Jelly roll themes...

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!

Crazy Devil Viking Salts!!!

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 Don't let you fool by its outdated website, you should pay it a visit if you ever visit this lovely little port of St Vaast La Hougue!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

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!

Nice plateware to enhance your dishes

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!

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

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

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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

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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.

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

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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

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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

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

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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…

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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)

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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).

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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

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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

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An interesting vodka/thyme granité …

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

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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.

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

One Year In New York : What’s Next? (6)

If I have chosen to become a professional cook, it is also because I thought that profession could allow me to travel in different countries, especially being French, with such a reputed cuisine. I sometimes think that Japan would be a great place to live for a couple of years; especially because of the respect Japanese cooks have for quality of ingredients and aesthetics. Korea is also a possibility where Marie comes from…

In most foreign countries, French food has the image of being upmarket, complex, elaborated, pompous, refined and expensive cuisine. People could be intimidated when entering a French restaurant (I am!) by the stiffness of the service and the decorum of the premises.

That is true of course but there is also another French cooking, more accessible, simple, eater-friendly but still tasteful and enjoyable. I really think that kind of restaurant will have a huge success in many countries…

Our Dream is also to run an Inn in one region of France, where we would pair Gastronomy, cooking lessons and History offering foreign visitors the chance to live a true and unforgettable experience in the French countryside in an old and charming mansion…

But there are so many things to learn and experience here in New York that we might stick here for a couple of years!!!

One Year In New York : Extra Activities...(5)

Outside the French Consulate, I also cook for private clients. I enjoy the direct contact, from conceiving the menu regarding the taste and dislikes of the client to his/her final satisfaction. Yes, satisfaction, the kind of expectation I had lost in my previous professional life.

So far, every client who I’ve cooked for has always returned to me for other events: that gives me great pride! In order to keep control of every step of the cooking process, I prefer to cater for a maximum of 20 guests.

Plating is what I like most since I look for the aesthetic aspect in the dish, simple, colorful but not pretentious (I hope…).

I have also given demos and cooking lessons to a Japanese and Korean audience, at Isabel’s Gourmet.

My main objectives are to communicate tips and ideas I learned from school, restaurants or the Consulate and to choose simple, tasteful and beautiful dishes, easily workable in a home kitchen (I attempt to show that expensive professional equipment can most of the time be substituted with simple tricks, work-arounds or bypasses…).

I also enjoyed the interaction with the audience.

Whenever I get free time, I spend some hours a week in restaurants’ kitchens, such as DB Bistro Moderne or, more recently L’Absinthe…or write on the Blue Chef’s Blog, in fact, more a note pad from things I have learned and seen than a blog…

Next Post : What's Next?

One Year In New York : What Now? (4)

With my Grand Diploma in hand (August 07), I got a job as Sous Chef at The French Consulate in New York, where I cater for official receptions (seated or buffet style) and cook for the Consul family.

The working atmosphere is good and very focussed whenever needed for official lunches, dinners or receptions, with a small kitchen brigade and a trusted relationship with the Maitre D and his staff.

Some receptions have up to 300 guests (we often hire extra helpers to prepare hors d’oeuvres), lunches or dinners of up to 90 guests.

The Chef and I are trying hard to promote “La Cuisine Française”, modern and healthy, with fresh local ingredients from the Farmers’ Market in Union Square, Baldor, Paris Gourmet, D’Artagnan, Payard, Cittarella and Grace’s Market…, and amazing spices from Le Jardin des Epices.

I sometimes found the Chef sniffing spice containers, with a large smile, in ecstasy…

Now, most of the preparation is made in the kitchen, from stocks to tartelette crusts. Our goal is to enhance the quality of cuisine offered to the guests invited at The French Consulate, in accordance with the food costing policy and the religious practices regarding food in the composition of our menus (which makes us more creative!).

Next Post : Extra Activities...

