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The honor of your presence is requested for an authentic French lunch.
LUNCH MENU
French Onion Soup
Soupe á ´l Oignon Gratinée
Mesclun Salad with Rillioons, Hazelnuts, and Sainte Maure Cheese
Salade Tourangelle
Mussels in Cider and Cream
Moules á la Normande
Rabbit Braised with Prunes
Lapin aux Pruneaux
Buckwheat Crépe with Ham, Egg and Cheese
Balette Compléte
Sole in Butter Sauce
Sole Beurre Blanc
Fried Flounder Strips
Goujonettes de Flet
Leek and Cheese Tart
Tarte Flamiche
Beef Braised with Beer and onions
Carbonnade de Boeuf
Sautéd French Green Beans
Sauté de Haricots Verts
Glazed Baby Beets
Petites Betteraves Glacées
Sautéed Apples
Sauté Pommes
Apple Tart
Tarte Tatin
Crépes with Butter and Sugar
Crépe Beurre-Sucre
Can you believe it? This was lunch today and WE made it all!
If you haven't stopped by The Café for the past few days, I'm blogging from Hyde Park, New York where I'm spending the week attending a French Cooking Boot Camp at The Culinary Institute of America.
We studied the history of French cooking yesterday and today was a lesson in geography. France is divided into 22 regions, each one being diverse, not only in landscape, topography, culture and climate, but also in cuisine. We focused today on Normandy, Brittany, Champagne and The North, The Loire, Paris and Íle de France. It was fascinating to learn about the different foods and culinary styles the various regions are famous for and specialize in.
Many of you know that the French take their food and wine very seriously, but you might not know that they actually have laws (called the rules of appellation) regarding nomenclature and production methods. For example the name "Champagne" is reserved exclusively for sparkling wine produced from grapes grown in the Champagne region of France. The way it is to be produced is also very specific. There are tons of other foods and beverages that are governed by these very unique laws.
After our geography lecture, we headed to the kitchen and began to cook up a storm, a quite proper French storm, that is. We are divided into three teams and we all had our assignments. I have been blessed with a very accomplished chef, Kenneth, from Chicago as my cooking partner. He's already been to boot camp here at the CIA, so he's been invaluable the past two days - he steered me in the right direction more times than I care to admit.
The entire day was awesome from start to finish! After cooking all morning and seeing wonderful culinary demonstrations from our instructor, Chef Bruno, we enjoyed the fruits of our labor for lunch. We were amazed at the deliciousness and uniqueness of each of the dishes. After lunch we enjoyed a fascinating talk about French cheese by Chef Bruno, and had the opportunity to nibble and critique 12 different cheeses from France.
You'd think that would be plenty for one day, right? Nope .......... we were given a three hour break/rest time (this old lady needed it!) and were invited back for dinner in one of the CIA's fine restaurants, Ristorante Caterina de' Medici. Our team enjoyed fabulous Italian food and wonderful service all prepared and delivered by the culinary students.
I'm ready to fall into bed, so instead of writing any more, I'll just show you a few pictures of our day. Oh, and the Puff Pastry Pears, I made them for a dear friend's birthday celebration one evening last week, but they actually would have fit quite well into our lunch feast today. Pears are beloved and available throughout France, but it seems that the majority of them are grown in the orchards of Normandy. Puff pastry is thought to have originated in France back in the 17th century. So there you have it ............. maybe I should be calling them Pâte Feuilleté Enveloppé Poires ........ sounds much fancier, don't you think?
So you asked for it; here I am in my "chef duds".
Note- I've just given up the idea of trying to look cool and not grin like a Chesire cat, I'm thinking this type of cat might be in my blood lines somewhere, what do you think?
My new friend and very adept cooking partner, Kenneth.
Chef Bruno showing us how to cut up a whole rabbit for our Braised Rabbit with Prunes.
A French culinary term that is foundational to the C.I.A. is Mise en Place (everything in place). I love it!
One of my favorite demonstrations was for the Pate Brissee for our quiche crust. Chef Bruno showed us his super easy technique.
He makes whipping up a pastry crust and rolling it seem like child's play!
Our wonderful teacher, Chef Bruno, is a graduate of the CIA . He worked in the industry for many years and is now back at the CIA sharing his experience and skill with students like us!
There are professional CIA students who help us in the kitchen. This is Ricardo who is wonderful and has gotten me out of more than one pinch! Thanks Ricardo!
Oh, and these amazing pears. You'll love them. Pre-packaged puff pastry makes them simple to prepare, and the poaching liquid is used to make the caramel sauce. I adapted my Ridiculously Easy Caramel Sauce recipe, so it's a breeze to make the sauce once your pears are poached. It's a lovely presentation, don't you think?
- 2 cups apple cider
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 2 tablespoons Calvados optional
- 6 firm pears
- 1 17 ½ ounce package puff pastry thawed in refrigerator
- Additional ingredients for the caramel sauce:
- ½ cup butter 4 ounces
- ½ cup heavy cream
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Peel and core pears. I use a melon baller to core my pears.
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Combine cider, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice and Calvados in a large pot. Bring to a simmer and stir until all sugar is dissolved. Add pears, cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until pears are tender, but not falling apart, just until they can easily be pierced with a small sharp bladed knife. Remove pears onto a plate and allow to cool and drain for 10 minutes. Drain excess cider mixture back into pan and refrigerate pears for at least one hour.
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Return cider liquid to a simmer and simmer until syrupy and reduced to about ½ cup. Watch carefully towards the end as this sugary syrup can easily burn.
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Add butter and cream and return to a simmer. Whisk gently until well blended. Cook for 7 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and add vanilla extract, stirring to combine.
