The Cook's Atelier

Rustic strawberry tart

We are in full swing here at The Cook's Atelier and the market is busting at the seams with the delights of the season.  Here's a recipe for an all-time favorite, a rustic strawberry tart.  This is the perfect summer tart recipe and you can adapt it according to what looks good at the market.  Sublime!  By chance, if you have a little homemade strawberry confiture in your pantry, it would be a nice additional layer just under the pastry cream.

 

Strawberry tart

Makes one 9-inch tart

 

1/2 recipe Pate Sucree (see the recipe here) 

All-purpose flour, for work surface

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon sugar

Pastry Cream (recipe follows)

2 cups strawberries

confectioner’s sugar for dusting

 

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to a 12-inch round, about 1/4 inch thick.  With a pastry brush, sweep off excess flour, fit dough into a 9-inch round fluted tart pan with a removable bottom, pressing into the edges and using thumb to remove excess dough.  Chill tart shell until firm, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Prick bottom of dough all over with a fork.  Line with parchment paper, leaving a 1-inch overhang.  Fill with dried beans and bake until the edges are just beginning to turn golden. Remove parchment paper and weights; continue baking until golden all over, 10 to 15 minutes.  Cool tart shell completely on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, whip the heavy cream and sugar in a bowl until soft peaks form.  Working in batches, gently fold whipped cream into pastry cream; set aside.

Spoon pastry cream mixture into cooled tart shell and spread evenly.  Top with strawberries; dust with confectioner’s sugar.  Tart is best served the day it is made.

 

Pastry Cream

Makes about 1 3/4 cups

 

1 cup whole milk

1/2 vanilla bean, split

5 tablespoons sugar

3 large egg yolks

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon flour

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

 

Place milk, vanilla bean and 4 tablespoons sugar in a medium saucepan over high heat; cook until almost boiling.

In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks with remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar until thickened.  Sprinkle in the cornstarch and flour and continue beating until well combined.

Remove vanilla bean from milk.  While whisking constantly, slowly pour heated-milk mixture into egg yolk mixture.  Pour mixture through a fine sieve back into saucepan, and cook, whisking constantly, over medium-high heat, until it thickens, about 2 minutes.

Transfer to a large bowl and whisk in butter until melted.  Cover with plastic wrap, pressing directly on the surface of the pastry cream; refrigerate until completely cooled.

 

 

 

Small batch Gariguette strawberry confiture

We're busy today making the season's first batch of Gariguette strawberry jam and the kitchen smells like heaven!  We make our jam in a vintage copper preserving pan that we picked up at a local brocante.  If you'd like to try to make a batch, you can find our favorite recipe here.

 

 

Spring salad with asparagus, farm egg and chervil

The market is filled with a beautiful assortment of spring vegetables and the season's menus suggest simpler cooking techniques.  A quick blanch or sauté of young, fresh asparagus with a knob or two of sweet butter is heaven on a plate. This composed salad is a favorite here at The Cook's Atelier.  We use eggs from our favorite "egg lady", Madame Simard and we suggest you seek out fresh eggs at your local farmers market. You won't be sorry that you did.

Our good friend, Anna, invited us to her blog, The Yellow Table,  for a  Q&A in honor of Mother's Day.  Take a peek here for the recipe and some scoop on The Cook's Atelier.

Tiger in a Jar visits The Cook's Atelier

We are in full swing here at The Cook's Atelier!  We've been busy with cooking classes and the weather has finally warmed up so we have been spending the last few days planting our potager.  On the list this year are heirloom beets, arugula, swiss chard, radishes, peas, green beans, an assortment of salad greens, fava beans, and zucchini.  In a month or two, we'll add the heirloom tomatoes.  There really is something wonderful about using ingredients from your own garden, freshly harvested and simply prepared.

To add to all the excitement, we were so lucky to be able to spend a couple days with the very talented couple behind Tiger in a Jar.  If you follow Kinfolk, you'll know they are the creative film makers who produced several films for them, including our favorites, Classic Pesto and The Art of Making Bread.  They happened to be in France working for a client in Normandy and decided to spend a couple days with us in Burgundy to experience and capture on film the magic of The Cook's Atelier.  We took them to our favorite artisan food producers and we drove down the tiny vineyard roads in Madeleine before heading back to the atelier to cook.  We'll be sharing the finished product with you soon.  A big thank you to Julie and Matt for their inspiration and new found friendship.  The world is filled with so many talented, creative people.  We are blessed for sure.

Fava bean salad with fennel and mint

You know for sure that spring has arrived when you see the first fava beans at the market.  They are a favorite here at The Cook's Atelier and we love them for their bright green color and marshy flavor.  They make their way in salads or mashed on crusty bread with a drizzle of fruity olive oil and sprinkling of our favorite fleur de sel.  Heaven.

