January 31st

One Month. 4 weeks. 31 days. 744 hours.

My first month comes to a close. Already.

Today marks the day to take measure. One month into French eating means a jump on the scale. 31 days of spending Euros requires a budget assessment. And 744 hours - some of them free - calls for a check count on my must-do-in-Paris list.

My assessment is classic Anthony. Lost five pounds. Overspent my budget. Completed all to-dos.

The speed of the first month makes me wonder if I will be able to accomplish everything I have set out for. Enjoyment, glee, and rapture compound as the days hurriedly fall from the calendar. I worry that my adjournment will come too soon.

Month number one’s enchantment doesn’t come without dissonance. While my passion has been flaring my love has been yearning. The separation from my husband has not been easy. The gap that is inevitably created is a painful one to bridge.

Adding to the loneliness that I feel today, it is our one-year wedding anniversary.

One year ago today, we were (legally) bound in the great state of Connecticut. It remains the best day of my life. In the moment of sharing our vows the rest of the world peeled away. All I could see was his steely eyes and his love for me that rest inside. The moment consisted of nothing more than him, me, and our love.

Things manifested that afternoon. Our commitment to each other. Mutual love. Admiration for our teammate. Pride in our wedding certificate. And anticipation of the future. Only good things manifested. Worries, anxieties, stresses, and annoyances all dissolved the moment we said, “I do.” As though god snapped her fingers, it was all good. James and I knew, or maybe it was more of a feeling, that we had found each other.

I won’t recount the tears that I’ve already shed because I am not with him today. But, I will share my love, admiration, awe, pride, respect, and thankfulness that I feel towards him.

Happy Anniversary, albeit from afar.

My friend Francis is visiting this weekend from the States. With a long list of museums (yesterday was Musée d'Orsay), chateaus, and monuments on the things-to-do we have been able to sneak in a few good meals.

I am the type of guy that plans his next meal while eating. That is to say during breakfast I plan lunch. As I eat lunch I figure out dinner. And so forth. I live meal-to-meal. While Francis and I were walking back to his hotel last night, I explained this to him. Helping him understand that things like museums, chateaus, and the like are just activities to do between meals.

Thursday night we found a gem of a place not far from my apartment. La Volant Basque. French-Basque cuisine. Out-of-this-world. My best restaurant meal so far in Paris. Francis had smoked salmon to start and beef bourguignon to follow. I opted for the beef terrine (To. DIE. For) and roasted rabbit.

Today we are heading to Fontainebleau. A chateau just outside of Paris. The chateau that’s not Versailles. Or something like that. To pass the time until lunch. Oooh! I hope there’s a great little café near the chateau…I’m feeling blood sausage and sautéed wild mushrooms! [drool]

(Flippant as I may be…I am a sucker for museums and all things touristy)

Le Cordon Bleu - Instruction #12; Practical #12

Instruction #12 - Forcemeat Stuffing – Part 2

• Basic technique for making a mousseline filling
• Stuffed chicken breasts, sauce, and mushrooms
• Technique for turning mushrooms

The key to mousseline fillings is salt and temperature. There needs to be at least 6 g of salt per 200 g of meat. The salt acts like a binder. When the meat is twirled in a food processor it wraps itself around the salt crystals, thickening the filling. Likewise, only chilled ingredients will result in the desired consistency. What is that consistency you ask? Mousse-like. Creamy and smooth.

Mix diced chicken meat with a good pinch of salt. Whip in food processor. Once it forms a ball drizzle in egg whites. The ball will flatten, whip for a second, and return to a ball. At this point add cream. Whip until a nice, smooth consistency forms. Just to make sure – press the mixture through a flattened sieve. Add chives for color. Place mousse into a piping bag.

Slice chicken breasts horizontally forming little pockets. Pipe filling into center. Place on a slightly sautéed chicken carcass. Add white wine, bay leaf, thyme, and white chicken stock. Roast for 20-25 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius.

To serve, slice the breast on an angle exposing the filling. Drizzle parameter with reduced cooking liquid that has been creamed. And some cooked mushrooms. If you’re feeling fancy (or just really French), you can add some turned mushrooms to the side.

