LATIN CUISINE - WEEK 6

Latin cuisine week 6

Here we are still in the lovely South America, one place I would absolutely love to visit. From the rain forests to the Amazon to the Andes to Patagonia, South America has a lot to offer, including great food.

Every week in this class just keeps getting better, I look forward to Latin Cuisine as I have said before. I think I will be disappointed when this class is over. 

This week the dough making was hard again. It was a difficult task for me and when I describe the empanadas you will understand what I mean. 

Here's the menu-

Feijoada (Bean stew with beef and pork):

This is an interesting dish as it has six or seven different kinds of beef and pork. I am wondering if this started out as a "clean out the fridge" kind of stew. It even has chorizo! Either way, it is great. The chorizo really comes through to add some spices and boldness to the complex combination of flavors. We served it with some shredded kale and a rice pilaf. I plated this dish twice because I was not happy with the first presentation. Of course, my photo is only of the first plate. oh well....

Salada do Chuchu (chayote salad):

Interestingly enough, we did not have any chayote for this chayote salad (thanks chef venne), so we di what we could to make a good salad with some South American flair. It worked out well, the avocado adds a nice flavor a looks great as well.

Chupe de Quinua (quinoa chowder):

This was my least favorite dish of the day. Quinoa is a hot grain these days so we had to use it. Its not bad, but I am not a big fan of this style of soup. It has a grain mixed with corn type of flavor to it. Quinoa is one of the very few plant proteins that is a complete protein, so it is a good choice for meat replacement. That is likely one of the reasons for its increased popularity of late. We garnished ours with avocado.

Sauteed Shrimp and Scallops:

This was not a planned dish, but we had so much left over shrimp and scallops from the ceviche that we had to do something with them. We chose to saute them with salt and pepper and serve them over a hash of corn and roasted red peppers. It is garnished with cilantro.

Ceviche Mixto (mixed shellfish ceviche):

This ceviche can be made with almost any type of shellfish that is first cooked and then marinated in a liquid made mostly from lime and cilantro. I is often served almost as a soup with the shellfish sitting in the liquid and eaten with tortillas and some sort of hot sauce. We served ours drained and dry on a plate. It has a very fresh and clean taste. It feels and tastes pure on the tongue. Very good.

Cuscuz de Tapioca Molho de Chocolate (tapioca and coconut cake in chocolate sauce):

This dish was interesting and a little different. The flavor were really good and creamy but the texture was, well, slimy. It's the tapioca. For the sauce for added some Kahlua and that made all the difference. I would be glad just to eat the sauce alone out of a trough, without a spoon.

WORLD CUISINE - WEEK 6

World cuisine week 6 

This week we moved from Greece to Turkey. I don't know anything about Turkey but judging by the cuisine of Turkey, I'd have to say it would be an excellent place to visit. The food we made this week was exciting to me in a way that i was not expecting. The food has complex and well developed flavor profiles and a blend of freshness with earthy and rustic tones as well. 

Our class seemed to be a little more together this week as the members of my group were on point. I think we produced some good food that is noteworthy.

Here's the menu-

Incir Compostu:

These are figs in syrup. The figs were dried so we reconstituted them in some water then we stuffed them with some blanched almonds and then sauteed them in the same water and made a simple syrup but added some port wine to enhance flavors. They were quite tasty and the almonds provided a little tooth to balance the softness of the figs. I know some people don't like figs, I would encourage them to give this fruit another chance.

Havuc Plakisi:

Braised carrots. These were good and fairly simple. The only thing about braising carrots is that you must pay enough attention to them to ensure they do not burn or are under cooked. They were good and tender and retained the flavor of the carrot pretty well.

Balik Koftesi:

These are deep fried fish balls. They are surprisingly good. I think they would have been a little better had they been a little smaller to balance the crispy outside with the soft inside. But they were still very good. One person likened them to Long John Silver's, oh for shame. Anyhow, they are served here with a yogurt and cucumber sauce similar to what you might see in a Gyro.

Sis Kebap:

It is pretty obvious where we get the English term for this dish. The meat is lamb. Lamb is good, it is a little different for the American used to eating beef, but I really like lamb. It is packed with flavors, but can sometimes feel a little dry so care needs to be taken not to overcook lamb. These are obviously grilled and have the taste of caramelization all over them. They were served with rice.

