🥔 🍚 🌾 🥚 🥓 Nothing fancy...

Hello dear friends,

Hope you're all doing well

I just thought I'd post my journal entry that I wrote after pulling another all–nighter of hard mental work in order to finish it today. 😵 Also, I felt encouraged with Chef Claire's positive comment on my work—thanks heaps for the encouragement Chef Claire! 😄 Part of our course is to write something about the dishes we cook during practical assessments. In our school, we use this digital learning platform called Blackboard to answer worksheets, post journal entries, and other theoretical learning activities.

Nothing fancy for today; just basic but delicious dishes that I cooked during the final practical assessment of our Vegetable, Fruit, Egg, and Farinaceous Dishes Unit last Tuesday (22 November). 😊 In case you'd like to try out the recipes, I'll try to edit this post next time when I get more time on my hands.

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• Name and describe the dish/es you produced and photographed

Gnocchi Pesto

     Originating from Italy, gnocchi are small dumplings or balls that are usually made with potato or semolina and served with sauce. In this dish, I first baked the potatoes, peeled and mashed them, and then added flour, egg yolks, and seasonings (i.e. nutmeg, salt, and pepper) to make a dough. I kneaded this dough and made small gnocchi dumplings by rolling the dough into long sausage–like segments and cutting these segments in small pieces. I gently rolled each small piece between my palms to make oval–shaped balls and marked each ball with that characteristic gnocchi indentation by rolling them against the tines of a fork. (Marking gnocchi with ridges is not just decorative but also help compress the gnocchi so that they keep their shape and the grooves help hold the sauce when the gnocchi are served.) I cooked my gnocchi in boiling salted water. With this cooked gnocchi, I mixed it together with a creamy sauce made of basil and cashew pesto.

Green Beans with Almonds

     This is a simple but healthy vegetarian dish made of green beans and slivered almonds that’s easy to cook. I toasted the almonds in butter, squeezed in a little bit of lemon juice, and added my blanched al dente green beans.

Lemon and Spinach Risotto with Chicken Breast

     Risotto is another dish that has Italian origins. In this rice–based dish, I cooked short–grained Arborio rice together with chicken stock, lemon juice and rind, spinach, and sage. To make it creamier, I also added Parmesan cheese and a little bit of cream. For the chicken breast, I allowed it to marinate for a while in chopped sage, lemon rind, and olive oil before searing it and finally roasting in the oven. Lastly, I plated this dish by carving the roasted chicken breast into slices, placing them on top of the risotto, and garnishing the two elements together with grated Parmesan cheese, a drizzle of olive oil, a small lemon slice, and aromatic sage leaves.

Potatoes Marquise

     Potatoes Marquise are not just ordinary baked mashed potatoes but are more of a “jazzed up” version of them. I first baked the potatoes, peeled and mashed them, and added egg yolk, butter, and seasonings. I then piped this potato mixture into beautiful nest–shaped rosettes on a baking tray and placed them in a preheated 200°C oven to dry their outer surfaces. After a few minutes, I brushed the rosettes with egg wash and continued baking them until they became golden brown in colour. According to Escoffier and Saulnier, Pommes de Terre Marquise are traditionally prepared by mixing reduced tomato purée or sauce with the finely mashed potatoes. In the recipe that we followed, I used hot tomato concassé as filling or topping for my baked potato rosettes and sprinkled chopped parsley as garnish. While these Potatoes Marquise are simply made of humble spuds that have been baked, mashed, and incorporated with other ingredients, their presentation as golden brown rosettes finished with red tomato concassé and chopped green parsley gives them an attractive appearance—like baked mashed potatoes that have been dressed up to the nines or given a makeover.

Rice Pilaf

     Rice pilafs are popular in the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. Unlike plain boiled or steamed rice, a pilaf is a rice dish that has been cooked in a seasoned or spiced liquid, often with vegetables or meat added. The term “pilaf” comes from pilav, which is the Turkish/Persian name of the same rice dish. In this simple Rice Pilaf that I cooked, I used chicken stock, bay leaf, garlic, butter, onions, salt, and pepper to flavour long–grained basmati rice. The first stage of the cooking was done on the hob and then the rice was eventually finished in a preheated 190°C oven. The end result is a very flavoursome rice pilaf that can be used to accompany meat, poultry, seafood, or vegetable dishes.

