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