10/6 Eggs, 1,000 ways

Had you asked me what day I was most excited about at the start of this adventure, I would have told you Breakfast day. It was a month in the making but it was GLORIOUS.

      As any good breakfast day should it started with eggs. Lots and lots and lots of eggs. I made everything but scrambled eggs, really. Sunny side up, over easy, two kinds of omelets (French and American), a baked egg and eggs benedict were all on the table. I’m pretty proud of what I was able to get done and how they turned out. Then the second half of class was the real show. As a new pancake covert I was OVERJOYED to make some pancakes and potatoes. The potatoes were blanched, and fried to golden perfection, the pancakes puffed beautifully and then there was the German Apple Pancake. This wonder is super easy to make and creates a coliseum in the pan. The domed crust comes up and over to create the perfect pouch for a filling; like apples. Before you inhale the entire thing.

I am proud of the marvelous poof that I got on the Dutch apple baby.

I need to work on hollandaise. Womp, womp. I had to make it 5 times today and only just got it when chef walked me though it. The fourth time (when I just gave up and went to get him) I had an enormous thick glob of yellow custard stuck to the end of my whisk. Not my finest hour. 

Take aways

·      Did you know the flutes in a chef hat have a meaning? Each flue represents the number of ways that chef knows how to cook an egg! How cool!

10/1 Salads and Vinaigrettes

            True to form Chef Jeff did not let up on the flavor or canola oil for his last day on vegetables. In general I felt like I could use many of the principals that he taught us but tweak them to more suit my palate.  I think I was most interested in the ceaser dressing which I felt came out a little more spicy than I would have liked but I loved its potency.

"Light" salad with bacon lardons, bread, poached eggs, vinaigrette and oh, yeah, a little green stuff 

Mirin roasted rutabaga, grapefruit, radish, thai basil and olive oil  

I am proud of

·      We were on point today with getting things done and cleaning up.

·      Tasting things and knowing what I would change. For instance, chef made a salad dressing with a lot of canola oil, I feel like olive oil would have given the dressing a better foundation.

I need to work on flavor balance and stepping up with my own ideas.

Take always

·      I really must do more with rutabagas. Such a cool vegetable that is quite versatile.

·      There is a difference between white and brown anchovy’s- one is saltier than the other.

·      Consider the shape of lettuce when making a salad- sometimes just the inside ribs are fine

10/5 OM NOM NOM NOM NOM (In the style of the Cookie Monster)

      The morning started with a rather dull video about allergy education. While its importance cannot be underrated the most exciting thing about the video was that I was able to knit while it was going on. Most of the practical information that I have learned about allergens have come from personal experience with friends and through class when Chefs let something slip.

      In the afternoon we had a glorious evening full of cookies! I mean, how could a day be bad when I get to knit then make cookies all afternoon. We had an assortment of recipes that we made which all taught us varying skills and exposed us to different recipes. Overall I really enjoyed making (I mean eating) the biscotti and the chocolate cookies with macadamia nuts.

Photo by Erica Yeh

Photo by Erica Yeh

I am proud of not overeating on all the delicious cookies.

I need to work on expanding my repertoire.

Take aways

·      There are so many wonderful kinds of cookies that I was unaware of. The world is a bigger and brighter place outside of the (delicious yet overdone) chocolate chip cookie.

·      You can knead a cookie dough! Who would have thunk it! You can make ribbons out of the butter with the heel of your hand, which makes a delightful shortbread like cookie.

9/30 Meet the Meat and Veg Day 2

            The morning started out a little earlier than most with a long drive out to Kinnaeley’s Meat. The literally freezing tour was a great experience and window into how meat can be done well, packaged safely and sent to hopefully cooks and chefs all across New England. We learned and saw the differences in Select, Choice and Prime cuts of meat, witnessed a dry aging process and saw some of the most efficient butchers ill probably ever see. One man totally deboned a turkey in less than a minute.

After a lengthy drive back to school and a scramble to get everything together we started on veg day two. This included a eggplant chicheron, green beans in a butter emulsion, a celery root soup, a artichoke soup and a few other small dishes like candied carrots. Overall I felt like I was just prepping for chef who would do something. It was not really hands on and the most fun was really eating everything rather than doing it myself.

I am proud of…. Prepping faster?

I need to work on jumping in with suggestions and making a dish when I have the opportunity.

Take aways

·      The butter emulsion was amazing and I really must practice that. It evenly coated the green beams with butter and made a sauce for them.

·      Also I must work on my blanching so the veg are crisp and ready to eat.

9/29 Victory for Vegetables!

            I have so been looking forward to this day. I feel like there are only so many ways you can cook a steak but literally endless possibilities for cooking a vegetable. Chef had each group working on a dish and then we would come together to see it take shape.

            My group worked on artichokes two ways (fried and brazed) and the other groups did a butternut squash risotto, a stir fry and a vegetable hash.

            My favorite thing that we did was the watermelon steak. It was SO COOL. I can’t wait to try that at home. It was savory, spicy and creamy with the feta. He roasted a whole watermelon with cream sherry for about 3 hours, sliced it into wedges and pan fried it until it was golden brown. Yum! 

I am proud of being attentive, working fast and efficiently and getting everything done on time.

I need to work on listening and absorbing more. He would rattle off a list of a ton of things and only a few would sink in.

Take a ways

·      Vegetable are so versatile yet there are so many ways to mess them up

·      Butter is every vegetable friend