Basic Cuisine at Le Cordon Bleu
Two days down and four and a half weeks to go in my intensive basic cuisine class at Le Cordon Bleu. This class is a welcome relief from pastry. No scales, no measuring every ingredient to the gram, no...
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Life & Death at Cordon Bleu
Second week over in my basic cuisine course at Le Cordon Bleu whew-hoo! I’ve been having to deal with dead animals and how I feel about eating and cooking them. I’m not normally squeamish but the...
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Crab Bisque
Today was another tough day. Give me a dead fish anytime and I’ll turn it into beautiful little fillets, but don’t give me anything’s that’s alive that I have to kill. I don’t want to be the killer,...
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Food For Thought: A Philosophy on Cooking
When you go to cooking school or work as a chef you are in the business of creating beautiful tasty dishes from items that were previously alive. On the metro coming home from Le Cordon Bleu I was...
View ArticleCooking School Blues…
Today was a frustrating FRUSTRATING day at cooking school. I woke up early thinking that my class schedule was from 8:30AM to 9:30PM with two demonstrations and 2 practicals. I pre-ordered a taxi the...
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The Cutting Edge
I haven’t seen daylight (and fashion) in weeks considering my hectic schedule at Le Cordon Bleu. I look like a white potato sack in my little uniform, so what’s the use of trying to accessorize?...
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Le Cordon Bleu Final Week
Oh la la la la la la, where has the time gone? four weeks have flown by at the l’Ecole de Beurre. Now I am in the final week consisting of difficult demos, practicals, one written final exam, and one...
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Final Cooking Exam
Whew-hoo!!! Final cooking exam over!!! I woke up early this morning and ironed my uniform, had a cup of coffee, showered, put on make-up (I’ve been ragged lately), dressed smartly, put my grandmother’s...
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Graduation from Le Cordon Bleu
The test results are in and I am officially graduated from my basic cuisine and pastry courses! We had a fun graduation catered by the cuisine and pastry chefs with free flowing champange and lots of...
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Back at Le Cordon Bleu
Today was my first official day back at le Cordon Bleu for my intermediate cuisine course. Fifty-four people in the class…yikes!!!! I thought it was going to be a nice little group like last time, oh...
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Le Cordon Bleu End of Week One
One week down and 7 more to go! We’re preparing regional recipes of France and making all the famous traditional dishes from each area. The most exciting demonstration so far has been the the recipes...
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Le Terrine: An Acquired Taste
I want to talk about Terrines, because le Français love these slow cooked delicacies and I myself find them beautiful but inedible. If there’s one thing I love about French cooking it’s how it makes...
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Soufflé Au Fromage Recipe
Let’s face it, soufflé’s are a little scary to make. The thought of them falling before they get to the table is almost worse than forgetting to put pants on before going outside. However, this same...
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Lobster Attack
I like to eat Lobster, but I don’t like to cook it. Anything with an exo-skeleton gives me the heeby-jeebies. You know that feeling when you wake up in the middle of the night with a black fuzzy...
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Lobster Attack Part II
Everyone got to class early yesterday for our first lobster practical at Le Cordon Bleu. Considering our 8:30AM start time, this was unusual. We all dealt with our pre-killing jitters differently, one...
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Fear Factor? Naaaah, Poulet en Barbouille
Poulet en Barbouille is a very old recette that some say dates waaaaay back to a battle between Ceasar and the Gauls. It’s similar to the Burgundian Coq au Vin but it’s origins are from Berry. The...
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Le Cordon Blur Countdown
The end of my intermediate cusine career at Le Cordon Bleu is in sight. It’s so close I can taste it! I know, bad joke, but I’m tired and run down– it’s all I can muster. I could use some serious...
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Crazy Crawfish
I promise after this post that I will cut down on writing about all the icky fear factor stuff we do in cooking class and write about some of the pretty things we make – like homemade sausage –...
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Avian Bird Flu in France
Picture by Mr. Fenwick Recently a friend, from San Francisco Photorama, asked me what Le Cordon Bleu’s stand on the avian bird flu was. I asked the chef’s the next day at school and the dominant...
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Hollandaise Queen: Final Exam
One day before my final at Le Cordon Bleu and I have a bad case of the I-don-wanna’s. Bad, bad, bad. I keep doing everything there is to do but, study. I should not be blogging right now. Okay, this...
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Final Examination Fini!
Can I tell you what hell it is to sit through a three hour demonstration knowing that shortly after fate is ready to play her hand? I had nervous butterflies so badly I thought my stomach was going to...
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Frogs Legs
Thank God we didn’t have to cook frogs legs today. This was only presented to us in our demostration and we didn’t have to make it in the practical. I tried, I really tried to eat one and it totally...
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First Week of Superior Cuisine
First day back at Le Cordon Bleu for Superior Cuisine was like walking into a huge homecoming party. Our class was at night and I strolled into school half an hour before class, to find bottles of...
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Disco Dinner
I thought we were off to a riveting start with french contemporary cuisine until everything came to a screeching halt aujourd’hui in my superior cuisine class at Le Cordon Bleu. As soon as the...
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Raspberry Almond Cream Tart with Chocolate Sauce
I’ve combined two of my favorite desserts from Le Cordon Bleu for maximum yumminess: almond cream tarts and raspberry crumble with chocolate sauce. In the past, I’ve had heated discussions with chefs...
