Since it is rather late and I still have some other things I need to take care of, I'm just going to post pics and a short description of all the things we have done so far. Unfortunately, there is 1 thing I didn't get to take a picture of - the Banana Cream Tart (which was scrumptious). I put my tool bag next to it in the locker room and sadly, my bag tipped over and squashed the tart... *sigh* I did learn an important lesson from that though - take a picture before you leave class!!!
At the moment, we are learning about tarts and cookies, so most of the things you will see are just that! BTW, everything I tried so far was pretty good. I haven't tried the last 2 yet, but I have to admit that they smell really good! Tomorrow I'm going to dig in.
First up - the Apple Tart! Of course, I kind of messed up the design when I was applying my apricot nappage (or apricot glaze), but it was still pretty good. It is a sugar crust with apple compote (that we made from scratch) and then the apples on top.
Next up is the Tarte Bourdaloue. This one is a poached pear and almond tart. It has almond cream on the bottom. I really like the almond cream!!! We poached the pears using a mix of water and white wine (and all the other necessities of poaching). This is really yummy!
Here we have a fresh fruit tart. Apparently there are many different ways to make a fresh fruit tart. For this one we used a flaky crust with a thin layer of the almond cream, then some creme leggere with the fresh fruits on top. We got to learn some knife skills on this one - learning to do a supreme cut on the oranges. Our chef-instructor told us to make sure there was no white on the oranges (the pith) because that was the difference between a 5 star meal and a 3 star meal. Of course, then I just had to make sure that I got rid of all the pith!
And here we have some gingersnap cookies! We didn't get to take too many home because the rest went to the restaurant L'Ecole for the little "goodie bag" that all the guests receive. I actually think that these taste better a couple days later because they are more chewy in the center.
This is a Pots de Creme Au Chocolat. Okay, so I didn't actually make this one, but I went ahead and ate mine before I remembered to take a picture! Luckily one of my classmates didn't want to eat hers, so I took a picture. This is a baked chocolate custard. To me, it tasted like a cross between a chocolate mousse and chocolate pudding.
This one is a picture of some little fruit tartlettes that we made today. These have apricot with pastry cream underneath. Yes, I ran out of apricots, so mine look a little sparse. Also, my wonderful partner - Brie gave me some of hers since she has no one to share with and I have a ton of people I can feed!!
Finally, here is the Tarte Alsacienne (Alsatian Apple Tart). It is basically flambe (yes, I flambed my own apples, I was quite terrified, but my chef-instructor was by my side to guide me) apples baked in custard. This one really smells GOOD! I can't wait to try this one!!! =)
And so, that is all we have made to date. Hopefully I will be able to update sooner, rather than later! Enjoy and don't let your mouth water too much! =)
A Bien Tot!
1 comment:
Thanks for sharing your exciting and extremely mouthwatering experiences!!! I'm really enjoying reading about your classes as this is something I've always wanted to do also. Keep up the good work - both in school and your blogging. I look forward to reading more and even better - actually sampling some!
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