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fandomhigh2016-04-12 12:36 am
sharp_as_knives) wrote in fandomhigh2016-04-12 12:36 am
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Beginning Gourmet Cooking Techniques | Tuesday, period 1
"Welcome to our last full class," Hannibal said as they settled in. "Last week, we spoke of planning a meal. This week, we continue with some of the finishing touches. Some of the parts of a meal that do not involve cooking."
"Presentation is extremely important. Cooking controls the taste and feel of your meal. Presentation controls its appearance, and to some extent its smell, as proportions, garnishes, and such can make quite a difference."
He set out a number of dishes, and a series of pots and pans with food in them. "No matter how good your food is, how it looks can be every bit as important." He picked up a plate. "Simple white dishes set off food best. Plain colors can also be dramatic." He gave them a look. "If your dishes are more interesting than your food, you've failed on a number of levels." He plated a bit of meat. "Try to keep it neat, rather than leaving smears of food over the dish."
He set a shallow bowl next to the plate. "Choose the right sort of dish; you don't want a soupy dish running over the table." He carefully ladled a bit of soup into the bowl.
"Sauces can be useful to set off food, both in color and in shape." He set the next dish on a plate and demonstrated with the sauce. "The shape of your food and the shape of your dish should interact nicely; you're attempting to make art, so treat it as such. And by art, I mean something more akin to oil painting than to finger painting." With some students, he felt he ought to say these things.
He picked up a bundle of herbs. "In some traditions, anything on the plate should be edible. Personally, I find that somewhat constraining." He liked using bones. "But you should always make sure that it is perfectly clear what is edible and what is not. You don't want to poison your guests, and it's rude to confuse them.
"Some things you may need to take into consideration - will you be setting out platters, or will each person have their own plate? What space will you be serving it in - a dining table? A picnic blanket? A kitchen counter? How formal will your meal be?"
After a pause to let them think about that, he brought out platters with appetizers and small plates of food, as well as a series of glasses.
"Lastly, part of any good meal is knowing what drink to serve with it," Hannibal told them. "The precise intricacies are far beyond what we can cover in one class, let alone a portion of one, but a few basics should prove useful." He nodded at the glasses. "I'll be sampling these for you. If you prefer not to drink, you needn't do so. Just be aware of their flavors and character in the abstract." He eyed them seriously. "If you do choose to drink, I expect you all to know your limits. I have no intention of cleaning up after you." Sampling was the operative word, Dante.
"In general, white wines have a lighter taste, and go more readily with delicately flavored foods. Seafood particularly, as well as greener foods and some fowl." He passed around a dish of squid in tamarind brown butter with green mango and poured a bit of chardonnay to go with it.
"Cheeses will go well with most wines, but rosés work particularly well." He served asparagus-cheese tartines and poured a dry rosé with it.
"The earthier the food, the more robust the wine can get without overpowering it." He hesitated and grimaced at the oversimplification. "One wine common with red meats is cabernet sauvignon." He passed around chorizo poached in red wine and poured the cabernet. "This also illustrates another principle - cooking with wine. If you intend to do so, the wine you cook in and the wine you serve should be, if not the same, then close.
"The two other main categories of wine are dessert wines - which are, as you might expect, best with sweet foods or fruits - and sparkling wines such as champagne, which are very good with salty foods as well as sweet." He illustrated the point with a good moscato and stone-fruit panzanella with zabaglione, followed by crispy udon noodles with nori salt and a decent brut.
"If you don't care for wine, or can't find anything to match your meal, there are also guidelines for pairing foods with beer. The rules are much the same - you don't want your drink to overpower your food. The more robust your beer, the stronger the food must be. A lager is lighter, fruitier." He poured a bit of that and nodded toward the squid. "An ale, particularly a darker one," and they were not getting his homemade beer, just a decent craft beer, "will go better with the earthier foods." He pointed out the chorizo.
"You should also keep in mind both your own and your guests' likely tolerance." He gave certain of them a pointed look. He did, after all, listen to the radio. "Know when to switch to water."
