Pheasant

The nice thing about living in Boulder is: 

"If you don't like the weather, wait five minutes." as people have told me. It's true.

After a snow storm, the skies will clear, the sun will come back, the snow will melt and we will get another nice fall day.

At school, I am fortunate enough to have a chef instructor that is also passionate about hunting. He hunts mostly pheasants. Of course, the hunting he does is totally legal, and even necessary to keep a balanced amount of birds in the fields according to our animal chain.

Once you hunt your bird you have to wait at least 7 days for it to age properly in order to eat it and enjoy what you are eating. The stiffening of the animal that happens right after it is killed is called the Rigor Mortis stiffening. 

Here goes a bit about Rigor Mortis

For a brief period immediately after the bird's death its muscles are relaxed and if then cooked will make a very tender meat. However, soon after, its muscles will stiffen in a condition considered "stiffness of death" or "Rigor Mortis" and if cooked in this state will make a very tough meat. 

This stiffness sets in about 1 hour after the animal is killed and will start getting soft again as the protein-digesting enzymes withing the muscle fibers begin to eat away the framework that holds the stiffness of these muscles in place. This is called AGING.

In general, each animal should age a certain amount of time before being eaten so that the meat becomes tender and flavorful. 

There are two main kinds of aging processes:

The Dry Age and the Wet Age. 

The Dry Age is considered the best type of aging. It is usually done to big pieces of meat, such as bison or venison, that are hung whole and unwrapped in a special chilled room, usually 34 F to 38 F and with a 70% to 80% humidity. It can be aged in this state from 1 week to more that 1 month. 

The cool temperature limits the growth of microbes, while the moderate humidity causes the meat to loose moisture gradually and thus become denser and more concentrated. 

It will also acquire a special flavor from the mold and protein bacteria that is created on its outside layer. This layer must eventually be cut off once it is ready to be cooked.

Even though this type of aging is considered the best in terms of meat flavor, it is not what is usually used, since it is a more expensive way of aging due to equipment and loss off meat weight.

The pheasant bellow was Wet Aged, which is the simpler aging process. 

It was put in a plastic container in the cooler for seven days, with its guts removed (so that it would not spoil) before plucking out its feathers. 

Since pheasant is a delicate animal, we chose to Dry Pluck it before cooking instead of Wet Plucking it. 

A dry plucking process is a more time consuming task. The feathers have to be removed one by one, but it protects the delicate skin of the bird, which should remain intact. We wanted to cook it with the skin on to get an extra pheasant flavor.

For a Wet Pluck you would remove all the feathers by rubbing the skin under water.

Below you will see the pheasant waiting to be plucked. 

Here is the pheasant as we were starting to pluck it.

It is important to remember that when you hunt a bird, you should look where it was shot and remove the bullet area right away, so that it does not contaminate the rest of the bird. 

If the weather is warm, you also have to eviscerate it right away so that it does not spoil. 

When cutting it, be sure not to cut the crop, which is the area where the bird feeds. This would spill its larva and grass out.

Cooking Process

Some accelerate aging can take place during slow cooking, so when you have a choice, choose a slow cooking method for your aged meat. This will make it even more tender.

For this bird, we chose to pan sear the whole bird being very careful not to rip its skin, since it is so thin. Once it was browned on all sides we slow roasted it in a 300 F oven. 

The ideas it to serve it medium rare about 140 F in order to maintain its tenderness and best flavor.

As the bird was roasting we deglazed the pan in which it was seared with some red wine and reduced it to get a very strong and flavorful sauce. 

Mean while, we sweated some Mire Poix and added some dried bread crumbs, roasted hazel nuts, dried prunes and some fresh herbs to the vegetables. We finished it off adding some pheasant veloute (the we made it by making a roux and adding some pheasant stock. You can also use fortified chicken stock if you prefer) and finally added the reduced red wine sauce and adjusted flavor.

Once the bird was roasted we served it with this pheasant stuffing and some extra pheasant veloute on top.

