Andrew & Esther - Through Our Eyes Archive
Archived Thoughts
Beijing buzz (June 5, 2008)
emotion in China (May 25, 2008)
what 1 Euro could buy you if you came to visit (May 11, 2008)
on visa-runs and escaping hotel fires (May 4, 2008)
recent observations & discoveries (April 30, 2008)
on ordering water and near tricycle collisions (April 16, 2008)
on learning Chinese and on how to catch a bad flu at the park (April 10, 2008)
highlights (April 9, 2008)
Foreign media must have Facebook access during Olympics, IOC tells China (April 2, 2008)
Home Sweet Home (March 26, 2008)
Then and Now (March 26, 2008)
stranded bags! (March 8, 2008)
on visas, weddings, how to get free food & funny hair dos (March 4, 2008)
Warm greetings! (February 12, 2008)
A Whole New World (February 5, 2008)
Newness in the New Year (January 6, 2008)
The Feast of Life (November 23, 2007)
Our Paris (November 11, 2007)
A Freezing Wilderness Retreat (October 22, 2007)
Reflections from a Recovering Bride (October 8, 2007)
Mr. and Mrs. Brumme (September 29, 2007)
One Month and Counting (August 22, 2007)
Everything French (July 19, 2007)
Open Wide Your Mouths! (July 9, 2007)
Learning from Trees (July 3, 2007)
A City of Lights - The Paris of Central Europe (June 25, 2007)
Brumme's Descend on Europe (June 8, 2007)
I Said Yes! (May 13, 2007)
Liaisons and Goodness Abound (April 22, 2007)
Gourmet Cuisine Catastrophe (March 21, 2007)
It Really Has Been Too Long This Time (March 15, 2007)
The French Postal System, V-Day, and Other Tidbits (February 21, 2007)
Celebrating in Paris, Working in Oxford & Relaxing in the Alps (January 29, 2007)
With Ma Petite Amie at Last! (January 11, 2007)
Hanging on for the Ride (December 31, 2006)
A New Life (December 18, 2006)
I've Gotta Go See About a Girl (November 23, 2006)
On France (November 10, 2006)
Liberating Love, an Awkward Transition and Christmas Candy (November 1, 2006)
The Western Bible (October 20, 2006)
The Whole Church Gathered (October 3, 2006)
On Steve Irwin (September 7, 2006)
Lewis on Happiness (August 10, 2006)
The Tragic "Unthinkable Crisis" (July 27, 2006)
Not My Life (July 6, 2006)
The Two Year Reunion (June 10, 2006)
A Fishy Story Set Right (May 26, 2006)
Response to "The Wedding Planner" by Sagers (April 30, 2006)
White Bunnies and Bloody Lambs (April 14, 2006)
Flexing Our Political Muscle (March 22, 2006)
For Your Viewing Pleasure (March 7, 2006)
Come to Our Church! (February 21, 2006)
Peanuts and Airplanes (February 15, 2006)
Confessing My Ignorance (January 30, 2006)
The Jewish Kid Jesus (January 16, 2006)
Friends...A Dime a Dozen? (January 9, 2006)
Old Test Article Here (January 2, 2006)
So Much to Say...That Others Have Already Said (December 23, 2005)
Narnia - at last! (December 8, 2005)
Lewis on our Eating Disorder (December 1, 2005)
North Korea - Revealing the Darkness (November 20, 2005)
Shining - Like You've Never Seen it Before (November 15, 2005)
Are You Emerging? (November 3, 2005)
emotion in China (May 25, 2008)
what 1 Euro could buy you if you came to visit (May 11, 2008)
on visa-runs and escaping hotel fires (May 4, 2008)
recent observations & discoveries (April 30, 2008)
on ordering water and near tricycle collisions (April 16, 2008)
on learning Chinese and on how to catch a bad flu at the park (April 10, 2008)
highlights (April 9, 2008)
Foreign media must have Facebook access during Olympics, IOC tells China (April 2, 2008)
Home Sweet Home (March 26, 2008)
Then and Now (March 26, 2008)
stranded bags! (March 8, 2008)
on visas, weddings, how to get free food & funny hair dos (March 4, 2008)
Warm greetings! (February 12, 2008)
A Whole New World (February 5, 2008)
Newness in the New Year (January 6, 2008)
The Feast of Life (November 23, 2007)
Our Paris (November 11, 2007)
A Freezing Wilderness Retreat (October 22, 2007)
Reflections from a Recovering Bride (October 8, 2007)
Mr. and Mrs. Brumme (September 29, 2007)
One Month and Counting (August 22, 2007)
Everything French (July 19, 2007)
Open Wide Your Mouths! (July 9, 2007)
Learning from Trees (July 3, 2007)
A City of Lights - The Paris of Central Europe (June 25, 2007)
Brumme's Descend on Europe (June 8, 2007)
I Said Yes! (May 13, 2007)
Liaisons and Goodness Abound (April 22, 2007)
Gourmet Cuisine Catastrophe (March 21, 2007)
It Really Has Been Too Long This Time (March 15, 2007)
The French Postal System, V-Day, and Other Tidbits (February 21, 2007)
