LE CHEF BLEU'S BLOG

Indispensable : Almond Financiers

2012-02-12T00:40:00.000-05:00

Ingredients (yields 24 large financiers or 96 mini financiers)

200 gr brown butter (noisette)
6 egg whites
200 gr confectioners sugar
80 gr flour
80 gr almond flour
1 TSP honey
50 gr sliced almonds

Procedure

Using a Kitchen Aid robot, whisk the whites until bubbling
Mix in sugar, flour, almond powder, honey and finally pour slowly the lukewarm brown butter to incorporate
If using a metallic mold, brush with melted butter
Pipe in the dough and sprinkle the sliced almonds
Bake until golden brown (7-8 mn for mini-financiers)

Recipe from P. Hermé

Indispensable : Lemon Madeleines

2012-02-11T23:24:00.000-05:00

Ingredients (yields 24 large madeleines or 96 mini madeleines)

125 gr melted brown butter
3 eggs
130 gr sugar
1 TBS honey
150 gr flour
3 gr baking powder
Zest of 1 organic lemon

Procedure

Using a kitchen aid robot, whisk eggs, sugar, honey and a pinch of salt until white pale
Add flour, baking powder, lemon zest and finally slowly incorporate the lukewarm butter
If using a metallic mold, brush with melted butter
Pipe in the dough forming a small ball shape at the base of each indentation of the mould (it will help the Madeleine to form its typical belly while baking and rising). You can also use a spoon and your thumb to distribute the dough
Bake at the last minute at 325 F./160 C. until golden brown (7-8 mn for mini-madeleines).
Unmould and serve right away

Recipe from P. Hermé

Indispensable : Gateau Roulé

2012-01-28T22:47:00.000-05:00

Gateau roulé recipe (jelly roll recipe)

Ingredients (yield : one half sheet pan if thick, one sheet pan is thin)

125 gr sugar
5 eggs
60 gr flour
60 gr cornstarch

Procedure

Using a Kitchen Aid, mix sugar + eggs until you get the consistency of a ribbon (a few minutes)
Sift flour + cornstarch
Add it to the ribbon mixture carefully using a spatula
On a sheet pan layered with parchment paper, spread the mixture using an off-set spatula evenly to the edges.
Bake at 225 C./430 F. until the bottom starts to turn slightly brown (it goes fast!)
Place the baked dough on a table by removing the parchment paper from the sheet pan. Place another paper on top and place a kitchen towel on top (the humidity will help to remove the parchment while cooling down)
Roll the dough in the parchment paper and store in the fridge
Spread chocolate mousse or any fruit jam and roll...

Waffle Maker...Eggs or Cookies ?

2012-01-28T22:11:00.002-05:00

Did you know you could use your waffle maker for cooking an egg or baking a cookie ? Find out how here and there...

Horoscope Cookies for The New Year...

2012-01-28T21:45:00.000-05:00

To celebrate the New Year, I baked some cookies (sablés) decorated with the twelve horoscope signs . Awesome, no ?

Jelly roll themes...

2012-01-23T11:51:00.003-05:00

While I was browsing the web to get ideas to find a net presentation to my jelly roll cake (gateau roulé), I ended up on those cute nicely decorated jelly roll trompe-l'oeil...

This one is a folded terry towel (serviette éponge) / source here

That one is made of lightweight felt (feutrine) / source here

Finally, I hardly found any net and elegant decoration for my jelly roll. I try to stay away from over sweet and caloric loaded decorations (icing, chocolate coating, powder sugar, meringue, butter cream etc...).

But this French company sells elegant and decorative transfer sheets that I could use for my jelly roll. I just have to figure out how to get those here in new York!

Indispensable : La Sauce au Chocolat

2012-01-23T11:14:00.000-05:00

As a rule of thumb, just keep in mind that you need the same amount of milk and chocolate. Sugar and fat (cream or butter) will enhance taste and bring a shiny texture

Ingredients

100 ml milk
100 baking chocolate chips
20 ml cream
30 g sugar

Procedure

Briefly boil the milk, cream and sugar
Pour this hot liquid on the chocolate chips and mix. This easier way is to use a robot coupe or a hand blender to have your sauce ready in seconds

Indispensable : La Soupe à l'Oignon

2012-01-04T23:42:00.001-05:00

Ingredients (6 servings)

500 gr / 3 cups sliced or minced yellow onions
50 gr flour
2 liters white chicken stock
2 TBS port or cherry

Procedure

Brown the onions in butter (alternatively, prepare a light caramel before adding the onions)
Add flour and stir for 2 mn
Pour the stock, add the alcohol and cook for 30 mn on medium heat
Serve with shredded gruyère and baguette croutons
For a more exquisite version, bake in the oven with a disk of puff pastry topping the bowl

Desserts at Mac Donald's France : Now The Kings' Cake...

2011-12-17T00:44:00.000-05:00

After my first post a few days ago on fine desserts available at Mac Donald's restaurants in France, there is more to taste with the "Galette des Rois", the King Cake associated with the Epiphany in the Christmas season...

Windowfarms.org : a vertical hydroponic garden for growing food in your windows

2011-12-15T01:08:00.000-05:00

A great project for the planet - and for the sake of good food and fresh products - to help you to build your inside garden in your own apartment or to buy one if you are lazy or not into D-I-Y...

Complete instructions, list of parts and templates are available here.

Read more about this project at windowfarms.org...

Gingerbread House : The Art of Royal Icing Masonry

2011-12-03T00:17:00.001-05:00

Here is the result of a good three-hour job consisting of building walls, cutting windows frames, doors, dormer windows, adding details such as a well, a ladder, a chimney, a fence, decorated Christmas trees, ... mortaring large spatulas of royal icing...

A lot of fun that reminds me of the time when I used to build models...

In details , the recipe for the structure (walls and roof). The complete procedure can be found here...

Ingredients for Gingerbread dough (20cm x 20cm x 30cm house)

18 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
Gingerbread spices
1 1/2 tsp salt
500 gr butter, softened
4 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
6 large eggs
3 cups dark molasses
3 TBS water

Procedure

Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl, set aside.
Using an electric mixer, beat on medium speed the butter and brown sugar until fluffy and well blended. Beat in the eggs, molasses and water until well combined.
Beat half of the flour mixture into the molasses mixture until well blended and smooth. Stir in the remaining flour. Use the hook until well blended. If dough is too soft, add a little more flour.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least two hours.

The house pieces are baked at 350 F / 160 C for around 15mn.

Ingredients for royal icing

6 large egg whites
8 cups powdered sugar

Procedure

Whisk together until smooth the egg whites and first half of the powdered sugar.
Add the remaining the other half of powdered sugar to the sugar egg mixture. Using an electric mixer, beat on high speed until the icing holds stiff peaks. If it doesn't form stiff peaks, add more powdered sugar.
Place a dampened clean towel over the bowl of royal icing. Keep this towel over the icing to prevent it from drying out while you work with it.
When you are ready to mortar or decorate, fill a pastry bag with the icing

Indispensable : Lemon Curd

2011-11-30T00:18:00.001-05:00

Lemon Curd

Ingredients

200g lemon juice
300g sugar
5 eggs
350g butter

Procedure

Boil lemon juice with half sugar
Blanch eggs with the other half of sugar
Mix both and cook for 2 mn as soon as it boils, stirring continually
Pour the mixture in the mixing bowl of your Kitchen Aid and cool for 5 mn
Add little by little bits of soft butter mixing to the slowest speed
Refrigerate for 12 hours

Source

My First Contribution in a Korean Newspaper

2011-11-29T00:00:00.001-05:00

Here is a link to a korean newspaper called 여성동아 (www.donga.com) for which I contributed into the writing of an article about a new gastro-korean restaurant, Jung Sik, just opened in Manhattan, Tribeca.

The photos of dishes were shot by myself.

Fine French Desserts in Mac Donald's Restaurants in France!

2011-11-28T23:38:00.001-05:00

Mac Donald's now proposes 5 regional french desserts on the menu in their Coffee Shop (called Mc Café)... I haven't tasted them yet but why not! (small prints mention frozen products though...).

Canelé, Bordeaux / Kouign Aman, Britany / Kougloff, Alsace / Paris Brest, Paris / Brioche St Genix, Savoye

Unusual Product : Blowfish Tail

2011-11-06T00:07:00.000-04:00

This Friday, we bought some blow fish tails at a fishmonger in Union Square Green Market, Manhattan. This is unusual and very uncommon to get. Lobster's Place at Chelsea Market sometimes has.

You buy it already cleaned and just have to make two incisions along the back bone before cooking it.

Most common ways of cooking it is frying after dusting in flour or paner à l'anglaise (flour, yolk, breadcrumbs). Here is an interesting post on this blog.

Apple Tarte Tatin in a Cylinder

2011-11-05T22:14:00.001-04:00

Once in a while, I watch a few episodes in a row of my favorite cooking show on TV5 Monde, recorded and sometimes forgot for months... This time, the author was in Cherbourg, Normandy, where a pastry chef, Jean Francois Foucher, was preparing a modern version of the famous Apple Tarte Tatin. I made a few shot screens of this dessert and will write some instructions I remember...

The chef starts to poach slices Boskoop apples in a light syrup with orange zests and tonka beans. When soft, he will stack them in a high rim ring and press to form a cylinder. The pectine contained in the apple will act as a natural glue. A circle of thin baked puff pastry is inserted at the bottom, and a quenelle of Normand crème fraiche added at the top. Once the ring removed, you will enjoy translucent beige and brown multiple layers of apple.

Crème Brulée with Praliné and Grué

2011-11-02T11:53:00.000-04:00

The Praliné is a paste made of almonds and nuts cooked in sugar until caramel stage, cooled down and mixed. You can either buy it already made or prepare it.

Here is a tested recipe we prepare at work for an official dinner.

Ingredients (yield 10 depending on size)

8 egg yolks
100 gr sugar
250 ml milk
750 ml heavy cream
100 gr praliné

Procedure

Boil milk + cream. Mix with praliné when hot
Blanch yolks + sugar
Mix (milk/cream/praliné) and (yolk/sugar)
Pour in individual ramequins or in a large dish.
Bake at 200 F. (100 C.) until set (the center should slightly trembled)
Refrigerate for a few hours
Caramelize with sugar

We added a little bit of cocoa grué on the top to add a chocolaty flavor.

