Quiches et tartes aux légumes / Cordon Bleu Jour 8

Yesterday was my last class at the CB.  I wish I had more time in Paris to attend a few more classes.  I've learned so many things, and can't wait to get back to my own kitchen and get cooking!  And I've definitely got a better understanding of French cuisine to share with my students.

My Chef for the day was the same as my first lesson, so it was a nice way to end my studies.  Plus, he's just really funny! 

We spent 3 hours in the kitchen, and made these delicious tarts:

Tarte aux légumes provençale
Provençal style vegetable tart

Quiche au chèvre et au cresson
Goat's cheese and watercress quiche

Most of my time was spent cutting and slicing and chopping, because the pissaladière had so many vegetables: onions, garlic, zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes and basil.  I really need to...pardon the pun...sharpen my knife skills!

I am very thankful for the Fund for Teachers grant that allowed me to participate in such a rich cultural experience! 

du verre à la table / Cordon Bleu Jour 7

I returned from the countryside on Thursday afternoon in time to attend a food and wine pairing class at the CB.  The theme was Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, France and New World. 

On the menu:

Petit tian de crabe à la coriandre, crème d'avocat à l'amande grillée
Crab and cliantro tian, avocado and toasted almond cream (soup)
Mâcon Cruzille 2005 "les Avoueries"

Pavé de rumsteck sauté aux légumes nouveaux, sauce aux herbes potagères
Steak with new season's vegetables, garden herb sauce
Crane Lake Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 (California!)

Tarte fine aux abricots
Apricot tart
Champagne Paul Goerg Blanc de Blancs






I learned lots of little tidbits during this class:

How to candy lime peel: julienne the peel, blanch 3 times to get rid of the bitterness, cover with water, add sugar and reduce. Easy!

How to cut bell peppers (and other things) into brunoise (teeny tiny little pieces):  Cut into really thin sticks, bundle sticks between your little finger and thumb, use middle fingers (at 90° angle) to guide, and then rock the knife back and forth.  Not so easy!

Peeling bell peppers makes them a breeze to digest.  It's the peel that causes heartburn.

There's a trick you do with your hand to see how the meat is cooked so you don't need a thermometer.  With one hand, pinch the meaty part between your thumb and index finger of the other hand, and that's what nearly raw meat feels like.  Make an "O" with your thumb and index, press the same spot, and it's rare.  Add a finger, and it's medium, 3 fingers is well done, and 4 fingers is shoe leather.  Memorize how that feels, and you'll have meat cooked to your liking every time.

You should always let meat rest before you serve it.  This applies to poultry as well.  It allows the juices to settle, and will guarantee a better experience than if you were to eat it immediately.

When thickening a sauce with mustard, don't boil it, or the mustard will separate.

Line your tartelette pan with the warka dough, then put another tartelette pan on top to hold it in place.



Champagne tips: always hold the bottle at a 45° angle when uncorking.  Don't turn the cork; instead, hold the cork in your hand and screw the bottle off the cork.  When serving a lot of people, pour a bit in each glass, let the mousse settle down, and then pour again.  Never serve champagne in an old-fashioned "coupe" - it loses its qualities.  Use a flute instead. 

Barbecue à la française

There are conflicting stories on the origin of the word "barbecue."  The one I like, but seems to be false, is that it comes from the French "de la barbe à la queue," or from the beard to the tail, which gels well with the French habit of eating pretty much every part of an animal. 

I've had three different barbecue events during my short stay in Picardie.  The French have a slightly different idea of "barbecue" than folks back home.  Here, a typical barbecue includes les merguez et les chipolatas.  The merguez is strong evidence of the north African influence in France.  Pierre said that before the 1960s, you didn't see any in France but now, it's an important part of French cuisine.

Now that I think about it, we had Moroccan tagine (lamb, almonds, honey...) with couscous on Saturday, and merguez and chipis on Sunday.  A culinary trip from northern France to northern Africa!

les tartes aux fruits de saison / Cordon Bleu Jour 6

Yesterday was my favorite day yet.  We had six hours in the kitchen with Chef, and at the end of the day, I went home with two beautiful tarts that I made all by myself.  Well, almost.  I had to have a little help from Chef getting my pastry crust in the pastry ring comme il faut, and he made the meringue for everyone because it's easier in larger batches, but other than that, they were all mine. 

Tarte aux fruits de saison
Seasonal fruit tart

Tarte au citron meringuée
Lemon meringue tart

Both had a pâte sablée and an almond paste.  We blind baked the crust, then added the almond paste using a pastry bag, and then baked for 10 more minutes.  I was surprised to learn that you don't need a mold to make these tarts; a simple pastry ring and a baking sheet will do.  It's easier to serve the tarts this way, because there's no risk of breaking them.  Another tip is to clean up the edge of the baked crust with a knife so it's smoother.


These beauties miraculously survived the metro+bus+walk to St. Ouen, then walk+metro+train+car from St. Ouen to Poix.  They were only a little worse for the wear.  We at the fruit one at the dinner party in Poix last night, and the lemon one today after lunch.  And they both tasted as beautiful as they looked!  The dinner guests thought they were store-bought.  What a compliment!

