What we learned in culinary school this week: Week 14 (Part 1 - Italy)

This week: Northern and Southern Italy, Northern and Southern France. Unfortunately, I was out sick on day 2 of France, so I don't have any pictures from those dishes.

Northern Italy:
The "poverty line" divides Northern and Southern Italy. It runs north of the regions of Lazio and Abruzzi and south of Tuscany, Umbria and Marches. Most of Italy's natural resources - and historically its wealth - are located in the north. Risotto and polenta are the grain staples in the north. Northern Italy is also known for having great artisanal butters. Needless to say, cheeses are also big, and we went over a bunch of them, including Gogonzola, Parmesano Reggiano, Fontina and water buffalo cheese from Lombardy.

Northern Italian Cheeses.

Classic risotto.

Panzanella (Bread salad). Better than I was
expecting. The bread didn't get soggy like I expected.
Very different and refreshing.

Pollo al Mattone (Chicken Under a Brick). Funny
looking, but delicious!

Zabaglione with raspberries.
A boozy, refreshing dessert.

Also, learned that Italians identify by region, not nationality.

Southern Italy:
Rome is a food mecca. Some of the oldest documented written recipes originated from Rome. Today, the area is known for its very rich foods. Produce is similar to what would be found at farmers markets in Southern California. Cheese, grains, legumes and lamb are staples.

Other Southern Italian regions are known for San Marzano tomatoes and Mediterranean spices including coriander, cinnamon, tumeric and cumin. The most northern regions, Basilicata and Calabria are among the poorest. Octopus and squid - considered "poor man's seafood" - are plentiful, as well as sardines and anchovies.

The island of Sicily has a lot of natural resources for agriculture. Swordfish and tuna are plentiful as well as crustaceans and bivalves along the coast. Citrus, nuts, lamb, poultry and produce including tomatoes, peppers, raisins, kale and chard are among the staples of the Sicilian diet.

Spaghetti alla Puttanesca. Very good, but very spicy
due to the chili flakes.

Arancini di Riso (Rice Balls with Cheese). The
breading stayed very solid on the outside, and the
rice and cheese inside were very creamy.

Meatballs. Our group had already made them pretty
small until we were informed that's the American way
of doing them. Italians make larger meatballs. You
learn something new every day.

Cannoli time!

Lunch #5

Had a great time working on today's main dish. We had sheets of airline chicken that we browned in skillets then finished in the oven. Since we usually have 40-50 diners that was a lot of breasts to cook, there was a small army of us at the stoves searing like an assembly line. I could have done it all day long.

Today's menu was based on our study of regional French cooking this week.

Menu

Green Salad with Vinaigrette

Topped with Warm Goat Cheese Crouton

Roast Chicken Breast with a Sherry Reduction Sauce

and Spring Vegetables

Chocolate Tart with Passion Fruit Sauce

Chicken fabrication aftermath.

Airline chicken off the assembly line and ready
for the oven.

Look at that plate. Amazing.

What we learned in culinary school this week: Week 13

We're shifting from technique to different ethnicities of food this week. Monday was a holiday and Tuesday was a review, but the rest of the week was Mediterranean week!

We went over common Mediterranean ingredients: vegetables, cheeses, rice, nuts, fruit, spices and herbs. It's a long list. We also discussed the mezze style of eating, which is a family style of eating, which is how lunch was served on Friday.

I'm not the biggest fan of Mediterranean food, but it was interesting. We made sour cherry and almond baklava in teams. It turned out really good, although one group's turned out really, really salty. Turns out they used salt when they should have used sugar. It was really salty.

We also made a dish that I've had in the past at a Persian restaurant in West Los Angeles. It's the well-cooked layer at the bottom of a pan of rice; it's crunchy, not burned and I've been looking for a recipe for it for years. It didn't help that I couldn't remember the Persian name; in class it was just referred to as Persian rice.

Top layer.

Cooked and flipped. There's the crunchy layer!

Hummus.

Stuffed Grape Leaves.

Egyptian cheese turnovers.

Baba Ganoush.

Baklava.

Baklava, up close and personal.

Fattoush salad.

Lunch is served!

Lunch #4

Today's menu was served family style in the traditions of the cuisine covered this week (Eastern Mediterranean).

Menu

Zataar bread (Israel)

Fatoush salad (Lebanon)

Spanako pita (Greece)

Mujaddaro (Arabic)

Babaghnnos (Ottoman)

Hummus (Egyptian)

Mouhamara (Aleppo, Syria)

Rosemary Almond Cake with Candied Kumquat

(Modern Mediterranean interpretation)

Awesome Angels Flight imagery

via Nathan Masters on Twitter:

A is for Angels Flight!

This is just really gorgeous.  I'd buy it on a poster.  I can't imagine anyone living in DTLA not wanting this is their home.

Also really hoping that Angels Flight re-opens soon.

If you love historic L.A., be sure to follow Nathan and Angels Flight on Twitter.

How to cup up a whole chicken made simple

This is the easiest and most-straight forward way I've seen.