One Year In New York : Why Abroad? Why New York (3)

I always wanted to live abroad, not on a short stay. As a tourist, I was always a little bit frustrated since I never had the chance to truly feel part of the local life. I already spent one year in London when I was a student and wished I could have stayed longer but I had to come back to France for military duty…

For a while, I was expecting to have some opportunities to work abroad when I was a salaried man but it never came. So I decided that it was better to organize your own expatriation than wait for somebody else to do it (or not…).
I never had the chance to visit it as a tourist but, since I have never met anybody disappointed by New York, I thought that it wouldn’t be too risky to stay there for a while. And we never regretted that choice, New York being such an amazing city for food lovers!

So cosmopolitan, so European, Asian, African and American like a quatre-quarts (pound cake). This was also a good opportunity to brush up my rusty English…

Next post : What now?

One Year In New York : Why The French Culinary Institute? (2)

In 2006, I watched a program on a French TV channel about The FCI in New York, USA “au pays de la mal-bouffe” , as it was said in the program (mal = tasteless / bouffe = grub or food).

I enjoyed my six-month program at the school, meeting skillful experienced instructors, some of them being also very good teachers (pedagogues), not only showing but also explaining the Why (le pourquoi)…

Of course, the school is expensive but staff, equipments, and teaching materials are really up-to-date. The placement desk is also very efficient with a huge network in Greater New York.

The curriculum is complete even if the fast paced program length doesn’t allow developing tour de main and savoir-faire. But the program gives the right keys to enter the culinary world in my opinion.

I found some of my American student mates educated and knowledgeable about French cuisine. I quickly understood that my only advantage here would be my ability to pronounce correctly French cooking terms (not enough to be a decent cook right?).

Next post : Why Abroad, Why New York?

One Year In New York : A Look Back At My First Steps…

March 08 was the first anniversary of my new life in New York… Here is the story of a career changer… my story…

I was a salaried man in Paris, France and came to New York to learn cooking at The French Culinary Institute. A crazy idea I know!?!?! - as some friends and family thought, loudly or not…

In my late 30's, my stressful and humanly unsatisfying job as a engineer in a telecom company made me take a one-year break from my employer ("French law is so lenient", as one FCI administrative wrote to me…) and jump the fence - and the ocean - towards a huge change of live, with tremendous support from my beloved wife, Marie…

I have always been very interested in Cooking, French and International varieties, preparing it and tasting it.

So I thought “let’s start making a living by earning some money cooking” (so far much less compared to what we earned in Paris but fulfillment and happiness are priceless, aren’t they ;-)) “and pairing it with passion...”.

Next post : Why the French Culinary Institute?

News of The World : The Battle of Normandy Camembert...

The small local producers of the famous Camembert cheese seem to have won a battle last week but not the victory! Here is the story, by a true Normand, me, who might not be totally impartial, the Camembert au lait cru appellation being probably the most valuable asset of Normandy nowadays...For me, you just can say you know Camembert if you've never tasted it AU LAIT CRU (raw milk)... one being so different from the taste (complexity) to the texture (mildness) through the smell (no doubt, it is cow's milk...) to the other.

Here is the story (from ) :

France's "Camembert war" erupted in March last year when two big producers -- Lactalis and Isigny-Sainte-Mere -- had switched to using treated milk for some of their brands on the grounds that it is safer.
Lactalis and Isigny-Sainte-Mere had argued for dropping the requirement that raw milk be used in the production of Camembert to qualify for the AOC label.
A Committee for the Defence of Authentic Camembert was created and last month the group voted to "preserve the mandatory use of raw milk in the production of AOC Camembert".
Small producers of France's creamy raw milk Camembert cheese said Tuesday they had scored a victory against rivals who hoped to sell their mass-produced variety using the same label.

Every Camembert lover thought that this victory meant defeat for the opponents but those b******s (Lactelis) fought back yesterday by pretending having found some pathogen bacterias in one batch of Camembert...Surprisingly, the analyse dated from March 13th was disclosed March 20th after the decision of the Committee...

Watch the video here (unfortunately only in French...)

Menu Tasting Testing : Chikalicious & Pommes Frites (II)

Chikalicious is amongst those new restaurants dedicated to desserts only. This one is more a bar with its open kitchen. This is a tiny place with table seats (around 10) and behind bar (10). For that concept, the best place to taste is behind bar in the open kitchen watching the chef plating your order. The choice is a prix fixe menu including amuse-bouches, one dessert and a couple of petits fours for a sum of $12 (+$7 with wine pairing)...
My wife chose the Cherry Soup with Corn Ice Cream and Polenta Cake dessert. I had Warm Chocolate Tart with Pink Peppercorn Ice Cream and Red Wine Sauce.

