Today was all about PASTA!! It reminded me of making pasta with my friend Michael's parents years back!
The recipe for pasta dough is 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour to 1 egg. This makes enough pasta for two people for a main course or 4 people as an appetizer. You pile your flour out onto the counter or a board, make a well using the uncracked egg. Break the egg into the well then scramble the egg. Then start stirring the flour into the egg until you are able to knead the dough by hand. Add more flour if needed although you might not use all the flour. Knead the dough for 5-8 minutes or until it is soft and smooth and not sticky. Let it rest in the fridge until you are ready to use it.
After we made the pasta dough, Chef Dale showed us how to filet and bone an Atlantic Salmon (whole fish, mind you). It was pretty cool, although not something I am particularly looking forward to doing. Apparently we will be doing this at some point in the future by ourselves.
Breakfast today was home fries-made with the leftover potatoes from lunch yesterday and a quiche. Plus the requisite homemade granola and fruit and leftover chocolate cupcakes (you gotta love a place that lets you eat dessert for breakfast!!) Yum!
For lunch we made ravioli stuffed with goat cheese flavored with brandied shallots, parsley, garlic and sauteed oyster mushrooms. The "sauce" was a basil oil infusion, salt and pepper and served over a pile of veggies from yesterday (green beans, beets and tomatoes). The entree was fennel seed and pepper crusted salmon filets served over polenta made with cheese and creme fraiche. Then a demi-glace flavored with madiera and brandy was pooled around the polenta. Very tasty!! Dessert was a fresh fruit tart made with pate brisee and pastry cream.
There was lots else going on, more stock, only this time we roasted the veal bones so we can make brown veal stock, "fabricated" (took apart) three chickens so we could make "Boisin Blanc" tomorrow (I think that's chicken sausage, but I guess I'll find out!). We ground the chicken breasts with egg whites, then had to press the chicken paste we made thru one of the tamis (a fine sieve) to make it even finer! I think this is some kind of punishment, it takes for ever and is very tedious. I can only hope the end results are worth it!!
It was extemely hot in the kitchen today, what with the wood oven going and almost 100 degrees outside. The veal bones were not the only thing roasting by the end of the day! And being too hot makes me cranky! :-( I came home and took a cold shower and felt much better! :-)
Tomorrow is another day of culinary adventures.......
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