My Blog

February 11, 2008

    This lesson was relatively easy with the biggest challenge being to find the Leg of Lamb to the specifications the recipe required. After a one minute discussion with the butcher, I gave up. He was not going to understand what I wanted and I couldn't make myself clear.

    The recipes were:

• Smoked Salmon Crêpes (Crêpes au Saumon Fumé)
• Roast Leg of Lamb (Gigot d'Agneau)
• Swiss Chard Gratin (Gratin de Blettes)
• Pineapple Sorbet (Ananas Givré)

    I've made crêpes several times before(BTW, to my English speaking friends, it sounds like "crap", not "crape"). The secret to great crêpes is to not worry too much about making a few that look like a truck with snow chains went over them. I only needed 7, but I've made 10. The last 7 were the better one because they were thinner. The content was macerated smoked salmon ("marinated in milk").

    The Roast Leg of Lamb was the wrong part. It was a leg of lamb with the bone, but it was not "shortened". I would have cut to the right subject if I knew what I was supposed to do. Because the piece was 4.9lbs, while the recipe called for a 3lbs, it took way longer to cook. Instead of 40 minutes, it took about 1h. I always use thermometer to know when the meat is "perfect". It just eliminates the guesswork.

   The Swiss Chard Gratin was another recipe that I had a bit of a problem with one ingredient: The swiss chard. Turns out that it's really hard to find that one (at least this time of the year), but I found a "Red Swiss Chard". It looked very similar except by the stem being red. This recipe also used Béchamel, which was used on the last 3 lessons, so I'm becoming an ace on that.

    Finally, the Pineapple Sorbet was a great experiment. I had never, ever done ice cream before (or sorbet) and it sounded so simple, that I was over optimistic about its success. Well, after I unboxed the Ice Cream maker that I had just bought, I start reading the manual and I found out I should have put the container in the freezer for 6-24 hours. Well, too late for that now. I manage to put it in the Freezer for about 2 hours, because I needed to make the Sorbet and then leave the sorbet for 2 hours.

The results

    The Smoked Salmon Crêpe was very good. It was a perfect first course. I was expecting a very bland taste, but it was very tasteful. Seasoning was perfect and the creme fraiche topping matched very well.

    The dinner was the Roast Leg of Lamb and the Swiss Chard Gratin. The Leg was thick, so the middle was more of a medium-rare, while the outside was medium to medium-well. That was ideal because of some people on the table not being able to eat medium-rare (because they are pregnant). It seems people really liked the Leg of Lamb but for me was a bit chewy.

    The Swiss Chard Gratin was ok. Not a great dish and I probably won't repeat it because it's a bit too much work for not so great results.

    Finally, the Pineapple Sorbet worked quite well. It tasted very fresh, but the consistency was very different from the first scoop to the last one. Probably because the churning on the ice cream maker suffered because I forgot to freeze the container. I'll absolutely do the Pineapple Sorbet again and I'll try a few more fruits like Banana, Mango, Nectarine and more.

Technical Data

• Guests: Marcelo, Flavia, Fabricio, Lilian
• Total cost: $86
• Item hard to find: Shortened Leg of Lamb (had to use the regular one); Swiss Chard (used "Red Swiss Chard")
• Utensils bought: none
• Appliances bought: 1 Ice Cream machine
• Best Dish: Pineapple Sorbet.
• Worst Dish: Swiss Chard Gratin
• Accompanying wines: Columbia Valley Sockeye, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2005 (USA); Scala Dei Prior Criança (Priorat), Grenache/Syrah/Cabernet Sauvignon, 2000 (Spain); Porto Rocha, LBV Prot, 2000 (Portugal).

Score

Comments (5) for "Lesson 4: Salmon Crêpes, Roa...

I'm one of those who loved the lamb, so that was the best dish in my opinion. I had the medium and medium-rare parts of it and it was full of flavor and very tender. I don't think it could have been prepared any better than that. The pineapple sorbet was delicious also, so I'll give it a second place finish. The salmon crêpes and the swiss chard gratin came in third and fourth, respectively, but not too far behind. I really enjoyed the crêpes, but I would think that in more advanced lessons they would have the salmon mixed with a sauce for the filling, in addition to any toppings. The way it was done, servings with less crème fraîche on top would turn out a bit dry in my opinion. Overall it was a great night, with great food and great company. Thanks for having us and please sign us up as guinea pigs for some of the future lessons. :-) By Marcelo Albuquerque - 2/12/2008 4:10 PM

Eu também comprei uma sorveteira há pouco tempo e fiz um sorvete de coco que ficou estupendo, costumo deixar o balde dela já direto no freezer, assim quando precisar ele já está pronto. Depois me manda a receita do frozen de abacaxi? Beijos e parabéns...parece que estava uma delícia. ps: já está lendo o livro da Julie Powell? By Fer Ayer - 2/12/2008 11:52 PM

My favorite dish was the lamb as well, the sauce was fantastic and the meat very tender. Second place came the crepes (love smoked salmon), third the sorbet, and fourth the swiss chard gratin. Not that it was not good, but you forced me to rank the dishes...so I think it was ok, but below Cordon Bleu expectations. It was so much fun. I think it's a great idea to have such a long-term goal, especially involving friends! Kudos to you. By Flavia Albuquerque - 2/13/2008 10:26 AM

Estava tudo maravilhoso! O meu prato preferido foi Smoked Salmon Crêpes. Super leve e cheio de sabor. A combinacao do salmao defumando como o molho branco ficou excelente. O carneiro tambem estava delicioso. Assado no ponto, suculento. O acompanhamento foi o prato que teve mais discussao, porque nenhum dos participantes do jantar tinham ateh o momento experimentado Chard. Eu particularmente achei o Swiss Chard Gratin muito saboroso, estava cremoso e fez um otimo acompanhamento. A sobremesa esta muito boa e deu um final refrescante ao jantar. By Lilian Voznika - 2/22/2008 7:39 AM

Tudo estava muito bom mesmo. Pra mim o melhor de todos foi o carneiro. A carne estava no ponto e bem suculenta. Seguindo na cola foi o salmao. O molho branco com o salmao defumado combinou muito bem. Em terceir o ficou o Swiss Chard Gratin, que apesar de eu nao ser muito de vegetais estava excelente e foi um otimo acompanhamento pro carneiro. Como eu nao sou muito de doce, vou deixar a sobremesa por ultimo. Estava boa e a apresentacao muito legal, mas perdeu pros salgados :-) Valeu pela janta espetacular!! A comida e compania nao poderiam estar melhores. By Fabricio Voznika - 3/2/2008 8:10 AM