Saute Week

This week was all about sauteing...

We made Chicken Chardonnay with sauteed roasted red peppers and brussels sprouts. Sauteed beef tenderloin with maitre d' hotel butter, mashed potatoes and sauteed spinach.
The following day we made pan fried chicken, creamed corn & twice baked potatoes.

The chicken chardonnay came out great! You lightly dredge a fabricated chicken breast in flour and then place it on the saute pan browning both sides. Place the chicken into a 350 degree oven and bake till done. In the mean time roast the peppers until black, place them into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Par cook the brussels sprouts, remove the skin & seeds from the cooled peppers, slice the peppers into strips and slice the sprouts in half; then saute the sprouts and the roasted red pepper slivers. Saute the veggies in the rendered diced bacon, shallots & clarified butter.

In the pan where the chicken was sauteed add the mushrooms and saute them for 3-5 minutes and add shallots.
Deglaze the pan with the white wine and reduce by half, add some chicken stock and reduce by half again. Optionally heavy cream can be added and reduce the sauce until thickened, season with salt and pepper to taste.
To serve, coat the chicken breast with the sauce and garnish...

The next day we made twice baked potatoes that were phenomenal and pan fried chicken. Pan fried chicken are the other pieces chicken we dredged in buttermilk and seasoned flour. Then we fried them in the pan with fry oil; placed the browned pieces on top of a wax paper lined sheet pan and placed in the oven until done.

Meanwhile we roasted ears of corn in their husks and then cut the corn off the husks. We simmered the corn in a pot with hot simmering cream and sauteed onions. Added salt and pepper and served hot with the pan fried chicken and twice baked potatoes.

We made Filet Mignon!

Pan fried beef tenderloin seared in a saute pan and then removed to make steak diane sauce. The sauce has brandy, red wine, mushrooms, shallots, clarified butter, and heavy cream. As the sauce was reducing we sauteed some fresh spinach with sauteed onions; we then plated the steak and spinach. Drizzled the steak diane sauce over the steak and viola!

For Thanksgiving I made a feast...

I trussed a 22 pound fabricated turkey and stuffed it with oranges, lemons, garlic cloves, rosemary, thyme, sage, salt, pepper and paprika. Then rubbed the bird down with the same spices and oil blend. Placed the turkey on a roasting rack/pan and started roasting it at 400 degrees for 20 minutes...I then reduced the heat to 325 degrees and basted the turkey every 30 minutes for another 3 1/2 hours.

The bones that were removed, the neck and gizzards (minus the liver) were placed in a pot of cold water, mirepoix and sachet. This was simmered to create a turkey stock and was used in the prep of many other dishes.

I also roasted a chicken with the same seasonings and mirepoix for my mother who is allergic to turkey.

Later on I created an awesome turkey gravy and chicken gravy with the drippings from the roasts; while they rested to be carved.

Cranberry relish was made with a supreme orange, raw sugar and cinnamon stick. Creamy mashed potatoes, my roasted red pepper soup, glazed carrots, pumpkin pie, chocolate mousse, and TINGA...a Mexican dish. Tinga is a Mexican dish made with chipotle peppers, shredded chicken, sauteed onions and spices; served on a corn tortilla.

This was a feast! People also brought green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, stuffing, bread and drinks...fifteen people had a great time minus the leak in the kitchen...lol...overall awesome night to give thanks!

ROASTING WEEK

Two weeks ago was roasting week...

Perfect timing before Thanksgiving time and I learned a lot. The trussing of the chicken seems so HARD; but it's so easy! We trussed and fabricated a chicken (Maria & I) and stuffed it with garlic cloves, herbs & lemon. We placed the bird breast facing up on top of the wing tips and roasted it in a saute pan within a 350 degree oven. With 30 minutes left in the cooking we tossed the medium diced mirepoix into the saute pan and continued roasting the bird.
After we pulled the chicken (temp read 180 degrees behind the thigh/leg area) and let it rest off to the side. We created a pan gravy in the saute pan adding flour to the mixture and then straining the gravy.
Within the two days we made 6 different sides one of which was make your own potato. Yea...I screwed that one up...I made this awesome mashed potato that I piped into these awesome swirls. I then (stupidly) placed them in a hot oven and forgot about them...they were actually really good but looked terrible.
As for the other sides we made glazed carrots, acron squash soup, sauteed green beans, stuffed tomato duxelles and steamed broccoli.
The glazed carrots were made the same way in a pan with water, butter, salt, pepper and sugar. The acorn squash was roasted in the oven scooped out and simmered with onions, carrots, celery, and chicken stock.
The tomato duxelles is a mushroom mush that is reduced to a paste and stuffed inside of a tomato. Then baked in the oven for 5 minutes with parmesean cheese to warm it up...kind of bland if you ask me.
The twice baked potatoes I made the following day were awesome! They had chives, bacon, parmasean cheese, creme fresh, salt and pepper. As for the roasted sirloin...WOW!
Rubbed down with only coarse salt, black pepper and white pepper; we roasted the sirloin in the oven (trussed) for about 45 min and then as the meat rested we made the sauce (au jus lie) to go on top of it.
Overall awesome week and learned alot about roasting...