THIS WEEK WAS A "SHORT WEEK" AT SCHOOL FOR ME AS I HAD TO MISS MY THURSDAY CLASS. WITH THAT BEING SAID, THE TUESDAY CLASS WAS ALL ABOUT THE SAUCE, PARTICULARLY COLD AND WARM EMULSIFIED SAUCES SUCH AS MAYONNAISE AND HOLLANDAISE. BUT BEFORE CLASS I TOOK A LITTLE WALK AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD....
MY SCHOOL IS LOCATED IN SOHO (SOUTH OF HOUSTON) BUT IS SURROUNDED BY VARIOUS OTHER WELL KNOWN "AREAS" OF MANHATTAN, ONE BEING LITTLE ITALY. JUST MINUTES FROM THE CAMPUS IS THE HEADQUARTERS OF 55 ENGINE, A.K.A CINQUANTACINQUE (FIFTY FIVE IN ITALIAN). THIS FIREHOUSE LOST MEMBERS LT. FREUND, FF APOSTOL, FF RUSSELL, FF LANE AND FF MOZZILLO ON 9/11. WHILE ATTENDING BARUCH COLLEGE IN MANHATTAN IN 2003, I WROTE AN ESSAY ON THESE BRAVE MEN.
EMULSIFIED SAUCES BASICALLY CONSIST OF SOME SORT OF AN EMULSIFIER, WHICH BINDS TWO OR MORE LIQUIDS THAT NORMALLY WOULD NOT MIX. THE MOST COMMON EMULSIFIER IS EGG YOLK. SOME OTHERS INCLUDE CREAM AND MUSTARD.
WE MADE MAYONNAISE, WHICH IS EGG YOLK, RED WINE VINEGAR, DIJON MUSTARD, SALT/PEPPER AND VEGETABLE OIL.....THATS IT! WELL AT LEAST THE HOMEMADE STUFF, FORGET ABOUT THE HELLMAN'S. WE ALSO MADE A BERNAISE SAUCE, THE CLASSIC STEAKHOUSE SAUCE WHICH STARTS OFF THE SAME AS A HOLLANDAISE BUT USES A REDUCTION OF WHITE WINE VINEGAR, TARRAGON, CHERVIL, SHALLOTS AND PEPPERCORNS. I RECREATED THIS SAUCE LAST NIGHT AT HOME AND PUT IT OVER A BEAUTIFUL HANGER STEAK...
THESE SAUCES ARE EXTREMELY DELICATE. WITH IMPROPER HANDLING OR HOLDING OF THE PROPER TEMPERATURE RANGE, YOU RUN THE RISK OF BREAKAGE OR CURDLING. DURING CLASS I BASICALLY TURNED MY HOLLANDAISE INTO SCRAMBLED EGGS BECAUSE I WAS NOT CAREFUL WITH MY HEAT. IN THE GARBAGE IT GOES AND WE START ALL OVER....
WE ALSO LEARNED THE CLASSIC SABAYON (OR ZABALGIONE FOR THE ITALIANS OUT THERE) WHICH IS A LIGHT, AIRY CUSTARD. IT HAS THREE INGREDIENTS, EGG YOLK, SUGAR AND MARSALA WINE. IT IS SIMPLE BUT DELICIOUS, ESPECIALLY OVER FRESH BERRIES AND THEN HIT WITH A TORCH. IT FORMS A SLIGHTLY CRUST WITH CREAMY CENTER, REMINISCENT OF A TOASTED MARSHMALLOW....
THIS IS SO EASY I MADE IT AT HOME FOR DESSERT AFTER OUR STEAK WITH BERNAISE SAUCE!
THANKS FOR FOLLOWING ALONG WITH ME ON THIS WILD JOURNEY! STAY TUNED FOR NEXT WEEKS' RECAP...
STAY SAFE, EAT WELL!
-AJ