Common Ice Plant and Fire-Starting Challenges at LCB - Thursday, 27 October

they passed a few leaves of the
common ice plant around class
for us to get a close look

Hey, have any of you horticulturists out there grown "ficoide glaciale" ("common ice plant")? It was featured in the first course of the class I took at Le Cordon Bleu today. It's an odd-looking salad green, with small clear scale-like projections that look like ice crystals. It tastes somewhat like iceberg lettuce, slightly citrusy/minerally and maybe a little more watery, but its appearance is apparently making it the hip new ingredient with the fancy chefs in town! So let me know when you've grown some! I found a French-based supplier of the seeds: http://www.frenchgardening.com/item.html?pid=SEVE41  (You can click on this picture to get a larger view.)

[Update Feb. 2017 - that supplier's website seems to be down; other options are:
http://www.rareseeds.com/succulent-iceplant/
http://www.cherrygal.com/lettuceiceplantheirloomseeds2015-p-16419.html ]

So for the first course, salmon fillets were lightly cured with salt, sugar, coriander, fennel and dill, and then barely-lightly smoked over beech sawdust. I say barely smoked because Chef Christian Moine had a hecuva time keeping the sawdust lit! He placed it in a aluminum tray but didn't punch any holes in the bottom or scatter the sawdust over some chunks of wood - in other words, he didn't set up his smoking chamber in a way that would allow oxygen to circulate around the sawdust. Apparently he has never been camping! I was dying to make a suggestion, but he wasn't exactly of a temperament that would accept input from the students, much less the rank amateurs (ha ha) in the audience! It was still good, but would have been terrific slightly smoked. This was served with a creamy mustard sauce, a wasabi cream, white wine vinaigrette containing a little honey, cylinders of cooked potatoes, batons of Granny Smith apples, and the ice plant greens.

Next, seared duck breast with orange-glazed braised daikon, apricot chutney (very interesting and intense - he used dried apricots and didn't reconstitute them but rather sweated them in butter), carrot purée, and fabulously buttery potatoes Anna.

This was class #23 (out of 90) for the students, thus part of the "basic" semester, and apparently the dessert portion of the lesson came after a break. Chef Moine spent a lot of the 2.5 hours of class joking with the students. So it was about 1.5 hours of instruction crammed into 2.5 hours of class! As I said in Tuesday's post, these classes used to include a dessert, making them richer in more ways than one and more rigorous and satisfying! But I guess that today's students just don't have the stamina or attention span of those in previous years.

LCB - Not All Change is Necessarily Good Change - Tuesday, 25 October

I was eagerly anticipating my first visit to Le Cordon Bleu's new campus right along the Seine, just about a mile downstream from the Eiffel Tower, and today was the day!  It's still in the 15th arrondissement, but the feel of the neighborhood is completely different from the more patrician Vaugirard quartier of the 15th to the southeast, where I had been attending their classes for the last 30+ years.

photo from Le Cordon Bleu's website

I'm sure that the new building has a better fire safety rating, and the equipment & furnishings have been updated a bit, and there are more classrooms and lounge areas, and they have a little café, and they have more restrooms, and they have gardens on the roof, and maybe the young kids who comprise most of their student body prefer the modern-shopping-mall-and-entertainment-options vibe of the new neighborhood, but it left me a bit cold.

the entrance is at the top
of the stairs inside the
red column

They have a lovely glass-walled lobby with views onto the river and an outdoor terrace, but it's fairly difficult to find since it's up one level from the street and the only entrance is via this unmarked red circular staircase (you'd think they would have at least painted it blue!) on the corner of Quai André-Citroën and rue de l'Ingénieur Robert Keller.