A big thank you to all of you who applied for The Cook's Atelier 2012 Internship Program.  We've selected our winners and are so excited to welcome Selden and Claire to spend the summer with us here in Burgundy. For those of you who would like to be considered for the 2013 program, please send us an email and we will be sure to send you the application details as they become available.

We have some very excited projects in the works here at The Cook's Atelier and are busting at the seams in anticaption of sharing all the details.  Soon, I promise, soon.

 

Fava bean salad with fennel and mint

8 to 10 pounds fresh young fava beans in the pod (10 pounds will yield about 6 cups of beans)

3 fennel bulbs, thinly sliced

1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Fruity extra-virgin olive oil

1 handful of mint leaves

1 handful of parsley leaves 

2 lemons, one sliced the other cut in half

Mizuna leaves

 

Shuck the fava beans from their pods  Blanche the beans in salted boiling water for about 2 minutes.  Plunge them into a bowl of ice water to cool them and preserve their color. Once cool enough to handle, pop the beans out of their grey-green skin to release the bright green bean.

Trim and wash the fennel.

When you are ready to make the salad, slice the fennel into very thin slices (a mandoline works well for this task) and put them in a bowl.  Add the fava beans, scallions and a good sprinkling of sea salt anda few grinds of black pepper. Drizzle generously with fruity olive oil to coat.  Add the mint, parsley, lemon slices and mizuna leaves, then squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the salad.  Toss well with your hands, then taste and correct the seasoning.  Serve immediately.

 

Happy Easter!

Just a quick note to wish all of you a very Happy Easter!  Spring is here in Burgundy and the garden is filled with wild flowers and the cherry trees are in full bloom.  We are busy getting the potager ready for planting and dreaming of the first harvest of petit pois, baby carrots, French radishes and tender salad greens. The to-do list is getting bigger by the moment and we can't wait to jump in and get started.  We are working on some exciting projects this season and are looking forward to sharing them with you soon.

We've had an amazing response for The Cook's Atelier 2012 Internship Program. Many thanks to all of you who have contacted us with regard to spending some time with us here in Burgundy.  We'll be notifying the winners shortly.

For those of you who are planning your summer holidays, we'd love to have you visit us here at The Cook's Atelier.  Join us for the market tour and cooking class, a cook's workshop, or dinner with the cook to get a taste of Burgundy from a cook's view.  You can see more about our programs here.

Kinfolk Magazine

You may have heard the buzz about the new Kinfolk Magazine.  We've been smitten since the very first issue and we were so excited to be asked to contribute to the lastest volume.  It is a beautiful publication and it incorporates all things we love here at The Cook's Atelier; small gatherings, good food and the celebration of the things in life that matter most.  We are thilled to be part of Kinfolk, volume three. Visit Kinfolk to get your copy.

The Cook's Atelier needs an intern!

 

The Cook’s Atelier needs an intern!  It won’t be glamorous, it won’t even be paid, but it will be life changing.  It will include everything from cooking, helping us with our potager, composting, kitchen prep, service during the cooking classes, food styling, marketing and general clean up. It’s an opportunity to spend 3 months in France and experience the culture and lifestyle through a cook’s view.  We’ll be busy with cooking classes and take you to our favorite artisan food producers, local markets, brocantes and field trips in our vintage 2CV (aka quirky vintage French car) to give you an opportunity to experience the region like a local; all this in exchange for helping us with hands-on tasks and a little marketing expertise.  We’ll take care of the accommodations and the majority of the meals.  The internship requires 30 – 35 hours of work per week in exchange for room and board.  The Cook’s Atelier is a close-knit environment and we wouldn’t ask you to do anything that we wouldn’t do ourselves.  We just need an extra set of hands and a fun personality to join in on the fun.To find out more information about us, please visit our website at www.thecooksatelier.com. If you are interested, please send us an email or you can apply through Women Chefs and Restaurateurs.

 

New and improved

Hello everyone.  Just a quick post to let you know that we've made a huge overhaul of the website.  Let us know what you think.  We are in full swing here at The Cook's Atelier.  We've been busy with cooking classes and beginning to work the garden for this season.  We are looking forward to a wonderful 2012 and hope that you can join in the fun.

Crazy love

Have you ever felt that you were so lucky that you had to pinch yourself to make sure you were not dreaming? That's how I feel.  I'm so darn blessed and thrilled to be living this life and spending my days doing what I love and with the people I love.  Amazing.  This photograph is from today's cooking class.  The students were seated at the long, zinc topped French farm table and Grandma was in the kitchen plating up the menu.  I took a moment for a little impromptu snuggle with the most adorable baby on the planet - petit Luc. I am in love with this little man, with his sweet giggle and adorable personality.  My heart melts.

The season is just beginning and we are already in full swing here at The Cook's Atelier.  I apologize for my lack of posting lately, but I've been traveling a bit and enjoying some much needed R&R before we get super busy.  We'd love to have you join in on the fun.