The Last Term: Superior Cuisine

It’s only been a week and a half since school started, but it feels like we never left.  The transition between intermediate and superior has been almost seamless.  Half of my practical group is different, but I think the slight change in dynamic has been for the better.  We work together well and watch out for one other better than before. I feel more comfortable and at ease this term than I ever have before, which has allowed me to really enjoy and relish the little time I have left in school.  I know this blissful calm is bound to change, as we will soon start to prepare for our final exam, which is to create a two course meal under three and a half hours. I haven’t yet started to feel the pressure in the kitchen, but outside of school the stress level has definitely started to build up.  Not only is the exam less than two months away, but I’m nervous about my next stage (especially after my last experience!), what I want to do after, and where I can/want to go when I leave France.  I feel myself getting lost in my thoughts and even being plagued by them through my dreams, but I’ve made a resolution to try and take things one day at a time.  I can only do my best right now, which is how I can prepare for tomorrow, and then everything that comes after.  It’s a big year ahead, and although I’m a little scared, I’m also extremely excited and curious to see how things unfold. I’m sure it won’t all be sunshine and roses, but I’m hoping that it’s at least a bit interesting.

Anyhow, back to school and what I’ve been cooking.  Superior is definitely more fun and varied than intermediate.  So far, we haven’t cooked with the same protein twice, which is quite different from last term.

Lesson 1: Effeuillée de Saint-Pierre aux Épices Rouges, Riz Sauvage aux Fruits Exotiques

John Dory fillet with red spices, and wild rice with tropical fruits.  To be honest, I’m sick of eating French food, or rather, the French food I make at school, but this recipe I gobbled right up.  I’m a sucker for anything mango and I love weird wholesome grains, so this dish was right up my alley.  It was also a good “transition-back-into-the-kitchen-after-a-two-month-break” recipe, because it wasn’t too complicated, but still complicated enough with all the different garnishes.

Lesson 2: Côtes D’Agneau Poêlées Maintenon, Gratin de Blettes Et Chips de Pommes Vitelotte

Pan-fried lamb chops Maintenon style, with a swiss chard gratin, and purple potato crisps.  When I had first signed up for basic cuisine, one of my friends who had already completed the whole diploma told me that it would only be worth it if I continued through superior because that’s when students are given higher end ingredients.  She was right.  At lesson two, we’re already dealing with truffles (even though they’re not fresh and the amount we’re given was less than what our measuring scales could detect!).

Lesson 3: Bar en Croûte Façon Coulibiac, Tomates Farcies

Sea bass in a coulibiac style crust, tomatoes stuffed with cheese. I like it when we make some kind of dough, because it gets me in touch with my pastry side.  Something about kneading and rolling a cushiony round of glutenous carb makes me happier than dealing with fish scales flicking me in the face.   However, I really need to practice filleting sea bass at home because I had a lot of trouble doing so during this practical.

Lesson 4: Caille Et Ris De Veau Aux Shiitakes et Choux De Bruzelles Glacés

Quail and veal sweetbreads with shiitake mushrooms and glazed Brussels sprouts. I thought the emotionally hardest protein to work with was the rabbit, but it’s actually this one.  Doesn’t it look so peaceful and sound asleep on this little bed of onions?

Nope, this quail is dead. It’s more awful than the rabbit, because at least the rabbit is fully skinned.  It’s also surprisingly easier, on the emotional level, to deal with a severed rabbit’s head than a feathery, beak-y bird’s.  Touching the bird heads definitely made me scream a little.

But this is what came out of it.  I actually think it looks quite cute and adorable.  I love anything mini.

Lesson 5: Chartreuse De Homard Aux Agrumes Confits, Jus Mousseux

Lobster chartreuse with candied orange and lemon, and a frothy jus. Also another emotionally difficult one. Last time we cooked with live lobster we split it’s head open, this time we boiled it alive.  It seems brutal and I can see why people turn vegetarian and vegan, but I still believe in eating meat/fish, as long as it’s done in a respectful way.  It’s a touchy issue and not one that I’m totally fluent in, so I’ll just leave it at that.

The dish, however, turned out beautiful, which I think made this lobster’s death seem dignified.