Cook'n With Class - French Cooking School in Paris Montmartre

what is like to take a cooking class with us ?

Have fun, learn some French dishes, to taste new foods and interact with interesting people. This is a hands-on experience so no sitting back and just watching here.

The maximum number of students per class is 6. All classes are taught in English and/or French.

The school is like a cozy studio, so you have a lounge area where you can sit down and relax before the class starts, have a drink of water, wine or coffee. The idea is to create a space that is both functional and feels like home, with a bit of music just to put you in the mood. As we said, it is a fun class, so no stress, we are not competing against one another.

Generally we will be cooking everything together, with each participant having his or her own dish to prepare, so you can eat what YOU have done.

The cooking portion of the class lasts about 2 hours.

At the end of the session, when everybody is ready, we can finally sit down and enjoy our meal together with a good bottle of wine.

Recipes for class December 11th 2007

Wild Mushroom salad
Serves 4
2 tbsp Sunflower oil
2 TBS Shallots
1 TBS Garlic cloves
5 cups Wild mushrooms (chanterelles, girolles, black trumpets,)
2 TBS Balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 TBS Olive oil
2 TBS Parsley, chopped
Salt & pepper, to taste

Method
Clean all the mushrooms and soak them in cold water for 2 minutes only, dried them on paper towel.
Chopped the shallots, garlic, parsley
In a large non-stick pan add the sunflower oil and heat on high, add shallots and garlic, let cook but with no coloration, add the mushrooms, salt and pepper, let cook for 10 to 15 minutes.
Let the mushrooms cool down for 20 minutes before you add the parsley
In a bowl, add mustard, salt and pepper, balsamic and olive oil, mix well and add it to the mushroom.

Marinated quails with spices
Serves 6
6 Fresh quails
1 ts Cumin
1 ts Nutmeg
1 ts Cayenne pepper
1 ts Cinnamon
1 TBS Olive oil
1 TBS Honey
Salt and pepper

Method
De-bone the quails
Spay the spices on top of the quails,
Add the olive oil and the honey
Mix well and put in the fridge, for at least 1h
On the oven broiler, cook the quails, skin up for 10 to 15 mn, till they are crispy, serve with the salad of your choice or the ratatouille

Monkfish with mussels, and cream curry sauce
Serves 6
6 u Monkfish or halibut or sea bass fillet
1 pound Mussels
2 U Zucchini
2 U Carrots peeled
2 U Turnips peeled
3 U Shallots chopped
1 cup Heavy cream (35%)
1 tsp Curry
1 pinch Saffron
1 cup White wine
1 Tsp Garlic chopped
1 Tsp Thyme
1 oz Olive oil
1 U Tomato (small diced)
1oz Butter
1oz flour
Salt and pepper

Method
In a large saucepan, add olive oil, shallots, garlic and thyme, add also the wine, let cook slowly for a few minutes add the clean mussels. Lets cook around 10 mn, a high heat. (Till the mussels open)
In a small saucepan, add butter and flour, cook slowly for 3 mn, add the mussel juice and the cream, cook for 6 to 8 mn, and add saffron and curry.
Pan seared the fish fillet 5 mn on each side, add the cream and the mussels (you have previously take the fruit out of the shell, and let cook together for 5 mn and low heat.
With a melon ball tool, make some pearl in the vegetables. Boiled water with salt and add the carrots and the turnips, let cook for 3 mn, and then add the zucchini for 1 mn. Strain and add to the fish and the sauce.
Add diced tomato in the plates to add color.

