Why I Cook - Not JUST For The Holidays!

If you were to ask my immediate family...or even the few people who have lived with me...they will tell you I DON'T cook. HILARIOUS isn't? Most people judge me, most people think I'm lying, most people think I'm just a joke. 

Well, if truth be told...when I'm home alone and living what currently feels like my pre-planned, revolving, predictable life; I just eat to stay alive (these days I'm making a point to make my consumption's more healthier). But I would be lying to if I said I cooked a gourmet meal every night, every other night, or even every week. 

As ridiculous as this may sound....the reason I don't cook much at home is because I'm an extrovert. I feed off of other peoples energy. The thought of people coming together, jolts my inner "Joan" (you have to watch Girlfriends to get it but if you don't you can just use "entertainer"). I want to pull out all my All-Clad pots that I don't have, my tricks, the recipes I've saved, a bottle of wine and turn the music UP! This is who I am although many people just don't get my logic. 

Not that I had ANY intentions on changing who I am...my feelings and thought process became justified a few weeks ago. One day, I opened my mailbox and screamed that my December edition of Bon Appetite came! (this scream/squeal....occurs monthly). Finally...taking a moment to crack it open and suddenly....BOOM!!!

I landed on a Swanson advertisement that explained who Chef Ce....REALLY IS. These are the VERY EXACT reasons WHY I COOK and NOT JUST for the holidays. So there....I'm not so crazy after all....even Swanson made an advertisement about me! :-) 

I'm weeks late but I will call this my Thanksgiving post. I've shared some pics from Thanksgiving Week (its NEVER just a Day with a foodie).

The week began with some friends coming over for a pre-Thanksgiving meal. My roommate and I thought it would be a cute and fun way to share some love. I will admit, I didn't do much cooking on this day but I'm a good overseer and food rescuer (aren't I Ades???) While the Baked Mac and Cheese and Herb Crusted Cornish Hens were baking in the oven...I decided to help create an atmosphere for ENTERTAINING!! 

Old-school jams played in the background, candles were lit, and I attempted to shuffle a new deck of cards (its not a party if Spades isn't involved). And that random book you see in the background.......is a Busboys and Poets menu that was accidentally taken from the restaurant...(SORRY ABOUT THAT)

Anyone who knows my Daddy....KNOW'S about "Major's Brew". It's ONLY the BEST Iced Tea known to man lol. So I decided to be a little creative and swap out Lipton for my favorite tea, "Tazo Passion". It is still a work in progress but we are off to a GREAT start!

FINALLY....Feast Time!!! Cornish Hens, Broccoli, Mac & Cheese, Stuffing, Whole Wheat Rolls, Salad w/ Fig Basalmic. Served on our cute Ikea table, paper plates and real silverware! What a fun filled night! It was great to create new memories and celebrate a big holiday in my own apartment....this is definitely something I want to remember!

After a CRAZY drive home to NYC for the holidays BUT before going out with my friends....I made time to make some pate sucree (shortbread-cookie-like-pie-crust) for my pear and almond tart (an FCI lesson turned into a family favorite). I had to take a picture of my kitchen aid in action! It made making pie crust a BREEZE. My mom's old mixer would have overheated and started smoking by now (hahahaha j/k mom).

AAHHHH the ORIGINAL crock pot....it's my mother's. It's 4 am on Thanksgiving day and I just walked into the house. Before crawling into my bed....I came up with the idea of waking my family up to some spiced hot apple cider. I filled up the crock pot with apple cider and half of the seasonings in my cabinet (cinnamon sticks, star anise, allspice, nutmeg...uummm I think that's all lol). By 9 o'clock, I rolled out of the bed and whipped up some sweet potato biscuits and sausage to accompany the hot spiced drink. Already, I had my families taste buds prepared for DINNER YUUUMMMM!

AAAAHHHH the Cranberry Sauce! Just washed the cranberries and threw it in the pot. Added a cinnamon stick, sugar fresh orange juice and orange zest. Placed it on the back of the stove, turned it on low, and went about my merry way. Such an EASY dish. MY PEOPLE...leave that canned garbage alone!

Another super easy dish, Roasted Vegetables. This dish is like a blank canvas. No recipe needed. Go to your favorite supermarket and find the freshest veggies that are in season. Wash and cut them up in bite sized pieces. Add a few garlic cloves and chopped onions, sprinkle with salt and pepper. For an added touch drizzle some Blood Orange Olive Oil!! Toss in a bowl, spread out in a cookie sheet, bake at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes and VOILA! (this pic was taken before the roasting). Roastings adds such a beautiful flavor to food. Many people want to go OVERBOARD ingredients. Sometimes its good to stick with the basics and let your cooking techniques add the flavor that your want to your food.  

