Today, we finished our chicken roulade that we started at the end of last week, and one my favorites, roasted rack of lamb. I wish I'd have snapped a picture of the chicken before I seared it. I loved using that caul fat that I've only ever seen used on Top Chef, and Iron Chef. When I went to cook the chicken today, I'd honestly forgotten that we pounded it out thin and stuffed with spinach, mushroom duxelle (minced cremini and shallots sauteed, then reduced in white wine), roasted peppers, and asparagus...I guess I was mesmerized by the caul fat. When I went to pull it out...which was much, much later...I knew I'd overcooked the chicken as it was pretty firm. Chef Brown said it was the perfect appetizer portion he was looking for, my tournes rocked, and the chicken would have been overcooked had I left it in there for just one more minute. I'll take that. He also said my sauce was good, but that I'd reduced it a bit far (into syrup land) which can happen as the port wine we used has a pretty high sugar content. My thoughts: pretty dish, blah on taste.
Not so blah...my rack of lamb! I hope I get this dish for my final, because I know I can do a better job plating than that. Chef Brown, on the other hand, said my plating was high. Towering! I should take a moment to thank Chef Shalchian for that nugget of advice...always plate in the center and as high as you can. I purposely stole a full 12 inch sprig of rosemary at the beginning of class in hopes that I could get it that high, a la Hash House in San Diego. Unfortunately, I had to cut it in half and only used 6 inches in the end. But I have some ideas. Next time, I will build my potatoes into a pyramid and stick as much of the 12 inches into the center of the pyramid. I need something more structural than stupid sauteed spinach though. That was no help, obviously. Back to the food...Chef Brown gave me one of the best compliments yet on the doneness of my lamb. He said he would be proud to serve that piece of meat, I'm assuming in his restaurant. When I cut into it, I knew I'd struck gold. Unfortunately, what I didn't know how to deal with was the blood that is obviously dripping into the mashed potatoes. I did let the lamb rest a good bit before I cut into it, so I'm not sure what's up. I thought I'd done a good job hiding it when I poured my sauce around it, but I can still see it and it's driving me nuts. Chef Brown said my potatoes were really creamy...they were. I'd barely even used any cream or butter...I wanted my potatoes to hold up better. Next time, maybe I will start with just the butter and try not to use any cream at all. They already come out pretty creamy when you run them through the food mill. We put roasted garlic into our pommes puree today, which I did not remember until I wrote that just now, and I think I will go grab my tupperware. I also sauteed my spinach with some garlic, which Chef Brown said I may not want to do because once you taste that fresh garlic on the spinach, the roasted garlic in the potatoes dull. Which is true...I need to practice a little more restraint in my cooking. Not everything I like has to go into every dish I make...my pearl of wisdom for today.
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