Wednesday (the last day) we had to prepare a single dish from a mystery box. Essentially it was time to clean out the walk-in cooler before spring break. We were told we would be assigned either chicken or salmon - and were asked to pull ingredients for two servings of vegetables and a starch.
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| Braised Chicken in Gingered Pan Gravy |
I drew Chicken and had pulled Rapini, Summer Squash, and Sweet Potatoes. For garnish, I decided to depart from the ubiquitous minced parsley and went with roasted leek threads. The braise liquid originated with mirepoix a brun, singer a blond, deglaze with a sherry vinegar and then augmented with a vegetable stock flavored with bay and black pepper, thyme, parsley, and fresh ginger. The chicken was seared off with a dusting of salt, coriander, fennel, and pink peppercorns and then landed in the braise liquid to finish. It was tasty!
I got a little emotional walking around taking thank you notes to my instructors. I'm so happy to have made it through and grateful to them for sharing their knowledge with me. The next stage of my education is Internship! NOW GET TO WORK!
