LA CUISINE PARIS!
A French cooking class in Paris, is not something I would normally consider, but when a lady called Nancy from tripadvisor invited me to join her along with two other friends, Mary Kay and Jane, I thought it would be an interesting experience.
I wasn’t wrong. The chef took us though the preparation and cooking of classics, Gratin Duphinois,( potatoes in a creamy garlicky sauce) Fricassee de volaille au cidre et pommes caramelisees. ( fricasee of chicken and mushrooms with cider and caramelised apples) and finally Poire Belle Helene (poached pears in spices with chocolate sauce.
with a lot of audience participation after which we hungrily devoured the lot!
Lets get to the chocolate!
The lovely and knowledgeable, chef Julie kept her cool while about ten women snapped photos, chatted, networked and got distracted.
The one thing I learned was how to caramelise mushroom (and other things)
Have the food at room temperature before cooking,
Use a hot pan,
cook in small batches
add salt and lemon, just before taking out of the pan.
I also learned
I also learned
…how to make chocolate ganache.
…how much cream and salt goes into French cooking.
..and how on earth do they stay so slim? !!!!
Denise
Love from Paris.
Highly recommended! and Julie also can be booked as a private chef!
http://lacuisineparis.com/
Denise
Love from Paris.
Highly recommended! and Julie also can be booked as a private chef!
http://lacuisineparis.com/
denisefrombolton 
Oooh, first comments from Paris!The food looks delicious and the class looks like it was lots of fun. I want whatever dish that last picture is of!Jo
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Looks yummy, hope you've got the recipes to pass on!Janet x
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Great post, Denise! It was fun to see the photos that you took during our cooking class. I'll have to send the ones that I took of you caramelizing the mushrooms. You're a real pro – aren't you happy that none of us offered to take over the job so that you could get lots of practice flipping the mushrooms?! 😉 Everything tasted delicious – I keep thinking about the gratin and the Poire Belle Helene. We may have to get together again and see if we can duplicate the dinner without Chef Julie's guidance!
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Wow, everything looks mouth-watering! Good for you for trying a new experience.
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wow!! that looked like so much fun!! Great to see Jane and Mary Kay's smiling faces too along with yours lovely … x
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I feel famous being in your blog! The cooking class was educational and fun, but spending time with friends is the best part! Bon appetit, mon amie!
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Hi Roniece, Nycgirl, Jane and Mary kay.I tried a low fat version of the meal last night, using quark, which was a success….. but I cheated and used Jamie Oliver's duphinoise potatoes as I think it is much tastier, quicker and done on top of the stove. (sorry Julie!) Not yet made the Pear belle Helene as I am back in the diet!I was quite proud how I caramelised the chicken and mushrooms.Jo the last dish was the potatoes duphiniose.Janet will give you the recipe when I see you.
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