Well, our last run through Chef Chad's Bake Shop is now over. We finished our last week with the ovens off as we first went soft, then got hard with some cool and cold desserts. Soft day was centered around Chocolate Mousse, Parfait, and Bavarian Cream. Then on our last day (the week being cut short for Thanksgiving and all) we took our test, had our notebooks graded, and then enjoyed some Kiwi Sorbet and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, both of which were excellent. Although it's a bit of a downer for me that our time with Chef Chad is over, I know that Sandy and Jessica are very relieved to move on to our last phase in the course, Hot Kitchen II with the thus-far unknown quantity: Chef Shane.
I haven't mentioned Enju as she has been absent for over a week with a hurt back, and there is apparently some doubt as to whether she will be able to graduate with us in three weeks. I sure hope so, it just wouldn't be the same without the four of us together at the end. Van was gone a few days this week, too so I'm not sure about his grad status either. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
Had a few laughs this week when we discussed what I've decided to call:
The Case of the Moving Mise en Place!
When starting a project, the first step is to gather all the ingredients and equipment needed to complete the task. Jessica got a variety of containers together for her ingredients when making chocolate mousse. After scaling something, she returned to the table only to find that her containers were gone. This is actually a pretty common occurrence, as Chef Chad CAN NOT STAND to see something not in it's place, so he will often start to put things away before we've even used them. So when he saw the empty containers on the work area, he just HAD to put them away. Jessica got them back and kept an eye on them as she finished her scaling and measuring. Okay, this project has to be done in a very specific sequence so she lines up her 5 or 6 ingredients in the order they are to be used, turns to plug in the mixer, and when she turns back...I kid you not, it was at most 5 seconds...Chef Chad has gone back and picked it all up and placed it on a tray so it would be "together". Jessica was obviously frustrated, but it was good for a laugh, and really it may have been karma at work...Chef has a set of weights for scaling in 1, 2, 4, and 8 pounds. He keeps these in a straight line and in order all the time. Jessica admitted that she has occasionally moved them around and swapped their places just to mess with Chef Chad. I won't even mention what she did with his clean-up towel. Despite his almost manic orderliness, I'll say here that Chef Chad is absolutely determined to provide the best and most thorough instruction possible and I'm really glad that I had the opportunity to train under his guidance.
Yesterday was Thanksgiving Day. Like probably more than a few of you out there I ate a little too much and enjoyed it thoroughly. People emailed and texted me "What are you making?" and "Are you doing the cooking?" Alas, my contribution to what was a great feast was to whip out my trusty Wusthof 10" fingernail clipper and dice two bunches of celery and 3 onions. I was also asked to carve the ham, which I sorta butchered. Moms, Grandmas, and Wives have certain favorite foods, specialities, and traditions that they don't want you messing with, so if you get a chance to cut the celery, mix biscuit dough, or just put up the folding table you do it with a smile on your face knowing that you helped make the Holiday special.
I had a very nice chat yesterday with an "Auntie" that started with some complaints about the traffic here in Honolulu and ended with her telling me about growing up here (she's 71) back when it was mostly sugar cane and being raised on the plantation. I wish I could have seen it then.
Nothing to do with school, but I saw these movies:
(I know, I see a lot of movies.)
Happy Feet 2 - Fun movie for kids, the thrill was Bill and Will, the Krill.
Puss in Boots - Also a good kid movie, but adults will like it too.
Immortals - I didn't pay for the 3D version, but found the movie to be better than I expected.
Descendants - Very well acted film, George Cloony is excellent, very realistic filming here in Hawaii.
Hugo - Beautifully filmed, good 3D effects, heartwarming. I liked it a lot.
J. Edgar - Leo won't get an oscar for this boring biopic. The old age special effects were terrific.
Muppets - Great movie. Takes you back. Tame one-liners that are still funny. The voices are off, though.
Tower Heist - This one was fun, although it got a little silly toward the end.
