I'm a bad blogger. Granted I haven't had two seconds to sit down and pull myself together let alone do laundry, pay bills, and attend to the things that make a person feel like they have some sort of a grip on life. But it looks like the day has finally arrived where I can take a breath...and gear up for the next wave of madness. Seeing that it's already almost April (how did that happen?!), I may as well bring you up to speed via 30 Things. This edition is somewhat momentous because as I write, I only have 4 classes between me and graduation and accomplishing something I still can't believe I am actually doing. With that, here is the March Madness edition of 30 Things I've been up to.
Editor's Note: Since I am such a bad blogger and started this entry in March and it is now April, I am posting this with 20 things because I fear I may never get to 30!!!
1. I haven't spent any amount of quality time with my dear husband in exactly 3 weeks. That changes tonight with date night. As well as Thursday, Friday (no school!), Saturday & Sunday date nights! I miss him.
2. I made a quick trip out to Salt Lake City a few weeks ago for the funeral of my dear cousin's 21 year old, who was killed in a car accident. I was totally blown away by her family and their ability to celebrate his life with such love and joy in the wake of such a senseless tragedy. It was touching.
3. Funerals are never fun, but I did get to see some of my favorite cousins, aunts & uncles, and my parents. It was brief, but there is something comforting about being with family that reminds you how important they are.
4. I also got to see a few old college friends, including my partner in crime during my Idaho days. She's this amazingly talented and creative woman who runs a successful business and I am in no way surprised, but when you become friends with someone freshman year of college because they hatch a plan to rent a U-Haul because you don't have a car and you only need to be 18 to rent a moving truck instead of 25 and then drive around town picking up cute boys and storing them in the back...it's nice to know our decision making skills developed over the years.
5. Also, she introduced me to the Kouing-aman at Les Madeleines Patisserie, a ridiculously buttery, salty-sweet, flaky, crunchy, chewy pastry that originated in Brittany, France. I am determined to find a New York equivalent. Kudos, Salt Lake City.
6. A la Grecque, Farmer Chef and I volunteered at superstar chef competition called Cochon 555 a few weekends ago. It features 5 heritage breeds of pork, 5 top chefs and 5 family owned wineries. We spent about 9 hours doing everything to folding tee-shirts to pouring wines to passing out cheese samples. It was a great pork-filled networking event.
11. I've completed my rotation on the Possoinier Station (fish) for Level 6 and it was my favorite so far. Our fish dishes include Pan-Seared Bass with Artichoke and Buckwheat Crepes and a Pan-Seared Cod with Chorizo, Clams, Kale & Saffron Potatoes. I like both dishes, but the bass has a definite edge. The artichokes are in really lovely curry sauce that doesn't overwhelm the flavor of what is probably one of my favorite veggies.
12. We had Chef Marc for 2 nights on this rotation because Chef Jason had some other obligations. Don't get me wrong, I like learning from other chefs because you learn variations in technique and process. What I don't like is inconsistency and being told that the other chef's way is incorrect. Grrr.
13. Poissonier was great because it involved a lot of care in handling the fish, especially the cod, which is super delicate, and timing was tricky with all the elements that go on the plate. I definitely enjoy the more challenging stations. There's a sense of accomplishment when you have to fire 6 bass on one burner at the same time. And usually several burns and cuts.
14. After Poissonier was Saucier (the meat station), which sort of dragged by, partly because Chef Jason was only with us one night because he had to attend to some family business and we had two different chefs fill in. Again, nice to learn from someone different, frustrating at times as well. One thing I do like to see is the chefs different styles of teaching and communicating. Chef Marc is pretty arrogant, obviously good at what he does, but not necessarily endearing himself to anyone. Chef Justin finds a teaching opportunity in every communication so you really understand the why, not just the how. Chef Herve is very direct, quietly encouraging, and nearly impossible to understand with his thick French accent.
15. Our saucier dishes were a Braised Beef Short Rib with a Sweet Potato Puree and Celery Root Foam and a Sauteed Duck Breast & Braised Duck Leg in a Spiced Broth. Short Rib = yum, Duck = meh.