As they were tasting things, Hannibal looked around the class and nodded. "Today's exercise will be presenting your food. I've prepared the dishes already; I would like you to set them out and present them."
"Presentation is extremely important. Cooking controls the taste and feel of your meal. Presentation controls its appearance, and to some extent its smell, as proportions, garnishes, and such can make quite a difference."
He set out a number of dishes, and a series of pots and pans with food in them. "No matter how good your food is, how it looks can be every bit as important." He picked up a plate. "Simple white dishes set off food best. Plain colors can also be dramatic." He gave them a look. "If your dishes are more interesting than your food, you've failed on a number of levels." He plated a bit of meat. "Try to keep it neat, rather than leaving smears of food over the dish."
He set a shallow bowl next to the plate. "Choose the right sort of dish; you don't want a soupy dish running over the table." He carefully ladled a bit of soup into the bowl.
"Sauces can be useful to set off food, both in color and in shape." He set the next dish on a plate and demonstrated with the sauce. "The shape of your food and the shape of your dish should interact nicely; you're attempting to make art, so treat it as such. And by art, I mean something more akin to oil painting than to finger painting." With some students, he felt he ought to say these things.
He picked up a bundle of herbs. "In some traditions, anything on the plate should be edible. Personally, I find that somewhat constraining." He liked using bones. "But you should always make sure that it is perfectly clear what is edible and what is not. You don't want to poison your guests, and it's rude to confuse them.
"Some things you may need to take into consideration - will you be setting out platters, or will each person have their own plate? What space will you be serving it in - a dining table? A picnic blanket? A kitchen counter? How formal will your meal be?"
After a pause to let them think about that, he brought out platters with appetizers and small plates of food, as well as a series of glasses.
"Lastly, part of any good meal is knowing what drink to serve with it," Hannibal told them. "The precise intricacies are far beyond what we can cover in one class, let alone a portion of one, but a few basics should prove useful." He nodded at the glasses. "I'll be sampling these for you. If you prefer not to drink, you needn't do so. Just be aware of their flavors and character in the abstract." He eyed them seriously. "If you do choose to drink, I expect you all to know your limits. I have no intention of cleaning up after you." Sampling was the operative word, Dante.
"In general, white wines have a lighter taste, and go more readily with delicately flavored foods. Seafood particularly, as well as greener foods and some fowl." He passed around a dish of squid in tamarind brown butter with green mango and poured a bit of chardonnay to go with it.
"Cheeses will go well with most wines, but rosés work particularly well." He served asparagus-cheese tartines and poured a dry rosé with it.
"The earthier the food, the more robust the wine can get without overpowering it." He hesitated and grimaced at the oversimplification. "One wine common with red meats is cabernet sauvignon." He passed around chorizo poached in red wine and poured the cabernet. "This also illustrates another principle - cooking with wine. If you intend to do so, the wine you cook in and the wine you serve should be, if not the same, then close.
"The two other main categories of wine are dessert wines - which are, as you might expect, best with sweet foods or fruits - and sparkling wines such as champagne, which are very good with salty foods as well as sweet." He illustrated the point with a good moscato and stone-fruit panzanella with zabaglione, followed by crispy udon noodles with nori salt and a decent brut.
"If you don't care for wine, or can't find anything to match your meal, there are also guidelines for pairing foods with beer. The rules are much the same - you don't want your drink to overpower your food. The more robust your beer, the stronger the food must be. A lager is lighter, fruitier." He poured a bit of that and nodded toward the squid. "An ale, particularly a darker one," and they were not getting his homemade beer, just a decent craft beer, "will go better with the earthier foods." He pointed out the chorizo.
"You should also keep in mind both your own and your guests' likely tolerance." He gave certain of them a pointed look. He did, after all, listen to the radio. "Know when to switch to water."
As they were tasting things, Hannibal looked around the class and nodded. "Today's exercise will be presenting your food. I've prepared the dishes already; I would like you to set them out and present them."
Talk to Hannibal!