan and adjust the sauce's consistency with the beurre manié. Strain the sauce through a china cap and adjust the seasonings.

10. Add a very small drizzle of red wine and a monter of butter.

Return the chicken to the sauce to reheat gently.

11. Spoon the bacon, onions and mushrooms onto a serving platter, leaving any fat behind, place the chicken over them and ladle the sauce over the finished dish.

Serve with triangular croutons.

NOTES: If you cook the chicken too quickly, it will come out stingy.

You will know if its cooked just right because it will melt in your mouth.

The "croutons" should be triangular shaped pieces of toast. The chicken may turn purple from wine marinade.

Chicken Pot au Feu

Serves 4 to 6

Garnish Vegetables: (see preparation notes below)

1 # Carrot

1 ½ # Potato, Waxy

1 # Turnip

½ # Leek, white only

1/3 # Celery, heart

6 0z. Green Cabbage

Mirepoix: (Use trim from Garnish vegetables!)

8 oz. Onion, chopped

6 oz. Carrot, chopped

4 oz. Leek, chopped

4 oz. Celery, chopped

4 # Chicken, dark meat

Kosher salt TT

Bouquet Garni:

4 sprigs Thyme, fresh

6 sprigs Parsley, fresh

1 tsp. Black pepper, coarsely cracked

2 ea. Bay leaves

Tied in leek leaves, celery stalks or carrot slices.

1. Place chicken in a small stock pot and pour in cold water to cover. Bring just to a boil, skim, and pour out chicken into a colander. Rinse quickly with cold water and shock in an ice bath.

2. Using trimmings from garnish vegetables, wrap all of the mirepoix into cheesecloth to be easily separated when chicken is finished.

3. Season chicken with salt and place back into a clean stock pot. Cover with cold chicken stock or water and bring to a simmer. Add mirepoix and bouquet garni, skim as needed. Cook over very low heat for 1 hour or until chicken is very tender and pulls away from the bone.

4. Very carefully remove chicken from the pot and cool slightly. Discard mirepoix. Place garnish vegetables, each in its own cheesecloth wrap, into broth and continue to simmer until each is tender but not falling apart. Remove vegetables from cheesecloth and cool when done.

5. Strain broth and adjust seasonings. Reheat chicken and garnish vegetables in broth and transfer to a large bowl or platter. Serve broth on side with Dijon mustard and toasted bread.

Garnish Vegetables:

· Tourne carrots, turnips, and potatoes. Save carrot trimmings for mirepoix.

· Trim leek and celery hearts so that the base holds layers intact, halve or quarter depending on size. Save trimmings for mirepoix.

· Cut cabbage into 1 1/2 inch squares.

NOTES – I have mentioned this thing called a tourne before – it is defined as a 7-sided football shape – that is approximately 2 inches long and has blunt ends. For this dish this table had to make something like 80 tournes of carrots, turnips, and potatoes. As other classmates finished prepping their meals they helped with the tournes.

Pot au Feu translates into Pot of Fire.

In French cuisine it is classically done with a beef short rip.

just out of the oven

Korean Braised Short Ribs (Kalbi Jim)

serves 4

5 Tbsp sugar

6 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp Mirin (Japanese rice wine)

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/2 onion, grated

3 scallions, finely chopped

1 Tbs. sesame seeds, crushed or whole

1 Tbs. dark sesame oil

1/2 Asian pear, peeled and finely chopped

3 # English-cut short ribs (sometimes called thick-cut), rinsed in cold water

2 small potatoes, (waxy-type best) cut up into large chunks

2 medium carrots, cut into 2-inch lengths or ½ cup baby carrots

1. Cook the potato chunks starting in cold water, until just tender. Drain and leave out to cool.

2. Cook the cut carrots in rapidly boiling salted water until tender. Shock and set aside.

3. Score the ribs so that they absorb more of the braising liquid.

4. Mix all the marinade ingredients (spices and liquids) together.

5. In a large pot over high heat, put in the ribs and pour the braising liquid over them. Mix well, making sure all the ribs are covered. The liquid should come to about one third to half the level of the ribs in the pot.

6. Cover pot with a tight-fitting lid and turn on the flame.

When it begins to boil, turn to a low simmer.

7. Cook for at least 1 hour (90 minutes – 2 hours is better), stirring occasionally, until the all the water is coked away, and the juices form a glaze all over the ribs. Add in potatoes and carrots at end of cooking time to reheat. With tongs, remove the ribs and veggies from the pan. The goal is for meltingly tender meat that is almost falling off the bone.

