salade nicois au saumon

Now this lovely dish is called salade nicois au saumon meaning a warm salad served with salmon.

In preparing this meal I thought it best to prepare two plates to show different plating options in consideration for using a circular plate verses a square plate.

Having completely gone through the cooking procedures of making this recipe I have now come to the understanding that this meal is designed to be cooked and prepared in stages. At first I thought it best to prepare the vinaigrette for the salad and salmon followed by the salad, and finally the salmon. The vinaigrette and salad both were rather simple to make. However, these two portions to this individual meal can be messed up. As we all know a little too much or not enough of one ingredient can make something that is supposed to be delicious in taste and flavor, very aweful and unwanted. So with that in mind...

I, after preparing the vinaigrette and salad, prepared and cooked the salmon for about 90secs on the presentation side and about 120secs on the opposite side. As the salmon was completing I lightly tossed the salad and vinaigrette together and due to me not having a food warmer I simply microwaved the tossed salad for 30secs or so merely to warm the salad. I platted the salmon placing it lightly on top of the salad then lightly poured dressing over the salmon, and finally I added the quartered tomato and halved boiled egg lightly pouring dressing over the tomatoes.

(The finished product is as shown in both pictures in this blog. Please feel free to ask any questions or to leave any suggestions on how to either prepare this dish or even platting this dish.)

In making this dish I used Dijon Honey mustard for the vinaigrette. I now believe that it is not only how well whisked the vinaigrette is that will determine the texture of the vinaigrette, but it is also dependent on the mustard you use as well. Please keep in mind, I am new to the culinary world so my opinion may be wrong or improperly worded.

poaching is illegal...

Last week in culinary class we focused on poaching and one of the recipes called for a poached salmon topped off with a bourbon and maple sauce. Using that same principle or method of cooking i then took that recipe home and over the weekend made my own sauce replacing the salmon with chicken and neglecting to use the bourbon or syrup. this altered the recipe greatly as well as the name, although im not sure what to call it...lol. the chicken turned out very well and the sauce was still good, however it lacked the texture that i was able to come up with in regards to the bourbon and maple sauce and on the flip side of that i was able to produce more of the sauce made for the chicken in comparison to the bourbon and maple where i had maybe a 1/3c to 1/2c of sauce made after it was done to the consitency that i was hoping to gain. clearly, regardless of what the recipe calls for there are some inconsistencies in my preparing a properly made sauce that is not only flavorful but also properly portioned in both quantity size and serving size.

my question to you, those of you who may happen to stumble upon this blog, how do you 1) control the consistency and texture of a sauce, for example as seen in the first pic which is the bourbon and maple while 2) also producing a larger amount without loosing that refined texture and flavor that is often found in making a smaller portion thereby leaving you with a lesser amount of sauce to be served?..

i have now realized, after actually viewing how this would look on the computer, that it would have been better for me to have left the chicken on the plate all on its own so that you can truly see the differences in the 2 sauces via texture as it sits on a plate and how it flows over the chicken in comparison to how it flows over the salmon in the first picture at the top.

your assistance is greatly appreciated and i am very excited to soon be learning about sauce making...maybe my questions will all be answered there verses here online, wish me luck.

the trussed chicken

thawed seasoned and tied yet o' so very tastefully delicious. after having trussed and roasted this whole chicken myself and then consuming it with assistance, of course, i have come to realise that this chicken would taste even better if injected with broth or even a homemade marinade. thats just my opinion and keep in mind i am new to this so wish me luck.

Risotto

WoW!... I did it... I made the risotto and it actually turned out pretty good. I don't recall what or which broth we used in one of my culinary labs but I have come to the conclusion that your risotto will be defined drastically altered. In my case I used a beef broth and the result was actually quite surprising. Due to the fact that not many people were going to be eating this dish I had to slim the recipe down a bit and not prep so much rice and many other ingredients. Point being at first attempt I was not pleased with the result or taste of what was prepared. However this time around, I was satisfied with the result and between myself and one other person we ate the risotto. I still have a long ways to go.

liking not liking?..

To those whom this may or may not concern. While striving to be a chef/cook, or merely someone who simply loves to make other people smile about something they can graciously share with others, there are some foods I simply do not like nor care to like, however that does not mean that I will not try them or prepare them for those who do enjoy such delicious morsels of delight, as some people may claim them to be, and for those foods that I do not care for they shall remain nameless.

Yesterday, March 18th 2010, during my foundations class the dish we prepared taught me that there is much I am unfamiliar with, with respect to being in a kitchen that is designed to mass produce portions of foods for several people beyond that of a household family and even for a household family. Outside of regular preparation such as knowing ones recipe my most difficult task was coordinating when portions of one dish would be finished with respect to proper cooking temps and times. I now realize that the best way to prep a meal for anyone is to know your recipe inside and out. Know the portions of ingredients, what ingredients are to be mixed, blended, and sauteed together, or what have you, and even more importantly know how long it takes and at what temperature that particular portion of a meal is supposed to be cooked and finished for consumption. Meaning the portion of a meal that will take you the longest to prep and finish should be dealt with first and those that will be much quicker in terms of being cooked and finished for consumption should be last in order that the meal be delivered relatively fresh. Meaning if the meal is to be served cold or at room temp, it should not be sitting out for so long that it either looses substance or becomes stale in someway and if the meal is supposed to be hot then the meal should not be delivered tongue burning hot but hot enough that it would seem as if the meal just finished being prepared two seconds ago.

I may not know much about culinary in all its glorious ways to prepare a simple or complex dish for ones self or for others, however I do know what I like and from there I can greatly expand my knowledge of how food should be or could be prepared and consumed for those moments best shared with others.

omelet

how to make an omelet~

For this delicious breakfast delight I used 1/3c of milk and 3 eggs mixed together. I preheated the small non-stick pan lightly coating it with about 3T of vegetable oil. Slowly pouring the mixed egg and milk into the middle of the small non-stick pan after its its been slightly preheated. With a wooden spatula I casually stirred the middle of the cooking ingredients while shaking the small non-stick pan in a circular motion to keep the eggs from sticking while being cooked. once I felt the eggs were cooked to my desired texture. I sprinkled shredded cheese in the middle and then rolled one end of the omelet towards the middle of the omelet. Then slid the omelet onto the plat while at the same time rolling the middle portion of the omelet over onto the other end of the omelet, giving the omelet the appearance of a sandwich wrap. I then made some toast, glazed the omelet with butter, sprinkled more shredded cheese onto the omelet, salt and peppered the omelet as desired and finally added a few drops of hot sauce on the omelet. This wonderfully prepared breakfast tasted great, if I do say so myself, and I do say so myself.