I woke up in my hotel room to a brisk autumn morning in New York.  The weather man called for 54-degrees.  So after a hot shower, I threw my shawl over my t-shirt and jeans and made my way to the Conde Nast building for my first day of seminars.

Sara Moulton kicked the day off with a course on Baking for the Baking Impaired.  Her causal informal manner, delightful self-effacing humor and deep knowledge of culinary technique made for a wonderfully light introduction into what later became a robust culinary intensive.    She prepared three separate dishes: apricot scones; pizza dough; and a rustic apple tart.  I found myself scribbling furiously to absorb all the little baking tidbits she imbued upon us. 




She talked about gluten formation – why it is good when combined to make breads and dough and bad without yeast when preparing pastries.  We discussed the best methods for making biscuits.  She explained how, in the test kitchens, they tried biscuits every which way – just butter; butter and cream; just cream, etc.   In the end, she found that the pure cream biscuits yielded the best results.  They certainly tasted delicious to me! 




She showed us that rolling pizza dough on a surface oiled with olive oil created a perfect round dough – something that Lydie Marshall talked about when I cooked with her in France.  Then she made tart dough – exactly the same way Lydie made it. She folded sliced apples tossed with sugar and lemon juice into the center of the rolled out dough and baked it.







When the session ended, I stopped to talk with both Sara and her assistant, Rebecca (who is just the sweetest, nicest person!).  Eagerly, I shared the success on my many reproductions of Sara’s stuffed strawberry recipe.  I told her how I replaced the candied orange for orange zest – or how I even used candied ginger and shaved dark chocolate. 

Next, I made my way to Charlie Palmer’s Wild Game Birds demonstration.  He talked at first about wild game compared to farm-raised game and informed us that everything we would eat came imported from Scotland – Wild.  He seared duck breast to render the fat, then poaching it in a flavorful liquid (so the crispy skin remained outside of the liquid).  Then he wrapped two breasts of pheasant in pancetta and tied it into a log.  He seared the pancetta-wrapped pheasant in the rendered duck fat with some garlic, shallots, and thyme. 





The staff brought us samples of the duck in small cups  and a slice of the pheasant served on the side.  The earthy broth had a variety of small, wild mushrooms and slices of the seared poached duck within.  All at once, the flavors were grounded and fluid, strong and delicate subtle – it reminded me of walking through the woods, exploring the ground underneath a grove of pine trees and spotting water fowl sitting in the lake nearby. 




Charlie moved onto to partridge.  He had a fun time talking about this dish because the method of de-boning the Partridge is called Spatchcock.  So, he prepared Spatchcocked partridge with roasted parsnips and Foie Gras Emulision.  We watched – in amazement – as he methodically removed every bone from this tiny little bird, all the while keeping the bird otherwise in-tact.   He roasted the parsnips with chestnut honey and fresh lemon juice.  Then, he seared foie gras, deglazed with cognac and pureed the whole thing with roasted garlic.  

The servers handed us a glass of red wine.  I smelled, swirled and tasted – amusing myself to see if I could identify the grape and the region. The first thing I noticed was a balance between tannin and acidity that gave the wine a good structure.  Next, I picked up blackberries and currants.  I determined that it had to be a Cabernet – but from where.  Before I could guess, someone asked and we found out that it was a Chateau St Jean 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon from Sonoma, CA.   Then, they served us the Partridge…  The combination between the cabernet, the pheasant and the foie gras was intense… like sex on a plate.  The flavors were sultry, soft, distinct and intoxicating.



When the session ended, I headed back to the sponsor pavilion for lunch.  Here, I purchased both Eric Ripert and Charlie Palmer’s new books and waited on line for each chef to sign them, respectively.  I reached Eric first.  He greeted me warmly with a hug, asked me how I was and signed my book.  He remembered me!  Eric Ripert remembered me! I was touched and amazed.  This, of course, furthered my previous conclusion that he is wonderful and his food is perfect.  We took a picture together.



I asked Charlie to sign his book for me.  Charlie is a wonderfully quiet and sweet man.  He is most gracious and wrote a very nice note to me inside the book.

And now, the sponsor pavilion…   Here, there were demonstrations from many different vendors…  Tillamook cheese, Kerrygold cheese and butter, Ruffino wines, Chateau St. Jean, Greece, Grana Padano, Goya, Peru, Gold Peak Tea, Colavita,  Tommy Bahama, Wisconsin Cheeses, and many more – too many to write about without writing all night!   One demonstration in particular was from Executive Chef John Tesar of Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek.  He served an Alaskan King Crab with Parsley Puree and garlic foam.  It was amazing!  He talked about meeting with the fisherman in Alaska and how they taught these particular fishermen to cook the crab in a court bouillon – rather than brining it.  The crab was outstanding!










I lingered around for a while, said hello to Ruth Reichl, dropped my books off in my room and made my way back to the Conde Nast building to see Daniel Boulud and all his executive chefs – Jean Francois Bruel, Gavin Kaysen, Olivier Muller, and Damian Sansoneti – prepare lobster.  

First Gavin and Jean Francois began with a lobster bisque pot pie and a porcini crusted lobster tail with salsify – both outstanding!  Jean Francois talked a lot about the puff pastry needed to prepare the lobster potpie.  However, with his charming French accent, he couldn’t say “puff,” so he called it “poof” pastry.  Each time he did it, I giggled… discreetly of course.








Next, Oliver prepared a lobster Fleischnacke – an Alsace dish resembling a lobster cannelloni that is first poached, sliced and then seared and served.  Damian made a rich and flavorful lobster aioli.  Daniel had to run as soon as the demo finished to catch a plane.  He went to visit his daughter in college.  He was bringing her a cooler full of chartuterie…  I am SO jealous of her!







For my last seminar of the day, Marcus Samuelsson talked about fish and seafood.  He talked about seasonal fish and how to buy it.  He even gave us a handout of what fish are in season and when, along with a package of his phenomenal Moroccan spice rub (that I use all the time of roasted meats).   He randomly brought up a guy from the audience and had him help fillet this massive carp.  



Then Marcus began preparing his dishes.  The first dish was a Hawaiian dish that resembled a seared sushi roll called a Poke.  He cubed tuna and yellowtail and marinated it like a tartare – then rolled it in seaweed and seared it: Amazing!  

The second dish was a sea urchin and foie gras flan.  To be honest, I was not sure I would like it.  But when this little disc of molten goodness made its way to my lap, I indulged.  It was sinfully good – fantastic!






Now, dear readers, I am furiously transcribing my experiences for you as I will leave soon for dinner at the Union Square Café.   Stay tuned!