Best week ever.....nuff said

A great week indeed. First, we were done with meat for the most part and started into fish and seafood. Second, I was one of the risotto challenge winners as explained in the last blog entry. Third, kicked ass on the second practical that was on friday. Finally, spent the weekend seeing some sights with my cousin and her finace. Add some great weather and some good runs and you get the best week ever.

Practical #2:
Knew the day was off to a good start when i got in a good 9 miler before class. Cleared my head and got focused for the tast ahead. I knew i could do much better than practical #1 and wanted to show the chefs what i was capable of. Again, there were two dishes that had to be plated at specific times, however, both were a little bit more involved and the second dish had two components to it. The first dish was Risotto con Funghi (Risotto with Mushrooms). With the risotto challenge victory just two days prior i was very pleased to see this recipe. The mushrooms are sauteed and mixed with some tomato puree, chicken stock, and some herbs and reduced to a nice consistency. The risotto is made the same way we made it in the challenge. When that is done you add in the mushroom mix, butter, and some pecorino cheese. Again, consisteny is crucial, you want all'onda, which means like a wave. Together but not too loose and runny but not too tight and sticky.

The second dish was Costolette d'agnello con carciofo alla romana (roast rack of lamb with artichokes roman style). The key to this dish was cooking each part to the right temperature and right doneness. Overall not a really difficult dish but timing was key. The rack of lamb had to be cleaned and frenched. We had to make a lamb stock to make a pan sauce for the rack. Clean the artichoke and marinate in mint, parsley, garlic, and lemon. Steam artichokes til tender. Sear and roast lamb to a perfect medium-rare (about 135 degrees internal temp). Serve rack with sauce and artichoke. Doesn't seem so difficult, right? ;)

This was also a dish i was happy to see. For the past week or so while working with meat and fish, cooking it to the right temp and doneness has not been a problem. The one problem i have usually had is the pan sauce. Either not cooking it long enough and it is broken or too long and it burns and reduces too much.

The first dish was a breeze and while we don't get comments or much reaction from the chefs when we plate i could tell by the facial reactions that it was decent. So, on to the second dish, rack of lamb with artichokes. To help things along i frenched my rack and let it marinate in some evoo, garlic, thyme, and salt and pepper before i started on the risotto. I also got my lamb stock going while i was doing the risotto. So, when it came time to put together the dish it was pretty straight forward. First, take care of the artichoke. Clean it and marinate it and then get it steaming because it takes about 45 minutes to fully cook and be nice and tender. Then it was time to sear and roast the rack. Finally make the pan sauce. I had my times down perfectly, no timing misstakes this time around. Get the rack going about 25 - 30 minutes before plating. This allows the rack to rest after cooking and gives you the right amound of time to make your pan sauce. Everything went according to plan and every second i kept telling myself to relax, stay calm, you know how to do this and you know how to make it perfect. In the end the pan sauce was no problem and was delicious. The rack was like butter, a perfect medium-rare. The artichokes were good but could have been better. The last thing to know is to never, ever put your sauce over your meat, always around. If you put it over it takes away from the beautiful color the meat has. If i had a picture of this dish i would post it but unfortunately i don't think the chefs would have taken kindly to me snapping a photo before serving them.

Outcome:
Practical - 90% (second highest in class, highest was 92%)
Theory - 90%
Evaluation - 94%



It ended a great week of cooking and started a weekend full of fun. Saw West Side Story saturday night, even though someone tried to set off a bomb in times square but thankfully nothing happened. Spent sunday visiting the statue of liberty, ellis island, south street seaport, and central park. It felt like summer and was a bit humid but i welcome the warmth and hope it is here to stay.

This week we start desserts and pastries, so best week ever might be challenged. Today was good but incredibly unhealthy. Butter, lard, eggs, pancetta, etc....all baked to a flaky goodness but oh my i felt like i was covered in crisco by the end of the day. Not too mention the goodies the pastry department sent down during the day: molten lava chocolate cake and these banana cakes with banana ice cream = delicious = incredibly unhealthy. Tomorrow and the rest of the week probably no better from a health standpoint but i don't care cause it is all going to taste amazing plus i run i think i can afford a little dessert!