Yes, I'm ashamed to say that I went to:
Jack and Jill - Typical Adam Sandler crap, and worse than most of them. But not as bad as:
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part I - Terrible: Acting, Direction, Cinematography, Special Effects, Story, Script, Characters, and I would be willing to bet that the food sucked at Craft Services.
[Breadbaking is] one of those almost hypnotic businesses, like a dance from some ancient ceremony. It leaves you filled with one of the world's sweetest smells... there is no chiropractic treatment, no Yoga exercise, no hour of meditation in a music-throbbing chapel, that will leave you emptier of bad thoughts than this homely ceremony of making bread. ~M.F.K. Fisher
Friday, November 25, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
Who wants Omelet Surprise?
If you remember last week's ramblings, I had a talk with a restaurant chef that was a downer, with his assertion that all the culinary schooling he received was useless. Well I am very pleased to say that in a chat with Gabe, a guy that graduated a couple months ago and is now working in catering in San Fransisco I was informed that he finds uses for the things he learned almost every day, and the skills and attitude that he picked up from our chefs here have stood the test of professional work. He's also making some pretty sweet coin, so it seems to be working for him. He was the first advanced student that I talked to so many months ago, and has been a good source of information and support. Way to go, Gabe!
Chef Chad has been giving us a little more autonomy in the bake shop. He reasons (rightly, I think) that we have been around long enough to get things done without constant supervision. Of course he keeps his eye on us and has offered improvements and fixes for the projects that went even slightly astray. Thankfully he wasn't watching when, after Jessica and I had painstakingly measured and divided the very last egg in the refrigerator into egg white for my recipe and whole egg for hers, I bumped into the table and spilled several ounces. A brisk walk up to the main kitchen for 5 dozen more eggs and all was well. This week has been good, with some baked items that I had never seen before. The heavy high-ratio cake seemed like a brick until he explained that we would cut it in thin disks and use if as the base of our Ice Cream Cake. We also completed baked Alaska, joconde cake, pecan bars, and pumpkin bread (for the bake sale, of course). A few absences through the week left us short-handed, with Enju experiencing a hurt back and Sandy recovering from a weekend on Kauai with the Marines. She's so patriotic, helping our boys with their adjustment in returning from overseas.
Staying at the home of some terrific friends, I've tried to make myself useful by helping with the cooking and it's brought home the fact that even with all the stuff I've learned this last year there are millions of moms and grandmas out there that can cook me under the table. Now I realize that professional cooking will be much different in the quantities, timing, equipment, and such, and I know that if I do my best that it will turn out ok, but I can't shake the feeling that they eat it and smile and say it's good just to be polite. I need to work on my confidence.
We had an extensive discussion about some of the more intricate things we've learned and how once we learned them we were told that we would probably never make it again. Hmmmmm. Demi Glace, the base for most of the brown sauces, is time consuming to make and the formula, while sounding simple enough, is a little tricky to get right. So we learned to make it and then Chef told us that "You probably won't find a professional kitchen that makes their own, they buy it in a prepared base." O.K. Stocks, the basic building block of almost all soups, sauces, gravies, braises and stews, is pretty easy to make, but the large pots and lack of storage make the concentrated bases far more desirable for the pro kitchen. We learned Cherries Jubilee and Crepes Suzette complete with the flambe flourish, then were told that most restaurants can't do the flame anymore because of fire hazard. This is all a part of being "classically" trained. I for one am glad I've had the chance to work on these sorts of items, because when they look in the pantry and find they are out of beef stock, I'll be right there to save the day! Assuming I remember how.
So it didn't take much calculation to realize that we have exactly 15 school days left, a short Thanksgiving week with Chef Chad, and then our final phase, Hot Kitchen II for three more weeks. I've been asked if I will continue to post The Innocent, keeping those few that are still interested apprised of my success or lack thereof in The Industry. I think I will, at least until I'm a real pro or my culinary aspirations come crashing down around me. Honestly can't say which it is more likely to be at this point. But until then, there's still a month of learning in store so stay tuned.