Grué is made of skinned and roasted cocoa beans crushed to create these cocoa nibs

Easy Recipe for a Cognac and Juniper Berry Chicker Liver Paté

2011-10-28T00:18:00.000-04:00

Chosen from a recipe book Les 118 Recettes Francaises, mixing old style recipes and modern variations, this simple fast and tasteful recipe of a chicken liver paté :

Ingredients (yield = 4 portions)

150 gr butter
250 gr chicken liver
1 to 2 miced schallots
2 juniper berries
1 bay leaf
2 TBS cognac
S&P

Procedure

Melt butter and sear livers with shallots, bay leaf and berries for 5 mn (should be pink inside)
Mix all ingredients in a robot coupe with the butter.
Serve in ramequins or terrine dish...

If you are fluent in French, don't hesitate to buy this cookbook.

Crémet Dessert : A feast of the Gods

2011-10-19T01:24:00.000-04:00

My first encounter with this sweet cheese mousse, originating from the French Region of Anjou in Western France, was at The French Culinary Institute during the Level 5 session at the Restaurant Pastry Station.

A few weeks ago, I ran into it again at my work when a NY French Caterer, Tastings, was serving it for a dinner.

I remember this very smooth and refreshing dessert pairing well with a red berry coulis, prepared very much like a soft cheese drained through cheese clothes. The FCI recipe was more elaborated than the original one found in that region : a simple mix of whipped Crème Fraiche (40 gr), egg whites (2) soft peak beaten and 75 gr of vanilla sugar (sucre vanillé).

Another variation (called Crémet d'Angers from the local town of the region) adds Fromage Blanc to the ingredients (40 gr crème fraiche, 4 egg whites, 400 gr fromage blanc, 75 gr vanilla sugar).

By the way, the title of the post comes from the quotation of a famous French foodist, writing in 1921 that the Crémet was a feast of the gods ("un régal des Dieux").

Indispensable : Pancake Recipe

2011-10-19T00:00:00.000-04:00

Pancake

Ingredients (yield = 40)

3/4 cup milk
2 TBS white vinegar
1 cup AP flour
2 TBS sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
2 TBS butter

Procedure

Add the white vinegar to the milk. Let sit 5 mn until it turns sour
Mix all dry ingredients (=A)
Add egg and butter to the milk-vinegar mixture (=B)
Mix A+B

Aquarium of Vegetables...

2011-10-03T00:44:00.000-04:00

American people love eating raw vegetables after dipping in a sauce such as curry, horseradish, blue cheese, yogurt or others... On this French blog I mentioned before in a post, I found that very unique presentation of an "aquarium of mixed vegetables". Pebbles are disposed at the bottom of a glass container then covered with different layers of bread crumbs, some with chopped parsley. The cleaned vegetables are then harmoniously planted in this edible soil. Very clever, unusual and aesthetically pleasing indeed !

Petits Pots au Chocolat : Pure Chocolate and Nothing Else

2011-09-29T01:30:00.000-04:00

At home, I found that recipe hand written on a sticky post-it forgotten or lost in my drawer under a pile of invoices and redtape. I have tried it : this is pure chocolate velvet...
Here is this simple recipe.

Ingredients (yield = 8 to 10 pots)

500 ml milk
150 gr sugar
250 gr dark chocolate (>60%)
8 egg yolks
1 egg white

Procedure

Preheat convention oven at 300 F. (150 C.) Add 25 degrees if desk oven. Boil enough water for the bain marie
Boil milk + sugar
Put the chocolate chips in a food processor and pour the milk on it. Mix on high speed
Let it cool down and pour on the eggs (W+Y) and whisk
Pour in ramequins or small canning jars
Bake for 15~20 mn in a bain marie (the middle of the cream shoud still slightly jiggle)
Cool down and refrigerate for a few hours

Trouvaille on the French Net : This Blog...

2011-09-29T00:43:00.000-04:00

If you think or hope your master French, try to browse this awesome blog. If not, you can stil use a translation tool and get the most of it, for example the easiest way to fry parsley leaves in your microwaves, no smell, no burns...Or those chocolate cups made after blowing balloons...

Gâteau Mamie, chocolate memories from my childhood

2011-09-09T00:04:00.000-04:00

A divine rustic home style cake, very chocolaty not over sweet and never dry... Simple and fast. Just bake at the beginning of the meal and serve it warm with a Chantilly or redberry coulis. The success is guaranted.

Ingredients (yield 1 large round cake or 6 ramequins)

220 g chocolate
6 egg yolks
6 egg whites
150 g sugar
150 g butter
2 TBS flour

Procedure

Melt chocolat and butter (bain marie or slowly in microwave)
Mix yolks, sugar and flour on high speed ("blanchir")
Beat whites to stiff peak.
Meanwhile, mix the chocolate/butter and sugar/yolk/flour
Gently add the whites to the mixture using a spatula
Pour in into individual ramequins or a large mould (don't forget to brush thoroughly melted butter so that your cake won't stick)
Bake at 160 C / 320 F for around 20 mn (check doneness with a toothpick, the inside should still stay moist)
Unmould when still hot

French style pizza-like : Alsatian Flammekueche

2011-08-24T11:42:00.000-04:00

While being recently in Korea, I prepared a tarte flambée or flammekueche just for the sake of demonstrating to locals that Frenchs also have pizza-like options such as pissaladiere for example. Well, flam's is mainly crème fraiche (heavy cream) and/or fromage blanc (impossible to find here in Seoul...), bacon and sliced onion baked at high temperature (max T.) on a thin crust.

The traditional crust id a pate à pain so requires yeast (difficult to fin in Seoul ;-)) so I used this quick easy to make crust dough found on this site which worked well for me. I used only half glass of water otherwise the dough is too sticky.

The dough has to be very very thin otherwise it won't be crusty even after 10 mn (soggy or unbaked because of the crème fraiche). I also found that precooking the sliced onions in a pan gave a better result to get rid of their water content and to guarantee crustiness.

You can add cornstarch to thicken the crème fraiche or fromage blanc or mix with an egg yolk

Here is the recipe for the dough :

Ingredients

250 g flour
1/2 dl oil
Pinch of salt
Half glass of tepid water
No yeast

Procedure

Mix salt and flour. Form a well. Add oil and water.
Incorporate with a fork or using the flat beater of your kitchen robot.
Mix all ingredients by hand or using the hook on your robot.
Roll the dough until very very thin shaping it in a circle or rectangle.
Place on a greased sheet pan, add the ingredients and bake at 250 C./500 F. for around 10 mn.

Indispensable : Pate à Crèpes

2011-07-19T23:13:00.000-04:00

PATE A CREPES

Ingredients

750 ml milk
250 gr flour
5 eggs
50 gr butter
5 gr salt
10 gr sugar (opt.)
Flavoring (vanilla, orange zets, herbs...)

Procedure

Mix eggs, flour and salt with a little amount of milk. This will prevent lumps.
While mixing, add little by little the milk.
Let rest for at least 1 hour

Tip : melt the butter in a pan up to the brown butter stage ("beurre noisette"). That will bring a nutty flavor to your crèpes

Definitively more style and "cachet" than a Starbucks café...

2011-07-18T00:24:00.000-04:00

This is a picture taken by my Mum when visiting her family in the Limousin region (where the famous Limousine cows are coming from...)
Here is the translated description sent by her...

It is not strictly speaking a dresser but shelves in a small café in a village on the plateau of Millevaches [litteraly thousand cows]. These rustic cafés, "kept in their juice since 1940", are the kind of cafés shot in the French comedy drama movie called "La Traversée de Paris" depicting black market during the Nazi occupation period (WWII) ... Simple wood tables and chairs, clean oilcloth, but ageless, all run by a couple very much in the same style.... Simple people, woman wearing a blouse, man in a shirt, and I think, suspenders holding his pants but don't look at all dirty like the charaters in the movie. In addition, fresh and cool atmosphere owing nothing to the AC. (It was 32 degrees outside!) [90 F.]. The indefinability of those places, witness of so many happy or tragic moments, so much gossip, and where nothing has changed for ages. With his elbows on the counter in front of a p'tit blanc ou canon [rough equivalent of a pint or a glass of cheap wine or liquor], husbands who accompanied wives and children to the church on Sunday mass, waiting for their release. They had a view on the church, it was convenient, and also on the memorial of the "Great War" [WWI], which, without exception, had at least one name of a family member on the stone...

Pain de Gênes cake : Recipe from a Great Pastry Book

2011-06-22T00:51:00.001-04:00

I recently found out about this cakebook from a French MOF (Meilleur Ouvrier de France) Pastry Chef. It is often difficult to find a reliable dessert recipe book but each recipe seems so far to work from the first try. Ingredients measurements are often given for batch quantities but you just have to do the math and it still seems to work well. I had never done before a Pain de Genes cake. This first try was a success!

Ingredients (yield= 15 8-cm round cakes)

225 gr almond flour
225 gr powder sugar
55 gr eggs (2)
225 gr eggs (9)
140 gr melted butter
40 gr flour
35 gr cornstach
35 gr "griotte" cherries or apples
Toasted sliced almonds

Procedure

Using a flat beater, mix almond flour and powdered sugar. Add 2 eggs and mix well. Add the rest of the eggs and mix until obtaining a light texture.
In 1/3 of the mix, add the melted butter
In 2/3 of this mix, add the sifted flour and cornstarch. Mix 1/3 and 2/3 together delicately.
In well greased moulds, sprinkle some almonds. Add the mixture up to 2/3 of the rim. Add the fruits
Bake at 160 C (320 F) in a convection oven for 20 mn. Using a toothpick, check for doneness.
Let cool and unmold. Decorate with caramelized almonds and powder sugar. EAT!

Great Greek Lunch on a Sunny Sunday Afternoon in Astoria, Queens

2011-06-21T01:30:00.008-04:00

This Sunday, I took the N MTA line to Astoria to have lunch at a friend's recommanded Greek family style small restaurant, Agnanti... Very good choice indeed with a quiet terrasse, nothing to compare to the ones on Broadway in front of the Lincoln Center... Relax and laid back service, very decent Merlot home wine carafe (could be chiller though, the way I like...), everything prepared in the simplest way to respect the flavor of the ingredients : tomato tasting like tomato, olive tasting olive, etc... That's obvious but not so common in cheap restaurants in New York...

I discovered the Greek lemon potatoes (recipe below) and this Ntakos salad, from Crete.

Ingredients (6 servings)

3 lbs yukon gold potatoes or 3 lbs other waxy potatoes, peeled
120 ml (1/2 cup) fresh squeezed lemon juice
70 ml (1/3 cup) olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
430 ml (1.8 cup) chicken stock or 2 cups lamb stock

Procedure

Peel potatoes and cut them in half (from medium size potatoes, quarter if large).
Let them stand in water while preparing sauce.
Combine all other ingredients in a gallon size"zipper" bag, and shake to combine.
Dry off the potatoes, and put all of them in the bag and let marinate for 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Put the potatoes and marinade in a large casserole.
Roast for 1hr 10min, turning occasionally.
You can put these under the broiler for 5 minutes to crisp them up if you prefer.