Below are some of the ingredients we used to make the stuffing:

Dried bread crumbs seasoned, dried prunes and roasted hazel nuts.

Unfortunately I did not get shot of the pheasant dinner plated. It was so delicious that I only remembered to take a shot when it was all gone.

Walking around my neighborhood I am able to enjoy this gorgeous fall day.

Ravioli on a snowy day.

Our first snow storm in October 2011. 

This is what my house looks like.

On our first snow storm we decided to make Ravioli Pasta stuffed with Ricotta and Black Olive filling.

Since our filling was very flavorful, I decided to make a fresh pesto sauce to accompany it. It worked great together.

When you fill your Raviolis, make sure to egg wash the bottom layer of pasta sheet. You can do this by using equal parts of eggs and water whisked together.

Now, with a small ice cream scoop or spoon, add equal amounts of filling throughout the sheet, leaving the same amount of space in between them.

Once you have completed, egg wash the top pasta sheet and gently lay it over your fillings. Lay it loosely so that you can tuck all sides of the filling and keeping it tight and removing all the air from inside. 

Any residua air bubbles left in the ravioli would probably inflate once warmed in the cooking water and could ruin your individual pasta envelope.

Once you have tighten the middles cut them equally in shape and size. I have found it easier cutting them with a ring mold and making round raviolis. This way they turn out all the same. If you don't have a ring mold you can also cut them square, making the all the same size.

You may hold them for a bit of time before cooking, but cover them with a moist towel so that they don't dry off since you would not want them to crack. This would make the filling leak. 

Post Scrip-tum: When cooking your Ravioli, leave them in the boiling water only for a few minutes. Remove them when they are a still a touch under done. This will bring them to the perfect cooked texture, since It will always "carry over" a bit longer once they are out of the water. You want you finished product to be "Al Dente" or "To the Bite".

These raviolis just came out of the boiling seasoned water and are ready to be sauced.

Here is the Pesto sauce that I made. I used Pine Nuts for their crunch. The recipe for this sauce described in the previous post.

I tossed the raviolis with my hands. Since I wanted to make sure they would not tear. At this point they are very delicate.

I plated it nicely with some fresh grated Parmesan cheese. This is a perfect example of "Keeping it Simple and Delicious."

This is what my car looked like after our first snow storm in October.

Making Fresh Egg Pasta on a Fall Day...

Fall days are great for cooking, especially cooking something warm and rich like pasta. 

This was my first time making fresh pasta in class. At first it seemed difficult, but soon after I got the exact measurement for the basic dough, I found it quite easy.

Freshe Egg Pasta yeld 1.5 lb

• 1lb Bread flour (I used half bread and half AP)
• 5 eggs
• Pinch Salt
• 1/2 fl oz Olive oil (optional, if used you will probably need a bit more flour to reach the right consistency dough)

Boil a big stock pot with season water. It will be used to cook the pasta.

Mix all of these ingredients in a food processor until combined and finish mixing it by hand. This way you won't develop to much gluten in the dough.

Flatten and square the dough, wrap tightly and refrigerate for 45 minutes.

Once chilled and relaxed, cut 1/3 of the dough with your bench scraper and place the rest back in the cooler. You will be using only 1/3 at a time.

Roll it out to a long rectangle thin enough to pass through the widest part of the pasta machine, either # 1 or #7 depending on how your pasta machine is set up.

Start rolling your dough through the machine diminishing the # of wideness each time it goes all the way through. Keep the edges sharp with no cuts. If you get an outside rip on your dough, gently cut a straight strip with your pizza cutter. This way you will avoid the rip to grow.

When you reach the desired thickness, pass it twice through this thickness and finally pass it through the strip cutting part to make the Fettuccine or Angel Hair strips.

Place each patch of pasta strips in the desired sizes with a bit of flour on top of a sheet with parchment paper.

It can be held for boiling.

Meanwhile make the sauce of your choice.

One of my favorite sauces is the Pesto Sauce which meats a "pasted" sauce in Italian. The correct way of making it is with a Mortar and Pestle. If you don't have one you can make it in a food processor.

