Salmon in a Bag

     All right, who's ready for Salmon en Papillote!  This recipe is pretty simple and is so delicious!  We made this in the second or third week of classes and I was blown away at how easy it was to make and the flavour that was achieved!  If you like fish, you'll love this dish!

Ingredients (for 1 serving)

• Salmon fillet (or any fish you would like)
• Carrots, julienne
• Leeks, julienne
• Turnip*, julienne
• Tsp or so of butter
• White Wine - 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup
• Chives, chopped
• Herbs/spices - whatever you want!
• Salt and Pepper
• Small cube of butter
• Lemon wedge
• Parchment paper

    *You don't have to use turnip in this dish, you can substitute any other vegetable you would like.  This dish is so versatile, you can pretty much do whatever you want, wrap it up in parchment paper and pop it in the oven.  The carrots and leeks really add great flavour and you can compliment this with so many vegetables.  You could use celery root (celeriac), fennel, parsnips, squash...the options really are endless! 

Step 1 - Get all your ingredients ready: 

To Julienne a Leek

• Cut all the veggies into julienne (match stick size) pieces *When slicing the leeks, cut the leek into 6 cm pieces and then cut that piece in half, lengthwise.  You can then peal off any tough or dirty outer layers. Then you can take a few layers at a time, press them flat and slice them thinly.  Leeks are the easiest vegetable to julienne!
• Chop the chives and pull out and prepare any other herbs/spices that you want to use

• We used fresh dill along with the chives in class.  I used dried dill when I made this at home.  Fresh is better, but the dried work pretty good too.
• Prepare the parchment paper.  Cut off a long rectangular piece and fold it in half.  The paper should be big enough to hold the salmon fillet, with all the yummy veggies on top, with enough room to fold the paper over and press and fold the edges together (it will all make sense soon!)
• Pull the salmon out of the fridge and season both sides with salt and pepper.  You can then put the salmon on the parchment paper, beside the fold.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

Step 2 - Start building the flavour!

•  In a medium sized pan, melt the teaspoon of butter over low heat.  This is not an exact measurement of butter...you need just enough to coat all your beautifully julienned veggies.  So feel free to add more "love" (as my instructor calls butter) to the pan.
• Next, add your veggies and sweat them in the butter until they become fragrant and just tender, about 5 minutes or so.  Don't let them get any colour, you just want to start extracting the flavour from them.
• Once the veggies are just tender, add the wine and let the veggies steam in the wine until the wine has reduced by half, another 3 to 5 minutes.  You still want to have liquid in the pan, this is going to steam our fish! 
• Once the wine has reduced, turn off the heat and remove the pan.

Step 3 - Making the parchment bag of yumminess!

• Using tongs, take the veggies out of the pan, letting the liquid drain off and place on top of the salmon that is on the parchment.  Make sure to save the liquid!
• Top the veggies with the chives, dill and any other spices you are using, and place the small cube of butter on top.
• Fold the paper over the salmon and trim off any excess if you have quite a bit of paper around the salmon and veggies.  You can cut the paper in a heart shape, making the folding easier if you would like.
• To close the bag, without making things sound too complicated, all you need to do is fold the edges around the salmon and veggies, making sure that there are no open edges.  Go all the way around, folding the edges, until you're about 3/4 done.  You now have a pouch.  
• Transfer the liquid left over from the veggies to a measuring cup that has a pouring spout.  Lift up the parchment bag, and pour the liquid in to the bag.  This liquid is going to steam the fish and add tons of flavour!
• Seal up the remainder of the edges and place it on a baking sheet.
  

Step 4 - Bake and eat!

• Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes.
• The parchment bags will fill up with air and cook the salmon to perfection!
• After 10 minutes, take them out of the oven and let them sit for 5 minutes.

Now for the best part!  Place the parchment bags on plates and serve!  Cut open the bag, give it a squeeze of lemon and enjoy that salmon!

     If you are making this recipe for a group of people, you can do everything ahead of time, up to the point of putting the papillotes in the oven.  Place them in the fridge and pull them out when you are 20 minutes away from putting them in the oven. You don't want to put them in oven straight out of the fridge, as they won't cook as nicely.  Letting them come up to room temperature first, will help them to cook evenly and you won't have to increase the cooking time.  Then serve your guests the papillotes and a pair of scissors and let them open the bag themselves.  Served with a nice salad or some steamed vegetables, this a delicious meal!  

     You could make it a little healthier too by sweating your veggies in vegetable oil and omitting the butter on top as well.  It's all up to you!  You can change up the fish, change the veggies, change the wine, the seasonings, the herbs...There are SO many options with this recipe!

    I hope you have fun chomping this recipe up!  It's definitely going to be a keeper in my kitchen!

Have a great Sunday everyone!

~Vicki :)

Easy Peasy Tomato Sauce

     It's hard to believe it's Thanksgiving weekend already!  I have so many things to be thankful for!  My amazing family and friends, who have listened to me vent over the last few weeks as I try to find the balance between school and work.  My roommate, who puts up with me coming home at midnight after a shift at work and rummaging around in the kitchen for a snack.  To my mates at school, who keep me laughing.  To my instructors, for all the little tips and tricks I'm learning.  I am very grateful for all of you!

     And now, as promised, the easiest tomato sauce that you're going to love!

