Ratatouille and Timbale – Day 3

TODAY’S TIDBITS

• Add salt to a vinaigrette BEFORE the oil, as oil can prevent the salt from dissolving
• Sweat onions for a while BEFORE adding salt, the salt will dry them out too fast
• Serve a free canapé, you’ll sell an extra drink (where all the profit is)
• Endives and white asparagus are made by depriving them of the light preventing them from developing a stronger flavor
• Marigolds keep deer away from your garden (good to know for the cottage)

INTENSE – today was the first taste of pressure in the kitchen. Chef John demonstrated the tricks to making ratatouille, and then off we went to do it. It was a good lesson in team work because we had to prep all the ingredients as a team (you do the onion ciseler, I’ll do the tomatoes emonder, etc…), but then plate it individually.

We had to plate the ratatouille in 3 quenelles (which are three-sided-egg-like-shapes formed by consecutive squishing of the ratatouille between two spoons. I DID NOT get the hand of it very well at all – put it on the homework list.

Chef then demonstrated how to prepare and then assemble the beet/goat cheese timbale and we were off again. For this we had to roast beets, make a vinaigrette, make an apple vinaigrette, a frisee salad, and assemble all with goat cheese in a round form. I got it done, but not perfectly.

Picked up a free baguette and Italian loaf from the baking class, and headed home to recuperate and study for tomorrow’s test.