Cafe Fernando

2011 New Year’s Eve Dinner Party

New Year’s Eve Dinner Party at The Mansion (my friends’ place) has been a tradition for over ten years now. I have had the pleasure of sharing this feast with my dearest friends for quite some time and have been sharing photos from the dinner table for the last three years.

After all these years, I can’t even imagine being somewhere else on New Year’s Eve. A huge, succulent bird cooked to perfection, stuffing, gravy, carrots sweetened with honey, always a huge piece of meat for those who don’t prefer turkey, two humongous green salads, stuffed vine and cabbage leaves, artichokes in olive oil, rice pilaf with roasted almonds, and a dessert table that can feed an army. I can’t imagine being anywhere else.

Below are the photos from the night and then a recipe for Gougères Stuffed with Crème Fraiche and Gorgonzola Cream. Enjoy!

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The Best Chocolate Mousse of Your Life Under 5 Minutes

Two ingredients (seriously, only chocolate and water) and five minutes later, you will be eating The Best Chocolate Mousse of Your Life. I promise.

And you don’t even need any fancy kitchen gadgets. Patience and a bit of elbow grease are required, but we always need those in the kitchen, right?

This amazing discovery was made by the famous French chemist, Hervé This, who is also known as the man who unboiled an egg. The recipe, which is also called Chocolate Chantilly, starts with melting chocolate in water and ends with whisking it until thickened. Sounds like it goes against everything we’ve been taught about working with chocolate, right? Forget about everything you’ve been thought and try it. The recipe not only works, but also produces a mousse with the purest chocolate flavor ever.

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Pierre Herme

What can I say about Pierre Herme that hasn’t already been said? Picasso of Pastry (Vogue), Kitchen Emperor (New York Times), The King of Modern Patisserie (The Guardian)… What else can you add to that list? He’s simply the greatest French pastry chef alive.

I have seen (and salivated over) many photos of his creations over the years, so I was a huge fan before I even set foot in his boutique on rue Bonaparte.

Then, I took a bite from a Mogador (passion fruit and milk chocolate) macaron and started imagining. How I wish I were 17 again. Fresh out of college, full of  passion, ready to devote all my energy into a new career… If I were 17 today, without a doubt, I’d sleep on his doorstep and beg Pierre until he accepts me as an apprentice. I’d gladly wash the dishes and scrape off tart dough from his work station for years before he decides I am ready to pipe macarons.

I would have handed him my soul and watch him mold it, too.

I am about another 17 years late for that, so the best I can do now is to taste his creations as much as I can, keep reading how he goes about creating them, get inspired and learn from his courage to try different things. But enough about my silly dreams, let’s take a look at his artwork.

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