Midye Dolmasi:

Stuffed mussels. They were first cooked on the grill just enough to get them to open up and then they were stuffed with rice and finished in a pan. They were excellent. I like mussels so these were a nice variation, for the non mussel lover I doubt this would change their mind. They were served with a sauce made of oil, vinegar and hazelnuts. The hazelnut flavors grew in the sauce as it stood.

Domates Salatasi:

This is a tomato, cucumber and olive salad. It is simple and good and fresh. 

Kabak Kizartmasi:

These are eggplant and zucchini fritters. They call them fritters even though they can be grilled or battered and deep fried. The other group made the deep fried version, but I preferred the grilled version. I think the grill marks mixed with the more pure flavors that are retained from fast grilling over high heat stand out and speak for themselves well. They were served with the same yogurt and cucumber sauce as the fish balls, and these two made an excellent combination. They sauce has a bit of tangy-ness that really goes well with the zucchini.

LATIN CUISINE - WEEK 5

Latin Cuisine week 5

This week was really exciting for me in Latin Cuisine as we were going to be making tamales, which I really like. I have made tamales many times in Las Cruces. Homemade tamales are a special treat and a "labor of love" as they are not an easy task. It is common for families to get together to make tamales in order to get everyone working and make the whole process simpler. 

I enjoyed class this week but just as in World Cuisine it seemed a little unfocused. I think the reason for that in Latin is the lack of understanding working with dough. It is a bit mysterious to me. I am hoping after taking baking and pastry I will have a better understanding of how dough works and ways to work with it. 

Anyhow, here's the menu

Ceviche de Pescado:

This is the classic ceviche that comes to mind when someone talks about ceviche. It is raw fish that is cold "cooked" by acids from lemon or limes. The flavors of the lemon and lime mixed with cilantro is good and a classic combination in Latin food. However, I found the texture to be not so desirable. The texture was raw and almost slimy. I have heard that the longer the fish marinates the tougher it can get and am wondering if perhaps our ceviche would have been better if left to marinate longer. I somehow neglected to get a photo of this dish.

Plantano Frito:

These are fried plantains. Plantains have an interesting flavor, I am not sure how to describe them. The texture is similar to bananas as they are very closely related to bananas. These are simply fried and retain the flavor of the plantain pretty well. I think they would be excellent with some sort of creamy sauce that has either sweet-ness or a bite to it. I think of something like a pineapple cream salsa. Maybe something to try next time.

Tamales:

The recipe we had for class called for spinach and cheese filling, but we also had some pork leftover from the previous class. One group made spinach and cheese tamales and our group made red chile pork tamales. We made them in the traditional sense as they were rolled and steamed with the husk. I have seen tamales that have been sort of folded up like a little package and while they look fancy, I'd have to side with the traditional presentation. These tamales we made tasted great, I was worried about the masa as it can be difficult to work with and we had a hard time putting it on the corn husks correctly. 

Pabellon Criollo: Caraotas Negras, Carne Mechada y Arroz:

This is an interesting dish. It has black pot beans, shredded beef and rice. The presentation is supposed to be a representation of the Venezuelan flag. which is blue yellow and red. I am not sure how that is supposed to work, but I am betting the Venezuelans know. Anyhow the black beans and rice are simple and have been made many times. The beef was a flank steak that was shredded and then sauteed briefly with tomatoes and other things and it turned out very tender. We served some of the red chile puree on the plate for those like me who love red chile. 

Orange Flan:

We made this in week 1 or #, I can't remember. Either way it is still excellent. We did not have a dessert in this weeks menu so we chose to make this dish again. It was just as before, very good.

This is a fried pig's ear. We had the ear cooking with the beans for flavor and decided to try it fried. It was pretty awful and more of a joke than anything. It is pictured here with a parsley garnish just for fun. Bon Appetit!.....um, no thanks

WORLD CUISINE - WEEK 5

World Cuisine Week 5

The Cuisine of Greece. This is a welcome departure from the cuisines of the middle east, although it is similar. Again, I think these are good bases for the American chef to start from to create a truly good and unique dish. On to the menu.

