Ice Carving

As part of our Garde Manger II class, we carved blocks of ice. We had two ice carvers come to our class and demonstrate the four stages - tracing and chipping the outline, sawing the basic shape, giving it dimension, and finalizing the details. After they demonstrated each step, we worked on our own block of ice. Everyone made the same sculpture - a fish.

While it's by no means perfect, I was pretty happy that my sculpture looked like a fish. It's hard to see the fish's head because of my white coat, but I carved him with a small eye and a mouth. The fish is supposed to be sitting on the wave with his bottom fin curved towards me. Overall, a fun experience, something I would try again even if I'm not good at it.

Garde Manger II

In August, we began the second phase of the cold kitchen and practiced fruit and vegetable carving along with making chocolate shapes.

While I made several fun chocolate shapes for ice cream, fruit, pudding garnishes or decorations on a cake, I couldn't help but make a little something for Kaitlyn. She grabbed Mickey and bit off part of his ears and his smile before I snapped the photo, but you see most of him.




We learned to carve ducks and swans out of apples and melons, which was a lot of fun. It's not as hard as it looks, but not something I can explain online. I recommend checking out some of the videos on YouTube if you want to learn.

The wishing well photo is from my cell phone. However, we were pretty happy with how this watermelon carving turned out given that no one in my group had ever carved a watermelon before. The string for the cucumber bucket came undone as evidenced by the photo, but it looked even better when it was tied up by the handle, which actually rotated.


In the next few weeks, we will learn to make sausage, pate, charcuterie, and ice sculptures/carvings (using a chainsaw). Stay tuned....

Garde Manger I: Vichyssoise (Cold Soup)

One class was devoted to cold soups, like vichyssoise or gazpacho.

Here are links to both:

• http://www.starchefs.com/JChild/html/recipe_02.shtml - a Julia Child recipe
• http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/gazpacho-recipe/index.html
  

Vichyssoise soup is a potato leek soup made with chicken stock and heavy cream (sometimes) and served cold. This photo is from a vichyssoise I made with cucumber last summer.

My teammate and I created our own recipe and made an avocado vichoyssoise topped with red bell pepper slices. We think croutons would have added some crunch as well.

Ingredients in our soup:

• Avocado
• onion
• garlic
  
• bay leaf, pepper, kosher salt, cayenne pepper
  
• potatoes
• chicken stock
• red bell pepper
• lime juice

We sauteed the garlic and onion in olive oil until fragrant. Next we added the potatoes (chopped into quarters) to the pan. We covered the potatoes with chicken stock and brought it to a boil. We allowed it to simmer until the potatoes were soft. While simmering, we added the bay leaf, pepper, salt and a pinch of cayenne. Meanwhile, we thinly sliced a red bell pepper to use as a garnish and juiced limes. If you decide to add croutons - prepare them at this point. We did not use cream b/c we worried that the combination of cream and lime juice would cause the soup to curdle - not very appetizing! About five minutes before pulling the soup off the stove, we diced up avocado as we pureed the soup and avocado together to make a smooth, velvety consistency. We cooled it using an ice bath and serve it with the red bell pepper garnish small bowls.

For an original recipe created on the fly, my teammate and I were very happy with how this soup turned out. The chef instructor recommended a few dots of a flavored oil to add a little zest and help with presentation.

Garde Manger: Salads & Mayonnaise

As for salads...

If you ever have the opportunity to try greens side by side - it's a great exercise in flavors. Greens have mild, bitter, sweet, and spicy flavors. I didn't think I liked spinach until I realized that was the green that I thought tasted best... shocking!!

• Spring salad: mixed with sweet greens
• Mezclan salad: mixed with bitter greens
• Spicy greens: arugula (YUM!) and watercress
  

Ideas for salads include bistro beef salad with a red wine shallot vinaigrette, roasted mushroom wild mushroom salad, tomato and cucumber salad.

We made vinaigrette and cream based dressings. One dressing we made was a warm bacon dressing for a spinach salad - it tasted of grease and did not appeal to me at all. Based on where we live, this is blasphemous to say that I actually didn't like something with bacon or bacon grease in it, but sorry folks - it's a no go!!

Last thing I want to share is that we made mayonnaise. It tasted delicious! We tasted the mayonnaise side by side with store bought mayo and it tasted SO MUCH BETTER! If you are worried about the raw egg in it, be sure to buy pasteurized eggs.