Ingredients:

• 1 to 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2 cup onions, diced
• 1/2 cup carrot, diced 
• 1/2 cup celery, diced 
• 1 large can of whole tomatoes, seeded 
• 1 cup crushed tomatoes
• 1 to 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp of sugar
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Fresh basil or oregano
• 1 lb cooked ground beef (optional)

Step 1)  Heat a good sized sauce pan on medium/low heat.  My instructor at school always says "Big job, big pot.  Small job, small pot."  Making sure we have the right equipment for the job.  Once the pan is warm, add the oil and continue heating until the oil is warm, then add the holy trinity of vegetables, the onions, carrots and celery.  Or, in the culinary world, these 3 are known as the Mirepoix, which is in everything!

Step 2)  Sweat the mirepoix for a few minutes, or until the onions become translucent.  Don't let them get any colour on them, you don't want them to brown.  They should could cook lightly in the oil, letting all of the yummy flavours come out.

Step 3)  Add the canned tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, garlic, sugar and salt and pepper to the pot and bring it all to a simmer.  If you are adding ground beef, you can also add it now.

*If at all possible, try to remove as many of the seeds from the tomatoes as you can.  When cooking tomatoes for long periods of time, the seeds can become bitter, giving your dish an unpleasant taste.  I removed a good portion of them...but its a tricky job.

**You can also used fresh tomatoes in the sauce, cutting them into chunks (and seeding).  They may have to cook down a little longer though, and you might have to add a bit of tomato paste to get the right consistency and tomato flavour.

Step 4)  Once the sauce has come to a simmer, keep it at a simmer on low heat for about 45 mins or so.  This will reduce the sauce and thicken it.  

Step 5)  When the sauce has reached the consistency you like, you're done!  Taste it and adjust the seasoning to your liking and add any fresh herbs.  Basil or oregano would be fantastic in this sauce!  And if you want something a little less chunky, you can puree the sauce in a blender, and then add your herbs.  Just don't puree if you've added the ground beef...that might not come out looking too nice.  I personally like the chunky look of the sauce, it's a little more rustic looking, like Mom's tomato sauce.  

Then, pour the amazing sauce over a bed of your favourite pasta and dinner is served!  Or, you can do what my roommate and I did, we roasted a spaghetti squash while the sauce was cooking.  When it was done, we scraped out the squash and served the sauce on top.  It was delicious!

I hope you enjoy this recipe!  We made this one in school, and I was amazed to learn how simple tomato sauce really is.  I realized I was over complicating things when I made it at home, explaining why I wasn't getting the flavours I wanted all the time.  But, now I know!

Enjoy chomping this one up!

Next up - Salmon en Papillote (I'm making this tonight!)

~Vicki :)

October 7, 2014

    Wow, it's October already!  I can't believe the leaves are turning colour and the temperature is dropping already.  Time sure does fly by when you're having fun in Culinary School!  The last couple of weeks have been very busy.  Our lab days are done, and we have moved on to the "big kitchens"!  There are 3 kitchens that make up the Okanagan College cafeteria, as well as the Infusions restaurant, and us students spend 6 weeks in each of them.

These "kitchens" are:

     

• Hot kitchen - which prepares the hot entrees for the cafeteria, as well as the lunch buffet for Infusions
• Cold kitchen - which does some of the butchery and prep work, as well as preparing the salad station for the cafeteria and for Infusions.
• Bakery - they're the ones that make the entire place smell like heaven with all the breads and treats they make.  I can't wait to get in there!
• Infusions - this is the fine dining restaurant at the college.  They have an amazing menu that us students cook to order Tuesday to Friday evenings.

Tilt Skillet

    I was placed in the hot kitchen first, which was pretty daunting.  I had visions of running around like a crazy person trying to get everything ready on time.  But, it isn't that bad so far.  I started on the veggie and starch station, and have enjoyed getting the dishes together and learning how the kitchen flows. I've definitely peeled my share of potatoes that's for sure!  I also learned how to use the tilt skillet.  Which is basically a massive frying pan, that has a crank on it to tilt the basin, which makes for easy cleaning and getting your finished product out.  I was terrified of this thing, at first. But after sauteing some veggies with what felt like a canoe paddle, I'm a pro now!

     Today we switched stations, and I moved to the protein station.  Yikes!  The pressure is now on!  It's definitely a lot busier and you really need to know your temperatures for cooking protein.  I made crab and shrimp cakes today and I was dying to try one, but I knew I shouldn't sacrifice a whole one to myself.  So I tried the tiniest piece that broke off while I was pan frying them, YUM!!  I'll have to make those soon!

     Oh, and not to toot my own horn, but Chef Bernard Casavant ended up beside me and was watching me pan fry the crab cakes.  He then said "your crab cakes are a thing of beauty."  OMG!  Thank you Chef!  I was honoured!  If you don't know who he is, he's a pretty big deal in the culinary world.  And, he is the director of the culinary program here at the college.  In other words, yay me!  (We couldn't keep the crab cakes in the serving tray today...they flew out of the place!)

     After a couple of stressful weeks and battling a cold, I think I am finding my groove.  I am learning so much and working with some great people.  And I'm making some pretty awesome food.  Of which I would love to show you all, but it's so busy I barely have time to have a snack during the day.  Which makes it tough being surrounding by all this mouth watering food.

     That's what's been going on with me the last couple of weeks.  A lot of learning and trying to rest up and get through this cold.

     The next recipe is:  Tomato Sauce!  So simple, so delicious!  I'll have that up in the next couple of days!  It's time for me to do some homework :)

Thanks everyone!

~Vicki :)