So as I mentioned in my last post, this week's menu was Wild Mushroom Terrine with Aspic. I was excited about the terrine, as I have always wanted to make pate. To my chagrin, the process of preparing a vegetarian terrine, such as the one we did in class, is completely different from that of preparing a meat or liver pate.
Essentially, vegetable terrines/pates have a veloute as their base. After having prepared the veloute, perfectly of course so that there are no lumps, you add the veg (wild mushrooms, brunoise of red and yellow peppers, garlic, etc) and the gelatin. This is done rather quickly, so that the veloute does not cool down, so that the gelatin does not set before you have the chance to fold in some whipped cream. By adding the whipped cream, the terrine becomes a mousseline. Anything to which you add whipped cream is then necessarily called a mousseline. The whipped cream is a must in this dish in particular, only because it adds a level of richness and fluffiness it would otherwise lack.
Once the mixture is added to the terrine mold, it is immediately placed in a bowl full of ice in the fridge. Under normal circumstances, anything with gelatin like this would sit overnight so that it sets properly. Of course, at school we do not have that sort of time, which meant that our terrines were softer than an ideal product.
Along with the terrine, we prepared aspic. Aspic is traditionally prepared with veal or pork knuckles rather than powdered gelatin. Once again, due to time constraints, we were unable to prepare it in the traditional fashion (sigh). Either way, the use of the aspic to decorate the plate with flowers designed with very thinly sliced, and blanched, veg, was a lot more difficult than I had anticipated.
The minute the warm aspic hits the cold plate it sets. This means that you have to be quick. The other frustrating part about using aspic is that you cannot fix it if you've made a mistake. Trust me on this one, as I tried my best to fill a whole on the plate where the aspic hadn't filled in. It was not a good idea. Either way though, I did pretty well. Chef Reid loved my flower design that I made with leek and carrot and thought my terrine tasted great.
This week in Banquet production our star ingredient was duck (YAY!). We had two full ducks per team. We broke them down completely and rendered down all of the fat for duck confit. The legs were obviously used for the confit, which, once again, was not as succulent and tender as it should have been due to time constraints (as it should be cooked at a really low temperature in its own fat overnight or for at least 6-8 hours). Still, since I LOVE DUCK, I was more than happy to take the leftovers home. We seared the breasts to medium rare (duck breasts should never be cooked longer) and served them fanned out on a bed of braised peas with pearl onions alongside turned potatoes. We browned the bones and mirepoix and used them to make a delicious blueberry sauce. We made a demi-glace with the bones and stock and then added blueberry wine, fresh blueberries, and a teaspoon of black current jelly (yum yum!). It was a glorious meal, one I will surely repeat (kind of a big deal considering what I've said in the past about what I've cooked at school)
'Til next time...
Monday, February 1, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Back to School
So I've been back to school for a week now. I've started my second semester with a completely different group of students, with the exception of my partner in crime Moira, whom I've grown close with and spend all my time with at school. She is also 22, has been to University in Halifax (Dalhousie), and enjoys similar past times. We have class at 8 am (meaning we have to be at school by 7:30) Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Wednesday we start at noon and Friday's we have class at 10. This semester's schedule, therefore, is certainly more draining that last - a result of all the early mornings and no days off.
To recap on last semester, I did pretty well on my final exam, and very well overall. I got A's or A-'s in all of my classes, as well as one A+ in food theory! I was pleasantly surprised by my final grade in Culinary Skills (the practical lab), and was even happier by Chef Mac's comments on my cooking style and capabilities. She wished me luck, and gave me the confidence I had perhaps been lacking throughout the semester.
There is no doubt that my biggest frustration last semester was the lack of care and passion of other students. It was hugely annoying to come to class and be asked constantly by peers what we were doing, what the recipes were, and whether they could borrow utensils they had forgotten to bring with them. Unfortunately, this semester has been no better, and I fear that the next year and a half at George Brown will certainly test my patience when it comes to working with others. A huge proportion of students in every class I have could not give a shit about their culinary work here, not to mention their complete learning experience. I am beginning to realize this may never change.
