Le Cordon Bleu School in Wellington - Birthday Treat

Growing Older sometimes doesn't have a lot going for it… but in amongst the saggy body, greying hair, joints that need replacing and all that sort of things…There are some very pleasant surprises.
I certainly got one for my 3 score and 10th birthday. Dear friend Lana, suggested to a group of friends and family that they contributed to a fund, which took me, along with Lana to hometown Wellington, to partake in a Cordon Bleu  (Sometimes lovingly referred to as Gordon Blue) one day course. It featured Sauces, Classic and Modern.
What a great present, mind you, I also received other wonderful gifts. All sorts of beautiful creams, pedicures, foot massage, hair treatments, vouchers, earrings, scarves. wine, Champagne.
Well blessed
So first we found a Nice Holiday Retreat for Dale at the St Andrews Retirement Village in Glendowie. Settled him in, packed bags and off we went.

Valet parking at the Carpark, off to Koru Lounge, some bubbles, light meal. Seated at the front of the plane.
Nothing but the best

Of course it is not in our DNA, to just go and do one thing, no,no, no, we filled in every possible moment.
First we were picked up by Tony Stevens, who kindly dropped us at the Hotel.
We checked in.
Waiting in the room, Chocolates and a card from the Hotel, wishing me a Happy birthday.
Nice.

Dear Tony returned to take us back their house, where the lovely Carol was waiting with drinks, dinner and great fun.

Fresh fish, with a delicious dessert. Not together of course!

Of course some tasty liqueur to finish us off, not literally thank God, big day ahead.
What a great start.
After a tasty breakfast we headed off to Le Cordon Bleu School

First we were introduced to our Chef Tutors for the day. Chef Paul Dicken from the UK and Chef Francis Motta from La Belle France

 So off to our work stations, felt like a real student Chef.

We needed to be in groups of two. Ms Lana setting up, with Chris, her partner for the day

The plan was to make basic Primary sauces, which are the base for so many other delicious sauces, to enhance your meal.
First up, we made Chicken Stock, Chef Paul demonstrated.
We went back to our work stations and all the ingredients were waiting for us
New tip for me, normally I would just chuck the bones into the pot. No, not in Cordon Bleu Kitchen...first we cut off any excess fat,
then we removed any innards from the bones...then the carcasses go into a bowl of running water and remove any blood. Helps to make a nice clear stock

For the chicken stock, they keep the vegetables fairly large. I liked the way the leek was folded up and tied with string, plus a tidy little bouquet garnie

Interestingly enough no salt added, till the end. Also very important for a nice clear stock.
Skim, skim, skim as it simmers away

Next we made Beef stock,which interestingly enough, contained a couple of pigs trotters, this provides the gelatinous compound. They provided us with the bones, already roasted for extra flavour and colour.

The vegetables for the beef stock were chopped into smaller cubes. Once again, skim. skim and simmer for a couple of hours

Fellow students working away

Then still on basic primary sauces, Bechamel, which of course segues into Mornay sauce, with the addition of a tasty cheese...if I am making Lasagne or Moussaka, I usual add an egg yolk for extra richness and puffs up nicely. The twist to this...Chef Francis quickly whipped up a Sabayon, with egg yolks and water.
What a great idea the sauce was very light and fluffy and very tasty, We popped a cartouche over to stop skin developing.

Then we started to make sauces, which were based on the stocks
First up a Sauce Bordelaise which contained poached bone marrow.A very rich Red wine reduction, enriched with butter...perfect to serve with lamb or beef
Next, below, a Sage and Orange Emulsion Sauce, which was whipped up, and the froth spooned over fish.
At a later date I will make this and blog the recipe.

 Frothing the light Fantastic

Getting close to lunch time. We were about to make our own lunch
Duck A L'Orange. Once again the Chef demonstrated and off we went to our work stations, to cook the duck and the very delicious orange sauce.
The point of difference in this sauce. A Gastrique. First we need to julienne, blanch and macerate the zest in Cointreau, beautiful
Below: Nice little Julienne I thought,

Actually they used Oranges and Lemons, so really it's a citrus sauce, not just Orange 

The Gastrique: First caramelize sugar, red wine vinegar,  deglaze with citrus juice.
This is added to reduced duck stock, carry on reducing, pass through a sieve, add butter and the macerated zest.

