Ingredients:

Chocolate Kahlua Shortbread combines the rich flavors of bittersweet chocolate and a splash of Kahlua, creating a festive and indulgent version of the classic shortbread cookie. Perfect for holiday gatherings, these cookies are a melt-in-your-mouth treat that combines a delicate crunch with the sweetness of chocolate and the warmth of Kahlua. This version of shortbread is a favorite Christmas recipe, but it can be enjoyed year-round for any occasion.

Shortbread is a classic cookie that only requires three main ingredients: butter, sugar, and flour. Once those are perfectly mixed together, the possibilities are endless—whether you prefer a traditional shortbread or one with added flavors and decorations. This recipe is one of many delicious twists on a classic favorite.

Light, airy, and subtly sweet, Biscuit de Savoie is a traditional French sponge cake that melts in your mouth with every bite. With a hint of vanilla, this versatile dessert pairs beautifully with chocolate, fruit coulis, or even a classic crème anglaise. It’s also delightful on its own as a mid-morning treat or a satisfying dessert.

One of the perks of going to Le Cordon Bleu is the $1000 knife kit, supplied as part of the tuition (so really you're paying $9000 for it!). Now I'm the kind of girl who prefers kitchen gadgets over jewellery, so having the knife kit in my possession is pretty cool. In fact, I'm considering bringing it along with me at Christmas since my mom's knives are circa 1960 and dull as my Grandma's knees!

These two blogs list the contents of the knife kit thoroughly, so I won't re-list them here. But I thought I'd list some kitchen tools from the kit along with other items I found useful during my practical classes at Le Cordon Bleu.

I passed!

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Today, exams are over. I feel raw, going over every detail of what I could have done differently. My shaking hands at the end tell me this is tough. Taking a deep breath. Remembering the charms and good wishes in my pocket from my children...the wishbone that I was too scared to pull in case I didn't get the right end, the rock, the butterfly eraser. Wishes to help me get through a difficult event, to help me remember what's important, to help me be happy.

I learned a lot these past three months. About me, about life, but mostly about food.

I know sauces. I know to brown the bones and parure (leftover cuttings from deboning the pork) in hot fat in a sauté pan until they're so brown, but not quite burnt. I know to dégreaser to remove the extra fat. I know how to sauté the onions until they turn color to add more flavor. Then, I know to singer (add flour) to have a thickened sauce in the end. I know to add the alcohol next, the salted white wine (or better yet the good stuff from home) and let it reduce to remove the acidity. Finally, I know to add the rich, dark, brown veal stock. After this, I know to move this mixture to a smaller pan so that the flavors can marry and not evaporate into the busy, stressful kitchen. Skimming often removes the scum and foam, I know this is important. And then I can let it do its magic, thicken and absorb all the flavors from the bones, onions, wine, and stock. In an hour, this sauce is carefully strained and just needs a little kiss of salt, a spoonful of Dijon mustard, a sprinkle of julienned cornichons, and a dash of white pepper (or black pepper at my house). I've learned sauces.

I also know how to butcher...somewhat. Given a small rack of ribs, I can remove them from its clingy backbone and clean the bones (called manchanner). I can even prepare a pretty paper papillotte to hide the unsightly bone from diners' eyes.

But I can't turn vegetables. And under pressure, I can't assemble two plates for presentation without drips and overlapping veg, my shaking hands failing me. Will it be enough?

It's serving time. I'm one minute late. 60 seconds turns into 80, which turns into 90 and my hands get shakier. I can't dig out the finely julienned pickle from the strainer to display on the plate. Why did I strain it? I'd already strained it earlier. I'm flustered and the chef keeps yelling out "serve, serve, serve". Shhh. I need quiet. I need peace. I want my kitchen.

It's just food. Delicious, nourishing food (but the green beans are a little overcooked, my turned carrots are amateur, and why did I let them burn at the end?). The pork chop may have been overcooked (but better to be over than under or it won't even be tasted). My plate is whisked away to another room to be judged by the mouths that be.