Chef Chad has been giving us a little more autonomy in the bake shop. He reasons (rightly, I think) that we have been around long enough to get things done without constant supervision. Of course he keeps his eye on us and has offered improvements and fixes for the projects that went even slightly astray. Thankfully he wasn't watching when, after Jessica and I had painstakingly measured and divided the very last egg in the refrigerator into egg white for my recipe and whole egg for hers, I bumped into the table and spilled several ounces. A brisk walk up to the main kitchen for 5 dozen more eggs and all was well. This week has been good, with some baked items that I had never seen before. The heavy high-ratio cake seemed like a brick until he explained that we would cut it in thin disks and use if as the base of our Ice Cream Cake. We also completed baked Alaska, joconde cake, pecan bars, and pumpkin bread (for the bake sale, of course). A few absences through the week left us short-handed, with Enju experiencing a hurt back and Sandy recovering from a weekend on Kauai with the Marines. She's so patriotic, helping our boys with their adjustment in returning from overseas.
Staying at the home of some terrific friends, I've tried to make myself useful by helping with the cooking and it's brought home the fact that even with all the stuff I've learned this last year there are millions of moms and grandmas out there that can cook me under the table. Now I realize that professional cooking will be much different in the quantities, timing, equipment, and such, and I know that if I do my best that it will turn out ok, but I can't shake the feeling that they eat it and smile and say it's good just to be polite. I need to work on my confidence.
We had an extensive discussion about some of the more intricate things we've learned and how once we learned them we were told that we would probably never make it again. Hmmmmm. Demi Glace, the base for most of the brown sauces, is time consuming to make and the formula, while sounding simple enough, is a little tricky to get right. So we learned to make it and then Chef told us that "You probably won't find a professional kitchen that makes their own, they buy it in a prepared base." O.K. Stocks, the basic building block of almost all soups, sauces, gravies, braises and stews, is pretty easy to make, but the large pots and lack of storage make the concentrated bases far more desirable for the pro kitchen. We learned Cherries Jubilee and Crepes Suzette complete with the flambe flourish, then were told that most restaurants can't do the flame anymore because of fire hazard. This is all a part of being "classically" trained. I for one am glad I've had the chance to work on these sorts of items, because when they look in the pantry and find they are out of beef stock, I'll be right there to save the day! Assuming I remember how.
So it didn't take much calculation to realize that we have exactly 15 school days left, a short Thanksgiving week with Chef Chad, and then our final phase, Hot Kitchen II for three more weeks. I've been asked if I will continue to post The Innocent, keeping those few that are still interested apprised of my success or lack thereof in The Industry. I think I will, at least until I'm a real pro or my culinary aspirations come crashing down around me. Honestly can't say which it is more likely to be at this point. But until then, there's still a month of learning in store so stay tuned.
“The best way to execute French cooking is to get good and loaded and whack the hell out of a chicken. Bon appétit. ” ― Julia Child
Friday, November 11, 2011
Who doesn't like cookies?
Welcome to another edition of the international juggernaut that is The Innocent. In checking out the statistics for this humble blog I've learned that we have been viewed by a lot of tasteful folks around the world, and I'd like to take this opportunity to say Thank You to our readers in:
Malaysia - Terima kasih!
Germany - Danke!
Brazil - Gracias!
Russia - спасибо!
Denmark - Tak!
Taiwan - 谢谢
Canada - Thanks, eh?
Philippines - salamat
Australia - Good on ya, mate!
Although the huge majority of page views have come from the U.S., it's gratifying to know that good people everywhere are interested in the story of my time at Gros Bonnet. Or that good people everywhere used the word "innocent" in some google search and went as far as page 14 of the results and checked us out.
