Spring Fever
After the first long week of intermediate, all I wanted to do was have a big glass of wine and relax at home. I was also feeling a little shaky in the kitchen this week. No big disasters or anything that stands out, just feeling a bit unsure or clouded…which the chefs can smell from a mile away! So, I decided to go back to the advice from my favorite chef: just cook.
Last night, Anthony, E'Lane, Gillian and I met at Le Grande Epicerie to gather some ingredients. We stopped at my favorite wine cave on the walk home to my place and whipped up a delicious spring/summer menu. Of course we had to start with an asiette du fromage, olives & baguette, followed by salmon sashimi with wasabi & soy, a delicious salad with fennel, artichoke, haricot vert, mint and, finally, "grilled" tandori chicken (faux-grilled in my oven). The chicken was great, but the recipe needs a bit of tweaking. Maybe a finish with some coconut milk? We'll just have to give up our bodies to science and keep eating, drinking and testing!
As for the salad, very easy, fresh and lots of great flavor. I had a salad for lunch this week that paired artichoke with mint, and I fell in love with the combination. I wanted to put a spin on that, so Gill picked up an avocado and E'Lane grabbed some haricot vert. We just threw a bunch of stuff in the bowl and it was d-lish!
Artichoke, Fennel & Mint Summer Salad
3 artichokes
1 fennel bulb + fronds
1 avocado
red leaf lettuce
a bunch of fresh mint
a bunch of haricot vert
a cup of whole walnuts
2 lemons + zest
pomegranate seeds
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
cracked pepper
fleur de sel
Zest your lemon and set aside. Slice the lemons into quarters and reserve for the vegetables. Soak the walnuts in water and set aside.
Cut away the leaves off the artichokes so all you have left is the heart. Click through these photos to see how to do it. Then, poach them in a "blanc" until they are fork tender.
Blanc for poaching artichokes
Fill a pot with cold water, add 2 T of flour, salt and the juice of 1/2 a lemon. This will prevent oxidation (the artichokes turning purple). Add artichokes and cut a piece of parchment paper to make a "lid" to cover the artichokes in the pot. Bring the water to a simmer and let cook until the artichoke hearts are fork tender. Drain off the cooking liquid and let them cool. You can also put them into a cold water bath for a minute. Cut into bite-sized pieces, toss in a squeeze of lemon juice and add to bowl.
While the artichokes are poaching, trim the ends off the haricot vert. Bring a pot of water to a boil and prep an ice bath. When the water boils, add a few tablespoons of salt and then the haricot vert. When they are cooked al dente, strain the beans out of the boiling water and add them to the ice water bath to stop the cooking. Once they are cooled down (30 seconds or a minute) take them out of the ice bath. Don't let them sit in the cold water for too long, it ruins the taste. Slice them in 1-inch long pieces and add to the bowl.
Thinly slice the fennel, including the stems coming out of the top of the bulb and green fronds, toss in a bit lemon juice and add to the bowl. (You can use a mandolin to slice thin strips from the bulb or cut slices of the individual layers.)
Cut the avocado into bite-sized pieces. Again, toss them in a squeeze of lemon juice, and add to the bowl. Now, add the leafy red, green, or whatever kind of lettuce you like. I like the red leaves because they add a bit of color contrast. Strain the walnuts and add. Chiffonade the mint leaves and add. Put as much or as little lemon zest as you like. It adds a little brightness.
Then drizzle olive oil over the top, a good amount of fresh cracked pepper and some fleur de sel or sea salt. Then, a bit of good balsamic to start. (There's a lot of acid from the lemon juice, so start with less vinegar and then add to your liking.) Toss and adjust seasoning.
Finish by sprinkling some pomegranate seeds over the top. Maybe garnish with a mint leaf or two.
Serve with grilled fish or chicken. Wine and sunshine.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Eating my words!
So, I must immediately print a retraction from my last post about Intermediate cuisine being…well, lackluster.
