Part of what we are learning in Plated Dessert class is that there are a lot of little components that we make to put a plate together.
And we have a final exam where we need to make something of our own. I've been playing with an idea ever since, and wanted to incorporate some ideas I found.
But first, I promised the Vanilla Extract.
So I got the vodka, bottles, and the vanilla beans (turns out it went from Papua New Guinea to Ireland to me). I thought I'd start with the original plan and start that process first.
Place the scored vanilla beans in the bottle and kind of squash them in there.
Pour in the vodka and seal. That's it.
Now we wait 8 weeks or longer.
It's already turning brown, and it will turn a dark opaque brown before it is done.
Now back to Idea #1 for my final exam.
My idea is to represent the balance of yin yang. Often we hear in class that the main idea of plating is to show a balance between soft and crunchy, sweet and savory, herbal and nutty, fat and lean, and color contrasted with color. The balance of yin yang is this way, opposites in balance.
So I was going for dark and light, soft creamy and pop crunchy, tangy and sweet.
The main ingredient was a caramel cheesecake with a toffee crunch and graham cracker crust, formed in a circle. The top would be blackberries as the yin (sweet, mild) which represented the roe of a fish and caramelized pineapple jam as the yang (acidic sweet) which represented scales of an adult fish. There would be flair, a pineapple slice dehydrated into a flower, to represent the aged fish swimming into a sunset. A sweet / sour mango coulis would swirl around the outside, representing the many cycles we live during our lives and how it comes back around again and again.
The problem is, there is a fine line between caramelized pineapple and burnt. I burned them twice.
And now I'm out of pineapple. I might have enough to salvage, but it will be dark brown not yellow. I may need to change it to something else, perhaps chunks of the dried pineapple may work?
For the pineapple flowers, you cut the pineapple with a mandolin very thin, then bake them at 200F for 2 - 3 hours. This is part of why during a final it wouldn't work, its too long tying up one oven. Unfair to the others.
Here you can see the dehydrated pineapple flowers are then put into a muffin tin to curl the edges. Do this quickly because they get hard fast.
I also made the mango coulis, which turned out to be much easier than pineapple jam, I think because there was less sugar involved and to be honest, more paying attention on my part!
Mango is cut in chunks then cooked in sugar and lime juice, then blended to make a coulis. This was easy and very successful!
Here you see it in a squeeze bottle. I recommend label EVERYTHING. Chances are someone wont throw it away thinking its bad salad dressing! Also date it.
There is another reason this may not fly for the final - I don't yet have the "MUST HAVE" ingredient list from the chef, so what i get may not go with the flavors i picked.
This is why I call it Idea #1. :)
And I'm having fun learning new techniques. With the exception of the burnt pineapple!
More to come!
Vicky
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