Ooh La La. A Poem.

Ooh the way you treat me,
Welcoming and rude.

La rue decorated with pup,
And human excrement.

La personal pride flying high in style,
Hygiene nowhere to be found.

Ohh how can I hate you?
You are my home.

La couleur draped around,
Blue, white, and red.

La borough filled of colonies past,
Vietnam, Algérie, Haïti.

Ohh I can not break this emotion,
Bountiful food has made me fall.

La Tour Eiffel always captivating,
Annoying my daily commute.

La love is strong and forevermore,
Ma France persists within my heart.
~Anthony Fassio

Le Cordon Bleu - Instruction #22; Practical #22

This would never happen in the U.S.

I commented.

Chef Terrien had a bit too much wine at lunch. Sloppy from his swaying. And goofy off the buzz. It was an entertaining class.

Instruction #22

• Crunchy vegetables and peas flavored with peppermint
• Roasted thick cod fillet, gazpacho with basil, eggplant paupiettes
• Soft macaroon, fennel ice cream, berries

We started with dessert. And it’s a good thing – Chef had to redo the macaroons. Powered sugar, ground almonds, beaten egg whites, and sugar. Gently baked until puffy.

Star anise and baby fennel fronds infused milk. Mixed with cream, sugar, blanched egg yolks, and cooked to crème anglaise state. Once the ice cream mixture chilled, it was passed through the churner. And later mixed with candied fennel.

Plated with coulis and fresh fruit, this dessert was simple and comely.

Cod is huge. Or at least larger than anyone expected. Mild in flavor, but jam-packed with nutrients – omega-3 and vitamins A, D, and E. This fish is most common to English fish and chips, and a variety of dishes in Massachusetts. Accessible and relatively inexpensive.

Pre-cooked fillets were quickly finished in a skillet. Mine ended up overcooked, as – now sober – Chef Terrien observed.

And now you will see something that you have never seen before.

Said Chef as he put the gazpacho on to heat.

Traditionally gazpacho is served cold. Originating from Spain, this raw vegetable, tomato based soup took on a new meaning at LCB.

Gazpacho with Basil

½ cucumber, peeled and diced
½ red bell pepper, peeled and diced
½ onion, diced
2 very ripe plum tomatoes, diced with seeds
4 garlic cloves, small dice
20 g breadcrumbs
50 ml olive oil
½ bunch basil, diced
100 ml tomato juice (if needed)
Salt, pepper

Mix all ingredients in a small, flat bottom bowl. Press down on mixture. Allow to develop in the refrigerator for one to eight hours. On a low setting slowly begin to heat the mixture. Gradually increasing burner temperature until heated through. Heated, not hot, and not cooked. Add salt and pepper. Blend. Adding tomato juice if the mixture is too thick, or more breadcrumbs if too thin. Strain. Keep in a warm place – do not heat high and never boil – until ready to serve.

You can add chili powder, or whole fresh, seeded, diced chilies to the developing mixture for a bit of spice. The soup should be thick and bright red-orange. A perfect accompaniment to fish, chicken, or even veal.

Small skewers of cherry tomatoes, chorizo, zucchini, yellow and red bell peppers, and button mushrooms were heat in olive oil. And passed along.

Roasted eggplant flesh. Mixed with onion, garlic, zucchini, and red bell peppers. Made a perfect stuffing for the eggplant paupiettes. Gently rolled thin slices of aubergine. Heated through in the oven. Finished today’s plate.

Chef made a cold pea soup of shelled peas, onions, chicken stock, and olive oil for the entrée. Sent with a mixture of shelled peas, diced yellow tomatoes, chopped shallots, brunoise sun-dried tomatoes, chervil, mint, and lime juice. And topped with peppermint sorbet.

A wonderfully light and fresh dish. Avoiding the sorbet as there was a bit too much sugar. This is a repeat recipe.

Le Cordon Bleu - Wines of the World #5

Not necessarily a wine of the world, but wine nonetheless.

Spirits and fruit brandies.

