A Second Course

Week 3 already, the start of stocks, sauces and soups. Time is flying by in culinary school and I sure am having food fun!!!

We started learning the basics of Escoffier’s Mother Sauces: Bechamel, Veloute, Brown, Tomato and Hollandaise. Or as I would sum up: butter, cream, yolks, roux & more butter! Most of that will be covered next week, as we first needed to learn how to make roux. Contrary to what many American’s believe, roux is not just used for making gumbo or creole soups. Roux is a thickener made by cooking equal parts (by weight) of fat and flour. As a rule of thumb, 1 pound of roux thickens 1 gallon of liquid. The benefits of using a roux is that it thickens soups and sauces without lumps or raw starchy taste. It can be a little time consuming to prepare (about 2o minutes) but it lasts for weeks/months. From now on I’m going to make a batch of roux and keep it in the fridge for instant thickening!

the start of roux

Most of us are used to adding cornstarch or raw flour to thicken up a sauce or soup. Two things I learned this week worth sharing: 1) Cornstarch is quick and easy to prepare, but it clouds clear liquids and can break down if held at hot temperatures for an extended period of time.  2) Flour is also quick and easy to add, but it can form lumps and leave an unpleasant raw flour or pasty taste. Arrowroot is a good alternative to roux, but it can be expensive. Learn how to make roux in upcoming editions of The Daily Dish!

We also made beef stock and beef consomme. Now if any of you are like me, I have always associated beef consomme with bland hospital food. I quickly learned how wrong I was!! My beef consomme  was one of the most delicately delicious, flavorful soups I have ever tasted. And I’m not biased – the chef instructor even gave me an “excellent” comment after he tasted it!  Not to mention that this was one of the coolest things I’ve ever cooked, from a purely scientific standpoint.  I took beef stock, added what is called “clearmeat” (a mixture of lean protein, egg whites, aromats and acid) which traps impurities as it coagulates and brought the mixture to a high simmer. The clearmeat rose to the top of the liquid, producing a “raft.” After 1-2 hours of simmering to extract as much flavor as possible, I ladled the consomme into my bowl. Crystal clear broth – you won’t believe it until you see it below. I want to know who thought of this!  Can’t wait to see what we make next week. Stay tuned!

1) Beef stock mixes with clear meet

2) The raft forms

3) Crystal clear consomme

3) Crepe "noodle" garnish....mmm good!

Thanks for all the great feedback and emails everyone!  I appreciate you looking out for me, just wanted to clarify that I intentionally misspelled tidbits as tidbites….a play on words relating to food. Thank goodness this was intentional, because culinary school is expensive enough I don’t think I could go back for English courses as well!  Tidbites are random food facts that I find interested and think you will too! Happy Reading.

Did you know that allspice is not a blend of different spices? It earned this name because the flavor tastes like a combination of other common spices clove, cinnamon and nutmeg. It is actually a dried berry that looks like a large brown peppercorn. Christopher Columbus discovered allspice berries in the New World, mistaking them for pepper which at the time was as valuable as gold.  I’m sure he was very disappointed upon returning to Spain to find out that it was not worth nearly as much $$$!

Spices are at their highest level of flavor immediately after you grind them and then start to lose flavor rapidly. In fact, ground spices should be tossed after 6 months (you can keep their whole form for years). I realize this doesn’t bode well for all those dusty containers on your spice rack. I’d be willing to bet some of them have been sitting opened for years!!

I encourage you to try an experiment at home. Take some freshly ground black pepper in one bowl and the pre-packaged ground pepper sitting on your spice rack in another bowl. Taste the two. I can guarantee you will identify the difference immediately. So whenever possible, please try to grind your own spices. Not only will they taste better, but whole spices generally cost less than their pre-ground counterparts. Invest in a cheap coffee grinder to do all the dirty work. If your food could talk, it would thank you!

Does the phrase “like oil and water” ring a bell? No this posting isn’t about you and your in-laws. Under normal circumstances, oil and water cannot mix together evenly because oil is lighter than water. Have you ever noticed that your homemade salad dressing breaks apart just a few minutes after shaking? Its about time I share my secret for making a great vinaigrette. I should know, its been about ten years since I have purchased a pre-bottled salad dressing at the grocery store:

1 part acid : 3 parts oil  + mustard (the secret ingredient) to taste

1) Whisk the mustard and acid together and season with salt and pepper.

2) Slowly add the oil in a steady stream, constantly whisking to emulsify the dressing.  You will notice it becomes a little cloudy. Re-season to taste.

I personally like to use fresh lemon juice, red or champagne wine vinegar, even rice wine vinegar for a little sweetness plus extra virgin olive oil, but any oil and acid will work. Use whatever flavor you like best and your food will taste great!

The key to this great vinaigrette is starting with the acid since it weighs more, and incorporating an emulsifying agent like mustard which has enzymes that will help disperse the acid in tiny droplets throughout the oil  (and keep it together).  You’ll never go back to the bottle again!