La Normandie

Friday was our regional menu from Normandy. What better way is there to spend a Friday afternoon after a long, hard week than eating a 5 course meal and drinking wine? Here are some highlights:


Garnish for the fish dish I made with Sarah. Potatoes, apples and mushrooms. See finished product in photo of third course below.



Carefully plating the other fish dish.



Using Calvados, a liquor made in Normandy, to bring things up a notch in the kitchen!

Bubbling, aromatic stock.

Cason working on the apple tart.

Carleta and Estee fileting the sole.

Alisha grinding duck leg for her side dish.

Mussels!

Ducks galore.

Pahaba mashing the potatoes.

Rolling the potatoes into a log.

And frying them!

Golden, delicious fried mashed potatoes just waiting to be eaten!

Ground duck leg wrapped in caul fat. Ready to be sauteed.

Alexandra working with the caul fat. What a job!

These crabs were not happy campers and had big pinchers and claws.

Never fear, Leo is here to conquer the crabs.

Until they start fighting back and thus get flung into the pot as quickly as possible! Look at the water splashing out of that pot. Those things are vicious little suckers.

Crab boil, anyone?

Now, it's my turn to get dirty. Scaling and gutting the fish.

All clean and ready to be prepped.

Stuffed with rosemary.

Covered with grey sea salt and baked.

Hot out of the oven!

Chef starts to take it apart.

Ready to be served.

All gone!

Ready for a well deserved meal.

First course: Verrine de tourteaux, espuma d'avocat (mango salsa, topped with crab and a creamy avocado foam)

Second Course: Sole farcies, duxelles de champignons, creme de moule et bigorneaux, puree fine de topinambours (Sole stuffed with mushrooms and mussels, topped with a mussel and snail sauce and garnished with a puree of jerusalem artichoke and a purple potato chip)

Third Course: Bar entier cuit en croute de sel aux deux pommes (Bar fish cooked encrusted with salt, topped with a shallot and cider reduction sauce and accompagnied by apples, mushrooms and potatoes)

Fourth Course: Canard Rouennais en deux cuissons, pommes croquettes (Duck breast in a blood sauce with potato croquettes and duck leg sausage ball)

Dessert Course: Tarte alsacienne with apple sorbet and caramel.