The Awful Offals

You knew it was coming.

It had to be done.


(que the ominous chords)

The Offal Practical
If you've ever wondered where the phrase 'waste not want not' comes from now you know. Offals: tripe, sweatbreads, kidneys, liver, oh I could go on, but I've decided to spare you.

No matter how you disguise it and dress it up (and believe me we did) it's hard to get over the foreign taste, texture, and smell.



But as it's important to expand your mind, it's equally important to expand your taste buds...as hard as that is to swallow.

Today we breaded and pan fried liver placing it alongside deep sautéed and seasoned potatoes and drenching the liver in a heap of caramelized onions.



Proof that I did experience this acquired taste.

Darcy Jones

A Bit of Brilliance from Bavaria

The Bavarian Cream is master of all mouses. The French Bavarois taste encompasses layers of rich flavored cream suspended on pockets of air that create a cloud like texture. Think of it as the Hungarian goose down pillow of mouses... or simply put: it's the creme de la creme.



There is no better way to experience the bavarois in all it's brilliance than in the Charlotte au Chocolat and the Charlotte aux Fraises. The etymology of the Charlotte is disputed: some believe it was named for the wife of England's George III in the 18th Century, yet other say it was developed for King Alexander of Prussia and named after his sister in law Charlotte of Prussia. Regardless of which line can lay claim to this treat, the Charlotte is an undoubted royal relic.



The Charlotte aux Chocolat has a light chocolate sponge cake that is studded with pistachios and adorned with a chocolate bavarois. The crowning glory of this cake though is it's unique chocolate couverture, or chocolate fan. This whimsical garniture gives the cake surprising movement and height and just makes me think of Charlotte dancing away at a royal ball long ago...



Never one to be upstaged by it's distant cousin, the Charlotte aux Fraises has an equally distinct and magnificent appearance.



Here layers of sponge have been separated by a berry jam and fixed in a pinstripe pattern, topped with a gleaming glacage of strawberry puree and syrup.



Put it this way, there was a lot of elegance and ego cramped into a very small fridge this weekend.






Darcy Jones

Foray into the Foret

As the semester draws to a close I am ever more sensitive to the heat of the kitchen. The pressure is on to not just finish, but to finish strong.

So now it's time to get serious. Seriously sweet that is.


Tis the season of Creams, Cakes, and Chocolate.

This week marked a battle with genoise. Genoise, or sponge cake, is a lot like a difficult child really, you have to trick the sponge's meringue into thinking that you are not incorporating the dry ingredients, and if it's on to you it will do everything in it's power to resist. This means that if you do not fold gently, carefully, and conservatively, you are well screwed. The batter will suck all the volume out of the whipped egg whites, and your cake will collapse in the oven. This is the moment when the chef feels most like a hated babysitter.



So when not being beaten, battered, and broken I was confronting the Conan of chocolate cake:

Gateau Foret Noire (the famous Black Forest Cake).



Now it's not necessarily the most posh cake in terms of polished presentation, but this homey delight is so decadent and delicious that it will make you question why you ever order dessert out. It's just that good. Traditionally, the chocolate sponge layers are soaked in a Kirsch simple syrup, and separated by layers of Kirsch marinated Griotte cherries reduced to a compote.

But here is my culinary, or rather confectionary, confession: I hate Kirsch.

Even the smell of this intensely strong liquor makes me look for the ladies room. So in a culinary covert operation, I snuck fresh raspberries into the fruit layer in place of the cherries, and neglected to add the Kirsch to the simple syrup. And I have to tell you that while my adapted Black Forest may run the risk of being black listed by Le Cordon Bleu, I think this rogue confection beats the original at it's own game.



Even my husband, who hates chocolate, finished off nearly half of the cake in a two round sneak attack on our fridge last Friday night. And that's all the proof I need.



*Note: Do not ask me what is going on with the chocolate propeller decoration. Not my finest moment. It was 10:30pm and the purpose was to learn how to temper chocolate for Transfer Sheets. But yes, I am aware that the cake looks like it's about to take off. C'est la vie.



