Mini Bread Loafs amd Pancake Batter

22 April 2011

Today I learned how to make mini bread loafs and pancake batter.

Bread dough

Flour                6 kg

Salt                  6 tbls

Sugar               375 g

Yeast               6 packets

Oil                    500 ml

Water

Method

Combine the flour, sugar, salt and yeast together and put into a dough machine. Add the oil to the mixture and water until texture is not sticky and dough is soft. Leave dough covered in a warm place to let it rise. Rub oil into bead pans (mini or regular) and divide the dough equally into bread pans. Leave in a warm place to let it rise again. Put into preheated oven of 200 degrees Celsius. Bake until bread turns golden brown.

Chef Tips

Rub hands with oil when handling the dough to prevent it from sticking to your hands.

Pancake Batter

Eggs                     16
Vinegar                500 ml
Oil                       2 L
Water                  8 L
Baking powder    32 tbls  
Flour                   4.5 kg
Salt                     6 tbls     

Method

Combine eggs oil and vinegar in a mixing bowl. Pour into dough machine and mix. Mix the flour, baking powder and salt together and add it to the dough machine. Add the water to the mixture and mix until all lumps has dissolved and a smooth mixture remains.


Chef Tips

This mixture is used for a large scale production of pancakes.

Crumbed garlic mussels and Choux Paste

20 April 2011

Today I learned to make crumbed garlic mussels and choux paste.

Crumbed Garlic Mussels

Mussels            5 kg

Butter               1 kg

Onions             3

Garlic               120 g

Bread               1 loaf

Method

Defrost the mussels before you start with this recipe. Soften the butter and put aside. Grate the peeled onions.  Break the bread into pieces and dry the bread in the oven until completely crispy. Crush the bread with a rolling pin on a chopping board until fine. Mix the butter, onion and garlic in a mixing bowl. Squeeze out any excess fluid from the mussel. Coat the mussels with the butter mixture and put into baking tray. Grill in oven until crust is golden.

Chef Tips

Squeeze out any excess fluid from the mussel to prevent the crust from becoming soggy.

Choux Paste

Margarine            100 g

Flour                100 g

Water               250 ml

Eggs                 4

Method

Bring the water and butter to the boil in a pot. Add sift flour to the pot and stir until dough textured ball form in pot. Add eggs one by one into pot and stir to mix eggs into dough mixture. Remove from heat. Put wax or silicone paper into a baking tray and pipe mixture with piping bag into little cone onto baking tray. Put into a preheated oven of 200 degrees Celsius and bake for 20 min, decrease the heat after 20 min to 150 degrees Celsius and bake for another 15 min.

Chef Tips

When adding the eggs check the consistency of the mixture for piping. Let the flour mixture cool before adding the eggs.

19 April 2011

Today we learned how to make cheesecake that is refrigerated.

Cheese Cake

Lemon Juice                 100 ml (fresh)

Gelatin                          10 g

Condense milk              385 g (1 tin)

Cottage Cheese            250 g

Cream                          300 ml

Tennis Biscuits              200 g (1 packet)

Margarine                     30 g

Laminated paper           As required to line moulds

Method

Crush biscuits fine and mix with melted margarine. Line moulds with laminated paper. Make a 1 cm thick base in moulds with biscuit mix and push down firmly. Mix together in mixing bowl the cottage cheese and condense milk and keep to one side. In a double boiler melt gelatin in the lemon juice until gelatin grains are dissolved. Whisk cream with balloon whisk until stiff peaks form. Add lemon juice mixture to cottage cheese mixture and stir. Fold in the cream into the mixture. Put the mixture into a piping bag and pipe mixture into moulds until ¾ full. Put the moulds in the refrigerator and leave until set. Remove the cheesecakes from the moulds and serve.

Chef tips

This mixture can be made into a large cheesecake or single servings. The moulds used are 8 cm long cylinders of PVC pipe. Can use a 50:50 mixture of limejuice (concentrate) and lemon juice (fresh) for a variation. Press biscuit base with the back of a whisk to get the mixture evenly spread in the mould for a better presentation.

