Lesson 26: The Deets

As culinary school comes to an end, I thought I'd share some of the nitty, gritty details...i.e. I don't have anything else to post b/c I've been busy packing to come back to the homeland.

But I hope this answers some FAQs.

1) What does your school look like? 

It's in Belgrano, a leafy neighborhood in Buenos Aires where lots of families live.

This is the outside:

It has three floors, with amphitheaters for lectures like this:

And each floor has kitchens for practice like this with ovens, stoves, pots, pans and utensils:

2) Do you get to eat the food you make?

Yes. This is what we go home with. We also get to keep whatever raw materials we don't use. For instance, I currently have a large leg of lamb in my freezer that I should probably use before the next tenants get here...

What do your uniforms look like?

Like this. As you can see, they are cleverly designed to make one look as obese as possible; you can't trust a skinny chef.

Between Meals: Winter Arrives

Lesson 26: JE T'ENVOIE UN MEUH

Butchering baby cow: what a great way to spend an afternoon. It's winter here, so for all you veal-lovers out there, I send you a moo to keep you warm (creepy or cute? I can't decide).

Imagine this but about 3x the size. We sawed it in thirds with a bone saw. Then, I hacked off the backbone and cleaned off the top of the ribs!

Wanna see something gross? How about this layer of fat I trimmed off the ribs (that's about a 1/2 inch thick)!

I apologize that this is such a terrible picture. Like a true American, I tried to crowd too much on my plate...but here's a veal chop seared rare with red wine sauce, bacon-flecked cabbage and spicey butternut squash purée!

Lesson 25: Exotic Meats!

You know you've reached the end of a 5-month culinary program when you start cooking wild boar (javalí), hare (liebre) and emu (ñandú)...

The next time you're stuck out in the menacing wilderness with nothing but a slingshot, you'll know how to survive like a mountain man/woman and impress everyone!

And not just survive: aside from being less fatty and a little tougher, this stuff was actually really tasty. It does have a "gamey" taste, but I think that just means it has a stronger flavor than your average boneless, skinless chicken breast.

I cooked Pumba. First, we seared the boar on both sides...

Then, we braised it for about an hour in a mirepoix (diced carrots, celery, onion), tomato, herbs, red wine and stock.

Meanwhile, we made some beans (here, they're porotos instead of frijoles like in Mexico) with bacon, onion, tomato, herbs and stock...these were really good.

Ever wonder what blood sausage (morcilla) looks like? Here ya go. Here, we mixed it with puréed squash. We're also making it next week. Then I never want to see it again.

EL FIN: Braised game for the Brian Robeson within us.

Side note: Wow. Gary Paulsen= new hero.

Lesson 24: Sous Vide

I could write a complicated post about the sous vide stuff we made in class. Instead I'm just going to direct you to this exhaustive website (who is this guy?)... Nifty, but I think I'll leave it to the restaurant chefs so they have something to show off with.

Lesson 23: Brioche

Ever wonder why brioche is so tasty?

Take this (that's about 4 sticks of butter):

Plus this (and that's EIGHT EGGS if you're counting):

Mix:

Oh, but it's allllllll worth it in the end:

Between Meals: 30 Years of Wedded Bliss

Happy Anniversary, padres!

Pops gleefully "borrowing" some torrontés cuttings for an experiment at home:

Mamacita checking out some tombs: