February 29, 2012

Today was a packed day.  We started out learning about flavors and flavor combinations.  This lesson really made you think about what you were tasting and how you should combine herbs, oils, and spices. You may think, commonsense, but it is harder than it sounds - combining flavors to taste good.  I am still learning how each herb, oil and spice taste so that I can pull out the flavors in a dish and understand what works and what doesn't.  Play around with flavors - use chicken to explore how flavors combine!

Tips and Concepts about Flavor:
-Herbs: green leafy plant that die after frost
-Spices: bark, berries, seeds that are usually dried - shelf life 2 years
-Dried vs. Fresh = use twice as much fresh as you would use dry
-Tarragon, oregano are better dried
-cilantro, basil are better fresh
-coriander seed = cilantro
-fresh oregano is good on grilled meats
-thyme and bay leaves go with everything
-fresh sage, dill, tarragon - put in end of cooking
-fresh rosemary, oregano, thyme - put in beginning of cooking

Chef Raymond Ost owner of Sandrne's Bistro came in and taught us about French Alsatian cuisine (the border between France and Germany).  An intimidating man because of his stature and his culinary knowledge, Chef Ost trained us on how to carve potatoes, cut onions perfectly and work in large quantities and groups.  I found that when working in larger groups, communication is important. A game plan should be set up  to help eliminate confusion and prevent mishaps.

Tips:
-Always clean your plate before serving
-use white pepper in white food
-be in charge of the food

herbs

testing out flavors with chicken

puff pastry - buy, cut, bake, sprinkle powder sugar, bake and there you go

sausage fest - with kraut

Puff pastry, pastry cream and berries

onion and bacon tarte and mixed greens - Yummy