What we learned in culinary school this week: Week 17 (Part 1)

First week in a while with no Friday lunch. Wish we could do it all the way through the program, but we've still got a lot to cover and need all the time we can get. And we got to make all sorts of good stuff this week!

Monday: Custards. Custards involve dairy and eggs. They can be sweet or savory (today we did sweet). Refined sugar in baking adds moisture, but in custards it just adds sweetness, so you can add any sweetener, because it doesn't affect the texture. Always serve creme brulee in its dish - it won't hold its shape if you try to remove it from the dish. Custards are always served cold, so you can make them the day ahead.

For cheesecakes: If you want it light and fluffy, whip the cream cheese a lot, then add the eggs and whip on high. For a more dense cheesecake, don't whip it as much. The graham cracker or cookie crust should have the consistency of wet sand when mixed. You can even make a cheesecake without a crust - just line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.

We made flan, bread pudding, butterscotch pudding, creme caramel custard and got to wield the torches to caramelize the tops of our creme brulees.

Cheesecake cracked? No problem...

...just add beautiful fresh fruit!

For the water bath - use a towel on the pan...

...then fill the dish, put it in the oven and pour water
in. That way you don't slop water all over the place
carrying it to the oven, or God forbid into the dish.

Sugar coating for the brulee.

TORCHED!!!

The next couple of days, we worked on puff pastry. It's a lot of work and time consuming. 

Puff pastry is a combination of dough and butter that is repeatedly turned and rolled out, creating layers of butter that will cause them to puff up during baking. 

The schedule.

Croissants:

Croissants with Chocolate:

Pains Aux Raisins:

Thursday and Friday we did cakes with the school's kickass Baking and Pastry Chef. Going to do that one in a separate post.

What we learned in culinary school this week: Week 16

Sick again, so I missed Yeast Breads and Enriched Breads, but as Chef pointed out, since I've enrolled in the upcoming full-time Baking and Pastry Program, I'll cover that later.

We did flaky dough (pie crusts) and sweet tart dough on Thursday. Here's what we learned about that:

Baking is much more of an exact science when it comes to the ingredients, especially measurements. In professional and commercial baking recipes, measurements are given in grams.

In pie crusts, all-purpose flour is used about 95% of the time. AP is soft enough to create tender, flaky crusts, but hard enough to hold its shape and texture. Most flours, with the exception of whole wheat, can be stored indefinitely. Store flour in a glass or plastic container with a secure lid.

The fat added is usually butter, but doesn't have to be. Crisco or rendered lard can be used. We were told that Whole Foods carries a higher quality version of Crisco. Duck fat also works great. Butter will produce a more buttery, melt in your mouth crust, while lard produces a more crunchy, crispy crust.

The dryer your dough is, the flakier the crust will be. However, it's also harder to roll out.

For fruit pies: Cooking fruit generates a lot of juice. You need to thicken it with flour (for starchy fruits like apples and pears), tapioca or cornstarch (both for watery fruits, like berries and stonefruit). However, your fruit doesn't have to be pre-cooked.

Blind baking is partially pre-baking your pie crust before filling it, adding the top crust (if using) and finishing it back in the oven.

Sweet tart dough is easier to make and hard to ruin. In other words, idiot proof. I should make more tarts.

Chef made a Strawberry Rhubarb Pie while
demoing pie crust.

Edges crimped!

Ready for the oven.

Coconut Cream Pie (YUM).

Big pies, little pies...

And a galette to grow on!

Tart crust.

Lemon Tart.

Lunch #7

Still haven't completely shaken the cold, but got through lunch. Didn't get many pictures, though.

Today we put our pie crust skills to work for Friday lunch.

Menu

Salad of Field Greens, Strawberries and Goat Cheese

Chicken Pot Pie

Chocolate Chip Cookies

My station - I made the sauce.

The assembly line.

Sadly, this was our class's last lunch service. Chef wants to use the rest of our time (we graduate June 20) to cover as much material as possible. We still have more baking and pastry to cover, then we start on various ethnic cuisines. We also have wine tasting, jams and fermentation coming up. We do have our second Family & Friends Pop-Up at the end of the month, which should be great. I will miss the Friday lunches though.

What we learned in culinary school this week: Week 15

All over the place this week. Chef decided to have us do a seasonal vegetables refresher course on Monday and Tuesday. Then we did quick breads on Wednesday and brunch on Thursday. Our Friday lunch was breakfast to order and then the school had a famous pastry chef doing a macarons demo Friday evening and I volunteered to help prepare food for the guests attending that event. Whew!

California Chopped Salad. A terrific, light,
refreshing spring/summer salad.

Bruschetta with Fava Bean Puree. A great way to
get people who hate bean (me) to eat them.

Mushroom Bourgignon. HOLY MOTHER OF GOD
this is one of the best things we've ever made. I
LOVED it. So substantial, you don't miss the beef.

Haricots Verts. Another way to get me to eat beans.

Zucchini Fritters with Minted Creme Fraiche.

Asparagus Polonaise.

We also made Green Bean Salad with Pesto, Spring Vegetable Fricassee, Cauliflower Couscous with Quinoa, Eggplant and Porcini "Meatballs" and Zucchini Spaghetti with Pesto, among others.

Quick Breads:
We went over various leavening agents whose properties are very scientific, so it's a good thing I wrote them down because I don't retain that stuff. Long story short - baking powder and baking soda are not the same thing, so don't get them mixed up. In fact, there's a lot of science in baking that I will not bore you with here.

