No, I have not disappeared off the face of the Earth. I've just been super tired and too lazy to blog. All you've really missed is chicken. That's also part of the reason I haven't been blogging. The last week and a half at school was chicken. Boooooooorrrrriiiiinnngggg. Coq au Vin = Beef Bourguignon with chicken instead of beef. Literally, it's the same exact thing. We also made fried chicken, grilled chicken with barbecue sauce, curry chicken, chicken chicken, and chicken chicken chicken chicken. We did do fish last Thursday and Friday. That was alright, filleting fish and frying it, grilling it, and sautéeing it. No big. Today was shellfish. Super easy stuff.
I feel really bad that I'm excited for this class to end. I was really looking forward to it, and it was a blast at first, but it's starting to get repetitive and I feel like I know what they're going to say before they say it. It could just be the exhaustion talking though. I've definitely learned a ton and have been applying the knowledge. Of course, I haven't learned anywhere near everything there is to learn, so I could probably tone down the cockiness a bit before I get put in my place.
Something that was super exciting was our first tailgate last week. I got a little excited. Our menu:
Breakfast: Omelets with hickory smoked pulled pork, onions sautéed in chorizo fat, cheese and tomatillo salsa. Killer. The combination was ridiculous.
Snack: Jalapeños stuffed with venison, pork sausage, and cheese, wrapped in bacon. I smoked them for about an hour and a half and they were tasty.
Lunch: I smoked 10 whole chickens. Yes. 10. I brined them in a sugar-salt solution for 18 hours, then smoked them for 4 hours. The skin was crispy. The meat was juicy. It was just fantastic.
THEN, we went nuts at Pluckers for my birthday last Monday. THEN we went to Vespaio for dinner on Tuesday. What a great meal! Carne crudo - steak tartare basically; really good. Caprese Salad - with mozerella that had been made THAT DAY, celebrity tomatoes, balsamic, and killer ciabatta. Prosciutto pizza - thin crust pizza with prosciutto, fontina, arugula, egg, and white truffle oil. Possibly the best pizza I've ever had. Mandilla di saea - hand-torn pasta tossed in pesto. Also quite tasty. Filet with panzanella salad - Rare+ Niman Ranch steak with fresh made croutons, blue cheese and tomatoes. Great. Chocolate semifredo - killer chocolate "mousse" with macerated cherries and chocolate cake. Sooooooo delicious. We finished with South Austin Speedballs - vanilla vodka, khalua, and espresso, shakin til frothy with a lemon twist. A great end to a truly great meal.
I know I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I'll do my best not to get lazy again. Feel free to drop me aline if I start slacking.
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Hi I'm Rhett, long time reader; 4 th time poster. As far as fried chicken and fish, I assume it's some kind of fancy way of preparing it, but how does it compare to the old school methods like granny and paw-paw? And ad far as restaurants bragging about hand tossed hand torn or hand wrapped, it kinda grosses me out and would rather they not mention it as I have worked in that industry. How about plastic glove tossed crust??
ReplyDeleteWell, the fried chicken was soaked in buttermilk and deep fried as opposed to breaded and pan fried, so it's a totally different animal - much crustier. And the fish was fried frozen trout, not fresh-caught perch/catfish - very tasty, but not as good. And if people toughing your food grosses you out, never eat at a fine dining restaurant. About 95% of food is plated with bare hands.
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