The French Cuisine On #WildAsparagusTable- Version One

I have lost count of a number of years that I have been associated with Food Bloggers Community  We have attended potlucks, new culinary book launches, at new restaurants meet ups, new products entering the market and many such food events, 

A new chapter started this week ( an idea initiated by Salloni Malkani 

 and Chef AnanyaBanerjee, to meet up every month, and explore the world cuisine), starting with the mother of European Gastronomy – French Cuisine..it was to bring the food bloggers together, to share the history and geography of a dish, which means that not just make any dish that bloggers are good at, but take an opportunity to cook something new ..but of course that would require research. Luckily, we live in times that we have no longer to go to city libraries to research..we can do so at the comfort of our home just by going online.

So, to make long story short..this month #Frenchcuisine was on radar and we were required to bring a french cuisine solely prepared by us.

Now I have not been to France except in transit during my Europe trips and I have just munched on quichès n macaroons.. To understand the local cuisine, I went on virtual tour exploring their eating culture. The trail of French potluck had me walk down the corridors of google for my research on cuisine, culture, names of the dishes and their pronunciation, and I stumbled upon a great chef Julia Child  who had me enthralled with her priceless videos and tips. I was completely bowled over. I watched more than twenty TV episodes of 'The French Chef ‘ saw the movie Julian and Julia and also read about her life history and her cooking career spanning around 40 years of her life.. Of course I was fascinated by such an interesting person but was more interested in learning the techniques she used in her cooking. Julia Child uses lots of unsalted butter and cheese in her cooking but her style of cooking is very simple. She talks continuously during her live cooking show and her humour is what makes her show so interesting. there are common mistakes she makes ( like we do) making us realise that accidents do happen in the kitchen but you can correct it.

So I decided to follow her technique to make a vegetarian dish of carrots, Asparagus and mushrooms, the dish is called ‘Au Gratin’ in French I didn’t even know how to pronounce  the word but then Mr.Google is there, always ready to help.

A new Watsapp group was created, a format for the menu was made and there was continuous activity and interaction, whereby people were discussing about the dish they would be making. Every time I read a new name of the dish, I went to google to learn about the preparation and the technique used for making . (Luckily Google is quite intelligent, more than my family and friends, who sometimes don’t cooperate with some informations.. )  This was to be a small group of only 15 invites (since the venue was a small cook studio – actually a launch of Ananya Banerjee’s cook studio), although the Watsapp group had more than 50 members. The selection of the invites was on fastest finger first, (like Kaun Banega Crorepati)so I was quick to accept the invite and was able to attend this very first chapter of wild Asparagus Table. I am sure many more will be invited next time, if they find a bigger venue, but if everybody has to cook one dish each, then there will be too many dishes to try. If you wish to enjoy them all, then maybe you should skip at least two meals before the event.

Different logos were prepared and we proudly posted the logos on social media announcing our coming event that created lot of curiosity in our food community of Mumbai.

The day finally arrived, but skies were angry on that day, it roared behind pregnant clouds, poured gustily all day, streets were flooded, there was traffic jam. But this did not deter food bloggers and most of them managed to reach the venue against all odds, some were delayed and sadly, three persons could not make it. It was quite a trip for everyone to get there .

The table was set for 17 people with beautiful cutlery on the table and piece of art in the centre. The wine and water were kept on the side table. A big thank you for FBAI’s wine Partner Barton & Guestier from (Aspri Spirits) and Sucres Des Terres for the delicious Camembert ice creams.  and Veen waters

One wall had the menu designed in calligraphy with food doodles. Ananya’s cook studio is tastefully decorated with beautiful art pieces and it had one dark orange wall, that served as a back drop for most of our photography session. And yes, one more thing, French women are very fond of hats, so I had decided to make one for this occasion. I designed and hand-crafted a hat with a lace and it was much appreciated by my friends. So, at the end of the evening session, we donned a hat and had a photo-shoot against the back-drop of orange wall.  The enjoyment was profound.