Most baked goods are non-perishable, but taste will deteriorate over time. When measuring brown sugar, the question is always how tightly it should be packed into the measuring cup. The answer: tight enough to hold its form, but should fall apart when tapped. Unlike cooking, measurements in baking must be precise. High end baking is done in weight, rather than volume.  And yes, the toothpick method for determining the doneness of baked goods is legit!

Also, you want to let breads and muffins cool completely before cutting into them, or you lose a lot of moisture.

Apple Streusel Muffins.

Bacon Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuits.

Banana Bread. Waited until it was completely
cooled before cutting it. It stayed moist for a week.

Pumpkin Chocolate Bread.

Brunch:
You want stuff that you can keep and serve at room temperature.

Fruit salads and platters - you can use less ripe, less expensive produce for salads. Cut up into pieces and add a dressing. For platters, you need the pretty, good quality stuff.

If your recipe calls for room temperature eggs, rather than waiting on them (or if you forgot to set them out) put them in a bowl, cover with warm water and they'll be good to go in a few minutes.

Asparagus Frittata with Fresh Herbs and Goat
Cheese. After taking this picture, we were informed
that we can't use fresh basil for garnish. Too
valuable to waste, I guess. Still, look how pretty!!!

Pommes a L'Huile. Hands down the best potato
salad I've ever had. Will be making this one again.

Fruit Salad with Yogurt Poppy Seed Dressing.

Smoking trout for the Smoked Trout Hash.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake.

Brunch is served!

French Macarons with Jacquy Pfeiffer

Award winning baking and pastry chef Jacquy Pfeiffer conducted a demo and book signing Friday evening at the school. Along with a couple of my classmates, I volunteered to prepare the buffet that was set out for attendees.

Chef Jacquy Pfeiffer recently released The Art of French Pastry, which recently received a nomination from The James Beard Foundation (the Oscars of cooking). He is also the co-founder of The French Pastry School in Chicago. He has a very thick French accent and a very quick wit. Our work done, we got to hang out and watch his demo of French Macarons. I need to get his book.

Menu

Grilled Bread with Trout, Tomato and Chives

Grilled Bread with Fava Bean and Pecorino

Grilled Panini

Frittata 

Fruit and Cheese Platters

My fava bean and pecorino work station ready to go.

Ready to be served.

The trout with tomato and chives. I thought it
turned out really pretty.

Lunch #6

Yesterday's lunch service was actual breakfast made to order. Guests were given a slip of paper with their choice of entrees, which were served with potatoes and biscuits.

We were assigned to particular stations. I wound up on crepes. My partner was better at them, so she cooked the crepes and I plated them. We had also made the biscuits earlier, and I whipped up the cream for the crepes.

Menu

Choice of Breakfast Entree

(Vegetable Scramble, Omelet, Blackberry Crepes,

Eggs Florentine, or Eggs Benedict)

Buttermilk Biscuit and Potatoes

Crepe pans at the ready!

Plating for Blackberry Crepes entree.

Quite the crowd.

After our guests are gone, it's lunch time for us
culinary students. Food service really works up
an appetite!

Fishy advice

This article on Buying and Storing Whole Fish from Saveur covers points about buying fish that are pretty basic, but it probably doesn't hurt to have the periodic reminder.

They also have this great advice on storing your beautiful, fresh fish once you've brought it home:

Store whole fish in the coldest part of your fridge wrapped in parchment or butcher's paper on a tray of crushed ice. Make sure the fish does not come in direct contact with ice, which can cause frost damage. Change the ice frequently, as melting ice will waterlog the flesh, deteriorating the flavor and texture.

Cakes of L.A.

Via LAist: Awesome cakes of L.A. landmarks. Per the article, the cakes were created for a fundraiser for Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA. Cakes included the La Brea Tar Pits, Capitol Records, the Paramount Cakes and Beverly Hilton Hotel.

I can't imagine the amount of time and work that went into these cakes. They're just gorgeous.

Image from the article.

What I learned today: "Breadcrumbs" is one word

So sayeth my spellcheck when I was retyping today's recipes. It's bread crumbs on the recipes, but for the sake of not having to look at any more squiggly red and green lines than necessary, I'm going with breadcrumbs.

Makes sense to me

Yup.

H/T to Scarlett Dean on Facebook

2014 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books - More books!

The sparse non-food related book haul from this year's FOB:

Los Angeles Noir ($15.95 from Sisters in Crime) and Los Angeles Noir 2: The Classics ($15.95 at Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore), both edited by Denise Hamilton
I'm not sure how I don't already own these two books, but that situation was rectified on Sunday. The first installment features short stories that take place in locales from San Marino to Hollywood to Pacific Palisades to Belmont Shore, with a number of stops in between. Contributors include Michael Connelly and editor Denise Hamilton. Bonus: Hamilton was at the Mysterious Galaxy booth and autographed the book for me (To Melinda - Enjoy these dark tales). The second installment features short stories from such greats as Raymond Chandler, James M. Cain, Walter Mosley, Ross Mcdonald and James Ellroy.

 

How To Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon ($10.95 at Book Soup)

I've always been fascinated by the fine line between homage and plagiarism. This little book takes the approach that "nothing is original" and that's it's okay to be inspired by the works of others. It includes other nuggets of inspiration to give your creativity a boost, while also stressing the importance of having a well-rounded personal life as well as an artistic one. 

My final purchase was a $3 book of crossword puzzles from the Bargain Book Warehouse. Plus, I also got the obligatory annual commemorative FOB mug and refrigerator magnet. After that, I gave my credit card a few days off to recover from its exhausting weekend.

This was my third consecutive FOB I've attended, and it was a big improvement over last year, mainly because the weather cooperated, unlike last year when it was scorching hot.

And the USC campus is as beautiful as ever: