There was truly magic in the air this past 14 juillet at Central Park in NYC to feel the heat but even more so, the performances of Magic System, Laurie Darmon, IAM, among others that brought the heat.
La nuit began with Les Cadets Lafayette singing La Marseillaise and continued with some of their Afro-Cuban hits, such as Noix Coco, they really seemed to love their noix de coco!
Then there was certainly magic in the air when Magic System represented L’Afrique surtout La Côte d’Ivoire singing their back to back hits — Akwaba, Premier Gaou, Magic in the Air and many more.
Their set was followed by Laurie Darmon who made us fall in love again and think about calling that ex, don’t do it!
We chatted with a couple of Frenchies,
Et puis we hip to the hop with IAM from Marseille!
We partied a bit, bah oui, we had too!
It was just a night of joie de vivre, chansons et danses- all great ingredients that make up a formidable fete!
And as our new Consul General, Cedrik Fouriscot of France in New York sums it up…liberté, égalité, fraternité.
Today is National Macaron Day and we learned a thing or deux of how to pipe the perfect macaron from Chef Sarah of Cook’n with Class Paris. Check out more of the video on our Instagram.
Total Time
1 hr 50 min
Prep Time
30 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Ingredients
for 30 macarons
Macarons
1 ¾ cups powdered sugar
1 cup almond flour, finely ground
1 teaspoon salt, divided
3 egg whites, at room temperature
¼ cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 drops pink gel food coloring
Vanilla Buttercream
1 cup unsalted butter, 2 sticks, at room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons heavy cream
Preparation
Make the macarons: In the bowl of a food processor, combine the powdered sugar, almond flour, and ½ teaspoon of salt, and process on low speed, until extra fine. Sift the almond flour mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl.
In a separate large bowl, beat the egg whites and the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt with an electric hand mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add the granulated sugar until fully incorporated. Continue to beat until stiff peaks form (you should be able to turn the bowl upside down without anything falling out).
Add the vanilla and beat until incorporated. Add the food coloring and beat until just combined.
Add about ⅓ of the sifted almond flour mixture at a time to the beaten egg whites and use a spatula to gently fold until combined. After the last addition of almond flour, continue to fold slowly until the batter falls into ribbons and you can make a figure 8 while holding the spatula up.
Transfer the macaron batter into a piping bag fitted with a round tip.
Place 4 dots of the batter in each corner of a rimmed baking sheet, and place a piece of parchment paper over it, using the batter to help adhere the parchment to the baking sheet.
Pipe the macarons onto the parchment paper in 1½-inch (3-cm) circles, spacing at least 1-inch (2-cm) apart.
Tap the baking sheet on a flat surface 5 times to release any air bubbles.
Let the macarons sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour, until dry to the touch.
Preheat the oven to 300˚F (150˚C).
Bake the macarons for 17 minutes, until the feet are well-risen and the macarons don’t stick to the parchment paper.
Transfer the macarons to a wire rack to cool completely before filling.
Make the buttercream: In a large bowl, add the butter and beat with a mixer for 1 minute until light and fluffy. Sift in the powdered sugar and beat until fully incorporated. Add the vanilla and beat to combine. Add the cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, and beat to combine, until desired consistency is reached.
Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a round tip.
Add a dollop of buttercream to one macaron shell. Top it with another macaron shell to create a sandwich. Repeat with remaining macaron shells and buttercream.
Place in an airtight container for 24 hours to “bloom”.
It is such a great cultural and linguistic adventure to celebrate le mois de la francophonie. We share this video of our friends from Ile de Saint Maurice! Bon app!
Oui, Oui , if you are Francophone then you know celebrating the holidays is all about feasting and feasting some more.
This year, celebrating of les fetes will seem different due to obvious reasons but where there is life there is hope. So during this celebratory season, our holiday feature is Eric and Yetunde Fraudeau of Cookn’ With Class.
OOJSF: Tell us about the company Cookn’ With Class and how are you different from the other cooking schools?
pictured Chef Eric Fradeau of Cookn’ With Class
CWC:Cook’n With Class is a small French cooking school which was started by French chef, Eric Fraudeau in 2007. The idea was to offer a taste of France and French culture through its gastronomy to visiting tourists (and locals), in English. From the very beginning we chose to keep class sizes small so that people could enjoy a hands-on and convivial experience. What I think makes us different is that every detail of the detail is handled by chefs & trained cooks, from the recipe creation to class setup. Being small also allows us to adapt and adjust with the times and the tastes of our followers and students. We have been able to maintain a very loyal & devoted client-base who have been especially present during this very difficult year.
