More Cuisine!!!

The problem with putting away updating your blog is that you suddenly have too much to do!

Starters:  

a)  Creamy Capuccino Mushroom Soup in a Cup

b)  Mackerel fillets, cucumber and cream with lamb's lettuce salad

c)  Duck Foie Gras Terrine and wild mushrooms

d)  Cold French Scrambled Eggs with Botargo, herb salad and green olives coulis

e)  Tuna Carpaccio with parmesan cheese

Mains:

a)  Roasted Lobster Tournedos, zucchini, risotto and fennel confit

b)  Thick Veal Medallions with lemon and ginger, macaroni cake

c)  Chicken breasts with langoustines in a light curry sauce

d)  Roasted squabs (pigeons) with new potatoes and fava beans

e)  "Black Prince" saddle of lamb and country-style bacon-potato cake

Desserts:

a)  Mango Pineapple and vanilla "kebabs" with gingerbread and coconut

b)  Figs in spicy strawberry wine, cocoa crisp and yoghurt sorbet

c)  Soft-centred chocolate cake, pistachio ice cream

d)  Apples slices with cinnamon mascrapone mousse

e)  Mango and pineapple chutney, avocado sorbet

Happy feasting (with your eyes!!)

Last for Intermediate Cuisine

Calamari in Marseille-style, shellfish soup, bouillabaisse with rouille, veal "orloff", a cassoulet of pork medallions and chestnuts, and on its right, the plated version (vs. the one-pot-all version).

Fondant, Veal, Onions

Gasp! The chocolate coating on top of eclairs are not ganache nor glaze, but chocolate fondant! More varieties of choux pastries, but emphasis on fondant work.

In cuisine, we made veal chops with 'grandmother-style' garnish - namely sauteed turned potatoes, mushrooms and brown glaced pearl onions.

A note on brown glaced pearl onions... they're caramelised baby red onions which are soft and sweet, it's increadibly tasty, and easy to do.  Peel some (baby shallots will do here too) pearl onions, put into a small saucepan, cover them halfway with water, a drop of butter, some salt and sugar, cook over small heat with a drop-lid until the onions are cooked through.  Remove drop lid and let the liquid evaporate.  Time to time, give it a good shake and the sugar will glaze them brown evenly all over.

Time to get messy.....

Chocolate, nothing but

 chocolate chocolate chocolate.

  Made a dense rich chocolate cake called Alhambra.  Chocolate glacing is not

 really easy either!!  You have to pour all the glace in one go and get an even shiny coating.  Tomorrow we'll be doing a charlotte aux poires (pear mousse cake).

In cuisine, we looked at a flemish leek and cheese savory tart, marinated salmon (raw), the classic blanquette de veau (veal stew in white).  I had that for my white exam this morning.  It turned out alright.  Tomorrow, for cuisine, we'll be grilling tournedos in bearnaise sauce with potatoes pont neuf (like chips, really).

More turned mushrooms..... groan!  Well, blame it on the PAD.  They blocked the airports, so we can't get our artichokes imported!