Skip to main content

Cooking 101 Recap: Week VII



by Campus Executive Chef Tom Barton

Last night was week seven of our Cooking 101 class in the Xhibition Kitchen and after learning about knife skills, cold preparations, and entrées over the past few weeks we had finally reached most everyone's favorite area of the kitchen: dessert! We brought in a heavy hitter, Ritz-Carlton Boston Common pastry chef Bouchaib Errafiy, to work with us and show us the finer points of several desserts. Chef Errafiy spoke about the various differences between all of the flours and sugars that we see these days at our favorite market. The discussion was very lively but I could tell everyone was ready to start making (and tasting!) some great desserts.

First off -- cheesecake. We learned one of the secrets to a great cheesecake is in the creaming of the cream cheese and sugar. We spoke about the technique of creaming and its importance in many dessert recipes. We then moved onto the classic recipe of profiteroles au chocolate. The nice thing about learning how to make profiteroles is that the same recipe can be used for making the shells for cream puffs and other pastry items throughout the kitchen. Chef Errafiy garnished the profiteroles with thin pieces of edible gold leaf that he brought with him. Finally, I think we saved the best for last as we finished up with a fallen chocolate cake, more commonly known as a molten chocolate cake. After a quick ten minutes in the oven we were all treated to a chocolate sensation most people can only dream of. I know I'm still thinking about it this morning!

Next week we will be practicing the dinner that our student chefs will be making for their special guests in two weeks. We're still finalizing the menu but I think I know which dessert we will be serving!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Eat Right Live Well - December 2014

Fish For Your Heart?

Cutting back on red meat is a common recommendation for both health and sustainability. What’s less clear is what we should replace the meat with. A recent study looked at this and the results may surprise you. If not red meat, what? Red meat appears on many lists of foods to eat less of due mostly to its saturated fat and cholesterol content, and the fact that we tend to eat too much of it. A recent study looked at what we should consider substituting for red meat when we follow the advice to cut back. Of all of the substitutions the study looked at, one stood out as the best choice – fish high in omega-3s. The fatty fish showed more benefits for heart health than poultry, unprocessed meat and even lean fish. Is fish safe to eat? Fish, especially the kind that gives us omega-3s, has long been considered a healthy choice. Warnings related to contamination by mercury and other toxins has left many people wondering if fish is safe to eat. For most people, the benefits of eating fish far ...

National Nutrition Month 2017: Plant Power

If you follow food trends, you’ve surely noticed that plant-based foods, recipes and restaurants have been getting a larger share of the spotlight lately. Does this mean that more of us are becoming vegetarians? Should we be? Why more plants? Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, peas, nuts and seeds are key features of some of the healthiest diets in the world. Plant based foods are a common theme in the Mediterranean Diet, the DASH Diet and most dietary guidelines. The balance of health promoting nutrients with moderate calories and less of the stuff we should be limiting make plant based foods an easy fit for most people. Looking beyond personal health, to the health of our planet, plant based foods tend to more sustainable and less taxing on the environment. What is a flexitarian? Or a pescatarian? With the expansion of plant foods on our plates has come an expansion of how we refer to the way we eat. Vegetarian still refers to people who don’t eat meat, fish or poultry, but the...