Breakfast Pastries: The Rundown

The good news is I got promoted to student council officer, so for now I'm the student council secretary...for now. :) The bad news is I have a lot less time on my hands between stuco, Eta Sigma Delta (national honor society of hotels and restaurant management schools,) and my beautiful nephew Ronald James Hough IV (James). So here's a quick rundown of my recent weeks in the most fattening class ever to date.

We've made danish, croissants, pain au chocolat, turnovers, strudel, apple tart tartin, and lots of other amazing things. I'm in the middle of a 3 day practical exam on croissants and pain au chocolat, and waiting for my paper in viennoiserie back. Viennoiserie, in case I haven't said anything about it, is a french word for pastry made in the Viennese style, usually a laminated dough.

I signed up to take Chef David Watson's (the culinary student's pastry chef) sugar sculpting class at the end of the mod, and I'm absolutely psyched for that. This weekend I'm driving down to Machen Retreat and Conference Center in VA to cook for the home missions conference with my dad. Next week, I have to bake my baby sister's graduation cake, which I will definitely put up pictures of, but I can't give any details because I want to surprise her! In the middle of my week long summer vacation, I'm going to Creation Festival with my brother, helping with the girls. Then I get to come back to school for my specialty cakes and pies class, and I have a cake order that calls for a sculpted ATV on top of the cake. Well, time to get back to my filing work.

M

Good News & Bad News

     I've pretty much calculated that I'm going to gain about fifty pounds this mod. Because all I do is eat the breakfast pastries that I bake...really I can't help it, they're delicious!!!! On Monday, we made blueberry scones with a lemon curd. Now, before you go thinking about curdled milk, it was AMAZING. It's something like a lemon pie filling. Plus I love lemons, so....I almost just licked the bowl I was using. Tuesday we made orange scented and regular buttermilk biscuits that we made into strawberry shortbread with Chantilly cream. I also forgot my fork and didn't want it to go to waste, so I used my fingers. Chef laughed at me, but it was goooood!!!!

     Today we made miniature pumpkin bread loaves, blueberry muffins, and chocolate crepe batter. The chocolate crepes we will make tomorrow, when we makes Crepes Suzette. I love pumpkin bread, so I wasn't surprised that it was good, because we sprinkled it with sanding sugar. Sanding sugar is about ten times the size of regular table sugar, and about ten times as expensive, so it's only used to garnish. What really surprised me was the blueberry muffins. I don't even like blueberries. Yet I ate three of them. Which is why I'm going to gain a ton of weight this mod...good I joined a gym. I'm also making a wedding cake for Jim Knox, our pastor's son. He and his wife Jenny were married two weeks ago, and our church is converting a potluck dinner into a kind of reception for them. I was super happy when they asked me to make the cake. Pictures will definitely follow. Until tomorrow...

M

This mod....

I feel a little guilty because I haven't actually blogged at all this mod. It's not that I didn't have the time, because I just started as a work study in the education department, where I do very little except answer the phone and do my homework on the computer. Surprisingly, I love my new job; granted it gets a little boring, but its really easy, and I get to do my homework or work on whatever cake sketches I need. I also get to wear normal clothes!

But it is the end of the mod, and I feel like I should give some kind of summary of my newfound knowedge about wine and alcoholic beverages. My teacher, who was a former sommelier, was very passionate about wine and different types of alcohol, and I loved having him as an instructor. We learned a lot about wine and food pairings, and the origin and specific flavors of wines. My three favorite types of wine would probably be shiraz, moscato, and reisling. Shiraz (or syrah) is a red grape that has a peppery flavor, which makes me want to have steak. I love steak. Moscato is made from the muscat grape, which has many different names that depend on the producer of the wine. It's a white wine, served with dessert. Reisling is a popular sweeter white wine, produced most commonly in Germany and Alsace, France. It can be served with a light dessert or a light bodied entree or appetizer. We also learned about different spirits like vodka, which is the number one selling spirit in the US, brandy/cognac, and liqueurs/cordials. So, while I'm by no means an expert, I have an expert's notes. 

I'm super excited for my next two mods, because they are just kitchens: first breakfast pastries, and then  specialty cakes and pies. I also have had some cake orders this mod, so it's nice to make a little extra money on the side. I also made Dean's List and Perfect attendance again. Now I leave you for the weekend, with the promise that I'll be back into my normal blogging habits come Monday.

M

A Mod without Kitchens....Not Terrible After All!

Hope everyone had a nice break, but now it's back to the ol' grindstone. I had a great spring break, just relaxing at my parents' house with my family and a friend or two. The train rides were fun, nothing like spending about 8 hours on a train with a complete stranger. Lucky for me, I make friends easily, so I met some really fun people.But here I am, back to school again. I was initially afraid that I would suffer this mod because I don't have a kitchens class. My only two classes are Wine and Beverages and Culinary Math, at 9:30am and 11:00am. It strikes me as hilarious that I am taking a class where I have to taste and describe wine and other alcoholic beverages at 9:30 in the morning. The math class, which I'd originally thought would be boring and easy, is only easy. The Dean of Students, who is awesome and really fun, is my math teacher and that has worked out really well.  We just took our first math exam, which is really basic math, but applied to the culinary world, for example, how to cost out a recipe or determine how much you need to order and balance your checkbook. So it's not exactly exciting, but it's definitely useful, and Mr. Moran makes it fun. Wines is really exciting, as I thought it would be, but we don't start actually tasting wines until Monday I think. But for now, here are some little tidbits about wine for you.