There were many other side dishes that accompanied Thanksgiving Dinner but being the chef and the photographer was a bit much for me, so unfortunately many dishes got left out. BUT the main star took a second for his photo-op! For starters...I'm a brine-er! Knowing I wouldn't make it to New York until the day before Thanksgiving, I had my sous chefs (thanks mom and dad) put my bird in his nice, cool, salty, apple cidery, herby (okay, I'll stop now) bath for 2 days. Following Anne Burrell's advice in her Brined Her-Crusted Turkey w/ Apple Cider Gravy recipe...I took the turkey out of the brine the night before, rubbed the herb butter under and over the skin and let it sit the fridge overnight, uncovered. Thanksgiving morning, I cut up some mirepoix, added some stock and apple cider and let him bake away. Hope you like my before and after pics! (For the record, I also made Anne's Sausage Cornbread Stuffing as well! AWESOMENESS).

I couldn't move on without posting a Thanksgiving consumption after-math. PRICELESS!!!! (love you bro-ham!!!)

A couple of GREAT friends (more so family) and I went out to a chocolate & wine bar we discovered a year ago, out in the village. It's called Ayza. Small and quaint place. Never ordered a meal but their wines and desserts have NEVER disappointed me. I finally ventured out and suggested we order the chocolate fountain. Wellllll I kind of thought it was going to be a chocolate fountain....but it was more like fondue. BUT it was awesome nonetheless. Bananas, strawberries and even pretzels dipped in chocolate is a GIVEN but MY favorite combo is pineapple and chocolate *drools* 

The following day, my family and I celebrated a milestone birthday for my Aunty! We went out for brunch on the Spirit of New York cruise and had an amazing time. Delicious food (as you can see) and even some dancing! #goodtimes #family&food

Lastly....I COULDN'T HELP MYSELF...I had to post this super cute pic of my parentals at my Aunt's shin-dig! LOVE THEM!!! You guys are my biggest supporters and I can't wait to experience the love that you two have!

WELL GUYS....THANK YOU FOR TAKING TIME OUT TO READ MY BLOG. WISHING EVERYONE A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY HOLIDAY!!!

(there is no better way to show holiday love...than offering it from NYC!)

UNTIL NEXT TIME!

*smooches and dueces*

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE FOOD!!!

Is that a Chinet commercial embedded in my blog post???!!! YES, YES IT IS! Why, you may ask...well simply because it expresses EVERYTHING I stand for.

If you do not mind, let's back up for a moment.

I will start by making the disclaimer that I cannot speak for every culture or household when I make this statement but...by the time most children turn 18 they are expected to have a plan. What college are you going to? What will you major in?? What do you want to do after college??? What is your purpose???? What is your life time goal?????

*ssscccrrrreeeeeccccchhhhhh* WAIT...HOLD UP A MINUTE. A plan? I'm 18 years old, all I know about life is going to school and you want me to tell you my life long plans?? I barely know myself, let alone my purpose. If you ask me, 18 is just way too young for people to make a definitive decision on what they want to do for the remainder of their ENTIRE LIFE. Not to mention, these questions not only suggest but cultivate young minds to think that you can only do ONE thing in life...and I beg to differ.

Sometimes I feel like we make up something, anything, just to appease the people around us. Or, we make up something, anything, to make us appear to be more grounded, established, or mature than what we really are. We've created a facade of this GREAT life but on the inside we don't even know who we are anymore. Suddenly we wake up and realize that we have boxed our selves into a life that we are constantly screaming to get out of but we are to scared to do so. "I mean....What would others think??" People will think I'm unstable and can't make up my mind. What about the money my parents spent OR the "mortgage-size" amount of student debt I have hounding me EVERY month. How are you supposed to explain the degree you never used. The money and time you feel you "wasted". What do you do when you find out your true desire is to be a musician, a model, a chef, OR pack up all your belongings to become a missionary in a third-world country.

We constantly drive our lives according to other peoples thoughts or even desires for us. It's like we HAVE to follow a certain protocol or timeline. Point being, we do not have to search for cookie cutter pathways to live our lives...let YOUR passion drive you...WHATEVER it may be, DARE to be different. Do not let other peoples thoughts and opions hinder you but instead, take a chance, be ECLECTIC and be AMBITIOUS! 

College is SO MUCH MORE than the piece of paper you receive 2 weeks after graduation, that recruiters and hiring managers in the "real world" could care less about. College offers a GREAT growing opportunity to discover who you are, what makes you tick and more importantly what makes you happy...thus beginning to unveil your purpose(s) in life.

I'm a firm believer that God has equipped me to do a lot of things...and none of them align with the life-long plan I wrote down during my freshman orientation class in college lol. But that is okay, I needed those experiences to get to where I am now.

After undergrad, I went to culinary school to pursue my passion. I walked in kind of blind, I wasn't absolutely sure what I wanted to do with my degree in culinary arts but somehow, once again I began to feel the walls closing in on me. The constant questions of "Do you want to work in a restaurant?" "Do you want to cater?" "How about pastry?" "Wow! you spent all that money and you're still not working in the industry?" OMMMGGGGG PLEASE STOP THE MADNESS!!!

