Duckling Day

This morning we had a very memorable Demonstration! Our Chef for the Demo was Chef Stril who is my favorite chef and was the perfect candidate to make the classic duck dish that’s been made for generations in France. This Demo was one of my favorites because I have been waiting all of Basic to learn how to make the Duck dish. The dish is called Canette Rotie Aux Navets- Roast Duckling with Turnips and Caramelized Pearl Onions. Learning this specialty from the French Chef is amazing in itself. The duck was trussed and simply placed into the oven for 12 minutes on each side and 15 minutes on its back. The only item that flavored the roasted duck was the natural, fatty juices that you baste the duck with through out it cooking. On no account have I ever tasted something so delectable and succulent! The shiny sheen of the fatty yet crispy skin on the duck breast was enticing! I cannot wait to make this classic French dish tonight in my Practical.

We also discovered how to make Baked Oysters topped with creamed Leeks and a White Wine cream sauce. Once the oysters were topped with the leeks and creamy sauce, they were broiled until blistering on top. These were mind-blowing and anyone who can’t stomach an Oyster would die over these!

 

Lastly we made an Orange Liqueur Soufflé that was made with a reduction from orange juice and orange zest which was combined with candied orange peel that had been macerated (soaked) in Orange Liqueur. This was hands down the best Soufflé I’ve had to date!

As you can tell, I left the Demo very satisfied with each dish! I wish all of you could have been there to taste the dishes yourself, but pictures will have to suffice! Hope everyone is having a great Tuesday!

With Love from Paris,

Britt xoxo

Le Cordon Bleu Student Soiree

This past Monday, Le Cordon Bleu threw a party for all the Cuisine and Pastry students at the school, whether Basic, Intermediate, or Superior levels. They rented out a very nice restaurant/bar venue for all the students. The Hor dourves that were spread all over every counter space were beautiful and intricate. There was a really fun DJ who played great music the entire evening! It was a wonderful set up and we had a blast getting to dress up once again and be around the students who are in the advanced levels, whom we normally do not see that much at school. 

I must admit that I sort of failed on taking a lot of pictures the night of the party, but we were busy dancing and having a blast. Either way, here are a few snapshots that I did manage to take-

 

 

Summary of the Week

This week at school we made a wide assortment of dishes in each of our Demo’s and Practical’s. It was different from prior weeks where there was a definite theme such as Beef week, Fish week, Pastry week, etc. It unquestionably made it interesting to have such a broad spectrum of dishes. 

On Monday, we learned how to make Traditional Veal Stew, Dill cured Salmon with Pink Peppercorns, and a Sugar Tart. 

The veal stew was the dish that we were going to have to prepare in our Practical class. I had never had Veal before and was slightly doubtful about sampling it. The Chef gave the class a educational speech on the process of raising young cattle. He enlightened the class about their particular diets and nurturing that create the certain taste in the meat. He explained that most of the young cattle are killed between 12-24 weeks after birth. I was distressed after hearing these facts and was not sure I would want to try the veal. Once tasting time came, I decided that I needed to taste the veal in order to know what it should taste like in practical. The Veal Stew was actually delightfully tender and the meat had a very clean and mild taste. Although I feel bad for the young calves, I think I will be enjoying Veal more often now! 

The Dill cured Salmon was silky-smooth and blissful. The salmon was extremely fresh and had an eminent orange flush to it. It was only cured around an hour, but it didn’t need to be cured any longer because its natural flavor was fantastic. 

Below is the Traditional Veal Stew with Rice Pilaf, Dill cured Salmon with Pink Peppercorns, and the Sugar Tart- 

 

 

 

On Wednesday, we discovered how to make Flemish Leek Pie, Tournedos Grilles avec sauce Bearnaise et Pomme Pont Neuf (Grilled Filets with Bearnaise sauce and Potatoes “Pont Neuf” style. Lastly we learned how to make a Coffee Semifreddo.