Short Ribs marinating

NOTES- These were relatively easy to make. On Wednesday when we cooked them we first seared them on each side and then put them in a big pot with the braising liquid. We cooked them on top of the stove – It was easier to handle this way. Then covered the pan with parchment paper and let me cook!

cooked ribs with carrots and potatoes

I did try a tiny piece of this dish and the flavor was excellent! (I wasn’t a huge fan of the meat, but as most of you know I don’t eat red meat – I didn’t like the texture)

**I have already shared with you the recipe of Ratatouille, Steamed Rice and Polenta – but here are some photos of the tomatoes cooking for the Ratatouille:

tomatoes beginning to stew for the Ratatouille

Italian Braised Pork
serves 4

3 oz. olive oil

1# mirepoix, medium chop

1 ½ t. salt

5 cloves garlic, crushed

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon rosemary, minced

6 juniper berries, crushed

13 oz. red wine

2 pounds pork butt, cut into large, 3-inch diameter slabs, to be sliced after braising

2 ounces pancetta, minced

½ # onion, medium dice

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup white wine

½ cup sugar

2 oz. red wine vinegar

Salt and ground black pepper TT

1. In a bowl, combine 1/4 cup olive oil with the mirepoix. Add the salt, crushed garlic cloves, bay, rosemary, juniper berries, and the red wine. Add the pork and cover with the marinade. Marinate overnight, or up to 3 days, refrigerated, turning twice a day if possible.

2. Remove the meat from the marinade. Pass the marinade, saving the liquid, and tying the solids into a cheesecloth “sachet” for use later in the recipe. Set everything aside.

3. In a large casserole, heat the remaining olive oil, then add the pork pieces and cook to sear on all sides, working in batches, and removing the meat once it is seared, setting it aside.

4. Add the pancetta to the pan and sauté until golden. Remove the pancetta and place it with the cooked pork.

5. Add the diced onion and chopped garlic to the pan, and cook until just softened.

6. Add the marinade vegetable “sachet” and liquid and deglaze the bottom of the pan. Add the white wine and the cooked pork and pancetta and bring to a simmer. Loosely cover, and cook over low heat for 90 minutes to 2 hours, or until the meat is very tender.

7. Remove the meat and keep warm on the side. Reduce the liquid to sauce consistency.

8. In a small saucepan, heat the sugar over high heat until it melts and just turns golden. Remove from the heat and add the vinegar to make a “gastrique”. Pour this mixture into the sauce and heat through.

9. Make it gently sweet and gently sour with a bit more vinegar and a tiny bit more sugar if needed. Degrease the sauce well and adjust seasonings. Slice meat and pour the sauce over it.

NOTES: Braising is done on top of the stove or in the oven. The liquid should be ¾ of the way up the pan. When covering the meat, there should be no space for air to get in – other wise you will be essentially steaming the meat instead.

braised pork ready to be served

Poached Breast of Chicken with Tarragon Sauce

Serving: 2

2 ea. Chicken breasts, single, boneless, skinless, approx. 4 oz. each

1 oz. Whole butter

Salt and white pepper TT

2 oz. White wine

1 cup Chicken stock

1 Bay leaf

1/8 tsp. Dried thyme

1/2 tsp. Dried tarragon

1 oz. clarified butter

1 oz. Flour

4 oz. Cream

Fresh tarragon sprigs for garnish

1. Trim any rib meat and fat from the breasts. Cut the breasts into two pieces, removing the strip of cartilage that joins the halves.

2. Select a pan that will just hold the breasts when they are placed close together. Rub the pan with approximately 1 ounce of butter.

3. Season the chicken breasts with salt and white pepper, and the bottoms of the breasts only with tarragon. Arrange them in the buttered pan, presentation side up.

4. Add the white wine, stock, bay leaf and thyme.

5. Cut and butter a piece of parchment paper and cover the chicken breasts.

6. Bring the liquid to a simmer and reduce the temperature to poach the chicken.

7. Make a blond roux with 1 ounce of clarified butter and the flour; set aside to cool.

8. When the breasts are done, remove them from the liquid. Thicken the liquid with the roux. Add the cream. Simmer and reduce to sauce consistency.

