Gambas!

I made this dish with another classmate. I needed the help peeling all those shrimp which was murder for my fingers since the package they came in was frozen. they were simple to make, sauted in olive oil, chili flakes, and a spanish paprika. We had a little lecture about spain afterward with a whole break-down of the way they eat their meals. Actually, they eat a lot like me. they have a light breakfast or sometimes no real breakfast because they like to wake up late (like me). then they have a light lunch around 2, followed by a nap. then a little tea break around 4 or 5pm. then a little light dinner around 7 pm (like tapas and little appetizer sized portions) and then a real full course grand meal around 9 or 10pm. It seems like they must eat so much that they must face some obesity problem but not that what they do it is wholesome and fresh. They have wonderful local produce, wines, olive oils, seafood, etc. I've been to most of Europe but not Spain so i really hope to visit sometime in the near future. I'd also love to see more Spanish resturants. i only know of two "semi-decent" ones in LA and i know of a few in New York, but i think its a very tasty cuisine thats a bit underrated.

Paella!

We did a whole spanish buffet/banquet spread on tuesday. This reminded me a lot of my Garde Manger class because it was everyone in class kind of working together towards a big buffet, its not like individual plated dishes. However, the banquet was supposed to be for 16 people and we henceforth needed to make little tapas plates that all look indetical. The paella was the exception (because no one eats an individual paella, its meant to be a communal dish). Its gorgeous (and yummy!) but sadly i cant take credit for it because other people in the class made it. I did make the shrimp "gambas" which will be in the next post...

Aww, poor thumper!

ok so this is the rabbit. Its actually a rabbit roullade (with the leg/thigh meat) and rabbit loin which was crusted with bread crumbs (i know its a bit hard to tell). After the frogs legs, i was hesitant about try anymore out of the ordinary proteins, but i was pleasantly surprised. i actually am not to keen on duck, but i actually really enjoyed this, i am ashamed to admit. I fabricated poor bugs or thumper on Tuesday and it just looked so much like a rabbit, that it freaked me out a bit. But oddly enough, and not to sound too cliche, its a lot like chicken, maybe a little "meatier" perhaps leaner although i am not sure. Actually, i think its maybe more comparable to pork, hmm maybe a cross between the too. There is a fava and mushroom ragu with i think came out nicely beside it, with fried sage as a garnish, because anything fried is better, right?
Anyhows, I am really digging this class. Since there are little to no cooking demos we (the students) are really getting our chance to execute creative control and as the chef said "we're letting you fly". Garde Manger and baking were ok and the lessons were invaluable, but i really enjoyed my intro II class and i feel like this is like a big, grown-up, up-grade from that class. Next week we do Spanish, German, Belgian (my dad's Belgian, we'll see what HE has to say about the authenticity), Swiss, and Italian cuisine. I am lucky to have visited most the countries so we'll see how "authentic" they really are.

Frogs legs!

bleh, apparently a delicacy right? i know some people who actually like them, but they look too much like human muscles, and they taste like overcooked fish (or maybe i just overcooked mine?). We needed to serve it with a starch and veggie (like most entrees) so i chose polenta and baby carrots, still, I couldn't manage to make this look appetizing....

Bouillanbaise

Here's my Bouillabaisse, a provincial south of France fish stew. I've actually had some in Cannes and it was way better. Our recipe was a bit different because the end result did not have a lot of vegtables left and i remember the loads of stewed veggies in the Bouillabaisse i had in France. My Chef said it needed more salt, i am not going to argue, the truth is, i made a big batch so didn't realize i might need a lot more salt for the individual bowl to taste ok. I could have done better but i don't think it was a total disaster.

Welcome to International!

I apologize for not updating daily, its been a jam packed week. Anyhow, Garde Manger is over and on to the last formal cooking class because after this class i start to do a rotation where i work at the school's cafe, res truant, receiving, etc. I must say though, this was the class i was most physicked about when i heard about the whole program. Of course, every class gets harder and harder, and yes, this class is challenging and a lot of work (besides cooking) but its interesting to learn about different cuisines and we cover about 30 countries! Everyday is usually a different country, with this week being the except. This week was a lot about French food although some days we primarily focused on classical dishes and while other were provincial. I have loads of pics to share so with each picture of the dishes i made this week, I'll share some info about the class and the feelings that brewed in me. This was the first dish we had to make, nothing fancy but this was actually a practical quiz, we needed to make steak au poive with three tourneed potatoes with beans. I am not sure how i did. my sauce could have been darker but i think i did ok on the doneness which was supposed to be medium rare. I freaked out a bit because i thought initially it was overdone because i got a very thin piece compared to the others around me, but i think it turned out ok, i saw the color inside and it look medium.

my final buffet!

so i ditched my Dr. Seuss idea (sorry leslie, i know you were into that after the whole Horton who pancake fiasco) and went with "garden of eden". That tree there in the background is the tree of life made out of salt dough. Its not my proudest achievement but at least i made it through and it looks decent. I did the best i could, given the circumstances. My next class, International cuisines. This should be fun since i love to travel and have been almost everywhere. let see how authentic a french culinary school can be....