Darcy Jones

The Licks of Love

It's been a week of celebration here in London.

Valentine's Day is upon us, and in my own world this week also marks one year since my now husband and I got engaged. It's hard to believe that that afternoon was just one year ago, as sitting here this Sunday, about the same time as I was last February, I am again unpacking boxes. Last year it was unwrapping the first of my things from my old apartment, and this year it's undoing the last of our essentials to make the transatlantic journey.

Whether I take the notion 'with each year, a new adventure' all too literally, or I'm just fated to a nomadic existence, I'm not sure. But I do know that choosing to leap and not look back has always been the right decision. Sounds rather impulsive? Maybe for some, but when you find courage in your convictions that old fork in the road seems to fade into one long straightaway and you find yourself trying to control a led foot.

But today I am clearly just pussyfooting around:

Beaming from our breakfast in bed



and enraptured by my red velvet roses,


I decided that in honor of the day of decadence I would keep up this Sunday of sweets. My gift to you, The Gateau Alhambra:





Named after a similar cake produced at the famous Alhambra Palace Hotel in granada this cake is filled with nothing but dense chocolate (and yes, the marzipan rose is a personal milestone).



And to finish off the evening my Plush Passion Fruit Palmiers:



I like to think of them as the palate cleanser no?



Here's to a life worth loving.



Darcy Jones

Craving Consomee and Cupid

Another perfect match? Cold and Consomee of course.

It's day two of soups and I am finding the liquid diet fad suddenly slurpingly appealing...
And with these two Savory Soups, you do not have to wonder why.



Onion Gratinee, commonly known to all of us as French Onion Soup, is quite possibly the epitome of Savory in my mind. There is nothing more satisfying than soft sweet and sour onions in a sea of salty syrup. And to reach this bed of soup stock you must succeed in sinking the surface of baked cheese baguette boats. It's a food-lover's equivalent of Battleship really, and for me it's the ultimate Gourmand Game.



But for the adults among us, homemade beef stock Beef Consomee seems to go hand in hand with any great sporting event. Often referred to as 'aiming fluid' when paired with vodka in a Bullshot, Beef Consomee is packed with remarkable amounts of flavor despite it's complete clarity and lack of fat.



The art of deception if fully realized in this rather involved recipe, and I just love the whimsical touch of fresh herb crepes chiffonade that swim about the center like savory seaweed. If you asked me what my constant craving is I might have to call on this consomee.



Alison's Consomee that seemed to be channeling the universal constant...

(Yes, her crepe-chiffonade formed the symbol Pi)

And if an ocean of onions and a carafe of consomee wasn't enough to quench my thirst, a little gift from Cupid served to satisfy all my Valentine's Day cravings...


Flowers From my Valentine :)


Darcy Jones

Et Voila! A Valentines Veloute

Love is in the air across London, but you’ll find nothing but lust in my kitchen this week. On the menu: Veloute, Consomee, Poulet Princess, Madelines, Cake au Citron, and the Gateau Alhambra

Sounds rather exotic doesn’t it? As a matter of fact these classic French recipes are indeed perfect winter weather warm retreats. And I cannot think of a better-suited couple than snow and soup.



So today we prepared a passion-laced pair of potages fit for the current February freeze. The Julienne D’Arblay, or Potato Leek, and the Mushroom Veloute, or Cream of Mushroom, are both staples of soup-cuisine.





Soft, silky, smooth and simply seductive, these dishes were originally constructed by the royal kitchen of Louis XIV of France. The pureed potages were personal favorites of the King’s mistresses, and befitting to both soup and seductress, Louis had the recipes named for his favorite femme-foodies.



These provocative potages will give you splendid spoonfuls of sinful flavor, and both soups surely live up to their steamy story.


Darcy Jones

Upper Crust

Epicurus told us that we should first “ look for someone to eat and drink with before looking for something to eat and drink.”

