Structured Rule

So far my biggest complaint about L'Academie de Cuisine is that the classes are only 1-3 weeks long. Needless to say this is because I've been enjoying my experience tremendously and would love to continue to grow and develop my culinary technique for weeks to come. Unfortunately I'll just have to savor my one last Thursday class... 

In the meantime, allow me to catch you up to speed on our most recent endeavor...

Menu

 - Herb Grilled Swordfish with Beurre Blanc

 - Crisp Noodle and Vegetable Pancake

 - Fruit and Nut Tart with Caramel

    see below for recipe 

This week's class was infinitely superior to last week. I think part of that is simply my adjustment to the facility, the Chef, the people and the process, but I also think that our smaller numbers (several people were out of the class), we were able to get a more hands-on, personal instruction experience. Also I can honestly say that across the board the menu was better. Last week the Pork Tenderloin and the Chocolate Souffle were delicious but the Galette was mediocre and the sauces left something to be desired. Quite the opposite this week-- I look forward to recreating these dishes again soon. 

Tips/Tricks and Highlights of the dishes:

Herb Grilled Swordfish with Beurre Blanc 

   - Swordfish is my favorite fish. I just figured I should get that out of the way so no one thinks I'm patting myself on the back too much when I start talking about how amazing the swordfish was. 

   

 

- The Swordfish was marinated in a buttermilk herb marinade. This is very easy to make. It's basically just buttermilk, herbs, garlic, salt pepper and olive oil with a dash of hot sauce. The fish is left in the marinade in a bowl for 30-40 minutes in the refrigerator before it is grilled in either a grill pan or on the grill itself. Basically it's about 3-4 minutes each side and then wrap it in tin foil to allow it to finish steam-cooking the interior for a medium-well finish. 

 - The Swordfish is finished with a Beurre Blanc, turning it from a simple delicious fish into a delicacy. Beurre Blanc isn't particularly hard to make but I wouldn't recommend trying it without either watching someone doing it or trying the following tips.  Beurre Blanc is a white butter sauce (thus the name) that is really just a 'softened' butter sauce with shallots, cream, white wine and white wine vinegar. Add the wine, vinegar and shallots (minced) over medium-high heat until it reduces by 50%. You then add the cream and allow to reduce again. The real trick then is to take the sauce off the heat and add a chunk of butter. Swirl the pan on and off the heat until the butter has just softened (not melted or disappeared). Then add another chunk and repeat. In the end you should have a nice light white sauce (not yellowed) that is made of a creamy softened butter which you strain to remove the shallots etc., -- add judiciously to the top of your swordfish! 

Shown Served with Noodle and Vegetable Pancake

 Noodle and Vegetable Pancakes 


 - Another pan-fried dish this week. Luckily, this one was better than the galette. In fact, this was was not only creative but delicious and a great light accompaniment to any chicken or fish dish.

 - The 'pancakes' are made by taking cold cooked spaghetti, chopping it into large sections.


- Combine it with herbs (your choice) and vegetables (also your choice though we used red pepper, jicama, and fennel). To bind the whole thing together, use one egg, salt, and pepper.


- Heat canola oil in a sautee pan over medium-high heat and add baseball-sized lumps of the pasta mixture into the hot oil until it flattens out (pancakes should be about 4 inches in diameter) and crisps on the bottom. They can then be flipped and cooked on the other side. Cool by resting on paper-towel lined baking sheets. Pancakes can be left in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Put in a 350* oven for 10 minutes prior to serving.

 The noodle/vegetable pancakes make a great bed for the swordfish. I also recommend adding the beurre blanc to the noodle pancake as well. The tangy accents in the sauce bring out the fennel in the pancake.

Musician's Tart

 - The Musician's Tart stole the show. Unlike last week when we made the souffle that you can't really take home, the Musician's Tart kept perfectly well overnight and out of the goodness of my heart I brought the leftovers into the office the next day for my coworkers. Rave reviews ensued. Why is it called a Musician's Tart? Why I'm so glad you asked...

The Story of the Musicians Tart

Way back in ye olden times, Musicians wandered the Countryside.

They played their lutes along traveling routes  

and peddled their tunes for dimes.

But fiddles alone, nor harps nor guitars could produce any coin-- there was none to be found

So patrons and friends, they gave what they could

They turned out their pockets of dates, figs and nuts

For payment for songs and to pass away time.