We were asked to get ready dishes, that could only be heated in microwave, It was a sit-down dinner, with proper menu and order of the dish that would appear at the table, one by one, so that we could enjoy all the courses. Everybody was expected to serve their own dish after having discussed the idea behind the dish.

We started with soups, followed by bread and salad, starters, mains and desserts. This was the interesting part, as we learnt so many new things, first hand knowledge. All the dishes were cooked with much love and interest and I enjoyed them all. Everybody was dressed in style, and it was sit down dinner with every blogger serving her own dish after having shared their bit of research on #FrenchCuisine. I loved each and every dish that was cooked on that day. Even though we ate in moderation, there were so much variety that I could not finish the desserts.

We had a menu rolled up, with the name of the dish against the name of person making that dish, so it was easy to understand as to what we were being served. The food was absolutely awesome. It is commendable that the way everybody stuck to the theme and went out of their way to bring the best they could at the table.

Me, what did I make?

Au Gratin, a pure vegetarian dish of stuffed Mushroom, Asparagus and Carrot. I wanted to try my hand on carving a carrot into a bird that would sit on a Asparagus branch, chirping on mushroom and celery.

 

I enjoyed cooking this one and am happy to share the recipe.

Ingredients

For Mushrooms

2 packets of Mushrooms

1tbsp unsalted butter

2 Shallots

1tsp flour

½ cream

salt and pepper to taste

Parsley for garnishing

For Carrots

200gms baby carrots

2 finely chopped shallots

1 tsp unsalted butter

salt and pepper to taste

For Asparagus

100gms asparagus

1tbsp butter

1tsp lemon juice

salt and pepper for taste

For White Sauce

 1 tsp unsalted butter

1 cup finely chopped cabbage

2 cloves of finely chopped garlic

2tbsp cream

½ cup milk

4tbsp Gueyere cheese

Prepare Mushrooms, if you wear chef’s hat and apron during cooking then do it now before you start….

Separate the stems of the mushrooms slowly so as not to break. finely chop the stems and squeeze the juice out. (It seemed impossible to squeeze out water from mushroom ends, -like Julia Child instructed- but when I had finished chopping the mushroom stems and squeezed, half cup of water was extracted)

Heat 1 tsp of unsalted butter and add the squeezed stems..

Add finely chopped shallots..cook till stems separate.

Add 1tsp of flour and mix to roast  

Add 1/2 cup cream

Add salt and pepper

Add parsley.

cook the sauce   

Fill the mushrooms with the sauce (butter the.mushroom b4 filling them with sauce..)

Add little grated cheese on the top and bake them for 20 minutes

Prepare Asparagus separately, they taste good even when raw, you can munch it while you prepare…

In large skillet over medium heat add unsalted butter.

Add asparagus and cook until tender about 7 minutes.

Season with salt, pepper, parsley and lemon

Prepare Carrots, don’t just admire their fresh orange looks (I have used baby carrots)

Cut the carrots in french fries style pieces.

Put in the pot and add 1 cup water

Add 1 tsp unsalted butter

Add 1/2tsp salt and finely chopped shallots.

Cook till water dries up

Prepare White Sauce, I know u are tired (can sip a wine before you start…..Okay now?..

In a pan add 1tsp unsalted butter

Add cup finely chopped cabbage

Add 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic.

Add 1tbp flour

Mix to roast

Add 2tbsp cream

Add ½ cup milk,

Mix it well

Add 4tbsp Gruyere cheese.

Melt to make creamy sauce

Now you are ready for action. Hold your breath you are finally there….

Arrange carrots, mushrooms and asparagus in a greased baking dish, top it with white sauce and bake for 10 minutes, till the top  sauce layer is browned

Tra..la..la..the dish is ready….. taste it..if you like it then its fine…

I am grateful to Salloni, who lovingly brings all foodbloggers together with her charming smile. A sincere thanks to Ananya for hosting the event in her lovely cook-studio. A special thanks to Sameer Malkani for capturing all our moods in his camera and his bubbling humour.

Lots of knowledge sharing , bonhomie and good food !!

Until next time..know not which country will we visit next time…