Celebrating in Paris, Working in Oxford & Relaxing in the Alps (January 29, 2007)
With Ma Petite Amie at Last! (January 11, 2007)
Hanging on for the Ride (December 31, 2006)
A New Life (December 18, 2006)
I've Gotta Go See About a Girl (November 23, 2006)
On France (November 10, 2006)
Liberating Love, an Awkward Transition and Christmas Candy (November 1, 2006)
The Western Bible (October 20, 2006)
The Whole Church Gathered (October 3, 2006)
On Steve Irwin (September 7, 2006)
Lewis on Happiness (August 10, 2006)
The Tragic "Unthinkable Crisis" (July 27, 2006)
Not My Life (July 6, 2006)
The Two Year Reunion (June 10, 2006)
A Fishy Story Set Right (May 26, 2006)
Response to "The Wedding Planner" by Sagers (April 30, 2006)
White Bunnies and Bloody Lambs (April 14, 2006)
Flexing Our Political Muscle (March 22, 2006)
For Your Viewing Pleasure (March 7, 2006)
Come to Our Church! (February 21, 2006)
Peanuts and Airplanes (February 15, 2006)
Confessing My Ignorance (January 30, 2006)
The Jewish Kid Jesus (January 16, 2006)
Friends...A Dime a Dozen? (January 9, 2006)
Old Test Article Here (January 2, 2006)
So Much to Say...That Others Have Already Said (December 23, 2005)
Narnia - at last! (December 8, 2005)
Lewis on our Eating Disorder (December 1, 2005)
North Korea - Revealing the Darkness (November 20, 2005)
Shining - Like You've Never Seen it Before (November 15, 2005)
Are You Emerging? (November 3, 2005)
A Life of Profound Significance (October 26, 2005)
The Earth at Your Fingertips (October 18, 2005)
A Surprise Appointment (October 15, 2005)
Wars and Rumors of Wars (October 3, 2005)
Laughing in the Rain (September 20, 2005)
Random Tid-Bits and Happenings (September 15, 2005)
Life and Death and Terrorists (August 30, 2005)
Girls and Boys and God (August 25, 2005)
Feasting and Worship (August 17, 2005)
Blogger's Block (August 6, 2005)
The Harvest in China (August 2, 2005)
Counting the Cost (July 24, 2005)
Absolutely Outstanding Bit of Writing (July 18, 2005)
Burning Alive (July 14, 2005)
Jesus and the Glory Golf Balls (July 10, 2005)
Those Things We Hold On To (July 7, 2005)
Grape Juice, Poured Out for the Forgiveness of Sin (June 30, 2005)
He Will Ruin Your Life (June 28, 2005)
A Bit of Perspective (June 25, 2005)
The Wedding Planner (June 22, 2005)
A Lesson in Patience Amidst Absurdity (June 16, 2005)
Fans of Hitler (June 15, 2005)
Crash and Stories (June 12, 2005)
Pastors and Leaders - Different Views (June 10, 2005)
Senior Pastors (June 5, 2005)
Ask and You Shall Receive (June 2, 2005)
What If (May 27, 2005)
The "Bible Study" (May 24, 2005)
The Future of Pixar (May 19, 2005)
The Mess We Christians Have Made (May 14, 2005)
Narnia Coming to the Big Screen (May 10, 2005)
Europe - Through the Lens of My Camera (May 7, 2005)
Same Sex Families (May 6, 2005)
Photos of Mercy (May 3, 2005)
Across an Ocean... (April 21, 2005)
The Picture, The Pope, and The Past Few Days (April 12, 2005)
In the Car with My (air) Guitar (April 6, 2005)
The Pope (April 4, 2005)
Resurrection Day (March 27, 2005)
Killing People (March 23, 2005)
Weekend of Surprises (March 22, 2005)
The Fray - Listen to this (March 12, 2005)
Akiane....This is Amazing (March 11, 2005)
Jesus Christ (March 8, 2005)
Worthy Thoughts on The Passion (March 7, 2005)
Dream Days at Church (March 3, 2005)
Peace Amidst Ambiguity (March 1, 2005)
A Verse I Hadn't Noticed Before (February 25, 2005)
McLaren and Hotel Rwanda...another perspective (February 19, 2005)
Brother Andrew is on to something (February 16, 2005)
My Valentine (February 14, 2005)
Homecoming...strange (February 13, 2005)
Hotel Rwanda (February 10, 2005)
The Update (February 6, 2005)
Malibu...Thailand...Palm Desert (January 1, 2005)
Get Ready Thailand...I'm Coming! (September 25, 2004)
God Speaks? Really? (May 29, 2004)
Life Beyond Graduation (May 1, 2004)
God's Faithfulness in Morocco (October 8, 2002)
Our Thoughts
March 21, 2007
Gourmet Cuisine Catastrophe
Esther and me with ArnaudThe school where I’m taking French offers all kinds of classes, from languages to ceramics to dancing. A few weeks ago I was overcome with inspiration when I learned they also offer a series of cooking classes. My former roommate (affectionately known as “The Beast” to close friends) had always set the bar high when it comes to the fine art of food preparation, and the few tips I picked up from him were enough to wet my appetite for more.

