Today, we had our first round of recipe testing for our Friday Night Dinner! Exciting stuff.

Friday Night Dinner is a huge part of the NGI program. Each class is divided into two, and spends several weeks planning a three-course menu for one of the school’s weekly Friday Night Dinners. We’re eventually graded on factors such as the theme and cohesiveness of our menu, nutritional guidelines, and variety within the courses. I thought it would be relatively simple, but it turns out that it’s a lot to think about. We have to find and modify recipes, test them, multiply them, cost them out to the last cent, then figure out how to plate, prepare and serve them. It’s a lot of work, but it’s also a lot of fun!

As I mentioned last week, my group opted to go with a “Southern Comfort” theme, and today was all about testing our entree. I worked on the pan-fried tempeh sausage, which has been one of my favorite recipes at school thus far, and hands-down the best tempeh I’ve ever had:

I experimented with forming the triangles, dredging methods and frying times. Funny how much little differences can really affect the taste. I’m hoping to post this recipe after our dinner in November- it’s a great one!

In addition to the tempeh, other members of the group also worked on collard greens with shiitake bacon:

Gumbo veggies:

And mashed bourbon sweet potatoes and gumbo sauce, which I didn’t get solo pictures of.

Rather than have one main portion with sides, we opted to give the four components of our dish equal weight in plating:

Our first attempt wasn’t very professional looking, but we changed some things and it improved in round 2. I’m going to hold off on the updated picture though, because even though you guys already get the idea of what it looks like, I want the finished product to stay under wraps :)

After plating and tasting everything, we met to discuss modifications and ideas for the recipes. Overall, we were really happy with the way everything turned out and only have to make minor changes. Next week we’ll be preparing the entire meal for the staff to taste…I’ve been told that these next few weeks are going to fly by!

Early to bed for me tonight…I’ve been dealing with a cold these past few days, and it’s getting progressively worse. No fun. Goodnight!