 

The Grilled Filets with the Bearnaise sauce were absolutely amazing! We had to make this dish in our practical which was very exciting because they gave us a huge filet that would cost around $250 at home to buy in the grocery store at the meat counter. The filet piece was so large that we had to cut the entire piece into about 4-5 actual filets that one person would eat at a restaurant. Obviously making a Bearnaise sauce for the first time was very exciting since it is one of the most traditional steak sauces out there. Bernaise is basically a base of clarified butter emulsified in egg yolds, white wine vinegar and flavored with herbs. It is considered to be a ‘child’ of the mother Hollandaise sauce, one of the five sauces in the French haute cuisine mother sauce repertoire. The difference is only in their flavoring: Béarnaise uses shallot, chervil, peppercorn and tarragon, while Hollandaise uses lemon juice. The potatoes were cut into “Pont Neuf” shapes which applies to the square rectangle shape that is supposed to resemble a bridge in Paris. Basically this dish was your traditional Steak Frites. It was divine.

Below is the Grilled Filets with Bearnaise sauce and Potatoes “Pont Neuf”, Flemish Leek Pie, and Coffee Semifreddo-

 

 

 

Here is my Grilled Filet with Bearnaise Sauce & “Pont Neuf” potatoes that I made in Practical. What is not pictured is the 4 other Filets we had to cook besides the one plated. In this Practical, we were required to cook the filets to 4 different temperatures. “Bleu”- which in France is basically bleeding and there is not even a term for it in English. We also had to cook a Rare, Medium Rare, Medium, and Well Done filet. The Chef tasted and checked the doneness of each one once they came off the grill. The Filet that is plated is the one cooked to “Bleu” 

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On Thursday, we learned how to make Sauteed Veal Chops, “Grand-Mere- Style Garnish”, Saffron-Infused Black Muscle Soup, and Pistachio Shortbread with Balsamic Reduction and Strawberry garnish.

We had to recreate the Veal Chops in our Practical. The veal was tender and juicy with a wonderful, dark Jus. The Muscle soup was absolutely stunning and the soup aspect was silky and shiny. The Saffron colored and infused the dish in such a delicate yet beautiful way. The Pistachio Shortbread was UNREAL. I am obsessed with Pistachios so this shortbread was heavenly by itself. Adding the freshly macerated strawberries with mint and drizzling the top with a Balsamic Reduction took the dish to a whole other level. Needless to say, it was one of my top desserts we have made thus far.

Below is the Sauteed Veal Chops, Saffron-Infused Black Muscle Soup, and Pistachio Shortbread with Balsamic Reduction and Strawberry garnish-

 

Below is the Veal Chops dish that I made in Practical-

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! I am so sorry that I have been quite behind lately on the blog postings, but school is just getting very intense! We are in the last 3 weeks of school which is unbelievable to me…how time flies!! Have a wonderful Sunday!

With love from Paris,

Britt xoxo 

Sunday Night Comfort

On Sunday night, I met three of my best girlfriends and one of their husbands out for dinner and a cultural evening in Paris. We had the idea to go to a really the Shakespeare and Co. bookstore in the 5th district. As I said, it is very old and was opened in 1951 by an American man. We met at a cafe next door to have a glass of wine and sat under the space heaters while gazing upon Notre Dame and the Seine. It was the coolest evening we have had in Paris thus far. After drinks, we went to the Shakespeare and Co. bookstore to hear David Simon speak. Of course it was packed so we had to stand outside and listen. We lasted about 20  minutes and then surrendered to the cold.

We had dinner reservations at this amazing restaurant that Natalie and Dave eat at at least once a week. They are famous for their Rotisserie Chicken  which is turning and dripping in wonderful juices right near the tables. We all took their advice and ordered half a Rotisserie chicken which comes with mashed potatoes that are torched or frites. I can honestly say that it was hands down, the most amazing Rotisserie chicken and mashed potatoes I’ve ever had. They brought the chicken out in these huge ceramic platters that were scorching hot. The chicken had been cut into the separate pieces but still maintaining its integrity. On the bottom of the platter was the natural “Jus” that collects from the turning and basting chickens. The meal was outstanding and extremely comforting amidst the cold Paris weather. Also, Natalie’s husband had to embarrass us girls by informing our waiter that we were students at Le Cordon Bleu and that we would like to take a picture with the Chef’s in the kitchen. It was a spectacular evening in the cold with great friends and great food! 

Below- The succulent Rotisserie chicken with mashed potatoes 

 

Below- The amazing “Floating Island” atop a Vanilla Bean Crème anglaise 

 

Below- The girls and I in front of the rotisserie oven inside the kitchen with the head Chef and out waiter 

 

Below- Outside Shakespeare and Co. 

