French Cooking En Brookline: Part Deux

I took my second and final French cooking class this week, where we made more classic dishes: the eternally popular Boeuf Bourguignon, the tres traditional French ham and walnut loaf , and Creme Brulee for dessert. Apparently savory loaves are quite popular in France and despite the rather unorthodox-sounding combination of ham and walnuts, it was actually very tasty. The basic recipe itself works with a variety of fillings and can easily be adapted for a sweet loaf by substituting the salt and pepper for sugar and the oil for butter.

Walnut and Ham Loaf

3 eggs
150g of flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
less than 1/4 C of oil
1/2 C milk
100g shredded Swiss cheese
200g diced ham
75g walnuts
S&P

Preheat oven to 350F.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, eggs, salt and pepper.
Heat oil and milk in a saucepan until warm (do NOT simmer) and incorporate liquid little by little to the flour and egg mixture. Mix well and add cheese. Then, add ham and walnuts.
Pour into a floured and greased loaf pan and bake for 45-50 minutes. Let cool before removing from the pan.

The baked loaf had a nice airy texture similar to a souffle--not at all what I was expecting--and can be served with a simple green salad.


Our teacher also gave us her recipe for chocolate mousse, which I plan on making later in the week.

All in all, I've loved this experience. I was telling my mother about my last cooking class and she said:"It's always good to learn new things and to keep improving yourself." At the time I took this as a typical Mom-ism, but she's right. I've learned a lot about what I enjoy doing, even after just two classes. I find cooking and talking about food to be very satisfying and I've also renewed my interest in learning French. Sometimes that's all it takes to change your life.