Four prawns, three desserts, two hunks of lamb and one deep-fried truffle
Because we did so poorly on our midterm, the school has decided to help us review the techniques necessary to achieve the perfect rack of lamb until we all can get it right. I applaud them for this. However, every day that we review rack of lamb, we also have to eat rack of lamb. Today was Day Five. Or maybe Six. I can't really remember.
A long time ago (let's say, ohhh, late October), I used to really enjoy rack of lamb. I loved the buttery texture, the crisp layer of fat infused with the slightly astringent tang of rosemary and the rich, musky flavor of the meat. Today I officially hit my Lamb Threshold. I don't want to see lamb, cook lamb, smell lamb or eat lamb for a really long time - like, maybe even a whole week! Since our exam, we've continued to prepare our regularly scheduled menus (Honey/Soy/Ginger Glazed Cod with Pineau de Charentes Sauce, Pikeperch Mousseline with Julienned Vegetables and Beurre Blanc Sauce, Frozen Nougat with Apricot Glaze, Citrus Marinated Prawns with Pasta Crust and Citrus Vinaigrette, Herb and Mustard Rubbed Lamb Tenderloin Wrapped in Puff Pastry, and Grand Marnier Souffle - those were all made during the last two days, at least), but we also cook Something With Rack of Lamb every day as well.
This morning we were greeted by giant hulking sections of meat - basically a lamb's ribcage, complete with petite fillets, tenderloins and as big a rack as a girl could ever want. Nina and I were excited; we both enjoy butchery lessons and we're always eager to sink our knives into some animal flesh. Here's Nina after we've finished carving:
The tenderloins were quickly rubbed with a mix of finely chopped herbs and mustard and wrapped snugly in puff pastry:
Then we made Rack of Lamb. Again. God help me, but by the time it came out of the oven I was ready and waiting. We've dispensed with formality at this point; we just saw off some chops and eat our portions right off the bone in our hands, like a big bloody lollipop. Something's just not right about force-feeding yourself rack of lamb every day. I'm not sure what it is, but I'll let you know when I figure it out.
There was a brief lamb-free interlude while we prepared our appetizer, pasta-encrusted prawns. We marinated them in a mix of citrus juice, garlic and olive oil, wrapped them with fettuccine, pan-fried them and then served them atop some mixed greens with a citrus reduction. They were great, but each prawn was massive and we were allotted five each. Gamba overload. I ate four and gave up.
Then lamb reappeared, in both its tenderloin and rack form. I gave up trying to make my plate look pretty and just slapped yet another chop on top of the tenderloin-stuffed pastry, then wolfed the whole thing down before my teacher could see that I'd neglected my garnish and presentation:
And for dessert? Souffles, of course! Something light and healthy!
We lined each cup with a candied orange slice first.
If you wipe a towel around the edge of your souffle to create a ridge like this, it will rise more evenly.
Two hours later, we were battering and deep-frying chocolate truffles. This sounds like something only the Scottish could think up, but au contraire! First we prepared ganache by mixing chocolate and cream, then piped it out and chilled it:
Piping these into shapes that don't resemble merde is harder than it looks.
We also prepared a chocolate fritter batter, beat some eggs for dipping, and pushed a chocolate genoise cake through a sieve, making a pile of very fine, rich crumbs:
Finally, we dipped our chilled ganache balls into the beaten eggs, rolled them in cake crumbs, dipped them in fritter batter and then deep-fried them in peanut oil.
Did I really just write that?
After they drained, we nestled them into a pool of tapioca pudding, and topped them with a nest of frizzy chocolate fritters:
What can I say? Deep-fried chocolate truffles taste good. When you cut into them, they ooze molten chocolate. Not such a fan of the tapioca pudding, though. The dish seemed a bit incongruous to me, what with the stodginess of the tapioca on the one hand and the pornographic amounts of chocolate and fat on the other, but maybe that's the idea.
We finished off the day by making a banana coconut tart. The planets must have aligned in some beneficial way because I finally got my pate sucree (tart crust) rolled out and arranged in the metal ring without it breaking, ripping or dissolving into a buttery, gloppy mess before me.
My triumphant tart crust
Here's the result:
I was pleased. This is the first thing I've made in pastry class that has actually resembled the teacher's version. So what if the thought of eating it right now makes me want to keel over? It just might be the perfect conclusion to tomorrow's rack of lamb.
