Trout Meuniere with Apple Beurre Noisette - the tutorial!

i made this for supper on Saturday, and i took a bunch of pics so you can make it too!

First: buy a trout! the one i used was perfect for two people, and was about 9-10" in length. They usually come already gutted for you, and you can see how to fillet it in my previous post. anyways, i guess i should list what else you'll need so you can buy them at the same time as the trout :P

*remember, these amounts feed 2 people a decent amount, but will not stuff you full.

1 trout
2 new potatoes - boil them ahead of time
half an apple (i used braeburn)
1 thick slice of bacon (like 1cm thick - deli's should be able to cut you a slice)

2T cold unsalted butter
olive oil
flour (for coating the fish in just before frying)
1T lemon juice
chopped parsley
salt & pepper

for this recipe, we are leaving the skin on the trout, and cutting each fillet in half like so (season both sides with s & p):



Slice the apples:


And the potatoes (no worries if the peel comes off) and season both sides with s & p:


and the bacon: fun fact, a slice of bacon is called a 'rasher', and the pieces cut like this are called 'lardons'.


Then set yourself up (for success, as my instructor would say) with two pans, some flour to dredge the fish, salt, pepper, lemon juice, butter and olive oil.


start out by rendering the bacon in a pan over medium-high heat; don't add any butter or oil, the fat on the pieces will melt off.


once they're nicely crispy (even if they look burnt, they'll still taste good), remove from the pan and put the potatoes in the same pan. (i tried to avoid the burnt area) and turn the heat lower, you should only hear a quiet sizzle.
*also, preheat the second pan, medium heat - not too high.


Once the potatoes are golden brown on one side, turn them over and get going on the fish pan:
- put a tiny bit of oil in the pan, wait a few seconds, then add 1T of the butter. it should foam, wait until the foam goes down a little before adding the fish. just before you put the fish in, coat them in flour, tapping off any excess (excess will make the pan sauce cloudy), and place skin side down in the pan.


once the fish is turning white on the sides, turn it over and add the other T of butter, try to disperse it evenly, and then add the apples. the apples lower the temp of the butter and prevent it from browning too much.


incase you're wondering, i forgot to dredge my fish, just like i forgot in class :P

once the fish is done, the potatoes should be done too (sprinkle parsley on top), and you plate it in this order:

potatoes
fish
apples
sauce - add a bit of lemon juice, parsley, salt and pepper to the pan before you pour it on top
bacon


et voila! i hope you enjoy this dish, i think it tastes like camping :)

How to Fillet a Round Fish (ie salmon or trout)

I'm using a Trout:
- cut off all fins (not tail)


- check if there's any black icky stuff on the inside. if there is, scrape it out with a spoon. don't worry about trace amounts left behind, just if there's big globbies, they can make you sick.


- *all directions are designed for right handed people* turn the trout so the head is at your left hand. hold your knife at an angle towards the head, just behind the collar (imagine if it's wearing a necklace). cut through as much on this side as you can, then flip the fish over and do the same thing on the other side, eventually removing the head completely. don't be afraid to cut through some bones. (sorry, i was having so much fun i forgot to take a pic)
- turn the fish so the head-end is at your right hand, and position your knife so it's on top of but as close to the backbone as possible, that way you won't miss too much flesh. the idea is to slice your way back to the tail, and it helps to hold the side of the fish with your left hand whilst you're slicing.


you want to come through the skin right before the tail. then flip the fish over so the backbone is facing you, and do the same thing. this is a tad trickier cuz you can't see as well. just get your peepers all up in there! remember to keep you knife as flat as possible so you cut evenly OH and you will be cutting through a number of small bones, just don't cut through the backbone.


you should now have three pieces that look like this:


(don't worry about the red parts, it's just bruising, and you can throw out the tail part)
now it is time to slice off the ribs. use your fingers to feel where the top of the ribs are, and place the blade of your knife there. slice under the ribs, but as close to the ribs as possible, you can touch the ribs on the outside with your other hand cuz your knife won't slice through, and then you can feel if you're going too deep with your knife.


