New England Day 2

It's our 2nd day focusing on the New England region and where and when some of the regions came from and why. If it weren't for the Native Americans in New England, the early settlers may not have survived that first winter. The Native Americans taught the settlers how to cure meat so that it could be preserved for the upcoming long, harsh winter. They also showed them how to fish and hunt in the new environment as well as sharing with them some of the secrets of the native produce. There truly lies the reason that we all give thanks each November.

Day 2 Menu:

Cod Cakes with Tartar Sauce
Mesclun Salad with Dried Cranberries
Roasted Turkey Roulade with Cranberry Sauce and Pan Gravy
Green Beans with sautéed onions and mushrooms
Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Peach & Blackberry Crunch

Cod, as we learned in class, was the most important product to early immigrants in New England. After preparing the cod cakes (=crab cakes with cod vs. crab), we put them in the fridge to help them firm up for pan-frying. The cakes were served with tartar sauce that we prepared in class. Because the sauce could be held in the fridge, it was important to get that prepared early so that we weren't rushed at the end of class.

A theme this week in our critique was to manage our seasoning. Our cakes turned out well but needed to be seasoned before breading. The tartar sauce was creamy and had a nice tang.

The Mesclun salad had dried cranberries and fresh apples, both native produce to New England. The salads are our easiest opportunity to work on presentation and John did a great job keeping the apples from oxidizing in a bowl of ice with a bit of lemon juice. The bad news was that our apples looked so good, that some of the apple slices got jacked by people cruising by our table. Needless to say, we keep a very close eye on our table now.

Bobby has become our Protein Go-To guy, thanks to a fantastic Corned Beef and now his Turkey Roulade. The roulade is basically puréed dark meat rolled up inside a flattened turkey breast. It really is a cool mixture of textures. This is another food that gets prepared early and spends time in the ice box to firm up before cooking. The pan gravy that we made turned out great but we caught a bit of criticism because we chose not to strain it. Our table preffered the more rustic style, but what the chef wants, he gets.

For our supporting cast on the plate, we prepared mashed potatoes and sautéed green beans. To mix up the usual potatoes and green beans, we used sweet potatoes for some added color and added onions and mushrooms to the beans. For some additional color and to add to the Thanksgiving direction, we prepared some fresh cranberry sauce.

The suprise of the night was definately the dessert. I love fruit and consider that a great start in the inclusion of dessert but wow, I LOVE CRUNCH TOPPING. Carling could have served me a plate of crunch topping and I'd have been happy. Crunch topping is simply butter, sugar, flour and oats sprinkle a top the fruit and baked. YUM! I also now give thanks for Crunch Topping.

The next week we head south to the Mid Atlantic Region. More U.S. culinary history and more great food.

--Rees