France is not known for the excellence of their customer support (it was an ordeal trying to get info and book my two classes - it took more than a month of communicating with four different people!).  The tradition continued with front desk workers who were actually less helpful than ones who have helped me in the past!  They gave us the materials for the class and said go up to the next floor to find the classroom.  Hmmm.  OK.  The only elevator was a secured one used only by cleaning and delivery people.  So we trudged up the stairs, peeked into several classrooms and a lounge, and finally found a demonstration classroom so went inside.  But I showed a student my materials and learned that we were in the wrong place - there was another demonstration classroom on that floor.  Happily, the chef's assistant for the wrong class graciously walked us over to the right classroom.  At least now I know there are two of 'em!

So, la dee da, Mariellen, quit your bellyaching, how was the class itself? Well, pretty good, but I was very disappointed with one significant change to the curriculum.  Previously, each of the 90 lecture-demo/practicals that fulltime students attend included at least three dishes - a first course, a main course and a dessert - all of which went well together and flowed nicely (in terms of flavors, sensations, variety, digestibility, etc.), and were do-able within the 2.5-hour lecture-demo timeframe, and included cuisine and pastry elements.  Desserts have now been eliminated from these lecture/practicals (they've been moved to the exclusively pastry classes), leaving just two savory cuisine dishes.

Our first-course dish was green asparagus, quickly sautéed in very hot olive oil with a little finely chopped garlic, then ladled with some reduced chicken stock, covered and left to gently simmer until tender, then removed and some butter whisked into the sauce (bien sûr!).  It was served with deeply flavorful oven-dried tomatoes and deeeeeelicious gnocchi scented with preserved lemon zest and with little crescents of niçoise olives.


For the main course, fillets of red mullet (a small light pink Mediterranean fish with white delicately-flavored flesh) were prepared "just so" (I will spare you all the details of removing vs. enhancing the scales, trimming the fillets, etc.!) and set aside to be seasoned with salt and Espelette pepper and sautéed at the last minute.  Meanwhile, an intense "devilled sauce" was made with the fish bones & trimmings, celery, garlic, peppercorns, tomatoes, a little red wine vinegar and veal stock - and at the last minute the fish livers were blended into the hot strained sauce.  Chestnuts were sautéed in butter with some finely diced celery, then covered with reduced chicken stock and gently cooked until everything was tender.  And a wonderful rosemary cream sauce was made by merely boiling some heavy cream with rosemary leaves until the cream was infused, then strained and cooked down until it was almost an oily consistency.  This might have been my favorite individual element of the whole class!

So ya, the class was good.  I learned some fun new techniques and preparations.  And I know that I'll make at least a couple of these items myself.  But big sigh ... I miss the old location and the old curriculum design and the old slightly more competent customer service.  Maybe I'll write them a letter!

Chef-instructor Olivier Guyon at the end of the class

Students hanging out between classes (Barb's photo)

Bittersweet – on rue Léon Delhomme One Final Time – Friday, 29 April

Le Cordon Bleu is moving to a larger, “ultramodern” (they say) campus in June.  Sweet!  But I just had to attend one final class in their building on rue Léon Delhomme, a place I’ve frequented for 25+ years.  Sigh….  I’ve learned so many things there and I have a newsreel in my head playing the departure from the Vaugirard Métro stop, the glimpse of the adjacent lovely Square Adolphe Chérioux (featuring a terrific bandstand to which I’m bound and determined to bring the Twin Cities Horn Club someday!), and the 2-block walk to the school. 

Find photos and info about the new campus here:  http://www.cordonbleu.edu/news/paris-new-campus/en 

Anyhoo, nostalgia aside, this was a terrific class in the “superior cuisine” series with a room jam-packed with students from France and all around the world.

* First course: marinated mackerel fillets with fresh cucumber pickles, cucumber jell, a savory cream sauce and deviled quail eggs.  I just love mackerel, and this course featured preparations and accompaniments that both cut the fish’s oiliness and enhanced its flavors.

* Second course: sole stuffed with duxelles (mushrooms, shallots, lemon, vermouth, butter), then braised in an enhanced fish stock and served with scallop-stuffed herbal crêpes and served with a light cream sauce.  This is the first time I’ve had duxelles with fish, and it works!  (Especially this version with lemon and vermouth instead of Madeira.)

