April 10-11, 2012

Jim Dodge, the expert of baking, taught 2 classes.  You think making an apple pie, a sponge cake, a tart, a butter cream is ok I can do it...well I can do it, but it is not as simple as you think.  Chef Dodge's tart shell needs the perfect ratio of butter, flour and cream and his perfect pie crust needs extra cold butter cut in the perfect pieces to work.  The basics of baking is essential but it should be called learn from your mistakes and you will get the basics!

Overall a great teacher and he really knows how to bake!  As I would like to think, I am a good listener and a great student, but he told me to stop and wait and never use your fingers to ice a cake!  Hey now I know haha.

Facts and Tips:

-a good tart dough can be made in the food processor
-don't over do the sugar, let the natural sweetness of fruits shine
-everything should enhance the predominant ingredient
-focus on natural flavors and combinations while baking
-think about textures of the different components - tart shell = crispy, pastry cream = smooth, fruit = bite
-textures enhance flavors - leave the banana in larger slices
-you can get lung issues if you are a chef around a lot of flour - white lung
-learn when to use force and when to not to - rolling dough
-cold butter is important so that it remains a solid and not a liquid. Prevents gluten from forming
-bleached sugar = bleached with animal bones YUCK
-water creates steam in baking and creates moisture - can replace eggs in some recipes

April 9, 2012

Cheesecake, coconut, chocolate and chili! Can you guess we all had another day baking with Janine?  Today we made lemon curd cheesecake, chocolate cheesecake, brownies and Lamingtons.
I have always made my dad's cheesecake recipe and still think it is the best. But the lemon curd was absolutely delicious on top of a plan cheesecake...hmmm my dad's recipe + lemon curd = a great possibility!!

Tips:
-We made miniature cheesecakes and learned that lining muffin pans with plastic wrap is a brilliant idea.  Spray the pan, stick the plastic wrap in (harder than you think) and there you go.  The plastic wrap will not melt in the oven.

-Make sure to use the right chocolate - sweetened chocolate will make the dough chewy.

-Always frost a cold cake

There are different types of cakes - yes there are terms for it!
-high fat/shortened cake
 1. creamy method

• fat is beaten with a paddle until smooth and creamy
• add sugar and beat until light and fluffy
• add flavoring
• add eggs
• add dry ingredients 

2. 2 stage method

• fat is beaten with dry ingredients - fat coats the flour preventing gluten from forming
• liquid is added last

3. 1 stage method

• place wet ingredients in bowl
• dry ingredients are sifted into the wet

-Low fat/foam cake

1. Sponge cake

• eggs and sugar are whipped to a foam
• sift dry ingredients into the wet and fold it in

2. Angel food cake

• egg whites are beaten to a soft peak, add salt and cream tartar and 1/2 of sugar
• flour and 1/2 of the sugar are added in separate bowl 
• fold in egg whites

---chiffon method

April 5, 2012

Today we all made a dinner to honor Chef Auguste Escoffier.  Chef Auguste Escoffier, was the first French Chef to write down recipes and was one of the great and influential leaders in developing French cuisine and methods.  He focused on techniques, ingredients and organized discipline in the kitchens.  A well respected chef that helped to codify French Haute cuisine.

Our Menu:

Duchesses au Caviar

Veloute Saint Germaine aux Lardons

Filets de Sole Nantua et Fleuron

Salade Fraicheur, Micro Verts et Pamplemousse

Tournedos Rossini, Sauce Madere

Omelette en Surprise Elizabeth et Coulis de Framboise

April 4, 2012

Oysters! More oyster but this time we went to Island Creek Oyster farm and saw where the oysters grow and how they are breed, fed and harvested. We went on the day that the oyster were breeding.  This was the first year ICO were making their own "seeds" for themselves and for other partners. Seeds are what they call baby oysters because they are so small they look like seeds.  ICO selected the oysters that they wanted to breed based on shell, cup, size, growth tendency etc.  Oysters need a warm environment to reproduce around 70 degrees.  The waters around here do not get that warm, so oysters must be bred in controlled environments.  Oh and Oysters are hermaphrodites so hopefully you get enough males and females for the day.

Later in the day the Chef from ICO, prepared with us a seasonal menu of clam and fennel soup, crab tortellini with fresh peas, pork loin with mashed potatoes and asparagus and a strawberry rhubarb crumble.

Chef's pasta recipe:
-18 yolks
-2 eggs
-1/4 cup wine
-1/4 cup olive oil
-flour until smooth and not too sticky

Perfect Mashed Potatoes:
-cut potatoes and wash them
-put in salted cold pot water bring to boil and then simmer
-drain when tender
-lay out potatoes on sheet pan and dry them in the oven
-mash in 1/2 butter and 1/2 heavy cream mixture (ADD, ADD and ADD) Potatoes will absorb a lot.
-always keep potatoes warm after mashed
-put through a strainer, adjust salt and pepper and YUM

April 3, 2012

Today Jody Adams taught us great, fresh cooking techniques and how to cater to 70 people.  Her charisma, her calm demeanor and he ability to express what she desires came through and really made us all work well as a team.

We made a deconstructed lasagna, lamb chops with brown butter asparagus and focaccia and for dessert a friend ricotta and pine nut dough with a fig reduction sauce.

Tips:
-To keep a green sauce green, blanch the greens first and shock them or puree them right away.
- we blanched spinach, arugula and basil for the sauce, a little salt and pepper, chopped garlic and finish with butter
-Kneed pasta dough until when you cut down the center no air bubbles are seen
-pasta dough with different grains give a harder bite and a more sophisticated taste
-You can sear off lamb and then finish it in the oven later