OOJSF: How do you guys celebrate Le Réveillon de Noël and Noël? And how will Covid change that?
CWC: It depends on where we are but always with family. Be it our small family of 3 or with our extended family, in France, the US or the UK. Unfortunately, our families are not as close by as we would like. While some are indeed in France they are still quite a distance away. This year with COVID, we may actually see more of our extended family, I think it will be through video-conferencing. This form of communication seems to have entered our lives in ways we never thought imaginable.
OOJSF: What are your traditions during les fetes?
CWC: Cooking! A festive meal is always part of the plan even if it were just the two or three of us and dressing up as if we were going off to a fine dining restaurant. Good wine and always with music playing in the background. We exchange presents but not till Christmas day in our house. Our son who (perhaps for his last year), still believes in Santa, leaves out a plate of cookies, a glass of milk and a clementine pour papa Noël.
picture via pinterest
OOJSF: What are some etiquette during the holiday celebrations?
CWC: (Eric) The old custom in France for Christmas is that the family gathers at the end of the afternoon. There is an aperitif with small things to eat that are simple and little work. Depending on the region of France you may have olives, radish, all with “Blettes en Provences”, bread and cheese.
We put the log in the chimney (hence the origin of the Christmas Log) and we go to mass. When we come back from the mass, the fireplace is warm and we can make New Year’s Eve until late in the night, (reveillon = to wake up) dinner is rich and copious. The oysters, the foie gras, the stuffed turkey and the log, or as in Provence the thirteen desserts.
At midnight, the youngest of the house puts little Jesus in the manger and the children go to bed. The parents then take out the champagne. At dawn, Papa Noel has left the presents under the tree and the children open the presents… On the 25th at noon, the young parents meet at the home of the in-laws and we alternate every year.
Chef Eric’s wine pairings:
Capon: A red wine from Burgundy (Mercurey) or from Val de Loire, a cabernet Franc, strong in red fruit flavor.
Yule log: If it contains chocolate I will have a Glass of Port Wine I prefer tea with dessert as they are already sweet. But you know champagne is also a great choice for the Yule log.
If you need a French inspired dish, you can try the stuffed roasted capon as a part of a plat prinicipal and a bûche de Noël for dessert!
RECETTES:
Stuffed Roasted Capon with Lemon and Chives/ photo credit: Cookn’ With Class
Ingredients:
Capon ( or large chicken) 1 2.5 kg (5lbs)
Carrot 1 (cut into pieces)
Onion 1 (cut into wedges)
Snipped chives (scallions can be used as a
substitute)
Zest (finely grated) & Juice of Lemon
Whole Lemon (thinly sliced)
10 Grams (1/3 cup)
All-Purpose Flour 20 Grams (1/8 cup) Capon (or Chicken) Stock 950 Milliliters (4 cups) FOR THE STUFFING
Ground pork 120 Grams (4 oz) Ground Veal 120 Grams (4 oz) Chestnut 1 can (100g or 3 to 4 oz) Scallions 2 (chooped) Garlic Clove 1 (chopped) Egg 1
Sandwich Bread 2 slices
Milk 1/3 Cups
Salt and Pepper
Preparation mode:
A capon is a male chicken castrated when young to improve the quality of its flesh. The meat is moist and tender. In France, during the holiday season, it often replaces the turkey. For a more traditional Thanksgiving, however, you can use a turkey, changing the proportions accordingly.
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F, (180°C). In a food processor, combine 1/4 cup of the chives with the butter, the lemon zest, and juice, salt, and pepper, and pulse until smooth. Transfer lemon chive butter to a small bowl and stir in the flour. Set aside.
2. Beginning at the neck, gently separate the Capon skin from the breast and legs. Season the Capon cavity with salt. Rub half of the lemon-chive butter from the food processor under the skin, spreading it over the breasts and the thighs.
