Culinary School of Fort Worth - Week 4 - Major Cooking Techniques, Part II

Another week a little outside my comfort zone at the Culinary School of Fort Worth.

It's been a while since I've done anything that makes me a little nervous . I'm even getting used to speaking in front of groups of adults with my current calling in the stake Primary. (Which is pretty easy, since I love these women!) And nothing will cure the fear of public speaking like being given 3 minutes notice that you're the next speaker at a ward conference!! (FOR REAL!! Note to self: NEVER show up anywhere with a Stake presidency member without a few profound thoughts or a quote or two in your back pocket.)

On Thursday, we were put into 3 groups. Daniel and I were our own team of two, while the other two groups had 3 people in them. After an hour of lecture and review we were turned loose in the kitchen to make 5 plates that consisted of 3 components; a protein, (pork chop, Cornish hen, 3 chicken drumsticks, 2 very thin slices of flounder and a beautiful piece of fresh cod), a vegetable, a starch, or a sauce. Whatever our imagination could think of. We had full use of everything that was in the walk-in refrigerator and pantry. It was like being a kid and walking into the biggest toy store you could imagine and being so overwhelmed you couldn't pick out anything! After a few minutes of planning, we began. We started with our Cornish game hen, which we knew would take the longest due to roasting. Next we began the braise for the 3 chicken drumsticks, which would take nearly as long as the roasted hen. As these two dishes were in process, we moved on through the remainder of the plates. I thoroughly enjoyed this challenge. I wish we didn't have the constraints of time, though. It did take just a little of the fun out of it.

Our finished plates consisted of 1) Braised chicken drumsticks plated with roasted root vegetables (carrots, parsnips and red potatoes) seasoned with fresh rosemary. Yummy! 2) Roasted Cornish game hen, served with rustically mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. Good! 3) Grilled pork chop with sauteed spinach flavored with garlic and fried shoestring potatoes. Beautiful! 4) Seared terriyaki marinated Flounder served over a bed of steamed rice with a garnish of tropical fruit salsa. And 5) Pan-fried Cod served with french-fried sweet potatoes and haricot verte (that's green beans for all of you who didn't take high school French). Delicious! Not only did the food have to be cooked properly, but the plate needed to look fabulous. Color, texture, height, and of course, flavor played a role in our score. I'm not sure how we did over all. We were pleased with our results and the chef did tell us we had the best sides of the day. Whew!!! Glad that's over. It was crazy from the moment we walked into the kitchen until we walked out the door. Thus, no pictures this week. Just open up your favorite food magazine and pretend that that's the one I did this week. You'd probably be close! (In my dreams!!!)

One thing I learned this week, is that just like playing a beautiful musical instrument takes many, many hours, and maybe even years of practice and hard work, so it is with being a great chef. It takes just as much work, time, practice and dedication to develop this wonderful talent. Those who make it look easy have got us all fooled!! It is harder than it looks to get everything right. Which is a testament to those we know who let us share in the enjoyment of their culinary talents. One friend comes to mind right away. Krista Morrison. There's a girl who definitely knows how to cook!! She makes it look easy and everything she cooks always tastes fantastic. And she is so giving with her talent. In fact, just this weekend, I witnessed her sharing her talent with a group of women we were privileged to serve this Saturday at our Stake Relief Society Day To Shine event, benefiting the women who are helped by the Battered Women's Shelter of Fort Worth. These women were hosted at our church. They received free haircuts, manicures, pedicures, financial and legal counseling, free childcare, a wonderful lunch and a special program about Hope. When it was time for the event to end, the women were told they were welcome to gather their favors of which there were hygiene kits and homemade blankets. Then I saw Krista. Almost unnoticed by most of us, she was carrying beautiful baskets full of freshly baked homemade bread packaged lovingly to be given away to these wonderful women we had spent the morning and early afternoon with. I was so touched. She was blessing the lives of these women with her own special talent. I don't know about you, but nothing says love, like the smell and taste of homemade bread. Thanks, Krista for inspiring me. Not only with your culinary talents but your giving heart as well!!