Chez Christine

Brassica

You. Me. Brassica.

What is brassica, you might ask?  Come find out on Saturday at our CHOW CUESA demo.

Free for all, 11:45 under the eaves in the front of the Ferry Building.

Bon Appétit!

Public Demo

Sorry for being absent, I guess that's what happens when you go back to a full-time job!  Feels good, although sometimes I miss typing away in my pajamas at the kitchen table.

It's interesting working in a test kitchen again, the smaller kitchen crew feels nice and I feel really connected to all that we're doing.  Plus, I'm learning a lot about photography, food styling, and editorial in general.

In other exciting news, I'll be doing a demo for CHOW.com at the Saturday Ferry Building Farmer's Market on December 5th at 11:45AM.  (I'm stoked, especially since I got married there just about 6 months ago!)  Still narrowing down what recipe we'll be doing, but I hope you join us for some tasty food and a fun recipe.  Mark your calendars!

Bon Appétit!

Green & Black Surprise

Last Saturday, we made our weekly tour of the Ferry Building Farmer's Market, poking around and nibbling as usual.  When we first arrived, there was a line of people waiting to get free samples from the Gourmet booth set up.  Turns out it was their Follow The Farmers Market Tour.  As much as the sample of olive oil intrigued me, the line was just too long for my patience.

After we finished our shopping, we happened to find ourselves near the booth again, this time with a much shorter line.  I jumped into line, eager to quickly get my hands on some of the body products and olive oil.  Come on, who can turn down free stuff?

But the line didn't budge, even though I was within reaching distance of the first basket.  An ornery (and I mean ornery!) old lady was blocking the entire table with her body and her wheeled shopping cart, snarling at the couple behind her if they got too close.  She was grabbing all she could while firing questions at the poor Gourmet staff person behind the table:  "What is this?  What's in there?"

She then proceeded to move 2 inches down the table before turning around and grabbing her cart, muttering, "Excuse me!  I need my walking cart, don't try to cut me" when clearly she hadn't needed it for the last few minutes.  The poor couple was quite intimidated by her, and I was getting annoyed because she showed no concern for the patient people behind her.

Anyway, she finally moved away and I swiped my samples, disappointed that they had run out of olive oil.  I entered my name in their drawing basket without having a clue as to what the prizes were.  And to my surprise, I get an email from Gourmet saying I had won a Green & Black Organic Chocolates package!

It arrived speedily in the mail in a box packed snugly: 13 different bars of chocolate (including baking chocolate), and a canister of hot chocolate and a canister of cocoa powder.  I can't wait to start exploring and tasting, though the first task will be to figure out which bar to give to my nice concierge downstairs who loves chocolate and whose face lit up when I mentioned what the package was.

So I guess the lessons I learned this weekend were to be patient and always enter drawings because you never know what might happen.  What a delicious surprise.

Bon Appétit!

BOO!

Happy Halloween!

Bon Appétit!

Pain Poilâne est Arrivé!

Last month, I got wind of an event going on at the Alliance Française here in Boston: a talk about Poilâne bread from the young owner herself, Apollonia Poilâne.  I booked tickets immediately, especially after hearing that there would be a tasting of the bread!  To be honest, I haven't had French-style bread (at least any good version of it) since I've been back.  A tasting of the treasured bread, flown in from France, and daydreams of their butter cookies lured me in.  I still remember making my way down the slippery steps of the original rue du Cherce Midi location on a tour of their famous ovens.

I knew a little of the family history: Pierre was Apollonia's grandfather, and he was the one who started the business.  Her father, Lionel, took over in 1972 and built the Pain Poilâne empire to what it is today.  Unfortunately, he and his wife died in a plane crash, leaving young Apollonia (then 18 or 19) to step up and take over the family business.

Apollonia, now a student at Harvard, gave a talk based on the book published about Poilâne.  She was slightly nervous, looked extremely young, but was mature and passionate.  I had so much respect for her eloquence, quiet dignity, and pride in the family business.  It's hard to believe that she's been running the family empire for about 3 years already, flying back and forth between school and Paris.

I was thoroughly enchanted, but was even more excited about the reception afterward.  The delicious Pain Poilâne was there for the tasting, set up with a table of spreads that ranged from artichoke spread to Nutella and confitures.  Oh, and there was a big box of the butter cookies there also!  Needless to say, I gorged and reveled in having the wonderfully flavorful and textured bread that I had enjoyed so often in Paris.

Apollonia divulged a nice surprise to us: Pain Poilâne is sold in Boston!  It is flown in every Thursday to Formaggio Kitchen, the famous cheese shop in Cambridge that has a sister store in the South End in Boston.  You can pick it up fresh at the Cambridge location, or get it special ordered to either location.  Plus, they also carry the walnut and currant breads.

