I'm baa-aack. After two weeks of the restaurant design obsession I am ready to re-enter into the real world, and my blog. What did I do for those two weeks? My team of three did the following:
1. Create a restaurant concept, mission statement and design. With a scaled floor plan for restaurant
and kitchen design
2 Create a menu in keeping with our concept.
3. For each dish, be it entree, side, appetizer, dessert we wrote out standardized recipes, including all
sub recipes. Each recipe had to have a food cost percentage which reflected a yield analysis and
each plate formulated to portion costing.
4. Job descriptions written for front and back of the house.
5. Scheduling written for one full week
6. Full on budget including benefits, insurance... everything
7. A bound book which includes all information and recipes
8. Ad infinitim
On Friday we presented our restaurant concept, design, and budget to the class as if they were
investors. We had an over 120 page bound book, a project board, a hard copy of our menu (like you would get in a restaurant) and our team did a faux website.
This is what I did (literally) for 2 weeks - including the weekend. I went to class. I came home and worked on my computer until I went to bed. When I wasn't in class I worked on my computer. When I wasn't working on my computer I was working on the project board. I did host a church get-together/
business meeting - that was the only fun I had.
Can you say tired? On Thursday one of my project partners and I were so exhausted everything we said to one another was funny. So funny we were in tears. Now that is tired!
We did a great job, I think. Grades in 2 weeks. I don't really care what the grade is... I feel good about our work and this class is over.
NOW it is time for another obsession!!! My poor husband. As long as the obsession means cooking some meals I think he is okay with it. :-]
And it is back to the baking class - Yippee!!!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
"You can say this for ready-mixes - the next generation isn't going to have any trouble making pies exactly like mother used to make. "
BAKING!! Hurray! At least "hurray" for one measly week; we have to interrupt baking to do a 2 week session on Food and Beverage Management! But, back to baking... Tuesday was Pate Brisee or Pie Dough and Sweet Dough. Translated into dishes we made Quiche Lorraine and two sweet fruit tarts with Almond Cream. I'll tell you this, no dishes were as well received in my home as the Fruit and Poached Pear tarts! Hmm's and Yum's and so forth were heard for minutes on end. Forks were busy attacking my sweet little tarts and no one was bothering to plate them either. It was a little off-putting considering all the desserts I have made over the years and never had that kind of response before! I think the apricot glaze on the top of the fruit not only made it beautiful, but was an extra added bonus flavor.
I asked the Chef why he only uses butter in the crusts and not lard or shortening since I had always heard it makes a flakier crust. He just cocked a substantial eyebrow at me and said, (French accent) "Because it tastes better." And there you have it. This Pate Brisee was very flaky.
We blind baked the crusts of course, removed the beans and then finished baking to get the bottom nice and done. Interestingly enough, we blanched the bacon for the Quiche Lorraine instead of frying it... ugh. I asked the chef why we blanch it (doesn't that sound disgusting?) and he said so the bacon is not crisp and therefore will not break the custard when it is cut into wedges. He was right - it did not break that beautiful, smooth, egg-y custard, but I think I might risk the knife-like crispy bacon. :-]
Yesterday was Pate a Choux. I have made many gougeres (sp) and so have experienced the Pate a Choux dough, but we made eclairs and profiteroles and cream puffs that looked like swans and iced Napoleon's. I have never been so sick of desserts in my life - and I didn't even eat any. You know, intensive cooking is sometimes like sewing a dress... by the time you have completed the project you look at it and say, "Well, it looks good and I really liked the whole idea, but now... I am just over it!" Maybe that is why when someone cooks for you it tastes so much better than if you cooked it yourself - generally speaking that is.
We also learned how to make a tiny parchment paper cone for piping tiny streams of chocolate. I like the idea of a tiny little squeeze bottle better, or even a tiny little disposable pastry bag with a tiny round- holed tip. It took me twenty minutes to create that tiny little cone. :-)
I asked the Chef why he only uses butter in the crusts and not lard or shortening since I had always heard it makes a flakier crust. He just cocked a substantial eyebrow at me and said, (French accent) "Because it tastes better." And there you have it. This Pate Brisee was very flaky.
We blind baked the crusts of course, removed the beans and then finished baking to get the bottom nice and done. Interestingly enough, we blanched the bacon for the Quiche Lorraine instead of frying it... ugh. I asked the chef why we blanch it (doesn't that sound disgusting?) and he said so the bacon is not crisp and therefore will not break the custard when it is cut into wedges. He was right - it did not break that beautiful, smooth, egg-y custard, but I think I might risk the knife-like crispy bacon. :-]
Yesterday was Pate a Choux. I have made many gougeres (sp) and so have experienced the Pate a Choux dough, but we made eclairs and profiteroles and cream puffs that looked like swans and iced Napoleon's. I have never been so sick of desserts in my life - and I didn't even eat any. You know, intensive cooking is sometimes like sewing a dress... by the time you have completed the project you look at it and say, "Well, it looks good and I really liked the whole idea, but now... I am just over it!" Maybe that is why when someone cooks for you it tastes so much better than if you cooked it yourself - generally speaking that is.