Also a shout out to the obviously cool staff at Scribnia, who said of The Innocent:
"This entertaining blog follows his journey with a humorous look as he chops, sautes and bakes his way to graduation."
For the most part, I have been feeling pretty good about the work and learning that I've been doing at school, and a lot of that has to do with the support and positive encouragement I've gotten from family and friends. But every once in a while I come across a person that seems determined to jam a stick in the spokes of my positive outlook. Wendy and I went to dinner a couple weeks ago at a pretty nice Japanese restaurant in Honolulu (one of those places where they tap and throw the knives and toss shrimp tails into their hats) for a night out before she headed to school. Our "chef" was Brandon, who had the title "Executive Chef" on his whites, which I reasoned meant that he was very experienced and qualified. We had our own table and plenty of opportunity to chat and Wendy mentioned that I was going to Gros Bonnet, which elicited a lengthy story of how Brandon had graduated the culinary course at Kapiolani Community College but had found that once he started working in the restaurant biz that "Everything we learned at school was useless and a waste of time." He had me bumming, but Wendy reminded me after he left that pretty much all he did was cut up shrimp, steak, and chicken on a hot grill. And that wasn't even any good, as despite all the tapping and rattling of the salt and pepper shakers he wasn't able to get ANY seasoning on our food. So F%#k him, he tosses shrimp tails into his hat for a living.
He DID make one of the better onion slice volcanoes I've seen, though.
I've dubbed this week Cookie Week in the bake shop. We did lots of different types, drop cookies, bar cookies, molded and/or stencil cookies, tuile cookies, springerle cookies, macaroons. All turned out pretty good, most tasted great, and some were just pretty. Sadly, the marble pound cake that I suspect was for the bake sale ended up mushy in the middle due to either 1. It was not mixed properly, or 2. Something was off in the measuring. For whatever reason, they couldn't be sold, so we each ended up with a loaf, and I'm not ashamed to say that I ate the good firm parts around the outside (which tasted great) and tossed the goo. Waste not, want not.
In looking back at the first few posting of this blog, I noticed some things we were told would happen but have never materialized. We haven't taken a single field trip, nor have we been asked to provide assistance to many restaurants around town, mostly just the small shops looking for free labor. Chef Masa asked us to come help with a banquet at the resort he works at, but between packing and getting Wendy off to her course, I wasn't able to participate. If his offer of continuing sushi instruction still stands I will try to get in a couple sessions with him, mostly because I really like sushi.
We've been through the fire, it now seems almost as though we are coasting to the finish line. I know Chef Chad has some work for us to do in the next couple weeks, and our last three weeks in the Hot Kitchen with the new Chef are an unknown...But from what I've heard, he's an excellent chef and instructor.
Thursday we experienced the road closures associated with the APEC Conference that the state has been warning about. I was chatting with a young Army private who was on road duty when a scroungy guy with a dirty hat on rode by quickly on a bicycle and said to the soldier "Dude, get a real job". It happened so fast that I only had the opportunity to shout "Asshole!" and he was gone. Two other people waiting on the street shouted at him, too, which I found very gratifying. But I wish I could have gotten a stick into his spokes.
Today is Veteran's Day. I hope that everyone has offered thanks and remembrances to all the Veterans that have served over the course of our history. I am proud and humbled to be included in that company, and wish the best for my comrades-in-arms now and in the future.
Well Said:
"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." -John Fitzgerald Kennedy
In war, there are no unwounded soldiers. -José Narosky
In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot. -Mark Twain
Neither a wise man nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him. -Dwight D. Eisenhower
We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.
Cynthia Ozick
Malaysia - Terima kasih!
Germany - Danke!
Brazil - Gracias!
Russia - спасибо!
Denmark - Tak!
Taiwan - 谢谢
Canada - Thanks, eh?
Philippines - salamat
Australia - Good on ya, mate!
