First Things First

     If things had gone my son Andrew's way, this blog would be named "The Fantastical Adventures of Mrs. Cooking Pantalones".  Since I was looking for something slightly more sophisticated,  I decided to change it up a bit, while keeping a feeling that is hopefully more whimsical than ridiculous.  I have always loved the word Croquembouche...the way it rolls around in your mouth, kind of like the pastry itself.  So, here I am, Madame Croquembouche, ready to go on an adventure that will hopefully cost slightly less than the $16,000 it would have cost at The French Pastry School in Chicago.  Using the shockingly weighty tome "The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Pastry Arts" from The French Culinary Institute,  I will endeavor to create French Patisserie worthy creations from my humble kitchen.

     This journey starts with eighty odd pages of introductory text including a list of the myriad utensils which will need to be purchased at great expense at Williams-Sonoma.  This I do in the name of "Art" and not because Williams-Sonoma is the crack of the baking enthusiast.  As a former food service professional, much of the information is not new to me.  For instance, another of my favorite words is Chalazae, which is the group of twisted strands of egg white that attach the yolk to the egg albumen...the egg umbilical cord if you will.  This I learned in Meats, Fish and Poultry 101 at Michigan State University in 1983 and it has stuck with me.  A fairly useless piece of information to be sure, but it made me feel like I was coming home again when I read about it on page 59.  On the other hand, I have never used weights instead of measures in baking, so there might be a learning curve there.  I have also never seen nor heard the word Tronconner  which apparently means to cut into 4-7 centimeter segments.  Right, and then there's that metric thing.  More learning curve.  The first actual recipe appears on page 84 and is Marscarpone Rice Pudding with Roasted Black Mission Figs and Port Wine Reduction which I will attempt next Tuesday;  right after I locate Black Mission Figs....

A Votre Sante