WHEN GIVEN LEMONS...

Today's turn in the rotation brought us back to Patisserie but as we're nearing the midterm and we've been through the rotation, we're now allowed to mix dishes to prepare ourselves for the test. We've chosen to do dishes we're the most intimated by. Tonight we paired the Aile De Raie À La Grenobloise, a Sauteed Skate Wing in Brown Butter, with Capers, Lemon and Croutons and the Tartelette Soufflee Au Citron, a Lemon Souffle Tartlet. We also chose our own times with which we tried to challenge ourselves.

DISH: Aile De Raie À La Grenobloise, a Sauteed Skate Wing in Brown Butter, with Capers, Lemon and Croutons

DUE: 8:10 p.m. SERVED: 8:10 p.m.

COOKING NOTES: I felt confident with the dish, not cocky, but confident. Unfortunately even though we served on time, the chef tore the dish down. Truth be told, we missed a few details and made a few mistakes. The fish gets floured on one side, the one the customer will see. It's then sauteed in clarified butter (butter from which the solids have been removed). Capers, lemons and croutons top the skate on the dish and then it's all napped with a beurre noisette (a browned butter). We made sure we seasoned the croutons while they browned in the pan. We were also certain to have lemon supremes that would be visible on top of the fish on the plate. We threw some in the pan and then tried to cheat by scattering a few, uncooked on top of the fish.

CHEF'S CRITIQUE: The butter needed to be browned more and there was too much of it on the plate around the fish. The parsley wasn't fried in the butter and the lemon supremes needed to be diced. When doing the beurre noisette, the butter needs to be browned, the capers added on the low heat, turned off when bubbling, then the chopped parsley should be added and finally, the lemon supremes, salt and pepper. After the sauce naps the skate, some uncooked chopped parsley should be sprinkled on top. The dish should also be served with a sprig of parsley. The chef said the supremes needed to be diced smaller. The fish, he said, was well seasoned and cooked perfectly.

DISH: Tartelette Soufflee Au Citron, Lemon Souffle Tartlet

DUE: 9:30 p.m. SERVED: 9:35 p.m.

COOKING NOTES: While we'd done this dessert once before and we'd seen a demonstration by the chef, neither my partner nor myself were confident with this dish. Between the sabayon and the custard, the egg whites and the egg yolks, the whisking over heat and the whisking in the different bowls, we were a bit lost. With some further instruction from Chef M. we learned that the dish wasn't as complicated as it seemed.

- After reducing 90g of lemon juice by half, 1 1/2 tablespoons of lemon zest is added and it is removed from the heat.
- Meanwhile, 3 egg yolks and 1 egg white are whisked over a bain-marie over low-heat with 25g sugar
- The reduced lemon juice is whisked into the custard.
- Three egg whites are whisked with a double-pinch of salt and 40 g of sugar OFF HEAT until stiff peaks form
- The custard is folded into the stiff white peaked egg whites, it's dolloped out into the pastry shell and cooked at 400 for 6-8 minutes until the top is a little brown.

CHEF'S CRITIQUE: The presentation was attractive, the tart tasted good but it was a bit too moist inside and Chef M. was unhappy with our lack of familiarity with the process.

OVERALL: We're nailing down the last dishes we're unfamiliar with to try to get ready for the test. We'll have another crack at the lemon tart before the test. I'll need to go buy some small tart rings for the lemon tartlet to practice them at home before the midterm. Next up, the French white cake, Genoise, another crack at Chicken Grandmother-style and Sole Marguery. I need to re-write up the ingredients, processes and dish combinations and make sure they all jibe with what the chef has told us. We're all a little on edge.