Days Eleven and Twelve

Over the last two days we've made:
Veal stock
Chicken stock
Fume (Fish stock)
La Creme Au Caramal (Creme Carmel)
Brioche
Les Crepes de Volialle Au Gratin (Chicken Crepes au Gratin)
Le Filet de Flet Poche (Poached Filet of Flounder)
Hollandaise
Les Pommes Tourness a L'Anglaise (Boiled Tournee Potatoes)
Le Paris Brest (a dessert served on the train from Paris en route to Brest)
L'Omelette Au Fromage (Cheese Omelettes)
Les Nouilles Fraiches (Fresh Noodles)
La Sauce Tomate au Pistou(Tomato Sauce with Pesto) and
Le Pan Perdu (Bread Pudding)

This was the first time our nerves were truly tested. Time was short, space was tight and the kitchen was hot. I saw firsthand how the kitchen can turn good people to the darkside. No room for your pot? Just move someones off the flame! Did you run out of sauce? Saunter past the stove and swipe the first sauce you see! The Sauce Swiper actually took someones entire reduction off the stove, dressed his or her poached fish and then DUMPED the remaining sauce in the GARBAGE.

"Zhee mhost competitshon you will encountair in the industrhy is at zhis skoohul," the Head of Everything explained. "You are all competiting for zhee numbher one spot. Onlee one of yhu will git it....sechond place is zhee fhurst loozher." Ouch. I hope to never employ sabotage tactics or cheap tricks, but who knows how I'll behave in desperate times. I'd love to keep number one as sweet as it sounds.

So far, crepes have been the most versatile item we've cooked. We stuffed our crepes with sauteed chicken and mushrooms, smothered them with a Veloute (a sauce made from stock and roux) and then topped them with Gruyere and threw them under the salamander (a commercial broiler). If you are thinking, 'that sounds delicious,' it absolutely was. Crepes can be filled with anything you've got - sweet, savory, hot or cold.

Basic Crepe Batter

4.5 oz. All Purpose Flour
1.5 c. milk
2 eggs
¾ oz. melted butter
Clarified butter (to coat the pan)

Whisk eggs and flour together. Add milk until the batter is the consistency of heavy cream. Strain the batter to remove lumps. Lumpy batter is a crepe's nemesis. If you let the batter rest, it may thicken. Adjust the consistency by adding more milk. Just prior to cooking, whisk in the melted butter. The melted butter gives crepes color when they cook.

Coat a crepe pan with clarified butter. Clarified butter is butter that has had the milk fats removed, which allows the butter to withstand higher temperatures. Ladle a small amount of batter into the pan and swirl around until the pan is coated. When the bottom begins to brown, flip the crepe using a spatula with a long narrow blade. Cook the second side until browned. Crepes are hearty little things. You can stack them while hot and they will not stick together or tear. Crepes can even be thinly sliced and put into soups as a noodle substitute.

I thought cooking school would curb my shopping habit, but it turns out culinary schools have all sorts of exciting kitchen equipment for sale, for cheap. They often over order or need to get rid of used equipment to make room for new gadgets. Today I came home with a fabulous blue steel saute pan for $25. For me, wearable purchases are now a thing of the past, unless you consider all the heavy cream and butter I am trying desperately to keep off of my thighs. Sigh.