• The three things that make wine different are the grapes, the climate it was grown/made in, and the winemaking techniques used.
• There are two kinds of wine: "new-world" and "old-world". Pretty self explanatory, new world is wine from newer regions such as Unites States, Chile, Australia, Argentina, New Zealand and South Africa. Good examples of old world countries would be France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Hungary, Greece, Austria and Switzerland. The difference is mostly in the winemaking techniques used, as well as the labeling and how long the wine is aged. 
• The old world wines are more focuses on the French term "terroir," meaning "somewhereness." Really vague I know, but it makes sense. Terroir is the idea that wine can tell you where it originated just from a taste, tell you it's story. Which I find really romantic and special. New world wines are mainly focused on the different flavor you can impart into the grape by process, so the credit goes to the winemaker, not the vineyard or region.
• When storing your wine, make sure if its a corked red wine, to store it on it's side, so that the wine comes into constant contact with the cork, keeping it moist and preventing oxidation. Keep it a cool, dark place, about 55 degrees and 75% humidity.
• Serve sparkling wine at 45 degrees, white wine at 55, and red wine at 65.

That's all I got for today folks, see you next week, same bat time. My parents are coming in to town tonight to take an enthusiast class tomorrow morning with me all dressed up in my chef clothes. Yay! Also...I made Perfect Attendance!
M

Finals Week(s) and Spring Break!

Last Day of School!!!! For a week, anyways. I am now finished with the baking of bread for at least two months, but we'll get to that. Firstly: finals week, the reason I didn't blog for two weeks.

After coming back from being sick for a week and a half, I had my practical exam that lasted two days. For that practical, we baked brioche carroune, brioche a tete, and challah bread. I got an 91% on my practical. Just barely an A, but I'll take it. That was Monday and Tuesday, on Wednesday, we started our bread projects. It had to be a bread themed sculpted plaque made from edible modeling dough. We had a total of nine hours to make the entire plaque; six for the raw dough, three for the glazing and edible paint and presentation. It turned out pretty well, overall, I got a 94%. So I was pretty satisfied. That takes care of last week. Monday, we made pain de campagne, onion rye, and old fashioned rye bread dough. All of these are made with rye flour, so they are very sturdy loaves. The pain de campagne was actually really moist when I went to eat it, I really enjoyed it. The rest I froze to take home to the family this weekend on spring break. Tuesday we baked the bread and took our final written exam. Yesterday, we made San Fransisco sourdough and chocolate cherry dough, as well as challah to cover the chocolate cherry dough. And today, on the final day of class, we made sourdough boules and chocolate cherry challah covered hearts. We also got to make breakfast!!! I made hashed browns topped with over easy eggs and bacon and carmelized onions. It was sooooo delicious, I was stuffed. Chef also gave me my final grade for the class: 95.5%. And now, the excitement of my week: I got a bakery job!!! Granted, it won't start for two months, but its the perfect job for me, so I have no problem waiting. the pay will be phenomenal, benefits are good, and the work itself sounds like a lot of fun. God really blessed me with this job. Until April, and my Wines & Beverages course and Math (ick!), See ya!

M

Bedridden

I didn't blog at all this week, but there's a great reason: I spent the week in bed because I was recovering from an upper respiratory virus. I was in the Emergency Room on Saturday and Sunday because I had a fever of 104 and trouble breathing. The second ER visit on Sunday finally yielded some results in the form of some pain medications that would allow me to semi function while I get better. But anyways...kitchens!
In the fantastical world of bread this week: Monday we took our first paper test and mixed brioche dough, which is really buttery!!! We had to mix it in stages, first developing the gluten without the butter, which makes up about half the weight of the dough, and then kneading in the butter without melting it.Tuesday we shaped it into brioche a tete (excuse my lack of French accents, my laptop doesn't have that program), and carroune. A tete meaning with head, because brioche a tete  literally has a small head on top of a cupcake, and brioche carroune is French for crown. Wednesday we shaped more brioche, because it will be on our next practical exam. We also mixed challah bread dough. Challah is a traditionally Jewish bread that is soft and delicious! We shaped it into a five strand braid, as that will also be on our practical exam. Friday we made bagels and pretzels which were hand shaped and everything, as usual. It was really interesting to see after working at Panera how a real baker shapes bagels. What Chef said, is never stretch a bagel by poking a hole in the middle and stretching it out, because it always contracts. The best way to stretch a bagel is to pinch it into a rope, and then wrap the rope around your hand until the ends overlap. Roll the ends together by leaning hard on them as you roll. Another practical exam on Tuesday I think. So far, I've kept my GPA at the 4.0 so let's pray it stays there. Brioche carroune may just be the death of me. Until next week,
M

Bread Practicals and Pizza

TGIF!!! Apparently, this means "Thank God It's Friday" But I saw a church sign the other day that said Thank God I'm Forgiven, so I like that better. But still, I'm glad Friday is finally here, so that I can look forward to a weekend of doing nearly nothing that requires conscious thought.
On Wednesday, we made pizza, which was fantastic. We practiced stretching it three different ways, including the pizza parlor way of throwing it up in the air. You don't really throw it, you really just make a fist with both of your hands and twist your hands while flicking your fingers. Obviously, it's easy. HA! I didn't drop my dough, but I was one of the few. We were given our choice of toppings, so I chose caramelized onions, ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, and fresh basil that I cut chiffonade. In case you're wondering, chiffonade is when you roll up whatever you're cutting, usually some type of leaf, and cut thin strips off of the end. It's similar to shredding using a food processor. At any rate, it was delicious.
Thursday and today, we had practicals, so today we just worked on the practicals, but on Thursday, we made pitas, which were delicious!!! Very complicated to make, but still good. Our practicals today consisted of baguette, epi, and pain au lait, which we tied into single, double knot, figure eight and single braid. Of course, my mind decided to take a break when it was time for the single braid, and I completely forgot. My baguette turned out fine, except for the seam showing on the far side. Overall, Chef gave me a 93%, which isn't terrible, but didn't meet the standards that I'm held to. Hopefully I'll do better next time. For now, I go to work and wish for 4:30 to come faster. Have a nice weekend!
M

Italian Breads!!!

