Yesterday it occurred to me that I've never made a Hollandaise sauce from scratch. And that doing so is part of the practical final. And that I would probably end up being the person assigned to do it for my group. So, I decided it would be a good idea to see if I can do it. The answer, for your enquiring minds, is yes, yes I can! I busted out my double boiler, which I hardly ever get to use (excitement in the Plan B household let me tell you) and got to work on Hollandaiseing. Above is a not very good picture of a very good sauce. Near perfection on Try 1 (more excitement in the PBh), just a tad too vinegary, but otherwise great. Perfect silken texture, ribbony, bright and crisp. Yay!Tonight we were tested on our knife cuts, the seven I've mentioned (julienne, batonnet, brunoise, small dice, med dice, large dice, and paysanne) and two new ones thrown in for fun - the fine julienne (which is near paperthin - 1/16 x 1/16 x 2") and the formidable TOURNER. A tourner "is a cutting technique that results in a football-shaped finished product with seven equal sides and flat ends." Yeah. It's exactly as difficult as it sounds. Thankfully, I once again had near perfection on my first try (double yay!) and he let me pass. Phew! I think it helped I was first done with all the cuts and my other 8 were spot on...other than my paysanne which was just a smidge too thick.
After we completed our knife cuts, we were allowed to take a copy of the final and head home with it. Thank God, because it is a beast. A BEAST I SAY. 200 questions, some multiple choice, some T/F, some fill-in, some essay, a lot of matching. To give you an idea of the level of difficulty of the questions:
Ideally, the (fill in the blank) should serve as the chef's guide in choosing what vegetables to purchase in any given season.
(My favorite question): Please describe at what point a chef knows everything. When he can stop opening his eyes and see what is going on around him, and what else he can learn to make his job easier and be a better chef. (I KNOW.)
Place the steps in order of preparation when Braising:
- Sauce Preparation
- Seasoning
- Caramelize the Mirepoix
- Meat Preparation
- Braising
- Serving
- Trussing
- Remove Meat
- Searing
- Deglazing
- Pince tomato paste
There were four of those place in order questions.
There were also 20 "define this term" questions. I'm exhausted just talking about it. I'm glad it's work though. If I'm having to put this much effort into it, the slackers are really going to struggle, which will show in their grades. I don't wish them ill, I just think people who don't do a lot in class shouldn't get the same grades.
Okay, off to go through my test for a second go (while watching the antics of Jessica Fletcher on Murder, She Wrote) before I try to sleep some.
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