Whew. Catering and Buffet comes to a tumultuous close. Some people were really in the weeds today. Some people straight failed to show up (hey, between the Tallow Sculpture competency and practical points it's only 10 percent of your grade-- who needs that?).
I did show up, however, and got straight to work on my Arroz Con Pollo. The chicken went right in the oven to finish cooking, and I got started on my "pilaf" of Spanish Rice that would bring the dish together. Things went off without a hitch and, post some last-minute seasoning of the pilaf, I think the dish turned out well. People commented that they liked it a lot, and Billy said it was the only properly cooked chicken he'd had all day (we attended the 'A' Schedule Buffet earlier in the day).
Other people seemed to fair a bit less successfully. I hear the Gumbo was terrible, the Shrimp Seviche too. The Tur-duck-en (chicken in duck in a turkey) was the star for a lot of people. I think it was OK, but I don't think it was executed perfectly. Maybe it was just poor stuffing quality, but I think it failed to have something to pull it together. There was just too much going on there.
Our group was responsible for a Fajita "action station," to which I added my homemade Cinnamon/Sugar Tortilla chips and "Mexican" Shrimp. I don't know what to call the shrimp really. I just threw a bunch of spices I like together (Cumin, Red Pepper, Cayenne, etc) and waited to see how it turned out. A lot of people commented that they liked it so at least it wasn't an epic fail, I suppose.
And yeah-- Pierre Rabbit is featured up there. I don't think the picture does him justice, but he should be able to secure me the competency point. Things are looking good going into final grades, I think. I'm optimistic at least.
This is our Tiramisu (half of which was featured later on the dessert station of our final Buffet). Tiramisu is made of Lady Fingers Biscuits dipped in espresso, strong coffee or rum, layered with a whipped mixture of egg yolks, mascarpone cheese and sugar, then finished on top with cocoa powder.
I can't say I've had Tiramisu before. It was really, really good though-- very creamy, not overly rich but rich enough to let you know you're eating something good.
We also made Brownies, Chocolate Chip Cookies and Peanut Butter Cookies. I assume you've all had them in your life, and I wouldn't say they were crazy-special. I won't bother to go on and on about them. I have a bunch in my freezer this weekend for Sara Brown and Paul though.
We cap off Breads kitchen tomorrow with a pizza party, Chuck E. Cheese-style! The only difference is the pizza we're making/serving is *a lot* better. WOOOooo!
I'll get this out of the way first-- today was just another day of prep for the final/practical buffet tomorrow in Catering and Buffet. I made some cinnamon/sugar-dusted fried tortilla chips and got some miscellaneous extras around for the Fajitas our group is making. My Arroz Con Pollo will take shape in the hour and 15 minutes before service tomorrow-- there was nothing I could do on that today...
Enough about that for now though, as most of tomorrow's post will be about Catering and Buffer. Besides-- Breads kitchen has been pretty artsy and delicious in the waning class time.
The Crème brûlée was excellent. Using a blow torch to create a tasty, sugary dish is never a bad way to kick off the morning.
The Baklava-- meh. I find that I don't like 90% of most Baklava's I try. They're either too honey-y/nutty/sweet/etc. Today, ours were too soggy, probably because they have been sitting in syrup over the weekend. I just didn't care for it, but odds are unless your very Mediterranean Grandmama made the Baklava, I'm probably not going to care for it. Unless the recipe is down to a science, Baklava is always too rich for me...
Speaking of rich-- Chocolate Lava Cake. The cake is baked inside of a crepe, placed on a coconut cream (made with coconut milk and rum) "puddle," and, in this case, garnished with a pineapple salsa. The "steam" coming out of the dish is baked Hippenmasse (a combo of Marzipan and Almond Paste, usually baked in different designs to accent a dessert).
The savory souffle (stuffed with ham and cheese) was alright. Nothing I'd write home about, but then again, my souffle yesterday was only so exciting in its own right.
A pretty cool thing to emerge from today was the different ways you can mess around with plate design. As you can see in the Baklava picture, the hearts in the sauce was but one of a few different ideas the Chef threw our way. There was also demos of how to pull off flowers, spiderwebs, etc. It seems petty, sure, but it's the difference between charging $5 and $10 for a dessert sometimes.
Extra money in the bank is always worth five extra minutes of effort.
Lots to come tomorrow post-finale buffet...so be sure to stop back! There was also talk of brownies and peanut butter cookies in Breads kitchen so...WIN!
The pics from Breads kitchen are pretty self-explanatory, so I will simply state that the cheesecake was delicious and move on. I enjoyed the fact that it wasn't too creamcheesy or too sweet --I think many cheesecakes are-- so the recipe must be a pretty solid one.
