PORK!

Monday was a calm day. Both classes were held in classrooms. We talked about ethics in Menu Design. Ethics as in knowing what is right and what is wrong. We talked about many different examples. After a while some people went off on rants about Obamacare and the noise level was rising. I was getting really stressed out. I’m not saying that I didn’t agree with what was being said, I just realized that I don’t handle these kind of debates very well. My teacher noticed the funny look on my face and he asked why and I just kind of yelled, “THIS IS SERIOUSLY STRESSING ME OUT!” Everybody laughed. I love debates and all that good stuff but when people start going crazy, I just get ready for the shit to hit the fan. My fight or flight response is usually flight. I just hate politics.

Today went well, I think. Our class was small. There were only 6 of us in the kitchen compared to the usual 10 or 11. The theme was pork. I had been hoping all day that we’d get to make mashed potatoes! And we did! Duchesse Potatoes. These complicated potatoes with egg and a pastry bag and a whole lot of dishes. We had to add an extra ingredient of our choice. Sometimes, I try to stay away from the usual “mashed potatoes with cheddar cheese” or bacon. Meh. I put goat cheese in mine. Goat Cheese Duchesse Potatoes.

We also had a veggie of course. Today was BRUSSEL SPROUTS. I was pumped! I’m tired of green beans, and spinach, and whatever else. Give me something good! I love Brussels. We had to boil and shock our Brussels but we had to add 2 other ingredients and we couldn’t sauté them. So we could grill them, steam them, or roast them. I roasted mine with grapes and honey. That sounds so weird. BUT IT TASTED SO GOOD! Roasted grapes taste like grape jelly! Go figure, right? They taste really fresh and the sugars are enhanced and it’s just really good! Try it sometime.

The pork. We had a few different recipes to choose from. Some Carolina Barbecue ribs, chimichurri kabobs, Asian ribs, and a few others. I chose the Pork Tenderloin Au Poivre (Aw-pwah). I picked this recipe because I’ve never had pork tenderloin so I wanted to give it a shot. Me and another lady made this recipe. The recipe requires you to kind of pound your tenderloin medallions. The other lady had to pound hers, but the teacher didn’t want me to pound mine. He wanted me to cook mine to a perfect medium.  You might be thinking, “What?! NO! You have to cook pork all the way through! You’ll get worms! Or get sick! And die!” But what if I told you that that is an old wives tale? Well, it is. YOU DON’T HAVE TO COOK YOUR PORK WELL DONE! If you haven’t learned anything new today, then there you go. You’re welcome. ;) So the chef challenged me and I accepted. I was a little nervous because I was working with a new meat. I had to sauté the medallions. Then remove them from the pan. Add wine and vinegar to deglaze the pan. Let it reduce. Add cream, salt, and pepper. Let it reduce. And then HEY! I’ve got a nice sauce. My medallions did come out to a perfect medium and that made me feel pretty good. My sauce came out perfect as well.

Don't plate things to look like a smiley face!

Basically, I did really good today. Except with my plating. I don’t know why it is so damn hard for me to figure out how to plate some food! Some day I’ll get it. My potatoes were used as an example because they came out perfectly and I cooked my medallions to medium, as requested. Overall, even though I’ve been having a rough couple of weeks, I proved to myself today that I don’t suck. It’s all in my head. I just have to get out of my head, believe in myself, and have faith that everything will be allllllllright. Thanks for reading!