New York Nortons

Today’s class was all about stocks and emulsified sauces.  We started out at new stations assigned by Chef X.  He introduced his assistant chefs – one from the Italian division and a student chef named Lacy who assisted us during my lobster class last year.  After the one hour lecture about different stocks and techniques we set out to make our 5 stocks.

Ever since the stock lesson last fall, I have been making chicken stock at home on the weekend then storing it in Liz and our corporate apt’s freezer.  Chef Phil said that the FCI French chefs debate the proper ingredients to use when making stock.  I thought the list of ingredients would be rather simple but whether to include celery is apparently a HUGE debate.  Chef Phil said to use only 3 vegetables (onion, leek greens and carrots) plus a bouquet garni of thyme, parsley, bay leaf and peppercorns.  Chef X said a true chicken stock has to have a head of garlic and celery but the leek green was optional.  I learned that all my homemade stocks would never pass at school because I dump it into a strainer instead of carefully ladling it out then straining it through a cheese cloth.  After simmering for several hours, he said our stock was clear and told us to add it to the bucket for use in the school’s kitchen.

The fish stock started with slightly different mix of vegetables (more leek and no carrot) and then we sweated the vegetables.  We also deglazed the pot with wine before adding water and simmering for 20 minutes.  I have no idea what type of fish we used because Lacy hacked it up during the lecture.  All I know is it was white and if you make fish stock at home to use anything from the sole family.  Our fish stock almost did not pass judgment because it was too cloudy – we apparently fussed with it too much while simmering.  The vegetable stock was rather boring but passed judgment.

The last 2 stocks we prepped for were brown veal stock and marmit.  Veal stock is referred to as pure gold in the kitchen and used in most of the dishes we will make.   We roasted a huge pan of bones, deglazed with water, roasted whole vegetables and then added everything to the kitchen’s massive kettle.  It will cook overnight and someone will freeze it for us tomorrow.  I would really like to make veal stock at home but even if I could find a butcher to purchase the bones from, I don’t have a pot large enough to simmer everything.  Maybe when I have my dream kitchen.  Chef X also told us that in Europe they make veal stock from a powder because of mad cow disease.  I need to research this more and see if I can taste a difference when I’m there in April.  The marmit stock is made with the the same veal bones and vegetables but nothing is roasted first.  Marmit is a white stock, not a brown stock.  It also had to cook in another kitchen’s kettle through the evening.  We did burn (literally) the face of onions to make the marmit stock a brown color but it is still a white stock – just nod your head yes because it seems odd to me too.  Chef X always adds burnt onions to his veal stock too because it makes the color richer, but this is not traditional.  The Italian chef said he was cheating!  We will use the marmit in the future to make consumè.

Then it was time for emulsified sauces.  We watched Chef X make mayonnaise then everyone was off to create their own.  Now, I have not eaten the white crap in the jar in years.  When you make your own mayo it is not white because it has Dijon mustard and a fresh egg yolk.  You can also customize the mayo by using flavored oil or different vinegar/citrus.  Mine had a great back flavor of mustard, slightly salty and great texture – not too thick but held a stiff peak.  Chef X said it was great and I added it to the jar for use in the school’s restaurant.  The last task for the day was making hollandaise.  At this point I was mentally tired and my sauce failed… twice.  Chef X made the perfect hollandaise.  It draped perfectly over a mis cup (pretending it was a fried egg).  He couldn’t even break the sauce on purpose to show us how to fix it.  During the demo, the Italian chef argued with Chef X about which country invented hollandaise – the French claim they did, the Italians think the French stole their sabayon to create hollandaise.  I made a dessert sabayon at home during Christmas and it turned out delicious.  I confidently assisted my team member with the hollandaise, but I added way too much lemon and over whisked it to a consistency of mayo.  By the time Chef X tasted it, it was cold and he made a horrible pucker because of the lemon.  So, we tried again.  This time we left it over the heat longer to create a stronger emulsification before adding the lemon, clarified butter, cayenee pepper and salt.  Our temperature was better and it had the right consistency and shine.  I think it would have passed judgement if it wasn’t orange – my partner had added way too much cayenne.  Lacy tried to help us by whisking in more butter but it was hopeless.  Other students couldn’t even create an emulsification but that didn’t make me feel any better – I was defeated.