A couple months ago I had the pleasure and honor of catering a house warming for a good friend of mine. In the middle of the party, as I was placing more honey teriyaki chicken skewers on a platter, I took a moment and scanned the open room. It was filled with her family, friends, co-workers. Various people who have never met each other before that day and they all came together to celebrate a huge milestone and blessing for someone they all cared about. Moreover, the room that had all the food, is the same room that strangers began to become acquaintances. Chatter and laughter filled the dinning room as they all placed their favorite bites on their plate. At that moment, it hit me. IT'S ALL ABOUT THE FOOD! Food brings people together. The holidays are filled with gatherings but it always comes together when food is involved. A girls night out of town, an anniversary dinner, a group of almost strangers wanting to experience a new restaurant, whatever the case may be....you can ALWAYS get a group of people to gather together when food is involved.

Entertaining has become such a lost art as we become so consumed with our own lives. The advancement of technology has taken away the simple pleasures in life; like having a few neighbors gather in your house to enjoy a delicious meal and each others company. I desire to bring it back. This is what I am passionate about!!! Chinet so eloquently puts it as "discovering the lost art of getting together".

I decided to post a few pics that were taken at the party! Take a look! AND if you have not pressed play on the above Chinet commercial...please do. They are NOT paying me to advertise but I just think the commercial is awesome! 

AND feel free to leave your own thoughts about your Eclectic Ambition, I would love to hear about it!!

Stay tuned for more to come!

*smooches & dueces*

~Cece~

WWWWAAAAYYYYY OVER DUE!!!!

Ironically, I recently became terribly sick...which caused me to take a day off of work. While laying half dead on the bed and my head feeling like it's about to burst, Julie & Julia came on. I began to feel horrible and nonetheless...convicted about my neglect to my blog.

For the past 3 months I've been interning at the NYC Department of Probation, in hopes to accelerate with my degree in Finance. Unfortunately, that has not happened. Am I mad? No, I know God has a better plan, so I'll just trust Him.

As I began to put life in perspective, I realized how much I dislike sitting behind the desk. My internship has allowed me to gain a large amount of experience but on the same note, I'm genuinely happy in the kitchen. And since I am spending $37,000 to be professionally trained in an industry that I love, why am I allowing time to pass me by and not work hard to pursue my culinary career? Because I want a larger paycheck? Pure foolishness, some may judge, but this is my life, and I intend to live it to the fullest, have joy in my heart and a smile on my face.

I look forward to the day when I will make quite a few PRETTY pennies, while waking up and doing what I love, doing what doesn't feel like a job!

With that said let me give you a quick catch up on my school experiences:

Level 3 was quite intense but I loved every minute of it. It has a "restaurant like" set up with a gardemanger, poissonier, saucier, and patissier station. We rotated sections daily, and rotated menu's every 4 classes. This level teaches time management, sense of urgency, using skills you've learned thus far, and allowing you the opportunity to be more independent and creative.

At the end of level 3, you take a midterm, and you have to cook two dishes that you've cooked during the whole level, but it's picked out of a quart container, lol...SURPRISE!! Good thing my chef was nice enough to give us 4 possibilities, so that made things less stressful.

On to level 4…I started first in Family Meal....WHICH I LOVED!!! It teaches a lot about large quantity cooking, but what made things even better was my chef was extremely creative and love to throw new things on the menu for the night!!!!

Then off to Buffet....what an experience.....9 people bunched up in a TINY, HOT KITCHEN!!!! It was stressful, and we constantly got on each other nerves, but we tried to keep the peace and produce a good, no-theme, buffet LMBO!!! BUT IT WAS STILL GOOD!!! Luckily, after attending a student rep meeting the other day, I was informed that the structure of level 4 will change in May, and it will be placed on the 5th floor, which equals a bigger space, so new students....LOOK FORWARD TO IT!!!

The last section in level 4 is production, where you butcher meat and fillet fish for the restaurant....this section is turning out better that expected. This is the section I am currently in, and in a couple of days I'll be on to level  5. L'ECOLE!!! I'm amped!!!

So below I have a couple of pics: stay tunned, I am going to try my darndest to be more dedicated to writing about my experiences, because things are about to get EVEN MORE INTERESTING!!!!

A picture with my deans!!! TRUE INSPIRATION...and they are hilarious!!!

Level 3..plating "Boeuf Bourguignon"

Don't mind that plate of chicken, it was already presented to th chef, so we just piled it on one pate wit intentions of eating it later lol

A most recent pic of me, this is production, and I had the joy to filleting this humongous sea bass!!

HOPE YOU ENJOYED! SMOOCHES AND DUECES!!

IM MAKING ANOTHER APPEARANCE!!

I know...these blogs are becoming farther and farther apart lol

So, I'm currently half way through level 2 and things are on the up and up. I'm getting used to the kitchen, cooking, standing and being hot lol but I LOVE IT ALL!!!!

The beginning of Level 2 we cooked a couple of things, chicken, beef stew...perfecting technique...then we had a lesson that took a turn for the worst....ORGAN MEATS!!!...Liver, Kidney, tongue, sweet breads (google it) lol yea...quite interested and disgusting...not my cup of tea...but the main point is for me to know how to cook it, if a customer wants it, I have to give them what they WANT...

fried sweet breads on top of creamy polenta (i make them look tasty huh)

After that, things got sweeter, literally,I've been doing pastry for the past couple of weeks....cakes, pies, tarts, doughs, ice cream, sorbet, souffle, moose....EVERYTHING AND MORE...here are some pics

CREME CARAMEL (FLAN) TOPPED WITH BLUEBERRIES 

BAVARIAN CREAM, MADE INTO A CHARLOTTE (STRAWBERRIES AND LADY FINGER CAKES AS THE BASE) 

 APPLE TART

 WHOLE EGG FOAM BASED CAKE, LAYERED AND COVERED WITH AMARETTO FAVORED BUTTER CREAM, AND GARNISHED WITH ALMONDS

 CREPE SUZETTE...ANOTHER NIGHT WITH FLAMBE!!!