The mise en assiette was very precise just like in a sushi bar (the co-owner pastry chef is actually Japanese and graduates from The FCI). Personally, I found the open-kitchen concept very unique, customers spending their time just watching this theater (similar to watching pedestrians walking in the street when sitting at a terrace of a café parisien, ...).

Both desserts were very colorful and tasteful, little sugar being used allowing ingredients to express their full flavor. I thought that I would have like a larger quantity but my wife found it perfect portioning. We were pleased with the waiter very polite and full of attention with clients (I later found out that he was the co-owner of the bar). On the other, we would have enjoyed a more smiler and talkative pastry chef...

So, I would recommend this dessert bar mainly because I found this concept very new and interesting.

Just a quick word about one small place we went on the way to Chikalicious, another original concept specialized in just one dish : Pommes Frites (French, in fact Belgian, Fries) with more than 25 different sauces (we had Wasabi Mayo, Hot Chili Paste and Pomegranate Tariyaki).

Links :

http://www.chikalicious.com/index.htm

http://www.pommesfrites.ws/default.html

Menu Tasting Testing : Momofuku Ssam Bar (I)

Momofuku Ssam Bar is a famous hype fusion Korean food restaurant located in Manhattan, East Village. Here is what Adam Platt, from http://www.nymag.com/, has to say about the chef/owner : "Chang—a Korean-American, raised in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.—mines his own ethnic background for inspiration. The past couple of years, he has been demonstrating his talents on a more modest scale at his madly popular original restaurant. But the newest Momofuku (the word means “lucky peach” in Japanese) is larger and more ambitious than the original, and after a period of bumbling experimentation (at first Chang insisted on selling only a form of Asian burrito called a ssäm), it has grown into a showplace for the chef’s unique brand of earthy, Asian-accented Meat head cuisine".
David Chang, alumni of The French Culinary Institute, was recently honored with the Rising Star Chef of the Year award at the 2007 James Beard Foundation(1) Awards Ceremony.

After the graduation ceremony at The FCI, my wife and I went for dinner to that place to find out what was all about...

The first appetizer we ate was Caraquet Oysters with a Consommé flavored with Kimchi(2). We thought the idea was original but the taste was not very special (or maybe we were already too familiar with the Kimchi taste) ...

Our second appetizer, Poached Shrimp - cantaloupe, cucumber, mint, lemon basil, was very colorful in the plate and very tasteful in the mouth. Really refreshing, smooth (the cantaloupe velouté) and full of flavor thanks basil, mint. Really great choice !

For entree, we ordered the traditional and inescapable bulgogi (Korean BBQ), Marinated Hanger Steak Ssäm(3) - ginger scallion, Kim chi, bibb lettuce and rice. The dish was great too with amazing quality of meat and an unusual sauce made of scallion and ginger, probably binded with yogurt.

We were planning to make another try at looking at the menu when we turned fed up with the "so-rushy" service, being interrupted in our discusion by waiters asking us if plates could be taken away (several times, last time hardly 10 seconds after the last bite...). Tant pis...pour eux! (sorry... for them), we decided to ask for the check !

Brief summary : great originality in the choice of flavors for dishes, amazing quality of meat, vegetables and seafood, poor service and decoration too dark (black wood used for furniture and walls).

Definitely worth a try if you don't mind being pushed in a restaurant (victim of its own fame and success)...

(1)The James Beard Foundation is a New-York-based national professional non-profit organization named in honor of James Beard that serves to promote the culinary arts by honoring chefs, wine professionals, journalists, and cookbook authors at annual award ceremonies and providing scholarships and educational opportunities to cooking hopefuls.
(2)Kim chi is a traditional Korean fermented dish made of seasoned vegetables
(3)Ssam (Korean food) refers to various leaf vegetables which are used to wrap a piece of bite-size meat, along with hot pepper paste and some rice into a bundle

Veni, Vidi, Vici* : I Got What I Came For, A Diploma !

