Chef Tomm gave each of us a chance to create two courses of our own choosing using at least 2 of the 3 proteins he picked: ahi tuna, calamari and shrimp/prawns (differing sizes). He went around and labeled our stations with "A-1", "A-2" and so on. I set up at A-1 prior to the labeling …
Day 33 – Nutrition II
The grapefruit, fennel, artichoke, watercress and walnut salad was delicious. The grapefruit vinaigrette was so nice and light, especially due to the sweetness of the fresh grapefruits we worked with today. Here's the recipe (it's really simple): 1-2 Tablespoons walnut oil, 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons fresh grapefruit juice you reserved after …
Day 32 – Nutrition (and bacon?)
Today was the first of two days on nutrition. Really, nutritious French food? I guess it depends on your definition of nutritious. The recipe we made today indeed had no butter in it, but it had huge bacon lardons in it (as seen in the picture above), and the bacon was cooked in with the …
Day 32 – Crepes and Banana Fritters
Friday was crepe day! For all the things I have made in my life, never have I made crepes. There are so many crepe eateries in San Francisco that if I want one - and a good one - there are places to go. I think the best part of making them was trying to …
Day 31 – “The bomb” (yes, pate a bombe)…more sweets
This is a picture of my very own Genoise: whole egg foam cake with a coffee-buttercream. I'd like to say the few flaws on it are due to the jostling and car ride home, but honestly, it's my lack of precision cake-decorating skills. However, overall, I'm pretty psyched it turned out looking as good as …
Continue reading Day 31 – “The bomb” (yes, pate a bombe)…more sweets
Day 30 – Tarts and a quiche! Another fantastic fat day.
Oh Mark, for all of our whining that we are no good at pastries, I think our tarts turned out well. The apple tart was incredible-tasting (thanks, Ian, for the calvados addition!), even if our apple slicing and design skills leave much to be desired. I know, I know, we did screw up our puff …
Continue reading Day 30 – Tarts and a quiche! Another fantastic fat day.
Days 28 and 29 – Ice Cream and Profiteroles – yeah, sweets!
Yesterday we worked on ice creams, sorbets, granites and sherbets. Yummmmm. Anne and I had the best sorbet, we're convinced. We didn't have an exact recipe, as there wasn't enough fresh grapefruit juice, so we had to use a raspberry puree and adjust the sugar and the acid content. It worked out splendidly. We also …
Continue reading Days 28 and 29 – Ice Cream and Profiteroles – yeah, sweets!
Days 25, 26, and the weekend – Food Costing, Eggs, Sushi, and Saturday at SF Chefs 2011
Day 25 - After a day of offal, some math was a welcome change. We spent a large part of Day 25 talking about the calculations used to figure out edible portion costs and the "Q" factor that one must include when doing accurate food costing. Although some of our eyes were glazing over after …
Day 24 – Disgusting, I mean organ meats
I think I was so disgusted I forgot to take any pictures of our finished dishes today. So, above is the only picture I have: Chef Peter and Heather are taking the outside connective tissue off a calf's liver. We started off by cleaning kidneys and lamb tongue. The kidneys had a bit of a …
Day 23 – More lamb and rabbit, along with some fab dinners at home
Okay, okay, we didn't make this at school. I made it for dinner tonight and Carnet loved it. I made 2 whole branzinis (gutted and heads cut off) stuffed with thinly sliced lemons, fresh dill, and sauteed leeks, topped with really good olive oil and a bit of ghee, and steamed in an incredible semillon/sauvignon …
Continue reading Day 23 – More lamb and rabbit, along with some fab dinners at home
Salty Apron 