Last week, I took a French cooking class. I have to say that I am a pretty good chef. Okay, maybe some credit goes to the real chef that helped us all prepare our meals, but I still did a pretty dang good job.
As I walked into the room, I knew that we would be having fish, as my nose told me so. We also would be having mashed potatoes with regular and sweet potatoes.
We started by peeling the potatoes and dicing them into small cubes. I really want a peeler like the one I used. I peeled everything so fast. Then we had to prepare ze poisson. We had to pull the bones out of the fish with a tweezer-like tool. Then we moved over to the stove.
I put some oil in a pan and let it get hot, and then put the fish in. Because the fish still had it's skin on it, we were told to press the fish down, so when the skin shrunk, it wouldn't curl. I cooked the fish, while adding just a sprinkle of salt here and there. We also finished making the mashed potatoes, and then served up our plates in a truly marvelous fashion.
We arranged the mashed potatoes with a small dimple in it, and then laid down the fish (found out that it was Sea Bass) near the bottom of the potatoes. Then, we filled the dimple in with a spoonful of pesto sauce that was absolutely marvelous.
It was really good. I have never eaten fish with the skin still on it, but I didn't even notice. It just gave the fish a nice crunch to it, adding texture. My taste buds were begging for more. Dessert was the best part. The chefs there had prepared for us a dark chocolate pudding concoction with a hazelnut crumble on top. T'was to die for.
Last Friday, I saw the Artist. A truly great film, and it deserved to the five Oscars that it won. I have never watched a full-length black and white silent film before. It was very refreshing and I loved the film. France does a pretty good job in reenacting Hollywood.
Saturday night, I saw my second football match. Olympique Lyonnais faced Paris Saint Germain (Booooo). I arrived a little late, and Paris was already up on the board 1-0. The stadium was packed and I could only stand in the aisle at the top of the stairs. Then OL netted their first goal, and two minutes later, they scored their second. Before I knew it, my team was leading 2-1.
I was finally able to find some friends and watch the rest of the game. OL scored again to go up on number one PSG 3-1. Unfortunately, Paris scored in extra time before the half to make it 3-2.
In the second, OL scored again to go up by two goals once more, but Paris answered back late to make it 4-3. Lyon held the lead till the end of the game, but 3 minutes of extra time followed. As getting to the metro can be crazy after the game, we all decided to leave (I know, cardinal sin). I thought OL won 4-3, but to my dismay when I got home, ESPN told me otherwise. It must have happened right after I left, but Paris scored in the final minute to tie the game 4-4. What a disappointment.
Sunday morning, I went swimming for the first time in France. I quickly learned something about French pools. They don't allow board shorts. This was a problem for me, because that's what I wear. You can only wear skin tight, speedo-type suits. Fortunately they had one for me to borrow, but I wore my underwear underneath for sanitary issues. I don't know who possibly used it before me...
Monday, I participated in the International Quiz that was organized for all of the IBP students. We had four people in our group, which was named Eastern Europe. After 3 grueling rounds, we emerged as the winners, no, the CHAMPIONS! It may have been by half a point, but a win is a win baby! As a prize, we all got a free beer.
Tomorrow it is off to Geneva, Switzerland and I can't wait. I get to go to another country in Europe. If I could just find my passport...
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