Well, first thing I need to tell you about is (I was reminded that I did not put anything on my Friday blog) about our "Iron Chef" competition last Friday. It was Becklien and I against Kim and Vanessa. The "secret ingredient" was a whole fish (not even gutted and with head and tail on!). Becklien filleted the fish and did a great job! She did the fillets in a pave, then breaded them with a spiced flour/cornmeal mix and quickly fried them. I was in charge of the starch and they veggie. I made some couscous with oven roasted tomatoes and shallots as well as asparagus sauteed in butter. Becklien made some pan sauce when she finished the fish using some pancetta-she did an awesome job!! Kim and Vanessa filleted the fish, sauteed it and served it with a buerre blanc sauce with polenta on the side (undercooked I was told). They also made a cucumber soup (should have strained it Chef Lexie said). All our food was perfectly seasoned and perfectly cooked and we STILL lost!! I felt worse for Becklien than I did for myself-she really wanted to win! Me, I was happy not to have the added pressure of competing this Friday in the "Final Showdown" competition!
We have firewood again, so Corey started a fire this morning for our French bread. We also made Cracker bread and started dough for brioche tomorrow and panettone (that's the one I really wanted to do!). I finally finished my granola today. Because it was done in bits and pieces, it seemed like it took forever!! I will have to try some tomorrow morning.
Our lecture today by Chef Lexie was on the Savoie and Dauphine regions of France. Now, I have to admit, these regions were not on the map we were given of France so not sure where these came to play. That being said, Savoie (sa-voy) borders the Alps to the north, running from Alsace all the way down to Provence and the Rhone River area. In the mountains, the winters are cold and harsh. Because of this, there is a lot of charcuterie (preservation of meats). They raise cows in this area so make a lot of cheese and butter. The further south you travel, you begin to see forested areas, which means lots of game available for stews and braises. Chessnut trees and hazelnut trees are also abundant. There are also fruit trees (cherries and apricots), rivers and springs (fin fish) and in the southern area they grow corn, potatoes, squash, onions and some grains. Because of all the milk and butter, many familiar cheeses are made in this area: Emmenthaler, Fontina, Gruyere, Compte, and Reblechon.
The history of this area is remarkable for the "House of Savoy", known in the 11th century as a strong ruling house. They held their seat of power for about 200 years. If you remember, they were French but also took over a portion of Italy (Piedmont). Savoie and Dauphine have alternately been under French and Italian rule, but in 1860 with the treaty of Torin, when all the Italian provinces united as one, Savoire fell back under French rule and has remained under French rule.
Regional dishes include Fondue, French Onion Soup (every one's heard of that one!) and Pomme Dauphine (Twice cooked potatoes). Not a lot of wine is grown in this region but they do produce Eau de Vie ("water of life"), Pinot de Savoire, Apremont and Chartruse.
Once lecture was over, it was back to our kitchens to prepare for lunch. GardeMo made Cracked Pepper Pasta with a cheese sauce and cooked cucumbers. Most of us had never tried a cooked cucumber but they were really good. They were cut in a torne shape (looks like a football) with a little of the skin left on it. Hot Line made Pork Tournedos with a Juniper Jus and Matefaims (which literally means "to end hunger"). The matefaims are crepes that can be filled with almost anything. In this case, they were filled with julienne of zucchini with a mild white sauce, then folded in half and half again so they were served in quarters. The pork was placed in the center of the plate then the matefaims were placed on either side so it looked like angel wings! Very tasty! For dessert, we had Profiteroles filled with chocolate ice cream (some of the best I have ever had!) with the option to pour hot fudge sauce on top of that. Yummy!
No baking after work today, the B&B is very slow right now. My project is done and handed in-that is a HUGE relief! Now I just need to study for my final...
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