Ahh, turning mushrooms. Not quite a pain as yesterdays turned carrots, but still a challenge. Check it out.



I did well with this recipe. Chicken, filling, and mushrooms were all perfectly cooked. Flavoring was good. My only fault was I didn’t reduce my sauce enough. When they say, reduce considerably, they mean it! Nonetheless I am pleased with today’s work.

The best part is I have a friend visiting from the US this weekend. I have stuffed veal rolls from yesterday and today’s stuffed chicken breasts to serve him for dinner! Francis and I will dine Le Cordon Bleu style tonight!

Bon appetite!

Le Cordon Bleu - Instruction #11 (2 of 2)

What is the difference between terrine and pâté?
Both items are dishes that consist of ground meat and fat. Wine, spices, dried fruit, and vegetables are commonly added. Terrines (also the name of the dish it is made in) tend to have a rougher ground than pâtés. Terrines also tend to have whole pieces of dried fruit or fat in the center. Like pâtés, terrines are cut into thick slices for serving. Because of pâté’s finer ground, they tend to be a bit more spreadable.

Liver, although not the only meat ingredient, is a standard for both terrine and pâté. Duck and chicken liver are most commonly used. Additional meat from duck and pork are commonly added. The most famous, of course, being foie gras – fattened goose liver.

If terrine has been pressed, chilled, and sliced it becomes pâté.

In Instruction #11 we made Duck Terrine with Prunes and Armagnac.

Forcemeat (stuffing)
400 g duck meat
400 g pork shoulder
50 g pork fat
200 g dried prunes
Armagnac
2 shallots
200 g chicken and duck livers
Thyme
2 or 3 bay leaves
2 curly parley stalks
Port wine
Salt (20 g per kg of forcemeat)
Pepper (2 g per kg of forcemeat)
Four spices (2 g per kg of forcemeat)
2 duck breast, skinless

500 g pork fatback strips.

Instruction
Pass duck, pork shoulder, and pork fat through a grinder. Macerate the dried prunes in Armagnac. Sautee shallots in duck fat that has been pulled from duck skin/fat. Add livers and season with salt, pepper, thyme, parsley stems, and bay leaf, sauté briefly. Pour Armagnac and port wine over livers to deglaze pan. Place into baking tray and chill in refrigerator. Weigh ground meat and season with salt, pepper, and four spices accordingly. Keep cool in refrigerator. Slice duck breast into thin strips. Quickly sauté on high heat. Season with salt and pepper. Place in refrigerator to chill. Pass chilled livers through grinder. Measure 200 g and mix into ground meat. Line terrine with back fat (bottom and all four sides), hanging over edges. Make an initial layer in the bottom of the terrine with the ground meat and liver mixture. Top with sautéed duck breast strips. Stud with macerated prunes. Top with ground meat. Repeat. Finishing with ground meat. Pull the overhanging back fat over the terrine mixture. Wrapping and sealing tightly. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 200 degrees Celsius for 1 hour. Reduce heat to 150 degrees Celsius and back for 1 more hour. Placing a cutting board on top of terrine. Weight with cans and “press” overnight. Fold terrine onto serving platter. Glaze or decorate. Slice. Serve.

Serves - 10

Le Cordon Bleu - Instruction #11 (1 of 2)

Take a carrot. Cut off the tips. Section into small chunks. Turn.

Turning refers to cutting vegetables by trimming and rotating with a small pairing knife - shaping into forms. We took regular carrots and whittled them down into bite-size pieces. Ten pieces per carrot.

The turned carrots, along with some pearl onions, were glazed and set as a side with stuffed veal rolls.

Pass veal and pork shoulder through a grinder. Add some sautéed shallots, garlic, mushrooms, and cured ham. And mix with bread crumbs, Armagnac (cognac), salt and pepper. Set the completed stuffing to the side.

Slice and tenderized veal escalopes. Normally meat is placed between two pieces of parchment paper or plastic wrap and whacked with a large knife or mallet. A great trick is to dampen both sides with a little bit of water. This will prevent the meat from sticking to the paper.