* Dessert: warm chestnut cream with sesame seed cookies. Somehow I didn’t get to sample the chestnut cream, so I’ll just have to try it at home!  But the sesame seed cookies were fabulous – the not-too-sweet dough was formed into a log, then rolled in black and white sesame seeds, then refrigerated, then sliced and baked.  Easy peasy!

They held an open house at the new facility last month, so I boldly asked the front office guy if there was any chance of getting a tour.  He said sure, after June 22 if you attend a class.  Bummer.  But I’ll just have to come back!  (As if I needed additional incentive.)

my recipes

the students

chef  Frédéric Lesourd

first course

main course

dessert (the chestnut cream is under the dome

this mustard was used in the cream sauce for the first course - very tasty - has touches of cinnamon, nutmeg, cayenne, cloves and other spices - must bring some home with me!

Square Adolphe Chérioux

I plan to play a little concert here someday!

Nothing Exotic in the Ingredients, but My Oh My! – Monday, 12 October

My final class at Le Cordon Bleu this trip was #20 (of 30) in the superior cuisine series. Chef Moine was a bit more talkative than he was last Tuesday, and seemed to be having a better day overall! And as before, his food was fabulous.

The first course was a crab “Charlotte.” Crab meat was cooked in a court-bouillon (basically a clear stock made with aromatic vegetables, herbs, peppercorns, water and wine) and then cooled. Asparagus spears were blanched then shocked. Fresh tomatoes were cooked with shallots and olive oil, seasoned, and puréed. A vinaigrette was made with reduced orange, lemon and lime juices and olive oil. The asparagus spears were used to line individual ring molds, then the crab was layered alternately with diced asparagus stems and the vinaigrette. The plate was decorated with the pureed tomatoes. The result: wonderful intense, distinct and harmonious flavors and textures!

The seared scallops in the main course were almost secondary to all of the accompaniments! Even the scallop “beards” (which are normally discarded) were used in a stuffing for pureed potatoes – the beards were cleaned multiple times (they are very sandy), then cooked with thyme and bay leaf and diced. A duxelles was made with white mushrooms, tarragon, and chives, then the beards were added to it. Fresh breadcrumbs, Parmesan and butter were combined for a gratin topping. A carrot butter sauce was made by reducing carrot juice and orange juice almost to a paste, and then whisking in butter, lemon juice and grated ginger. Potatoes were cooked and mashed with a lot of butter, then piped into about the bottom third of oiled individual ring molds, then pressed up the sides of the molds to make a cavity in the center, into which the scallop beard / mushroom duxelles was spooned. A thin layer of the gratin was sprinkled on top, then they were baked until brown on top and warm throughout.  Holy moley!

Dessert was lemon three ways. A “jelly” was made by boiling lemon juice, basil, lemongrass, lemon zest, sugar, and water, then straining it, then using agar agar (alternatively, gelatin) to jelly it, then poured into a sheet pan and refrigerated until set. A lemon cream was made like an “Anglaise” with lemon juice, eggs, sugar and butter, using Xanthan gum as a thickening agent.  Some lemons were scooped out and the shell and "lid" were frosted by cooking in water. lemon juice and sugar. Another lemon was cut into thin slices, which were dried in the oven.  Another wowzer!!!

French techniques for turning every-day ingredients into spectacular creations constitute an art form that never ceases to amaze and inspire me. I learn something new every time I attend a class at Le Cordon Bleu. Although I don’t cook like this at home on a regular basis (!), I do use some of the techniques.  And knowledge of the craft behind the art form certainly does help me pay attention to and appreciate the food that is set before me in great restaurants everywhere.

