hi all...
once again, i apologise that its been an age since my last update...
I have been on holiday... had a bit of a break after my graduation from the first part of the course... i am no longer a basic student... i have officially graduated to intermediate! excitement, and nerves all mixed into one.
but before all that starts, let me update you:
my lovely friend sara came to visit me for 2 weeks, which was so special, just what i needed! i good dose of home... as my family has been around too! lucky me :)
so for two weeks, i reverted to being a tourist in London! we wet on a big bus tour around London, went to the British museum, and the tower of London to see the crown jewels, and went to food markets... you know me! and to the taste of London exhibition, and yes... kings of leon, in hyde park (lau and kel, can you actually believe i went to a kings of leon concert??!!!!.... i must be going mad!) and a few other things, which i cant really remember... oh, and to visit my lovely aunt again for a sleepover and garden visits! so all in all... was such fun and a well needed break..
then, back to the kitchens for me, and i couldn't be happier!!
our first lecture for the intimidating intermediate was patisserie, and you would not believe it, choux pastry and puff pastry... i don't think i will ever be able to escape those silly pastries.. especially after having to make silly choux swans in my exam (which i passed!!) but i guess they are very important in french patisserie, and i must admit, it is pretty cool to be able to make your own puff pastry, it really is an achievement when, after all that rolling, resting and folding, and time... and you bake it off, and you can see all the fine layers of buttery soft, golden pastry, and you can say to yourself... i made that. (pat on the back to myself!)
so we made a pithivier, which is a puff pastry cake, filled with almond cream, and has scalloped (frilly) edges. it was traditionally called the twelfth night cake, eaten on the 12th night after Christmas, and a bean would be baked into the cake, and who ever got the bean, would be king or queen for a day!
we also made a Gateau Saint-Honore, which is a puff pastry disk base, with choux pastry buns around the top of the cake so it looks like a crown, and covered in caramel, and a toasted almond on top of each bun, the inside of the cake is filled with creme chibouste. the cake is dedicated to the patron saint of pastry and bakers, saint honore ( well that's the legend behind it anyway).
and we made a millefeuille (thousand layers)... which is made from puff pastry, filled with creme mousiline and strawberries, and has fondant and chocolate on top!
these all all very traditional cakes that are found in most french bakeries! and they all look so impressive, but to be honest, they are pretty simple to make!
then.. cuisine :) yay!! we have a new chef at the school for a little time, chef franc.. and he is very french, and has his ways of doing things, and is a wealth of knowledge. so really interesting!
so we had 3 demos last week... we made butternut soup... and then a beer beef stew, which was delicious.
the focus of intermediate, is going through the different regions of france, and looking at all the traditional farm style, old recipes from those areas, that are focal points of what makes that area, and why the food is the way it is there, according to the produce available, and the climate and location. and then turning some of the dishes into more fine dining dishes, keeping to the basic principles and traditions.
we then went to Normandy, and did braised fillet of dover sole, with mussels normandie, and brown shrimps, and served with a cider sauce, as apples are in abundance in that region.
then we did one of our potential exam dishes... which is a poached salmon paupiette (like a roulade) filled with scallop and lemon sole mousse. served with turned mushrooms, sorel and broccoli.
the key behind this dish, is cooking the salmon roll at the optimum temperature so the filling and the salmon cook at the same time, and are the same texture, without overcooking or drying out the salmon. all in the technique, so they say! so i will be practicing this one a few times before the exam... especially the turned mushrooms, for those of you who don't know what they are, check it out on youtube... its a bit of a joke. but its all about sharpening our technique and knife skills! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eptlZEbUmDk.
so that was all we did last week:
this week, we are doing brioche and buns and croissants in pastry!! so will update on all that soon!
have a lovely week all... hope to hear from you soon!
take care until next time :)
x
once again, i apologise that its been an age since my last update...
