Archive for the French Category

There was something special when reading about Julia Child’s life, which I have been interested in, over the past several 8-9 years. Before she had a cooking show courtesy of WBGH in Boston, she ran herself a little cooking school in France with two friends. It was called Ecole des 3 Gourmandes, and as the movies and books will tell you, they educated home cooks in France.

My own creativity finds many outlets, from writing in blogs like this one, to making new sounds on the piano, and yes, my creativity has more recently flowered in the kitchen. A dream of mine would to take on Julia’s early profession, and host cooking classes. Think about what folks like Patricia Wells is doing now, between her home in Provence (using Julia Child’s own oven), and in Paris. She of course has far more skill and culinary experience than I have - which is why she can command 4-figure fees for students who come from the US and beyond to cook with her.

But it isn’t too soon to start thinking about what you’d like to do in retirement, is it? Or if you lose your job?

Tonight’s dinner was one such example, a compromise even.

“You like steak. I am not hungry, I only want a salad.”

Steak salad.

The big flavor profiles were from the dressing, crumbled blue cheese, and red onions. A really delicious heirloom tomato was in the mix too, with baby salad greens and herbs.

I seared a filet mignon in a frying pan in bacon grease (to use up two last strips of Applewood-smoked bacon, and use them in the salad), until about 115 degrees in the center. It later rested, before being carved into thin strips.

The dressing was made by reducing 2 parts beef stock to 1 part balsamic vinegar with thyme in a saucepan. When it gained some body and thickness, I let it cool, then whisked in a little grainy Dijon-style mustard and EVOO. It emulsified great, and had a great depth of flavor, including a savory sweetness. Dress the greens with this, and reserve some to anoint the pieces of steak on the salad.

Back to my original theme here… it’s simply a lot of fun to share your creativity with others. I find that in everything I do.

On a recent trip to the nation’s capital, we had the opportunity to dine at an attractive time at Citronelle by Michel Richard.

We’ve yet to see Chef Richard there in the kitchen, but this was a second trip; our first is quite memorable and well-regarded. This time around, there were some signature repeats, and many new touches.

We opted for the tasting menu, called Le Promenade Gourmande, since we sat down at 6 PM. We had the time.

• Amuse of seafood, oyster shooter and salmon tartare
• Split Pea Soup, Coteccino
• Virtual Calamari Risotto with Lobster and Crab
• Halibut in Lobster Broth
• Lobster Burger with Chips fried in Clarified Butter
• Lamb chop, in jalapeño-cumin sauce
• Short Rib, braised 60 hours
• Cheese course with Shiraz
• Egg-ceptional Lemon Meringue
• Pear Vacherin with Muscat de Beaumes de Venise 2007
• Petit Fours

The amuse arrived at the table, lit dramatically with a special plate embedded with LEDs. My beloved companion thought it was tacky, I liked it. This was an outstanding dish, the shooter included a cucumber water that was bright green and ever refreshing.

The pea soup had thin slices of an Italian pork sausage, and it perfumed the dish. Salty and scrumptious.

The Calamari risotto reminded me of the dish done at Town House in Chilhowie, but this was so much better. Other seafood added texture, and the “sauce” that made up the risotto was deeper in flavor.

The halibut was disappointing; the sauce was to die for, but the fish, as the first time, comes across a little too dry. At this point, the portions are getting larger, and in retrospect, I could have skipped this course. But give me that sauce in a thermos anytime.

The lamb was so succulent, so well-cooked. The sauce was intriguing. Again, the portion was generous. Getting… full.

The short rib is cooked sous vide for anywhere between 40-70 hours (each time, you’ll hear different lengths, I think it depends on the day). This is a delicious piece of meat.

The cheese course was nice, but again, with a full stomach, I could have saved this for another day. Their bleu was the star, reminiscent of chocolate!

The star dessert was the lemon meringue which was stuffed into a white-chocolate shell, to look like an egg. Whimsical, delicious. White chocolate and lemon curd = a good match!

The pear was another meringue creation, this time dried out, and painted with food dye powders. It was really beautiful, and I loved cracking the shell to see what was inside. This was visually stunning.

Petits fours = eh, I could have skipped this. I was over-stuffed.

Kathryn Morgan did an excellent job with wine pairings, although nothing compared to the Turley Zinfandel they served the last time I was there. The most outstanding was the 2004 Margaux, from Chateau Rauzan-Gassies.

Both times we’ve compared this to The French Laundry. Keller’s restaurant beats Citronelle on service, I think, which isn’t to say we weren’t served well at Citronelle. But everything at the FL had less personality, I have to say. The food was outstanding, but it lacked rough edges or punches. The flavors offered from Chef Deshaies menu at Citronelle simply seemed amplified. Flavors are more robust, more extrovert.

And the FL doesn’t offer wine pairings.

This is serious eating with serious prices - but for a special occasion, it’s still in top form, I think. Take two courses out (the halibut and cheese), and package to-go those little sweet snacks at the end, and I think you’d shore up a long promenade into even more perfect meal.

If sitting for 3.5 hours through 10 courses seems like torture, the other entrées which come in larger portions looked very appetizing.

Citronelle is located in the basement of the Latham Hotel in Georgetown, at 3000 M Street NW. Recommended!

Eric Ripert made crepes on his Saturday show, Avec Eric, and so the stage was set. But while he made the familiar Suzette variety, I went for a Nutella-filled, strawberry topped one.

I followed the recipe for Dorie Greenspan’s sweet crepes, which includes a little rum and the zests from lemon and orange. I tried first using 50/50 buckwheat and A/P flour, but those didn’t turn out, so I made the recipe again.

