The Cook's Atelier

Anthology Magazine, Spring 2013

Spring has arrived in Burgundy and we are busy with our market tours and cooking classes.  We are also working on a very special project that we can hardly wait to share.  In the meantime, take a look at the spring 2013 issue of one of our very favorite magazines, Anthology.  The Cook's Atelier is featured and we are so excited!  Many thanks to our good friends, Anna Watson Carl for the story and Emily Johnston Anderson for capturing the magic with her beautiful photographs.

If you think you might like to join in on the fun, sign up for one of our market tours and cooking classes or our Cook's Workshop - five day program in June.  For details please visit here.

Spring salad with asparagus, San Daniele, poached farm egg and herbs

This salad is a spring favorite here at The Cook's Atelier.  It is simple to prepare and oh so delicious.  We still have space available for A Cook's Workshop - five day program in June.  Send us an email if you'd like more information.

Spring salad with asparagus, San Daniele, poached farm egg and herbs

Serves 4

 

For the salad:

Handful of thin, white asparagus, peeled

Handful of thin, green asparagus, peeled

4 pieces of prosciutto di San Daniele, thinly sliced 

4 farm eggs, soft boiled (*see instructions below for Julia’s Oeufs Mollets)

Handful of garden radishes, sliced in half lengthwise

Fresh chervil leaves

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

 

For the vinaigrette:

1 tablespoon aged balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

 

To make the salad, hold the asparagus spear and bend it to break off the less tender bottom end. Trim all of the asparagus to the same length and peel the stalks with a vegetable peeler.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Prepare an ice bath. Line a platter with paper towels and set aside. Blanch the asparagus in batches in the boiling water until crisp-tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to the ice water bath to stop cooking, and drain on paper towels.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a simmer. Lower the eggs into the simmering water for about 30 seconds, just to reheat. Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and blot the bottoms with paper towels.

In a small bowl, add the vinegar and olive oil and stir gently to form a broken vinaigrette. Add the salt and pepper to taste.

Arrange the asparagus, prosciutto and radishes on the plate. Place the egg on top. Using a spoon, gently separate the egg in two to allow the soft yolk to pool. Drizzle the salad with the vinaigrette and sprinkle with fleur de sel, pepper and chervil.

 

*Julia’s Oeufs Mollets

This is a boiled egg with a set white and a soft yolk which can be peeled and substituted for poached eggs.

For the eggs:

2 quarts boiling water

4 eggs with uncracked shells, at room temperature

Lower the eggs into the boiling water and boil slowly for six minutes. As soon as the time is up, drain off the boiling water and run cold water into the pan for a minute to set the white, and to cool the eggs enough to remove the shells. Tap gently on a hard surface to break the shells, peel carefully under a stream of water. Just before serving, warm for a minute in a bowl of hot water.

A Cook's Workshop: five day program

Things are busy here at The Cook's Atelier!   In the midst of new babies and a very busy upcoming season, we are working on some very exciting projects that we can hardly wait to share with you.  We'll be posting details soon on the blog.  In the meantime, we have space available for our first five-day workshop of the season, June 18 through June 22, 2013.  If you would like to spend some time with us exploring the food and wine of Burgundy, please be sure to sign up here.  We can promise it will be a very special week.

Then there were two

Just when you think life couldn't get any better, another sweet little bundle arrives. I'd like to introduce you to our latest addition to The Cook's Atelier.  In less time than it takes to bake a soufflé, Manon Clair arrived appropriately on market day in Beaune.  We are over the moon.

Gougères

Gougères are a favorite here at The Cook's Atelier.  Here's a recipe for a classic Burgundian apéro that is traditionally served at wine tastings.

Gougères

Makes about 24 1 1/2-inch hors d’oeuvres

 

5 oz water

70 g unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel

70 grams all purpose flour

4 eggs

1/2 cup Comté cheese, coarsely grated

Comté cheese, finely grated for sprinkling

 

Preheat the oven to 350 ^o F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Make an egg glaze:  Whisk one of the eggs in a bowl and set aside.  Put the remaining eggs in to a separate bowl or measuring cup with a spout.  Do not mix and set aside.

To make the choux paste, combine the water, butter and sea salt in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until the butter melts and the mixture comes to a full boil.  Immediately add the flour all at once, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon.  Keep stirring until the mixture has formed a smooth ball and pulls away from the sides of the pan and a film is present on the bottom of the pan.  Continue to beat the mixture over low heat for a minute or so more to remove the excess moisture and dry the dough.

With a wooden spoon, beat the whole eggs into the dough one by one, beating thoroughly after each addition.  Beat just enough of the reserved beaten egg into the dough until it is shiny and just falls from the spoon.  Beat in the coarsely grated Comté cheese.  Using a small spoon, drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheet taking care to keep them the same size and be careful not flatten them. Brush the tops with the egg glaze and lightly sprinkle the top with a little of the finely grated Comté cheese.

Place the gougères in the oven immediately and bake until they have puffed, are nicely browned, and feel light for their size, about 25 minutes.  Serve warm straight from the oven.  Or, let cool completely, and store in an airtight container for a day or two, and recrisp in a 350^o F degree oven for 5 minutes.