DINE WITH THE COOKS

At the Chef Studio

 

Chef Studio cooks will pair up in talented combinations

Cooking, baking, collaborating on food and wine,

In order to satisfy your curiosities

both gastronomic and educational

about the Chef Studio.

The Cooks? All teach at the Chef Studio

 

[] Robert Reynolds, trained by two famous chefs whose influence spans 100 years.

[] Kristen D. Murray, no one thinks in the elements of dessert the way she does.

[] Kevin Gibson, EVOE world class lunch counter

[] Alton Garcia, mythic cook from Square Peg, via Genoa, Nostrana & Broder

[] Narumol Poonsukwattana – Nong’s, the best $6 meal in the country*

[] Rodney Muirhead – French Culinary Institute Podnah

 

Dinner format * (except Nong)

[] Appetizers and aperitif to start.

[] What the French might call and entrée,

[] followed by main, then cheese or dessert.

 

We cook for you, you talk with us

We serve, you eat and drink

Seems like an agreeable way to spend an evening

[] Four courses – $45

Wine $7/glass + service []

Ten people – 6.30 PM. Saturday 6.00 Sunday

[] Reserve: troufood@me.com [] 503 421 9257 []

 

Dinner/class dates

[] Sun 3/4 – Rodney Muirhead from Podnah’s will revisit his Italian/French culinary past

[] Sat. 3/10   - Nong has signed on for an evening of charm and excellent food                                                         

[] Sun 3/11 Alton Garcia my favorite mythic cook will take to the powder blue French range

[] Sat. 3/17  remains open

[] Sun13/18 – booked with Kristen Murray

[] Sat. 3/24 – Booked with Kristen Murray

[]Sun 3/25 – to be announced

 

 

[] 2818 SE Pine Street, 97214 [] http://thechefstudio.com []

May 10-16 & November 8-15

Bordeaux region

enrollment for May 2012 closes March 1st

The Chef Studio offers a one-week cooking course in the Bordeaux region each spring and fall.  Participants will be offered two hands-on cooking classes per day and a window into the local food culture that teaches authenticity of place in a way not normally accessible on other tours.  The course is appropriate for students from a wide range of experience levels and backgrounds.

The course

We gather in Bordeaux and enjoy the ritual of dining in a French restaurant.  Being fortified for the journey, we will travel into the countryside to what will be our home of the next week.

Class will begin each morning with trips to the market where we will gather the best ingredients the region has to offer.  We will return to the kitchen for a quickly prepared lunch focusing on simple French home cooking.

The afternoons are given over to visiting the farmers and producers of the distinctive foods of the region. We will visit distillers, foie gras producers, vintners, cheese makers and farms.

We return to the kitchen enriched by the afternoon and ready for an intensive discussion/instruction of formulas and techniques that will bring each ingredient to the plate perfectly.  Students work closely with instructors as we prepare the meal, set a French table and linger over dinner and conversation about the day and beyond.

The curriculum taught was developed at The Chef Studio in Portland Oregon. It emphasizes the authenticity – you will make dishes of the region where they originated with the ingredients they were created for.

What you will learn

• How to read the pulse of the market
• How to compose a French meal
• What local/regional means in France
• The role of cuisine in French culture
• Techniques for maximizing the best ingredients of the region
• Focus is on the characteristics of a French menu and the role of cusine in French culture and life

View some of the dishes we cooked in Spring 2011.

Read Robert’s essay on the Spring 2011 course.

 

The teachers

The 2012 sessions will be taught by Courtney Sproule and Blake Van Roekel, who co-taught the Spring 2011 session in the region.  Courtney and Blake are both former Chef Studio students and have taught at the Chef Studio since 2009.  Read their bios here.  Courtney & Blake will be assisted by other Chef Studio staff and former students.

 

The students

• Both Chef Studio students and those new to the Chef Studio may enroll.  Those from outside of Portland can easily join us, as we meet up in Bordeaux, where the course commences.
• Only six students are accepted, for a very low student/teacher ratio of two to one.
• The course is appropriate for a wide range of students of varying experience, ages, and backgrounds.  Because the student/teach ratio is so low, the curriculum can be adapted to the cooking level of each student, whether you’re new to cooking or are an experienced professional.  The course teaches lessons of authenticity of place that are applicable to many levels of experience and various backgrounds.   Those who have joined us in the past include 20-some year old industry line cooks with ambitions of a culinary career, professionals in their 40s and 50s curious about cooking and looking for a cultural experience, and a wide variety of both home cooks and seasoned chefs.
• It is not necessary to speak French.  The classes are conducted in English and translation will be provided during tours.