Avocado and banana sauce
Serves 6
1 Avocado ripe
1 Banana ripe
2 TBSSugar
half Orange juice
half Lemon juice
¼ cup cold water

Method
Put a blender the banana and the avocado
Squeeze half lime and half orange juice and add it into the blender
Add the sugar and mix well
Reserve in the fridge till time to serve

Moelleux au chocolat
Serves 6-8
5oz light brown sugar
4 oz butter
4 oz 70% semi-sweet chocolate
6 eggs
2oz flour
1 oz soft butter (for the mold)

Method
1. Melt slowly the chocolate with butter on the stove (use a casserole with water)
2. Mix flour and sugar in a bowl
3. Beat the eggs
4. Add the eggs (not on the stove) to the chocolate, mixed well, add the mix of sugar and flour
5. Butter the moulds (use aluminum)
6. Add the preparation and let rest in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours.
7. Cook in a hot oven (350F), for 12 to 15 mn.

Recipes for class December 4th 2007

Goat cheese salad with rosemary
Serve 6
6 cup Mesclun salad
3-goat cheese type ''crottin de Chavignol''
1 bunch rosemary
Dressing:
1 TBS Dijon mustard
1 TBS apple cider vinegar
2 TBS sunflower oil
1 TBS cold water
Salt and pepper

Method:
Pre-heat the oven at 350F
Clean the salad in cold water with a pinch of salt, Drain well
Cut the crottin in half and put it in top of the rosemary in oven sheet pan
Put into the oven for 7 minutes
Prepare the dressing, in a bowl,
Mustard, salt and pepper and vinegar first, mix well, add the oil and the water, and mix well again.
You are all set; mix the salad with the dressing, dispose some on each plate add the cheese on top.

Sautéed scallops, saffron cream sauce and endives with honey
Serve 4
12 Scallops
1+1 TBS Sunflower oil
1+1 TBS Butter
1/2 cup white wine
1 little pinch saffron (4 or 5 filaments)
2 chopped shallots
1 cup of heavy cream 35%
1 TBS honey
2 endives
1 lemon juice
Salt and pepper

Method:
1) In a saucepan, reduce the wine with the chopped shallots; you need to have only 3 TBs at the end
2) Add the cream, the saffron and reduce for 4 minutes, then salt pepper and 1 oz of butter
3) Clean the scallops dry them with a paper towel
4) Cut the endives in one inch slices
5) In a non-stick pan, add the oil, the butter and sautéed the endives for 4 minutes on high, add the honey, salt and pepper, the lemon juice and reduce the heat, keep cooking 3 minutes.
6) In a non-stick pan, on high heat, olive oil and butter and cook the scallops 3 minutes on each side.
7) You are all set.

Moelleux au chocolat
Serves 6-8
5oz light brown sugar
4 oz butter
4 oz 70% semi-sweet chocolate
6 eggs
2oz flour
1 oz soft butter (for the mold)

Method
1. Melt slowly the chocolate with butter on the stove (use a casserole with water)
2. Mix flour and sugar in a bowl
3. Beat the eggs
4. Add the eggs (not on the stove) to the chocolate, mixed well, add the mix of sugar and flour
5. Butter the moulds (use aluminum)
6. Add the preparation and let rest in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours.
7. Cook in a hot oven (350F), for 12 to 15 mn.

Caramel Poached Pear
Serve 4
* 4 medium size firm pears
* 6 oz sugar
* 1⁄2 lemon juice

Method:
1) In a saucepan prepare a caramel with the sugar; add the 8 cups of water, boiled for 2 minutes
2) Add the lemon juice
3) Peeled the pears and place them carefully into the sauce pan, be sure they are fully recovered with the liquid, let cook slowly (simmering for around 35 minutes)
Pick them with a fork or a knife to be sure they are cooked, let chilled out 1 hour

pastry recipes for class November 29th 2007

Mille-feuilles with red fruit (summer class)
Picture by Yetunde Oshodi

Marinated Strawberries
Serve 6
2 cup Strawberries
2 TBS Sugar
1 TBS of Good ''Aged'' Balsamic vinegar


Method:
Mix all the ingredients in a large stainelss still bowl and reserve in the fridge for at least one hour, but 4 hours max, the strawberries could get ‘’mushy’’