Pesto Sauce Yield 3 cups

• 4 Qt Fresh basil leaves (chopped)
• 1.5 cups Olive oil
• 4 oz Pine nuts (Walnuts can be used if you don't have Pine nuts)
• 10 Garlic cloves (crushed)
• 1.5 tsp Salt
• 5 oz Parmesan cheese grated
• 1.5 oz Romano cheese grated

Paste the basil, oil, nuts, garlic, salt, keeping the coarse texture.

Transfer the paste into a bowl and stir in the cheese.

Add tho the hot pasta that just came out of the steaming water.

Serve with additional grated cheese.

You can also serve your pasta with a Tomato Sauce, Tomato and Meat Sauce or Tomato Basil Sauce.

Tomato Sauce

Sweat some onions and garlic with a low smoke point oil, salt and pepper. 

Add your chopped tomatoes or good canned tomatoes if your tomatoes are not in season. Add some dried oregano and whatever other spice you desire.

Once your tomatoes are very soft and falling apart, turning into sauce, remove from the heat, add some extra virgin olive oil (if you want an extra flavor add some garlic flavored olive oil) and finish it with some fresh herbs.

Tomato Basil Sauce

Follow the procedure above but add  dried basil leaves in the beginning of the cooking process and lots of fresh basil leaves at the very last end of the cooking process, when you are about to serve your dish.

Tomato and Meat Sauce

Brown your ground meat on a large sauce pot with a bit of high smoke point oil, salt and pepper. Do not crowd your pot with meat. This would make the meat's juices and blood turn the meat gray and would keep it from browning in a Maillard Reaction way. You want the juices from your meat to evaporate quickly in the hot pan when they are released.

Once your meat is browned, remove it from the pot, add a bit of red wine to deglaze it now add your chopped onions, crushed garlic, seasonings, and chopped tomatoes. Mix it well so that your tomatoes release their juices and let it simmer until the tomatoes become soft and saucy. Adjust for flavor and finish it with a bit of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Rolling out the pasta dough sheet. 

You can connect it and roll it in a circle.

Pasta ready to be boiled. It is coated with flour so that it does no stick together.

Fettuccine in Meat Sauce.

Fettuccine in Tomato Sauce.

Fettuccine in Tomato and Basil Sauce.

And this is one way to enjoy a fall day...

Monkey Bread - October 2011

With the scraps of your perfectly cut Croissants you can make what we call Monkey Breads.

Roll each scrap into light balls and dip it into melted butter.

Now roll it over cinnamon sugar and place each ball on top of each other inside a cake pan. Bake at 400 F.

The process of making it.

Once they are ready, turn them over on a plate and serve.

A delicious sweet treat that will be devoured immediately!

Souffles: A breath of hot air.

And on a nice fall day in Boulder, I am in the kitchen making delicious souffles...

Souffles can be among the most delicate "puffed", "breathed" and "whispered" foods to make, but if made right, it is not difficult as it's been said.

It is certainly one of the most delicious foods to eat.

Pumpkin Souffle

• 12 oz Milk
• 2 Egg yolks
• 2 oz Sugar
• 2 tbsp Cornstarch
• 6 Egg whites
• Pumpkin puree (or other desired pureed fruit)

Procedure

In a small sauce pan, medium heat, bring the milk to a scald.

Meanwhile whisk the sugar and two egg yolks together, then the cornstarch. Stir until you have a smooth mixture.

Temper the hot milk into the egg mixture. Strain and return to the pot.

Bring to a boil and boil for one minute stirring constantly until thickened and smooth.

Remove from heat, add the desired flavors and cool.

Whip the egg whites to medium peeks. Do not over whip or let the eggs get dry.

Fold the two mixtures together lightening the base with a portion of beaten whites first.

Place in a large or individual buttered and sugared souffle dish and bake at 400 F

from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the size of your dish. 

Lower your temp if needed for larger Souffles to avoid browning on the top.

Open the oven the minimum times possible while baking. It will be done when risen, golden brown and slightly firm on top.