Cook the duck breast, rest and slice on the diagonal
Spoon over the divine sauce

Meanwhile, while we were beavering away in the main kitchen, in the background, all sorts of things were going on. Whole Snapper and Lamb Legs, were in the ovens, roasting away, eggs being poached, all that so that we could smother them with the appropriate sauces, made by our own fair hands.
As well as the Chefs, we had 4 helpers, who are students at the school. They were able to assist us when we were flumoxed.

So we all left the kitchen, to an area out in the hall, tables were set up with big bowls of salad, to go with our meat. Wouldn't want to be a vegetarian in this kitchen. In fact according to French Chef Francis, vegetarians are not normal, ha ha.
The Chefs, earning their keep .

A good use of the Mornay Sauce, smother poached eggs with it.

After I had eaten my duck, I went back for seconds.
Lamb with Bordelaise Sauce and Snapper with the Sage and Orange Emulsion

After lunch, we made a cream for Tiramisu,  A quick version, all mixed up in a syphon... Reminiscent of the Whipped Cream in a can, but much nicer, flavoured with Amaretto and Rum. Yum
Then, Creme Anglaise, Beurre Blanc  finishing off with 2 couli's
One made with Fennel and Parsley
Once again, perfect for fish or chicken
Fabulous Deep Green

While Chef Paul was working on the Vegetable Coulis...
Chef Francis worked on a Raspberry version

By this time it was 4.30 and time to pack up.
What a fabulous day.
It really was so special.
Just got some final photos of people we spent the day with
Lana and her partner Chris

Shelly my partner with Moi, in case you didn't know!

And our Chefs Paul and Francis Thanks to you both, we learnt heaps

But of course the day wasn't finished yet. We walked back to our hotel, had a shower, a rest, then back onto Shank's Pony and in moments. we arrived at The apartment of Barbara and Terry.
They were hosting an evening for us, so we could catch up with more dear friends. Rocky and Jeannie, Gerry, Sharon and Linda.
Plenty of drinks, great pizza, wonderful conversation, what a perfect end to our day

But wait there is more.
After a good night's sleep, back down to Breakfast again. Our friend Andy Yavasis arrived and picked us up. Another Grand Tour of the Wellington Southern Bays. he is building a house in Lyall Bay.
This amazing wild and windy coast, Looking good on Sunday, but can get totally out of control Magnificent.
Great view from Andy's house.

 Tour guide Andy

We had coffee at Elements in Lyall Bay, a very busy little cafe.
Next on the menu, Yum Char with our friend Trishie and her work mate Bronwyn .
Couple of wines and some Yummy Chinese food, all set up for the next move
Te Papa. Wellington's Museum. As luck would have it they were holding an exhibition,
celebrating Air New Zealand's 75th Jubilee

It was so well done. You entered on a runway

Lana flew for Air NZ for many years, many years ago.
And there she is, young and gorgeous

They even changed the doors to the lift to resemble an aircraft door
Memories for Lana,
"Flight attendants, please prepare doors for landing, Thank you".

So Tour completed, we grabbed a cab to Trishie's house in Breaker Bay. Once again on that wonderful coastal road.
More wine, cheese

Then, Wellington turned on a beautiful Double Rainbow, just for us

So I want to thank all my superb friends for making this happen.
I will never forget it
As it turns out, now it is blogged. Up there in the cyberspace, forever.

Dale wasn't too lonely, he had friends

Lovely to be at home with him now though. Dale not the Pukeko!