It's official, I'm addicted to bread. Today we shaped and cooked our tortillas, and used one to make a quesadilla.  It was SO GOOD!!!!! The amount of deliciousness that I perceived was probably due to my lack of eating, because I hadn't eaten for about 12 hours, but still. My quesadilla was pretty simple, just with cheese and caramelized onions. We also shaped and baked our focaccia dough.

      First, we oiled a sheet pan, and dumped our dough onto the pan. Each person used about a half of a sheet pan for their bread. after stretching it out on the pan, you add whatever you want in your dough, because if you put it on top, it will burn to a crisp and become bitter. I added onions and some roasted garlic on half of mine. After you top it, you fold it over and gently pull it into the shape of the half pan, and proof for about 10 minutes, or until the bread stops contracting. Then you stretch it further into the pan and put it back in for about 10 more minutes. Finally, you pull it out of your proof box, and gently brush it with olive oil Into the oven until it starts to brown. Once you rotate it, and its nearly done, pull it out and put more oil on (we used olive oil infused with alternately rosemary and garlic) then top with whatever you choose, and bake for maybe 5 more minutes, or until your toppings are melted or cooked. Be careful not to burn. And its delicious!!! While we were baking our bread, we mixed pizza dough for tomorrow.

I did promise proofing tips so here it is:
      To proof at home, you first get a cardboard box big enough to hold your bread pan, and cut off one end of it. Then you can go ahead and put your pan into the box, spray with water to keep the dough moist, and cover the box with a bag  you can seal. Seal the bag and move then entire contraption somewhere warm. Chef recommended either above your refrigerator, or in the bathroom while you take a shower. The shower idea sounds great to me, because of the steam.  So there you go, you can now proof bread and other doughs at home. Happy Baking!
        M

Yeahhh.....So Much for Extra Time

I'd originally thought that this mod I would have more time to blog and communicate with people from home and such because I only have one class. Not so much. My second week was great, I was planning on blogging every day, but then I got a visitor! Mary came to visit me and stayed until Friday, so I was more than happy to postpone my blogging to hang out with her. Lazy, I know. But anyways, we had a great time until she left and then I got back to the daily grind. And now, the bread.

Monday we had off because of the made up holiday known as President's Day, but I didn't complain: I got my laundry done. Tuesday, we made pain au lait, which is French for bread with milk. We shaped it into various knots that we will have to do for our practical exam. I actually bought some play dough to practice with, and I made the three knots that I will have to make for the practical. The red clay is an example of the figure eight knot, the smaller one is the single knot. Lastly, the green is the double knot. Because I really like it, I also did the single braid, which is my favorite, in blue.  Wednesday, we worked with more pain au lait dough to make more knots, in addition to making baguette dough. Thursday and Friday we made baguettes and epi's. An epi is the trick that bakers use to fix their bread. When you have a loaf of baguette that for any reason doesn't shape right, you make it an epi and no one will know! The epi is cut to look like a wheat stalk, with scissors!!! I just thought it was so fantastically simple, it felt like cheating. We also mixed tortilla dough but didn't get to it today because we were too busy making fougasse which is really cool! Essentially, its a really watery dough that you roll out and cut shapes out of. I made a whale!

We also prepped focaccia dough for tomorrow and used our knives for the first time in weeks because we chopped herbs, onions and garlic. I really had no idea what to do with all this bread, so I froze it and took it to Lunch at my pastor's house on Sunday and gave the rest to friends: as a result, my friend Tim said he would take all of the bread I don't want. Typical guy. It works out well though, because I can't eat six plus loaves of bread a week without gaining fifty pounds.  

  

Weekly Bread Facts:

• All purpose flour, the one you usually have at home, is a mixture of bread (or patent) flour and cake flour, so that you can just keep one bag in your pantry. In the bakery, we don't use it.
• Always dust your table for kneading with patent flour, because it clumps less.
• You can proof your bread at home without taking the entire day!! I forgot how, so I have to ask Chef.

Any questions about bread, let me know, not because of my own wealth of knowledge (HA!) but because my chef is the bread Einstein. He knows everything, and I'm not exaggerating, about bread. So ask away.

P.S. I also made Student Council.

I Survived!!!

It's truly a miracle that I made it through my first week of class, not because it was hard, but because I was so busy!!! I not only had class every day at 6:30, as usual, but I also had a cake order for 100 people due on Friday and work at the cafe. With no cake pans or supplies, it was pretty difficult. I managed though, and it was safely transported to Pastor Brett Mahlen's ordination on Friday night.

This week we learned the basics of bread making and how not to screw it up. We made first a white pan loaf, which was pretty great, and then a whole wheat dough which we split and shaped into boules (french for balls,) and took the rest and shaped it into a regular loaf filled with almond paste. It was really sweet and delicious. I didn't taste the boules because I sent them home to my dear family. Hopefully they were decent. We also prepped pain au lait dough, which is milk dough.Pain means bread, au lait means with milk. So instead of water, we used milk. But here are some pointers for bread making:

• Keep your water the temperature in the recipe, and don't add more or use less
• Proof your bread at around 70 to 90 degrees internal temp. So an air temp of 100 or 110 wouldn't be a problem, because the dough is very dense.
• When making a whole wheat dough by hand, aka not in the mixer, don't add more flour. This may make it easier to handle, but it also dries out the dough.
• When buying flour, instead of all purpose, use patent or restaurant flour, this is what the professionals use, because it doesn't clump. All purpose is a mixture of patent and cake flour. So its not a terrible thing to use in general, but its not great for baking.
• Always dust your table with patent flour. When a recipe says dust, it doesn't mean sprinkle the entire surface with flour, as I'd originally thought. It means take a pinch of flour in your hand and throw it at about a 45 degree angle at the table, so that it fans out. Like skipping a rock.
• Most cooking times are difficult to tell depending on what kind of oven you have or the pans that you use, so the best way to cook your bread is to put it in the oven, rotate it once one side is brown, and when the top of the bread is a dark golden brown, check the temperature by sticking a thermometer into the side of the loaf. Its should reach 180 degrees.

