The Final Exam for Superior Cuisine is really pretty cool. We are given a list of ingredients (some mandatory, some facultatif) and then we have about two and a half weeks to come up with original recipes based on these ingredients. There must be the meat, plus three side dishes. Two of the sides must be “composed,” which means they should have more than two ingredients and have been manipulated in some way. For example: glazed potatoes=simple side; fennel flan=composed side. All sauce must be plated and the extra served in a separate dish. We will plate four plates for the jury instead of our usual one. I am very pleased with what we have been given to work with.

Drum roll, please!

And the dish will be…veal!

Here is the list we were given:

Must use:
Veal tenderloin
Poivrade (small purple) artichokes
Red peppers
Celery root

Will also have available:
Chicken breast
Caul Fat (don't ask)
Potatoes
Green beans
Tomatoes
Eggplant
Mushrooms
Zucchini
Basil
Flat-leaf parsley
Fresh orange juice
Lemons
Baby Spinach

Plus we will have all the things that are typically in our pantries at school. I have a few little ideas dancing around in my head, but if there is anyone out there who has input on what I should make, I’ll take it!
Sleepless nights, here I come…