As a result of the severe irritation I often feel while in class, my inner bitch is progressively coming out. I find myself angrily and sarcastically commenting on group members in my Banquet group who just have no idea what they're doing, and care even less about the final product they end up producing. Moira is the same way, and the two of us have, on occasion, overheard other students talking about us and our "know-it-all" attitudes. Honestly, I could care less what most students think of me, as I hope to never professionally work with a lot of them. I just hope the next year and a half is still pleasant considering, and that some of the students who don't belong here get weeded out along the way.
Anyways, moving on, in the first week of lab, we prepared squash soup and chicken bouillon. It was a relatively easy lab, and I did pretty well. My big mistake, which lost me most of my marks, was that the proportion of spy apples in my squash soup was slightly overwhelming and muted the flavour of the squash. Although I followed the recipe exactly, using 1 1/2 apples, Chef Reid (my new culinary chef) said that my apples were larger than the recipe had called for. I guess what I have to take from this is that I have to get better at trusting my own instincts when it comes to interpreting the menu.
Next week we are doing a mushroom terrine with aspic. This particular lab has a reputation for being quite difficult. I will post next Sunday about how it went.
To recap on last semester, I did pretty well on my final exam, and very well overall. I got A's or A-'s in all of my classes, as well as one A+ in food theory! I was pleasantly surprised by my final grade in Culinary Skills (the practical lab), and was even happier by Chef Mac's comments on my cooking style and capabilities. She wished me luck, and gave me the confidence I had perhaps been lacking throughout the semester.
There is no doubt that my biggest frustration last semester was the lack of care and passion of other students. It was hugely annoying to come to class and be asked constantly by peers what we were doing, what the recipes were, and whether they could borrow utensils they had forgotten to bring with them. Unfortunately, this semester has been no better, and I fear that the next year and a half at George Brown will certainly test my patience when it comes to working with others. A huge proportion of students in every class I have could not give a shit about their culinary work here, not to mention their complete learning experience. I am beginning to realize this may never change.
As a result of the severe irritation I often feel while in class, my inner bitch is progressively coming out. I find myself angrily and sarcastically commenting on group members in my Banquet group who just have no idea what they're doing, and care even less about the final product they end up producing. Moira is the same way, and the two of us have, on occasion, overheard other students talking about us and our "know-it-all" attitudes. Honestly, I could care less what most students think of me, as I hope to never professionally work with a lot of them. I just hope the next year and a half is still pleasant considering, and that some of the students who don't belong here get weeded out along the way.
Anyways, moving on, in the first week of lab, we prepared squash soup and chicken bouillon. It was a relatively easy lab, and I did pretty well. My big mistake, which lost me most of my marks, was that the proportion of spy apples in my squash soup was slightly overwhelming and muted the flavour of the squash. Although I followed the recipe exactly, using 1 1/2 apples, Chef Reid (my new culinary chef) said that my apples were larger than the recipe had called for. I guess what I have to take from this is that I have to get better at trusting my own instincts when it comes to interpreting the menu.
Next week we are doing a mushroom terrine with aspic. This particular lab has a reputation for being quite difficult. I will post next Sunday about how it went.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
DINNER PARTIES GALORE
For my final exam coming up in the next couple weeks, students are provided with ingredients from which they are expected to prepare three dishes: roasted stuffed chicken legs with a Jus Lie, sweet potato mash, and glazed battonets of turnips, carrots, and french green beans. We were given lists of ingredients for each dish, but no method. Instead, we filled out the method ourselves and handed this portion of our exam in a week before the practical.
Because I have such wonderful friends who are always more than willing to eat my food, I thought hosting a dinner party featuring this meal (well almost) would be great practice/studying for my final. I invited 16 of my closest friends, ordered eight chickens from the butcher down at the market, purchased all the ingredients plus some, and got down to business. Butchering and de-boning eight chickens was sure as hell more time consuming than I had anticipated, but very useful for the fine-tuning of my skills. It took me almost three hours to butcher all of the chickens.
Instead of making the glazed battonets of vegetables, which I figure (or hope) I will have little trouble with, I made a simple ratatouille - as I cringed at the thought of serving such elementary garbage to my guests.
Instead of stuffing the chicken leg with a farce of ground chicken, I opted for ground lamb. The idea of stuffing chicken with chicken seemed slightly redundant to be honest (and honestly, who wouldn't prefer lamb?). The stuffing turned out better than I had expected, and everyone who didn't have a moral problem with eating lamb absolutely loved it!
