NEW MENU, FOR REAL THIS TIME

So I'm two dishes away from completing my final project (barring a flash of dessert activity) and that's a good thing because I'm stretched pretty thin between work (I know, this is a major development I've completely neglected to elaborate on) and school and Kitchen Toro even scaling back the daily features. Let's just say that I spend almost as much time in the two kitchens where I work as I do at home these days and when I am home I'm either cooking or sleeping. As much as the final project may be dominating my attention right now, we still have class and at school we're starting on a new menu.

Tonight's dish is a fillet of bass with, you guessed it, fennel, caramelized this time and served with lobster sauce. It's back to the usual method tonight after Monday's banquet but I've heard that Friday we may have another assembly-line production to tackle.

More about caramelized fennel after class and on the jump...


DISH: Sautéed Fillet Of Bass With Caramelized Fennel In Lobster Sauce, Filet De Bar Sauté Au Fenouil Caramélisé, Sauce Homardine

RECIPE:

Fish and Marinade
8 Portions Bass Fillet, 100-G portions for Dinner, Scaled
250 ML Blended Olive Oil
1 Teaspoon White Peppercorns, Mignonette
2 Garlic Cloves, Émincés
4 Sprigs Thyme
2 Oranges, Thinly Sliced

Sauce Americaine
800 G Blue Crabs or Lobster Shells
80 G Carrots
20 G Shallots
80 G Onions
40 ML Vegetable Oil
4 Garlic Cloves, Crushed
40 ML Brandy, Flamed
80 ML White Wine
200 ML Fish or Chicken Stock
400 G Tomatoes
40 G Tomato Paste
1 Bouquet Garni, with 2 Sprigs of Tarragon

The Liason and Herb Flavoring for Sauce
240 G Butter
40 G Flour
10 G Chopped Chervil
10 G Chopped Flat-Leaf Parsley
Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
520 ML Cream (Optional)

The Fennel
2 Medium Heads Fennl, Trimmed
A sachet of ½ Tablespoon Fennel Seeds and 2 Star Anise Points
3 Tablespoons Marinade Oil
Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

The Finish
50 ML of Marinade Oil, For Sautéing
Fennel Fronds

Procedure:

FISH AND MARINADE Prick the skin and flesh of the fish all over with the point of a paring knife. Place the fillets in a hotel pan, and pour over the oil. Sprinkle on teh peppercorns and add the garlic and thyme. Arrange the orange slices on top, cover and refrigerate overnight. If possible, turn the fillets over in the marinade two or three times during the marination, keeping the oranges on top.

SAUCE AMERICAINE Clean the crabs by cuting them in half lengthwise from head to tail. Remove the hard top shell from each half. Remove the apron, any fibrous tissue, and the swimmerets. Rinse the sections, brushing off any diret and debris. Reserve the orange coral. If using lobster shells, be sure to remove the mouth parts. Chope the carrots, shallots, and onions in a small mirepoix. Heal the oil in a rondeau, add the pieces of crab, and sauté until they turn orange. Add the mirepoix and the crushed garlic cloves. When the mirepoix starts to brown, after about 5 minutes, add the flamed brandy, white wine, stock, tomatoes, tomato paste, and the bouquet garni. Cook the mixture for about 30 minutes at a slow simmer. During the cooking, break up the crabs with the end of a rolling pin. Strain the mixture through a china cap with large holes and return it to the heat. Reduce until the sauce has a full flavor. Discuss the liason with the chef. If desired, make a roux or a beurre manié with 40 G of the butter and the flour. Otherwise, us the optional cream, which can be reduced by half until it has the proper consistency. It is also possible to use a combination of these methods. Finish the sauce by mounting with the remaining butter. Strain the sauce through a fine chinois. Taste and adjust the flavors with brandy, salt, and pepper, and add the chopped herbs at the last minute. Keep the sauce warm in a bain-marié during service.

FENNEL Cut the fennel bulbs lengthwise in quarters, and then each quarter in at least 4 wedges approximately ½ inch thick at the widest part. Simmer the fennel in enough chicken stock to cover, along with the sachet, for approximately 12 minutes, or until just tender. Drain well and discard the sachet. Heat the marinade oil in a nonstick sauteuse and sear the fish on the skin side. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook the fillet until almost cooked through. Turn the piece over and cook the other side just long enough to remove any rawness. Reheat the fennel and then drain well. Serve the fish with a portion of the fennel fanned out alongside and accompany with some lobster sauce. Garnish with a fennel frond.

BREAKDOWN: Wow, I think we're all pretty tired. We got things done but it wasn't pretty-- last second details meant rushing even though we didn't have that many orders. Some fish which wasn't properly seared (I'll take blame for at least one), two fish fillets dropped on the floor (yeah, I'll take full blame on that one), burnt orange slices meant to be used as garnish, miscommunications with Level Three and their plating.

The dish, at left (cellphone picture, sorry), tasted pretty good, though I'm not sure the orange slices were the best compliment to the lobster cream sauce. We did orange slices on top of the fish, folded in half with an orange supreme topped with fried parsley. Overall, while the sauce had a nice flavor the dish kind of felt a little flat to us-- it may be that because we're being tested on the old menu for the final we're just not that motivated to get attached to this new one. I'd detail the ingredients but things were done a little bit by the eye tonight so there's little I can add to the recipe above beyond saying that we used both crab shells and lobster bodies, not one of the other.

And with that, our time at the Poissonier Station at the French Culinary Institute comes to an end. We won't be back this way again before the final and, hopefully, graduation. Next stop is the meat station, Saucier, and Friday we'll be doing another banquet, similar to Monday night. It's kind of fun.