Back in the USA!

After nearly four months and 25 hours of a LONG traveling day, the fam and I made it back to the states!  Happy dance!  Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't have traded the experience I got oversees for anything...but nothing compares to sleeping in your own bed!  I will admit that I had a mild panic attack in seeing all the toys and space we had to come home to.  Being made to live more simply for a long period of time really puts things into perspective as far as what you truly need and don't need.  I see a major spring cleaning coming to the Jones household...soon...but not just yet.

With only four days to spend in the land of sweet tea (GOD did I miss that!), I'm off once again.  This time, sans the fam...boo.  This next mini-adventure will consist of eleven days spent between Boston and New York City.  Excited?  Yes.  Thrilled about packing up and getting back on another airplane?  NO!  Either way...off I go. 

First stop, Boston.  Technically, Cambridge.  I spent two days here staging in a restaurant called Craigie on Main.  For those of you who don't know, a stage is technically a working interview in a restaurant and, typically, the last step in the hiring process.  After all, in a business like this, it's pretty much necessary to try someone out before you bring them in.  Anyone can make their resume sound good.  Not every one can hack it in the kitchen.

Why here?  First, a little background.  I first heard of this restaurant back in March when the hubs and I were planning our fifth anniversary trip to Boston.  We got engaged in Boston and thought it would be fun to go back.  We had the pleasure of eating there during our trip.  It was amazing, and I was hooked.  The executive chef and owner, Tony Maws won a James Beard Award in 2011 for Best Chef Northeast (one of the many acclaims he's had during his career).  For those of you outside the culinary world who don't know what this is...think of it as the Oscar's for cooking...yep...he's bad ass.  One of my culinary instructors at the time found out I went there and gave me the book "Back of the House" to read.  It chronicles a year in which the author spent shadowing Tony and all the other team members at Craigie.  The whole time I was reading it, I couldn't help but think how this place sounded like it would be a wonderful fit for me.  So...I submitted my resume complete with a cover letter only an adoring fan could have written, never expecting to hear anything back.  BUT...I did!   And after months of emails, phone tag and actual conversation, I had my time staging at Craigie!

My two days there were nothing short of amazing.  The team worked like a well oiled machine.  Everyone helped everyone and everyone's back.  I've never seen an entire group of cooks work like this team worked.  During service the first day, I spent time watching the guys on the meat station keeping pace with the ever calling orders, time with the fish guys and track of the tickets.  My biggest job here was pulling the pig's heads and bone marrow out of the oven, dropping the ribs in the fryer and basically trying to stay out of the way.  Later in service I had a chance to go over to garde manger and plate up amuse bouche for the last 10 or so tables.  The second night, I spent downstairs plating desserts.  I had a prep list just like everyone else.  I came to the meetings and reported on my progress, like everyone else.  I made mistakes, just like everyone else.  And I had a blast.  Both nights when things came to a close, I got the chance to sit down, have some dinner and talk about my experiences with one of the chefs.  Here's the yummies they had for me..

And here's some of the yummies I got to make for the guests...

Next stop...New York City...

How Things Can Change in Just One Day

Thanks to a wonderful chef friend of mine back in the states, I had the opportunity this past week to do a three day internship in a patisserie in Paris!  The owners are a wonderfully sweet couple who welcomed me into their shop with open arms.  I hadn't been there an hour and I was already making creams, cakes, helping with decorations and floating from one station to the next.  Out of respect for the shop, I'm not sharing any of their recipes but you can drool over some of the yummies prepared at the shop, some of which I had a hand in helping complete.

I could actually feel myself gaining weight just being around all these beauties.  By the end of my first day in the shop, I had been offered the opportunity to come back as I wished.  This got me thinking.  Which would be better?  Finish out my time in France by completing my course or by working in this wonderful patisserie. 

After some thought, I decided with the latter.  Yes folks, we're moving to Paris!  The hubs is excited to be going to a city with some semblance of life and the little one does look cute all bundled up for the cold weather.

We also found out that we can't travel in the countries we were planning on traveling too after our time in France is up since those countries are in the same "union" as France.  So, we are leaving France mid December to spend Christmas and New Year's in Ireland.  I'm pretty stocked to be taking the little one to our "home away from home"!