Sweet Corn Maque Choux- A New Orleans Delicacy - Perfect for the Summer

Last weekend, we had a major celebration in our house.
The headline act on the Menu, was Gumbo
If you want to make Gumbo, click here
All the steps to make a perfect one, outlined for you
You can either serve it like a stew, below

Or more like a soup, a la the photo below

With or without rice
When I posted a photo of the Gumbo on Facebook, one of friends reminded me of other
New Orleans Delights, for instance Corn Maque Choux
So I had to make it
Corn is abundant, so sweet, this is a delicious alternative, to "the just gnawing" at the cob.
Serve with any protein and if by any chance, you have Leftovers
Make a Frittata, just add some more sauteed onion and perhaps some extra sauteed capsicum

Ingredients
Servings: 4
Recipe by Bruce Aidells from Epicurious Website

125 gms butter
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped yellow capsicum
2 cups fresh corn kernels (cut from 3 medium ears of corn)
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon (or more) hot pepper sauce
1 green onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
Sea salt

To remove the kernels without making a huge mess
Strip back the husk and silk.
Leave attached, it makes a great handle
Also useful, for when you just want to eat a la naturale, dripping in butter

Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat.
Add onion and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add capsicum; sauté until beginning to soften, about 3 minutes.
Add corn; sauté 2 minutes.
Add cream, thyme, and 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce. 
Simmer until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes.
Mix in green onion, parsley, and basil. 
Season to taste with sea salt, pepper and more hot pepper sauce, if desired.
Perfect

Perfect Raspberry Sorbet - So Simple

Raspberry or Strawberry Sorbet

I saw this simple Sorbet, on an Australian Cooking Programme, with Justine Schofield
She was a MasterChef Finalist, in Series One
She actually made this with frozen Raspberries, or you could use fresh in season

So so simple
I just had to make it
After a wonderful celebration lunch, that we held at home last week.
I found a couple of punnets of leftover Strawberries, in the bottom of my fridge.
Just to the point of going off.
Oops
One bonus of that, is, they were really sweet
What a great way to use them up, perfect for the kids dinner tonight.
So I made Sorbet
No need for ice cream machine
Just a food processor or blender and a freezer

100 gms caster sugar
100 mls water
2-3 drops lemon juice
Dissolve over med heat
Bring to slow simmer and
Bubble away for about 5 minutes
Just to reduce a little
Cool

600 gms raspberries/strawberries
If using strawberries remove stalks

Pop into food processor
Blitz till fine purée
Strain through a sieve into a bowl
To get out the seeds
Add sugar syrup
Back into food processor
Blitz again till smooth
In to a tray and freeze

Remove from freezer
Break up and back into food processor

Separate out 1 egg white
Start processor and add egg white to raspberry ice
straight away
Blitz till smooth

This took about 2-3 minutes
Every so often scrape down the sides till homogenised

Into plastic container with lid
Refreeze then it’s ready to eat

Going to serve it with Little tarts, filled with Chocolate Ganache

Summer Food - Flan of Green herbs with Raw Tomato Sauce

In the previous post, I gave the recipe for a superb Courgette Salad, that I served with Lamb
This is the first course, that I served to my guests.
It went down really well
I found this in The "Essential Pepin" Cook book
by the wonderful Jacques
I love his food

Perfect as a first course, or even a lunch
I served some hot rolls, just in case you need to mop up the the yummy sauce

For The Flan
6 cups of mixed green herbs such as parsley, coriander, chives, basil rocket
4 cups loosely packed baby spinach leave
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1/4 cup Pine nuts
6 larger eggs
1/2 cup light cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan Cheese

For the Sauce
1 kg ripe tomatoes coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped Jalapeño peppers (optional)
1 tsp salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons White Wine Vinegar
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Pinch sugar

Preheat the oven to 185C

First wash and dry the herbs and spinach
Roughly chop

Melt the butter with the olive oil in a 23-25 cm ovenproof, nonstick pan
Add the nuts and sauté for 1-2 minutes until light browned
Stir in the herbs and spinach and cook for 3 minutes or until soft and tender

Break the eggs into a bowl and whisk with the cream until blended
Add the mixture to the pan along with salt and pepper and cook stirring

For about 15 seconds until semi set
Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top

Transfer the Flan to the oven and bake for 10 minutes
or until set and lightly browned

