Homework
Last night's dinner: fish and chips, tartar sauce, peas. Very pub-like, no?
So a couple of things at work here: important to keep practicing the in-class dishes, especially with finals next week. And I've received a couple of requests for photos on the blog. Well, not exactly requests: in both cases the word "need" was used, and I'm afraid of losing readership if I don't comply. So we're on a mission to expand our photographic offerings, with the understanding that the picture-taking will not be allowed to interfere with the consumption of hot food.
Here's the set up: beer batter (pinkish because of the paprika), and the snapper (bones removed with the trusty needle-nose pliers). The tartar sauce is in progress (chopped cornichons, capers, and hard-boiled egg), but I didn't make the mayonnaise from scratch.
At the stove, I gerry-rigged a thermometer onto the pot, using my digital probe and a chip bag clip. In the background are the fries, cooked once at 300 degrees, waiting for their second cooking.
And then we ate!! The fish would have been crispier if I'd used two oil pots, and cooked the fish and fries simultaneously. Instead, the fish went into the oven for about five minutes while the fries finished. Otherwise, no complaints.
Thanks to Madeline and Matt G. for the demand. I mean request. We're doing our best to keep you entertained.
Tonight: coq au vin.
3 Comments:
Ah, yes, the photos are great. Now video tutorials and the Culinary School Live Webcam would be fantastic :)
questions:
1) why the double frying on the potatoes?
2) how were home-made french fried potatoes in comparison to the frozen precooked kind you get at most restaurants? (i just know im not the biggest fan of the fresh fries at in-n-out...MMM in-n-out..i cannot wait.)
1) The first fry (at about 300 degrees) seals the pores of the potatoes so that the water inside of them stays in there. Chef Joseph said that a crucial step (which Chef Glen failed to impress upon us) is to then refrigerate the fries until the second frying, so that the hanging-around oil does not further penetrate. THEN, the second frying is at 375 degrees, and the hot oil can't get in (because of the blanching/cooling process) but causes the water inside the fries to heat up and cook the potato, resulting in a crisp exterior and fluffy interior. In an ideal world.
2) In-N-Out (we discussed this just today) advertises that "we cut our potatoes to order" but they only fry them once. If you break them open, they have concave sides and an empty exterior. The single frying doesn't create the proper conditions for the crisp outside/fluffy inside wonderfulness that is desired. Most of the frozen fries have undergone the initial blanching in oil.
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