Final Practical, Part 2

Thursday we finished up the final practical - Tennessee and I had good teamwork tonight. We were graded on different categories - I can't remember the exact ones, but he graded our aspic gelee, the design/layout, clean/organization, timeliness, color, pate/terrine/galantine, and canapes. We did well on the design (he described it as "forest-like" - between the two layers of gelee, I laid down patterns of parsley. It looked really pretty!

I didn't really want to put anything on top of it), timeliness, clean/organization, and gelee. We lost some points on the actual food because they were lacking in color (not enough visible red in my galantine and the canapes appeared "messy"). I thought the platter looked a little crowded - we hadn't grabbed a platter quickly enough on Wednesday, so we had to take one of the smaller ones.

The cute boy next door (who I am now nicknaming Simon because his name is in a Simon & Garfunkel song that I always want to break into when I see him): He invited me to look at his platter and encouraged me to eat some. But, I had the exact same platter, and I had done enough sampling of my own. I know, I know, it was flirting, I should have responded, but I was full! And flustered! The boy makes me tongue-tied! He let me borrow a bisquit cutter because I really admired the way he had plated his salad - and I knew it would hide that I had not done a very consistent job of cutting my potatoes...

Ugh, we got out late again - it probably was even later, but at midnight, I told Chef I had to go, and he let me (another student also had to catch her train, so he didn't ask me for an explanation).

Oh! And we had a pop final! Okay, so, technically, he mentioned that we would have a written final at the beginning of the course, but, Chef, if you do not remind students the day before, how can they be expected to prep for it? Especially if they work full time? Anyway, guessing I failed it. Damnit. I am totally fine with doing bad on tests when I refuse to study, but when I don't even know one is coming...it makes me upset. He let us review our notes after T requested, but by then I was in panic mode and also, five minutes does nothing for me in terms of studying. I actually went up to him and apologized later for what I predicted my grade would be - not sucking up because I wasn't looking for him to give me extra points - but just because it embarrasses me as a student. Ohhh the training I have received throughout my years of education. Chef said I shouldn't worry about it - there was a lot to learn in the class and it's only a few percent of the grade.

Ha! I just checked my grade - somehow I managed to pull off a B. Now, Chef did tell me that lab grades and the final practical matter way more than tests. I wonder, if I hadn't failed the first quiz and the final, could I have pulled off an A even with my absences? Maybe not.

Final Thoughts:

Well, I definitely will not be working in catering. I find this stuff too tedious and not very rewarding. Why would anyone want to eat something with the gel on top? Granted, I did not taste it, but it made everything look plastic. The canapes, those were really good. When he was grading us, Chef said he would never eat this stuff - he doesn't like it! Isn't that funny? He teaches the class but he has no interest in it? He said he'd much rather make and have things like mashed potatoes.

Chef was a really nice guy. Still a little boring, but when you got him talking about cooking and his experiences, he really was so cute with his enthusiasm and love for this stuff. He really wants to teach us again for Culinary Skills 2, but right now we have a different chef on our schedule. He says if he gets the class next door, he will definitely be cracking down on them - he hates that they aren't in full uniform and that one student is clearly an alcoholic and under the influence during class. By the way, duh, that's dangerous.

Lessons Learned:

Master and I are planning to pair up for Baking II - coming up next. She and I decided that in order to keep our friends, we cannot partner with them.

And I'm looking forward to having a Friday night off! Yay! It will be a whole new world - I can take a nap and work out and hang out with family! Fun!!

Here's some from other people. I think you can click on them to make them bigger.

Final, Part 1

Wednesday we began working on the final.

This is our menu: Chicken Galantine, Potato Salad with Creamy Horseradish Dressing, Smoked Duck Canape, Red Bean and Shiitake Mousse, Cumberland Sauce, Savory Cracker

I was irritated again tonight. I began working right away on the galantine because Tennessee had been absent that night. The galantine was freaking me out because I can't seem to remember how to get the skin and meat off the chicken using Chef's method. But Rico and Irish quietly gave me some tips, and once I got into it, it seemed to come off okay. But while I was doing that, Tennessee didn't seem to be doing anything. She settled into working after about 45 minutes and eventually my irritation went away. She was complaining about things where I didn't really see what she had to complain about (how long it took her to find ingredients - um, it didn't take the hour she claimed and really, it involved her going into the next door kitchen. So what? I do that almost every night). It took me about 2.5 hours to finish the galantine. That is a long time to work on one thing that I won't even eat. At least with cakes you can take breaks.

