CONTREFILET DE BOEUF ROTI BOUQUETIERE

Or, simply, Roasted Sirloin with Bouquetiere Garnish. I am using Chef Vito's demo dish for the picture in order to explain the art of the garnish. I googled 'bouquetiere' but the best I managed is probably a specific, almost religious, way to prepare a collection of vegetables. From the front of the plate moving clockwise we have; cauliflowers, cripsy golden brown Chateau potatoes oven roasted in Ghee ie clarified butter originally from India that does not burn easily, green beans tossed in butter, and lastly carrots & turnips - turned, of course, how else would they be served - glazed in butter & sugar, sitting on an artichoke heart cooked a-blanc, quite a task in itself. Not unlike a lot of things we do in every lesson now, timing is everything, and the class is pushed to deliver as though we are in the real world or 'industry'. The Chef would put a time in bold print on the kitchen board, the finish bell for service. 'I am not going to grade anyone who is late'. Each of the 6 vegetables here has a slightly different MoC ie Method of Cooking, and the key is coordination. 'Think ahead, do not slice the beef unless everything is hot, and ready to go ....' which of course includes a hot plate & a hot sauce. A thermometer injected into the center of my sirloin measured 58C, almost right on the medium rare mark of 60C. I burned my hand from fumbling 2 hot pans in the oven but I did not feel a thing as the beef tasted good.

Today was passable but yesterday was another 'Waterloo', I needed vindication badly. We cooked 2 items (1) Supreme de Pintade aux Fruits des bois ie Breast of Ginea Fowl with Leek & Mushrooms and (2) Pasta a Nouilles Sauce Nicoise ie home-made pasta in tomato & basil sauce. While I managed the guinea fowl, which was delicious by the way, I completley messed up the pasta. My dough was wet, and my sauce was burned & dry. Now I cannot even say ' ... let me go into the kitchen whip up a simple tomato sauce pasta ... ' because it is on LCB's official records that Tang-CANNOT-Cook simple pastas. Want to try my roast beef instead?