Blissfully Simple

Asian Bistro

2011-10-21T14:47:00.000-07:00

Today my girlfriend and I went to an Asian Bistro for a class project of mine, where I had to go out and critique a restaurant. Here are some pictures from our experience:

I had some sushi. It was pretty tasty and well presented.

Spicy tuna roll and a crab roll wrapped with eel and avocado

My girlfriends food was very tasty also and presented pretty nicely. Although her crab rangoons were lacking crab, the rest of the meal was good.

Spareribs with skewered beef and pork fried rice with an egg-roll

Although service was slow after our meals were delivered, as in they were not seen until they brought us the check, the meal itself was excellent.

Samosas

2011-10-19T16:34:00.000-07:00

Today at work we have been doing an international week. Today we featured food from the region of India, and today I was able to make samosas. Samosas are basically dough stuffed with mashed potatoes that are seasoned with garam masala, curry, cumin, jalapeños and salt. Once assembled, they were deep fried in batches and served with a tamarind dipping sauce.

The dough which was rolled out then cut in half.

Potato filling used to stuff the samosas


The dough once it was rolled out cut and a scoop of filling is placed inside

The final product right before frying.

Beet risotto

2011-10-17T07:00:00.001-07:00

Today at work we made an intense, eye appealing dish, beet risotto.

To make the risotto that pink color, we made a beet gastrique, which is essentially a simple syrup but with vinegar instead of water. It is reduced until the vinegar is cooked out. The beets are then steeped and then strained once appropriate color achieved. The gastrique is then added to the rice along with diced beets and then you have yourself pink beet risotto.

Chicken Ballotine

2011-10-15T14:39:00.000-07:00

Today I watched a very good friend of mine, Geoffrey Lanez create a dish I have never heard or seen before. Geoffrey is on the competition team at my school and practices on his days off and I had the pleasure of working while he practiced. I did my best to capture as many pictures I could to try and give you a step by step on how he created the dish while working so I missed a few shots.


Geoffrey's prep for his ballotine and accompaniments.

After skinning and breaking down his chicken.


He scrapes the excess fat off the skin and salts it to remove moisture to increase the crispiness.

He then presses his chicken "force meat" through a metal screen to make it smooth.


After pounding a breast out he pipes his chicken force meat into the breast. And spreads it out to cover the whole breast.


He then tightly wraps it in plastic wrap so he can poach it and it will hold its shape.

I then missed out on him cooking it (I apologize) but he poached it in water until 135 degrees Fahrenheit. Then fried in thyme and shallots and oil until the skin crisps up and reaches an internal temp of 165While that cooked he made a cranberry chutney and sweet potato puree, both of which I was unable to photograph him making. And now to the best part, plate up.

First down is the sweet potato puree.

Next, the Chicken Ballotine and pan seared Brussels sprouts

And finally the cranberry walnut chutney to finish the dish.

This is a dish that I would definitely eat again, It was surprising how easy it was to make as well as how much flavor the chicken actually had. I wish I had the chance and time to take more pictures of all the components while they were being made by Geoffrey because he executed this dish very well.

Molecular Gastronomy

2011-10-14T11:29:00.000-07:00

One of the more recent trends is molecular gastronomy. Molecular gastronomy is basically a combination of science and cooking, using chemicals to create weird, eye appealing meals.

*I do not own these images, i am using them solely for the purpose of this blog

Entrees

2011-10-11T17:42:00.000-07:00

The entree is main event of the meal, the most anticipated part of the meal for most people, and for the chef, his time to shine. Here are some examples of entrees that I have created.

Roasted chicken with pommes anna, and green beans topped with a hollandaise sauce.

Grilled lamb, with a steamed clam, on top of fisherman's rice

Poached pork loin, with bulgar wheat, and sauteed green beans.

Beef loin stuffed with goat cheese and spinach, wrapped in prosciutto and puff pastry. Topped with red wine demi glace accompanied with sauteed asparagus.

Appetizers

2011-10-11T17:30:00.000-07:00

I have had multiple chances to work with appetizers and gained an appreciation for them seeing how they are one of the most important parts of the meal, as they are mostly the first thing you eat. Here are a few examples of my appetizers:

Pork pate platter with a basmatti cous cous salad accompanied by asparagus and julienned carrots and peppers.

Risotto cakes breaded in panko bread crumbs then fried, topped with a roasted red pepper coulis and chiffonade basil.


Salad consisting of chiffonade romaine, lima beans, and julienned seared ham with a citrus vinaigrette

Hazelnut cream soup with a garnish of crushed hazelnuts.

Seafood

2011-10-11T17:12:00.000-07:00

Some of my favorite proteins to work with come from the sea. These are a few of my favorite dishes that I created dealing with seafood:

This is a tuna loin confit with a salmon and vegetable salad that I created in my off premiss catering class.

Here is a squid salad with arugula green and julienned jicima, carrots and celery served with a citrus vinaigrette.

Seared scallops wrapped in bacon with a creamy Parmesan risotto and a roasted corn salsa.

This is a grilled shrimp, seared sardine filet, and a fried clam fritter served as an appetizer.

Desserts

2011-10-11T16:54:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite classes at Johnson & Wales was my advanced desserts class. We experienced many different techniques which were useful throughout my whole stay at Johnson & Wales. Here are a few pictures with descriptions that I made throughout the class.

Deconstructed strawberry shortcake with a chocolate caramel sauce and topped with a sugar garnish.

My tarte tatin with a raspberry coulis, chocolate dome with a almond lace cookie which was later topped with a mango sorbet.

Chocolate lava cake with almond tuille, creme anglaise, and raspberry coulis.

Chocolate coconut Bavarian cream with a pulled sugar nest and almond lace cookie accompanied with a chocolate sauce.