Preparing for Paris

Only five days to go before we leave for Paris. FIVE days!

While there is still so much to do before next Monday lots has already been accomplished for our upcoming adventure. We have made restaurant reservations, made lists of cooking equipment to take, booked a private bike tour to explore the city and picked up a few treats for our group of lovely attendees.

During this past week we have been refining the menus for our Paris cooking classes and I’ve been testing a few new recipes too. We are trying to keep the menus French in theme, yet flexible so that we can choose the best, seasonal ingredients that Paris, in the springtime, has to offer.

Will the duck breasts look amazing and we will be inspired to sear them off to a beautiful medium rare, thinly slice them and serve them with a orange beurre blanc, an orange and parsley salad and a bubbling dish of gratin dauphinois? Maybe…

But what if the duck legs look even more enticing?  Should we confit the legs and use the leftover duck fat to fry some sliced potatoes and then serve a green salad with tarragon, toasted walnuts and a tangy vinaigrette?

What about dessert? Should we roll up our sleeves and make some chocolate truffles by hand? Maybe serve some beautiful spring strawberries with a caramel sauce, black pepper and mint…

Whatever decision we make next week, for our first dinner class in Paris, I will be sure to post a proper photo and the full recipe. Stay tuned…