 

Why

This is why Robert created this course, in his own words:

“I have always felt that the goal and vision we pursue is really best served by having a segment of training at the source in France. I want students who come to the Studio to understand that the ideas we advocate about cooking are supported in France by a philosophical commitment. The pursuit of excellence is not a marketing device; it is a way of life. We in Oregon, with our incomparable agricultural richness, are particularly aligned to understand and appreciate the authenticity of place.  “But those from anywhere in the country stand to benefit remarkably from the lessons France teaches us of truth from soil to table.”

 

The region

Bordeaux is one of the world’s great gastronomic regions.  It’s known for many foods, including foie gras, duck, prunes, and confits, as well as the world-famous Bordeaux wines and the treasured Armagnac.  We will sample many authentic examples of each.  We will also meet the producers whose families have been at their craft for centuries.  During the Spring 2011 France session we met:

 

 

M. Gros, who gave us a tour of his eau-de-vie distillery.  M. Gros’ family tended a pear orchard until the EU started applying bogus regulations to pears.  The innovative and undaunted M. Gros decided to start distilling his fruit.  His Poire Williams eau-de-vie is unsurpassed, and his honeysuckle eau-de-vie is truly unlike anything else on earth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mme Hélène Singlande, who farms a 7-hectare vineyard of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc grapes almost single-handedly.  She is currently also the wine maker in this Buzet denomination and recounted to us the characteristics and story of each vintage dating back to years before many of us were born.

 

 

 

 

 

Armagnac producers who welcomed us into their living room and gave us a taste of literally some of the last remaining bottles of true Armagnac.   To hear them talk about their Armagnac is to be gifted with history.

Read Robert’s essay on these producers.

 

 

 

 

Tuition & Enrollment

• $3,200 includes lodging, lunch and dinner, and local transport for classes and tours. Students are expected to get to Bordeaux on their own (we are happy offer travel suggestions).
• Enrollment for the May 2012 session will close on March 1st.
• Students are encouraged to inquire for future sessions as early as possible.

 

Contact

Courtney Sproule at 971-544-1350 or courtney@dindinportland.com if you’re interested or for more information.

 

                                                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

White Asparagus & Hollandaise

SAUCE MALTAISE:

For asparagus, made with sour orange juice.

 (Mikado is made with tangerine juice.)

 The method is the same as for Hollandaise.

2 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons orange (tangerine) juice

2 teaspoons fine grated rind

½ teaspoon salt

pinch of pepper

3 egg yolks

1/2 pound unsalted butter, melted

 

Make an infusion of water, lemon juice and ¼ cup orange juice, rind, salt and pepper

Reduce to 2 or 3 tablespoons.

Remove from heat, let cool a little.

Whisk liquid into yolks, tempering a little at a time to prevent eggs from scrambling.

Return to the pan, and cook slowly until the mixture thickens slightly and makes a custard.

Remove from heat, and whisk in ¼ cup of melted, cooled, butter a teaspoon at a time, whisking well with each addition. When the  /4 cup is incorporated, continue whisking in the remaining butter a tablespoons at a time, incorporating well with each addition.

 

Incorporate remaining 2 tablespoons of orange juice, 1 teaspoon at a time to lighten sauce as needed if it gets too thick. Strain and serve with blanched asparagus

 

Refer to MM  Kamman  THE  MAKING  OF  A  COOK

 

Zucchini Blossoms in Herbed Broth

3 blossoms per person,  pistols removed

1 cup fromage blanc

¼ cup crème fraiche

2 tablespoons finely grated parma cheese

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup chicken broth

½ to ¾ cup chopped herbs

parsley, chives, tarragon

 

Loosen the fresh goat cheese with some crème fraiche. Flavor with a bit of Parmesan mixed in. Stuff each blossom with about a tablespoons of the goat cheese mix and close carefully. Arrange the blossoms in a skillet side by side in a circle. Add the butter and warm enough to melt. Put a cover on the pan and cook slowly until the blossoms wilt. They will give up some water.

