Learning To Cook French

More Time to Cook

2006-08-02T10:36:00.000-07:00

Well there is some good news, starting this coming Sunday August 6th, I will have more time to get back into my studies, I appologize for the "Slacking", but I was working a second job and found that took all my time up. This Saturday is my last day there, and will have more time to spend on my Blog. Please feel free to leave any comments, hope to have something for you soon... whoo hoo!!

Falling off the planet??

2006-07-17T09:42:00.000-07:00

Nope, I have not falling off the face of the planet, in case anyone was wondering, but I do appologize for not keeping up with this Blog. I wanted to let you know, that I will get back into the swing of things, I got busier with other things going on and just haven't got to create much lately. I will be back, and thanks to all that still are checking in regularly, please feel free to Comment as well, this is an interactive web page...

Pate a Choux (A Puff Pastry)

2006-02-16T13:24:00.000-08:00

Pate a Choux is a type of puff pastry that is used to make classic pastries such as Profiteroles or Eclairs. This is really a simple process and only has a few ingrediants so why not make a batch up and share with your friends and neighbors.

Ingrediants Include:

1 cup of water
1 stick of unsalted butter
1 cup of sifted flour
4 eggs

place the water and stick of butter in a sauce pan and bring up a boiling point. Add in the flour and keep stirring, it will come together quite fast. Let it cook a little bit longer while stirring. Remove from the heat and let it cool, then add the eggs one at a time and stirring it into the dough completely before adding the next one.

Now that you have the dough made, you can make Profiteroles or ....... Chocolate Eclairs which is pictured below... I will be bring this receipe to you soon.

I want to thank all of those who have been checking in with this blog, and I apologize for my lack of post. Thank you all!!

New Post Coming...

2005-12-06T09:38:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to put a quick word out to those of you that are checking in on my Blog now and again, that a new post is in works. I kinda been busy with things recently with the holidays going. I appologize and please be sure to check back.

Pumpkin Creme Brulee

2005-11-15T20:35:00.000-08:00

A little twist on a classic dessert

Since this is the time of year that squashes are in season, why not add a little to a classic dish. Creme Brulee is a baked custard dessert that is then topped with a hardened layer of burnt sugar, which is what the name of the dish means, "Burnt Sugar". This recipe will make about 2 1/2 5" ramekins, which are baked in a Bain-Marie, or water bath.

Ingrediants Include:

1 Cup Heavy Cream
Pinch of Salt (small pinch)
Pinch of Nutmeg
2 Egg Yolks
3 Tbls Sugar
1/2 Cup Pumpkin

Place the heavy cream, nutmeg and small pinch of salt in a sauce pan and heat on medium heat until it starts to just bubble a little, you don't want to boil it. While you are watching that mix the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl stir until the mixer is a pale yellow in color. Add a little bit of the cream to the yolk mixture, stir together, the poor the yolk mixture back into the pan with the rest of the cream, this technique in called "Tempering". You slowly bring the yolks up to the same temperature of the cream, then add it to the rest of the mixture, this technique prevents curdling. Now add in the pumpkin and stir together, pour through a strainer and then pour out into the ramekins.
Place the ramekins into a retangled baking dish, you can add a small towel on the bottom to prevent the ramekins for sliding around, and then place the dish on a rack in your 350 F oven, and add enough water to come at least half way up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for about an hour and 20-25 minutes until custard is just firm, cool and place into the fridge for about 3 hours to set up.
To finish either use a small kitch blow torch or your broiler and burn a thin layer of sugar on the top of the creme brulee, to make a nice hard layer of caralized sugar.

Duxelles Farci escalope de Poulet (Chicken Breast stuffed w/Duxelles)

2005-11-08T19:33:00.000-08:00

This is a dish I made last night with the Duxelles I made earlier, then kept frozen. Not totally sure if the name of the dish is correct, since I wasn't really going by a recipe, but kinda using some basics and creating a dish.

I should have mentioned in the Duxelles post, that it will reduce down alot when you are cooking it, the cup of mushrooms will not stay 1 cup of mushrooms, but more like a 1/3 of a cup.

Ingrediants Include:

2 chicken breast
1/3 Cup of Duxelles
1 Tbl Olive oil
1 1/2 Tbl Butter
2 Tbl diced shallots
1 small glove garlic
1/3 Cup of White Wine
1/3 Cup of Chicken Broth
3 Tbl Heavy Cream
Salt
Pepper

I took a skinless, boneless chicken breast and flattened it out a little using the smooth side of a meat tenderizing mallot. I first placed the chicken breast in/between some plastic wrapping, then flatten with inside out striking motions, hitting more in the center of the breast and moving to the outside edge until about 1/2 inch thick.
I then heated the Duxelles up a little and put a nice layer onto the chicken breast. Carefully roll the breast up into a log, tie shut with twine, or use toothpicks to hold the opened edge together.
In a skillet heat up 1 Tbl each of olive oil and butter on medium to med. high heat, place rolled chicken into hot pan and cook, searing all sides till chicken is completely done. Remove chicken and place on a plate to rest. Reduce heat to medium and place the remaining 1/2 Tbl of butter, shallots, garlic and saute until shallots are soft. Add wine, reduce by half, the add broth and reduce by half, finish with heavy cream and any juices from chicken and reduce to thick consistancy. Strain the sauce and place on the bottom of a plate, cut chicken in half and arrange on plate.