Spirits are those made from grains or wine – brandy, whiskey, vodka, etc. Fruit brandies are just that, made of fruit.

In French, spirits and fruit brandies are called eau de vie. Water of life. In the Middle Ages alchemists were searching for longevity, for the drink of youth. They stumbled upon brandy. This was given to children as medicine. As the negative effects – stunted growth and mental issues – began to show, this practice was quickly abandoned.

Ok, so what is brandy? Brandy is distilled wine or fruit juice. Cognac and Armagnac are the most known. Areas that border Bordeaux to the north and south, respectively.

First a still, dry, white wine – mainly of ugni-blanc – is made. Then double distilled.

Distillation is a process of physically separating elements. That is to say, a process of dissecting the different components within the wine through a physical reaction. This is not a chemical reaction.

The still, dry, white wine is boiled. Vapors of one elements steam out the top. Concentrating the remaining items. And increasing alcohol content. The flavor begins to resemble a spirit by this point. This is a batch process. And repeated twice, double distilled.

Alcohol content by this point is usually around 70%. Due to a tax-break given to liquor at, or below, 40%, the brandy is diluted with pure water to 40%. The liquid is placed in oak barrels to age. Bottled. And finally distributed.

Like French wine labeling, Cognac and Armagnac bear the names of their towns. Cognac is more elegant and refined to the rustic, earthiness of Armagnac. Both tastes knocked my socks off.

Calvados is another well-known French brandy. Made in the northern region of Normandy. From apples. Eau de vie de cidre – water of life of cider.

The process is the same as brandy. Except we begin with cider, not white wine. And a mandatory natural one month fermentation must occur prior to distillation.

Still causing a gasp reflex at 40% alcohol, Calvados is slightly smoothed from apples.

Eau de vie de marc. A.K.A. grappa. This crap is made from pumas – grape residue. At the end of common wine production there is a byproduct of skins and seeds. These are taken, covered with warm water, pressed, and distilled. Producing a ghastly product some actually enjoy.

The smell alone was making me gag. Concerned I’d loose my lunch, I was cautious with my tasting. The flavor was just as bad as expected. HUAOAHU!

Created by monks in Eastern France – monks tend to get bored and discover alcohol, i.e. Dom Pérignon. Eaux de vie de fruits are simply fruit flavored brandies. From fermented and distilled fruit juice. Kirsch (cherry) and cassis (blackcurrant) are probably the most known. But, flavors of raspberry, prune, and yellow plum also exist.

Liqueurs differ from fruit brandies only by sugar content. Fruit macerated in brandies are fortified with sugar. Per liter the sugar content can by as high as 450 grams. Cointreau – orange flavor – is one of the most common.

It was a day of small sips and huge gasps. Amusing nonetheless.

Session #5 – Tastes

• Hines Cognac
• Chateau de Maniban Armagnac
• Chateau du Breuil Calvados
• Gabriel Boudien Eau de vie de Marc
• Plum brandy
• Cointreau

Le Cordon Bleu - Instruction #21; Practical #21

Cuisine instruction. The respected practical. Pastry demonstration. And wine class #5 made for a long day at Le Cordon Bleu.

For his last time with our class. Chef Clergue. Happily taught today’s lesson.

Instruction #21

• Red mullet escabeche, fennel cream
• Guinea fowl breast cooked on the bone with lemongrass fricandeau of legs and green tomato royale
• Blancmange with seasonal fruit, mojito sorbet and jasmine tuile

The entrée reminded me of lunch at Hôtel de Crillon with my father-in-law. Pre-cooked red mullet marinated with warm marinade, escabeche.

Adding warm marinade to fish – or any protein for that matter – not only flavors the ingredient, but cooks it as well.

Onions, carrots, and fennel sweat in olive oil with thyme, bay leaf, parsley stems, and garlic. Mixed with white wine and cider vinegars. Red Thai chili and Szechuan pepper added a fiery spice. Simply poured over the fish. And placed in the refrigerator to marinate.