For a Savory Souffle

If you want to make a Savory Souffle, you can omit the sugar and add instead of using cornstarch, make a flavored Bechamel as your dairy base (flour + butter melted and mixed and seasoned. Add your milk and stir until thick), and then temper your eggs.

Now you may add whatever ingredients you choose to your base, such as grated cheese, onions, sauted vegetables, cured meat, etc.

Once your base is ready you may fold in your whites.

When coating your baking dish, coat it with butter and bread crumbs.

Key Point: To achieve maximum lightness with flavor!

Points to remember about Souffles:

• Combo of a flavored base and whipped whites folded in
• Base can be thickened or stabilized with flour, cornstarch or yolks
• It can be a savory bechamel with yolks or a sweet pastry cream
• Whites are whipped to very soft and flowy peeks
• Pouring them into a buttered crumbed or sugared dished gives them a more attractive texture. Unlike people think, it does not increase traction when rising
• Fill them to the rim
• Bake them in a hot conduction oven 450 F and close to the heat source
• Serve them immediately
• Test for doneness by touching the tip

Below is the folding of the whites into the puree base.

The batter being filled into the remekins.

The "Puffed" hot souffles that just came out of the oven.

Les Croissants

Le Croissant is a crescent shaped roll generally made with a leavened dough layered with some sort of fat.

There are two theories to where the croissant originated.

The first says that the croissants came from Budapest, Hungary in 1686. When the Turks were invading the city, they dug an underground passage to reach the center of the town. The Hungarian bakers, who were working at night heard the noise and gave the alarm.

People took action and the country was saved. 

The bakers who saved the country were then granted the privilege of making a special pastry in form of a crescent in memory of the emblem on the Ottoman flag.

The second theory states that the Croissant was first seen in The Paris World Fair when brought by the Austrians in 1889. They were originally enriched yeast-raised breads shaped into a crescent.

Around the 1920, the French improved the dough adding the lamination technique, thus making a flaky, moist, rich and tender pastry.

Apart from the real invention, I do believe that the real Croissant has also created the real purpose for the use of butter.

Here goes a great Croissant Recipe

• 1/2 oz Dry Yeast
• 7 oz Water

• 3 oz Sugar
• 1/2 oz Salt
• 1 1/4 oz Dry Milk
• 3 oz Butter (chilled)
• 17 oz Water
• 1 lb 3 oz Bread Flour
• 1 lb 3 oz Ap Flour

Procedure

Making the Detrempe (The initial dought):

Heat a 425 F Oven

Proof 7 oz of warm water and the dry yeast.

Combine the dry milk and 17 oz of water.

Combine the flours, sugar, butter (3 oz) and salt in a mixing bowl. Mix briefly.

Pour in the proof yeast mixture and milk mixture and mix until the dough forms. If necessary, turn the dough out onto the work surface and knead briefly just to bring the ingredients together.

Put the dough it in a container, cover it with wrap and let it rise in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.

Preparing the Layers:

Slice the chilled butter into thin (1/3 inch) malleable pieces. If it gets too soft put it back in the refrigerator.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature before rolling.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle three times longer that its width and about the same thickness as the butter pieces.

Cover the upper 2/3 of the dough with the sheets of butter. If they are not to pliable press them with your fingers when laying them on the dough.

Fold the top 1/3 up over the center 1/3 of the dough. Fold the upper 1/3 down over the middle 1/3 and to seal the packet. This way of forming is called an Envelope Fold although this does not count as your first envelope fold, you are just folding in the fat. 


Now you will do Four more envelope folds.

Turn the packet 1/4 to the right so that the fold is on your left hand. All edges and corners should be kept as square as possible. To keep it square, square it constantly with your bench scraper while adding sprinkles of flour to the surface when the dough starts sticking.

Gently roll out the dough to a rectangle again that is 3 times longer than it is wide.

Now make your First Envelope Fold. Chill the dough if it starts getting too soft to work with.

Again, roll out the dough 3 times as long as wide, keeping your fold to your left side.
Repeat rolling and folding and make your Second Envelope Fold.

