Creme Brulee!

i'll write more about this tomorrow morning, i just wanted to show you my brulees. One is covered in sugar in the raw and the other is regular granulated. can you tell which ones which? anyhow, my chef really liked it, and it was so much fun to crack it! just like Amelie's favorite past time (does anybody remember that from the movie?)

The Charlotte Royal, and is culinary school right for you?

Here's the Charlotte royal i made monday. When we present a cake, we need to slice it, put it on a platter, and pipe our names and the dish name in choclate around the rim (so long to my annonyminty, now you know my name!). To be honest, i didn't like it, not just the fact that a messed up the sponge but i just didn't like the taste. Its filled with Bavarian cream, and i am not big on creams. I dont know, this isn't exactly my kind of dessert, I like chocolate and nutty-ness to my desserts, this was kinda lacking although pistachios did encrust the bottom as you can see.
Anyhow, when i read over some of the responses to my interview over at workout mommy's blog,many people said how much they've always wanted to go to some sort of culinary school or program. I hear this a lot, i went to the grocery store a few times in my uniform (which i dont this i will do again because i get stopped all the time and people ask me "which is the best dressing?" or "can you choose my fish?". It was fun at first, kind of like being a celebrity, but like celebs, it gets annoying) and many clerks told me, "wow, your in culinary school?! You know I ;ve always wanted to go". Sure they want to go, but its a bit like working out, they seem to find some excuse from actually doing it and they dream about it, thinking its a far fetched idea and too drastic of a decision to actually put into action. So i thought I'd give a quick rundown about whether or not its a good decision for you. every one's different, of course, but this is simply how i come to see it since starting:

-You dont really want to be a chef. Well, neither do i, but its cool to know i could. Anyhow, i dont think culinary school is all about making young aspiring chefs. the knowledge you gain is invaluable in MANY fields and believe it or not, it is impressive even on a resume for a law firm. Why? well for one, i dont think theres a better way to really learn about team work, multi-tasking (especially when you only have an hour to make 7 cookie batters like i did on Tuesday!), leadership, and communication. Its more hands on than anything you'll get in a college or university. and there's loads of directions you can take the culinary educations that does not involve being a chef. you can be food writer, food critic, recipe developer, caterer, restaurateur, food stylist, personal chef, etc. Many people in my school are also older people that left their dead end jobs because they were so unhappy and just want to enhance their beloved hobby.

-You can't afford it. Most culinary school cost as much as a year in an ivy league college, but there are LOADS of scholarship opportunities and grants you can qualify for (like if you keep up good grades). Not to mention most school will offer financial aid. this didn't actually help my situation because my dad thankfully is paying for it and we're middle class, so he makes too much to get a substantial financial aid grant. Also, once you enroll many special event promoters (like for swanky parties and premieres) love to recruit culinary studeent for their events and they pay nicely (from 10-20$ an hour). you basically will never have to settle for minimum wage again, believe me, a culinary education will hellp you get better jobs in any food extablishment

-Its too drastic. well is it? many people think its crazy to do something they love so much, like WE SHOULD dread going to work/school. most culinary programs are about 1 year to 2 years so its not a lifelong commitment, and you can always drop out (and it not beauty school with matching "grease" remind you of it). Yes it will be a change, but if cooking is something you love you'll enjoy the drastic change.

Look, I was sitting in a 300 person lecture hall learning about the Yanomamo tribe in Bali when I THOUGHT i would be learning about acting and drama which was my major in college. I was unhappy, and just trying to get throught each day, hoping it would be over soon. I felt so unproductive, like i was running on a tredmill (and a bad, squeaky one at that, you know the kind that make all the noise and people stare at you funny in the gym because of it becuase its distracting). I still love acting, but i love cooking too and I love learning about something i care about. I look forward to the next day! I love that I get to make creme brulee on monday (puts manic monday to shame!). I think we too often supress our aspirations because we think its bad to do something you love SOOOOO much. But i have yet to meet someone that went to culinary school and regreted it. again, its like working out, you never workout and say "hmm, i really am sorry i did that".

Plated Dessert!

this was my first plated dessert i did on Monday. Its a banded chocolate mousse cake i was talking about. Its made out of the layered cut out devils food cake with chocolate mousse, I froze it and then made a band of chocolate (with, as you can see, very girly designs). We had to present it with two sauces a creme angalise (which is the white one, made with milk, cream, vanilla sugar, and egg yolks) and a cooked fruit sauce of our choice. I like that theres not real recipe for the other sauce because it really gave me creative control. I could have gone a little nuts and made like a ginger orange or infused it with cinnamon. but it was my first plated dessert and our chef said less is more. plus i wanted a nice, not too overpowering flavor to go with the chocolate cake, which is really rhe focal point of the dish, not the sauce. The creme anglaise it sweet and vanilla-y, so i went with a raspberry cooked fruit sauce with a little lemon as my acid. I have a quiz on Monday on the components of a fine dining plated desserts and as you may be able to tell from this plate what they are:

