Final Pratical, Grilled Stuffed Chicken, Vegitable Lentil soup, and Out of hte Ordinary Apple pie

Hey there guys, just thought i post my final practical exam here.  The exam consisted of a mystery box with three main ingredients that would consist of three different recipes.  Other ingredients are able to use, but very limited.  The three dishes i made was a vegetable lentil soup, stuffed grilled chicken with a unusual mashed acorn squash, and a out of the ordinary apple pie.

The first item i started with was the vegetable lentil soup.  I gathered about 5 oz of small button mushrooms, 4 oz of diced yellow onion, 3 oz of red burgundy wine, 2 oz of unsalted butter, 4oz chopped leeks, 2 oz of diced celery, salt, ground pepper, and 8 oz of lentils.  

The first step is to cut up mushrooms into small slices and set them aside in a separate bowl.  Also dice the onion, leeks, and celery all together as well in the same bowl.  Once that is set, get a medium sized sauce pan and bring it up to medium high heat, and add about 2 oz of vegetable oil or some sort of cooking oil.  Once the pan is up to heat, add the vegetables and continuously stir it to cook evenly.  Cook till the onions are translucent.

Once the vegetables are set, add about 5 cups of water and bring the heat down to medium.  From there let it set and simmer so the flavors can incorporate into the broth. Once the flavors are set, add salt and pepper to taste to adjust.  Then add the lentils once you finish seasoning the soup.  From there, bring the heat down to medium and let it simmer for about 20 minutes at least. Once the time pasts, serve it in a small soup cup and with a butter fried basil leaf on top.

The next dish i made was the stuffed chicken with a side mash acorn squash.  First you gather small button mushrooms, fresh garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil, fresh parsley, unsalted butter, ground cinnamon, and seasoned bread crumbs 

The first thing to do is to prepare the chicken.  I first made the marinade by take a separate bowl with olive oil, salt, pepper, chopped garlic, and chopped parsley.  You take the chicken breast and let it set in the oil and refrigerate for at least an hour.  Once time passes, remove the chicken from the refrigerator and put some cloves on to prevent getting unnecessary bacteria on your skin.  You then drain the chicken from the oil and set it on the cutting board taking a small paring knife and cutting the side of the breast making a pocket for the filling.

To make the filling, you take about 5 button mushrooms, and 2 cups of seasoned bread crumbs and mix together.

Once the filling is set, you take a small amount and insert the filling into the cut.  Once that's done, fire up the grill on high heat and get a separate pot with water and bring it up to high heat to let it boil.  Then start the acorn squash by cutting it in half and peeling the skin, then scooping out the seeds with a spoon.  Once the squash is peeled and scooped, cut it up in about 1/2 cubes.  Once the water is up to boil, place the diced squash in the water and let it boil till soft.

Once the grill is hot, place the chicken flat side down and cook till a dark grill mark is made, once that side is done, gently flip it so the filling doesn't seep out and cook it partly.  Once that's done, remove from the grill and place it on a sheet tray and place it in a conventional at 350 degrees.  Once that is done, the acorn squash should be ready.  You then take the pot and strain the water.  Place the squash back into the pot and add about 3 oz of unsalted butter.  You then take a masher (can be an alternative like a fork, but prefer a potato masher) and incorporate the butter into it.  also add about 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon, dash of salt, and a dash of ground pepper.  

From there the chicken should be ready.  You then Remove the chicken from the oven and let it set for about ten minutes.  From there, you can make the sauce for the chicken.  You first get a small saute pan and bring it up to medium high heat.  Once the pan is up to temp, add about 3oz of red burgundy wine and reduce about 1/3. Caution, it might flame so be cautious when poring.  Once the wine is reduced, add about 1oz of unsalted butter and whisk it in till it thickens.  

Once the sauce and the squash is ready to go.  You remove the chicken from the sheet tray and bring it to the cutting board cutting it on a bias.  Then place the chicken in the center of the plate and pour some of the sauce on top and serve with a small side of the acorn squash.

The last item i made was the out of the ordinary apple pie.  This recipe was inspired by my grandmother that always made really good pies using just simple ingredients.  I gathered, a red delicious apple, a granny smith apple, one sprig of lemongrass, a lemon, 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon, 3 oz of sugar, and 3 oz of unsalted butter.

The first step that i did was to prepare the apples by slicing them on a bias and slicing the lemon grass as well.  Place them in a container with water, ground cinnamon and the juice of the one lemon.  Let the apples set for at least an hour.

While your waiting, prepare the pie crust cookie by kneading together the butter, flour,  and the sugar till it forms a cookie dough like texture.  Once that's done, you take a little of the dough and form a small ball and set them on a sheet tray and bring the oven up to 320 degrees.  Once the oven is at temp, place the sheet tray in and cook till golden brown. 

Once the apples have been set, get a small saute pan and bring up to high heat.  Once the pan is up to heat, add about 1 oz of butter and about four pieces of the apples along with some lemongrass as well.  cook till the apples are tender and slightly soft.

Once the apples are done, get a separate plate and serve with the pie crust cookie on the side

TV Show Review: Anthonly Bourdain no reservations and Kitchen Nightmares

Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations

            In this show, world renown chef and food enthusiast Anthony Bourdain.  In this show, Anthony travels the world exploring various locations trying out all sorts of food and beverages.  In his episode he went to Hawaii to try out the local food.  The first stop he went to was a hot dog stand that sold specialty made hot dogs with various relishes and sauces. After that he went to a small diner with a college.  After that he went to a local bar with another famous chef Alan Wong, which is the grandfather of Hawaiian cuisine.  They had a various amount of dishes like pan fried rack of lamb

            Sadly I missed the rest of the episode but I managed to catch the next episode.  He went to San Francisco.  I thought that this episode was really interesting.  The first place he went to was a coffee shop and a radio station.  So from want he heard, that the coffee shop is really known for its maple bacon latte, which what I thought was really odd, but according to Anthony, it was really good. 

