Shari G. posted an article on Whisk: a food blog - Nov 19, 2009, 3:18 pm
I passed! Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net Whisk: a food blog This is just a summary. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more!
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Shari G. posted an article on Whisk: a food blog - Nov 17, 2009, 9:06 pm
Today, exams are over. I feel raw, going over every detail of what I could have done differently. My shaking hands at the end telling me this is tough. Taking a deep breath. Remembering the charms and...
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Shari G. posted an article on Whisk: a food blog - Nov 5, 2009, 10:13 pm
I once worked beside a little-known, but top-notch take-out café called The Five Senses. Many times a week, I'd wander over at noon to see what the chef was cooking in his kitchen. Even though he...
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Shari G. posted an article on Whisk: a food blog - Oct 26, 2009, 7:26 am
Here is one of our family favorite meals both because it's tasty and easy to prepare. The secret ingredient is a package of onion soup mix! Shh...don't tell the chefs at Le Cordon Bleu! They w...
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Shari G. posted an article on Whisk: a food blog - Oct 22, 2009, 4:18 pm
Time is flying by so fast here at Le Cordon Bleu. Week 5 seems long ago and was all about soups and compound butters. Well, "soup" is not the right term; "potage" is more accurate. Soup, a type of pot...
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Shari G. posted an article on Whisk: a food blog - Oct 15, 2009, 10:41 pm
This is a recipe from the production kitchen (the kitchen that handles staff meals and prepares ingredients for all the demos and practicals) at Le Cordon Bleu. I was there to practice filleting a Dov...
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Shari G. posted an article on Whisk: a food blog - Oct 8, 2009, 5:48 pm
Taste, turning, trussing, and tears. Last week, we had a seminar on taste! Spending a morning talking about taste was pretty cool! In many little white tubs, lined up in rows, were a variety of dif...
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Shari G. posted an article on Whisk: a food blog - Oct 7, 2009, 9:12 pm
This recipe completes my goal of working through the Basic Cuisine curriculum on my own, in my own kitchen. I started my blog as a way of documenting my progress working through this Le Cordon Bleu cu...
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Shari G. posted an article on Whisk: a food blog - Sep 30, 2009, 11:21 pm
One of my favorite kitchen gadgets is my KitchenAid stand mixer. I’ve thrown some tough doughs its way and it has yet to fail me. Recently, I was pleased to receive the pasta attachment as a gift. T...
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Shari G. posted an article on Whisk: a food blog - Sep 30, 2009, 8:51 am
This rack of lamb is the second-last recipe as part of the Basic Cuisine curriculum that I've been following. The hardest part is preparing the rack. Watch this video to see how to "French" a rack...
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Shari G. posted an article on Whisk: a food blog - Sep 29, 2009, 8:45 pm
After last week, I was glad to leave the white pepper on the shelf for a bit. During week 3 at Le Cordon Bleu, we turned our attention to desserts. Crème anglaise and charlotte were the first tests o...
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Shari G. posted an article on Whisk: a food blog - Sep 23, 2009, 2:32 pm
This recipe, literally translated, means "nun's farts"! Choux pastry is deep-fried and sprinkled with confectioners' sugar much like a doughnut. The story is that a nun accidentally dropped a ...
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Shari G. posted an article on Whisk: a food blog - Sep 22, 2009, 9:13 pm
Clockwise from top: Chef’s Flamiche aux maroilles et poireaux (Leek tart from northern France), Pâté Pantin (Pork pie without use of mould), Getting Ready to Taste Week 2 at Le Cordon Bleu was ...
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Shari G. posted an article on Whisk: a food blog - Sep 16, 2009, 11:52 pm
Feast of Fields was an Ottawa event held this past weekend that brought together the talents of organic farmers and chefs and allowed hungry guests to sample all their tasty treats. Chefs were paired ...
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Shari G. posted an article on Whisk: a food blog - Sep 15, 2009, 11:01 pm
It seems these last recipes in the curriculum are strictly a review of techniques already learned. They don't contain much history or interest but are good practice for the impending exam. Grenadi...
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Shari G. posted an article on Whisk: a food blog - Sep 15, 2009, 10:41 pm
Lesson three was all about garnitures (not garnishes!), which are side dishes. It was fun to see the master chef work on so many dishes (six of them) at once without breaking a sweat while we kept fli...