Here at last, the perfect scenario was presented to me. I could take the cuisine gourmande course once a week with Esther, allowing us both to explore the art of fine French cuisine. And given that the class is in French, I could learn how to cook and how to speak French at the same time.

Just over a week ago was our first class. On the menu was Magret de Canard son Jus au Miel et Thym (duck with a honey/thym sauce) and Risotto aux Bolets (mushroom risotto). The appetizer was an salad of herbs served in a bowl made of parmesan cheese, dressed with a lemon/celery/tomato relish. Our teacher, a successful French chef named Arnaud, dove right in beginning with the honey and thyme sauce. We quickly learned the key to a good sauce (as the French are known for) is time!

I probably picked up about 20% of what was said (and that may be a bit generous) but with Esther translating much of it, and simply by viewing what Arnaud actually did, I understood most all of it. We even took pictures and video of much of the process so we could replicate what he was doing.

One disappointment was that we weren’t actually doing the whole process ourselves. It was one big group meal, with Arnaud doing most of the work but talking us though it and answering questions. Basically a glorified TV cooking show, the big added benefit being that you get to eat the meal when it’s all done!

feasting with the classIt was truly excellent. Knowing we had to put what we learned into practice immediately, or we would never try it, Esther and I prepared on Saturday with a big grocery run to prepare the gourmet feast for some special people.

We went through the list of who might be blessed by our charity, and struggled to find people who were available. And if they were available, we realized they either didn’t eat meat or had other particular food needs that our gourmet feast couldn’t qualify for. But then, the epiphany came. Esther’s parents live under an hour away, and would likely be a “safe” place to try our hand at gourmet cuisine (though we were quite confident we could pull it off.)

We arrived and dove right in, sprawling groceries and pages of meticulous notes across their kitchen. Things started out wonderfully with the salad, though only 1 of 4 parmesan bowls came out properly. We got the sauce simmering immediately, knowing it would take upwards of 2 hours. Both the sauce and risotto seemed to begin just as they should.

But then things took a turn for the worst, as we noticed the sauce becoming thicker and thicker, when just the opposite was to happen. We read and re-read the recipes, adding the other ingredients…but things just weren’t going well.

We forged onward nonetheless, but grew more concerned when the risotto seemed to be growing more and more the consistency of oatmeal – not quite how it had looked in class.

We cooked the duck, and with our ever-supportive dinner guests eagerly awaiting the main course, quickly served the duck and risotto drizzled with the sauce. Well actually, the sauce was supposed to be drizzled, but the tar-like substance had to be scooped onto the plate in a less-than-elegant fashion. The risotto-mash also was frightening as we served it onto the plates.

Gourmet CatastropheWe nervously sat down, and after interceding mightily for God to touch and transform the mess before us, we all dove in. After a moment or two of silence, the first chuckle emerged from across the table. It soon grew into hysterical laughter (though Esther may have been sobbing and laughing at the same time) as we found the tar-sauce had actually hardened and was now encrusted on the duck. A sauce should not crunch!

All in all, it was far from the gourmet feast we had expected. We double-checked the recipe and our notes, and just couldn’t figure out what went wrong. Fortunately, Esther’s parents were great sports about it, and after the initial shock, Esther and I didn’t take ourselves too seriously so we were able to move on.

With that said, we were frustrated that it didn’t work out, and resolved to put Arnaud to the test. So this past Monday (class #2) we brought in photos of our gourmet cuisine disaster. As the class reacted to the photos, I put the finishing touch on our presentation by unveiling the pan we had used for the sauce (with an inch of the “sauce” hardened on the bottom) and exclaiming “c’etait une catastrophe!” (quite thrilled to be breaking my image as the quiet non-French speaker in the class!). We had decided not to clean it to enhance the dramatic effect.

Arnaud calmly pulled out a knife and sliced off some of the hardened tar and tasted it, quickly determining we simply had needed to add more water, and that as a result it was burned. He also gave us a few pointers on the risotto, so we’ll see how it goes next time around.

This past Monday was our second class. Arnaud made us Coquilles St Jacques, a seafood dish I would never touch normally but truly loved. And for dessert, Moelleux au chocolat et sa crème anglaise, a mouth-watering mini-chocolate cake that isn’t cooked on the inside so the warm chocolate spills out when you cut it open, surrounded by a delightful vanilla crème (English cream).

This time around, we took more copious notes and asked more pointed questions. I’m quite sure we can pull off the dessert and cream on our own (famous last words, I know!). The St Jacques will be some work…we may decide to try it on our own first. Or maybe we'll switch the ceramics class...