Back from the 4-day marathon cooking weekend...

Richard, did you 'rent' a kitchen? This sounds like a grand time and I'm wondering about

the logistics. 4 people with varying ethnic backgrounds got together to cook together, and serve classic meals?

 
Marg, no there was just the two of us...

I was visiting an old college friend who graduated from Cordon Bleu in Paris and was a pastry chef at one of the top restaurants in Chicago. We've done this many times before and we call it "power cooking." We did all the cooking in her home kitchen, albeit, a very nicely equipped one.

It was great because with all the fun we were having, she was also teaching me as we went along, giving me the insider tips, etc. She used her kitchenaid a lot more than I do, for things I considered too delicate, like the choux pastry, just whipped it into the kitchenaid and it was perfect. Also, beating cream cheese into the whipped cream for a trifle? Sinful. I was amazed at how long she beat her eggs for genoise, and how incredibly light and fluffy it turned out. She beat those eggs for about 30 minutes.

A grand time. Can't wait to do it again!

 
Ahah. Not what I imagined at all. What fun. Thanks for the tip on the genoise.

I don't have great luck with them. I am confusing luck and skill here.

But I am ready to keep trying.

 
Interesting... I'm sure the burned sugar imparts a different flavor. I don't drink espresso

but I imagine I can buy some espresso powder?

 
Back
Top