16. Monday we start on our final station of the entire program - four nights on Garde Manger, which is the appetizer station. I am so excited because we get to work with Chef Janet, who was with us in Levels 3 & 4 again! She is this tiny platinum blonde dynamo that can slaughter and break down a whole pig singlehandedly, while wearing red lipstick nonetheless. Love her.
17. In other news, A La Grecque and I entered a competition called the Brooklyn Brunch Experiment, in which we competed with 19 other cheftestants to prepare 300 brunch themed bites for a crowd of people as well as a panel of judges. The judges included: Andrew Knowlton from Bon Appetit magazine and Iron Chef judging fame, Sean Rembold, Executive Chef of Marlow & Sons in Brooklyn, and Emille Castillo, Executive Chef of Norma's at Le Parker Meridien.
18. Our team name was Wanna Spoon? and we prepared (after much trial and error), a Savory Cornbread Cupcake with a Bacon Buttercream Frosting. Because it was brunch themed, we also included a Bloody Mary Shooter with Candied Bacon. We were really happy with the results.
19. It turns out that the judges were also happy because we won first prize, which was a Cuisinart Stand Mixer and Le Crueset grill pan. These items will be sold on Craigslist for cash that we'd like to put toward a Wanna Spoon? foodie adventure in San Francisco.
20. You can read more about our adventures together on our website Wanna Spoon? or on Linda's blog, The Cheeky Chef. Pictures from the competition are at Wanna Spoon as well!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
A Belated 30: The Spring Forward Edition
Oh dear! Here we are approaching the Ides of March and I totally neglected to do the latest edition of 30 Things. I don't know where my head is at. Better late than never? Here goes. Following are the things that I have learned, experienced, discovered I like, made plans to do, and in some cases slept through or avoided in our most recent 30 days as New Yorkers.
1. The winter blahs should be listed in the DSM-IV. Not to be confused with the winter blues, known clinically as Seasonal Affect Disorder or SAD. The winter blahs are a mood disorder that presents in the form of grumpiness, irritation, and sudden fits of snippyness.
2. Sunshine is an instant cure for the winter blahs. It helped soften the hard edge I've had lately about this city.
3. I love New York when the weather is great. I would even broaden that statement to include good, decent, not half bad, it's not even that cold, it could be worse, and at least it's not bitter/windy/raining/snowing.
4. When the weather warms up, the city has a life to it that is missing in the winter months. Happy people sit outside and sip their coffee and watch the other happy people strolling along. Even though we only had a short spell of warm, sunny days, it was a glorious preview to the coming months and a nice reminder that the dark times are almost over.
5. Mike and I have been trying to get out more on the weeknights instead of holing up in our apartment and watching TV, which has become our usual routine this winter. Let me tell you, we were not doing ourselves any favors. Who knew that being a lazy shut-in wouldn't make me feel like my best self? (As I write this, I am being buzzed by the delivery guy with my Chinese takeout since I didn't feel like leaving my apartment...hey, I never said I was perfect.) Here's where I've been lately:
6. Bourgeois Pig for fantastic fondue and French wine. Dark, cozy, candlelit and very Parisian.
7. Perilla for killer duck meatballs, the perfect Manhattan, and great service. The space is clean, but not stark or simple, and invitingly warm.
8. Death & Co. for a mixology lesson with A La Grecque. Rockstar bartenders Alex Day and Thomas Waugh gave a great class on cocktails that was made of equal parts history, technique, and tasting. Stirred, not shaken. I'll definitely be back.
9. Gottino for an intriguing selection of Italian wines and bowls of walnuts you can crack yourself at the bar.
10. Casellula for peppadew peppers stuffed with mozzarella and wrapped in speck, a fantastic cheese selection, and a well-edited wine list.
11. I just wrapped up my latest rotation in the L'Ecole kitchen: Canape (Can-Uh-Pay). We prepare the amuse bouche (uh-moos-boosh), the welcoming bite given to each patron compliments of the chef. I have a love hate relationship with the canape station. On one hand, it's not stressful, there is plenty of time to chat with my teammates, load up a plate from family meal, and watch the rest of the kitchen buzz with orders. On the other hand, it's boring and there is too much time to eat. (Loosens belt a notch).
12. Our first canape was a tuna crudo: raw tuna loin chopped in a small dice, tossed with lemon juice & zest, olive oil, finely chopped arugula, parsley, chive, capers and grated parmesan. Delish.
