Soup Overload

I had a demonstration this morning for 3 hours and it involved learning how to make four different soups. The Asparagus and Wild Mushroom soups are based around the season. Spring/Summer- you would make the Asparagus soup while during the Fall/Winter- you would make the Wild Mushroom soup. Both have the same base ingredients and involve the same process. I could not believe how intense the Wild Mushroom taste was in the mushroom soup. I have never tasted such a concentrated mushroom flavor in a soup…it was unbelievable!

Here is the beautiful Wild Mushroom soup-

We also were taught how to make a Cream of Cauliflower Soup that surprisingly was pretty good considering I am not a huge fan of Cauliflower. It was very creamy and velvety, which only made it more rich and delightful.

Here is the Cream of Cauliflower soup- garnished with whipped cream and Parsley-

The last soup we were taught this morning was a Crab Bisque. The chef brought in live, blue crabs and threw them into a huge pot with melted butter and cooked them until their shells turned bright red. He then added a basic vegetable garnish of chopped onions, leeks, carrots, celery, and garlic. The vegetables were sweated in the butter and juices of the crabs, therefore infusing them with the crab flavor. You then add Cognac, White Wine, and Fish stock and let the whole pot come to a simmer and cook for about 40 minutes. Later on, you add rice flour mixed with water to create a thickening agent in the bisque liquid. Once you are done cooking, you put the whole pot through a sieve and push the liquid through to be reserved for the Crab Bisque soup.

We were also shown how to make perfectly cut croutons and saute them in a hot pan with clarified butter. The croutons were beautiful and the perfect garnish because they were all uniform in size and were as small as an eraser on a pencil. The Crab Bisque was a taste of the sea in the best way possible. I could not wait to get into our Practical directly after and make my Crab Bisque to bring home this evening.

The Crab Bisque topped with whipped cream-

 

The perfectly cut, mini croutons that topped each of today’s soups-

Of course being Monday, everyone was a little frazzled in the kitchen during the three hour practical. One step of making the Bisque was placing 5-6 crabs in a large bowl and using the end of a rolling pin to smash their shells. This maneuver releases all of their juices and therefore, enhances the flavor of the soup. As I began to beat down on the crabs, their insides and liquids immediately shot up into my face. Soon enough, the students and I were dying laughing because by the end, everyone had some sort of crab remnants on their white coats. (This only made the experience of making this dish even more realistic and fun). We had to make the Crab Bisque from scratch and then also had to prepare a whole new batch of Puff Pastry from scratch to use in the dishes for the next three days.

The Crab Bisque that I made in the Practical-

Despite it being a clumsy day, there is something about cooking in a kitchen amongst friends who love to cook just as much as you do. Everyone is in the same boat and messes up from time to time. I am lucky enough to be amongst friends/fellow students who are willing to look out for their classmates in the kitchen and lend a helping hand when needed. I wake up everyday and am ACTUALLY excited about going to school. I look forward to sitting in a desk while taking intense notes for 3 hours straight. and this is such a refreshing feeling!

I hope everyone enjoys their Monday!

Love Always,

Britt xoxo