once you're almost to the bottom, flip the almost-detached ribs over, and cut them off completely.


repeat this on the other fillet. also trim any fatty strips, and if there are still some bones around the collar, cut those away too. next is my favorite part! removing the pin bones. starting at the head end, you can feel where the bones are, then drag the tip of your knife along to uncover the tops of the bones so they stick up a bit. then you just pull them out with tweezers, and you will probably rip a bit of the flesh out too, don't worry about that. make sure you get all the bones, if it seems like there was a gap between two, there's probably still a bone in there. also, one or two of them generally hide out at the head end sticking out horizontally.



(if you look really closely at the above pic, there's a tiny piece of bone sticking up in front of the knife blade)


at this point i thought you might like to see what my boning knife looks like. i'm sure you can use a paring knife for such a small fish, and i use my larger chef's knife for large salmon. whatever knife you use, make sure it's sharp!



now you're ready to make the recipe in my next post! (which is coming tomorrow)

Veggie Week

This past week's focus was grains and vegetables. We had a guest chef come in to talk about vegetarians and their food options and how that is important for cooks and restaurants etc. Here are the dishes we made:

Tuesday (monday was a holiday): Bulgar Pilaf w/ Raisins and Carrots (tasted a bit like oatmeal)


Amaranth-Millet Cakes served with greens and a sundried tomato sauce (yuck, except for the sauce)


Warm Quinoa-Lentil Salad with Pecans, Greens, and Pumpkin Seeds (yuck, like rabbit food)


Wednesday: Squash Risotto! yummy :)


Beet "Carpacio" with Walnuts and Feta


Asparagus w/ Hollandaise, Carrots Vichy, Cauliflower-Potato Puree (in quenelles), and Mushroom Walnut Lentil Loaf (this is the worst dish i have eaten, so boring and bland. part of that is our fault cuz we forgot to put ANYTHING in the potato thing except potato and cauliflower. and it was cold (also our fault))


Thursday was a good food day: Arancini (leftoever risotto mixed with cheese and bechamel then battered and shallow fried) on Romesco sauce (only the best sauce in the world) and Zucchini Linguine w/ Pesto


Tomatoes Stuffed with Grains and Tepenade, Spinach-Squash Tian with Mixed Grains and Smooth Romesco Sauce, Squash Gnocchi Parisienne w/ Sage-Butter Sauce


And Friday was the menu development day i talked about in my last post :)

i am going to post about my entire week, but i really want to tell you about today while it's still fresh in my mind. to start, you need to know that yesterday evening i was not a happy camper. i had volunteered to stay after class to help with some prep for a couple of events the school is part of, because i felt that i should, which resulted in my leaving school at 6. I should explain that part where i felt like i should: we can volunteer for a number of different things throughout the term, foodie classes taught at the school in the evenings, weekend events, etc. i had initially signed up to assist in 2 foodie classes, but once i realized how much homework there was each night, i took myself off the lists b/c there's no way i could do both in one evening and doing well (or my best anyways) in the course is number one for me. so that's why i felt i should help with something. anyways, also today was another menu development day and i was responsible for a canape (bite sized appetizer) and an appetizer (smaller version of a full sized dish), and they had to be vegetarian. and i had to have pictures and descriptions and instructions ready for class this morning. AND thursdays are life group (bible study) nights. so there was a lot going on, and i was feeling very down about everything; not knowing/remembering enough, how i don't think i want to work in the industry, having to give up what i want to do in favor of what i should do (for class),etc. quitting isn't an option anymore, it's just still really hard for me. OH and i was worried that the dish i had in mind would be rejected as too simple and not technical enough. but i was too tired to put my brain through trying to come up with another idea.

against my instincts, i did get up and go to school :P it's funny how the body can actually overpower the mind. anyways, my partner and i did the necessary planning for our (combined) 2 canapes and 2 appetizers. We had about an hour to prepare and plate the canapes, and then another 45 minutes each for the appetizers. Our canapes were finished in time, and they looked like this:


The one on bread is a vegetarian chili on crostini with fried julienned carrot for the garnish, and the other is a profiterole stuffed with leftover romesco sauce (we made it the day before) and steamed zucchini. They were both a collaberation between the two of us.

