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

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...

Two Minutes of Sweet Pleasure...

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...

French King Cake

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

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.

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 !

Fish market in Seoul

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 ?

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…

First lunch in charge

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Déjeuner du jeudi 25 octobre 2007

***
Cannelloni de poivron au chèvre,
salade à la vinaigrette de tapenade

Red pepper with goat cheese cannelloni,

olives, capers and anchovies paste seasoning

Lieu « cuit vapeur », sauce à la bisque de crabe,
grosse raviole de légumes croquants au thym citron

Steamed cod, crab bisque sauce,

crunchy vegetables raviolis flavored with thyme and lemon

Bavarois au lait d’amande
et fruits rouges au sirop de verveine

Almond milk bavarois cake

with red fruits and verbena syrup

The lunch must have been good since all the plates came back empty at the kitchen. The Maitre d’hôtel told me that he had seen some guests licking plates but that is unproven up to now... ;-)

************

Starter : The goat cheese is rolled in layers of skinned red peppers, wrapped in plastic and twisting at both ends to give it this cannelloni sausage shape.

The tapenade is made of finely chopped black olives, desalted capers, anchovy fillets and garlic emulsified with olive oil.

Recipe for the Vinaigrette (2 to 3 servings) : 1 TBS olive oil, 1 tsp tapenade and 1 TBS Balsamic vinegar.

I also served triangled curved croutons filled with little tapenade. The thinner part of the bread could be used as the tip of a spoon.

Entree : I used my usual recipe of pasta dough (see posts on that specific subject). The filling is a brunoise (1 to 2 mm dices) of carrot, anise, tomato and cucumber, cooked "à l'anglaise" for carrot and anise until crunchy (the only boiling water for cooking the pasta dough wouldn't be long enough). For cucumber and tomato, I poured the dices in a colander with salt to make them dry (otherwise the filling would become watery and would soak the dough which would lead to catastrophe! I experienced it many times. Humid fillings are the enemy of raviolis...). I then briefly cooked them in butter, drops of lemon juice and thyme. The last step was to add breadcrumbs to get a drier filling...

Dessert : The bavarois mixture (appareil in French) is made with almond drink, whipped cream and gelatin. Once set, the solid white bavarois sat on a Quatre quart base. The decorations are golden berry and nougatine (sliced almonds cooked in caramel and flatten quickly with a rolling pin between two sheets of parchment paper (be careful, very hot...).

Tip : the correct quantity of gelatine is usually 12 sheets per liter. Gelatine should soak first in cold water then be added in hot liquid. Once added, it is important to work as quickly as you can since the mixture will set and become unworkable very fast.

Menu Tasting Testing : Bouley Restaurant (V)

Last Friday, we went to Bouley Restaurant to test one of its tasting menus. This restaurant is located to TRIBECA (TRIangle BElow CAnal, NY district newly renovated below Canal Street in South West Manhattan). We choose the 4-course menu at the price of $48. Another tasting menu exists at $38. Being with my wife, we took the chance to taste nearly every single dish (except the Pennsylvania All Natural Chicken Baked in Buttermilk).
In a few words, we were very pleased by our tasting menu, very high quality for that price. We agreed on the fact that every sauce carried the indispensible kick and complexity for such a restaurant of that status, many sauces being surrounded by green herbal flavors, either basil, parsley, chives...
After stepping in through a strong majestic wood door, we walk through a small corridor where thousands of red apples are displayed on shelves against left and right walls with an amazing cider flavor...

Concerning the dining space, we were disappointed by the decoration of the red room with low ceillings and a strong aggressive red carmin painting.

Here is the tasting menu in details.

