French Regional Cuisine

I wasn't very excited last week with the prospect of five days of French regional cuisine up ahead. Almost everything we have learned so far has been French cooking, so my goal was to get through the week because next week we start Italian regional cuisine which sounds much more exciting.

Although I have been to France a couple of times, I clearly had no idea how varied and exciting regional cooking in France can be. Each region has a distinctive cuisine which shows heavy influence from bordering countries and commitment to using local and seasonal ingredients.

Brittany and Normandy:

Homard à l'Américaine

These two regions are found in the northwestern part of France. Brittany has a huge coastline and is well known for its seafood, especially Belon oysters. In class we made a the famous dish Lobster à l'Américaine, which in case you were wondering, has nothing to do with Americans. The name comes from the bastardization of the region which is known as Armorica in the Celtic dialect spoken in Brittany.

Souffles d’Alencon en Timbales

The cuisine of Normandy is heavily dependent on milk, cream, and butter. The region is known for its exceptional dairy products which include many famous soft ripened wash-rind cheese such as Camembert, Brie, Explorateur, and Pont l'Eveque. To celebrate the wonderful dairy products found in Normandy, we made a twice baked cheese soufflé which was light, fluffy, and incredibly addicting.

Cotes de Porc Normande

Brittany and Normandy are the only two regions of France that do not produce wine. What they do produce is hard cider and an apple brandy called Calvados. Because of the abundance of dairy and apples, any dish prepared à la Normande will have a cream sauce made with cider. In class we pan-fried pork chops and then baked them with cream sauce and apples.

Alsace, Lorraine, and Champagne:

On our second day of French regional cuisine we traveled to northeastern France. This region, which currently borders Germany, and has been under German rule many times in the past really reflects Germanic heartiness in its cuisine.

Choucroute Garni

The most famous Alastian dish, which we tried to recreate in class, is made with sauerkraut, potatoes, and sausages. Lorraine is well known for is quiche, which is made with eggs, cream, and bacon and Champagne is famous for the sparkling wine produced in the region. The whole region is also well known for its patés, terrines, foie gras, fruit preserves, and savory tarts.

Tarte aux Pommes de Terre

In class we made two tarts. Both were delicious but the first was too rich for my taste. It was filled with layers of potato, hard boiled egg, bacon, and cream. The other tart, which I would definitely make again, was kind of like pizza topped with white sauce, caramelized onions, and bacon.

Tarte Flambée

Midi:

This is the southwest region of France and it gets its name from the French word for noon because the sun is so intense during that time. The regional cuisine of this area is influenced by the Basque region of Spain, which it borders, and Roman influence that has remained since the time of the Roman empire.

Salad of Duck Confit with Red Cabbage, Chestnuts, and Watercress

The duck confit salad we made in class does a good job of highlighting well known items from the region, such as duck and chestnuts. As amazing as this salad was to eat, I don't think I would have the patience to make it at home. The word confit just means something preserved in its own fat but the process of making a confit took two days. On the first day we trimmed the duck legs of excess fat, cured them with salt, and pressed them overnight to squeeze out excess moisture. The fat was melted, strained, and saved for the next day. After curing, we scraped off all the salt and cooked the the duck legs really, really slowly in the fat we had purified the day before. When the meat was almost to the point of falling off the bone we place it into storage containers and completely covered the legs with fat. At this point, the confit could have been stored in the refrigerator for months but we used it to make our salad.

Cassoulet

Another well known dish of the midi region is cassoulet, named after the casserole dish that it is traditionally cooked in. It is a hearty meat and white bean stew with the type of meats varying from city to city. In Toulouse it is made with lamb and sausage, while in in Castelnaudary it is made with pork rind and lots of garlic. We made ours with lamb, sausage, salt pork, and duck confit. It was definitely my favorite dish of the week.

Provence:

Provence is in the southeastern part of France and is located on the Mediterranean sea. The typical Mediterranean climate plus the fact that Provence shares a border with Italy greatly influences this regions cuisine. Elements such as garlic, olives, olive oil, basil, lavender, shallots, and honey are used to prepare simple foods with tons of flavor.

Provençale Stuffed Vegetables

In class we made stuffed mushrooms, tomatoes, and zucchini which tasted very Italian (probably because everything was topped with a generous handful of Parmesan cheese). We also made a bourride which is pretty much the same thing as bouillabaisse, the famous fish stew of Marseilles. As far as I can tell, the main difference is that a bourride doesn't use rockfish and is topped with aioli for extra flavor.