Next we did my partners dish, which also went well and got plated in time:


Quinoa and Red Bean Cake with Red Pepper Salsa and Herb Salad.

And lastly was my dish.


I thinned the romesco sauce using leftover water from cooking the wheat berries (you'll see), and then heated it and finished it with cream (and a bit of water to get to the right consistency). The zuchinni (somebody tell me how to spell that word!!!) was filled with a mixture of: onions, garlic, wheat berries, red pepper, steamed squash, swiss chard & chard stems, and parmesan; and then roasted in the oven for about 20 minutes. And i garnished it with a parmesan crisp. and it was YUMMY. what made it really awesome though, was how one of my instructors didn't really stop talking about the sauce for the rest of the day. he called it our "sexy sauce" cuz he likes to refer to things as having a "sexy sheen", particularly sauces. he's very entertaining :) i also heard him talking about it to other people, and when we were cleaning up he came over to our station and ate some more right out of the pan on some bread :D this was a good day.

one of the other things that was getting me down yesterday was that i was overhearing my classmates who have waaay more experience than me talking about their ideas, and they are much more complex than mine, case in point:


i don't remember exactly what the sauce is, but this guy MADE his own tortellinni. like the dough and everything! but what i have to remind myself, is that my instructors are probably not holding me to the same standards as that guy, which i kind of wish they would've mentioned a long time ago :P

anyways, to sum up, i was dreading today and it went 1000% better than i was expecting, and i was even really excited after we had finished executing our final dish (mine). also, the pastry class made donuts and they were AMAZING, which may have helped. OH and right at the end of class we prepared some pizza's (not your boston pizza pizza) for an event on Saturday: pizza dough topped with Soubise sauce (bechamel with...onions? yes, onions, i just googled it), then sauteed chard and onions, sauteed potatoes, flaked roasted salmon, and goat cheese. oh how i wish i could taste that! but have no fear, i will make it someday :) ok i think i'm done now.

Last week was seafood week. We made Lobster Bisque (the pic just looks like mud in a bowl) and yes, we killed the lobster first. My partner killed the lobster while i shoved the live crab in the pot of boiling water lol.


Angel Hair Pasta w/ Lobster and Crab (yummy)

I was excited for the Crab Cakes with Pineapple Salsa (below) until we added the jalepeno and sweet chili sauce which made it too spicy for me to enjoy them :(



We filleted snappers:


and used some of it to make Bouillabaisse (basically a flavoured broth with mussels, clams, and scallops). I didn't think i liked mussels or clams, but this was delicious! One of those moments when eating food makes me happy :)


OH this was also the day when we made snapper ceviche (seh-vee-chay), which means the fish is 'cooked' by the high acidity of the marinade (usually lime juice). So anyways, my jobs were to cut up the jalepenos and juice the lime. and then i made the brilliant decision to touch my eye with my finger. i BARELY touched it and OH MY WORD it HURT. I felt like my face was on fire and i was bent over the sink rinsing my eye for like 10 minutes. One of my instructors joked that i ceviche'd my eyeball lol. I didn't get a pic of the end result (maybe on purpose?).

We ended the day with a Crown of Sole with Carrot Mousse and Pea Veloute.