Served along blanched fennel blended with crème fraîche and olive oil. Finally decorated with round, red radishes.

This was a favorite dish of mine. Acidity screamed through from the vinegars, opening the palate. Allowing vegetable and red mullet flavors to develop. Spice quickly followed on the back of the tongue. All cooled by fennel cream.

There are haters – some sit next to me in class. But. Today’s recipe will convert anyone to guinea fowl.

Boning and grinding the legs started the fricandeau – pan fried ground meat. Chorizo, mascarpone, basil and breadcrumbs brought the nutriment into little meatballs. A hot and slow pan-fry finished these tasty bites.

Unlike the legs. The breast was left on the bone. Browned. And finished in the oven over a bed of browned bones, carrots, onions, shallots, lemongrass, and lemon zest. As though someone opened a bottle of aromatherapy. Citrus filled the air.

As the breasts baked, so did green tomato royales – savory custard. Shallots, tomatoes (green because they are firmer and less watery), butter, garlic, salt, eggs, and milk set up in a 100 degree Celsius oven. Like crème brûlée.

Guinea fowl looks and acts like chicken. But, when cooked properly. It’s moist. Part gamey, part domesticated – like wild turkey. And slightly sweet. Paired with lemongrass, this bird is set free. If that’s not enough to convince. One bite into the fricandeau is all it’ll take. You would insist it was pork. Dark, succulent meat takes nicely to mascarpone and basil. A great alternative to Jimmy Dean.

If you are not hooked, call me up. I’ll hand deliver a plate of this revolutionary fowl.

Most of the class perked up when they heard the words. Mojito. Sorbet. The added instructions, add the rum after the mixture is cool to preserve the alcohol. Also helped to grab the group’s attention.

Prior to the rum addition, mint infused sugar-lime-water – part tap, part sparkling.

Blancmange – milk, almond milk, and agar agar – led the first shot-glass layer. Agar agar is similar to gelatin in that it gels liquids. Different because it comes from seaweed – vegan friendly – and can withstand high temperatures. Perfect for hot dishes.

Brunoise of mango, strawberries, pineapple, and papaya topped the blancmange. And jasmine tuiles with sliced almond finished off the plate.

Le Cordon Bleu - Instruction #20; Practical #20

I’m not sure if this is breaking news. Or embarrassing.

Today. At Le Cordon Bleu. We used the microwave. Not to reheat. Nor to melt. To actually cook a dish.

Golden crisped toast lined the bottom of a small, round mold. Whipped egg whites and truffles filled the bottom third. A lone egg yolk rest in the center. Topped with more egg whites. And cooked through in the microwave in less than a minute.

Served with morel mushroom coulis – shallots, morel and cultivated mushrooms sautéed, blended with cream, reduced port wine, salt and pepper, and thinned with chicken stock.

The dish was remarkably good. A perfect Sunday brunch first course.

Conventional cooking methods overtook the main dish. Breaded sea bass fillets were quickly browned in clarified butter on the stove. And finished in a 160 degree Celsius oven.

Sautéed spinach slotted as garnish number one. And lemon, caper, parsley sauce filled the second spot. Now the dish diverts.

Chicken jus and glazed chicken legs finish off the plate. Huh? Sea bass with a lovely lemon sauce and now chicken stuffs? I agree that it was strange, but the flavors surprisingly went well together.

The jus was our typical chicken, shallot, and water sauce. But. The glazed chicken legs. Took on a new flavor. Browned morsels coated in sherry vinegar, soy sauce, and maple syrup.

These accompaniments got me a très bonne in practical from the Korean Chef – we don’t really know her name. Other feedback was that the fish was cooked to its maximum – good, but no more. More coloring on the crust. Jus was tasty. And my spinach was nicely seasoned. I packed up as much as I could for tonight’s dinner.

Dessert reminded me of Grandma Schneebeli’s crumbles. While she never ventured into apples and pineapple with lemon balm syrup, the theory is the same. Baked fresh fruit covered with crumbly dough. And served with ice cream.