The mayo* we made had the following ingredients if you want to look for a similar recipe:

• egg yolks, pasteurized
• salt
• white pepper
• dry mustard
• white wine vinegar (good WW vinegar)
• salad oil (not canola, but actual salad oil)
• lemon juice

You whip the egg yolks on high speed until thick and lemon colored. Then you add the dry ingredients and half the vinegar and whisk to combine it all. You VERY slowly add the oil one drop at a time into the mixture until it thickens and starts to emulsify. Then you add the oil in a slow stream. If you want to thin it out, add a little vinegar. Continue whisking until oil and vinegar are incorporated. Add the seasonings and lemon juice to taste. Refrigerate until needed.

Our group made it using a stand mixer while another made it by hand. Both tasted great and for sake of ease, I recommend a stand mixer if you have one. We in turn used the mayo to make a variety of sandwich dressings - pesto mayo, green mayo (sauce vert - basil, parsley, spinach and chives), and roasted red pepper mayo.

*I didn't give amounts above b/c the recipe I have is for an insane amount of mayo. However, you can use these to find a suitable one online.

Like I said... these were some of the highlights from the last month of class. Hope you enjoy reading!

Garde Manger I: Oils & Vinegars

Oils

• Walnut oil: nice nutty flavor (obviously), great as a finishing touch with a garnish; great for dressings; I really enjoyed the flavor of this oil and hope to use it more in the future
  
• Truffle oil: interesting aroma and taste - probably a preference type thing; drizzle a few drops to finish off a salad, soup or appetizer. For example, one chef recommended finished a salad dressed with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing with a few drops of white truffle oil
• Vegetable oil: blend of oils - typically corn and/or sunflower; used in cooking, not typically used for dressings
• Canola oil: made from turnips; high smoke point so useful in pan frying or deep frying
• Peanut oil: made from peanuts; high smoke point so great for deep frying if allergies are not an issue
  
• Olive oil: rumor has it that color indicates quality, but color actually indicates ripeness or species of olive used; the process of making the oil presses the olives 2x or 3x and heat or chemically treats the olives and oil; chef prefers olive oil from the southern region in Italy based on taste; look for an acidity of 1% or less to find a nicely flavored oil
  
• Extra virgin olive oil: this oil is about the flavor; oil obtained after first press of olives; not great for sauteing; very low smoke point
• Flavor oils: often used in place of dressing; if you make a garlic flavored oil - MAKE SURE TO REFRIGERATE IT as you don't want to get botulism.
  

Vinegars

• Rice vinegar: you can buy a sweet or sour rice vinegar. The sweet version is rice wine vinegar and works very nicely in salad dressings; chef recommended aged rice vinegar if you want to use it; you can sweeten regular rice vinegar by adding sugar to it
• Balsamic vinegar: true balsamic vinegar is aged in Italy from 4 to 50 years through wood casks and is often rather pricey; it tastes like reduced balsamic vinegar that we make in the states and is never used as a dressing, just as a garnish to finish off a dish
  
• Wine vinegars - red wine, white wine, sherry wine are all options for dressings, sauces, etc. depending on your flavor profile; if you need to use white wine vinegar and do not have it on hand... use 2 parts white wine to 1 part distilled white vinegar and VIOLA!
  
• Apple cider vinegar - used in dressings, sauces, etc. just depends on flavor profiles

Making a Vinaigrette Dressing

• When making a vinaigrette dressing, remember this rule of thumb... one part acid/vinegar to three parts oil. You don't want your acid/vinegar to overpower the salad.
• If using herbs, use fresh herbs if possible; If only dry herbs available, rehydrate or cook them to bring out flavors
• Chef recommended honey, mustard, fresh herbs and oil as a very basic vinaigrette - maybe a touch of rice wine vinegar
  

Garde Manger I - Appetizers

In July, my cooking class focused on the cold kitchen - meaning breads, dressings, salads, sandwiches, cold soups, and appetizers. While I won't touch on everything we learned, here were some of the highlights...

Garde Manger = refers to the preparation of and presenting of cold food items like those listed above.

Some of my favorites from this class included making cold soups (vichyssoise and gazpacho), appetizers and mayonnaise from scratch.

Below is an appetizer I made during class: Parmesan crisps* topped with prosciutto, green mayonnaise (sauce vert) and chive sprigs. The center bowl is the green mayonnaise with a Parmesan crisp in it for presentation.

