Beef Week

Last week we cooked lots and lots of beef in class.  We ate very well!  Chef Judy broke down a big ol' hunk of meat for us (primal cut 172 for those of you familiar with such things) and that is where we are getting most of the beef that we are cooking this week (with a few small additions when there isn't enough of something to go around).  Doesn't it make you think of The Flintstones?

The tenderloin before:

The tenderloin after with mushroom pan sauce demi-glace (recipe way down below), roasted garlic whipped potatoes, and haricot vert almondine (I over-toasted the almonds so just ignore them):

Grilled New York strip steak with Bearnaise sauce, duchess potatoes, and saute' spinach:

Carpaccio (OHMYGOSH one of my new favorite things in the whole wide world!) garnished with shaved parmesan, capers, kalamata olives, red onions, salt, pepper, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and toast points:

We mise en placed what we were going to cook, took a break to eat carpaccio (It's what's for breakfast.), and then went back to cook.  It was a good day!  Mike:

John & Kayla eating see-food:

Brussel sprouts in the back and polenta in front:

Braised short ribs (Heaven!), creamy polenta, braised brussel sprouts, and onion straw garnish:

I don't have a picture of Thursday's food because I burned my hands as we were plating up.  It was sirloin roast jus lie, roasted root vegetables, sweet potato mash, and our choice of a green vegetable (Jesse & I just sauteed more spinach).  Jesse made a mushroom stuffing for our roast.  I was doctoring my hands and didn't get to eat with everyone else but I brought some home.  It was yummy!  Chef had saved up our leftover polenta the day before and spread it in a sheet pan.  He cut it up and had me to fry it.  It looked good but was all eaten before I got back in the lab.  Dang.


Beef Sauté with Sauce Champignon
4 2-ounce slices of beef tenderloin
1 fluid ounce clarified butter
1 fluid ounce oil
4 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons shallots, minced
4 fluid ounces dry white wine
2 tablespoons brandy
4 fluid ounces demi-glace
salt and pepper
2 teaspoons parsley, freshly chopped
2 teaspoons butter
Season the beef and sauté in hotoil and butter.  Remove it when cooked to desired doneness.  Keep warm.  Add butter, mushrooms, and shallots to the pan and carmelize them.  Remove them to sieve.  Deglaze pan with wine and brandy, flame, reduce to 1 ounce volume.  Add demi-glace and the moisture that drained from the mushrooms.  Reduce nappé (to coat the back of a spoon).  Adjust seasonings.  Add herbs and mushrooms to the sauce.