Food so good you stop eating all the other crap you thought was good

Herb Gnocchi with Asparagus and Hotel Butter

Hungarian Goulash with Spaetzle

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Lamb Chops with Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes & Spinach

Chicken Roulade with Pommes Vapeur

Coq au Vin!

Shrimp & Chicken Sausage Gumbo

Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Fingerling Potatoes & Beets

Sauteed Salmon with Ratatouille & Creamy Lentils

Grilled Pork Chop with Braised Red Cabbage & Pommes Dauphinoise

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These are samplings of the beautiful traditional French food I have made in class. I think my favorites have been the handmade Gnocchi, the Goulash and the Coq au Vin.

You haven't had Gnocchi until you've had it made from scratch, browned in butter and covered in more butter. It was music to my mouth! We made the Gnocchi from scratch with fresh potatoes and herbs - beautiful. Then we par-cooked them until they held together nicely. THEN...we sauteed them in butter until they were browned and crispy on the outside and MELT IN YOUR MOUTH on the inside. Then we added sauteed asparagus and covered the whole dish with hotel or compound butter - BUTTER combined with lemon zest, shallots and herbs. YUM, GORGEOUS, AMAZING.

The Goulash - brilliant. Cheap chuck braised until it's beautiful. Brown it in some paprika then set it in the oven and forget it. That is, until you eat it and realize you have eaten beauty.

And the Coq au Vin.
Need I say more?
Chicken braised until it falls off the bone, in a gorgeous brown sauce. Garnished with blanched pearl onions, bacon pieces and sauteed mushrooms. Forget Koo Koo Roo, El Pollo Loco and whatever excessively-voweled-name-chicken-place you can think of...THIS is how you eat chicken. With BUTTER, FAT, SALT and GORGEOUSNESS.

Sadly, my time in this lovely class is up. My final - which is the bottom picture that has the heart ramekin - was to make Vegetable Pasta Soup for starter, Sauteed Salmon with Ratatouille & Creamy Lentils (pictured) for an appetizer and Grilled Pork Chop with Braised Red Cabbage & Pommes Dauphinoise (pictured) for the main course. Can you imagine that being YOUR final exam? Strangely enough, it was extremely stressful. But it was TONS of fun to pull off.

Now I'm starting my BAKING journey in culinary school. Tune in, sign on, tweet, toot or read about my next blog where I talk about the joys of...

YEAST.

(Yeah, I know, it's actually not that exciting).