Oh, and the Cheese Shop in Wellesley also has it.  I'm so excited that I can now buy one of my favorite breads in the same city where I live.  Here's hoping they have those dangerously addicting butter cookies also.

Poilâne

Formaggio Kitchen
Cambridge and Boston, MA

Cheese Shop of Wellesley
Wellesley, MA

Bon appétit!

Countries Collide

I'm at the halfway mark with my internship, it's hard to believe that 6 weeks have passed by already.  On the whole, I've really enjoyed my time at the Test Kitchen.  I love the fact that I cook and taste all day.  In fact, sometimes I want to brush my teeth after work to get all the different flavors out of my mouth!

Surprisingly, I haven't had to worry about gaining extra poundage even though I'm working with food all day.  I think it's because I have actual tastes, or bites, of things and never sit down for a real meal.  The interns never go out to lunch, we just snack and munch all day.  All the calories we taste seem to offset the lack of the real meal, plus we stand and walk all day, burning a lot of energy.  The first week there my feet were protesting every night, but now I've gotten used to it and enjoy being so active.  Thankfully I won't leave my internship looking like all I've been doing is eating!

The main thing that I didn't expect was that a lot of what I learned at culinary school wasn't useful here.  Because of my training in classical French cuisine, it was a big change to come to a kitchen where the focus is on traditional American recipes, not fancy plating or sauces.  I've learned that mise en place is even more essential here, because any mistakes really jeopardize the testing process and can skew the results.  It's also refreshing to have a well-stocked kitchen full of gadgets and appliances, and being encouraged to use them!  While I appreciated the back-to-basics approach of LCB Paris in terms of tools, it's great to be back in gadget-land.

There are unglamorous parts of being an intern- you help wash dishes sometimes, unload groceries, do a lot of cleaning, and sometimes end up in the back alley for hours at a time, watching the Webers and tending to the grills.  But most days I cook, taste, and talk to people who are even crazier about food than I am.  In the past month and a half, I've made so many different foods that I can't even begin to list it all.   There are also foods that I would rather not ever see again- it's hard to stand the smell of a dish after you've tasted it 15 times in the period of 3 days.

A great perk of the kitchen is being able to take home the food we prepare.  Typically, after a recipe is prepared and tasted, it is put out for the rest of the kitchen and staff to eat or take home.  Some days I leave with a shopping bag full of delicious food, ready to eat for dinner or to go into the freezer for a rainy day.  The boyfriend is usually the lucky recipient of the food, as my palate yearns for fruit & vegetables for dinner after a long day cooking complicated recipes.

I think that one of the things I like most about the environment is the merging of food and writing.  I've expressed before that I don't think I'm cut out to be on the line in a restaurant, but I love to analyze and write about food instead.  The Test Kitchen seems to give people a unique opportunity to do that- I don't know of another place that gives cooks such great opportunities to do both.

(And to answer those unspoken questions: yes, I've worked with the test cooks you see on TV;  no, I haven't cooked with Chris Kimball yet, and no, I won't be on TV (no filming going on right now- I'd be too nervous anyway!)).

Bon appétit!

Ispahan Immigrates

 

Ladies and gentlemen, my prayers have been answered.  I have found Ispahan on US soil.  The addicting indulgences of Pierre Hermé have finally influenced their way over the Atlantic.

Bouley Bakery and Market, sister restaurant to Bouley across the street, carries the Ispahan macaron tarts, which are composed of two rose macarons sandwiching rose buttercream, fresh raspberries, and lychee.  I could not believe my eyes when we stopped into the bakery to take a peek before lunch at Bouley (more on that later).  Of course, we had to get one to do a comparison.  Well, along with two other tarts just to do a comprehensive tasting- one should always be thorough!

Our waiter at lunch told us that the pastry chef was trained in Paris but did not seem to understand my question on whether or not he was trained at Pierre Hermé.  In fact, he hadn't heard of Pierre Hermé before, which surprised me- after all, the waiter was French.  But maybe not everyone has the same addiction that I do!

So hike down to the Tribeca area and pick up a tarte or two if you want to have a Parisian moment of bliss.  It's cheaper than a flight to Paris.

Update: Apparently, Pierre Hermé was the pastry chef at Bouley for awhile.  Now it all makes sense!

 

Bouley Bakery and Market

130 W Broadway

New York, NY 10013

(212) 608-5363

Mon-Sat 7-10; Sun 7:30-7:30

Bon appétit!

Fall in New England

   A Saturday Drive Through New England...

 

Bon appétit!