Mound a good tablespoon of stuffing on each escalope. Roll. Wrap with pork back fat. Tie. Brown. And place in braising liquid.

Use some browned vegetables (carrot, onion, celery, and garlic), tomatoes, tomato paste, bouquet garni, cognac, and veal stock for the braising liquid.

Braise for about 30 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius. Strain and reduce the braising liquid. Pour over veal rolls. Serve.

The final dish was the best thing I have tasted so far at Le Cordon Bleu.

Instruction #11 – Forcemeat Stuffings – Part 1

• Technique for deboning fowl
• Duck terrine with prunes and Armagnac (preparation and cooking)
• Stuffed veal rolls with glazed vegetables

Today we also prepared the terrine with a duck that was deboned. The terrine needs to press overnight. So, more on the terrine tomorrow.

Le Cordon Bleu - Practical #10

The plate was stunning. Centered with bright green spinach which flaked aromas of its garlic-sauté-butter. Resting on the greens, perfect grill marks x’d the rose salmon steak. Pureed potatoes filled with béchamel and blanketed with golden-brown gruyere stood on the side. It could not have been any more perfect.

That was how this morning’s practical was supposed to go. And most of it did, but not the potatoes.

Cut out, “Pureed potatoes filled with béchamel and blanketed with golden-brown gruyere stood on the side.”

And replace with, “Burnt to the core. Black rocks. Hockey pucks. Charcoal which once represented potatoes. Scorched-ly stood on the side.”

Miscalculating the baking time for the Byron potatoes, I left them in too long. It was a disaster – a smoky one at that. Not one to salvage. They turned from puree, fluffy, creamy happiness into a brick of black sadness.

Luckily, the chef took notice of my potatoes in the various stages of preparation and was able to report that they went perfectly, other than the obvious. I was close. So close to hitting this practical out-of-the-park.

When I first opened my oven I was taken back. Only for a split second though. There really wasn’t much I could have done. I giggled inside. Let out a deep-cleansing breath and placed them on top of my oven. Chef and I exchanged looks and I proceeded through to the end.

Potatoes? Burnt to a bloody crisp.
Emulsified butter sauce? Well seasoned and right consistency.
Salmon? Nice grill marks, well cooked.
Spinach? Well cooked with nice flavor.
Work? Clean, prompt, and organized.

One of my group-mates, Sara, was kind enough to give me one of her potatoes. I had been craving these ever since Monday’s instruction.

Lesson learned today – Don’t burn the Byron potatoes!

Le Cordon Bleu - Wine Essentials #1

Tucked upstairs in a small room I felt awkward. It was strange to be at Le Cordon Bleu without my uniform.

Sixteen place settings. Sixty-four wine glasses. One huge map of France. Tonight began Wine Essentials – an elective wine education class. Of the 16 students, only four are from my culinary program. The balance are locals brushing up on wine knowledge.

The program has been designed to supplement the Diplôme de Cuisine. Wine Essentials to be taken concurrently with Basic Cuisine. Wines of France with Intermediate Cuisine. Wines of the World with Superior Cuisine.

For 18 weeks we will learn, discuss, and taste wine. Always tying back to cuisine.

Our instructor, Didier-Edgar Allix, is a “Tasting Expert.” Professor of Wine. Expert to the Court of Appeals of Paris. Jury member of international competitions. Honorary President of La Compagnie des Courtiers Jurés-Expert Piqueurs. And French, of course.

There is something flowery or romantic when you hear a Frenchman describe wine. It becomes much more “alive” than fermented grape juice.

Lesson #1 – Sensory Analysis – Introduction to Wine Tasting

Wine is more than just drinking it. Sight (color) determines age, grape, and alcohol content. Smell informs the taster of intensity, defectiveness, and expected flavor. Taste produces a flavor and reaction (l’attaque) on the palette. Collectively summarized.

There are three factors that can influence the senses. Local – where the tasting is being done. Ideally wine should be tasted in bright daylight. In a room with white surfaces that is clean and smoke-free and without strong odors.

