Entremets - a fancy French word for fancy little cakes

So now the fun begins - classes started on Tuesday!  We essentially cover one topic per week - and we will be in class/lab 7 hours each day -- all of which leads up to a final "buffet" each Friday where we display our pastry creations and they are tasted/critiqued/graded by our chef instructor and a couple of the other instructors at the school.  Our schedules will vary from week to week, depending on the topic and the lab we need to use - some weeks are 6 am to 1 pm, some weeks are 1 pm to 8 pm (yes, you read that right - 6 am).  In addition to these labs, we have several other classroom sessions scattered throughout our time here - topics like food science, presentation and design, and, of course, French lessons.  I think this will be a busy 2 months!  Our class of 13 is divided by our level of pastry experience - I am with 7 other folks in the "initiating - or basic" class, while 5 of the folks who have more experience are in the "perfecting - or advanced" class. 

Our topic for the first week is "Entremets" - or composed desserts/cakes...these are the small, layered intricate cakes composed of different types of cakes, mousses, coulis/gelatins, creams, etc.  Our instructor is Chef Richard - an Australian pastry chef who came to France a couple of years ago and liked it so much he married a French girl and ended up staying.  He's a great guy - although at first it seemed a little odd to hear that Australian accent here in France. 

We spent a few hours our first day getting settled - learning our way around the lab, getting our lovely, personalized ENSP pastry kits and getting our recipes.  Actually, recipes is putting it generously - it was just a list of ingredients with no instructions - it's up to us to pay attention and take notes while the chef does a demo of each recipe.  We have 5 cakes/entremets to make over the next week - Moka, Charlotte au Poires (Pear Charlotte), Foret Noire (Black Forest), Fruit Rouges/Amande (Red Fruits and Almond) and Passion d'abricot (Apricot and Passionfruit).  Each cake has at least 3 components - cake layers, sponges, mousse, syrups, creams, glazes, etc - YIKES!! Each day at the beginning of class the chef puts a production list up on the board and we keep working our way through the 20 or so different elements - and finally, by the end of the week we will have mastered multiple pastry techniques and put together 5 lovely cakes - or so  he promises.

Our pastry kits come in a very chic brown and pink ENSP case...

...and are full of all sorts of fun toys and gadgets...
 

Our Chef Instructor, Richard, gets to wear the fancy hat.  He teaches us everything from the basics of equipment...

..to techniques such as making meringues...

..to the all important piping...and somehow he makes it all look so easy!

By the middle of the week he had moved on to a few more intense topics - such as making mousses to spray painting chocolate glaze onto a cakes...all with tools that looked like they were purchased at Mr Brico (the French version of Home Depot)...

 

Once he had demonstrated the various techniques, it was up to us to roll the sleeves of our chef coats up and start to make our own entremets...some things were easier than others...

...and finally some of the cakes started to come together - although I must admit, not nearly as lovely as his was...

By Friday we were starting to see actual cakes taking shape -  not simply pieces/parts and layers...

 By Friday evening, it was apparent that we weren't going to get all of our 5 cakes done - it had been a busy week, and we had lost some actual cooking time to a demo by a visiting pastry chef and all of our orientation.  So - it was decided that we wouldn't have buffet this week, but would come back to class for an extra few hours on Monday morning before our afternoon classes to finish up the finishing touches on our entremets.  We were all a little disappointed (first of all, because no one wanted to give up a free morning), but most of all, because we were really getting anxious to put all the pieces together and see the fruits of our labor...but, it can't be helped.

WHEW - what a week!!  It was a crazy roller coaster of getting here, getting settled, meeting lots of new folks, hearing multiple languages all of the time, and getting oriented to the school.  It was scary, fun, interesting and exciting to be in the kitchen - by the time we left lab at 8:30 on Friday night I was both exhilarated and exhausted...it was a great start to my time here at ENSP and in France!