A simple mixture of flour, sugar, ground hazelnuts, butter, salt, and vanilla were kneaded into a ball. Allowed to chill – rest – in the refrigerator. Once the compote of apples, pineapple, lemon juice, and sugar was cooked and spooned into the bottom of a mold, the dough was crumbled over the top. And baked for 15 minutes in a 180 degree Celsius oven.

Pineapple sorbet and lemon balm syrup completed the dish.

From those that tried today’s dessert remarked how amazing it was. A must make-at-home recipe.

This marks the end of lesson #20. Time is more than winding down. Seven more practicals. A written test. Dry-run for the final exam. And the mammoth final itself, are all that remain.

Instruction #20

• Egg blancmange with truffle, morel mushroom coulis
• Crispy sea bass with French toast, capers, and lemon, chicken jus
• Crisps with apple, pineapple sorbet, lemon balm syrup

Le Cordon Bleu - Instruction #19; Practical #19

If you have a dinner party planned, scratch the menu. No social meal on your calendar? Get one, stat.

Today’s menu will blow anyone away.

Instruction #19

• Green asparagus and crab charlotte, citrus vinaigrette
• Roast beef tenderloin, mi-venaison, marinade with soy, daikon radish and beet brochette, parsley potato crisp
• Frothy caramel with sea salt from Guérande

Thicken fresh crab meat with mayonnaise. Fill an asparagus lined mold. And keep refrigerated until serving.

Meanwhile. Blend peeled, seeded, and diced tomatoes with olive oil, tomato paste (for color), salt, pepper, and sugar (for the acidity) until smooth. Attention not to over blend, retaining a deep red color.

Mix orange, lemon, and lime juice with zest, salt, and pepper. Slowly whisk in olive oil. Creating a citrus vinaigrette.

Flavor and presentation will easily wow your guests. This entire dish can be made in advance, allowing you to enjoy it as well.

Likewise. The main course can be made ahead of time. For at least an hour, preferably overnight, marinate beef tenderloin. Shallot, celery, garlic, thyme, juniper berries, black peppercorns, soy sauce, red wine vinegar, red wine, onion, and orange peel.

Begin a sauce by browning meat trimmings. Sweating carrot, onion, and celery. Deglazing with red wine and balsamic vinegars. Once evaporated dry, deglaze a second time, this round with cognac. Pour enough marinade to cover the solids, add thyme and bay leaf, and reduce two-thirds. Next, add veal stock and greatly reduce. Finish with redcurrant jelly and crushed peppercorns giving them a moment to infuse the sauce. Strain and reduce to desired consistency.

Simply brown the marinated meat in screaming hot oil. And cook through in a 200 degree Celsius oven – 15 minutes per pound for rare/medium-rare.

Garnish with cooked daikon radish and beet. And heavenly parsley potato crisps.

Boiled, diced, buttered, creamed, herb-ed potatoes were wrapped in butter-brushed phyllo dough. Rolled like a spring roll and browned in a 200 degree Celsius oven for about five minutes. Careful when biting into these, they can be hot.

If your guests haven’t hired you to cater their next party by now. Then dessert certainly will.

Caramel – melted sugar deglazed with milk and cream – is frothed with beaten egg whites. Gelled with gelatin and allowed to set. Think caramel Jell-O. Cognac deglazed caramel syrup adds the finishing touch to the dish.

If you’re not completely satisfied with today’s menu then you can bring it up to demo-Chef Poupard. I’m sure he’d be willing to help you out.

Le Cordon Bleu - Atelier #2

Hold true to the timeline. This round's goal. Motivated by the final exam’s four hour requirement.

For each atelier we are given six hours to complete two entrées and two main dishes. Completing in four, or at least five, has always been the chefs’ suggestion. I finished in four and a half. I didn’t budget twenty minutes of discussion with Chef Terrien – today’s proctor – about my first plate. So. Overall. I consider this a success.