The glass. The Institut National des Appellations d’Origine, INAO, has developed a tasting glass that has been internationally adopted. It has a short stem and narrows at the top – helping to keep the wine free from your hands and the aroma in the glass.

The taster. The taster should be in good shape, well rested, and must avoid strong smells. It is recommended to work on an empty stomach and before noon – when taste is most receptive.

These, of course, are the recommendations for professional wine tasters. Those that taste (not swallow) 50-some wines per day. For the wine consumer – drink when, where, and how you want….following the proper method.

Tasting Wine

First look at the wine. Tip it back on a white surface and determine its color. Darker, more orange, tends to mean older in age. Pink and rose colors suggest a younger wine. Determine whether the wine is clear, bright (reflects light), or oily.

Next. Smell the wine. It should smell as fruity as possible – what is the intensity? Is there a clean nose – does it smell “normal” without any defects. If wine is bad you can usually smell hints of vinegar, cork, or mold. Finally, determine the initial and secondary “noses.” First, categorize the smell into one of the aroma families. Then into a sub-category. Lastly name the specific smell.

For example, the St. Nicholas de Bourgueil 2008 that we tasted looked like this:

Aroma Family - Fruit
Sub-Category - Black fruit
Specific Smell - Blackberries and currants

We also detected some spice - ground black pepper - on the second nose.

Finally. Taste. In three parts. First, l’attaque – how the wine first hits your palette. Second, how the wine evolves, evolving taste. Third, la suite, the finish – how long does the wine hold up.

Once you have looked, smelled, and tasted the wine then conclude. First of all. Did you like the wine? Secondly. Was there general harmony? That is to say, the sight, smell, and taste were in balance.

Back to our St. Nicholas de Bourgueil 2008 example,

There was disparity between the strong, floral nose and the fruit-less taste. This wine did not have general harmony.

With a foundation of how to taste wine we will begin looking at wine and food pairings in next week’s class.

Session #1 Tastes

• St. Nicolas de Bourgueil (cépage, cabernet-franc) by Frédéric Mabileau, 2008
• Chénas (gamay) by Trenel, 2007
• Sainte Foy Bordeaux (merlot, cabernet-sauvignon, cabernet-franc) by Chateau de Champ des Treilles, 2007
• Côtes du Rhône (Grenache, syrah, carignan) by Mas des Roches, 2007

Le Cordon Bleu Lunches

Moran, Michelle, Noor, Carolyn, Phillip, Lara, Bruna, and I grabbed lunch after today’s instruction. Representing Israel, Italy, Saudi, the U.S., Dubai, and Brazil. Speaking French, Italian, Hebrew, Arabic, Japanese, Portuguese, English, and Spanish. We only used one currency to pay however.

Le Cordon Bleu - Instruction #10

Chef Stril’s Basic-Cuisine-chef-colleague is in London for a month leaving him to do most of the instructions. Again, yet still eager. Chef Stril greeted the class this morning and dove head first into Instruction #10.

Instruction #10

• Grilled Salmon, emulsified butter sauce with chives


• Roasted pork with herb crust, Byron potatoes


• Choux pastry with ice cream and chocolate sauce, Chantilly Cream

Like most instructions, things started off slow – seeming as though we wouldn’t finish in time.

Chef Stril began with preparing the dessert ingredients. First, the chocolate sauce. Combine dark chocolate, sugar, water, and butter in a bowl set over a double-boiler. Allow to melt on very low heat.

“The chocolate and butter should melt by the steam of the water, not by boiling water,” underscored Chef.

Next. The vanilla ice cream was prepared and left to chill before passing though an ice cream machine.

The choux pastry was third. Milk, water, butter, sugar, salt, flour, eggs, and vanilla are combined in four steps using a particular sequence. End result is an airy dough that “puffs” when baked. Choux is most commonly used for profiteroles (as we were making), éclairs, and savory gougeres.

With the dessert completed we moved straight into the pork.

