Mario Batali (Putting my own stink on Batali's sprouts)

Today was the first day of the fifth and final mod before we go into the world for our externships. The mod starts with single days spent creating dishes by various famous chefs, today Mario Batali (or as Chef M called him, Mario Bobali).

Chef A, who subbed the first day (aaaalright? Okaaaay!) of mod 3 was in to sub today and tomorrow, after which a new chef will take us through to the end. Chef A divided up the class alphabetically, which meant I was placed with Roundhead (ok), 2nd Language Girl (pheh) and the dreaded Dora the Explorer. We had three dishes, Two Minute Calamari Sicilian Lifeguard-Style, Monkfish Piccata with Caperberries and Preserved Lemon, and Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta. After asking what everyone wanted to do, I took on the sprouts. After yesterday's ride, something simple and without aggravation was in order.

What looked pretty straightforward actually had a lot of subtlety to it, and Chef A really helped me understand what was going on. Brussel Sprouts with Pancetta: trim sprouts, blanch and shock, cube and render pancetta, cook sprouts in a pan till tender in pancetta fat, add pancetta and minced thyme and parsely, hit with salt and pepper to taste.

The recipe calls for 2 minutes of blanching before cutting the sprouts in half. I had cut them in half beforehand; they turned out woefully undercooked. I had a hard time finding the right temp to render, and the pancetta first just sat their in the pan, turning an unappetizing pale grey, then burned. It was still pretty edible and crispy, but the fat all dissipated.

Chef A recommended caramelizing the sprouts slowly over low heat. A bit of olive oil, a couple pats of butter, then place the undercooked sprouts in the pan. First hit it with high heat to rid of the water the sprouts were sitting in; after steaming, put on low heat and let sprouts turn a little brown, a little sweet. Myself, I'm not a fan of brussels sprouts, but I tried a few to check for doneness and flavor. They seemed a little tough and chewy, but seemed to be browned enough with the right amount of natural sweetness. On Chef A's word, I took some chicken stock and put it in the pan, blasted high heat to cook off the stock. Then I tossed in the pancetta and herbs, tasted, determined the appropriate sharp saltiness of the meat, put in some fresh ground pepper, and plated. I'm still not a fan of brussels sprouts, but these were ok, with a sweetness that cut down on the funky brussellsy flavor I don't like.

Tomorrow, Ming Tsai.

ADDENDA:

With the format of this class (every group doing unique dishes), I think I'm going to report on just the stuff I have a hand in, not everything my group works on. Today I did refresh 2LG on how to clean and disassemble squid, and sat in on Chef A's demo on how to clean monkfish, but over all just stuck to my own thang.

BREAKFAST: 7am, good yogurt with honey, vanilla, nuts, .5 bowl, hunger 3/5

AM TASTING: 9-11am, fenchbread, a few tiny bites of bacon, a few tiny bites of pancetta, a few brussel sprouts, mint pasta with lamb ragu, skate and shrimp with lemon sauce, a bite of sweetbread with caramelized onions, water, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 3pm, 2.5 ears of boiled corn with butter and salt, water, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 5pm. 3 tiny school made croissants, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 6pm, fancy onion rings, a little tomato salad, small portion of scallop ceviche, small piece of pinapple upside down cake, small piece of bland brownie, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
Underwhelming dinner at Tabla Bread Bar. Portions too small for the price, ceviche not particularly bright despite being acidy, brownie unforgivably mediocre.

EVENING SNORT: 7-9pm, equivalent of one glass of wine, prosciutto, a little cheese, a couple of crackers, a slice of cheese cake, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
The wines of Spain mostly taste like ass, other than this one 25-year-old sherry, which was quite nice. They had more food in the class today, and it was funny to see B "share" a piece of cheese cake with me. I put it in front of me, and she pretty much kept reaching over until it was gone and I hadn't even had a bite yet. Wimmin!