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Final Conclusion

            When we first received this project, I must be completely honest that I was dreading the idea of writing two posts every week in the blog, but I was wrong. How I started by first blog was really all good timing. That week, I received my project assignment, and I was getting ready to leaving Thibodaux for the weekend. I spent the weekend at my home in Prairieville, Louisiana. At the time, the main topic of discussion in the area was about Tropical Storm Isaac. My parents and I pondered one whether or not I should stay back home Monday and just go back Tuesday, but I insisted on going back. As soon as I unpack everything and leave to my girlfriend’s dorm, I received news that the storm was projected to turn into a hurricane, and class had been cancelled for the next two days. This was just my luck right? I immediately ran back to room to gather up enough clothes for 2 nights, and hit the road once again. I first started posting blogs about my everyday food adventures as soon as I got home. So, I guess there is one good thing that came out of this debacle. Once I started posting in the blog, I came up with the idea to post the link on my Facebook so that my friends can read it. To my surprise, one of my classmates, Stefan, asked if I knew his sister. I said yes, but then I asked why. Apparently, I was her friend on Facebook, and she was following my blog. This made me very happy, so I started to post almost every day. It came to a point where my family and friends no longer question why I take a picture of everything I eat. However as soon as I got back to school, the school work and fraternity started to take its toll on me and I became lazy and stopped posting. Once I realized what terrible mistake I was making, I immediately started posting again.

            When I wrote the menu for this project, I had the idea to stay within the produce that was in season. Being that it was the fall, my menu featured items such as butternut squash, sweet potatoes, apples, and pears. For the appetizer portion, I wanted to keep it simple, but delicious. Then, I remembered Chef Randy talking about how people these days rarely ever eat soup anymore. When done correctly, soup can me one of the most delicious meals ever. Inspired by my mentor, I decided to replicate his Cajun sweet potato soup. Being that it was a soup, I needed to find a way to add some sort of contrasting texture to the dish. I thought about croutons, but I felt as if it would not do this dish justice. I started thinking about the Cajun element of this dish, and decided to use an andouille sausage cut into thin strips and rendered until they became crispy.

            Like Chef Randy said, the salad portion of this dinner should be kept really simple. Because it would be acting as a palate cleanser, I needed something acidic to clean the creamy richness of the sweet potato soup off of my diners’ palates. When I went to Whole Foods, there were so many types of greens to choose from. From butter to romaine, the possibilities were endless on what this salad would be. Then, I saw some pears and knew that it would pair great with a bitter green like arugula so I decided to follow that route. Now the citrus component of my vinaigrette also presented itself as a challenge for me. As I walked around the produce section of the market, I saw some blood oranges, and thought they would be perfect to pair with my salad. So, I decided to do a blood orange vinaigrette with champagne vinegar, olive oil, and a little bit of creole mustard. However, I felt as if my salad was still missing an element. I know it may have been a little much, but I decided to also use feta cheese.

 As far as protein is concerned, I thought about how turkey seems to be the go to protein during Thanksgiving. I wanted to think outside the box and break the stereotype of using turkey. So, I started thinking about a turducken. The first letters “tur” represent the turkey so that was out of the picture. Then, I see the word duck in the middle. I began to think to myself about how many students in my class would have the kahunas to put duck on their menu. Duck is not a difficult protein to cook, but it takes a person with the right technique to pull it off correctly. Being the person that I am, I decided to challenge myself.

My dessert was something simple I came up with randomly scrolling around epicurious.com one day. That day, there was a dessert of the day featured on the main page. At first, the name didn’t sound like much – French Apple and Fig Almond Tart. However, the picture that accompanied the recipe changed my mind completely about this dish. After making it the first time, I burnt the crust due to the fact that my oven was stronger than the one used in the recipe. In order to make up for the equipment complications, I backed a second tart at a lower temperature, and the results were amazing. The crust came out great as it was still buttery and flaky, but still able to hold the almond filling and fruit on top. I also decided to make a simple vanilla crème anglaise as my sauce for the tart. According to my diners, it was one of the best desserts they’ve ever eaten.

