Today was fun! What’s not to like about learning how to prepare great food. It’s interesting to see the mix of people who go take culinary classes. Granted, my experience is still somewhat limited, but it ranges from those there with someone else who is more interested in cooking to those who are seeking to work professionally in the culinary arts and just wanting to go from point A to point B in the fastest way possible.
Chef Jamie began our Saturday class with a lecture and recipe on stock versus broth. Stock is a component and made primarily from bones and is NEVER seasoned. Broth is from meat, is sometime seasoned, often served as a soup, and broth will NEVER thicken. I discovered it’s really important to take note when your cooking instructor utters the term, “NEVER”. I took that as a code word for amateurs who have been doing things wrong and NEVER had a clue. Oh, and Marmite is in between a stock and broth but rarely used – good to know that since I NEVER had a clue.
We first prepared our stock and I again learned one of the most important points I emphasized from the first day; having a sharp set of knives is essential if your going to cook – and no, not that set at Target that comes with a block. Chef Jamie said you NEVER keep your knives in a block – that you keep them in a protector and in your knife pouch or in the kitchen drawer. I used to despise prepping vegetables but actually enjoy chopping, dicing and mincing now that I have an extremely sharp tool that is an “extension” of my hand.
Next, we prepared the Pate Brissee, otherwise known as the “mother dough”. 200 grams of all-purpose flour (NEVER that self-rising stuff), 100 grams of cold, cubed butter (did a mention you NEVER mention the term margarine in culinary class), 1 egg (medium and organic if possible) and 5 grams of salt and 3-4 drops of water. I asked Chef Jamie what he meant by 3 or 4 drops of water. He turned the cold water on to a slight drip and quickly ran the pan across the stream of water. “That’s three or four drops”, he said. Hmm, NEVER knew that either. Then he emphasized, “But don’t panic if you get a little too much water in the mixture. A little touch of flour will fix that”. If someone has egg sensitivity you can replace the egg with 60 milliliters of water. Professional cooks always use metric measurements and NEVER the American standard system.
After we finished making our dough, we placed it in the refrigerator and began preparations for our homemade vegetable soup, our sautéed breast of chicken stuffed with fresh herbs and mozzarella, pasta with herbs and olive oil, mustard and herb-glazed pork tenderloin, oven-roasted vegetables and our apple tart.
Learning how to properly season the pork tenderloin and stuff the chicken were the most helpful tidbits of information for me on day two. You always season your tenderloin before cooking, NEVER while it’s in the pan. The reason – when you season at room temperature the salt will be absorbed quickly into the meat. When you season in the pan it’s the equivalent of pouring the seasoning on the floor instead of the meat. NEVER knew that either.
Once everything was finished and done, we enjoy a delicious meal. The pork tenderloin was outstanding, although Chef Brooke thought it was a bit overcooked. I can’t wait to make the vegetable soup next week and hope my oven-roasted vegetables turn out the way Chef Jamie taught me.
Another cup of coffee and off to my third and final day of this series.
