Basic Chicken Risotto

Evaluation
1. Describe the sensory properties (flavour, texture, aroma and appearance) of your risotto.
The risotto itself was soft and heavily tasted of the onion and the chicken stock flavours that it was absorbing during the cooking process. I felt it was a little too salty but that was balanced out well with the starchiness of the risotto and the chicken which was tight and chewy. No effort was really put into the presentation so honestly, it looked bland.
2. Why are the onion and capsicum sauteed before the rice is added?
We did not use capsicum but the onion is sauteed first to flavour the oil before the risotto is added for cooking. This gives the risotto some flavour when it absorbs the oil.
3. Explain why it is important to barely simmer the risotto during the cooking process, rather than boiling quickly.
It is important to not boil the risotto in the chicken stock while cooking because if we did boil it, the risotto would not cook thoroughly and the end result would be tough grains that are hard and unpleasant to eat. Simmering allows it to absorb the stock easier while still keeping it heated, albeit not too much, resulting in soft and puffy grains.
4. List the important health and safety steps to follow when preparing a risotto.
-Wash hands before and after making contact with raw chicken meat
-Watch the knife when cutting ingredients
-Don't use the same equipment for different ingredients to avoid contamination
-Don't leave the stove unattended when on
5. Which aspect of the production did you find most challenging? Why?
The most challenging aspect was cooking the risotto since it seemed to take forever to soak up the chicken stock.

Chilli Chicken Curry

Evaluation
After having tasted it, I thought it was a little too salty for my likes. We should've used a lower quantity of salt than what the recipe had stated, but since it was the first time making something like this, there was no way of predetermining how the end result would've been.
The curry was also very spicy but I did not have any complaints about that since I enjoy spice.

Melting Moments Workflow + Evaluation

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• Heaping 1/3 cup cornstarch 4 egg whites, at room temperature
• Pinch salt
• 220g (1 cup) caster sugar

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat together until light and fluffy, then beat in the vanilla extract. Sift over the flour and cornstarch and mix thoroughly.

Spoon the mixture into a pastry sheet filled with a large star tip and pipe 32 cookies onto each baking sheet, spaced well apart.

Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool on the baking sheet.

Food Order
Name: Peter Nguyen and Paul Phu
Production Date: 13/05/2013
Recipe: Cappuccino Cookies
Supermarket pantry ¼ cup Confectioner’s sugar ½ tsp Vanilla extract 2 ¼ cups All-purpose flour 11/3 cup Corn starch 4 eggs 220g ( 1 cup) caster sugar dairy 1 ½ cups unsalted butter	Greengrocer fruit and veg	Butcher/deli –meats
Items not available at other suppliers:
Specialist equipment : electric beater

Workflow

Time	What to do?
Melting Moments
9:47am	Preheat oven to 180 degrees
9:47am – 9:51am	Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper
9:52am – 9:59am	Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat together until light and fluffy, then beat in the vanilla extract. Sift over the flour and cornstarch and mix thoroughly.
10am – 10:09am	Spoon the mixture into a pastry sheet filled with a large star tip and pipe 32 cookies onto each baking sheet, spaced well apart.
10:10am – 10:30am	Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool on the baking sheet.
Meringue
	Preheat oven to 120 degrees
	Separate egg whites into plastic 100ml cup
	Prepare baking tray with non-stick paper
	Place egg whites in large bowl
	Electric beater until soft peaks form
	Add sugar one spoon at a time (meringue is fluffy not smooth)
	Whisk until mixture is thick and glossy
	Run mixture through your mixtures to see if sugar is dissolved
	2 tablespoon measures of meringue onto tray
	Place tray into oven and reduce temp. to 90
	Bake for 90 mins.

Constraints and Considerations

Constraints	Considerations
No nuts	Skill level
Time restrictions	Dietary requirements
Equipment availability	Recipe modification to fit equipment and ingredient availability
Ingredient availability	Presentation

Evaluation Question: Once the biscuit was completed within the time limit, using whatever was available, was the end result satisfying?

Evaluation

After completing the biscuits, it did not look as well done as the ones from the photo from the original recipe. It was obvious the one in the photo was done by a professional with experience and not by first-timers. Aside from missing out on the meringue, the biscuit in the photo was much smaller in dimensions than ours.

As for the success of the biscuits, the final appearance did not hit my expectations. The presentation was horrible because we did not have the time to complete the meringue, which I realised took 90 minutes to create. Because of this massive oversight, a vital part of the complete recipe was left out. The taste of the actual biscuit was decent and had a melt-in-mouth effect like I expected.

The production could’ve been drastically improved if we had planned earlier. The work plan was followed accurately but because of lack of experience with the product, some problems arose. However, the biscuit was completed and it end result was within expectation: amateur, but consumable.

If I could, I would make the biscuit again due to wanting to improve on the production process without the restrictions of time. I would actually scale the ingredient measurements down because of the fact that there were too many in the batch. We didn't have access to plain flour on the day and resorted to using self-raising flour, which resulted in the biscuits expanding. This was something unavoidable. The result would most definitely be better than what was produced with a short time limit, which was made worse by the fact that Peter and I lost a period due to unpreparedness and not realizing the workflow plan had to be done before the day.

In the end, the biscuits were not satisfying. The halved time limit we were faced with meant we spent no time worrying about presentation and so the biscuits looked plain. The taste was fine but overall we could’ve tried harder.

ANZAC Biscuits

1. Describe the flavour, aroma, texture and appeal of your ANZAC biscuits.
They were sweet tasting, almost like honey. It had a sweet aroma with a chewy texture and overall it was both visually ad tastefully appealing.
2. What would be the effect of cooking the ANZAC biscuits at 220°c rather than 180°c?
The biscuits would turn out dry and crunchy, rather than moist and chewy.
3. What is the purpose of the rolled oats in these biscuits?
The rolled oats act as somewhat of a solidifying agent because the biscuits do not contain egg. It gives the biscuit its chewy texture as well.
4. Why is it important to heat the golden syrup with the butter in this recipe?
To allow the golden syrup to liquidize and mix more easily with the other ingredients.
5. What modifications would you make to the ANZAC biscuits if you were to make them again?
I would make each biscuit smaller by using less dough mixture so that when it flattens in the oven it doesn't get too large.

Rustic Quick Veg Pizzas

1. What is mis en plus?

Everything in place -  in other words, it is the ingredients prepared before the cooking process.

2. What key ingredient helps the pizza dough rise.

Yeast inside the self-raising flour.

3. Is time important to allow the dough to rise? Why/why not?

Yes, because the yeast needs time to react with the lukewarm water and expand the dough.

4. Where have you created an unsafe working environment? Name at least two different times during the course of the recipe.

Never.

5. What is the name of the ingredient that allows the pizza to become elastic?

Egg mixed inside the dough allows it to stretch and bend without breaking.

6. How best did your group work on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the best.
1. Following instructions: 4/5
2. Dividing tasks: 5/5
3. Collecting ingredients: 4/5
4. Following safety requirements: 3/5
5. Sharing the workload: 5/5
6. Cleaning up: 3/5