The Majik Hat...

From within the Majik Hat we had to pull out 2 things that we had to make for our Praktikal test.  And I was a lucky lil devil and got to do the Green Beans and Pommes Anna (potatoes).  I made the Green Beans for the Family on Easter celebration so heh, practice makes perfect. 

Potatoes Anna? Well it's an all kind of yummy, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside potato "cake" of sorts.  Who the Hell is Anna?  Well there seems to be a dispute as to whom the Dish is actually named for.  There is Actress Anna Damien aka Anna Judic then the more popular concensus Anna Deslions.  But what is known is that the creator of the dish is Adolphe Dugléré, a pupil of one of the forefathers of French cuisine, Carême.  Dugléré was the Head Chef at Café Anglais, the leading restaurant in Paris in the 19th centurty and it is said that he  named the dish for one of the Grandes Cocottes.  The grand What?...So I looked up Cocotte and it means chicken or female prostitute.  I highly doubt that chicken is the route I would take here.  On another site it said a Grande Cocotte was a woman that was "kept" in a life of luxury.  So...I suppose whoever steps forward and admit she's a prostitute or a "kept" woman gets the honors of having a potato dish named after her.

I've posted a few vids from Youtube on how to make Pommes Anna... quick tip...Do NOT rinse your potatoes after you slice them.  Alternate directions your circle of potatoes go... first clockwise then counter clockwise and season each layer with salt and pepper then drizzle your top layer with clarified butter before putting it in the oven.  The result should be crunchy on the top and bottom and soft, almost like mashed potatoes on the inside.

Today we learned how to mix and knead pasta. Tomorrow we get to make Fettuccine Alfredo and Tortelini... My mouth is watering as I type.  I love Alfredo, I don't care what anyone says about him...Now if there was an Alfreda...

Please watch the vids regarding the pasta on my Youtube channel, linked just above my profile.

So, as I mentioned, today was practical day.  I cooked my 2 dishes that I pulled out of the Majik Hat and took it up to Chef for scoring.  It's always a great feeling when the Chef does the euphoric "oh, that's really good".  I scored a 9.5 and a "Great" in the comments.  It was a good day.  Now if only everyday could be like today lol and on a Monday even.

That's my blip for my BFFs today.