Lesson 2: Filets de merlan Bercy

I had my second demonstration and second practical today, and unfortunately, I didn't survive "bandage free" this time around. :-(

In our demonstration class, we learned all about stocks, and the chef made a brown veal stock, fish stock, and filets de merlan Bercy (whiting fillets in a white wine sauce). The chefs teach quite a bit for our 3 hour demonstration classes. I took pages and pages of notes, and this time, I arrived early so I could get a seat in the front row on the demonstration classroom.

Brown veal stock simmering on the stovetop

Here's are pics of the chef's plate after the demonstration and my little tasting plate of what he made. They reinforce that we "taste, taste, taste."

I had a 4 hour break between my demo and my practical today so I walked over to Julien Boulangerie (yummy pain au chocolat and paninis there!) near the Invalides to have a picnic lunch with Chang Soo and Nina (who are visiting for a few days) and Quinn. It was a pretty chilly day today so after lunch, we ducked into a Greek café nearby to escape from the cold and to enjoy a cup of café crème .

For our practical this afternoon, we made filets de merlan Bercy. The process consists of filleting the fish (my first time filleting a fish!), making fish stock, and making a complementary sauce to go with the fish.

After preparing a sauté pan with butter, shallots, white wine, salt, pepper, and a little bit of fish stock along with my filleted whiting, it goes in the oven for just a few minutes. When I pulled my hot sauté pan out of the oven, I inadvertently set it on top of one of the burners that was turned on by my chef to heat the burner for preparing my Bercy sauce. I noticed the liquids in my sauté pan coming to a boil and realized what I had done so I reached over to move the pan off the hot burner. Ouch!! I thought it would hurt for just a minute or two so I continued working as I didn't want to fall behind. The gal working next to me advised that I run my hand under some cold water, which I did, and then the chef took me to the ice machine to give me ice to hold in my hand. The chef asked that I stay in the back for a few minutes as I held the pieces of ice in my hand. After a little bit of time had passed, I headed back to my station to continue my dish and it wasn't until quite a while later that I noticed that my hand was throbbing. I headed back to grab more ice. I kept going back to the ice machine as I finished off my cooking and plated my dish. The chef noticed and said he'd bandage me up once I was done putting my things away... at least my dish tasted pretty yummy (so I thought as Quinn and I ate it for dinner tonight). The chef thought my fish was done well and the dish had good flavor, but my sauce was a little too thin and my plate was not perfectly clean (I had a fingerprint on it since I had forgotten to wipe it down with vinegar before plating it).

I took the metro home after class, and Quinn took such good care of me and my not so functional hand... I'm one lucky gal. After inspecting my battle wounds, Quinn said it looked like a 1st degree burn on the verge of being a 2nd degree burn since parts of my hand had started to blister. Thank goodness I have a boy scout to take care of me. :-)

We enjoyed a three course dinner of arugula salad, rustic vegetable soup, and my filet de merlan Bercy over some white rice along with a glass of wine. For dessert, we headed to L'Atelier du Chocolat down the street, but since they were already closed for the night, we just enjoyed our short little neighborhood stroll.