But Musicians need meals and lodging to stay

So in turn they would give to the landlords their pay

and from dried fruit and nuts emerged tarts of the day

With caramel, crust and a marscapone cream these little round treats

are a flute-players dream.

Ok everyone, sorry about that-- it sort of started by accident and then I just had to go with it...

Musician's Tart tips/highlights and tricks:

 - I learned the key to good pie crust. Basically it's ensuring that the butter stays cold right up until the second it's baked. This means that you don't want to overwork the butter into the flour etc., and that you don't want to leave it on the counter or play with it too much in rolling it out. A really good crust dough should also be refrigerated for about 30 minutes before it is rolled out. 

 - The reason for the cold butter is that when it starts to melt in the oven, the water separates from the butter and boils and the steam creates little cracks (which give you the flaky consistency). 

 - The dried fruit mixture that we used was dates and figs and dried pears but you could also use apricots, prunes, or any other dried fruit that you like. It's basically just the fruit, mixed with lime juice and pureed in a food processor with brown sugar until a thick, sticky consistency. 

 - The nut topping is also relatively easy. Combine brown sugar, butter, and light corn syrup in a saucepan over medium heat until it boils. Reduce the heat to medium and boil one minute. Remove from heat and add cream until smooth. Then add nuts (previously toasted) and mix until combined. 

- Once everything is put together you blind-bake the tart crust (by poking holes in the bottom, covering it with parchment paper, filling the parchment with beans or rice and baking for 12-15 minutes until just golden. 

 - Remove from the oven, spread the fruit filling into the bottom and then pour the nut topping over the top until full. Bake another 13-15 minutes or until very golden and caramel is slightly bubbling around the edges. 

- The Marscapone cream is amazing. Use it liberally. 

Thanks everyone! I've included the recipe for the Musician's Tart Below but let me know if you'd like any of the other ones. 

Ingredients:

 

Fruit Filling:

1 cup dried pears, cored, coarsely chopped  (4 ounces)

1 cup pitted dates, halved

1/3 cup fruit juice

1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar 

Nut Topping:

6 Tbs (3/4 stick) unsalted butter

6 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar

3 tablespoons light corn syrup

1/2 cup pine nuts (about 2 ounces)

1/2 cup dry roasted cashew nuts

1 1/2 tablespoons whipping cream

Pie Crust:

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

2 T sugar

8 T butter (cold)

3-4 T water (cold)

For the Fruit Filling:

    - Combine all ingredients in a heavy medium saucepan and bring to a boil.

    - Reduce heat and simmer 1 minute

    - Puree mixture in food processor to thick paste. Cool completely (at least an hour)

For the Pie Crust:

    - Mix flour, sugar, salt in a food processor for 2-3 seconds. Add the butter and then pulse quickly 4-5 times or until the butter is crumbled in and the whole things has the consistency of cornmeal

    - Gradually add enough cold water to bring together (2-3 tablespoons). When you grab a handful of dough and squeeze you should be able to see your palm prints on it. Additionally, it should pull away easily but not flake or crumble away. 

    - Wrap in plastic wrap and chill overnight or 30 minutes.

    - Roll dough out to desired thickness on a floured surface. Place onto tart dish. Pick up the sides and let the middle fall into place before pushing it into form in the pan. 

    - Tuck the edges up and either press with a fork or scallop the edges. 

    - Perforate the bottom of the crust with fork. Cover with parchment. Fill parchment 'bowl' with beans or rice and cook in a 350 oven for 12-15 minutes or until light golden brown.

    - Remove beans/rice and parchment from crust and let cool. 

For the nut topping:

   - Cook first 3 ingredients in heavy large saucepan over low heat, stirring until sugar dissolves.

   - Increase heat and bring to a boil

   - Boil vigorously one minute. Remove from the heat.

   - Add nuts and cream 

 

To Assemble Tart:

   - Spread fruit filling thickly (about 1/2 of an inch) into the bottom of the tart pan. 

   - Add the nut/caramel filling to the top until tart is full. 

   - Place in the oven on a cookie sheet and bake about 20 minutes.

   - Remove from the oven and the tart pan and place on a wire rack and cool 10 minutes. 

Marscapone Cream

   - 4 oz Marscapone cheese, room temperature

   - 3 T heavy cream

   - 2 T confectioner's sugar

- Blend all ingredients together with beater or a stand-up mixture until light and fluffy. 