But I take issue with this position, for I am more of a if-you-bake-it-they-will-come foodlosopher.

And bake, I did:

Now I just wonder where everyone is... Nevertheless, my buns, bread, and biscuits are happy hibernating for the winter in my freezer, or at least until further notice.


The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread

Today marked our first battle in the Boulangerie. Equipped with a menu of British Soda Bread (sourdough) and white dinner rolls we prepared for a long night of kneading, knocking back, and nailing bread.

For all this violent language, the process of bread baking in fact involves more nurturing than knockdown drag-out fighting. As it turns out, bread is a highly particular animal. It requires multiple moments of resting in its 12 stage development. The resting periods allow the dough to relax and grow (or rise), where as the gradual shaping intervals help discipline the otherwise unruly creature. Highly sensitive to temperature, dependent upon precise measurements, and deathly afraid of direct contact with salt, bread dough clearly lives up to it's KNEADY name: it must be looked after from the moment of its inception.


Bun in the Oven

Traditionally, bread was baked in a hearth over a roaring fire that blackened the bottom portion of the loaf. Therefore, the upper unscathed part was given to the master of the house, giving rise to the modern connotations of the term Upper Crust.


The Roll-ing Stones

But today we cooked for the masses creating individual dinner rolls, each shaped by hand and topped with a variety of custom flavors including fennel, poppy, and seasame seeds, olives, and flour to name a few.

I even included an extra specially personalized Romantic Roll:


Virtual Valentine for my husband :)

So although I am not ready to surrender the butchery just yet, I am willing to declare a small victory in the Boulangerie today.



Darcy Jones

Puff Pastry Payoff

Practice makes perfect, and third time was indeed lucky: my puff pastry produced!



My gift to you just in time for Valentine’s Day: Practically Perfect Palmiers.

Second out of the oven came the plush puff-pastry Tart aux Fruits.


This parade of fresh fruit a top a Grand Marnier laced crème patissiere leaves you wanting nothing, well maybe more of the same.


On the eve of the SuperBowl, it was a night of sweet surrender and succulent success.




Darcy Jones

Rotten Egg

I clearly have scrambled eggs for brains, or maybe just scrambled eggs on the brain.

Today we tackled (what I thought was) the fairly remedial assignment of egg preparation. After reviewing and seeing every way under the sun, or over the stove rather, to cook an egg, we were asked to produce a serving of Eggs Florentine and the Fine Herb Omelette.



Eggs Florentine is a dish of poached eggs that rest over a bed of cooked garlic and butter spinach, topped with the cheesy Sauce Mornay. It is broiled for a moment to brown the *optional* extra cheese topping. It's decadent, delicious, (possibly deadly), and a definite hangover-helper.

My Florentines were fine, but when it came to the Fine-s-herbs...I failed.

I give you the Fine Flop:



Needless to say, I will be having eggs, excuse me omelettes ALL weekend.


Darcy Jones

A Monday of Meats

There is nothing quite like waking up to a morning of marinated meat… maybe it’s an acquired taste.

In any event, we began the exceptionally cold winter week with a bang: Beef Bourguignon. After 24hrs marinating in red wine our trimmed beef shoulder was tantalizingly tender. After a quick sizzling sear, we sank the meat into a sea of veal stock and set it to stew in the oven for a good hour.



A quick sauté of bacon and mushrooms later, the braised beef is basted in it’s own sauce and adorned with steamed potatoes and parsley-sourdough crisps.


Just a light lunch.

Round Two: A Roasted Roast Beef

Positively Primal.
The primary cut of roast beef could send any of us into a meat comma. This preparation of simply seasoned and seared beef is like crack for carnivores. My result is a little overcooked by French standards, but as for my own: Brilliantly Bien!



My dish after our brilliant 3-star Michelin French chef got a hold of it:



Isn’t it amazing how presentation can take something from passable to truly palatable.

And then there’s the way my husband chooses to plate his meal:



Weather it’s rustic or refined, you gotta love a man’s approach to meat.


Darcy Jones