I have been here for a month?! Seriously?!
One more day of class, Fourth of July weekend, and then finals week. For the most part, I only have a test (or quiz) in each of my four classes next week and that is it. I do have a HACCP quiz in Food Safety next Tuesday before I take the NRA (National Restaurant Association) certification exam (which is also my final and 50% of my grade) on Thursday. I am not too worried about that class though.
As always, I have the greatest intentions of waking at a decent hour, getting dressed for the day, heading to the library, and reading/studying before I go to class. This morning, that did not happen, again. Instead, I woke at 10:30ish, got ready, went to the library for like fifteen minutes, and skimmed our reading for Gastronomy. Then, I went to class.
Today was the last day of presentations for Gastronomy. (I scored a 24/25 on my presentation. Yippee!) We have learned about different chefs and their roles in Le Grande Cuisine, Classic Haute Cuisine, Nouvelle Cuisine, Cuisine Minceur, and Modern Haute Cuisine. The last few days of presentations have focused on Modern Haute Cuisine with Alice Waters, Melissa Kelly, etc; two groups presented today on Jose Andres and Jacques Torres. Jose Andres, who owns several restaurants with his most famous in Washington D.C., is a molecular gastronomist, though he does not like that term. He breaks food down into its flavors and components and forms many abstract foods based upon the food's dissection. For example, he serves seafood in cotton candy at one of his restaurants. This group served us two types of watermelon with a honey, balsamic vinegar reduction. Jacques Torres is a pastry chef and a damn good chocolatier. Perry and Ted presented on Torres and actually interviewed him. Ted also purchased chocolates from one of his chocolate shops in NYC for us to try, and they were unbelievable. Hopefully, I can bring some chocolates home for some of you to try.
We took a twenty-five question quiz today in Food Safety. Vergili likes to go over the quiz after we take it as a way to make sure we understand the material in the class. For some reason, I did not notice the "not" in my notes in relation to tuna and parasites, and I missed two questions in relation to that. 23/25 is not too bad. We spent the remainder of the day talking about HACCP. As a Food Science major, I have studied about HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) in the food industry, and my new food product development team this Spring actually made a HACCP plan for our Pomegranola Yogurt Bites. We have a quiz on Tuesday, as I mentioned, and I do not know if I will even study for it.
Tonight at Banquet, I sat with two Bachelor's students (who graduate with their Associate's soon) from Mexico. It was fun to sit in between them and have them talk in Spanish. Maria does not know how to express some things in English and would say them in Spanish to see if the guy from Mexico City could express what she was trying to say. They were nice and humored us by answering our many questions about the CIA and their experiences here. We were served Garde Manger dishes for appetizers. This time I steered clear of the foie gras plate, and I enjoyed seared scallops with sauteed vegetables (baby artichoke hearts, peppers, olives, etc). Garde Manger is a class for culinary students, and part of the class is preparing these mostly cold foods and serving them with a unique presentation. I enjoyed my dish this time.
Appetizer: Garde Manger Scallops and Minestrone Soup with Mussels and Shrimp
Entree: Spinach and Cremini Mushroom-Stuffed Chicken Breast with a Twice-Baked Potato and Broccoli
Dessert: Creme Brulee with Chocolate Biscotti
Eclipse was AH-MAZING. Alex and I both really enjoyed it. I have already told my sister this, because I think she would have died if she found out through reading the blog, that I am officially on Team JACOB. (She is on Team Edward, obvi.) Apparently, I would feel different if I read the books, but we all know that I do not have time to read those four long books. I am trying to pass fruits and vegetables here. The fact that I have to wait until November 2011 until the first part of Breaking Dawn premieres almost makes me want to cry myself to sleep tonight. I guess I will live. I might need to buy a stuffed wolf to sleep with though.
I am excited that tomorrow is Friday. I am excited about spending the Fourth of July in New Jersey with the Plossers. I am excited that I only have five days left of B Block. I am excited about seeing y'all soon!
EAT MY WORDS
Hay Reh (I thought I would switch it up.)
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