Bouridde

At the beginning of culinary school I made a commitment to try everything at least once with an open mind. As much as shellfish creep me out, I have at least tasted everything we have made. However, at this point, I can safely say that I do not like shellfish. Luckily I had a friend over for dinner the day we made bourride and he said it turned out pretty well.

Burgundy and Lyon:

Lyon is known as the gastronomic capital of France. It is surrounded by incredible ingredients such as Charolais beef, and Bresse poultry, as well as fantastic wines from Burgundy. The salad we made in class was good but it was nothing special. It is the combination of high quality ingredients and good cooking techniques that produce the extraordinary food of Lyon.

Salad Lyonnaise with Warm Vinaigrette

Of course we couldn't leave Burgundy with out making its signature dish, Beouf Bourguignon. I remember thinking, "what could be so special about a beef stew?" when I was watching the movie Julie and Julia. It turns out that when it's made with good ingredients and lots of love, a simple beef stew can be very special. I will definitely be making it again soon.

Boeuf Bourguignon

Eat With Your Eyes

Food presentation is almost as important as food preparation. No matter how delicious something actually is, if it looks bad my opinion of how it tastes will be tainted. Color, balance, shape, texture, temperature, and flavor all contribute to the instantaneous judgments we make about food. Which is why our last week of class was devoted to learning about food styling and plate design.

Sautéed Halibut with Warm Vinaigrette

Sautéed Sea Scallops with Parsnip Sauce, Braised Cabbage Chiffonade, and

Pommes Maxime

As a class, the majority of our day was spent preparing mise en place for our plates which required a ridiculous amount of time consuming components. This is not the type of cooking I would attempt at home. Even with 16 people working furiously for four hours, we were only able to produce one appetizer, a first course, and a second course each day. Don't get me wrong. Plating is fun, but these recipes are way too much work for a home kitchen.

Tuna Carpaccio with Horseradish Mayonnaise, Micro-greens, and Fried Capers

Sautéed Arctic Char with Citrus Vinaigrette, Mediterranean Salad, and

Fines Herbes Oil

Overall, This week was exactly what I imagined culinary school would be like before I started. Everyone in the class was in charge of one component of one dish. Over the course of the week I fried capers, made a horseradish mayonnaise, roasted vegetables to make timbales, and prepared a tomato coulis.

Sautéed Quail Breasts with Sweetbread Marmalade, Cranberry Sauce, and

Foie Gras Bread Pudding

Venison Medallions with Chestnut-Red Wine Reduction, Butternut Squash and

Pine Nut Relish, and Wild Mushroom Gratin

After about three hours of preparation and cleaning, everything was laid out on tables, like in a cooking show on the food network, and we were given half an hour to cook and plate all three dishes. It was fun because I only had to prepare a few things, but I still got to cook and plate everything!

On the first day my plates didn't look very good and I spent so much time trying to fix them that by the time I presented my food, it was cold. In general I consider myself an artistic person, but I just don't have an eye for plating. Nevertheless, this week was about learning and my plating techniques did improve with practice.

Sea Scallops with Grapefruit Vinaigrette, Baby Mizuna Salad, and Tobiko

Sautéed Tournedos of Beef with Truffle Sauce, Roasted Fingerling Potatoes,

Sugar Snap Peas, and Yellow Snap Beans

Walking around the kitchen and looking at everyones plates before they were destroyed by hungry forks and shoveled into takeout containers was an interesting way to see how my classmates think. Their were the minimalists who highlighted one ingredient on their plate with a carefully placed garnish and other people who crowded their plates with way too much food. Their were people who didn't take the time to wipe the rim of their plate with a damp cloth and others who patiently created a pattern with drops of herb oil in a citrus vinaigrette. Overall, I was shocked by how different the same food can look when it is plated by two different people.

Roulade of Magret with with Spinach and Foie Gras, Braised Cipollini

Onions, and Wild Rice

Roasted Vegetable Timbales with Goat Cheese, Micro-greens, Parmesan

Tuiles, and Beet Vinaigrette

Breakfast + Lunch = Brunch

Every time I try to make an omelet at home I end up eating scrambled eggs. Not that there is anything wrong with scrambled eggs, but in school we had to learn how to make omelets. A good French omelet is a perfectly rolled cylinder without a skin and without any brown spots. The eggs should be creamy, not rubbery, and any filling should be cook separately and only added when the eggs are almost done.

