Savory Side

Dinner in E Kitchen at CSCA

Asparagus with Orange Dill Mayonnaise

I am in the middle of 5 of the most delicious and well fed weeks of my life.....and I'm the chef! Most of you know that I have always enjoyed cooking and baking. Many of my friends would tell you I'm already and excellent cook. However I was very much looking forward to savory cooking. My cooking skills thus far have been self-taught from cook books, magazines, food network and mostly trial and error. I am far from starving, but rarely do I sit down to a meal I've made and feel like I'm eating food from a well acclaimed restaurant. The past two weeks that has changed (with much help from Chef Jim).

Last week we started on Monday with Eggs. Lots of souffles, a frittata, Croque Madams, sauces and my favorite since visiting Paris; French style scrambled eggs. I now know the secret! They are cooked with lots of cream, and over low heat, preferably over a water bath. I served them on rye toast rounds with a rosette of smoked salmon and fresh dill. Getting hungry yet?

French Style Eggs with Smoked Salmon

On Tuesday we learned about soups and stocks. We had a wide range of soups to choose from to make. I have never had Bouillibaise. Honestly the idea of fish soups has never appealed to me, but my goal has been to challange myself to try new things, so this is the recipe I chose. Lucky me I got two live lobsters to cook in my soup along with plenty of cod and halibut filets, some clams and scallops. You start the soup by sauteeing onions, leeks and tomatoes. Fish fumet, herbs, saffron and orange rind is added and the soup is allowed to simmer. The mix is then strained and the lobsters get cooked in the broth. Then the remaining seafood is added in steps till everything is cooked just right. The soup turned out nice and light and brothy with hints of fennel, saffron and orange. I loved it. Lobsters in the Bouillibaise

The recipe also included a Rouille, a paste made from roasted peppers, garlic, dried bread and a little fumet. I loved the Rouille. It was great just spread on bread, and was a fantastic addition to the Bouillibaise, giving it just a little kick.

Bouillibaise

This week was chicken and beef. Monday we learned to cut up whole chickens. How to take the skins off and debone the pieces. It's a lot easier than one would expect. My recipe for the evening was a Gallantine. This is a kind of chicken Pate that is cooked in the skin of the chicken. Here I go again with challenging myself. The trick to this recipe is, you have to remove the skin from a whole chicken, in one piece. It takes some patience, but I managed to do it.

Whole Skinned Chicken

Once the skin if off, the chicken is divided up. The dark meat gets ground up and mixed with cooked shallots, some black truffle and brandy. The breasts are kept whole and seasoned. Once you have your whole chicken skin, you lay it on some cheesecloth and form it into a rectangle and being to fill it with the ground meat, lay the breasts on top and roll the skin into a sausage like casing around the chicken. The Gallantine is then poached in chicken stock till it is cooked through. It is intended to be served cold, like most Pates, but I really enjoyed it slightly warm with the salad one of my classmates prepared.

Sliced Chicken Gallantine with Salad

Last night we learned about beef and moist heat cooking, ie braising and stewing. Our dinner menu was Veal Blanquette, braised short ribs with biscuits, and beef carbonnade. As we were sitting and enjoying our dinner, I let out a sigh. The food was so good, and maybe even better because I knew all the hard work and anticipation that went into it that evening. Am I doubting my choice to pursue pastry? No way, but I am really, really enjoying the time on the savory side. Besides, who says I can't do both?

3 more delicious weeks to go......