Bob Waggoner is one of Charleston's most fabled and beloved chefs. Trained in Paris and married to a French woman, he cooked up French specialties at the elegant Charleston Grill for many years, until he started his own Charleston cooking school. In the Kitchen with Bob Waggoner is a night of cooking, eating, and imbibing in the French way, at his atelier in the historic district. My sweet husband treated me to a class for my birthday, while we were back in Charleston.
We donned aprons and sipped white Burgundies while we prepared our feast: scallops over a bed of vegetables in a ginger infused broth to start, and roasted beef tenderloin on veggies with a veal sauce for le plat.
One good cooking tip I picked up: he always keeps an overflowing pot of stock on the stove, which he cooks for hours, even overnight if it's veal or beef. In French, stock is called the fond de cuisine, the foundation of cooking. So you are always ready to dip in, for a rich sauce or broth. He had stuffed his stock pot with meaty bones, plus aromatics and vegetables added in later. The important part, which I had never heard, is to keep as much fat out of your stock as possible, right from the beginning. And don't let it boil---a low simmer is good, and his pot was so low there was barely a bubble.
But the recipe I will return to often was the pear tart we had for dessert. Because it was seasonal and delicious, but also because it took all of five minutes to make, which as you know is my favorite sort of recipe, especially for entertaining.
My photo, above, is not lovely because it was impossible to not jump right in and sample it. So go for it--fast and French is the very best way of cooking!
RECIPE: Bob Waggoners's Pear Tart with Pecans and Honey
These can cook while you're eating dinner.
Heat oven to 375. Thaw a sheet of frozen puff pastry, roll it out lightly, and cut it into single-portion sized rectangles. Core one pear for each rectangle, and slice thinly. Shingle the pears on top of the pastry. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden.
Coarsely chop some pecans, about a tablespoon per serving. Toast them lightly in the oven (Bob says always toast your nuts, until they release their aroma--it makes them more flavorful. He makes batches ahead so he always has some on hand). In a small saucepan, mix them with honey to cover, plus a bit more, along with a pat of butter. Heat just until warm. Spoon the warm topping over the warm tarts and serve with vanilla ice cream. (By the way I'm also going to try this with maple syrup instead of honey, or maybe half of each, for a more caramel-y taste).
IF YOU GO: Book well ahead--as in a few months ahead. Prepare to meet some interesting people (we were 16), as well as to be charmed by your exuberant chef. The link is here.
Favorite READS: Karim, I’m so glad you enjoy the blog. Musso is quite popular but I agree that he is no literary giant. Can you recommend some books in French for us, that might be simple to read, but interesting? Or maybe other readers have recommendations, for those of us who can read in French, but slowly!