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Shari G. posted an article on Whisk: a food blog - Sep 10, 2009, 10:08 pm
As of today, I have a byline! And a way to indulge my love of eating at restaurants. I'm the new restaurant reviewer for the Ottawa Metro newpaper, and I'll be providing a review every Thursda...
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Shari G. posted an article on Whisk: a food blog - Sep 9, 2009, 6:49 pm
Sweetbread fritters were supposed to be on the menu today. However, they weren't something I wanted to taste, but may have to if they're on the list of recipes at Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa. Instea...
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Shari G. posted an article on Whisk: a food blog - Sep 8, 2009, 9:19 pm
"Choose Life only that and always and at whatever risk. To let life leak out, to let it wear away by the mere passage of time, to withhold giving it and spreading it is to choose nothing." —...
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Shari G. posted an article on Whisk: a food blog - Sep 7, 2009, 1:38 pm
It's harvest time, and for the fifth year in a row you can spend an afternoon feasting on the talents of organic farmers and chefs at Feast of Fields in Ottawa. Chefs are paired with area farmers ...
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Shari G. posted an article on Whisk: a food blog - Sep 2, 2009, 9:25 am
Savoy (pronounced Savwa) Cake, or Sponge Cake, dates back to the 18th century and is a simple cake using five pantry ingredients. The only odd ingredient is potato flour, which helps produce a more te...
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Shari G. posted an article on Whisk: a food blog - Aug 26, 2009, 10:19 pm
Squab, a euphemism for a 4-week old, tender nestling pigeon is on the menu this week. I've only fed pigeons, never eaten one so it was a new adventure for me! Along with the squab, I prepared a pa...
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Shari G. posted an article on Whisk: a food blog - Aug 22, 2009, 2:34 pm
For such a simple recipe, Gazpacho has a lot of history dating back to the Middle Ages in Andalucia. An Iberian peasant woman in the Andalucian region in southern Spain, soaks her days-old homemade br...
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Shari G. posted an article on Whisk: a food blog - Aug 11, 2009, 11:01 pm
A profiterole (pronounced pruh-FIHT-uh-rohl, but I like to say "olé" at the end for flair) has its own fairly strict definition that's not to be confused with cream puffs. You must scoop vanilla ...
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Shari G. posted an article on Whisk: a food blog - Aug 4, 2009, 11:01 pm
This week, Whisk is on vacation! No laptops allowed! Looking forward to seeing Julie & Julia! Whisk: a food blog This is just a summary. Visit my website for full links, other content, and ...
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Shari G. posted an article on Whisk: a food blog - Aug 1, 2009, 11:04 pm
Paul Brent, a seasoned and well-respected reporter in the Ottawa area, called me on Wednesday to see if I would like to be interviewed for a segment about blogging, cookbooks and Julie and Julia. The ...
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Shari G. posted an article on Whisk: a food blog - Jul 31, 2009, 11:33 pm
There's a buzz in the food world around Julie and Julia, the movie coming to theatres Friday, August 7. I can't wait to see it. And thanks to Leanne Cusack from CTV News at Noon, I'll get ...
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Shari G. posted an article on Whisk: a food blog - Jul 28, 2009, 11:01 pm
This pork tenderloin with beer dish is a crowd pleaser. But not for the cook since it involved turning the potatoes! Now if I weren't going through this Le Cordon Bleu curriculum, I wouldn't b...
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Shari G. posted an article on Whisk: a food blog - Jul 27, 2009, 4:05 pm
Caipirinha (KIE-PUR-REEN-YAH), known as the national drink of Brazil, has been gaining in popularity in the cocktail world over the past number of years. Once relatively unknown outside of Brazil, the...
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Shari G. posted an article on Whisk: a food blog - Jul 26, 2009, 7:23 pm
Click Here for a Web Companion to Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking When I was reading Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell almost two years ago, I ...
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Shari G. posted an article on Whisk: a food blog - Jul 21, 2009, 11:01 pm
This is an easy soup to make if you don't have to take your daughter to a birthday party, pick her up from the party, go shopping for a different birthday party, take another daughter to a sleepov...
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