Today was our Patisserie final practical exam.
The nightmare during final exam
I thought I was prepared, although not as prepared as last term. Well, the second part of that sentence was correct. You know how in bad dreams, it feels like you're moving through water and everything is moving really quickly but you're not? It was like that, except I didn't wake up.
The Basic final was a calm (somewhat nervewracking) experience - everything flowed smoothly except for a hiccup with the masking of the cake and some shaky hands with the piping. Today was the complete opposite - it felt frantic but time moved so slowly - at one point there was an hour and a half to go and I thought, "plenty of time!" Whoops.
Hadn't factored in a persistent cough which chose to make itself emphatically known - along with a dizzy spell which sent me out of the room for a bit. I can't remember if I wrote about it, but I went to the doctor - last week? sometime before??? - and she said, "there's nothing wrong with you - plenty of fluids and rest. Oh, and here's a prescription for cough syrup with codeine in it." This should have been a clue, no? But the brain not working as it should - I would like to think it's from lack of oxygen from coughing so much but sadly doubt it - it didn't click until a couple of days ago when I was coughing my way through a cuisine class. This morning one of the chefs asked me if I had taken anything for the cough. Well yes, I had - but an over the counter one because codeine tends to put people to sleep and I thought it would be a bad idea to take some before a practial exam where we all have knives, hot ovens, hot stoves, etc. etc. Oh, and I also didn't think they would appreciate a nose print on the top of my cake as that wasn't part of the accepted decoration, as novel as it might be. I don't remember there being points for originality on the grading criteria.
So - long story short - had the worst practical ever. Ran out of time while piping because I had a problem with the cream - I think it split, in which case it was my first time - during the final. Great...just what I was afraid of, although I didn't think it would happen with this cream. Anyway - had to make a split second decision whether or not to continue piping the border and run into overtime - 2% penalty per minute over (automatic fail after 10 minutes over) or to lose the marks for piping - it wasn't looking that good so I chose to stop. I am going to get killed for the piping and the presentation (strawberries were falling out the side of the cake - I think the sponge might have been overcooked a bit).
Pictures are on my computer of the worst cake ever - I will put them up when I have stopped smarting from getting my butt kicked by a few mls of evil Kirsch, some sticky marzipan and a sponge could have doubled for the discus (sp?) throw in the Olympics. I used to say that alcohol makes everything better - well it does, except in pastry, where it just kills your cream and your cake. I am hoping that the chefs who taste the cake are the ones who like really alcoholic cakes.
So until next time - easy on the alcohol!
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
#37 - Serious study mode - if I remember how...
Warning - this is super long - abstract: had classes last week where we cooked. Discussion about pole dancing/strip clubs; had a weekend where I cooked some more, not always successfully. Descriptions of cooking. Pretty pictures. The end. Those who are time poor may stop now.
Am cursing the fact that I need to sleep. Exams are looming and I feel like I got a very late start. Last term we had so many long weekends that there was an extra week of classes. Then there the long weekends themselves, so we actually had more time to digest and learn things. This term went by extremely quickly - our first day was in the last week of June - so exams are during our 10th week - not a whole lot of time to practice 3 cakes and 2 cuisine dishes, all with multiple components and followed by theory exams.
I think I've forgotten how to memorize and to learn - it's been years since I had to take a closed book exam - law school is pretty forgiving that way - if you know where to look for it, the exact wording is there. It's been writing drills (flashes back to Korean school where they used to make people write things down 10 times to learn something) and trying to learn the components of our cakes.
Here's a quick rundown on the last few days. Tomorrow morning is my Patisserie final and I am praying that I pass the exams. Yes, that's exams, plural. We have our practical exam at 8am followed by theory at noon. You would think they would cut us a break and give us an opportunity to finish our practicing and then focus on the extra reading - but no...and do I remember my quantities, ingredients and methods from basic? Um, not really...do we need to know them? Apparently so.
So last week:
Wednesday - our first vegetarian dish - Artichaut en Croute farci etc. etc. (Stuffed artichoke in puff pastry)
We had to saute spinach, make a tomato sauce, glaze 'baby' vegetables (Chef hates the term 'baby' because they are actually just small veggies), stuff an artichoke with spinach and wild mushrooms and top it with a puff pastry lattice, then bake it.
The artichokes are big - the globe ones. Still had to jump on mine (we had 2) to get the stems and attendant fibers off. Then we had to turn them...which means you have to cut off the leaves (about 2/3 from the bottom), cut off all the green and make sure you remember to rub lemon on the cuts so it doesn't discolor. The lemon is very useful - in addition to preventing discoloration of artichokes, mushrooms and certain other fruits, it helps you to find all the tiny little cuts on your hands that you might otherwise not know are there. If the artichokes are really big and you can't fit them in your hand, it helps to just take a knife and cut off the outer leaves first (basically cutting instead of turning) and picking them back up once they're trimmed down a bit.
Not sure why but it seemed to take forever - it's actually not a very time consuming dish but I felt very disorganized. However, it was finished and served - the mushrooms needed more lemon (yes they did - I forgot the lemon altogether and had to try to sneak in a couple of drops between the holes in the lattice just before service) and the carrots needed more salt, as did the sauce. Otherwise - not bad...the pastry was kind of soggy by the time I got home but the sauce and the vegetables were very nice on some leftover chicken the next night.
8am Thursday morning: Chocolate tasting (really)
We started out with a cup of hot chocolate that tasted and felt decadent for the first couple of sips. Then the amount of chocolate and cream started to make themselves felt. No one finished their half cupfuls of hot chocolate, not even the most avid chocoholic.
Chef MH played a little trick on us. There was one bag of chocolate which was old but no one was told until after we had tasted the button and a chorus of "ugh!" and "what is that?!" started flying around the room. All I could taste was powdery flour and something not very nice - I'm not sure I have the words for it.
Some of the other chocolate had lingering aftertastes which wouldn't go away, no matter how much water or tea I drank. The colored buttons (clementine and strawberry) are actually flavored white chocolate - so not chocolate at all. I think if you like sweets, they might taste really nice. I was already overdosed on sweets from the hot chocolate so this was just more sickly sweetness.
Thursdsay night - Canapes class/workshop - teamwork
...many hands make light work.
They broke this down into little teams so each team of two was in charge of one canape (except for the Thai marinated shrimp - those people also did the parmesan sables). It was odd because each canape had a tiny bit of busy time at the beginning and a little at the end, but the rest of it was a lot of waiting around where everyone asked everyone else if they needed any help. For instance, the dough for the parmesan sables had to rest, as did the batter for the blinis (go TN! Chef JB said they were amazing) and ML and I had to wait for the court bouillon to boil for our cod.
As for the cod - we got asked how long we cooked it. No idea - it was more a case of picking up a piece from the court bouillon and looking at it - it looked done so we fished out the pieces and made the balls.
I think generally it went pretty well - VC and TN were a bit upset because they thought there was too much horseradish in the cream for the smoked salmon. Personally I thought it was perfect - and the fact that the horseradish had been freshly grated just gave it that extra zing - really yummy. After plating and a quick talk from Chef JB, we all dug in. A couple of people took some canapes home and I packed a few when it looked like they were not going to be eaten or taken - but there weren't many looking for a home.
8am on a Friday...way too early for foie gras - but then, any hour is too early for foie gras. We had to test the mousse to check the consistency and texture, which means having to taste some of it after we cook it off - NOT yummy. I suppose if you like foie gras, it tasted good (so said Chef FB) - for me, not so much, mainly because I hate foie gras and I found that even 50g of it really came through even though that was only a small proportion of the mousse itself.
Head cheese includes trotters (yes, feet! Chef had a bit of fun, dancing the feet across the chopping board) and tongue, all from pigs. There was a tiny discussion in class as to the various inappropriate things we were not going to say - a bit Gilbert and Sullivan, actually...as for what's below the feet on the right: the pig's brain. It wasn't on the ingredient list but Chef DM wanted to show it to us after he spent all that effort cutting the skull open to get the brains out. They passed it around class - I have to say that the smell alone would keep me from eating it, even if I could get past the texture and knowing what it is. All of these were put into a brine solution and is being kept for the next demo (later this week).
