Asian- Week 9

We had a ton of recipes to cook this week, but I ended up having a ton of fun. I really enjoyed the exercise of creating our own “fusion” dishes. I made Twigum Mandu into meatballs and served them with the Mung Bean Noodles and Crispy Seaweed. I thought the meatballs came out with a delicious flavor! I would POSSIBLY add a little more rice or some breadcrumbs as an additional binder because they were hard to keep together in the pan when I was sautéing them, but I’m not sure, because I liked the lightness that they had. I would have to try it and see which way I liked better.



I liked the flavor and texture of the Mung Bean Noodle dish, too. I thought it was a little sweet, but that seemed to be the trend in much of the Korean dishes. I hadn’t had the Mung Bean Noodles before, and I enjoyed the slight texture difference from regular noodles. I would add more veggies if I was making this at home, but other than that, I was happy with it!

The Crispy Seaweed, however, was a different story. It never toasted up enough, which is probably because of my lackadaisical application of the sesame oil…and my fear of the fire. I just hate getting near fire. I just do!!! I don’t know what to do about it, and I think I’ve come a long way, but I’m just not fully over it yet. I think I COULD like this if it was done right, but I obviously am not the person to do it right. Yet.

I liked the way I plated all my items together and I think the flavors complimented each other nicely. The actual cooking was interesting because of all the blanching and steaming that went on. I tried to compile a list of what I needed to do in my dishes so I could get all the blanching done in one swoop and save some time. There just was such a huge rush over to the stoves at one point that there wasn’t really enough room for everyone and all their pots and dishes. It was extremely frustrating.

I also made the Yak Sik and shaped it into balls to plate. The flavor was ok with this, but the texture wasn’t very appealing to me. The glutinous rice was just kind of gummy. It was ok when it was first done but as it cooled, it kind of gelled up a little and I didn’t find that appealing. I also didn’t care much for the dates. I think it was the date flavor that was throwing me off. Maybe it was the seasonings that were folded in. Either way, this was not a winning dish, in my opinion.


Overall, I really liked Korea! I enjoyed learning more about the people and the country during class from someone who had actually lived there for awhile. Once all these classes are over, I would like to leisurely study some of these cultures again.

Classical- week 8

I’m usually not a procrastinator. This week, though, I have been putting off writing this entry for as long as possible. I am not proud of the food I put up last week, so I haven’t been wanting to share it or write about it. I had an incredibly off week last week. I think it was due to me being stressed about the pastillage piece I was going to be putting together in the class after Classical.

I know it isn’t anyone else’s problem, but I have huge anxiety issues that tend to manifest themselves in other areas that are not directly related to what I am actually having anxiety about. I woke up feeling extremely anxious and panicky. As my morning routine progressed, so did my stress level. By the time I climbed in the car, I was in a nearly full on panic. I decided it was time to take one of those little pills the doctor prescribed me. That’s what they are there for, right? When I pulled into the school parking lot, I popped a xanax and hoped for the best.

The feeling I get when on xanax is hard for me to describe. Everything just get’s suppressed. I’m not anxious anymore, just kind of withdrawn and mopey. That’s how I feel, anyways. I feel like my feet get very heavy and I feel like I am moving very slowly in everything I do. I feel like my body gets kind of heavy and it goes all the way to my facial expressions. I skulked around the kitchen and tried to get my dishes done. Again. I’m not proud of the food I put up.

I made pears with a poppy seed cream, spaetzle, and I attempted the braised red cabbage. Let’s start with the worst. The braised red cabbage ended up burning. I just wasn’t checking on it often enough. That’s really all there is to say about it. I should have kept a better eye on it. The spaetzle came out decent enough but when I went to sauté it, I didn’t heat up the pan well enough first so it never really caramelized and got the texture it was supposed to have.



The pears and cream tasted good, but looked like poo. I had a picture of what I wanted it to look like, but the pear was too heavy and squished the cream. This was my THIRD plating of this dish. Eventually I just left it alone because I wasn’t improving on it at all. The flavors were there, but the plate looked like crap. I enjoyed the aromas of this dish, too.



Somehow our team managed to pull out a win again, but it was not due to any of my work at all. I’m very disappointed in my performance last week and hope this week is greatly improved. I am working with my therapist on how to better cope with stress and anxiety.