Storage of items in a Refrigerator

18 April 2011

Containers

• Use storage containers with tight fitting lids
• Use glass or plastic containers
• Comply with ‘best before’ dates
• Old stock should be brought forward
• Strong smelling commodities stored away from other commodities that absorb flavour

Meat and poultry

• Stored between -1 °C and 1 °C
• Ideally stored separately
• Meat joints should be hung
• Cuts of meat should be wrapped in oil greaseproof paper, clingfilm or vacuum packed
• Store in bottom of fridge

Fish

• Stored between -1 °C and 1 °C
• Keep different types of fish separate
• Keep smoked fish separate from fresh fish
• Stored on the lower shelves of the refrigerator below the ready-to-eat foods

Vegetables

• Cool dry store with racks
• Leave potatoes in sacks
• Place root vegetables on racks
• Store green vegetables on racks
• Store lettuce as delivered in cool environment
• Remove any ‘off’ vegetables
• Leave onions in nets or racked
• Place cauliflower and broccoli on racks
• Leave peppers, avocado pears and cucumbers in delivery container
• Keep produce in perforated plastic bags in the produce drawer of the refrigerator
• Keep fruits and vegetables separate, in different drawers

Fruits

• Soft fruits should be left in a punnet and placed in fridge
• Hard fruits and stone fruits stored in the cold store
• Fruits must be ripe before storing in fridge
• Stored separately in drawer in fridge

Eggs

• Store refrigerated at 1 – 4 °C
• Store at top of refrigerator
• Keep away from other foods can absorb strong smells
• Keep in their delivery boxes; handle little as possible

Dairy products

• Store in the refrigerator below 5 °C
• Partially used containers should be covered
• Use in rotation (first in first out)

16 April 2011

  

Chicken ballontine

10 kg of chicken drumsticks

Stuffing

1 fruitcake mix

Dry bread

Eggs

Mixed herbs

Paprika

First put a chopping board ready to de-bone the chicken drumsticks with a filleting knife. After you de-boned the chicken reshape it into its original position. Mix the stuffing ingredients together and make sure the mixture is relatively dry because the chicken will give it moisture and it will prevent the stuffing from running out of the chicken. Stuff the chicken with the mixture from top to bottom. Put the stuffed chicken in a baking tray ready for the oven.

     

First Cooking Demonstration

15 April 2011

Today I did my first cooking demonstration. This demonstration consisted of 2 chicken mayonnaise salads with chopped nuts that I had to prepare. I started by explaining the cloth that we use under the chopping board to prevent it from sliding on the working surface and causing an accident when working with knives. Then I explained the different types of chopping boards there is and what each one is used for. The green chopping board is for vegetables and leafy ingredients. The brown is for cooked meats. The yellow one is for working with poultry. The blue chopping board is for fish and seafood products. The red chopping board is for working with raw meats. The white chopping board is for bread and dairy products. I explained that we use different chopping boards to prevent cross contamination of food products. Then I explained about the chemicals that we use in the kitchen. The multi purpose cleaner is for surfaces and utensils. The sanitizer is for killing the remaining germs on chopping boards, knives and surfaces. After I set up my chopping board and cleaned my chef’s knife I set 2 salad plates ready to present the salads in. I explained more about the products I was using to make the salad with. First I assured everybody that all vegetables and salad ingredients are washed to remove any dirt particles. The fancy lettuce was put on the plate first for a better presentation. I then put normal lettuce on the plate and explained how we cut the lettuce and what the technique is called we use. I arranged cocktail tomatoes on the lettuce. Then I cut the cucumber into long strips and arranged it on the plate. I then cut the feta into macedoine blocks and explained what that is and how it looks like and arranged it on the plate. I used normal olives and arranged it on the salad plate. I crushed the nuts with the chef’s knife and chopped it fine and sprinkle it on top of the salad. I put a dollop of chicken mayonnaise in the middle of the salad. I then cut the onion into rings to put on top of the salad to finish it off. I also explained how you must prepare everything beforehand and why we do it is to work more efficiently.

Béchamel sauce and Cannelloni

7 April 2011

Béchamel sauce

Milk     1 L

Butter   100 g

Flour    100 g

1 clove studded onion

Pinch of salt

Pinch of white pepper

Method

Melt the butter in a thick-bottomed sauté pan. Add the flour and mix in. Cook for a few minutes over a gentle heat without coloring. Remove from the heat to cool the roux. Gradually add the warmed milk and stir until smooth. Add the studded onion with cloves. Allow simmering until sauce reach nape stage. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove the onion; pass sauce through a double mesh sieve. Covers with cling film allow it to touch the top of the sauce to prevent a skin forming.

