Days 31-32: Chicken and Pork

After much deliberation I've decided to keep on truckin'.

The second semester focuses on proteins, plating and the fabrication of every edible animal known to man. It's like they say in the culinary world, "If it's dumber than me and slower than me and tastes good; it's dinner!"

Our chef instructors for PCA2 are Chef Brown and Chef Reyes. Chef Reyes was my instructor from PCA1 and it's great having a familiar face with us. I've been told by many that Chef Brown is the best instructor in the school and that we are lucky he's our instructor. I couldn't agree more. He's very present in the kitchen. He's watching everything we do and doesn't let anything get by us. Chef Brown has over 25 years experience in the culinary world (and he's still 3 years younger than me!) and has taught PCA4 over the last 2 years. It's great having someone who knows what we're in for and can fully prepare us for the final semester. If you haven't picked up on it, I'm lovin' the Chef Brown thing.

Day 31 we fabricated chickens. Fabrication is the breaking down of a dead animal into parts used for cooking. We broke down Mr. Chicken into wings, thighs, breasts and legs. Our dish for today was a Sauteed Chicken Breast with Polenta, Sauteed Brussels Sprouts and a Mustard Pan Sauce. But we actually did two plates of it. One with an Airline Breast (the drummette bone still attached with the meat removed) and one with a supreme breast (boneless.) Chef Brown loved both of my dishes and only had a problem with the sauce. He thought it was a bit too thin. Sorry no pictures, I forgot my camera today.

Day 32 we worked with Pork Tenderloin and made two dishes. The first dish was Pork Schnitzel a la Holstein with Traditional Garnishes and Brown Butter. This is where we took two small portions of the tenderloin, pounded them flat and then breaded and pan-fried them. It was presented as a good sized appetizer. The traditional garnishes were chopped anchovies, capers, lemon supremes and parsley. Chef Reyes found it very tasty and had more than one bite.

The next dish was Sauteed Pork Tenderloin with Salsify Puree, Sauteed Apples with Golden Raisins and a Calvados Pan Sauce. Salsify is a root that has a light oystery flavor. You cook it just like you would a potato except you boil it in cream and milk instead of water. My dish came out very tasty and Chef Brown was very impressed with the plating. Too bad I remembered my camera but forgot to put a flash card inside. It was probably the best looking dish I've made so far. The sauce was still a bit thin though.

Tomorrow we have pork chops.