Pastillage

Our latest project in Advanced Pastry was a Pastillage Showpiece. We were given certain criteria we had to meet but other than that, it was up to us what we wanted to do. We had to include a swoop, 2 10" circles for a base with something in between them to give them height, and a certain number of butterflies, flowers, and leaves, and "curls". I decided I wanted to make a piece that included an Amy Brown-like fairy.

We made the pastillage last week and made some initial pieces. Once we made the pastillage and I started working with it, I got a better feel for what I could and could not do with it. This made me change my original sketch. I wanted to make a sphere originally, but after working with the pastillage, I decided to change that plan. I went through several design sketches and had several plans "just in case." I made WAY more pieces than I needed, just to be safe.

I wasn't satisfied with all the pieces I made in class last week, so I went in Monday morning and made the box and more flowers. Wednesday we painted and put our pieces together. I was beyond stressed about this piece but I am SO thrilled with how it turned out. I love how I was able to give the fairy a second set of wings and I am loving painting on my pieces. Now that I've worked with it successfully, I feel that pastillage is something I can add to my repertoire.

Korea

In Asian this week, we cooked food from Korea. I made Pork Wontons and Seasoned Mushrooms. We made half the wontons with pre-made wrappers and half with dough we made ourselves. Patrick helped assemble the triangle ones (he demands credit! haha) and I assembled the round ones. The home made dough was definitely chewier than those made with the bought wrappers. I think if a.) the dough had more time to sit and b.) I had used the pasta machine to roll them out, the dough wouldn't have been quite so chewy. The flavors were delicious, though. It had an egg, sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic mixed with the ground pork. Then they are placed in the wrappers and fried. It is served with a seasoned soy sauce mixture.

The mushrooms were very, VERY easy. I totally forgot about trimming the very ends off the mushrooms, though, so some of them were a little chewy. But once they were cut in small strips, they were sauteed with garlic and sesame oil and tossed with a little soy sauce. Easy peasy.

I love, love, LOVED the Ribs that Jimmy made. Literally, at the end of class, there was ONE bowl of food left on the table. Everything else was completely devoured. The ribs were cute very thin and scored before being marinated and grilled. Then they are cut into small pieces and dipped in the seasoned soy sauce. Absolutely phenomenal.


I HIGHLY enjoyed the flavors this week. I think I just love ginger, garlic, soy, and sesame with just about anything. I need to start utilizing these flavors more at home.

Classical- Week 7

This week we were in Switzerland. I prepared the Souffle Rothschild and the Chillbed Soup.

The Chillbed Soup recipe didn’t look very appealing to me. I was reading along and everything looked great until I read that I was supposed to beat some eggs and add it to the boiling liquid. That did not sound delicious to me, it looked kind of gross. Perhaps a poached egg would be more appetizing, but that’s not what the recipe said. To prepare this dish, you begin with stock and add a chicken and your basic mirepoix. Once it is simmered for almost an hour, you strain out the chicken and vegetables, cut the chicken up and add it to a bowl over steamed leeks. Then you bring the new stock back to a boil and add the beaten eggs and pour it over the chicken and leeks in the bowl. I chose to strain the stock again after the eggs were added and place a spoonful in the dish once the broth was added to the chicken and leeks and then chives were sprinkled on top for garnish. It made it a little more arranged looking and not quite so…messy. I enjoyed the flavor of the dish, but would definitely poach the eggs if I were making it at home.

The Souffle Rothschild was prepared in a different way than I was used to. A pate choux like dough was created and then whipped egg whites were folded in, along with macerated fruit. I baked a test batch to make sure it would rise as it was supposed to and to get a taste of the flavor before I created sauces to go with it. I decided to make an Almond Cream Sauce and a Macerated Cherry and Apricot Bavarian. I enjoyed the flavor combination and am going to make these for my husband for sure! I didn’t get a picture immediately out of the oven, although I made sure Chef Ridsdale saw it before it deflated.

I have really been enjoying the flavors that we have been exploring in this class. I am definitely going to be sad when it is over.

Bag Cake- Finished!!

This week we completed our bag cakes. Tuesday I went in during my break between classes and piped royal icing onto my wand and tiara so it would have a chance to harden overnight.



I also formed the upper part of the shoes and created the isomalt jewels and broken “glass” to use for decorations on the tray. I also couldn’t help myself and made a ring for an additional item.



