Fancy Pants Foodie

Foodie news, reviews and how-tos from Arkansas and beyond.

What You Need To Do This Week for Thanksgiving Prep

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Goat cheese and pomegranate salad from last year's Thanksgiving.

Goat cheese and pomegranate salad from last year’s Thanksgiving.

If you, my foodie friend, are cooking Thanksgiving dinner (lunch, whatevs) this year, you need to get it in gear this week. I know. So early! But trust me. You’ll be happier.

Hang with me.

Every year, the first week of November, I start getting a little twinkle in my eye. Just call me the Santa of Thanksgiving.

Maybe you don’t get the same level of excitement, and maybe you don’t even do a T-day meal that’s all that fancy. Even so, this is the week you should start putting a few thoughts that direction. Why? Because it will save you lots of stress and probably a lot of money in a few weeks.

Menu
This week is the time to work on your menu. Why so early? Well, several reasons. For one, there are elements that you can prep early and freeze (veggies for dressing, stock for gravy, etc.), saving you some time and sanity later on. Also, if you’re like me, you might need to spread your Thanksgiving expenses across two paychecks, and buying some of the items now will help you not be busted come Black Friday. (More on that in a minute.)

Need some inspiration? Time to troll the internets and magazines. My favorites this time of year are Food Network and blogs like Simply Recipes and Gluten Free Girl and the Chef. Last week, I even bought my first Martha Stewart Living magazine in like 15 years. I still haven’t forgiven her for being a heifer and business cheater, but I was recently at a bookstore and got sucked in by the luscious cover. (Martha’s idea I’m lifting this year: brûléed pumpkin pie. Oh yes.)

You might even like my would-be menu from that Thanksgiving I ended up with the flu. Hey, it’s a start. Embellish at will.

Of course, there’s also nothing wrong with making your feast just like your family has done for generations. Just write down the list of every menu item you plan to prepare. Feel free to send reminders this week to family members who typically bring a particular dish.

Once you have all your menu items chosen, write down every.single.ingredient you’ll need to make each dish. If you know you have something in your pantry/freezer, make a note, but write it down anyway. Print out all the recipes to help make lists and to have them handy for prep.

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Budget
Holiday meals can be expensive, so a little forethought can help with budget planning as well as sanity.

Write on a piece of paper how much money you are going to spend on this meal. Period. No cheating. If you end up adjusting your menu because of it, so be it. Maybe ask relatives to bring some of the items, or even just the ingredients if you want to do it yourself. Just be sure to coordinate with them so you get the items in time to prepare them for the meal.

Next, consider how many people you will be feeding and how many leftovers you want. Carefully take note of your recipes where it says how many it feeds, and multiply/divide as needed. If you’re going by recipe-free tradition, just adjust as necessary based on what you know it makes. This step helps make sure you don’t spend too much on copious quantities you won’t use.

Now check out the specials at your favorite store, or even one or two that you don’t normally frequent. If you don’t wait until the last minute (and sometimes, even if you do), you can find some really great deals on Thanksgiving dinner items. As mentioned earlier, there are things you can prep and freeze early, so catch some sales and get things moving. Use your ingredient list you made earlier and get your groceries in two phases: Stuff that can be done early, and stuff you want to do later.

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My family is escaping to the lovely Big Cedar Lodge this Thanksgiving, so I’m planning a small feast that we can prepare in our cabin there.

I just purchased some turkey legs ($3) to make into a stock for gravy and dressing. This can be frozen way ahead of time. I’m also going to make some dressing, gluten-free rolls and a pie (maybe two) to freeze ahead of time and carry with us in a cooler, along with a very small turkey, maybe just a turkey breast. The cooler is a great help and is one of the main reasons we’re going to be able to have such a great dinner away from home. I’ve made sure that we have one of the best coolers for the money so that none of the food spoils and we’re fully prepared for the dinner! We’ll also be able to use it in the summer too when we go on days out or for picnics. I just need to add some bacon-wrapped green beans and a pan of sweet potato casserole and we are SET.

What are you having for Thanksgiving this year? Let me know in the comments. And, as always, if you have any cooking questions as you go, feel free to drop me a line.

Happy cooking!

It’s Finally Here! Welcome to the Southern Summer Nights #VirtualDinnerParty!