Walking into demo this morning was exactly the same as we have done before. No pomp & circumstance. No welcome to Intermediate speech. Just the chef saying, (via our favorite translator, Deborah) "we're starting with the dessert." And he dove right in.
We finally received our coveted binders, and we all quickly rifled through to find the Lesson 1 recipes so we could start taking notes. As I started flipping through to see what we would be making, I realized that Intermediate cuisine is segmented into different geographic regions of France and their trademark ingredients and dishes. How fun, right?! Lesson 1 was our tour of the Basque country.
Sadly, we didn't have the adorable Basque chef (he is away doing demonstrations in Shanghai) to tour us through his homeland, but instead the head chef of Intermediate. A rumpled middle-aged man who looks like a teddy bear that has seen better days but you just can't part with. All we really know about him is he has been referred to as an "encyclopedia of cuisine" and likes beaucoup salt in everything. Although his cooking style can be distracting…oil splattering everywhere, his cutting board sliding on the counter…his dishes today were delicious. Actually food I would happily make again!
On the off chance you were wondering…Pays Basque is located on the south west of France on the border of Spain, so there is naturally an influence of both French and Spanish cuisine. It is situated between the Atlantic coast to the east and the Pyrenees to the west. Seafood is bountiful and fish soup is a signature dish--tastes much better than it sounds. They usually use olive oil instead of butter and their dishes often take flavor from red or green bell peppers.
In future lessons we will also be looking at Normandy, Burgundy, Bordelais, Alsace, Champagne, and Côte d'Azur to name just a few. To be honest…there are some dishes I'm not excited for. Sweetbreads, trotters, aspic and guinea fowl are all on the menu. As if I have to say it…yuck. But! I can't wait to make trout fillets stuffed with morel mushrooms braised in Riesling wine or sole fillet and salmon paupiettes with Champagne. Now, that should be good!
But, we started off with a bang…on paper, it might seem strange with the chorizo (the Spanish influence), but trust me. There were a lot of mmmmm's in the kitchen : )
Salmon and Watercress Salad
480 g fresh salmon
50 ml olive oil
1 small head of romaine or butter lettuce
a bunch of arugula
a bunch of watercress
1 hard boiled egg
1/2 bunch of chervil
180 g smoked salmon (about 1 package)
100 g chorizo, casing removed
Vinaigrette
1/2 T mustard
30 ml sherry vinegar
100 ml olive oil
salt & pepper
1/2 bunch of watercress
Clean, trim and skin your fresh salmon. Season with salt & pepper and steam until just cooked through. 10 minutes was suggested by the chef, but it depends on the thickness of the salmon. When cooked, shred it and put into a large bowl.
To a blender, add all the vinaigrette ingredients except the olive oil. Start the blender on medium speed and drizzle in the olive oil to slightly emulsify. It should be a pretty green color.
To the bowl, add:
-Smoked salmon slices, cut into 1/2" cubes
-Chorizo slices
-Minced chervil
-Finely grated hard boiled egg (or put through a drum sieve if you have one lying around)
-Thinly slice your lettuce leaves, almost as thin as a chiffonade
-Vinaigrette plus a drizzle of olive oil
Mix, taste for seasoning and serve over a bed of arugula and watercress.
You can be as fancy or as rustic as you like. For the demonstration plate, the chef lined a small mold with a slice of smoked salmon, filled it with the finished salmon salad mix and made a little paupiette. Then he served it over a bed of watercress, topped it with arugula and garnished with a few reserved slices of chorizo. But, it is indeed delicious dressed up or dressed down. It could even be calling for a bit of avocado.
It's that easy...
bon nuit : )
So, I must immediately print a retraction from my last post about Intermediate cuisine being…well, lackluster.
Walking into demo this morning was exactly the same as we have done before. No pomp & circumstance. No welcome to Intermediate speech. Just the chef saying, (via our favorite translator, Deborah) "we're starting with the dessert." And he dove right in.
