Uses for bouquet garni

Sorry , but your cooking class needs some help. In classical cooking a Bouquet Garni was herbs and or aromatics wrapped in cheesecloth and tied with string' It varied in individual recipes, but in most cases had many more then 2 things, plus peppercorns, cloves, marjoram etc. Then there was a studded onion which was a half onion with a bay leaf attached to it with a clove to hold in place mostly used for a Sauce Bechamel.
The purposeof having it on string in bag was you could take it out when flavour was enough withyout straining the whole pot of liquid. A tea strainer can also be used to put all herbs in.:bounce:

I think, too, with just those two herbs I wouldn't bother making a bouquet garni. I'd just drop them in the pot, and fish them out when they were no longer needed.

FWIW, a classic bouquet garni didn't even use cheesecloth. The bay leaves were used to enclose the other aromatics, sort of like an herb sandwich, and the whole thing tied together. But, as Ed points out, the whole idea is so you can remove the herbs when you want, without having to strain the whole pot.

BTW, this forum is about growing stuff. You'd probably get more responses if you moved this question to one of the cooking forums, where more people would see it.

Wow, so that is what you call a bouquet garni?! Now I am just a culinary student and a chef so maybe I am just lost. However, what Ed Buchanan has descibed here is not a bouquet garni at all; what he has described is a sachet d'e'pices. A sachet d'epices is made by tying seasonings together in cheesecloth. A standard sachet consists of peppercorns, bay leaves, parsley stems, thyme, cloves and optionally, garlic. The exact quantity of these ingredients is determined by the amount of liquid the sachet is meant to flavor.
Now what a bouquet garni is; is a selection of herbs (usually fresh) and vegetables tied into a bundle with twine. A standard bouquet garni consists of parsley stems, celery, thyme, leeks and carrots.
As for his "studded onion" or what it is called a oignon pique' (also known as an onion piquet). This is a similar technique as to the garni and sachet, however it is less commonly used. In this technique, you prepare the onion by peeling it, trim off the root end and attach one or two bay leaves to the oignon pique' using whole cloves as pins.
The oignon pique' is then simmered in milk or stock to extract flavors.
I'll also give you one more you may never had heard of, an oignon brule' French for "brunt onion," is used to flavor and color stocks, sauces and soups such as consomme'. To prepare an oignon brule', peel the onion, trim off the root end and cut in half. Place the onion halves cut side down in a dry skillet over medium-high heat. Cook until the onion halves char and darken (caramelize). The oignon brule' is then simmered in stocks or soups to give them a clear Carmel color.
Now, I knew most of this but just in case I gave you the definitions as I pulled out of "ON COOKING, FOURTH EDITION," page 188. Feel free to look it up if you don't believe me. Thank-You.