Braising (Go Robo-Koo Go!)

Today was different from most. First thing, we broke into new groups. I let fate decide, but N threw his numbers back a few times until he got teamed up with me, a sincere compliment. Our third team member was someone I hadn't worked with yet, let's call him Stoney, because he seemed unfocused, a little uncommunicative, and vaguely stoned through out the whole day.

We set about setting up the Braised Lamb Shank with Juniper and Rosemary. The pre-cut shanks got seasoned, browned like crazy until crispy, and then the meat pulled up off the bones. While I did that, N & S were chopping the mirepoix to toss in and caramelize along with a few lightly crushed juniper berries. Tomato paste was thrown in to brown, then deglazed with red wine, reduced to almost dry, and then then rosemary and veal stock was added. The veal was placed in the liquid, covered, and tossed in the oven; we checked it every so often to make sure it reached a light bubble, not a full boil.

All that took about 30 minutes; then we sat for a lecture. Braising is a wet, slow cooking method with large pieces submerged half to two-thirds in liquid. (It's an ideal method for tougher, cheaper cuts of meat.) Similar to stewing, which involves small pieces fully submerged in liquid, braising is an especially good method for a small kitchen because it can be done entirely in advance. At service, a preportioned container of meat and braising liquid can be reheated in a pan, finished with a bit of butter, and then go straight to the plate.

The braising method is as follows. Choose correct pan, heat it, season the item (dredging optional), sear item and remove to a pan (not a rack -- it should sit in its own juices); then caramelize mirepoix in same pan, caramelize tomato product, deglaze and reduce to dry, add stock and return item to pan, bring to boil then return to simmer covered till fork tender or falling off the bone, remove item and finish the sauce. DO NOT BOIL proteins, it will make than tough guaranteed. (When instructions indicate to bring to boil then return to simmer, it should only boil briefly -- this is simply the fastest and most efficient way to get to simmer.)

Then N, S and I got to it, working our way through braised monkfish, chicken thighs in an over the top oyster mushroom balsamic sauce, braised red cabbage, and braised leeks. N is detail-oriented, which suited him to working on the Moroccan-style marinade for the monkfish. All its ingredients had to be blended in a food processor, and Chef M gave us a demo on the 'Robot Coupe' (pronounced robo-koo), an industrial grade food processor. Seriously, it's a Cuisinart that will blend forks and spoons if you let it. S & I got worked on the mise together while I browned things and got things on the fire. A few times I had to have S redo a few things, as he didn't pay attention to the details.

For the first time, my team wasn't done first, in fact we were 15 minutes late, still reducing the chicken liquid to nappe while everyone else cleaned. We let the chicken sit a little too long while we presented the vegetables, and it was in too large a pan to reduce efficiently. I won't make that mistake again.

I'm not a big fan of braises, but our lamb shank was delicious. The cabbage I plan to make at hom starts off with a little rendered bacon, and involves vinegar, salt, and a sachet of aromatics. Everything I like about saurkraut, but not totally mushy and fresher tasting. The leeks tasted like stringy mush to me. The whole monkfish were extremely ugly, too fugly to take a picture of, but tasted nice and tender.

We have Monday off due to a 'Staff Development Day', but will continue braising when we get back.

ADDENDA:
As I prepared the multi-course dinner for B and my friend the HVS, my mind wandered. I thought of my father -- he was a college chemistry professor by trade for most of his life, and his two main hobbies were listening to music (almost anything from rock to classical when I was a little kid, mostly opera and classical as a late teen, strictly klezmer, middle-Eastern and historical blues recordings in my later memories) and reading books, mostly crime and murder mystery novels, up to 7 a week. His hobbies before I was born was carpentry (I have a spectacular Danish-style book shelf he made in my living room) and whiskey (I found several books and old bottles when I cleaned out my parent's apartment.) When I was a little kid, he grew vegetables in the backyard and cooked. He didn't cook a wide variety of things, mostly things he perfected as a single dude, but when he cooked, you could taste his precision chemistry training. He made pancakes from a mix that somehow tasted better than a mix, he made sweet Italian sausage in a homemade ragu over big floppy noodle tubes, he grilled lamb better than the cart on 45th street, he made spaghetti sauce and hummus in 6-month supplies that tasted better the longer they were in the freezer.

Anyway, I couldn't help but think I was cleaning up before serving dinner that my dad would have thought what I'm doing, focusing on cooking and enjoying it, is 'neat'. That seems like a piddling word, but my dad was 50's kind of man who you had to read a bit closer to find his depth of emotion -- he had a depth that was surprisingly close to the surface if you just looked a little. I think that's why people enjoyed hanging out with him so much, even though he was quiet and said a lot of things with a word like 'neat'. I wish I could cook for him now.

BREAKFAST: 6:30am, good yogurt with honey, vanilla, raw cashews, .5 bowl, hunger 2/5

AM TASTINGS: 11am, bites of braised lamb shank, 3 sauces, braised cabbage, braised leeks, .25 bowl, hunger 3/5

LUNCH: 12:30, croque monseure, small side salad, handful of french fries, water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 6pm, gazpacho with curry garlic broccoli and tortilla chips, 4 pieces of home made vegan pizza, shot of watermelon soup, chocolate chip cashew chocolate soy ice cream, water, 2 bowls, hunger 4/5
Made a multi-course meal for the HVS and B, was a lot of fun. The gazpacho (a recipe at school) had way too much jalapeno, and despite adding a full can of organic peeled tomatoes, was still too spicy. The pizzas came out good, not great -- I think I have to use a better quality yeast and proof longer. On a whim I made watermelon soup based loosely on a recipe I found randomly on line (deseeded watermelon, mango, a glassful of prosecco, a few ounces of simple syrup, a few leaves of mint, a shake of salt and a whole lotta blendin' n' chillin') which made a surprisingly effective palate cleanser. My latest version of chocolate soy ice cream was pretty kick ass, with a little shot of espresso, and additional cocoa to make the flavor big and strong.