Aginares Me Avgolemongo:

These are artichokes with an egg and lemon sauce. Honestly, the artichokes we had at school we pretty sub-par. they were small, not very meaty, and not very fresh. However, we were able to learn the process of artichokes. The sauce here is similar to a hollandaise sauce with more lemon. I did not think it went very well with the artichokes. Cooking and prepping artichokes is quite a bit of work.

Garithes Saganaki:

Baked Shrimp: This is a good dish, but it can be difficult to cook the shrimp correctly. Oven baking shrimp is a good way to over cook them. The flavors are excellent and served with fresh warm pita makes a great combination. I really like the cheese, normally I would not choose shrimp and cheese to go together, but they did quite well here. 

Spankopita and Fasoulatha

This is a spankopita filled with spinach and bean soup. These are not served together, just photographed together. The spankopita uses a phyllo dough that is very good. It is hard to work with because it is paper thin, maybe thinner and quite flaky. What we did was to spread butter on each sheet of dough and then stack them to form one larger piece. Once it is baked, it becomes flaky, buttery, and full of good lovin. Apparently many American chefs are not very good with phyllo, but I think it can be learned with experience. It is well worth the trouble.

I like bean soup so as with most bean soups, I am satisfied. This one was no different, but there isn't much to say.

Fresh Fruit

In Greece trays of fresh fruit are very common, so here we have a tray consisting of pineapples, oranges, mangoes and apples. all very good on their own.

Greek Salad:

Surprisingly this recipe did not call for feta cheese. I think the salad was crying because of it. However, greek salads are excellent and this one was the same the fresh cucumber and kalamata olives were great.

Another photo of the spankopita

LATIN CUISINE - WEEK 4

This week in Latin Cuisine we moved from the cuisines of Mexico to the cuisines of South America. There are many similarities and many of the styles have moved around from South America to Mexico, so some of the menu may seem more Mexican than South American.

This class is quickly becoming the highlight of my culinary week. The food just keep getting better and I find myself excited to prepare the recipes. I would encourage anyone interested in Mexican food to delve in a little further and try to experience food from all over Mexico and South America. 

On to the menu-

Vatapa de Galinha with Ensalada de Tomate y Cebolla:

This is Chicken in Nut and Shrimp Sauce served with a Tomato and Onion Salad. The salad seems very boring but it was pretty good. We would probably want to add a few other things to make it a little more exciting, and the tomatoes in february are just plain awful. The chicken was excellent, this dish has some interesting flavors as the sauce really has a nice nutty and earthy taste to it. I would love to see this sauce served over grilled chicken and topped with a skewer of grilled shrimp on a bed of a rice pilaf. 

Churros:

No these are not the churros you see served at the mall food court or some amusement park. These are hand rolled directly into the fryer and dusted with powdered sugar. There were good because Preston made them and every desert Preston makes is good. However, I would prefer to change the recipe to make a slightly easier dough to work with that could be piped out to create a nice thin uniformity that would leave the a nice crispy outside while retaining the warm, soft center we all love.

Crepas con Salsa de Dulce de Leche:

This is exactly what it says, crepes with dulce de leche sauce. WOW! This was by far the best dessert I've had since starting culinary school. I could not stop eating these. Anyhow, they could easily be served as a dessert or a breakfast item. Pistachio is what you see as a garnish. Dulce de leche is a sweet milk sauce that can be so good you would want to eat it with a spoon. Way to go Preston.

Ceviche de Champinones and Sopa de Palmito:

This is a mushroom ceviche. Normally ceviche is thought of as a raw fish dish, but there are many different variations on the ceviche. I do not like the traditional ceviche, but this one was pretty good. It has the tanginess and the sweetness from the peppers. Also pictured is the Sopa, or Hearts of Palm soup. It is a pureed soup that is made from the expensive and tender heart of palm. This recipe is for a basic one but it could be really good with some variations to add some complexity to the flavor. I found this recipe to be kind of one-dimensional.

Couve a Mineira:

This is a dish of shredded kale in a garlic paste. Kale sounds pretty bad and it is a tougher leafy green, so one would expect this to be tough and not very flavorful. He would be wrong, this is surprisingly good. I will be looking for good kale once in awhile just for this.

WORLD CUISINE - WEEK 4

World Cuisine Week - 4 

We are still in the cuisines of the middle east. These are a few interesting dishes from this weeks class.