We also learned how to make a tiny parchment paper cone for piping tiny streams of chocolate. I like the idea of a tiny little squeeze bottle better, or even a tiny little disposable pastry bag with a tiny round- holed tip. It took me twenty minutes to create that tiny little cone. :-)
Sunday, February 6, 2011
E-lat-ed [ih-ley-tid] - gleeful, joyful, jubilant
Elated! That is how I felt after school on Thursday. Cuisine II - done; accomplished; concluded. Hallelujah! As these section finals loom my emotional quality deteriorates... that is to say, I am not fun to live with. When they are over I am as high as a kite - I am tolerant, loving, helpful, friendly - in short, a delight- until I have to start it all over again.
The chicken cooperated on Thursday for the knife skills portion of the test. I finished fabricating that bird in under 8 minutes which was the fastest time frame for the highest score. Then there was the accuracy part of the scoring - I did okay - forgot to "french" the wing on the Airline breast - well truthfully I didn't really even know I was supposed to do that! The julienne, batonet and brunoise - not so good, but my tornay of potatoes were praised (in a moderate sense) by the chef.
After the knife skills pressure cooker we moved into the market basket portion of the practical final. Chicken (shocker), potatoes or rice, and a few vegetable selections ( asparagus, tomato, eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, fennel.)
I decided to keep it simple and hopefully execute well. I chose to do a tomato provencal with a pan-fried tornay of potatoes and asparagus. The protein, as I mentioned, was the Airline chicken breast and I did a brandy cream sauce with a brunoise of vegetables. My garnish was a heart-shaped crouton ( a nod to Valentines Day.) If I was really talented at this blogging thing I could take you right into the kitchen so you could feel the tension, the hum of emotion, the current of nervous strain as we students worked feverishly to accomplish our plan and present our 2 exactly matching plates hot, and beautiful to the Great High Inquisitor Chef Instructor. 30% vegetable, 30% starch and 40% protein; 4-6 colors, 1 inch from the sides, nothing on the rim, no smudges or drips - white plate pristine except where the food lie in subjugation to the diner in a beautifully designed flow from 10-4 counter clock-wise. Well, that was the plan at least. I put my chicken on backwards - my flow was ... well, let's just say it came to a screeching halt. It is that crazy wing thing sitting up on the chicken breast that throws me off - I can't ever figure out which way it is flowing and how to set it on the plate. :-] BUT, the Chef said no one had frenched their wing as well and the vegetable brunoise in the brandy cream sauce was a distinct improvement over my knife skills brunoise offering. I do learn from my mistakes. Generally, he liked my food, color, execution. The best part about it was that IT WAS OVER!!
Bring on the written test - at this point, even with my small amount of success, I was so ELATED the practical was over I could have conquered the world!! I did. I scored the highest on the written test (which wasn't really high enough, but hey perfection is not going to happen here) and rubbed it in to a funny fellow student who is always showing me up. Driving home, in my one lane, totally unconcerned with my fellow commuters and whether they were passing me in faster lanes, I basked in the knowledge that Cuisine II was over and I was free... until Tuesday.
Next - Baking... I LOVE baking!
The chicken cooperated on Thursday for the knife skills portion of the test. I finished fabricating that bird in under 8 minutes which was the fastest time frame for the highest score. Then there was the accuracy part of the scoring - I did okay - forgot to "french" the wing on the Airline breast - well truthfully I didn't really even know I was supposed to do that! The julienne, batonet and brunoise - not so good, but my tornay of potatoes were praised (in a moderate sense) by the chef.
After the knife skills pressure cooker we moved into the market basket portion of the practical final. Chicken (shocker), potatoes or rice, and a few vegetable selections ( asparagus, tomato, eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, fennel.)
I decided to keep it simple and hopefully execute well. I chose to do a tomato provencal with a pan-fried tornay of potatoes and asparagus. The protein, as I mentioned, was the Airline chicken breast and I did a brandy cream sauce with a brunoise of vegetables. My garnish was a heart-shaped crouton ( a nod to Valentines Day.) If I was really talented at this blogging thing I could take you right into the kitchen so you could feel the tension, the hum of emotion, the current of nervous strain as we students worked feverishly to accomplish our plan and present our 2 exactly matching plates hot, and beautiful to the Great High Inquisitor Chef Instructor. 30% vegetable, 30% starch and 40% protein; 4-6 colors, 1 inch from the sides, nothing on the rim, no smudges or drips - white plate pristine except where the food lie in subjugation to the diner in a beautifully designed flow from 10-4 counter clock-wise. Well, that was the plan at least. I put my chicken on backwards - my flow was ... well, let's just say it came to a screeching halt. It is that crazy wing thing sitting up on the chicken breast that throws me off - I can't ever figure out which way it is flowing and how to set it on the plate. :-] BUT, the Chef said no one had frenched their wing as well and the vegetable brunoise in the brandy cream sauce was a distinct improvement over my knife skills brunoise offering. I do learn from my mistakes. Generally, he liked my food, color, execution. The best part about it was that IT WAS OVER!!
Bring on the written test - at this point, even with my small amount of success, I was so ELATED the practical was over I could have conquered the world!! I did. I scored the highest on the written test (which wasn't really high enough, but hey perfection is not going to happen here) and rubbed it in to a funny fellow student who is always showing me up. Driving home, in my one lane, totally unconcerned with my fellow commuters and whether they were passing me in faster lanes, I basked in the knowledge that Cuisine II was over and I was free... until Tuesday.
Next - Baking... I LOVE baking!
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