Le Cordon Bleu - Instruction #24; Practical #24

Take foie gras. Confit of pork, duck, or goose. Truffles. And pair them with talented chefs. In one of the most beautiful spots of France. And you’ve got today’s region.

Périgord.

Naturally protected by landscape, Périgord has remained an untouched region. Divided into four sections. Périgord-Green. Périgord-White. Périgord-Purple. And Périgord-Black. Countryside. Stones. Wines. And thick forests of black oak (and truffles). Respectively.

Rich in goose and duck products and freshwater fish from the Dordogne River. Such as; carp, eel, trout, smelt, and crayfish.

Wild hare and partridge dart the forest floor. Dodging wild chanterelle and porcini mushrooms and truffles. Potatoes and artichokes are more organized on cultivated farms.

Using one of my favorite ingredients Chef prepared the entrée. Thinly sliced fresh foie gras is quickly pan-seared. Just to butter-up the flavor and consistency. Served along side butter sautéed apples (turned of course) and a cider/walnut sauce – a vinaigrette made with reduced veal (or duck) stock. And passed with a seed and nut crisp.

For the seed and nut crisp. Mix softened butter, flour, salt, and egg white into a smooth consistency. Mix in crushed pistachios, sesame seeds, and almonds. Spread onto a well oiled (or sil-pat) baking sheet. And bake at 180 degrees Celsius for about 8-10 minutes. Break up the crisp into desired shapes.

This is a great side component to any salad, soup, or as a snack.

We don’t often cook beef. So today’s main dish was a bit of a surprise. Not to mention a busy one. Pan-seared steak. Served with a Madeira wine and truffle sauce. Celery flan that had been decorated. And goose fat sautéed, turned potatoes.

Instruction and practical were both led by Chef Tivet. Things went fine. Chef blurted out a très bien mon ami as he noted by flan. I over-thickened my sauce with potato starch. But the meat, potatoes, and even sauce, flavor were good and to Chef’s liking.

I chuckled at the comments of the day’s dessert. Reminds me of banana bread. Coffee cake for me. It makes me think of fruit cake. So I guess you’ll have to make it and see for yourself.

Walnuts, pine nuts, and butter are mixed into caramelized sugar. Allowed to cool. Then crushed in a food processor. The mixture, nougatine, is divided in two. The first part, mixed into galette dough. And the second is folded into crème anglaise.

Instruction #24 – Périgord

• Pan-fried foie gras with roasted apples, cider and walnut sauce
• Pan-fried steak, celery flan, Madeira sauce with diced truffles and potatoes in goose fat
• Caramelized walnut and pine nut tart