A menu fit for a foodie

Imagine a restaurant with a menu featuring these entrées:

MEAT

BEEF STEW: Hearty chunks of beef in a richly flavored thick veal sauce; potaoes, peas, carrots and pearl onions.

FILET MIGNON: Wrapped in bacon and seared to medium rare, with a mushroom Madeira wine sauce; accompanied by blue cheese soufflé, haricot verts (green beans) sautéed with julienne of carrots.

SKIRT STEAK: Marinated in olive oil, tarragon and thyme, then grilled to medium rare; accompanied by prosciutto and parmesan potato croquettes, warm artichoke heart salad with julienne of red bell pepper, parsley and mustard/sherry vinaigrette.

PORK SHOULDER: Rolled in minced fresh sage, seared and roasted, with a sweet apple pan sauce; accompanied by sautéed asparagus spears and bulgar wheat pilaf.


POULTRY

TURKEY SCALOPPINE: Sautéed in brown butter, with a roasted shallot and shiitake mushroom pan sauce; accompanied by potatoes croquettes and a mixed greens salad drizzled with mustard vinaigrette.

DUCK CONFIT: Marinated, pan-roasted whole duck leg, with a sweet-and-sour bigarade sauce; accompanied by rice pilaf and sauté of root vegetables.

CHICKEN BALLOTINE: Boneless rolled chicken breast stuffed with a mousse of dark chicken meat, rehydrated cherries, prosciutto and pistachios, then braised, with a Madeira wine sauce; accompanied by sauté of Brussels sprouts and potato pancakes.

CHICKEN BREAST: Grilled, with sauce supreme; accompanied by turmeric and ginger flavored lentils, spicy fruit salsa.


SEAFOOD

ROCK COD AND SALMON MOUSSELINE: Cod fillet rolled and stuffed with salmon mousseline of cream and egg white, with sauce vin blanc; accompanied by quinoa pilaf and sauté of broccoli florets.

Add in a few starters and a dessert or two, and one has the makings for a decent little restaurant menu.

All of the above main dishes, sauces and side dishes we have made from scratch in the first two weeks of Culinary Foundations III. Not a bad beginning.

Disappointing day all around at culinary school

Chicken ballotine grandmere and the fixings were first on the menu today, followed by grilled chicken breast, lentils and fruit salsa.

In short, the day was an ordeal for me.

Chef Dan Fluharty and I were in agreement. In Chef Dan's words: "It was a pretty disappointing day."

My proteins -- the chicken ballotine and the grilled chicken -- turned out well, cooked right and flavorful.

The rest of both meals fell short. The pan sauce, which has been a strong point for me of late, simply didn't work to accompany the chicken ballotine. I tried to rush it, and that made it thin and lacking in deep flavors. The Brussels sprouts were undercooked. I thought my potato pancakes were done right, but Chef thought they were slightly underdone.

On the second dish, my fruit salsa to accompany the grilled chicken, was flavorful, but I left the juices from it off the plate, which was a mistake. My lentils were cooked right, but Chef said they lacked seasoning.

All in all, an off day in the kitchen. Tomorrow is another day, and it will be better.

All hail the Incas, for they gave the world spuds

Spud day in Culinary Foundations II was an enlightening trek through six potato dishes, all showing the deliciousness and versatllity of this humble tuber. But before the day's details, a little history.

Potatoes were first domesticated and cultivated 7,000 years ago in what is now South America. Credit the ancient Incas for figuring out that the underground part of the potato plant is edible and even highly nutritious, while the leafy green part is actually poisonous.

The potato plant, after all, is part of the nightshade family, and that includes such killers as belladonna, the species that supposedly felled the Roman legion led by Marcus Arelius in the Parthian war.

Spaniards entering what is now Colombia in the late 1530s first came across potatoes, and they made their way back to Europe by 1570. Now, of course, they are a worldwide staple, as recognized as rice and wheat.

Chef Dan Fluharty showed us six French techniques for preparing and presenting potatoes -- pommes in French -- including the elegant-looking pomme duchesse. (That's one of my efforts on the right.) The dish is made from what are eseentially mashed potatoes, mixed with butter, egg yolk and seasoned with a pinch of nutmeg, salt and white pepper. Then they are piped onto a platter with a pastry bag before going into the oven for 15 or so minutes. The batch I assembled turned out looking and tasting good.

That's a good thing, because it is going to be part of this week's competency exam.

Other potato dishes that Chef Dan demonstrated today: potato salad; pommes Anna (thin slices sautéed in an attractive pattern, then baked); pomme gratin (baked with cheese); pomme roesti (grated and formed into a six-inch cylinder, sautéfollowed by oven baking until golden brown); potato pancakes or latkes.

Foods of central Europe: Lots of meat

Update on the central European food adventures of my daughter Ann Chihak Poff and son-in-law Curt Poff: They are in Germany, where they celebrated Oktoberfest last evening at a traditional beer hall.

Before that, they enjoyed the history, vistas and people of Prague, Czech Republic. Oh, and the food and beer; they really enjoyed the food and beer.

Ann reported in her blog that their tour guide steered them to a locals only -- meaning non-touristy -- Czech restaurant, where they partook of genuine Czech cuisine.

At another place, they enjoyed "mixed meat (fairly spicy) with potato pancakes ... (and) dumplings, polenta and meat." The spiciness came from paprika, Ann surmised. (Photo at right shows a meal they had at one restaurant in Prague.)

Later, they had traditional sausages and a big serving of "pork knee", brought to their table on the spit on which it was roasted (photo at left).

They reported that the best beer, an amber ale, was served up at the monastery on the hill in Prague. In fact, they visited there twice.