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Homemade Saucisson: Boudin Blanc
Making sausage is really fun and we’ve made a lot of it at Le Cordon Bleu. It tastes much better than the commercial kind filled with chemicals, additives, and un-identifyable meat. It’s not difficult...
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Quail In a Casket with Sweetbreads
As I was packing up my knives at school today, one of my cooking buddies, Cynthia, caught me and said, “Hey Amy, what are you going to name this one on your blog?” I had to pause, because the recipe...
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Little Red Poisson: Rouget
Today was one of those rare days where waking up at 7:00 A.M. on a Saturday (with a caipirinha headache – thanks Michael & Enrique!) and trekking across town to Le Cordon Bleu for a full day of...
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Lobster Again?!?!
I should have known that today was going to be tough when I got to school and some one had taken my seat in the demo room. I know it sounds petty (and is petty), but I sit in the same place everyday,...
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Big Mac Attack Macaroon!
I happen to cook next to a young woman, Jamie, in my superior cuisine class at Le Cordon Bleu who never ceases to amaze me with her big heart, powerhouse energy, and incredible eye for design. She made...
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Passover Pastry Macaroons
This recipe is for Teri, who had the brilliant idea that Macaroons would be an excellent Passover dessert because they don’t use leavening. They do use almond powder in place of flour, and I know some...
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The Biggest Market in the World: Rungis
The cuisine students at Le Cordon Bleu had a field trip to Rungis, the largest professional fresh product market in the world. The market is so big that it’s actually it’s own city! In this...
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Lamb Presents
We made a dish today at Le Cordon Bleu, that was super yummy. I loved the theme of the recipe because I got to create each part as if it were a present. The lamb was wrapped in brik pastry, like one of...
View ArticlePreparing for My Stage
I’ve been avoiding expressing my immediate dream because I didn’t want to jinx it. Now I see that the idea is preposterous, so I might as well share my little foodie fantasy and if it doesn’t happen...
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Crispy Sea Bass with Capers, Lemon, and Chicken Jus
This recipe reminded me of Zuni’s restaurant in San Francisco. (Haven’t been? You must go!) The sauce was reminiscent of the jus they do for their specialty roast chicken. You know, the one you have to...
View ArticleLe Stage?
Oh I am such a big BIG big big DORK! I finally got up the nerve to walk over to Guy Savoy, which is close to my house, and turn in my resume and letter of motivation. This of course, was after the...
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Final Examination for Le Cordon Bleu
Let me tell you about the final exam process at Le Cordon Bleu for superior cuisine… We are given a list of ingredients with items that we must use and other’s that we can add if we desire. In the...
View ArticleLe Stage, Part II
This last week and a half has been wrought with anxiety. I turned in my papers a week ago for my estage (apprenticeship) to Guy Savoy, the three star restaurant and Guy’s namesake, in the 17th. I had a...
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Le Stage, Part III
I hate to sound like one of those highly excitable teenagers, but – Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God – I got my stage (internship) at Guy Savoy!!!! Whew-hoo!!! Yippeee!!! I’m going to be a...
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We Don’t Walk to Cordon Bleu, We Fly!!!
Yesterday we took our written exam, which nobody studied for. We tried to study, really we did, but no one was able to concentrate. The questions on the test never seem to match what we have in our...
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Private Cooking Class
I had the privilege today of having two famous Paris bloggers over to my house for a little privé cooking session. I can’t tell you how honored I was to entertain Maitresse and Gill of Confessions of a...
View ArticleFinal Exam Insecurity
For the last few weeks my mind has been pondering over our list of ingredients for the Final Superior Exam and Le Cordon Bleu. I finally came up with two composed garnishes, one simple, and two methods...
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Eat Your Peas: Sweet Pea Gnocchi
My final superior examination next week at Le Cordon Bleu. I’ve been experimenting at home with some of the ingredients, like petit pois, attempting to create original recipes. I’m sure my husband’s...
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J’ai Besoin de Parler Avec le Chef!
I’ve taught theater and English all over the world, from India to California’s overcrowded public high schools. I have always prided myself on using drama as a tool to help English language learners to...
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Yippee! I’m an Official Stagier!!!
I’ve taught theater all over the world, from India to California’s public high school system. I have always prided myself on using drama as a tool to help English Language Learners to communicate...
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Artichokes Deep Fried
It’s spring and artichokes are everywhere in Paris. I’ve seen big globes the size of my head, small purple ones, you name it I’ve seen it. Artichokes have quite the illustrious past, which makes me...
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Le Cordon Bleu Final Examination
I love Cordon Bleu – and I’m not just writing that because I’ve had three bottles of champagne (okay, maybe I have, so what, it’s Paris and I just finished my final exam!!!). Seriously though, I feel...
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Le Cordon Bleu Graduation
I now hold the world’s records in certificates! Some of my favorites include: college, teaching, marriage, and now – cooking! Woooo!!! Our ceremony was held at the private estate of the Cointreau...
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Madeleine Tea Cakes: A Lesson in Life
Years before relocating to Paris I worked in restaurants. The most notable being Ristorante Ecco (now closed) in San Francisco's hip South Park area which was one of the top ten Italian restaurants for...
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Easter Dinner: Filet d’Agneau Du Boulanger
Lamb, lamb, lamb… Flipping through old cookbooks to find something different to serve for Easter dinner I came upon a recipe I made at Le Cordon Bleu during my Superior Cuisine course: Lamb Rib Roast...
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