    

Government Pork... Not as Palatable as Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

In the last 3-4 years we've heard a lot about 'pork' in the government. Pork, properly known as earmarked appropriations has been a favorite subject of ridicule from the right. If you become (as I hope you will) an avid reader of this blog, you'll hear me talk at length about what I find to be one of the most insurmountable problems for liberals. Namely, that most Americans prefer to receive their information and form their opinions based simplified concepts. For this reason, 'pork' is the perfect target because it is so easy to spin as excessive, secretive government spending. In truth, it is not only a drop in the bucket in discretionary spending, but it has the potential to be the MOST transparent of the appropriations. Some offices (the commendable ones) have posted their earmark applications online, and requested that those organizations and municipalities requesting earmarks, record a short video explaining it's impact to the community which is also posted on the web. If the goal therefore, is for so-called 'transparency', earmarks should be held up as a demonstration of citizens, local governments, and organizations working together with their Members of Congress to direct government spending in the most appropriate way.

Far be it from my to expound on earmarking and appropriations procedure-- I leave that to you to read about if you haven't already. Suffice it to say that the argument over 'pork' is just another in a long series of misguided attempts on the part of the right to oversimplify the work of American government in an attempt to drag arguments down to such intellectually low level that only the most outrageous assumptions can prevail.

All this is to say that today's assertion is that Pork Tenderloin Stuffed with Dried Fruit and Herbs, unlike government 'pork', is probably something we can all agree on.

Last night I embarked on the first of three Intermediate/Advanced level culinary courses at the Academie de Cuisine in Bethesda, Maryland. I won't go into detail about the school itself or my review of their courses yet (I'll leave that until I've completed the first of these three), but I'll take some time now to talk about my most recent foray into the land of the delectable.

Menu
Dried Fruit and Herb Stuffed Pork Tenderloin
with Chive Oil and Citrus Gastrique
Potatoe and  Herb Galette
Chocolate Souffle

Dried Fruit and Herb Stuffed Pork Tenderloin Served with Chive Oil 
(see below for all menus and instructions)

Of the three dishes we made at L'Academie de Cuisine, this one was the greatest success. The menu itself is simple. In fact, it was in many ways more simple than I would have preferred, seeking to expand my already fairly solid culinary knowledge base. Nonetheless, I picked up a few good tips. They are as follows:

    - Silver Skin. Silver skin is the part of the fat/sinew that you can't pull away with your hands off the tenderloin. You have to pull it away with a knife (a sharp paring knife works best), starting under the fat and working out.
    - Shitaki mushrooms, though not an obvious choice, are a solid option as a binder for the dried fruit and herbs in the stuffing. Unlike bread crumbs or egg wash, the shitakes gave the stuffing a hearty-without-being-heavy quality.
   - Trussing. Trussing is not particularly easy when done properly. The quick easy way to do it is just to tie several strings around the tenderloin in circles. The trickier, more proper (holds together better) way, is to truss the tenderloin using a slip knot to hook the first loop, and then proceeding to just loop circles around the tenderloin all the way through to the end, tying it off with the second-to-last and the last loops. (I know that sounds complicated but it's not).

  - Sear seam-side-down so that the juices sear the edges of the stuffing/pork together, and present opposite-seam side up. 

End result- DELICIOUS.

Apricots, shitakes, cherries, mustard, thyme and parsley... yummm

Potatoe and Herb Galette
(Let me know if you want the recipe)

I'm not going to spend much time on this one. I generally think the recipe was bad. Even the Chef's presentation of it didn't look very good, and the recipe doesn't really work. Putting that many potatoes into a pan with light oil creates potatoes-stuck-to-the-pan which means flipping is impossible and the end result is a slightly browned edges potato pancake with an ugly gray interior. Also-- it doesn't plate well.

It looked a lot better before it got cooked....

Citrus Gastrique
(Let me know if you want recipe)

So this one is just funny. At L'academie de cuisine, you work in pairs. Because I was busy scraping burned potatoes off the bottom of the galette pan, my partner took the lead on the gastrique (seemingly a very simple task of combining vinegar, citrus and sugar and reducing by 50%). Unfortunately my partner completely overcooked/overheated the gastrique and it candied. We tried to plate it but it was literally hard candy by the time we got it off the burner. Oops. Second oops was that he stuck his finger in it and burned himself (I felt bad.... cooking classes are supposed to be fun).