I brought containers to bring home stock but everything was either frozen for future classes or donated to the restaurant.  Next week we learn how to create a roux and derivatie sauces based on each stock – sauce tomate, sauce bechamel, sauce bordelaise, sauce espagnole and about a dozen more.  I see a lot of reductions, de-glazing and whisking in my future.  Enjoy the pictures.

Ash cooking

Today we actually turned on the burners and oven but spent the most of the class turning vegetables.  I can’t tell you how sore the thin muscle in my left forearm (Daniel said it’s the extensor brevis) is today.  I spent about an hour creating 4 potato cocottes Friday night that Chef X graded in class.  Class started out like normal setting up our station, peeling vegetables and learning more technique on how to cut potatoes, carrots, turnips, and artichokes.  We also threw in green beans, peas and pearl onions.  Back at our stations, Chef X announced that we had 15 minutes to create 4 potato cocottes – starting now.   You could hear a pin drop in the kitchen because everyone was silent with concentration.  Last night, it took me over an hour to create the same thing!  I quickly cut the basic shape of each piece then spent the last 5 minutes smoothing out the edges.  Next we had 15 minutes to create 4 cocottes from the carrot then the turnip.  The carrot was really solid and hard to shape.  I thought the turnip would be easy but they were old so the meat was spongy and hard in spots.  By the end, I was very proud of my turned vegetables.  Next up was the artichoke.  In my essentials class, I completely butchered my product.  Today I really tried to get the paring knife in the right location and conquer the artichoke.  Since we only needed the heart, we didn’t use most of the product which annoyed some people.  I’m very indifferent to the taste of artichokes, so I didn’t really care.

Then the time came to fire up the burners and ovens, and we finally we got to cook something!  Today we learned how to cook vegetables a l’anglaise (blanching in hot salted water and then shocking in ice), glacer (glazing) a blanc, a blond and a brun (water with a pinch of butter, salt and sugar with a parchment-paper lid) and a blanc.  We cooked the peas and beans a l’anglaise.  We cooked the turnips glacer a blanc, carrots glacer a blond and pear onions a brun.  Quick tip: to peel the onions soak them in warm water while cutting your other vegetables. Also make sure to remove the second skin or it will burn and taste bitter.  We cooked the trimmed artichokes dans un blanc.  Basically we simmered them in water with a little oil, salt, flour and lemon juice.  I doubt I will every do this at home because it just seemed mushy when we fished it out of the water an hour later.  The pommes rissolees were my favoite part.  In the essentials class we made the dish with little balls cut using a parisienne scoop (mellon-baller).   This is a 4 step process 1)blanch in unsalted water 2)air dry 3)saute in oil and 4)roast in a 400 degree oven.  Our text book describes it as a 3 step process leaving out the crucial air drying step.  Chef X said if we leave out the air drying on our test the entire answer will be wrong.  Oh the test – anxiety already.

At the end of the class we presented our first plate for judging.  While my green beans were too al dente (probably in response to eating brown mushy green beans my entire life at family gatherings which everyone loved but me) my pommes risolees were highly praised!!!  We stuffed the artichoke with the peas in the center of the plate and neatly grouped the other vegetables around using odd numbers and balancing colors.  After presentation, I quickly ate the potatoes, carrots and onions and cleaned up my station for the day.

Next week Chef X will assign our stations based on each students strength.  I really liked my partner the past 2 weeks because she worked cleanly, quietly and we really shared the duties.  Our lesson next week is all about stocks!!!  While it includes emulsified sauces at the end, I’m not sure we will have enough time to learn sauces too.  If we do I know one thing for sure – my whisking arm will be just as sore as my paring knife forearm muscle!!!

