My Pavlovian Reaction at Vaugirard - Tuesday, 29 October

I attended a lecture/demonstration at Le Cordon Bleu today, and I gotta tell ya - I have a downright Pavlovian reaction just riding up the escalator exiting the Vaugirard Metro stop and seeing the beautiful building just ahead of me and the Square Adolphe Chérioux to my right (named after a former mayor of the 15th Arrondissement, in which this resides). These videos probably won't do anything for you, but I add them for my own saliva-inducing benefit!

On the "menu" of today's lecture/demonstration were:
* a Chanterelle "fricassee" with apricots, chicken oysters, cocks' combs, New Zealand spinach and "Vin Jaune" wine emulsion
* rabbit saddle prepared Jean-François Piège style, polenta with olives, tiny gem lettuces with a basil/oliveoil/salt puree, and rabbit/veal/sage jus
* citrus zest ice cream with kiwi coulis, meringues, white and red grapefruit sections, Chantilly cream, and mint leaves

The final dish

The raw cock's comb

My favorite Chanterelle mushrooms cooked gently in oil and butter with shallots, dried apricots and just a splash of Vin Jaune (a dry white, slightly straw-tasting wine) was a revelation - great depth of flavor, and the play of various types of earthiness was wonderful! Chicken "oyster" muscles were blanched, then rinsed, then sauteed - very tasty.  The cocks' combs were cooked in a "blanc" (water, a bit of flour, salt) then rinsed and cut into triangular sections, sauteed and then deglazed with red wine vinegar (while they were still in the sautée pan - a typical technique when preparing all "organ" meats, this ensures that there is no residual bacteria in the final dish). The cocks' combs were rather strange - not very much flavor and very gelatinous (I don't think I'll go out of my way to have them again!).

The preparation of the rabbit saddles was fascinating.  The backbone was removed (and later sauteed and reserved for the jus). The "flap" portion was kept attached to the loin, and the interior side of the flap was lightly scored in a criss-cross fashion. The kidneys were skinned then sliced and placed on the flap, and it was seasoned with pepper, lemon zest, fresh thyme, and fresh marjoram. The loin was then rolled up into the flap and the whole thing was rolled up sausage-style several times in a piece of aluminum foil and the ends twisted. The rabbit saddle was then sauteed right in these little aluminum foil rolls - a great technique that preserved the moisture (rabbit can often be dry) and flavor and delivered a nice tender texture.  The polenta-with-olives went very nicely with it, offering both sweet and sharp notes. And the little lettuces were cute and tasty and provided a nice crunch!

Chef's presentation included some
sterling silver leaf!

My portion of dessert - they
gave me one of the fanciful
meringue shapes as well as
one of the little "hedgehogs"

I'm not too crazy about grapefruit with ice cream, but this ice cream was fabulous - strips of orange, lemon and grapefruit zest were infused in the milk as it was warmed for its crème anglaise base. The meringues were tasty, crispy and fancifully shaped. And the kiwi coulis (the flesh cooked in 50% sugar syrup and then pureed) provided a nice color and flavor contrast.

Chef Frédéric Lesourd taught this class.  He holds several diplomas and has worked in significant positions at Maxim's, Le Bristol, L'Espadon at the Ritz, Hotel Meurice, and at Élysée Palace.  He has taught at Le Cordon Bleu since 2008 (including several of the lecture/demonstrations I've attended) and always has fun with the students while always provideing a wealth of historical and technical information.

If you've read my previous blog entries, you know all about lecture/demonstration classes at Le Cordon Bleu. So this is for you new folks! Anyone can attend one of these for 45 euro, and typically there is no need to pre-register (although it doesn't hurt to call ahead). You're just attending the 2.5 hour lecture portion of a lesson along with the regular students (they later make the same dishes in their "practical" - this portion is not available to the public) and you get to taste the end results. LCB publishes a quarterly schedule of these classes and you can call ahead to get your name on the list if you like or just show up at least 15 minutes before class starts (it can get pretty crazy busy in their lobby). You can pick up the quarterly schedule at the school (8, rue Léon Delhomme in the 15th arrondissement) or request one from their website www.lcbparis.com (although finding it is a bit tricky) or write them an email at paris@cordonbleu.edu . Classes are taught in French, but they are fully or partially interpreted in English.