French Omelets

Based on my very limited experience, it seems like the key to a perfect omelet is a non-stick pan that is at just the right temperature, lots of clarified butter, and good hand-eye coordination. The consequences of having too much heat, too little heat, not using enough butter, and failing to flip the eggs properly are all too apparent above. Considering the fact that I only managed to make one acceptable omelet, I don't think I am qualified to tell you any more.

Frittata

Compared to the intricacies of making a good omelet, making a frittata is a piece of cake. The filling of a frittata is cook first. The eggs are poured over the filling, the pan is covered with a lid, and the eggs cook slowly over low heat. When the eggs are cooked through, the top of the frittata is browned under the broiler. Unlike an omelet, a frittata is served in slices because it is usually made to serve multiple people.

Eggs Benedict

My new favorite food to eat for breakfast is eggs benedict (unless I'm at Angelo's in Ann Arbor in which case I will most definitely be getting a spinach feta omelet). Nothing compares to the satisfaction of breaking the yolk of a poached egg and watching the intense yellow ooze out and mingle with the creamy goodness of hollandaise sauce. The only problem with eggs benedict is the hollandaise sauce which will go bad if it sits around for too long after being made. As a personal rule, I never order anything with hollandaise if I don't know and trust the restaurant I am eating in because it's just too easy to mess up. The best way to ensure your eggs benedict is perfect is to make it yourself!

In addition to learning how to cook eggs, eggs, and more eggs during our lesson on breakfast foods, we also made pancakes, waffles, French toast, oatmeal, grits, granola, and a muesli parfait. It was a nice change to eat normal breakfast foods for breakfast instead of the steak and pork chops that I usually have, but my euphoria was short lived because I went home and found that I had nothing to eat for dinner. I am so used to living off of the food that we make at school that I rarely go grocery shopping for anything other than yogurt and bananas. It's okay though, because the next day was all about salads, which is a really good thing considering the lack of vegetables in my diet.

Composed Salads

When I hear the word salad the image that usually comes to mind is green lettuce topped with raw vegetables and tossed with dressing. Going beyond my limited imagination into the realm of composed salads was a lot of fun. A well planned salad can be a delicious meal and although we generally think of salads as being healthy, there is no rule saying that they have to be. On the left if the classic Cobb Salad which is drowning in bacon and blue cheese. In the middle is that Parson's Garden Salad which is topped with poached quail eggs, fried carrots, and fried celery root, and on the right is the Tuna Niçoise Salad.

Tea Sandwiches (Smoked Salmon, Egg Salad, Deviled Ham)

I think sandwiches are pretty self explanatory. I don't usually take the time to make a sandwich with more than two ingredients (namely peanut butter and jelly), but our lesson on sandwiches felt like a challenge to use my imagination. Once I make the decision to be creative, the hardest part is narrowing down my choices because there is such a wide variety of sandwiches out there: tea sandwiches, open face sandwiches, hot sandwiches, and cold sandwiches.

Open Face Sandwiches (Tuna Salad, Shrimp, Curried Chicken)

Of all the sandwiches we made, my favorite was the curried chicken salad sandwich. It wasn't a very complicated recipe and it was definitely something I would make at home. Although the next time I make it, it wont be as an open face sandwich on top of a toasted baguette. Instead, I think I would like to eat it on soft slices of whole wheat or nutty multi-grain bread. Here is the recipe adapted from Garde Manger: The Art and Craft of the Cold Kitchen from the Culinary Institute of America.

Curried Chicken Salad

1/2 lb cooked chicken meat, cut into small cubes

2 stalks celery, cut into small cubes

1 red delicious apple, peeled and cut into small cubes

4 oz cashews, toasted

6 fl oz mayonnaise

1 tbs curry powder

Salt and pepper, to taste

• Combine every and mix well
• Serve with a couple pieces of lettuce on sliced bread

Warm Sandwiches (Reuben, Grilled Chicken, Croque Monsieur)

I can't believe it, but that was the end of module two. A few more weeks and I'm going to be half way through the program. Last week we had a lecture on preparing resumes and writing cover letters because it's already time to start looking for an externship.

Coming up next is a week of plate design and presentation.