Potato Monday

This week, we got new teams. As part of learning to work in a commercial kitchen, Chef Pierre wants us to learn to work with different people. I am now a member of a 4 person team with 3 girls. The hardest part about a new team is getting used to the way each person likes to work. In my last group it took 2 weeks to determine the roles each person would take based on each other’s personalities. This time around, we have a lot more on the menu and don’t have the luxury to take that kind of time. 2 of the girls in the group, Carling and Adrianna, are smart but quiet; it’s obvious that they will be good team members but will likely not take charge. The 3rd, Kenesha, is very independent; she is outgoing enough to take charge but would rather take her duty and just manage her own responsibilities. This leaves me to oversee the group and to make sure that all items are prepared and served on time. It’s my first kitchen management role, a role that I wasn’t sure I was ready for but needed to learn at some point.

Monday was all about potato preparation.
We cooked potatoes 6 different ways.
1. Mashed: Duchesse potatoes
2. Deep fried: Croquette potatoes
3. Baked: yes, it’s that obvious, baked potatoes
4. Potato pasta: Gnocchi
5. Sautéed: Pommes Lyonnaise
6. Boiled: Pommes Anglaise

For the Duchesse, Croquette and Gnocchi, we used the same type of potatoes and prepared them the same way. This meant that we could save time by starting them together and then splitting them up when it came time to finish them. The 4 of us began by washing and peeling 5 lbs of russet potatoes. For these preparations you want to use starchy potatoes (usually russets) because when they are cooked they break down and are easier to mash. The peeled potatoes are then put in cold, salted water and brought to a boil and simmered for 25 min. The potatoes are then drained and dried (put in a 350° oven until the steam is gone) and put through a food mill. We then separated the potatoes into 3 batches: 2 ¼ lbs for the Duchesse, 1 lb for the Croquette and 1 ¼ lb for the Gnocchi. By the way, at this point in the class I had already used the “hot-potato” comment 3 times. Potatoes do get really hot. I decided that after milling all the potatoes that I needed to cool my hands so I went to do dishes while the girls started the preparations for the 3 different potatoes.

To the still-hot 2 ¼ lb portion of mashed potatoes, egg yolks and softened butter were added and put into a piping bag with a star tip to make Duchesse potatoes. Then, we each got a chance to make 4 oz mounds. Mine looked terrible; somehow it wasn’t round on 1 side; Carling’s attempt was way too small; Kenesha’s tower started great and then turned into the leaning tower of potato; the best of our group was Adrianna. The tops are then drizzled with melted butter and broiled for 15 min.

To the 1 lb portion of hot-mashed potatoes, we added a different proportion of egg yolk and softened butter and put this into a pastry bag as well to make Croquette potatoes. For this one though, we did not need a tip. We wanted to make long sausage-like tubes. These tubes were cut into 2” long pieces and breaded using the Standard Breading Procedure (the procedure for coating foods with crumbs or meal by passing food through flour, then an egg wash and then the crumbs). These pieces are then put in the deep-fryer at 350° until golden brown. These were awesome; they are like mozzarella sticks but filled with mashed potatoes!

To the 1 ¼ lb portion of hot-mashed potatoes, we added flour and an egg to make a pasta dough for the gnocchi. This pasta is rolled into 16” long sticks about an inch wide and cut into ¾” pieces. Painstakingly, each little piece is rolled over a fork, leaving indentations and making texture. Just before service, these are dropped into boiling salted water. When they rise to the surface, about 30-60 seconds later, they are done. These were served over fresh tomato sauce that Kenesha had prepared and topped with parmesan cheese and beurre noisette (brown butter). The brown butter preparation was cool. To an already hot pan you add the butter and wait until it almost burns and then pour over the food. If the pan is not already hot, you will just melt the butter.

To ensure that everything would be cooked on time, we made sure to get the baked and Lyonnaise potatoes started, adding them to the oven at 400° as soon as the first three had been pulled out of the oven after drying. To prepare the potatoes for baking, you simply rub the skins in oil and a bit of salt if you choose, pierce the skins with a fork and throw in the oven for an hour (yeah, it’s that easy). Kenesha also fried up some bacon and found sour cream and green onions to top our potatoes. Mmmm…

On a side note, baked potatoes are almost always disappointing, because about halfway through it, you realize that you have already eaten all of the toppings.

For the Lyonnaise preparation, we used waxy potatoes because they are more moist and firm and hold their shape well when cooked than the starchy potatoes. We had a choice of white-skinned or red potatoes. I chose the white-skinned because it seemed that most everyone else was using red (I’m sure they picked them for the color, but we were peeling them so the color really didn’t matter). We partially cooked the white-skinned potatoes for 15 min. We then removed them from the oven leaving the baked potatoes in for another 45 min (hot-potato comment count: 5). We peeled these potatoes and cut them into ¼” thick slices for sautéing. These potatoes were the best of the group. To start, onions are cooked in butter until tender but not browned. The onions are then set aside and the pan is filled with the potato discs and more butter. The discs are cooked and tossed until all sides have browned and then the onions are added back in to combine the flavors.

The Anglaise preparation is relatively simple: boiled potatoes topped with butter and parsley. The reason we did this in class was to learn another new knife skill, the tourné. A tourné is a football shaped cut with seven equal sides and blunt ends. We had to practice this cut from quartered potatoes. This cut is very hard at first but once you get the hang of it……. it’s still very hard. The motions get easier and you get more comfortable holding the knife and the potato, but the sides still looked uneven and very UN-smooth.

Monday was by far, the longest class we had and we didn’t get out until after 10:30, but when we’re that busy it didn’t really seem that long.

Rees