Overall, this dinner project taught me a lot about myself as a cook as well as me individually. The project truly tested my sense of organization and planning. A lesson I learned from this experience was that as soon as you think you’ve gotten everything done you haven’t. There was always one miniscule detail I left out of my prep schedule or recipe. However learning from this experience, I will try to minimize wasting valuable time fixing stupid mistakes. Because of these mistakes, I was constantly pressed on time to deliver what I know would be delicious food. There was never a moment where I doubted myself in my skills as a cook. When challenges presented itself, I believe I rose and stepped up to the occasion and delivered. 

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Prep Schedule

Day Before:

Research recipes for Sweet Potato Soup, Salad dressing, duck spice seasoning, and butternut squash risotto

Print out recipes

Make list of ingredients needed in all preparations

Divide list between different stores

Call Dad to go buy duck breasts from Restaurant Depot

Make and finalize shopping lists

Put out whole duck to defrost

Day of:

Make shopping trip to Wal-Mart

Wash, cut, and trim vegetables for most of dinner preparations: vegetable for stock, soup, and risotto

Rinse whole duck and remove gizzards and liver (put aside to use another day)

Fabricate whole duck into 6 pieces. 

Place carcass and drum/thigh meat into a stock pot with the mirepoix. Don't forget to skim foam on top of stock every 30 minutes

While stock is simmering, go to Whole Foods to purchase other ingredients.

Sort everything out into groups by recipe. 

Preheat oven to 350

Measure out dry and wet ingredients for tart shell.

Bake tart shell.

Make filing for tart

Slice apples and figs for tart

Take out tart from oven to cool.

Assemble tart and set aside in fridge to bake that night.

Measure out ingredients for salad dressing. 

Make salad dressing and set aside in bottle in the fridge.

Dry off and score the duck breasts.

Measure ingredients for dry spice seasoning.

Dry duck breasts with paper towel, and season on both sides.

Set aside in fridge

Shopping List

Whole Foods:

Ground Ginger

Cinnamon

Arugula

Pears

Feta Cheese

Blood Orange

Champagne Vinegar

Dry Mustard

Five Spice

Coriander

Whole Duck

Port Wine

White wine

Slivered Almonds

Parmesan

Butternut squash

Arborio Rice

Wal-Mart:

Sweet Potatoes

Heavy Cream

Pears

Celery

Carrot

Creole Mustard

Green Apples

Butter

Honey

Already in pantry:

Onion

Ground Ginger

Cinnamon

Ground Nutmeg

Olive Oil

Paprika

Dry Mustard

Chili Powder

Almond extract

AP flour

Sugar

Vanilla extract

Restaurant Depot:

Duck Breasts

Recipe: Dessert

For crust

• 2 large egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons Calvados or brandy
• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 9 tablespoons (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 -inch pieces

For filling

• 1 1/4 cups blanched slivered almonds
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

• 3 tart green apples, peeled, quartered, cored, cut into 1/8-inch-thick wedges
• 10 figs, washed, sliced in half

• 1/4 cup apricot preserves

Preparation:

Make crust:
Stir egg yolks in small bowl to blend. Combine flour, sugar and salt in processor. Add butter; cut in, using on/off turns, until butter is size of small peas. With machine running, add yolk mixture. Process until large moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap dough in plastic; refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. Let soften slightly before rolling out.)

Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 14-inch round. Transfer to 11-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Fold overhang in and press, forming double-thick sides. Chill while making filling.

Make filling:
Combine almonds, 3/4 cup sugar, eggs, extracts and salt in processor. Blend until soft paste forms. Add 4 tablespoons butter; blend 10 seconds. Spread in crust. Chill until firm, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, stir apples, and 1 tablespoon sugar in large bowl. Let stand 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Drain apples; overlap in concentric circles atop filling. Melt 2 tablespoons butter; brush over apples. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar.