12. Canape number 2 was supposed to have been pate a choux filled with a foie gras mousse (pate a choux is the dough that makes the shells of cream puffs and eclairs), but the order for foie gras somehow got lost, so we ended up making agnolotti (a tiny half moon ravioli). We made the pasta dough, filled it with ricotta that had been seasoned with lemon and basil, served it over a classic Sauce Tomate (a cooked tomato puree with smoky bacon) and a roasted cippolini onion puree and then topped it with a dot of bright green olive oil, shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano and basil chiffonade (chiffonade is when you take the leaves of any green or herb stack them, roll them up like a cigar and then finely slice them into strips). All of our canapes are served in a white porcelain spoon meant to be taken in one bite.
13. Our third night on canape, I ended up filling in on Saucier (Saucy-Yay)since that team was short a couple people and they get a lot busier than Canape. But my team did delicious things to oysters. Coated in cornmeal, then deep fried and served with something pickled and some kind of tartar like dressing...I can't remember, but it was a yummy little bite.
14. Our final night on Canape was our triumph. It's not like it's difficult to make pork belly taste delicious, but this was just sooooo good. If you've never had pork belly, you should stop wasting any more precious moments not knowing this delicious pig part. As the name implies, it comes from the belly of an oinker and it's what bacon is typically made from. We coated ours in all sorts of spices and slow roasted it in a tangy barbecue sauce glaze. We cut the belly into bite size cubes (picture the layers of meat and fat like you would see in bacon), served it over a bed of brunoise (broon-wah, which means a very fine dice) purple cabbage, carrot, asian pear, red onion, and red bell pepper, with a sweet cole-slaw like dressing, topped the belly bite with a dot of barbecue sauce and a tiny pommes gaufrette (a waffle cut potato chip) and a single sprig of arugula microgreens. All the little elements were time consuming but the end result was hog magic.
15. I start on Poissonier (Pwah-Sun-Yay) tomorrow night and Chef Jason will be out so we have a substitute chef filling in: Chef Marc Pavlovic who was just featured on the Food Network's Chopped. Spoiler: He wins. If I've learned one thing, every chef has a different style and technique and I have something to learn from each of them, so it should be fun to get his perspective.
16. Knowing I only have 12 more classes between me and the end of my time at FCI is enough to make me misty, but I'm getting more and more excited about my post school plans. I am going to miss seeing my classmates three nights a week (most of them, anyway) and learning from our fabulous chef instructors, but I suppose all good things must come to an end. I'd like to find whoever coined that expression and throttle them. I mean, really must all good things come to an end? The more I think about it, the less I want to get out of bed in the morning. If good things don't last, what's the point?! (Angry and confused, deep breath).
17. I do have some exciting things in store for me that take the sting out of finishing this chapter of my life. A la Grecque and I are competing in The Brooklyn Brunch Experiment, in which we will prepare 300 brunch themed bites for guests who will vote and a panel of judges that includes the restaurant editor for Bon Appetit magazine. It should be a lot of fun and who knows, maybe we come home with a prize?
18. We are calling our team Wanna Spoon?, look for a new culinary adventure blog from us to be unveiled very soon.
19. I'm interning with a really fun wine website called Wine Flirt, which takes a fun, fresh approach to understanding and enjoying wine. I'll be working with wine retailers and wine bars to set up Wine Flirt tastings and events.
20. I'm starting to test my hand at the private chef/catering thing with a few wedding gigs this summer for good friends. Very excited about the possibility of doing more things like this!
21. I'll be volunteering next weekend at Cochon 555, a competition featuring 5 rockstar chefs, 5 heritage breeds of pork and 5 local, family owned wineries. It's a pricey event so volunteering is a great way to experience it without the wallet hit, and network at the same time. A la Grecque, Farmer Chef and one of my favorite instructors from school, Chef Janet, will also be there.
22. I'm looking at the next year in New York as a time to further my education, hone my skills, and narrow the focus of my career path. I've got a list of things I want to do and at the top of that list is wine.
23. I'm strongly considering furthering my wine education through the Wine & Spirit Education Trust at the International Wine Center here in New York. Now if I could just figure out how to turn water into money to turn that into a wine diploma...