PUFF PASTRY FILLED WITH PASTRY CREAM, TOPPED WITH ASSORTED FRESH SEASONAL FRUIT!

HOPE YOU ENJOYED, LEAVE A COMMENT STATING SO LOL..AND ILL KEEP YOU POSTED, WE ARE MOVING ON TO NUTRITION NOW...funny right, pastry then nutrition...lol

*SMOOCHES AND DEUCES*

MAJOR CATCH UP!!!

HEY GUYS!!!

I know I am wwwwaaaayyyyyy behind but these past few weeks have been hectic, trying to balance school and a new job (that I'm about to quit) lol. But any who, I have time now so let me try to give you a short synopis of what I've been doing. Since my last blog, I've learned how to fillet fish and cook various fish dishes.

I've made lobster, mussels, scallops, escargot and learned a whole lot about sea food (which I love so I am so happy).

I've cooked chicken, duck, quail, filet mignon, beef medallions, pork chops, pork loin, lamb chops, lamb stew....I think that's all lol it's jut been so much!

Here are some more pics (sorry I dont have more, but sometimes I'm on a time constraint, and I just dont have enough time to take a pic.

I also volunteered at my school for this event called the New York Culinary Experience. This is like a weekend conference where normal people come and are taught various recipes by well renowned chefs. I volunteered with Bill Telepan and Ben Pollinger.

Below are my stalker pics of Morimoto and Marcus Samuelsson.

Yesterday evening I just took my final for Level 1 AND I PASSED, OFFICIALLY MOVED ON TO LEVEL 2 AND I'M SO EXCITED!!!!

DISCLAIMER, I WROTE THIS LAST WEEK AND REALIZED I NEVER POSTED IT!!! I CURRENTLY JUST FINISHED MY 4TH DAY OF CLASS IN LEVEL 2!! (ill post more by the weekend)

FOOD PRESERVATION AND SALADS!!

HEY GUYS!!! I'M HERE, EXCITED AND READY TO WRITE!!

I thought about writing about Tuesday's class but I felt like there wasn’t much to write so I decided to combine Tuesday and Thursday’s class!

Tuesday was about food preservation, salting, curing, brine's, canning and everything in between. Its funny how back in the day what people discovered as food preservation for droughts and famines, we now use because IT TASTE GOOD!!! Well, in any sense, we owe it all to Nicolas Appert, who first discovered canning and sterilization (aka appertization). So on the menu tonight included gravlax and duck confit. Gravlax is cured salmon, and duck confit is cured duck that is later cooked slowly in its own fat. The duck taste amazing: I didn't try the gravlax on Saturday, it’s still curing. Then we preserved jardinière vegetable and lemons (two separate recipes. Lastly we made brandade and codfish fritters; both these recipes included salted codfish but in the brandade it’s mixed with mashed potatoes and for the fritter recipe its mixed in a batter and deep fried…again BOTH WERE GREAT!!!

TO MAKE CANING SOUND EVEN MORE INTERESTING (and if you love summer fruit and alcohol) read this link, a classmate (thanks Rebecca) sent it to me and you might find it interesting: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/22/dining/22appe.html?_r=1

BTW…I can’t remember if I stated that last week I misplaced my ladle…IT WAS FOUND YAY!!!

So for Thursday’s class….aaalllll about salads, believe it or not but it was an intense lesson. We learned about simple salads, mixed salads, and composed salads, we learned about various lettuces, salad greens, and several salad components such as beets and bell peppers. I have pictures of 2 or the 3 salads me and my (new) partner made (we changed partners again today and I love her, she’s so sweet!)

This is a cooked vegetable salad: carrots, turnips, peas, & string beans, tosses in a mayonnaise and basil puree dressing, topped with a tomato fondue, on top of cucumbers

This is sweet and bitter greens with tomato and herbs, tossed in sherry vinaigrette

Hope you like them!!! (disclaimer, the third salad tasted really good but my presentation wasn’t the best, so I didn’t take a picture, but it’s called salad niçoise: tuna, anchovy fillets, plum tomatoes, red skin potatoes, hard boiled eggs bell peppers and haricots verts, boston lettuce, drizzled with vinaigrette

Unfortunately classed ended with a classmate almost chopping her finger off and having to go to the hospital…WE LOVE YOU MAURA!!! GET WELL SOON!!!

On my way out of the classroom and making good with the bread people, I was able to take home a French baguette, a loaf of rye bread with flax seeds, and another bread with raisins and nuts (apologize for not remember the name) but my family and I are enjoying the free bread!

So that was my week at FCI, looking forward to tomorrows class, all about potatoes….and a class outing after class, should be interesting!!!