Ash cooking, nyc

I started back in cooking classes at the French Culinary Institute yesterday this time taking the 22 week course: Culinary Technique.  I loved the 8 week Essentials of Fine cooking so much that I decided to commit 22 Saturdays to really learn how to cook.  I thought about the 5 week Breakfast Breads class but lets face it – I don’t have the counter space to make croissants.  Our first class almost didn’t happen because of the storm of the century.  A part of me almost wanted to get snowed in and have class canceled like I was 10 years old.  My neighbor reminded me that even if we got a foot of snow Jubilee market would be open and I could walk to Bway & Grand.

My class of 24 students is very diverse this time and not shy.  Our locker rooms are on the 3rd floor with the library, the classroom is on the 4th floor next to the Italian kitchen and I get a photo badge!!!  After changing into our uniform (complete with neckerchief) we walked back to the waiting area and Chef Xavier Mayonove is standing there!!!  I had 4 different teachers during my Essentials class.  I really liked having different instructors because they had very different teaching styles.  The last 2 weeks we had Chef X – born in Corsica, he is a passionate teacher with a very thick French accent.  If he doesn’t remember the English word, he just inserts the French one with an American accent.  He doesn’t put up with any student’s hair being outside their hat, he won’t let you snack on the food you make until after plating and don’t even think about leaving the classroom without his permission.  He walked over to me and said , “Ashley, I know you, which class were you in?”  He had coached me through dismembering a live lobster last December.  Naturally, I was memorable.  Because he didn’t have any student assistants, I was his go to errand girl.  “Ashley, take this group to the 2nd floor for water.”  “Ashley, what is this pot called?”  “Ashley, please put up the fine chinois.”  He expects a lot from his students and when I couldn’t figure out how to calibrate my thermometer (which he pronounces it like ‘terminator’) he shook his head and said “oh Ashley.” How deflating!!!!!

We spent the entire class on taillage – a method of cutting vegetables.  In my first Essentials class we “learned” the same cuts and cooked 2 vegetable dishes in the same amount of time.  I would have been lost with my lack of knife skills if I hadn’t taken the Essentials class.  This time I could really focus on cutting the onion confidently and precisely.  Thankfully Daniel had sharpened my knives the night before.  I learned another method of cutting a finer ciseler (dice) which I need to practice.  Everyone made a half sheet pan of:

1. Onion: emicer and ciseler
2. Carrots: jardiniere, macedoine, julienne and brunoise
3. Turnip: jardiniere and macedoine
4. Leek: emicer, julienne and brunoise
5. Cabbage: chiffonade

If we accomplished that with time left, then we attempted to cut 4 5 centimeter long cocottes from a single potato.  After peeling and quartering a potato, with a pairing knife cut seven sides then smooth out the edges. This sounds easy but it very hard.  First, you have to know how to use your pairing knife correctly which makes my hand cramp.  Then you have to have the control to turn the vegetable – like following the shape of an egg laterally.  Our homework is to bring in 4 potatoes tourner for Chef X to critique.

I actually made it through class without cutting any fingers.  Every time someone sliced a finger Chef X would yell out the number then quickly bandage the wound and send he student back to their station to continue.  When I sliced my thumb in Essentials I took the time to bandage it, cover with a finger condom and avoided my pairing knife the rest of the class.  I better not cut my finger in this class.  Finally Chef X came to inspect my tray and pointed to each cut quickly and I had to name the cut – macedoine, ciseler, brunoise, ciseler, jardiniere, emicer, etc etc.  I’m ok at pronouncing each cut but need to learn how to spell them for my written test!!!!

We don’t have class next week because the school is closed for President’s Day.  I will spend the weekend watching the Winter Olympics and making chicken stock.

Ash cooking, nyc

Daniel has Daily Mile, Twitter, Facebook and Run Talk Radio to blog about his life so I’m using this site as my cooking journal. I hope you enjoy.

PS: I reserve the right at any time to give up on this blog like I have done with every other journal I’m not a writer like Tay.

Ash cooking