24. I want to work in a wine shop. It may sound like a silly, unimportant job, but it's a great place to learn and potentially a place to work my way into wine education and events.
25. I want to learn a lot more about cheese.
26. I want to learn how to make bread and really good pizza...this may have to wait a while, at least until I figure out the formula for turning water into cash.
27. I want a bigger apartment, a bigger bank account, a book deal, and free clothes for life from Anthropolgie. Oh wait, that's from my wildest dreams list, not my plans for the next year list.
28. On a more serious note, a tragic accident this week reminded me how important it is to make the most of the time we have here because you just never know when it's up. For me, that means not being afraid to pursue my dreams even if I am scared sometimes. It means taking care of the people that are important to me. It means taking care of myself. It means leaving a positive mark on the world when I do go.
29. The weeks events also been a reminder that life is fragile, we're not invincible, and a split second decision can have very real, lasting implications that aren't easy to make sense of. The only way I know how to make senseless loss have meaning is to honor the lost by appreciating the life I have.
30. In times like these, the only things that matter are family and friends. There is so much to be said for having people in your life that you know you can lean on. I am so lucky to have friends like this and their support, love and kindness is appreciated and inspires me to be that person to more people. So in that spirit, carpe diem friends!
1. The winter blahs should be listed in the DSM-IV. Not to be confused with the winter blues, known clinically as Seasonal Affect Disorder or SAD. The winter blahs are a mood disorder that presents in the form of grumpiness, irritation, and sudden fits of snippyness.
2. Sunshine is an instant cure for the winter blahs. It helped soften the hard edge I've had lately about this city.
3. I love New York when the weather is great. I would even broaden that statement to include good, decent, not half bad, it's not even that cold, it could be worse, and at least it's not bitter/windy/raining/snowing.
4. When the weather warms up, the city has a life to it that is missing in the winter months. Happy people sit outside and sip their coffee and watch the other happy people strolling along. Even though we only had a short spell of warm, sunny days, it was a glorious preview to the coming months and a nice reminder that the dark times are almost over.
5. Mike and I have been trying to get out more on the weeknights instead of holing up in our apartment and watching TV, which has become our usual routine this winter. Let me tell you, we were not doing ourselves any favors. Who knew that being a lazy shut-in wouldn't make me feel like my best self? (As I write this, I am being buzzed by the delivery guy with my Chinese takeout since I didn't feel like leaving my apartment...hey, I never said I was perfect.) Here's where I've been lately:
6. Bourgeois Pig for fantastic fondue and French wine. Dark, cozy, candlelit and very Parisian.
7. Perilla for killer duck meatballs, the perfect Manhattan, and great service. The space is clean, but not stark or simple, and invitingly warm.
8. Death & Co. for a mixology lesson with A La Grecque. Rockstar bartenders Alex Day and Thomas Waugh gave a great class on cocktails that was made of equal parts history, technique, and tasting. Stirred, not shaken. I'll definitely be back.
9. Gottino for an intriguing selection of Italian wines and bowls of walnuts you can crack yourself at the bar.
10. Casellula for peppadew peppers stuffed with mozzarella and wrapped in speck, a fantastic cheese selection, and a well-edited wine list.
11. I just wrapped up my latest rotation in the L'Ecole kitchen: Canape (Can-Uh-Pay). We prepare the amuse bouche (uh-moos-boosh), the welcoming bite given to each patron compliments of the chef. I have a love hate relationship with the canape station. On one hand, it's not stressful, there is plenty of time to chat with my teammates, load up a plate from family meal, and watch the rest of the kitchen buzz with orders. On the other hand, it's boring and there is too much time to eat. (Loosens belt a notch).
12. Our first canape was a tuna crudo: raw tuna loin chopped in a small dice, tossed with lemon juice & zest, olive oil, finely chopped arugula, parsley, chive, capers and grated parmesan. Delish.
