Four reasons why I am excited about this week:
1. In four days, I am coming home to Georgia. Home= family, friends, Chickfila, Zaxby's, yogurt, Peking, Athens, my queen bed, Cabbit play time, etc. Also, my friend, Meghan Harris, is getting married, and I am so excited to be there for her special day.
2. In three days, it is Labor Day weekend, what I consider the start to fall. (I mean, if you cannot wear white, then it definitely is not summer anymore.) I am excited about fall for many reasons, including the leaves changing here in the Hudson Valley.
3. In two days, football season starts, aka the most wonderful time of the year. You thought the most wonderful time of the year was the holiday season. Well, I just like to extend it; football season still includes the holidays.
4. In one day, Katy Capers moves to Boston, a short three hour drive from Hyde Park. I am so excited to have one of my bffs in the North with me!
Yesterday, I woke up at 5:30am, and I did not go to bed until 2:00am this morning, I guess. With the one exception being when I traveled to Europe, I have never stayed awake for almost twenty four hours. Needless to say, blogging was not high on my to-do list last night. I have been skipping days recently, but I want to capture in writing everything I have been doing and learning. So, I understand if you get bored before you finish reading.
As a part of Culinary Skills, I have to work three mornings prepping for the Apple Pie Bakery Cafe. They offer many savory options for all three meals, and they need help preparing each day. Because of our extern meeting, three other girls in my class and I had to report to work at 6, instead of the usual 7. In only our third block really, the sous chef in charge of the savory portion of APBC only really gives us jobs she knows we can handle: cutting greens, washing greens, cutting bread, and making sandwiches. Well, for an hour and a half, we stood there and picked watercress leaves from fibrous stems. It was definitely not my idea of a fun time and what I wanted to be doing at that exact moment so early in the morning. But, I did enjoy making the turkey sandwiches and Reubens. Erin, the sous chef, even let us take some bread home.
The extern meeting was helpful in some ways, but I could not focus on being there really. All I got out of it is that I need to have Career Services look at my resume, I need to write a cover letter, and I need to contact the places where I am interested in working. January 22 will be here before I know it, and I need to be prepared, as my externship is the most heavily weighted class here at the CIA.
Day Six of Culinary Skills was a whirlwind of a day. Knife skills to start and I think I scored an 8.5. Ben (NC) actually cut his finger during knife skills, and I almost fainted. From there, it is a good thing that we had to make six dishes per team, or I really might have fallen asleep. I felt my eyes getting heavy when Chef Klug was demonstrating everything he wanted us to make. We cooked the beets first (I hate beets) and made a reduction glaze to make the beets shiny for serving. Next was the rice pilaf. Who knew there were so many different types of rice? Short-grain, long-grain, and converted rice (aka Uncle Ben's). We then made elbow pasta. Basically, we did what everybody in America does. We opened the box of dry pasta and cooked it the amount of time specified on the box. I did learn, however, not to use oil ever when cooking pasta, because it is a waste. The oil prevents the sauce from coating the pasta, and if you put the cooked pasta in a single layer on a tray, then it will not stick (versus relying on the oil to prevent sticking in a collander).
Acid effects vegetables, green, white, and red. For example, green beans have chlorophyll, the green pigment, and when green vegetables are cooked, the chlorophyll breaks down to produce acid. This acid causes the green vegetables to turn colors, a dark, olive green, which is unappealing. Therefore, green vegetables should be blanched, or cooked for a short period of time, and then shocked, or put in ice cold water to stop the cooking. Upon serving the green beans, they should be steamed, and all of this collectively helps to preserve the color. With potatoes, russet, called Idaho or baking, potatoes are used most often when making mashed potatoes. Baking potatoes are high starch, low moisture potatoes and should be placed in the oven, a form of dry heat, after boiling, a wet heat, for the best results. A food mill was used to combine the potatoes with the milk and butter, which were simmered together first. The color of cauliflower is actually preserved with acid, and we used milk for this application. Another important thing to keep in mind when cooking vegetables is to cook pieces that are evenly sized.
I did not have to stay after dinner (which I did not eat outside of class because I was full of the above) and help clean the kitchen or go over my homework; people who work in APBC get to leave early. I was exhausted by this time, and I came back to my room and watched TV on my computer. I was surprised with a homemade eclair and some company to help with homework, before going to sleep watching TV.
