Category Archives: Garde Manger

Terrines, Pates, and more

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I have no idea why these pictures are so dark….weird.   Anyway, we made a whole bunch of pates, terrines, sauces, and spreads in class yesterday so I thought I would share them with you.  I could see myself making a lot of these again but in different forms.   I would like to make a few terrines in cake molds like a unicorn or something awesome like that (not really).   I do think these would be great to bring to a party but I don’t know that many people that would actually appreciate the work that goes into one.  Blah blah blah, anyway here are some pictures.

This is a basic forcemeat with kalamata olive and pistachio added to make it a not basic forcemeat.  It’s proteins are based off of veal, cured ham, and pork shoulder…..pretty damn good.

This is a country style forcemeat.  Almost identical to the the basic but with a few changes……the basic with the kalamata and pistachio is much better.

Doesn’t look too bad right?  Well, it’s a cow/pork liver terrine that we turned into a spread (didn’t set right).  Prepping that thing was disgusting and then the final product comes out to be just fine.  Bleh, not a big fan of liver unless it’s duck/goose liver.

This is a salmon terrine made in a triangle mold.   I liked this one for being a little different but the salmon we used wasn’t very good to begin with so that’s that.  I think I’ll make this one again one day and try doing a smoked salmon mix in the mousseline (the filler).

Anyway, that’s pretty much it! Three more weeks and this quarter is over!

Eric

This week in Garde Manger: Sandwiches and Salads

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Made a whole bunch of salads and sandwiches this week in class.  I found a square molding in the plate room so I ran back to my table and used it on this Cobb salad with a honey creole mustard vinaigrette.   Cobb salads are pretty awesome but I get tired with classic presentations so this square molding was pretty bad ass to work with.

Here is one of my favorite sandwiches out there,  The Muffuletta. I used to eat this sandwich twice a week when I lived in Louisiana.  I could probably bump that up to three times a week now but I’ll save it for special occasions.

We made a lot of sandwiches and salads but they were mostly classic renditions. It’s cool knowing how to make some of them but I don’t really see the point of bringing them into a future restaurant of Eric…. If I open a Denny’s then maybe.  Yikes. Then again, it’s not about the recipes, it’s about the methodology or something like that.

Eric

A New Quarter Begins!

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(A little vinegar tasting)

A lot of my problems with school have been addressed.  Yeah, it’s not perfect but it’s a huge step in the right direction.  I’m not going to go into this so much  but we have a few new sheriffs in town and over two days I can already see the difference, I’m happy.

I have a new cooking class, it’s called Garde Manger. This fancy French word basically translates to the person that is responsible for keeping the pantry together in a restaurant…..salads, force meats, charcuterie, blah blah blah, jargon.   You know how I was working on salads,  cold sauces, and sandwiches over the past few months?  All in anticipation over this class.  I don’t want to be surprised by something, I want to have an idea what it is, do it once, then do it the next time and seek perfection (that will never happen). You’re going to see a lot of cool stuff on this site soon but I won’t be able to post recipes, we have to hand write them and I’m not going to type them just to dump them on  the blog.  You’ll see variations on this blog……that’s a good thing.

(Galantine with White Wine Vinegar Tarragon Mayonnaise)

(Ballotine with White Wine Vinegar Tarragon Mayonnaise)

I have two other classes. One is a wine class where we will go through the basics of wine while tasting and learning about food pairings. I am excited about this class because I want to finally experience what other people are always talking about when it comes to wine.  I don’t get it, food is my focus, wine is just there….hopefully, I can balance out the two.   If I can’t figure it out in class then I’ll just ask my sister (sommelier in-training),  Yashar (Seastar’s Sommelier), Cheri Walters (took me to school! click), Catherine Reynolds (One of the top 5 up and coming sommelier’s in the U.S.)……………..yeah, I’m in good hands.   Chef Redman knows his stuff, I already have 13 pages of notes for one class meeting!!!!

Speaking of Chef Redman, he teaches the other class I’m taking…..Product Purchasing and Product Identification. Learn what the products look like then learn how to buy them.  This is the business side of the cooking world.  Oddly enough this is the side I’m most comfortable with. Business………..not my favorite thing but I’m good at it.

This is going to be a great quarter. You’ll see a bunch of pictures and fun times. Stick around………PLEASE!?!?!?!??!

Eric