Lesson 23: Brioche

Ever wonder why brioche is so tasty?

Take this (that's about 4 sticks of butter):

Plus this (and that's EIGHT EGGS if you're counting):

Mix:

Oh, but it's allllllll worth it in the end:

Between Meals: 30 Years of Wedded Bliss

Happy Anniversary, padres!

Pops gleefully "borrowing" some torrontés cuttings for an experiment at home:

Mamacita checking out some tombs:

Lesson 22: Fishes o' the Sea

Going from this...

to THIS:

...takes some work! But it means some fresh and delicious fish once you get the hang of it.

Fortunately, this week we got to practice our skillz with some fish of the sea! 

Step 1: Remove guts

- To remove the a fish's intestines etc., you make a cut along the ventral (belly) side of the fish

- The cut should stretch from the middle toward the head as shown here.

- Then you have to scrape out the guts w/ your knife or the handle of a spoon (warning: GROSS!).

Step 2: Remove fins

- Use kitchen shears to snip off all the fins except those on the tail

Step 3: Scale the fish

- The least messy way to do this is inside a plastic bag over the sink.

- Holding the fish by the tail w/ one hand, use a spoon to scrape the scales from tail to head (here they use a knife, but using a spoon makes it easier to avoid damaging the fish if you're, uh, less than graceful).

Step 4: Fillet the fish

- This is a great guide for both big and small.

- Use a SHARP knife!

- Cut through the skin first.

- Don't press too hard.

- Your strokes should be small and quick rather than long and slow.

Then use your beautiful fillets to make the dish above- red snapper wrapped in prosciutto and spinach with polenta and shitake mushrooms- that cancels out the health benefits of eating some lean protein...

Lesson 21: Mom's Favorites

This week's pastry class was a belated Mother's Day present for my mom: pate a choux.

Pate a choux- a salty puff pastry that can be combined with either sweet or savory flavors- is the basis for two of her favorite desserts: eclairs and profiteroles.

Though we didn't make these in class, this infinitely adaptable dough is the basis for a few other addictive pastries: beignets, that delightful New Orleans morning treat, and gougeres (recipe here or here), which I first tasted at Tartine in SF.

Lesson 20: Finger Foods

Fancy schmancy!

Appetizers to delight. Just imagine them being carried around by your servants at your next soiree...

Blinis w/ dill butter, homemade creme fraiche and smoked salmon:

CAVIAR up close and personal:

Puff pastry stuffed w/ mushroom cream:

Shrimp and leak skewers with coconut milk foam and crawfish cream- oh, the drama of dunking things in shotglasses!