Remove the blossoms to individual serving bowls. Add the broth to the pan in which the blossoms cooked. Heat and season to taste. Add the herbs, then divide the broth among the bowls and serve at once.

 

Souffléd Omelet

Sometimes simplicity is breath taking. I slipped a souffléd omelet into today’s menu. We were focusing on home cooking, and the omelet is the sort of thing a home cook in France might make. We started by soaking cake crumbs in a sugar/water syrup flavored with rum. We were careful to moisten the crumbs but not to get them drunk with too much strong flavor. A small amount seemed enticing.

We took eggs and beat them with sugar, then flavored them with orange flower water and vanilla. We whipped them until they doubled in volume. As the eggs thickened they started to resembled cream when it is whipped thick enough to leave tracks of the whip.

I threw a lump of good French butter into a skillet and let it melt. When the eggs were ready, I simply poured them into the skillet and let them cook at a moderate heat. I didn’t want to burn the butter, and I didn’t want to burn the eggs. After a minute and a half or so on the flame, I slipped a spatula under the eggs, lifted them up to see if the bottom of the omelet was taking on color. It wasn’t, so I kept cooking another couple of minutes. I checked the bottom of the omelet regularly.

Once I saw a crust of golden color developing, I dropped the rum soaked cake crumbs in a line across the middle of the omelet. I removed the pan from the flame, and placed it in a 375oF oven. I arranged flat soup bowls on the counter while the omelet cooked. After just a few minutes it had risen, and taken on light golden color. I removed it from the oven.

I inverted the omelet onto a large plate, rolling as it left the skillet. I wanted to shape it to look like a jelly roll cake. I took my knife, sliced it in four servings, set them in a bowl, and served the dessert.                The aroma of the rum issuing from the cake blended with the good French butter, so that before we tasted we already were emitting little ‘mmmmm’s of satisfaction.

It was like a fine bread pudding, better for having been made with cake, and lighter in body. But it wasn’t like bread pudding which we all agreed we didn’t like. It was like a cake. Light, flavorful, moist in the center. That suited us better

 

FRUIT GARNISH

Strawberries, halved

Cherries, halved

Golden raisins, soaked in Armagnac

Prunes, cut in 6ths, the size of the raisins, added to Armagnac

Raspberry jam

 

Add raspberry jam to cut strawberries and macerate until the berries start to give up their  juice. Add the remaining ingredients and mix. Allow to sit for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

 

[1] Class Act dinners

[2] SPECIAL: 5-day cooking series

[3] Session in France May 2012

[4] Indian Cooking series

[5] Butchery and Charcuterie

 

 

[1] Class Act dinners

6.30 Saturday January the 21^st & 28th

4-course menu. Cost is $45 (not including service)
Wine additional @ 7/glass – RSVP: troufood@me.com

Robert Reynolds will continue the Chef Studio class/dinners through February, bringing together the talented teachers who cook here. The table has only room for a dozen people. The menu will change nightly.

[2] SPECIAL: 5-day cooking series

There is room for 1 or 2 participants to join us for 5 days in the current 8-week Apprenticeship course.  Sessions run from 9 AM to 3 PM Monday through Friday. Contact Robert for details.

Americans have an image of food that mostly comes from restaurant experience. However, food is meant to nourish body and spirit, in variety, style, technique and presentation. It forms that part of the fabric of life centered around the table. Restaurants come second. There is a lot for students to learn and to un-learn. So we start with techniques.

For example, Madeleine Kamman explained: “Sear your meats, then season them. That way you build up layers of flavor.”

I will forever hear Josephine Araldo saying: “This dish is constructed this way, first you do this….  Or, “Cooking is only about texture and taste.”

“Look always in the saucepan.”

” Judgment is called for at every step along the way.”

Students are shaped first by the flavor of the ensemble, then by the magic. Over time they learn to appreciate particular things. When they do, I take my cue from Josephine of simply preparing dishes from good ingredients. “A gourmet dish,” she said, “is a well prepared dish. Period.”

[3] Session in France May 2012

The Chef Studio is offering a one-week cooking course in the Bordeaux region May 10-16, 2012. It will be conducted by Courtney Sproule and Blake Van Roekel, who co-taught the Spring 2011 session in the region. With the assistance of other Chef Studio staff and former students,  the participants will be offered two hands-on cooking classes per day and a window into the local food culture in an authentic way not normally accessible on other tours.