Let's just say that the practice did not go well. For one thing, I forgot that the tray only slides into my oven easily when the washing machine door is open so that the oven door doesn't get caught on the handle of the washing machine door. It meant that unbeknownst to me, the tray was tilted - with the result that the sponge slid and one side got very thick while the other side didn't. The thick side didn't cook and the thin side was burnt to a crisp. The second tray with batter wasn't full because there isn't quite enough batter for 2 full trays - mine are a bit smaller than the ones at LCB but not by a lot - so more trimming was needed. The result was quite a small cake.
Have learned quite a few things to be careful of for the exam - like not letting the marzipan just hang out all tilted - because it will dry that way and not lie flat on the cake. Also - need to work on my piping (when does anyone not need to do that?) - and also importantly - must learn to cut even sized pieces! It doesn't sound so hard but ask any parent who is asked to cut something in half for two squabbling children - it is impossible because they will pick up the minutest differences. Frankly I should have 5 year-olds check my portioning. But I digress - the cutting of the cake into 8 even sized portions is a part of the final mark and I still can't do it. I think it's the wavy lines from the chocolate - they throw me off.
You might be thinking it was time for the Fraisier, non? I did it the same day that I did the salmon paupiettes (last weekend? the one before?) - it was so embarrassing that I didn't take a photo of it - but I know what I did wrong and a lot of it is variations on the genoise we did back in Basic (except for the whole marzipan top with rose, which I still suck at). I went back to the one which was scaring me.
Remembered that there had been way too little ganache and buttercream the last time I did this so I trowelled it on. Still needs more ganache but the buttercream is better. This one got stuck because I put the bottom layer (chocolate only) on aluminum foil instead of paper, with the result that the bottom layer of the cake stuck, then buckled. Now I don't know if it's uneven because I spread it unevenly with the palette knife when I put the batter in the tray or if it's because I mangled it when I moved the cake.
Had more practice piping - hoping it will be better on the day but afraid not - last term my hand was shaking by the end of class because of nerves. They say that mainly the cake has to look and taste good. The method of getting there, while important, is more flexible as there are many different ways to do things and we are encouraged to try different ways until we find one that suits us. Not sure if we are allowed to build up the chocolate piping so much but had a little fun seeing if it was possible to replicate anything calligraphic (it may be, but I can't do it).
Am cursing the fact that I need to sleep. Exams are looming and I feel like I got a very late start. Last term we had so many long weekends that there was an extra week of classes. Then there the long weekends themselves, so we actually had more time to digest and learn things. This term went by extremely quickly - our first day was in the last week of June - so exams are during our 10th week - not a whole lot of time to practice 3 cakes and 2 cuisine dishes, all with multiple components and followed by theory exams.
I think I've forgotten how to memorize and to learn - it's been years since I had to take a closed book exam - law school is pretty forgiving that way - if you know where to look for it, the exact wording is there. It's been writing drills (flashes back to Korean school where they used to make people write things down 10 times to learn something) and trying to learn the components of our cakes.
Here's a quick rundown on the last few days. Tomorrow morning is my Patisserie final and I am praying that I pass the exams. Yes, that's exams, plural. We have our practical exam at 8am followed by theory at noon. You would think they would cut us a break and give us an opportunity to finish our practicing and then focus on the extra reading - but no...and do I remember my quantities, ingredients and methods from basic? Um, not really...do we need to know them? Apparently so.
So last week:
Wednesday - our first vegetarian dish - Artichaut en Croute farci etc. etc. (Stuffed artichoke in puff pastry)We had to saute spinach, make a tomato sauce, glaze 'baby' vegetables (Chef hates the term 'baby' because they are actually just small veggies), stuff an artichoke with spinach and wild mushrooms and top it with a puff pastry lattice, then bake it.
The artichokes are big - the globe ones. Still had to jump on mine (we had 2) to get the stems and attendant fibers off. Then we had to turn them...which means you have to cut off the leaves (about 2/3 from the bottom), cut off all the green and make sure you remember to rub lemon on the cuts so it doesn't discolor. The lemon is very useful - in addition to preventing discoloration of artichokes, mushrooms and certain other fruits, it helps you to find all the tiny little cuts on your hands that you might otherwise not know are there. If the artichokes are really big and you can't fit them in your hand, it helps to just take a knife and cut off the outer leaves first (basically cutting instead of turning) and picking them back up once they're trimmed down a bit.
Not sure why but it seemed to take forever - it's actually not a very time consuming dish but I felt very disorganized. However, it was finished and served - the mushrooms needed more lemon (yes they did - I forgot the lemon altogether and had to try to sneak in a couple of drops between the holes in the lattice just before service) and the carrots needed more salt, as did the sauce. Otherwise - not bad...the pastry was kind of soggy by the time I got home but the sauce and the vegetables were very nice on some leftover chicken the next night.
8am Thursday morning: Chocolate tasting (really)
We started out with a cup of hot chocolate that tasted and felt decadent for the first couple of sips. Then the amount of chocolate and cream started to make themselves felt. No one finished their half cupfuls of hot chocolate, not even the most avid chocoholic.Chef MH played a little trick on us. There was one bag of chocolate which was old but no one was told until after we had tasted the button and a chorus of "ugh!" and "what is that?!" started flying around the room. All I could taste was powdery flour and something not very nice - I'm not sure I have the words for it.
Some of the other chocolate had lingering aftertastes which wouldn't go away, no matter how much water or tea I drank. The colored buttons (clementine and strawberry) are actually flavored white chocolate - so not chocolate at all. I think if you like sweets, they might taste really nice. I was already overdosed on sweets from the hot chocolate so this was just more sickly sweetness.Thursdsay night - Canapes class/workshop - teamwork
...many hands make light work.
They broke this down into little teams so each team of two was in charge of one canape (except for the Thai marinated shrimp - those people also did the parmesan sables). It was odd because each canape had a tiny bit of busy time at the beginning and a little at the end, but the rest of it was a lot of waiting around where everyone asked everyone else if they needed any help. For instance, the dough for the parmesan sables had to rest, as did the batter for the blinis (go TN! Chef JB said they were amazing) and ML and I had to wait for the court bouillon to boil for our cod.As for the cod - we got asked how long we cooked it. No idea - it was more a case of picking up a piece from the court bouillon and looking at it - it looked done so we fished out the pieces and made the balls.
I think generally it went pretty well - VC and TN were a bit upset because they thought there was too much horseradish in the cream for the smoked salmon. Personally I thought it was perfect - and the fact that the horseradish had been freshly grated just gave it that extra zing - really yummy. After plating and a quick talk from Chef JB, we all dug in. A couple of people took some canapes home and I packed a few when it looked like they were not going to be eaten or taken - but there weren't many looking for a home.
Friday morning - Cervelas de Saumon (Salmon and Foie Gras Mousse sausages)
8am on a Friday...way too early for foie gras - but then, any hour is too early for foie gras. We had to test the mousse to check the consistency and texture, which means having to taste some of it after we cook it off - NOT yummy. I suppose if you like foie gras, it tasted good (so said Chef FB) - for me, not so much, mainly because I hate foie gras and I found that even 50g of it really came through even though that was only a small proportion of the mousse itself.We didn't have the pork intestine to stuff the sausages (hooray) and eventually they brought up lamb intestines - yech - so in the meantime I rolled my sausages in cling film (Saran wrap for the Americans) and practiced making roulade shapes, then stuffed a few in the lamb intestines. Anyway - we were all running late and we still had to take the mousse out of the intestines, chill them, roll them in butter, then bake them. We didn't have time to chill them so people just took them out of the casings and fried them in breadcrumbs and butter. The breadcrumbs kind of fell off the sausages when I was frying them in butter but they still turned out ok - I made sure to present one which had been in the casing rather than the saran wrap ones. It was a plain dish and we didn't have any other herbs, so I made a tiny parsley salad/garnish to go with it - still a slightly boring looking plate but there wasn't a whole lot you could do with it, given we only had the ingredients from the dish available.
Head Cheese
Then it was the demo for Charcuterie II and head cheese. FYI - head cheese is made from a pig's head but it is not cheese and apparently, it doesn't resemble cheese either.
Head cheese includes trotters (yes, feet! Chef had a bit of fun, dancing the feet across the chopping board) and tongue, all from pigs. There was a tiny discussion in class as to the various inappropriate things we were not going to say - a bit Gilbert and Sullivan, actually...as for what's below the feet on the right: the pig's brain. It wasn't on the ingredient list but Chef DM wanted to show it to us after he spent all that effort cutting the skull open to get the brains out. They passed it around class - I have to say that the smell alone would keep me from eating it, even if I could get past the texture and knowing what it is. All of these were put into a brine solution and is being kept for the next demo (later this week).So that was the week and you would think it's all smooth sailing from here, except...
