Ah….Paris. Wow…..Pixar.

Did you see that salmon and how about those sauces? Amazing. Every time Mustafa yells “Brûlée,” my popcorn tasted more like cardboard and with every sprig of parsley Remy throws into the pot I was committed to spending even more time in the kitchen. Fortunately for you and I, ChefsLine chefs have all been educated in “Cuisine Francaise,” many studied in France and the majority have spent hours among the brigade in French restaurants. Our hope of course is that children across the US will begin demanding haute cuisine at home and want to cook with their parents. But are you inspired? What are your cooking goals?

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~ Jenn

We’ll admit it - we’re an ambitious crew with big plans to develop exact replica recipes of our favorite Ratatouille movie dishes. Then we saw the movie and it features tons of French classics. Right on! We’re talking about souffle, omlete, bordelaise, sauce voluté. These are fundamental dishes that every Chef prepares and surely every home cook should aspire to learn. What follows
are recipes for some of these classic dishes.

Extra special thanks goes to Chef Nate Auchter who took on the ambitious Grilled Petite Filet Mignon with Oxtail and Baby Onion
Ragout and Truffled Bordelaise. What can we say but let’s get fancy and definitely schedule an appointment with Nate to review and prepare this dish’s elements together by phone. What a blast!

Ratatouille Recipe Collection
Gougères
Salad Composée: Napa Summer Greens with Tapenade and Goat Cheese Crostini
Basic Cheese Soufflé Recipe
Soufflé of Gruyere and Parmesan
Vichysoisse

Grilled Petite Filet Mignon with Oxtail and Baby Onion Ragout and Truffled Bordelaise
Chocolate Chambord Mousse
Crepes Suzette

Other French Favorites
Mussels in a Pernod Cream Sauce
Chocolate Soufflé

Check Out Our Entire French Cuisine Collection!

Chef Cary Wolfson
aka Le Grande Fromage

Look, I don’t like “Top Chef.” Nor do I care for “Next Food Network Star” or Hell’s Kitchen.” (Well, ok, I do like Gordon Ramsay’s BBC shows - the are much more realistic and less overacted) I liked the tongue in cheek self mocking feel of the Japanese “Iron Chef,” but find that “Iron Chef America” takes itself way too seriously.

After spending the last 30 years in professional kitchens, I find these so called “reality” shows have nothing to do with the combination of routine and repetition, blended with pressure, rush and inspiration that’s existed in all of the real kitchens in which I’ve worked. So when I braved a summer matinee showing of Disney/ Pixar’s “Ratatouille,” I was pre-disposed to disappointment.

And was very pleasantly surprised. The representation of the hierarchy of the traditional French brigade was spot on. The over the top caricature of the crazed French chef and quirky personalities and backgrounds, sometimes criminal, of the kitchen staff serves both the ring of truth and the need for comedy.

The movie also strikes a “true” note with regard to cuisine. I particularly liked that one of the first things Remy taught Linguine, the all-thumbs aspiring chef, was an omelet. What a great item to show basic but vital cooking skills and technique that often separates the deft, capable cook from the dabbler!

It’s funny - when we dreamed up ChefsLine a number of years ago, one of our first logos was a little chef with wings on the phone. Some of our company name ideas included Chef on My Shoulder, Guardian Chefs, Chef Angels and an array of other cute and fuzzy concepts. During the movie, I couldn’t help but laugh every time Gusteau floated into the frame with encouraging bits of wisdom and direction. I feel a kinship with Gusteau but alas, realized that our job is to be the rat. We are the reality show playing in your kitchen and ours. And, I’m glad I don’t have to answer the culinary hotline with, “Hello this is your Chef Angel, Cary.”

I recommend you take the kids and have fun with the story of great cuisine. Then, go home and cook up a storm together. If you need any help, just give us a call!

Even if you don’t plan to officially celebrate Bastille Day on July 14, this Gilded Fork menu is a keeper for your recipe files. Classic French flavors are offered with a Gilded twist in a salute to our culinary forefathers. The suggested wine pairings feature two Champagnes - kind of hard to resist.

Bastille Day Menu by The Gilded Fork

Appetizer:
Foie Gras Terrine with mulled plums and gingered pears

Main Course:
Sautéed Duck Breast with Green Peppercorn and Morel Cream Sauce

Side Dish:
Roasted Asparagus with Tarragon Butter Sauce

Dessert:
Pear and Lavender Creme Brulee
or
Raspberry Soufflé

Vive la revolution! and Happy Birthday Chef Jim Gray.

Mary in Bel Air says that all of her baked goods have too much of a floury flavor, and she would like to know what, if anything, she is doing wrong.

Well Mary, chances are you’re not doing anything wrong at all. Or, you consistently measure too much flour for your recipes. There are a lot of baking methods out there, so we’ll focus on cakes and cake-like products, like muffins and pancakes, and cover a few tips.

Properly measuring your flour
Use a whisk to fluff up the flour then spoon gently into measuring cup. Level cup with the flat edge of a knife. Don’t shake or tap the measuring cup to even it out because that can settle the flour and make it more densely packed.

Use a different flour
Try using a different flour, like cake or pastry flour, or a combination of cake flour and all-purpose flour or bread flour. Also, make sure to purchase good quality organic flour whenever possible. You may also experiment with other kinds of flour to see if any offer a more agreeable flavor.

Try your hand at some flourless baking
Also, keep in mind that many recipes require little or no flour. Here is a recipe for low-flour pancakes, and here is a recipe for a flourless chocolate torte, only two examples of the pastry items that can be done without the use of any flour at all.

Sweeten and contrast
If you are going to use a flour-based recipe, however, one trick would be to make a simple syrup by boiling 3 cups and sugar and 2 cups of water in a pot for a couple minutes until the syrup is clear, and paint the finished, cooled cake with it using a pastry brush before frosting the cake. This will help the cake to be sweeter and moister.

~ Chef Adam