Racking 'em Up

Rack of Lamb with Thyme Jus,
Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes,
Haricots Verts with Caramelized Shallots & Lemon Zest

3 dinner parties in 6 nights.  It's been a little crazy, but I've enjoyed the pressure.  Nothing like trying to replicate the frenzy of a restaurant kitchen in your own home, especially with mom helping to plate and serve.  Trust me, plating for 6 on a card table set up in the family room makes life, well, interesting.

Last night's menu was edited slightly from previous evenings.  There was no gazpacho amuse bouche, but I did serve the same warm goat cheese salad to start since it was really popular the last two times.  Even my attempts to change it to a seared bacon-wrapped-shrimp on spinach salad were axed by the hosts- who knew fresh goat cheese was so popular?

The main course was really enjoyable to make this time, mainly because I love lamb.  Especially rack of lamb, which we dubbed meat "lollipops" at school.  I learned to love lamb in France, probably because it was one of the few meats that were prepared simply to let the natural flavors shine through.  No heavy sauces, just a jus full of lamb goodness.  The quality of lamb was also excellent in France, probably due to the fact it is much more popular there.

Dessert tonight was changed to pot de crème.  I used the basic school recipe but replaced half the milk with cream to increase the richness.  Since the guests were Asian, I figured it would be a nice fusiony twist to make a tea-flavored French dessert.  Plus, the fact that they were made ahead of time and served cold made my life so much easier!

Earl Grey Pot de Crème

Overall, things went very smoothly and I had a lot of control in the kitchen tonight.  Good thing, because I might be doing a demonstration dinner next week.  Can I handle teaching and cooking at the same time?  Who knows?!?

Bon appétit!

La Première

Whew.  I can breathe now.

I spent the last two nights catering dinners for 6, my first real cooking gig since graduation.  Luckily, it was the same menu both nights and I got to do all the planning.  I used many recipes from school, doing little twists on them and trying to come up with something French but seasonal and fairly light.  I was slightly nervous because expectations are so much higher once people find out you graduated from a culinary school.  Trust me, I felt some pressure and my hands were shaking a little when plating in the beginning!

The giant beef tenderloin I purchased yielded plenty of nice trimmings for the sauce.  Since tenderloins are larger at one end, it worked well that I could divide it into two pieces, use one each night, and not worry about uneven cooking times.  One person the second night didn't eat beef, so I did a pan-seared salmon steak with lemon-chive-butter sauce instead.

Timing was the main issue I had trouble with, since I've never done a formal plated dinner for 6 before, only buffet-style dinners.  I had  to remember that it always takes you twice as long to do things than anticipated, yet I also struggled with trying to do things too early.

But it turned out well and seemed to be well-received.  I've got two more dinners coming up, hopefully they go smoothly also!

Strawberry Tomato Gazpacho
Amuse Bouche

Instead of serving a soup course (low on burner space), I made a cold amuse bouche instead.  Sweetness from strawberries, tartness from tomatoes, spiciness from onions and Serrano chili, coolness from cucumbers.  It was made yesterday so that the flavors could come together overnight.  Served in shot glasses, no spoons required!

 

 

Warm Goat Cheese & Bacon Salad,
Red Wine Vinaigrette

A classic French bistro dish.  I used fresh goat cheese, but semi-aged goat cheese works even better.  The goat cheese is sprinkled with dried herbs, wrapped in thin bacon, placed on bread (baguette in this case), then broiled until the bacon is cooked.  I served it over a mesclun-frisee mix with a red wine vinaigrette dressing.  I love warm salads, and bacon on anything makes it better!

Roast Beef Tenderloin with
Truffle Salt and a Port Reduction,
Gratin Dauphinois, Asparagus

Tenderloin roasted whole to a medium-rare, sprinkled with a truffle salt from Italy, and served with a Port reduction.  The sauce was composed of a jus made with tenderloin trimmings, mirepoix, veal stock, and port.  It was finished at the last minute with Plugrá butter.  I wish I had real truffles, but hey, I was on a budget!  Potatoes dauphinois with garlic and sauteed asparagus served as garnishes.

Warm Raspberry Tart

Chef Terrien's famous warm raspberry tart.  I'm lucky that I live near the Berkeley Bowl and can get bulk almond flour.  Otherwise, you end up paying $15 for a 1/2 pound branded package!  I didn't change the recipe one bit, it's wonderful and deserves its reputation.

Madeleines

I haven't broken out the madeleine molds in over a year.  I used to make them every few weeks!  A perfect accompaniment to coffee or tea.  I made them earlier in the day and warmed them up in the oven before serving.  (Madeleines are best served fresh.)

I've learned a lot over the past two days about mise en place, timing, and plating.   It's hard to believe that a year ago I was a naive amateur cook about to immerse myself in the French culinary world.  Thank you chefs at LCB Paris!

Bon appétit!