Soups (Lobster Back Atcha)

This morning's exam was for the first hour, and those of us who completed it early congregated in the library next door to compare notes and chill. At nine, Chef M gave a very brief lecture about a few kinds of soup -- particularly bisque (puréed and strained shells) and flambée techniques (drop liquor into a hot pot, face-out and away from the flame...or risk a trip to the burn unit).

We broke into teams to tackle Gazpacho, Onion Soup Gratiné, and Lobster Bisque. First up was putting 1.5 lbs of onions on the fire with some butter to thoroughly caramelize into a brown/black stringy paste for a solid 45 minutes.

The Gazpacho was easy, no cooking involved, just assembling the raw veggies in a pot to be puréed, then adding some crustless bread to purée some more to thicken. Cilantro and jalapeno gave it a nice kick.

Once that was set up, the lobsters came out. Fortunately, neither RH or SH had any queasiness dispatching the lobsters with the twisting-apart method that Chef M requested we use. I noticed that these lobsters did not move much as my team killed them -- perhaps they were well-chilled, or just not very alive. Once dispatched, we removed the tails and claws, which we then held aside for garnish. Once we removed the guts and broke the remaining shells down to small pieces, they were then put in a large pot to simmer with mirepoix for a while, until a nice, crusty fond developed on the bottom of the pan.

Tomato paste, rice, and paprika were added, and a shot of brandy was tossed in to deglaze, but unfortunately did not burst into flames. Fish stock was added, simmered 45 minutes, puréed and strained, finished with cream and garnished with par-cooked lobster meat, which finished cooking in the soup. And yeah, it tasted damn good. I have a quart in the freezer, and it contains the meat of 1 entire lobster.

Finally the onions were completely caramelized, and a shot of liquor was thrown in to release the fond from the bottom of the pan. Veal stock was added and simmered, salted then put into small metal cups and topped with slices of bread I toasted in clarified butter in a pan. That was topped with grated Gruyère and put under the broiler. Again, a quart of this soup (sans cheese and bread) came home with me.

SH and RH had an easy rapore with me today, though I felt a bit bad about asking them to dispatch the lobsters -- we all should have participated in this unattractive task, but I felt my gorge rising as I stared at the lobsters when they came out.

Tomorrow is no lesson at all, but a practical exam. Everyone will be cooking solo tomorrow: 12 pieces of perfectly diced potato, a 4oz cup of mayonnaise, and a presentation-worthy bowl of cream of broccoli soup.

ADDENDA:

I got to school almost an hour and a half before class started to study, but forgot to bring my lock and cable. After quickly returning home, I was still 40 minutes early. The test was a little disappointing -- 10 short answers, 10 short essays, but were given 4 alternate questions for the first part for the ones you didn't know, and given 3 alternate short essays if you couldn't answer 8 of the 10. I'm gonna feel a little silly if I don't get a near perfect score.

BREAKFAST: 5:30am, organic cornflakes with the good milk, .5 bowl, hunger 3/5

Rufus (whoops, I mean Anonymous Cat) kept walking on my head this morning, so I was up at 4pm to study a bit. After riding back and forth, wish I ate a bit more.

AM TASTING: 11:30am, small onion soup gratiné, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5
Deep rich onion and veal broth flavor, sent over the top by the clarified-butter-toasted slice of bread and melted/browned Gruyere.

LUNCH: 2pm, several slices of bread with tomato sauce, assorted appetizers including calamari, prosciutto, mussel and hard cheese, 2 small slices of pizza, water, 1.5 bowls, hunger 4/5
Went way uptown to a new fancy pizza/pasta place to celebrate the new Ph.D. of B's friend. The restaurant has only been open a month, and clearly does not have its act together. The waiter asked me for the name of the pizza I ordered, as he claimed not to know the menu yet (I asked for the Buffala mozzarella pizza -- there is only one buffala moz pizza on the menu and it is called the "Buffala") Water was not presented till mid-meal, the pizzas came a full 10 minutes before others of our party's entrées, and worst of all, the cheese on my pie tasted slightly soured, and I could not eat it. Is my palate-refinement going to work against me?!

PM SNACK: 4:40pm, chocolate soy ice cream, 2 cream filled local organic donuts, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
I was snacking on a reasonable bowl of soy ice cream when B trolloped in and laid 2 very rich donuts on me, which had to be snarfed immediately.

DINNER: 7:15pm, split pea soup, small amount of corn chips, water, 1 bowl, hunger 3/5