Friday night - in which I accidentally crashed a stag night
I'm not sure anyone ever plans to crash a stag night, especially if the person in question is of the wrong gender to attend - in a guest-ish capacity, anyway.
The initial plan was to have dinner with a friend's husband. She was unavailable that night as she had plans to go to the theater as part of pre-wedding celebrations for a friend of hers. He was at loose ends and I hadn't seen them in almost 6 months so dinner after class sounded fine. Another friend who is moving to Hong Kong shortly, joined us for drinks and in the timeless way of going with the flow, we asked him to join us.
We ended up at this place - Mr Kongs? Mr Hong's? Something like that - in Chinatown. I hadn't eaten much during the day except some delicious focaccia from two friends, given the whole foie gras at 8am then the pig's head at noon so I told the guys I was starving. Food duly ordered (3 mains, 2 rice, 1 veggie) - I had to tell them I was still hungry. Another main, veggie and rice later, we were all happy.
It looked like I was going to get my early night after all - but then we got a call from the stag and his best man - both of whom I know and whose girls were also at the theatre. Nothing would do except that we all meet up - and the boys decided they would introduce me to my first strip club. [**Parents - please stop reading now and pick up at the photos below where it says "The long weekend - cakes anyone?"]
Pole dancing vs strip clubs (Education of a different kind)
Lots of walking around later we ended up at an establishment where the girls danced - pole dancing. Having seen pole dancing classes offered where I take ballet, I was curious to see if these girls were any good. I'm not sure if it's because I've never been to one before or if a strip club and a pole dancing place are different - but they didn't dance. I was quite disappointed...one of the guys (not the stag) was a bit disappointed that the girls were all dressed. I suggested it might be because they are dancers and not strippers.
One of the girls then educated me on that point - she said it's the same as the US - they take their clothes off (I wanted to ask what more could they possibly take off and not be naked). So what was the point of the pole and the stage, I wanted to know. Apparently it's their advertisement - they get up and do a lot of pouting, some posing and a little bit of gyrating. If a gentleman likes the look of one of the dancers, he pays (someone - I don't know who) and gets a private dance in the back. They have a garter on their leg but you don't put money in it - so I'm still confused about the garter.
And as all cliches go - the girl who kindly gave me this explanation was studying (she didn't say what) and did this to pay her bills. She was standing much too close to me so I just wanted the conversation to be over as quickly as possible. In the meantime, the boys were telling me this wasn't what they had expected - well, me neither. I think I was the stripper block - they offered to dance for me as well, but I have to say, all I could think was that it was Friday night and I wanted to go to sleep. In any event, the boys went home (I am guessing) and so did I.
The long weekend - cakes, anyone?
When I was in college/law school, my parents always knew when exams were approaching by the following exchange:
Parents: So what are you doing/have you been doing?
Me: Cleaning.
Parents: Exams soon?
Me: Yup. Can't study when it's dirty and untidy.
Parents: Mm hm.
Saturday began with - yes, you guessed it - cleaning. I couldn't start cooking because I didn't have space for anything and I need a lot more space to practice this term than I did for basic. I also cleared off the glass table by the bookshelf and put all my papers and folders in the living room - the most use it's gotten since I moved in.
The Opera - fail
Let's just say that the practice did not go well. For one thing, I forgot that the tray only slides into my oven easily when the washing machine door is open so that the oven door doesn't get caught on the handle of the washing machine door. It meant that unbeknownst to me, the tray was tilted - with the result that the sponge slid and one side got very thick while the other side didn't. The thick side didn't cook and the thin side was burnt to a crisp. The second tray with batter wasn't full because there isn't quite enough batter for 2 full trays - mine are a bit smaller than the ones at LCB but not by a lot - so more trimming was needed. The result was quite a small cake.I finished anyway, just to practice putting the components together and discovered that spatial perception is not one of my gifts. The layers are all supposed to be the same thickness (cake, ganache, cake, buttercream, cake, ganache + glaze). None of them are right - and I was looking at a failing cake. Since the layers weren't even, I just decided to try a zillion different things with the piping, knowing that this cake was going into the rubbish bin.
Sabrina - possibly a low pass
Having put Saturday down to experience, I tried to go over notes and read about eggs until I fell asleep. Sunday was spent with my Sabrina. Once again, improvisation was the name of the game - no pistachios to speak of, so I used toasted almonds on the bottom part of the cake. Baked the sponge on 2 baking trays - but didn't turn the tray so the back part of the full tray was burnt to a crisp and had a concern I wouldn't have enough sponge for the cake.
And the apple and strawberry puree I bought at the store was actually more like apple sauce - so I ended up putting in a couple of frozen raspberries with the puree to get color (they were out of red food coloring at the store too) - except that frozen raspberries leave lumps so that was interesting...
Have learned quite a few things to be careful of for the exam - like not letting the marzipan just hang out all tilted - because it will dry that way and not lie flat on the cake. Also - need to work on my piping (when does anyone not need to do that?) - and also importantly - must learn to cut even sized pieces! It doesn't sound so hard but ask any parent who is asked to cut something in half for two squabbling children - it is impossible because they will pick up the minutest differences. Frankly I should have 5 year-olds check my portioning. But I digress - the cutting of the cake into 8 even sized portions is a part of the final mark and I still can't do it. I think it's the wavy lines from the chocolate - they throw me off.The only things which seemed to work quite well was the chocolate tempering and the masking - I made sure to squish in as much of the strawberry cream down the sides of the ring as possible before I chilled it so it had time to set.
Rewarded myself by having dinner with a friend. A girl has to eat and cake alone isn't sufficient.
Other than that - have sunk to a new low. I am now eating the off-cuts from my cakes. Have eaten so much cream and cake from the Sabrina yesterday and the cake and buttercream from today that I am starting to feel like I should moo when I speak.
Opera again - potentially not bad (except the piping)
You might be thinking it was time for the Fraisier, non? I did it the same day that I did the salmon paupiettes (last weekend? the one before?) - it was so embarrassing that I didn't take a photo of it - but I know what I did wrong and a lot of it is variations on the genoise we did back in Basic (except for the whole marzipan top with rose, which I still suck at). I went back to the one which was scaring me.Better today - turning the tray half way through cooking turned out to be the way to keep the sponge from burning to a crisp. The gas flames are in the back so trimming has to be done - it's just a matter of degree now. Also I have found a new use for my dishwasher - I can't run dishes in it while I am cooking because they are generally things I need almost right away and it takes too long to wash them. So I wash them by hand and put them in the dishwasher to dry/drain - excellent! 2 trays or whatever you call them and I know where they are AND it frees up space on the counter where I don't have space for them to dry. Yes, I could dry them with a kitchen towel but I am in the middle of doing 2 other things at once (laundry...shopping list...oh, and watching the sugar for the buttercream).
Remembered that there had been way too little ganache and buttercream the last time I did this so I trowelled it on. Still needs more ganache but the buttercream is better. This one got stuck because I put the bottom layer (chocolate only) on aluminum foil instead of paper, with the result that the bottom layer of the cake stuck, then buckled. Now I don't know if it's uneven because I spread it unevenly with the palette knife when I put the batter in the tray or if it's because I mangled it when I moved the cake.
Had more practice piping - hoping it will be better on the day but afraid not - last term my hand was shaking by the end of class because of nerves. They say that mainly the cake has to look and taste good. The method of getting there, while important, is more flexible as there are many different ways to do things and we are encouraged to try different ways until we find one that suits us. Not sure if we are allowed to build up the chocolate piping so much but had a little fun seeing if it was possible to replicate anything calligraphic (it may be, but I can't do it).Am looking forward to having a life again. Just need to make it through the week and after tomorrow I can go back to worrying about the regions of France, the dishes, the climate and trying to guess what's going to be on the theory test - because at least Patisserie gives us a list of things we should review (then they tell us other things to add, but the list is a good start) but Cuisine is just hoping you have good notes from class. Oh, and reading the handouts about foie gras, mussels and shellfish.
Have realized we spent a lot of time with chocolate, sponges and mouses in Intermediate Patisserie and a lot of time with seafood in Intermediate Cuisine. Hoping to pass both - but afraid of the finals for Superior already.