Settling In

The first few days of this week were spent getting settled into life at Yssingeaux and Ecole Nationale Superieure de
la Patisserie (hereafter known as ENSP). Sunday was a day of rest and recovery...getting unpacked and getting to know everyone a little bit better.
Our class is quite interesting...there are 13 people from 11 different countries...US, Australia, Ukraine, Denmark, Isreal, Korea, Canada, Greece, Chile, Brazil and Mexico. Most everyone speaks English and some speak French...all friendly, interesting and a great group...which is good, because we are going to be spending alot of time together over the next 8 weeks! There are several other classes going on here at the school...including a group of 23 Johnson & Wales Pastry students here for a 2 month study abroad program.


On Sunday some of us walked into town to check it out and do a little grocery shopping...during the week we get lunch every day here at school, but are responsible for our own food other than that. We have a kitchen set aside for our use.


The small town of Yssingeaux....




The chateau is quite lovely...even when surrounded by fog...




We were welcomed to the neighborhood by a very large but very friendly French canine...




Eating our simple French supper of bread, cheese and wine the first night (classmates from Canada, Denmark, Brazil and Australia)




Monday was orientation...we spent the day getting our schedules, getting fitted for our ENSP chef coats, taking a French test (to get placed in the proper class) and hearing from our chef instructors. All the chefs seems quite nice and quite professional.




We also had our first lunch at the chateau..everyone eats together in the large dining room....to welcome us on our first day we had some lovely desserts prepared by one of our chef instructors...








It was a god start to the week...very excited (and a little nervous) for the cooking to start on Tuesday.

Back to School

So, I left Atlanta today for France...3 months at L'Ecole Nationale Superieure de Patisserie in Yssingeaux, a small village a little over an hour from Lyon. As excited as I am, I must admit it was terribly difficult leaving Guy at the Atlanta airport. I think I frightened the poor man at the security checkpoint because I was crying so hard...
Here I am with my bags all packed and ready to go. I tried not to overpack, since I hope to buy some lovely things while in France...but it still looks like a lot (really, those chef shoes take up a lot of space!) You might also note the heavy winter coat...I expect it to be chilly in France...the weather will be a little colder than Atlanta.




Much to the dismay of the chatty guy in the seat next to me, I slept most of the way over (thank you, my friend Ambien). While it was a pretty uneventful trip, it was fairly long - I had to make several stops since I booked my flight so late. Atlanta...Stuttgart...Paris...Lyon. I'm sure this multi-stop itinerary contributed to the loss of my luggage...see that lovely purple duffel bag in the picture...well, he's still somewhere between here at Atlanta. I hate that sinking feeling you get when you are standing at the baggage claim, watching bag after bag bounce off...but none of them is yours. Lucky for me it was only one of the two bags I brought, and it was the smaller of the two...so, thankfully I have most of my things. In theory, Air France will gladly deliver my lost bag to me in Yssingeaux when they find it...sadly, I don't have a lot of hope that I'll ever see that purple bag again.
I met up with my group at the Lyon airport/TGV station...we were greeted by a rep of the school - we all boarded a bus and headed off to Yssingeaux.  There are 13 in the group and it is quite the United Nations of Pastry, with folks from Isreal, Norway, Australia, Canada, Chile, Brazil, Greece, Korea, US, Mexico and Russia.  Most folks speak quite good English, so immdiately everyone began telling "their story" - how they got here, what they do back home, what they hope to accomplish while here in France.  It is an amazing group of folks with a wide background and experience - some are already professional pastry chefs, and are here to learn new skills,  some just recently graduated culinary school and are here to expand their pastry knowledge, some (like me) are career changers and some just have a passion for pastry and are here to see if it is a career they might like to pursue.  I'm still learning all the names - it will take a few days, I'm sure.  But, right now, it seems like a great group and a great way to expand my horizons. 
Our school contact, Monique, filled in some details as we drove the 1.5 hours from Lyon to Yssingeaux - yes, we are in a very small little village - very nice, quiet and quaint.  This is fine for me - I believe some of the younger students were a little dismayed as we drove through the city center and saw only a few restaurants, patisseries, one supermarket and a few very small bars. 
The school is located in a Chateau - Chateau de Montbarnier - that is about a 10  minute walk from the city center.  The chateau is charming on the outside, but, luckily, it has been renovated so it is all quite new, modern and comfortable.  The school offices and several rooms are in the Chateau, while the classroom and kitchens are in attached/adjacent buildings.  We spent the evening settling in, all getting our rooms, taking a tour of the key areas (our shared living room space, a kitchen we will all share for making our meals if we choose) and then sharing a light meal that was prepared for us by the school. 
My room at Chateau de Montbarnier...my home for the next 8 weeks.