*smooches and deuces*

SWEET SABAYON OVER WARM BROWNIES OOOWWW!!!!!!!

HEY GUYS!!!

SSSOOO hanging around the house today and I made a sweet sabayon sauce (that I learned how to make this past Thursday) and topped in with brownies that I baked (no its not from scratch). Luckily I found some table wine...which tasted fairly sweet to me, I don't think its a dessert wine but any who, I tried it, AND IT WAS GREAT GO MEEE *bbm dancing face*

So yea, I did have class last night right?
Yea this blog entry won't be too long. Last night I think I had my first breaking point....IT WAS  A LOT! I did have a little test which was fairly easy. But we had 4 soups to make, from scratch of course: split pea soup (which I kinda burned :-( ), vegetable soup, french onion soup, and beef consomme. Again, it was a lot to do in 5 hours, I didn't feel like myself, I was stressed, kept burning myself, a lot of people kept cutting themselves, most of us didn't even have time to have family meal, because we had to complete our dishes. But I made it through and was more than ready to get out of FCI that night.

Needless to say, I LOVE COOKING AND I LOVE FCI, lol I look forward to Tuesday's class, pickled vegetables, duck confit and more :-) Soon, I will be posting more pics of me in my whites, some more of my classmates and my upcoming dishes, stay tuned!

*smooches & deuces*

CATCHING UP!

Man....I'm really slacking lol BUT I'm HERE!!! SSSOOOO WHERE DO I BEGIN...

Tuesday: Classic Sauces, Binding Elements & Glazes

What an interesting day, like any other. I walked in the classroom and started preparing for the evening. We've become accustomed to not only just setting up our station with a cutting board and sanitation but getting all the ingredients we need for the recipes we plan to cook for the evening. Within seconds I realized the classroom was different....Chef McHottie WAS ABSENT...OH MY LIFE!!! HOW IN THE WORLD DID HE THINK ME AND REST OF THE GIRLS IN THE CLASSROOM WERE GOING TO SURVIVE :-/

Nonetheless back to the lecture. We learned about the 5 mother sauces: sauce velouté, sauce espagnole, sauce hollandaise, sauce béchamel, and sauce tomate (tomato). We also covered making binding elements and the most common is roux (flour & fat), but you can also make a beurre manié (uncooked flour & butter), roasted flour, singer (flour sprinkle on a sautéed or roasted item), vegetable purée, double cream, egg yolks, and liaison (egg yolks & heavy cream). Lastly we learned about glazes, which is just a stock reduced to a syrupy consistency...

So my partner and I made 5 sauces, sauce espagnole, sauce béchamel, chicken veloute, white wine sauce, wine & mushroom sauce aka chateaubriand....let's focus on that sauce, it's commonly served over filet mignon, I've seen it on a menu before but I guess I never paid attention to it. That chateaubriand is a type of sauce...with out the sauce, the dish doesn't deserve the nice fancy name. So, ill proudly state that I made this sauce....and I'm singing it to the world...because in order for the sauce to be created YA GIRL HAD TO FLAMBÉ!!!!! YES I STILL HAVE BOTH MY EYEBROWS!!! LOL

The day ended with me plating my cuts, it was hw given to us from Saturday night: 4 carrot cocotte, 4 potato cocotte, 1 carrot jardiniere and 1 turnip julienne. I hope I'm not loosing you with all these terms but I'm trying to get used to using them....nonetheless, my cuts were okay, still need work but a far cry from the first day, chef says I'm getting there YAY!!!!

My night ended with my daily walk with "my girls" to the train station, I promise they make my night lol. I guess this is when I spice up the blog and say....yours truly came to FCI to cook, and now I've become a secret admirer...uh oh, watch out LOL! Gotta make this thing interesting right?!

So let's continue to Wednesday evening, I volunteered at the "Taste of the Village" event. This is a charity event to help support parks in Greenwich village. The event was at washington square park where several restaurants and winery's who are located in the village, came out with all you can eat food and drinks. Even though I was volunteering (barely), I HAD THE TIME OF MY LIFE. I met a few alumni who now work at these restaurants, and I constantly received ooooo's and aaahhh's from individuals who came out, they were glad to see FRENCH CULINARY INSTITUTE IN THE BUILDING, I felt pretty good about life lol. Sssooo the food, I had the BEST red velvet cupcake, THE BEST GUYS!!! From this gourmet store called Citarella, let me tell you, it was great, it was so rich & moist, melt in your mouth, and the cream cheese icing was impeccable!! PLEASE GO THERE!!! Also, guys, if you've never had gelato before, you must try it, you will never go back to ice cream, I promise!!! So I had some olive oil gelato, weird right, BUT I HAD TWO SERVINGS, IT WAS SSOOOO GOOD! PLEASE TRY IT (I'm sorry I can't remember the place). Among other things that stood out, I receive a 20% discount at Amber's (sushi spot), le pain quotidien has a GREAT strawberry tart...okay I think that's all...lol I'm getting hungry all over again...