Yesterday I happened to be out and about. This weekend was forecasted for a lot of rain and cloud. I got one of the rare sunny patches on the way back from the Marylebone Farmers' Market and the grocery store (stocking up on supplies). It's amazing the difference a few rays of sunshine can make. All this time I thought I was tired, old and grumpy - maybe so, but maybe it was also not seeing the sun for a while. There are the occasional rays in the afternoon or during the coffee break if we are having a demo, but I can't remember the last time I actually was in the sunlight. The fact that it was an instant mood boost brought home how I miss it. London has sunny days and sunny patches but we don't always see that much of it because we are running around in class (or to class) and sunlight in class is not always a good thing, especially during plating.
So until next time, I will be hearing the tune to the song "I'm walking on sunshine!" May you also walk on sunshine.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
#36 - Wonderland revisited
Monday (15 August 2011)
Did not need to hear that someone sitting behind me in class is not having good sex with some new guy. DID need to hear what chef was saying...I'm happy that she has found someone whom I gather is new, but hearing a discussion as to how long to wait for their sex life to improve was not what I wanted to hear while the chef was talking about the point at which we could store our fondants and what not to do so that it would turn out well.
I am a bit puzzled as to why some of the people are there. They don't seem to be listening to what the chef is saying and they don't strike me as the most...skilled...of all the students, given their own admissions saying the same thing. I don't know, I find them annoying - maybe it's just a sign of old age.
Still Monday - Wine tech (cuisine) - Spit, not swallow!
Whoops - forgot to spit out all of the first 2 wines - ended up taking a few sips of each. Resulted in red blotches spreading all down my neck and below my top - have decided that I have not developed a tolerance to alcohol.
Have discovered I can smell but find most of the tasting kind of overwhelming from all the tannins, especially in the red wines. Cannot do the wine speak although there are some impressive noses/palates in class. Especially when they talk about lingering finishes and follow through on (from?) the nose and something about flowers which I've heard of but never smelled, to fruits which I can't smell (apricots, really?) and something about leather and wet dogs. Yum, sounds so appetizing - and those are supposed to be characteristic of quality (I assume good) wines.
Tuesday - Patisserie - no cooking
Wednesday - Patisserie - sent home
Made it through demo but up feeling absolutely nauseous - got sent home and ended up missing fondants and banana mousse/bavarois. So much for the first attempt at plated desserts...
Being sent home was a good thing, rest wise since I slept most of that day and all night. Sad to have missed class though - we were meant to do chocolate fondant and a 2-part mousse/bavarois/playing with noisy toys class.
Thursday - Forgetting how to cook
We did a sole with tomato sauce and spinach tagliatelle. The sole was supposed to be filleted as double fillets (as in taking off the entire top and the entire bottom so you have 2 pieces of fish instead of 4). Part of this new filleting method was squeezing out the roe sac - and remembering how hard I had had to push on the sea bass, I did the same to my sole, only to have to ask the chef why there was no roe but pieces of the fish seemed to be coming out. She looked at the fish and told me it was because I was pushing out the flesh of the fish and there was no roe. Whoops...the poor mangled thing fell apart and I was left wondering if I had forgotten how to cook. It was an example of true talent: outside of the fish overcooked and falling apart, inside of the fish not cooked...we won't mention the rest of the dish except that it was only redeemed by the pasta and the sauce.
The spinach pasta was a big hit with one of the friends in Superior Patisserie - unfortunately that was mostly due to the stellar work done by my partner in getting our pasta dough done while I fought with my fish. I have to admit it tasted really good and I enjoyed rolling it out on the machine - probably the first time I made good pasta. Too bad I still have to work on the basics - like tasting the tomatoes and then fixing them because they were boring, tasteless and unevenly cut.
Friday - Time for a freak out
Then the scary one last week: our second potential exam dish - Tian d'Agneau et Sa Petite Sauce a la Menthe Poivree (or something like that). Definitely a case of having forgotten how to cook - or at least, butcher. It was like going back to basic ("AC, you're picking at the lamb - it looks like you're afraid to touch it. Are you afraid?") - it took forever to get the lamb prepared and ready to go. The of course there were the other preparations (roasted garlic, which I forgot about so it overcooked) - the actual list of things isn't long - confit onions (which I also forgot about and they overcooked); artichokes (which took forever because you have to break the stems so that the fibers come out, rather than cutting the stem. I jumped up and down with my weight on my hands and the choke/stem - it helps if you're taller than I am because then you have better leverage), sauteed mushrooms, sauteed spinach, diced tomatoes, the lamb and the sauce. So out of all those things...I cooked the lamb, the mushrooms and the spinace well. Everything was underseasoned and there were other things wrong with the dish as well.
Verdict: I have some (lots!) work to do. This one will kill you in the exam if you get the organization wrong.
Also, cutting fingers and things not the desired outcome. Middle finger hasn't completely healed from the last cut, but have a new one to add from lamb butchery last night. Why the middle finger??? Have discovered fingertips are one of the worst places to get a cut. Who knew you used them so much?
Friday afternoon - Wine tech (patisserie)
I won't bore you with the details but we had a second wine lecture last week - Friday afternoon and it was on to dessert / sticky wines. I liked a muscat-ish on from Hungary whose name currently escapes me. I think it was alcoholic enough to knock people's socks off.
After all the swirling, looking, smelling, sip/breathe/swish/spitting, I was glad to escape and go home. It was time for dinner...and I had just the thing in mind.
Fish tacos
Some friends went to the fish markets earlier in the week so I decided I would do the fish a few different ways. The week seemed light on vegetables so I chose something light and fresh: fish tacos. I hadn't seared ahi before and I had a bit of trouble getting the fish turned in the pan - hence the overcooking...but the others turned out really well and I have discovered that they make cilantro/coriander as mixed micro-greens. All I can say is, wow! The tiny leaves pack a huge flavor punch completely out of keeping with their size and saved the ceviche from being boring and uninteresting to something zingy.
Wonderland, When Harry Met Sally and Lateral thinking...
A friend, SC was in town. We have known each other since law school and she happened to be travelling through London so we met up and had coffee at Monmouth Coffee. We had a moment where she asked for a mocha. Our waitress said they don't make mocha but they have cocoa powder - no, they couldn't mix the cocoa powder into the coffee. I asked if it would be possible to have the cocoa on the side of a coffee (having a flashback to Sally), to which she said yes because apparently SC, who had just asked the same thing, wasn't speaking English despite all appearances to the contrary - go Wonderland.
It's been a while since I had a really good coffee so I was very happy. Ballet didn't happen but I did start studying in earnest. I hope it will all settle in by this time next week - I have completely run out of time...
Monday (22 August 2011) - Souffle Day
The souffle on the left below is the classic method (mixing meringue with creme patissiere) and the one on the right is a slightly updated (completely differet) - way too much egg, especiallyin the lemon sauce (measured the yolks wrong). The design on the plate - needs a lot of work.
Tuesday - Lobster
Had a pretty good day with lobster. It was delicious and most of the time I felt quite calm. Maybe it's the sleep deprivation - had tome time in which I could organize everything and clean my station down. Dish turned out quite well - good thing because I had arranged to have a couple of friends around to taste the lamb exam dish and I planned to make a starter with the risott - although I forgot the semi-dried tomatoes.
Cooking / studying / trying to stay motivated (in case the lobster was insufficient):
The risotto from yesterday morning was meant to undergo a transformation - as risotto balls with cheese inside. There must be a way to stick it all together - mine ended falling apart when I put them in the hot oil. However, cheese went really well with Nir's bread and the lamb turned out ok. Had a go at the butchery and the cooking to a degree. I think the lamb is more med-rare than med, but will need to check with the chefs, if at all possible.
So tired I am writing down nonsense on the screen...must go, it is the middle of the week and I don't want to be late for class, but here are photos of dinner from last night and an attempt at the exam dish.
So until next time, may your knives stay sharp and only cut what they are supposed to cut!
Did not need to hear that someone sitting behind me in class is not having good sex with some new guy. DID need to hear what chef was saying...I'm happy that she has found someone whom I gather is new, but hearing a discussion as to how long to wait for their sex life to improve was not what I wanted to hear while the chef was talking about the point at which we could store our fondants and what not to do so that it would turn out well.
