The Fundamental Things Apply, As Time Goes By.

It's still the same old story. A fight for love and glory. A case of do or die....
(Frank Sinatra- As Time Goes By)

Intermediate Lesson 02- Cabbage wraps

Our dish today is a Savory cabbage filled with salmon, served with a red wine sauce.

You'll have to imagine the salmon and fillings inside the cabbage.

The dish is pretty delicious, though I personally never liked red wine sauce. The filling consists of a perfectly cooked salmon with delicious bits of bacon, onion, celery and carrots.

The Chef (Need to figure out his name) commented that my fish and garnishes were very good, but that my sauce was too reduced. I guess I'm just always afraid that my sauce is not reduced enough because I have a history of my sauce being too liquid.

The big news today was that I cut myself again! I can count the times I cut myself during basic, but for whatever reason I am now two for two in intermediate. This time was pretty deep- I still remember the feeling of cool metal gliding into my finger, followed by blood splattering all over my uniform. Everywhere I went, there were traces of blood on the floor. I quickly tried to stop the bleeding with paper towels but to no avail even after 3 minutes. The practical brought me to the front desk to treat my wound, and the staff was debating whether they should send me to the hospital because it wouldn't stop bleeding even after a good 10 minutes. "NO!" I insisted that I was fine. "But if it's too deep, you'll need stitches!" The staff insisted.

As they debating about my fate, I started chatting with the receptionist and we discussed what kind of cut I had. She said that it was an émincer, which would imply a straight cut, but I said "nonono it's definitely an escaloper," because it was cut at an offset to my finger. I was about to undo the tape on my finger to prove my point when the debating staffs turned to me.

Ouch... please no condom jokes thank you.
I'm still bleeding after 8 hours. THISISSERIOUS!

The staff could not agree on whether I should go to the hospital, so they asked what I wanted. "Bien sûr je voudrais continuer mon cours." I reiterated. Finally they let me go back to class, where a surprised Chef greeted me in the classroom. Apparantly he already pronounced me dead, and was about to distribute my materials to the rest of the class. I swear if I came back and saw my stuff gone I would have made sure that I was not the only one bleeding. Just kidding......right.

Anyways, I discovered an unexpected benefit of being injured- I can be totally sloppy with my cuts now! Hey! The garnishes are meant to be cut burnoise, which is always the bane of my life. Seriously, I hate burnoise. But now I can cut them any way I want and just say " Mais Chef, j'ai un doigt très blessé!" Hah, nono I still cut my vegetables properly, though maybe a bit larger than required. That I blame on the fact that I lost 15 minutes fixing my finger and so I had to work faster.

At the end of the class, I thanked the Chef for taking care of me and my index finger, and he praised me for coming back to class. He even wrote in french "Had a bad injury but still returned to the classroom. Bravo!" on my grading sheet. Thanks chef. I would never miss a class for something like that. Too bad you're not British, or I'd make a Monty Python reference ("'just a flesh wound").

The key lesson from today is- despite finishing Basic Cuisine at Le Cordon Bleu, one must remember the fundamental skills and remain vigilant when cooking. I admit I was a bit sloppy in holding the celery when I cut myself. Next time, it might be more than just a deep cut. Noted, I'll do better.

To make myself feel better, I went for a late night ramen snack. Nothing makes me feel better than a bowl of noodle soup and beer.

 Now you see it.....

Quote of the day:

"Pulling out the mushroom stem is like pulling a baby teeth- you just need to rock them back and forth gently and they'll pop right off."

-Demo Chef Caals

Don't Stop Me Now! I'm Having Such A Good Time! I'm Having A Ball.

Don't Stop Me Now! If You Wanna Have A Good Time, Just Give Me A Call!
(Queen- Don't Stop Me Now)

Intermediate Lesson 01- Basque Country

I'm so excited to start my intermediate class at Le Cordon Bleu! Basic Cuisine was a blast, and I just want to keep learning more dishes and techniques.

The Cordon Bleu classes in November-December is intensive, meaning that we go more than twice the speed than the regular program. By the end of this week, we will reach lesson 10 (!). The good news is it will be over in less than four weeks. Lets hope I don't get sick or injured during this time.

Anyways, today's dish is a Basque-style Chicken Sauté.

Wham! We served the chicken

The dish incorporates some Esplette pepper, which is from the Basque region. We also served it with a pilaff rice with saffron, sautéed jambon and peppers typical of the Basque region. The bird itself was cooked sear-braised style

Perhaps it's been a long time since I've worked in a high pressure kitchen, or maybe I just suck, but I kept making mistakes in the kitchen. First mistake was I accidentally stabbed my left hand while cutting the raw chicken thigh. I've done this more than a dozen times over the last few months, so how did I screw up? Blood started gushing out and my uniform was all bloody and stained. Luckily, I had Chef Poupard as my practical chef (THANK YOU CHEF GUO FOR TELLING ME HIS NAME), who promptly brought me to the first aid section. The cut itself wasn't that deep, but he very clearly used the same level of focus to meticulously examine my cut and treated it as he used when he plated his dishes during our demonstration, which I really appreciated. This is a solidly good chef who cares about his students.

I thanked him and went back to 2GS to continue cooking. Sadly, I made more mistakes such as browning my vegetables and undercooking my chicken. Sorry chef. I hate disappointing people I look up to.

Surprisingly, Chef Poupard said my chicken was cooked perfectly (despite it being very bloody and red inside). I just don't understand French tolerance for raw meat. His feedback to me were mainly that I should have placed my chicken behind my garnishes so the round shape of the plate can compliment the shape of my chicken. Also he wanted my rice to be cooked softer. I pushed back and said said that I thought we needed our rice Al Dente, but apparently the only type of rice that we cook to Al Dente is Risotto. Everything else should be more douc, softer.

Quotes from this class:

"If I see someone using their cellphone in class..." *PAUSES... then takes out his rolling pin* "Let's just say.... " *Smashes the rolling pin on the table... SMILES* "  I'll smash it into pieces. Or it'll go into the deep fryer."

-Demo Chef Poupard

Setting ground rules on the first demonstration class of the term.

Demo Chef Poupard: How much do you think 10 grams of saffron costs?
Student1: 20 Euros!
Student2: 100 Euros!
Student3: 8 Euros!
Demo Chef Poupard: 8 Euros? Madam! *Runs over to the student and shakes her hand* I will buy 1 kilograms from you for that price and go on vacation!
Answer was around 40 Euros for 10 Grams. Higher quality saffron will cost more.