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I’ve hinted on Facebook and Twitter about this week’s awesome dinner. Are you hungry?

I hope so. Starting today, some of Arkansas’ best food bloggers are sharing dishes as part of the Southern Summer Nights Virtual Dinner Party (follow on Twitter at the link). It’s a progressive dinner of sorts, with one delicious dish each day!

You can also follow along at each of these bloggers’ sites on the appropriate day. Below are links to each participant’s blog website; check my Facebook and Twitter each day for links to the specific blog posts.

Sunday, August 11 — Ambiance with Desperately Seeking Gina
Monday, August 12 — Appetizers with Dining with Debbie
Tuesday, August 13 — Refreshments with NWA Foodie
Wednesday, August 14 — Side Dish with The Food Adventuress
Thursday, August 15 — Side Dish with Fancy Pants Foodie
Friday, August 16 — Main Dish with Eggs and Herbs
Saturday, August 17 —Dessert with Aunt Nubby’s Kitchen

Today, check out Gina Knuppenburg’s amazing work over at Desperately Seeking Gina in setting the mood for a great party. I may be able to cook, but there’s one thing I stink at and it’s decoration. Gina’s got it covered in this amazing how-to on making cloth flower place settings.

Great prizes from Argenta Market and Microplane that could be yours!

Great prizes from Argenta Market and Microplane that could be yours!

And Gina’s post is your first chance to enter our giveaway from Microplane and Argenta Market! Microplane is offering an $85 prize pack, and Argenta Market is giving away a $75 all-Arkansas gift basket. I’m a big fan of both companies, and I wouldn’t participate in giveaways of products that I didn’t love. Check back on each blogger’s featured day to enter again.

Of course, I’m especially hoping you’ll join me here on Thursday for a show-stopping side dish celebrating Arkansas food. In a funky way. I can’t wait to show you!

Hope you enjoy…I’m getting hungry already!

“I’m Over Myself” Easter Menu

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Photo added after-the-fact of the green bean and caramelized onion dish at Easter brunch.

Photo added after-the-fact of the green bean and caramelized onion dish at Easter brunch.

Things have been really busy lately.

In addition to my part-time gig teaching Cooking Matters with DHS, I’ve done quite a bit of catering with a friend lately, among other smaller paying gigs. I’m also working full-tilt on the Food Blogger Bake Sale, and somehow I got involved in my 20th class reunion planning.

All that to say, this year’s Easter feast is NOT going to be fancy. At least by my standards.

As my catering friend said earlier this week, you get to a point you just have to get over yourself. He was referring to catering; we were preparing a pasta-and-salad lunch for a large, very high-profile group of people. For a smaller group, my friend might have made every single thing from scratch, on-site. But when things get crazy (or large-scale), you have to get over what you know you can do and just make something high-quality but simple. Anything more complicated and you’d be better off finding some lunch catering denver professionals instead.

I’m working most of today (Friday) and all day Saturday. Church all morning on Sunday. So, no time for an elaborate feast. I chose several items that could employ my favorite “Blanch, Shock and Awe” technique, which I did last night (Thursday) and parked in the fridge. I even bought (gasp) prepared ham, pre-baked rolls and packaged gluten-free cake mix. Ugh! That one still smarts.

There will still be plenty of handiwork tonight and Sunday afternoon to soak some love into the meal. But, as I discovered that Thanksgiving a while back, the most important part is where we all sit together as a family.

Ison Family Easter Menu

Last night, I blanched and shocked the green beans and asparagus, and I wrapped the asparagus with the salami. I boiled the potatoes and shocked them as well. All those are in the fridge, ready for final steps on Sunday.

The two recipes from other sources, the green beans and potatoes, I will probably personalize a bit with things on hand. We’ll see.

And the cake… I’ll bake tonight and see how it goes. Not sure when the frosting business is going to happen.

What are you making for Easter brunch/lunch/dinner?

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Indian Spice Heats Up Vegetarian Night at Eggshells (with Recipes)

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Usha Mittal displays her personal stash of amazing Indian spices she used in her dishes at Eggshells.

Usha Mittal displays her personal stash of amazing Indian spices she used in her dishes at Eggshells.