I am a bit puzzled as to why some of the people are there. They don't seem to be listening to what the chef is saying and they don't strike me as the most...skilled...of all the students, given their own admissions saying the same thing. I don't know, I find them annoying - maybe it's just a sign of old age.
Still Monday - Wine tech (cuisine) - Spit, not swallow!
Whoops - forgot to spit out all of the first 2 wines - ended up taking a few sips of each. Resulted in red blotches spreading all down my neck and below my top - have decided that I have not developed a tolerance to alcohol.
Have discovered I can smell but find most of the tasting kind of overwhelming from all the tannins, especially in the red wines. Cannot do the wine speak although there are some impressive noses/palates in class. Especially when they talk about lingering finishes and follow through on (from?) the nose and something about flowers which I've heard of but never smelled, to fruits which I can't smell (apricots, really?) and something about leather and wet dogs. Yum, sounds so appetizing - and those are supposed to be characteristic of quality (I assume good) wines.
Tuesday - Patisserie - no cooking
Wednesday - Patisserie - sent home
Made it through demo but up feeling absolutely nauseous - got sent home and ended up missing fondants and banana mousse/bavarois. So much for the first attempt at plated desserts...
Being sent home was a good thing, rest wise since I slept most of that day and all night. Sad to have missed class though - we were meant to do chocolate fondant and a 2-part mousse/bavarois/playing with noisy toys class.
Thursday - Forgetting how to cook
We did a sole with tomato sauce and spinach tagliatelle. The sole was supposed to be filleted as double fillets (as in taking off the entire top and the entire bottom so you have 2 pieces of fish instead of 4). Part of this new filleting method was squeezing out the roe sac - and remembering how hard I had had to push on the sea bass, I did the same to my sole, only to have to ask the chef why there was no roe but pieces of the fish seemed to be coming out. She looked at the fish and told me it was because I was pushing out the flesh of the fish and there was no roe. Whoops...the poor mangled thing fell apart and I was left wondering if I had forgotten how to cook. It was an example of true talent: outside of the fish overcooked and falling apart, inside of the fish not cooked...we won't mention the rest of the dish except that it was only redeemed by the pasta and the sauce.The spinach pasta was a big hit with one of the friends in Superior Patisserie - unfortunately that was mostly due to the stellar work done by my partner in getting our pasta dough done while I fought with my fish. I have to admit it tasted really good and I enjoyed rolling it out on the machine - probably the first time I made good pasta. Too bad I still have to work on the basics - like tasting the tomatoes and then fixing them because they were boring, tasteless and unevenly cut.
Friday - Time for a freak out
Then the scary one last week: our second potential exam dish - Tian d'Agneau et Sa Petite Sauce a la Menthe Poivree (or something like that). Definitely a case of having forgotten how to cook - or at least, butcher. It was like going back to basic ("AC, you're picking at the lamb - it looks like you're afraid to touch it. Are you afraid?") - it took forever to get the lamb prepared and ready to go. The of course there were the other preparations (roasted garlic, which I forgot about so it overcooked) - the actual list of things isn't long - confit onions (which I also forgot about and they overcooked); artichokes (which took forever because you have to break the stems so that the fibers come out, rather than cutting the stem. I jumped up and down with my weight on my hands and the choke/stem - it helps if you're taller than I am because then you have better leverage), sauteed mushrooms, sauteed spinach, diced tomatoes, the lamb and the sauce. So out of all those things...I cooked the lamb, the mushrooms and the spinace well. Everything was underseasoned and there were other things wrong with the dish as well.Verdict: I have some (lots!) work to do. This one will kill you in the exam if you get the organization wrong.
Also, cutting fingers and things not the desired outcome. Middle finger hasn't completely healed from the last cut, but have a new one to add from lamb butchery last night. Why the middle finger??? Have discovered fingertips are one of the worst places to get a cut. Who knew you used them so much?
Friday afternoon - Wine tech (patisserie)
I won't bore you with the details but we had a second wine lecture last week - Friday afternoon and it was on to dessert / sticky wines. I liked a muscat-ish on from Hungary whose name currently escapes me. I think it was alcoholic enough to knock people's socks off.
After all the swirling, looking, smelling, sip/breathe/swish/spitting, I was glad to escape and go home. It was time for dinner...and I had just the thing in mind.
Fish tacos
Some friends went to the fish markets earlier in the week so I decided I would do the fish a few different ways. The week seemed light on vegetables so I chose something light and fresh: fish tacos. I hadn't seared ahi before and I had a bit of trouble getting the fish turned in the pan - hence the overcooking...but the others turned out really well and I have discovered that they make cilantro/coriander as mixed micro-greens. All I can say is, wow! The tiny leaves pack a huge flavor punch completely out of keeping with their size and saved the ceviche from being boring and uninteresting to something zingy.Wonderland, When Harry Met Sally and Lateral thinking...
A friend, SC was in town. We have known each other since law school and she happened to be travelling through London so we met up and had coffee at Monmouth Coffee. We had a moment where she asked for a mocha. Our waitress said they don't make mocha but they have cocoa powder - no, they couldn't mix the cocoa powder into the coffee. I asked if it would be possible to have the cocoa on the side of a coffee (having a flashback to Sally), to which she said yes because apparently SC, who had just asked the same thing, wasn't speaking English despite all appearances to the contrary - go Wonderland.
It's been a while since I had a really good coffee so I was very happy. Ballet didn't happen but I did start studying in earnest. I hope it will all settle in by this time next week - I have completely run out of time...
Monday (22 August 2011) - Souffle Day
The souffle on the left below is the classic method (mixing meringue with creme patissiere) and the one on the right is a slightly updated (completely differet) - way too much egg, especiallyin the lemon sauce (measured the yolks wrong). The design on the plate - needs a lot of work.Tuesday - Lobster
Had a pretty good day with lobster. It was delicious and most of the time I felt quite calm. Maybe it's the sleep deprivation - had tome time in which I could organize everything and clean my station down. Dish turned out quite well - good thing because I had arranged to have a couple of friends around to taste the lamb exam dish and I planned to make a starter with the risott - although I forgot the semi-dried tomatoes.Cooking / studying / trying to stay motivated (in case the lobster was insufficient):
The risotto from yesterday morning was meant to undergo a transformation - as risotto balls with cheese inside. There must be a way to stick it all together - mine ended falling apart when I put them in the hot oil. However, cheese went really well with Nir's bread and the lamb turned out ok. Had a go at the butchery and the cooking to a degree. I think the lamb is more med-rare than med, but will need to check with the chefs, if at all possible.
So tired I am writing down nonsense on the screen...must go, it is the middle of the week and I don't want to be late for class, but here are photos of dinner from last night and an attempt at the exam dish.
Exam Dish #2 - practice...
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
#35 - Is it over yet?
I had a dream...
that the nightmare of looming exams was over. And then I woke up and thought, "I should practice the Opera." Of course you know that didn't happen...
Today was the second day we didn't cook in class. Felt decidedly odd and while I wasn't motivated enough to cook this morning, I ended up turning mushrooms while cooking dinner - spaghettie bolognese. I think I am still recovering from yesterday's wine tech class. I won't bore you with the details - the interesting part was the 7 wine blind tasting at the end of the lecture. I got 5/7 - although it's really more like 3/5 - the last 4 wines were 2 of the same grape, just a bit different (different places and ages).
The unfortunate part of all this is that I am unable to drink alcohol of any description and be fine at the end of it. I forgot to spit the first 2 wines (white)...I remembered for the rest - reminded by the sudden feeling of being really hot and a bit nauseated. Yup, alcohol intolerance was making itself felt and class wasn't even half over.
There were plans for dinner after class for which I am extremely grateful. It helped a bit but at midnight last night, I was fixing some baguette (what else?) with some cheddar cheese and a fig and almond loaf. The craving for protein and carbs hadn't abated by the end of class today, hence the spaghetti dinner. In the meantime, I had lots of mushrooms which needed to be turned (practice for Cuisine final) and eaten - so that they wouldn't get all slimy and have to be thrown out like the last package - oops.
Here are my turned mushrooms - yes, they are uneven and inconsistent. I think I finally had my Eureka moment though - it is now a little less guessing, hoping and praying that the peel will come off - you can feel when it's going to be an inaccurate cut even as it begins. As for how to correct it - well, not there yet but the thought of turning mushrooms makes me feel a little less like whining and wondering whose silly idea this was (mine) than last week.
