Thursday, September 15, 2005

Cookin No. 24 - Banquet and the next day














Some of my classmates



Yesterday: I need a back massage. Today was wonderful, and very tiring. I arrived at the school at 11:30, and started cutting romaine lettuce for a Cesar salad, after that I began to cut red leaf lettuce in the chefanade (I have no idea how to spell this) style for a garnish. After that, it’s a blur. So many people were in the kitchen, and most of us new students were kind of in the way. But we learned how to get out of the way quickly, always a good skill.

After we moved down to the banquet area, and met Chef Char, who was going to be the grill master for the evening. He put whole garlic heads, red onions, and sprigs of rosemary and sage right on the grill so they would smoke and fill the area with a wonderful smell. And a wonderful smell it was. My mouth was watering.

Then came time to serve, I found myself at the sushi station, helping people by telling them what was what, offering wasabi and pickled ginger. Everything was going well until the rain started. I watched it come towards me, a wall of water, from the other side of the quad. My first reaction was to find a dry place for my camera, my pockets, and then I grabbed my sushi and ran. After the ceremony people were coming up to us and telling us how impressed they were with how fast we got the food out of there, it must have been 30 seconds and the food was completely inside. After a one minute rain storm we ventured back outside, and started serving again, until the rain came back. That was the end. After that, we grabbed as much food as our mouths would fill, and enjoyed the fruits and meats of our labor. And the pastries oh were they just delicious.

After lugging everything across the campus and into our kitchen, we washed, dried and put everything away; it was time to go home. So here I sit, with a beer and aching feet, feeling very happy with the day.

I got to know some of my fellow students so well, that they are starting to feel like family, like good friends that I never want to loose. Its amazing that after a few weeks, we are so close.

Today: I am sitting in a Smokey jazzy bar, attempting to access the internet. Actually I am the only person smoking, and today the internet is against me. I decided to take a little distraction from the couch, and moved my studying to the Hotel Bethlehem. Figuring this would be the prefect place to access the internet, I decided to kill two birds with one stone. The internet at home is down, and apparently too many business men are using the free hotspot here as well. Apparently someone does not want me to post this entry. Or I should just get my own internet.

The band is wonderful tonight, a piano, an upright base and drums. The men are in nice suits, and the piano player has a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. Around me tourists are enjoying the night, in this nice little lounge, with the polite waiters and good food. The drummer takes a sip of his martini with three olives, and the band takes a break.

I want to take a break from studying. My brain is rebelling, but I am nervous. Tomorrow are the final exams, and its important to me to get wonderful grades. I especially want a 100 on my nutrition final, which I don’t think would be too hard. It would be the first time I received a 100 on my report card since I was in grade school. And that would make me so proud to say I got a 100 %.

Today I had an interview with Dorie from the cheese shot at Wegmans. We interviewed for a full hour and at the end she informed me that I got myself a job! I am so excited; I think that to learn all about cheese would be wonderful for me, especially because I would love to open a wine bar. To know about cheese is like knowing all about wine, a good knowledge to have in the culinary world. And I will be sure to share all of that knowledge with you. If you have never been to a Wegmans, then you are indeed missing out. They really do spoil their customers with wonderful fresh food. The first time I bought a filet of salmon from them, I have to say it was the most beautiful piece of salmon that I had seen. And their cheese shop is not like any other you will find in a regular grocery store, any cheese you could possibly want, they have it. They display their brie as a berry pie, and feature a new wonderful cheese every week. They also have a wonderful olive selection, and even sell caviar. From $80 to $200 you can get top grade caviar. Not that I am a huge caviar fan, but my friend Chris loves the stuff. So I figure when she walks threw the door, I’ll give her the freshest can I can find. Not to play favoritism of course, I will treat all my customers just as well ;). I am also looking forward to working with Dorie as well; she stuck me as a wonderfully nice woman with a wealth of knowledge. Although I am not sure I want to leave the hot dog stand so soon, I am really starting to enjoy myself there, and I feel as if I am getting the hang of running around like a nut. So we will see how things work out, Dorie said that she is very willing to work around my schedule until I figure things out. I love working at Wegmans already, they are willing to work with me, and that’s a wonderful thing to find in a job.

Anywho, the internet seems to be working now, finally, so I am going to post, finish my drink, and blow this Popsicle joint, because I want to be rested for tomorrow, the big day.

The Salmon that we skinned, final presentation.
The pasta station
My sushi station
Desert, glorious desert
Seafood terriene (I am not positive on the spelling) this is the meat loaf of the seafood world
Head Chef Duncan, the man himself with a ice sea horse.






Until next time, Bon Appetite

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Cookin No. 23 - First cuts and more dicing


Today in class we did more prep work for tomorrow’s event. My station was in charge of dicing cucumbers and tomatoes for gazpacho. I am really getting the knack for dicing. And I am getting very comfortable with my knife; I even have a blister on my index finger, which will hopefully turn into a callous soon. After dicing tons of cucumbers and tomatoes, we moved onto roasted peppers. We cut them in half to let the steam out, and then shaving off the charred skin. It was a messy job, but a nice change from dicing.

Other stations were filling mushrooms with a stuffing made of carrots, onions and bacon. Oh it smelled so good in the kitchen. My stomach was rumbling the whole time.

After 4 hours of hard work, we cleaned up and the chef dismissed us. However some of us over zealous students stayed behind to see if we could do anything else, and that is when the chef came out with two whole salmons. He had steamed the salmons whole, with skin and everything, so the meat was cooked, but the fish was intact. He had us cut the skin away, and leave the meat in shape, so that later he will mold gelatin around the fish, and lay cucumbers on the meat so that they look like scales. I will have to take pictures of this tomorrow to show you the finished product.