For the Sauce
Put the tomatoes in a Food Processor or Blender, with the Jalapeño
Process till smooth
Add salt, pepper. sugar, vinegar and olive oil

Process for a few seconds
Check for seasoning and adjust if necessary

You can make this earlier and keep in the fridge

To serve
Place some sauce on a plate
A piece of Flan on top

A perfect first course

Courgette Carpaccio Salad with Pistachio Vinagrette

Courgette Carpaccio Salad with Pistachio Vinagrette

This recipe I saw on a TV programme, hosted by Anjum Anand. called My Kitchen


I had some friends coming over for dinner and thought this would be wonderful, served with Roast Lamb, which was dressed with the Jus from the Lamb,
Accompanied by New Potatoes, lightly dressed with butter and some freshly chopped mint

A perfect summer dish
For 8 people
6 -8 medium to large Courgettes
Olive Oil

Handful Rocket Leaves
Handful of Parmesan Shavings

To prepare the courgettes
(Anjum actually grilled them, but for ease I think roasting them in the oven is
much quicker and just as good)

Thinly slice the courgettes, diagonally
Brush either side with olive oil
Bake in a 180C oven till golden and soft
Place on a baking tray

Remove and season with a little sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Meanwhile prepare the Pistachio Dressing
1 garlic clove
30 pistachio nuts, skin removed
A large pinch of sugar
20ml white wine vinegar
3-5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Crush the garlic to a paste using a mortar and pestle,
then add the pistachios, a pinch of freshly ground black pepper and the sugar.
Pound until the pistachios are very finely crushed,
then mix in the white wine vinegar and olive oil
(you may not need all of the olive oil)... until emulsified.
Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

To assemble
Lay the courgette slices on a platter slightly overlapping
Drizzle the dressing over,
Save some to toss with the Rocket
Lay some Parmesan shavings over

Then Sprinkle the tossed Rocket leaves over the top

Perfect

For A Change Try Sausage and Pasta - Another Kid Friendly Meal

The Kids were coming over and I remembered that, previously, I had made a Gordon Ramsay Pasta dish, using Sausage meat... so I looked it up in the cook book
Turns out, the recipe I was thinking of, was actually a rice dish
The kids wanted Pasta, so I devised this dish, inspired by Gordon (I feel I can call him Gordon)
It is so different from the original I think I can call this mine

2 tablespoons Olive oil
Onion peeled and chopped
Sea salt and freshly Ground Black Pepper
Red pepper chopped
Sausages from the famous Westmere Butcher
Beef, Garlic, Parsley and Parmesan, perfect
1 1/2 sausages per person will be enough

White wine to deglaze
2 cups chicken stock
Pasta, Farfalle, cooked to manufacturers instructions

2 medium fresh tomato chopped

1 head of Broccoli
Olive oil
2 cloves of Garlic peeled and finely chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Zest of 1 Lemon

Spring onions to garnish and or chives
Chopped parsley

Grated Parmesan
Method
Place olive oil into a pan, heat to medium heat
Add chopped onions
Saute till soft
Add chopped red pepper and sauté till soft
Season with S & P

Meanwhile remove sausage meat from skins and break up to resemble small meatballs

Add to pan, I actually used a second pan to brown the sausage, stop it from stewing
plus you get a better flavour

Add all the cooked sausage meat to the pan
Deglaze the sausage pan, with a slosh of white wine and tip into the main pan

Add chicken stock
Bring to a simmer and cook gently for about 15 minutes

So the Broccoli
Cut into small florets
Blanch in salted water for about 3-4 minutes
Drain and put into ice water
This will stop it cooking and keep the nice green colour
Drain and out aside

In a large pan, add the olive oil
Throw in the chopped garlic
Season with salt and pepper and the lemon zest
Add the cooked broccoli
Toss well
Set aside

So, cook the pasta
I usually allow 100 gms per person

When it is just cooked
Drain
At this stage,
Add the broccoli and chopped tomato
to the sausage
Toss well
Add pasta
Mix well

Dish up and grate some Parmesan over the top
garnish with some chopped green onion tops or chives and a little chopped parsley

Loved by young and old
Very tasty