Wednesday was Restaurant Day, which means we did a big Mise en Place (mees en plahs: getting ingrediants ready) for 4 dishes, and then the instructors would call out the orders for us to finish them like they would in a restaurant. It went ok, i didn't really enjoy the pace or pressure, but my team didn't do badly. Here are the dishes:


Seared Scallop w/ Sweet & Sour Tamarind-Orange Sauce


Pan Seared Snapper w/ Grenobloise Sauce (left) and Tuna Carpaccio with Wasabi-Lime Vinaigrette


Lobster Salad (includes avacados, hardboiled egg, roasted tomatoes, and, well, lobster)

the next day we took another stab at filleting fish, both Trout and Salmon. I got a pic of the trout and my second attempt at filleting it. I was glad we got 2 tries, cuz the second time was much better.



Thursday was a yummy day:


Poached Salmon with Beurre Rouge


Wok Smoked Salmon Belly w/ Ginger-Tomato Consomme and Japanese Spinach Salad (and it looks cute too!)


Trout Meuniere with Apple Beurre Noisette (this was absolutely delicious and my favorite so far)


and somewhere in there, we made Challah bread! (pronounced hal-ah)

and finally, friday was Menu Development day, when each of the 4 people that share a stove station had to come up with a salmon dish and we had guidelines to follow and stuff. My idea was Grilled Salmon with Asparagus and...Saskatoon Veloute! And there's rice in there cuz they made us include rice. I was also going to put lemon curls on top, but we had to have impressive knife cuts so there are apple pieces on top of mine instead :P mine is the one with the asparagus :D


i was so tired after school that i had a nap. and then saturday i spent about 6 hours making Thanksgiving dinner! clockwise from the chicken: pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, gravy, and stuffing/roasted asparagus and carrots. and i made everything from scratch! i felt very accomplished and it was all delicious!


Phil managed to get the whole long weekend off to spend with me, so Sunday we took a day trip to Whistler! we stopped at 3 waterfalls (Shannon Falls, Brandywine Falls, and Alexander Falls) and got to see the Olympic Nordic Centre where they held the Biathalon, Ski Jump, and Cross Country Ski events! Here's us and the inukshuk they have at the centre:


and now i need to go to sleep so i can make it through week 6 :P

whew what a week! here goes. On Tuesday at school we boned ducks which were used in a variety of ways you'll see soon, and then we made Souffle:


I was not a big fan, it tasted like foamy eggs and cream. I would need some fillings i think. Anyways, next we made this:


(Stuffed Brined Pork Chop with Braised Red Cabbage, Mustard Spaetzle, Celeriac-Apple Sauce)
Spaetzle is kind of like Ruhrie (vree-eh i call it), but you push the batter through small holes (in a contraption like a flat cheese grater) into boiling water and they cook into little oblong pieces. They're pretty yummy. People have been asking for recipes, so here's the Spaetzle one (and don't ask me how to say it, i heard a lot of versions over the course of the day):

3/4 c AP flour
1 egg, beaten
1/4 c milk
1 T grainy mustard
salt, pepper, nutmeg

Mix egg and milk, then add mustard and finally flour and seasonings. Only add enough flour to make a paste consistency. Over a pot of salted boiling water, push dough (quickly!) through the large holes on a cheese grater (horizontal if you have one) into the water. Once the pieces float, they are done. Remove with a slotted spoon and allow to cool. coat them with a bit of oil so they don't stick together. *we did this ahead of time, so i'm not sure about the cooling part, or if you would just go on to the next bit* to reheat, or finish, fry in a frying pan in oil for a few minutes so they're hot, but not brown.

*you can take out the mustard and seasonings and add whatever flavors you would like!*

Wednesday: maybe i should explain about this week. It's charcuterie week, which is the production of pates, terrines, gallantines, sausages and similar foods, mostly served cold. In my definition, it's meat ground up with a bunch of yucky things wrapped in more meat and then sometimes wrapped in skin or more meat. yuck. So the first thing we made was Tourtiere, which is meat pie. The meat in this particular pie is pork, and it tasted alright. We added allspice to it though, which is traditional in Quebec via the Carribean (long story). And i didn't like the allspice in it.