In the end, I'm going to miss all my new found friends in Le Cap d'Agde, but new adventures await.  I'm finishing out one last final week of plated dessert, my favorite, before taking a week to site see and make our way to Paris.  I can't wait to drive into work and learn as much as I can in the city every pastry chef dreams to have an opportunity to work!

One last thing on the plate before we hit the road again...

Playing with Plates

This past week in patisserie, we worked on plated desserts.  I was super excited since this is the main reason I wanted to get into pastry in the first place.  Putting elements together on a plate that may seem odd at first, making the plate look like a work of modern art and presenting something absolutely delightful.  Chef is always telling us to “give your best to the guest”.  And this week, even more than before, I was ready. 

 First up…Moelleux Noix de Coco, Coeur Coulant Mangue et Glace Gingembre

Beautiful and oh so scrumptious!  So what you have there in the glass is a coconut biscuit.  Before cooking, we hid a frozen sphere of mango sorbet in the middle of the batter, so when you bite into it you get a gooey mango surprise.  Surprises in the middle of desserts is my new found obsession since reading the book Spiced in which the pastry chef who wrote the book loves to hide little bits of heaven for her guests to discover.  I will definitely be playing with that soon!  We also placed small edible flowers on the top to give the cake a pop of color.

That gorgeous honey colored swirl coming off the cake and down to the plate is a coconut thin.  For those in the culinary world, it’s really nothing more than a tuile cookie made with coconut.  But it will make you look at tuiles in a completely different light and have you flavoring yours from now on!

Underneath the thin is a perfect cornelle of ginger ice cream.  I wish I could take credit for the immaculate shaping of this ice cream, but to save time, Chef did all of our ice cream scoops for the week.  He does it with one large spoon off the side of the container.  I must practice that!  Those of you who know me and my love for all flavors Asian, know this ice cream was right up my alley.  Perfect compliment to the cake and mango.  I will be making this again!  Also, hidden underneath the ice cream is a small and simple sable cookie topped with peanuts.  We used these cookies in all our desserts to keep the ice cream from melting into a puddle on the plate.  I was surprised at how long the ice cream actually stayed solid.

The garnishes on the plate consist of artistic swoops and dots of mango coulis, a small dusting of cocoa powder and a thin line of coconut flakes on the edge of the plate.  I wish I could find the words to describe the taste of this dish, but none seem to do it justice.  This would be my favorite dessert of the week.

Dessert #2…Mariage Carotte et Manque, un Soupcon de Noisette

 

I have to admit, I was very skeptical about this dessert when first discussed.  After all, pairing carrot and mango weren’t exactly two flavors I ever thought would go together.  However, I was presently surprised by the combination.

The squares on the plate are made of hazelnut daiquoise, an air leavened light cake.  On top of the cake is piped lines of sweet carrot cream.  Alternating circles of candied carrot and mango top the cream and a small square of carrot thin is placed in the corners.  I found that the carrot thin was a bit too sticky and got stuck in your teeth easily, so perhaps it stayed out at room temperature too long and took on too much humidity before plating.

The large circles on the plate are a reduction of carrot juice and sugar, while the small circles are mango coulis we had left over from the previous dessert.  The sorbet for this dish was mango carrot.  This made the dish for me.  I could have eaten a whole bowl of just the sorbet.  The sweetness of the mango paired with just a hint of carrot was an amazingly refreshing combination.  And, of course, our sable cookie kept it from melting into a pile of goo.

Last plated dessert…Arlettes aux Poires, Crème Brulee Vanille Bourbon, Eclats de Marrons Confit et Glace a L’Huile D’Olive du Domaine Lagarance

 

Aesthetically speaking, I thought this was the most interesting looking dessert of the week.  However, I found the syrupiness a little overwhelming for me, and I couldn’t finish it.  The juice of the pears seemed to dominate the rest of the elements.  Still, the half that I was able to eat was yummy.

The main part of the dessert is layer upon layer of all kinds of goodness.  The base is an arlette, or a piece of puff pastry rolled very thin, dredged in powdered sugar and baked until crunchy.  These were divine even on their own.  The outer edges of the base arlette were lined with pear rounds which had been caramelized in brown sugar.  In the middle of the pears was placed a thin line of frozen crème brulee.  A confit of chopped chestnuts was placed on either side of the crème brulee and then a layer of sweet vanilla cream was piped to fill in all the gaps.  This was topped with another arlette and the same layering as the base, but without the crème brulee this time.  Finally, the dessert was topped with a final arlette, a thin line of powdered sugar, dollop of sweet vanilla cream and a half a chestnut.