Tapauch Ets Im Mits Tapuzim:

Um...yeah. That basically means apples in orange juice. This is a sweet desert dish that is basically apples simmered in orange juice until tender. There are also raisins included as you can see, and it was garnished with mint. This actually tastes much better than to be expected. It is quite good and very easy to make.

Samke Harrah Al-Sahara:

This is a dish of baked fish with a hot chili sauce. The sauce wasn't really that hot, but it was pretty good. It had some interesting flavors to it that we in the U.S. are not used to eating. The sauce is made with tahini and the flavors made by tahini, lemon juice, and peppers is a bit different. It is served with rice and some bread as seen in the photo. The bread has some lima bean puree on it that was absolutely delicious.

Fattoush:

A toasted bread salad. Here I added some dried fruit and a mango vinagrette to "americanize" this dish. It is very good and very simple. The freshness goes well with the flatbread. I also made some of this at home last week just because I liked it so much.

Shurabat Al Kibbeh:

This is a soup made with lamb meatballs. It was very good. It had great depth of flavor to it and a very pleasing aroma. The meatballs are nice as they give some real texture to the soup. 

Besara:

Lima bean puree dip that sounds awful but is surprisingly wonderful. I took home this side dish and wound up eating all of it in one sitting. My chef used it for his superbowl party. With garlic and spices there is an almost rustic flavor to it but at the same time it taste fresh as can be, it is very hard to describe.

Muhammara:

I should have rotated this photo, but I'm way too lazy a this point to do so. Anyhow, This is a red pepper and walnut dip processed into a flavorful puree. It was good, but next to the lima bean puree it didn't get eaten. Here it is served with flatbread.

Tan:

Tan is a yogurt drink that is basically yogurt and water mixed together to be a liquid consistency that is drinkable. It is really, really bad. I tried to make mine taste better by adding sugar, honey, and cinnamon. It did not work. It may have been a little better than plain tan, but if i never had it again that would be too soon. It is pictured here served with a cinnamon stick and mint for garnish.

The flavors of the middle east are quite different than anything we are used to, but many of them are very good. With a little creativity they present the foundation for something new and exciting to the american chef. 

LATIN CUISINE WEEK 3

Here we go with week 3 of Latin Cuisine. This is the third week of cuisines of Mexico. So far I've been pretty happy with this class. 

On the Menu we have -

Frijoles di Olla: "pot" beans

These are really just beans cooked in a pot with some sort of pork part (bones, feet, ears) to give flavor. These are topped with a little tomato and cilantro. They make an excellent side for many dishes in mexican cuisine.

Chiles en Nogada :

Basically a chile relleno with a walnut sauce. The relleno was a poblano pepper stuffed with all sorts of goodness other than the typical cheese that we are used to in the U.S. It was a little different to me, but i did like it. The sauce on the other hand did no justice to the almighty dish that is a chile relleno. It was too creamy and really didn't add anything to the relleno, instead it added a distinct flavor that actually confused my palette as to what I was supposed to be eating. 

Guacamole:

Everyone has had guacamole, some good, some bad. I've seen recipes for guacamole that call for more mayonnaise than avocado. This recipe is quite good. The limes we used were stronger than anticipated but the overall flavors were both good and correct. We added some roasted garlic to this recipe.

Mole:

MOLE! This mole was great. It was by far my favorite thing we made this week. It was an add-on recipe that I did not know was coming but was glad once I tasted it. The thing about mole is that each area in Mexico has ways of doing mole, so it can vary greatly. Refer to Latin Cuisine - Week 1 to see the green mole we made. Another thing about mole is that there are many ingredients that create the complex flavor profile. I think this recipe had about 25 ingredients. Mole is like fresh homemade tortillas in that it is a labor of love. Sure you can buy tortillas at the grocery store, but the homemade, semi-round tortillas will always taste better. Mole is a ton of work, but it sure is good.

Sopa de Fideos Aguada:

This is a dish of sauteed pasta with tomato sauce added. We used an italian grade pasta because it has a much higher quality than the traditional mexican fideos. There's not a lot to say about this dish, everyone has had pasta and tomato sauce, this is just a different variation on a classic.

Chips and Salsa:

We made chips from corn tortillas and made a quick salsa to go with it. These are the same chips that were served with the guacamole. 

