Friday, March 5, 2010

Le Cordon Bleu - Instruction #26; Practical #26

Still fried from all the studying, I was less than thrilled about today’s instruction and practical.

Or. Perhaps it was the menu that seemed less than desirable.

Instruction #26

  • French-style scrambled eggs with smoked salmon
  • Hot fish terrine with beurre blanc
  • Vanilla Bavarian cream, coffee sauce
You may ask, what are French-style scrambled eggs. In a nutshell. Over heat. And a lot of butter. Whisk the hell out of the eggs. Until they resemble a runny mess. Mmmm. And call it cooked!

Needless to say. I am not a fan. The chef tried to mask the flavor by adding salmon roe, smoked salmon, and a piece of toast.

The hot fish terrine – today’s practical assignment – sounds worse that it tastes. I enjoyed mine so much that I brought it home for dinner.

Similar to the chicken breast stuffed with a mousse-like substance, we whipped pike perch – a fresh, river fish – salt, cream, and egg whites in a food processor. Piped into a spinach-lined terrine. And baked in a water-bath for 45 minutes. Slipped into the center of the terrine was a small band of oven-poached salmon – giving an awe presentation effect.

The sauce is butter emulsified with a reduction of shallots, cider-vinegar, and white wine. 99% butter. A little-bit of this goes a long – long – way.

Bavarian cream – crème Anglaise with gelatin – was once the trendy dessert. Panna-cotta now holds this in-vogue title. Bavarian cream has a crème- brûlée consistency. That can be infused with any flavor. Today Chef opted for traditional vanilla. Drizzled with coffee sauce.

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