Lesson 8: Turned Vegetables, French Meringue

Soupe à l'Oignon Gratinée
(Gratinéed Onion Soup)

Truite aux Amandes
(Trout with Almonds)

Pommes à l'Anglaise
(English-Style Boiled Potatoes)

Oeufs à la Neige
(Snow eggs with Caramel and Crème Anglaise)

Onion Soup: When Les Halles, the famous Paris food market, was in the center of the city, late-night merrymakers could be found sitting shoulder to shoulder with butchers eating onion soup from midnight to dawn in busy bistros. This combination of cheese, bread, and onions was said to restore strength. Today Les Halles is gone but gratinée lives on, no longer the midnight meal of yore but a popular first course during the winter months in Paris...

Trout: This recipe is one of the rare French savory dishes that use almonds. It is, in fact, a variation on a classic truite meunière (trout with nut-brown butter) -- the difference being the almonds...As here, trout cooked this way is always served whole with lemon, boiled potatoes and freshly chopped parsley...

Potatoes: In France, anything that is simply boiled is said to be à l'anglaise, English-style. Unlike their English counterparts, however, French chefs typically "turn" their vegetables before boiling them to ensure even cooking...

Dessert: Sometimes called "snow eggs"... this dessert is standard bistro fare...

Lesson 7: Choux Pastry, piping

Profiteroles au Gruyère (Choux Puffs with Gruyère Cheese)

Pintadeaux au Chou (Guinea Hen with Cabbage)

Crème Fraisalia (Strawberry Bavarian Cream)

Choux pastry is most frequently garnished with sweet fillings, such as pastry cream (éclairs) or ice cream (profiteroles). Here, however it is filled with a cheese-flavored béchamel called mornay sauce. These savory chees pastries can be served either with drinks or as a first course...

In France cabbage is a popular garnish not only for pork but also for game birds and dark-fleshed domestic fowl. Here guinea hens and sausages are served together on a bed of cabbage. Each of the three elements is cooked separately, then combined only for the final cooking. The results is a dish in which complementary tastes are juxtaposed, rather than blended together as in stews or one-pot meals.
Note: The taste of guinea hen, commonly available at French markets, is often compared to taht of pheasant or partridge...

Henri-Paul Pellaprat was one of France's most influential chefs in the early years of the twentieth century. He wrote books on cooking that are now classics, and for many years he taught at Le Cordon Bleu. One of his many creations was this dessert. Essentially a bavarian cream to which a fresh strawberry puree has been added, it is still as popular at the school today as it was when Pellaprate first invented it.

Lesson 6: Pâte Brisée and Pâte Brisée Sucrée; Bavarian Creams

Tarte à l'Oignon
(Onion Tart)

Mouclade
(Mussels with Wine and Cream Sauce)

Bavarois à la Vanille, Coulis de Framboise
(Vanilla Bavarian Cream with Raspberry Coulis)

Onion tart is a speciality of Alsace...

Mussels are popular throughout France, but perhaps nowhere more than on the Atlantic coast above Bordeaux, where this delicious dish comes from...

Recipes for bavarian cream, or bavarois do not appear in French cookbooks until the early 19th century. The preparation was popularized by Carême ("the king of chefs and the chef of kings") and is alos used in making charlottes -- another Carême contribution to the classic repertoire. The main difference between the two is that ladyfingers are used to line the mold before adding the bavarian cream for a charlotte, whereas for a bavarois, the cream is poured directly into the mold.

(from Le Cordon Bleu at Home, 1991)

Lesson 5: Mayonnaise, Crème Anglaise, Cassoulet

30 Decembre 2007

Salade Messidor
(Summer Harvest Salad)

Cassoulet de Poissons
(Fish and White Bean Stew)

Biscuit de Savoie, Crème Anglaise
(Sponge Cake with Crème Anglaise)

Lesson 4: Crêpes, Sugar Syrups, Roasting

23 Decembre 2007

Crêpes au Saumon Fumé
(Smoked Salmon Crepes)

Gigot d'Agneau
(Roast Leg of Lamb)

Gratin de Blettes
(Swiss Chard Gratin)

Ananas Givré
(Pineapple Sorbet)

Lesson 3: 16 Decembre 2007

Oeufs à la Tripe
(Gratin of Hard-Boiled Eggs)

Rouelles de Veau Bourgeoise
(Veal Shanks with Pearl Onions and Mushrooms)

Mousse au Chocolat aux
Noisettes et au Whisky
(Chocolate Mousse with Hazelnuts and Whisky)

(Extra Lessons: Roux and Flour-Bound Sauces, Liaisons)

The Mousse au Chocolat was found to be delicious by all respondents.

Lesson 2: 2 December 2007

Soupe Villageoise
(Country-style Vegetable Soup with Noodles)

Escalopes de Veau Vallée d'Auge
(Veal Scallops with Apples and Calvados)

Crème Renversée au Caramel
(Caramel Custard)

Crème Renversée was found to be most delicious by most respondents.

Lesson 1: Pratique de Base (Getting Started)

Concombre á la Menthe
(Cucumber Salad with Mint)

Poulet Roti
(Roast Chicken)

Petits Pois á la Française
(Spring Peas with Lettuce, Chervil, and Onions)

Salade des Fruits
(Fresh Fruit Salad with Cointreau)