Escabèche with lime & Verjus

2011-05-18T01:02:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago, I was looking for a fish dish to serve at room temperature for a jewish fest. The oven can't be used the day when the dish is served so I had to find a way to serve cooked fish. The "escabèche" sauce was the perfect solution... The acidity of the marinade preserves the cooked or seared fish and no gas or electricity energy is used!

Here is a recipe where lime juice and verjus (pressed juice of unripened white grapes) are used instead of the usual vinegar and white wine for acidity

Safran
Coriander seeds
Cardamome seeds
Orange juice 100 gr
Lime juice 50 gr
Verjus 100 gr
Olive oil 150 gr
Small pimento 1

Toast seeds and add safran

Deglaze with juices. Simmer for a few minutes

Out of the stove, add olive oil and pimento.

You can use the marinade with fish, vegetables, shrimps...

Russian Tea Cakes or Butterballs

2011-05-16T23:56:00.001-04:00

A few months ago, I discovered the delicious cookies called Russian Tea Cakes during a dinner in Orlando, organised by a very nice Korean lady (and very good cook too!).

The recipe is very simple

1 stick butter (113 gr)
1 cup chopped walnut (250 gr)
1 tsp vanilla
4 TBS powder sugar plus more for rolling cookies
1 cup flour (250 gr)

Cream butter in a large mixing bowl. Add the vanilla then gradually add the 4TBS powder sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Sift the flour. Add gradually to the butter mixture. Add the walnuts and mix well.

Shape the dough into 1-inch balls and place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten slightly using the bottom of a glass, then bake for 20 minutes, or until edges are very lightly browned. Remove the cookies from the baking sheets and roll in powdered sugar while still hot. Cool on wire racks and roll cookies again in powdered sugar before serving.

Two Minutes of Sweet Pleasure...

2011-01-30T23:44:00.005-05:00

FRANCE5 TV recently broadcasted a 90 mn documentary tittled "La Revanche des Patissiers" (Pastry Chefs' Revenge) about the alleged theory that Pastry Chefs were never well considerated in restaurant kitchens until very recently. You may still be able to watch this program on VOD here. But those who can't or have no time, you can watch here a 2mn video I edited from screenshots of the desserts. A concentrate of sweetness to your eyes...

The simplest ever Chocolate Mousse

2011-01-29T17:38:00.006-05:00

The Maitres Cuisiniers de France promote French cuisine all over the world. You can visit their site here...They recently printed a leaflet presenting 6 recipes. I tried one of those right away...the dessert one of course ;-))) A chocolate mousse...
OK, I know what you are thinking : "there is nothing special about a chocolate mousse" or "yet another recipe of Chocolate mousse"...

No, this one is special because you only need chocolate, sugar and egg whites. That's it! Yes, three ingredients only, no yolk, cream or gelatin... And, if you are a frequent reader of this blog, you know how I feel about recipes using egg white leftovers. Always useful to have in your recipe book!

The chocolate mousse has a good texture and lots of flavors (I used the best 72% chips from Michel Cluizel which helps a lot though) and is holding well even after a few days.

The only drawback is its sweetness... Some chocolate amateurs would consider it too sweet even if it is only 1/2 cup. The fact is that the whites need to be "serrer" with the sugar (to hold stiff picks) as a meringue since there is no cream and yolk. But I think there is a trick to counter balance the sweetness. The recipe calls for 100 gr unsweetened chocolate (>70%) and 200 gr semi sweet chocolate (50%).

Ingredients

100 gr 70% unsweetened chocolate
200 gr semi-sweet chocolate
10 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar

Procedure

Melt chocolate on a bain marie over simmering water
Beat egg whites starting on low speed for 2-3 mn then high speed. Slowly add sugar until firm and glossy
Mix the melted chocolate with 1/3 of beaten whites. Then carefully fold the 2/3 until even consistency. Place in a bowl and refrigerate.

That's it!

Cookies Gift Treat Bag for Christmas 2010

2011-01-01T21:15:00.016-05:00

I recently spent my Christmas vacation in Ohio with Pam & Steve, originally from Findlay, Ohio. so many family guests were expected then I thought that baking my own cookies would make a versatile gift for any of them...from children to adults...

Five different kind of cookies composed my gift treat bag : Cannelés, Congolais, Palmiers, Diamants and Traou mad.

Cannelés

From Bordeaux, rum and vanilla, means fluted from the shape of the mould used for baking... Recipe here

Congolais

Coconut & sugar, literally "Inhabitant of Congo". I used the recipe from my Demarle choosing Flexipan book. Here is it...

Ingredients :

340 g shredded coconut
340 g sugar
200 g eggs (around 4 eggs)
20 g flour
10 g butter

Procedure :

Mix all ingredients. Form small heaps and bake on a silpat backing sheet at 340 F. / 170 C. for 12/15 mn.

Note : the cookie will become moister after a couple of days

Palmiers

Puff pastry, literally "Palm tree" also known as elephant ears in English.

I used the procedure from that outstanding French website, http://chefsimon.com/palmier.htm tm

Diamants

Chocolate and cinnamon, literally "Diamond"

I used the recipe from the book Cuisinez Chocolat.

Ingredients :

100 g butter pommade
50 g icing sugar
125 g flour
15 g cocoa powder
50 g sugar
1 TBS cinnamon powder

Procedure :

Mix the first 4 ingredients. Form a 1/2 in. diameter log, roll in sugar+cinnamon and wrap in plastic paper. Rest in fridge for 30 mn.

Slice in 1/4 in. rolls and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 170 C./340 F. for 10 mn

Traou Mad

From Brittany, salted butter and fleur de sel, means "good thing" in Breton language.

Tuiles à l'Orange

2010-12-23T19:03:00.007-05:00

This recipe has been tested and work just fine, the dough is very easy to handle and the tuiles are very resistant. Virtually no breakage, just one on a batch of 72... and it might have been voluntarily just to have a good excuse to taste one....

Ingredients

Sugar 200g
Orange juice 75g
Butter 75g
Flour 50g
Chopped almonds 100g

Preparation

Mix sugar and orange juice. Add melted butter. Incorporate sifted flour and chopped almonds. Don't overwork. Rest for a night.
Using a round template, spread and shape the tuile using a spatula on a Silpat. Bake at 300 F. until golden brown.
Out from the oven, unstick with a spatula. You can let it flat or use a rolling pin to get a rounded shape.
Store in a metallic box for a few weeks

Anise Bredele, Alsatian Christmas Cookies

2010-11-13T01:26:00.016-05:00

A brief history first : Christmas specialties, "bredele" or "bredle" are delicious little cookies which may be made with butter ("butterbredle"), or flavored with anise ("anisbredle"), orange or cinnamon. Their various shapes evoke the holiday season and range from stars and fir trees to angels, bells and hearts (from theworldwidegourmet.com).

I mentionned Albarock in one of my previous post, an Alsatian pastry chef shooting short videos right from the stove for hands-on live sweet experiences!

This time, I notice this recipe of small cookies, looking slightly similar to macaron halves : there is no almond flour though but they share the same secret... Let's them stand for a while before baking them to obtain a solid crust on top...

The demo video is in French but images talk for themselves and the list of ingredients are written in English (since the batch prepared by Albarock yields hundreds of cookies, you may have to divide quantities though if you have no plan to sell them around the world!!! )

In Albarock's recipe, a pipping bbag is used to give a perfect and consistant shape to ther cookies. On the other hand, it doesn't allow traditional Christmas cookie shapes such as star, Christmas tree, angel, etc... But I find another recipe (in French) which allows it. You just have to form a dough roll, roll it and use cutters to form shapes. I will test it first soon and translate it to you in English if successful...

Butter/Sugar/Butter/Sugar=Best Dessert in the Ouest!!!

2010-10-13T01:25:00.011-04:00

Whenever I try to describe Kouign Aman (literally butter cake in Breton regional language), I mention multiple layers of butter and sugar alternatively kneaded on a bread dough the way a puff pastry dough is usually made... This decadent cake is the best dessert ever baked in the West (of France, originated from Brittany). My opinion might slightly be bias by the fact that I spent my youth eating it during my summer holidays for 15 years...

OK, by doing so, you have to accept the fact that you might not be the best looking guy on the beach...That is your choice. I made mine ;-)

Frankly speaking, making a Kouign Aman is difficult and require a lot of know how. The best way is to buy it in a bakery in Douarnenez, hometown of this dessert. If you are not around, here is a list of resources you might find useful if you want to give it a try...

Resources

First is a video published by L'Atelier des Chefs, a French company who offers cooking lessons for amateurs.

Second one is this recipe (not tested yet by Le Chef Bleu but should be soon...) in English which seems very popular - and successful - amongst bloggers all over the world...

Third one caught my eye by the way the cake is presented : the finished dough (before baking) is rolled as a log, then cut into 1-inch cylinders. Those are placed snail side top side by side then baked at it.

Last one is similar with the use of circle or square rings for individual portions...But you can have two!

Crazy Devil Viking Salts!!!

2010-09-09T00:55:00.007-04:00

During my vacation in Normandy this summer, I discovered an amazing old-style épicerie fine, Maison Gosselin, with thousands of fine products, from home made patés, spices, herbs, soups, rices, coffees, teas, wines, jams and a multitude of variations, mix, ...well an endless list of products. Don't let you fool by its outdated website, you should pay it a visit if you ever visit this lovely little port of St Vaast La Hougue! (also known in France for its tasty salty iodized oysters).

On that occasion, I brought back some mix salts that could nicely accommodate some of the dishes served at the Consulate and who would give a nice twist on the menu.

Sel Fou (crazy salt) : mix of the famous Guérande salt, onion, thyme, garlic, marjoram

Sel du Diable (devil salt) : Guérande salt, paprika, chili, thyme, rosemary, pink pepper, black pepper

Sel Viking (Viking salt) : smoked salt from Norway, curry, onion, black pepper

Candy wrap made of filo sheet

2010-09-04T00:43:00.007-04:00

From the Albarock channel on Youtube (see previous post), I found that interesting idea of presentation for a dessert using filo sheet. The idea is to use a filo square to form a candy like wrap that you would use to cover a mousse or bavarois or any form of soft dessert you could prepare in a half sphere mould. The filo would also bring an interesting crunchy texture to the soft dessert.

In the video, the filo wrap is presented on a peach mousse and called Bonbon Pêche (Peach Candy). Admire the amazing deco on the rim of the plate!

The slideshow below is pretty straight forward for the procedure but you can watch the demo here and also enjoy the nice smile of Sabrina!!!

