Wow!  My first three weeks of Level II have been rather busy, to say the least.  To capture all that occurred, I’ll just offer highlights of what proved to be a rather intense, but rewarding experience.

For starters, the long-awaited Winter Menu was disclosed.

The first two weeks were about me managing Station 1 — the “Italian” station featuring the new menu.  Actually, not only is Italian raw cuisine prepared at this station, but also American fare, though French culinary techniques still apply.  Now, we’re talking fine dining, gourmet raw food cuisine made fresh daily.

It was crucial that I have all the basic components for my dishes ready before service each day.  Because I am super organized with everything I do, I created a comprehensive checklist for managing my station that includes information for opening the station, a detailed listing of the mise en place, photos of each dish with the components needed for its assembly, and a “what to do” for closing the station.  Ladan Raissi (the Academy’s Director and course instructor), liked this so much, she decided to use it as a template for the other stations as well.  Not bad for starters, eh?

For the Italian dishes, here are the components I kept in stock:

• Marinara
• Pesto
• Ricotta
• Ravioli wrappers
  
• Pignoli parmesan
• Macadamia cheese
• Sun-dried tomato tapenade
• Pizza crust
• Meyer lemon vinaigrette
• Caesar dressing
• Basil oil
• Basil aioli
• Sage cream
• Pine nut cream
• Parmesan kale chips
• Black truffle oil
• Fresh marjoram
• Sous vide butternut squash for lasagna
  
• Marinated zucchini and summer squash strips
  
• Sous vide exotic mushrooms
• Shaved fennel

And for the American fare:

• Marinated portobello burgers
• Sesame buns
• Ketchup
• Cashew mayonnaise
• Mustard
• Cucumber pickles
• Rosemary croutons
• Sous vide winter vegetables
• Smoked eggplant chips
• Pickled beets

…plus fresh greens such as Bibb lettuce, kale, arugula, spinach, micro greens; and fresh herbs such as basil, marjoram and thyme.

In no particular order, here are the dishes:

Open-Faced Portobello Burger, Basil Aioli, Sesame Bun, Cheesy Kale Chips

The original portobello burger dish needed a little “something extra” to complete it.  From scratch I created the ketchup and mayonnaise recipes, while my classmate, Anjela, created the cucumber pickle and prepared mustard.  I never got to adding the “fries”, but that recipe will definitely make itself into another dish soon.  I promise!

Cannelloni, Pignoli Ricotta, Sun-Dried Tomato Marinara, Pistachio Pesto

In my haste for efficiency, I developed what I call the “spatula technique” for plating the Cannelloni.  It involves using an offset spatula that is placed underneath a rectangular ring mold where the zucchini “pasta” is layered.  The pesto, ricotta and marinara are then piped in with a piping bag; the zucchini strips are folded over sealing the edges; then the entire cannelloni is carefully inverted onto the serving plate.  A touch of basil oil is drizzled over the pasta and decoratively on the plate.  Micro greens add the finishing touch.  Rich in flavor, this is positively my favorite dish!

Pizza Bianco with Creamed Spinach

The creamed spinach is made with pine nut cream and tastes much better than the traditionally cooked version.

Red Pepper Ravioli, Local Spinach, Walnut Pesto, Sage Cream

This elegant plate provides a modern interpretation of the classic Italian dish.  Red bell peppers are blended with Thai coconut meat, dehydrated into sheets, then cut and folded into “ravioli”.  This is assembled with a chunky pesto filling, garnished with a drizzle of sage cream and a sprinkling of fresh marjoram leaves.  By the way, have you ever tasted fresh marjoram?  To me, it pleasantly tastes like perfume; quite aromatic.

Photographers Abound

We had a blast taking pictures.  I took a photo of my classmate, Alissa, taking a photo of John, photographer for an Oklahoma State publication, taking a photo of us.  Today, there were not enough photographers in the kitchen!

Chanterelle Lasagna, Butternut Squash, Marjoram, Black Truffle Cheese

It took me a while to get this lasagna plated correctly as there are several layers and special techniques involved in its preparation.  One is sous vide, which means “under vacuum”.  The butternut squash, Chanterelles, and Black Trumpet mushrooms get their “cooked” texture using this application.  Each are flavored with olive oil, Himalayan salt and coarsely ground black pepper, then sealed in a vacuum bag which is immersed in a warm bath of water at 115°F for several hours.  This method tenderizes the food, thus adding another dimension to raw food cuisine preparation.

Winter Salad: Micro Greens, Shaved Fennel, Citrus, Pink Salt, Arbequina Olive Oil

For those of you craving a simple salad, this dish is as basic as you can get.

Kale Caesar Salad, Pine Nut Parmesan, Rosemary Croutons

This is a sharp, hearty dish.  Fresh kale replaces Iceberg lettuce, and dulse replaces anchovies in the Caesar dressing.  Rosemary croutons add an herbal note, while the Parmesan gives it that Italian finish.  Molto Italiano!

Wilted Spinach Salad, Golden Raisins, Pine Nuts

A simpler version of this dish can be made with just three ingredients.  Dress your spinach with olive oil, salt and black pepper (optional); wilt in the dehydrator for a few minutes; toss in the raisins and pine nuts, then serve.  Quick and easy!