This was a great week in Latin Cuisine and this class is quickly becoming my favorite. I enjoy all the flavors and combinations. Latin cuisine can be quite complex in dishes like Mole, but it can also be simple and fresh. I like both equally. Coming from New Mexico, I already have a strong preference to mexican cuisine and latin explores this further and bring new flavor profiles to the light. I could see myself really diving into Latin Cuisine as specialty.

WORLD CUISINE WEEK 3

I missed week 2 of both world cuisine and latin cuisine due to snow. so we are skipping week 2 and moving on to week 3. We did middle eastern food for Week 3 and I found most of it to be pretty good. 

So here's the menu-

World Cuisine

Lamb and Okra Stew and Rice with Lentils-

I am not a fan of okra, even deep fried, so I had a hard time appreciating this dish. The lamb was excellent, but would've been better off served without okra. It was tender and flavorful. The rice with lentils was well, rice and lentils. There wasn't much there to love, but it was good. Sometimes simple naked food that is well seasoned can be pretty good. It is very honest.

Hummus with flatbread-

Everyone has had hummus, some love it, some hate it, some even refer to it a "girly" food. Whatever the case, it is a fairly simple side and lends itself to endless incarnations. While this particular recipe was just plain hummus served with a little olive oil and paprika, I think next time I would add a few other flavors and possibly "americanize" this mid-east classic. It is served with wholewheat flatbread here.

Rice with Lentils and Fruit Compote-

This is the same rice with lentils that was served with the lamb and okra stew pictured above. The fruit compote is a medley of different dried fruit that tasted pretty good. Not much to say here.

Fish Omelet-

This is a baked omelet, kinda similar to the potato omelet from week 1. It was very good, much better than it sounds. The flavors were simple but well seasoned. 

Mid-eastern pancakes with a simple syrup and fruit compote-

These were pretty good, they are a thinner pancake that is folded. They are served with a simple syrup that needs a little help in my opinion. This syrup turned out a little too thick, but still tasted the same. The compote is described above.

Tabbouleh-

Tabbouleh is a salad made of bulgar wheat and herbs and spices. I really like tabbouleh, so I liked this one as well. It is one of those dishes best served very fresh. The bulgar was a bit chewy on this recipe because of the way it is prepared. I would prefer to flash boil the bulgar to soften it. It is another item that is open to endless interpretation and I will most likely be changing this one around a bit over time.

WORLD CUISINE - WEEK1

World Cuisine - Week 1
World cuisine is going to be a hard class. It is more intense that the other classes I have taken, only because the work load is higher. In my other classes we are cooking four to five dishes in class. In world cuisine we have been cooking eight or nine. Anyhow here's the menu for week 1

-Spanish Tapas-

Squid with Caramelized Onions-

This is a great dish as the flavors are simple and exposed. The onions mellow tremendously when caramelized and really meld well with the squid.

Bacalad - Hash

This is really just a simple simple hash with olive oil and some poquillo peppers served with some herbed bread. It was good, but nothing special.

Garlic Shrimp-

This is a classic, shrimp sauteed in garlic and herbs very quickly over high heat. These are wonderful when done correctly, which these are. The danger is in overcooking the shrimp, causing them to be too firm and less juicy. This dish is served with dome herbed bread as well.

Ham Fritters-

I honestly wasn't too impressed with these. These are just a bechamel with some ham added then breaded and deep fried. And that's exactly what they taste like. We added some potato to give them a little more texture and the result was an increase in general "fluffy-ness" but the flavor didn't really change.

Potato Omelet-

Another dish that I couldn't take any credit for. G made this and did a wonderful job. The picture shows pieces cut from the whole. It is a large omelet that is finished in the oven. I had a hard time not eating all of this.

Cheese and Olive plate-

Here we have parmesan cheese marinated in olive oil and herbs, olive tapenade, olives stuffed with peppers and anchovies, and tomato bread. This plate had a few issues in my opinion. I sliced the cheese too big and the flavor was overpowering for the "bite size". The tapenade could have used something else to mellow it and mix the flavors together better. The olives and anchovies had a briny taste because of, well.. the olives and anchovies. I think a stronger and possibly sweeter pepper would have really helped to balance this.