Chef’s Canapé
Fennel Gelée, Tomato Sorbet, Buffalo Mozzarella, and Parsley Foam

~
Sashimi Quality Tuna with Shaved Fennel
Dressed in Herb Oils and a Spicy Marinade

Or
Phyllo Crusted Florida Shrimp, Cape Cod Baby Squid, Scuba Dived Sea Scallop
Sweet Maryland Crabmeat in an Ocean Herbal Broth

~
Wild King Salmon with Arrow Leaf Spinach
Parsley Root Purée, Clémentines, Mandarines and Blood Orange Sauce
Or
Roasted Atlantic Halibut with Salted Baked Organic Beets
Parsley Root Purée and Horseradish-Chervil Dressing

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Pennsylvania All Natural Chicken Baked in Buttermilk with Seasonal Rapini,
Roasted Maitake

Or
Organic Long Island Duckling, Lavender Honey Glaze, Snow Peas and Early Sweet Peas, Indian Nation Canoe Harvested Blond Wild Rice Ginger Dressing

Or
Roasted Loin of Organic Pork with Chinese Chives Galette of Wild Mushroom Fettuccini and Parsnip Purée

Pommes Mousseline

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Grapefruit Gelée, Elderflower Foam, Greek Yogurt Sorbet

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Granny Smith Apple and Saigon Cinnamon Meringue
Pecan Nut Dacquoise, Apple Cider Sorbet and White Cinnamon Ice Cream

Or
Hot Valrhona Chocolate Soufflé
Vermont Maple Ice Cream, Vanilla Ice Cream and Chocolate Sorbet

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Mignardise : Strawberres and Rhubarb topped with White Chocolate Mousse, Strawberry Granite, Almond foam

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Petits Gateaux

Thank you for the photos of dishes provided by foodlite.

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

Book & Plating (4) : The Lever House Cookbook

Another cookbook borrowed from The FCI library. Some great photos and recipes, very fresh and healthy, especially around fish in Carpaccio or Tartar. Some nice plating too. You can enjoy the photos by clicking on this link.

I didn't enjoy the photos of the interior of the restaurant (too 70's for me...) but the choice of dishes seem very interesting. Their web site worthes a visit , very modern, designed in a MOMA's way, trendy and branché.
http://www.leverhouse.com/

As usual, the details if you want to buy that book :
Title : THE LEVER HOUSE COOKBOOK
Author : DAN SILVERMAN & JOANN CIANCIULLI
Editor : POTTER

Book & Wine : What To Drink With What You Eat

The Definitive Guide to Pairing Food with Wine, Beer, Spirits, Coffee, Tea - Even Water - Based on Expert Advice from America's Best Sommeliers

This book found at The FCI library writes about wine pairing with food. It gives first basics of wine tasting and pairing about which I will write later in another post. In next chapters, the authors will enumerate wines to pair with a huge list of ingredients. The book is frequently illustrated with comments from famous US someliers or Grands Chefs.

From this post, you could watch some of the most beautiful pictures about wine. Just clic on this link and enjoy !!!

As usual, the details if you want to buy that book :
Title : WHAT to DRINK with WHAT you EAT
Author : ANDREW DONENBURG and KAREN PAGE
Edition : BULFINCH

Books & Plating (3) : Salmon

I recently have been very busy visiting the FCI library. Here is one book entirely dedicated to salmon recipes. I found some very surprising plating, like this Tartare de Saumon.
The book is plenty of nice little ideas of side presentation that you could use for other kinds of dishes, salads for example. Click here and found out !

If you are interested to buy that book, here are the detailled informations :

Title : Salmon, International Chefs' Recipes

Edition : Wyssenbach, Willy

Books & Plating (2) : the Seafood Cookbook

Back in the FCI library, I found that book showing some very nice plating, mainly of fish and sea fruits (easy to guess from the title...) but also a few mise en assiette of lovely deserts.

There are some very artistic presentations that you can "borrow" for your own recipe, by clicking here.

If you are interested to buy that book, here are the detailled informations :
Title : SEAFOOD COOKBOOK
Author : JONATHAN PARKER
Edition : THE MANHATTAN OCEAN CLUB

Books & Plating (1) : Play With Your Food

At the French Culinary Institute, there is a library for students with a lot of books about cooking. So, I take the chance every week to borrow some great books. This week, I found this one which interested me for food plating. Here are some photos I took from the book. I found it very enjoyable, especially if you are to plate for children. You would probably get great success !!!

If you want to buy that book, here are the detailled informations :

Title : PLAY WITH YOUR FOOD

Author : JOOST ELFFERS

Edition : STEWART, TABORI & CHANG