The ice cream on this plate was an olive oil ice cream.  This was my favorite part of the dessert.  The olive oil gave the ice cream a dimension I’d never really experienced before.  It really got me excited about experimenting with ice creams when I get back home.  

Also on the plate were thin lines of pear coulis outlining the dessert, a small dab of cocoa powder and (of course) our sable cookie resting under the ice cream.

One more thing…The Game

So by Thursday, we had completed all the desserts above.  This gave us Friday with an “open day”.  Chef told us on Thursday that he was planning a game for us on Friday, so I went into class with much anticipation about what he had in store.

When we arrived in class on Friday, chef told us we would be crafting our own mini dessert, which had to be plated.  He wanted the dessert itself inside a small glass but presented on a plate.  This is the type of dessert that is commonly served before the actual dessert in a gastronomic restaurant in France.  Yes, they have two…well rather almost three…desserts.  But more on the “full course meal of the French” later.

His only requirement other than the size of the dish is that we utilized left over poached pears we had in the kitchen.  That was to be the fruit and focus of the dessert, but other than that we had free reign.  Awesome!  I spent the first bit of time exploring the kitchen to find things I thought would work well with the pears, but still things I could play with.  I didn’t want to try any new techniques, but I did want to experiment with flavors we hadn’t done already that week.  After all, here was a golden opportunity to play.  I took full advantage and came up with this beauty…

 

In the glass, you have layers of pistachio biscuit, chopped poached pears mixed with peanut and pecan brittle and coffee cream.  A thin strip of chocolate garnishes the top of the glass.  Peanut and pecan brittle lines the plate where alternating squares of poached pear and chocolate discs serve as the garnish.

Chef thought the design of my plate was good, although it lacked sauce which he didn’t like.  He also applauded my efforts to try new flavors, but thought I had incorporated one too many ingredients.  His suggestion was to get rid of the addition of coffee and flavor the cream with a spice that was found in the poaching liquid.  Strangely enough, I had thought of doing that, but thought it would done by others and I wanted to be different.  Overall I was pleased with how my mini dessert came out and look forward to being able to play this game again!

Of course Chef whipped up a mini dessert of his own, utilizing only about a fourth of the time we had and came up with this little masterpiece.

 

Ok, so I admit I asked for him to do it, but I’m glad I got to see what a really pastry chef can come up with…and in only 40 minutes.  One day, I will get there!!

Can you believe we’ve been here a month???

The Wonderful World of Chocolate

Early last week my little one had a very big milestone in her life.  She watched, and instantly became hooked on, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.  I’m talking about the original…the one with Gene Wilder where the screen play was actually written by the same man who wrote the book…not the other one.  She loved it!  Why wouldn’t she?  And it totally got me in the mood for chocolate week in class!

From the first time I tempered chocolate in culinary school, chocolate quickly became one of my favorite things to work with.  I think it’s because you really have to know what you’re doing to work with it successfully.  Not just anyone can melt down chocolate and turn it into something beautiful.  It was a challenge for me.  And I fell in love. 

This week was like a little piece of home invaded school in France.  I thought back to the first time I worked with chocolate and how I got it in places that didn’t even make since.  I thought of my favorite pastry teacher from AICH telling us that chocolate wasn’t messy, we were.  I thought of the countless hours I spent practicing truffles for competition.  I thought of the extreme relaxation that come over me whenever I stand in front of a marble slab covered in melted chocolate and mold it into something wonderful.  I thought of all the smiles those little pieces of heaven have brought to people.  This was going to be a good week.   

Now, I may have been slightly spoiled for the week when it comes to working with chocolate.  You see, my chosen area of the kitchen is to work in the back corner on top of a marble covered refrigerator.  That’s right; my table of choice is made out of cooled marble.  What a perfect spot for tempering chocolate.  My colleagues often joke that I’m the only one in the class that hasn’t moved or changed spots in our three weeks.  But if you know me, you know I’m a creature of habit.  And when I find something good, I stay put.  My new partners can come to me.  Check out the marvelous creations I made this week.

1848 – A chocolate bar found in France.  Our pastry chef told us it was one of his favorites, so he figured out how to make it on his own.  It’s a combination of milk chocolate flavored with peanut praline (also made fresh) and then coated in gold luster dust to give it an appearance of being a gold block.  Oh yes!