Desserts Video Channel on Youtube, by Albarock

2010-09-03T23:03:00.006-04:00

I recently subscribed on Youtube to a channel called Mes Desserts, by Albarock . This is a series of videos shot by a French pastry chef and his assistants right from the pastry kitchen of a restaurant. Those short films are professional, educational and shot in a lively friendly mood. Special greetings to Sabrina who is charming and Albarock (nickname of the Chef in the show) for his ease in front of the cam. I now watch every single episode and get a lot of fun ideas and techniques from them. Their skills at using a cornet (tiny pipping bag made of parchment paper filled with melted chocolate to decorate plates) is amazing... Check demos ici, là, and là encore for amazing poppy flowers deco...

Those videos are unfortunately shot in French but the step-by-step demos are easily comprehensive.

2010-06-23T00:15:00.005-04:00

Whenever I prepare a dessert (mousse, bavarois, ...) requiring a coulis or a sauce, I always have an issue with how to serve it. There is the usual way of shaping in a comma form with the back of a table spoon - but doesn't allow a sufficient amount to my taste!!! - or a large ladle will do it but the central dessert piece would look more like an island in the center of a red or brown sea...
On this French blog, I found the perfect solution, a cavity in the dessert itself...It requires some techniques and a few equipments (such as mini-muffins Flexipan ®, circles and rhodoïd) but the result is outstanding. From the pictures in the slideshow, you can imagine the pleassure of scooping the first bit while having the caramel sauce or strawberry coulis slowly coating your plate!

Apple meringue dessert, I did it!

2010-05-20T00:29:00.006-04:00

A few month ago, I wrote about that very unusual and interesting way of preparing a declination of apple elements in a meringue shelf. Here is the post. My dessert, prepared for a catered dinner of 6 guests, contained a Golden and honey compote, a brunoise of Granny Smith and lemon juice, a cream Chantilly whipped with home made vanilla sugar (see TIP) and a vanilla ice cream.

The major technical issue in that dessert is the baking of the meringue shelf. The video from the initial post doesn't give much of a clue for success ;-( so I had to experiment several times before achieving a very decent aspect (very close to the master I would say!).

The major issues were :

1) keeping the immaculate white color of the meringue

2) unmoulding the half shelf without any damage

3) obtaining a thin layer easy to break for the guest with a dessert spoon.

Even if I used the best recommended flexipan mould, I felt more relax if coating a little bit of neutral taste oil with a brush on each half shelf cavity before shaping the meringue with a spoon. I think it helped unmould with any hassle...

Instead of putting down the mould on a sheet pan in the oven, I rather used a rack since the conducted heat from the oven on the sheet pan provoked a higher temperature which eventually form caramelization on the tip of each shelf, which ruined the immaculate white color I was desperately looking for.

I think my guests were flabbergasted by the presentation of this surprise dessert (as I named it) although they were a little bit clueless with the way to attack it, spoon ? fork ? knife ? fingers ? Well, at that point, it is all theirs...

Of course, the possibilities are endless for the fillings. I will probably have a pavlova theme for the next time...

My tip : whenever using vanilla pods for a preparation (e.g. crème anglaise), always save them for recycling. Clean them under water and let then dry for several days. When dry, cover with sugar for several days in a tight container. Final, use a robot coupe to pulverize the sugar and the pod altogher. Your vanilla sugar will taste great and have a nice look with tiny bits of dried vanilla. In your make a Chantilly cream, you will have black tiny dots in your Chantilly for a nice surprising effect...

Star Anise Salmon Rillettes

2010-04-15T02:13:00.007-04:00

Star anise salmon rillettes

Ingredients

200 gr of fresh salmon
200 gr of smoked salmon
1/2 liter of milk
1 star anise
1 TBS fennel seeds
1/2 bunch of dill
100 gr of butter pomade
1 lemon juice
Salt, pepper

Procedure

For half an hour, infuse the star anise and the fennel seeds in warm milk. In the infused milk, poach the fresh salmon roughly cut in chunks for 10 mn. Remove from milk and let it cool. Mix poached salmon, smoked salmon, butter pommade, chopped dill, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Refrigerate for 2 hours minimum before serving.

Recipe for chicken liver confit

2010-04-06T00:52:00.011-04:00

While shopping at Whole Foods on Columbus Circle this afternoon, I bought one container of chicken livers being in the mood of a good salade gourmande or salade composée (the terminology used in French for a composed salad). I am not a great fan of pan frying for giblets since it is hard not to develop toughness and dryness...

Alternatively, I would rather confit them with aromatics such as carrots, bay leaves, anise star, sprigs of thyme, cloves of garlic, coarse salt and pepper in a saucepan full of virgin olive oil. Leave it (and forget it) for 1 hour on very low heat and slowly confit them. Once cooled down and strained, they would perfectly compliment a frisée or red leaves salad with some croutons and other adds...

Tips : don't throw the flavored oil right away. Use it to confit some garlic cloves or sauté fingerling potatoes...

After browsing the web with the key words Foie de volaille (chicken livers), I noticed that interesting recipe of chicken liver paté with an apple gelée. I will try soon... Miam....

Recipe for a White Chocolate Mousse

2010-04-02T00:04:00.008-04:00

Before writing this post about a good tested~tasted recipe for a white chocolate mousse, I browsed on the web and found some numerous interesting stuffs on blogs and culinary sites.

Such as a variation flavored with the famous Limoncello liquor, from (south) Italy, and olive oil. I haven't - yet - tested that promising recipe found on the following blog.

On that blog, I found an example of translucent tuile (I am a huge fan of them, check posts on my blog with the label tuile) thanks to the use of glucose and grué (ground and torrified cocoa bean fragment).

Or here with the addition of a roasted fig confit in sugar and saffron.

And finally, the recipe of "my" white chocolate mousse (yield=4-6 glasses).

Soak 2 gelatin sheets in cold water ... Melt 150 gr white chocolate (couverture) in a bain marie (container over simmering water),,, mix (blanchir) 5 large egg yolks and 4 TBS sugar ... Once melted, add the yolk+sugar mixture and the strained gelatin and mix vigorously ... Don't hesitate to reheat on the bain marie (if the mixture is too cold, the gelatin won't incorporate homogeneously...)... Add 250 ml whipped heavy cream and quickly pour in a jar or glasses ... Refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

Suggestions : flavor with Cointreau, Amaretto or a few drops of Jasmin extract...

Who knows that ginger is good for... jam making!

2010-03-25T01:35:00.008-04:00

Following some of my recent readings, I found those two recipes for jam making using the common ingredient which is ginger.

The first recipe was found in the special December 2009-January 2010 HISTORIA, a French magazine specialized in history. This special treats about the gourmand cuisine, from prehistory to contemporary times.

The second was found in a book written by the famous French chef, Guy Martin, whose book, Légumes treat about the cooking of seasonal vegetables through Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter...

Strawberry, ginger and lemon jam (yield 2x350gr jars)

1)Rinse, cut in equal size 500gr strawberries and put in a container. Squeeze one lemon in it and add 150gr sugar. Cover with plastic wrap and infuse in the fridge for 24 hours.
2) Strain and boil the liquid, add 150gr flavorful honey and 1 tsp finely chopped ginger. Reduce for 5 mn.
3) Add the strawberries, cook 10 mn after boiling again.
4) Pour in jars (beforehand sterilized in boiling water)

This recipe is said to be from the Treaty of Nostradamus

Zucchini, lemon and ginger jam (yield = 3x320cl jars)

1) Slice lengh wise 1 kg zucchini with a mandolin (don't peel)
2) Zest 2 limes and julienne them
3) Squeeze 6 limes
4) Peel 40 gr ginger and cut in thin slices
5) In a container, put in alternative layers the zucchini, ginger, zest, 2 vanilla pods and 800 gr sugar. Pour the lime juice and cover with plastic wrap. Put in the fridge for 24 hours.
6) Cook in a rondeau pan and boil first. Then simmer for 15 mn and stir delicately.
7) Pour in 3 jars.

For those recipes, I will also try yuzu fruit or kaffir lime/combawa fruit as an alternative to lemon.

My recipe for a savory Parmesan Sablé Cookie

2010-03-11T22:46:00.005-05:00

I recently used a recipe for a Parmesan sablé that I thought would make a change from the usual commun puff pastry dough many times used as a base for many appetizers in modern French cuisine. I used it as a base for safran and thyme caramelized onions and honey and rosemary roasted golden beets.

For 8 to 10 sablés (2,5 inch diameter), use 350 gr flour mix with 60 gr powdered parmesan. Add 220 gr soft butter (en pommade) and mix to obtain a thin sandy texture (sable means sand in French) . Add one whole egg and incorporate (don't overwork the dough or it will become tough and elastic!). Let rest for 2 hours. Roll as thin as 5 mn and use a cutter to shape. Bake at 325 F./160 C. until brown.

My recipe for a salted caramel ice cream

2010-03-09T23:25:00.009-05:00

Here is the recipe of a salted caramel ice cream that I used at my work for an official dinner, with great success... The recipe is said to be the one of Pierre Hermé, the french king of macaron making...

The caramel :

150 gr sugar

35 gr salted butter

50 ml heavy cream

The cream :

500 ml milk

100 ml heavy cream

5 egg yolks

70 gr sugar

Procedure :

Prepare an amber caramel... Off heat, add butter then heavy cream. If necessary, reheat to obtain a smooth texture. The caramel is added to the cream and milk after boiling. Then follow the usual procedure for the making of the crème anglaise.

The ice cream was a success from guests, kids to parents. In fact, the secret is in the choice of the salted butter... A very good butter will make the difference. For example, I used the famous A.O.C. Beurre Echiré

Surprise Menu for a Christmas Gift

2010-02-22T22:51:00.012-05:00

I recently got contacted by one lady, Chris, who was looking for a Christmas gift for her God's parents, Pat and Bob. She wanted to offer them a nice moment with a surprise menu. As a Chef, this is the nicest option since it opens to creativity and pleasure for the Chef and - hopefully - the guests!.

I started with open beet ravioles roasted in honey and rosemary with a goat cheese, Parmesan and toasted pine nut stuffing. I served them on a bi-color velouté of Belgium endives and aragula and drizzled a reduction of blood orange and cherry vinegar.

The entree was a variation of one of the many signature dishes from the famous Japanese chef, NOBU, roasted fish in a miso-sake-mirin marinade. Mine was enhanced with finely chopped pickled ginger slices, toasted sesame seeds and yuzu. I served half salmon, half Chilean seabass (a good bet since those were the favorite fishes of Pat). The side dish was a creamy shitaké risotto stuffed in squid belly.