Although the huge majority of page views have come from the U.S., it's gratifying to know that good people everywhere are interested in the story of my time at Gros Bonnet. Or that good people everywhere used the word "innocent" in some google search and went as far as page 14 of the results and checked us out.
Also a shout out to the obviously cool staff at Scribnia, who said of The Innocent:
"This entertaining blog follows his journey with a humorous look as he chops, sautes and bakes his way to graduation."
For the most part, I have been feeling pretty good about the work and learning that I've been doing at school, and a lot of that has to do with the support and positive encouragement I've gotten from family and friends. But every once in a while I come across a person that seems determined to jam a stick in the spokes of my positive outlook. Wendy and I went to dinner a couple weeks ago at a pretty nice Japanese restaurant in Honolulu (one of those places where they tap and throw the knives and toss shrimp tails into their hats) for a night out before she headed to school. Our "chef" was Brandon, who had the title "Executive Chef" on his whites, which I reasoned meant that he was very experienced and qualified. We had our own table and plenty of opportunity to chat and Wendy mentioned that I was going to Gros Bonnet, which elicited a lengthy story of how Brandon had graduated the culinary course at Kapiolani Community College but had found that once he started working in the restaurant biz that "Everything we learned at school was useless and a waste of time." He had me bumming, but Wendy reminded me after he left that pretty much all he did was cut up shrimp, steak, and chicken on a hot grill. And that wasn't even any good, as despite all the tapping and rattling of the salt and pepper shakers he wasn't able to get ANY seasoning on our food. So F%#k him, he tosses shrimp tails into his hat for a living.
He DID make one of the better onion slice volcanoes I've seen, though.
I've dubbed this week Cookie Week in the bake shop. We did lots of different types, drop cookies, bar cookies, molded and/or stencil cookies, tuile cookies, springerle cookies, macaroons. All turned out pretty good, most tasted great, and some were just pretty. Sadly, the marble pound cake that I suspect was for the bake sale ended up mushy in the middle due to either 1. It was not mixed properly, or 2. Something was off in the measuring. For whatever reason, they couldn't be sold, so we each ended up with a loaf, and I'm not ashamed to say that I ate the good firm parts around the outside (which tasted great) and tossed the goo. Waste not, want not.
In looking back at the first few posting of this blog, I noticed some things we were told would happen but have never materialized. We haven't taken a single field trip, nor have we been asked to provide assistance to many restaurants around town, mostly just the small shops looking for free labor. Chef Masa asked us to come help with a banquet at the resort he works at, but between packing and getting Wendy off to her course, I wasn't able to participate. If his offer of continuing sushi instruction still stands I will try to get in a couple sessions with him, mostly because I really like sushi.
We've been through the fire, it now seems almost as though we are coasting to the finish line. I know Chef Chad has some work for us to do in the next couple weeks, and our last three weeks in the Hot Kitchen with the new Chef are an unknown...But from what I've heard, he's an excellent chef and instructor.
Thursday we experienced the road closures associated with the APEC Conference that the state has been warning about. I was chatting with a young Army private who was on road duty when a scroungy guy with a dirty hat on rode by quickly on a bicycle and said to the soldier "Dude, get a real job". It happened so fast that I only had the opportunity to shout "Asshole!" and he was gone. Two other people waiting on the street shouted at him, too, which I found very gratifying. But I wish I could have gotten a stick into his spokes.
Today is Veteran's Day. I hope that everyone has offered thanks and remembrances to all the Veterans that have served over the course of our history. I am proud and humbled to be included in that company, and wish the best for my comrades-in-arms now and in the future.
Well Said:
"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." -John Fitzgerald Kennedy
In war, there are no unwounded soldiers. -José Narosky
In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot. -Mark Twain
Neither a wise man nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him. -Dwight D. Eisenhower
We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.
