Ever heard of "monter au beurre" ?

That would be what this picture shows !

Tomorrow I am teaching a Sauces, Reductions & emulsions course, so today is prep day. For the non foodies out there it means mise en place in a very detailed way. We cannot forget the little things as they are the ones that raise the stress level. I will start with a PPT presentation that will include some history, some quiz, some recipes, pictures of before and after and, Oh Yeah the mother sauces. Remember those ? We do not use them very much anymore but I believe that they still have their uses and provide a good foundation for the myriads of sauces that we all know and make everyday, at least at the professional level. These sauces may not be used or recognized much but a few of them such as demi glace, tomato and veloutes are still pretty handy to support all the crazy and sometimes off the wall "new" dishes that this generation of Chefs and cooks come up with everyday. From tomato concassee for the ones that think they know ( you know who you are ) to Bordelaise and truffle sauce, hot and cold emulsions and reductions that deliver natural flavor, it will be a busy day. I know the great majority of my readers buy that stuff in the jar that they call mayonnaise; for me none of the pre made stuff comes close to the real thing. I do not eat it very often but when I do it becomes kind of a mayonnaise week . My course last seven hours , you heard it right seven ! So far after five months nobody has fallen asleep on me, yet ! The fifty seat theater at MCAC is the perfect setting, including big flat screen TV's, amphitheater seating, demo kitchen and teaching kitchen .

I will post some of the class pictures as I move forward with this blog thing.

I went to the chinese market for duck legs this morning and got what I wanted : real fresh duck !

Just like at home ! Had to drive across town but it is worth it. Tomorrow I will demo duck legs stuffed with an olive farce, wrapped in Swiss chard and caul fat then roasted and served with a duck essence garnished with a real olive medley (not that stuff in the can) . Yummmmm !

Will also do roasted duck with peaches and a Vermouth braised salmon with leeks and creme fraiche. More Yumm ! Since we are doing emulsions how about a gratin of fresh fruit with an almond sabayon. Stay tuned !