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!!!!!