When I arrived at Le Cordon Bleu
this afternoon for my 3rd and 4th classes this trip, they offered me a free
class! I wasn’t sure why (although I am a pretty vocal promoter of their
offerings!) – perhaps someone reported on the slightly surly behavior of the
Chef at my October 6 class – but in any case my day was full on Tuesday (and I
was leaving on Wednesday) so I couldn’t take advantage of it. Nice gesture,
though!
The afternoon class was #20 (of
30) in the intermediate cuisine series. The theme was the cuisine, wines and
products of the Loire Valley region, one known for a large variety of
freshwater fish and an abundance of vegetables and fruits.
The first course was thin slices of a quickly
cured (in salt and sugar, 1-3 hours) and then lightly smoked seabass with a
salad of spinach, red chard, green beans and sautéed oyster mushrooms. I
learned a countertop smoking technique that I just gotta try soon! Chef Fabrice
Bruto put sawdust, wood chips, rosemary and thick ribbons of lemon zest in a
big rectangular stainless steel vat that had a tight-fitting cover. He placed a
footed rectangular cooling rack on the bottom, then lit the sawdust/chips with
a torch, then placed the cured fish on top of the rack, then lidded it. He checked it a few
times over the next 20-30 minutes, relighting the sawdust/chips if necessary.
Wow! Tasty!
The main course was rabbit
tenderloin stuffed with duxelles, rabbit leg/thigh meat and prunes (macerated in
a sparkling white wine), and served with roasted goat-cheese-filled potatoes
and an intensely flavored creamy sauce made with all the rabbit trimmings.
Absolutely fabulous! Chef started with a whole rabbit, and every part of it (except
for the head and lungs) was used somewhere in this course, so the preparation
took quite a while and my notes ran to three pages!
Dessert was deep-fried choux
fritters filled with an orange cream (prepared like a pastry cream) and served
with a reduction of orange juice and Cointreau (the preferred orange liqueur here,
partially because André Cointreau is the President and CEO of Le Cordon Bleu!). Deeeeelicious.
 |
| Students snapping photos at the end of class |
No comments:
Post a Comment