It felt really good to be back in the Cook Street School of Fine Cooking kitchen for more lessons to improve my cooking techniques! When I took the Techniques II class, there was no prerequisite class. That may change, so that students take Techniques I prior to Techniques II.
When I first started looking at cooking classes last summer, I looked through the menus for Techniques I and figured I didn’t need to spend my money there. I make omelettes frequently, I’ve macerated fruit, made crepes, and even made souffle. I didn’t think I’d learn very much in that class, so I skipped it. As I took other classes, including French Techniques, Artisan Bread, and Pastries, I realized that I was learning a lot about cooking things that were already in my repertoire. I attended a one-off class, Colorado Grill, and one of the other students raved about how Techniques I completely revolutionized how he treats eggs. He said that before the class, he massacred his eggs, but now he cooks them with reverence…or something like that. That made me start thinking about taking the class.
I had to go through all of November, December and January without taking another cooking class. That was it – it was time to sign up for Techniques I! This class is a bit less hands on than the other classes. That’s either by design or because this is the largest class I’ve been in at Cook Street. I prefer the smaller classes. I’m glad this isn’t my first class at Cook Street, because I might feel less satisfied by the classes if they were all this size.
The techniques covered last night included egg cookery, blanching, cold emulsion sauces, meringue, and stocks. The menu featured:
- Le Grand Aioli
- Omelette
- Macerated Fruits in French Meringue Nests with Creme Anglaise
I knew that aioli was garlic mayonnaise, but I didn’t know that aioli may also refer to an abundant meal, traditionally an array of foods, accompanied by sauce aioli. I’ll eat my vegetables when I have to, but they’re hardly my favorite food. Maybe that’s because I haven’t been blanching them! Wow! We had cauliflower, new potatoes, haricot verts (French green beans), and carrots. Once they are blanched in hot water, they are shocked in an ice bath. While that wasn’t news to me, I learned that the best way to treat the vegetables if you want to freeze them is to blanch, shock, dry, salt them, then coat in olive oil. The salt come first. I’m now ready for the abundance of farmers market veggies this summer so I can freeze my own supply of vegetables. Before class, I thought you were just supposed to freeze fresh vegetables from the raw stage. For dinner, the veggies were all served at room temperature and with a side of aioli. They were all so amazing! Probably the most exciting lesson of Le Grand Aioli is that the vegetables can be made a couple days in advance and refrigerated, then brought to room temp prior to serving. That will come in handy for large parties!
We made the sauce aioli by hand, although it can also be made in a food processor. I’m glad we did it by hand in class, because we worked in teams. My forearm still feels tired today, so I’m glad I got to share that task with a partner. There was a Top Chef episode a couple seasons back that featured a relay, including making mayonnaise by hand. At that point, I decided I liked the idea of trying to make my own mayo by hand, though even then I anticipated that happening only once. I have a small food processor that will be perfect for making cold emulsion sauces in the future! The course recipe packet includes a list of other mayo variations with a wide variety of flavors. I look forward to trying all of them! As part of this process, I learned that poaching and blanching are the same technique. Proteins are poached, everything else is blanched. I’d never thought about the difference before. Chef poached some shrimp in a court bouillon; he could then add the shrimp shells and turn the bouillon into a shrimp stock.
One of the finer points about making omelettes is that you should have a dedicated omelette pan, though it may also be used for crepes. It should be small, nonstick, and in good condition. The eggs are constantly stirred in the pan until they start to set, then small holes are made, all so that the uncooked portions get to the bottom of the pan, rather than overcooking the bottom layer. When the eggs are still shiny yet most set, it’s ready to come off the heat. Leave it in the pan for a little bit, add toppings, fold over a third, and do the final fold as you slide the omelette onto a plate. Any fillings should be cooked ahead of time, then added to the top of the eggs when the pan is pulled of the stove.
Swiss meringue was a technique featured in the Pastries class, and French and Italian meringues were discussed in that class. Last night, we made French meringues and briefly touched on the other meringue techniques. The course materials include a page on the various meringues, which I think will be quite useful as I continue to play in the kitchen. French meringue must be baked, unlike the other two styles. We made meringue nests that should bake in a low oven for a couple of hours. We didn’t have quite that much time in class, so the meringues were not as dry as intended. I thought about taking a nest home to finish drying it out, but decided to try it in class anyway. I’m glad I did! I think I prefer the meringue to be less than perfectly dry! This is another wonderful item that can be made well ahead of time for party purposes. The fruit macerates (meaning it is treated with sugar and alcohol, though lower alcohol is better than high proofs) ahead of time as well. In fact, I had some aging strawberries and papaya, so they are now happily macerating in some amaretto. Maybe I’ll catch the itch to make my own meringue nests later today! The meringues were filled with the macerated fruit, then topped with creme anglaise. I’ve always wanted to make my own creme anglaise, and now I have no reason to put it off! Creme anglaise, like mayonnaise, is a basic sauce. Freeze creme anglaise, and you have French vanilla ice cream. Cook it a little less on the stove, pour it into ramekins and bake with moist heat, and you have creme brulee. I make ice cream and creme brulee frequently, I’ve just never used a vanilla bean – I always add some other flavor. (I’ve even made garlic creme brulee as a side dish with red meat.) The technique is essentially the same, which is the point of this class. It’s not about following specific recipes, it’s about the techniques needed to create your own flavor combinations.
I’m very happy with the course materials this time, as the additional information is fantastic! Recently I found this egg with ridges on the shell. I’d never seen anything like it, so I threw it away out of caution. According to the information in my packet, I could have used it. Next time I see a weird egg, I’ll consult this packet. The packet includes other useful information, such as tips on blanching various colors of vegetables to avoid discoloration or color loss. Not only will the food taste great, it’ll look great, too!