The key towards using my crepe pan successfully is to get it hot. Those little brown marks on the crepes give them character and the right texture!

I smeared a little Nutella chocolate-hazelnut spread inside each one, before folding them into triangles. The strawberries were macerated in a sugar-Cointreau mixture for 5 hours in the refrigerator before cooking the mixture down, with a little extra sugar and a tab of butter. I added a little lemon juice, which helped balance the richness of the chocolate with the berries.

With a new crepe pan in the house, I wanted to try the so-called crepe cake I’ve been reading about for several years. You basically make a mound of crepes, each layer filled with something… pastry cream, chocolate, etc. But that’s a lot of crepes, and the desire for simplicity set in.

Crèpes Suzette again it would be.

I used a crepe recipe which called for:

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup flour
• 3 Tbsp. melted butter
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• flavorings (in this case, it asked for spirits and lemon zest)

While David Rosengarten suggests letting your batter sit for 30 minutes, the more re-knowned baker Dorie Greenspan suggests hours if not a full 8! So, I made this batter in the morning in the blender, and let it sit in the refrigerator. I buzzed it again before making my crepes in the evening.

I like buckwheat, so I actually pulled back just a few Tbsp. on the flour and replaced the wheat with buckwheat.

I made the crepes in advance, separating them with sugar, as per Greenspan’s suggestion. It worked.

This new pan is not “non-stick,” which means they don’t stick, but they also don’t slide.

You try and cover an even layer. About medium heat was good for this small pan.

Once the first side browns and it begins to dry, I used an offset spatula to flip them over. Be prepared to use your fingers.

I don’t use a recipe for the sauce, as it’s been in my repertoire since the 1990s. I start with making a caramel with white, vanilla-infused sugar.

Next, break the caramel with your favorite orange juice, and when reduced, add your favorite orange spirit of choice. Crank it.

Mount in butter like a mad man until you get your consistency… then add in the folded crepes to sauce and warm.

Garnish as you like; the sweet sauce is well-offset with the tartness of fresh raspberries.

Bon appétit!

If you have ever watched Top Chef Masters on BravoTV, you’ll know that the guest judges do things differently than on the related series which just completed another great season, Top Chef. The judges rate the dishes with a number of stars, and choices are made more objectively, by adding up stars based one each dish.

Folks like Gael Greene will say with great drama “simply a delight, 4 stars…” and then they go to another judge, who might award the dish “5 stars, I can’t imagine anything better…” and while these are being announced, the stars and the addition takes place magically on our screens. When I have our friends over, I usually do a 3-course meal, an appetizer, entrée, and dessert. Last night I decided to step things up, as I wanted to challenge myself. One of the challenges was offering a fourth course.

And after each one, I asked them for their ratings. With your friends, it’s more difficult, because I think they don’t want to hurt your feelings. But if you take a 5-star system, 4 raters (including myself), and an “80” as a perfect score, I earned a “68.” Incidentally, I was the most harsh of the critics, offering “3s” where others were giving away “4.5”s.

Menu

• 1^er: Asperges à la hollandaise et tomates rôties
• 2^ième: Oeufs à l’italienne
• 3^ième: Cuisses de poulet Marengo
• 4^ième: Gâteau mousse au chocolat à Roustang

Aspereges

I used a typical recipe here, asparagus with Hollandaise sauce (lemon, egg yolk, and butter with parsley), but the sourness of the lemon juice was counterbalanced here by using oven-roasted tomatoes. The tomatoes were mixed with EVOO, some balsamic vinegar, and a paste of 4 cloves of garlic with salt. This went over very well, and received 4- and 5-star ratings.

Ouefs

This dish was the least successful of the bunch, and I blame it on my own cooking methodology; I followed no recipe, but tried something based on a luncheon dish I had in Paris.

The idea is, you cook eggs in a tomato sauce, and earlier in the day I made tomato sauce using Italian-style whole tomatoes with onion and garlic. Once cooled, I added fresh basil, and then put the sauce in the bottom of ramekins. This part was fine, but I only used the broiler. I should have cooked them at around 350 for 8 minutes, then pulled them out to add the panko/cheese topping. Then, use the broiler to set the cheese.

The crisp texture was there, and the runny egg yolk, but in some ramekins uncooked white remained. It won’t kill you, but it’s not so appetizing. I also might employ a less-tall vessel, a wider oven-proof dish might be better, without the depth. But the flavors were spot on. Have work to do here.

Cuisses de Poulet

In her From Around my French Table cookbook, Dorie Greenspan has a recipe for something we love, Veal Marengo. We took this stewed veal dish elsewhere, using instead chicken thighs. We think it’s a superior dish with chicken!

Wine and onions make the basis of a sauce that’s perfumed with a bouquet garni of herbs. Mushrooms and pearl onions complete the stew, colored and flavored with tomatoes. The chicken gets browned first, then is braised in the oven for only 30 minutes. This is a quick stew-type dish, and although Greenspan uses a large sauté pan for hers, I used my new Staub casserole.

Gâteau de Chocolat

This is another Greenspan recipe, borrowed from the French chef Michel Roustag. She offers three methods for making it, as it must be double-baked using two layers. Her method, however, leaves a lot to be desired.

She suggests using a springform pan on top of a Silpat. Well, honey, the batter leaks out. I would recommend you do her recipe with the bottom in (she says take it out), and line the bottom with parchment. Then, it’d be perfect.

This can be served warm or cold, but we served it warm, and it was delightful with freshly-whipped cream, a contrast in texture and temperature.

This one earned 4- and 5-stars as well. I loved getting feedback on the meal, and it’s always fun to take your French food skills further.