Now if only I can get the time to do those darn cakes...
Until next time - may your get up and go stay with you instead of getting up and going without you.
that the nightmare of looming exams was over. And then I woke up and thought, "I should practice the Opera." Of course you know that didn't happen...
Today was the second day we didn't cook in class. Felt decidedly odd and while I wasn't motivated enough to cook this morning, I ended up turning mushrooms while cooking dinner - spaghettie bolognese. I think I am still recovering from yesterday's wine tech class. I won't bore you with the details - the interesting part was the 7 wine blind tasting at the end of the lecture. I got 5/7 - although it's really more like 3/5 - the last 4 wines were 2 of the same grape, just a bit different (different places and ages).
The unfortunate part of all this is that I am unable to drink alcohol of any description and be fine at the end of it. I forgot to spit the first 2 wines (white)...I remembered for the rest - reminded by the sudden feeling of being really hot and a bit nauseated. Yup, alcohol intolerance was making itself felt and class wasn't even half over.
There were plans for dinner after class for which I am extremely grateful. It helped a bit but at midnight last night, I was fixing some baguette (what else?) with some cheddar cheese and a fig and almond loaf. The craving for protein and carbs hadn't abated by the end of class today, hence the spaghetti dinner. In the meantime, I had lots of mushrooms which needed to be turned (practice for Cuisine final) and eaten - so that they wouldn't get all slimy and have to be thrown out like the last package - oops.
Here are my turned mushrooms - yes, they are uneven and inconsistent. I think I finally had my Eureka moment though - it is now a little less guessing, hoping and praying that the peel will come off - you can feel when it's going to be an inaccurate cut even as it begins. As for how to correct it - well, not there yet but the thought of turning mushrooms makes me feel a little less like whining and wondering whose silly idea this was (mine) than last week.Now if only I can get the time to do those darn cakes...
Until next time - may your get up and go stay with you instead of getting up and going without you.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
#34 - Panic, panic and more panic...
Exams for Intermediate are fast approaching and once again people are starting to sleep less, be a bit more grumpy and buckle down for reviewing and practice.
There have been tears, downcast moods after comments and a happy dance...tears from slicing shallots (practice for the salmon exam dish), downcast moods (overcooked monkfish and dry pork in the stuffed squid) and a happy dance for the St Jacques (scallops) Parisienne - although I can't really take credit for that. But back to the beginning, for those of you who want the details. Everyone else can stop here - there's nothing left except a couple of photos.
Due to the Riots
It felt very odd not to have cooked for the first couple of days of the week. We are usually in the kitchen 5 days a week - occasionally 4, but those weeks have a day with two practical classes. I just checked next week though...a couple of days where we aren't cooking - that will still feel decidedly odd.
Anyway, they have promised a make-up class for the one that was cancelled last week - truffles. Which is also good because it involves tempering chocolate, which we might have to do for the exam if we are unlucky enough to get the Sabrina in Patisserie - the one where people tend to fail for going over time...
The riots may have started as a protest against the shooting last week (?) but the looting and violence seem to have extended far beyond that. Newspaper articles were written encompassing the government/PM being out of touch, disenfranchised youth and a host of other problems. I only wonder if the message to the government was lost in the tumult of police being deployed, shops emptying and closing early while people pretty much went home and stayed there.
After the rioting
So back to cooking...on Wednesday it was a monkfish stew and a stuffed squid - including cleaning it, taking off the skin, etc. etc. You know how it is - they like to give us the whole animal - you can always buy it already prepared, but at least this way we know what's been done to it.
I finally get what they were saying about the transition from Basic to Intermediate being quite difficult - we are now occasionally preparing two dishes and they each have several components. Both the squid and the monkfish were new to me in terms of preparation.
Wednesday
The squid feels really slippery and slimy after you get the skin and all the other bits you don't want off of it. And of course in my attempts to be organized and have things set aside for later, I accidentally threw out my prepared tentacles and squid wings. Luckily one of the guys in class had prepped an extra squid so he gave me one set of tentacles and wings, which I could plate with the rest.
The monkfish is an ugly fish. They only gave us the tail because you buy the thing by weight and the head is almost as heavy as the body and is about the same size from what I can recall during the bouillabaise demo. The skin peels off pretty easily - no issues. The silver membrane between the skin and the flesh of the fish is really tough and you have to trim it very carefully because it also looks really ugly, as Chef SD pointed out on my plate. How lucky - it's a bit harder to see in this photo, but I have to admit that it was not an attractive plate.
There was also a ton of garlic in the recipe - I have to admit I cheated and only used about a quarter of what I was supposed to. Good comment: the sauce benefitted from less garlic (the one positive thing about my dish). They always try to end on a positive note - I think it's so we won't get discouraged when pretty much everything else on the plate is junk.
Then we had to run to our next class. Patisserie kept right on with its schedule so we were due to temper chocolate and make a centrepiece with it.
I had photocopied the pocket from my bag and got this. In case you can't read it, the boy is saying, "Let's talk." The girl replies, "Let's not. I'm eating." I have been accused of being that girl, but let me just say right now - I can eat and have a conversation at the same time.
As you can see, the border is a bit lumpy and uneven. Chef N told me it was because I was stubborn and hadn't listened to him about my chocolate being too cold. It's entirely possible - I remember having the conversation, but I can't remember if it was for the border or something else. And the piping for the blanket is crooked and the decorations were a bit much (the dirt under my coconut tree just looks like a mistake instead of a dirt patch - maybe I should have done Pigpen from Charlie Brown)...by the by, the base is also chocolate - a white chocolate disc poured and cut over painted cocoa butter...
I think this one is close to 750g (or 1.5 lbs?) of chocolate - which I left with the nice guys at the Turkish restaurant which is on the way home from class. I wanted to stop there to pick up dinner anyway since I didn't feel like cooking any more after 9pm and I had given my dishes from class to a friend as I had no desire to eat either one.
Thursday was trout - filleted, braised and served with vegetables. There was time built in for practicing our turning of mushrooms - Chef DM said to think of it as peeling the mushroom with...style? panache? something along those lines. Anyway - my mushrooms were undercooked and the sauce was too thick. It seems the sauces are always either too thick or too thin. Part of the difficulty is that adding cream changes the consistency and we have to re-adjust the seasoning.
So under the trout is a bed of green beans which you can just see, and between the two is a layer of spatzle. They're kind of like mini deformed dumplings or gnocci, if gnocci were made of dough. We had to press the spatzle batter through the holes in a colander to get the right size - I ended up pulling my sleeves down because the heat radiating from the stove while I was pressing dough was too hot without the protection of the sleeves. So the things that were good - cooking and cleaning the fish, the green beans and the flavor of the sauce. The things that were not good: not enough salt and pepper in the green beans, spatzle and mushrooms which were also undercooked, plus the too-thick sauce.
You may wonder, how do you know if the mushrooms are cooked? Apparently when they are soft. Maybe if you can cut through them with a spoon? Mine were quite resistant to being cut with a plastic spoon. Or you could squeeze it - but I'm not sure what that's supposed to feel like since mine were wrong.
TGIF
There was a collective sigh of resignation last night - the week was almost over and we had class scheduled from 6pm. We needed to make two dishes - it didn't sound that hard and it didn't seem like it would take that long: make the dough for the tartelette, make the mushrooms while the dough is resting, prepare the scallops for the scallop dish while the potatoes are boiling away, then make the preparations for the hollandaise sauce, poach eggs and hold for later, then finish the scallops. Right - but it took us the whole time to do it and we worked in teams for most of it. The things we really had to concentrate on were in the tartlette: the pastry, the mushrooms (which we've been doing since Basic), the hollandaise and the poached eggs because they (or a variation of them) are all currently part of the Superior Cuisine final exam, which happens to be 4 hours long.
Will need to continue working on the Hollandaise (not enough butter) and poaching eggs.
I'm not quite sure what happened to my egg dish after I presented it. I was a tiny bit delayed because I broke one of my poached eggs as I was taking it out of the water from reheating and had to do another one - not as pretty, but apparently cooked correctly - which is to say, I wouldn't eat it that way. All this time at cooking school and I still like my eggs well done, red meat medium well and my salmon either completely raw or completely cooked.
For the moment, it is back to studying and practicing...maybe later - right now it's time for coffee and a lazy morning.