9. Strain the sauce through cheesecloth and adjust the seasonings.

10. Serve each half breast napped with approximately 2 fluid ounces of sauce. Garnish each portion with a sprig of fresh tarragon

chicken in pan about to be cooked

NOTES – Poached chicken should be clean, and beautiful. It is really good cold to - Really good in chicken salad.

When cooking this dish you want to make sure to cook it presentation side up, tarragon side down.

Make sure it is on medium heat – not boiling. Cover with parchment with a hole in the center to release the steam.

For the sauce use equal parts flour, butter, and cream.

This week I also went to the Santa Monica Farmers Market! If you haven't been you are missing out! Here is a picture of everything i got all for about $15!

CHICKEN, FISH & STEAK

Brussel Sprouts Paysanne (serves 5)

finished brussel sprouts

1 # brussel sprouts
2 oz carrots, paysanne
2 oz leeks, paysanne
2 oz celery, paysanne
2 oz onion, paysanne
1 ½ oz prosciutto, juiliened
1 oz butter
salt TT
1 ½ minced parsley

1. Clean, blanch, and shock the sprouts
2. Cut other vegetables into paysanne strips 1/8 by ½
3. Sweat the paysanne in butter. Add prosciutto and sprouts
4. Cook gently, with out browning for a few min
5. Toss with parsley, adjust seasonings

TIPS: When blanching the Brussels sprouts do it in heavily salted boiling water. The salt keeps the vibrant green color. Blanch for a few minutes. When I was making this I didn’t blanch them long enough so in order to make up for it when I was sautéing them with the other vegetables I cooked it a bit longer (covered) til the sprouts were fully cooked.

paysanne cut carrot, leek, & celery

When sprouts aren’t fully cooked, this is when they smell and taste like feet!

If your Brussels sprouts are bigger, cut them in half or even quarters. They are easier to eat this way and I think event taste better when they are smaller.

brussel sprouts cut in half

Brussels sprouts are a fall and winter vegetable – that is when they are at their best!

Sauteed Chicken Chardonnay (serves 4)

finished chicken chardonnay

2 ea chicken supremes, prepared (boneless, skinless)
1 ½ oz clarified butter
1 oz shallots, fine dice
6 oz mushrooms, sliced
2 oz white wine (chardonnay)
3 oz chicken stock
3 oz heavy cream
parsley chopped, as needed
salt and pepper TT
flour as needed

1. Prepare chicken breast supreme’s and refrigerate
2. Heat the clarified butter in sauté pan
3. Dry, the chicken with a paper towel, season with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour, shake off
4. Sauté chicken in butter, presentation side down, until golden brown, turn and sauté other side
5. Remove to baking pan and finish in oven @ 350
6. Adjust the fat, add mushrooms and sauté them for 3-5 min. Remove and set aside
7. If needed, degrease pan
8. Deglaze pan with white wine and reduce au sec. Add chicken stock and reduce by 2/3
9. Add heavy cream and reduce to sauce consistency season with salt and pepper
10. Put sauce under chicken on plate, garnish with chopped parsley.

breasts after being sauteed; the little pieces with the breast are the oysters – one of the tastiest part of the chicken

A supreme cut is a boneless skinless chicken breast – this recipe is also seen with a airline cut which still has the wing joint in it. Chicken should cook to the internal temp of 165 F.

chardonnay sauce

When saucing this plate the chicken should be placed on top of the sauce and not smothered… this is a very elegant dish and the beautifully golden chicken should not be covered up by that sauce (which by the finished plated picture you can see we did…oops)

Chateau Potatoes (serves 10)

potatoes in saute pan

2 # potatoes, waxy
salt TT
6 oz clarified butter
white pepper TT
2 oz whole butter

1. Peel potatoes. Cut into 2 inch lengths – make a fat tourne
2. Place in cold salted butter
3. Bring to simmer and parcook potatoes approx 5 min. – should be raw in middle
4. Remove from water and spread on pan, to release steam and dry potatoes
5. Heat sauté pan over med heat. Add clarifies butter to cover bottom – ¼ inch deep
6. Sauté potatoes in batches, adding more butter as necessary turning them often
7. If browned but not cooked, place in oven at 350 for a few min
8. Season with salt and pepper and toss with whole butter

Once again we had to try a turn a potato into an impossible shape known as a tourne, a shape that is a seven-sided football shape.

These are really tasty though – when browning they should be just slightly browned – but not as brown as a “French fry brown”.

