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Food Production 3 Final: The Lunch Service

July 25, 2011 by arfoodie

Today was our practical final in Food Production 3 at Pulaski Tech’s Arkansas Culinary School. For the first time, we served a dining room of guests, who chose items from our own menus. We worked in groups of three on a menu of two each of appetizers, entrees and desserts.

The dish I made for service — coffee- and pepper-crusted pork loin with red eye orange/maple gravy, rice pilaf, caramelized Brussels sprouts and a poached egg on toast.

Not having come from the restaurant industry, this was a unique opportunity to experience what it would be like. It was awesome.

Last week, our chef had us work individually to produce our best three-course meal, from which he would choose the best appetizers, main courses and desserts. We ended up making my Wide-Eyed Pork Loin today, using a full-size loin rather than the tenderloin I used in the home-cook recipe at the link. It worked out great!

I served it with a rice pilaf that included omelet-style ingredients (mushrooms, tomato and peppers) and caramelized balsamic Brussels sprouts, as well as a fantastic last-minute throwback to my original recipe: toast and a runny, poached egg. Yum!

Our group of three was one of several groups in the class offering a complete three-course service. My teammates also turned out an amazing set of goods: raspberry vinaigrette salad, fried cheese dip balls, candied bacon rice crispy treats, and a pineapple glazed poundcake. I didn’t get a chance to see much of the other groups’ goods (we were slammed!), but what I did see was beautiful and well executed.

On August 15, I’ll be back in classes again, this time for a semester of mostly 6-hour labs, plus one classroom class. I’m looking forward to it, and I hope to see some of you on campus, too!

My fall schedule:

  • Garde Manger
  • Food Production 4
  • Banquets and Catering
  • Restaurant Industry

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Filed Under: learning, PTC_ACS Tagged With: Arkansas Culinary School, coffee, egg, foodservice, loin, lunch, poached, pork, Pulaski Tech, Pulaski Technical College, restaurant, service, tenderloin

Here, Piggy, Piggy…

February 14, 2011 by arfoodie

I apologize straight away to my vegetarian friends.

And to Kat Robinson, my writer friend at Eat Arkansas/Tie Dye Travels who is tragically allergic to pork.

But in culinary school, we have to do it all, and that includes butchery of our favorite, pink barnyard friends.

In my Meat & Seafood class at Arkansas Culinary School, we recently went from whole pig to the dish of our own choosing. Below are some photos of our adventure.

Remarkably, I wasn’t as grossed out as I thought I would be at cutting the poor thing. I managed to remove some feet and skin a ham.

Friends, give homage to your butcher.

And bring home the bacon.

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Filed Under: PTC_ACS Tagged With: Arkansas Culinary School, bacon, butchery, Pig, pork, Pulaski Tech, tenderloin

Wide-Eyed Pork Tenderloin w/Maple Red Eye Gravy and Matcha Salted Egg

March 31, 2010 by arfoodie

My apologies for the terrible photography. Someday, a Nikon D80. For now, iPhone.

Just the title is a tasty mouthful, no?

Since starting culinary school, I’ve actually cooked (I mean, really cooked) at home less than ever as I usually have lunch or dinner at Winter Park cafe. You may have noticed, since I’ve had fewer posts about elaborate, fancy or otherwise unusual meals I’ve concocted. I’m just too exhausted!

At the tail end of a restful Spring Break, I got the vibe again last week. Here’s what I came up with on a total whim, after grinding some coffee late Saturday night for the next morning’s cuppa before church.

Wide-Eyed Pork Tenderloin w/Maple Red Eye Gravy and Matcha Salted Egg

  • 2 Pork tenderloins
  • 4 fresh, large eggs (preferably free range), or 1 for each diner
  • 1/4 c. whole coffee beans, any unflavored variety (I used Kona Cloud Coffee, medium roast)
  • 1 T. whole peppercorns (black, red, or a variety)
  • 2 T. dried onion flakes
  • 1 T. kosher salt
  • 1 tsp. Ferneau Seasonings (or Old Bay, or a few dashes of paprika, fennel seed and garlic powder)
  • 1/2 cup apple juice or water
  • 2 T. orange juice concentrate
  • 1 T. pure maple syrup
  • 1/4 c. half and half
  • 1 T. cornstarch
  • Matcha salt for sprinkling (available at Park Hill Pantry)

Trim silverskin and large pieces of fat from the tenderloins. Rinse and pat very dry with paper towels. Place in a dry baking dish.

Place coffee beans, peppercorns and dried onion in a coffee grinder or (preferably) a spice grinder.

The rub applied to one of the tenderloins.

(I used my coffee grinder but promptly washed it, so my coffee wouldn’t be oniony!) Grind the mixture until fine. Place in a small bowl and mix in the kosher salt and Ferneau (or other) seasoning. Using your hands, press the mixture over all surfaces of the tenderloins.

Heat a large nonstick skillet with about one tablespoon of olive oil. When hot, sear the tenderloins, one at a time, turning after about one minute on each side. Look for a crisp, dark sear without being burnt. (Even a little burnt will be OK.)

At this point, you can store the tenderloin overnight or up to 24 hours in the fridge. This allows the flavors to infuse into the meat, and also allows for my favorite Sunday morning food trick — the slow cooker.

Putting the sear on the crusted tenderloin.

Place the loins into an 8 qt. slow cooker. Whisk the orange concentrate into the apple juice or water and pour it in. Cover and set to high for 4 hours or low for 8. I did mine on high, and when we got home from church, the loins were beautifully moist and tender, even at the higher temperature.

When they’re done, remove the tenderloins to a platter and allow to rest for at least 15 minutes. This makes them easier to slice without shredding that beautiful, dark crust. Meanwhile, dump the juice left in the slow cooker into a small saucepan. (If you trimmed the loins well, don’t worry about skimming fat, but you can if you want.) Heat the juices to a simmer. Whisk the cornstarch into the half and half, then stir into the juices. It will thicken quickly, so whisk constantly until smooth and the consistency you want. It should be plenty seasoned from the crust, but taste it at the end and see if it needs any salt or pepper. At the very end, add the maple syrup and whisk smooth. (If you don’t have the real stuff, I’d rather you just left it out.)

While your gravy is heating (or holding), cook one or two eggs over easy or medium in another nonstick skillet, or poach ’em if you know how. After the flip (or extraction from poaching water), sprinkle with matcha salt and freshly ground pepper. Repeat until you have one egg for each diner. Then go apply for a job as a short order cook.

Slice the loin, top with gravy, and serve with the egg and a nice salad. Yummers.

Another sorry excuse for a photo. Attempt at close up.

As usual, let me know if you try this, and send me photos!
Coffee on FoodistaCoffee
Pork Tenderloin on FoodistaPork Tenderloin
Matcha on FoodistaMatcha

Filed Under: Main Course Tagged With: coffee, crust, egg, matcha, pepper, pork, salt, tenderloin

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