Lesson 18, our second atelier (workshop).

I was looking forward to this workshop. This is the second workshop we had and I was not as nervous as I was for the first one.
This time we have to use sea bream, veal tenderloin, sweetbreads, caul fat, artichoke, spinach, beetroot, cauliflower, pearl onions and asparagus. On top of that, there is a wide selection of vegetables, oil, wine, herbs and spices available.


I'm not that keen on the sweetbreads, I think they're tasteless 'waste' food, but at least I know what to do with the stuff. (soak, membrane off etc - pan fry/deep fry)
Some background on sweetbreads: It's a long-time foodie favorite, many, many people still have not tried them, or even know what they are. To be honest I can’t say I blame them with a name like sweetbreads. I mean, they are neither sweet, nor are they anything resembling bread.

So what are they? Well, as eloquently as I can put it, sweetbreads are the thymus glands of young veal, pork and lamb. That’s right, today we’ll be learning about eating thymus glands! Yuk! Here’s what they look like:

Now we can get these thymus glands from two places, the first is just below the throat of the animal, and the other is near the heart, which are generally more prized and more expensive as many consider them to have a better flavour. Enough about this stuff...

I decided to make a (raw) sea bream carpaccio on top of cold asparagus, a drizzle of (fish) sauce around it and a mixed herb salad and a vinaigrette for a starter.

For mains I did a grenadin. (That's a nice veal steak.) Use the trimmings for the jus, make a pepper crust for the veal, a cauliflower flan, 'packages' of spinach/lemon zest, fried sweetbreads (clarified butter, espelette pepper) and some cooked pearl onions. Easy on the pepper for the crust; It can be very overpowering! I think I did OK with this whole dish. Little chef, la petite, thought it was OK. Not super, not bad.


Not surprisingly, we all make something completely different again. These workshops are a great way to practice for the final exam. Here is an impression of the results. (I have more pictures available for those who want to see more.)

Jayne going home, sushi and sweetbreads/quail practical

Today, Jayne went back to Amsterdam. Yes I know, somebody has to make some money; I understand who the breadwinner is at the moment! We went to the Gare du Nord together and I dropped Jayne off at the Thalys. It was a very easy-going trip for her; Paris-Amsterdam in 3.15 hrs. That's just great.

After I left the railway station, I walked around the city centre a bit and then I took the metro to Vaugirard, near the school. It was lunchtime, so I decided to have some sushi. I had a nice lunch with miso soup, a salad and 12 maki (with lots of wasabi) for only 8.80 euro (menu N) - no beer or wine yet...

Then to school, to do the quail and sweetcrap practical.

I cleaned the bird, chopped off its head, legs, toes,wings and tore the liver,lungs and heart out. Then I cut off the breast, and trimmed the meat before I schredded the carcass completely with my cleaver. What a great way to start a cooking session!

The end-result wasn't too bad. I actually took the leftovers (a whole pie) home and just had it for dinner with a glass of white wine. According to chef Clergue, that should have been a full bodied red wine, but who cares.....!?

My dish.

See you all tomorrow! Sj

(And I cut myself twice today; new knife....)