3. Mix in a large mixing bowl all the ingredients for the stuffing, stuff the bird with it.
4. Set the capon on a rack in a large roasting pan and scatter the carrot, onion, and lemon slices in the pan, add 345 mL. / 1 1/2 cups of water. Rub the remaining chive-butter from the food processor all over the outside of the bird. Roast on the bottom rack of the oven for 1/2 to 2 hours, adding 1 cup of water to the roasting pan and tenting the capon with foil halfway through roasting,
5. The capon is done when an instant-read thermometer inserted deep in the thigh registers 170°F ( 75°C ). Uncover the Capon and transfer to a carving board, let it rest for 20 minutes
6. Meanwhile, strain the pan juices into a large measuring cup. Spoon off the fat and discard it. In a large saucepan, boil the capon stock until it is reduced to 185 mL. / 1 1/4 cup, about 15 minutes.
7. Add the pan juice and bring to a simmer. Whisk in the reserved butter-flour mixture and simmer over moderate heat, whisking constantly. Cook until thickened, about 4 minutes, and season the gravy. Add the remaining chives. Carve the capon and serve with a spoon of stuffing.
Yule Log, Chocolate, Lemon and Buckwheat/ photo credit: Cookn’ With Class
Dark Chocolate 70% 85 Grams (3 oz) Honey 1 Tablespoons
Butter 1 Tablespoons
Fleur de Sel or Maldon Salt 1 pinch
FOR THE LEMON GELEE
Lemon 2
Sugar 15 Grams (0.5 oz) Agar-Agar 2 Grams (1 pinch) FOR THE DECORATION
Buckwheat Seeds (optional)
60 Grams (2 oz)
Dark Chocolate 90 Grams (3 oz)
Preparation mode:
1. Make the whipped milk chocolate ganache with hazelnut spread: Chopped the milk chocolate in small chunks.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add the hazelnut spread and the chopped chocolate milk, melt over a double boiler for just a few seconds to start the melting process.
3. Separate the cream into 2 parts. One part you keep cold on the counter and the other part you boil. Pour half of the boiled cream on the chocolate, mix well with a wooden spoon, add the other half of the boiled cream. Mix well again. Then add the cold cream and mix well. Keep in the fridge until needed.
4. Make the Genoise: Pre-heat your oven to 150ºC 320ºF
Make brown butter by cooking the butter until it has a hazelnut color. Keep aside.
5. Torrefy the almond meal in the oven at 150ºC 320ºF for 15 minutes. Keep aside. You can now turn the oven up to 165ºC or 310ºF so it is ready for the cake.
6. In a large mixing bowl or with your stand-up mixer, whisk eggs and sugar until it foams.
7. Mix, flours, baking powder, and the torrefied ground almond together.
8. When the eggs have doubled in volume, fold in the mix of flours delicately using a plastic spatula; Add the brown butter.
9. Spread on a baking pan with parchment paper. Bake 10 to 12 minutes. When cooked, put a sheet of parchment paper on top and flip the genoise so it stays moist and cools down nicely between the two sheets of parchment paper (without the baking pan).
10. Make the Lemon Gelee: Get the juice of the lemon, pass through a sieve or a colander, boil the juice for 2 minutes with the sugar and agar-agar. Cool down on a plate in the fridge covered with cling film.
11. Make the Chocolate Ganache: Chop the chocolate and boil the cream. Pour the cream over the chocolate in 3 parts, mix well with a wooden spoon. Add butter and salt. Mix well but don’t whip. Keep at room temperature.
12. When cold, whip the lemon gelee so it becomes a paste; reserve in the fridge
13. Torrefy the buckwheat seeds for 15 minutes in the oven at 150ºC or 310ºF Reserve at room temperature.
Assemble your Yule Log
1. Remove the parchment paper from the genoise.
2. Spread the lemon paste on the genoise.
3. Whisk the milk chocolate ganache for 1 minute so it gets foamy, spread it on the genoise, but keep 2.5 cm or 1 inch clean on the edges.
4. Spread some buckwheat seeds, but keep one third for decoration.
5. Roll the genoise. You can use parchment paper or a clean kitchen rag to assist you. Cover it with a clean kitchen rag.
6. Keep in the fridge for 2 hours.
7. Remove the kitchen rag spread the dark chocolate ganache, add the buckwheat seeds, add the dark chocolate previously chopped.