Bake tart 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350°F. Bake until apples are tender, about 45 minutes. Transfer to rack. Stir preserves in small saucepan over low heat until preserves melt. Strain into small bowl; brush over apples. Cool.

Recipe: Entree

• DUCK:
• Ingredients
• 6 duck breasts 
• 1 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
• Salt and pepper to taste
• olive oil for frying

Directions

1. Cut slashes through the skin and fat of each duck breast, making sure you don't cut into the flesh. Rub the duck breasts with the five spice and season well. Heat a little oil in a heavy frying pan and when it is really hot add the duck breasts skin-side down. Turn the heat down a little and fry for 8-10 minutes or until the skin is very crisp and brown and the fat has started to melt out from under the skin. Tip out any excess fat.
2. Turn the breasts over and add the star anise to the pan. Cook for another 5 minutes or until the duck breasts feel firm to the touch but not too solid - you want them pink in the middle. Take the duck out and leave to rest for 5 minutes.

RISOTTO:

 

Ingredients

• 1 quart chicken stock
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, grated or chopped
• 2 cups Arborio rice
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 (10-ounce) box cooked frozen butternut squash
• Nutmeg, grated, to taste
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 7 or 8 leaves fresh sage, slivered
• 1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Directions

Bring 1 quart stock plus 1 cup water to a simmer in a sauce pot then reduce heat to low.

Heat a medium skillet over medium to medium-high heat with olive oil. When oil ripples, add the onions and garlic and soften 2 to 3 minutes. Add rice and toast 2 to 3 minutes more. Add wine and cook it out completely, stirring occasionally, 2 to 3 minutes. Ladle in stock in intervals, a couple of ladles at a time. Allow liquids to evaporate each time. Risotto will cook 18 minutes, total, from the first addition of liquid. Defrost the squash in your microwave in a dish to collect any liquids and stir in squash the last 3 minutes of cook time, season with nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. In the last minute of cooking time, stir in butter in small pieces, sage leaves and cheese, serve.

SAUCE:

Ingredients:

1 bottle of port wine

Directions

Drain residual fat from pan into a bowl. Place the pan back on the burner on high heat. After allowing the pan to heat up, add the port wine. With a wooden spoon, scrap the bottom of the pan to release fond. Allow liquid to reduce by half. 

Recipe: Salad

Ingredients

• 5 to 6 cups arugula, cleaned and dried
• 1 Bosc or Anjou pear, thinly sliced
• 8 ounces Feta

• 
  

  Blood Orange Vinaigrette:

  • 1/2 cup blood orange juice
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
  • 1 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 
  

Directions

Combine arugula and pear in a salad bowl, then dress the salad with the vinaigrette. Top salad with feta crumbles

Recipe: Appetizer

Creamy Sweet Potato Soup Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Tbsp (1/4 stick) butter
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 small celery stalks, chopped
• 1 large garlic clove, chopped
• 1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes or yams, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 5 cups)
• 4 cups duck stock 
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp of crab boil
• 1/2 lb of andouille sausage, sliced into long strips
• Chopped scallionsfor garnish
• Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD

1 Melt the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add chopped celery stalks, sauté about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 2 minutes.

2 Add sweet potatoes, duck stock, and nutmeg; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

3  Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth. Return to pot.

4 Add half and half and maple syrup and stir over medium-low heat to heat through. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. 

5. In a pan, render the sausage on medium to low heat until crispy.

6. Ladle soup into warm bowls and garnish with scallion and sausage strips.

Menu

Appetizer:

Sweet potato soup with scallion and crispy andouille bacon

Salad:

Arugula and pear with feta and blood orange vinaigrette

Entrée: 

Five spice roasted duck breast with butternut squash risotto and port wine reduction

Dessert:

Apple and fig almond tart with vanilla crème anglaise

Title Page

Thien Nguyen

CULA 111 1MF

10/19/12

6 guests