Le Cordon Bleu - Instruction #7

Immediately following practical #6 was Instruction #7. It was a long day. And a difficult one to get through with the stomach flu. I was never quite sure if I was going to make it. The thought of going home and taking a zero was always on my mind. I was physically there. Not so much mentally.

Chef Clergue gave a great demonstration. Chef only prepared two recipes this time. Because he took time to present the foie gras terrine from lesson #5. Foie gras is one of my favorite ingredients, sadly I wasn’t feeling good enough to taste.

Instruction #7

• Pan-fries sea bream, squid stuffed with langoustine risotto and cilantro
• Lemon grass cream, citrus jelly and rhubarb crisps

The main course was actually rather stimulating. Cooked risotto mixed with brunoise carrot, celery, and langoustine – large shrimp. Finished with Parmesan and butter. Then stuffed inside squid. Then quickly pan-fried to give a crispy-tenderness.

Plated with pan-fried pink sea bream and a bouillon – vegetable sauce of carrot, celery, onion, shallot, and saffron. Finished. Of course. With butter.

Practical is tomorrow. I’ll report then.

Cream and milk infused with lemon grass. Mixed into blanch egg yolks – yolks whisked with sugar. Filled the bottom two-thirds of serving dishes. Baked in a bain-marie at 130 degree Celsius oven for about 30 minutes.

Next a citrus jelly was prepared. Juice from oranges, grapefruit, and kumquats was slightly reduced. Sugar, agar-agar, and grenadine syrup dissolved in next. And set in the refrigerator for setting. A bit was used to top off the bake cream dishes.

Finally passed with rhubarb crisps – blanched strips of rhubarb that were dried in a 60 degree Celsius oven for about two hours. And a layer of rhubarb compote. Simply. Rhubarb slices melted down to a compote with a bit of sugar syrup.