All the foodies in town know, hopefully, that Eggshells Kitchen Co. in the Heights has some of the best cooking classes in Little Rock.

I’ve hated it that I had never made it to a class. You know, two little kids, busy schedule, blah blah blah. Tonight, I finally made it to one, at the suggestion of my friend Meenakshi Budhraja. She assisted her friend, Usha Mittal, in demonstrating vegetarian food from an Indian perspective.

Hours later, my beautiful indian clothes still smell amazing.

My daughter Morgan and I walked into Eggshells and immediately swooned at the smell of toasting cumin (and other things we couldn’t identify). If nothing else, one thing that really sets Indian cooking apart is their use of spices. Usha later showed me her tin of spices, which could be framed as a work of art itself.

Meenakshi Budhraja and Usha Mittal prepare the Indian vegetarian meal for the hungry onlookers.

Meenakshi Budhraja and Usha Mittal prepare the Indian vegetarian meal for the hungry onlookers.

Some of them, like the cumin and cayenne, were familiar, while others were new to me. The ladies tell me that the local Indian food stores (I know of one on Rodney Parham) can supply all the spices I didn’t already have in my arsenal, such as fenugreek and carom. (Here’s a handy chart of Indian spices for reference.)

Usha chatted with another guest about Indian culture: the importance of food and cooking, and how they frequently got together among their own community in central Arkansas. Food is a celebration, and cooking is a joy. The vibrant colors and flavors of the dishes certainly reflected that.

Guests, staff, and even staff of surrounding businesses stopped by for a plate.

Guests, staff, and even staff of surrounding businesses stopped by for a plate.

I promised the good folks at Eggshells (shoutout to Heather and crew!) I’d post the recipes, which turned out to be quite the task when gathering them from two ladies who pretty much cook by feel. Following please find and enjoy the fruit of our collective labor.

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Aaloo Tiki (Potato Cakes)

  • Equal parts red (waxy) and Russet (starchy) potatoes
  • Salt and pepper
  • Cilantro leaves, chopped
  • Fenugreek leaves
  • Breadcrumbs

Boil potatoes whole until soft. Peel and mash with a potato masher. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix in a small handful of cilantro and fenugreek leaves and work in by hand, mashing the mix together.

Heat a small amount of canola oil in a skillet over medium heat. Create small patties of the potato mixture and coat lightly with bread crumbs. (This is optional if you want the cakes to be gluten-free, but helps keep the potato mixture from spreading.) Place patties in the oil and cook until browned on each side. Serve with cilantro chutney.

Cilantro Chutney

  • 1 bunch fresh cilantro
  • 1/2 bunch fresh mint
  • 1/2 onion, roughly chopped
  • 1-2 green chili peppers
  • Juice of one lime
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • Pinch of sugar

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and combine. Add a bit of water if you desire a looser consistency.

Suvir Saran‘s Spicy Indian Slaw
Serves 12 (obviously, cut it in half it you need to, or don’t…it gets better as it sits.)

  • 1 piece of ginger, 1/2-inch, peeled and grated
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice (from about 1 lime)
  • 1 tablespoon citrus vinegar or white wine vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1-1/2 teaspoon chaat masala (a spice mixture)
  • 1/2 teaspoon toasted cumin
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cracked peppercorns
  • 18 scallions, thinly sliced
  • 1 jalapeno, seeded and veined for less heat, finely chopped (optional)
  • 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
  • 1/2 cup cilantro, fresh, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons mint leaves, fresh, finely chopped
  • 1 head green cabbage, halved, cored and finely sliced
  • 1/2 cup peanuts, roasted chopped

My friend Meenakshi started by toasting some whole cumin seeds in a dry skillet. My daughter marveled that she would pat them flat with her bare hand, not touching the hot pan. When the seeds were just fragrant, she then ground them in a mortar and pestle, but a spice grinder would work fine if you have that. (If all that is scaring you off, just start with plain ground cumin, but know that you’re really missing out on some depth of flavor.) If you work in the food industry and need a device that can grind spices, herbs and the like, you may want to consider products by reindeer machinery.

