The Bresson's: Week Three - Garde Manger Class

Alright so this week in class was Hors d' oeuvers and Sandwiches. The first day was pretty much just prep work for the second day. We sliced and baked the crostinis, pounded out the carpaccio and marinated it in olive oil and s+p, thinly sliced the cucumbers, made all the sauces/spreads, braised the zucchini, made the cracker dough and baked them all, made all the tea sandwich fillings, sliced all the meats and cheese for sandwiches and made deviled eggs.

Oh and i almost forgot, a guy at my table (Ian) almost died. Did i forget to mention that? Well Ian was trying to open a mayo jar and it just wouldn't open, so he decided that his paring knife, which he had just gotten sharpened so it was razor sharp, and it slipped. Well needless to say he sliced his wrist very deep. Well everyone was freaking out, and he turned sheet white as he bleed a TON on the floor, his cutting board, and the girl next to him. EMT's were called and he was taken to the emergency room. By the end of class the ER had cleaned him up enough that his girlfriend sent us a picture of his exposed tendons. In this picture you can actually see some of them severed. Well it turns out he was less then an inch away from a major vein that runs through the wrist and he could have bled out in the classroom before anyone arrived. Awesome right? Now hes going to have to have surgery to repair his tendons, then at least 3 weeks of physical therapy.

Ian actually showed up to class the next day, without taking any of his vicodin, and stayed throughout the entire class. He plated and did his work, with a little help from the rest of the group, and even helped us with the plating designs for the platter.

Below are pictures of the products that we turned out on day two.

Cucumber Canape on white bread rounds with a dill cream cheese spread and a dill sprig to garnish.

Beef Carpaccio on a Crustini with a basil cream cheese spread, green peppercorns, and julienned dried apricots. (I actually made everything for this one)

Salmon Gravlax on a cheese cracker with a dill cream cheese spread and julienned red onions for garnish. NOTE: the Salmon is in a rose upon the cracker.

Another view of the Salmon Gravlax.

Braised Zucchini in bouchees a la reine with romano cheese and parsley garnish.

Another view of the bouchees' . These ones are a little crooked, i wish i had gotten a picture of the straight up and down ones. Oops.

Monte Cristo Sandwich on Texas Toast. The Texas toast was dredged in a French toast batter, and placed on a griddle. Once the toast was done, a slice of Provolone cheese was place on either side of the toast, then sliced ham went on one side and sliced turkey on the other. this was placed on a pie tin and went into the oven until the cheese was melted and the sandwich was hot. Once if come out you place the two sides together, then slice gently with a bread knife.

Muffuletta sandwich. This is a baguette sliced open, but not separated all the way, with provolone cheese on the top, and 2 slices of mortadella, and 3 slices of salami on the bottom. place on a pie tin and into the oven until the cheese is melted. toss arugula in the pre-made olive mixture and place on top of meats. Add tomatoes if desired.

Club Sandwich. Toast 3 slices of bread and place mayo on all 3 slices (1 side). place deli sliced turkey on the first slice, then place the second slice of toast on top of that. place bacon on top of the second slice, followed by tomatoes then lettuce and finally the last slice of bread. Place in the tooth picks, cut off crusts and slice into 4 pieces.

Reuben Sandwich on Rye Bread. Place a slice of swiss cheese on either side of the rye bread, and corned beef on top of that. Each side also gets a little bit of sourkrout. Both sides of the sandwich get placed on a griddle, until the cheese just starts to melt, then into the oven on a pit tin for 5 minutes.