 

Week of Great Variety

This week at school was great as far as the food goes. Obviously you saw the pictures of the Beef Bourguignon that Chef Vaca made in our Demo class. Below is a picture of the Beef Bourguignon that I made during our Practical. The end product came out perfectly tender with a very tasty “Jus” or sauce made from the searing of the marinated beef. I was very happy with my dish, especially because of my amazing leftovers I will be enjoying on the cool nights this week. 

Chef Caals told me that I did very well on my plating- it was “rustic but clean”

On Friday we had another Demo where we learned all the in’s & out’s of how to make eggs in every way- Hard-Boiled, Medium-Boiled, Soft-Boiled, Deep Fried Eggs, Fried Eggs, Baked Eggs, etc.

Pictured below- The different ways of cooking Eggs 

We also learned how to make two other dishes which were both amazing but my American friends and I were very excited about one in particular. We made a Veal Stew which was luscious and the meat was falling-apart tender. 

Pictured below- The Veal Stew 

The dish we were most excited about was the Fried Prawns with a Tartar Sauce. We first made Mayonnaise completely from scratch, using a large bowl and whisk to slowly drizzle oil into the Mayonnaise base of Egg yolks, Vinegar, and Dijon Mustard. If you have ever made Mayo, you usually make it in a blender or food processor but we did it the tough way which is whisking by hand. Doing this whisking process is very tough because you must keep a consistent tempo for about 3 minutes! After making Mayo from scratch, we then added in the other herbs and spices to classify it as Tartar sauce. The dish was so amazing! Crunchy, deep-fried Prawns with a fresh Tartar sauce. 

Pictured below- The Fried Prawn dish that Chef Stril made in our Demo

Lastly, we went over how to make a Cheese Souffle which we learned several weeks ago how to make in one of our early Demo’s. We had to go over the process because in Saturday’s Practical, we made the Fried Prawns with Tartar Sauce and the Gruyere Cheese Souffle. Here are my dishes I made in Saturday’s Practical! 

Pictured below- My Practical groups Souffle’s rising in the oven

Pictured below- Gruyere Souffle’s right out of the oven (the Chef made us take pictures immediately before the Souffle’s fell) 

Pictured below- The Fried Prawn dish with homemade Tartar Sauce that I made in our Practical 

 

Pictured below- Here I am with my Gruyere Cheese Souffle (obviously it has already fallen but I was very proud it turned out correctly) 

Sorry for the late updates on this week’s dishes! School is beginning to get much more intense and when I get home, I am busy studying and running errands! But I can not complain one bit because I am loving every moment! Hope everyone is well! 

With love from Paris, 

Britt xoxo

Vegetable Turning Party

On Thursday, we had an early morning Demonstration class and then everyone was done by 11:30 AM. About 5 of my good girlfriends and I had decided that we would have a “Vegetable Turning” party. Natalie is married and her husband Dave has been such a trooper dealing with all of the crew at Le Cordon Bleu. Natalie and Dave live in the 6th district across from the Odeon Theatre. They have an amazing apartment with tall ceilings, huge windows, 16th Century wood floors and fireplaces…and the apartment itself is just stunning. They finally received all of their furniture that was being shipped from Australia so Natalie was happy to have us all over for an afternoon/evening to perfect our “turning” of vegetables.

Upon arrival at their apartment, there was a table filled with vegetables to turn, pastries from one of the best pastry shops in Paris, and lots of wine to go around. We spent the next 3-4 hours “turning”, laughing, sipping wine, and listening to classic music from the 70’s (Dave and Natalie have great taste in American music). It was one of those days in Paris where the rain was coming down hard so being amongst all my great friends in a warm and cozy home with lots of conversation was wonderful. We ended up staying late and ordering in dinner. It was such a wonderful day/night that revolved around perfecting our culinary skills yet it was still such a blast! Here are some pictures of our “turning” party.

Pictured below- The beautiful set-up we walked into when arriving at Dave & Natalie’s apartment! 

Pictured below- “turned” Zucchini (you must leave 1 green strip of skin on), “turned” Carrots, “turned” Potatoes, and “turned” Mushrooms (which are my low point, as you can tell by the picture) with the star in the middle

One thing I have learned about going to school that revolves around food is that there is a way to incorporate our education into everything you do socially. I can not complain at all! Hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday!

