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Dark chocolate mousse, with chocolate cake, poached cherries, and a yogurt mousse.
I recently took the Chocolate Class, taught by Bill Corbett the Executive Pastry Chef of the Absinthe Group, at SFCooking. I mostly took the class because my friend Hazel was taking it as well and we like to cook together. I was really surprised by how much I learned in this class because, while I had expected to have a good time and make delicious desserts, we measured everything in grams. All the classes I've attended at SFCooking have been great, and I've learned a lot and had wonderful time cooking, but Bill's class put a whole new spin on everything.
Everyone in the chocolate class still had a good time, but you could tell that everyone was more focused on what they were doing because the recipes were so precise. Most people don't realize that one cup of flour is not equal to every cup of flour. If you're heavy handed and smoosh the flour into your measuring cup you will end up with a different amount of flour than say a person who delicately sifts a cup of flour. Bill eliminated any kind of discrepancy by using grams for everything in our recipes. Each group had a food scale (I know I love mine at home, but it had never crossed my mind to use it like this.) and we used it religiously to measure out all our ingredients.
My team was in charge of the White Chocolate Cremeux, with Lime Curd, Coconut Crumble and Rum Whipped Cream. Each piece of this dessert was made separately. My team of four (Roger, Mike, Hazel and I) split into teams. Hazel and Mike worked on the Lime Curd part while Roger and I worked on the Cremeux. The best way to describe the Cremeux is like the mix between a custard and a pudding. First we made a custard, and we whipped it into a pudding-ish consistency and added more ingredients. This leads me back to being amazed with the measurements. After making the custard portion Roger and I discovered that it had not yielded as much as the recipe said it would. Because we were cooking with grams we were able to measure how much we had and then easily adjust the rest of the recipe. For example, we only had 86% of 415g required to go with the rest of the ingredients. We just adjusted the rest of the ingredients to only be 86% of their grams and went on our way. If we had been using cups to measure it would have been a complete disaster. How do you take 14% away from a cup of something accurately? It was an eye-opening experience.
On the left: Milk chocolate panna cotta, with basil meringue and pistachio streusel. On the right: White chocolate cremeux with lime curd, coconut crumble and rum whipped cream."
Our desserts came out restaurant ready. The precision and delicate attention to details paid off and everything was delicious.
I've since been looking for recipes measured out in grams, or ounces, or really almost anything more precise, and it's been quite a challenge. Bob found an excellent article for me just this morning from The-Magazine.org by Joe Ray, called Weight For It. It pretty much says the same thing I've said here but it's still a great read. It also led me to do some further investigating and I've just ordered The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook
I'm also happy to share the chocolate class recipes with anyone, just let me know!
:)Margaret
My second class of Cooking Fundamentals was fantastic, especially because I'm not a vegetarian. This week's class focus was on sautéing and searing and we sautéed and seared the crap out of some delicious food.
Here's the list of this week's receipts (full recipes at the bottom of the post):
Before starting all our cooking we talked about different kinds of pans, skillets, and stock pots. You mostly want something that heats evenly, and is big enough for whatever it is you're making. Oh, and a sauce pan, is typically not a pan you should make sauce in, just FYI.
This week I worked on the Chicken Breast w/ White Wine and Pan Sauce with Courtney. We got to implement the "boom schmoosh" method of flattening the chicken breast. We used a "meat pounder" like this one
We seriously feasted when everything came together at the end of class. Everything was delicious, and perfectly cooked. The flank steak was juicy and medium rare and the romesco was killer. The cider pan sauce for the pork chops was sweet and succulent at the same time. And the Ahi was perfectly seared on the outside while beautiful and pink on the inside. We were kitchen geniuses!
Take-aways:
And now, what you've been waiting for, the recipes! (I'll be adding the recipes slowly, because they're pretty long and detailed.)
Creamy Sauteed Mushrooms w/ Toasted Bread:
Clean excess dirt from mushrooms. Slice mushrooms in half lengthwise and brush away any grit; chop into ¼ pieces, or smaller.
Melt butter in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add shallots and sauté until very limp, about three minutes. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, for about five minutes. Add wine, reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook for about five minutes more.
Uncover pot and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated, about two minutes. Stir in cream; simmer until slightly thickened, two minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Toast bread and spread with butter. Cut each slice in half diagonally and sprinkle lightly with chives. Top each toast triangle withs one mushroom mixture. Sprinkle with additional chives, garnish with sea salt, and serve.
This recipe was adapted from Melissa Clark, New york Times, 5/16/07, and serves 6 people.
Seared Ahi w/ Couscous and Citrus Aioli
Tuna:
Aioli:
Couscous:
For the tuna, combine the fennel seeds, coriander seeds and peppercorns in a small sauté pan and cook over medium heat until fragrant, about 3 minutes, shaking occasionally. Transfer mixture to a spice grinder and grind until fine. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the salt. Coat fish with some of the olive oil. Sprinkle the fish on all sides with the spice mixture. Heat a large state pan over medium high heat. When pan is hot, sear tuna until well seared on the outside but still rare in the center, 3-4 minutes a side at most. Remove fish from the pan, place on a plate and refrigerate, uncovered, for 1 hour. Cut fish into 1/2-in thick slices.
For the aioli, combine the may, lemon juice, chives and garlic in a small bowl. Stir together well, taste and season if desired with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate up to 2 days before using.
For the couscous, heat the olive oil in a heavy large skillet over medium high heat. Add the carrot and onion with a pinch of salt and sauté until crisp tender, about 3 minutes. Add the thyme, garlic and remaining slat, along with 2 ¼ cups of water, and bring to a boil. Add snap peas and cook until crisp tender, about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the snap peas to a plate. Immediately add the couscous to the boiling water and stir to combine. Cover and remove the pan from the heat. Let stand 5 minutes then fluff gently with a fork. Transfer the couscous to a bowl and cool completely. When cool, mix in the snap peas and dill. Taste and season with salt and pepper. (This dish can sit up to 2 hours at room temperature.) To serve, spoon couscous onto serving plates, top with tuna slices and drizzle with aioli.
Pork Chops in Cider Pan Sauce
Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 425°. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Season the chops with salt and pepper.
Melt the butter in a 12-inch sauté pan over medium-high heat until the foam subsides. Working in 2 batches, cook the chops until nicely browned, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to the baking sheet and roast until no longer pink near the bone (use a paring knife to check), about 8 minutes.
Meanwhile, lower the heat to medium and add the apple, shallot, and thyme to the skillet and cook, stirring often, until beginning to brown and soften, about 2 minutes. Add the cider, scraping any bits off the bottom of the pan, and cook until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Add the broth and mustard and continue to cook until slightly reduced, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve the sauce over the chops.
This recipe was adapted from "Fine Cooking," and serves 4.
Check back for more of the recipes!