Because I didn't want to waste any part of the chickens that I had butchered, and I knew some of my friends only eat white meat, I stuffed the breasts with a spinach, goat-cheese, and pine nut filling. In addition, I used the bones from the chickens to make a stock that I used for a demi-glace sauce. I also kept all the extra fat and rendered it down, using it instead of butter in my ratatouille (as it has a lot more flavour!).
The stuffed chicken legs turned out great. Everyone loved the meal, and I feel relatively confident that I will do well in my exam! I'll let you guys know...
Because I have such wonderful friends who are always more than willing to eat my food, I thought hosting a dinner party featuring this meal (well almost) would be great practice/studying for my final. I invited 16 of my closest friends, ordered eight chickens from the butcher down at the market, purchased all the ingredients plus some, and got down to business. Butchering and de-boning eight chickens was sure as hell more time consuming than I had anticipated, but very useful for the fine-tuning of my skills. It took me almost three hours to butcher all of the chickens.
Instead of making the glazed battonets of vegetables, which I figure (or hope) I will have little trouble with, I made a simple ratatouille - as I cringed at the thought of serving such elementary garbage to my guests.
Instead of stuffing the chicken leg with a farce of ground chicken, I opted for ground lamb. The idea of stuffing chicken with chicken seemed slightly redundant to be honest (and honestly, who wouldn't prefer lamb?). The stuffing turned out better than I had expected, and everyone who didn't have a moral problem with eating lamb absolutely loved it!
Because I didn't want to waste any part of the chickens that I had butchered, and I knew some of my friends only eat white meat, I stuffed the breasts with a spinach, goat-cheese, and pine nut filling. In addition, I used the bones from the chickens to make a stock that I used for a demi-glace sauce. I also kept all the extra fat and rendered it down, using it instead of butter in my ratatouille (as it has a lot more flavour!).
The stuffed chicken legs turned out great. Everyone loved the meal, and I feel relatively confident that I will do well in my exam! I'll let you guys know...
Monday, November 23, 2009
HOSTING DINNER PARTIES
Saturday, November 7th, I hosted my biggest and classiest dinner party to date. I had promised my father a celebration for his birthday, one in which I would cook for him and all his friends. With a guest list of 16, and a budget twice as big as my usual $10/person, I planned a menu I was sure damn proud of:
Appetizers:
1) Roasted garlic swirls (using puffed pastry)
2) Portabello mushroom and brie squares (again, on puffed pastry)
First course:
1) Cream of tomato soup w/ basil whipped cream
- Croustillon w/ blue cheese.
Main Course:
1) Beef Wellington (w/ fillet mignon, prosciutto ham, portabello puree, & puffed pastry)
2) Roasted Winter Vegetables seasoned with smoked salt (winter squash, potatoes, rutabaga, parsnips, turnips, celery root, carrots)
Dessert:
1) Ruby Red Grapefruit and Sweet Orange Salad
2) Ginger & Lemon Whipped Cream
It took me two full days of shopping and cooking (at least 8 hours a day) to prepare for this meal. It was a huge hit with all of the guests, who were blown away that I'd done it all myself. When asked if these were recipes and techniques I'd learned at Chef School, I quietly laughed, sarcastically responding no, of course not. To tell you the truth, I would never repeat anything I've cooked at school for guests.
Appetizers:
1) Roasted garlic swirls (using puffed pastry)
2) Portabello mushroom and brie squares (again, on puffed pastry)
First course:
1) Cream of tomato soup w/ basil whipped cream
- Croustillon w/ blue cheese.
Main Course:
1) Beef Wellington (w/ fillet mignon, prosciutto ham, portabello puree, & puffed pastry)
2) Roasted Winter Vegetables seasoned with smoked salt (winter squash, potatoes, rutabaga, parsnips, turnips, celery root, carrots)
Dessert:
1) Ruby Red Grapefruit and Sweet Orange Salad
2) Ginger & Lemon Whipped Cream
It took me two full days of shopping and cooking (at least 8 hours a day) to prepare for this meal. It was a huge hit with all of the guests, who were blown away that I'd done it all myself. When asked if these were recipes and techniques I'd learned at Chef School, I quietly laughed, sarcastically responding no, of course not. To tell you the truth, I would never repeat anything I've cooked at school for guests.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Week 7, 8, & 9: Eggs and Dairy, Short Order Sandwiches, Convenience Food
Week 7 we were responsible for egg cookery, a rather deceptively hard yet simple task in the kitchen. While eggs have very simple and quick cooking processes, they are really easy to fuck up and fairly time consuming to master.
