This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, see our privacy policy.
I've been cooking French food all week here at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park New York, where I'm spending the week studying French cuisine. I've personally cooked Bordelaise Sauce, Sauce aux Tomates Fraîches (fresh tomato sauce) and made over a zillion (well at least thirty) crêpes for a delicious dessert called Crépe Beurre-Sucre (Crépes with Butter & Sugar). I've also made Mussels in Cider and Cream, French Onion Soup and Ratatouille. I've watched wonderful demonstrations (do these count in linguistic expertise?) by our instructor, Chef Bruno about everything from Pâte Brisée to Spaetzle and Aioli.
Yesterday we nibbled on cheeses from every region of France: soft, hard, mild, strong, creamy, salty stinky, yes France has them all. It was so fun learning the unique specialties.
In addition to all this, I've eaten a ton of amazing French dishes created by my cohorts.
After all this, sadly, my French is still confined to the paltry few words that I knew before I came to this wonderful institution; lets see merci, au revoir, baguette, adieu, à la carte, crème brûlée, bon voyage, concierge and of course, thé, café, sucré and farine. That's was about it when I came and, much to my chagrin, that's still about all I know!
Maybe, just maybe the big "ah-ha" moment is going to come tonight. Part of the curriculum I'm enrolled in involves dinner at several of the fine dining establishments staffed by the very talented students here at The Culinary Institute. Tonight we are excited about dining at the award-wining Escoffiér Resaranté, legendary for it's delicious French cuisine. I'll let you know if this is the magic bullet, you know, the one that loosens my tongue for the French to come pouring out.
You want crépes? I can make some serious crêpes! It took a bit of practice but I've got it down pat after about 30 |
Well, arrivederci till tomorrow ............ oops, wrong language, sorry about that! 🙂
Leave a Reply