 

Après Saison – This green striped chocolate actually has two layers on the inside.  The bottom layer is a raspberry pate de fruit (a candy with a jelly like consistency) and the top is a white chocolate verbena ganache.  Verbena is an herb that I learned about this week.  Slightly citrus, slightly herbaceous, altogether fabulous!

 

Ardechois – Roasted chestnut and rum ganache coated with dark chocolate.  A small milk chocolate line serves as garnish.  Yum!

And last but certainly not least…

 

Sucette Cachuete et Caramel au Beurre Sale – In other words, the best Reece’s Peanut Butter Cup you’ve ever had…one a stick!  These lollipops of wonderfulness are filled with a salted caramel and peanut butter ganache with a few caramelized peanuts in there for surprise.  No surprise these were my favorites.  You can’t beat chocolate and peanut butter. 

 

This weekend we explore a nearby town.  So how was it...

Pastries, Cakes and Tarts…Oh My!

Week two in pastry class proved to be much “sweeter” than the first.  I love that my chef takes classic French recipes and puts a modern, creative twist on them.  Plating is everything but traditional, making the dessert look new and inventive.  We can use our creativity to design the decorations of our desserts to fit our own esthetic so everyone’s looks just a little bit different.  Although there haven’t been any elements yet that I’m completely new too, the way we are putting them together is new and interesting.  Definitely giving my pastry chops a leg up.  Three main yummies for you to feast your eyes on this week.

 “St. Honore” – Caramel Beurre Sale et Chocolat, Choux au Praline



 

Eclairs a la Cerise Griotte

 

 

And my favorite of the week…Tarte “Bourdaloue” au Vin Chaud

 

Although this tart may look complicated, it’s really a simple dessert to make.  It’s the fancy décor that amps up the simplicity of the tart to become a real professional show piece to sell in any French patisserie.  Here’s what it looked like coming out of the oven.

YUM!  I could have eaten it right then and there.  The smells of the roast pear coming out of the oven really reminded me to mulled wine…and Christmas…so here’s a new Christmas dessert to add to your table this year.  Keep it simplistic or bump up the décor and get compliments for more than just the flavor.  Start by making the crust:

 Pate Sucree

150 g butter; cut into small cubes
95 g powdered sugar; sifted
30 g almond powder (this can simply be sliced almonds ground to within an inch of their life)
pinch salt
56 ¼ g whole eggs
250 g flour; sifted

1-      In a Kitchen Aid mixer with paddle attachment, mix butter, powdered sugar, almond powder and salt until creamy. 
2-      Add egg and mix to incorporate.
3-      Add flour and mix to incorporate.  Be careful not to over mix the mixture at this point or your crust will come out chewy and not crunchy.
4-      Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Almond Cream

100 g almond powder
100 g sugar
100 g butter; cut into small cubes
100 g whole eggs
 
1-      In a Kitchen Aid mixer with paddle attachment, mix all ingredients except eggs until creamy.
2-      Add eggs and beat until the mixture has doubled in volume.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

Red Wine Poached Pears

130 g sugar
1 bottle red wine
½ cinnamon stick
½ orange; zested
½ lemon; zested
1000 g pears; peeled, left whole

1-      Add all ingredients except the pears to a large sauce pot.  Bring to a boil.  Flambé to burn off alcohol.
2-      Add pears.  Reduce heat so that the liquid stays at a gentle simmer.  Weigh the pears down so that they stay submerged.  Simmer until the pears are fork tender.

To finish your tart:

1-      Roll your tart dough out into a 9 inch round tart pan.  This recipe will give you enough dough to do one large tart with enough left over to do 1-2 mini tarts as well if you would like.

2-      Remove the pears from the poaching liquid and cut into small dice.  If desired, use circle cutters to cut out shapes in the pears and reserve for garnish.
3-      Blind bake the tart dough at 160 degrees Celsius for 8-10 minutes, turning halfway through the cooking process.  You don’t want your crust to brown during this process.
4-      Once your crust has cooled, put a thin layer of almond cream in the bottom of the tart.  Layer the diced pear on top of the almond cream.  Top with a layer of almond cream to cover the pears.  Top with sliced almonds.
5-      Bake at 160 degrees Celsius until the tart reaches a brown caramel color.  Allow to cool, decorate as desired or serve as is.
 
Coming up…our first weekend away adventure!