Chocolate and vanilla Crème Brulée
Serve 4
4 egg yolks
1 cup of heavy cream 35%
2 oz sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
2 oz Chocolate (70%, semi sweet)
4 TBS sugar for caramelization

Method:
1) Warm the cream with the vanilla in a saucepan,
2) In a bowl, whisk the egg yolk with the sugar
3) Poor the cream on top of the egg yolk, don’t stop mixing
4) Add the chocolate and mix well.
5) Poor the cream in your 4 little Ramequin,
6) Cook in a pre-heat oven at 100 degrees Celsius for 40 minutes.
7) Let cool down before you put them in the fridge.
8) After at least 4 hours in the fridge, you can caramelized the crème,
9) Add 1 tablespoon of sugar on each ramequin and put it on the broiler of your oven for 3 mn.

Honey Madeleine
To make 36 big Madeleine:
# 8oZ flour
# 5 eggs
# 7oz butter
# 5oz honey acacia or orange blossom
# 5oz sugar
# 1 teaspoon Instant yeast
# 1oz soft butter for the mold

Method:
1. Heat the oven at 350F (thermostat 7).
2. Buttered the mold and dust some sugar on top of the butter
3. On low heat, on a small sauce-pan, let heat the butter with the honey
4. Beat the eggs with the sugar in a large bol
5. Add the flour and the baking powder slowly to the eggs
6. Add butter and honey when hot and foamy to the preparation, mix well.
7. Let cool down for a few minutes, then filled up the mold
8. Cook the Madeleine in the middle of your oven for 5 mn at 350F, and 5 more minutes at 250F.
9. Take them out of the mold and let cool

Mille-feuilles with Spicy Caramelized Pears
1) Crème pâtissière
2 cups Milk
4 oz g sugar
4 eggs yolk
1.5 oz cornstarch (corn flour)
2 Pears
Spices; (cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper) 1/4 tsp of each
1 oz Butter
1 oz Sugar
Puff pastry

Method:
Cut the puff pastry in big square (2 per person), make whole with a fork, then
Heat your oven at 300F and cook the puff pastries for 10 to 15 minutes. (till is it golden brown)
Let make the cream by heating the milk
Then in a bowl add the egg yolks, the sugar and the cornstarch and whisk well.
Poor the boiling milk on top of the eggs, don’t stop mixing.
Put back in the saucepan and cook on low heat for 2 minutes, don’t stop mixing.
Reserve in a bowl and let cool down completely.
Peeled and cut the pears in dices.
In a non-stick saucepan, on medium heat, add the butter and the sugar and let caramelized, when you have a great golden brown color caramel, you add the pears, the spices and you sautéed for a few minutes. Reserve and let cool down a few more minutes.
Do it like a napoleon, in each plate
1) puff pastry square
2) crème (one spoon),
3) 2 spoons pears,
4) puff pastry square

Moelleux au chocolat
Serves 6-8
5oz light brown sugar
4 oz butter
4 oz good dark chocolate (70%)
6 eggs
2oz flour
1 oz soft butter for the mold

Method
1. In a bowl, Melt slowly the chocolate with butter (double boil)on the stove (use a casserole with water)
2. Mix flour and sugar in a bowl
3. Beat the eggs in a bowl
4. Add the eggs (not on the stove) to the chocolate, mixed well, add the mix of sugar and flour
5. Butter the moulds (use aluminum)
6. Add the preparation and let rest in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours.(you can keep them 3 days in the fridge)
7. Cook before serving in a hot oven (350F), for 10 to 12 mn.

Avocado and banana sauce
Serves 6
Avocado ripe 1
Banana ripe 1
Sugar 2 TBS
half orange juice
half lemon juice
Cold Water 1/4 cup

Method
1. Put a blender the banana and the avocado
2. Squeeze half lime and half orange juice and add it into the blender
3. Add the sugar and the water and mix well
4. Reserve in the fridge till is time to use it with the chocolate cake