What we learned in culinary school this week: Week 12 (Part 2)

After spending the Monday and Tuesday on shellfish, we switched gears to Hors d'Oeuvres for the rest of the week.

Hors d'Oeuvres and canapes are small items that can be eaten without utensils while standing. Appetizers are small portions of food served at the table as the first course.

We also discussed catering at length (there's a lot more to it than just showing up with trays of food) and got a chance to look at a copy of an actual bid for a catering event that featured passed Hors d'Oeuvres, stationary Hors d'Oeuvres and a dessert buffet.

People think that having buffets and Hors d'Oeuvres are cheaper than servings meals, which is not necessarily the case. When clients ask for this, they are often saying they don't want to spend a lot of money. There's also the issue of whether or not dinner is being served. If it isn't, guests will be eating a lot more Hors d'Oeuvres than if there is going to be a sit-down meal.

Wednesday we did tea sandwiches and Thursday prepped for Friday's buffet lunch. The sandwiches were:

• Cucumber Sandwiches with Watercress Butter
• Smoked Salmon Sandwiches with Lemon Dill Buttr
• Garden Tomato Sandwiches with Onion Jam
• Tarragon Shrimp Salad Sandwiches
• Curry Chicken  Salad Sandwiches 

Mise en place (everything in its place).

What we learned in culinary school this week: Week 12 (Part 1)

We covered shellfish this week, so that was good. Did you know that in Maine, their lobster goes for about 3.99 per pound? It's expensive elsewhere because it needs to be shipped.

First up: crustaceans. Live at the bottom of the ocean. Soft, pliable shells. Damn tasty, too. I added that last part myself.

Shrimp:
Ever wonder what the difference is between prawns and shrimp? Wonder no longer! They're the same thing, although prawns are larger. Local shrimp can come from waters anywhere from Alaska to San Diego. Farmed shrimp are fine to eat, but they are bad in terms of the environment and waste. If you can't buy or use fresh shrimp, buy frozen, defrost it in the fridge and use within 48 hours.

Also, ever wonder why shrimp are served with the tail on? Because it makes them look bigger, makes it look like you're getting more bang for your buck.

Wild shrimp, and lots of them.

Spot prawns, about to give their all for our
culinary educations.

Spot prawns, having given their all for our
culinary educations.

Crabs:
Dungeness crabs come from waters from the west coast up to Alaska. The season for catching them runs from November/December through early spring. There is no such thing as farmed Dungeness crab - they're all wild caught. Dungeness crabs also do not molt.

Spider crabs (King Crabs, Snow Crabs) have smaller bodies and longer legs. In other words, they kind of look like spiders. With spider crabs, you only eat the leg meat, nothing from the body.

On the east coast you have blue crabs. They are hard-shelled crabs that molt and when they molt, the new shell is soft. They are small - the largest blue is smaller than the smallest Dungeness. A lot of blue crabs sold in California actually come from Mexico, as the east coast likes to keep their blue crabs.

Imitation crab is usually composed of haddock or pollock.

I'm not much of a crab person, I did like these crab
cakes, although that might have been due to the
mayo as much as the crab cakes.

Lobster:
Except for a cousin that lives off the coast of France (what a life!) no other lobster has the Maine's sweet taste. The Lobster on the Santa Monica Pier has Maine lobsters shipped daily.The west coast is home to the Pacific Rock Lobster, which tastes completely different from Maine lobster. You can now get permits to catch lobster off the South Bay, Palos Verdes and San Pedro.

Lobster is not farmed. They're very plentiful off the east coast, where they blanket the sea floor.

Maine lobsters about to join their spot prawn
brothers in sacrifice.

Bivalves:
Clams should always be rinsed right before cooking. Throw away if there is any cracking or damage to the shell. Clams cook quickly and are cooked to order, not held. Their shells open as they cook; any unopened clams should not be served, but should be thrown away.

Mussels:
The most sustainable and are both farmed and in the wild. The beard is part of their filtering system and should be removed just before cooking when rinsing. They cook like clams.

Scallops:
Scallops can move pretty quickly in the ocean. They swim by clapping their shells together. If you search on You Tube, you can find a number of videos showing them in action. Scallops are mild and can take lively sauces. They also have a good texture for ceviche. Be sure they are dry before you cook them.

Oysters:
Oysters should be served fresh (as soon as shucked). Can be cooked (ex: Oysters Rockefeller) and are often found in traditional New England Thanksgiving stuffings. We got a chance to shuck and it's nowhere as easy as shuckers make it look. I've tried oysters a couple of times (including this week) and just can't wrap my head around the appeal.

We also had to fabricate squid, which kind of gross, although the little fried calamari rings I turned him into were delicious!

Before.

After.

Lunch #3

The theme for this week's lunch was Hot Hor d'Oeuvres and Light Buffet. It was a hit:

The desserts were prepared by the school's kickass pastry chef.

Lunch #2 and I missed it

Unfortunately, I was out sick Friday, so I missed this lunch and don't have any pictures. Was told it went well.

Menu

Butter Lettuce, Avocado & Grapefruit Salad

Seared Salmon with Herb Butter & French Lentils

Chocolate Souffle with Vanilla Creme Anglaise