Carb-tastic!

Today was a day o' carbs (not that I'm complaining...). My group was assigned Tuscan Roasted Potatoes, Glazed Sweet Potatoes, Polenta, and Rice Pilaf. It was quite hectic at times, but (as you can see in the photo), we pulled through and came out with some very tasty, starchy foods.


We did make a few mistakes, though...

1. We over-boiled the Russet potatoes before roasting them, so they kinda fell apart in the oven. That's what happens when you are trying to worry about the three other dishes you are working on.
2. Before making the sweet potato dish, we had to bake them. I completely forgot to poke holes in the little devils and they exploded in the oven. Not very pretty. That didn't affect the taste or what the finished product looked like, but we sure felt stupid.
3. The rice pilaf actually went pretty well. We almost burned it, but ALMOST doesn't count.
4. Ahhhh the polenta... polenta, in case you didn't know, is basically yellow grits. You can serve it like grits, or you can spread it in a sheet pan, chill it, cut it into shapes, and grill/saute it. We wanted to do the latter. So, we made the polenta, added some reconstituted sundried tomatoes, rosemary, and garlic, and spread it into the sheet pan. Our sheet pan, however, was too large. So, when we pulled our polenta out of the fridge, we noticed it was about as even as the Smoky Mountains. Drat. We also ran out of time, so I cut them into uneven squares... not the most attractive polenta shape out there, I might add. But, they tasted great and had the right consistency. If only they weren't square...

So, all-in-all it was a sucessful day. We made the four dishes we were assigned, they tasted delicious, and we got to eat LOTS of carbs at the end of class. What could be better?

"I Would Buy One!"

Our assignment (after making literally tons of gingerbread sheets) was to make cookies... any cookies from a formula in our text book. My group (Megan, Jeff, and I) had trouble choosing between peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies. So, we made both.

They were quite easy to make... and were delicious. One woman in our class took a bite and said, "Oh... I would definitely buy these cookies." I thought that was a good compliment.

Did I mention they were HUGE? We use ice cream scoops to scoop out the batter onto the sheet pans... and I think we got the big scoops today. Either that or we were making them the size of our hunger. Never make cookies on an empty stomach.

So, it was an enjoyable day in the bakery. Good cookies, good times.

From Scratch

I though, how better to study for a baking exam, than to bake? So, that is what I did. I decided to make a yellow layer cake... from scratch.

So that's why cake mixes are so fantasmical.

I must say, though, I had a real sense of accomplishment when I put the first delicious bite of cake in my mouth.

Problems:

1. The cake is... umm... not yellow. It's white. I had to use rice milk mixed with evaporated milk instead of milk. Hah. Yes... I'm an odd one. I know this. But, it's all I had! I cannot imagine how that would have affected the cake color, though. Hmmm...

2. It was mighty dense. I figured it wouldn't be the same consistency as a cake mix cake, but it was pretty dense. It tasted wonderful, though. So, should I really complain? The one we made in school had a similar texture. Maybe it's supposed to be like that?

3. It took all bloody day! First you cream the butter & sugar, then you add a little flour, mix, then add a little milk, mix, then add a little flour... etc. It was intense. But, good things take a little effort. And it was definitely good.

I found the icing on the food network. Can't remember who's recipe it was, but it was GOOD. Pumpkin cream cheese frosting. Nice.

So, that was my messy, floury adventure in the kitchen for today. I also studied... a lot. I have to study some more tomorrow. I also have an exam tomorrow. On Suday. Yep. Good times.

Off to "Notting Hill." One of my favorites. :)

~ Mari ~

Growing on me like mold on blue cheese...

I wasn't convinced about this whole culinary school thing. It's rough, let me tell ya. I have one class that is honestly just learning to wait tables and serve people properly. NOT what I want to be doing with my life. But, we have made some better tasting food now:

Baking:

- Challah Bread

- Cinnamon Rolls (good god.... they were amazing)

- Banana Nut Muffins

- Yellow Cake

- Hi-Ratio Cake (sorta tasted like corn bread... weird)

- Kaiser Rolls

- Sandwich Cookies

- Hazelnut Cookies

- Orange Cranberry Biscotti

Culinary I:

- Brown Veal Stock

- Hollandaise Sauce

- Brown Chicken Sauce

- Consomme (very weird process on this one)

- Beef Bourguignon (yummy on mashed potatoes)

We've also learned some neato and not-so-neato knife cuts in the process. We practice our cuts on the mirepoix (onions, carrots, & celery added to stocks, soups, and braises) and many many MANY potatoes. This past Wednesday we all tried to cut potatoes into the "tourne" shape. UGH. I ended up cutting my thumb and my friends made letters out of the potato pieces instead. It was quite amusing. Chef Cairns had a chuckle at our expense.

So, it's growing on me... although some of the people in my classes are just downright mean! I don't understand it. So far I've had some pretty OK partners, though one or two have made me want to HIT them on the nose with a poorly-tourned potato or two. I have made some friends, though. Although, I'm in a weird spot - since I went to college, I am four years older than all of the high school kids and younger than the "adult" college students. I'm still trying to find my niche.

Get excited- my next culinary one class will be making Pasta Fresca (fresh pasta). I am QUITE excited. That I can get into.

I will try to be better about posting - I've been in a rut lately. I do apologize.