So since I'm trying to catch up...I did have class last night. So we had to change partners....it was hard to part with Rebecca, I was scared who was going to be my partner...some of those guys in the class think we're on top chef or something. Well I'm glad my partner wasn't like that....but that still doesn't mean he's great lol. Well, on to the lecture...emulsified sauces & sabayons.

An emulsified sauce is a sauce that was created by adding an emulsifier to prevent ingredients that don't usually mix, to mix....hope I'm making sense....for example, oil and vinegar don't mix but when an egg (an emulsifier) is added, the oil and vinegar will combine well. Any who, we made several sauces, hollandaise, mayonnaise, and sweet sabayon (which was sssoooo good on some freshly cut strawberries). So unfortunately, while making one of my sauces, it didn't mix well (it broke)....well CHEF MCHOTTIE TO THE RESCUE!!! He started a new sauce for me and gave me a one on one lesson on how to make it...I was all smiles, and he is so cool! Anyhow, it was another exciting day at FCI....that place brings me joy!

Well...I'm currently coming home from school, I was studying with Caroline...and sure enough, while hanging in the student lounge area, Chef McHottie comes strolling by lol....HILARIOUS!!! I LOVE CAROLINE!!!...Nonetheless, after a drink with my girl, I'm headed home, we have our first written exam tomorrow, culinary school can be intense believe it or not!

*smooches and deuces*

"Stocks are to cooking what foundations are to a house." -Auguste Escoffier

Hey guys...I know, I know....wwwwaaaayyyyy late....haven't been feeling to well...but I'm here!!!!

I actually don't have much to say in this blog though...last nights class involved stocks!!! HOW INTERESTING RIGHT? lol but I did learn a lot about making stocks:
Don't add salt
A clear stock is a good stock
All you need is a liquid, bones of any specific meat, a mirepoix, and a bouquet garni
Your mirepoix is your vegetables, usually onions, carrots, celery but don't hesitate to use more, in class we also used leeks and mushrooms
Your bouquet garni is your herbs, usually consist of fresh time, dried bay leaves, parsley stems, garlic, cloves, and peppercorns. This can be wrapped in a cheesecloth or leek leaves.
Never boil, slow simmer
Consistently skim the top to get rid of impurities and grease

So, I'm not sure if you're going to take any of my own advice but why buy stock when you can make your own (and know whats in it) I promise you, it will taste better, HOMEMADE IS ALWAYS BETTER!!
So in class we made chicken stock, fish stock (my poor partner had to attack that thing....thing as in fish), and vegetable stock.

Here's a pic of our chicken stock!!

Like it??!!!!! IT SMELLED SSSSOOOOOO GOOODDD

To continue, Chef Nick is back with us and back with a vengeance...lol. We were assigned hw to do carrots and turnips, julienne cut; and carrots and potatoes tournage (cocotte (5cm long) (that's from the previous blog). So I practiced that today, very interesting. I also glazed some carrots for mom and dad to taste and the loved it YYAAAYYY!!!!

Well I've got to go now, I have an interview tomorrow morning at my new favorite restaurant - HILLSTONE. Yes it's a waitress position, and yes I have a degree in Finance....but who cares about numbers WHEN I LOVE FFFFOOOODDDD!!!

*smooches and deuces*

TOURNAGE MEANS TO TURN.......

HERE I AM GUYS!!! THE NIGHT AFTER CLASS!!! I MADE IT…well I had an incentive…a picture lol.




My day did begin with two of my classmates, the head of student services and I meeting at Le Pain Quotidien for coffee. We volunteered to become student representatives for our class, so that was our first meeting just to get the order of things. The bakery was nice, I mean for what was expected at a food chain. I had a cheese almond danish and iced coffee…it held me until it was family dinner time in class. But the meeting was cool, and I love getting to know my classmates more!!



So today’s lesson ways pretty simple but yet so complex. We focused on the technique called tournage which means to turn, derives from the French verb tourner! Basically, it’s cutting a vegetable into a shape that has seven sides and blunt ends, the shape is similar to a football. This technique is a headache and a humbling experience. So I did this cutting technique on potatoes, carrots, and turnips. Guys, there is no explaining on how irritating this cut is, and it is sssoooo difficult, needless to say, I have a lot of practicing to do.



So the potatoes were used in a recipe called pommes rissolées. The potatoes are first blanched in water, than sautéed in oil, and finally roasted in the oven with butter and seasoning. So we did that today, minus the roasting part, we continued to cook the potatoes on the stove top. My partner cooked them and they were so crispy, I have to try making these again, there were delish.

The next recipe is called garniture bouquetière (a vegetable platter, usually served with meats). So we used the carrots and turnips and cooked them by using a glazing technique (water, butter, salt, sugar). They were cooked glacer à blanc, which simply means to cook to a colorless glaze. Also included in the dish were pearl onions, which were cooked glacer à brun, which means to cook the vegetable long enough so that the sugar will caramelize the vegetable and achieve a darker glaze. Also added to the dish were string beans and peas that were cooked à l’anglaise (cooked in boiling salty water, then shocked in ice water, later cooked in butter and seasoning at the time of service). Last but not least the artichoke, wonderful tasting vegetable, but the labor is ridiculous lol, especially when you just want the heart of the choke, forgetting all about the rest of the artichoke (thrown in the compost). The choke was boiled in a dans un blanc (a solution: flour, lemon, oil, water, and salt to prevent oxidation). All of this was placed wonderfully on a plate. (hope you like my plating lol)

SO GUYS ANOTHER DAY AT FCI!! I’m becoming more comfortable, and enjoying every day of it…just that my feet hurt lol!!!