Eggs cook very quickly, and usually call for relatively low heat. They are complex bundles or protein and fat, with the white, protein-rich part of the egg cooking/coagulating at a lower temperature than the yellow yolk - high in both protein, vitamins, and fat and often used for its emulsifying and/or enriching qualities.
Rather than bore you with all the technical details, I will instead boast about my successful first attempt at a french omelet. Not only was I the first to get it right, but on my first goddamn try! I must have had good luck, or maybe I'm just a natural omelet-pro (the latter being doubtful considering my second and third attempts were no better than my first!). Either way, I was certainly pleased, and so was our Chef.
Short Order Sandwiches, were, as one would presume, pretty straightforward. Fortunately, part of our lab included roasting a half chicken (breasts), which is something I've never done - I've only ever roasted full chickens. It's a pretty simple procedure: cover the chicken breasts in oil, season with salt and white pepper, place on hot roasting pan and place in oven at 450F for ten minutes. This will kind of sear the chicken and will help jump start the browning of the skin. After ten to fifteen minutes, turn the heat down to 350-75F, and bake for about half an hour, or until it reaches an internal temperature of at least 165F.
We also got to use a lot of new Asian ingredients I have never used before. We made an oriental coleslaw with Savoy cabbage, daikon, sesame oil, ginger, snow peas, peppers and a few other seasonings I can't seem to remember.
We made egg salad sandwiches, with our own homemade mayonnaise. The mayonnaise recipe was totally off, and stupidly following it without thinking twice, I added far too much lemon juice, meaning my mayo turned out a bit runny. By extension, therefore, my egg salad was slightly runny as well.
Convenience Foods (not totally sure why these dishes were categorized as such) included poached frenched chicken breast stuffed with spinach, goat cheese, and pine nuts and roasted chicken legs with a demi glace. I had not gotten much sleep the night before lab, as I was volunteering at a media dinner (more to come later). I was totally off my game, and, what seemed like a pretty standard set of recipes, turned into me frantically trying to rectify little mistakes I had made along the way. Firstly, I forgot to brown tomato paste with the bones and mirepoix that I was to use for my demi glace. This meant, inevitably, that my demi glace was not as dark of a colour as I would have liked. On the same note, I cut the carrots into pieces that were far too small for such a long cooking process (at least an hour and a half). An hour in, the carrots had already broken down, making my sauce an orange colour.
Other than my mistakes with the sauce, which put me in a rather frantic mood, I stuffed, roasted, and poached my chicken quite nicely. The one thing I took from this class, one of the most important thing I've learned as of yet, is that getting frantic in the kitchen is extremely costly. Not only did I lose focus, perpetuating feelings of stress that were completely unnecessary, but I lost marks because of it. Chef Mac gave me a really hard time about losing my composure, claiming that if I lose it in a kitchen during service, all hell will break lose!
Eggs cook very quickly, and usually call for relatively low heat. They are complex bundles or protein and fat, with the white, protein-rich part of the egg cooking/coagulating at a lower temperature than the yellow yolk - high in both protein, vitamins, and fat and often used for its emulsifying and/or enriching qualities.
Rather than bore you with all the technical details, I will instead boast about my successful first attempt at a french omelet. Not only was I the first to get it right, but on my first goddamn try! I must have had good luck, or maybe I'm just a natural omelet-pro (the latter being doubtful considering my second and third attempts were no better than my first!). Either way, I was certainly pleased, and so was our Chef.
Short Order Sandwiches, were, as one would presume, pretty straightforward. Fortunately, part of our lab included roasting a half chicken (breasts), which is something I've never done - I've only ever roasted full chickens. It's a pretty simple procedure: cover the chicken breasts in oil, season with salt and white pepper, place on hot roasting pan and place in oven at 450F for ten minutes. This will kind of sear the chicken and will help jump start the browning of the skin. After ten to fifteen minutes, turn the heat down to 350-75F, and bake for about half an hour, or until it reaches an internal temperature of at least 165F.
