Day 49: Alsace France

As I mentioned earlier, French cuisine varies region to region. They target their recipes based on availability of products in each region. 

Tarte aux Pommes de Terre 

This is a tart filled with hard boiled eggs, bacon and potatoes. It is a hearty tart that is eaten as part of a savory meal.  This was our first introduction to rolling dough so it was a really cool lesson.

Spaetzle 

We made Spaetzle paired with Sauteed Trout. Spaetzle is a fun dish to make, and my chef's favorite. It is a basic combination of ingredients such as yogurt, milk, flour and a few others, and then poured through a strainer into frying oil. The process of pouring it through the strainer allows little 'spaetzles' to form, basically making small pasta nibs. 

Chourcroute Garni

This dish is a combination of sauerkraut, sausage, every 'wurst' that exists, pork and potatoes. While reading the recipe I thought it straight up sounded gross. However, the combination of all of these meats with the sauerkraut cancelled out the pungent flavors leaving it extremely tasty. It is a really wholesome dish, and shows the german influence on certain regional french cuisine.  

Day 48: France!

Welcome to French cuisine! I have never been all that interested in French food but after cooking through its many regions I have a strong appreciation for French food. Although looked at as heavy and fattening, they focus on fresh, tasty products that are used chosen for their availability in each region. 

Cotes de Porc Normande

This dish is a pork chop topped with apples, giving it a nice balance between sweet and savory.

Souffles d' Alencon en Timbales

In english this is called a 're-inflatable cheese souffles with a mushroom duxelle'. In my language it was 'eat me' because as soon as  I took my first bite I could not stop. It is a light and fluffy soufflé topped with mushrooms and heavy cream.

Homard a l'Americaine with a Riz en Couronne

This is a lobster sauce that is placed into a ring of molded rice pilaf. While you all know I hate killing lobsters, this dish was so delicious that I am trying to look past it. The molded rice makes a really nice presentation and goes really well with the rich lobster sauce.

Salad of Duck Confit with Red Cabbage, Chestnuts, and Watercress

This dish looks simple to make, but it actually is a two day process. The key aspects of this dish are the roasted nuts, cabbage vinaigrette (which is a lot better then it sounds) and duck confit, the money maker. Duck confit needs to marinate over night in salt and herbs. It is then cooked in additional duck fat until tender. We then took the skin and made 'cracklings' which are pure pieces of crispy, heavenly fat. It is one of the most flavorful meat dishes I have ever had, but of course it is because it is fat+oil+more fat. Once all pulled together the flavorful meat tastes great on a bed of lettuce with a sweet vinaigrette and sweet nuts all mixed together. Topping it with cracklings gives it an extra crush and texture. 

Day 46 and 47: Plating 3 and 4

Day 3 of plating we made some really gourmet dishes. We started by making a Duck Roullade. Roullade is the french word for 'roll'. We rolled the duck around a piece of foie gras and spinach. We plated it with a fennel sauce, and some vegetables. Very serious.

Above are vegetable timbales, another one of my favorite dishes. It is made of roasted zucchini, Chinese eggplant, tomatoes and yellow zucchini. Then a puree of goat cheese and herbs is placed between each layer of vegetable. These are baked together making a really amazing dish. We also made little crisps out of a cheese based paste, which is a little added bonus on any dish. 

Roasted Poussin with Wasabi Mousseline Potato 

First we roasted Poussin which is a baby chicken. Then we made Wasabi Mousseline Potato which is a very smooth, almost mash, but more mouse-like consistency. We used the pan sauces to draw on the plate and make it look pretty. This was so good!

Last up we made braised short ribs over polenta with roasted tomato. I love anything braised, especially when its short ribs, even more when its on top of polenta.