Sprouted Grain VLT, Winter Vegetables, Bibb Lettuce, Sun-Dried Tomato Tapenade

What I love, love, LOVE about this particular dish are the sesame buns.  Seriously. There’s no excuse for feeling deprived when eating raw foods.  If you’re transitioning into the the raw foods lifestyle and are still craving a hamburger, you can make this.  Really! (By the way “VLT” translates to “Vegan Lettuce Tomato”.)  These are served with dehydrated Cheesy Kale Chips.

…So, these were the dishes I prepared at my station.

Actually, I’m not quite finished yet with describing what went on during my first three weeks of Level II.  Remember I mentioned that session with Matthew Kenney where in Level I we developed a “detox” class for the public to be held all throughout January?  Well, 105degrees finally gave their first one.  I was assigned to assist our other course instructor, Chelsea Smith.  This class was well attended with one of the participants being Lauren Richardson, a local newsreporter for Fox25 News.  Lauren documented her experience while undergoing this 7-day detox program.

Dara Prentice, one of the founders of 105degrees (who also took the photo below), gently coaxed me into being interviewed by Fox25 News.  Here I am in action with newsreporter Phil Cross.  This segment appeared on the news as a soundbite later that evening.   Thanks Dara!  You made my day.

Fox25 News Van

Helen Castillo with Newsreporter Phil Cross of Fox25 News

There’s no end in sight to the surprises here at 105degrees.  Our next major student project was for each of us in class to create a dish for the 2nd Rawkstar dinner featuring Guest Matthew Burch of Urban Agrarian.  With less than a week to think, plan and prepare, we had to use local ingredients he provided for the Academy.  These were fennel, pecans, kumquats, blood oranges, tomatoes and wild mushrooms.  I was assigned to create the appetizer:  “Fennel Tart, Oklahoma Pecan, Blood Orange Compote”.

The resulting menu with wine pairing:

Guest Matthew Burch
January 13, 2010

Fennel Tart, Oklahoma Pecan, Blood Orange Compote
Berger, Gruner, Veltliner

Sprouted Wheatberry Crostini, Macadamia Chevre, Local Honey
Willakenzie, Pinot Blanc

Organic Wild Mushroom and Kale Ravioli, Hydroponic Tomato Fondue
Faiveley Bourgogne, Pinot Noir

Kumquat Cheesecake
Cristalino, Brut Cava

Syrah-Infused Chocolate Truffle
Penfolds, Club Port

We all pulled through with this project, and as a result, the event was a success.

Matthew Burch of Urban Agrarian
Fennel Tart, Oklahoma Pecans, Blood Orange Compote	Helen Castillo Prepping the Appetizer
Sprouted Wheatberry Crostini, Macadamia Chevre, Local Honey	Anjela plating the Entree
Organic Wild Mushroom and Kale Ravioli, Hydroponic Tomato Fondue	Kumquat Cheesecake
Chefs Kelly Dennis and Saul	Syrah-Infused Chocolate Truffle

We all got a sense of catering for an event.  Careful planning, focus, organization, timing and teamwork are all required to pull it off.  And we did.

During the interim, I continued sampling from the 105degrees Winter Menu.  A few breakfast goodies I savored:

Pancakes with Bananas and Maple Syrup	Cinnamon Bun
Chunky Monkey Granola	No. 5 Smoothie

Another student project involves (on a rotation basis) developing a 3-course supper of our own design for the Cafe featured each Sunday, thus introducing the Sunday Supper at 105degrees.  A classmate chose to go first and did an amazing job of creating an Italian-themed menu.  I was wonderfully surprised at her version of the Italian classic “Caprese”.  I’ve made “mozzarella” from fresh Thai coconut, but her version was different in that she added Irish moss to hers.  Take a look at her meal.  It was such a hit, and I’m so happy for her!

Caprese

Ragout

Spumoni

Last week we received word that Matthew Kenney would be having a full-day media blitz extravaganza.  We could volunteer for this; I did, and was assigned to personally assist him all day.  He started at the crack of dawn with several media interviews, later I joined him to present a culinary demo for St. Anthony Hospital.

Helen Castillo at Matthew Kenney's Saint Anthony Hospital appearance

From there, we went to Chesapeake Energy Corporation for another demo, and off to 105degrees to a luncheon for Young Professional Organization attendees.  Here Matthew did something completely different.  He demonstrated several culinary techniques used in gourmet raw food cuisine with a menu comprising of those same techniques performed, some of which you might be familiar.

• Sous vide
• Dehydrator
• Vegetable sheeter
• PacoJet

The day culminated with a sit-down, 5-course dinner for 300 at the Gaylord-Pickens Museum.  Somehow, I wasn’t feeling tired despite the very long hours spent the night before typing the event outline and checklists for everyone to use and preparing the mise en place for all of Matthew’s five demos for this event.

Below are snippets of behind-the-scenes, goings-on.  Classmate Alissa captured a fleeting moment:  as I was reaching to plate a dish, the former professional dancer, Juilliard School graduate in me surfaced.  Priceless!

Academy Director Ladan Raissi and Helen Castillo	Meredith Baird and Helen Castillo
Pastry Chef Kelly Dennis	Celebrity Chef Matthew Kenney and Helen Castillo

And so, this is the summary of my first 21 days of Level II at the 105degrees Academy.  Woo hoo!