Duxelles

2005-10-29T13:40:00.000-07:00

Duxelles is a mixture of finely chopped mushrooms, shallots, onions and herbs that are sauted in butter. It can be used in Soups, Sauces, for Stuffing or a side Garnish. I will be making a dish with this later and posting it, but right now lets make some Duxelles.

Ingrediants Include:
1 1/2 T of butter
1 Cup of finely chopped mushrooms (I use Cremini, just wiped off with a paper towel)
1 1/2 T of finely chopped onions
3/4 T of finely chopped shallot
1/4 t of diced Rosemary
1/4 t of Thyme
1/4 t of Parsley
pinch of salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a pan on Medium heat, add the shallots and onions and saute a couple minutes. Add the mushrooms and herbs, salt and pepper and continue to saute until the moisture is cooked off. You can store this in the freezer if you are not going to use it that day.

Steak au Poivre (Peppered Steak)

2005-10-24T20:03:00.000-07:00

This dish was one of the first dishes I made, and has been the dish I've made most often so far. Very simple dish really, I suggest that you try this.

Ingredients Include:
Sirloin Steak (about 8oz)
3 T. Black Peppercorns (very coarse)
Salt
1/2 T. Butter
1/2 T. Olive Oil
1 Med Clove Garlic Minced
2 T. Brandy
1/3 to 1/2 C. Heavy Cream

Start by taking the crushed peppercorns and pressing them into the steak, give it a nice coating of pepper on both sides, dash it with some salt as well. Heat the olive oil and butter in a skillet pan (cast iron would be great for this, however I only have stainless steel, but use something oven proof), get it nice and hot and then place the steak into the pan. You want to sear the steak, creating a nice crust about 5-6 minutes on one side, flip it over and place in a 350 degree oven to finish off. Depending on how you like your steak prepared (personally I like it a little on the rare side, so i skip the oven and just cook another 5 minutes in the skillet), and depending on the thickeness of the sirloin, will determine how long to cook it in the oven. Roughly 8 min. will get you to a Med-Rare state, again depending on thickness.

When the steak is done, remove from oven and set the steak off to the side to rest, return the pan to stove over medium heat, pour in the brandy to deglaze the pan, add the garlic and heavy cream, reduce by 1/3. Stir in an juices from the steak and pour the sauce on the bottom of a plate, place the steak on top of the sauce and serve.

Storing Fresh Herbs

2005-10-17T20:30:00.000-07:00

At left is some Rosemary.

There are several ways to store fresh herbs that I have read, whether it is just picked or purchased from a super market. I am going to share with you my method for storing, one that seems to work just fine for me. Keep in mind I do this for hand picked herbs out of the garden, or the packaged herbs at the store.

I like to keep mine in a plastic freezer type bag, in the fridge with an ever slightly moisten paper towel, wrapped lightly around the herbs. I don't wash them prior to storage, but wash them prior to usage, excess moisture can start decaying or spoiling the herbs faster. I try not to keep them in the coldest part of the refrigerator either, but like in the vegetable crisper or a shelf just above the crisper, but not in the back where it tends to be cooler. Keep each herb separate and the freezer bags marked clearly. They should last about a week and a half maybe 2 if you keep a check on them. Well that is it for this post, hope you find this helpful.

Typical "Keep on Hand" items

2005-10-16T10:17:00.000-07:00

In beginning this study, I now like to keep several food items on hand, in the Pantry or Refridgerator. Some of these items you may already keep stocked up, but some might be new to you. As I mentioned in my first post "Bouquet Garni", there are now some Herbs that I like to keep handy, such as Fresh Thyme, Fresh Parsley, Fresh Rosemary, and Bay leaves. During the summer I actually grow some of these in a Herb Garden at home, but they are also found in the supermarket in little packages of fresh herbs. In another post, i will talk about how I actually store these herbs.

Along with regular Yellow or White and Red onions, as well as Green Onions, I like to keep Pearl Onions handy. These work great for some Dishes such as Coq Au Vin. They are very tastely little round onions that have a nice flavor, and cook up really nice. Kind of in this catagory, I also keep Shallots around, they look like a large clove of garlic, but with a little milder onion flavor.

And now just a list of other items I like to stock up on, for both savory dishes and desserts.

Mushrooms (little button, or Baby Bellas (Cremini's))
Heavy Cream
Whipping Cream
Butter (this is the obvious one, unsalted, not Margarine)
Chocolate (I like 4oz little baking bars of Bittersweet chocolate)
Nutmeg (fresh is perfered but ground is just fine)
Carrots
Celery
Garlic
Black and Green Pepper corns
Olive Oil
Red and White wines
Brandy

Well, I know I could go on and on, but then I would get into items that I am sure everyone has, so I will stop here for now. I just wanted to share with you some important ingrediants that I find I use now in French Cooking. I'm sure there are some others that I have not come across yet, but when I do, I will list them here for you to review.

My First Post : Bouquet Garni

2005-10-13T14:41:00.000-07:00

Bouquet Garni is a flavoring technique using herbs, to flavor Soups, Stews, Sauces, etc. It consists of 3 sprigs of Parsley, 1 sprig of Thyme, 1 Bay leaf (all washed and cleaned respectfully), tied together and put into the dish while cooking. I have heard of using a piece of string to tie these herbs together, but personally I like to use an extra Thyme or Parsley stem stipped of the leaves to tie all these together.