Just before it turned to citrus candy....

Chocolate Souffle
(See recipe below)

Of all the recipes we tackled, this was the one I was most looking forward to. As it turns out, souffle is actually absurdly easy to make if you have a basic knowledge of cooking and how egg yolks and whites work. Unfortunately, I had a slight mishap with this one too (NOT MY FAULT!) You'll probably read later that my only criticism of the classes so far is that the chef sort of breezes over the instructions. I think that's generally fine if you know how to cook, but when the class is supposed to cut the recipe in half, it might be worth repeating. Needless to say I didn't hear him when he said that, and I think I ultimately ended up putting in one too few egg whites. The end result is that my souffle didn't rise enough. I'm eager to tackle it again though....

All in all, a very enjoyable experience. I loved getting to meet new people, try new recipes, and generally do what I love. I'm very eager for the next class. Thank you all for your support!



Dried Fruit and Herb Stuffed Pork Tenderloin (4 servings)


1 whole Pork Tenderloin- 1-1/5 lb
1 T mustard (dijon, whole grain, or whatever you prefer)
1-2 tsp light oil (canola)
2 T Shallots
2 Garlic Cloves
2 cups mushrooms (shitake is a good choice)
2 T dried fruit (we used apricots, dried cherries, dried blueberries)
2 T Fresh herbs (we used parsley and thyme)
Salt and Pepper
2-3 Feet butcher's twine
2 T White Wine (this is ESSENTIAL. Seriously. Don't leave it out)
4 T Stock (chicken or whatever you have on hand)
1 tsp butter

Preheat oven to 425.

Stuffing
   - Heat a pan over medium-high heat.
   - Add garlic and shallots and sautee briefly
   - Add the dried fruit and herbs and cook until just soft
   - Add 3/4 of the white wine and 3/4 of the stock
   - Remove pan from the heat and allow to cool enough to stuff the meat without it cooking the meat.

Tenderloin
    - Remove all the loose fat
    - Remove silver skin (follow directions above)
    - Butterfly the pork using a paring knife to thin out the thick parts
    - Place meat between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound with either a mallet or a heavy bottomed pot (I recommend a pot).
     - Unwrap the meat and season with salt and pepper. Spread mustard onto the top. Add stuffing (enough to fill but not so much that it will fall out when you roll the meat).
      - "Roll" the meat. This really just means fold one side over so that they meet at the other end. It will turn into a 'roll' when you truss the meat.
      - 'Truss' the meat (see above)
      - Seer on medium-high heat, seam-side down and brown slightly. Turn meat over and brown on other side. Turn over again and finish in over 8-12 minutes or until meat is 155*.
     - Remove meat from pan and put under tin foil until ready to eat. De-glaze pan over medium heat with remaining wine and stock and scrape brownings. Pour over the top of the meat.
      - Ready to eat!


Chocolate Souffle


2 T Butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar, plus extra for coating the ramequins
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
Pinch of salt
2 tsp vanilla extract or orange liqueur
4 egg yolks
5 egg whites
Pinch of Cream of Tartar

- Preheat oven to 400*
- Coat the inside of the ramequins with butter. Add light sugar and tap bowl to ensure even spread. Sugar acts as the ball bearings to allow the souffle to rise.
- Melt the chocolate and remaining butter over medium-low double boiler until JUST melted. Do not.. I repeat DO NOT overheat.. it will separate the chocolate. When chocolate is just about melted, add flavoring (vanilla or liqueur)
- Beat the 4 egg yolks with remaining sugar until a canary yellow color
- Add 1/3 of the yolk/sugar mixture to the chocolate to temper. Fold in. Add remaining 2/3 and fold in.
- Beat the egg whites in a completely clean mixing bowl until soft peaks. Add 1/3 to chocolate mixture, folding carefully in (streaks are A-okay). Add chocolate mixture to remaining egg whites and fold together (again, you want to LEAVE streaks).
- Separate into ramequins. Leave about 1/4-1/2 inch of room at the top of each ramequin.
- Bake for 14-17 minutes or until doubled in height. Do not allow them to crack more than just a tiny tiny bit or they will deflate.
- Remove from over, dust with powdered sugar and serve immediately.