I have been on holiday... had a bit of a break after my graduation from the first part of the course... i am no longer a basic student... i have officially graduated to intermediate! excitement, and nerves all mixed into one.
but before all that starts, let me update you:
my lovely friend sara came to visit me for 2 weeks, which was so special, just what i needed! i good dose of home... as my family has been around too! lucky me :)
so for two weeks, i reverted to being a tourist in London! we wet on a big bus tour around London, went to the British museum, and the tower of London to see the crown jewels, and went to food markets... you know me! and to the taste of London exhibition, and yes... kings of leon, in hyde park (lau and kel, can you actually believe i went to a kings of leon concert??!!!!.... i must be going mad!) and a few other things, which i cant really remember... oh, and to visit my lovely aunt again for a sleepover and garden visits! so all in all... was such fun and a well needed break..
then, back to the kitchens for me, and i couldn't be happier!!
our first lecture for the intimidating intermediate was patisserie, and you would not believe it, choux pastry and puff pastry... i don't think i will ever be able to escape those silly pastries.. especially after having to make silly choux swans in my exam (which i passed!!) but i guess they are very important in french patisserie, and i must admit, it is pretty cool to be able to make your own puff pastry, it really is an achievement when, after all that rolling, resting and folding, and time... and you bake it off, and you can see all the fine layers of buttery soft, golden pastry, and you can say to yourself... i made that. (pat on the back to myself!)
so we made a pithivier, which is a puff pastry cake, filled with almond cream, and has scalloped (frilly) edges. it was traditionally called the twelfth night cake, eaten on the 12th night after Christmas, and a bean would be baked into the cake, and who ever got the bean, would be king or queen for a day!
we also made a Gateau Saint-Honore, which is a puff pastry disk base, with choux pastry buns around the top of the cake so it looks like a crown, and covered in caramel, and a toasted almond on top of each bun, the inside of the cake is filled with creme chibouste. the cake is dedicated to the patron saint of pastry and bakers, saint honore ( well that's the legend behind it anyway).
and we made a millefeuille (thousand layers)... which is made from puff pastry, filled with creme mousiline and strawberries, and has fondant and chocolate on top!
these all all very traditional cakes that are found in most french bakeries! and they all look so impressive, but to be honest, they are pretty simple to make!
then.. cuisine :) yay!! we have a new chef at the school for a little time, chef franc.. and he is very french, and has his ways of doing things, and is a wealth of knowledge. so really interesting!
so we had 3 demos last week... we made butternut soup... and then a beer beef stew, which was delicious.
the focus of intermediate, is going through the different regions of france, and looking at all the traditional farm style, old recipes from those areas, that are focal points of what makes that area, and why the food is the way it is there, according to the produce available, and the climate and location. and then turning some of the dishes into more fine dining dishes, keeping to the basic principles and traditions.
we then went to Normandy, and did braised fillet of dover sole, with mussels normandie, and brown shrimps, and served with a cider sauce, as apples are in abundance in that region.
then we did one of our potential exam dishes... which is a poached salmon paupiette (like a roulade) filled with scallop and lemon sole mousse. served with turned mushrooms, sorel and broccoli.
the key behind this dish, is cooking the salmon roll at the optimum temperature so the filling and the salmon cook at the same time, and are the same texture, without overcooking or drying out the salmon. all in the technique, so they say! so i will be practicing this one a few times before the exam... especially the turned mushrooms, for those of you who don't know what they are, check it out on youtube... its a bit of a joke. but its all about sharpening our technique and knife skills! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eptlZEbUmDk.
so that was all we did last week:
this week, we are doing brioche and buns and croissants in pastry!! so will update on all that soon!
have a lovely week all... hope to hear from you soon!
take care until next time :)
x
sara, ricardo, pedro and me at kings of leon
kings of leon
gateaux saint honore
butternut soup (chefs, forgot to take a pic)
millefeuille
pithivier
sole
exam dish. (chefs version)
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