Each morning we will visit a market to buy local ingredients for the day’s. We will return to our kitchen prepare a quick, improvisational lunch. Each afternoon we will then venture out into the region to visit the winemakers, and food producers whose efforts lend distinction to the region’s cooking. Finally, we’ll take a pause before returning to the kitchen for a second, more formal instruction and compose the meal, set a French table, and linger over dinner and conversation about our. Instructors will work very closely with participants to make this an extraordinary learning experience.

This is why Robert created this course, in his own words:

I have always felt that the goal and vision we pursue is really best served by having a segment of training at the source in France. I want students who come to the Studio to understand that the ideas we advocate about cooking are supported in France by a philosophical commitment. The pursuit of excellence is not a marketing device; it is a way of life. We in Oregon, with our incomparable agricultural richness, are particularly aligned to understand and appreciate the authenticity of place.”

Read Robert’s essay on our last trip to the Southwest of France this spring:

View photos of the trip here.

Tuition & Enrollment:

$3,200 includes lodging, lunch and dinner, and local transport for classes and tours. Students are expected to get to Bordeaux on their own (we are happy offer travel suggestions). It has been our experience that we eat in as often as possible what we have prepared with ingredients we find at the market.  Contact Courtney Sproule at 971-544-1350 or courtney@dindinportland.com if you’re interested or for more information. Enrollment will close on March 1st.

[4] Indian Cooking series - 4 Wednesday evenings beginning January 11^th - 6 to 9 PM.

Kaaren Bedi is returning to teach a new session on Indian cooking. She plans to examine the basic components: Rice, dal, bread and & spices and condiments that will allow intensive explorations going across a variety of Indian cultures to open up new horizons and deepen understanding of the elements that make up Indian food.

[5] Butchery and Charcuterie

Camas Davis will teach a four-part basic butchery and charcuterie class series in February. This will be an excellent series for those of you who have taken one or two classes from the PMC already but want to gain more practice. It’s also a perfect combination of classes for anyone wanting to learn the art of home butchery and charcuterie. Students will have the opportunity to break down their own ducks, chickens, rabbits, and pig, and they’ll learn how to make rillette, bacon, hams, sausage, and pâté. In addition, they’ll find out how to prepare, cook, and cure cuts of meat that they may not have experienced otherwise. Register quickly, as the class size is limited to eight.

Chef Studio Upcoming Classes

 

[1]          8-week Apprenticeship cooking program - January 3 – February 24 – Mon – Fri 9AM  to 3 PM

I like to describe the 8-week session as a course for those who didn’t grow up French. You learn a lot that your French Grandmother might have taught you, and also a lot of good technical, solid skills, methods, all supported by physics, chemistry history, culture and a good measure of common sense. It’s the perfect training for someone who wants to know how good cooking happens whether your ambition is professional or avocational.

[2]             There is also an evening version of apprenticeship Course of Study which meets two evenings a week, plus one Saturday a month for a period of 8 weeks. Either course leads to an enviable diploma.

[3]          Indian Cooking series - 4 Wednesday evenings beginning January 11^th – 6 to 9 PM.

Kaaren Bedi is returning to teach a new session on Indian cooking. She plans to examine the basic components: Rice, dal, bread and & spices and condiments that will allow intensive explorations going across a variety of Indian cultures to open up new horizons and deepen understanding of the elements that make up Indian food.

 

 

 

 

[4]          Camas Davis and the Portland Meat Collective - 4 Friday evenings – February 3, 10, 17 & 24 – 6 to 9 PM

In February Camas Davis of the Portland Meat Collective is offering a 4-part butchery series focused on chicken, ducks, rabbit and pig.

 

[5]          Pastry: the Basics with Laura Content - 4 Sundays – January 8, 15, 22 & 29 – 10 AM to 2 PM

A course giving a deeper understanding of techniques and ingredients covering:

[] baking cake and preparing icing

[] pies and tarts – doughs and fillings

[] custards and ice creams

[] plus quick and yeasted breads

Explore the methods of each topic in a small hands-on setting. From these basics you’ll have the confidence to create beautiful desserts and breads for any occasion.