Hello Food Diary and Hungry Bloggers!!
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| Escalope de Veau a la Creme with Petits a la Francoise |
It is day 21, and a week away from our finals!! Yikes! Today we made two of the four dishes that will be on our final exam. We have also moved on to two more of our seven Les Cuissons: Le Griller and Le Sauter. On the menu was a delicious Grilled Cotes de Porc Charcuterie with Pommes Puree (Grilled pork Chops with sauce Robert and mashed potatoes) and Escalope de Veau a la Creme with Petits a la Francoise (Pan seared Veal with a mushroom cream sauce, mashed potatoes, and a seared bacon lettuce salad). I'm am seriously feeling the intensity of this class...and my nerves are getting the best of me. Today, like yesterday was a frantic struggle for me. I was a mess! I kept burning things and having to redo them, and I barley finished all my food before the presenting window was closed. I need massive help with my time management.
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| Pounding out my veal! |
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| FLAMBE!!!!! |
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Searing my flour
dredged veal patties. |
I started with the veal dish. First off, I took my veal steak and pounded it out with my mallet until it was really thin. Once it was ready I cut it in half, seasoned it, dredged (coated) it in flour and threw it into my saute pan with some hot butter. I cooked it until lightly brown (for about a minute), then I took it off and kept it in some foil. I then threw my sliced mushrooms into the hot butter and sauted them. After the mushrooms were browned, I cranked up my heat and flambeed them with cognac (this was the coolest thing I have ever done!!). My whole pan lit up with flames and I tossed my mushrooms around getting the full effect of the flambe. I had most of the class watching...it was awesome! The flame lasted for only a few seconds. When the excitement was over everyone got back to work. I added veal stock to my mushrooms and let it reduce until nappe (coating the spoon). When I had the perfect consistency I added cream, salt, and my cooked veal patties. While all this was going on I had already started my mashed potatoes, so those were done. I put my veal on a low heat and quickly made my seared lettuce salad. I rendered my bacon in a saute pan...burned it, and had to start over. UGH. I grabbed new bacon and tried again. Once my bacon was done (a little too over done, again) I added my blanched pearl onions, and a little bit of sugar. I deglazed my pan with water and let it cook out. Last but not least, I added my peas and lettuce until hot. I was finished with my whole dish! I plated my mashed potatoes, placed my veal on top, added my sauce and salad...vioa! I turned it in to chef, "Very nice. Good flavor on your sauce. On your salad make sure not to over cook your bacon." Not a bad critique! Now onto my pork chop!
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Grilled Cotes de Porc Charcuterie
with Pommes Puree |
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I spent way too much time on my first dish. I only had 20 minutes left and I had a raw pork chop sitting on my station waiting for me to cook it. Lets see how this goes... I quickly took my pork chop to the grill. I needed to get good grill marks before I finished it in the oven. Grill marks are not as easy as they look! I had a little trouble with the first side...so I flipped it over and tried again...I was able to get decent grill marks. I frantically took my pork covered it with foil and placed it in the oven. I started my sauce Robert...In a saute pan I added butter and chopped onions, and let them sweat. Then I added white wine and white wine vinegar and let that reduce until almost dry. I added some veal stock, gherkin juice, peppercorns, mustard, and let it reduce until nappe. When ready I slowly swirled in cold squares of butter to make it creamy. When it was done I added sliced gherkins. My time was up. I took my pork chop out of the oven hoping it was done and set it aside while I plated my mashed potatoes. I uncovered my pork...it looked good!! I placed it on top of my potatoes and drizzled some of my sauce along the side. I don't know how I was able to finish this dish...but I did...barely. I turned it in and waited for the feedback...nervously. Chef cut into my pork....not raw!!! Yay, it had finished cooking! She said I had cooked it just the right amount, "it had just the right amount of pink." She tasted my sauce and said "It was to vinegary and I needed to reduce it more than I did when I added the vinegar." My results weren't nearly as bad as I was expecting! I must have had the food fairy looking after me today...I cant believe I was able to get my pork cooked in time. Today was a stressful day for me...I am feeling a little defeated and it has put me in a weird mood. I am kind of contemplating whether or not I am cut out for this. Time management is my set back. If I can just figure out how to organize my thoughts and production schedule in a way that works for me I would really prevail. I just need to relax and go to bed. Tomorrow is a new day, and a chance for me to try again.
Until next time!
-Chef Kass In Training!
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