Cuisines du Coeur

Well, I was able to pull off exactly what I wanted to for my final cooking practical.  We used our chicken that we had fabricated the day before.  Chef gave us a list of ingredients and said, "Make something!"  I requested one other thing that wasn't on the list, puff pastry. So he added it.  Oh, and peas.

So on my menu was Blanquette of Chicken Breast-Vol au Vent with peas and carrots in a Veloute' Cream Sauce and Pommes Gratin Dauphinoise Rounds.  Sounds good, doesn't it?  Its chicken pot pie with scallop potatoes. $19.50 or $8.95?  It's all in the presentation.

After our knife cut final, which I did OK in, we got right into it.  We had 90 minutes to make the window.  (it's an eternity) I had to mize all the ingredients first.  After which, I got started on the puff pastry.  Got that done and in the 400 degree oven.  Then I started my roux for the sauce, cut the potato for the gratin, chopped the garlic, thyme and mixed them together.  They too went right into the oven.  Things were going too smooth.  Oh yea, the roux.  I burned the butter.  Throw it out, start again.  Got the roux made and realized I had forgotten the chicken stock.  So many friggin things to remember.  I even had it written down and I forgot the stock!

So then I chilled, had some water, joked with Nancy across from me and just let it happen.

I must say the entire class did great.  Both Chefs commented on how good we all did.  They called it, Cuisines du Coeur, cooking from the heart.

What a great day!