So during that time, Tennessee finished most of the rest of our menu, and they tasted good. Whoops, we accidentally burned our beans, but then it turned out they were done. And Chef said he's not tasting any of our food, so we figured, why not keep it? Ha. Clearly, we don't care as much as other teams.

Tennessee really did so much in the time it took me to finish the galantine - I just get irritated sometimes, but I know I'll get over it.

Tonight we made the galantine, brined the chicken (there was no duck), made the dressing, mixed the mousse, made the sauce, and made the cracker dough.

We got out late tonight - I didn't get home until 12:15. I did get in a brief run (and I mean brief - just 18 minutes) in the afternoon, and that might have helped keep me awake. But I'll be tired at work on Thursday.

Tomorrow will be busy - we have to finish the canape spread, smoke the chicken, bake the crackers, poach the mousse, make the salad, design the platter, and plate it! That sounds like a lot, now that I write it. You'll see the final tomorrow!

Chef made us chicken cacciatore and mashed potatoes.

Today was Nemo's birthday - Irish made him a red velvet ice cream cake. She's so sweet! It was good, too. That was really good.

Oh! And I got a 25/25 on the pop quiz! Yay!

Lessons Learned:

Apparently, around midnight, red lights are optional. Somehow I must have missed that lesson in driver's ed. It's best not to think about the other drivers too much, or I might be afraid to get in my car.

Practice

Tuesday we practiced for the final. We took what we made Monday, and came up with platter designs. Other teams are making really fancy things, but I don't really see the point and I'm not feeling very artsy at the moment.

So the other reason I wish we took a week off occasionally - I tend to get annoyed with people when I spend too much time around them without breaks. I'm someone who needs their space, and especially this class, where every night has been partner or group work, I just haven't had that.

Anyway, I found out tonight I am paired with Tennessee for the final. Which, if you were Chef, would seem like it makes sense since she and I have been paired up most nights. But I've been getting frustrated. I know I don't always give the best effort, but when it's time to get down to work, I do.

This is the walk-in:

Crowded, right?

Lessons Learned:
At the beginning of class, I was just chatting with Tennessee, but eventually I wanted to actually practice - we have been assigned a meat-heavy final, and I hadn't made any of the dishes on the days they were on the menu. So I practiced making the aspic gelee glaze (a specific ratio of powdered gelatin to consumme), and after she to make the gelee that would cover the bottom of the platter, she didn't try anything else. I screwed up the glaze, and then tried again. And then tried making the crackers. Which I also screwed up. 3 times. But Tennessee, she wasn't doing anything. And then she kept saying "we" weren't doing anything, but I was - at least I was trying to! And then when I finally asked her to try making crackers, she kept trying to tell me my dough looked fine - but I knew rolled out, it would not work. She finally made some, but only near the end of class. It sounds silly, but my grade depends on her making at least a little bit of effort...

I didn't want to tell her to work - we're friends, and I understand not feeling like working. And I was having a really off night, and thought I might be mean if I opened my mouth, so I just kept my mouth shut.

So I just tried to keep to myself. Which I probably did not do that well. I think it was obvious I was irritated.

But I'm not the only one frustrated with partners. Several other people have mentioned frustrations as well.

Charcuterie

Monday we were in groups of four - whoops, Chef forgot me! And then when someone else remembered me, he misspelled my name. Oh well - it happens! I was with T., Nemo, and Whiskey.

Our menu was:
Summer Melon with Mint
Apricot Cherry Chutney
Whole Grain Mustard and Tarragon Sauce
Tourneed Spiced Potatoes
Marinated Jicama
Pickled Vegetables
Savory Crackers

I made the Apricot Cherry Chutney and Whole Grain mustard and tarragon sauce. We saved the food for tomorrow to practice building platters.