My dessert, poached pear cylinder served with a pear mousse in a cannelloni, was inspired by two recipes found on a French blog, cuisineplurielle.com. From those recipes, I changed a couple of things such as using caramelized pears for the mousse, five spices for the cannelloni, blood orange zests for the poaching liquid and bacon caramelized popcorns instead of the crystalline for plating.

Here are the ingredients and proportions for the cannelloni tuile (25 g soft butter, 25 g sugar, 25 g brown sugar, 25 g flour, 25 g water, 1 tsp powdered spice such as cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ...bake on silpat at 350 F. / 180 C.)

Considering all the good comments I received, I think the dinner was a success...

Dear Laurent:
The meal was simply fantastic. As a matter of fact it was so good , that 6 of us decided to have dinner together with you as the Master Chef.
Thank you so much for last night. It was well worth it.Bob and Pat

Laurent, this is wonderful, thank you so much. They had the BEST time and really loved it. Thank you so very very much, and hope we can work together again soon.
best, Chris

Cooking Session on a snowy afternoon in New Jersey

2010-02-14T19:43:00.017-05:00

"What the hell is that Lady doing on my post ?@!#?!*? Find out by reading the following!!!"

On a cool and snowy afternoon, we went to Tenefly, New Jersey to perform a 3-hour cooking session for Tracy and David. David had offered Tracy a Christmas gift for one cooking lesson. We agreed on the following program :

A French traditional cauliflower velouté, named after the color of the skin of the countess Dubarry, during Louis XV's time...

The technique involved the famous roux (cooking the same amount of butter and flour as a thickener to many sauces such as Béchamel for example).

For flavor sake, we served it with a smoked salt Chantilly, a bacon tuile and a drizzle of truffle oil.

A pan-seared sea scallop and risotto entree, with Spanish influence (smoked paprika and chorizo) prepared with a bisque stock. As I told T&D, I enjoy so much Risotto for the versatility of possibilities it offers. And what a great way to get rid of the leftovers!

As a dessert, we prepared a bistro style sweet, the Ile flottante (floating islands). We went successfully through the making of crème anglaise and french meringues, cooked "à l'anglaise" in half milk, half water. We also had a lot of fun shaping the meringue into shaping quenelle islands!!!

That was very nice of our hosts to invite us to taste what they had prepared with great interest and motivation. Everybody enjoyed the menu I am sure...

Bury your Salmon like the Vikings... The Famous Gravlax!

2010-01-19T14:06:00.004-05:00

I recently ate a gravlax sandwich at one of the Smorgas Chef Restaurant locations in Stone Street (Wall Street Manhattan), specialized in Scandinavian cuisine. That reminded me of a demo at The French Culinary Institute during the first month of the curriculum regarding a session on preserved food. The instructor chef prepared an Asian-style gravlax that I still remembered enjoying very much.

Basically, gravlax making is a two-step procedure. First step is curing the salmon with a salt-sugar mixture for from at least 6 hours up to 2 or 3 days depending on the recipe. The second step is bringing seasoning and flavors to the salmon.

The word grav-lax means bury (-grav) salmon (-lax). More info here.

After browsing the numerous tiny notebooks I wrote during my FCI experience, I finally got the exact recipe.

For a 1,8 kg salmon fillet

1 mix-step

Brown sugar 170 gr

White sugar 170 gr

Kosher salt 170 gr

Fresh ground pepper 1/2 tbs

Kaffir lime leaves

Arrange the fillet on plastic wrap placed on top of aluminium foil. Rub the salt and sugar mixture evently all over the salmon. Enclose the fillet tighly in plastic wrap then in foil. Place in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight.

2nd mix step

Grated ginger 30 gr

Minced cilantro 4 tbs

Sake 55 gr

Sesame oil 1 tbs

Soy sauce 55 gr

After the curing period, unwrap the salmon (the salt-sugar mixture will have melted and being absorbed). If there is any salt or liquid left, rinse under cold water and pat it dry with paper towels. Rub and pour the 2nd mixture evenly to cover the entire top surface of the fillet. Rewrap the salmon in the plastic wrap and foil. Place on a tray in the refrigerator and top with another tray, weighed down with a 2-kilogram weigh.

Refrigerate at least 2 hours more, or overnight.

I would suggest to serve with some shiso leaves and minced dried seaweeds (nori in Japanese, kim in Korean) to accentuate the Asian influence.

An alternative recipe for asian gravlax can be found on this blog.

French King Cake

2010-01-17T00:39:00.013-05:00

Galette des Rois
Ingredients :

Puff pastry (approximately 2 x 250g)
Almond paste (frangipane)
Soft butter (en pommade) 125 gr
Powder sugar 75 gr
Almond powder 175 gr
Corn starch 20 gr
Eggs 3
Rum 1 cl

Procedure :
Mix butter pommade with sugar, add 2 eggs one by one, incorporate almond powder, corn starch and rum.
Roll the 2 puff pastry doughs and cut 2 circles of same diameter. Let rest ½ an hour.

Place the 1st circle on a sheet pan. Spread almond cream in the large center and place the trinket (fève).

Brush eggwash (1 beaten egg) at the circumference of the dough. Cover with the 2nd dough.

Seal the edge of both disks with your fingertips, brush with eggwash (dorure) the top and let rest for 15 mn.

Brush with the remaining dorure a second time and press the top of the cake with a fork drawing decorative lines.

Bake in a warm oven at 240° C./460° F for approximately 35 minutes.

Special tips from the Chef :

Add a tablespoon of honey in the dorure (give a shiny and amber look to the galette)

Out from the oven, brush some simple syrup (boiled water + sugar) on the top of the pancake (the heat will help to give a nice shine)

Bon appétit

Enjoy this beautifull slideshow on Galette des Rois here

Ducks, Geese, Capons on a Christmas Market in France

2010-01-13T00:10:00.003-05:00

Exceptional gastronomic products found on a Christmas market in Brive la Gaillarde, France. Ducks, geese, capons are so difficult to buy here in New York but what I miss the most is the crazy atmosphere of those local market places, full of cheers, bright colors and smells...And don't forget the free tasting of cheeses, cold cuts and delicatessen...

Hopefully, I can also enjoy weekly another amazing market here in New York : Organic Green Market in Union Square, Manhattan.

Spaghetti Flower as a Dessert Deco!

2010-01-11T01:15:00.011-05:00

Found in the last copy of Thuriès Gastronomie Magazine, this very imaginative way of using a spaghetti as a flower for the plating of a dessert called "L'Orange au Mascarpone".

Here is the procedure : soak the spaghetti in hot water. On a Silpat, shape the petals and the sprig of the flower with the spaghetti. Place at the center a very thin slice of orange powdered with ice sugar and dry in the oven at 70 C./160 F. for 6-8 hours.

But I question myself :

Is this spaghetti flower edible ? Instead of using warm water, I would rather soak it in a simple syrup to make it sweeter to taste. Another option could also be to fry it after the oven stage ?!?!? Well, I will soon test the idea and let you know what is the best result...

This dessert is also served with another inovative deco : orange sorbet scooped in a cup formed with thin orange slices and powder sugar dried in an oven.

Flower wallpapers are outdated, try flower pasta dough!!!

2009-11-09T22:32:00.007-05:00

In the New York Guide Michelin 2010, the restaurant Eleven Madison Park finally received its first star... The executive Chef, Daniel Humm, presents one of his recipes on the very professional French cooking web site, Cuisinerenligne.com. If you are a frequent reader of my blog, you might know that I wrote numerous posts about making pasta dough and ravioles... On this video, you will discover that, if flower wallpapers are out of fashion and a late souvenir of the seventies, this is not the case for pasta dough in which edible flowers are inserted between 2 layers of a chestnut pasta dough to roll thin through the pasta machine!

Watch the video here... (the specific part of the video related to the post starts at 1:30...).

Modern-twist : decorative placemats and dollies...

2009-10-08T23:13:00.008-04:00

I always look for new ideas for a nice plating or a decorative tray to pass my canapés...
A few weeks ago, my brother and family came to visit us in New York and offered us those very modern and chic placemats and dollies bought at the MAD Museum (Museum of Art and Design, that I recommand very much to visit!)... Those products are made from hand silk-screened FDA grade silicone, heat proof.
I went to the website of the maker, Modern-twist, and found those nice pictures of their products...I thought that they would be very original for plating a dessert or serving passed hors d'oeuvres...

Nice plateware to enhance your dishes

2009-10-07T14:33:00.007-04:00

I am truly convinced that half the pleasure of eating a nice dish is given by the way it is aesthetically plated. This company, Chefsommelier.com, offers a collection of plates contemporaneous and amazingly designed. No worry that those plates will give you full of imagination and ideas for cooking for friends and family!

Direct access to their catalog

By looking at their online catalogue, I enjoyed very much this crustless tartlet (see thumb photo) made of segments of orange... I imagine you can prepare a thick pastry cream, place the segments in a ring, pour the cream and refrigerate for a while to set... and serve!

Tested recipe of Pâte Sablée for an almond cream and raspberry tart

2009-10-02T22:45:00.014-04:00

Please find this tested recipe of a "pâte sablée" (litteraly sandy dough in French) that you can use confidentaly for your sweet tarts... I used that one with an almond cream recipe with a little addition of milk to help the cream to set in the dough.

Pâte sablée (for twelve 2.5-inch tartlets)

250 gr. flour

200 gr. soft butter (en pommade)

100 gr. almond powder

75 gr. sugar

3 egg yolks

Zest of a lemon

Crème aux amandes (almond cream)

Mix well (blanchir) butter (100 gr), sugar (200 gr) and eggs (3)
Add some rum and vanilla and then almond powder (200 gr)

For that dessert, had milk (1/4 of the total weight) and whisk.

In tartlet moulds that you brushed twice with melted butter, set the dough and form a nice shape on the rim pushing gently with your thumbs.

Remove the excess of dough on the top border of the rim with a sharp knife you will run horizontally.

Poke the dough with a fork at the base of the dough (to prevent air holes to form when baking).

Pour the almond cream in the mould taking care not to overflow.

Put the moulds on a sheet pan and bake at 350 F. until golden brown (turn the sheet pan once at half time to guarantee a homogeneous color.

Cool down on a rack and unmold carefully (the baked dough is fragile like sand...) with a spatulas. Top with red berries for example...

Salty ideas and recipes...from Thuries Magazine Sep. 2009

2009-09-27T20:37:00.009-04:00

More ideas on the “salty side” of the 2009 September issue of Thuriès magazine :

An interesting variation of pesto with arugula served with a gaspacho…

Arugula pesto (for 4 guests) : 100 gr arugula, 25 gr roasted almonds, 25 gr Parmesan, 100 gr olive oil

Foie gras served with roasted melon slices :

for one 8-slice melon, make a syrup with 500 gr water with 150 gr sugar + four-spice blend (ginger, cinnamon, pepper, clove). Pour on the slices and let infuse for half a day. Strain the slices and roast them briefly.

