Les Menus for the week of July 5, 2008

Part of our work at school is to create a "recipe book" based on all the dishes we create at school. We are graded on this book so getting in just right is important. It isn't like a standard cookbook however, most recipes have no measurements and there are no yields. As for the instructions/method, it's very cut down because the assumption is we should be able to, at a glance, know what is expected at certain points. It's actually pretty nifty.

So... here are the menus for the first week of school:

Le Menu July 2, 2008

LA SOUPE A L'OIGNON GRATINEE

First day of cooking! We're practicing knife skills so it's onion soup and a crudite plate (chopped raw veggies we dressed with a vinaigrette). It's amazing how easy the soup was to make. It's one of my favorites and I've made it before but it took HOURS. This time, it was quick and delicious and it was mine! My proportions, seasoning determination, everything. YUM!

Le Menu July 3, 2008
LA QUICHE LORRAINE

This time we made little Quiche Lorraines from scratch, right down to the dough! I had problems with my dough but still finished the meal with it tasting OK. Think a shortbread consistency (TOO FLAKY). I add too much water and let the dough get too warm so the butter was melting on me. I made a whole batch at home over the following weekend, paying more attention to what was going on and TADA! I made wonderful quiche if I say so myself. The hubby and mom were both pleased. We also made two simply salads where the focus was on learning about how certain liquids behave. One dressing was a simply vinaigrette and the other was a mustard based emulsion. Again, paying attention is key but the results are worth it.

All in all, the biggest problem I'm having is timing. 12:30 service (when we serve what we've cooked) comes so quickly! It feels like we have plenty of time and then...

We're learning and they're helping us to understand so I know it's just a matter of time (no pun intended) before we've all got it figured out.