Le Cordon Bleu - Instruction #14; Practical #14; Instruction #15; Practical #15

Let’s jump to the good part. Which also happens to be the end of the story.

We thickened our sauce with blood. Fresh. Real. Swine.

For those that know the traditional recipe, coq au vin, know that it is always thickened with blood. Sauces are thickened for two reasons. Flavor concentration. And texture.

Essentially, the profile of a sauce is flavor and water. Slow down the movement of water molecules, and you’ve got a thickened sauce. Do this by adding barriers. Air, oil, gelatin, or tiny bits – vegetables, fruit, herbs or meat. Or, just. Simply reduce the amount of H2O through reduction.

Blood’s 17% protein – albumin – is a great stopper of water’s flow. Heated to 75 degrees Celsius the protein bonds unravel. At this point the sauce is taken off the heat. When the unraveled bonds cool – reattach themselves – they form a funky, unorganized network. Thus thickening the sauce.

The main problem with blood – or any protein for that matter (i.e. egg yolks) – is temperature. Boil, and it will clot. Reheating produces curdling. And cooking at too low of a temperature restricts thickening. Making these one-time-use sauces.

Nonetheless, it was cool. Pouring blood into a bowl. Combined with red wine vinegar. And mixing into a prepared sauce of bones, carrots, onions, cognac, Madeira, and a red wine marinade. Gently simmering. Whisking. And whisking. And whisking. After time the sauce slowly thickens. So much so it clings to the spoon like melted chocolate.

Passed along with braised rooster. And confit – slowly cooked – onions in red wine vinegar and wine.

Chef Stril oversaw practical #15. He was very happy with my dish, but asked for some more stewing of the onions. Not enough cook, makes for bad stomach. He said rubbing his belly.

Taking one step back. Just before practical #15. Chef Tivet led the respected instruction. Jolly and happy as can be, he thickened his rooster sauce with blood. And proudly plated his dish.

Along with, coq au vin – really called, coq en barbouille – Chef prepared and entrée and dessert. (Barbouille is a slang term for a rather poor painter. Hence Chef’s artistry on the side of the plate. See top photo.)

Instruction #15 – Berry

• Easter pâté wrapped in puff pastry
• Rooster cooked in red wine
• Pear and walnut pie

The Easter pâté was a simple sausage made of pork, onions and spices. Layered on a piece of rolled out puff pastry. Studded with hardboiled eggs. Topped with more sausage. And sealed with a second sheet of puff pastry.

Sausage and eggs. How could you go wrong? You can’t. He didn’t. It was great.

Lamb debuted in practical #14. Simply marinated in olive oil, peppermint, salt and pepper. Pan-seared. And placed on a layer of roasted tomatoes, sautéed spinach, and cooked mushrooms. Jus dashed the plate. Finished with a side of round-balled potatoes – browned in oil; flavored with butter.

The potatoes were beyond good. I mean they basically were French fries rolled in melted butter. The peppermint flavor was minimal in the jus. In fact you could barley taste it in demo Chef Caals’ dish. Infusing my jus at the last minute with two leaves added a bit more peppermint flavor.

My jus got a très bien. As did my potatoes and most of my vegetables. I marginally over cooked my roasted tomatoes. And the cooking of my lamb was bien. But I was cautioned that it was the minimum. Overall good marks. I was happy with my effort.

I love lamb. And this hit the spot for lunch. If I wrote in chronological order, this is where I would explain that a long day made for quick meals in between classes. Instruction #14, then Practical #14, then Instruction #15, and finally Practical #15. All ending with rooster. But, the excitement over the blood turned things upside-down.

Instruction #14 was lead by Chef Caals. Starting at 8:30 a.m. Chef too prepared an entrée and dessert to go along with the day’s lamb.

Instruction #14

• Sardine Carpaccio with tomato and basil
• Lamb fillet with vegetable tian, peppermint jus
• Parisian-style frozen nougat

The entrée was a simple dish of lemon, olive oil, basil, salt, and pepper marinated sardines. Tossed with similarly marinated cherry tomatoes. Warm potato salad. And roasted tomato petals.

It was such a wonderfully light dish. Freshened with lemon. Salty sardines. And smoothed by olive oil.

And this brings me to the beginning of my day. Waking up. Having coffee. Walking to school. Wondering if I will survive the long day.