Epicurean Encounters: Something Fishy

I just want to clarify to all my loyal readers that I am just a culinary student. There is no reason to feel intimidated by my my cooking skills. Much to my chagrin, my mother in law, a great cook, has vowed not to cook for me again. In fact, at this point, I am throwing out more mistakes than actually eating. So please, continue cooking for me! My husband made me the most delicious steak, baked potato, and brussel sprout dinner for Mother's day. It was much better than any we made in class. The steak was perfectly seasoned and seared and cooked to the right temperature. The potato was light and fluffy and hot. The brussel sprouts deliciously caramelized.
I am happy to announce that I have successfully completed the first block of my culinary curriculum. I am very pleased with my grade of 90 on my practical, my highest practical score so far. Of course now that I have learned what good cooking is, I am my most critical critic. I felt I over seasoned the salad greens, over cooked the chicken and potatoes , and undercooked the carrots. However, I had been struggling with the consistency of the Veloute and it turned out perfectly! Victory, at last!
The last week of Foundations was a whirlwind with 3 days of seafood when Chef could have easily spent 3 months! We filleted both a round fish (bass) and flat fish (sole), shucked oysters, made gravlax (salmon), mussels, and fish stock. Some people had never tasted raw oysters before and acquired a taste for it, whereas others still do not like it. Luckily, having grown up in Alabama with access to Gulf oysters, I cherish and devour the lovely bivalves. We made many fish dishes by employing the seven basic cooking methods. I learned that there is no need to fear fish cookery, and it is much more versatile than meat. (The photos below demonstrate some of the seafood we made, again I highlighted what I made in bold).
This week begins a new block called Culinary Arts. We start with eggs and breakfast foods then move on to baking. I am looking forward to making a baguette and various other baked treats as well as learning from a new chef.

Salmon filet demo with Chef Bob