To make the dressing, whisk together the ginger, lime juice, vinegar, sugar, chaat masala, toasted cumin, cayenne pepper, salt and cracked pepper in a bowl large enough to toss the entire slaw. Next, add the scallions, jalapenos, tomatoes, cilantro and mint leaves, tossing them a bit. Add the cabbage and toss with your hands, making sure to coat it thoroughly with the other ingredients. Garnish with the peanuts and maybe some more cilantro leaves.

Note: Suvir Saran is an accomplished Indian-American chef who owns the restaurant Devi in New York City, the only Indian restaurant in the U.S. to receive a Michelin star. Saran appeared on the third season of Bravo network’s Top Chef Masters.

Usha’s Butternut Squash, Indian Style
Serves 4-6

  • 1/2 tsp. dry mustard powder
  • 1/2 tsp. fenugreek powder
  • 1/2 tsp. carom powder
  • 1/2 tsp. cumin powder
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 inch piece of ginger, minced
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 1-14oz. can whole tomatoes
  • 1 lb. butternut squash, peeled and diced
  • 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp. coriander powder
  • Cayenne powder to taste

Heat a couple tablespoons of oil in a large skillet. Add the mustard, fenugreek, carom and cumin. When the mustard powder starts to sputter, add the garlic, ginger and onion. Sauté until the onion starts to become translucent. Add the turmeric, coriander and cayenne.

Add the tomatoes, breaking them up a bit, then add the squash. Mix all the ingredients together, then cover over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Stir, check doneness of the squash, and continue to cook if necessary. When the squash is done, garnish with cilantro and serve.

Chef Ball 2012 Menu and Photos

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Tonight’s Chef Ball was a whirlwind, both for the attendees and behind the scenes. This will be my third time participating, and I’ve yet to hear much of anything from the event room itself.

My place, my passion, at least for now, is in the back, making plates. I had the privilege of helping several extraordinary chefs put together amazing dishes tonight. For those who couldn’t join us tonight, or even for those who were there, I want to share some photos from behind the scenes.

Since tonight was also the night of the Oscars, each course had a movie theme.

Next year, I won’t be a student anymore, and I’m not sure what my role will be for this event. Maybe I’ll have a seat in the dining room. But tonight, I gained knowledge and insight from chefs behind the scenes, and I’ll be a better cook for it.

Hors D’Oeuvres

Presented by Chef Cynthia Malik
Pulaski Technical College Arkansas Culinary School

"Mudbug" salad in endive

Associated Southern-Style Fish and Seafood Display (The Help)
– Included peeled shrimp, oysters with greens and cornbread, and (above) “Mudbug” salad on endive leaves.

Plantain chips with black beans, roasted pork and mango salsa.

Plantain Chips, Cuban-Style Roasted Pork with Black Bean and Mango Salsa (Chico and Rita)

Pissaladiere — Onion Confit, Anchovies, Olives and Thyme on Puff Pastry (Hugo)

Millas (Polenta) Topped with Roquefort and Figs (Hugo)

Herbed Goat Cheese and Roasted Beets on Irish Soda Bread with Hazelnut Vinaigrette (Albert Nobbs)

Assorted Guo Tie (Potstickers) with Dipping Sauces (Kung Fu Panda 2)

Appetizer
Presented by Chefs Terri Johnson, CC and Brandon Douglas, CEC
Big Rock Bistro

“Best Foreign Flavor”
Mediterranean-Style Kibbeh Kabob, Deconstructed Blood Orange Tzatziki

Soup & Salad
Presented by Chef Brian Kearns
Country Club of Little Rock

“The Ensemble Cast”
Roasted Apple and Turnip Soup; Duck Confit and Rye; Smoked Trout with Baby Greens, Dried Cherries, Bacon and Truffle

Fish
Presented by Chef Dan Capello, CEC
Chenal Country Club

“Red Carpet Redux”
Citrus Poached Arkansas Catfish with Aromatic Topping, Truffle Polenta, Haricot Verts and Pistachio

Entree
Presented by Chefs Jamie McAfee, CEC and Jay McAfee, CEC
Pine Bluff Country Club

“Beef Oscar”
Whole Beef Tenderloin Medallions, with Asparagus Spears and Lump Crab, topped with Hollandaise Sauce and served with Purple Potatoes

Dessert
Presented by Chef Jan Lewandowski, CEPC
Pulaski Technical College Arkansas Culinary School

“Concession Stand Connoisseur”
Chocolate and Caramel Bouchon with Candied Popcorn

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Rawking Out Chef Ball Tonight

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Forget the other award shows — the place to be tonight is Pulaski Technical College for the 2012 Chef Ball. This event, hosted by the Arkansas Chapter of the American Culinary Federation, celebrates the state’s practicing and training culinarians.

