May 12, 2011 - Day 1 of Quantity Food Production I

My first day in Quantity Food Production I went pretty well.  We covered everything from our introduction, to a few chapters in our book, to learning about the various foods that we'll be preparing and cooking this term.  I've taken the liberty to give you a few snapshots of the first entree' that we cooked on Day 1.
 

 

 

 

This entree is a Roasted Chicken (cooked hole, but in this plating you have the leg and thigh quarter) lightly seasoned with salt and corse black pepper atop a red and white wine pan sauce made from the fond (the small bits and pieces of flavering at the bottom of the pan) from the chicken , with a side of Pammes Anna (sliced potatoes and clarified butter started off on the stovetop and finished in the oven for that great color and crispy texture) and green beans topped with hollandaise sauce (made with the youlks of and egg, a tad of water, and clarified butter) and garnished with a sprig of rosemary.

The Good:  I was able to learn the different terms that are used in creating a dish.  Think about it...who knew that fond (the foundation) was the actual term for the dark bits of flavoring on the bottom of a pan that you've used when cooking something (usually from a protein).  Mirepoix is basically an aromatic vegetabl medly (usually 50% onion, 25% carrots, and 25% celery) and is used for various things, we used it as the base for our chicken to sit on for the oven, at work we use a variation for our wedding soup.  Knowing the different types of thickeners (/flour + water (or other liquid), cornstarch + water (or other liquid), or even making a Roux, which is parts fat (clarified butter) + flour to use and how or when to use them will help anyone in their kitchen whether it be at home or on the job.

The Bad:  Wisking for the hollandaise sauce is pure torture.  Well...for a first timer, it was.  My arm's got a complete workout.  My chef instructor didn't seem to bothered by it, but hey, even though he's almost sixty, muscle memory was obviously on his side.

The Ugly:  There really wasn't any ugly...I don't think.  you decide, check out the pics again and tell me if anything was ugly...;-)

All in all, learning about different side dishes like the Pammes Anna, and hot to properly clarify butter, make thickeners and roux, different knife techniques, tieing the chicken, and simply taking in all of the knowledge that the chef is trying to get you to the next level.

As you can probably see; I am certainly digging this new direction that I've taken.  By the way, I'm currently reproducing this meal (with the exception of the hollandaise sauce due to not having the proper equipment) so that my wife, daughter and maybe even the pup pup can have a taste.