Chef’s tips

Nape stage is using the back of a spoon to test the consistency of the sauce. The sauce must run off the back of the spoon easily leaving only a thin layer on the back of the spoon.

Cannelloni

1 Portion

4 Cannelloni shells

120 g cooked mince

200 ml Fond Blanc

Method of cooking

Fill a piping bag with cooked mince. Pipe the mince into the cannelloni shells by place the shells straight up making sure that the bottom is closed. Put the filled shells into a deep baking dish. Pour the fond Blanc over the filled shells in the baking dish making sure to separate the shells so that they do not touch one another. Bake the shells until they are soft to the touch and do not have a rubbery feel.

Chef’s tips

Add a teaspoon of oil to the stock, which will help prevent the shells from sticking to one another. You can also use any old cooked mince. You don’t need to use a piping bag you can spoon the mince into the shells using a teaspoon.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

6 April 2011

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Sweet Potatoes            4 kg

Butter                           200 g

Sugar                           300 g

Method

 Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Wash all the potatoes in cold water to get rid of all excess dirt. Peel all the sweet potatoes and put them into a sink with water to completely submerge them. Chop the sweet potatoes into large rings and half them again. Put the chopped sweet potatoes into a large roasting tray. Spread chunks of butter evenly over the sweet potatoes. Sprinkle the sugar also evenly over the sweet potatoes. Put the tray in the oven and bake the potatoes until brown. Remember to stir the sweet potatoes once in a while to evenly bake the sweet potatoes.

Chef’s tips

When you submerge the sweet potatoes in water you will prevent browning of the outer flesh because of the starch content of the sweet potato/

Health, Safety and Hygiene Action Taken

Wash all the sweet potatoes first in cold water to get rid of dirt particles on the outer skin of the sweet potato.

Genoese sponge, Petit Fours and Cost Control Operations

5 April 2011

Today we made a Genoese Sponge but we also concentrated on the const control operations of making a recipe.

When calculating the cost of a recipe always look at the small extras you will use for the recipe and incorporate it into your calculations (like butter and flour to grease a baking tin with). Always think of what else you can make with different parts of the same product to not let it go to waste. An example can be making a crème bruleè with an egg yolk and a floating island with egg whites.

Genoese Sponge

Ingredients	Quantity	Cost per item for recipe
Eggs	4	R 4.67
Sugar	100 g	R 0.72
Flour	110 g (10g used for coating baking tray)	R 0.89
Butter	60 g (10 g used for coating baking tray)	R 1.34
Silicone sheet	1 sheet (used to remove sponge from baking tray)	R 1.50

Cooking Method:

First do your mise on place to get all the ingredients ready for making the sponge. Switch the oven on to 200 degrees Celsius. Grease a baking tray with butter and flour (check chef tips). Break the eggs into a large mixing bowl and put to one side. Measure out the quantity of sugar; flour and butter required using a scale. Melt the butter and sift the flour to prevent clumps. Whisk the eggs and sugar together until full ribbon stage is reached (either by hand using a balloon whisk or by using a electrical mixer). Fold in the flour into the egg mixture then add the butter and fold in well. Place the mixture into the greased pan and bake for about 30 minutes.

Chef tips:

Always remember you will need to use a little bit extra butter and flour to grease the pan. Cut 2 longs strips of silicone or wax paper and put it in a cross in the pan and spray strips with cook and spray to prevent the sponge from sticking. Always make sure the silicone paper strips are long enough and it sticks out from the edges of the baking tray to easily remove the sponge from the baking tin. You can use corn flour instead of flour if necessary. Always make sure your equipment is clean before trying to whip up a sauvignon otherwise it would not reach full ribbon stage. You can also reuse the silicone paper if you wash it and store it properly.

Petit Fours

Genoese sponge

Cut the Genoese sponge into bite size blocks and prepare the different toppings to coat the bite size sponges.

