Trends

Trends class was all about identifying trends in the Culinary Field. We looked over the recent trends over the last few years. For example: Locally grown produce, Locally sourced meats & Seafood, Nutritionally balanced childrens dishes, Gluten- free, Locally produced Wine & Beer, Ethic inspired breakfast items, and Culinary Cocktails. Chef bought us top of the line produce, breads, meat & seafood and he wanted us to use those to make fine-dining quality plates. We had to draw five pieces of paper with a trend on it and make a dish for atleast four of the trends. I must have been feeling it today because Chef said this was the best food he has sen me come up with & I got all five dishes in on time.

Seafood Breakfast
Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict
Toasted Artisan Bread, Smoked Salmon, a poached egg, drizzled with  a honey lemon thyme Hollandaise sauce.

Southeastern Asian Cuisine
Green Curry, Basil, & Coconut Sauce with Rice Noodles topped with a Juicy Grilled Tiger Shrimp, with Fresh Mango & Basil.

Power Fruit
Pistacio Crusted Hallibut glazed with a Pineapple Gogi Berry sauce over a bed of Fresh Greens and Berries.

Kids Salad
Kids Caprese Salad
A stack of Locally Grown Tomatoes, Local & Organic Mozzerella, and Carrot and Celery Sticks drizzled with Homemade Ranch Dressing.

Pickling
Pickled Garlic & Jalapenos
Artisan Ciabatta Bread & Provolone Cheese toasted and topped with a pickled jalapeno & Garlic Spread, Garnished with a pickled Jalapeno.

Mystery Dish!

In Timed Cooking Class we were assigned a Mystery food with a specific dish. We had an Amouse Bouche, Appetizer, Salad/Sandwich, Entree, and Dessert.  Every dish had to be in 20 minutes from the time we got the mystery food. I think it was my favorite class so far.

Amouse Bouche
Mussles
A Steamed Mussle over a small bed of lemon risotto, with a white wine lemon chive sauce. The Amouse Bouche was served inside of the mussle shell over a pool of beautiful sauce.

Appetizer
Ground Pork
Meatballs & Applesauce
Meatballs with garlic, apples, jalapeno, Paprika, and Cayenne, garnished with sauted apples on a bed of Savory Apple Sauce.

Salad
Salmon
Sweet & Spicy Grilled Salmon over a warm bed of Grilled Red Bell Peppers, Squash, & Zuchinni. Drizzled with a Smooth Balsamic Reduction & fresh grated Parmesan.

Entree
Scallops
Perfectly Pan Seared Scallops, White Wine & Lemon Rissotto, Garnished with Fresh Strawberries, lemon zest, and Balasmic Reduction.

Dessert
Thyme
Mangos, Apples, Pears, & Thyme rolled in an Egg Roll drizzled with a honey lemon thyme Sauce topped with a honey thyme Whipped Cream.

Veal Meatballs with Carmelized Onion Red Wine Sauce and Spaghetti Squash

So I was thinking about classic dishes that I need to master. I'm usually not impressed with most restaurants Italian Meatballs or chicken parmesan. I Love my chicken parmesan, but i honestly haven't given meatballs a try. I wanted to do something different and healthy. My parents and I spent about 3 hours in Central Market the other day, and I saw that they had ground Veal. Why not! We wanted to go low carbs for dinner, so what better would do with the dish than spaghetti squash. I checked out a few recipes that inspired me and this is what I came up with...

Veal Meatballs with a Carmelized Onion Red Wine Sauce

Meatballs:
1 cup Italian Bread Crumbs
1 cup diced Baguette soaked in Buttermilk and drained (You can also put 2 cups of either   instead of both bread crumbs)
1 cup fresh parmigian cheese
1 cup low fat milk
3 eggs, lightly beaten
4 cloves minced garlic
2 T Italian Parsley 1 T Dried Oregano
1 T EVOO
1 T salt
1 T fresh cracked black pepper
1 t Red Pepper flakes
1 1/2 t freshly grated lemon zest
1 lb ground veal

Sauce:
2 T EVOO
1/2 large onion sliced thin
1/2 c Red Wine
1 T brown Sugar
Salt and Pepper
If you want it a tomato sauce add:
1 can Tomato Sauce

1 can diced Tomato

1 T crushed Red Pepper

1 T Italian Seasoning

Salt & Pepper

Squash:

2 T EVOO

1 Spaghetti Squash cut in half

Salt & pepper

Meatballs:

1. Preheat oven 350 Degrees.

2. Oil Baking Pan.

3. In a large bowl mix together drained bread, parmesan, milk, eggs, garlic, 1 T parsley, oregano, EVOO, salt, pepper, and red pepper, and lemon zest. 

4. Add ground Veal to the bowl and mix. 

5. Add the Italian breadcrumbs and mix until it gets to the consistancy that you want (easy to mold and holds together).

6. Round out Meatballs and arrange them leaving space between each in the baking pan. (It comes out to 24-28 meatballs).

7. Bake for about 20 minutes or until they are cooked through.

Sauce: 

1. Oil medium Saucepan.

2. Add onions, salt & pepper and caramelize.

3. Once Caramelized, add red wine and brown sugar. Reduce until most of the Wine is gone. (These onions taste unbelievable and would be great on top of Meatballs alone).

4. To make tomato sauce: add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, red pepper, Italian seasoning, and salt & pepper. 

5. Simmer and reduce down until thick. Use an emersion blender to blend the sauce if preferred (I did because Jo wouldn't eat it if he knew it had onions and whole tomatoes in it haha).

Spaghetti Squash:

1. Oil Baking pan.

2. Place Squash cut side down and fill up pan with water about 1 cm.

3. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until cooked.

4. Scrape out seeds and discard.

5. Scrape out squash and season with salt and pepper.

Plating: 

Place Meatballs over the bed of Squash and pour sauce over top meatballs. Garish with the rest of the chopped Italian Parsley. We also ate this with a mixed salad with balsamic, and baguette. The wine I paired with our meal was Villa Puccini, Twelve months oak aged Tuscan Red Wine, 90% Sangiovese and 10% Merlot. Perfect.

My family LOVED this meal. The Veal had such a unique, bright flavor with the lemon zest, red pepper, and Parsley. The sauce was very rich, full and paired well with our Wine. Also, the Squash in place of the spaghetti was a healthy, low carb choice.  As I said earlier, I am usually not impressed with most Spaghetti and Meatballs, but I would order this anyday :)