Le Cordon Bleu - Practical #20

Béarnaise was a slam dunk. I hit it out of the park. It looks like the Hollandaise practical did teach me something!

For the first time we had Chef Lesourd – a.k.a. Napoleon. Actually, it’s only the students that have dubbed him with this nickname.

He’s short – head to my shoulders. Rounded with dark brows. And a personality of a slightly egotistical dictator.

“Who’s the chef?” “Who’s in charge?” “Who knows what he’s talking about?”

Questions like these are not uncommon to come flying out of his mouth. And if we don’t respond with a militaristic, “OUI CHEF!!!” then we’re left standing in his capture, repeating ourselves until he’s satisfied. Napoleon.

I say it was the first time having Chef Frédéric– that’s his first name – in practical that is. We’ve had him a time or two for demonstrations. It was here that my fear for this short, overfed badger came from. Needless to say, I was less than thrilled when I connected the Béarnaise-angst-dot and the Chef-Lesourd-dot in my head.

He is the type of chef – person – that is best dealt with head on. If you hint to a sense of timid/worry/tender-ness then he’ll eat you alive. So I dove head first. Joking. Asking questions. And poking fun. He’s now my bud.

While having the loudest mouth of all the chefs, he’s also the wisest. Having worked for the president of France – and subsequently many heads of states – this man has seen a lot. And he’s good – real good.

I learned more in this one practical than in all the other 19 combined. That’s because he cares. He cares about us uneducated, Basic-cuisine students. Another admiral characteristic of what now looks like a little less of an egotistical badger, and more of a strong handed loving father.

He took each of us under his loudmouth and short limbs during our practical when we struggled. He showed us - taught us - how to do things correctly. Not with a tender voice. Nor a gentle gesture. But, we got it! We learned from him.

Now my favorite chef of them all. Chef Lesourd.

Le Cordon Bleu - Instruction #20

Béarnaise sauce. Made by emulsion. Whisking egg yolks over a water bath - bain-marie. Precision. Temperature specific. Recollections of Hollandaise.

Remembering practical #14 and my struggles with Hollandaise sauce. Naturally this has me a bit on edge – my practical has yet to come. This will be a good assessment. To see if I am actually learning anything at LCB. Assuming Hollandaise taught me something, I should be able to handle Béarnaise sans problème. Stay tuned…

Instruction #20 – Business Dinner

• Flemish leek pie
• Grilled tournedos with Béarnaise sauce, potatoes Pont-Neuf
• Frozen coffee parfait with caramel and cognac sauce

Traditionally Béarnaise is served with grilled meat and potatoes. Today we prepared beef tenderloin. And potatoes, Pont-Neuf.

The story - not that interesting of one – is simple. Pont-Neuf is the oldest bridge in Paris – ironic because translated it is new bridge. Back in the day, there were men on the bridge that would serve fried potatoes. Voilà. The history of potatoes, Pont-Neuf.

Keeping up with appearances, the Béarnaise was served in turned artichokes.

Making dough similar to that of Quiche Lorrain, we prepared the Flemish leek pie. Slowly sautéed leeks and Maroilles cheese filled the center. Drizzled with an egg/cream mixture. And topped with more dough. Baked until golden brown. Delicious.

Maroilles cheese comes from northern France. This cow’s milk cheese has a very pungent aroma and a creamy – slightly salty – taste. When asked if we could substitute the Maroilles, Chef Stril replied, “Yes, but it wouldn’t be called Flemish leek pie.” Ahh, the strict French…

Don't forget dessert!

International Cookbook Festival - 75019

The International Cookbook Fair was held in Paris’ 19th arrondissement this past weekend.

Celebrity chefs, cookbook authors, and gourmands. Wondering the exhibits. Participating in wine education courses. And watching cooking demonstrations.

Most of the Le Cordon Bleu students assisted chefs during their presentations. LCB’s very own Chef Caals and Chef Clergue gave their own French Cuisine presentations.

Lara and Noor, some of the helpful LCB students.

Authors and chefs hailed from Brazil, France, Japan, Columbia, Spain, Canada, U.S., Germany, and many others.

Le Cordon Bleu - Wine Essentials #4

During our conversation about what wine growers are doing this time of year we landed on the topic of pruning.

Winter is a critical – and busy – time of year for wine growers. Vines are rampant creepers and need to be properly maintained. If the vine is too large it will produce an abundance of small grapes – not the best for wine production.

Vines have been around for centuries. And quite tasty to goats. As the story was told, some goats started to nibble on the vines. Slowly exposing the grapes to sunlight. Trimming the leaves. And shaping the vines. The vine’s growth was altered. Producing larger, more suckle fruit. Atlas, vine pruning was born.

In addition to pruning, wine makers are also blending wines and topping off barrels. A very busy time of year.

By the end of March the buds will swell and the shoots will begin to grow. The wine-maker will also pull back the mound of soil that was packed at the base of the vines for winter protection. Slowly the vineyard begins to awaken.