The very large and modern living room at the Chateau...where we tend to congregate








At first everyone was a little shy, but soon everyone was chatting, wondering what the course was going to be like and already making plans for sight seeing adventures on the weekends.  Early in the meal, when folks were still a little quiet, one of the girls had the bright idea that we should all go around the table and tell our name, what country we were from, what we did before we came to the school and how old we were - SERIOUSLY - tell our age?  Of course it seemed like a good idea to all of them - they're babies!  Suffice it to say, I happen to be the oldest in the group, by quite a bit...how did that happen?  when did I get to be the old one?
It was a long first day, but a good one...I think this will be quite the adventure, both in and out of the classroom - who says an old dog can't learn new tricks? 

These are a few of my favorite things...

Hard to believe, but it's time to leave for France! I have spent the past few days doing some last minute shopping, packing my bags, getting things (somewhat) organized around the house and seeing friends. I'll be gone three months -- sometimes that doesn't seem long at all, but other times it seems like forever.
Up until now I've been caught up in the holidays and getting ready to go...now that the time is here, I'm really starting to get excited about all I will learn at pastry school. I do have to admit that I am a little nervous...but the excitement of being in France definitely outweighs that. Of course I'll miss friends and family...but hoping that the marvels of technology will allow us to stay in frequent contact.
I know I will have wonderful food in France...hopefully I will even make some wonderful food. However, I have to admit there are some things (some of them very American) that I will miss, even in the land of wonderful food. So, my last week at home I took the opportunity to visit some of my favorite local places and indulge in some of my favorite local treats...hopefully enough to hold me over until I return.
Of course, I had to have some barbecue!!! We visited Williamson Brothers Barbecue with our friends the McClishes for one last chopped pork plate. Williamson's, affectionately know to us as "The Piggy Place" ever since our friend Madeline McClish dubbed it this as a little girl due to the large painted pig that sits in the driveway, has some of my favorite barbecue --crispy, crunchy pork with a sweet an tangy sauce. I just couldn't leave town for 3 months without one last plate of 'cue and a piece of their homemade pie.




I know, I know...I'm going to Europe where they have wonderful, dark rich coffee...but you see, that's the problem...it's really too strong for me. I like my coffee kind of "tan"...lots of cream and Splenda, if you please. In Europe they have those very little cups of very dark, VERY STRONG coffee...way too intense for a java lightweight like me. After all these years of traveling I have learned to ask for a Grand Creme in France....coffee with steamed milk..this at least takes the color down to a medium brown...not quite tan, but it's as close as I can come. So, before I left I had to have one last Vent Nonfat 2-Splenda latte served up by my friendly Barista's at the Ansley Mall Starbucks .



And, of course, Guy and I had to have one last dinner at Osteria, our local neighborhood favorite ...nothing fancy, just great pasta and pizza. Typically we go here almost once a week, especially when the weather is nice...they have a great patio. I'll miss our regular routine of dining in the neighborhood.




Speaking of neighborhood favorites...here's one place I really will miss...Taqueria del Sol..without a doubt some of the tastiest Mexican food in the ATL...and for sure the best margarita in town. I know there will be awesome food on France...but I doubt I'll find cheese dip, shrimp corn chowder, fried chicken tacos or a margarita like this (or at all) anywhere in France. We are regulars at the TDS on Cheshire Bridge....I'm totally gonna miss this place...