Here's the Apricot Cherry Chutney:
Sweat red onions and garlic, add cider vinegar, honey, orange juice, water, lemon juice, curry powder, coriander, apricots, and cherries and simmer over low flame until thickened. You want the sauce to coat the back of a spoon - but don't wait until it coats while it's heating. It will still be liquidy in the pot because it's so hot - pull it off the heat and allow it to cool and it will stick to the spoon.
This was really good. Sweet, but not overwhelming - you could still taste the vinegar.

This is the whole grain mustard and tarragon sauce:

This was really tangy - I just wanted to eat the whole bowl. But that might have made me really sick. And really fat. Since it's mostly mayo and sour cream... Mix equal parts mayo and sour cream, then mix in whole grain mustard, shallot, garlic, salt and pepper, tarragon, sugar, and lemon juice.

Lessons Learned:
We had a pop quiz tonight. Luckily it was open note. And we got back the other quiz, and I got an 18/20 on it. Sweet... I may pull off a B if I do well on the final practical - those days I was sick really hurt my chances for an A. That, and I don't really think I'll do that well on the practical.

Terrines, Galantines, Pates, Roulades, and Timbales

Thursday and Friday we made more cold dishes. Supposedly, people at fine dining restaurants eat this stuff. But I don't see why. it takes a really long time and effort to make, so I could see why it's only served at expensive places, but why anyone would want to eat it...I don't really get. It just looks gross.

Thursday we made Seafood Roulade, Pate de Campagne, Fennel Mousse. On Friday we made Roasted Vegetable Terrine with Goat Milk Cheese, Roasted Red Pepper Mousee, Red Bean Timbale, and Classic Chicken Galantine.

Terrines and pates are baked forcemeats (ground meat) - terrines are baked in a dish but pates typically have a crust. In our case, the crust is made from pork fatback. A galantine is forcemeat that is wrapped in the skin of the animal it comes from (duck, chicken) and then usually poached. A mousse as the base of the terrine is the pureed meat/fish/vegetable bound with gelatin and lightened with lightly whipped heavy cream.

This, I think, is the seafood roulade - a smooth paste is made out of pike, seasonings, white bread, egg white, and heavy cream (this makes a mousseline) and then diced salmon, diced shrimp, and spices are folded in.

This is Chef working on his Chicken Galantine. First, he deboned the chicken while barely using his knife. This was really impressive to watch. And so much easier than the way we had been taught.

Then this is layering - skin, proscuitto, chicken breasts, mousseline, tenderloins. Then is was rolled up and wrapped in cheesecloth and poached.

This is what my team's looked like:

Not quite as pretty at all - Chef said T tried to overstuff, a common early mistake for chefs.

Lessons Learned

People will pay good money to eat things that aren't even appetizing. Or maybe I just don't know what's good. No major lessons these nights, except that I'm getting worn out. I wish they would allow us breaks in our training besides one institute day every few months.

Cold Soups and Consomme

We had another quiz tonight. He told us to study canapes and smoking/curing, but the quiz was on canapes and sandwiches. I think, though, as a result of everyone's scores on the previous quiz, he thought it would be best to review directly from the quiz. So I might have pulled off a B. I don't really have the best attention span, so even though he was reviewing, I wasn't listening all that well. I really should fix that behavior.

Anyway. I switched teams this night. I worked with Whiskey, Rico, and Irish. Irish made the Aspic Gelee, Whiskey made the Gazpacho Andalusia, Rico made the Cantaloupe soup, and I made the Vichyssoise.

I guess I am able to cook again, since breakfast foods went well, and so did the soup. Vichyssoise is a cold potato soup. I don't usually like cream soups, because I think they're too heavy, but this had less cream because the potatoes help make it thick.

Sweat leeks and onion, then add the sachet (remember: bay leaf, black peppercorns, parsley, and thyme), potatoes and stock. Bring to a full boil, then simmer until potatoes begin to fall apart. Remove and discard the sachet, puree mixture. Mount in butter and cool rapidly. To finish for service, add in half and half, fold in chives, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

All these soups require pureeing. I bought myself a hand blender, which is how I would do this at home. I highly recommend investing in one of those! That way you don't have to make a mess ladling into a blender and then pouring back out again.

We also made a Lime Granite for the cantaloupe soup. This didn't freeze well during class, so we left the cantaloupe soup for the next night. When Irish scraped it up the next day, I had to stop her because she was accidentally scraping up the aluminum from the sheet pan - those curlies were sharp! A granite is just water, sugar, lime zest, and lime juice combined in a shallow pan. Stir evey 25 minutes so it doesn't freeze solid - you want it to be more like slush.