We finally received our coveted binders, and we all quickly rifled through to find the Lesson 1 recipes so we could start taking notes. As I started flipping through to see what we would be making, I realized that Intermediate cuisine is segmented into different geographic regions of France and their trademark ingredients and dishes. How fun, right?! Lesson 1 was our tour of the Basque country.
Sadly, we didn't have the adorable Basque chef (he is away doing demonstrations in Shanghai) to tour us through his homeland, but instead the head chef of Intermediate. A rumpled middle-aged man who looks like a teddy bear that has seen better days but you just can't part with. All we really know about him is he has been referred to as an "encyclopedia of cuisine" and likes beaucoup salt in everything. Although his cooking style can be distracting…oil splattering everywhere, his cutting board sliding on the counter…his dishes today were delicious. Actually food I would happily make again!
On the off chance you were wondering…Pays Basque is located on the south west of France on the border of Spain, so there is naturally an influence of both French and Spanish cuisine. It is situated between the Atlantic coast to the east and the Pyrenees to the west. Seafood is bountiful and fish soup is a signature dish--tastes much better than it sounds. They usually use olive oil instead of butter and their dishes often take flavor from red or green bell peppers.
In future lessons we will also be looking at Normandy, Burgundy, Bordelais, Alsace, Champagne, and Côte d'Azur to name just a few. To be honest…there are some dishes I'm not excited for. Sweetbreads, trotters, aspic and guinea fowl are all on the menu. As if I have to say it…yuck. But! I can't wait to make trout fillets stuffed with morel mushrooms braised in Riesling wine or sole fillet and salmon paupiettes with Champagne. Now, that should be good!
But, we started off with a bang…on paper, it might seem strange with the chorizo (the Spanish influence), but trust me. There were a lot of mmmmm's in the kitchen : )
Salmon and Watercress Salad
480 g fresh salmon
50 ml olive oil
1 small head of romaine or butter lettuce
a bunch of arugula
a bunch of watercress
1 hard boiled egg
1/2 bunch of chervil
180 g smoked salmon (about 1 package)
100 g chorizo, casing removed
Vinaigrette
1/2 T mustard
30 ml sherry vinegar
100 ml olive oil
salt & pepper
1/2 bunch of watercress
Clean, trim and skin your fresh salmon. Season with salt & pepper and steam until just cooked through. 10 minutes was suggested by the chef, but it depends on the thickness of the salmon. When cooked, shred it and put into a large bowl.
To a blender, add all the vinaigrette ingredients except the olive oil. Start the blender on medium speed and drizzle in the olive oil to slightly emulsify. It should be a pretty green color.
To the bowl, add:
-Smoked salmon slices, cut into 1/2" cubes
-Chorizo slices
-Minced chervil
-Finely grated hard boiled egg (or put through a drum sieve if you have one lying around)
-Thinly slice your lettuce leaves, almost as thin as a chiffonade
-Vinaigrette plus a drizzle of olive oil
Mix, taste for seasoning and serve over a bed of arugula and watercress.
You can be as fancy or as rustic as you like. For the demonstration plate, the chef lined a small mold with a slice of smoked salmon, filled it with the finished salmon salad mix and made a little paupiette. Then he served it over a bed of watercress, topped it with arugula and garnished with a few reserved slices of chorizo. But, it is indeed delicious dressed up or dressed down. It could even be calling for a bit of avocado.
It's that easy...
bon nuit : )
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Basic = Terminée
I know I am the world's worst blogger…sorry for the delay in posts! But, *drumroll* since I was away, the basic level of cuisine and patisserie is officially done! Pastry exam was Monday. Cuisine exam on Wednesday. Graduation was on Thursday, and I've been recovering ever since!
I have been looking back on the first segment of my time at Le Cordon Bleu and living in Paris and have come to one conclusion: I have learned a great deal, but still I feel like i have only scratched the surface.