I did my best, but it may not be good enough. On Thursday I may get a phone call that says "I'm sorry to tell you that you've failed Basic Cuisine." But I've learned a lot. No matter what the chefs decide, I will remember this quote from Émile Coué: "Every day, in every way, I am getting better and better." For now, I'll enjoy the relief of having it behind me. I'll toast with a glass of wine and likely a shot of Skinos later. And I'll be inspired by Robert Crawford:

Advice

When you are faced with two alternatives
Choose both. And should they put you to the test,
Tick every box. Nothing is ever single.
A seed’s a tree’s a ship’s a constellation.
Nail your true colours to this branching mast.

 

I will remember to

* dream big
* do all that I can
* grab life
* live big
* say yes
* trust life
* be authentic
* be true
* be strong
* let the wind take you
* you are the mast in the wind, growing stronger every day

It's good advice.

Here is Chef's version of my exam dish: Côtes de porc charcutière, pommes purée (Pork chops with pickle sauce and mashed potatoes):

Recipe for Côtes de porc charcutière, pommes purée (Pork chops with pickle sauce and mashed potatoes)

2 pc Pork Chops
25 ml Oil
Salt & Pepper to taste

Mashed Potatoes
650 g Potatoes
250 g Milk
50 g Butter

Sauce
1 pc Onion
25 g Flour
100 ml White wine
100 ml Thickened brown veal stock
10 g Dijon mustard
15 g Pickles
15 g Butter

Garnish
2 br Parsley

More to Explore:

• Index of Recipes
• Visual Recipe Index

 

Peanut Vermicelli is a delightful noodle dish bursting with rich, creamy flavors and a touch of spice. Perfect as a quick side dish or a satisfying main meal when paired with cooked chicken, this recipe combines the nutty goodness of peanut butter with aromatic spices, coconut milk, and tender rice vermicelli noodles.

I once worked beside a little-known, but top-notch take-out café called The Five Senses. Many times a week, I'd wander over at noon to see what the chef was cooking in his kitchen. Even though he worked in the kitchen alone, he was able to create delicious food.

Beef Dip is a hearty and delicious dish that’s perfect for gatherings, weeknight dinners, or whenever you’re craving tender roast beef with savory dipping sauce. The secret? A humble package of onion soup mix adds incredible flavor with minimal effort. (Shh...don't tell the chefs at Le Cordon Bleu! They would want you to make French Onion Soup from scratch and dehydrate it yourself!)

Serve with crusty French bread for the ultimate comfort meal.

Time is flying by so fast here at Le Cordon Bleu. Week 5 seems long ago and was all about soups and compound butters. Well, "soup" is not the right term; "potage" is more accurate. Soup, a type of potage, is derived from the word souper, which means to absorb. To be called a soup, it must contain bread (such as French Onion Soup or Fish Soup). A potage is either thickened (called a lié) or unthickened (clair), such as consommé.

This Orange Pumpkin Loaf combines the warmth of pumpkin with the bright, zesty taste of whole orange, peel and all! A recipe straight from the professional kitchens of Le Cordon Bleu, this loaf is packed with seasonal spices, walnuts, and raisins, making it a delightful treat for breakfast, tea time, or dessert.  I was in the kitchen at Le Cordon Bleu to practice filleting a Dover Sole and turning mushrooms, and Chef shared a pumpkin loaf with me. It was so delicious, I asked for the recipe.

It uses a whole orange, making it extra flavorful and perfect for this Fall season. Enjoy!

Taste, turning, trussing, and tears.

Last week, we had a seminar on taste! Spending a morning talking about taste was pretty cool! In many little white tubs, lined up in rows, were a variety of different colored liquids. In groups, we were given a container and asked to think of a memory that went along with it. Unfortunately, many of the tubs contained slightly stale versions of the originals, and too often Grandma's lace or even, in some cases, urinal pucks came to mind! Here's what we had to guess: white balsamic vinegar, lavender, truffle, shrimp paste, bergamot, lime, hazelnuts, sesame oil, anise-flavored alcohol, hoisin sauce, cognac, soy sauce, fish sauce, vanilla, port, rum calvados, pear alcohol, tabasco, chili paste. I found it challenging to deconstruct the aromas, but it was fun.

The next demo was all about Les Fonds Blanc et Brun (Brown and White Stocks), the base of sauces in French cuisine. We covered chicken stock, veal stock, tomato sauce (one of the mother sauces), and fish fumet. Our practical was to fillet a whole Dover sole, use the bones to make a fish fumet, and finish with a dish called Filet de sole de Douvres Dieppoise. This dish must include mussels and shrimp to be called Dieppoise. Not a problem. I've cooked mussels before and the shrimp came pre-cooked. However, the whole Dover sole slowed me down. It was the maiden voyage for my filleting knife and my hands with a whole fish. My filleting needed practice, so I attended an extra practice the next day and bought some frozen ones from the local fishmonger. I can happily say that I now know how to fillet a flatfish. I can't say that about turning mushrooms. Even after turning pounds of mushrooms that night, my mushrooms are more "carved" than "turned".

Here are some of the dishes the chef made during the demo.


Clockwise from top: Chef’s Fond blanc de volaille (Basic recipe for white stock)
Filets de sole Dieppoise (Sole fillet served with a white wine sauce)
Turned mushroom
Sauce tomate (Tomato sauce)
The next demo discussed two more mother sauces (Espagnole and Béchamel) and their derivatives (demi-glace, Sauce Crème, Sauce Mornay, and Sauce Soubise). Trouble came when it was time to truss the chicken during the practical. It looks easy enough. Cut wing tips. Dig out the wishbone. String needle. Poke through cartilage in one leg, through the other leg, flip, through two bones of one wing, under neck, through two bones of the other wing, and tie. With the leftover string, thread through cartilage in one leg, through the pope's nose, and through cartilage in the other leg and tie the legs together. Tuck wings under. Not so hard. But it was for me. After three tries and each time, the chef shook his head saying "Do it again" in his stern, French accent, tears started to fall. I knew this would happen, but I thought it would be over a burnt sauce or charred meat, not over a simple truss. Meanwhile, the other students were getting their chicken broth cooking, but I was still bent over my string with salty tears brining my naked bird. Finally, I plopped my tear-stained and weakly tied bird into the pot and hid it with water hoping I could catch up. Unfortunately, I also seemed to pick the station where the flame kept going out under my pot. This bird did not want to get cooked.

I made my roux and checked it with the chef who with a slight air said I'd added a touch too much butter for the amount of flour. Then, it was onto the rice pilaf. The onions had to be cut in ciseler fashion and were to be the size of a grain of rice. Some were; some weren't. I sweat the onions in butter making sure they didn't acquire any color, then added the rice and cooked until nacré (a pearl color!). A bit of salt, a bouquet garni, the right amount of water, and a lid of parchment paper, and into the oven for exactly 17 minutes.

Back to the chicken. Checking it confirmed my fears: it wasn't cooked yet. And for some reason, I didn't think to remove some of the broth to reduce separately for the sauce. I turned my attention to the roux and mistakenly added the cream before adding the broth, ruining both in the process! This was not my day. So, I was back to making a new batch of roux. I quickly measured 30 grams of flour and butter and hastily set about to cooking it to the required blond, nutty color. By this time, I had the forethought to put some broth in a separate pot to reduce. When the roux was ready, so was my broth. I added it to my roux, thickened the mixture, and let it cook for as long as possible before adding the cream. Everything else came together. My sauce was à la nappe, coating the chicken, my bird was cooked just right (not a second more), and my rice was done with the odd large piece of onion thrown in. And the tears buried in my chicken earlier made it taste even better.

Here are two of the dishes the chef made during the demo.


Chef’s Sauce Espagnole and
Poulet poché sauce Suprême (Whole poached chicken served with a white creamy sauce)
The final demo last week was about emulsion sauces including hollandaise and Béarnaise. I love these two rich sauces. The first step in the Béarnaise is a reduction. Easy enough, but you need enough liquid after the reduction to make the sabayon. For the sabayon, which contains two yolks, you need two half-egg shells full of liquid. I thought I had enough, but it became apparent while whisking my sabayon that I was lacking a few drops! The chef came over, frowned, went to the sink dribbled a few more drops of water expertly in my bowl, and warned that it might break on me in no time flat. I whisked and whisked and whisked. Although it never broke, it was a little thick. Again, when the chef came over, and saw me whisking in the clarified butter on the "cold" side of the station, he grimaced and suggested I move to the stove side, again warning that my sauce would break and that it was saturated with butter! Funny because I had started clarifying more butter since I didn't have as much as the recipe called for. We also had to turn some potatoes à l'Anglaise (a specific size that is three fingers long) and grill some salmon. Again, I finished on time, but a critique of my plate was all critique. School is tough, but I'm learning a ton, even through my tears.

Here are some of the dishes the chef made during the demo.


Clockwise from top: Chef’s Saumon Grillé, sauce Béarnaise (Grilled Salmon with Béarnaise Sauce)
Sauce Rémoulade (Sauce derived from Mayonnaise) & Hollandaise
Sauce Tyrolienne (Béarnaise sauce made with oil) & Sauce Moutarde (Sauce derived from Hollandaise)
Sauce Grebiche (Emulsified cold sauce based on cooked egg yolk) & Mayonnaise
. . . . . . . . . .

Here is a link back to the recipes as I did them last year (although they aren't exactly the same as what we did in class):

Class 10: Les Fonds Blanc et Brun (Brown and White Stocks)
Fumet de poisson (Fish stock)
Filets de sole Dieppoise (Sole fillet served with a white wine sauce)
Fond blanc de volaille (Basic recipe for white stock)
Fond brun clair de veau (Basic recipe for brown stock)
Sauce tomate (Tomato sauce)

Class 11: Les Sauces et Liaisons (Mother Sauces and Liaisons)
Poulet poché sauce Suprême (Whole poached chicken served with a white creamy sauce)
Sauce Espagnole and Demi-glace (Basic brown sauces)
Sauce Béchamel (White sauce): Crème, Mornay, and Soubise

Class 12: Les emulsions (Emulsion sauces)
Sauce Hollandaise (Warm emulsified sauce) and Sauce Moutarde
Sauce Béarnaise (Warm emulsified sauce derived from Hollandaise sauce)
Sauce Mayonnaise (Basic emulsified sauce) and Salade Messidor (Summer Harvest Salad)

This recipe completes my goal of working through the Basic Cuisine curriculum on my own, in my own kitchen. I started my blog as a way of documenting my progress working through this Le Cordon Bleu curriculum, not knowing that I'd actually be attending 20 months later!

One of my favorite kitchen gadgets is my KitchenAid Stand Mixer (affiliate link). I’ve thrown some tough dough its way and it has yet to fail me. Recently, I was pleased to receive the pasta attachment as a gift. The KitchenAid Companions Gourmet Pasta Kit came with the following items:

• a metal pasta roller
• a metal fettuccine cutter
• a pasta server and slotted spoon
• two boxes of Ecco La Pasta flour (egg and spinach)
• a cleaning brush

The timing of this gift was fantastic since we had just covered fresh pasta dough in Lesson 6 at Le Cordon Bleu and practicing making pasta at home was the perfect way to test out this attachment.

Now, in the Basic Cuisine course, no kitchen machinery is allowed and all work must be done by hand to develop a sense for the feel of the dough at various stages. So I decided it would be fun to do a "bake off" so to speak: half of the pasta I hand rolled and cut and the other half I made using the mixer attachment. As an extra experiment, I made one batch with just yolks (and added extra water) and the other with whole eggs. The chef had suggested we try this to see if we preferred one dough over the other.

Using the attachment was twice as fast as without. Within the hour, I had fresh pasta ready for lunch. Not only that but it was easy enough to use that my 10-year-old daughter quickly figured it out and had fun putting the dough through, each time moving the dial to a thinner setting appropriate for fettucini. Hand rolling took a lot of effort, but eventually, after much rolling, I rolled it to the proper thickness. My daughter found it difficult to get it thin enough, so I helped her. Even so, our dough was uneven and squaring it off to cut even lengths meant re-rolling. Though not impossible to hand roll, we both preferred the attachment, which makes pasta making a breeze.

As far as the eggs are concerned, no one could taste a difference between the two so I would use whole eggs next time, just for the sake of convenience.

All in all, we're looking forward to making more pasta and using the roller to make lasagna noodles (a family favorite). Clean-up was also easy! My daughter just wiped it with a cloth and used the small brush to get any bits out. She was so pleased with her homemade pasta that she took it to school the next day in her lunch. With this pasta-making attachment, I'll be making homemade pasta often! Or maybe my daughter will be making it for me!

Recipe: Fresh Pasta

Serves: 6