LCB classes are accessible to the average cook (they are taught in French but everything is translated), and they’re a hecuva deal (45 euros for 2.5 hours of instruction by a world-class chef, with a small serving of each course to taste). They also offer day-long workshops on a variety of topics (one of my all-time favorites was a foie gras workshop several years ago!). And they post recipes/techniques on their website and Facebook page.  Check them out!  http://cordonbleu.edu/index.cfm?fa=FrontEndMod.HomePage&&setlangid=1

Loire Lore – Monday, 12 October

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

Even Chefs have a Bad Day Occasionally – Tuesday, 6 October

Hanging out with the students
in the "winter garden" before class!

This afternoon’s class at Le Cordon Bleu was #17 (of 30) in the curriculum’s “superior cuisine” series – the fulltime students have just 13 (of 90) lectures & “practicals” to go before they graduate. So they’ve seen all of the major techniques and learned about most of the history, regions, ingredients, pairings, timings, what-to-look-fors, standard temperatures, ratios, alternatives, etc., and the instructing chefs expect them to know it, quizzing them rather than explaining things to them. Today the approximately 40 students were a little less attentive than usual (quietly chattering throughout most of the class) and Chef Christian Moine talked a bit less than instructors normally do, expecting the students to watch and learn rather than listen and learn. He also seemed to be having a bad day in general (some ingredients were missing or different than he expected, some equipment was not at his fingertips, his student assistant was not understanding everything he expected, etc.), and he comes from a 40-year career in major kitchens (which I’m sure makes him more taciturn than patient). So there were a few temper flareups! But his food was glorious, which was a good lesson – no matter how bad a day you’re having, the food can’t suffer!

The courses:

1.  Soft boiled eggs, shelled then dipped in egg wash and rolled in breadcrumbs and finely chopped parsley, tarragon and leeks, then briefly deepfried – green eggs (no ham)! They were served with sautéed wild mushrooms and a wonderful sauce of chicken stock, chervil, cream and soy milk. Tasty!

2.  Roasted guinea fowl breast with a deelicious sauce made from the bones & trimmings plus carrots, onions, shallots, lemongrass, chicken stock, and white wine. A separate “stuffing” (actually formed into a log and cooked, then sliced) made from the bird’s leg meat plus chorizo, mascarpone, basil and bread crumbs was spectacular. And a green tomato & spinach flan completed the plate.

3.  Crisp “cookies” were made by rolling out a sheet of puff pastry (feuilletée) very thinly, dusting it with powdered sugar, then rolling it up tightly into a log, slicing it thinly, dusting the medallions with more powdered sugar, rolling them into very thin oval shapes, and then baking them between two baking sheets. They were served with a variety of fresh citrus fruit segments, a sauce made from reduced juices, redcurrant jelly, sugar and Muscat, and some Chantilly cream. Wow! 

So, amateur chefs everywhere, remember the lesson: no matter how bad a day you’re having, the food can’t suffer!

Not at all Blue Spending the Afternoon Indoors – Monday, 5 October

Full house! Glad to see that LCB
is packing them in.

On this afternoon’s agenda was my first Le Cordon Bleu class for this trip!  For 45 euro, members of the public can sit in on the regular lecture/demonstrations that the fulltime students attend (there are 90 of these classes in their full curriculum) – they last about 2.5 hours, during which Chef prepares three courses, for which the students are given only the ingredients and quantities in advance. Chef explains the what, why, how, history, geographic origin, ingredient-sourcing, alternatives, special techniques, safety, etc. of the dishes as he is preparing them, then he presents them in individual-serving style, then everyone takes photos and the food is divided up among the students & visitors.  Classes are taught in French, but translated into English. The fulltime students then have a “practical” session later that day or the next day, in which they each make the same thing, are graded, and then take the food home or toss it in the garbage (horrors!).

The recipes

This was lesson #16 (of 30) in the Intermediate series of classes.  There were about 40 students, almost maximum capacity (yaay Cordon Bleu!), and three visitors. 

As I was standing in the staircase with the students waiting to get into the classroom,  I chatted with a young student from Japan. He asked if there were any French restaurants in Minneapolis, and I described the glories of places like La Belle Vie and Vincent (and a few others). Sure hope I didn't jinks things! Both of those restos are closing before the end of the year.