We also got to use a lot of new Asian ingredients I have never used before. We made an oriental coleslaw with Savoy cabbage, daikon, sesame oil, ginger, snow peas, peppers and a few other seasonings I can't seem to remember.
We made egg salad sandwiches, with our own homemade mayonnaise. The mayonnaise recipe was totally off, and stupidly following it without thinking twice, I added far too much lemon juice, meaning my mayo turned out a bit runny. By extension, therefore, my egg salad was slightly runny as well.
Convenience Foods (not totally sure why these dishes were categorized as such) included poached frenched chicken breast stuffed with spinach, goat cheese, and pine nuts and roasted chicken legs with a demi glace. I had not gotten much sleep the night before lab, as I was volunteering at a media dinner (more to come later). I was totally off my game, and, what seemed like a pretty standard set of recipes, turned into me frantically trying to rectify little mistakes I had made along the way. Firstly, I forgot to brown tomato paste with the bones and mirepoix that I was to use for my demi glace. This meant, inevitably, that my demi glace was not as dark of a colour as I would have liked. On the same note, I cut the carrots into pieces that were far too small for such a long cooking process (at least an hour and a half). An hour in, the carrots had already broken down, making my sauce an orange colour.
Other than my mistakes with the sauce, which put me in a rather frantic mood, I stuffed, roasted, and poached my chicken quite nicely. The one thing I took from this class, one of the most important thing I've learned as of yet, is that getting frantic in the kitchen is extremely costly. Not only did I lose focus, perpetuating feelings of stress that were completely unnecessary, but I lost marks because of it. Chef Mac gave me a really hard time about losing my composure, claiming that if I lose it in a kitchen during service, all hell will break lose!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Vegetable Cookery
Vegetable cookery was not the most exciting week, to say the least. Because it was thanksgiving weekend, we missed Monday's Demo and thus had to spent a good portion of Wednesday's lab going over what and how we were supposed to be cooking. We roasted root vegetables - a combination of yellow turnips, parsnips, celeriac, carrots, shallots, and garlic - that we chopped roughly and seasoned lightly with salt and pepper. It was rather simple, the most important point being that the veg have to be completely coated in oil, to ensure that they do not dry out in the oven.
Secondly, we braised legumes. Legumes are dry fruits/vegetables commonly referred to as pods, such as beans, lentils, peas, alfalfa, soy, peanuts, clover and carob. Pretty much we made a sweet braised bean dish - like the beans commonly eaten alongside eggs at breakfast. It was was a pretty simple dish to prepare, and it took a painfully long time to cook. The beans took at least 45 minutes to even start to soften. It was a real drag when our other two dishes were finished in about half that time. The other downside to this dish was that I don't like sweetened beans. Thus, even though I took my food home for the sake of my family, I unfortunately did not get to enjoy it myself!
The last dish we were responsible for preparing was glazed carrots. Once again, the process was straightforward and the product was undesirable (personally speaking). I find carrots an overly sweet vegetable to begin with, especially when cooked. To cook them in butter and sugar, making them sweet enough to be a desert, is not something I plan on doing often, if ever, in my own cooking. It was, however, good practice for our batonnet cuts.
This week I cooked a couple meals that were good enough to be made note of: Cocquilles St. Jacques, and Ricotta and Mushroom stuffed chicken breast with a white wine and mushrooms sauce. For the Cocquilles St. Jacques, I picked up some gorgeous - and obviously expensive - extra large sea scallops from the St. Lawrence Market. I seared them until they reached a golden brown, removed them from the pan, added a paysanne cut of onions and mushrooms, which I then sweat for a few minutes. I added a couple whole sprigs of time, a couple bay leaves, some salt and pepper, and about three cloves worth of garlic puree. I proceeded to de-glaze the pan with white wine which I then let reduce by about 2/3. I added cream, began to boil some fresh linguine pasta, and let the sauce reduce until it reached the desired consistency. I quickly added the scallops back into the sauce, finished cooking them for about 2-3 minutes, careful not to overcook them, and then quickly plated the dish. It was absolutely glorious. Avery simple, classic french dish, using incredibly fresh product was, at the risk of sounding dramatic, just pure gloriousness in my mouth. Definitely something anyone could try at home!