A marinated salmon in walnut, hazelnut oil, coriander, S&P

Monkfisk breaded in Asian shrimp chips crumbs plus an emulsion of carrot and ginger

Additionally, before paner à l’anglaise, make an incision in the fillet and add a slice of bacon and a basil leaf. Mix the shrimp chips in a robot (add lemon and lime zest and cayenne or Espelette pepper) section. Bread the fish with the crumbs and bake in a oven at 175 C./ 350 F. for 6-8 minutes

By the way, I found that culinary equipment pro website where you can buy the latest issues of Thuriès right in the shop in New York or online…

Sweet ideas and recipes...from Thuries Magazine Sep. 2009

2009-09-27T20:17:00.014-04:00

From the last issue of Thuriès Magazine (no.212, Sep. 2009), here are a few ideas and recipes that stroked my imagination when reading…

A Pate à choux recipe flavored with Tonka bean, star anise and cinnamon. From the usual basic recipe, at the first step when you boil the milk for sanitation reasons, you just have to add the spices at that moment… The Pate à choux is stuffed with light poppy (coquelicot) cream in the recipe presented in the magazine…

A very-easy-to-handle recipe for orange tuiles (see related post on tuiles).

Usually, whenever I prepare tuiles for sweets at a cocktail or a final touch for a dessert, I found the baked tuiles difficult to handle, I have to act fast to cut them or give them a nice shape just after baking, otherwise they will crack… This recipe gives the tuiles a flexible texture for a few minutes which let you with plenty of time to deal with a full sheet pan of tuiles.

Tuile orange craquante (yield 70 2,5 in. tuiles) : 100 gr orange juice, 25 gr lemon juice, 250 gr sugar, 125 gr melted butter, 75 gr flour

Mix all ingredients. After adding the flour, don’t over mix (or your dough will become elastic and tough). Let rest for 1 hour. Form tuiles on a silpat. Bake at 350 F. until golden (7-8 mn)

Those tuiles are used to build a Napoleon (mille feuilles in French) with a Yuzu lemon pastry cream and small strawberries (fraises des bois in French).

Another recipe of tuiles with strawberries… served with a light cream of strawberries, a redberries coulis and a “sablé Breton”.

For 10 tuiles : 125 gr sugar, 25 gr flour, 50 gr strawberry juice, 60 gr melted butter

And Tuiles made of orange and honey, served in a glass with melon, sable Breton and Grand Marnier

For 4 tuiles : 25 gr sugar, 25 gr honey, 40 gr butter, Juice of 1 orange, 20 gr flour

An interesting vodka/thyme granité …

4 guests : 250 gr water, 125 gr sugar, one vanilla bean, 50 gr Vodka, 5 gr thyme

A dark chocolate and Cognac XO soufflé I will have to try soon…

For 8 guests : 1 l milk, 10 yolks, 80 gr sugar, 60 gr cream powder (note from the blue chef, I should be able to substitute it with an-easier-to-find cornstarch product), 300 gr 70% chocolate, 100 gr powdered cocoa, 100 gr cognac XO, 400 gr whites (around 13), 100 gr sugar.

By the way, the keys to a successful soufflé are mentioned in some posts here.

A Fleur de Sel caramel mousse paired with a potato ice cream !

Fish market in Seoul

2009-08-24T19:22:00.004-04:00

Here is an interesting slide show of pictures I took while visiting the Fish Market in Seoul...I found it so huge even if halves the shops were closed because of vacation! We chose two fish and several sea fruits right from aquariums and went to sit, eat and enjoy them with beer and soju...

By the way, you can also have a look at this amazing fish market on the first part of the famous US TV show, No reservations by Antony Bourdais, by clicking here.

The Korean Nouvelle Cuisine ?

2009-08-21T00:14:00.007-04:00

I spent the last two weeks of July in vacation in South Korea, where I could experience the Korean modern cuisine in Seoul…

Here is a slideshow of the unusual, unexpected but beautiful dishes I tasted :

a cup shaped with shredded radish and colored with a wine reduction,
tiny fried soft-shell crabs,
a Vodka flambé chestnut,
a ground sesame seed velouté,
eggplant rolls,
a small garden of foie gras mousse, ginseng and shaved pistachio,
a colorful tomato salad and peach coulis and
a risotto façon Korean Bibimbap…

Another variation around the Egg... L’œuf en Croûte de Parmesan, asperges et morilles

2009-08-07T10:09:00.006-04:00

On a previous post on March last year, I wrote about that recipe, Oeuf en neige au coeur fondant (Stiff egg white with volcano yolk), a variation around The Egg...

This time, here is a more complex variation, using the technique of Paner a l'anglaise (flour+egg yolk+bread crumbs) for a very similar texture result used from the kromeski...

L’œuf en Croûte de Parmesan, asperges et morilles - Crusted egg with parmesan, asparagus and morel

This egg dish appetizer is served with a variation of the traditional Sauce Vierge (French, literally "virgin sauce"), chopped asparagus, confit tomatoes, chives, quartered olives, oil and fleur de sel...

Savoir-faire : video about the making of Macarons

2009-08-07T08:34:00.007-04:00

Here is a complete video lesson regarding the making of Macarons (unfortunately in French!) published on one of my favorite cooking website, cuisinerenligne.com.
In this very detailed program, the Chef prepares a French meringue rather than a Italian Meringue (sugar is added cooked) which brings better texture and stability upon my experience... I would suggest to do so even if the making of it can be a little tricky (see my previous post here).

A recent evolution in the very popularized macaron, first by Pierre Hermé, is the creation of savory macarons. One example here with this chive and goat cheese macaron, found on www.lepoint.fr... In fact, only the filling is savory since that would technically be impossible to prepare the meringue for the body (2 halves) of the macaron without any sugar !

First experience in baking cannelés from Bordeaux

2009-06-20T03:27:00.005-04:00

Yesterday, I tried for the first time to bake the famous Cannelés cookies originated from Bordeaux, Gironde, France... Those were not that successful regarding the outer appearence - not enough caramelization - but the inner texture and the taste were there... One Chef told me that the use of silicone moulds was probably the reason why I didn't succeed in the caramelization, the best way to bake them would be to use copper or steel cannelés moulds.

Here is the recipe I used :

1/4 liter milk
1/2 vanilla bean
25 gr butter
75 gr flour
100 gr sugar
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
2.5 cl rum

Pre-heat the oven at 200 C.
Bring to a boil milk, vanilla and butter
Meanwhile, blanchir eggs and sugar. Add flour.
Mix altogether adding the rum.
Let rest for 1 hour.
Start to bake for 5mn at 200 C then lower at 180 C for 20 mn.
Pour to 3/4 in cannelés moulds

Coriander, coco, vanilla : another variation on pineapple

2009-06-20T01:44:00.004-04:00

A few months ago, I wrote this post about pineapple and three different ways to have it for dessert...

Here is a new recipe I found on this new site I talked about in the previous post.....Simple but very suitable for a summer dessert...Pineapple, coriander, coco, vanilla... Very usual but very efficient !

Please notice the way to coat sugar and coco flakes on the rim of the glass, using an egg white.

New website : great look for that apple-meringue dessert...

2009-06-20T00:47:00.007-04:00

I recently find out this new web site - unfortunately in French - about cooking. Its primary goal is to show real technics and recipes from professional kitchens for an audience of motivated amateurs and professionals...
A few weeks ago, I noticed that dessert recipe from a young chef, Jean Sulpice, in one copy of L'Hotellerie-Restauration issue. I remembered having particularly enjoyed the aesthetic and the elegance of it ; also the first time I heard of the word Antésite, an extract of liquorice. More details here.
So I was pleased to find by chance this recipe showed on video. Promise, I will try it asap!

Yuzu Frozen Soufflé with a Citrus and Sechuan Pepper Tuile

2009-05-05T23:29:00.004-04:00

Yesterday, we served frozen soufflés flavored with yuzu (citrus fruit originated in Asia) and a cookie (tuile) flavored with orange and seasoned with Sechuan pepper and fleur de sel. We added some redberries infused in geranium syrup. The soufflé was tangy enough and not too sweet and paired very well with the cookie.

Frozen Soufflé (yield = 15-20)

Yuzu juice
6 egg whites
200 gr cooked sugar (soft-ball stage = 235° F–240° F)
6 egg yolks
500 gr whipped cream

Beat the egg whites to soft-peak stage
Pour slowly the sugar while beating ( = italian meringue)
Immediately add egg yolks and keep beating until cool down ( = pate à bombe)
Mix carefully with whipped cream and yuzu
Pour immediately in soufflé moulds (ramequins) or in circles side-layered with parchment paper
Put in freezer for 2-3 hours
Remove from freezer 15 mn before service

Opt.
Garnish the bottom with genoise or biscuit soaked in yuzu
Garnish with bits of yuzu
Misc.
The initial recipe was flavored with Calvados (use 50 gr)

Orange and Pepper Tuile

10 cl orange juice
150 gr sugar
1 TBS honey (orange flower if available)
75 gr flour
75 gr beurre noisette (brown butter)

Preheat oven at 175 C./ 350 F.
Mix all ingredients in the listed order then refrigerate for 1 hour
Shape the tuiles with the mixture on a baking sheet using a template and a small offset spatula
Sprinkle a very little amount of pepper and salt
Bake around 8mn
Let sit until you can detach the tuiles with the spatula.
You can shape the tuile using a pensil (cigarette) or a rolling pin while still warm enough to be bent (otherwise, put back in the oven for 1 mn and try again).

Quotations about cooking (7)

2009-04-28T23:44:00.001-04:00

« A Chef always starts copying other Grands Chefs' way of cooking until, one day, he finally succeed in creating his own style »
Jean-Francois Piège , Chef at les Ambassadeurs, Hotel de Crillon, Paris

A successful soufflé ? By Hervé This (2)

2009-04-28T23:22:00.002-04:00

On a previous post, I wrote about the "fallen soufflé catastrophe" that every single cook fears. In Kitchen Mysteries, a book written by Hervé This, revealing the Science of Cooking, there is one chapter written on the science of soufflé making (A Successful Soufflé?). So, related to my previous post on the subject, I thought one might be interested in some good advices from a Pro of Cooking Science…

Rules for a Successful Soufflé

Put the moulds for baking on the lowest rack in the heated oven
Egg whites must be beaten into very firm peaks (in order to trap the air bubbles in the foam)
Allow a crust to form on the top of the soufflé (by heating it with a salamander, broiler or torch, prior to baking)
Don’t open the oven door at any time while baking (otherwise the soufflé will fall L)
Butter and flour the moulds (rim included) before pouring in the mixture
Fill the moulds only two-thirds full

At What Temperature Must the Soufflé Bake?