No pics from Catering and Buffet because we are starting our prep for our final buffet. I'm making Arroz Con Pollo (Spanish Rice with chicken in it), so I was dicing up multiple pounds of onions, garlic and miscellaneous bell peppers for most of the day. I also prepared a spice/flour mixture I will dredge the chicken in.
And yes, Mom, you now can say, "I'm making Arroz Con Pollo," when you make your Spanish rice with chicken in it. Uber fancy!
So I waited to post the above items together for one very simple reason-- to make all of you very, very, very-very-very...very...jealous.
That's my Chocolate Génoise. It was split in half to produce two layers, filled with about half an inch of Chocolate Mousse between the layers to hold them together, covered entirely with whipped topping and finally each slice is accented with a Chocolate Truffle.
Attention people who have attended Ohio University-- this is *way* better than Ho-Ho Cake.
The other photos are of Bananas Foster and Orange Crepes with Chantilly Cream. Both were made in Catering and Buffet yesterday. We spent the entire day getting our flambé on with these items (Banana Liquor and Rum with the Bananas Foster, Grand Marnier with the Crepes).
Good times. Good...absolutely delicious...times.
Sometimes school is just stuffing your face with cheese and fruit. These are what are referred to as FANTASTIC days. Yeah we did some prep for the desserts (!!!) we're making in Catering and Buffet tomorrow, as well as some fruit work, but most of the day was spent just listening to the Chef talk about cheese...as we ate cheese...and then we ate more cheese.
Whew...not a bad lunch.
Side story on the fruit platters...Chef does his first and makes a beautiful Lotus flower out of the melon. He adds the rest of his fruit --the plate looks amazing-- then he's like, "So yeah, you guys do something like that." Nothing I've ever created in my life has ever looked as cool as what he did in 15 minutes. Sure, he spent the bulk of his career doing this kind of stuff, but I'm still totally jealous. I wish I liked melon more so I could buy a few and practice his technique. It's not overly complicated, but it would take a few tries to really perfect.
The Chocolate Genoise practical began today in Breads kitchen. We still have to frost and pipe some stuff on them at a later date, but I escaped the tricky baking procedure only losing half a point (the folding method is complicated; I had some flour/cocoa powder hide from me, the bastards). Regardless, I'm sitting pretty thus far and the cake turned out great.
Chef also demoed Chocolate Mousse, which we are sticking in between the layers and on top of the Genoises. Like I stated before...some days at school are pretty rough. :P
Here are those cupcake pictures I've been promising for a few days.
Our group made the carrot cake ones, but there was also spice cake, vanilla and chocolate versions. We frosted them today with carious flavors of icing. I don't really have any artsy pics as I didn't bring any of these home. I had a carrot cake one to say I had one-- it was good-- but I didn't really feel like making the effort to get any of these home. Too much of a potential mess.
We also made oodles and oodles of cookies, both chocolate chip/pecan and oatmeal raisin, for the bulk of the period today. The picture isn't flattering (they kinda' mushed together in transit), but I assure you they are tasty. Also...that's a 9" cardboard pie base the cookies are sitting on, so what the cookies lack in appearance, they make up for in size.
That's how we roll.
After all the crazy Galantines and Ballotines, homemade sausages and numerous dishes classified as "forcemeats," there is nothing better than hearing that all you're doing in Catering and Buffet for a day is soup and sandwiches.
Now maybe I'm just a sucker for soups and sandwiches, but today was really, really enjoyable. Me, soup and sandwiches go way back. That fateful day decades ago when I learned that you could dip grilled cheese IN tomato soup might as well be the day I learned to ride my first bike sans training wheels. The utter joy ranks right up there, without a doubt.
THE SOUPS:
**Chilled Melon and Champagne Soup might as well be a drink as far as I'm concerned. It was extremely refreshing and absolutely delicious...but for some reason I felt like a little rum or vodka was missing from the experience. That and a hunk-o-fruit garnish and a pink umbrella. Granted, there was melon balls floating in the drink, and there *was* champagne in there, but still. If anything I'd say the soup is perfect with a light lunch...or perhaps a dessert.
**Chicken Tomato Bouillon with Pesto. Picture a really good tomato soup. Now drizzle a bit of (basil) pesto in the center of it before service. I mean it sounds so simple, right? Man is it a nice twist to an old favorite. Keep some pesto around for those grilled cheese/tomato soup moments and you will probably agree with me-- just a great flavor combination.
**Italian Wedding Soup. My late grandmother's absolute favorite and about as traditional as a soup can get. Not a single trip out in Cleveland with Grandma to an Italian restaurant would go without her getting the Wedding Soup. I mean what's not to like? Hearty broth, meatballs, spices...it's just delicious. Definitely had a bowl today for you, Grandma!