12. Canape number 2 was supposed to have been pate a choux filled with a foie gras mousse (pate a choux is the dough that makes the shells of cream puffs and eclairs), but the order for foie gras somehow got lost, so we ended up making agnolotti (a tiny half moon ravioli). We made the pasta dough, filled it with ricotta that had been seasoned with lemon and basil, served it over a classic Sauce Tomate (a cooked tomato puree with smoky bacon) and a roasted cippolini onion puree and then topped it with a dot of bright green olive oil, shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano and basil chiffonade (chiffonade is when you take the leaves of any green or herb stack them, roll them up like a cigar and then finely slice them into strips). All of our canapes are served in a white porcelain spoon meant to be taken in one bite.
13. Our third night on canape, I ended up filling in on Saucier (Saucy-Yay)since that team was short a couple people and they get a lot busier than Canape. But my team did delicious things to oysters. Coated in cornmeal, then deep fried and served with something pickled and some kind of tartar like dressing...I can't remember, but it was a yummy little bite.
14. Our final night on Canape was our triumph. It's not like it's difficult to make pork belly taste delicious, but this was just sooooo good. If you've never had pork belly, you should stop wasting any more precious moments not knowing this delicious pig part. As the name implies, it comes from the belly of an oinker and it's what bacon is typically made from. We coated ours in all sorts of spices and slow roasted it in a tangy barbecue sauce glaze. We cut the belly into bite size cubes (picture the layers of meat and fat like you would see in bacon), served it over a bed of brunoise (broon-wah, which means a very fine dice) purple cabbage, carrot, asian pear, red onion, and red bell pepper, with a sweet cole-slaw like dressing, topped the belly bite with a dot of barbecue sauce and a tiny pommes gaufrette (a waffle cut potato chip) and a single sprig of arugula microgreens. All the little elements were time consuming but the end result was hog magic.
15. I start on Poissonier (Pwah-Sun-Yay) tomorrow night and Chef Jason will be out so we have a substitute chef filling in: Chef Marc Pavlovic who was just featured on the Food Network's Chopped. Spoiler: He wins. If I've learned one thing, every chef has a different style and technique and I have something to learn from each of them, so it should be fun to get his perspective.
16. Knowing I only have 12 more classes between me and the end of my time at FCI is enough to make me misty, but I'm getting more and more excited about my post school plans. I am going to miss seeing my classmates three nights a week (most of them, anyway) and learning from our fabulous chef instructors, but I suppose all good things must come to an end. I'd like to find whoever coined that expression and throttle them. I mean, really must all good things come to an end? The more I think about it, the less I want to get out of bed in the morning. If good things don't last, what's the point?! (Angry and confused, deep breath).
17. I do have some exciting things in store for me that take the sting out of finishing this chapter of my life. A la Grecque and I are competing in The Brooklyn Brunch Experiment, in which we will prepare 300 brunch themed bites for guests who will vote and a panel of judges that includes the restaurant editor for Bon Appetit magazine. It should be a lot of fun and who knows, maybe we come home with a prize?
18. We are calling our team Wanna Spoon?, look for a new culinary adventure blog from us to be unveiled very soon.
19. I'm interning with a really fun wine website called Wine Flirt, which takes a fun, fresh approach to understanding and enjoying wine. I'll be working with wine retailers and wine bars to set up Wine Flirt tastings and events.
20. I'm starting to test my hand at the private chef/catering thing with a few wedding gigs this summer for good friends. Very excited about the possibility of doing more things like this!
21. I'll be volunteering next weekend at Cochon 555, a competition featuring 5 rockstar chefs, 5 heritage breeds of pork and 5 local, family owned wineries. It's a pricey event so volunteering is a great way to experience it without the wallet hit, and network at the same time. A la Grecque, Farmer Chef and one of my favorite instructors from school, Chef Janet, will also be there.
22. I'm looking at the next year in New York as a time to further my education, hone my skills, and narrow the focus of my career path. I've got a list of things I want to do and at the top of that list is wine.
23. I'm strongly considering furthering my wine education through the Wine & Spirit Education Trust at the International Wine Center here in New York. Now if I could just figure out how to turn water into money to turn that into a wine diploma...
24. I want to work in a wine shop. It may sound like a silly, unimportant job, but it's a great place to learn and potentially a place to work my way into wine education and events.
25. I want to learn a lot more about cheese.
26. I want to learn how to make bread and really good pizza...this may have to wait a while, at least until I figure out the formula for turning water into cash.