That's all I have for now,

     M

FINALLY!!!! We BAKE!!!!

:D I'm so happy about this mod. Today I started my Introduction to breads course, and I'm so excited for it. I <3 bread. Good thing it's a food group. I also got my new textbook for most of my baking courses so that's exciting. Breads is my only class this mod which is nice, because now my nights can be filled with things other than studying. Like cleaning and sleeping and....making cakes for my own business. I have just decide to start my business so I am very excited. I am in the process of making business cards and a facebook page for it. I'd design a real website, but I'm not tech savvy enough for that. So I already have a few orders for cakes between now and spring so I'm encouraged.

Since it was our first day in class, Chef Hooker mainly went over the syllabus and proper procedure for class and such. But we did measure flour so that's something. There are also many different types of flour, which was our homework, to read about flour. We also we memorizing different conversions of weight and volume measurements. For example, if you've ever heard the saying "A pint is a pound, the world around," which I never did, it actually kind of makes sense. I say kind of because its not always true, and I don't understand the "world around" part. The saying refers to how sometimes, a pint is equal to a pound. This is only true with water, milk, eggs, and fruit juices. (Not fruit concentrates, because they are mostly sugar syrups).

I'm going to try and make this blog also a site for my cake business Margo's Kakes, but I'm gonna need some serious tech help. So until tomorrow...
M

Finals Week

There is a good reason I haven't posted all week: I've been too busy studying. This week through yesterday I had all of my final exams for my first mod classes. I felt pretty prepared, but I was still a little nervous. But by the grace of God, I got A's across the board. So my GPA is a 4.0, which makes me very happy. Hopefully I will be able to maintain it while I'm in school here.  I had different tests on each day this week except for Monday, which was mostly review in all of my classes. So, here's a rundown of my week in terms of kitchens and exams.
Monday = Pancaked!
The pancakes we made were pretty standard...nothing too special. I would have taken a picture, but I was so hungry, I just slathered them in mango butter and syrup and ate them.
Tuesday is now waffle day!
We made buttermilk waffles, which is a bit difficult to do because you have to whip the egg whites until soft peaks form, then add sugar, then beat until stiff peaks form, then slowly fold in the yolk and dry ingredient mixture until just mixed.  After cooking them in a lightly greased waffle iron, we topped them with a triple berry compote that we made out of blueberries, strawberries and Melba sauce, which is a sauce made from at least two different kinds of berries. Its was phenomenal. We actually had so many waffles that we gave some to the class next door. After we finished our waffles we took the our final exam. I found out later that I got a 96, which is great! In sanitation, we also had our final exam, which I no longer remember the score of, but I got an A, so that's good enough for me.
Wednesday: Omelets and Exams
 Most of our time in kitchens was occupied by taking the knife skills practical exam, which was difficult. Any other day, I can do it fine, but I spent so much time making sure my julienne and brunoise cuts were right, I didn't have enough time to properly cut my battonet and small dice. Overall, I got an 83, which put me 4th highest in my class, so it wasn't bad. I knew I could've done better though. I just didn't want to spend the money and buy 10 lbs of potatoes to practice on. I felt better after I ate an omelet with bacon, ham, sausage, white wine mushrooms, basil, cheddar cheese, and sourdough toast covered in butter.After kitchens we reviewed the sanitation test and prepared for the ServSafe Exam.
Thursday: THE END!
In kitchens we didn't have anything to do yesterday, so we cleaned, made more omelets, oatmeal and got our final grades. I got a 93.5%. So I survived. After kitchens we had our final strategies exam, which i got an A on, but beyond that I don't know. Following our strategies exam, We had our ServSafe exam, which I also passed. So I'm now ServSafe Certified!

Today I'm cleaning my room, because I didn't have the energy with finals week and working. Also Mom surprised me with a visit on Tuesday night! We went out to eat dinner and had a nice time with Liz, Sam, and Ron. They stayed in town until the following afternoon when they came to see me at work and then went home. Tomorrow, I'm helping Chef Price teach a Valentine's Day Enthusiast class on chocolate. She hasn't decided exactly what we're making, but I'm excited! I <3 Chocolate!!!
Mk

FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Annnddd itssss FRIDAYYY!!!!!!!  YAY!!!!!

This means that I don't have to get up at the crack of dawn, and this makes me happy.

Today in kitchens we made root vegetable hash with corn and pepper custard. Corn and pepper custard was mixed with red, yellow and green fine julienned  peppers, and jalapeno brunoise cut peppers went into a 4 oz ramekin and cooked for 20 minutes. Then it was put on top of a 4 inch cake made of the root veggie hash. Plating with some roja  sauce finished it off. It was absolutely tasty. And  now, back to your regular programming, aka strategies, sanitation, work, and sleep. Ta ta till Monday!!!

M

Work, Work, Work

Well today was pretty good, except now I'm SUPER tired. (it just took me three times to spell tired correctly) Got up at 4 as usual, but also because the police were banging on the front door to get my landlords to move their car because apparently a water main had burst. Thankfully, it didn't affect me.

This morning in kitchens we made french toast and huevos rancheros. It was delicious, and I would've taken a picture of it, because it looked cool, but I ate it too fast. Huevos rancheros is Spanish for "rancher style eggs". Essentially, its two fried eggs, on top of a tortilla, then topped with salsa roja (red salsa) and white Mexican cheese and an herb i don't remember the name of. But it was delicious. Many of my classmates were intimidated by flipping eggs in the pan for the first time, but my first time flipping an egg was when I was something like 10. So I'm pretty much used to it now.  The french toast was just regular french toast, just delicious.