**Mulligatawny. My group was responsible for this soup, so of course I'm going to say it was my favorite. It really *was* my favorite for one simple reason-- it was something out of the ordinary and surprisingly tasty. You get all of those fantastic Middle Eastern spices in there (Cumin, Tumeric, Corriander, Clove, Nutmeg), add some chicken and stock, some carrots and finally some apples to cut the spice kick at the end. Just superb.
THE SANDWICHES:
Fried Soft Shell Crab Sandwich: Pretty self-explanatory, and tasty. Slap a whole, fried soft-shell crab on a bun with some "tartar sauce" and some grilled vegetables. Very simple-- very good.
Grilled Vegetable and Portabella Wrap: The thick slice of portabella mushroom is the star here, of course, with a few other vegetables (I think eggplant, lettuce and tomato) playing second fiddle. I believe they did some kind of bleu/goat cheese spread with it. I wish I knew a bit more about this wrap but I felt it was pretty self-explanatory and I didn't get a taste of it before we packed stuff away for the day. I'm just one man. I can't eat every dish, every day, lol.
Muffuletta: This is the sandwich I went with today because I *love* a good Italian sandwich. The spread that really brings this sandwich together is made of a few different kinds of olives and anchovies. Now these are both not ingredients I'm a huge fan of (though I think anchovies are growing on me), but when combined with the Provolone cheese, Mortadella, Soppressata on Focaccia bread-- hoo boy. WIN! There's some red wine vinegar and and lemon juice in there too to give you that bite. Just an amazing sandwich.
(Side note: Soppressata is the cured meat arranged on the platter in the picture that isn't labeled in the slide show up above. I forgot the name until I was reviewing the recipe for this sandwich. We used the spicy kind on this sandwich; there was also a sweet kind. Think of this as pepperoni's cooler older brother...who buys you beer. Just amazing. The next time I'm on The Strip I'm swinging by Penn Mac and getting some. I'm 99 percent sure they'd have it.)
**Reuben Sandwich: Pretty traditional here. Pastrami or corned beef as the meat, swiss cheese and Thousand Island Dressing (my favorite) on a marble rye. For some reason I've never enjoyed Reuben's, despite me absolutely loving every ingredient that is involved in its creation. I'll admit I haven't had a Reuben since a bad experience with one in the OU Dining Hall, so I might just be skewed on the subject.
TOMORROW WE START CHEESE!!! YOWZA!!!
I've been listening to a lot of Explosions in the Sky as of late. This song, "Your Hand in Mine," happens to be the title track of NBC's Friday Night Lights. In fact, a lot of music on FNL is by this band. Shocking, I know, that if it's related to FNL, I like it. The latest season was amazing (and a must watch when it airs on NBC this spring if you weren't impatient like me and already watched it online).
Others tracks of note-- "The Moon Is Down," "Time Stops," "The Only Moment We Were Alone," and "Look Into the Air." Many others not listed are very good as well...
PS-- "Pacific" starts on HBO tonight (9pm). Even if it's only half as good as "Band of Brothers," it's still going to be better than anything on TV this year. I have no doubts about that. I hope to be able to find it online tomorrow and start following along...
Just some pictures from the parade yesterday. Despite fresh batteries my camera crapped out on me about halfway through. I apologize for the quality of some of the pictures too...I have forgotten how 'meh' my camera can be sometimes...especially when taking pictures of objects in motion.
Swag highlights include a free t-shirt, lots of Irish this and that, and a free ticket to any home Pittsburgh Passion game (a $14 value!). If I could only figure out where they actually *play* these women's professional football games, I'd be in business.
As you can tell, the weather was pretty lame, but it was still fun to have a reason to be outside and venture downtown. A nice change of pace, for sure...
It was a pretty light day today in Catering and Buffet thanks to a mix of lecture and prep for the upcoming week. We still had time, however, to make ourselves something tasty to munch on before calling it a Friday.
The homemade chips were all very good. The russets were your standard potato chips, and honestly I feel they were overshadowed by the beet and sweet potato chips. I'm a sucker for anything involving sweet potatoes, and the beet chips had a really good flavor to them. I was actually kind of surprised about that.
Since we are doing soups and sandwiches on Monday, we touched lightly on sandwiches today. Our group made the chicken burgers. They were *very* good. You mix ground chicken with some bread crumbs and minced, sauteed mushrooms. Topped with provolone cheese and bacon...yowza...you can't go wrong with that.
We also had fried fish sandwiches for those currently shunning meat on Fridays. The Chef is going to get us the beer batter recipe, and I'm glad-- it's very good. For some reason the beer of choice to beer batter at school is Keystone original. Wrap your brain around that one while I laugh a very hearty, "Har-de-har-har."