Shopping list: pastry rings of various sizes, loads of good French butter, parchment paper, almond powder, butane torch to brown the meringue. 

Les Confitures aux fruits de saison / Cordon Bleu Jour 5

I think every French person I know makes jam.  When I was living in Poix, I often received jars of jam from colleagues, the most interesting of which was watermelon and walnut.  Therefore, if I am truly to understand the French, I needed to learn to make jam.  I have heard it's easy, but I've also heard it's complicated.  Copper pots, sterilizing, paraffin seals... Yesterday was finally my chance to try it out for myself.

On the menu:

Confiture d'abricots aux amandes
Apricot and almond jam
1 kg stoned apricots
750 g. sugar
juice of 1 lemon
90 ml water
1 vanilla bean
185 g whole almonds (raw, not roasted)
10 g pectin (optional)


Confiture de fraise des bois et framboises aux zestes de citron vert
Wild strawberry, raspberry and lime peel jam
500 g wild strawberries
320 g raspberries
560 g sugar
45 ml lemon juice
60 ml water
peel of 2 limes
8 g pectin (optional)



Turns out, making jam is easy.  Really easy.  Chef even started our class by telling us there's nothing easier than jam.  And if you're not planning on keeping the jam in the cabinet for ages, you don't need fancy equipment.  Just a good sized saucepan and clean jars.  The heat from the jam combined with turning the jar upside down takes care of sterilization and sealing the jar.  The traditional ratio is 1kg of fruit to 1kg of sugar.  If you want to reduce the sugar, it's best not to go below 50% of the amount of fruit, but this can vary depending on which fruit you choose.

I'm now the proud owner of six jars of delicious jam, but quantities are quickly diminishing.  Sorry, I don't think it will last until I return home.

my cooking heritage

When I took the wine tasting class, I was told that it was okay if I didn't recognize certain smells in the wine - they simply weren't part of my scent heritage.  Well, I don't really have much of a culinary heritage either.  I just this week learned the proper way to hold a knife while chopping, that peeling cultivated mushrooms keeps them from turning dark, and how to cut a real vanilla bean.   I did not really learn how to cook when I was growing up.  My grandmothers were both great ladies, but weren't the best of cooks.  I remember Pringles and oyster crackers, Grape Nuts and lemon drops at one; ham, canned asparagus, jello fruit cocktail salad and Little Debbie snacks at the other.  And I grew up in the 80s, when Hamburger Helper was a staple in many a busy household.  (I've always known how to make a mean chocolate chip cookie, though). 

It was my year teaching in France that got me really interested in cooking.  I lived in a small town with just a handful of cafés and restaurants, and fast food was out of the question.  I had to feed myself, I had more free time, and my colleagues frequently brought me fresh produce.  So despite the fact that my kitchen wasn't very well equipped, I tried out new things.  Stir in a lot of reading about the American diet, the devolution of food, and the importance of eating things "in season," and a foodie was born.  I started stocking my U.S. kitchen with more and more gadgets and spices,  and my surprise cocotte from A & S last summer kicked off a new collection of cookware as well. 

The French really seem to know how to eat well-balanced meals that are full of delicious things.  The frequent markets in each town make buying fresh, organic and in-season foods a breeze.  And I love that in a country roughly the size of Texas, there are so many regions with their own specialties and culinary history.

Secrets du Chef / Cordon Bleu Jour 4

I didn't really know what to expect from a "Chef's Secrets" class.  Was Chef going to just go down a list and tell us different tricks of the trade?  But yesterday's demonstration class at Le Cordon Bleu wasn't much different from the others I'd previously attended, except there was no dessert on the menu.  No matter...K and I had splurged at "the good ice cream place" near Les Grands Magasins earlier in the afternoon, so we'd taken care of our sweet treat for the day.  (Speculoos, Tiramisu, and Vanilla Bourbon gelato....mmmmm).

On the menu:

Salade de cailles aux herbes
Salad with quail and herbs ("because it's summer" - Quail are good between July & end of August)

Risotto aux fruits de mer
Sea food risotto ("because Chef is of Italian origin")







Chef went through the process of making each dish, sharing little tips along the way.  He swore us to secrecy, but I feel okay divulging a few here.

• All chefs are ready to live on a desert island.  In their pockets: a corkscrew, a spoon for tasting, an all-purpose bowl scraper...
• When dining at a restaurant, you should always treat yourself.  You should eat well and not look at the price!
• If you're trying to sear something, make sure there's no water in the pan or it will make the oil pop.
• Always remove your dish from the heat before adding fresh herbs.
• When poaching eggs, add a good cup of vinegar to the water; it fixes the white to the yolk. (You probably already know this - I've just never poached eggs before).
• To break open a quail egg, cut off the rounded part with a knife.  Otherwise, the eggs are too delicate and you risk breaking the yolk.  
• When preparing many eggs for poaching, you can put them all in one bowl and spread them out when you pour them in the water.  No special poaching pan needed.   (Maybe because of the vinegar?)
• The reason you're supposed to skim off foam when boiling is because it contains all of the impurities.  
• The Basque spice "espelette" adds a nice flavor to seafood.  

Shopping list: espelette, bowl scraper.  The Chinese cap strainer makes an appearance nearly every class, so it should probably be at the top of my list.