by jessica yoon
I’m in Korea! After resting for a week (…or actually two), I’ve finally eased my way back into the kitchen. I never realized how difficult it would be to cook at home versus a commercial kitchen, but it’s been fun making what I’ve learned for my family. Things don’t always come out as polished and nice as I want them too, but it just makes me realize how much more I need to practice and learn.
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When my mom visited way back in November we did a lot food exploring. We visited a lot of marchés, specialty food shops, and boulangeries. One of the gems we found was a bakery way up in the 20th arrondissement called La Flute Gana. We had first read about it in a Korean foodie’s essay book on Paris and fell in love with their story and the pain descriptions by the author.
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A few days ago I suddenly felt this desperate need to buy a book on fromage. I really don’t know anything about cheese except that I know I love it. I love everything from creamy camembert to stinky roquefort and even processed American cheese. However, there’s so much more I want to know, like how and where it was made, unique characteristics, and different food pairings. Learning about something makes the experience of getting to know so much better and more memorable. So I paid a visit to La Librairie Gourmade, a fantastic cookbook shop in the 2nd arrondissement, and got Le Guide des Gourmets: Fromage. It looks like a great handbook, covering not only French varieties, but also those around Europe and other parts of the world. It has a brief introduction on the history of cheese along with a good discussion of how it is made and the different categories. The text is in French, so it will take while awhile to get through that part, but at least I’ll develop a strong fromage vocabulary! So, in conjunction with my new “studies” I’m starting a fromage series on JDP. Maybe it’ll inspire some of you to try something new or find interesting cheeses in your local area!
It’s been a busy few weeks. Somehow lesson 9 has jumped to 16 and with only a few classes left Basic Pastry is reaching its final stages. Last week we took the written exam, next week marks the end of classes, and the following week is the practical exam. Not everything I made has been perfect, lumpy ganache and deformed brioche heads, and not everything I made is a dish I enjoyed, raisin biscuits and mango charlotte, but I’ve been learning a lot, baking new pastries, and improving my meringue whipping skills! I leave you with a photo essay of everything I’ve made thus far. Enjoy!
Lesson 10: Batons de Marechaux and Palets aux Raisins
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