french onion sandwich bites

In Garde Manger my team rotated to the last of the stations: open-face sandwiches.

I decided to go solo this time and turn the classic French onion soup into a sandwich. This required breaking down the components of the soup and using the elements in a slightly different way. Bread, cheese, onion, broth.



I'd decided to bake a baguette with gruyère. But I didn't use the school recipe from first semester, opting instead for a more complicated one from the Tartine Bread book. It didn't work out so well because I was loosely following the instructions, and with something like bread you just can't do that.

So then I cheated and stole one of the baguettes made by the first semester bread station. Cut that into slices on the bias, and topped each slice with caramelized onions (deglazed with white wine) and shredded fontina cheese.



I put them under the broiler for a few minutes to melt the cheese, then spooned broth (veal stock simmered with spices and thickened with cornstarch) over. I was very pleased with the results. Very simple and very delicious.

latin quarter specials

In the Latin Quarter I was chosen to be manager for a week. I'm glad that I was chosen for the position partway into the semester because this meant that I had a chance to rotate through different positions and really know how everything worked before I had to manage others in doing the same things. It certainly made the job easier, and made me feel like there was a point in being manager. Not only was I able to offer pointers to others, it also allowed me to jump in whenever somebody was missing or needed a break.

Here are some of the specials we ran that week -

Allen's flank steak with chimichurri sauce, accompanied by fried plantains, rice and beans:



Julius's shredded beef and chorizo nachos:



Tishara's grilled chicken torta, stuffed with avocado, cheese, lettuce and tomato and accompanied by a side of sour creamed plantains:



Julius's fried mahi salad, with papaya relish, cucumber, avocado and dill dressing:



So delicious!

mexican green chile sausage

In Garde Manger my team rotated to sausage station, we split off to make different sausages. John, Julius and I decided on Mexican green chile sausage from the CIA Garde Manger book. While Julius cubed pork butt and John gathered spices, I roasted jalepeños and chopped canned green chiles (since we didn't have any fresh ones):



Besides the regular salt, oregano, basil, cumin, garlic - we also added tinted curing mix (salt and sodium nitrite) since we wanted the smoked version and that was the recipe modification listed in the book. TCM is used as a preservative in sausage-making, presumably this sausage only need it because smoking means keeping it in the temperature danger zone for a prolonged period of time and the nitrites would keep bacteria from developing.



Once the three of us had all of our ingredients together, we put everything through the grinder.



The sausage casing had to be soaked in water to soften, and so we could unwind all the knots.



Then the casing was put onto the thin nozzle of the sausage machine:



Once all the ground meat was pushed through the nozzle into the casing, we got to tying the sausage into sections. Some of the sections burst because of the pressure.



Then we hung the sausage up in the walk-in. Chef said he would smoke it for us.



But we cooked off some of the burst parts to taste and the sausage came out way too salty. I double checked the recipe to make sure I didn't fudge any measurements, but I did do it right. It's the combination of salt AND tinted curing mix that put the saltiness level way over the edge, so maybe it should be one or the other (and the recipe should be changed). We'll see after the sausage is smoked, maybe the ensuing smokiness will detract/distract from the over-salty taste...

macarons with marshmallow middles

In Advanced Baking we moved onto confections, and we had our choice of what to make: marshmallows, fruit jellies, caramels, hard candies, etc. Half the class opted for marshmallows - to distinguish ourselves, Marianne and I opted to sandwich ours between French macarons and forgo the usual layer of jam.

Marshmallows are one of those things that are readily available in the grocery store so you never really think about making it. For me, those are the things that are most fascinating to make, the ones you take for granted (ex: mayonnaise, peanut butter, most condiments really). The freshly made versions also end up tasting better, not just because the ingredients are fresh there are no additives/preservatives but also because you can customize the flavor!

To make marshmallows I had to soak sheets of gelatin - which start out like sheets of thin plastic but become soft and rubbery once it sits in water:



This bloomed gelatin sheets are then whipped into italian meringue (sugar water cooked to 240F softball stage and poured into egg whites whipped to medium peaks):



Then I added flavoring (rose water) and food coloring (pink) to customize the marshmallows. We were a little limited with flavoring since they had to be in essential oil form (and not, for example, fruit puree form), since otherwise it would change the consistency of the marshmallow.



Here's the finished product on sheet tray. It had to sit a bit in order to firm up. And to prevent it from sticking, we oiled parchment paper and put it both beneath the marshmallow layer and on top.



Meanwhile Marianne set to work with the French macarons. Here she is piping them the batter (with a little green food coloring added):



They had to sit out and develop a skin on top before they were baked. See them rising?



Then came time to assemble. We cut the marshmallow into ridged circles (for the macaron sandwiches) and hearts (just for fun), which were then rolled in a half cornstarch half powdered sugar mixture. Other groups cut theirs into even funner shapes like octopus for example.



The circle shaped ones were sandwiched between the macarons:



Mine before I ate it :)



I really liked the contrasting textures, the crispy/chewy macaron exterior with the soft marshmallow interior. Apparently one of the dishwasher ladies liked them too, because she asked Chef to buy a whole box to take home. First time anyone has ever purchased my treats!

hot expo

After sandwich/nacho station I moved to the hot expo position in the Latin Quarter. This meant that I did expediting for the hot line, which meant yelling out ticket orders and sending hot food down to the expo pickup (who would then hand the food to customers). Besides this yelling/delivery duty I also took care of miscellaneous accoutrements, which included deep-frying a bunch of things. Like churros (which is just pâte à choux in an elogated shape).



These I would finish in a cinnamon sugar mixture.



I also fried/salted tortilla chips for nacho station. It's amazing how much better freshly fried tortilla chips are compared to the bagged kind. The prep station cut up tortilla rounds for me every day.



I also fried french fries for our lomo saltado dish.



I also fried papas rellenas, or breaded mashed potato balls with a ground beef mixture inside. These went out with chipotle mayo dipping sauce.



I also fried fish for fish tacos, which in our case is breaded mahi. I also garnished tacos - fish tacos would get coleslaw and salsa fresca, while the beef/chicken/carnitas/veggie tacos would get shredded cheese, roasted salsa and lettuce. Then I would add sliced radish, pickled jalapeño, lime wedges and cilantro. So much color.



This was my mise-en-place, with all the sauces and garnish ingredients. Oh and also salad ingredients for our Mexican salad - romaine, cherry tomatoes, tortilla strips, queso fresco, scallions and avocado dressing. So authentic, I know.