Some examples of topping:

Caramel sauce (mixture of caramel treat and cream)

Mint frosting (mixture of icing sugar, chopped mint leaves and water)

Gooseberry frosting (mixture of icing sugar, chopped fresh gooseberries and water)

Raspberry frosting (mixture of icing sugar, chopped fresh raspberries and water)

Brown chocolate gnash (4:1 melted chocolate and cream)

White chocolate gnash (4:1 melted chocolate and cream)

Chopped up roast nuts

Half nuts roasted in oven sprinkled with castor sugar (use silicone paper)

Mise on Place of the Cold Kitchen

3 April 2011

Use knives and small utensils appropriately using chef knife for slicing chiffonade, julienne, macedoine and grater for preparing foods. Operate food preparation and storage equipment efficiently when putting prepared foods into containers correctly and storing it in the refrigerator.
Select appropriate commodities and equipment for specific tasks when preparing lettuce, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, chicken mayonnaise, bread, muesli, yogurt and cheese for mise on place. Carry out working methods in a logical and tidy manner to work more efficiently.
Carry out appropriate cleaning procedures to prevent cross contamination of foods and clean as you go. Wear protective clothing and footwear, in a suitable condition, in the kitchen (chefs Uniform).
Complete task to time when an order has to be completed for a guest. Complete food preparation tasks without excessive trimming loss when cutting the foods for mise on place try to waste as little as possible.
Ensure materials involved in food preparation are hygienically cleaned and make sure all chopping boards; knives and utensils are sanitized before preparing foods for mise on place.
Carry out simple comparison between fresh and convenience commodities when removing any brown spots from any vegetables that is being prepared for mise on place.     

Greek salad and biltong and avocado salad

2 April 2011

Today I learned how to make different kinds of salads.

Greek salad

Lettuce

Tomato

Cucumber

Olives

Feta

Onion

Biltong and Avocado Salad

Is the same type of salad as the greek salad except for an extra dolop of avocado and a sprinkle of finely diced biltong.

Peel and wash the lettuce leaves under a cold running tap using a colander to remove any dirt particles. Break off any brown spots that remain on the lettuce leaves after it has been washed. Put the leaves on a chopping board and roll a few up at a time and chiffonade the leaves to get a stringy shape and keep to one side. Cut the tomatoes into 1/8^th and remove the brown stem part. Cut the cucumbers into jardinière and keep to one side. Cut the onion into rings after you have removed the outer skin. Take a plate and start to layer the lettuce first followed by an arrangement of tomatoes, cucumber and olives. Sprinkle the feta over and arrange a few onion rings on top of the dish. For a more appealing presentation you can use different assortments of salad leaves.

Roasting Chicken Drumsticks and Sosaties, Basic pastries

1 April 2011

Today I learned to make roast chicken drumsticks sosaties and how to bake pre prepared basic pastries.

Roast chicken drumsticks

Chicken drumsticks

Chicken stock

Curry Powder

Black Pepper

Salt

Sunflower oil

 Preheat oven for roasting. Put drumsticks into a roasting tray. Then you have to pour over the sunflower oil as required to coat the drumsticks thoroughly and rub with hands.  Mix all the spices as to taste in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle the spices over the drumsticks and rub with hands until well coated.  Put the tray into the preheated oven. Check meat and stir once in a while with a basting spoon to turn over the meat and baste the drumsticks. When nice and brown test that the meat is sufficiently cooked through. Remove from oven when ready and serve.

Chicken Sosaties

Chicken sosaties in marinade

Take out the chicken sosaties from the packaging and add everything into a roasting tray. Arrange the sosaties neatly for even cooking. Preheat the oven and put the sosaties into the oven. Check continuously and when the meat is tender and brown and sufficiently cooked remove from oven and serve.

Basic Pre-Prepared Puff Pastries

Puff pastries

 Preheat the oven for baking. Remove the pre-prepared puff pastries from the deep freeze and keep to one side. Take a baking tray and smear with sunflower oil and dust with flour to coat the tray. Pack the pastries neatly onto the baking tray and put into the oven. Check pastries continuously and remove the pastries from the oven when they are golden brown and serve.

Fire Fighting 2

30 March 2011

Today we learned about bushveld fire fighting. We had to wear all the protective clothing while we went for a simulation with the basic firefighting equipment and tractors with water trailer. We were working in teams of five. We learned that communication is very important and you have to know what the tasks are of each member beforehand because you cannot hear well in the field with the helmet and speech is soft with the gas mask. We also learned that you need to look out for all your other team members at all times and try to stay in the already burned areas to minimize the risk of getting burned because the wind direction can shift at any time. If you cannot operate the equipment properly or the fire is too intense to handle you need to get out of harm’s way.

