The Most Terrifying Test... Ever

2 hours

4-5 courses

menu must be presented within the first 20 minutes

mystery basket ingredients

all 4 proteins must be used

And that, my friends, was our final practical exam in Culinary III. Holy guacamole, batman. It was terrifying. And when I say terrifying, I mean I woke up at 5:00 am when I didn't have to be up until 7:45. Yay.

My time started at 9:00 am, so, naturally, I had my apron and hat on at 8:30. I waited by the kitchen door until Chef said I could begin. When I walked into the kitchen, none of my classmates were smiling. In fact, they looked stressed, vomit-y, and constipated. Not a confidence booster, let me tell you.

So, I went to my station and checked out my mystery tray. We had a various assortment of veggies (leeks, tomatoes, etc.), fruits (apples and pears) and four proteins (you know, those ones that we HAVE to use): yellowfin tuna, rack of lamb, chicken, and teres major (a tender cut of beef).

I wrote my menu with a shaking but confident hand, and went to work! And here, ladies and gents, is what I accomplished in those two hours (slightly interrupted by a fire alarm...):

Appetizer: Lebanese lamb meat pie seasoned with onions, cumin, and cinnamon served with grilled onions, olive oil, and a fresh mint sprig.


Salad: Seared yellowfin tuna with morrocan carot salad

Entree: Double entree with curried grilled chicken and teres major with zucchini ribbons and rice pilaf

And, the course that got me an A- .....

Dessert: Poached pear turnover with a sticky cinnamon sauce and spiced wine

Oh, you wanted to see another angle? Fine...

So, I'm done. No, not with this class, with EVERYTHING! I am now Chef Bland. HOLY CRAP. Sorry, it's exciting times! I still plan to post yummy culinary creations... and try to be better about doing it more often (mari = slacker face).

Thanks for going on the journey with me!

~ Chef Bland ;)

Exam Week

Today was my Bakery Skills practical final exam. I've never taken a practical final... so it was a bit awkward for an essay test-taker pro like myself. But, it wasn't too horrible. We had to draw a random sheet of paper and make whatever was on it. I ended up with Whole Wheat Soft Rolls and Standard Pie Crust. Luckily, I had made both before (except for the whole wheat... which was the tricky part). So, first, we had to convert each formula into the yield amount that Chef gave us. This would have been easy except my roll formula did not have any percentages. So, I had to convert the original weights into percentages, and then do the baker's percentage formula. Not the easiest feat. Especially, since we had never done that before. But, luckily, I studied quite a bit and knew how to do it. If you haven't ever done this before, this part of the post probably makes no sense, but just think of it as weird science/algebra - baking style.

The pie crusts came out great. I was excited about that. I got darn good at making the things the other day when Chef had Megan and I make 20 lbs. of dough... and all the pie crusts that come with it. But, we learned it, dangit! The directions were to blind bake one pie crust and not bake the other at all. And that was exactly what I did.

My rolls, however, were another story. They were just beautiful to behold (as you can see in the above picture), but weighed as much as a darn baseball. When I handed it to Chef Hallman her arm dropped. It was hilarious... at my expense, of course. Hah. I didn't let them proof enough before I baked them, sadly. With whole wheat flour, it takes longer for the dough to rise & proof because the whole grains react with the glutenin and gliadin... causing it not to rise as well. But, you live and you learn. And now I know: whole wheat flour = longer proofing time. Simple, really.

Tomorrow I have two written exams, so I won't be taking pictures (for obvious boring reasons). Wednesday I have my Culinary I written & practical exam. I shan't be taking any pictures, though, since I have to focus all of my energy on my knife cuts, veloute sauce, bechamel sauce, chicken fabrication, and chicken cooking. Sigh... lots to do in only 2 hours!

I'll blog about that later. Right now, I need to try my very hardes to motivate myself into studying. Yeah. We'll see how that goes...