First, Paris.
I have lived here for three months and am still speaking very rough french. I thought by now I'd be able to carry on a conversation, understand what the chefs are saying in demo and confidently navigate my way through markets. That is by far the biggest gap between my expectations and reality. As for learning my way around the city and using the metro, parfait. Paris is a relatively small city. You can pretty much walk anywhere, the metro is convenient and runs very regularly. You rarely have to wait longer than 2 minutes for a train.
Every where you walk there are monuments, historic buildings and churches. Important people buried all over the place (strange, but true) and cafés where you can people-watch for hours. The city where you still see nuns walking down the street in full habit and 14-year-olds openly smoking Marlboro Reds. You can find every sort of wine or whiskey, but forget about your favorite brand of vodka or tequila. And good luck finding a quick place to run in for a manicure & pedicure. (Those are french words, aren't they!?) Above all, before you do anything please get out your pen because there's going to be paperwork involved. They don't email, PDF or have well-functioning websites. I just got a letter in the post from the bank saying I could contact them via phone or fax. Fax, really? Like, should I write a note, fax it right over, and await a reply to come scrolling out? Do they know what email really is?
But alas, with all of it's maddening qualities, somehow it all adds up to Paris.
Paris. So much yet to do: Versailles, Pompidieu, Sacré Coeur, Monet. From my apartment, I can see the dome of Invaledes (where Napoleon is buried), but haven't actually walked inside. By the end of intermediate, I will check these things off my mental list. Keep scratching, get lost.
And, Le Cordon Bleu…
Of course, all the aforementioned Parisian quirks of bureaucracy are a part of Cordon Bleu and have caused a few wrinkles in my otherwise perfect skin ; ). But, you have a glass of wine with your friends and you get over it. Your friends from all over the world from all different backgrounds and ages. People you would never know otherwise, but are uniquely bonded to each other by this shared experience. This left turn from where you were 3 months ago.
Then you get into a class with a chef that will drive you crazy. But, that same chef will suddenly take an interest in you and somehow make sure you are learning, growing. Everyone has bad days in the kitchen, but I can honestly say that every chef at Le Cordon Bleu has something valuable to teach. Even if it's simply keeping your work station clean and organized, they are an eclectic and talented group that I feel privileged to learn from.
Speaking of things I've learned...Cliff's notes version:
-Put white vinegar immediately on a burn, it takes the sting out
-When sautéing fish in a pan without teflon coating, line the pan with greased parchment
-Cut the "gland" out of the tip of the tail bone of poultry
-Egg whites whip best when room temp
-Cream whips best when cold
-Gadgets are a waste, but the proper tools make life 100x easier
-A plastic scraper is one of the handiest tools you can have
-Organization, organization, organization
…and well, I hope you already bought your mini magnets and scale!
Intermediate starts tomorrow morning, bright and early. On one hand, my mental inventory of Basic has been looking back with a tinge of nostalgia. On the other, it's also a review with a hint of fear I will walk into the kitchen like it's the first day all over again. It's only been 5 days since our exam, but it feels like eons ago. Suddenly the stakes are higher. There's no excuse that "it's just basic" anymore. We're losing about 10 people in cuisine. Two didn't pass the final exam. It's not just cooking for fun, it's school. Tests, Ranks, Success and Failure. Merde.
Thank you everyone for your support over the past few months. It's been an incredible ride…but can you believe it? Basic is done! I will report more recipes, but I hear Intermediate is a lot of meat, stuffed with meat, stuffed with meat and cabbage. Yeah, I wouldn't want to read about that either! Going forward, I'd like to test some of my own recipes at home. I will report anything of note…dishes that are d.lish and disaster alike!
x's & o's
laur
I know I am the world's worst blogger…sorry for the delay in posts! But, *drumroll* since I was away, the basic level of cuisine and patisserie is officially done! Pastry exam was Monday. Cuisine exam on Wednesday. Graduation was on Thursday, and I've been recovering ever since!