*smooches and deuces*

Ratatouille....not the movie

Hey guys, I tried to write last night on my way home on the train but my phone died :-)


So....what an exciting evening! I'm not sure if I mentioned it in Saturday’s post, but my chef didn’t come in, so I had to take my carrots home. So, I walked into class to find not one BUT three new chefs in the front of the kitchen….yes, there was no chef Nick, after I brought my dried out carrots to class again lol, to say the least, I put them right in the compost.

So I walk to my station, put my knife kit down and begin to set up my station. That’s when my good friend Caroline comes up behind me and says to me “Have you looked on the board” I shook my head no, she continues to say “we have to make ratatouille” My mouth dropped, all I could think about was that movie and the recipe seemed so hard to make. So I go up front to check out the board and was stunned and frazzled to see that a ratatouille needed to be presented to the chef by 8:30 and a roasted beet and goat cheese timbale with apple and vinaigrette needed to be presented by 10:15. I was ssssooooo unprepared, I hadn’t really read Lesson 3 (I only skimmed it). I know it’s EXCUSES but I thought Chef Nick was coming and was going to allow us to à l’anglaise and à l’étuvée some vegetables (since we were only shown a quick demo on Saturday) wellll guess not.

By the time most of us had finished setting up our work station it was time to begin the lecture. We worked on product identification, mostly vegetables, herbs, and fruits that many think are vegetable (avocado, tomato, eggplant, and peppers, interesting huh?) We even tasted various potatoes, squashes, and mushrooms in order to learn the difference. Before we knew it, it was time to do a demo on the ratatouille (a vegetable ragout). Once she was done we all scurried off to our station to get our mise en place (put in place) together, which means to have everything cut and measured before we begin cooking. So my partner and I have to present one dish, so we share out our work, and begin to cut our various vegetables (tomatoes, onions, eggplant, zucchini and more). Before I knew it our stainless steel marmite and sauteuse (different pans) were sizzling away. We put the serving plate in the oven for a few seconds (this helps to keep the food warm when you plate it), got a ring mold, and dished out our ratatouille. Not totally confident (it is our first dish) we go to the chef for her approval, she looks at the plate and says it looks nice then tastes it. She closed her eyes and chewed, then said nothing, pure silence…I’m looking like uuuummmmmm can I get some kind of response. She finally opens her eyes and her mouth lol and says excellent, it taste perfect, you guys did a great job. TALK ABOUT EX-CI-TED!!!! I WAS THRILLED!!!!!!! I hurried to semi-clean up my station so I could take a break and eat my family meal, which was chicken, mashed potatoes, and other stuff that I didn’t put on my plate because I was going to eat MY RATATOUILLE!!!! *bbm dancing face*
Not before long we were watching the demo for the salad, which seemed pretty easy, compared to the dish we just made (which wasn’t too hard). So I had to peel and finely dice a couple of roasted beets (not fun btw). We mix up a goat cheese spread (goat cheese, olive oil, and salt) and made our own vinaigrette. So I get ready to plate, I get my ring mold; put a layer of the diced beets and then a layer of goat cheese spread. I put a lot of focus on making sure my spread was leveled off by using a metal spatula and wiped the edges of the mold to capture any escaping beet juices. I removed the mold, topped my pretty circle of goodness with some frisée (a type of lettuce) and herbs. I surrounded my circle with finely diced apples and drizzled the vinaigrette. It looked amazing and pretty…SO PRETTY THAT I REALIZED I LEFT MY PHONE IN MY LOCKER…so I couldn’t take a pic, sorry guys, won’t do that again. So by the time I walked to the front to show chef, I look at my plate and I see more beet juices have escaped and are running into the vinaigrette, yea, that wasn’t the plan. But chef loved it! She said she likes the pink color randomly floating around; it looks nice on the plate, so I was happy about my escaped beet juices.

Nonetheless, I had an AMAZING time, just another confirmation that this is where I belong, happy I’m following my passion, make sure you are too!


*smooches and deuces*

CONTAMINATION EEEKKKK!!!

Hey everyone!




So I think writing as soon as I come in from class isn't going to work out too well lol. But anyhow here I am excited and ready to write!



The main focus on yesterday’s class was contamination. In a few months we will take the exam to get our food handlers license. It is not required by law (unless you work in a hospital or school cafeteria) but with all these recalls and outbreaks, you're a better candidate for a job with this license. So we all got chairs and sat around the kitchen and listened to Chef talk about e. coli, salmonella, and everything else in between! IT WAS RATHER GROSS! I think I had a frown on my face during the whole class, when I heard about all of these different bacteria’s and virus's, how fast they grow, and what they need to grow. I learned about how easy it is for one cough in a warehouse full of eggs that are getting ready to be shipped out, can contaminate thousands of people...(and possibly recall them.............).



