Private Lunch at the Winery

Today's event at the winery was a private lunch for a group of 40. As a part-time cook, I just show up and jump in to the fray whenever and where ever the Chef needs me. My duties today were to prep and set up the chilled almond garlic soup which was the starter, assist in portioning 40 quail which were later fried as a play on KFC for the entree, other component prep work, help with plating all the courses, and more intensive work sectioning 15 ducks for some duck confit after the lunch event.

My last work day at the winery had been a frustrating one. On that day I had messed around with 300 eggs trying to get a soft boil, peel, and then flour, egg, and bread for frying. It was tedious and took 6 hours because the eggs were not cooperating. I had questioned whether I was actually learning anything at this job which in hindsight was just a product of a very frustrated mind.

Today was much more fulfilling and educational. It's always satisfying to pull together in the kitchen to accomplish an event. The chilled soup was really cool because it has no liquid base other than water. It was really delicious and flavorful. The second course was ahi tuna, topped with a fried egg stacked on romesco sauce and surrounded by various vegetables. It was a clean presentation. The quail entree (not pictured) was deep fried and served with some corn/mushrooms, smashed potatoes and some gravey. This course was a play on "down home" cooking using more sophisticated ingredients. It came out very nice. Finally, we ended the lunch with a cheese plate.

No Mortadella. Sorry!

Well, I apologize for failing my first month at charcutepalooza. I just never got around to making my mortadella. I have spent the last few weeks preparing for the installation and replacing all of my kitchen appliances, as well as, flying my airline schedule. I just could not find the time to give the July challenge of making emulsified sausage its due effort. So, rather than a half-hearted effort, I decided to skip it. Now on to the new challenge for the month of August. This month's challenge (if you didn't guess form the picture above) is all about terrines. This comes at a good time because I'm eager to use my recently bought Le Creuset terrine mold pictured above. Stay tuned.

The Microplane Grater

The classic image of the waiter at tableside grating cheese is what comes to mind when I hear the words microplane grater, but there are more uses for this finessed kitchen tool. The microplaner comes in many shapes and sizes each designed for a different application. The narrow shape of some microplanes allow the shavings to be more accurately directed to its target. Some planers are wider for larger volume or grating larger ingredients. Some have a fine mesh grating surface designed to create a finer powdered product and some have wider slits designed to create elongated shavings. Here are some ideas on how you might use the microplaer.

A common use is for zesting citrus. It creates fine lemon/lime/orange shavings. The larger slitted planer can be used to create citrus rinds for drink garnish as an example.

 

A classic french use for the microplaner is for grating nutmeg. A pinch of nutmeg can be created by rubbing a nutmeg acorn against the grater a few times. The same can be done with cinnamon. Use the microplane to add a touch of cinnamon to a cappuccino or to top a dessert.

Another great use is to create delicate chocolate shavings for garnish. I like making an espresso panna cotta served in martini glasses. The chocolate shavings are a perfect touch to add refinement to the presentation

Zesting garlic is another use for the microplane. It allows for the super fine shaving of garlic that create subtle flavor without a noticeable

texture or mouthfeel.


As you can see, there are lots of uses for the microplaner. It's a simple, yet versatile tool that is a nice addition to any cook's toolbox.