I have been looking back on the first segment of my time at Le Cordon Bleu and living in Paris and have come to one conclusion: I have learned a great deal, but still I feel like i have only scratched the surface.
First, Paris.
I have lived here for three months and am still speaking very rough french. I thought by now I'd be able to carry on a conversation, understand what the chefs are saying in demo and confidently navigate my way through markets. That is by far the biggest gap between my expectations and reality. As for learning my way around the city and using the metro, parfait. Paris is a relatively small city. You can pretty much walk anywhere, the metro is convenient and runs very regularly. You rarely have to wait longer than 2 minutes for a train.
Every where you walk there are monuments, historic buildings and churches. Important people buried all over the place (strange, but true) and cafés where you can people-watch for hours. The city where you still see nuns walking down the street in full habit and 14-year-olds openly smoking Marlboro Reds. You can find every sort of wine or whiskey, but forget about your favorite brand of vodka or tequila. And good luck finding a quick place to run in for a manicure & pedicure. (Those are french words, aren't they!?) Above all, before you do anything please get out your pen because there's going to be paperwork involved. They don't email, PDF or have well-functioning websites. I just got a letter in the post from the bank saying I could contact them via phone or fax. Fax, really? Like, should I write a note, fax it right over, and await a reply to come scrolling out? Do they know what email really is?
But alas, with all of it's maddening qualities, somehow it all adds up to Paris.
Paris. So much yet to do: Versailles, Pompidieu, Sacré Coeur, Monet. From my apartment, I can see the dome of Invaledes (where Napoleon is buried), but haven't actually walked inside. By the end of intermediate, I will check these things off my mental list. Keep scratching, get lost.
And, Le Cordon Bleu…
Of course, all the aforementioned Parisian quirks of bureaucracy are a part of Cordon Bleu and have caused a few wrinkles in my otherwise perfect skin ; ). But, you have a glass of wine with your friends and you get over it. Your friends from all over the world from all different backgrounds and ages. People you would never know otherwise, but are uniquely bonded to each other by this shared experience. This left turn from where you were 3 months ago.
Then you get into a class with a chef that will drive you crazy. But, that same chef will suddenly take an interest in you and somehow make sure you are learning, growing. Everyone has bad days in the kitchen, but I can honestly say that every chef at Le Cordon Bleu has something valuable to teach. Even if it's simply keeping your work station clean and organized, they are an eclectic and talented group that I feel privileged to learn from.
Speaking of things I've learned...Cliff's notes version:
-Put white vinegar immediately on a burn, it takes the sting out
-When sautéing fish in a pan without teflon coating, line the pan with greased parchment
-Cut the "gland" out of the tip of the tail bone of poultry
-Egg whites whip best when room temp
-Cream whips best when cold
-Gadgets are a waste, but the proper tools make life 100x easier
-A plastic scraper is one of the handiest tools you can have
-Organization, organization, organization
…and well, I hope you already bought your mini magnets and scale!
Intermediate starts tomorrow morning, bright and early. On one hand, my mental inventory of Basic has been looking back with a tinge of nostalgia. On the other, it's also a review with a hint of fear I will walk into the kitchen like it's the first day all over again. It's only been 5 days since our exam, but it feels like eons ago. Suddenly the stakes are higher. There's no excuse that "it's just basic" anymore. We're losing about 10 people in cuisine. Two didn't pass the final exam. It's not just cooking for fun, it's school. Tests, Ranks, Success and Failure. Merde.
Thank you everyone for your support over the past few months. It's been an incredible ride…but can you believe it? Basic is done! I will report more recipes, but I hear Intermediate is a lot of meat, stuffed with meat, stuffed with meat and cabbage. Yeah, I wouldn't want to read about that either! Going forward, I'd like to test some of my own recipes at home. I will report anything of note…dishes that are d.lish and disaster alike!
x's & o's
laur
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