New England Week

This week was New England week...we had New England Clam Chowder, Gingerbread with whipped cream, New England Boiled Dinner (corned beef, cabbage, carrots, turnips, onions, potatoes), Cod Cakes, Clams Casino, Roasted turkey with sweet potato mash, glazed turnips and stuffing...oh and of course blueberry/peach cobbler!

Whew!

In the two days of New England food and learning the idea behind most of the food; I realized I am not a New England fan. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I am a Dolphins fan and can't stand the Patriots; or I just wasn't thrilled with the mostly bland menu. Don't get me wrong however, the food we created tasted great! But, I look for more flavors to pop in a dish.

Our boiled dinner came out great...all the cuts were done great and chef made the corned beef (because of time constraints). The clam chowder was a hit! Everyone loved it and the taste was perfect. I waited until serving time to add the clams and made sure I used enough clams so every bite had one. As for the condiments; I had Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce on the side to add to the soup if you desired. Our cobbler was awesome; although it could of sat in the oven another 10 minutes to cook the very center. Otherwise the taste was perfect...and the crumb was seasoned well.

On the second day we had a lot to do...

I roasted the turkey (1/2 a bird) with a rub of olive oil, salt, pepper, sage and thyme. We also made clams casino; which consisted of bacon, burnoise red pepper, green pepper, fine diced onion, panko bread crumbs and of course the clam. You saute all the goodies and after steaming the clams and removing from the shell; place back in the shell with a scoop of the breading. Bake the clams in the oven until done. Turnips were glazed the same we learned how to glaze carrots, but we used maple syrup instead of sugar. The stuffing was a little wet because we used panko by accident; but it turned out great!!! The sweet potato mash was very easy to make and Maria added brown sugar to the mash to add sweetness. The cranberry sauce was a boiled reduction on orange, cranberries, sugar and water. Finally the Cod Cakes were a hit, made by Vanessa. Vanessa made the patties of potato and poached cod; then pan fried them. Everyone loved the cakes...

Overall good week and I look forward to the Mid-Atlantic this week...please see the pictures below...