The day I was flying out, Guy and I went for one of our absolute favorite lunches...the Fried Shrimp Po' Boy at Star Provisions. Star Provisions, on the West Side, is the market/bakery/cheese shop/sandwich shop associated with Baccchanalia, one of Atlanta's perennial best restaurants. Star Provisions, and, really anything associated with the family of restaurants owned an run by chefs Anne Quatrano and Cliff Harrison, is one of my favorite places in Atlanta to go...i don't think there's anything in there I don't love...everything is local, fresh, simply yet beautifully prepared and amazingly delicious. One of my all-time favorites is this beautiful sandwich ... delicately seasoned shrimp, deep fried golden brown, smothered in a sweet and slightly spicy remoulade -- all piled on a pillowy soft, fresh bun...OMG it is heaven in sandwich form. It's also huge..so Guy and I usually split one...this allows us to save room for something from the bakery case, or, a bowl of their homemade vanilla custard topped with creamy salted caramel. Truly some of the best bites in Atlanta.




And, last but not least, I had to get in plenty of my "drug of choice"...that lovely brown and bubbly elixir, Diet Coke. I know you think there will be Diet Coke in France..and, you are right, you can find Coca Cola Light in plenty of markets and some restaurants..but it just doesn't taste the same...I don't know why, but it's true - it tastes different...so, I had to indulge myself one last time.




So, there you have it...my personal hometown favorites...I'll miss them while I'm gone....will just have to fill up on plenty of wine, croissants, cheese and other delicious French food to fill the void.

Bonne Annee et Bonne Santee - and Bon Voyage!

"Bonne Annee et Bonne Sante" - that's a traditional French phrase wishing you Happy New Year and good health!  2012 has been an amazing year, with all of it's changes - I've learned so much and grown so much.  Thanks to all of you who have taken this journey with me -  I feel truly blessed to have such supportive family and friends.

As most of you know, I've wanted to make culinary school part of my culinary journey (mon voyage culinaire) - but I've been wrestling with exactly when and where and what type of training.  Well - I've decided - and that's where the "Bon Voyage" comes in - I'm headed to France on Friday to attend a three-month pastry class.  I know - how crazy is that - is that just about the coolest thing? 

On Friday I'll set off for Yssingeaux, France (about an hour outside of Lyon, in Southeastern France) to begin an international Pastry training class at Alain Ducasse's L'Ecole Nationale Superieure de Patisserie (http://www.ensp-adf.com/).  The class is 8 weeks long, followed by a 1 month internship.  I had been searching for a culinary training program that would provide me with serious, professional-level training in a shorter time-frame than the 1 year programs I'd previously considered.  I had found a few programs here in the states, but they were still 6-9 months long - and while these were excellent schools, none were in Atlanta and they were extremely expensive.  As a lark, I started checking out programs in France, and actually found a few that more closely fit my needs than the ones here in the states - and, BIG PLUS - they were in France! 

Chateau de Montbarnier - location of the school and where
I will be staying for the next few months

Anybody who knows me knows that I'm quite the Francophile - so, spending several months in France is pretty much nirvana for me.  However, as much as I love France, I must admit I was a little hesitant to leave the country for 3 months - but, after much encouragement and support from my sweet husband, I decided to go for it - after all, wasn't this exactly the reason I had quit my job - how could I not go?

I made this decision in October and it's been a little bit of a whirlwind getting things set and ready to go...but all of the sudden, the time is here and I leave on Friday.  I'll be in pastry classes 7 hours a day, 5 days a week.  The classes will be taught in English - but I am definitely hoping to significantly improve my French language skills while there, so I've chosen to also take French classes.  While I don't know exactly what to expect - I'm very excited and I know this will be a great experience.  I plan to use the blog to keep you all updated on what I'm doing and what I'm learning - so stay tuned for a new, exciting chapter in my journey!

In honor of my upcoming trip, we decided to have a French theme for our Christmas Soiree - below are a few pictures.  It was a wonderful evening -  a great time to see our friends and share some holiday joy before I head across the ocean - a great way to close out 2012.