Any who, out of the long lecture, one of the man things I learned were... WASH YOUR HANDS, ESPECIALLY WHEN WORKING WITH FOOD! Whether you just came from that bathroom, or you scratched your eye ball...wash them....PLEASE!!! because you can have people throwing up by the end of the night. THANKS! Second....know where your food comes from, yes that is difficult when living in a "manufactured America" but when you plan to own your own restaurant, ask questions and take tours. If customers at your restaurant become sick, you get blamed, not the dirty warehouse you got that beef from!



All in all it was pretty informative, and my mind set has officially changed.....Applebees, Friday's and even Red Lobster....yes won’t be eating there anymore....not their microwaved food, remember it was microwaved there, NOT COOKED THERE! And who knows where it was cooked, how it was cooked...and everything else. Processed meat, hamburgers, hot dogs, yea....no.....Fast Food places, never again....(unless it’s to get a McDonalds frap lol) But yea...I don't want to be bougie but I want to be more aware of what I'm eating....my body deserves that!



To end with, my Chef wasn't there yesterday so he couldn't check my home work (my cut carrots). But I did some cuts yesterday with another chef...and I'm slowly getting better....I LOVE SEEING THE PROGRESS!!! Also chef demonstrated how to à l’étuvée some carrots that were cut jardinière (5 cent. long, 2 cent. wide square), which in simple terms it’s just to cook the carrots in a little water, butter, and a pinch of salt, and cover it with a handmade parchment paper cover with a tiny vent. Now you guys may think I'm lying but that was the best carrot I ever ate in my entire life....it was cooked perfectly, just the right texture, and salt....I'm sure the butter made the world of a difference, I've never cooked any of my vegetables in butter lol!



Thanks for reading; I hope you enjoyed it just as much as I did writing it! STAY TUNNED!



*smooches and deuces*

MY FIRST DAY!!!

Hey guys! I really desperately wanted to come on here and write last night when I got in but AS SOON AS I WALKED THROUGH THE DOOR...I ran upstairs to take a shower and went straight to sleep. WHEW!

Where do I even begin...we'll let's start with my eventful time in the locker room. It felt like it took me TEN YEARS to put on my uniform, lol its just so many layers but I can't complain. The uniform protects my sweat from the food, and the food (popping oil, boiling water, etc.) from me. While in the locker room I started a conversation with a few other female students who are in Level 4 and they made me feel a little nervous, especially since I didn't know who my chef was. From the way they were talking it sounded like some of these chefs could be as bad as Gordon Ramsey.

So luckily, I didn't have the evil chef they were talking about (I rather his name go unknown, you never know) but instead I had WONDERFUL CHEF NICK! He seems like a nice, patient, French guy, we'll see how long that last lol.

So most of my 5 hours were spent learning about how to prevent cuts and burns (which is good to know for my clumsy self). We spent some time talking about the make up a kitchen brigade, and different station chefs. By this time, I'm looking around the classroom everyone is sweating, and rocking side to side to keep circulation in their feet, and ease the pain lol. My poor new friend Caroline, and chef partner, Rebecca, were about to pass out, literally. IT IS EXTREMELY HOT!!! AND WE DIDN'T EVEN COOK ANYTHING YET, no stove or oven were on and we were dying. Not to mean this double breasted chef coat you have on....guys, I'm telling you it is hot. I've already heard stories of people passing out. DRINK LOTS OF WATER was the advice given to me from a student.

As time progressed and I realized a pot isn't just called a pot, but EVERYTHING has a french name. I'm trying to get the hang of it, give me a few weeks and I'll start spewing out french terms like I'm a native :-)

Before I knew it, it was 8:30, which is family meal time. Let me quickly explain, when you are in level 4, you are taught how to do large quantity cooking and buffets. As a result, the whole school gets fed faithfully every night. We had a DELICIOUS meal, seasoned corn on the cob, moist baked chicken, kous kous, and salad. Also had iced tea and I promise you it tasted like it had lavender in it....

Once we were done, we moved on to learning some knife skills and practiced cutting onions, carrots, turnips, and leeks, and it was quite interesting. I am proud to say I DID NOT cut my self on the first day (but I know its coming, everybody gets cut and burned several times, according to chef). This knife technique is really hard, especially with my small hands, my chef knife is like 12 inches long!! lol but I'm practicing my cuts. They are very particular about certain cuts and their uniformity; its appealing to the eye and produces even cooking.

Chef saw our results for a first try, and made all of us take home 2 carrots to do 2 cuts on, and we have to bring them in on Saturday to show him....let's just say I've made my dad go out and buy me more carrots lol.

Nonetheless IT WAS A GREAT FIRST DAY and I'm even MORE EXCITED than when I started. I felt like a TOP CHEF walking down the city streets with my knife kit across my shoulders!

*smooches and deuces*

Orientation!!

WOW IS ALL I CAN SAY!!!
I am truly excited after coming home from orientation. I have my fancy white coat with my name printed on it and I'm aaaalllll ready to go. Can't wait for Thursday, and I'm sure you can't either because that's when I  can start posting beautiful pics of my tasty food!