Last night I stayed in and caught up on laundry and school studying. Best of all, I found a way to watch the OU/Texas game live on my laptop! I cooked up a nice dinner with leftovers from “Beef Week” at school and watched the entire game live. I must say, it was strange seeing football live on a screen. The last time I saw a football game live was back in February and I haven’t watched one ounce of sports since arriving in Paris. Hearing the whistle blow, bands playing, and helmets hitting each other was a great feeling! It was so great seeing OU play so well and hearing the announcers really talk up Landry and the whole team. They even said, “We take Bob Stoops for granted at times and that he really is a great coach and is showing that this year!”. It was nice hearing the announcers actually talk us up rather than always taking the side of Texas. Boomer Sooner!!!!

Tonight I am meeting the girls (Natalie & Dave, Elyssa, & Laura) in the 5th District to go to a really famous bookshop called “Shakespeare & Co.”, which was opened by an American in 1951. To this day, it still looks the exact same inside and is run the same as it was back in 1951. They always have rare books and famous authors, journalists, etc. coming to visit. Tonight the girls and I wanted to go and check it out to see if there were any cool books or vintage cookbooks we needed. Also, David SImon is the guest of honor tonight at the book shop and wee are going to see him as well. I do not know who David Simon is, but apparently he created the TV series, “The Wire” and is this amazing journalist/writer. After going to the book shop, we are going to this amazing rotisserie restaurant that has the best rotisserie chicken in Paris. Should be a very cultural, relaxing, and beautiful night in the Paris rain with the girls (and Dave).

With love from Paris,

Britt xoxo

Beef continued

Yesterday afternoon, we had our second demonstration of what I like to call “Beef Week”. Using the marinaded meat we prepared on Monday, we made the classic French dish, Beef Bourguignon! I can’t tell you how excited each of us were to finally have this famous dish made by one of the French chefs!

One interesting component of this dish was the croutons for the Bourguignon garnish. Apparently, the classic shape of the crouton is a heart shape…ya I had no idea either. I figured the chef was joking when he cut the crouton into a heart but he was not kidding.

The second dish we made was Grilled Prime Rib with a Bourdelaisé sauce and Provençal tomatoes. The prime ribs were massive and took almost 30 minutes to grill to rare! The Bourdelaisé sauce is basically shallots finely chopped and thrown in with a sauce pan of red wine. You let the wine reduce by half and the sauce will have thickened and become shiny and luscious. Funny thing because Chef Vaca accidentally let the sauce reduce too much and actually burned it, therefore having to start it over. After starting the sauce again, he told the class “Let’s just keep the burning of the sauce between us, no one else has to know!” The chefs at school never have mishaps in demonstrations so it was quite funny to see him have a tiny mess up and wanted to keep his mistake hidden.

Three hours later, we finally had our tasting of the two dishes! They were both delectable. I will be making Beef Bourguignon this morning in my 8:30 practical! I will appreciate the fact that I get to bring home this lovely stew of braised beef that’s swimming in red wine! Leftovers this week are heavenly, especially because it officially feels like fall!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thursday and great OU vs. Texas weekend! Love and miss you all!

With love from Paris,

Britt xoxo

Beef Week

This morning we had another early practical. Despite being exhausted, I was very ecstatic to begin this week because we are making all beef dishes. After the past 2 weeks of recipes, I think it will be a long time before I care to eat fish again. We made so many dishes composed around some sort of poached fish. Frankly, I’m quite ready to have some red meat in my life!

Today Chef Stril made Roasted Sirloin with Puréed Potatoes. This was served like a normal steak that is cooked rare. The second dish was a Braised Rump Steak with Glazed Carrots and Pearl onions. This dish must be stewed in the oven for at least 3 hours. It was almost identical to the American “Pot Roast” dish. When I tasted this dish, it took me back to many nights at my grandparents house where we would enjoy Pot Roast. It brought a lot of comfort from home with just one bite! Lastly, we prepared the cuts of beef and marinade for the Beef Bourguignon that we will be making in 2 days!

This demonstration and the dishes are a prime example of why I love cooking. The taste or one thing or type of dish can bring loads of comfort and memories!