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Mixture will thicken as it cools. If it becomes too thick, just add an extra bit of apple cider or cream. Sauce can be made ahead and warmed at serving time.
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Heat the oven to 400°F.
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Unfold the pastry sheets onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out the first sheet to a 10" x 12" rectangle. Cut the pastry sheets lengthwise into ½" wide) strips. Starting at the top, wind pastry strip around 1 pear, slightly overlapping the edges of the pastry and adding more strips as needed. Use a bit of water on your finger to help a new strip adhere to the previous one.Tuck the end under the pear. Repeat with the remaining pears and pastry strips, cutting more from the second sheet as needed. Cut out leave-shaped pieces of pastry if desired and place on top of pears with a bit of water to adhere.
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Place the wrapped pears onto a baking sheet. Loosely cover the wrapped pears with aluminum foil. Bake for 25 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown. Spoon the caramel sauce onto 6 plates. Top each with one pear. I like to serve the pears warm and add a scoop of vanilla ice cream or frozen custard.
Sandra Lee says
What an ambitious menu and the pear dessert is a dream.
The Mom Chef says
I'm from the area you worked with today! I love you in the chef clothes too. What a great group of people. I do need an update on what's going on with your husband's photograph classes soon though.
Foodycat says
Ah! I know what rillons are - the typo confused me!
Nami | Just One Cookbook says
Oh Chris you are really beautiful and elegant in the chef outfit!! I love this picture of you.
What a wonderful experience! You are already chef-level cook and I cannot wait to hear more about your adventure.
I never imagined that this gorgeous dessert is made with puff pastry! Perfect for holiday time. Saving the recipe!
The Ketchums says
Wow! Thanks so much for sharing your experience with all of us. I am part of a small group of couples that call ourselves "Gourmet Club". I can so see a road trip for us gals to your place in the future...to your cooking classes!???
The Café Sucré Farine says
Thank you for all your kind comments and for being a part of this adventure. It makes it even more fun to be able share it with food lovers like all of you! Sorry I haven't been able to publish these comments till late in the day as I've been at school till now but it is so fun to come home and be greeted with all your delightful comments and enthusiasm. To answer the question posed by Foody Cat, Rillons are a specialty of the Loire River Valey and consist of small cubes of high quality pork (typically from a pork belly) that have been slowly cooked in a covered pot - they eventually become golden and caramelized. Quite delicious but not your everyday fare, for sure!
Claire @ Claire K Creations says
Wow Chris you definitely look the part in your 'chefs duds.' So professional!
What a wonderful time you're having. You're going to be whipping up even more incredible looking dishes when you get home.
I wouldn't worry about the cheshire cat grin. It's beautiful!
Eri says
You look beautiful in your "chef duds" Chris, what a wonderful time you;re having!
The pears are lovely, I;m doing a similar recipe with apples.
Hugs and Kisses Chef!
SandyM says
Chris, I'm SO glad you are getting to do this! And I'm enjoying "tagging along" especially as you describe the areas of France (Gretchen & I did a 2 week tour of France several years ago, so I recognized many of these regions.) Looking forward to more posts & continuing to try your recipes!
Nick and Linds says
Looks like a blast! I'm so glad you got this opportunity and I'm sure we will all benefit from this (me personally because I get to not only look and read about the wonderful food you make, but also eat it! na na nana na)!
Sue/the view from great island says
Chris you have to be a superwoman---you do all that in class and then write up such a thorough post I feel like I've been there with you in class. Honestly you could have just posted that pear and I would have been blown away---have fun!
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
Gorgeous pears! I'm loving your tales of adventure :).
Kitchen Riffs says
I really loved yesterday's and today's posts! I envy you so! I'm enjoying all the pictures and info you're passing on - thanks so much. And I'd have a huge grin on my face, too, if I was lucky enough to be wearing those chef's duds!
Debra says
you look so very happy 😉 thanks for sharing your adventure with us.
bellini says
You must be over the moon with excitement! Look at those gorgeous pears you have created as well.
Martha says
It's okay to grin like a Cheshire, you are having a fabulous time! 🙂 The "chef duds" look good on you! Have a wonderful day!
Carol @ Always Thyme to Cook says
WOW! What a fantastic adventure you are on, love the shot of you in your Chef attire! Those have to be the prettiest pears. You are the tops of your class 🙂
Vicki Bensinger says
Your pears are stunning Chris. I have to tell you though, after reading the menu I was ready to turn over and go back to sleep and I just woke up.
You must have been completely exhausted after that day. I can only imagine what today will be like. Looking forward to reading about it tomorrow. Have fun!
Hovkonditorn says
Wow, the lunch menu was extensive! Lovely picture of you! Have a great time!
Brenda Williams says
Love you Chris, GOD bless you in all your endeavors. Love your Chef duds.
Amelia says
Hi, you look great in the chef outfit. Thanks for sharing with us, glad to see you are having a good time. Enjoy yourself and share more stories with us.
Love your pear puff pastry with caramel sauce, it sure look mouth watering. yummy.
Have a great and fun week.
Foodycat says
They look so delicious! I love the look of the menu too. What are rillioons though?
GLENDA CHILDERS says
Oh my goodness ... the food looks great, but YOU are adorable.
Carol Riley says
Chris, thank you for allowing us to all but be there with you. You are the envy of all of would-be French chefs. You look adorable. I want to be the first to sign up if you start a cooking class. Having just visited NYC briefly I found Central Park to be a place where I would want to spend hours. Hope you can find time. God bless, Carol Riley
Jennifer @ Peanut Butter and Peppers says
Oh my gosh do the pears look amazing!! They are so pretty! So glad you having fun! I can't wait to read more!!