I wish I was talking about Scrabble, Monopoly, Candy Land or even Hungry Hungry Hippos because last night was a rough one for me. I was squeamish over the subject matter and I was just having an off day, which continued into the class. I have ordered and eaten game at restaurants, in the past, and some of it I can even say I am a fan of. However, seeing it prior to preparation, looking like a cute little bunny or a feathered friend, was a rough one for me. I know that ignorance about what we eat is not the answer, but last night I was thinking it sounded like a pretty damn good idea.

Rabbit Wrapped in Prosciutto w/Mushroom Sauce

On a side note let me say that last night was officially the half way mark for the completion of culinary school, which is a pretty large landmark for me. We are starting to talk about our final project and I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. At this point I am still pretty sure of the fact that I do not see myself working the line in a kitchen. I really realized last night that I love to cook for the pleasure of it. I love trying new things, getting lost in the kitchen, being unattached to the results and just enjoying the creative nature of cooking. It is definitely my stress release and because I deal with life and death decisions every day at work, I do not want to get too attached to my polenta not being the perfect consistency, I just want to enjoy the moment and learn something new. Cooking is for personal enjoyment, gratification, nurturing and sharing for me.

Quail

So my group was responsible for duck, braised rabbit and quail last night....all of which I had never cooked before.

We started with the quail and once I saw the tray of baby birds, I truly expected them to stand up and start dancing, oh wait maybe that was the nightmare I had last night after I came home.


The last time I saw a quail was when I accidentally ran one over with my car so it was bizarre to be trying to shove it full of stuffing, tying it up and putting it in the oven. I have to admit the quail was the only thing I did not try last night, the thought of breaking its little bones and putting it in my mouth was just too much for me.


I really enjoyed cooking the duck. It was strange to see the words "mallard" on the package and know that I run by their relatives every morning when I run the arroyo, but I quickly put that out of my head. I learned how to score the duck breast, through the fat, so as to reduce shrinkage as it cooks and to help render the fat. I pan fried the duck breast and then finished it in the oven to give it that crispy duck skin that everyone loves so much.

Mallard Duck

I did also learn that regardless of the meat you are serving, you should never serve it with the bones facing towards the diner. I googled this to try and figure out why, but I didn't find the answer. During this search I did learn that in India you are supposed to eat and receive food with your right hand...hmm that would be a challenge and probably a bit messy for me...since I am left handed. There goes my trip to India!

I also tried venison last night and that was actually probably my favorite dish. The venison tenderloin was sliced and breaded in flour and cooked. I learned that with venison, and also with beef, when the juices start to surface, that is an indicator to flip it over. That is definitely a tip that I will remember and use.

Venison

Now as for my culinary school word of the day, I learned that gastrique is caramelizing vinegar and sugar in a pan, normally to create a sauce of sorts. This technique was used for the orange duck sauce.

Duck with Orange Sauce

The highlight of the night for me was learning how to make strudel. I truly don't think I will ever do this again, but I loved the camaraderie of the experience. I definitely have a new appreciation for strudel making as it is labor intensive and more complex than I expected. Strudel is Austrian and it became popular in the 18th century. Legend has it that the Austrian Emperor's chef said strudel dough is supposed to be thin enough to read a love letter through it. Hmmm....ok.

The most impressive part of the strudel process is definitely the stretching. It starts as a ball of dough and initially it starts getting worked, kind of like a pizza crust.


From there it continues to get stretched, adding more people and more hands, as the dough gets stretched to a larger and larger size and a thinner and thinner consistency.


The dough eventually ends up the size of a dining room table.


The strudel is always stretched on a tablecloth or piece of fabric, which is used to roll it up. So once the dough is stretched, it is filled. We did a traditional apple strudel so we filled it with an apple and sugar mixture.


Next you start using the tablecloth to fold the dough over and manipulate it without breaking it.


Strudel can be sweet or savory, however in the US, apple strudel is what we are most familiar with. Did you all know that the word strudel means "whirlpool," because the rolled version of a strudel looks like, well a whirlpool.


After we spent all of this time creating the dough, rolling it and babying it, we were then told that most people today use phyllo dough. Ok got it, so from here on out, I will be buying puff pastry and phyllo dough. Good to know!!