Such delaying conversations will not take place during the final exam. In fact the entire format is different. Four amuse-bouche – small enough to fit in a shot glass – and four main plates. Much easier to manage.

As for the day’s results? Overall, fair to good.

Chef Terrien is perfect to have on a day like today because of his detailed, constructive criticism. He always has another idea for plating. An alternative cooking method. Or some addition for a sauce. He is seasoned and good.

Entrée was presented nicely. Well seasoned. And diverse. Chef would have left the skin on the fish, cooked the spinach at a lower temperature, and plated the center item upside down. All brilliant ideas duly noted.

I was disappointed with my fish. I would have cooked that longer and blanched the spinach from the get-go – I slowly dried it in the oven. My sauce was better than I expected, so that’s a keeper.

Entrée – Poached sea bream with beet, artichoke ‘Oreos’ and carrot, spring onion, tarragon purée.

Today’s main plate went much better than the last atelier. Portion-control was in full effect.

Curious to use gelatin I made a tomato, garlic jelly. Plating beautifully. Disastrously ending.

I knew that gelatin would loose its bond once reheated (i.e. placed on a hot piece of meat). I just didn’t know it would happen so quickly. I expected to plate my dish. Present it to chef as he watched the jelly slowly melt away. Instead the jelly was essentially gone by the time Chef laid his eyes on my plate.

The good news was that the tomato and garlic flavors nicely corresponded with my ginger jus and lemon cream sauce. Chef was happy.

An argument – even among LCB chefs – is the desired doneness of veal. I prefer less cooking, giving respect to the tenderness of this protein. Chef Terrien demands it more done. This was his first criticism – cook it more.

Chef’s only other suggestion of the main course was to drain my cauliflower purée. Oh. And to cook the cauliflower longer.

You are a cook. So. You must cook. Kindly remarked Chef.

Main Course – Veal medallion, sweetbread phyllo ‘candy’ with white asparagus, green-dyed cauliflower purée, ginger jus and lemon cream sauce. Tomato, garlic jelly.


It will be a week or two before we receive our final exam list. I am curious what proteins, vegetables, and other ingredients will be given. The ideas are rolling through my brain as I type.

Where will we go?

Le Cordon Bleu - Instruction #17; Practical #17

He is loved by all students. In his adorable demeanor Chef Clergue happily pressed through lesson #17.

Instruction #17

• Crisp langoustines, citrus emulsion with olive oil and wasabi
• Pan-dried monkfish, sauce with Provence flavors and heirloom vegetable purée
• Sauternes wine jelly, marbled lemon sorbet and balsamic jus

Langoustines – also known as Norway Lobster – are often prepared in France. Hailing from the Atlantic Ocean, and Mediterranean and North Seas. This creature is versatile as its meaty tail is much larger then common shrimp. Measuring up to two inches long, today’s tails were marinated in olive oil, espelette pepper, and four-spice.

Unraveling Kataifi pastry, Chef rolled each tail into a small package. Leaving the tip exposed for presentation. Middle Eastern descent Kataifi is shredded phyllo dough. Most commonly used for a dessert of rolled dough, honey, and nuts.

Frying each morsel created a delicious crunch. Nicely paired with an herb – chervil, parsley, tarragon, lemongrass, mint, and marjoram – salad. Seasoned with an orange, wasabi, olive oil emulsion.

Fumet, candied lemon, slow-roasted tomatoes, olive brunoise, fennel, parsnip purée, and potato crisps. The list of accompanying items for the main monkfish. Noticing the abundance I inquired.

Chef. Why is there always a long list of ‘other’ items when we prepare monkfish? Is it to cover the flavor or boring-ness?

Chef replied.

Monkfish is easy to prepare. One central bone makes filleting a snap. Cooking is quick and simple. So you have the time.