OH and that is a relish that includes apple, celery onion and flavorings.
We also made sausage and piped it out of piping bags into pig intestines, which was fun :)




this is the preparation for a gallantine, which is a game hen (tiny bird) completely de-boned but skin and meat intact, pounded flat, then topped with layers of chicken mousse (which included gizzards and hearts, cranberries and spices), spinach, trotter meat (from pigs feet), then rolled up (as shown in all it's disgustingness), wrapped in cheesecloth and poached. then you cool it and slice it. i'll get to that later.

That same day we finished our Cassoule (stew) which we had started the previous day by making Duck Confit (duck poached in it's own fat). It includes some of the sausage we made, white beans, pork belly (bacon), onion, tomato paste, stock, etc.


Thursday: we got to make something normal!! Tarte Tatin made with apples. The name comes from the Tatin sisters who invented it. You make it with the apples on the bottom and - actually, you can have the recipe for this one too:

1/2 recipe for flaky dough (which is 1.5 c AP flour, 10 T butter, cubed, chilled, 1/2 t salt, and 5 T cold water; so half that)
2 1/2 apples peeled, cored, sliced (1/8ths)
1/4 c white sugar
1 T butter
*oven-safe frying pan*

Mix dough and roll out to about a twonie thickness, measure a circle using the top rim of the frying pan you're going to use. put dough in fridge.
Caramelize sugar over low heat in that same pan until it becomes liquid and a coppery color (don't stir until it has melted).
Add apples, squish as many as you can into the pan cuz they will lose moisture and get smaller.
drop the 1T butter by small pieces into the pan, don't worry about moving them around or anything.
Turn the apples once they have about a 1/4" soaking of caramel on one side.
Cook until apples are soft, but not mushy.
Remove from heat and cool until pan is cool.
Sprinkle with cinnamon and lay dough on top. you might have to fold the dough over a bit on the sides, just make sure that side isn't showing when you lay it on top of the apples. Cut an 'x' in the middle of the dough.
Bake at 400F until the dough is golden brown.


This is the tricky part. you can do this one of two ways:
1) within 10 seconds of taking the pan out of the oven, invert it onto a plate (place plate on top of the frying pan with one hand and flip quickly - it's not scary!)
2) take pan out of oven and reheat on stovetop until the filling loosens from the pan (when you shake it the filling moves). Immediately invert onto a plate.


Eat with ice cream!!

Friday: charcuterie buffet day. This is when everything we'd prepped during the week got sliced and put onto trays and we had a buffet lunch with the pastry people, who brought yummy desserts to share :D So here's the plate:


The brown circle is duck rillette, which is duck confit, then the meat is shredded, then pounded with more fat to make almost a paste consistency, and topped with the remaining fat. (um, gross) going clockwise from there: Salmon Roulade (salmon rolled around spinach, shrimp mousse, gravlax, and a scallop); Vegetable Terrine (layers of roasted pepper, zucchini, mushroom, and blue cheese wrapped in a crepe- YUM!); Duck and Pork Terrine (ground pork with layers of orange zest, truffles, pistachios and duck tenders - ew); Galantine of Game Hen (what i described earlier); and Ballotine of Game Hen (same thing, just baked instead of poached - OH and it's wrapped in cull fat, which is the fat that surrounds an animals kidneys. that does melt off, but still.) and those colorful bits are brined, turned vegetables. We also made whole wheat baguettes, a cranberry sauce, and grissini's (breadsticks). AND there was liver pate, which i tried and then thought about untrying if you get my drift.


In the evenings this week we went to an Arcade Fire concert, went out for Thai food with my cousin and uncle, went out for pub food with a different aunt and uncle, and went to a bible study. Yesterday i had to take a foodsafe course all day which is required for my school. It was boring but i got 94%. Which leaves today for getting my entire to-do list done :(