At work today, I started out on dishes, then did dining room, then breaded chicken and pounded out some pork. It was exciting. And now I'm exhausted. Also, the skate with stuco was a huge hit: my knee is the size of a grapefruit from the people who I was helping skate that pulled me down, and my ankles are rubbed raw from my jeans. Overall, it was a blast, and it was free, which is magical.

Time to go home and do laundry now.
M

Plated Pictures

 Here are some of the things I've made thus far:

These are the salads. Starting on the top left and going clockwise, we have citrus and fennel salad, then chicken salad,  french potato salad, and finally regular potato salad. All were delicious.


Here is the Middle Eastern Plate, which was PHENOMENAL!!!  The green blob looking thing is tabbouleh, with black olives next to it, then a tomato and cuke mix, and the beige colored blob is babaganouj, the rosette with the purple bunny ears is hummus with onion petals, the falafel is in the center on top of the yogurt tahini sauce, and at the very bottom is a sprig of baby endive and feta.

This is the Nicoise Salad, with eggs, Yukon potatoes,

 anchovies, tuna, parsley, mixed greens, tomatoes,

black olives, green beans, and green olives.

And finally, the eggplant parm, it was fantastic and addicting. Sadly, my camera stinks. But its fried eggplant, Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, basil, and marinara sauce. De-Lish.

Well...At Least I'm Busy

Busy doesn't even begin to describe my week. So I feel a little bit guilty for not blogging. I really am gonna keep up doing it at least every two days, even though I start work soon. So here's a rundown of my week with the exceptions of the exams which we had nearly every day.

Wednesday we made a Niçoise salad, which is....interesting, to say the least. It contains cooked Yukon potatoes, tomatoes, anchovies, tuna, eggs, green beans, and green and black olives. I tried it, just to see what it tasted like, it was very salty and fish-like, but it was good. Thursday was my favorite day this mod, more so even than deep fry day. On Thursday we  made Middle Eastern foods like falafel, which is ground chickpeas that are rolled into a ball and fried; we put that on top of a yogurt tahini sauce and served it with hummus, Babaganouj, pita slices, and tabbouleh. Its was AMAZING!!!!! Friday we made some more mayonnaise based dressings and did a zucchini practical. Monday we made chicken salad, french potato salad, regular potato salad, and citrus and fennel salad. My personal favorite was the chicken salad. A really basic recipe, but it was great! Today we made a fruit salad, but before you get a picture in your mind, let me show you. Ours was really different from the usual fruit salad. We also made Caesar salad, with a Caesar dressing made with anchovies...it was a little fishy tasting to me, but c'est la vie.

And thus a wrap up of my week in kitchens. Friday night we had a gallery crawl where we provided cheap food for the general public to buy, and I appointed myself on crowd control, which worked out fairly well. Saturday morning, I had agreed to help Chef G with an enthusiast class on Italian food, which was a lot of fun. Sunday, Grace did a lunch for the college and career age people, which was a lot of fun, then to evening service, laundry and school. I start working in Cafe 18 tomorrow, so I'm excited for that. Pray for me getting around in this crazy weather!!!

M

Shazzam...I just put three days of posts into one!!!

Well, since I forgot about Friday and Monday I'm going to do a post of just kitchens, because that's my most exciting class anyways. Also probably the most entertaining to read.

Friday was a very important day: I've decided to call it Deep-Fry Friday, because, yep, we deep fried. Everything. Officially, deep-frying something means you fry it in a large amount of fat. So we prepared different batters and breading and deep-fried just about everything we could think of. We deep-fried zucchini, green peppers, onion rings, bananas, sweet potatoes, oreo's and snickers candy bars. Needless to say, we were pretty stuffed that day.

On Monday we started our unit on salads. The basic plated salad has a few main elements: a green like a lettuce cup or a few pieces of chopped lettuce. The salads most people think of are bigger than what you would get at a five start restaurant, because usually, less is more. Next some color is added by using some complimentary vegetables for the greens you are using.  The garnish goes on before the dressing, if the dressing goes on at all, because most salads are premade and refrigerated before dressing and serving.Some restaurants serve their dressing on the side of the salad at all times for various reasons that are currently unknown to me. we learned how to cut salad greens and make a vinaigrette which is a mixture of any oil and vinegar, in addition to usually some herbs and other ingredients that serve as emulsifiers.

Today we made mayonnaise and mayo-based dressings, like ranch, thousand island, and blue cheese. When making mayo from scratch, you have to be sure not to whip it too much because you will cook the eggs and the mayo will turn green and taste look and smell gross. I learned from chef's experience: thankfully, our mayo was saved just in time so it wasn't green. into our mayonnaise we whipped crumbled blue cheese, half and half, a few drops of hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and black pepper. it was fantastical. another table made ranch that had this dill dip recipe in it and it was absolute magic, so we dipped bread in it. I was a very happy camper.

now I say bon nuit and go to sleep.
M

Testy Thursday

It seems that every two Thursdays and Mondays, we have tests. Thursday we have tests in Kitchens and Sanitation. Today in kitchens was our broccoli practical exam. I got a 92, because I overcooked the broccoli just a little, and the bottom of my pan wasn't clean enough. But still, an A is an A, so I'm not complaining. We didn't cook much because not only were about 4 people short of our full class, but half of the class was doing their broccoli practical. I was in the first group so I think those who weren't doing the practical were mincing garlic and onions for cafe prep. So it was a pretty basic class.

In strategies we learned about memory, and the different ways we use it and lose it throughout our lives.
In sanitation we also had a test, but that was it. I'd spent almost every night this week studying with my classmate Ashley, who is deaf, so I felt really prepared. Studying with her is a win win situation because not only do we both learn what we need to for our classes, I also learn sign language, which is fun.