It all made sense to me. So, I started with the tomatoes. Peeling, seeding, and slicing into petals I popped them in a low 90 degree Celsius oven with some thyme, bay leaf, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Boiled potatoes and parsnips in water and milk, respectively. Individually passed them through a fine-mesh sieve. Buttered each batch. Poppy seeds, spreading thin on a baking sheet, and dried in a 100 degree Celsius oven for an hour finished the potatoes. Whereas, a bit of cream and salt completed the parsnips.

Finished my brunoise and prepared the fumet. Things were rolling forward. Finding myself with a bit of spare time I started to play around. Curled candied lemon peel. Blanched leek strings. And carved a fennel head. All thinking about presentation.

Not a bad dish. Not a great dish either. This average plate I would probably recreate with some alterations. The candied lemon was too sweet for my migraine-prone head. Some more salt would have bettered the potato crisps. And cooking monkfish in clarified butter would have been superior to the oven-bake.

Sauternes wine and gelatin. That’s all the jelly took. Add that to lemon sorbet, blood orange sorbet, and balsamic jus and you’ve got a killer dessert.

All these sorbets sound good. Not to mention simple to make. Only issue is having an ice-cream churner. I used to have the Kitchen Aid Ice Cream Maker and found that it never worked. It could have been my lack of knowledge and skill. Or simply that the darn thing was no good. I am on the look out for a good, small, machine for home. Let me know if you have any suggestions.

Le Cordon Bleu - Wines of the World #4

Vineyards owe their perfection to the parallel of moderation.

Temperate weather of the 45th parallel makes Bordeaux one of the best climates for wine production. Regulated by water.

Flowing southwest, along the eastern border of Bordeaux. The Dordogne River meets the north-westerly Garonne. Together forming the Gironde, an Atlantic Ocean estuary – often mistakenly called a river.

Moreover. The forest on the west blocks all easterly winds and rains. Bringing additional safety to the grapes.

Bordeaux consists of over 100,000 hectares of wine growth. Making it the biggest AOC in the world. Grape varieties vary throughout, but mainly consist of the following.

Rouges

• Cabernet-sauvignon
• Cabernet-franc
• Merlot
• Côt (Malbec)
• Petit Verdot
• Carmenère

Blancs

• Sémillon
• Sauvignon-blanc
• Muscadelle

The largest AOC is not necessarily the most complicated. Following all other wine regions. Wines labeled with Bordeaux are the most generic. It is the sub-regional appellations and specific town labeled bottles that you should be buying.

The sub-regional appellation breakdown looks like this.

In general. Graveled soil of the Garonne’s left bank produces tannic, well structured, tough wines. Predominantly from cabernet-sauvignon. Whereas the right bank – clay and limestone – is merlot dominant. Making fruitier, full-bodied wines.

With that said. Cabernet-sauvignon needs a bit of roundedness from merlot. Just like merlot benefits from cabernet-sauvignon’s structure. Therefore they are almost always blended together. Linked with malbec. And enhanced with carmenère – more of a yesterday’s grape – or petit verdot – making a come-back.

Whites tend to be very aromatic and dry. Characteristics of the heavily used sauvignon-blanc. Structured with muscadelle. Sémillon’s prone-to-noble-rot trait makes it perfect for dessert wines. Especially in Sauternes, Barsac, and Cérons – where the dividing river, Ciron, flows into the larger Garonne.

When the Ciron’s warmer water flows into the cooler Garonne, mist is created. Forming water droplets on the grapes, breeding fungus. Dried daily by sunshine. Slowly reducing the grape’s moisture. In turn. Increasing sugar-concentration. Noble Rot (botrytis cinerea). Perfect for dessert wine production.

My suggestion. As always. Drink them all and write down your favorites.

Session #4 – Tastes

• Pauillac (cabernet-sauvignon, cabernet-franc, merlot) by Château La Rose, 2005
• Margaux 2eme Crus (cabernet-sauvignon, cabernet-franc, merlot) by Château Rauzan-Ségla, 2004
• Saint-Julien (cabernet-sauvignon, cabernet-franc, merlot) by Château Larose de Gruaud, 2002
• Listrac-Medoc (cabernet-sauvignon, cabernet-franc, merlot) by Château Fonreaud, 2004
• Moulis Cru Bourgeois Superior(cabernet-sauvignon, cabernet-franc, merlot) by Château Brillette, 2003

Trente-Sept Jours

Scrolling around Delta.com last night. Dismayed to discover. There are only 37 days left.