I think my cake turned out very well. There are always things that I would change for the “next time”, but overall I am very satisfied with my product, especially given the time constraints. I absolutely LOVE how the flower came out, though! I had fun with the colors on this cake. I used straight luster dust, as well as luster dust mixed with food coloring and, in some instances, coconut extract (which made it smell amazing, by the way) to layer the colors to get the affect I wanted. I ordered several sizes of "pearls" for the center of the flower from Sugarcraft. Then I shook them with the luster dust to give them the various colors I wanted. As a reminder, here is the bag from DavieandChiyo on Etsy that I was using for inspiration.





When shaping the heels of the shoes from rice crispies, I forgot to take into account that the fondant was going to make them even fatter. Next time I would make them a little smaller from the get go and carve them into a more feminine heel. I would also paint the underside of the overlay or use colored fondant instead of white.



I would also make more of the tiny pink sugar jewels and use them for additional garnish all the way around the base of the tiara and on the handle of the wand.
I hadn’t worked with sugar like that before and I found it really fun. I found myself wanting to keep playing with it, but I didn’t have that kind of time. I tried to fashion the upper part of the shoes from sugar, but it was difficult to keep it at the exact right temperature when it came to cutting and molding them. I also needed something to shape it OVER because it was too warm to use with the playdoh (I covered it in plastic wrap, of course.) Again, I think clay may have worked best for that.

I love the creative process when it comes to figuring out what to do for a cake. My mind goes around and around and around and all of a sudden I get inspired and the whole plan just flows out onto paper. I think that my presentation came out how I wanted it. I really wanted to make a larger, round, clear sugar “platform” to set the crown on, but I didn’t end up with that kind of time.

I think we had plenty of time to work with, but when it comes to this kind of thing, one can ALWAYS use more time to continue to improve the cake and add more details. The details are what gives these kinds of cakes their “wow” factor. The only thing that is mildly frustrating is having to wait a WHOLE WEEK to finish a cake. I would rather just work straight through and get it done than have to think about it for a whole other week!

Next week we begin our Pastillage Sculptures!

Asian- Week 6

This week we were in Thailand. As my husband was helping me write out my recipes by reading the ingredients to me, he commented, “None of this stuff sounds good.” Wow. He was SO wrong!! This week went amazingly smoothly and the food tasted and looked fantastic. I think part of the calmness of the week was that so many people were absent. This isn’t good for them, but it definitely gave the class a different feel this week.

I made the Sticky Mango Rice. This was such a warm, comforting dish. I could imagine eating a huge bowlful of this when it is pouring snow outside and being all snuggled up in a huge sweatshirt and fuzzy socks. On my first seasoning of the dish, I made it not quite sweet enough, according to Chef. If I made it again for myself, I would keep it that way. I enjoyed the mild sweetness and the subtle coconut flavor, as well as the creamy texture. I adore coconut- the flavor and the smell- so this dish was a hit with me. I think my girls would like this, too, although I’m really not sure that the “health benefits” are worth me sharing it with them at this point.


I made Fried Sweet Potatoes with Peanut Sauce. I used a mandolin to slice to potatoes into even slices and thinned out the batter a little from the original recipe. I dipped them in flour and then in the batter before frying them and draining them on paper towels and sprinkling them with a little salt. I had never made peanut sauce before but everyone commented that it was delicious. I really am enjoying the development of my palette and the ability to really discern the layers of flavors in things now.


I also fried up the rice cakes. I wasn’t a huge fan of these. Basically, it is just Jasmine rice that is cooked and baked on a sheet pan and then fried in chunks. SOOO unhealthy and not that tasty.


Thai Bubble Tea was also prepared. This is a very strong tea that is then lightened with plenty of cream and sweetened with lots of sugar. Then tapioca pearls are put in the bottom and it is served over ice with a fat straw so the tapioca pearls can get sucked up the straw. The tea was fantastic and tasted kind of like Chai tea, but the tapioca pearls were not. They had a fun texture, but I did not enjoy the after taste.






Last but not least, I made a fresh fruit plate. I love it when we do this because I get a healthy lunch! I ate the whole thing except for the grapes for lunch that day. Yum!





I enjoyed the flavors of the Thai dishes. I had never eaten Thai cuisine before so this was a treat. I think my favorite actual DISH was the Ma Hor (Galloping Horses.) I enjoyed the flavors and it reminded me of tacos, in a sense, that used lettuce leaves instead of tortillas. I think it was the tangerines that gave it the extra flavor that was so appealing.




Apparently, Vietnam food is even more delicious than Thai food. We will see next week!