This morning, I planned on sleeping until whatever time I wanted, but the maintenance guys knocked on my door around 9. I was so mad. I do not care if you want to paint my ceiling in the bathroom. As long as it is not falling on me, we are good. No worries though, because I went back to sleep as soon as they left. (They are painting tomorrow at 1.)
Today's class was awesome. It began with me scoring a 9 (my goal) on my knife tray! Yippee! Chef Klug demoed a demi glace, which is equal parts brown sauce (Espagnole sauce) and brown roux, reduced by half. In our teams, we were not required to make this. As a means of testing us (without really testing us), the chef asked us to make cream of mushroom soup, the same way we made broccoli cream soup the other day. After we properly seasoned our soup, we called the chef to taste it. He made a face I have never seen, shook his head, and told us it was good. I would say that is positive.
There are five "mother" sauces, or grand sauces, in the culinary world, for which all other sauces, mostly, are derived from, with the "mother" sauce serving as a base. We learned today how to make two of the five (we learned Espagnole the other day), the Hollandaise and the Bechamel. When I think of Hollandaise, I think of two things: eggs Benedict and Louisiana Lagniappe. Everyone has heard of or tried eggs Benedict on the Sunday buffet. Louisiana Lagniappe, one of my fav restaurants, serves my signature dish of Seafood Lagniappe with grouper, lobster, and Hollandaise sauce. Man, I am craving that and a Frangelica Freeze from there right now. Needless to say, my mom is excited that I know the proper technique to making this buttery masterpiece of a sauce, for these two reasons. Hollandaise is a permanent emulsion using egg yolks, a vinegar reduction, and butter. Our emulsion did not "break" or separate into layers, but the chef did think it was a little cold. The Bechamel sauce, basically, is a white "mother" sauce, using scalded milk (whole) and white roux. Emily and I made the Hollandaise, and Jon and Pete made the Bechamel. Ours were made properly, with the chef's only comment being about the temperature of the Hollandaise.
After we finished making our sauces, we were free to leave for dinner. I was actually hungry for dinner today, and I waited in line for a few minutes at the Asia kitchen. I ordered sushi, and though it was not the best sushi I have ever had, it was fairly good, considering a culinary student made it. We reported back to the kitchen at 6:45 to clean (I was an extra again today, as far as jobs) and take our quiz. The quiz was five questions, worth five percent of our grade. I know I missed one; you must use FOUR egg yolks to make a quart of mayonnaise (there is a yolk for every eight ounces, and my answer was three).
I came back to the room, cleaned up, and began to relax when the fire alarm went off. It was so loud that my ears were ringing for a bit. I passed the time waiting outside by talking to Katie and Katy. I have been hanging out since then. I really should stop socializing so much; I would get more sleep.
WHISK, WHISK, WHISK
Haley
*Yay for Skyping with Katie yesterday! I can always count on you bff!
*Whitney, no matter what happens in the coming month, I am so proud of you for going to Mercer for your MPH, for being published in a scientific journal, and for being one of the strongest people I know.
*Happy 23rd Birthday to one of my best friends in the entire world, Bailey! I heart you and miss you, Bay. I hope the new school year in Atlanta is treating you well!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
An Alarm Clock?
I am so behind. Yet, I have to wake up at an un-Godly hour to do prep for the Apple Pie Bakery Cafe. Not only do I have to do this from 6-10, but I have an extern meeting from 10:30-11:30 and class from 1:45-8:45. I do not even know how to function properly before noon anymore and actually be productive. An alarm clock has not been my mode of waking up in many, many, many months now. I know, right, y'all feel my pain?! I will try and make this as painless as possible, for you and me both, but I do feel like I have a lot to say about Skills on Friday (but maybe not as much as my last post).
I am sorry, Jess (she is getting bored with my knife skills redundancy), but I must mention that we started the day on Friday with knife skills, the same cuts from the previous days. My yield was not as good as on Thursday, but my cuts themselves were better. For the most part, my juliennes and batonnets are equal 1/8 and 1/4 of an inch long cubes. My brunoises and small dices need a little help being uniform cubes. Chef Klug thinks I am almost there, almost at a 9 (out of 10) score, with the best person usually receiving a 9.5 in the class. I will take a 9 any day, and that is my goal for the upcoming week.
On Day 5 of class on Friday, Chef Klug taught us how to make a espagnole sauce, which means "Spanish sauce," and is the signature brown "mother" sauce, also called a grand sauce. He gave us a short demo, but we were not required to actually make this sauce in teams. We will have to make it later in the course. The two most important ingredients in this brown sauce are brown stock and brown roux.