27. I want a bigger apartment, a bigger bank account, a book deal, and free clothes for life from Anthropolgie. Oh wait, that's from my wildest dreams list, not my plans for the next year list.
28. On a more serious note, a tragic accident this week reminded me how important it is to make the most of the time we have here because you just never know when it's up. For me, that means not being afraid to pursue my dreams even if I am scared sometimes. It means taking care of the people that are important to me. It means taking care of myself. It means leaving a positive mark on the world when I do go.
29. The weeks events also been a reminder that life is fragile, we're not invincible, and a split second decision can have very real, lasting implications that aren't easy to make sense of. The only way I know how to make senseless loss have meaning is to honor the lost by appreciating the life I have.
30. In times like these, the only things that matter are family and friends. There is so much to be said for having people in your life that you know you can lean on. I am so lucky to have friends like this and their support, love and kindness is appreciated and inspires me to be that person to more people. So in that spirit, carpe diem friends!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Is That a Smile or Just a Crack in Your Scowl?
15 more classes stand between me and my chef's toque. Yikes. I just completed my pastry rotation for Level 6 and it turns out the grumpy chef wasn't as grumpy as I expected. Either that or my expectations were so low considering Vegas set the over-under on total number of smiles cracked by Chef at .25, which I imagine is like one smile for a normal person since I've only seen one small corner of her mouth turn up in what I presume is her happy face. Or maybe she just had powdered sugar in her eye, there is no way of knowing because I am too afraid to ask. I may be exaggerating a tad (am I?) because she did seem to warm up to me and some (not all) of my teammates. Consider that a segueway into my Level 6 team introduction. For the 4th level in a row Evil Cheese is on my team. Thankfully he is super considerate and has not seemed to tire of me yet. Also making a repeat appearance from Level 5 is Farmer Chef. In pastry we had a tendency to follow each other around verifying if we were doing things right while Chef Frosty had her back turned to us. She's a great ally. It may have been mainly me following her around now that I think about it. Another repeat appearance is...drumroll...Korean Spiccoli! So happy to have him back on my team although last night I thought he was going to start throwing tart shells at one of the Level 5 students we are sharing the kitchen with who apparently dribbles a trail of uncooked custard around the room in case she gets lost. Or she is messy. I can't tell yet. Finally, I have the honor of working with the loud-mouthed Israeli who I referenced in this post from August. He is pretty amusing in an evil cartoon character sort of way. Pop Quiz: When I said that chef has warmed up to some of my teammates, guess who is not included in the word "some"? (Hint: the usage of the word "some" in this situation should be taken to mean most or nearly all.) Post your best guess in the comments section.
Our pastry dishes this time around are a pumpkin sponge cake layered with chocolate mousse served surrounded by a spiced apple reduction with tiny diced apple bits floating in the reduction, the cake itself is topped with a perfect quenelle (more on this in a moment) of cream cheese frosting and a perfectly thin crisp apple chip. It's delicious! The other dish is an individual tart filled with lemon curd, topped with a candied pineapple ring and a quenelle (there's that word again) of gingered whipped cream and a shard of macadamia nut brittle, accompanied by a blueberry compote dusted with brittle crumble. Next stop: Yummytown. (Yeah, I know that was terrible, but I have been eating a lot of sugar lately). So a quenelle is a shaped dollop of cream or ice cream or really any condiment that can hold a shape. We were taught in earlier levels to make a quenelle using two spoons, but Chef Quarter Smile does it with just one. To get a better idea of what the hell I am talking about, you can watch this 30 second clip on you tube. Don't be fooled by the fluid motion with which that berry sorbet becomes a perfectly smooth oval. It's not that easy and I think we frustrated chef to no end with our, at first, sloppy quenelles that she told us looked "as if someone already ate it". The key to a perfect quenelle is steaming hot water. Or two spoons...but using two felt like failure under chef's watchful eye, so I'm happy to say that with some determination and an ever boiling pot of water, my quenelles were pretty darn good.
