Here’s a picture of how they turned out.  Looks delicious, eh?

Nopal cactus fruit is supposed to be good for health.  That’s why there are $40 bottles of nopal juice available, of what appears to me less than $3 of juice.  I was a little shocked when I saw the price.  And, you can get a Kosher certified bottle for another $1!  For the price, why not just make all of it Kosher?  Not to knock the product, but…

You can make your own nopal juice, people.  It’s not complicated, but there is a specific way to do it.  Go to Fiesta or another Mexican food store.  They have what they call “red tuna” or “white tuna” (green), for about 5/$1 or 4/$1.  These are the nopal cactus fruits. They have very hard seeds, which could possibly break your teeth.  So, here’s how you get the juice out….With your knife, cut into the jacket, as I call it, covering the fruit.  It’s a very thick skin.  Throw the inner fruit into the blender.  Just give it a quick whirl, with a touch of water as needed.  Don’t leave the blender on.  Then, pour through a wide-mesh strainer, which should remove all the hard seeds.  You probably need to swirl it to get it through.

It’s a Mexican sauce.  If you’ve never had a good mole, you’re missing out.  The mole I made today was…..  disappointing, but it was the first attempt, and I didn’t really follow a recipe.  It started out with some really good things.  The toasted ceylon/cloves/sesame seeds smelled fantastic.

I prepared dried chiles the right way (destem, deseed, roast, and soak), charred my red bell peppers and peeled them.  It seemed like it should have been better.

However, a long, slow simmer improved the flavor.  Will have to try again, probably from a tested recipe, eh.

Probably.  Friday was the last day in restaurant class.  I think it’s a good class for us to take, and it’s nice having a school restaurant that serves the public.  I’m sorry to see it go.  It’s not a part of the new program.

Now, I just have to complete my externship to graduate.

The process, it turns out, is not that complicated.  There are 3 types, according to my textbook.  The “common” meringue does not require any heat, but only that you whip the whites to soft peaks before adding the sugar.  I tried that.  Didn’t work with the whites I had.  So, I tried warming the same over a pan of boiling water, removing and whipping some more (Swiss meringue).  By heating the whites, a Swiss meringue is more stable.  Still no go. Maybe I should have started from scratch.

So, I disposed of those and made an Italian meringue.  This is more stable than a Swiss meringue.  It involves cooking sugar syrup to 240F, while whipping egg whites to soft peaks, then whipping in the syrup until the right consistency is reached.  This worked.  I also used a little cream of tartar to help the egg whites coagulate.  Might have made a difference.

Bake at 400F until a nice golden brown is attained.

The process of making an Italian meringue is the same as beginning the process of making a buttercream.  (For French buttercream, you use yolks instead of whites.)

Now that I know the technique, at some time I’ll try some alternative sweeteners, and post results.

To me, stock is made from bones, broth from meat, and bouillon from both.  At least, I’ve heard it defined that way.  Stock is what is what they call a fond in French meaning foundation.  It’s used for soups, and a lot of sauces, which are critical to French cooking.

I’ve been to France, but I don’t know that I ate a lot of “French” food.  I’m always broke.  Anyway, I was talking with a friend who said that she loves French cooking, and, at the time, I honestly couldn’t say what French cooking was.  It is partially about the sauces.  It comes down to thinking about the sauce before you ever start cooking.  What kind of sauce is going to go well with this?  How long will it take?  Do I need to start that first?  Do I need the juices from the entree to prepare the sauce?  Probably, you need to have stock on hand.

Made my first shortbread cookies, starting from ratios given in Gisslen’s Professional Cooking.  I used whole wheat and raw sugar and it turned out nice.  I left out flavorings and eggs to make a more “traditional” Scottish version.  I added a little water because it seemed to need it.

1/2 pound whole wheat flour
6 oz butter
1/4 pound raw sugar
water

Cream butter and sugar in the mixer.  Sift flour and add while mixing.  Add a little water if needed.

You may need to chill it before rolling.  Roll out to about 1/8-1/4″, place on greased cookie sheet, and bake at 335F until dry on top.  Remove from oven and let it sit for a few minutes, if you can help it.

Removing Milk from Cream Instead of Removing Cream from Milk

Instead of removing the cream from the milk, remove the milk from the cream.  This is what they told us at Lucky Layla farms.  I took a jug of milk and poked a small hole (has to be small so the cream doesn’t come through), and let it drain.  With just the cream, it can be made into fresh whipped cream without the additives that whipping cream usually has in it in America.  Refrigerate and enjoy.

So what does it take to become a chef?  The word chef is French for chief, not just someone who knows how to cook, but a leader of men.  I takes experience to become a chef, but training should help.  Can you control costs, manage personnel, provide a good atmosphere, and still make great food?  As for the cooking part, Chef Sohonie says “Cooks know how; chefs know why.”  If you know why, you’re more flexible.  You can deal with whatever situation you find yourself in.  As she also said, and I may be paraphrasing, “A recipe is a situation.”  In other words, your situation could easily be different.  Different tools, atmospheric conditions, ingredients, expectations, and personal tastes.  If you know why to cook a certain way, you can adapt.