The event features several expertly-prepared courses, each prepared by a different chef (most of whom are instructors at PTC’s Arkansas Culinary School) and a team of student assistants.

Follow me tonight on Twitter (@ARFoodie) for live photos and updates. For now, salivate over this incredible artisan bread (pugliese, sesame crackers and focaccia) made by instructor Chef Billy Ginocchio.

Making Indian Food at the Rockefeller Institute (And a gluten-free naan recipe)

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Lisa Fischer being adorable.

For the record: Lisa Gibson Fischer is adorable.

Though she is mostly known in central Arkansas as the effervescent co-host of B98.5’s morning radio show, Fischer is also an excellent cook, hosting the “Made from Scratch” series entry focusing on Indian cuisine at the Rockefeller Institute in Morrilton earlier this month.

I felt a little strange cheating on my homies over at Pulaski Tech, but this was subject matter I hadn’t learned yet. I had wanted to take International Cuisine this semester, but it didn’t fit into my mommy-schedule. I also wanted to check out the new Rockefeller Institute, a stunning educational and meeting facility seated atop Petit Jean Mountain. With culinary education all the rage these days, they built a lovely teaching kitchen, with a stadium-seating lecture hall alongside a small hands-on lab area.

In the class, we started off with naan bread (a puffy, yeasted flatbread), a chicken coconut curry soup, and a mango lassi (mango puree with yogurt).

Shall I interject: I have been SO good lately with the gluten-free thing. But this day…there was just something about making bread. I hadn’t made yeast bread of any sort since going GF. I. Couldn’t. Resist.

Another participant's lovely naan and coconut soup.

I ate at least one whole naan, maybe more. It was in pieces, to feed my self-deception that I would only eat a bite. So, by the time we’re working on the next dishes, my eyes are puffy, I’m exhausted, and my muscles, which have avoided significant pain for several months now, started to cramp and seize.

Sheesh.

Anywho, it was probably worth it. The naan is DELISH. (See below for my gluten-free version.)

While I sank into glutenized stupor, we made Saag Paneer and Coconut Shrimp Curry, both surprisingly mild and delicious.

Surprise bonus: My seating neighbor and lab partner just so happened to be Dr. Meenakshi Budhraja, a gastroenterologist who is on the cutting edge of all things relating to food and/as medicine. She and I have tried for months to get together to finish a journal article we’re co-writing on the topic, and our schedules haven’t jelled. More on that another day.

I could go on about all the details of the event, but I’ll just say you should sign up for (1) Lisa’s “repeat” coming up at KitchenCo with the same recipes, and (2) anything at the Rockefeller Institute. It’s a stellar facility with a fantastic staff, culinary and otherwise.

Back to the naan. After driving 45 minutes or so home in a glutened haze, I knew I had to come up with a gluten-free version. As of yet, I had only stockpiled GF flours, hoping to one day have the time to play. I made the time when I got home.

Enjoy!
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Gluten Free Naan Bread 
(Inspired by Bread in Five)

  • 160g brown rice flour
  • 110g sorghum flour
  • 255g potato starch
  • 1 T. yeast
  • 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
  • 1 T. xanthan gum
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/3 c. lukewarm water
  • 2 T. + 2 tsp veg or olive oil
  • 1 T. honey

Mix the flours, starch, yeast, salt, and xanthan gum REALLY (no, really) well in the bowl of your stand mixer. I am generally against sifting, so I used a whisk to mix things up thoroughly. You could also use the whisk attachment of your mixer. Now place the dough hook on your mixer and proceed.

In a separate, small bowl, break up the eggs a bit with a whisk or fork.

In yet another bowl or largish measuring cup, combine the warm water, oil, and honey.

Pour the eggs into the flour mixture and mix a few seconds. With the mixer on low, slowly add the water/oil mixture until completely emptied.

What’s left in your mixer will slosh around for a few minutes and generally look like a big, sloppy mess. Keep it up.

