Test #2

[chrose]

Good job folks. That was pretty easy as is the next one.
Brad well done. That is correct. The papain in the pineapple (the same ingredient in meat tenderizer) will destroy the fiber in the meat. It will not alter the appearence but the texture is disgusting. Yes Salmon is classic, it is cured as well not a salad topping. Also correct is no olive oil and or lime. In fact the whole thing is screwy. CoolJ that's a very good point. I don't know how much it would effect it but the leached proteins may well coagulate. And Suzanne, you get the question that I didn't ask correct. Taro is the primary ingredient in Poi.
Okay this one isn't hard either. I have to spend a little more time on the next one. I'll have more time this weekend. Until then;

Test #2

Your client has just finished a party and has some comments about the food that was served to them.

The Consomme was tasty but didn't seem to be quite how she remembered it in that nice little French Restaurant (recipe to follow)
The Beef Wellington was cooked nicely, but the crust seemed very dry and flaky and the mushrooms inside were not all cooked evenly.
The Green Bean Amandine was a little off. The beans were still kind of firm but olive green in color and the almonds were soft and had a soggy texture.
The Chocolate Mousse for Dessert was delicious but the menu said soft and creamy and there were a lot of little hard flecks in it.
And the candied orange zeste dipped in chocolate that was served with the coffee was a nice touch, but they were awfully bitter.

The only recipe you need is the consomme.
Chuck beef + shin bones and knuckles
onions,carrots,celery, bay leaf, water, salt and pepper
Brown beef and bones in hot oil. Add vegetables, cover just to fill with cold water. Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer and cover. Cook 2 hours. Drain soup through a colander. Save meat and chop into pieces for soup. Discard the rest. Season to taste and serve hot.

Okay detectives what happened? Brad put your hand down.

[cape chef]

My God Chrose!!!
There are so many screw ups here, I don't have time to type them all

I will try to come back later and take a look,
BTW Chrose, How did you know I was raising my hands in DISGUST LOL
cc

[momoreg]

I'll go straight for dessert...
Adding chocolate to cold mousse will result in flecks of chocolate. It has to be added to something warm (usually the yolks), before folding in the whipped cream.

Candied orange zest with choc. and coffee doesn't have to be that bitter, but if you follow a very sweet dessert with it, the flavor will seem more bitter. In any case, the zest has to be cooked in simple syrup several times to get the bitterness out.

[cape chef]

Let me start with the Wellington,
First, it seems the the puff pastry was not egged washed,hence the dry,flaky crust. As for the mushrooms, They must be made in a duxell first before coating the tenderloin. also be sure to sear the tenderlion first
cc

[cape chef]

for the nasty little haricot vert and almonds, Do not ever cover your green vegetable while blanching and or finishing. This will not let the cloriform set in the veggies,and of course the almonds would become soggy.
Just blanch your beans in salted boiling water,and shoke in ice water and drain till dry. Toast your almonds and keep them to the side, Simply saute the beans in whole butter and toss in the almonds just before you plate
cc

[cape chef]

For your consamme...You really only made a beef broth, There was no clarification to the colagen and fats, no raft was present,no degreasing was done. Also do not cover this soup,this will allow the impurities to return to the soup.
cc

[thebighat]

Blanching the orange rind and refreshing it 5 times works for me. then I simmer it in simple syrup, but you might want to check you didn't dip them in unsweetened chocolate, though that would be tough to do.
I also think the consomme needs clarification and enrichment. I've gone to using ganache as a chocolate mousse base to avoid the problem of crunchies in the mousse, which seem to come from chocolate seizing against the sides of the bowl as it's folded and being shaved off by the spatula.
The problem with the green beans is the forgotten cream of mushroom soup and the canned onion rings. Put them on and everyone will say, "Don't that nice."

[Suzanne]

Wait a minute, that's not even "beef broth" -- more like barely flavored water if it's only cooked 2 hours.

Please, Brad, sit out the next one and give the rest of us a chance to have more fun! You're just too good!!!

[cape chef]

Ok Suzanne, I promise!! and seeing today is your birthday, I will kindly obliged.
Just watch Mr Chrose, he is a tricky man

Just kidding Adam!!!
Keep em coming
cc

[Isa]

No raft (hope it's the right word) to clarify the consomme.


Orange zest need to be candied, with all the steps it implies, before being covered in chocolate.

[chrose]

Very good, almost 100% You'll likely have to wait until this weekend for another, but we'll see.

Consomme is correct. You have beef soup! You need a raft to make it clear and to add extra flavor and protein to give it body and make it a true consomme.

Green vegetables when cooked release acid during cooking. If covered the acid is returned to the water reacting with the chlorophyl turning it olive colored. Also the almonds were gasp..yes, cooked with the beans.

The beef wellington is correctly identified as having a duxelle in it. However the description of the crust would lead one to point to a short pate brise rather than an unglazed puff pastry. Though now that I look back I should have omitted the word flakey. My bad.

After Momoreg answered I edited the chocolate orange to be clearer. The actual answer is that a plain piece of orange zeste while strong is not necessarily bitter. I did say it was candied. Therefore what would make it bitter? The pith people! The pith. It was obviously left on when the peels were cut!

And yes the hot or warm chocolate going into the cold bowl would not actually seize as there is too much fat in the cream but harden almost instantly into little pieces as it was mixed.

Very good you all get an A for effort. It will hopefully get harder as we go along.

[Pastachef]

I was simply going to say that the green beans had been over cooked and that the almonds hadn't been toasted, and had been cooked with the beans. I strive to keep the color and nutrients in my vegetables when I cook them, but now I know how it works! Thank you, Chrose! And everyone else.

[Greg]

Chrose, as Suzanne has pointed out, give us a little more time! The pith part of the orange peel problem screamed out to me as I read it just now, but you had already given the answer!! I'm sure Brad would have gotten it first, though, had your consomme' m.o.p. not offended him so much.

[chrose]

Sorry Greg, I'm just so used to short attention spans. Still you beat CC to the pith part. He'll just have to retain his cool and not get so flustered with such culinary faux pas!
I'll give you all more time on the next one, and try to make it a little harder.
Still feel free to embellish on the answer.
Thank you all for your indulgence.

[momoreg]

I didn't pick up on the pith being present. I just looked back on the original question, and it doesn't imply that at all. I feel cheated.
I'm looking forward to the next one anyway...