Including a brief explanation of the type of cut we were using, Chef trimmed and “frenched” the loin. Just as the chicken was roasted, the pork was placed on some trimmings and into the oven. Flipped once. Aromatics added (onion, carrot, shallot, garlic). And left to stand. A mixture of herbs (sage, savory, thyme, parsley, tarragon) and coarse-grained mustard was spread on the loin. And finished in the oven just before serving.

Byron potatoes were paired with the pork loin today. Think mashed-potatoes with a crater carved into the center. Filled with béchamel sauce. Topped with gruyere. And baked until golden brown. [smile]

The final recipe of today was grilled salmon, emulsified butter sauce with chives on a bed of spinach.

Grilling the salmon, flipping four times, Chef seared an “X” pattern into each steak. Then finished in the oven for 6 minutes.

Meanwhile Chef prepared the emulsified butter sauce. As the name suggests - this is a butter sauce. So no alarm when you hear that 100 g of butter was mixed with a splash of lemon and water to make this sauce. Finley chopped chives were added right before serving – preventing the sauce from turning green.

And for the spinach? Quickly wilted in butter with a dash of salt and a hint of garlic.

Voilà! Dinner is served.

Le Cordon Bleu - Instruction #9; Practical #9

Instruction #9

• Mixed herb omelette; ham omelette; wild mushroom; plain omelette
• Preparing fowl for roasting
• Roasted chicken and jus
• Techniques and presentation of garden-style vegetables and turned artichokes

Mixing the beaten eggs with a bit of cream (or milk) helps to give volume to the omelette. Pour the egg mixture into an extremely hot pan which has been coated with oil and butter. Using a fork, stir the eggs - bringing the parameter to the center until the bottom is cooked. Add the filling. Slowly roll the end nearest to you into the center. Holding the pan at an angle tap the handle – forcing the opposite end to fall slightly out of the pan. Catch with a fork and fold in to the center making a completed omelette. Brush with butter (of course!)



The roasted chicken was the biggest practical yet. We hit the ground running and worked through with no down time. One thing after another. Things boiling on top of each other. The recipe building upon itself. It was hot. And sweaty. And tiring.

We roasted the chicken with some vegetables that were cut into mirepoix. After the chicken was roasted we strained the pan – separating the fat from the vegetables. We then took the vegetables with some other ingredients to make our jus.

Moving through the recipe, trying to keep my thoughts straight, I mistakenly dumped my vegetables into the trash.

“Son-of-a-BITCH!” I fumed.

The chef was kind and told me to take a few vegetables from each of my group members and to proceed with the recipe.

Pissed beyond belief I gruffed my way to the end of the recipes.

The chef liked my chicken. My vegetables were finally cut regular. And my work was clean and fast. This time I was told I needed more seasoning. (I really think it depends on the time of day, chef, and the wind’s direction when it comes to seasoning.)

In the end the chef was happy. I was not. Embarrassed and extremely disappointed in myself, I packed up my things and walked home. Hanging my head low.

Provence - Avignon

A 0.8 km walk from one side of town to the other made Avignon an easy town to navigate.

In my day-and-a-half I was able to see much of Avignon. And all that interested me. A quaint town, more modern than expected. Pedestrian streets lined with corporate retailers. With few local artists boasting their items. Perhaps it was the time of year.

January is the off-season for Provence – which made for few crowds and virtually no queues. Avignon really gets buzzing in July during the Festival d’Avignon. A festival that aims to promote the culture of France through theatre, dance, lectures, exhibits, and concerts. This, I suspect, is really quite fantastic.

There were some charming courtyards. Romantic shuttered buildings. Breath-taking views across the Rhône. Darling cafés. And a fantastic food market, Les Halles.

If you get the chance to pass through Avignon be sure to take the opportunity.

Traveling to Avignon for the Weekend

View Larger Map

'Passing' Myself Around Europe

Gare de Lyon is situated just barely across the Seine on the right bank. After two metro transfers and 30 minutes I arrived in the main hall.

Typical European station. Built in 1900 of brick, iron, and cement. Casting a familiar design of stations of its time - centered around a clock-tower. Platforms entering on ground level, semi-exposed to weather. People, billions of them, rushing in the most disorderly fashion possible.