Student Lunch (Safety at Work)

29 March 2011

Today we worked in the main kitchen and we had to make student lunch. The menu included peas with a custard sauce and cottage pie. I was in charge of making the cottage pie.

Cottage Pie

5 kg curry mince with vegetables

2.5 kg Potatoes

Cheese to sprinkle over dish

A large pot must be used and the potatoes added into the pot. Fill up the pot until the potatoes is completely covered with water. Put pot with lid on stove and bring to the boil. Test the potatoes with a knife to see if they are cooked through. Put a colander into a basin and dunk the potatoes into the colander. Let cold water run over the potatoes to prevent further cooking. Leave the potatoes to cool down. Remove the skins of the potatoes with a paring knife and put into a large dish. Mash the potatoes fine and add salt, pepper, paprika and nutmeg to taste. Heat up the mice in a pot on the stove until boiling and spread it evenly into 2 serving dishes. Put the mashed potatoes over the mince to cover and sprinkle dish with cheese. Put dish into oven and bake until golden brown on top. 

Safety at work

Always check that you light your own gas before using the stove. Wear appropriate protective clothing. Observe all workshop safety procedures. Recognize hazards and report to the appropriate authority (smelling gas). Use safe and fully maintained equipment and utensils. Use knives and utensils safely and without danger to others.

Pastry Cream, Sweet Pastry and Jelly

24 March 2011

Today I learned how to make pastry cram and a sweet pastry. We also learned hot to do bottling.

Pastry Cream

2 L                   Milk

500 g               Sugar

6                      Eggs

125 g               Corn Flour

15 ml                Vanilla Essence

Add milk and vanilla to a pot and bring to the boil. Mix eggs and sugar in a large mixing bowl and whisk until sugar is dissolved in eggs. Add the milk mixture to the egg mixture little by little. Mix well and put the mixture back in a pot on the stove. Mix the corn flour with a little of the boiling mixture to form a paste to prevent lumps. Add the corn flour mixture to the pot and keep on stirring. The mixture will start to thicken and then it can be taken off the stove.

Sweet Pastry

8                      Eggs

80 g                 Sugar

40 g                 Butter

900 g               Cake Flour

2                      Zest of Lemons

Pinch                Salt

Melt the butter on the stove in a pan and keep to one side. Sift the flour into a mixing bowl. Zest the lemons. Whisk the eggs in a separate mixing bowl. Add the flour, sugar, lemon zest, salt and eggs together and mix into a dough. Dust a surface with flour and knee the dough until soft and elastic. Wrap the dough in cling film and let rest in fridge.

Jelly

4 packs            Jelly powder

2 L                   Water

Add the jelly powder to a large mixing bowl. Boil 1 L water and add to the jelly powder. Stir until the powder is dissolved. Add 1 L cold water and stir well. Pour liquid into a large steak and kidney dish and put in fridge to let it set.

Mayonnaise and Lemon Curd

23 March 2011

Today we learned how to make how made mayonnaise and lemon curd. The ingredients required are as follows:

Mayonnaise

13                    egg yolks

2 L                   Oil

80 g                 Mustard seeds

20 g                 Dijon Mustard

250 ml              White Vinegar

2 g                   Salt

2 g                   White Pepper

Add egg yolks to a large mixing bowl and start to whisk. Add the oil slowly and keep on whisking to prevent it from splitting. When oil and egg yolks are mixed add the vinegar and taste. Also add the rest of the ingredients and taste as you go to test for flavor. Add more of the ingredients as preferred to reach the correct flavor.

Lemon curd

190 g               Butter

190 g               Lemon juice

170 g               Sugar

8                      Egg yolks

Heat up a sauté pan and add the butter to let it melt. Measure out fresh lemon juice with a measuring cup Add the lemon zest to the lemon juice. Separate the egg yolks into a mixing bowl. Mix the butter, lemon juice and lemon zest and bring it to the boil. Add butter mixture to egg yolks and keep on whisking while adding (hot to cold method to prevent curdling). Place the mixture into a pot and put back on stove and keep on whisking while boiling. Fill a basin with cold water and put pot into cold water if the mixture wants to separate it will combine again. Sieve mixture through double mesh sieve for a smooth consistency.