So we have this class next to us, they are also doing the certificate program. There's this one boy, he asked me during baking to send him the photo I took during our huge fest, and he said he would give me his e-mail later. But he never did. But he always smiles at me, and he has a really cute smile. It makes me feel really shy - I always blush and duck my head.

And then there's this other guy. I was in the dish room one night, and this older guy says to me "Smile. I bet you have a beautiful smile." Okay. I hate being told this. I have been told it my entire life. What the hell do people want? Me to walk around with a goofy grin on my face? I smile when I want to, not just randomly. Anyway. Later, this younger guy says something similar to me, and I snapped at him. So then he started saying hello to me before and after class. And this night, I was alone washing dishes, and he came in. He wouldn't come near me, and asked if it's okay - apparently he's worried I'm going to hurt him. I just said I don't believe in violence - not mean or anything. Now, I realize he was flirting. But I'm still sick, and I'm tired in class, and, oh yeah, I kind of am not a fan of boys right now given the way The Boy has been treating me lately. So I don't really feel up for flirting. And then, I was in there alone again, and he came in again, and said we keep running into each other, and what soup did I make? lo and behold, we made the same one... I guess it's fate. Or just that we share the same dish room.

Lessons Learned:

Cold soups are really good and refreshing! I highly recommend the cantaloupe soup for a hot day in summer. Let me know if you want the recipe. But don't eat this vichyssoise unless you can brush your teeth a couple of times: chives, leeks, and onion? That's a strong flavor!

Breakfast Cookery

Chef decided tonight's simple egg recipes did not need to be practiced (scrambled eggs, sunny side up, over easy, over medium, over hard, American omelet, French omelet, and shirred eggs).

We worked in teams of four - me, Nemo, T. and Tennessee. I made the Frittata, French toast, and crepes. T. made the spinach souffle and potato pancakes. Tennesse made the crepe batter and German apple pancake.

Tennessee made a German Apple Pancake. Doesn't that look good? She mixed together eggs, milk, flour, salt, lemon juice, butter, dark brown sugar, and cinnamon. Then she baked and it puffed and browned. She made a simple syrup and warmed the apples, and poured them on top after the pancake was completed.

This was my second try at the crepe.
Compared to someone else's batter, I think our's didn't sit long enough - I don't know much about crepes, but our's seem more like really thin omelettes while their's looked like the ones at the store.


Mmm. I did a good job! My French toast was really good.
Can't you just picture biting into it? That's real maple syrup - we had this giant brown jug of Kraft syrup, but Chef K had the real stuff, and Irish had gotten some from him and gave me her leftovers.

These are the potato pancakes.
I don't know the recipe, because Chef just demoed it, but grate some potatoes, blend in spices and flour with hands, then brown on a griddle. Mmm salty.

This is my spinach frittata.
Wilt spinach, add mushrooms and cook until light brown. Cool. Beat eggs and pour into oven-safe pan. Add in vegetables, and push under egg batter. Cook in the oven. Slide the frittata onto a plate and cute into wedges - make sure to serve before it deflates!

Here's T.'s spinach souffle.
In the bowl, it looked like the whip had fallen and it wouldn't rise in the oven, but it managed to work! I didn't have one - too much food at that point. And you can't save them for later because they fall.

I had to drive to my parent's home after class because I had a conference out by them in the morning. It was just easier doing the drive at midnight than sitting in traffic on the interstate in the morning.

Chef is turning out to be a really nice guy. I think his meds and the pain really got to him last week, because he's been a little more lively this week. He tells stories about his catering of parties, and he's so cute - he gets so excited explaining the menus he's created.

And Chef K, from Culinary I, he's teaching the class next door, and he's always coming over. Supposedly, as a class, we make quite the impression - our chefs love us.

Lessons Learned:

Even when there appear to be a lot of recipes to finish during class, if you work together and divide duties, it isn't really that hard to finish.

And we've been getting out around 11:30 every night - which is great. Just that extra 15 minutes allows me to get to bed around 12:15 or 12:30. I'm still tired the next day, but it's nice to get those 15 minutes.