All in all, it was a pretty good day. Except for the fact I found out the school is closing. Don't worry, I'll still finish my degree, but they are no longer accepting new students. I'm not exactly sure why, but it has something to do with the lack of funding and new applicants and a gradual phasing out of their various programs. So, while its unfortunate that the Chefs will lose their jobs, that's a part of life, and I'm still certain the God will provide.
M

The Day That I Forgot

You've heard of the city that time forgot? Well, today is the day that I forgot. Everything. No, I didn't forget to shower, or forget my knives, or forget any of my books. I just don't remember what I did today.

I'm trying hard to remember what I did today, because somehow, it got to be 4:30 and here I am. In kitchens....we had to slice 45 potatoes for home fries, because the chef who manages the cafe needed them to serve for breakfast. Then we braised collard greens with diced ham, ham stock, vinegar, and bacon. They weren't bad tasting, just not really my favorite. We also made green beans, first boiled and then sauteed with shallots and roasted red peppers. My personal favorite dish of the day was the cheesy grits. Simple, yet delicious. Then I ran to the Omni William Penn Hotel to meet my faculty advisor for a project, only to find out the project had been moved to 7 days from now. The Omni is where the kitchens are for the pastry and baking students, so starting next mod I will be hiking there every day. Its not a terrible hike, just about 8 or 10 blocks.

In strategies we had a very productive class. One of my favorites so far, I think. We learned about sense and sensation, and how it affects our lives in the industry. This was easier for me than the previous classes because i could see the direct correlation to my education.

Sanitation....ummm...yeah. I have no clue.
M

Sleep....Who Needs It???

Wow. I'm drastically more tired than usual today. Why, you ask? Well, because I didn't sleep last night. I slept fitfully in the car on the way back to school for 3 hours, but it isn't helping me much today. Despite the obvious, I did manage to make it through kitchens this morning.

Today we all branched out and made different recipes, all cooked by braising. One table made kielbasi and sauerkraut with a beer flavor; another made ratatouille, no not the movie; my table made braised red cabbage, which was fantastic, if I do say so myself. and the last table made carrots with cumin and orange juice. We got to taste everything. it was really good! Braising is slow,moist cooking but its not just for meats--today we braised mostly veggies. We also practiced for our practical exam on broccoli, chef said mine was perfect! So I feel pretty confident.

In strategies we had a guest lecture on rape prevention and such...that was awkward, but necessary I guess.
In sanitation we went over chapter 9 which encompasses cooking temperatures of all raw foods.
And then I studied for my sanitation test on Thursday. And now I'm crashing because I have been up for a long time.
M

OOPS!

I was so tired after yesterday, I came home and slept and did nothing productive, so I also forgot to blog! Whoops! Lucky for me I took notes in class. Except strategies, Thursday was the test. Good news is I passed, bad news is I was waayyy lower than my own expectations for myself. Anywho....where was I...Kitchens!

In kitchens we actually did some real cooking! Finally!!! First we learned how to make buerre noisette which is a french term for hazelnut colored butter. This is a simple thing that really revs up the taste of basic veggies like broccoli, which is what we used it with. First you heat a sautee pan on a stove, then toss the butter into the pan and roll it around until it gets a golden to medium brown. And that's it! just drizzle over your food. To use this, we properly cooked and cut broccoli. We actually have a practical exam on broccoli someday in the near future, so its pretty important. I might post all the details about that later, but in short, you boil broccoli for about a minute or two, until its a bright green. so that was absolutely delicious. We also made cauliflower polonaise which is really good. If you want any of these recipes let me know and I'll put them up. 

In sanitation, we learned about thawing foods, and more receiving such and whatnot. A not about thawing chicken and meat to my dear mother: DON'T THAW A CHICKEN ON THE
COUNTER!!!! We might die. So that's a big no-no.

I also treated myself to Primanti Bros last night, because I was too tired to cook anything. Yumm!!

In kitchens today, we ate. ALOT. Its was GREAT!!! First we sauteed  zucchini and mushrooms in olive oil. For the zucchini, keep the pan on medium to low heat, add about a Tbls of olive oil and season with a bit of salt. For the mushrooms, the pan should be on medium to high heat, and add about 2-3 Tbls of olive oil, as soon as they get hot, toss in a bit of vinegar: this lets them retain that white color. Season with salt and go to town, because these are just delicious.And finally...the coup de grace: eggplant parmigiana. Oh. My. Goodness. I think that's what they serve in Heaven's cafeteria.  First we peeled and slice the eggplant into 1/2 inch slices, then hand breaded it by dredging in seasoned flour, then flopping it in an egg wash, and finally tossing it in some bread crumbs. We finished it off by pan-frying it. topping it with first Parkman cheese, then a little bit of marinara sauce, then some loosely diced basil and topped with some mozzarella cheese. Then bake for 5 minutes and go to town. I know I did.

In sanitation we went over the internal temperatures required for different foods, which I might put up when I start to study for the next exam, and also how to cool food properly.

Right now I have to pack all my junk because I'm going home for a 3 day weekend!!!! YAY!!!!!! So, I'll see everyone Tuesday night, when the academia begins again.
M

Worried Wednesday

Well, today was a long day. I got up early and had time to get ready, so I had a good morning. In kitchens we peeled a tomato after blanching, peeling, and shocking it. We loosely diced it to make tomato concasse. This is not usually used to put in salads or a dish where the tomato is the singular flavor, because at this point, it doesn't have much left. We small diced some more onions, which I'm pretty sure will never leave my hands because they still stink. Using instant mashed potatoes, we became acquainted with pastry bags, which i already knew, but it was fun to use a new medium, that made it more difficult. With the potatoes, we piped rosettes and a straight line. Rosettes start at 6 o'clock and go counter clockwise in a circle about 2.5 inches wide, stopping at 7 o'clock. You first establish height, which Chef said is about an inch about the surface. When using a pastry bag, squeeze with the top hand, your guide hand is just that: a guide.
In strategies, we learned about intrinsic and extrinsic motivators. Intrinsic is when we do something just for the sake of doing it, or for ourselves. Extrinsic is when we are motivated by something outside of ourselves, be it a physical, monetary or other motivation technique. And I wish we did some review, but really we just learned more new things before our test. So I did alot of studying. ALOT.