This is my Chocolate Genoise, which we worked on for pretty much all of Breads kitchen today. If you can't gather it from the name, it's a French way of doing cake, and it's also the subject of our next practical which will begin Tuesday next week.
This is a boring photo, I know, but I will post a new pic Monday when we supposedly frost this bad boy. We will also frost the previously mentioned cupcakes that day (sorry to fail you on providing pics of those today, there was a change of plans due to a change of chefs for the day...bear with me).
I use the term "cake" kind of loosely here. A Genoise is more in the style of a sponge cake, and I can only equate sponge cake to the kind of cake that has probably lured you in previously only to severely disappoint you. It's not that it tastes bad...it just tastes bland. We are going to layer these cakes with frosting and some kind of fruit filling Monday, which will probably make it very tasty, but in its current form pictured above you'd probably be let down by the flavor. It's just not sweet or chocolaty enough.
Another side note-- "French style of doing something" translates by me, the lowly culinary student, to "making something overly complicated for the sake of making it complicated." There are multiple steps where things like the temperature of the beaten eggs, consistency of aforementioned heated eggs and sugar whipped in a mixer, and how you fold the whipped egg/sugar mixture into the flour/cocoa powder can *REALLY* screw you up.
That's what it's a practical item though. You just have to bring your smarts. This isn't insta-cake out of a box, for sure...
The theme of today in Catering and Buffet was SALAD! And none too soon-- I've far exceeded my "meat-before-noon" quota for the month. It's nice to munch on something lighter...
The dish I was responsible for today was the (shocking) Dill Shrimp Salad. I swear to you that I in no way call for or gravitate toward shrimp dishes-- they find me. Despite being slathered in mayo (usually a huge turnoff for me), this dish was mucho tasty. I'm going to bank that thought on either a high quality of the seafood product (debatable) or how it was prepared.
You want to make banging shrimp at home. Take your uncooked shrimp (shell on or off, just has to be uncooked) and put it in a big saute pan with 1 CUP water, 1 CUP white wine, 1 T of minced garlic, a pinch of salt and pepper, and a dash (or three) of Old Bay seasoning. Cook the shrimp in this mixture until either the liquid simmers or the shrimp begin to curl (a sign they are cooked). Very, very simple, right? Yeah...so embrace it, because it's very, very good.
You can reduce what's left of the wine/garlic/water/seasoning to make a sauce of sorts as well. We took this reduction and incorporated it into the mayo to give it an extra seafood kick.
If I talk about all the salads in depth this will be a lengthy post, so let me hit the rest right quick. I can only talk about the shrimp dish in particular since I was responsible for making it-- the rest I'm judging off how it tasted so consider me completely objective.
The Potato Salad, the Cole Slaw, the Beet Salad, the Lentil Salad, and the Tabouli Salad-- pure and simple I didn't have any of them at service. I had a taste of the Tabouli before it was plated and found it pretty bland. I've definitely had better for sure. I go nowhere near mayo-based slaws and potato salads-- gross. Ugh. Beets are not my thing, and I couldn't get motivated to rock the lentils this morning. My plate was full enough anyway.
Waldorf Salad is OK...for a salad composed of apples essentially. The Basque Style Salad was pretty much a pepper bonanza...alright but nothing to write home about (or blog about?). I prefer more greens in my salads I guess.
The scallops were really tasty and made the accompanying salad worthwhile. The Mushrooms ala Grecque is very good...if you like mushrooms (it's essentially just mushrooms marinated for a few days in oil and seasonings). The Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing was delicious. Why? There's bacon on it...case closed.
Winners of the day had to be the Broccoli Prosciutto and Sunflower Salad (there were raisins and walnuts in it...really tied it all together) and the Dill Shrimp Salad I was responsible for. You can't go wrong with shrimp...especially well-prepared shrimp. That's not me boasting, as I would have just sauteed the shrimp in butter. Praise the Chef for intervening.
Gravlax was still lingering around from a previous day. The honey mustard made for it was more Dijon than honey-- right up my alley. I like more zip than sweet in my honey mustards. The blacked salmon (mixed with some grilled pineapple) was VERY good. Probably the best protein of the day...unless you can get past the texture of the Garlic Sausage. I feel like the Garlic Sausage would make a good lunch meat. It just seems perfect for a bit of mustard on some white bread. The homemade smoked pork we had is better than anything you'd find in the store...
These are savory turnovers made with some remaining puff pastry in Breads kitchen this morning. We stuffed ours with ham, parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, thyme, pimentos and roasted red peppers. Think of these as the best Hot Pockets you have ever consumed. The four I have remaining will be my dinner tonight-- for sure.
We also made various cupcakes...but we haven't frosted them yet so no pictures of them for now. I will have more on them tomorrow so be sure to stop back!