Joyeux Noel - Guy's wonderful display of Christmas lights welcomed guests to our Holiday Soiree

Bon Appetit - I must admit, making tapenade, Provencal pork baguette, cream puffs, palmiers, fruit tartlets and chocolate mousse got me very excited about all I would learn while in France

Mousse au Chocolate avec Orange - tres chic! 

On the left are Palmiers - fancy French name for "elephant ears" - a simple, but elegant French treat.  On the right, my dear friend Frank (Francois for the soiree) made his famous French macarons - champagne and raspberry/red peppercorn - OOH LA LA!! 

So, I have to say I'm looking forward to 2013 and all of the adventure it will bring - three months in France seems like a great way to kick off the year!  Bonne Annee et Bonne Santee to all of you, my family and friends - I'll be writing to you in 2013 from France!

The Big Job

Don't ask me how I get myself into these things...but somehow I agreed to make 1,000 cupcakes for my neighbor Greg...yes, you read that number right, 1,000 - three zeroes -- that's ONE THOUSAND CUPCAKES. 

It all started so innocently...

My neighbor Greg is a real estate agent and wanted to give his clients a "home baked holiday treat" this year - in October he asked if I might be interested in baking these for him...for PAY!!  A real baking job...what a great opportunity, I thought..so, of course I said yes.  The rub, however, was that he had almost 100 folks on his list - so, that would be alot of baking in my small kitchen.  Nevertheless - I put together a proposal for a "holiday assortment of hand-crafted cupcakes, packaged and ready for pick-up" - and he accepted my proposal!  I was in the baking business - I was doing my first real baking job - and it was The Big Job!

One of the reasons I agreed to do this crazy project was that I thought it would be great experience - and I was right - I learned so much!  A big part of the learning came before I ever picked up a measuring spoon or cupcake liner.  I spent several hours pouring over my cookbooks to select the right recipes - ones that were both reliable and yummy! The process of costing out the project, both ingredients and baking time/labor, was a very detailed exercise and critical to the overall project success - if I didn't get this part right I wouldn't make any money!  I shopped at several different places to get the best costs, I did lots of conversions (for example, there are ~ 12 cups of sugar in a 5 lb bag) and constructed a very detailed spreadsheet so I could figure out exactly how much my ingredients would cost for each of the three recipes I had selected (chocolate with chocolate buttercream frosting, coconut with white chocolate frosting and red velvet with cream cheese frosting). I  also identified on-line sources for buying cupcake boxes, inserts and liners in bulk (of course, all of these costs went into the spreadsheet).  I was finally ready to bake!



I pulled from some of my favorite sources to get my cupcake recipes.   Chocolate cupcakes from Martha Stewart, chocolate buttercream frosting from Magnolia Bakery, coconut cupcakes from the Barefoot Contessa and Red Velvet from George Geary - I got by with a little help from my friends!


Quite frankly, cupcakes aren't that hard to make - it wasn't the baking that was the challenge - it was the logistics - how was I going to bake 1000 cupcakes in my very average-sized home kitchen  - 1 small fridge, normal counter space, 1 oven?  This job was just as much a test of my organization skills as it was my baking skills – the only way I was going to make this happen without killing myself (or getting divorced) was to make sure I had it all organized, prepped and scheduled so I  could make 15-20 dozen cupcakes a day.  I had costed the job to complete in 5 days - but, my goal was to do the baking in only 4 days, so I could have the 5th day to clean and "de-cupcake" my house.  My approach was to mix up 3-4 batches of a single flavor at a time and then bake them off (my oven would only hold 2 dozed at a time) - and, while these were baking, I could wash dishes, mix up the next set of batches and get things organized for frosting and packaging.  In general, this approach worked very well - although there were some long and messy days, I was able to get all 1,000 cupcakes baked in 4 days.  

For one week, cupcakes took over my home!  My makeshift pantry - 5 gallon buckets
filled with flour, sugar and confectioner's sugar, large storage boxes
filled with all sorts of yummy ingredients.



Lots of bowls!! I actually borrowed bowls and muffin tins from
 friends so I would have enough to prep multiple batches at a time.



