Superior Cuisine: 11-21

I haven’t been deathly ill the past few weeks, which would’ve been a good excuse as to why I haven’t updated in awhile, but I have been quite busy.  A lot has been going on school wise.  Not only have we passed the 20 lesson mark, but we also completed two ateliers, which are workshops in which we create out own menu with a provided ingredient list.  In this post I’ll share about what we did during our regular practicals, and in my next post I’ll write more about what the ateliers were like and what I made!

Lesson 11: Noisettes De Chevreuil, Sauce Grand Veneur

Noisettes of venison with grand veneur sauce. This was my first time cooking venison, which one friend referred to as Bambi. Cooking it wasn’t much different from veal or beef, but there was definitely a gamier, heartier taste. The whole dish had a good balance between sweet (poached quince and pears) and savory (braised lettuce), which I always love.

Lesson 12: Grenadin de Veau Sauté, Polenta au Parmesan, Artichaut Poivrade Farci

Sauteed veal grenadin, polenta with parmesan, stuffed poivrade artichoke. The sauce accompanying this dish was citrus based, which is one of my favorite flavors, but one I found a little bit difficult to make.  Finding the balance between enough acidity, meaning enough to capture the essence but not overpower.  Mine turned out a little too sour, which, as much as I tried, I couldn’t really rectify.

Atelier 13:

More on this in the next post!

Lesson 14: Noix de Saint-Jacques Juste Poêlées, Parmentier de Barbes et Beurre de Carotte

Lightly pan-fried scallops, scallop Parmentier, and carrot butter.  The flavor combo in this dish was phenomenal.  The carrot based sauce was sweet and slightly unctuous, I definitely want to make this for my family one day.  I tried to be a bit more modern with my plating, but I don’t think it looked quite as polished as I would have liked.

Lesson 15: Pavé de Saumon en Croûte d’Herbes, Flan de Champignons, Jus Crémeux au Madère

Herb crusted thick salmon steak, mushroom flan, creamy jus with Madeira. I really didn’t like the way this plate looked, but I was really proud of my turned mushroom (making grooved lines on a champignon with a knife blade)! The only pretty thing on the plate.  Some of the chefs really don’t like turned mushrooms because it’s outdated and too old school.  But, I think it’s a nice technique to have in your back pocket…who knows maybe the trend will come back one day.

Lesson 16: Filet de veau en Croûte de Morilles, Purée de Pommes de Terre à la Pomme Caramélisée, Compote d’Échalotes au Balsamique, Racines Glacées, Sauce au Porto

Veal tenderloin with morel mushroom crust, potato puree with caramelized apple, balsamic shallot compote, glazed root vegetables, Port wine sauce. Although there are a lot of components on the dish, it wasn’t too complicated to execute.  What’s been really great about superior is that we’ve been working more in pairs and groups, which I really like.  We always cook the main item of the dish (the veal in this dish) individually, but a lot of times we’ll do the vegetable garnishes together.

Lesson 17: Sole Farcie aux Champignons, Servie avec sa Sauce Glacée à l’Ancienne, Crêpes Célestines aux Coquillages

Sole stuffed with mushrooms served with sauce glacée à l’ancienne, célestines crêpes with shellfish.  Believe it or not, this was my first time making crepes! Kind of sad for a foodie and culinary student, but it was my first time.  The trick is to make them as thin as possible and to be patient before flipping them over.  We also learned a new technique on how to debone a sole while keeping it whole.  A bit tricky and time consuming (the chef told us it should be done in 10 minutes, but I don’t think any of us were that fast), but pretty cool.

Atelier 18:

Next post!

Lesson 19: Filet de Lotte Poêlé, Sauce aux Parfums de Provence et Purée de Légumes Oubliés

Panfried monkfish, sauce with Provence flavors, and heirloom vegetable puree. The last time we cooked monkfish in Intermediate, everyone had a hard time and ending up hating the fish, but this time it was much better…mostly because we left the bone in this time.

Lesson 20: Filet de Boeuf Rôti, Sauce Mi-Venaison au Soja, Tempura de Légumes et Pommes Macaire

Roast beef tenderloin, mi-venaison marinade with soy, vegetable tempura and macaire potatoes.  The beef here was marinated with a “cooked” marinade, which is made up of precooked aromatics and poured over the beef while still hot. It’s a sort of substitute for “raw” marinades that are usually made more in advance.

Lesson 21: Filet de Bar Cuit à Basse Température, Légumes Glacés, Coulis D’Herbes

Sea bass fillet cooked at a low temperature, glazed vegetables and herb coulis.  This practical was a bit of treat.  We had two chefs come in (one was just hanging out even though he wasn’t scheduled to be with our class) and help us out in plating.  The dish was really easy and simple execution wise, so our chef asked us to focus more on plating for this class.  It was really nice to see what everyone came up with at the end, something we’ve never done before.  Although everyone’s food was exactly the same, to see how different a dish can look was a lot of fun.