To Fry or not to Fry?

This week in school, we finished up dry-heat cooking techniques which included deep-frying, grilling, and roasting. The deep-fry day felt so natural for this Southern girl as we coated what was a healthy piece of cod or chicken in a thick, floured batter and threw it in the hot oil where it fried into golden brown perfection. We made fish in chips, Southern fried chicken (everyone assumed this was my specialty), and fried oysters. I have never enjoyed fried food so much as eating french fries hot out of the oil, except maybe at Shake Shack. At our grilling lessons, we learned how to make perfect quadrillage or "cross marks" from the grill grates. I love learning how to make food look pretty because it does not come naturally, so I got a kick out of learning this simple presentation technique. We grilled strip steak, flank steak, every kind of vegetable, pork chops, and salmon. 

On our first roasting day, we had a substitute named Chef Lorrie, meaning that the start of class was a blur of confusion, chaos, and an unwanted change to the class structure that we have familiarized ourselves with under Chef Sobrina's instruction (we are NOT excited for the day we get a permanent new chef instructor). I personally found this day entertaining as Chef Lorrie used my group's prep work as the model and basically did all of the cooking for us "in the name of demonstation." It was pretty great as my group got to hang out, eat our deliciously roasted items, and be the first team done with our clean up. 


One dish that was so fabulous that I must share it is the Roast Rack of Lamb Persillade. It starts with a rack of lamb that has been frenched and seared in canola oil to get a nice browning on the outside. After that, it is then coated with Dijon mustard and fresh garlic that has been roasted and mashed. It then coated again in breadcrumbs seasoned with thyme and parsly. After letting the breading set in the frige, the lamb is roasted in the oven until the inside reaches an internal temperature of 130 F. Ultimately, the result is a tender and juicy lamb rack that looks elegant and tastes amazing! The roasted garlic gives it a perfect kick, so to all my fellow garlic lovers, this recipe will not disappoint. 

*Our family style platter of roasted chicken, beets, sweet potatoes with orange and sage, fingerling potatoes, and of course, the rack of lamb 


Overall, it was a great week of cooking, but the negative part was the new knife cut we learned: the tourne. It is usually done with a potato with the shape being basically a 7-sided football. It is sooooo hard to make look good! The first time we tried it, my left thumb got in the way, making for my second finger cut thus far. Once the cut gets easier, I will take a picture. For now, just picture a jagged rectangular-like shape and that is what my tourne cut looks like. 


Happy eating everyone!