Week 21
my final exam week, so nervous but also so anxious to just get it done with.
march 6th day 90 Am: cooking
finally we got to cook our duck leg which had just been sitting in duck fat for the past few weeks. it was actually quite tasty however some of us found it a bit salty but the sweetness of the lentils helped balance it out a bit. hollandaise and ASPARAGUS, always a good COMBINATION. i think le dessert ravissant looks a lot more impressive than it tastes, didn't find it that exciting or interesting.
Asperges, sauce hollandaise
confit of duck leg on spiced puy lentils
le dessert ravissant (hazelnut)
sacher torte
day 90 pm: cooking
frozen lemon meringue cake
sacher torte
sacher torte looks quite nice with the clean and shiny layer of chocolate. however i was quite DISAPPOINTED with the taste. the cake itself was quite dry, then the apricot glaze layer in the middle was a bit strange. i would have filled it with a different filling or soaked the cake with some ALCOHOL or syrup.
march 7th day 91 am: cooking
more fish mousses yeA! i still don't get it, why add cream or milk to fish then make a mousse out of it, i prefer to keep my fish simple, cooked with salt, pepper, a bit of lemon or lime and that's it. but i guess it's another skill for us to learn. and for dessert we had chuckleberry mousse, we thought our teacher was trying to give us a "chuckle" but chuckleberries do really exist, they are a cross between a redcurrant, gooseberry and blackcurrant. when making it the berries don't smell very nice but don't let that put you off, in the end they taste fine, quite sharp but a nice accompaniment to the langues de chat biscuits.
saumon fume au mousseline de sole
deep fried quails eggs
baby corn with snowpeas
mousse aux framboises
langues de chat
day 91 pm: my final practical exam
here we go, no turning back now. my 4 course menu:
Salmon consomme with tiger prawns and vegetable julienne
bouchees au jambon
canard au muscadet
charlotte montreuil
march 8th day 92 am: my final practical exam
oh what a STRESSFUL exam, trying to finish all 4 courses on time was nearly impossible as i had a huge duck. the recipe called for at least a 2kg duck and i had a giant duck of 2.9kg. i just had to do my best and get the duck into the oven as soon as i could to make sure it would cook in time. so much to do, lots of little things and prep that i had to make sure i didn't forget to do. but i did it, not all courses served on time, many things i wish i could have done better but its all done and over with and i am so relieved.
day 92 pm: cooking
parfait of apple with raspberry beignets
chilled chocolate fondant with chocolate dentelles
frozen lemon meringue cake
hot and sour chicken with tabbouleh and tomato dressing
march 9th day 93 am: cooking
the tabbouleh was delicious and the hot and sour chicken was tasty but not very spicy although we did marinate it overnight with lots of chillis. maybe i would have added some more fresh chillis to the sauce. the chilled chocolate fondant was good, for ours we forgot to add the egg yolks so it made for a more solid and chocolaty fondant but still delicious. I never had or heard of tia maria before which is a lovely coffee liquer. we added it to our creme anglais which just made it even tastier.
hot and sour chicken with tabbouleh and tomato dressing
chilled chocolate fondant with chocolate dentelles
tante marie macarons
day 94 pm: demonstration
chargrilled red mullet with spiced fish sausage
steak tartare
pan fried venison with blue cheese beignets and elderberry juices
pommes de terre gaufrette
sables with roasted pineapple and coconut ice cream
march 10th day 94 am: cooking
we split up all the dishes today and worked in small teams to get everything done. as red mullet is very hard to get, we instead had grey mullet, which was good but not as tasty as the red mullet we tried in yesterday's demonstration. the spicy couscous salad very tasty but my favorite had to be the frozen lemon meringue cake. it was surprisingly very delicious and not that difficult to make. also it wasn't too sour, not too sweet, and not too filling, quite a light and yummy dessert.
chargrilled red mullet with spiced fish sausage
spicy couscous salad
frozen lemon meringue cake
home curd ham
mushroom and thyme tart
the ultimate cheese tart
day 94 pm: demonstration
lobster salad with gooseberry dressing
beef fillet with pesto and beetroot cumberland sauce
butternut squash gratin
blueberry financiers with lemon syrup
claire's bittersweet confrection
little butterscoth and roasted nut tarts
tante marie macarons
passionfruit jelly with passionfruit ganache