Pastry is still not my favorite thing to do in the kitchen, but I've warmed up to it. I even took some of the leftover pumpkin sponge home and proceeded to make a layered dessert with carmelized bananas, whipped cream, and a rich caramel sauce. It turned out great except for the part when I brushed my hand over the spatula I had just used to stir the boiling hot sugar syrup and it glommed onto my palm like a flaming hot leech. I enjoyed the sweet treat with one hand in an ice bath and now have a blister on my palm the size of a horse tranquilizer. Mike named it Doug. Chef looked horrified when she saw it and I thought she was going to offer me some sympathy, but I should have known better. What I got instead was "That is disgusting! Cover that thing up I cannot work and look at that thing. Wear a glove! What if it explodes in the food! Oh that is so disgusting!". (Me: Slinks away toward box of gloves).
And with that my first rotation of Level 6 is over. It's on to canape where we will prepare a one bite amuse bouche to serve each restaurant patron upon being seated. We will get slammed with orders early in service and then stand around for a few hours watching everyone else work. At least we get to be creative and come up with ideas for the food. Our first canape will be a tuna carpaccio: very thinly sliced raw tuna with arugula, parmesan, lemon, capers, olive oil, salt and pepper all rolled up into a neat, little bite of flavor designed to wake up your mouth and ready it for the procession of courses to come. I could make a weak analogy about school being the amuse bouche for the procession of greatness that is to come but Doug keeps getting in the way and hitting extra keys so I will leave you with the image of my blistered, cut, and scarred hands and forearms so you will think I am hardcore.
Our pastry dishes this time around are a pumpkin sponge cake layered with chocolate mousse served surrounded by a spiced apple reduction with tiny diced apple bits floating in the reduction, the cake itself is topped with a perfect quenelle (more on this in a moment) of cream cheese frosting and a perfectly thin crisp apple chip. It's delicious! The other dish is an individual tart filled with lemon curd, topped with a candied pineapple ring and a quenelle (there's that word again) of gingered whipped cream and a shard of macadamia nut brittle, accompanied by a blueberry compote dusted with brittle crumble. Next stop: Yummytown. (Yeah, I know that was terrible, but I have been eating a lot of sugar lately). So a quenelle is a shaped dollop of cream or ice cream or really any condiment that can hold a shape. We were taught in earlier levels to make a quenelle using two spoons, but Chef Quarter Smile does it with just one. To get a better idea of what the hell I am talking about, you can watch this 30 second clip on you tube. Don't be fooled by the fluid motion with which that berry sorbet becomes a perfectly smooth oval. It's not that easy and I think we frustrated chef to no end with our, at first, sloppy quenelles that she told us looked "as if someone already ate it". The key to a perfect quenelle is steaming hot water. Or two spoons...but using two felt like failure under chef's watchful eye, so I'm happy to say that with some determination and an ever boiling pot of water, my quenelles were pretty darn good.
Pastry is still not my favorite thing to do in the kitchen, but I've warmed up to it. I even took some of the leftover pumpkin sponge home and proceeded to make a layered dessert with carmelized bananas, whipped cream, and a rich caramel sauce. It turned out great except for the part when I brushed my hand over the spatula I had just used to stir the boiling hot sugar syrup and it glommed onto my palm like a flaming hot leech. I enjoyed the sweet treat with one hand in an ice bath and now have a blister on my palm the size of a horse tranquilizer. Mike named it Doug. Chef looked horrified when she saw it and I thought she was going to offer me some sympathy, but I should have known better. What I got instead was "That is disgusting! Cover that thing up I cannot work and look at that thing. Wear a glove! What if it explodes in the food! Oh that is so disgusting!". (Me: Slinks away toward box of gloves).
And with that my first rotation of Level 6 is over. It's on to canape where we will prepare a one bite amuse bouche to serve each restaurant patron upon being seated. We will get slammed with orders early in service and then stand around for a few hours watching everyone else work. At least we get to be creative and come up with ideas for the food. Our first canape will be a tuna carpaccio: very thinly sliced raw tuna with arugula, parmesan, lemon, capers, olive oil, salt and pepper all rolled up into a neat, little bite of flavor designed to wake up your mouth and ready it for the procession of courses to come. I could make a weak analogy about school being the amuse bouche for the procession of greatness that is to come but Doug keeps getting in the way and hitting extra keys so I will leave you with the image of my blistered, cut, and scarred hands and forearms so you will think I am hardcore.
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