Depending on your local humidity and altitude, and the questionable accuracy of this, my first gluten-free baking recipe, your dough (like mine) might be a bit soft. This is to be expected, really, as GF doughs tend to come out more like batters. Don’t freak.

The sticky dough of my gluten-free naan.

Cover your dough and let it rise in a warm place for an hour or two. I have a warming drawer now, but I used to just run my dryer for a few minutes and then place the bowl inside. Instant proof box!

Now, to form our naan: If you have a Silpat, now is the time to bust it out. This stuff is sticky. Sprinkle on a fair amount of rice flour, a little more if your dough is intolerably wet and sticky. Pinch off a golf-ball sized piece of dough and place it on top of your heavy dusting of flour. Sprinkle another heavy dusting of rice flour on the top, all over, so it won’t stick to your method of flattening.

Rolling out the GF naan.

This flattening method is variable, depending on what you’ve got to work with. My awesome hubs got me a Silpat rolling pin for Christmas, which was perfect for this. If your hubs isn’t as awesome as mine, you can pat down your naan using a sheet of plastic wrap or a cut storage bag. Either way, get it down to about a 1/8″ thickness.

Use a large spatula to loosen the dough and get it off the mat, then use the mat itself (or the spatula, if it’s holding together well) to transfer your naan to a waiting, hot skillet with some oil or butter inside. Oh, yeah. Get that ready first, will ya?

GF naan all cooked up on one side, and about to flip.

I browned the naan on one side, flipped, and browned on the other, and that was enough to cook it through. If yours is thick in spots or otherwise doesn’t seem to be cooking all the way, you can cover it and let it steam a bit.

The dough is quite forgiving if you tear it on the way to the skillet. I’m certainly not advocating that you actually reach your hands down in a hot skillet to press the dough back together, but I’m just saying, I may have done so, and it may have worked.

I scarfed this stuff down with some homemade rice-noodle soup that night, and it was glorious. Hope it works out for at least one or two of you, too.

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Food Production 4 Dishes

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This is a plate made by Elegant Touch Catering is a maple Glazed Salmon with Cranberry Chutney and Succotash and Cheddar Souffle.

This semester is clipping right along at Pulaski Technical College Arkansas Culinary School. Next semester will be my last.

I have mixed feelings about that. Although I’m soooo ready to be done, I really love the classes, the chefs, and the opportunities I have in labs to learn and experiment that I may not have again. (I mean, really, I want to make pate again, but buying all that equipment, not to mention the ingredients?)

My most demanding class right now, as I have said, is Food Production 4, as it should be. This class is the culmination of everything we’ve learned in culinary school. It’s usually taken in one’s final semester, but just due to scheduling, I have just two more classes to eek out from here, I love eberything about food, my passion started when I first decided to visit viet restaurant New Orleans, and got to see how amazing their food is.

So far, in this class, I’ve worked garde manger (pantry or “cold” station, where salads and such are made), front-of-house service, and a good bit of the grill station when acting as sous chef.

I’ve sent a few photos via Twitter (I’m more active there these days, due to my schedule), but I thought I’d share some photos here of our dishes from our Thursday night dinner service.

(Think I could use parentheses a little more? They’re my favorite vice.)

I believe we are booked solid for the remainder of the semester, but do check back next semester for lunch.

Enjoy!

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Food Production 4: Restaurant Wars, For Reals

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Chef G gives us a debrief at the end of the night, with corrections and praise.

When soldiers have been baptized in the fire of a battle-field, they have all one rank in my eyes.—Napoleon Bonaparte 

We are going to battle this semester. Not with each other, or (hopefully) with the chef, but with ourselves.

Not to be overly dramatic, but those of us in Food Production 4 found out Thursday night just what we were in for.

This semester, the school is taking Food IV in a new direction: actual restaurant service. Rather than completing individual dishes, as in previous classes, we will be serving a seven-course fine dining menu to guests, restaurant-style, every week. Since there are great restaurants in cities like Washington you can find online in the takoda washington dc site.

Wow.

This would be an appropriate time for me to remind you that I’ve NEVER actually worked in food. Never even waited tables. This is a challenge, but a welcome one.