In sanitation, we learned about receiving products and how they should be received and checked for safety. Many if not all received products need to be closely inspected for damage.

And finally, at lunch, I got my knife kit engraved!!! StuCo (Student Council) was doing it for only a few dollars. So some guy named Jared engraved my monogram on my knives and spatulas. I designed a monogram that is a cupcake with my initials where the cupcake wrapper would be. Its ADORABLE!!!!!

Off to bed now, because I have more studying to do tomorrow before class.
M

Test result Tuesday!!!

Well, it is indeed Tuesday, and since I'm not feeling terribly imaginative, its test Tuesday. I did actually get some test grades back, so Merry Tuesday Mom. I got a 95% in my kitchens quiz, and a 90% in sanitation. Not like thats a big deal, because I was actually hoping for higher, but I'll take it.

In kitchens, after I nearly was late because I turned off all 6 of my alarms, we learned how to mince garlic, shallots, and parsley. Mincing is generally used for herbs and spices to make them small enough so that you don't actually bite into one and get attacked by the spice bomb. (That's the off the record reason) For more dense things like shallots, you first dice or small dice the shallot and then turn from your 45 degree angle, (so that you cut straight against the left or right edge of the board). Once you are flush with the cutting board, you turn your chef's or french knife so that the tip points to the opposite end of your board. You then proceed to lift the back of your knife and mince the shallot in a kind of arc so that your shallots end up fanned out from the tip of your knife. Really really really tiny. We also learned how to brunoise, which is cutting julienne into dices. Maybe someday I will have a video camera and can show you how to do all this, because from reading it, it sounds harder than it actually is. Chef terrified my classmate Kia today, because she asked us to close our eyes and try to battonet potatoes. I know it sounds crazy, but I thought it was so much fun!!! Granted if you know me, the craziest things are fun for me, so that's all kind of relevant. But the reason Chef made us do that, (no she's not crazy) is so that we become more comfortable with the knife working flush with the fingers of our guide hand. That was totally the highlight of my day.

In strategies we had a guest speaker, actually two, the dean of students (there are about 6 deans of different departments I think) and the student success coordinator. It was mostly protocol and basic stuff that they went over, but I'm excited because I want to try and get perfect attendance, make the dean's list, and get into Eta Sigma Delta. Not like I'm reaching too high or anything.

Sanitation was just a review and prep for tomorrow, because we may very well get snowed in. Hopefully not, because, while I will get the day off, I'll have to make it up on a Saturday. Not fun.

I also bought some shoes at a fantastic sale at Payless. So that was exciting. Umm....yes. that is all.
M

P.S. Tomorrow I get my knife kit engraved!!!!!

Monday, Monday....

It seems that my blessings remain to be counted, as I did indeed make it up for school yet again today. Today was what is known as "mod day 6." This is when we have our first quizzes. All of our written quizzes and exams are on scantrons, or if you're familiar with the term "bubbling in." This morning we took our first kitchens and sanitation quizzes. In kitchens, we first had a normal class, where I sliced my middle finger because I wasn't paying attention while I was peeling an onion with my paring knife and we as a class learned to peel and cut potatoes, celery, and carrots. Today we did some more practice of julienne, battonet, small dice, and fine dice. Our quiz was fairly simple, and I'd studied with some of my classmates on Saturday, so I was well prepared.

In sanitation, we went straight to the quiz, which I'd also studied for and felt well prepared. I think I did pretty well on both quizzes, so I finished first and went to lunch.

Since I didn't do much of interest today, I thought I'd give you guys a great little recipe that my landlords shared with me on my first night of school. I'll post it separately so that I can have an Index of sorts. Off to bed now. M

In the beginning....

It's now Friday night, and I've made it through a whole week of the grueling work that is my patissserie education. I meant to blog every night, but I just was so tired from learning and going so many places that I very nearly collapsed after doing my homework every day. So here's the rundown of my first week of school.

Monday I got up at 4 and dragged myself out of bed to get dressed and catch the "T" by 5:30ish. I wanted to get into town early so I could figure out the whole commuting thing in the wee hours of the morning. So at 6:30 we met our chef, Chef Maureen Garfolo, who we just call "Chef," All of our instructors are referred to as "Chef," out of respect for the hard work that they have done to get that training and accomplishment. So chef told us essentially what we would be learning this mod (module) in our culinary foundations class. We will be learning all of the knife cuts and different techniques associated with the basics of the kitchen. After kitchens, which is obviously my favorite class because its active, we have Strategies (for lifelong learning). This will be teaching us how to assess people, what we should look for in employees, different learning styles and effective told in memorization. The most gross class is sanitation, which is going to earn us a "serv-safe" certification, this is what you must have to manage a restaurant in the US and its good for 5 years. After sanitation, in which half of the class tells our instructor, Ms. Clukey, that they will never eat again, we go to....lunch. :) The food is absolutely fantastic, and I'll probably tell you all what I eat at the cafe every day.  After I left school I got myself a lock to secure a good locker before they were all taken and hiked around Downtown Pitt so find a job. I came back with a lot of applications and very sore legs.