Anyhoo, on to the lesson of the day.

First course: Blanched, then sautéed green and white asparagus in a puff pastry case with a mushroom custard and an intensely-flavored sauce made from chicken stock, onions, leeks, lemon, cream and milk. Yum!

Main course:  Braised double lamb chops (from the 2^nd set of ribs, which aren’t as tender as the 1^st set, so they lend themselves to braising rather than sautéing) with potato medallions and leek “cannelloni” (very clever – the leeks are cut into long sections & cooked in chicken stock, then the outer rings are stuffed with very buttery mashed potatoes). Chef also demonstrated how to “French” the rack of lamb – quite an involved process – no wonder most of us leave it to the butcher (but then we don’t get to have all of the trimmings for a stock!).

Dessert: Individual chocolate cakes with a warm center and pistachio ice cream. Tasty! I particularly loved the ice cream, and it’s real easy to make (it's a crème anglaise base) if you can just get your hands on some pistachio paste.

Chef Fabrice Bruto taught this class.

This is a great way to spend half a day in Paris! I attend at least one class each trip, and haven’t been disappointed yet – I always learn something new and get a taste (albeit a tiny one) of some deeeelicious things.

http://cordonbleu.edu/paris/home/en

So I became a little more "Bleu" this afternoon but not at all blue at spending the afternoon indoors. Besides, it was raining!

Switcheroo at Le Cordon Bleu! - Wednesday, 8 October

My Le Cordon Bleu afternoon has arrived! I’m always excited to sit in on a 2.5-hour lecture-demonstration class with the fulltime students – I always learn something even if I’ve selected a fairly “basic” class, and of course tasting the results is a big bonus! 

As one of my former bosses used to say, “things change, you know.” Although Le Cordon Bleu has powerful strengths when it comes to cuisine and pastry instruction, and although they’ve made considerable progress on the administrative side over the past few years, I’ve come to expect a few little switcheroos and surprises (like being ushered to a different class than the one I thought I had signed-up for or finding some small curriculum changes). But 45€ for a half-day’s world-class instruction and tasting is always a good deal!

This afternoon’s lineup as listed in the term brochure was:

•Marinated mackerel fillets, pickle style cucumber and egg mimosa

•Veal tenderloin with morel mushroom crust, potato purée with caramelized apple, balsamic shallot compote, glazed root vegetables, Port wine sauce

•Figs in spicy strawberry wine, cocoa crisp and yogurt sorbet

The class actually consisted of:

•Deep fried jumbo shrimp, tartar sauce

•Veal Marengo with fondant potatoes

•Cherry or seasonal fruit flan

Um, OK, at least the main course still contained veal! I wasn't happy about the switch and this was clearly a class in the “basic” series, but I did enjoy myself and learn a few new techniques and taste the most wonderfully light batter (on the shrimp) that I think I’ve ever had – let me know if you’d like that recipe!

Photos of the class and the dishes are below. I attend one or two classes every trip, so scroll through my prior posts if you’d like to see more examples!

The view from my seat - in front are Chef Marc Vaca, the
translator, and the student helper getting plates ready for sampling

Students taking photos of the completed dishes

Chef's presentation of the three dishes

Shrimp & tartar sauce. Chef also made a "bonus" cheese
souffle, but it wasn't part of the presentation

My portion of shrimp & tartar sauce

My portion of the veal dish

Veal Marengo (veal is seared, then roasted with tomatoes,
onions, garlic, white wine, veal stock and bouquet garni)
with glazed onions & mushrooms and fondant potatoes

Raspberry claufoutis. Chef suggested making it with fresh
figs at this time of year. Great idea! I must give it a try.

My portion of clafoutis

The Le Cordon Bleu neighborhood -
near Metro stop Vaugirard

Hey, there's even a fancy "dollar store" in the 'hood!
(Well, not really, but the sign on the right says 700 items for 1 euro!)