As much as I love seafood, I'm not a huge fan of how the smell tends to linger. I'm not sure if it's still on my hands or in my head, from smelling it in the kitchen - all I know is that I have been washing my hands a lot to get the smell off and there will be more of the same as I practice my salmon paupiettes.
So until next time...may your fish come to you prepared!
There have been tears, downcast moods after comments and a happy dance...tears from slicing shallots (practice for the salmon exam dish), downcast moods (overcooked monkfish and dry pork in the stuffed squid) and a happy dance for the St Jacques (scallops) Parisienne - although I can't really take credit for that. But back to the beginning, for those of you who want the details. Everyone else can stop here - there's nothing left except a couple of photos.
Due to the Riots
It felt very odd not to have cooked for the first couple of days of the week. We are usually in the kitchen 5 days a week - occasionally 4, but those weeks have a day with two practical classes. I just checked next week though...a couple of days where we aren't cooking - that will still feel decidedly odd.
Anyway, they have promised a make-up class for the one that was cancelled last week - truffles. Which is also good because it involves tempering chocolate, which we might have to do for the exam if we are unlucky enough to get the Sabrina in Patisserie - the one where people tend to fail for going over time...
The riots may have started as a protest against the shooting last week (?) but the looting and violence seem to have extended far beyond that. Newspaper articles were written encompassing the government/PM being out of touch, disenfranchised youth and a host of other problems. I only wonder if the message to the government was lost in the tumult of police being deployed, shops emptying and closing early while people pretty much went home and stayed there.
After the rioting
So back to cooking...on Wednesday it was a monkfish stew and a stuffed squid - including cleaning it, taking off the skin, etc. etc. You know how it is - they like to give us the whole animal - you can always buy it already prepared, but at least this way we know what's been done to it.
I finally get what they were saying about the transition from Basic to Intermediate being quite difficult - we are now occasionally preparing two dishes and they each have several components. Both the squid and the monkfish were new to me in terms of preparation.
Wednesday
The squid feels really slippery and slimy after you get the skin and all the other bits you don't want off of it. And of course in my attempts to be organized and have things set aside for later, I accidentally threw out my prepared tentacles and squid wings. Luckily one of the guys in class had prepped an extra squid so he gave me one set of tentacles and wings, which I could plate with the rest.
The monkfish is an ugly fish. They only gave us the tail because you buy the thing by weight and the head is almost as heavy as the body and is about the same size from what I can recall during the bouillabaise demo. The skin peels off pretty easily - no issues. The silver membrane between the skin and the flesh of the fish is really tough and you have to trim it very carefully because it also looks really ugly, as Chef SD pointed out on my plate. How lucky - it's a bit harder to see in this photo, but I have to admit that it was not an attractive plate.There was also a ton of garlic in the recipe - I have to admit I cheated and only used about a quarter of what I was supposed to. Good comment: the sauce benefitted from less garlic (the one positive thing about my dish). They always try to end on a positive note - I think it's so we won't get discouraged when pretty much everything else on the plate is junk.
Then we had to run to our next class. Patisserie kept right on with its schedule so we were due to temper chocolate and make a centrepiece with it.
I had photocopied the pocket from my bag and got this. In case you can't read it, the boy is saying, "Let's talk." The girl replies, "Let's not. I'm eating." I have been accused of being that girl, but let me just say right now - I can eat and have a conversation at the same time.As you can see, the border is a bit lumpy and uneven. Chef N told me it was because I was stubborn and hadn't listened to him about my chocolate being too cold. It's entirely possible - I remember having the conversation, but I can't remember if it was for the border or something else. And the piping for the blanket is crooked and the decorations were a bit much (the dirt under my coconut tree just looks like a mistake instead of a dirt patch - maybe I should have done Pigpen from Charlie Brown)...by the by, the base is also chocolate - a white chocolate disc poured and cut over painted cocoa butter...
I think this one is close to 750g (or 1.5 lbs?) of chocolate - which I left with the nice guys at the Turkish restaurant which is on the way home from class. I wanted to stop there to pick up dinner anyway since I didn't feel like cooking any more after 9pm and I had given my dishes from class to a friend as I had no desire to eat either one.
Thursday was trout - filleted, braised and served with vegetables. There was time built in for practicing our turning of mushrooms - Chef DM said to think of it as peeling the mushroom with...style? panache? something along those lines. Anyway - my mushrooms were undercooked and the sauce was too thick. It seems the sauces are always either too thick or too thin. Part of the difficulty is that adding cream changes the consistency and we have to re-adjust the seasoning. So under the trout is a bed of green beans which you can just see, and between the two is a layer of spatzle. They're kind of like mini deformed dumplings or gnocci, if gnocci were made of dough. We had to press the spatzle batter through the holes in a colander to get the right size - I ended up pulling my sleeves down because the heat radiating from the stove while I was pressing dough was too hot without the protection of the sleeves. So the things that were good - cooking and cleaning the fish, the green beans and the flavor of the sauce. The things that were not good: not enough salt and pepper in the green beans, spatzle and mushrooms which were also undercooked, plus the too-thick sauce.
You may wonder, how do you know if the mushrooms are cooked? Apparently when they are soft. Maybe if you can cut through them with a spoon? Mine were quite resistant to being cut with a plastic spoon. Or you could squeeze it - but I'm not sure what that's supposed to feel like since mine were wrong.
TGIF
There was a collective sigh of resignation last night - the week was almost over and we had class scheduled from 6pm. We needed to make two dishes - it didn't sound that hard and it didn't seem like it would take that long: make the dough for the tartelette, make the mushrooms while the dough is resting, prepare the scallops for the scallop dish while the potatoes are boiling away, then make the preparations for the hollandaise sauce, poach eggs and hold for later, then finish the scallops. Right - but it took us the whole time to do it and we worked in teams for most of it. The things we really had to concentrate on were in the tartlette: the pastry, the mushrooms (which we've been doing since Basic), the hollandaise and the poached eggs because they (or a variation of them) are all currently part of the Superior Cuisine final exam, which happens to be 4 hours long.Will need to continue working on the Hollandaise (not enough butter) and poaching eggs.
I'm not quite sure what happened to my egg dish after I presented it. I was a tiny bit delayed because I broke one of my poached eggs as I was taking it out of the water from reheating and had to do another one - not as pretty, but apparently cooked correctly - which is to say, I wouldn't eat it that way. All this time at cooking school and I still like my eggs well done, red meat medium well and my salmon either completely raw or completely cooked.
For the moment, it is back to studying and practicing...maybe later - right now it's time for coffee and a lazy morning.
As much as I love seafood, I'm not a huge fan of how the smell tends to linger. I'm not sure if it's still on my hands or in my head, from smelling it in the kitchen - all I know is that I have been washing my hands a lot to get the smell off and there will be more of the same as I practice my salmon paupiettes.
So until next time...may your fish come to you prepared!
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
#33 - Peace, man...
Well it has been a few days since the last post so here's the rundown. There has been a lot of food, some baking, riots (more later) and enjoying London's summer.
First, food...
We've done a lot of seafood in the past few weeks. Most of it was good, some of it was not. Examples: Stuffed seabass Nicoise - good. Fish guts at 8am - bad. Seafood risotto - good. Stove not working - bad. Super hot kitchen and mouthing off at the chef - very bad.
Apologizing to chef the following week and having it graciously accepted - very good.
Then dinner for 6 on a Sunday - practice run at salmon fillets stuffed with sole and scallop mousse, then dessert (another run at the tuile with fruits/berries and sabayon). Lots of guinea pigs (thanks JB, RK, Vicki, Jess and JP!) No fish stock to be had - all out at the grocery store. I am guessing people are practicing their exam dishes! The fish store told me to let them know the day before and they will keep the fish bones for me so that I can make my own stock. For the practice, used vegetable stock. Still tasted ok, but was missing something (fish and a couple of other herbs and spices).
then baking...
Sponge cake with poached pear (in caramel), chocolate mousse and chocolate decorations followed by white chocolate mousse cake with pistachio dacquoise/succes biscuit, redcurrant jelly, glacage and chocolate and berry decoration.
So - decorations are supposed to be prettier if they are finer/thinner. The thing is - they can be too thin - so I only had a few rectangular pieces that came off the textured sheet for the side of my mousse cake.