We will rotate through stations found in a real restaurant, such as sauté, cold pantry and sauces. We’ll also rotate being servers in the “front of house,” serving guests (mostly donors) who have made reservations through the school.

Here’s the menu, which we’ll be serving every week to a new group of guests.

The chef is known for being demanding, passionate and meticulous, so we knew we’d have to have our game on.

I was paired with another non-traditional student who also has no restaurant experience. But, we both do pretty well in class, so I wasn’t too worried. We were to be on the pantry station, making salads and cold appetizers.

This doesn’t sound too hard until you realize just how many steps are involved in these dishes. The Caesar salad alone has croutons (from scratch, with several herbs that must be dusted), parmesan tuilles (also from scratch), and a dressing (yes, from scratch). We were totally buried in mise from the start, meaning a messy prep area and confusion as the night went on.

And then there was the tuna tataki.

The chef was (expectedly) really busy and didn’t have time to show us how he wanted the tuna seared and sliced until just before service. I had to finish julienning some pickled ginger, mix it with some green onion another student had “rabbit eared,” put on some dressing. Sear the sushi-grade tuna, slice thinly (I had issues, maybe bring a sharper knife next week), wrap tiny balls of the salad inside five of them, plate. Put a ball of microgreens on the plate, dress. Spoon some of the solids from the dressing on each tuna roll, then drizzle some of the liquids across the plate.

Whew.

This is all happening while the chef is expediting, meaning he’s calling out the orders as they come in and making sure dishes get out on time. There’s a whole lingo to that I still need to learn. (What the heck does “all day” mean in the kitchen??) He occasionally got a little excited that things weren’t coming as quickly as he’d like, such as, er, my tuna dish.

At the end of the evening, after we cleaned the last dish and wiped down the last surface, the chef had us meet up for a debrief.

“All in all,” he said, “this was one of the best opening nights I’ve ever been a part of.”

Whaaat?

Even with all our hiccups, apparently we did okay. He went through each station making suggestions and praises as appropriate. Our pantry station was messy and unprepared due to poor mise (we got too excited just trying to find things in that large kitchen). But, he said, we pulled it off and got good plates out.

The other stations did great, as well. As he read the comment cards, one stood out:

“I can’t believe this is only the third week of class,” it read.

Chef said, “That is the best compliment you can get. I’m so proud of you guys.”

Next week, I’m on pantry again, and I’m in charge this time. My other (fabulous) partner is rotating elsewhere, and I’ll have a new one to teach the ropes. I expect to have better mise and a better idea of how to pull things off.

Battle on.

Fine Dining Menu for Food Production IV

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Here’s the menu we’re serving every week in Food Production IV (Fall semester, 2011):

Amuse Bouche

To be created each week by a student on pantry station

Cold Appetizers

Micro-Green, Bulgur and Duck Salad with Lemon-Apple Vinaigrette

Classic Caesar Salad with Parmesan Tuille

Tuna Tataki with Sesame Vinaigrette

Hot Appetizers

Tuscan Bean Soup with Crispy Sage

Paupiette of Sole with Salmon Mousseline, Sauce Pernod and Sauteed Arugula

Hazelnut-Chevre Ravioli with Wild Mushrooms in a Vin Santo-Tarragon Cream

Intermezzo

Orange-Raspberry Sorbet

Entrees

Bleu Cheese Crusted Beef Tenderloin with Bourbon-Morel Sauce
Potatoes Anna, Braised Brussels Sprouts

Maple Glazed Salmon with Cranberry Chutney
Savory Barley Pudding, Sauteed Spinach and Spicy Orange Carrots

Deep Fried Quail
Potatoes Rosti, Succotash and Cheddar Soufflé, Amish Style Green Beans

Baked Penne with Roasted Winter Vegetables in Cream
Whole Wheat Penne with Assorted Winter Vegetables Baked in Cream

Desserts

Chocolate-Cherry Bread Pudding with White Chocolate Brandy Sauce

Galliano-Vanilla Bean Cheesecake with Orange Glaze

Pecan Creme Caramel with Spiced Apples

Mignardise

Chocolate-Pistachio Bars

Interested in dining with us? There may still be some seats left. Call Kimberly Irizarri at (501) 812-2754. All it will cost you is a couple hours and an honest comment card.