In a slight, nostalgic panic I rummaged through a pile of notes. Retrieving my list. The list of must-do’s while abroad. Thinking all along, will this be full of checkmarks by the time I depart?

I am list guy. Crazier, if it’s on the list it must get checked off. Otherwise. Small beads of sweat form on my brow. Blood pressure rises. Attention span diminishes. And the ability to form complete sentences evades me. It’s not pretty.

Rue Cler

Avignon

St. Chappelle

Musee de Louvre

Musee d’Orsay

Place Vendome

Musee de Pompidon

Rodin Gardens

Sacre Coeur/Montmartre

Le Marais

Latin Quarter

Versailles

Ok, this was looking like a completed list. But wait. There was more…without checks!

¨ Top of Eiffel Tower
¨ Les Baux
¨ Musee de Picasso
¨ Musee de Edith Piaf
¨ Vezelay
¨ Jewish Museum
¨ Etc…

Balancing the end of Le Cordon Bleu – Superior ateliers and final exam – while working on the list. Is my current challenge. Some items I know I won’t get to because I’ll need to travel, but those that lie within Paris’ walls must get ticked off.

After the list hysteria subsided. I reminisced all things managed to get accomplished that weren’t on the list. Making great friends, learning French, knowing Paris like the back of my hand, and discovering the best pomme frits – French fries – in the world. I smiled a bit.

Then there’s all the subconscious education. Having a good grasp of what Portuguese sounds like. A deeper understanding of Korean culture. And a changed view of Turks. Stemmed from working in an international school.

It was also clear that I have a limit with the French, miss American deodorant, and love the Paris métro. Picnics were less frequent than I imagined. I never knew I would do laundry daily. And how was I able to consume that much ham?

Surprises lurked all around my time in France. Some presenting themselves in more direct ways. Nonetheless. I have grown. Widened my scope. And stretched my knowledge. Oh! And I’ve learned how to cook.

Le Cordon Bleu - Instruction #16; Practical #16

It was sort of a no thrills-type of day. Avocado sorbet dessert did perk up some interest, but nothing to write home about.

Haddock, mackerel – both pre-cooked – layered in a terrine along potatoes. All bonded with cream and dill flavored gelatin. The accompanying horseradish sauce would have sent my father to the restroom. Dill, cream, and lemon flavors couldn’t stand up to Chef Poupard’s heavy horseradish hand.

Remember deboning an entire pigeon while keeping its shape? Similar technique with sole. Gently. Tediously. And slowly. The skeleton was cut, picked, and sliced out. Leaving a cavity waiting to be filled.

Duxelles – shallots and mushrooms slowly cooked – regained the sea creature’s shape. Braised in white wine and fumet prepared the sole. After the braising liquid was strained, reduced and creamed it too was ready for the plate.

Crêpes filled with cockles – small clam-like – was the last item on the agenda. Mixing flour, salt, egg, milk, butter, and chervil created the crêpe batter. Thin layers in a small sauce pan gave us the desired size.

Cockles heated through in a bath of shallot infused vermouth were given richness from reduced heavy cream. Piled into the center of a crêpe. And tied like a little purse finished the presentation.

Fruit chutney – this time; pineapple, mangoes, dried dates, apricots, and figs, and raisins – slowly cooked in orange and lemon juice. Spiced with cinnamon, ginger, lime zest, and sherry vinegar. Plated – not sure if paired is correct here – with avocado sorbet and caramel coulis.

Instruction #16

• Haddock, mackerel and potato terrine with dill, horseradish sauce
• Sole stuffed with mushrooms served with sauce glacée à l’anncienne, Célestine crêpes with shellfish
• Mango and pineapple chutney, avocado sorbet