1)Main item (the mousse cake)
2) chocolate (pretty obvious)
3)cream (the creme anglaise)
4) Crunch (the banded chocolate and the chocolate garnish)
5) sauce (the creme anglaise and the raspberry)

for a well BALANCED dessert, i need to know these 5 components:
1) flavor (sweet, tart, nutty, etc you want them to complement, sweet on sweet is a bit of an over kill)
2) texture (like the creaminess of the sauces, the airiness of the mousse, the crunch of the chocolate, etc)
3) color (i wanted the band color to match my sauce, i could have used an orange decoration with a orange type sauce)
4) design (you want to design your plate nicely, make portions small because our chef said "this isn't sizzler or claim jumper" and you don't want people to share because it means everyone can order their own which = more $, also you want to create a height and a real "wow" factor. Haven't you ever been to a restaurant and a server walks by with someones tray and your like "WOW! I WANT THAT!", that what your going for, but you also want to keep it simple. Luckily, she told me mine was good in that it was still dramatic but not too busy, simplicity is always good).
5) temp (like the hot souffle I made last night which is served hot from the oven immediately or it will deflate, but its served with a cute small pitch of the creme anglaise which is cold, you poke a hole in the middle of the souffle and the coolness of the cream and the hot chocolate souffle make a great balance!)

so there you have it, a semi-brief 101 on fine dining desserts. I really suggest you indulge in them every once in a while. Don't spend a fortune at at the four seasons for a fillet minion (although if you have the spare $, by all means). go to a really nice fine dining establishment and just order one other their desserts. Yes its not super healthy, but potions are sensible, prices are not crazy because its not like lamb or caviar, and you'll get a really fabulous taste adventure, you'll look at oreos and think, "hmm....thats kinda pathetic...".

Cookie Explosion!

We did our charlotte Royal yesterday along with our first plated dessert of banded chocolate mousse cake (i took pics they'll be up soon..). I'll explain them once i get the pics up.
Today we made 6 different types of cookies! like biscotti, sable (french cookies that look like checkerboards), earthquake cookie, and some others that just slipped my mind ( i just got home, bare with me i feel like collapsing). I promise to get the pics up soon and talk about the plated desserts!

From Chef, to Actor!

Well friday we put together a charlotte russe (aka a "jelly roll"" which is supposed to be this sponge cake with rasberry jelly rolled in it, sliced, and then lined on a bottom of a bowl and then filled with bavarian cream and then frozen. Since i promised you i am not a baker, of course my sponge cake was overdone so it didnt roll nicely so my charlotte (hee hee, charlotte, if your reading this, know i thought about you when our instructor told us, "ok, so today were are going work on your charlotte!") is a bit deformed. Then we took that left over devils food cake and cut out litte circles to make a "band of chocolate" which is a peice of the devils food layered with chocolate mousse three times. we froze those too because on monday, we'll learn how to creat a chocolate "band" to wrap them. They are a small dessert or what we call in culinary school "plated dessert". This upcoming week will be all about plated dessert. A plated dessert is like a dish, it need to have five components (texture, cruch, flavor, creaminess, and chocolate) and be well balanced. Its neat because this is part of the class that does not involve a recipe, we make the sauces ourselves. Most start the same, some boil fruit with a little simple syrup, blended in a blend with an added acid like citrus of vinegar. Some chefs are ballsy and add salt, but our chef instructor told us you should be VERY experienced if you want to add salt because if you add to much, theres no taking back and you have to make a whole new batch. After the sauce is blended, you strain (cause the "crunch" factor should come from raspberry seeds), and then heat or cool it until it thickens up to a nice consistency. I am so excited because i cant wait to finally use my creativity and really wow someones taste buds. I am think maybe doing a ginger organe sauce of maybe fig and honey? Usually there are 2 sauces on a plate that should balance each other (like sweet and tart). See the difference between this baking class and the other one. Anyhow, besides that, sunday morning is my UCLA theater audition and I am nervous as hell. I've been so focused on cooking that i am afraif i am out of shape for my other passion for the stage. they are very cut throught there, not a lot of spots. I am doing a contemporary monologue and a classical one. I like the contemporary one, its from the vagina monologues, lots of cussing, totally me. the other i am nervous about, its chekov and i never liked russian theater all that much when i studied it in college. Anyhow, i got a haircut today (so i look at least a little like my head shot) so hopefully my confidence will be up and i'll be able to put my apron down and be an actor, well at least for tomorrow...

Dobos Torte!

So this is my pathetic eight layered Dobos Torte. Itsa hungarian dessert with eight sponge layers, choclate butter cream with brandy simple syrup washed on it and carmel encased sponge waffers on top. I am sorry for the slice missing but the chef needs a piece to try in this class when we present them. I will go over more in detail about the disaster that happended from the Balck Forest Cake later today...but for now heres the latest pic.

Welcome to Baking II!

so baking II began and heres a first, our instructor is....a girl! She seems nice, looks a lot like aa younger verision of Oprah. She seems super serious though, i tried to crack a few jokes here and there, i am usually good at getting even the most serious of people to loosen up and crack a smile, but she just barely did. O well, my baking I chef (who's actually teaching next door!) told me she's sweet. We made Devils food cake and a dobo eleven layer cake. We didn't assemble them because we'll make a black forrest cake tomorrow with the devils food and this hungarian eleven layer cake with a carmel wafer on thursday. So i will take pics of my cake tomorrow for all of you to marvel at my baking inempt-ness. This class is ALL desserts, we'll be doing cookies, hot souffles, truffles, petit fours, sorbets, and all these of intricate sugar pieces. Defiently no waitning around waiting for breads to proof and bake like in baking I. Azelma, dont be so jealous, but you know theres tha same class i take that here at school that goes from 6-11 am! good lord i'd have to get up at four am! i could never do that schedule, me and the morning dont mix!