The Sea Monster

I had a practical this morning at 8:30, which would have been great if we were making Omelet’s or French Toast, but we were not making anything near that! The dish we had to make today was Poached Hake Steaks with Hollandaise Sauce. It was accompanied by “turned” Zucchini and Fingerling potatoes. “Turning is when you take a matchstick sized piece of Zucchini or a whole fingerling Potato and you basically carve the vegetable into a perfect oval shape. (Let me tell you, it is very time consuming but the French love their technique). Not only was I barely awake at this hour but I was faced with the task of butchering this sea monster.

This Hake fish was the length of my legs and immediately woke me up from it’s oceanic smell. Certainly not the protein you want to be de-scaling and cleaning out at breakfast hour. Either way, I somehow pushed through and cut this little fellow into some steaks to poach in a homemade Court Bouillon. The most frustrating task was making the Hollandaise sauce. I have made Hollandaise from scratch one or twice at home but was doing it at my own pace and without a chef standing over my shoulder. Within minutes, everyone in my practical was making the loudest clanking against their metal bowls due to the whisking of the egg yolks. The whole room was filled with the noise of whisks spinning ferociously. I apparently had let my egg yolks thicken to much when I started to stream in the Clarified butter because my Hollandaise ended up very lumpy and thick. The Chef said to me in French, “It’s ok Brittany, just start over!” (Starting over is not an option that I ever want to take while in a practical and when everyone is racing against the clock). Luckily, I got it perfect the second time around. My friend next to me had to re-make her Hollandaise 3 times, so I felt lucky I only had to start from scratch once. It was extremely gratifying once I plated the dish and knew I had butchered this huge and ugly fish and made Hollandaise sauce twice, from scratch.

Here is my plated dish- Obviously you have the poached Hake in the middle, which is surrounded by the “turned” zucchini and Fingerling potatoes, and the Hollandaise is dotted in between.

Although it was a crazy morning, I always leave Le Cordon Bleu relaxed and ecstatic that I have just conquered another amazing dish to keep in my recipe book forever! Tonight I am ironing my uniforms and making a nice dinner in my apartment. Class at 8:30 AM on a Saturday means a lazy night in to catch up on American TV shows and laundry!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Friday! With love from Paris!

Britt xoxo

Rabbit

Yesterday in our Demonstration, we learned the famous Rabbit dish. We have been hearing about this specific dish all semester because you must make this specific dish in Practical. They hand you an entire rabbit in it’s full form, but it has been skinned…So you can imagine how some people who don’t take blood well would freak out. It was quite interesting to me because the rabbit was much larger in form than I expected, so they must grow larger rabbits in France…haha who knows. The other reason I found it so intriguing was because I had never tasted rabbit before and frankly never cared to. The dish was called “Lapin A La Moutarde, Pommes Sautees A Cru” or “Rabbit with Mustard sauce + Sauteed Potatoes”.

Below is the Rabbit with Mustard Sauce + the Sauteed Potatoes. You can see that he plated the Saddle, Thigh, and Ribcage of the Rabbit. Placed over the top of the potatoes is a Rosemary skewer with the “Offal” of the Rabbit. (AKA- the internal organs in which the Chef used the Liver, Kidneys, & Heart which are placed side by side on the skewer & cooked till slightly pink in the middle) 

 

We also made a very beautiful and tasty vegetable dish that could be served as a side dish or as a main dish because it is that amazing! It is called “Poivrade Artichokes “A La Grecque” Style with Spring Vegetables”. I have never tasted vegetables so amazing yet so simply cooked.

Below is the Poivrade Artichokes with Spring Vegetables- he sprinkled the top of the vegetable dish with sweet Currants which sounds strange but actually played well against the salty vegetables. It was just scrumptious. 

Lastly we made 3 different variations on “Petits Pots De Creme” or “Custards”. We infused the milk and custard mixture to make three different flavors which were Vanilla Bean, Earl Grey Tea, and Caramel. All three of the flavors were heavenly.

I am headed to run some errands and then I have my practical at 3:30 to make the Rabbit with Sauteed Potatoes. Heard that most of the other practical groups have finished really late because it’s quite hard, so wish me luck! Happy Wednesday!

Love Always,

Britt xoxo