The stuffed chicken breast was something I came up with using extra/leftover ingredients from past dinners. I stuffed large chicken breasts with a ricotta, diced and pan-fried mushrooms, and garlic puree filling. I then pan fried the chicken pieces until they were cooked through and had a nice golden brown colour on the outside. I removed them from the pan and quickly de-glazed the pan with white wine, added a blond roux I had made earlier, and put the rest of my chopped mushrooms into the sauce. Alongside, I served mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli, both of which also received the same sauce.
Secondly, we braised legumes. Legumes are dry fruits/vegetables commonly referred to as pods, such as beans, lentils, peas, alfalfa, soy, peanuts, clover and carob. Pretty much we made a sweet braised bean dish - like the beans commonly eaten alongside eggs at breakfast. It was was a pretty simple dish to prepare, and it took a painfully long time to cook. The beans took at least 45 minutes to even start to soften. It was a real drag when our other two dishes were finished in about half that time. The other downside to this dish was that I don't like sweetened beans. Thus, even though I took my food home for the sake of my family, I unfortunately did not get to enjoy it myself!
The last dish we were responsible for preparing was glazed carrots. Once again, the process was straightforward and the product was undesirable (personally speaking). I find carrots an overly sweet vegetable to begin with, especially when cooked. To cook them in butter and sugar, making them sweet enough to be a desert, is not something I plan on doing often, if ever, in my own cooking. It was, however, good practice for our batonnet cuts.
This week I cooked a couple meals that were good enough to be made note of: Cocquilles St. Jacques, and Ricotta and Mushroom stuffed chicken breast with a white wine and mushrooms sauce. For the Cocquilles St. Jacques, I picked up some gorgeous - and obviously expensive - extra large sea scallops from the St. Lawrence Market. I seared them until they reached a golden brown, removed them from the pan, added a paysanne cut of onions and mushrooms, which I then sweat for a few minutes. I added a couple whole sprigs of time, a couple bay leaves, some salt and pepper, and about three cloves worth of garlic puree. I proceeded to de-glaze the pan with white wine which I then let reduce by about 2/3. I added cream, began to boil some fresh linguine pasta, and let the sauce reduce until it reached the desired consistency. I quickly added the scallops back into the sauce, finished cooking them for about 2-3 minutes, careful not to overcook them, and then quickly plated the dish. It was absolutely glorious. Avery simple, classic french dish, using incredibly fresh product was, at the risk of sounding dramatic, just pure gloriousness in my mouth. Definitely something anyone could try at home!
The stuffed chicken breast was something I came up with using extra/leftover ingredients from past dinners. I stuffed large chicken breasts with a ricotta, diced and pan-fried mushrooms, and garlic puree filling. I then pan fried the chicken pieces until they were cooked through and had a nice golden brown colour on the outside. I removed them from the pan and quickly de-glazed the pan with white wine, added a blond roux I had made earlier, and put the rest of my chopped mushrooms into the sauce. Alongside, I served mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli, both of which also received the same sauce.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Weeks 4 & 5 Continued...
So other than my slight disaster of a dinner party (at least that's how I saw it, no matter how great of a time my company had), weeks 4 & 5 at chef school were dedicated to potato and vegetable cookery. For potato cookery, we learned about the different uses for the different types of potatoes - generally categorized as either waxy or starchy/mealy. Waxy potatoes, such as the well-known red-skinned potatoes, are low in starch content, and thus hold their shape well after cooking. Waxy potatoes are most often used as boiling potatoes, in potato salads, and in such dishes as scalloped potatoes.
Potatoes with a high starch content, on the other hand, bake well and yield light and fluffy mashed potatoes. Russet potatoes, used for french fries and recognized as the classic baked potato, are highest in starch, while Yukon gold potatoes (another popular example of a mealy potato) are also high in starch and thus good for baking and mashing, but have a much smoother and creamier texture, and a slight buttery flavour. In addition, classic long white potatoes have a medium starch content, and are the kind of potato most people keep in their pantry as an all-purpose.
I found this list of potatoes (courtesy of foodsubs.com) and their use very informative:
Potatoes with a high starch content, on the other hand, bake well and yield light and fluffy mashed potatoes. Russet potatoes, used for french fries and recognized as the classic baked potato, are highest in starch, while Yukon gold potatoes (another popular example of a mealy potato) are also high in starch and thus good for baking and mashing, but have a much smoother and creamier texture, and a slight buttery flavour. In addition, classic long white potatoes have a medium starch content, and are the kind of potato most people keep in their pantry as an all-purpose.
