Touraine & The Loire River Valley

Week two of French cooking and Chef Dot explains to our group of novice home cooks that this week we will be venturing into the Touraine region and the traditional bistro-style food that is found there.  As close to typical Parisian food as this course will get, she tells us.

Touraine

Again, we review characteristics of the region and go through the packet of recipes one-by-one.  With each page my mind floats back in reverie to my days and nights spent in Paris - indulging in Roquefort walnut crêpes, croque monsieurs at the Bastille, and brisk late august mornings sipping un petit express at the nearby café.

Ah, Paree!

As we sift through who's to cook which recipes, I'm again searching for the perfect one that will present a challenge and offer me a chance to try out new techniques that I might be too intimidated to explore on my own.  I am immediately key in on the Paté de Campagne.  I couldn't even imagine how one would make paté and it was certainly something I would never dare to attempt on my own.  Right away, I volunteered.  I was paired up with a woman in her mid to late 60s, who I would later find out has worked as a pediatrician since the early 80s.   Cooking really does bring together people from all walks of life, I reflected.

Holly and I started by grinding our pork through a large die and then incorporating onion, parsley, garlic, salt, pepper and paté spice - a mixture of cloves, nutmeg, ginger, coriander, cinnamon and white pepper.

We then combined the meat with a bit of flour, egg, brandy and cream, before beginning to fill our terrine mold.  We chose some add-ins to layer the paté with, including black forest ham, pistachios, hazelnuts, chicken livers, and dried currants.

We cooked the terrine in a water bath for about an hour, and then it was put in the refrigerator beneath a brick to set for the next week.  Although I was a bit disappointed at not getting to taste the result of our hard work until the following week, I was delighted at all of the other components my classmates had put together in the preceding 2 1/2 hours.

Roasted Chicken with Garlic, Lemon & Parsley; Pork Rillette;
Croque Madame with Sauce Mornay; Crêpes with Goat Cheese and Fig Jam

Without question, the Croque Madame was the most delicious thing I ate for lunch.  The runny yolk of the perfectly fried egg on top in combination with the saltiness of the ham and the creaminess of the sauce was divine.  I saved it for last while I munched on all the other small bites decorating my plate.

With our meal we tasted a traditional Loire River Valley wine - a Chinon, made from the Cabernet Franc grape.  It paired beautifully with dessert: airy profiteroles filled with a homemade coffee ice cream and topped off with a bittersweet chocolate sauce.  I barely managed to snap a quick picture before it disappeared off my plate!

Yum!

Fully satisfied from another French lunch, I realized how much I truly enjoy these classes and how greatly I look forward to settling into my space at the prep table, putting on my apron, and setting up my mise-en-place.  As my I watched the two TAs laugh with one another while cleaning up the last of the serving dishes, decked out in their kitchen whites with their names embroidered in black, I wondered what sort of future the kitchen might hold for me.

À la prochaine!

Next week: Burgundy 

Normandy & Brittany

Upon moving back home with my parents and younger brother two months ago in an effort to save some money for my inevitable investment in graduate school, I decided to reward myself by indulging in my longtime passion for food and cooking by enrolling in recreational classes at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts in Cambridge, MA.

After completing a series on the basics of baking, I was hooked!  So I signed up for a class on French macaroons (more on that later) as well as a regional French cuisine course - spurred by my love of the City of Lights & Love and all things French.

Filled with feelings of anxiety and anticipation, I entered Kitchen E and was immediately greeted with a familiar sense of ease of being in the right place.  Chef Dot Jacobson started off the class by introducing us to the course and the region that we would be focusing on that week: Normandy and Brittany, in the Northwest corner of France.

Our group of eleven reviewed the dishes that we would be preparing that afternoon and then divied up recipes.  Everything sounded mouthwatering, from the shrimp with cognac and beurre blanc, to the Moules à la crème, to the tarte tatin that we would conclude our meal with.  Opting for a recipe that I hoped would both fill the allotted 3 hours we had for cooking, in combination with presenting me with a new culinary experience, I elected for the "Goujonette of Sole with Remoulade".

Despite my love of cooking, I am still new to many culinary terms and techniques.  The base of my remoulade was a mayonnaise, which I assumed would be given to me to expand on.  Instead I learned how to make mayonnaise from scratch, slowly adding olive oil to my egg yolk and Dijon mustard base.  Then I proceeded to dice and chop my additives:

• Flat leaf parsley
• Tarragon
• Garlic cloves
• Shallots
• Capers
• Cornichons
• Anchovy fillets

 

 

And added them together to create the dipping sauce for my goujonette:

 

 

Then I started in on slicing my sole.  My goujonettes - or "thin strips of fish, cut from the fillet" - were cut on the bias and then rolled out to resemble small cigars.

 

 

I whisked together a quick batter of flour and soda water and dropped my little fish cigars into the deep fryer.

 

Et voilà!

 

 

When everyone finished preparing their portion of the meal, we set the table, and poured some regional libations - sampling a bit of Bénédictine and Calvados.  We laid our fare out on display and with eager appetites started filling our plates with a little bit of everything.

 

 

During our communal meal, Dot asked each of us to reflect on our preparations and share our insights with the rest of the group - a task which proved difficult in between bites of our delicious feast.

 

  

Out of all the dishes that we prepared that afternoon, I'd have to say that my favorites were the mussels in the cream sauce and the camembert and carmelized onion tartlettes.  But everything that I tasted was truly delicious and left me excited for what the following week would bring!

 

Bisous!

 

Next week: Touraine