Sunday, September 19, 2010

Lessons with the Master



For those of you who have been following my blog, you have read this post on my trip to learn how to prepare duck and duck foie gras from Danièle Mazet-Delpeuch.  Sadly, that trip had to be cut short and I was not able to learn a lot of the cooking portion. But luckily, in a quick change of events, I was able to go back to Danièle’s to not only do the second portion, but help cook a dinner as well!



We arrived at Danièle's late afternoon on Thursday and she had already been to the farm to pick up the ducks. When we went into the now familiar kitchen, she promptly handed me a knife and a duck and said “Just start, I want to see how much you remember”. Uh-oh. But with her encouragement, and small reminders, I was successfully able to cut up another 15-pound duck.





Whew! After that, one works up an appetite for a fantastic meal, and luckily, I had one very special one coming my way. Danièle loves to teach people her ways of the kitchen. Her style, as I found quoted in her scrapbook of old magazine and newspaper articles written about her, is Cuisine Bourgeoisie, a style that was influenced during the Industrial Revolution of 1890-1930. In this time, people normally in the lower classes quickly rose up the social ladder. But, they still wanted the home-style cooking from the past, so they would hire country cooks and maids to be of service. Learning to cook in Danièle's kitchen is taking a walk into the past. The house itself is 700 years old, it was where her grandmother cooked, her father was born, and where her mother cooked. Most importantly, it is where Danièle learned to cook and found her passion for food.



Her house
The separate kitchen where we did the duck



Being in the kitchen was like being in a circus show. Danièle as the ringleader, gently leading the four eager puppets, in an organized frenzy till the grand finale of dinner. Someone making pastry for cheese beignets, someone dicing onions, someone working on the zest for the Crêpes Suzette and someone watching the few pans on the stove to make sure they don’t burn. All the while, everyone wants to know what everyone else is doing and what Danièle is telling him or her to do, so they don’t miss a beat. The whole process? Fantastically fun and exciting. The end result? Simply Delicious.



Danièle cutting the potatoes-thin at one end, thick at the other




Our dinner was a real treat. First, Danièle pulled out a raw foie gras, toasted some bread, and spread just a little of it on top, along with piment a’Espelette, an easy spice. Because the foie was so fresh it was safe and delicious to eat-like a meat butter spread if you will. After two lovely ‘bites’ of the cheese beignets  and a pissaladiere(a pastry with sautéed onions, anchovies, and Niçoise olives), we headed to the table to eat.

Cheese Beignets, barely got a picture before they were gone!
pissaladiere


Our first course consisted of the quintessential summer (or early fall) treat, melon aux jamon.







While we were finishing that dish, a few of us stood in to watch Danièle prepare the foie on the stovetop. On a low-medium heat, we just ‘grilled’ each side till they were barely brown. Served with warmed peach and quince preserves and fresh figs browned in butter in the oven, this dish was something out of this world.


Grilling the foie gras
YUM

Next, came the main course. Magret, pommes sarladaise, and confit.



Magret, closest to you, pommes in the middle, and confit on the far side

The magret was fresh from the birds Danièle and I had cut up earlier. The confit was something that she had done a little while ago. To warm up the confit, she put them on a low heat skin side down, then flipped over. Since the pieces of magret were so big, we had to cut them into smaller pieces so they would cook on the grill. Practically like a steak, except much more tender and better!! Her pommes sarladaise were possibly the best potatoes I have ever had. Cooked on a low heat in duck fat and a few garlic cloves roughly chopped they were ever so simple, but melt in your mouth good.



Just when you thought you were all done, you had to prepare yourself for the TWO desserts we had prepared- profiteroles aux chocolat and Crêpes Suzette. I had reached heaven.







The best part of our dinner, other then of course eating it then, was that I got to have seconds the day after while helping Danièle do more cooking with the ducks. Served with a very cold glass of white wine (from 1985 before I was born), the meal, especially those potatoes, were even better the second time around.



The next day, as I mentioned, I was helping Danièle prepare the rest of the duck. She was making these two ducks as a wedding present for a close friend. Way jealous. I hope when I get married a master French cook presents me with ample cans of Pâté, confit, and Cou de Canard Farci.Not just anyone gets this nice of a gift.

Pâté  for days


My time spent with Danièle will be unforgettable. Just listening to her knowledge, and feeling her passion, is something that has put an extra little fire behind my own quest of food. What an amazing opportunity.



A quiet moment with her dog, Venice, after we were done

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