It was pretty hot when we did the two cakes - the chocolate mousse with the pears set ok because of all the chocolate. The white chocolate mousse, which had less support...well...it looked ok when we finished class and it was straight out of the refrigerator. By the time I got home half an hour later, the cake/mousse was bulging out by the sides. I don't have a picture of the bulging sides but they are forever emblazoned in my head.
and more cooking...
There was a ballotine of chicken - basically a chicken leg that has had the thigh bone removed, the thigh removed and made into a stuffing and stuffed into where the thigh would have been...with sauce. The chef and I have different ideas of what constitutes cooked chicken (I say not pink - he said overcooked). Sauce was ok but we were "all too shy with the seasoning".
Then - pike. We had to make what was essentially a choux pastry (similar to the evil choux/eclair from basic patisserie) and make a fish mousse with pike. FYI, pike does not smell good. Anyway, had to mix it all together with other stuff (eggs, butter, etc. etc.) - and the mixture is supposed to rest. 6 hours is good, overnight is better. Our classes are 2 1/2 hours long - um...so the comment from our chef was "the dough needs to rest more". Anyway, these are really ugly - I couldn't get them to hold their shape (supposed to look like a 3-faceted oval). The sauce was pretty good (crayfish sauce) but getting there was a little too much excitement. The crayfish were alive (good) - and very active (bad). We didn't cover them in people's refrigerators. I'm not sure if any managed to crawl out of their bowls, but I used my tongs to put them into bowls from the huge plastic tub because they were too lively for me. I can handle live crabs but...
Followed by stuffed cabbage - essentially a sausage mix in a cabbage leaf-lined mould. Chef FJ said this wasn't very sexy or exciting so we should layer the meat and sauteed cabbage inside to make it more interesting (below right - the only thing I did right). I couldn't make the carrots grow, so he told me to make the turnips and onions smaller next time. Of course, I got marked down in the Basic Cuisine final for doing that (the onions were too small)...
We finished early last Thursday, so I went to a dance class. So nice to be moving again - something more than running around in a kitchen. Then class again on Sunday morning. Of course it hurts to move now...
I was asked if cooking is still fun. I have to say, yes it is. There are days when I don't feel like going to class but as soon as I set foot in the kitchen, somehow the enthusiasm returns.
Grace and coordination
Of course being tired can sometimes affect how motivated I feel. Also how clumsy I am...so far I have managed to cut my finger (with a thread, while doing laundry!) and yesterday I ended up wearing my Coke rather than drinking. Drinking was attempted but grace won out over coordination - with the result that I had to be excused in the middle of class to go change into a clean (and dry) uniform. Apparently from behind, it looked like I had had an accident of a different nature. Anyway - the Coke didn't come out completely. I was concerned about the caramel coloring they put in it - hopefully it will eventually come out with continued washings...
Outdoor movies
Sunday night (again) - picnic and outdoor cinema in the park by Houses of Parliament. Can't think of a better venue - it had rained quite heavily during the day but cleared up by evening. There were 9 of us and of course everyone brought way too much food. The movie was Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - kind of a depressing movie, actually.
London riots
Anyway, during the movie, we heard police sirens quite a bit. At one point two cars went screaming past the park, lights flashing, sirens blaring - and in opposite directions. I'm still wondering if one car radioed the other car to say, "you're going the wrong way!"
Riots are ongoing and our 6pm class today was cancelled - something about potential trouble in the area. Have taken the opportunity to update this blog, go over some notes for finals...and contemplated going back to school to fetch my knives so I can practice a cake tonight. Have decided against cooking in favor of continuing my enormous book A Dance with Dragons (George RR Martin) - 960 pages of happiness await.
So until next time, peace...
First, food...
We've done a lot of seafood in the past few weeks. Most of it was good, some of it was not. Examples: Stuffed seabass Nicoise - good. Fish guts at 8am - bad. Seafood risotto - good. Stove not working - bad. Super hot kitchen and mouthing off at the chef - very bad.
Apologizing to chef the following week and having it graciously accepted - very good.
Then dinner for 6 on a Sunday - practice run at salmon fillets stuffed with sole and scallop mousse, then dessert (another run at the tuile with fruits/berries and sabayon). Lots of guinea pigs (thanks JB, RK, Vicki, Jess and JP!) No fish stock to be had - all out at the grocery store. I am guessing people are practicing their exam dishes! The fish store told me to let them know the day before and they will keep the fish bones for me so that I can make my own stock. For the practice, used vegetable stock. Still tasted ok, but was missing something (fish and a couple of other herbs and spices).
then baking...
Sponge cake with poached pear (in caramel), chocolate mousse and chocolate decorations followed by white chocolate mousse cake with pistachio dacquoise/succes biscuit, redcurrant jelly, glacage and chocolate and berry decoration. So - decorations are supposed to be prettier if they are finer/thinner. The thing is - they can be too thin - so I only had a few rectangular pieces that came off the textured sheet for the side of my mousse cake.
It was pretty hot when we did the two cakes - the chocolate mousse with the pears set ok because of all the chocolate. The white chocolate mousse, which had less support...well...it looked ok when we finished class and it was straight out of the refrigerator. By the time I got home half an hour later, the cake/mousse was bulging out by the sides. I don't have a picture of the bulging sides but they are forever emblazoned in my head.and more cooking...
There was a ballotine of chicken - basically a chicken leg that has had the thigh bone removed, the thigh removed and made into a stuffing and stuffed into where the thigh would have been...with sauce. The chef and I have different ideas of what constitutes cooked chicken (I say not pink - he said overcooked). Sauce was ok but we were "all too shy with the seasoning".
Then - pike. We had to make what was essentially a choux pastry (similar to the evil choux/eclair from basic patisserie) and make a fish mousse with pike. FYI, pike does not smell good. Anyway, had to mix it all together with other stuff (eggs, butter, etc. etc.) - and the mixture is supposed to rest. 6 hours is good, overnight is better. Our classes are 2 1/2 hours long - um...so the comment from our chef was "the dough needs to rest more". Anyway, these are really ugly - I couldn't get them to hold their shape (supposed to look like a 3-faceted oval). The sauce was pretty good (crayfish sauce) but getting there was a little too much excitement. The crayfish were alive (good) - and very active (bad). We didn't cover them in people's refrigerators. I'm not sure if any managed to crawl out of their bowls, but I used my tongs to put them into bowls from the huge plastic tub because they were too lively for me. I can handle live crabs but...Followed by stuffed cabbage - essentially a sausage mix in a cabbage leaf-lined mould. Chef FJ said this wasn't very sexy or exciting so we should layer the meat and sauteed cabbage inside to make it more interesting (below right - the only thing I did right). I couldn't make the carrots grow, so he told me to make the turnips and onions smaller next time. Of course, I got marked down in the Basic Cuisine final for doing that (the onions were too small)...
We finished early last Thursday, so I went to a dance class. So nice to be moving again - something more than running around in a kitchen. Then class again on Sunday morning. Of course it hurts to move now...
I was asked if cooking is still fun. I have to say, yes it is. There are days when I don't feel like going to class but as soon as I set foot in the kitchen, somehow the enthusiasm returns.
Grace and coordination
Of course being tired can sometimes affect how motivated I feel. Also how clumsy I am...so far I have managed to cut my finger (with a thread, while doing laundry!) and yesterday I ended up wearing my Coke rather than drinking. Drinking was attempted but grace won out over coordination - with the result that I had to be excused in the middle of class to go change into a clean (and dry) uniform. Apparently from behind, it looked like I had had an accident of a different nature. Anyway - the Coke didn't come out completely. I was concerned about the caramel coloring they put in it - hopefully it will eventually come out with continued washings...Outdoor movies
Sunday night (again) - picnic and outdoor cinema in the park by Houses of Parliament. Can't think of a better venue - it had rained quite heavily during the day but cleared up by evening. There were 9 of us and of course everyone brought way too much food. The movie was Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - kind of a depressing movie, actually.
London riots
Anyway, during the movie, we heard police sirens quite a bit. At one point two cars went screaming past the park, lights flashing, sirens blaring - and in opposite directions. I'm still wondering if one car radioed the other car to say, "you're going the wrong way!"
Riots are ongoing and our 6pm class today was cancelled - something about potential trouble in the area. Have taken the opportunity to update this blog, go over some notes for finals...and contemplated going back to school to fetch my knives so I can practice a cake tonight. Have decided against cooking in favor of continuing my enormous book A Dance with Dragons (George RR Martin) - 960 pages of happiness await.
So until next time, peace...
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