Tuesday I got up yet again, and started the wheels moving. Slowly. Once I got to class, Chef took us on a tour of the kitchens. So we went to the storeroom, all the floors and respective kitchens, and the back alley. We also got to know our classmates a bit better. I found out I'm the youngest one in my class, and one of only 2 pastry students, the other being a 50 something woman named Leslie. I really should have written this on Tuesday so that this was all still fresh in my mind, but now it seems like that was years ago. In Strategies, we learned about some of the psychology big name people, and why they are relevant to our lives. In Sanitation we learned about food contamination and Ms, Clukey's personal favorite: bloody diarrhea. We talk about this nearly every day in sanitation. Its not for the faint of heart. After lunch I again hit the town and went to the MarketPlace and applied as well as buying some groceries. Then I slept.

Wednesday I woke up looking like death, because I had been sick all the night before. So Wednesday didn't start all that great, but I made it to class, somehow, and dragged myself through the day. In kitchens we walked around the kitchen and had a bit of a scavenger hunt to find the equipment that we had read about in the previous nights homework. After kitchens, Chef let us out early so we could get our shoes between classes. I got a pair of very  manly, sturdy-looking shoes that are slip resistant. One is steel-toed and one is "regular". Needless to say, I wouldn't be wearing them on a date. In Strategies we went to the computer lab and learned how to use the student portal, which was interesting to see how many people were worse at computers than I am!!! Sanitation pretty much was more diseases or FBIs (Food Borne Illnesses) and their rather disgusting symptoms. At lunch with my morning kitchen class, or at least those who stayed, I met the only deaf student in our class, who agreed to teach me sign so we could communicate. Until then, texting and notes work fairly well. She also lip reads which is convenient. I also talked to Chef Robenko, who runs the cafe, who said he would give me a job in a week and a half, because Chef Garfolo (from my kitchen class) recommended me. I smiled, and shook his hand and did a little happy dance after he walked away. Since Wednesday work was concluded, I went home and slept, after falling asleep on the T and missing my stop, so I waited for about 6 minutes for the next one, feeling appropriately chastised.

Thursday I woke up feeling much better, I had slept from about 5pm to 4 am, after all. And Thursday was a very exciting day. We got our knife kits. And I danced for joy. I won't label everything in my kit just yet, I might get to that on Sunday, because there are LOTS of things to label. So after we got our knife kits we learned to julienne, batonet and brunoise zucchini. I'll just point out here that the knife kit weighs about 30 lbs and I will be carrying it for the next 84 weeks for 5 days a week. Maybe I'll get muscles. Strategies again was in the computer lab and our instructor was sick so we got s sub who flew us through the assignments and we got done ahead of schedule. It is very nice to sit. Sanitation we learned about fish toxins and parasites that cannot be killed by cooking. Yet another reason I eat few fish. After lunch I went to the grocery store (yes, again) and bought the supplies to make oatmeal cookies.

Friday was finally here. Almost the weekend, when I no longer am required to wake up before the crack of dawn. In kitchens today we learned how to cut mushrooms, fine dice an onion, and set up and tear down our stations. Today Chef also began appointing people as designated chef positions for the day, for example, I was chef de partie  (does not mean that I am in charge of the celebration of cooking) but the "head of station" or in this case, my table. In Strategies today, we had a guest speaker, the Dean of Academics, who told us about himself and his background and how our time here at LCB would be scheduled for the next 21 months. In Sanitation, before class started Ashley taught me how to say good morning in ASL, so I felt pretty accomplished. The class today was just prep for our quiz on Monday, so we played Ms. Clukey's version of Jeopardy! Lunch came and went,so I was eager to get home and finish my school for the week.

So that concludes, in short believe it or not, my week. I am now going to bed because to me it feels like what 3am feels like to a normal person--that you are up far too late.

The First Chapter

As a way of keeping in touch with my family and friends, I've decided to start a blog about my adventures in culinary school and and helpful tips I learn. So hopefully, I will be able to show you all the things I'm learning like I never left home, (yes Dad, you will learn what I learn).

My first day of classes starts tomorrow in what might be a 3 year program for baking a patisserie (pastry) arts at LCB (Le Cordon Bleu). For my first six weeks, I will be getting up at around 4:30 or 5:00 to get ready and catch the "T" (the metro system here in Pittsburgh) to make it to class at 6. Thats really a half an hour before class starts, but I believe in erring on the side of caution. After all, what if I miss the 5:00 T? (Thanks to Mom and Dad for suggesting that) So I will wake up before the sun to try and be successful, because after some famous guy once said, "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." I'm gonna take the liberty of supposing he wasn't just talking about fellas.

My first classes aren't letting me jump right into sugar sculptures just yet. I start out in the morning with Culinary Foundations 1, followed by Strategies for Lifelong Learning, and Food Safety and Sanitation.

Culinary Foundations 1 is going to teach us knife skills, (which I'm happy for since I am a bit tired of nearly cutting off my fingers), a basic industry background and culinary terms and such. Think of it as Cooking 101.

Strategies for Lifeling Learning will mostly cover how to be successful in the industry I think. But the course syllabus isn't online yet, so thats my best guess.

Food Safety and Sanitation is exactly what it sounds like, how to cook and clean food so that no one gets food poisoning and such. At the end of the 6 weeks I will have my ServSafe certification, which will allow me to manage a restaurant.

I'll also be putting little tidbits about my life and my new church Grace OPC in Sewickley, which I absolutely love. Its not too big, no more than 100 people I would guess, but definitely more than 50 which is cool. There are also a bunch of student from the surrounding colleges.(Grove City and Geneva)

If I can work it out I'll put up some pictures and maybe videos of the desserts or dishes that I cook. Feel free to ask me questions and I'll ask my chef instructors or maybe I might know something. We'll see, but I'm not making any promises. And just in case you can't measure butter *ahem JOHN *ahem! I'll offer some helpful tips. Like reading a recipe. And the butter wrapper. But that's neither here, nor there.

I'm not a genius, but hopefully we'll all learn something.

Mar Mar