Friday Night...

Friday night... Beef stew with bulgur wheat and braised red cabbage... not my favorite dishes but flavorful.

Thursday...

Tonight, we broiled salmon w/garlic butter dill. We actual made an actual butter log. Side dish was twice baked poatoes. Also made a tomato bouillon topped with pesto. This tomato bouillon was so tasty... I'll pass the recipe along... worth it!!!

Springs Perserve... Wolfgang Puck's Cafe/Catering...

I volunteered this morning at Wolfgang Puck's Cafe/Catering... some kind of event on Friday night. I did these empanadas... I grilled zucchini, yellow squash and eggplant... then sliced it up and put it in these puff pastries... plus seasonings... and closed them up. I must have made 10 dozen. Then I roasted these giant banana squashes... I guess they will be sliced up. Ah... then I mixed cookie dough... peanut and chocolate chip. Amazing stuff... large mixer... 10 pound batches at a time. I scooped the dough out and put them on large sheet pans. Then I left... I'll never how they turned out!!!

Anyway... Wolfgang Puck's Cafe is at this place called Springs Preserve... some type of nature tourist trap. I walked around for a few minutes. Lots of moms and kids/babies walking around too... plus school field trips/etc. Kind of neat place if you want to stare at a cactus or look at rocks.

http://www.springspreserve.org/html/home.html

Wednesday / Grill Night...

Grill night tonight... Lamb rack, zucchini and yellow squash... plus "potatoes dauphinois" (gruyere cheese plus milk and cream)... so... a really good meal tonight.

Tuesday... Two Dishes Tonight...

Since Monday was a holiday, we had two dishes to cook tonight. First, was a sauteed salmon with a citrus beurre blanc sauce. The sauce was really tasty. Side dishes were a wild mushroom risotto and ratatouille... excellent stuff!!! Next we made pork piccata with a reduced butter/lemon sauce.... yummm! Side dishes were orecchiette with a white cheddar cheese sauce and minestrone soup. I ran out of time... I didn't even start the soup. I'll go in early on Wednesday to complete and eat the up that minestrone soup.

Roasted Pork Loin...

Tonight... roasted pork loin with Madeira sauce... and couscous with roasted peppers.

Thursday Night... Roasted Chicken...

We roasted chickens tonight... man... very good!!! The chicken was stuffed with herbs and seasonings then roasted on top of root vegetables... so after the chicken was done... I was able to make a pan gravy sauce out of it... excellent stuff.

Also made side dishes... rice pilaf and roasted root vegetables (celery root, carrots, parsnips and beets).

Tonight...

Tonight... made Fettucinni with Bolognese sauce and green beans. I never made fresh pasta before. I was surprised it came out on my first attempt.

Tuesday Night...

Well... another busy night. We made fresh gnocchi with chicken and with a veloute sauce. It was tasty but the chef did notice I forgot the nutmeg in the gnocchi... ugh. Also made broccoli and cauliflower polonaise... it is a Polish dish... has a butter breadcrumb and chopped egg and parsley topping... very good!!! We do eat what we individually cook. I usually take my dishes home for lunch the next day. Ah... and I do dirty 10-15 pots and pans too... always fun washing everything out everyday.

Monday Night...

Let's see... tonight was busy. I had to clarify butter, blanch asparagus... excellent with my freshly made hollandaise sauce and we pan-fried pork chops too.

Evening Classes!!!

I'm done with my first six weeks at Le Cordon Bleu. I'm going to move to the evening hours (6pm-11pm) starting on Monday. I'll start Skills II... going to make fresh pastas, roast meats, broil fish, grill and fix vegetables... looks like a challenging three weeks.

A few weeks ago, a Chef from Italy showed us his basic Italian tomato sauce recipe.

Simple to make and it is very flavorful... try it...

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
4 Whole Garlic Cloves (Smashed)
1 Scallion (White Part, No Green Leaves)
20 Fl Oz Whole Canned Tomatoes (Pureed and Strained)
To Taste = Salt, Sugar, Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Fresh Basil (Ripped)

Method:

In a sauce pot heat the olive oil and when hot add the garlic cloves and the scallion. Stir until golden brown and remove.

