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More Cuisine

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• Cuisine: Wining and dining — an art
• Cuisine: Flavors from the heights

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There used to be a television show on which contestants were handed large brown bags of groceries and allowed an hour to prepare a meal with them. Such a task faces competitors for the Certified Master Chef award at the Culinary Institute of America in New York.

In the years since the CIA established the designation, only 53 of the 270 applicants have achieved that level — it can add thousands of dollars to a chef’s annual salary.

Journalist Michael Ruhlman followed a class through the 10 days of the test and wrote a wonderful book called The Soul of a Chef. Seven chefs entered the competition, and just one achieved the prestigious initials CMC to add to his name.

The hectic days were divided into categories: first came exotica like terrines, galantines, ballotines — things which we will hardly ever make at home. Knife technique was important here: the chef had to cut the finished item into exactly equal slices or lose points. These dishes became part of a cold buffet, which most professionals consider the most difficult presentation in the business.

As you might expect, sauces played a major part in this contest. One big favorite was blended of mushrooms and asparagus, along with stock, butter, truffle oil, shallots and seasonings; sometimes cream was added. Experts strain all of these things, again and again and again — in one kitchen, a stock was strained nine times.

One hapless contestant forgot the two key ingredients in his sauce (curry and cayenne pepper) and sent his dish to the judges with plain white sauce, which anyone can make. He lost many points for this, and wound up being sent home two days later.

Coulis

Having said this, note that one sauce used frequently was a coulis — this is made in a blender with fresh fruit and sugar. Berries are often used for this, and the coulis must be strained because skin or seeds are present. This is a quick trick you can use at home to sauce ice cream and other desserts.

Sicilian putanesca sauce

This was a popular subject — no amounts were furnished, but it’s a regular Italian red sauce with olive oil, tomatoes, onions, lots of garlic, capers, chopped chili peppers, chopped olives, mashed anchovies and seasonings of salt, pepper and oregano. You might like to experiment with this.

A surprise was that red wines were chilled before serving, contrary to common practice for the last hundred years.

There was a morning devoted to computers: how to order in quantity, what to pay, what will sell, how much profit to expect and so on. It was mentioned that food which is served slightly dry will make diners order more wine. Then why learn all those sauces? It reminds one of the bartenders who put salty snacks on the bar to increase drink orders.

One day was devoted to pastry, one to American food, another to Oriental cooking. The toughest was the day of French haute cuisine, possibly because it has lost favor in this country and most chefs don’t use it all the time.

Some of the complicated recipes sound like modern restaurant menus which describe a dish with so many components that it’s hard to know how it might taste. It’s also a bit discouraging to read over and over of ramp (a wild onion) and tempeh (a soybean product) which are not available on Marco Island at all.

The mystery meal or “brown bag” day came toward the end. Each chef had to prepare a four-course meal in limited time for 10 people which had less than 800 calories, 25-30 percent fat, 50-55 percent carbohydrates, 15-20 percent protein, less than 150 milligrams of cholesterol and only 900 milligrams of salt.

Each chef was allowed 40 ounces of meat and 24 ounces of fish. They hit the computers hard to determine these amounts, and then began chopping, slicing, blending, mashing, chilling and cooking furiously. It counted against them if there was much food left in the kitchen when the meals went in for judging. Grilling and smoking were used heavily here, adding flavor without calories. Good nutrition counts heavily.

It’s doubtful that anyone at home can duplicate the feats of these professionals, but we don’t need to do so. A reasonable amount of care and enthusiasm will produce wonderful meals from your kitchen, and here’s an easy French recipe from a restaurant mentioned in the book.

Chicken Maison

4 boneless chicken breast halves

1 large or two small chicken livers

1 small chopped onion

2 tablespoons butter

2 cups soft breadcrumbs

Heavy cream as needed

Salt and pepper to taste

Flour for dredging

1 egg

2 tablespoons water

Extra breadcrumbs

4 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons salad oil

Sauté chicken liver and onion in butter until livers are still a bit rare. When mixture has cooled, place it in a food processor or blender and pulse until it has the consistency of finely ground beef. Mix in fresh breadcrumbs and heavy cream to make a mixture that can be rolled into a soft ball. Season to taste.

Pound chicken breast until flat and very thin. Distribute the ground liver mixture evenly on all four pieces and fold or roll to form cutlets, using toothpicks if necessary to secure. Dip the cutlets in flour, beaten egg and water, then roll in fine fresh breadcrumbs. Brown the cutlets on all sides in melted butter and oil, then bake in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes until done. Sauce with the pan drippings and serve with creamed spinach flavored with nutmeg. The following recipe is also excellent with this meal.

Potato batons

Make very stiff mashed potatoes in the manner you prefer. When cool, form them into batons about the size of your thumb.

Roll them in flour, then beaten egg or egg white, finally in sliced or slivered almonds. Sauté the batons in half butter and half oil in a skillet to brown all sides.

If you make them ahead, you may reheat these in the oven with the chicken if desired.

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Marion Nicolay is a regular contributor to the Marco Eagle. Contact her via e-mail at marion387@earthlink.net.