Task 42 - French Techniques at Home Cooking Class (Sur La Table)

Yet another cooking class at Sur La Table. As many people know I have a part time job at the store and often take advantage of the opportunity to take classes in addition to picking up some great kitchen items. This time I took French Techniques at Home with Chef Betsy Proom. Betsy is one of my favorite chefs because her patient even demeanor and energetic personality makes even the most inexperienced person feel like they too can cook up a full three course meal without a struggle and get excited about it.

I choose this class because of the fantastic menu. The menu consisted of a Tomato and Goat Cheese Tart, Grilled Asparagus with a Caper Vinaigrette, Pan Roasted Chicken with Ratatouille, and a Raspberry Soufflé. The menu was a little different than those I had taken in the past. I was most eager to learn a few new tricks to take home with me especially the tart and soufflé.  One thing I have learned in all the classes I have taken it at while cooking a big meal like this with all those moving parts might seem daunting but when you break it all down into individual recipes they are pretty simple.  Prep work is also a key to a smooth meal.

We started with the Tomato and Goat Cheese Tart shortcrust. From hand we prepared our dough using just all purpose flour, kosher salt, unsalted butter and some cold water in a food processor. Once properly combined we rolled it out until it was about ¼” thick and formed it into our tart pan. Next we sautéed our onions and garlic and once tender we mixed in a little lemon zest and spread that across the bottom of the tart pan and then added a layer of fresh sliced tomatoes. Finally we combined our eggs, sour cream, milk and basil. Once mixed we added it to our tart pan covering everything else.  All this went into a preheated 375-degree oven. It cooked for about 25 minutes. The key to knowing its done is the jiggle test. It should be firm and not jiggle.

Next we focused on the Ratatouille portion of our main entrée. The kitchen staff had already begun part of the process since you have to let it stand. They cut up our eggplant into ½” cubes and tossed it with salt. This pulls out the excess moisture which drained out the bottom of the colander. Once the drained we rinsed and dried our eggplant. We took over by sautéing it in a large skillet until tender and added a chopped onion and pepper. Once all that was tender we stirred in our garlic and zucchini and let is stew for about 20-25 minutes. Just before serving we added some fresh basil.

As our ratatouille stewed we took this opportunity to pull our tart from the oven and have a little bite to eat before we continued on to the dessert prep. The tart was light and tasty and the pastry crust was buttery and flakey just like it should be. It was a delicious start to our evening of eating.

After finishing our tart we moved onto our dessert. In a food processor we pureed our fresh raspberries. Then strained out the seeds and simmered to get the mixture to thicken. Then we took 3 egg whites and whipped them to a soft peak adding a bit of salt and sugar. Next we took our raspberry and carefully folded it into our egg whites. Once combined we poured the mixture into our lightly buttered and sugared ramekins.  We added these to the still pre-heated oven and let them cook for about 10 minutes.

As those cooked we began to prepare our caper vinaigrette for our grilled asparagus.  We combined our finely diced shallots, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard and garlic. Once well mixed we added our olive oil slowly and mixed until emulsified. Then using my favorite kitchen tool the skinny grill we grilled our asparagus with just a little canola oil. Once cooked al dente we set aside to cool.


Our final step before serving dinner was to pan sear our chicken. We liberally coated our chicken breast with salt and pepper and then let it sear in a hot skillet. Once a golden on the outside we moved it to a baking sheet and into the oven until it reached 162. Chicken needs to cook to 165-degrees but it continues to cook even after you take it from the oven.

With our chicken done we put our asparagus on a serving dish and drizzled the caper vinaigrette over the top. We sliced the chicken and put it on a platter with our ratatouille that we had divided up between some large ramekins to serve. Our soufflé we dusted with a little confectioner’s sugar on top.

We all sat down and dug in. The ratatouille was incredible it was a perfect comfort food and I could see myself making that again in the fall or winter. The chicken was juicy and perfectly seasoned and it’s amazing how simple it is to make a chicken breast that isn’t dry. The soufflé tasted even better then it looked. It was tart and sweet at the same time and very light and airy. Definitely something I would make for a dinner party.  The meal was fantastic.