top of page
Search

Week 6 Review

  • dcm0062
  • Sep 28, 2021
  • 5 min read

Updated: Oct 3, 2021

Frying and Poultry

Menu

Pan-fried Chicken

Ratatouille

Dauphinoise Potatoes

Did the cooking technique work or not?

Overall the vast majority of the cooking techniques worked great but as always some didn't work as well. But, with any recipe this will happen and its good to learn what worked and what didn't work.

How did the dishes turn out in terms of:

Pan-fried Chicken

Texture

The texture of the chicken was awesome. It was congruent throughout and was moist as could be. Although the inside was moist the outside had an amazing, firm, and crunchy fry.

Taste

The taste of the chicken speaks for itself. It delivered a great and formidable taste that you expect with chicken. The seasoning we added to the flour contributed a wonderful taste that was salty, pronounce, and herby.

Flavor

` With the combination of the taste of the chicken and seasoned flour we obtained an amazing pieces of pan-fried chicken that was delicate, delicious, and filling.

Appearance


ree

Ratatouille

Texture

This dish came out awesome. It had a soft and squishy texture that came from the zucchini and eggplant. But also had a firm crunchy texture from the peppers and unions. Furthermore, the zucchini and eggplant had a firm outside edge that made it all come together nicely.

Taste

The taste from the peppers and union stuck out to me the most in the dish. The peppers gave off an earthy, light, and healthy taste that you look for. The union as well gave off a sweet and acidic taste that was much needed. The taste of the garlic popped a little as well in the dish. Its taste wasn't a smack you in the mouth but the hint of the garlics pungent and sweet taste worked very nice.

Flavor

The flavor of the ratatouille was very good due to the amount of flavors contributed by its many ingredients. The peppers, zucchini, eggplant, contributed an healthy, rich flavor that complemented the garlic and union amazingly. The white wine we used to de glaze the pan contributed a much needed bitter flavor. Lastly, the tomato cancassée contributed an acidness to the flavor of the dish that complemented every ingredient great.

Appearance


ree

Dauphinoise Potatoes

Texture

The texture of our potatoes was very mediocre due to them not being cooked to perfection. The outside of the potato slices was what you want but the inside was hard which was unpleasing. The texture of the cheese on the other hand was awesome since it was mushy and gushy. When attempting to take a bite of cheese it would string out from your plate to the fork.

Taste

The potatoes taste is obviously one that stuck out the most. The potatoes gave off a starchy, wholesome, and filling taste. The gruyére cheese taste was rich, creamy, and salty. The taste of the garlic wasn't so prominent in the dish but it's pungent taste popped out here in there.

Flavor

Although the potatoes weren't cooked enough the flavors were awesome. The potatoes, gruyére cheese, and garlic created a uniform flavor that was delicate and rich. The garlic mixed well with this delicate and rich flavor because it added a pungent and sweet flavor.

Appearance


ree

Results

Why did certain techniques work or not work?

I had a blast during this lab since I had prior skills and knowledge that helped everything go smoothly. A couple techniques worked flawlessly and some not as great. The technique behind cooking the chicken worked great. We established a great outside crust along with a moist and juicy inside which is ideal. It worked so well because we fried the chicken at the perfect temperature which allowed for a crunchy fry but didn't dry out the inside. To keep the good times going our ratatouille technique worked awesome. We sautéd the vegetables to perfection a had a great brown outside. We utilized wine as a de glazer and it worked to perfection. This all allowed for optimal flavor extraction, presentation, and texture. Now on the sad side of things, the technique behind the potatoes was flawed. We found that the amount of potatoes as too much for the amount of cream. This was due to there not being an exact weight of potatoes to use. This didn't work because not all the potatoes were covered in cream so the cooking consistency was flawed. The previous problem also contributed to the potatoes not being cooked throughly. A lot of them were hard in the middle which was unpleasing.

What could/would you do to improve the outcomes?

To improve the outcome of the overall meal I produced I would only change the potatoes. The first thing I would do next time would be to add more cream to the potatoes. Although I noticed this problem in the lab I couldn't do anything about it since we were short on supplies. Adding more cream would have created a more uniform consistency. The another way I could have improved the potatoes would have been to cook them longer. At the time I didn't realize they were under cooked but they were. The outside of the potato was great but once you bit into the inside it was hard. To avoid this unpleasant trait I would keep them in the oven for 10-15 minutes longer.


ree

**We Added more potatoes**

ree

Conclusion

Learning Objectives Achieved

Out of the learning objective I felt like I did best in "Identify the structure and composition of poultry" and "Prepare poultry for cooking using deep and shallow frying." Due to the lab, I developed a great understanding on the composition of a chicken that I previously didn't have. Going through the chicken helped develop a better understanding of the composition and I can now name all its components. This knowledge was a seg-way into the next learning objective I did great in. Understanding the composition well helped immensely with preparing the chicken for frying. When cutting the chicken into pieces for frying I did a great job. I made every cut with ease and didn't struggle with joints and bones. Furthermore, I didn't eliminate too much skin when making my cuts which allowed for a better final product.

Skills Learned Other than Learning Objectives

The most important skill I learned outside the learning objectives was using white wine as a de glaze. Prior to this lab I just thought adding wine to something added more flavor. But, I didn't know that it helped with de glazing the pan to allow for optimal flavor.

What can I Apply in the Future

In the future I will continue using my knowledge on congruent vegetable cuts. Making congruent cuts allows for uniform cooking that can make or break a dish. Also, my new found tool of using wine as a de glazer will follow me forever. This seriously enhanced my ratatouille and I'm sure it can help many of my dishes to come.

What Needs more Practice

What I need to practice the most during the next lab is plate presentation. Like I seriously need work with this. I am good at making great food but once I put it on the plate I am lost. I would say my plate representation looks like a middle schoolers lunch tray. We eat with our eyes in a way so I believe having a beautiful plate presentation will go a long way in making my dishes step out.


ree

Citations




Baum, I., Baum, I., & 29, J. (n.d.). 9 mistakes you're probably making when Cooking Potatoes. Retrieved September 28, 2021, from https://www.cookinglight.com/cooking-101/mistakes-when-cooking-potatoes#:~:text=You%20will%20know%20when%20the,a%20potato%20salad%2C%20he%20says.


Facebook.com/MyFearlessKitchen. (2020, October 23). How to adjust a recipe. Retrieved September 28, 2021, from https://www.myfearlesskitchen.com/how-to-adjust-a-recipe/



 
 
 

Recent Posts

See All

Comments

bottom of page