I found this list of potatoes (courtesy of foodsubs.com) and their use very informative:
Best for baking: russet potato
Best for potato salads, gratins, and scalloped potatoes: Yellow Finn potato, new potato, red-skinned potato, white round potato, and purple potato
Best for mashing: russet potato, Yukon gold potato, Caribe potato, and purple potato
Best for soups and chowders: Yukon gold potato, Yellow Finn potato, red-skinned potato, white round potato, and purple potato
Best for pan-frying: red-skinned potatoes, white round potatoes, new potatoes, and fingerling potatoes
Best for French fries: russet potato, purple potato, Bintje potato
Best for purees: fingerling potatoes
Best for roasting: new potatoes, Bintje potatoes
Best for steaming: new potatoes, Yukon gold potatoes
Best for potato pancakes: russet potato, Yukon Gold potato
In class, we learned how to make Savoyard(e) potatoes, the perfect french fries, and we also learned how to pipe potatoes. To pipe potatoes, you have to first make Duchesse potatoes, which are like mashed potatoes (without any added liquid) to which you combine two egg yolks. It is crucial to pipe potatoes when they are still hot, as they stiffen as they cool. Piping potatoes is certainly something that takes quite a bit of practice. Chef Mac made it look so incredibly easy, but warned us that we would all have quite a bit of trouble. It would be impossible for me to go into accurate detail about the whole procedure, and probably pointless considering no one pipes potatoes in the culinary world anymore - it being seen as outdated and old-fashioned. I will however say this: piping potatoes is a lot harder than it looks, especially if you've never done it before! We piped little cone-shaped mounds, and we piped little bird's nests that we then filled (with a tomato concassee and shallot mixture).
To make the prefect french fries, one MUST use russet potatoes, due to their starchy texture, and one MUST first blanch the fries before frying them to give them colour. This two-step process is critical, as it insures the creamy/mealy, soft texture one finds in the middle of a french-fry. One deep-fries the cuts of potatoes at a temperature of around 250 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-15 minutes, or until the fries are soft to touch. Then, when ready to serve, you want to fry them again at a temperature of about 375-400 degrees Fahrenheit to get the nice crispy, golden finish fries generally have.
Savoyard potatoes are like scalloped potatoes that are cooked in broth, rather than milk or cream. You thinly slice the potatoes, either with a mandolin or a chef's knife, and then layer them carefully in a pan/casserole dish with swiss or gruyere cheese. You cover them in broth and place them in an oven at 400-450F and leave tem until they are cooked through and the gruyere has become a gratinee.
While I admit these potato dishes were important base steps in learning how to cook a wide variety of potato dishes, I can't help but think about how little we've learned that will actually be relevant in the field. We are learning the classic french style of cuisine, an incredible foundation for our future cooking techniques as chefs, but how often will we make piped or savoyard potatoes when we're working in a restaurant? Likely, not often.
To make the prefect french fries, one MUST use russet potatoes, due to their starchy texture, and one MUST first blanch the fries before frying them to give them colour. This two-step process is critical, as it insures the creamy/mealy, soft texture one finds in the middle of a french-fry. One deep-fries the cuts of potatoes at a temperature of around 250 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-15 minutes, or until the fries are soft to touch. Then, when ready to serve, you want to fry them again at a temperature of about 375-400 degrees Fahrenheit to get the nice crispy, golden finish fries generally have.
Savoyard potatoes are like scalloped potatoes that are cooked in broth, rather than milk or cream. You thinly slice the potatoes, either with a mandolin or a chef's knife, and then layer them carefully in a pan/casserole dish with swiss or gruyere cheese. You cover them in broth and place them in an oven at 400-450F and leave tem until they are cooked through and the gruyere has become a gratinee.
While I admit these potato dishes were important base steps in learning how to cook a wide variety of potato dishes, I can't help but think about how little we've learned that will actually be relevant in the field. We are learning the classic french style of cuisine, an incredible foundation for our future cooking techniques as chefs, but how often will we make piped or savoyard potatoes when we're working in a restaurant? Likely, not often.
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