A long time ago (let's say, ohhh, late October), I used to really enjoy rack of lamb. I loved the buttery texture, the crisp layer of fat infused with the slightly astringent tang of rosemary and the rich, musky flavor of the meat. Today I officially hit my Lamb Threshold. I don't want to see lamb, cook lamb, smell lamb or eat lamb for a really long time - like, maybe even a whole week! Since our exam, we've continued to prepare our regularly scheduled menus (Honey/Soy/Ginger Glazed Cod with Pineau de Charentes Sauce, Pikeperch Mousseline with Julienned Vegetables and Beurre Blanc Sauce, Frozen Nougat with Apricot Glaze, Citrus Marinated Prawns with Pasta Crust and Citrus Vinaigrette, Herb and Mustard Rubbed Lamb Tenderloin Wrapped in Puff Pastry, and Grand Marnier Souffle - those were all made during the last two days, at least), but we also cook Something With Rack of Lamb every day as well.
This morning we were greeted by giant hulking sections of meat - basically a lamb's ribcage, complete with petite fillets, tenderloins and as big a rack as a girl could ever want. Nina and I were excited; we both enjoy butchery lessons and we're always eager to sink our knives into some animal flesh. Here's Nina after we've finished carving:
The tenderloins were quickly rubbed with a mix of finely chopped herbs and mustard and wrapped snugly in puff pastry:
Then we made Rack of Lamb. Again. God help me, but by the time it came out of the oven I was ready and waiting. We've dispensed with formality at this point; we just saw off some chops and eat our portions right off the bone in our hands, like a big bloody lollipop. Something's just not right about force-feeding yourself rack of lamb every day. I'm not sure what it is, but I'll let you know when I figure it out.
There was a brief lamb-free interlude while we prepared our appetizer, pasta-encrusted prawns. We marinated them in a mix of citrus juice, garlic and olive oil, wrapped them with fettuccine, pan-fried them and then served them atop some mixed greens with a citrus reduction. They were great, but each prawn was massive and we were allotted five each. Gamba overload. I ate four and gave up.
Then lamb reappeared, in both its tenderloin and rack form. I gave up trying to make my plate look pretty and just slapped yet another chop on top of the tenderloin-stuffed pastry, then wolfed the whole thing down before my teacher could see that I'd neglected my garnish and presentation:
And for dessert? Souffles, of course! Something light and healthy!
Two hours later, we were battering and deep-frying chocolate truffles. This sounds like something only the Scottish could think up, but au contraire! First we prepared ganache by mixing chocolate and cream, then piped it out and chilled it:
We also prepared a chocolate fritter batter, beat some eggs for dipping, and pushed a chocolate genoise cake through a sieve, making a pile of very fine, rich crumbs:
Finally, we dipped our chilled ganache balls into the beaten eggs, rolled them in cake crumbs, dipped them in fritter batter and then deep-fried them in peanut oil.
Did I really just write that?
After they drained, we nestled them into a pool of tapioca pudding, and topped them with a nest of frizzy chocolate fritters:
What can I say? Deep-fried chocolate truffles taste good. When you cut into them, they ooze molten chocolate. Not such a fan of the tapioca pudding, though. The dish seemed a bit incongruous to me, what with the stodginess of the tapioca on the one hand and the pornographic amounts of chocolate and fat on the other, but maybe that's the idea.
We finished off the day by making a banana coconut tart. The planets must have aligned in some beneficial way because I finally got my pate sucree (tart crust) rolled out and arranged in the metal ring without it breaking, ripping or dissolving into a buttery, gloppy mess before me.
Here's the result:
I was pleased. This is the first thing I've made in pastry class that has actually resembled the teacher's version. So what if the thought of eating it right now makes me want to keel over? It just might be the perfect conclusion to tomorrow's rack of lamb.
posted by cindym at 12:48 PM
6 Comments:
I don't know how you guys can eat all that stuff. And I've got a hearty appetite. :G:
Everything looks yummy, but, of course, I'm not the one that been forced to eat lamb over and over again.
Gorgeous desserts!
I'm with you on the tapioca -- never could comprehend that as dessert (or anything else). Your tart crust looks superb! And, I love the idea of the prawns wrapped in pasta -- hmmmm, could be something new for the buffet table at Christmas.
I am always AMAZED at the amount of food you guys HAVE to consume :)
It seems like taking cooking classes is just as much about stretching your stomach as it is about learning technique. Not a bad deal ;)
B'gina - Yeah, I've eaten more than I ever thought possible here. I don't know how it's happened.
Janice - the prawns were pretty good. If i were to make the pasta crust on my own, I might do more of a hearty, ravioli style thing to wrap them instead of fettuccine, but then again, that might be overkill.
Amateur - you hit the nail on the head. Cooking school is the Olympics of eating. And French cooking school is even worse.
Beautiful Pate Sucree! And the end result is so pretty! What is the difference between pate sucree and a regular tart crust?
Wow, never heard of deep-fried truffles, but I'd definitely would love to try them! Does it ever happen, that you get hungry during cooking classes...? I wouldn't think so... ;)
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