Things I do in class

I'm so happy to have the baking module in school behind me.  I learned some important and usable things, but my heart is firmly on the culinary side of the fence.  I need more things on my artist palette besides eggs, butter, sugar, and flour.  Yes, I'm exaggerating but my tastes tend to the savory as opposed to the sweet.  This last week was my first week back since winter break.  I have started a new module called Cuisine Across Cultures. At the start of any new class I go through a time where it takes me a bit to adjust to the new kitchen and the new chef.  This last week we had two production days to put in practice some of the things we learned about salt and other spices.

We made Gravlax which is a Nordic dish of salt cured salmon.  Basically what you do is bury a piece of salmon in a mixture of salt, sugar, and dill and then compress it for three days.  I like it and hope to do up a fresh batch of salt crusted bagels with cream cheese, capers, and dill.

What I love most about this new class is I get to play with some really great ingredients.  It inspires me.  I have a passion fo the "traditional" foods of every country and want to try them all.  In class Thursday we were learning the flavor profiles of South America, Asia, and the Middle East.  I had worked out a timeline to present each of these dishes as a single plate, but my class team all pitched in and we batched up the sauce making to make it possible to have it all come together at once.  This is what I produced.

Beef Chimmichurri, Quail Yakitori, and Scallops Charmoula

 The Scallops Charmoula was my favorite.  It's of Moroccan origin.  North African and Middle Eastern cuisines have captured my attention lately.