By June the buds explode and begin to flower. Summertime brings the necessary fecundation – fertilization – of the flowers. A process naturally completed by bees. Without this step the flower would not transform into fruit.

The grapes are small and green throughout June. During July their size increases and the color begins to change. Golden for white grapes. Violet for red.

Finally, in August/September the grapes ripen.

The grapes get the most personal attention during the autumn months. Here the wine grower will taste the grapes four or five times a day. Measure the brix – sugar content – and the acidity of the fruit. When the moment is right, harvesting begins.

For a tart, dry wine, harvest earlier. Later harvests will produce fat, sweet wines.

Harvesting is done by manual labor or machine. Each method has an established school of thought surrounding it.

The tickle fingers of the machine pick only ripe grapes - leaving the others to mature on the vine. Furthermore, the fruit is picked without a stem – bypassing the de-stemming stage. Machines use one person instead of a team, and they can work at night. Finally, the machine does not miss any grapes. Which can be an issue if gathered by hand.

The downside of the machine is that it can be harder on the grapes. Dropping them onto a conveyor belt, slightly crushing. The weight of the grapes in the collection bin tends to damage those on the bottom. And they are expensive - taking many years to depreciate.

However the grapes get into the winery they're produced in the same manner. In session #4 we discussed white wine production.

Grapes are first crushed – split open – allowing the juices to escape. They are then immediately pressed between two pneumatic bladders. Piping away the juices. Leaving behind skins, seeds, and other foreign objects.

The juice is stored in large – (often) stainless steel – vats. Natural yeast begins to transfer the sugar into alcohol – fermentation. Fermentation is an exothermic process that creates CO2. For one percent alcohol you need 18 grams per liter of sugar. This process best occurs in temperatures between 20 and 30 degrees Celsius.

Once the fermentation process is completed the wine is transferred into oak barrels for aging. Oak is not used for flavor, but to impart structure on the wine. To give it a skeleton which upon further development will take place once bottled.

Finally, the wine is clarified. A handful of methods exist. Including egg whites (like how I clarified by beef consommé) or clay filters. Once the wine has been clarified it is then bottled.

White wine is much more fragile than red. For protection, sulfur is added to all white wines.

AOC regulation imparts certain restrictions on the wine making process. Machine gatherers, for example, are not allowed in Champagne or Beaujolais. Pruning is also heavily regulated. Each region has their own method which must be followed.

Wine is priced based on a future’s market. Pricing occurs when there is 100% confidence that frost will not occur. Once this time is reached – taking into account; yield, climate, political issues, and economic health – a price is determined.

Session #4 - Tastes

• Premieres Côtes de Blaye (sauvignon-blanc) by Les Gouberts, 2008
• Macon (chardonnay) by Chateau De Messey, 2007
• Côtes du Roussillon (Macabeu and Malvoisie) by Sarda-Mallet, 2007
• Reuilly (sauvignon-blanc) by des Roches, 2007

Le Cordon Bleu - Instruction #19; Practical #19

All jokes aside. The goal of today’s dish was colorless. Probably the most unappetizing attribute to a dish. White. White. White.

White sauce. Served on white meat. Accompanied with white rice. Morsels of white mushrooms. And white onions. White. White. White.

Blanquette de veau à l’anciennce, traditional veal stew, is served with a roux-based sauce. Roux is a compound of melted butter and flour. The function is to thicken sauces. Sauces, essentially, are melted butter and flour (roux) and some sort of a liquid (i.e. veal stock, water, and/or cream).

You need to cook off the flour prior to adding liquid. Otherwise the sauce will taste of flour. At a certain point the roux will turn a hazelnut color. This is used only for brown sauces. Today’s instruction was to take the roux long enough to cook off the flour, but not too far to darken the sauce. Again, today’s goal was white.

I went a bit too far and my sauce was barely darker than it should have been. I didn’t make it to the hazelnut stage. Some where in between. Nonetheless, dark enough for Chef Philippe to comment on.

The rest of today’s practical was balanced. Nicely cooked veal, but some darker rice mixed in with the white rice. The sauce had a nice consistency, but the maximum level of salt. (I took that to mean that the seasoning was good, but just one more granular of salt would have pushed it over the edge.) Overall, a good day.

The dish tastes better than it looks (I am eating it for lunch), but too bland to serve to others.

During Instruction #19 Chef Poupard also pulled salmon marinated with dill and a sugar tart out of his hat.

The salmon – raw – served with a citrus marinade is similar to ceviche. This is called a direct marinade.

From what the other students were telling me, the tart was delicious. How could butter-puff-pastry and caramelized sugar not be good?

Instruction #19 – Balanced Menu

• Salmon marinated with dill
• Traditional veal stew
• Pilaf rice
• Sweet yeast dough: sugar tart

Le Cordon Bleu - Practical #18

I forgot to mention that practical for lesson #18 this morning went great. Perfect actually. Everything was perfectly cooked, well seasoned, and properly presented.

Finally, a perfect practical!