Scrambled Eggs with Crispy Pancetta

     This is basically an egg dish that is suitable for breakfast. Scrambled eggs (or œufs brouillés in French) is one of many different ways of cooking eggs out of their shell. I prepared this dish by beating the eggs together with cream and seasoning. To complement my scrambled eggs, I also included pancetta, which is a type of unsmoked bacon used especially in Italian cuisine. I first fried the diced pancetta, took out about half of it for plating, and then I poured in the beaten egg mixture. I continuously stirred the eggs and pancetta together in the pan over a gentle heat until the eggs have coagulated but not overcooked. For presentation, I served my scrambled eggs topped with the other half of the fried pancetta and sprinkled some chopped parsley on it.

• For each dish, write down one significant point of awareness (e.g. production steps, safety, hygiene)

Gnocchi Pesto

– The gnocchi must be light in texture but firm enough to shape and not break up when cooked.

Green Beans with Almonds

– The blanched green beans must not be overcooked but should be tender yet still “firm to the bite” (al dente) and still retain their bright green colour.

Lemon and Spinach Risotto with Chicken Breast

– The cooked risotto should have a creamy consistency and al dente texture.

Potatoes Marquise

– The potato rosettes should be baked in the oven until they develop golden brown colour on their surface.

Rice Pilaf

– The chicken stock must be fully absorbed by the rice at the end of the cooking period and the cooked rice should be somewhat fluffy and not too clumpy.

Scrambled Eggs with Crispy Pancetta

– The eggs should not be cooked too long or they would be rubbery in texture otherwise.

• What feedback did you receive from your lecturer? (improvement, alternative approaches, etc.)

Gnocchi Pesto

– Gnocchi is a little bit dense, but otherwise OK

Green Beans with Almonds

– Almonds were a little too brown, but otherwise good

Lemon and Spinach Risotto with Chicken Breast

– Well–done

Potatoes Marquise

– Well–done

Rice Pilaf

– Well–done

Scrambled Eggs with Crispy Pancetta

– Pancetta should have been fried further to make it crispier, but still generally good overall

• How would you improve these dishes?

Gnocchi Pesto

– This dish is already good enough on its own.

Green Beans with Almonds

– This dish is already good enough on its own.

Lemon and Spinach Risotto with Chicken Breast

– This dish is already good enough on its own.

Potatoes Marquise

– This dish is already good enough on its own, but I would probably try making this dish as described by Escoffier (Le Guide Culinaire / A Guide to Modern Cookery) or Saulnier (Le Répertoire de la Cuisine) in their cookery guide books by mixing reduced tomato purée together with the mashed potato mixture.

Rice Pilaf

– I would add either meat, chicken, seafood, or vegetables in order to make this pilaf as a complete and wholesome meal.

Scrambled Eggs with Crispy Pancetta

– This dish is already good enough on its own.

• Where could you place these dishes on the menu?

Gnocchi Pesto

– As entrée, but should only be a small portion size

Green Beans with Almonds

– Main course, but should accompany a more substantial dish (e.g. meat, chicken)

Lemon and Spinach Risotto with Chicken Breast

– Main course

Potatoes Marquise

– Main course, but should accompany a more substantial dish (e.g. meat, chicken); a good alternative to potato wedges or potato chips for steaks and other roasted meats

Rice Pilaf

– Main course, but should have other ingredients as well, like meat, poultry, seafood, or vegetables

Scrambled Eggs with Crispy Pancetta

– Breakfast

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– 🤓 Description of Pommes de Terre Marquise (“Potatoes Marquise”) in page 663 of the abridged English translation of Georges Auguste Escoffier's Le guide culinaire (“A guide to modern cookery”)

– 📖 A full copy of his book may be freely viewed or downloaded here: https://archive.org/details/b21530142

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🤓 Description of Pommes de Terre Marquise (“Potatoes Marquise”) in page 211 of the English translation of Louis Saulnier's Le répertoire de la cuisine (“The Cookery Repertory”)