Our chef instructor also shared a couple of appetizers with us:

1. Cucumber crab appetizers: Use a slice of cucumber with the center slightly hollowed out (use a melon baller) and top it with crab meat, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper, and fresh parsley. Garnish with fresh dill.
2. Salami cones: Take a slice of salami and make one cut to the center. With two fingers, wrap the salami around into a cone shape (narrow at bottom, wide at top and slightly flaring out). Fill salami with sun dried tomatoes, garlic, salt pepper and cream cheese mixture. Garnish with a black olive.
3. Spicy shrimp on a crostini: Marinade shrimp in spicy mixture (for example: olive oil, garlic, paprika, season salt (only a little) and cayenne) while mixing some BBQ sauce and cream cheese. Place BBQ cream cheese mixture on crostini and top with shrimp. Garnish with a chive.
4. Scallop Ceviche: Use 2 pounds of sea scallops removed from shell and cut thin lengthwise to 'cook' faster in acid mixture. Season scallops with salt and pepper - set aside. Add the juice of 3 lemons, 3 limes and 3 oranges, plus the zest of 1 lemon, 1 lime and 1 orange and 2 teaspoons of sugar into a blender. Start to blend it and add 1/4 extra virgin olive oil until emulsified. Upon completion, pour juice mixture over the scallops and let the scallops 'float' in it. Cover it, place in fridge for 2-3 hours, and serve in small bowls. I'd use those Japanese soup spoons if I make it again.
   
5. We also made poached shrimp with cocktail sauce (nothing new here) and deviled eggs (reminds me of Thanksgiving and Easter).

*To make the Parmesan crisps, line a baking sheet with tin foil and coat it with a thin layer of olive oil. Shred Parmesan cheese across the entire pan making sure you have a nice layer that you can not see through to the tin foil. Bake at 400 to 425 degrees for approximately 15 minutes or until the cheese is nice and crispy. You don't want it malleable. Pull from the oven and allow to cool. Once cool enough to touch, break cheese into pieces and prepare to serve. I recommend regular Parmesan instead of Parmesan Reggiano as it tasted better toasted to me.

The Best Grilled Cheese EVER!!!

So, my brother-on-law gave me a great cookbook for my birthday - Thomas Keller's Bouchon. The first recipe we tried was a grilled cheese sandwich. No I'm not kidding!!

It was awesome!!! We made Corque-Madame, Sauce Mornay OR Grilled Ham and Cheese with a fried egg and Mornay sauce.

First, we made homemade Brioche bread - DELICIOUS.

It's a slightly sweet, airy, moist, buttery bread that just melts in your mouth. We're thinking about making it again this weekend just to keep in the freezer for when we want it. Side note: this bread is fun to make. It gets a ton of air bubbles/gas pockets, so when you knead it the texture is much different from regular breads.


Next, I worked on the Mornay sauce (Swiss cheese bechamel sauce) while Dave built the sandwiches and fried the eggs. I admit, the Mornay sauce is a little thick - added to much roux. However, it still tasted good!


We used Virgina ham slices and good Swiss cheese per the recipe. In order to perfectly toast the sandwiches, it was a combination of saute pan and oven toasting. We fried the egg separately, placed it on top of each sandwich and put it in the oven for a few minutes. When it was finished, we pulled it out, added the Mornay sauce and chowed down.



It tasted so good!! We're not huge Swiss cheese fans, so we were surprised at how much we liked it. All of the flavors complimented each other so nicely. I highly recommend trying it sometime!!!

Aunt Niki Visits Kaitlyn

Aunt Niki had a few days off of work and decided to come visit Kaitlyn (and her mommy and daddy). We tooled around town, went to the zoo, played with bubbles, painted in a new coloring book, and rode bikes. Aunt Niki wore Kaitlyn out OR did Kaitlyn wear aunt Niki out?????

Aunt Niki brought Kaitlyn a paint with water Mickey Mouse book - what a hit!!!

Push me aunt Niki!!

Cheese!

Aunt Niki and Kaitlyn looking at penguins.

The zebras say "ney" aunt Niki!!

Kaitlyn and aunt Niki looking at the Meerkats

Let's go see the gorilla... he's getting a bath!

Looking at movies on aunt Niki's camera

Kaitlyn doing the wheel barrow after playing gym in the family room. It was a rainy morning!

Aunt Niki and Kaitlyn relaxing after playing gym and wheel barrow race.

Thank you for coming to visit aunt Niki! We enjoyed spending time with you!!