200°C (392°F) for a moist center with a golden crust
150°C (302°F) for more uniform results

Baking Time?

25 to 30 mn for large soufflés
15 mn for small soufflés

Culinary Old Wives’ Sayings… "Add the egg yolks in the mixture two by two"

Baking Meringues on a Tuesday Afternoon

2009-04-28T22:10:00.006-04:00

Today, I baked several batches of meringues (to be used for one-bite sweet canapés…).The first batch was unsuccessful. The texture was grainy and didn’t bake well since the meringue never dried and stayed spongy and elastic…

[Aug., 7, 2009 : in fact, I later discovered that the grainy texture was due to the fact that my cooked sugar was too hot when poured in the mixing bowl]

Several improvements/adjustments made the following batches more successful, not knowing which one had the biggest positive effect on the final result…

Limiting the number of egg whites at 8 in the Kitchen Aid mixing bowl,
Adding 50 gr to the 250 gr sugar listed in my recipe
Slowly pouring the cooked sugar syrup when the whites are at the soft-peak stage

On that last point, this is quite tricky to synchronize the soft-peak stage for the whites and the soft-ball stage for the sugar…
The third point makes it much easier to succeed in achieving the shiny creamy soft texture (should look like matt white paint).

Here is the recipe I used

Meringue Italienne

4 egg whites
250 gr sugar (I added 50 gr sugar, see point 2) (the more sugar added, the longer the meringue will need to be beaten)
Mix sugar and 1/3 of its weight of water
Cook the syrup to the soft-ball stage (116°C. / 240°F.)
Meanwhile, beat the whites (+ pinch of sugar) to the soft-peak stage
Slowly pour the cooked sugar syrup into the beaten whites
Beat until it has cooled and reached the stiff-peak stage
“Sear” the meringue (beat at high speed for a few seconds, will stabilize the structure of it)
Pipe on a sheet pan covered with parchment paper
Bake for a couple of hours in a 200°F./ 95°C. oven (until harden)
Store in a airtight container (freeze is an option)

A few words of History (source : FCI cooking handbook, level 2)

“According to Larousse Gastronomique, meringue may have been invented by the Swiss pastry cook Galasparini, who practiced his art at the small town of Meiringen in Germany. Queen Marie Antoinette had a great liking for meringues, particularly vacherins. Until the early nineteenth century, meringues baked in the oven were shaped with a spoon; it was Carême who first had the idea of using a pastry bag.”

Those Cute Baking Moulds...

2009-04-26T23:50:00.004-04:00

Tonight, I found that interesting website - Moldéo - selling French regional sign silicone moulds that I found very amusing… Click here if interested in buying one…

A Successful Soufflé ? (1)

2009-04-26T23:04:00.007-04:00

Last Saturday, for our traditional weekly "Give It A try Cooking Party" at Steve and Pam’s place, I baked a cheese soufflé… Since I was worried that my Soufflé would fall (because of my lack of recent practice), I looked for a recipe I made once at my work (found from a cookbook whose title was Le Cuisinier de Véronique, Vincent Pasquin) which would prevent the "fallen soufflé catastrophe"… A upside down parmesan soufflé baked ahead (Soufflé renversé au parmesan). I was frenetically browsing my blog but couldn’t find it ! Of course, I had it on paper but not on the web. So here I am correcting my mistake…

Soufflé renversé au Parmesan

Ingredients : (4 soufflés)

50 gr shredded parmesan
20 gr melted butter (for ramequins)
60 gr butter
60 gr flour
0.5 l milk
4 egg yolks
4 egg whites
S&P, nutmeg

Procedure :

Brush ramequins with melted butter and flour twice (refrigerate between)
In a saucepan, melt the butter then add the flour away from heat, whisking (you are making a roux). Cook for 1 mn without coloration
Add milk and bring to a boil. Keep stirring. Cook for 2 mn (you are making a Béchamel sauce)
Away from heat, add parmesan, egg yolks and seasoning (you are making a Mornay sauce)
Fold in the beaten whites (stiff-peak stage) in the mixture by whisking in the 1/3 vigorously and delicately the 2/3
Pour in moulds at ¾ height
Bake 15 mn in a bain-marie at 200 C (390 F).
When baked, let sit a few minutes and then unmold upside down
For service, reheat 5mn at 180 C (350 F)

This soufflé recipe is very convenient since you can prepare ahead (and even freeze them). In that case, you might have to reheat a few minutes more

By the way, I did prepare a Soufflé à la minute (well, around 25 mn…) which didn’t fall down eventually!

Here is the recipe (in French) that I chose for its lowest amount of cheese (less than 20 gr per person)

Dessert Ideas : Choco Spoon to melt in hot milk

2009-04-24T03:17:00.005-04:00

What a great idea : a chocolate spoon that you will enjoy melting it in hot milk. While browsing my favorite culinary blogs, I notice that post on one of my favorite blog (in French unfortunately...), Du Sacré au Sucré, un blog de bon Gout !, about "a new trend of spoon of chocolate to be melted in hot milk... (La tendance est aux cuillères au chocolat à faire fondre dans le lait).
It is said that the choco spoons mentioned on the post are made by this Dutch Chocolate Factory. Jeff de Bruges also proposes chocolate lollipops to be served with warm chocolate.

Pan Bagnat sandwich

2009-04-22T15:24:00.005-04:00

I recently prepared some mini pan bagna sandwiches for a small reception (18-20 guests) in Upper East Side, New York. something elegant and easily eatable on finger. I used mini brioche buns bought at Grace's Market (also available at Eli's) in the near area. I added a toothpick with half an olive and a diamant shaped bit of anchovy. Nothing sophisticated but tiny pretty!

As I was browsing on the web for ideas on Pan Bagna, I discovered a huge number of ressources on that subject, from multiple recipes, history and even songs about it!

Here, you can learn (in French) that Pan is the name of a young shepperd boy for whom his mother prepared this special sandwich in the town of Nice in Provence (South East of France). Later, in the meadow, as he found the bread too dry, he drizzled some olive oil to soak the bread (bagnat, baigner in French). In fact, the mother had recycled some leftover of the famous Salade Nicoise since the ingredients are similar...

Here, one of the many recipes found on the net...

Also, enjoy this song from PAN BAGNA CONNECTION...

The Blockpad of the Commis : Ideas & Tips (7)

2009-04-21T13:08:00.011-04:00

1) For your salmon toast, try this flavored butter : aneth and pastis (famous alcohol from Marseille, with anis)

2) Chocolate uses :

chocolate more than 70% = use for tart

chocolate less than 70% or milk chocolate = use for mousse
white chocolate = decoration or mousse (but very fragile, so you should consider the addition of gelatine)

TIP : Add butter to make your chocolate shinning

3) Seasoning for fresh fois gras - for 1 kg : salt = 10 gr, sugar = 5 gr, pepper = 3 gr

4) Use the technique of monter au beurre by hand (with a bit of butter in the sauce, you swirl the pan until melted) only for brown sauces - otherwise your sauce will lose its color)

Use a hand blender with butter only for white sauce

5) Where doing a Crème patissière (pastry cream), substitute flour with corn starch to obtain a lighter apparel and a quicker cooking time

Quotations about cooking (6) : Maurie Des Ombiaux

2009-04-08T00:03:00.001-04:00

« The spirit of sociability, of cordiality, of conviviality, lies at the heart of all gastronomy »
In «L'Amphitryon d'aujourd'hui » (1936)
Maurie Des Ombiaux

Imperial Rice... for Mr Ambassador

2009-04-07T22:55:00.013-04:00

I recently prepared a dessert called Riz à l'Impératrice, Imperial Rice... By coincidence, in the Thuries Magazine April 2009 issue, Jean-Francois Piège, Chef at Les Ambassadeurs, Hôtel de Crillon in Paris, presents that dessert served with anis star and vanilla ice cream.

Here are the ingredients and procedure for this Imperial Rice recipe (10 servings)

Riz au lait

100 gr short-grain white rice (riz rond)
0.5 l whole milk
60 gr sugar
Half vanilla pod

Blanch rice in boiling water for 5mn
Strain and wash in cold water
Cook in boiling milk and vanilla
Cool down and reserve

Mousse Impératrice

2 gelatin sheets = 4 gr (soaked in cold water and pressed)
Orange zests (1)
225 gr crème anglaise (vanilla flavored)
300 gr riz au lait
150 gr whipped cream

Add gelatin and zests in lukewarm crème anglaise
Pour little by little on the rice
Fold in the whipped cream
Plate in individual ramequins or glasses
Refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours
--> In his recipe, JF Piège refrigerates the mixture in a large rectangle ring mold (1,5 cm height). For plating, he will cut small rectangles (12,5 cm x 2,5 cm), topped with a strawberry layer and five tinny scopes of anise star ice cream.

Thuriès Magazine / Mar. 09 (no. 207) : Recipes

2009-04-05T15:29:00.007-04:00

Following my first post started with No. 206 Thuries Magazine (Jan. 2009), here is the one regarding the No. 207 (Mar. 2009). As a reminder, I intend to write for each new issue ideas of recipes that stuck my imagination and my taste. So here are my choices for this month :

Seaweed butter (P28)
Coffee Oil (P28)
--> Infuse coffee beans in grape seed oil for 35mn. Mix and strain
Colored salt pedestal for clam shell & use of chopstick set to present croutons (P29)
Watercress broth (P30)
Shrimps in jelly (P30)
Morel coulis (P32)
Roblechon cheese and rum emulsion (P32)
Golden apple, spinach and wasabi puree (P33)
Nuts, crunchy rice and grué tuile (P36)
Nuts, safran and cinnamon cream (P36)
Chestnut mousse (P38)
Chestnut mousse (P38)
White tea sorbet (P38)
Coffee and rum emulsion (P38)
Crousti peanut, banana and parsley (P40)
Carrot raviolis (P52)
Tatin crumble (P61)
Exotic caramel (P66)
--> passion fruit, banana, mango
Earl grey tea sablé (P70)
Orange lace tuile (P82)
Sardine tartar (P86)
Strawberry and balsamic carpacio (P93)
Roasted in cardamom syrup pineapple skewer (P100)
Normand ice cream (P100)
--> calvados, pommeau and cider

A couple of simple dishes for dinner

2009-04-03T13:08:00.016-04:00

Here are some dishes I tried out, with the limited ingredients present in our fridge.

