We are technically more than 89 days, but I skipped a few while on vacation in Miami. Happy New year y’all! Got back really late to New York last night (midnight) and woke up bright and early this morning to bare the cold on the way to school, but luckily for me stayed nice and toasting all day by the fire. Tried to get into the kitchen semi early (5 minutes hah!) to help set up, since I did take three days off this past week and felt bad for leaving my partners. Turns out Pandora also skipped two days, so poor Tyler was left alone to man the poissioner station. We have moved on to our last station for level 5 (my oh my, how the time flies). Now I am in saucier (meats) for the next three days. However, tomorrow school may be cancelled because of this brutal snowstorm coming our way! I haven’t had a snow day since circa 2008 when I went to Maryland. Hurricane Days on the other hand, I know like the inside of an all chocolate with chocolate frosting Publix cake … if you are wondering, yes I eat them a lot (typically on my birthday, cause they’re my favorite). Anywho, if school is cancelled, then no saucier station for me… or Pandora… or Tyler.
The two dishes that we are in command of are…. (wait for it….) Soy braised short ribs and Hanger steak. The short ribs have an Asian fusion going on with them (sake, mirin, soy sauce—the whole works). The hanger steak is pretty straight forward, but the focaccia bread that we make along side it, holy mackerel it’s finger licking good I tell you. While I was gone, my two partners made the dough and kneaded it (which is a BIG pain in the rear because that dough is sticker then getting smores all over your hands… but at least with smores you could go to town on all the goo that covers your fingers… who am I kidding- I went to town on the extra focaccia dough too!). I laid the dough out on sheet trays and then we baked it for a good 20 minutes till it was golden brown and fluffy in the inside. My eyes were on that focaccia like white on rice. I couldn’t wait to try it, but looks like I wasn’t alone. Pandora and I must have had a piece of bread like clockwork every 15 minutes (I felt like Leonardo DiCaprio in Wolf of Wall Street when he’d have a new drink brought to the table in increments... same for me except a healthier and more fatting choice- focaccia).
With the hanger steak we also grill lettuce and put this miso Cesar dressing on it. Yup, the dressing is as good as it sounds. I know, I feel you, my mouth was watering the first time I heard miso Cesar dressing too. Of course I used the miso Cesar dressing on my every 15-minute slice of focaccia bread! What do you think this is amateur hour? With the short rib plate, we have a pommes darphin (potato hash brown cake) and this funky vegetable, who’s name slipped my mind, but I need to try the taste tomorrow.
Love,
Eliana