These snapshots are actually from last week, and too good not to post. I felt like a totally profesh pastry chef thanks to the patience and guidance of one Robert Hammond. Thank you! This was a really fun week in the bake shop.
This beauty is called a Vacherin Belle Helene, and we made it for Robert Reynolds' birthday soiree last Tuesday night. What's hiding within that pretty exterior of baked meringues, whipped cream and shaved bittersweet chocolate? A base meringue, a layer of raisin-cognac ice cream, topped by a layer of chocolate mousse, topped by poached pears. Oui!
Testing out my puff pastry skills, I made Strawberry Coutardes with an English Butter Toffee accompaniment. Another thing of beauty!
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Thanks to Kim, Richard and Anna of the Gratz Family Farm. I put those spring onions to good use today. Wish we were close enough that we could share a glass (or two) of white, a simple mixed green salad and a slice of this onion tart this eve! Love!
- Alsatian Onion Tart (From a Breton Garden, Araldo and Reynolds)
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Oh, baby!
This could be the beginning of a beee-eautiful relationship. Behold my recent craigslist find!
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And … voila!
Behold ze tarte a l'orange. It looks good. I'll let you know once it cools if it worked!
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Because it’s my second attempt. That’s why. I want this one to work. Set up, custard! Come on. You can do it!
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Mid-term week in pics
And here’s the mid-term photo log from the studio this week.
Fresh herbs from Robert Hammond's garden (sage, mint and savory)
Monday evening dinner at the studio - Pork with onion jam and tomato sauce, zucchini and chevre custard
One of the pastry dough formulas
Caramel nut tart
Pear and almond tart
Filling the Paris-Brest pastries
Dessert sampler plate from a regular Tuesday in the bake shop
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The mid-term report
I’m just on the far side of midway through my cooking and baking sabbatical. For the past week, Robert Reynolds has been asking: “How are you? Where are you? Do you feel like you’re learning anything?” They are such charming and amusing and ludicrous questions at once.
Fact is, every day in the studio, I learn so much about food and cooking and history and culture and excellence and respect through Robert, and from his mentor, Josephine Araldo—via Robert. Robert is generous and spirited when he shares anecdotes and lessons from his time with Josephine, Madeline Kammen and other master French cooks.
Here are a few of the tasty little morsels that have stuck with me over the past several weeks:
- You can roast a vegetable to the bone and it gets better. Much better. That’s deep cooking.
- Build a dishes flavor in stages and then lock it in with salt.
- In building flavor, texture and taste are the only two things that are ever going on.
- Everything goes with everything. (Case in point: Josephine Araldo’s recipe for cabbage and blueberries.)
- The hardest thing to do is be simple. (I love this!)
There’s so much more … but that’s a sampling for now.
I have to admit, I’ve been somewhat melancholy this week about reaching mid-term. The bright side: For me, I believe this is only the beginning of a lengthy conversation about food.
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Mmmm … pie
Oatmeal Pie (aka Poor Man's Pecan Pie)
The Three Sisters - coconut custard, banana cream and strawberry chiffon pies
Pate de Pommes de Terre Bourbonnais (or simply, potato tart)
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This week’s two pastry workshops were explorations in cookie making. Or more accurately, an immersion into petit four sec. I specifically made an impromptu goat cheese and onion tart (per Robert R’s suggestion to use up some leftover pastry dough), coconut macaroons (the best ones I’ve ever tasted!), almond tuilles, madelaines and rugelach. I felt like it was the holidays all over again, banging out these cute little num-nums.
Roll that beautiful baked footage …
Goat cheese and onion tart - silky, rich, not your everyday egg bake
Marry me!
Rugelach marching!
Chocolate crinkle cookies (aka best damn cookies ever!), made by Guy
Sweet madelaines! Bop bah-dah! Good times never felt so good.
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If a blog post is photos only, then is it called a phlog? If not, it should be. After all, video blogging is called vlogging.
These are all from last eve. I’ll load some from today’s pastry class later.
Need to go run off some butter and cream now.
Roll the food porn shots …
One of the vegetable cakes we had for a starter on Monday evening. Consists of spinach, potato, leek, garlic and other good stuff. Baked like a custard and tastes oh so spring-like and fresh.
Peppered pears
Pork loin with a butter & red wine sauce, with peppered pears as a garnish. One bite of pork paired with one bite of pear - delectable!
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Made with Love 