Wrap the dough tightly and refrigerate 45 minutes or until cold.


Again, roll out the dough 3 times as long as wide, keeping your fold to your left side. Repeat rolling and folding and make your Third Envelope Fold.


Wrap the dough tightly and refrigerate 45 minutes or until cold.


Finally, roll out the dough 3 times as long as wide, keeping your fold to your left side. Repeat rolling and folding and make your Fourth Envelope Fold.

Wrap the dough tightly and refrigerate 45 minutes or until cold.


If your feel you would still like to have more layers in your dough, you can repeat this process and make a fifth envelope fold. Just remember that it ideal for you to have from 850 to 1500 layers in your Croissant laminated dough.


Final roll, cut shape and proof.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it warm slightly ( 15 minutes) before rolling it into a rectangle of approximate 1/4 inch thick.


For Classical Half Moon Croissants
Cut the dough into 6 inch squares and then cut them into half diagonally. Roll each triangle to extend its short point and then roll the triangle up towards the point.
Bend the two ends to make a crescent shape and place them 2 inches apart on a parchment paper lined sheet pan with the end point underneath.


For Square Filled Croissants
Cut the dough into rectangles ad the filling in one corner and roll.


Glaze 
Brush your croissants with egg wash (1 egg whipped with a bit of water)


Proof the Shaped Croissants
Add a small hotel pan or bowl with hot steaming water to the corner of your Sheet pan, cover it so that your croissants are in a warm steamed environment and let your croissant rise until it holds its indentation when it is pinched with your finger (about double in size).


Bake until dark golden brown.


Obs: If the butter rips through your dough while you are rolling and folding, just cover it with some flour and continue rolling and moving it off the surface. The dough naturally has so much butter that a bit more flour while rolling it won't hurt it.


Below is the initial rolling of the Detrempe.

Adding the pliable but chilled butter.

Shaping the Classical Croissants once it has been folded, rested and rolled four times.

Egg Washing before going in the oven.

Adding the Filling to other square Croissants.

The half moons are just out of the oven and ready to be eaten.

The square ones are just out of the oven and ready to be eaten.

As my chef instructor says:

"I've got three words for you: Delicious, Delicious, Delicious!"

And Delicious!

These are the chocolate filled ones.

Chocolate Mousse. October 2011

Mousse is a light soft preparation, usually sweet in which the ingredients are whisked and blended and then folded together. 

They are often set in a mold and served cold.

Here goes a classic french Mousse recipe:

• 5 oz plain dark chocolate
• 3 oz butter
• 2 large egg yolks
• 3 egg whites
• 1 oz caster sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla flavored sugar (or increase your castor sugar by 1 tsp and add a few drops of vanilla essence)

Procedure:

Melt the chocolate in bain marie, remove from the heat and add the butter to melt. When the mix is very smooth, blend you egg yolks and mix until smooth again. 

Whisk you egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff then whisk in your caster sugar and vanilla essence.

Now fold in your your egg whites into the chocolate preparation. It will loose a bit of it's volume, but that is ok. Once it looks smooth and all blended, put into your mold and refrigerate for several hours.


As the mousse cools, the cocoa butter congeals and the bubble walls become rigid enough to maintain the foam structure indefinitely. The chocolate thus strengthens the egg foam and the foam spreads to nice chocolate mass that when eaten melts on the tongue.

Below you will see the egg whites being mixed with the chocolate mix.

Since we used these small molds to set the chocolate, we used a piping bag to put them in. It was just less messy.

The piped chocolate in the molds.

Once the chocolate was set, we removed them onto a flat surface before plating. At this point you have to work fast on plating and serving it, since it will melt very quickly and loose its shape.

Before plating it we used a candy spray to give it a nice texture and them played with some caramel sauce and vanilla sauce.

Here is a chocolate and vanilla sauce and the mousse is served plain.

Finally, you can also spray your mousse while on the plate and play with the design. This one was served on top of a sugar cookie I made.