Mise en place - a French term that means "everything in place".  Getting everything measured, set up and in order was critical to keeping on schedule.  Overall, it served me well and kept me on schedule.  There was only one casualty - one batch of red velvet cupcakes that ended up looking like small, dense red hockey pucks - despite my best attempts at organization, I  had forgotten to add the baking soda/vinegar mix that acts as the leavening for this recipe.

Mmmm...chocolate cupcakes in the making!

Billows of chocolate goodness - the chocolate buttercream frosting from the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook was just as tasty to eat as it was lovely to look at.

It took alot of frosting to cover 1000 cupcakes!

 

One of the biggest challenges was space – 1000 cupcakes takes up a lot of real estate!  By the evening, every flat space in our house was covered with cupcakes in some stage of the process – waiting to be frosted, covered with swirls of frosting or packaged and ready to go.  

 

 

In addition to baking, I had to package up the cupcakes –boxed, with a ribbon, a card with Greg’s holiday greeting and a sticker advertising my baking services. It was usually the wee hours of the morning by the time I finished up the last of the packaging, ending the night with rows of lovely packages of cupcakes all boxed and ready to go... – and a few hours later Greg knocked on my door in the morning to pick them up and hand deliver them. And then, it started all over again…

Each night my dining room table (and kitchen island, and coffee table, etc) ended up
covered with boxes of cupcakes....



...and each morning we loaded them into Greg's car for delivery.

So, even though right now I feel like I never want to see a cupcake again, I’m glad I did this project.  First of all, the client was very happy – Greg really liked the cupcakes and got rave reviews from his customers and friends who received them as holiday packages.  Secondly, it was a great learning experience as it relates to costing, organizing and planning a large baking job, and, finally, it definitely built my confidence on my ability to do “baking for hire”. 

While all three of these cupcakes were very tasty, the true star was the chocolate/chocolate - this cupcake is a DREAM to make and a dream to eat.  This recipe was amazingly reliable and repeatable - pan after pan turned out perfectly formed and perfectly cooked!  This is definitely my new "go-to" chocolate cupcake.  This little brown cake was turned into a superstar when I topped it with the Chocolate Buttercream frosting from the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook - this was a match made in cupcake heaven (if I do say so myself!).  Both of these recipes are actually quite easy to make - the key to both of them is to make sure you follow the directions exactly (i.e., mix the frosting for exactly the time it states).  When you get a chance, make a batch - you'll love them!

Chocolate Cupcakes

 

Ingredients:

½ cup plus 1 tablespoon Dutch-process cocoa powder

½ cup plus 1 tablespoon hot water

2¼ cups all-purpose flour

¾ tsp. baking soda

¾ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

2 sticks plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 2/3 cups sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

¾ cup sour cream

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners. In a small bowl, combine the cocoa powder and hot water and whisk until smooth. In another medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, and whisk to blend.
• Combine the butter and sugar in a medium saucepan set over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is smooth and the butter is completely melted. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium-low speed until the mixture is cool, about 4-5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Blend in the vanilla and then the cocoa mixture until smooth. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three additions alternating with the sour cream, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing each addition just until incorporated.
• Divide the batter evenly between the prepared liners. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking. Let cool in the pan about 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Yield: about 24 cupcakes

 

adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes

 

 

Magnolia Bakery's Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

 

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened

2 Tbsp milk

9 oz semisweet chocolate - melted and cooled to lukewarm

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups sifted powdered sugar

Directions:

 

Note: to melt the chocolate, place in a double boiler over simmering water on low heat for 5-10 minutes; stir occasionally until the chocolate is completely smooth and no pieces remain; remove from heat and let cool 5-15 minutes or until lukewarm.

• In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter using an electric mixer on MEDIUM speed for about 3 minutes or until creamy.
• Add the milk carefully and beat until smooth.
• Add the melted chocolate and beat well for 2 minutes.
• Add the vanilla and beat for 3 minutes.
• Gradually add in the sugar and beat on LOW speed until creamy and of desired consistency.