            The next location he went to was an upscale breakfast location that is known for its breakfast food and seafood.  As Anthony was there, he had one of their famous omelets.  According to Anthony, the place was fairly good, he basically liked everything that was offered to eat.

            I personally like this show because I take interest in various cuisines from around the world.  The concept of the show is really good in my opinion.  The idea of exploring and being exposed to new food and dishes.  During his travels, particularly in the us, he really shows how diverse American cuisine is like.  From what I have heard from other people, and just reviews in general, he does a really good job on what he does when he does his reviews.

Kitchen Nightmares

Another show that captivated my attention is “kitchen nightmares” that is currently aired on fox.  In this show, world renowned chef Gordon Ramsey explores the country helping restaurants that are in dire need of help.  In this episode, he went to Chicago to help a restaurant called the Spanish Pavilion.  This restaurant had some cleaning issues but the biggest factor was the management.  In the end, the restaurant got completely renovated in the interior.  Another thing that was taken care of was the menu, there were some changes due to some lack of popularity of the choices they had.  From there Chef Ramsey did some adjustments by removing some items and adding new dishes.  As the changes were done they went right into service.

 As it began the service was going pretty smoothly at first but as the night went on, there was some personal conflict between the head chef and the general manger.  They began to argue about how things are running; therefore a small feud went on for a short time.  Then after that, the rest of the night went smoothly after they settled down and got back to work.

I believe that this show is fairly ok, it’s not my favorite food related show.  It’s always fascinating to listen to Chef Ramsey on how he talks about any kind of food.  He’s really passionate on what he does in the food industry.  Overall I thought that the show was fair.  I have seen better shows like iron chef, and top chef.  The show has an interesting concept and I can see how it can be made as a fairly decent reality show.

Group Presentaton: Steamed buns, Wonton soup, and Moo goo gai pan

Hey there guys, i just wanted to share the presentation i did with Alex Dillon and Zach Warren.  We decided to name the show two and a half men just for laughs.  Zach made the Moo goo gai pan, Alex made the steamed buns, and i made the wonton soup.

 

First off, Alex started off with his steamed buns by making the filling.  The filling contained small cubed pieces of beef in a small saute pan on high heat.  As the beef cooked, he added soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, and fresh chopped garlic.

Once Alex finished making the filling, Zach briefly introduced the ingredients he is going to use in the Moo goo gai pan.

Once Zach presented the ingredients, Alex made the dough a head of time but needed to let it set after it was stretched out.  The dough consisted of AP flour, water, yest and sugar.

Once the dough was portioned and stretched, he very little filling to the center of each piece and folds it in and over to form a ball.  Once it was finished it was placed on a steam tray and sent to the other room to the steamer.

Once all the buns are assembled and placed onto the steam tray, it gets placed into the steamer at 325 degrees.  From there it'll be on hold due to a longer cooking time.  Once that's finished we went back to me.  I started off making the filling for the wontons.  I took some bell mushrooms and chopped them up really small and placed them in a separate bowl.  I also added some chopped green onion, cilantro and chopped oregano.  Also have some ground pork ready on the side

Once all the ingredients are ready, i got a saute pan and brought it up to high heat with sesame oil in it.  Once the oil is up to temp, I added the mixture and some ground pork and let it cook for about five minutes.

Once pork is finished cooking, i added about 1 oz soy sauce into the mixture.  From there i set the filling aside to let it cool and then prepared a seperate sauce pot with chicken stock.  I then take the pot and put it on medium high heat and let it go to a boil.  Once that was done, we go to Zach with his dish.

He starts off by heating up a saute pan at high heat with some sesame oil in it.  From there he adds the carrots, water chestnuts, onion, garlic, mushrooms, and the rice noodles and lightly tosses letting it cook evenly so it becomes something similar to a stir fry.  From there, he adds about one ounce of water and covers it to keep the steam trapped.

The mixture takes about five minutes till its finished.  From there, we go back to me with the wontons.

What i got here is plain wontons, a small bowl with a egg wash, a brush, and the filling.  The first step in making the wontons is taking one sheet laying it down flat, then taking about 1 tablespoon of the filling and placing it down in the center of the wonton. Then take the brush brushing some of the egg wash and brushing the edges of the wonton.  Then i take one end of the wonton and bring it over folding in half, then pressing the edges to keep it sealed.

Once all the wontons are finished, the pot of chicken stock should  be boiling.  From there, i drop about three pieces for now.  Then we go back to Zach to his dish.

After five minutes, the vegetables should have a nice crisp bite to it but yet still soft. From there he added a dash of salt and pepper.  Then serves it on a nice warm plate ready to be served.

Once that was served, we go back to me and the wontons should be done.  Before it gets served, the heat is brought down to a simmer and i added the chopped nappa cabbage to the soup.  Then i let the cabbage set in the broth for about five minutes so it can absorb the flavors of the broth.  Once that's finished, i presented it in a bowl.

After that, Alex's dish is finally ready.  He then would take it out of the steamer and gently places it on a warm plate.  It could be accompanied with a sauce.  Steamed buns is usually a great appetizer special from time to time.

And there you have it. Two and a half men 

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