In the same oil add the tomato puree. Bring to a simmer over low heat and cook until sauce consistency.

Finish with the salt, sugar, extra virgin olive oil and fresh basil to taste.

Weather...

Man... the temperature is 103° right now... ugh, 110° forecasted for Monday.

Clam Chowder...

We made soup again today... Lobster Bisque and Clam Chowder. Mine turned out very well. These past three weeks we've made the 5 French mother stocks and 12 sauces and soups. I'm very pleased with my results... easier to cook with stainless steel pots and professional stoves. I am worn out... we have practical tests on Thursday and Friday is our written final... so I better start studying... later.

Busy Monday...

Made cream soups today... mushroom and broccoli. Both came out really good. The Chef said she would serve my cream of broccoli soup at her restaurant. I brought them both home... going to toss ham and cheddar cheese in the broccoli soup for dinner tonight. We also had a knife skill test today on... 1/4 inch dice, orange zest, orange supreme, chiffonade, tomato (blanche/dice)... Chef told me "perfect". That little try above took me 20 minutes... some of my classmates had mounds of "cuts" on their trays.

Busy Saturday...

So I'll be at the Siena Golf Club all day... doing prep work for a wedding event. Hopefully, it'll be indoors... getting hot in Vegas.

Class Photos...

Made vegetable soup today... too much white pepper... the chef noticed too. Below, are clams and mussels in butter, vermouth and with garlic/seasonings. Very good... I ate 20 or so.

Everyday Day... Amazing Drive...

My drive to and from LCB... I live off Cheyenne and 215. I drive south two miles from 215 to Summerlin Parkway. It is two lanes... every time there is "something" in front of me... either a senior or foreigner... or a cement truck or one of those giant two-trailer dirt haulers. This two mile drive is up a hill and down a hill... and up a hill again. It is a drive that should take no more than 2 minutes... but ususally takes 5-7 minutes. Ah... then I drive east and there is always a car merging very slowly off Anasazi Drive onto Summerlin Parkway... they are going 40-45 mph... obviously I slow down... painful stuff. It is just amazing to see this every time!!!

Jersey Boys Event

Palazzo... so, it was the Jersey Boys opening night party. After their show, their invited guests and VIPs attended the event. Very fancy banquet room set-up with a 60's theme... automobiles with go-go dancers... music and food from the 60's. Frankie Valli was there... it was his birthday. I was at a station plating up Clams Casino. I just kept my head down and just trying to make my plates look presentable... but, it was extremely busy. I was tossing it together. I put marinated fennel down on the plate, then some kind of pastry shell, put clam meat on top, then garlic oil with peppers and put a bacon/breadcrumb topping on it... then I put the plate on the table and people would just take them. I must have made 1,000. When I did look up... I saw a line a hotties and rich looking people. I did recognize a few faces... I did serve Wayne Brady and Rita Rudner. It was a good working experience. I walked in the back area and it was amazing to see 100 people preparing food and fixing cocktails for the other servers. After the event we were able to eat leftovers... I just attacked the dessert table. I had 8-10 miniatures... chocolate cakes, blueberry cream thingy, different types of frozen mousse and "fruit-shaped" ice cream... all so very good. Ah... I grab a fancy chocolate martini too... excellent. I probably left at 2am... I was sore and tired. It was a good walk from the banquet room then down all the hallways, from the employee exit and to the employee parking lot... nearly a two-mile walk... my feet are killing me this morning.

First Event... Saturday...

My first event to work... I'll be with 15 other students at the Palazzo on Saturday night... some type of opening night party for their show "Jersey Boys". Palazzo is the newest resort/casino in Vegas... next to the Venetian.

Past Two Days...

Man... busy at LCB... making stocks the past two days. Yesterday we made basic white and fish stocks... today, we made veal and vegetable stocks. I'm relieved, my stocks turned out very well on my first attempts. Over the next two weeks we'll make all the French sauces from these stocks. Well... I better start on my knife cuts... I guess we'll get tested on technique next week.

Wild weather this past week... hot one day, windy and cold the next day.

Best Pizza Ever...

http://www.aureliospizza.com/

This might be the best pizza I've ever eaten... Aurelio's Pizza from Chicago. Tasty crust and sauce with sausage, peppers and onions.