SALAD DAYS

Wednesday night was our second evening in Garde Manger. My teammate returned to class and our two dishes were Assiete De Crudités, a Plate of Cut Raw Vegetables, and Salade Niçoise, a Salad of Tomatoes, Anchovies, Black Olives, Green Beans, Green Peppers, Tuna, Potatoes, and Hard-boiled egg. The Assiette is a salad of separately dressed, julienned vegetables with different dressings. Little was going on at work and I was able to attend class early. Because these dishes consist mostly of careful taillage (cutting) and there is little actual cooking there was actually a lot of down time after weighing out our ingredients. We began with the Assiette De Crudités.

DISH: Assiete De Crudités, Plate of Cut Raw Vegetables

DUE: 8:00 p.m. SERVED: 8:00 p.m.

COOKING NOTES: The cabbage and the mushrooms must marinate (separately) in vinegar-- the mushrooms with hache tarragon and oil (to soften and flavors them). Both must be sliced very thinly, especially the cabbage, which should be threadlike. We marinated the carrots in the citronette dressing (lemon juice added to the vinaigrette) and degorged (sprinkled with salt and put in a sieve or colander to drain) the tomatoes. Chopped parsley was sprinkled atop the carrots and chopped chives atop the tomatoes. There is fresh, chopped mint tossed with the cucumbers and the creme fraiche. If cut celery root is to sit for any length of time it should be swiped with lemon juice to prevent browing. It's important not to overplate; only a few small bites of each item and twirled into small mounds, placed neatly on the plate (a towel under the salad on its way from the bowl it's sitting in until the last second will prevent unwanted drips).

CHEF'S CRITIQUE: Good job, mostly. The cabbage was slightly acidic but he liked it that way. The cuts were good. Both the cucumbers and the tomatoes were a little salty.

DISH: Salade Niçoise, a Salad of Tomatoes, Anchovies, Black Olives, Green Beans, Green Peppers, Tuna, Potatoes, and Hard-boiled egg.

DUE: 8:00 p.m. SERVED: 8:00 p.m.

COOKING NOTES: The potatoes are meant to be served warm so they should be timed to be peeled and dressed only right before plating. The eggs should be drizzled with dressing on the plate; the olives, pitted; the green beans cooked a l'anglaise; the green peppers peeled and bouquetiere; and the anchovy twirled around slightly atop the tuna. Remember, plate as if this is a tasting menu, not too full!

CHEF'S CRITIQUE: The eggs should be cut so that the yolks are kept intact, the potatoes needed a little more dressing and seasoning (starches really can't hide a lack of seasoning), the green beans should not be on the outside rim of the plate.

OVERALL: My teammate and I worked well together. The most important things that came out of tonight were remembering to use special towels set aside soley to clean drip marks on plates and tasting everything before service. Things should be lightly salted with the seasoning gradually increased.

Tonight we received our long-awaited wine books. Tastings to begin next week!