I journeyed to Gare de Lyon to purchase my EU-Rail pass. Good for two months. Five travel days. Three countries.

The pass will commence this Friday when Carolyn and I travel to Avignon for two days. Avignon is a small town situated within Provence, in the South of France. Bordered by the Rhône River and near the Mediterranean Sea. Most known for the Palais des Papes – where the popes lived during the 14th and 15th centuries.

France being the first of the three countries covered by my EU-Rail pass. Switzerland and Belgium the other two – these trips are yet-to-be booked.

Traveling around Europe has always been convenient with the wide train system. An extension of the network, which began in 1981, added high-speed trains. Averaging 200 mph. Making our Avignon 428 mile trip only 2.5 hours.

Zip!

M&M are Getting Ready to Travel

M&M are excited about a trip to Provence…but where are they going and what should they pack?!!?

Le Cordon Bleu - Instruction #8; Practical #8

Instruction #8 – Soups – Part 2

• Clarification – Consommé with vegetable brunoise
• French onion soup
• Fish soup Marseillaise-style

Making consommé is really quite a miracle.

Consommé is clarified stock – and I mean clarified. If done correctly you should be able to see the bottom of the bowl.

Taking some prepared beef stock (as we’ve already seen) and adding some very particular ingredients will clarify into a consommé. Each ingredient, as explained by Chef Stril, has its own duty.

A clarifying mixture usually includes; lean ground beef, vegetables, tomatoes, and egg whites. Now you may ask, “How can this possibly clarify beef broth?”

The ground beef will coagulate in the boiling stock attaching itself to some of the impurities. The vegetables will add color and some more flavor. The juice which is extracted from the tomatoes in the hot stock also aids in the clarification. Finally, the egg whites, like the beef, will coagulate, attaching to the impurities. The main purpose of the egg whites however, is to bind all the solid ingredients together into a “cake scum” on the surface. Separating the solids (impurities - things that make the broth cloudy) with the crystal clear broth, or consommé.

One of the major tricks is to make sure the stock is salted enough – otherwise the clarification will not be successful.

Clarifying is not always a slam-dunk as demonstrated by Chef Stril. After straining his consommé he had to start the process all over again. For him, the second time was a charm.

Adding some brunoise, cooked vegetables into beef consommé makes for a great presentation.

Consommé is usually served with some sort of a puff pastry and cheese “snack.” We made puff pastry straws with gruyère cheese. A perfect combination.



In the midst of clarifying (and re-clarifying) his beef stock, Chef Stril also made fish stew – Marseille style and French onion soup.


A medley of red gurnard, Mediterranean scorpion fish, monkfish, whiting, sting fish, and conger eel was used for the fish stew. This, of course, can be any mix of fish.

My practical for this lesson is this afternoon. So, unless otherwise reported, you can assume that the clarification went crystal clear for me.

Within

There has been a lot of business and not much ‘chat’ lately. School is a bit more demanding than I expected.

My loved ones back home often ask if I am happy. Settled. Enjoying Paris. And pleased with my decision of Le Cordon Bleu.

On a recent phone call with James I described my emotional-self as a roll of puff pastry. Layer upon layer. Rapture resting beneath frustration. Happiness covering loneliness. Excitement existing between disappointment and silliness.

All emotions, good and bad, are whirling around within my heart and soul. Just twirling as fast as they can. This. I love. Relish.

For me, it is feeling alive in every moment - whether you want to or not.

I choose to throw myself out there, hoping for some sort of an emotional response. It is about finding yourself surrounded by the activities that you love while stretching the soul into new lands. Lands that may seem unbearable – or even undesirable. Because. You never know. You never know what will tap you inside. Helping you to see the world in a different, more complex light.

Yes, I am happy. I am getting settled – finding my routines. Paris is a gourmand’s heaven. I’m not sure how I will leave. And Le Cordon Bleu. Even after the proud allure of this school has waned, I still get a feeling of glee each time I put on the uniform.

Life. Me. They are all good. Missing my husband and family each and every moment.