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.