Cynthia Ozick
Sunday, November 6, 2011
The Road to Morocco
Halfway home in our third and last rotation through the kitchens of Gros Bonnet. Our third trip through Chef Klaus' Hot Kitchen I ended up being interesting and quite successful. Chef Klaus himself was for the most part patient, pleasant, and helpful. I hope he's ok. Of course it wouldn't seem right if we breezed through with no issues or arguments, and there were a few. The subject of test questions came up and where we would normally get not only the answers we need, but also the background, history, and expanded explanations, it was suggested that we save time and just get the answers. This didn't set too well with Chef Klaus, as his teaching style involves flexing his considerable knowledge for us. I also disagreed with the idea of just getting the answers because my pointy little brain likes to grasp context and reference to learn, so I voiced my opinion one time and then let the subject work itself out. Work itself out it did, with Chef Klaus getting a little pissy and refusing to expound on answers even when more information was obviously needed. I guess he showed us!
In the end it was of no matter, as everyone did well on the written test. The elusive perfect score escaped me yet again as I got 35.5 out of a possible 36. And no one to blame but my own dumb self, as I forgot to write down the most important step in making a hollandaise reduction....reducing. I thought it, I listed it to myself in the steps, I even had the 2/3 ratio right, but if you don't write it down, you blow it. C'est la Vie.
On Wednesday we prepared our evaluation meal, an excellent menu that Jessica and Sandy spearheaded that included a mixed greens salad with a nice creamy vinaigrette and shrimp mousse-filled savory pastry for the appetizer. This was simple, and allowed Van to redeem a failed vinaigrette from earlier in the week. Jessica's pate au choux pastries refused to expand when baked, and she was understandably very upset as we adjusted by using them as crumpets with the crab mousse on top...very tasty. We've had many issues with the temperatures in the ovens the last two weeks, and I think the pastries were a victim of that inconsistency.
The main course was my poached pork loin with a demi glace sauce that was good (without being outstanding), accompanied by potato fritters and sauteed green beans. Dessert was an excellent pumpkin roll with a sweetened cream cheese filling. Chef Klaus invited the ladies that develop the menu at Paradise Dinner Cruises to come and act as our evaluators and they were very nice, if not exactly generous with their scoring of our dishes. Chef's score is the one that counts the most, and he gave us 108 of a possible 120 points. This is a great improvement on our last rotation and we were very happy to get out of his kitchen in good academic shape.
When in doubt, go with your gut. While making vegetable ravioli, Jessica had them boiling and I asked if she was going to turn them over, thinking I had heard that instruction from Chef Klaus. She asked me if he had said to turn them, and I was overcome with doubt, so I decided to ask Chef...he said to "Yes, turn them over, didn't I tell you that?" To which I replied "yes, you did", thereby making Jessica look like she wasn't paying attention and making myself look like I sabotaged her by not saying that in the first place. All because of my self-doubt. Last week Chef Klaus told Jessica "Use your brain, you know a lot more than you think you do!" I asked why he had never said that to me...no answer was needed.
This rotation also found us introduced to some delicious and exotic dishes from around the world...Nasi Goreng from India, Paella from Spain, and in what I think was the best meal we've had all year at school, Moroccan Tajine (lamb, chicken, vegetables, dates slow braised in a covered pot) over cous cous, accompanied by an awesome creamy caramelized onion soup that was simply great. I also very much liked the small rolled balls of chopped dates, nuts, prunes, and raisins bound with honey and rolled in cinnamon and sugar. It was a good three weeks.
I have to add here that in Chef Masa's Garde last month I made a Baba Ganoush. I made it only because of it's repeated use on the old TV show MXC. If you know what I mean, you know what I mean.
Come Monday it's over to the Bake Shop and the precise instruction of Chef Chad. I'm very much looking forward to these three weeks, as I've had some real fun on the baking side of things and I believe we will be working with cookies, specialty cakes, and Bavarian Cream
Can we all just agree to disagree?
Our evaluation vinaigrette: Judges said too tart. We all agreed it was, if anything, too sweet.
