Galantines, Pates, and Terrines: french Jell-O

so this week was fairly easy going (although still for me, pretty harsh, i think there must be some hex that the classmates put upon me). we made chicken galantines which is a chicken forcemeat mixture that covers a carrot, spinach, and mushroom inlay, wraped boned chicken breast, wraped in its own casing (as in, chicken skin), and the THAT is covered in edible chaud froid, which is basically a bechemel sauce with gelatin so it hardens up. sounds delicious, doesn't it!? well no, even the chef told us he'd pay to NOT eat it. This is very classical french and really for the sake of presentation. Its like taking meatloaf and giving it a Jell-O coat (scarry thought). Needless to say, mine was horrible. My inlays were alll different sizes and got all mushed when i poached them. Finals are next week so I am a bit stressed, but i must get this gallantine right for th final (i did terribly on the last quiz, i think my lowest grade in my whole culinary school career). Finals are crazy hard, and i thought the baking II finals were stressful! I have to make my own buffet (no more groups) and have 10 vegtable carvings plus a melon carving. the thing is, i suck (i'd use a nicer word but, i plainly just "suck") at carving. maybe my fingers are deformed. Its weird cause i thought i might be good at it cause i knit a lot but i suppose being "handy" has nothing to do with your veggie carving skills. I still think i cook veggies, as opposed to making them look like roses. I wonder which lasts longer? anyhow, yesterday we had a test run for next week cause we had a little mini buffet (with only three items though)and my theme was my mother, for mothers day. speaking of which, my next post will be about my mother, she was such an amazing person, i would love to share with you her story.