Cold competition - not to be eaten, only admired.
Started on Tuesday. Prepared shrimp stuffing. Prepared chicken mousse. Prepared chicken stock. Prepared honey pickled onions (recipe in previous post).
On Wednesday. Prepared chaud-froid sauce. Blanched asparagus. Blanched artichoke hearts. Prepared chaud-froid decorations. Made giant meaty "marshmallows"...
On Thursday. Made whole wheat caraway crisps. Decorated the "marshmallows". Laid first layers of "crazy glue" gelatin on food.
On Friday. Laid final layer of gelatin. Plated food. Careful not to smudge the plate. Fussed over plate. Cleaned plate. Fussed some more. Accidentally smudged the plate. Cleaned plate again. Fiddled with the food. Made asparagus tepees. Tried to keep hands steady. Re-glazed the asparagus. Destroyed asparagus tepee accidentally. Started over again. Blew on the gelatin to dry. Tried to let go of asparagus only to find them glued to fingers. Got unglued. Took a deep breath. Started the asparagus tepees over again. Plated the asparagus. Double checked plates for smudges. Triple checked plates for smudges. Smoothed out bumps in the gelatin. Quadruple checked plate for smudges and crumbs. Said a prayer and move plates to table.
I now present to you my plate:
Mousse de volaille chaud-froid with shrimp stuffed artichoke heart,
garnished with honey pickled red onions, asparagus tepee and whole wheat caraway tuile