I finally got what I came for, a Grand Diploma for Classic Culinary Art. Actually, I received a second one (Attendance Award) since I didn't miss any single day of the Curiculum.

One year ago, I decided to come to New York to study French cooking after having watched a TV program on a French channel (FRANCE2) called "New York, à l'école des chefs français". Family, friends, colleagues around me - at the notable exception of my wife...- found my decision crazy : "to learn cooking in US, where everybody eats Hamburgers and drinks Coke soda... !, in New York, the most dangerous city in the world... ! You will put on weight as soon as you step to the airport (my Normand physiology background makes my body enjoy very much cheeses, creamy sauces and desserts). And will you be able to catch up with all these instructions in English, when you haven't spoke in English for 15 years !.

Well, I enjoy very much - good - hamburgers and the refreshing sensation of a chilled Coke. So what ? By the way, since I am here, I lost a couple of pounds, probably because running every where in a kitchen is healthier than seating on my butt all day long in front of a computer at work... And I felt in love with Manhattan, like many thousands other before me... And indeed, I have still difficulties with English-american language but the first advice that gave me the School Placement Coordinator was to keep my French accent. So I did !

In fact, I am rather proud of what I achieved the last 6 months, having lived probably some of the most happiest and memorable moments in my life (and my wife thanks me frequently to make that decision...).

Please enjoy the pictures I took from the fire escape stairs of my appartement right in the center of SOHO district.

* famous Latin phrase spoken by Julius Caesar in 47 BC, translated as "I came, I saw, I conquered"

The FCI, level 6 : Confidence, Control and Creativity in Restaurant Reality

In the curiculum of The FCI, each student in Culinary Art spends 2 months in the restaurant of the school called L'ECOLE (The School), rotating at station as Garde Manger, Poissonnier, Saucier, Entremetier and Pâtissier every 4 days (see post about the organisation of a French professional kitchen). The first month (Level5) is called Introduction To Restaurant Service. The second month (Level6) is called Confidence, Control and Creativity in Restaurant Reality...

Here are the menu items and the photos of the dishes I plated at every station for level 6 :

Garde Manger

Consommé de volaille au flan de tomate fumé et gougères

Chicken consommé with smoked tomato flan and cheese puffs




Crevettes à l'ail au gingembre et persil chinois
Garlic shrimp with ginger and cilantro

Poissonnier

Bar poché dans un bouillon aux agrumes-saké
Poached bass in a citrus-saké broth




Emincé de thon rôti à l'essence de calamars, caponata
Sliced roasted tuna with squid sauce, spicy vegetable compote

Saucier

Suprême de canard sauté et cuisse braisée aux pêches
Sautéed duck breast and braised duck leg with peaches




Boeuf au miso grillé, sauce au vinaigre balsamic
Grilled miso-marinated beef with a balsamic sauce

Pâtissier

Gratin de citron meyer aux cerises et cannelle
Meyer lemon chiboust with cherries and cinnamon




Gâteau chocolat-noisette aux fraises et Banyuls
Chocolate-hazelnut cake with strawberries and Banyuls wine

Homework at The FCI : Part 1 = Marmite Dieppoise

In level 5 at The FCI, every student is asked to write a Menu Project in 2 parts. In the 1st part, we have to provide a project of one classic French dish, assigned in a lotery format. He should describe the procedure for making the dish, identify the region of origin, give a brief overview of the region on Culinary aspects and other information such as the history of the dish, the cooking method employed and similar dishes from other regions or cultures...

This post presents the part 1 of my project. The lotery assigned me a regional dish from Normandy, called Marmite Dieppoise, from the name of a seaside port called Dieppe, 80 kilometers from my hometown in Normandy : Rouen !.

What an irony ! I have been assigned that dish I have never heard of thousands miles away in New York !

As soon as I came back home, I asked for contribution of one of my best and reliable contributors on Cooking matters : Maman ! So she could provide by mail some materials on the recipe. The WEB and the FCI library were also able to provide many valuable info...

In the following posts, you will be able to have a general overlook of my project...