Growing up, my parents owned a beachfront home in Brooklyn.  My father would often take me fishing from the backyard.   He would shore cast into the Atlantic Ocean, right at the mouth of New York Harbor.  Picking up fishing as an adult, my dad did not know a lot about the nuances of skill and technique.  But fishing gave him great pleasure, so he kept trying and learning as he went along.

Our family included a fat orange cat named Sammy. Mean and nasty,  tromped through the neighborhood killing any birds and mice in his wake. Late one summer afternoon (much like this one) as the sun glistened along the water blazing a pinkish orange sky, my dad waded in the ocean casting out his 16-foot fishing pole to see what he could bring home.

Rather than the usual sand-crabs and seaweed, my father actually caught a fish – a flounder to be exact.  I ran with the net to help him reel it in and we put it in a bucket along the beach.  

Sammy the cat was very curious about this fish in the bucket.  He approached it with trepidation.  It smelled like food to him, but moved like a toy.  So the cat reached his paws into the bucket to swipe at the fish.  Reacting violently to this attack, the fish pushed its body up into the air and smacked the cat in the face with its tail.  Sammy stood for a moment in awe as he looked down into the bucket at this fish that had the audacity to smack him in the face.  Then he swiped at it again, repeating the process.

After some time, my father decided to quit and we took our winnings up to the yard to gut and clean it for dinner.   Thus, I had my first foray into the technique of cleaning fish.

I dare say that I have not caught or cleaned a flounder since those years of fishing with my dad — until today.

Today, I attended my final session of Knife Skills at the French Culinary Institute.  Chef Guido (from the Italian Cuisine program) taught us how to fabricate both chicken and fish.

We first worked on trussing a chicken with – and without – a needle (Something I did not know).  Then we broke down a chicken into pieces while raw (I have broken chicken down many times before, but the refresher is always welcome).  We also cleaned, gutted and filleted a flounder, followed by a rainbow trout. 

After trussing and fabricating, Chef broke us into teams to prepare our chicken recipe: Poulet Roti Grand Mere (Roast Chicken Grandmother Style).  I paired up with Chef Jorgen (an advanced pasty instructor at the school that wanted to improve his knife skills and dabble in culinary).  

Well,  Chef Jorgen was lots of fun!  We hit it off immediately and preparing these recipes really felt like playing in the kitchen.   For the chicken, we divided up our station assignments – he prepared the jus and the pearl onions and I worked on the bacon, potatoes and the mushrooms.  

Chef Guido tastes every dish prior to service (in this case it was our lunch).  "Mmmm," he said  after tasting our dish, and came back for a second bite.

Next we prepared our fish recipe: Filet De Truite Saute A La Grenobloise (sautéed trout, Grenoble style).  No longer in teams, I butterflied the tout  (my ex fiancée first taught me to filet a trout when we used to fish together but I could never get those pesky pin-bones out).  Today, Chef Guido demonstrated how to properly butterfly the fish and remove all the pin bones.    

Once again Chef complimented my dish and came back to taste it again. 

Sad that the class had ended, I approached Chef Guido at the end of the lesson to thank him, when he told me,  "You have a lot of passion and you are quite good.   I sincerely hope you will continue and come back for more classes."  

This recognition meant the world to me.  It helped me better understand at what level my skills currently are, and what towork on improving next.  While I can never compare to someone that cooks all day for a living, at least I am on my way to refining my techniques and understanding of food.  I feel as though I have scratched the surface of the next level – and I want more J

Poulet Roti Grand Mere (From French Culinary Institute)

(Roast Chicken Grandmother Style)

Ingredients:

-          1 roasting chicken, about 1½ kilograms

-          Salt and freshly ground pepper

-          30 milliliters oil

-          30 grams butter

-          Trimmings (gizzards, necks, hearts)

-          70 grams carrots cut in mirepoix

-          70 grams onions, cut in mirepoix

-          400 grams potatoes

-          25 milliliters oil

-          40 grams butter

-          75 grams per onions (3-5 per person)

-          100 grams bacon

-          125 grams mushrooms

-          Salt and freshly ground pepper

-          10 grams flat leaf parsley, finely chopped (2 teasponns)

The Jus de Roti

-          50 milliliters white wine

-          500 milliliters brown veal stock

-          Salt and freshly ground pepper

Method:

1.      Trim chicken of excess fat, season the inside cavity with salt, pepper 1 clove of garlic in the skin and a wedge of lemon, and truss with or without needle.

2.      In a heavy bottomed roasting pan or a poele, brown the chicken on all sides in the butter and oil.  Surround with the gizzards, necks and hearts (not the livers)

3.      Place chicken on its back (breast up) in the oven at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

4.      Remove the chicken from the pan – place the mirepoix in the bottom and place the chicken on top...

5.      Resume baking for 40 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temp of 150 –160 degrees

6.      Baste the chicken frequently during the roasting process.

Grand-Mere Garniture:

-          Peel potatoes and turn them into pommes cocotte 5 centimeters (2 inches) long.  Place the potatoes in a pot with enough water to cover and bring them to a simmer on the stove.  Drain and allow them to dry.

-          Heat a Poele and add the oil.  Add the blanched pommes cocotte to the pan in a singe layer (add two sprigs of thyme to the pan while sautéing.  When you have  browned the potatoes on all sides – drain the oil and add the butter. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper and finish cooking them in the oven.

-          Peel the onions first by soaking them in warm water – then squeeze them out of their skins.  Combine the onions butter, sugar and water in a sautoir or russe large enough to hold them in a single layer, cover with a parchment paper lid and glacer a brun (don't use too much water).  The water should be completely evaporated when the onions are done.  

-          Meanwhile, cut the bacon into ½ inch thick lardons and sauté – reserve rendered fat..

-          If the mushrooms are small, they can be left whole, if not, then quarter them and sauté them in the reserved rendered bacon fat and sprinkle with parsley, salt and pepper.

-          When all the garniture elements are cooked – toss together and keep warm for service.

For Service:

1. Remove the breasts, thighs and wings from the carcass.  Manchonner the ends of the drumsticks and the wings.
2. Cut each breast in half into two even pieces on the bias.  Cut legs in half at the joint on the bias and remove the thigh bones.  The chicken is now cut into 8 pieces.
3. To Serve: assemble one leg and one breast (make certain that only one of the two pieces contains a bone).  Nap the chicken with jus and garnish with the Grand-Mere mixture.  Extra jus can be served on the side in a sauce boat.  

Filet de Truite Daute A Al Grenobloise (From French Culinary Institute)

Ingredients:

-          2 trout

-          75 grams white bread

-          25 grams butter, for cooking croutons

-          2 lemons, cut into supremes

-          40 grams capers

-          10 grams parsley

-          Salt and freshly ground pepper

-          150 grams butter, clarified

-          75 grams butter, for beurre noisette

Method:

1.      Season and lightly flour the fillets, shaking off the excess.

2.      Heat a poele, add clarified butter and place the fish fillet in the pan with the presentation side down.  Cook over high heat.  When the fish is nicely colored, turn and cook the second side down until done.

3.      Remove the filet from the pan and transfer to a clean hot plate.  Keep warm.

4.      Clean out the skillet with paper towel and add fresh whole butter.  Cook the butter to the noisette stage.  Add the capers, diced lemon and parsley.  At the last moment, add the croutons, toss and immediately spoon over the fillets.