The Bride Reflects

I've been thinking about the menus we've done so far. I do feel that I'm learning something. I couldn't cook Creme Anglaise in my sleep, but I can do it fairly easily. I've made it many times over the years, but months go by between. Pretty much every Christmas I make it to put on plum pudding and.... maybe, sometimes, I do it one other time a year. But doing it repeatedly has been really good. And the profiteroles were fun, too. I've done them before, but this time I reaped the benefits of that earlier experience. I'm anxious to try it again.

Fat: These meals are so full of fat that it's a little scary. It's an old-fashioned way of cooking, most people today are more aware of the amount of fat in the food they are cooking. I've been pretty faithful to the recipes (though I cut out about 1/3 of the fat in the Pintadeau au choux, by some very simple changes). I'm trying to lose weight and doing the CB menu each week is interfering. I'm still trying to figure out how to do it right.

Cooking methods: There are easier ways of doing some of the recipes. For example, the pate brisee is easily made with a food processor. I haven't done the Onion tart yet (see Fat, above), but I will try out the recommended method just for the fun of it.

The other thing about the menus is the way they organize foods. Usually there are 3 foods, a beginning course, a main course, and a dessert. And they are all very substantial. In fact, there's too much food for us. I've been handling that by cooking the starter separately, as a meal in itself. But that leaves the problem of creating a meal around a main dish and a dessert. Not that it has been difficult so far.

I'm interested what you, Peaceable and Vivi, think as you reflect on what you've learned so far.