Roasted halibut with red pepper sauce and ratatouille

Beet salad with vinaigrette ; walnut, coriander and walnut oil scoped goat cheese

Basil, mustard oil and Beaufort cheese crusted rack of lamb
Sun choke, potato, asparagus and truffle tapenade gratin

Vanilla Kipferln, crescent shaped roll from Austria

2009-03-18T23:24:00.011-04:00

Vanilla Kipferln... Those cookies look like "Corne de Gazelle" (Gazelle Horn), famous cookie from the Middle East. But only from the outer aspect since that Arabic cookie is stuffed with almond stuffing. Another difference I notice is the use of Orange Flower Syrup instead of Vanilla in the Kipferln cookie...

Here is one definition I found on http://www.blogger.com/www.answers.com :

Austrian; crescent shaped roll created to celebrate the lifting of the siege of Vienna (1683). Reputedly the precursor of the croissant, believed to have been introduced into France by Marie Antoinette.

And the recipe for those delicious little cookies...

Ingredients

250 gr flour
220 gr butter (en pommade)
100 gr almond powder (or hazelnut)
70 gr powdered sugar
2 bags of vanilla sugar

Procedure

Incorporate flour with soft butter, almond powder and vanilla sugar
Shape in a long log (1 inch diameter) and wrap in plactic
Let rest for 1 hour in the fridge (the dough will then be less elastic and shouldn't shrink too much while baking)
Cut the log in 1/4 inch slices
Frequently dust powdered sugar on your working surface and star to form cressent shapes (that will require sometimes to develop know-how to form similar nice crescent shapes...Good luck!)
Bake at 160 C. / 325 F. for 12-15 mn (Very little color should form on the cookies which is normal)
Once cooled, sift powdered sugar on them.
Store in a tight box

A photo of how your crescents should look like before baking...

That reminds me of my previous experience about cookies at CBK...(read here)

My first Thanksgiving...

2009-03-05T19:36:00.015-05:00

For Thanksgiving 2008, I had the chance to prepare for 20 guests at Cathleen and Ali's place, a very nice appartment on Upper West Side. The menu was traditional with some Normand twists such as Tarte Tatin with Crème fraiche and the famous Trou Normand. As Cathleen was concerned by the amount of food we will serve, I suggested that traditional cocktail we usually drink in France as a intermede to help digestion before yet another dish to come. Everybody seemed to enjoy it.

Here is the text emailed by Cathleen the day after Thanksgiving :

"It was a memorable meal for all. I think we will include trou Normans and tarte Tatin every year! we were very pleased."
The Trou Normand is Green apple sorbet served in a glass with this strong apple liquor called Calvados.

Here is the recipe I used for the sorbet...

The complete menu I prepared :

Butternut squash and parsnip velouté
Roasted beets in honey, rosemary and olive oil
Chestnuts poêlée
Mushrooms and lardons poêlée
Roasted tricolor carrots
Roasted asparagus in orange sauce
Mashed potatoes
Traditional Thanksgiving stuffing with cranberry sauce and gravy
Trou Normand (Calvados liquor with apple sorbet)
Sweet potato crumble
Apple Tatin tart
Rhubarb and raspberry tart

The detailed procedure I used to cook the two 12 lb and 17 lb turkeys (which turned out to be very juicy)

Heat oven to 500 degrees F.
Remove bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water
Pat dry with paper towels. Season with S&P
Add aromatics to cavity
Tuck back wings and coat whole bird with neutral oil
Place bird on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F. for 30 minutes for roasting

--> locks the juice inside the meat / backdraw is that there is less drippings than the usual method

Remove from oven and cover breast with a double layer of aluminum foil
Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F.
A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting

--> much quicker than the traditional method

Let turkey rest, loosely covered for 15 minutes before carving

And finally, the special recipe for the sweet potato crumble which turned out to be a success amongst guests...(unfortunately for French readers only... but there is a video)

Lunch for 12...

2009-01-27T23:05:00.015-05:00

Here is a menu we prepared this Monday at work :

Crab cake - apple, asian pear and jimaca remoulade - grapefruit vinaigrette
~-~-~-~
Lamb 2 ways : braised for 7 hours and chop
~-~-~-~
Floating island with praliné crème anglaise

Crab cake : I started by making crab cakes, forming the piece with a ring to have them weighed exactly the same and using my hands to round them for a less industrial shape... I then coated both sides in breadcrumbs, seared them (both sides) to give them a nice brown and finished them to cook for 7mn at 375 F right before plating.

Remoulade : twisting around the traditional Celery remoulade, I shredded 4 apples, 3 Asian pears and 1 jicama, mixed with a little mayonnaise, Dijon mustard and grapefruit vinaigrette. I then used cylinder molds (1/2 inch diameter to 4 inches long) to stuff the remoulade by pressing well to remove any liquid and to make it hold when unmolded...

Lamb shank : cooked for 7 hours the same way as a Bœuf Bourguignon, then folded in a blanched leaf of cabbage...

Garnish : to ease the plating, I turned artichoke and used the heart as a cup to shelter the carrots, Brussels sprouts and Chanterelles. I also used rings to make everything hold roughly. When time of sending came, I just had to use a spatula to plate...

Floating island : something very traditional and standard... Just cooked the beaten egg whites in half milk/half water for 1 mn each side (I heard that it also works in microwaves...never tried though!)

For deco : I had madeleines dough leftover (recipe from Pierre Hermé), so I thought I could bake some "W" and "M" to populate my island... plus a thin piece of caramel...

More Ideas for Future Canapés

2009-01-15T21:45:00.017-05:00

Read in a book by Williams Sonoma about hors d'œuvres, those could make a hit for a reception :

Tiny Roquefort cheese popovers

Filo-wrapped figs with Pernod mascarpone

Tuna Tartare on ruffled potato chips

Puff pastry pissaladières

Thuriès Magazine / Jan. 09 (no. 206) : Recipes

2009-01-15T15:22:00.009-05:00

Here is the first post I intend to write for each new issue of the fabulous Thuries Magazine, in which there are many ideas of recipes, plating and so on about the modern French gastronomy. I don't intend to write full recipes but some ideas that stuck my imagination and my taste. I think that will be an easier way of setting up menus for my clients rather than leafing through each issue...

Slices of potatoes cooked in a beet stock (p30)
Allows a nice plating decoration with bi-color slices of potatoes (red outside and yellow inside)
Chantilly cream flavored with tea (p31)
In the magazine, served with lobster tartare (use S&P for the Chantilly)
Lemon grass and chocolate bearnaise sauce (p36)
In the magazine, served with roasted prawns
Slice of parmesan paste (p40)
Served with a herbed crust lamb fillet
Chocolate and beet ganache (p51)
Served in a small chocolate cup (canapé)
Parsnip cream (p51)
Parsnip and caramel chocolate tartlet (canapé)
Pineapple frite confit in Argan oil (p52)
Lime blanc-manger (p 52)
Pina colada sorbet (p52)
These 3 elements are served as one dessert
Butternut squash confit with spices (p54)
Butternut sorbet (p54)
These 2 elements are served as one dessert with a millefeuille and a grué tuile
Milk chocolate and tea and cacao gelée (p58)
Bourdaloue biscuit (shredded pear and almond cream) (p58)
Served as a dessert with poached pear and pear sorbet
Milk chocolate and spices mousse (cardamome, anise star, cinnamon, clous de girofle, pepper) (p60)
White chocolate and smoked tea mousse (p60)
Pistachio financier (p63)
Mascarpone and vanilla pod cream (p63)
Apple and cider sorbet (p64)
Liquorice and fleur de sel sablé (p64)
Mango and carot sorbet (p66)
Dover sole from Dieppe (p72)
Poached clementine in honey, safran, lemon grass, ginger, lime, yuzu jus (p92)
Carot 2 ways with orange jus and orange flower water, curcuma, cardamome and safran (marinated and cooked) (p94)

Angel Hair...

2008-11-20T22:14:00.012-05:00

Here is the technic of Cheveux d'Or (angel hair) used for decoration on that dessert. Here is the picture of the final product, a ball of angel hair topping a glass of red wine infused prunes, raspberries and sugared almond ice cream.

Procedure :

Prepare the caramel until blond dark
Remove the pan from the heat and stir until lukewarm and thickened
Form strings by dipping a whisk in the caramel and shaking it in a to and fro movement above another whisk or two steels securely hold (as the Chef did on the following picture)
Quickly form a ball with your hands with the strings (before the caramel becomes cold and brittle)
Reheat the caramel whenever the caramel turns too cold and the strings become too thick
Store the balls of angel hair on parchment paper.

Tip ! protect your working area with a cut garbage bag on the floor

Quotations about cooking (5) : Jean Anthelme Brillat Savarin

2008-10-27T15:39:00.002-04:00

« The discovery of a new dish does more for human happiness that the discovery of a star »
Jean Anthelme Brillat Savarin (1755-1826)
French lawyer and politician, and gained fame as an epicure and gastronome

Garden Party at Work : Pissaladière & Apricot Tart

2008-07-06T23:35:00.016-04:00

Last Thursday, we had a garden party lunch. Everybody had to bring a little something to eat or to drink. Here is what we brought for that event...

Pissaladière, our way

This is a famous pizza, from the Nice (French town in Provence) area in France, made of onions and anchovies.
Find more ici or là... Who said that pizzas are only from Italy ?

Here, in this version, we use a puff pastry instead of a pizza dough. It was quicker since we had some frozen in the kitchen. It is also nicer up to me since it allows more tasting room for the ingredients than for the dough itself.

In a baking pan, I pour caramel and then add the sliced onions, S&P, thyme and olive oil in a 400ºF pre-heated oven, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking and burning. I should have added chopped garlic but the Chef hated it (so strange for a French Chef...)

When cooked and slightly brown, I removed and let them cooled down in a strainer to get rid of the liquid.
Once cooled, I layer the caramelized onions on the pastry puff, adding olives, cocktail tomatoes and grated cheese (even though the traditional recipe doesn't call for it) and anchovies. Traditionally, we should use Pissalat, a fish paste made of anchovies, but the preparation process is so long (several weeks) that most of cooks don't use it anymore...
Put the Pissaladière in the oven and cook for around 5mn, to melt the cheese.

Tarte aux abricots, miel et romarin

Honey rosemary apricots tart with almond cream

Since we wanted to use seasonal fruits, we choose abricots for this dessert.
Using a puff pastry (already pre-baked between two sheet pans), I spread some Crème aux amandes and bake until turning brown.
I added the halves pitted apricots with rosemary herbs and drizzled honey and baked it for another 10 mn (the apricots shouldn't be mushy!).

Recipe for Crème aux amandes (yield = 700 gr)

Mix well (blanchir) butter (100 gr), sugar (200 gr) and eggs (3)
Add some rhum and vanilla and then almond powder (200 gr)
Opt. flour (20 gr)