Steak au Poivre

finished steak, with sauce, carrots, & chateau potatoes

Two 4 oz steaks, ½ pound each, from fillet, romp or sirloin.
Crushed pepper – black, gray or green
Salt
1 tbs canola oil
1 oz cold butter
2 oz dry white wine
2 oz brown veal stock
2 tsp crème fraiche
1 tsp Dijon smooth mustard

1. Remove the steaks from the refrigerator 20 min in advance. Prepare a cooling rack
2. Cover the steaks on both sides with crushed pepper. Pat it firmly so that it sticks into the flesh. Then salt the steaks
3. Heat the oil in a sauté pan over high heat. Add 1 tsp butter, once it foams lower heat to med. Lay steaks in the pan and cook 4 min. Rotating and spooning the cooking juices over them - cook 2 min on each edge. Remove to cooling rack and tent with aluminum foil
4. Put a serving dish and sauce boat into warm oven @ 150 F
5. Pour the wine into a sauté pan and bring to a boil, stirring, scrapping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spatula until wine is syrupy
6. Dice the rest of the butter (should be chilled) add veal stock to pan, boil 2 min. stir in crème fraiche, then diced butter bit by bit – put through fine strainer into warm sauceboat
7. Taste for salt and pepper.

sub primal cut of meat that we fabricated into the steaks

FRENCH TRANSLATION: Au = with and Poivre = pepper = Steak with pepper.

It is really important to put the pepper onto the steak before the salt, because if you put the salt on first the meat will just soak it up and the pepper wont stick to the meat.

When cutting up your steak, make sure to take off the sliver skin. It is Important to tear it off instead of cutting it off because when you cut if off you may end up tearing off to much meat. The reason you do this is because of the texture of the sliver skin – it is really tough.

fabricated steak cuts

sauce on fire after adding the brandy

The tenderloin gets denser as you get close to the middle of the loin. The center cuts will weigh more and are better for rare to medium rare cooking.

We made one CHANGE to this recipe – we used brandy instead of white wine.

The brandy made the sauce a little more intense. If you want the brandy to burn of you would need to cook the brandy for 20ish minutes and we did not cook it that much. When we first tried to make this sauce the cream broke, due to the constant heat so if when you put the cream into the sauce and it starts to break remove from heat, also remove from heat when you get the flame from the brandy.

In addition to the chateau potatoes and steak we made batonnet carrots. This was simply done by cutting the carrots into a batonnet cut which is ½ inch by ½ inch by 2 ½ inch – thin sautéing in butter and adding salt and pepper. (see picture with finished steak picture)

Pan Fried Chicken with Gravy (serves 4)

finished fried chicken with pan gravy, asparagus, & mashed potatoes

Frying chicken, 2 lb -3lb cut into 8 pieces each
Salt and pepper TT
3 tsp garlic powder
3 tsp onion powder
1 ½ tsp dried oregano
1 ½ tsp dried basil
12 oz flour, seasoned
2 c buttermilk
oil as needed
4 oz onion, small dice
1 ½ pts chicken stock

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper
2. Add herbs and spices to flour
3. Dip chicken in buttermilk, flout – repeat
4. Set on parchment until ready to fry
5. Pan fry chicken in 360 Foil until done. Approx 40 min, turning so it cooks evenly.
Reduce heat as necessary
6. Keep 3 tbl of oil form pan,
7. Add diced onions and sauté until translucent
8. Add 1 ½ oz of flour to cook blond roux
9. Temper stock and simmer approx 35 min
10. Strain through cheese cloth adjust seasonings

Serves 2 pieces per person with 4 oz of gravy.

chicken frying in a canola oil

The oil should be at a temperature of 330 F to make a golden brown skin. Each chicken should cook 8-10 min on each side. The oil should not be smoking

Buttermilk has latic acid in it so it makes a great natural marinade. If you don’t have buttermilk you can use milk and squeeze a little lemon – this tenderizes the meat.

You can do crusts in a million different ways. We did a traditional crust basically following the recipe. However instead of dried herbs we used fresh basil and oregano. – This made the fried chicken feel more fresh and light (as light as fried chicken could feel!)

Our exact method: We pre seasoned the chicken with salt and pepper, then a light marinade in milk and lemon. Next we dredged the chicken in flour seasoned with garlic powder, onion powder, fresh basil, and oregano. Then fried in vegetable oil for about 10 min on each side.

