I was a little nervous about tart day. I’ve heard how fickle the dough can be, and everyone built it up to be incredibly difficult. I’m pretty sure Miss Ginger is the only person I’ve ever met who can make a perfect tart…and I mean perfect. Surprisingly enough, it wasn’t that terrible, and you can’t beat the end result, whatever the filling or process may be.
There was just one problem. We’ve been fortunate enough to have both Chef Phil and Chef Ray for Levels 1 and 2 considering that this is a French school, and they are perhaps the only two instructors who speak English as their first language. Even when you throw in a vague East Coast accent, it’s still safe to say that it’s never a challenge to follow their lectures. Last night, however, our regular Chef was on vacation so Chef Marc filled in to teach us the beauty of tarts. That would have been great, if he weren’t an incredibly fast-talking French man. It went a little something like this: “Il s'agit d'une conférence inutile which is the most important thing you need to know personne ne l'obtient. Si vous ne le faites pas that is the one right way to cook anything ever tartes aux pommes sont delivious. Les poires sont la clé de tartes the best secret of French cooks, and it’s the only time anyone will ever tell you that.” Awesome; absorbing 15% of the lecture isn’t too bad. I liked him though because he pronounced my name with that one sound that only the French can create: Jacques-leen. I’m easy to please.
We made a beautiful apple tart filled with a yummy homemade applesauce covered in thin apple slices arranged in a clockwise spiral. It was less sweet than I expected and tasted very much like dried apple slices. We then made a pear tart filled with delicious almond custard and topped with canned pears in a flower pattern, and brushed both beauties with an apricot glaze to give it that magazine finish. Finally, we made a caramelized onion tart with bacon, a savory dish that can be served for any meal of the day. Unfortunately, we ran out of time and were unable to make the Quiche Lorraine, but I look forward to whipping one up on an upcoming lazy Sunday morning. We received a quick nod and “Nettoyez votre station,” from Chef after presenting our tarts. It meant absolutely nothing to me, so I’m still not sure if he liked them or not. They were delicious, so his comment couldn’t have been too bad.
As a side note, Chef Marc is competing on tonight’s (Tuesday) episode of “Chopped” on the Food Network! Someone managed to translate that and spread the word, so I’m very excited to see how he does. He’s currently on as I type, as is a great view of the FCI kitchens, but I can’t stay up long enough to see the end.
The basic tarts that we completed weren’t incredibly hard, and I definitely showed that dough who’s boss. It only took about 4 hours, but I discovered that showing some muscle made it submit. I’ll have to try that in my other life, but I should probably work on my muscles first before challenging anyone.
RANDOM TIP(S) OF THE DAY
Using a marinade on meat or poultry is a wonderful way to infuse flavor and create texture. Below are a few helpful tips that will help you along the way.
- A cooked marinade is used when the item must be marinated for a long time, such as a tough or large piece of meat. The vegetables and herbs are sautéed or simmered first to ensure that they don’t ferment too quickly during the marinating process.
- An uncooked marinade is used when the item needs to be marinated for a shorter amount of time, such as a smaller piece of meat or chicken.
- Refrigerating the items while marinating will keep them at a safe temperature, and turning them frequently will ensure that the flavors are distributed evenly.
- The marinade makes a perfect sauce for the final dish, just be sure to bring it to a boil for at least 3 minutes to kill any harmful bacteria.
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