I ate what after my cuisine exam?

I took my pastry and cuisine practical exams this past Thursday and Friday, thus bringing the basic levels of the Grand Diplome to an end. 


I don't think I can do justice to the intensity inside those kitchens while we were making the dishes for our practical exams. The pastry final was actually better than I thought it would be (I was more worried about this one because pastry, particularly piping, is not my strong point). I had to make a Moka cake and line a tarte aux pommes dough. I had to re-do my genoise sponge because I managed to make sugary scrambled eggs (cooked the yolks too long), but I caught up and all went well.


The cuisine final was intense. I had to make the sea brim with fennel that I told you about in an earlier entry. Thank my lucky stars! I practiced this dish with two friends before the exam, so I think I rocked it. I was the first person to finish, and in my rush, I may have undercooked the fish a bit. But it's better than rushing until the end, as most people in my class were doing. The kitchen resembled the last few minutes of Iron Chef, but everyone managed to plate on time. Phew!


To use the ultimate, but absolutely true, cliche, time flew by during this first semester. When did all this happen? When did I learn how to hold a knife properly, and the meaning of the term brunoise? When did I learn how to make a rose out of marzapan and a terrine from fish, eggs, and cream? It seems like I simply blinked and all of a sudden I knew how to flambe, julienne, and turn a potato. 


I still have so much to perfect, and endless amounts to learn. The next five and-a-half months will surely fly by as well, but meanwhile, there will be majorly complicated techniques and sky-high expectations coming my way. Wish me luck.


After finishing our final exam, my classmates and I went for a champagne toast. I headed home and was so tired, relieved, and generally out of it, that I had ramen noodles for lunch. That's right, you read correctly. I ate MSG-infested, plastic-tasting ramen noodles after completing my cuisine final exam for the Cordon Bleu. I don't even know what to say in my defense. Don't judge me! You know you've done it too! We're all guilty of it!


Don't worry, though, that night I took my son and my in-laws out to a fantastic dinner at Au Bon Accueil. I've already told you about this place. It's great. We started off with a kir royal, my personal favorite, and three-courses, including salmon tartare, terrine, a delightful poulet fermier with carrot puree for my son, and beautiful desserts. My two-year-old was a super star. He sat still and ate everything (including salmon tartare and caviar), and enjoyed a pleasant evening at a nice restaurant. Get them started while they're young, is what I say!

salmon tartare with avocado

terrine

poulet fermier with carrot puree

faux filet (not to toot my own horn, but my father-in-law said mine was better!)

chocolate tartlet

rhubarb puree with strawberries and strawberry meringues

cherry millefeuille with vanilla ice cream

In love in Paris...and with Paris

The only thing better than being in love with Paris, is being in love in Paris. My husband and I celebrated our four-year anniversary today and had one of the most awesome days we've ever had together. It all started this morning, when we received the good news that our son had been accepted into a great little day-care. After all, as parents we are happy only when our kids are well. On our way home, we stopped at a boulangerie for a few pains au chocolats and croissants. Yum. Good way to start the day.


Off we went to my favorite restaurant in Paris. It's called Au Bon Accueil, and it's wonderful. 100% quality and elegance, 0% pretentious. The fun thing about going there is that we usually don't know what we're ordering. I'm sure that will change after I complete my culinary course, but for now, we choose at random, our french lacking food vocabulary. 

Today we ended up eating sea urchin, two types of fish, and quail - all absolutely amazing. The sea urchin was made into a souffle and was of a smooth texture and full of taste. The presentation, I have no words for. The souffle was served inside the hardened sea urchin on a bed of sea salt (the crunchiest I've ever had). Gorgeous. Next came the quail served in a beet sauce and sauteed mushrooms. Delicious. Finally, we had a chocolate tart and a souffle a la chartreuse. The souffle was like eating a cloud. If you could eat clouds, this is what they would taste like. The tart was decadent and dark. 'Nough said. Oh, and the wine was awesome. I can't remember the name, but it was "fort et rouge", as the sommelier said - just like I like it.

After this degustation made for kings, queens, and everyone in between, we walked to the Musee Rodin, which was as lovely as ever. The gardens are getting ready for spring, its roses about to pop. I melted over The Kiss and was humbled by The Thinker. This was my first time in the museum as a mom, and I was particularly moved by Rodin's mother and child sculptures. If you're a mom, take a look at this, and you'll understand:

We headed back to St Germain and stopped at Restaurant Procope for a capuccino. It was founded in 1686 and was a hang-out of none other than Rousseau and his buddies. The place is beautiful - the walls decorated with framed letters dating back to the 1700s and its ceilings and walls are crooked from having stood for so long. I'm sorry to say, however, that the capuccino was not very good. It was bitter and as I write this, five hours after having drunk it, my stomach still aches.

Finally, we went to the movies to see The Fighter. Excellent. 


The best part of our day, however, was coming home to our son and singing his good night song. He's starting to sing it himself, and it melts my heart, more so than the souffle or Rodin.