Whipped Herbed Butter Potatoes

potatoes after being "whipped"

1 ½ # Russet potatoes
3 oz heavy cream
2 oz butter, softened parsley as needed
salt and pepper TT

1. Prepare the potatoes, cover with cold water, and season with salt and season with salt, bring to boil and simmer until very tender, approx 25 min
2. When potatoes are done, drain and let steam escape – run the potatoes through the ricer
3. Add butter and cream. Whip them quickly, fold in fresh chopped parsley, season TT
4. Keep warm in bain marie until needed.

When boiling these potatoes cut them half and keep the skin on. By keeping the skin on, this keeps the starch inside the potato. When you take the skin off all the starch goes into the water.

Make sure when you take these potatoes out of the water they are tender enough to mash – if you like your mashed potatoes creamy then make sure they are really tender!

Our potatoes were not quite tender enough, we first tried putting them through a food mill – that didn’t work, then we tried mashing it with the bottom of the pan (we didn’t have a masher), our third attempt to whip these taters were to put them in the blender, this also didn’t work extremely well… but after all three methods we ended up with only just slightly lumpy potatoes.

Mixed in the potatoes were roasted garlic, cream, butter and salt and pepper.

ROASTED ASPARAGUS.

We lightly tossed it in oil, salt and pepper and then put it in the oven to roast at 350 F for 15- 20 min.

Truites a la Meunire

finished whole pan fried fish with lemon herbed risotto & spinach

4 each trout fillets – prepared
salt and pepper TT
lemon juice TT
clarified butter – as needed
Flour as needed
2 oz butter
½ lemon – fresh squeezed
parsley- chopped

1. Heat the sauté pan with a thing layer of clarified butter
2. Season the fillets, dry with paper towels and dredge them in flour
3. Sauté the fillets in clarified butter skin side down until just done
4. Remove the fish to a plate and keep warm
5. Discard the clarified butter and add the whole butter and heat to light noisette
6. Add lemon juice and chopped parsley – coat the fish with this lemon butter sauce
7. Adjust salt and black pepper serve immediately.

We ended up using a loupe de mer instead of a trout.

whole loupe de mer before being fabricated

The word TREET BLU – means to cook the trout while it is still alive. If you see this on the menu it usually means that they have stream of have the live fish in the back… they catch and cook it to order. When cooked the fish turns blue - it is usually lightly seasoned with flour and parsley butter sauce.

fish missing one of its "fillets"

We cooked our fish in three different ways.

The first way: Sauté

fish ready to be stuffed

With this method we butter flied the fish and stuffed it with lemon, butter, salt and pepper and thyme. We first trussed the fish to hold the aromatics inside and then sautéed the fish in clarified butter.

NEXT TIME: We should have added more aromatics because you couldn’t really taste them. We also did not need put string on the fish or at least as many, because after the fish was cooked, and we tried to take the string off the skin came with it.

The second way: En Papillote

fillets after being cooked en papillote

This is when the fish steams in its own juices. You place the fish in parchment that has been folded it in half and cut it like a heart. In addition to the fish put in some butter and lemon and thyme. The paper is then folded around the fish like a calzone. We baked ours for 425 F. for 15 min.

fish fillet inside of its pouch before it was cooked

The third way: Grill

For this method we seasoned the fillets with lemon, butter, and thyme and then oiled the grill.
We grilled each side of the fillet for 3-4 minutes.

With the fish and risotto we also made sautéed spinach. The steps for this are as follows:

1. Put the patted dry spinach in the pan with nothing else in it, put a lid on top and press the spinach till all the moisture is out, then remove from heat.

2. Later sauté the spinach in butter or oil or flavored oil.

We chose to toast cumin seeds, mix those with butter and then sauté the spinach with the cumin butter. Don’t forget to add salt at the end! (see picture with finished fish picture)

RISOTTO

3 cups stock
1 cup rice
We added celery and fresh tarragon as well.

1. Sauté (without browning) the celery
2. Add rice – completely cover with oil before adding any stock
3. Slowly add stock little batches at a time

4. Stir constantly until all liquid is added, taste rice to make sure cooked, if not may have to add more liquid.

This rice dish is delicious and creamy; it can be a little labor intensive because you have to constantly stir it.

In the middle of the cooking process.

There you go three entire meals! All yummy and relatively easy to make.

Stay tuned for week 9 when we showed off our skills to our family!