The vegetable ravioli: Jessica kept calling it a "disaster". I thought they were dandy.
The World Series: Texas thought they had it won...The Cardinals disagreed.
The NBA lockout: 5 million/year average salary...Can we agree that we don't give a rat's ass?
The 99%: Yeah, whatever.
A gourmet who thinks of calories is like a tart who looks at her watch.James Beard
In the end it was of no matter, as everyone did well on the written test. The elusive perfect score escaped me yet again as I got 35.5 out of a possible 36. And no one to blame but my own dumb self, as I forgot to write down the most important step in making a hollandaise reduction....reducing. I thought it, I listed it to myself in the steps, I even had the 2/3 ratio right, but if you don't write it down, you blow it. C'est la Vie.
On Wednesday we prepared our evaluation meal, an excellent menu that Jessica and Sandy spearheaded that included a mixed greens salad with a nice creamy vinaigrette and shrimp mousse-filled savory pastry for the appetizer. This was simple, and allowed Van to redeem a failed vinaigrette from earlier in the week. Jessica's pate au choux pastries refused to expand when baked, and she was understandably very upset as we adjusted by using them as crumpets with the crab mousse on top...very tasty. We've had many issues with the temperatures in the ovens the last two weeks, and I think the pastries were a victim of that inconsistency.
The main course was my poached pork loin with a demi glace sauce that was good (without being outstanding), accompanied by potato fritters and sauteed green beans. Dessert was an excellent pumpkin roll with a sweetened cream cheese filling. Chef Klaus invited the ladies that develop the menu at Paradise Dinner Cruises to come and act as our evaluators and they were very nice, if not exactly generous with their scoring of our dishes. Chef's score is the one that counts the most, and he gave us 108 of a possible 120 points. This is a great improvement on our last rotation and we were very happy to get out of his kitchen in good academic shape.
When in doubt, go with your gut. While making vegetable ravioli, Jessica had them boiling and I asked if she was going to turn them over, thinking I had heard that instruction from Chef Klaus. She asked me if he had said to turn them, and I was overcome with doubt, so I decided to ask Chef...he said to "Yes, turn them over, didn't I tell you that?" To which I replied "yes, you did", thereby making Jessica look like she wasn't paying attention and making myself look like I sabotaged her by not saying that in the first place. All because of my self-doubt. Last week Chef Klaus told Jessica "Use your brain, you know a lot more than you think you do!" I asked why he had never said that to me...no answer was needed.
This rotation also found us introduced to some delicious and exotic dishes from around the world...Nasi Goreng from India, Paella from Spain, and in what I think was the best meal we've had all year at school, Moroccan Tajine (lamb, chicken, vegetables, dates slow braised in a covered pot) over cous cous, accompanied by an awesome creamy caramelized onion soup that was simply great. I also very much liked the small rolled balls of chopped dates, nuts, prunes, and raisins bound with honey and rolled in cinnamon and sugar. It was a good three weeks.
I have to add here that in Chef Masa's Garde last month I made a Baba Ganoush. I made it only because of it's repeated use on the old TV show MXC. If you know what I mean, you know what I mean.
Come Monday it's over to the Bake Shop and the precise instruction of Chef Chad. I'm very much looking forward to these three weeks, as I've had some real fun on the baking side of things and I believe we will be working with cookies, specialty cakes, and Bavarian Cream
Can we all just agree to disagree?
Our evaluation vinaigrette: Judges said too tart. We all agreed it was, if anything, too sweet.
The vegetable ravioli: Jessica kept calling it a "disaster". I thought they were dandy.
The World Series: Texas thought they had it won...The Cardinals disagreed.
The NBA lockout: 5 million/year average salary...Can we agree that we don't give a rat's ass?
The 99%: Yeah, whatever.
A gourmet who thinks of calories is like a tart who looks at her watch.James Beard
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