That is the one hard thing about this; we don’t see the finished product right away. Cooking at home, you have to wait a little, but it’s always there. Here, we only see the raw beginning, and hope that someone took care of our hard work.

After we put the salmon away, we passed the baking section, and smelled the fresh out of the oven chocolate chip cookies. Our mouths were watering, but for fear of some chef’s wrath, we steered clear away. Apparently Chef Duncan was watching us, and was so impressed that we didn’t steal any cookies, he gave us some. Oh they were so good, I can’t wait until a few weeks from now, and I will learn how to make such great things. The only thing that was missing was a glass of milk.

Tomorrow, we don’t have class because of the banquet, however I will be heading into the kitchen to help finish everything up, and then I will be stationed some where in the banquet serving people. I hope I get the grill station, they roasted pork belly.

Now, I head off to study.

Bon Appetite

Monday, September 12, 2005

Cookin No. 22 - First Cuts and Dicing Onions



Today I got my first cut! Well, more like a collision. We were helping the chef with prep work for Wednesday’s banquet, and he put the station I was in to work dicing onions and peppers for a stuffing. So we diced onions, 3 pounds of onions, which really isn’t a whole lot, but enough to get most of my station sniffling. One girl’s eyes turned to red from crying that she looked genuinely upset about something, if she wasn’t laughing you would have thought her boyfriend broke up with her or something. Chef Duncan told us that we cried because we were breathing the onions in threw our nose, so I breathed with my mouth, and for the first time in my life, only one tear came to my eyes, and I was fine. Amazing! However I am getting off track, onto my injury… so I’m dicing onions, and I got to scoop the diced product into the bucket, when another girl goes to scoop hers as well. The tip of her knife found its way into my knuckle, and bam… the first cut of the class. I felt bad for the girl, Jennifer, she was so upset, so I told her it was all my fault, and I should have been paying more attention. In all reality, it was no one’s fault, shit happens. I just washed myself off, borrowed a band-aid from her, and went on dicing. The chef wanted to inspect my wound though, to make sure it wasn’t serious, but all is well. Now my knuckle is a little black and blue.



Most of the people in my station stayed after class to keep dicing and other work, and Chef Duncan told us that we were the high achievers of the class, and knew that we would all do well in the program. That made me feel really good. I intended to be a high achiever, and I’m glad that it can be seen.

This weekend was filled with work. On Sunday, I was the only employee who showed up to work, so it was just me and the boss working the shop. We made a good team though, and worked threw the tons of orders as fast as we could. It actually felt good to be working like a nut, and it seems that I am getting used to being on my feet for a long period of time, they didn’t start hurting until the last hour.

Onto studying for my sanitation final on Friday.

Bon Appetite

Friday, September 09, 2005

Cookin No. 21 - Knife Skills



Today we entered the kitchen in our full uniforms, and began our first mission… slicing and dicing carrots. We learned the proper way to hold our chef knives, the proper way to slice and dice, and the proper way to not loose a finger.



First, holding the knife is a lot different than how I have spent my entire life holding a knife. You want to take you index finger, and rest it on the blade itself, right where the blade and the handle meet, and then you wrap the three of your remaining fingers around the handle. I can’t believe the amount of control I had with the knife when I put this technique into place.



Second, cutting the produce, (after you wash and peel it), you use your index finger from your knifeless hand, and curl the first section so it is pointing strait down, and use that as a guide for all your cuts. Basically you run the knife down your finger into the flesh of the carrot. But don’t cut yourself! At first, it seemed terrifying, my partner Jeremy and I were wincing each time we made a cut, thinking that our fingers were going to go flying off the table. After a few slices though, it was easy to get the hang of. The other important technique is to use the first 1/3 of the knife, which is the chopping area of the knife, and with the proper way of holding the knife, it is a very strong portion of the knife.

Unfortunately I was collecting the slices of carrots from everyone, so I missed the dicing practice, but it looked easy enough. I think that I will hit up Wegman’s and purchase a carrot, for some good old chopping time.

On Monday, we go back into the kitchen to learn about mincing, poaching and frying. Then we start helping prep for a big event for the college on Wednesday. Which I can’t wait to help out with, there is going to be lobster, caviar, and other delicious goodies, and the chef said that he will feed us.

So until then, practice your knife skills.

Bon Appetite

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Cookin No. 20 - The Amazing Discovery of Cheese

So, it has been quite some time. I have fell by the wayside, and abandoned ship, completely neglecting this project of mine. I am so sorry. All I can say is that school has defiantly turned my world upside down. First off, I absolutely love culinary school. Second, I am dog tired. So far, we have been kept from the sanctity of the kitchen, and have been sitting in uncomfortable desks learning about sanitation and nutrition. Which are very interesting subject, but I am getting antsy to start cooking!

Yesterday, I took my first test in 5 years, and I received a 100! I am so pleased with myself. I am really taking to nutrition, and it is a subject that I may want to pursue in the future. Carbohydrates are fascinating. Today we discussed proteins, did you know that the discovery of cheese came about from cow stomachs? When an animal was slaughtered, they would take out the stomach, blow it up and dry it out, and use it as a container for liquids. Well cow stomachs have a naturally occurring acid in them called rennet, and when milk was added to these stomach containers, they found that the milk curdled and eventually turned into cheese. The history of food is amazing to me.

Anyway, I will make a better attempt on updating, because I want to share all my knowledge. However, I need some sleep now, I have just finished my homework, and my eyes need a little rest.

Until next time, Bon Appetite