I started Desserts today. As Geoff was sick with strep throat, that left me to make buckwheat crepes-this took over an hour to make 36 of them cause they could not have any tears in them. Then once I finished that, I made a custard mixture for the rest of today's dessert. Then I MEP'ed my apples so I could make caramelized apples after our lecture. Busy, busy!
Chef Lexie talked to us today about our Practical Exam. Next Thursday, 9/23, from 8am to 9am, we will be judged on individual knife skills. We'll have a series of veggies we will need to make different cuts on, then we have to fabricate a chicken. We will have a break from 9-9:30am, then from 9:30am to 10:30am is the individual Skills Series where we will have to make mayonnaise, make pate brisee and roll the brisee out into a tart shell. From 10:30-10:45am is Class planning and Wine selection for the meal we will make for our eight judges. Even though we know the menu (and they added a LOT to our simple Basque menu), we cannot mise the day before or the morning of the skills test. At 10:45am we begin the team practical. We have to have an amuse busche done by 12:45pm, the first course at 12:55pm, an Intermet at 1:10pm, Bread at 1:20pm, the main course at 1:35pm and Dessert at 1:50pm. Not only are we going to have to bake a basque tart, but we have to bake bread AND make molded chocolates. Oh, my, a little more than we expected. Although Chef Lexie keeps telling us they would not have us do all these courses if they did not think we could do it. We will be graded as a team (all three kitchens together) for the dinner, not individually or individual kitchens. Each kitchen will serve their own dishes.
We did have a lecture today on Normandy and Brittany. These two provinces are located in the northwest portion of France. There are 350 miles of coastline, which means lots of fish and shellfish. Normandy is a land flowing with good things-butter, cheese and cream, apples with their alcohol derivatives and fish and shellfish. The province is certainly noted for its dairy products and the Normandy breed of cattle-white with pale and brown patches and brown speckles-is one of the most important in France. Calvados, the cider brandy, is produced throughout Normandy and named after the region of origin (i.e. Calvados du Contentin, Calvados du Calvados). The best comes from Auge, the the AOC Calvados Paus d'Auge. Cheaper, less refined, apple brandy must be called eau-de-vie cidre, not Calvados. Cider, of course, is the great specialty of Normandy, and has been made there since the early Middle Ages. Basically, it is made in the same way as wine, and the various different sorts are determined by the proportion of sweet, sour and acid apples used. Cidre bouche is the cider equivalent of Champagne, made by the champagne method, while cidre mousseux is slightly less sparkling.
The ancient land of Brittany was called Armor-the sea country-by the Gauls. It was colonized and converted to Christianity by Celts from Britain, who named it Little Britain, and was an independent kingdom and duchy before the union with France in 1532. Brittany is still farming country and its vegetables, particularly artichokes, cauliflowers and garlic are well known in France and abroad. The local charcuterie is of high quality, with boudins, hams, pate de campagne, andouilles, and andouillettes. The coast, especially in the south, is dotted with fishing ports, landing in a whole range of fish from sole and bass to mackerel and herring. Cotriace is the local fish stew. The Gros Plant Nantais is a white wine grown in the same area, with more bite than Muscadet but a refreshing summer drink. Coteaux d'Ancenis is a cheerful red made from the Gamay grape. However, the principal drink is cider, those from Fouesnant and Beg-meil being worth special attention.
Some of the history of these two provinces is that they were conquered back in the first century by Julius Cesar. The Romans brought oyster cultivation and salt harvesting (both found because of the long coastline). In the 15th century, the Arabs came thru and brought with them buckwheat, which took off in the region. It gave these people lots of food options and as an aside, has no gluten, which causes anything made with buckwheat to be flat. Hence, it is used for pancakes, crepes and flat bread.
After lecture, we all went back to our kitchens to finish lunch. I got to Flambe caramelized apples. I have to say I really enjoyed that part, lol! There was a photographer from the "Western Front" magazine taking all kinds of pictures. He caught one of me lighting the brandy on the gas stove. It is quite impressive! Chef Lexie and I put the crepes into a muffin tin like little cups, then piled in the caramelized apples slices, poured custard over the apples right before we baked them and put them in the oven as we sat down for lunch. Yesterday, Geoff had finished off the creme anglaise I made with a caramel sauce to make Caramel Ice Cream, which we scooped over the apple filled crepe. We made a reduction sauce out of the juice from the caramelized apples (you do them in batches to get a good color and Chef Lexie asked me to use a little extra butter and brown sugar so we would have extra "goo" to make a sauce once I finished cooking the apples) and served that on the side. I was happy to hear that everyone raved over dessert!
The first course today was a chicken Terrine made with curry and served with Puy Lentils. They did a very good job! The curry was just right and the chicken was not too dry. Hot Plate made Sole Normande with Shrimp Mousseline and Rice Pilaf. Our wine was a Muscadet as well as serving B&B (Benedictine and Brandy-a drink common to Normandy). Wow, it was all good. It will be a let down when we finish school next week and stop eating like this, lol!!
I came back to the B&B and made Banana Muffins for Carl to use for breakfast in the morning. Bailey thought they smelled delicious but couldn't place the smell. When I told her that was freshly baked Banana Muffins, she was surprised!
Now it's time to study for our exam tomorrow. I got a 98 on last week's exam! I also need to start studying for our final, that will be an overview of our entire four months, including wine. We also have the finals for our in-house Iron Chef. We have three teams competing.
Tomorrow morning I make Honey Roasted Strawberries with Thyme and then try to figure out how to serve them in an attractive way for lunch. I'll let you know tomorrow how it turns out!
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