Intermediate: Chocolat
Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate.
Lesson 6: Opera
Joconde sponge cake with layers of ganache and coffee buttercream.
September 22 2010 | le cordon bleu and paris and thoughts | 13 Comments »
Archive for September, 2010
Intermediate Thus Far
Here’s a short photo summary of what’s been going on in school. Enjoy!
Lesson 1: Gateaux: Streusel & Pavé aux Amandes
The streusal consists of a puff pastry base, fromage blanc and apricot filling, and a crumble top. The pavé aux amandes is a gluten free cake made with just butter, sugar, eggs, and almond meal.
September 10 2010 | le cordon bleu and paris and thoughts | 11 Comments »
Fromage: Coulommiers
A few days ago I suddenly felt this desperate need to buy a book on fromage. I really don’t know anything about cheese except that I know I love it. I love everything from creamy camembert to stinky roquefort and even processed American cheese. However, there’s so much more I want to know, like how and where it was made, unique characteristics, and different food pairings. Learning about something makes the experience of getting to know so much better and more memorable. So I paid a visit to La Librairie Gourmade, a fantastic cookbook shop in the 2nd arrondissement, and got Le Guide des Gourmets: Fromage. It looks like a great handbook, covering not only French varieties, but also those around Europe and other parts of the world. It has a brief introduction on the history of cheese along with a good discussion of how it is made and the different categories. The text is in French, so it will take while awhile to get through that part, but at least I’ll develop a strong fromage vocabulary! So, in conjunction with my new “studies” I’m starting a fromage series on JDP. Maybe it’ll inspire some of you to try something new or find interesting cheeses in your local area!
September 03 2010 | books & cookbooks and france and fromage and paris and thoughts | 8 Comments »