The main objective for the day was to learn the differences between the two categories of soup, clear and thick. Clear soups are soups that do not use thickeners, such as broths, hearty broths, and consomme. Thick soups use thickeners, such as those flour-based and/or with cream. Thick soups include purees, cream soups, bisque, and chowder. The chef demoed two soups, cream of broccoli soup and lentil soup.
In our teams of four, we were required to make the cream of broccoli soup, a cream soup, and the lentil soup, a puree soup. We were also responsible for the garnishes, broccoli pieces for the broccoli soup and fresh sauteed croutons for the lentil soup. I love my team, but we can easily get frustrated with each other. We get mixed up on who is doing what. We disagree sometimes on seasoning. With us having to make two soups, which were not the easiest to make in the first place, and competing with the other teams for ingredients and equipment, it made for a tiring day.
After our two soups were simmering, the chef showed us how to puree the broccoli soup with a blender and how to use the immersion blender with the lentil soup. After he finished his soup, he allowed us to taste his. After the tasting, we had to finish our soups, season them, and be evaluated by the chef. I freaked out because our lentil soup was too light and not thick enough after we blended it. Jon added a slurry of cornstarch and water to thicken it. The chef liked both the broccoli and the lentil, but he thought our croutons were too soft. Once again, I accept his comments with a sigh of relief, especially with how that lentil soup first looked.
I was full of soup of course at dinner, and I could not even think about putting another bite of food in my mouth. Instead, I rested and talked. My cleanup job was sanitation again. I wiped down all of the tables and sinks, before taking out the trash. We try to be as earth-friendly here at the CIA as we possibly can. Each kitchen is equipped with three "trash" cans, one for trash, one for compost/food waste, and one for recyclables. Therefore, taking out the trash is an adventure, to put the trash where it is supposed to go and to rinse each can. I loved it! By the time Sam and I made it back to the kitchen, everything else was done, we reviewed the homework, and we were free to go.
My weekend was not too eventful, but with everything I have coming, I was more than okay with low-key. A few of us hung out on Friday night, including a late-night trip to McDonald's (I was hungry by then. McChicken or McDouble anyone?). On Saturday, I went to Sonic, did laundry (I only have chef clothes to wash now and it is kind of sad), and watched TV. Today, I worked on homework and went to an early dinner at Juliet's Cafe (Hawaiian Pizza, yum) near Vassar College. Now, I look at the clock, and I must go to bed asap. 5:30am is coming too quickly.
As an aside, can you believe it has been five years since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast? Though it does seem like forever since I watched the news, almost nightly, in my dorm room in Brumby Hall freshman year at UGA, it also feels like just yesterday. I have visited the Gulf Coast and New Orleans many times since then, and though a lot of work has been done, the evidence is still visible, both physically and emotionally. New Orleans is one of my favorite cities in the world, and despite a Category 3 storm almost destroying it, it is still a wonderful place.
As my sign off, I thought I would change things with a little CIA humor. Enjoy.
What did the Johnson and Wales graduate say to the CIA graduate?
"YES, CHEF!" :) (If you do not get it, I can explain it to you.)
Haley
I am sorry, Jess (she is getting bored with my knife skills redundancy), but I must mention that we started the day on Friday with knife skills, the same cuts from the previous days. My yield was not as good as on Thursday, but my cuts themselves were better. For the most part, my juliennes and batonnets are equal 1/8 and 1/4 of an inch long cubes. My brunoises and small dices need a little help being uniform cubes. Chef Klug thinks I am almost there, almost at a 9 (out of 10) score, with the best person usually receiving a 9.5 in the class. I will take a 9 any day, and that is my goal for the upcoming week.
On Day 5 of class on Friday, Chef Klug taught us how to make a espagnole sauce, which means "Spanish sauce," and is the signature brown "mother" sauce, also called a grand sauce. He gave us a short demo, but we were not required to actually make this sauce in teams. We will have to make it later in the course. The two most important ingredients in this brown sauce are brown stock and brown roux.
The main objective for the day was to learn the differences between the two categories of soup, clear and thick. Clear soups are soups that do not use thickeners, such as broths, hearty broths, and consomme. Thick soups use thickeners, such as those flour-based and/or with cream. Thick soups include purees, cream soups, bisque, and chowder. The chef demoed two soups, cream of broccoli soup and lentil soup.
In our teams of four, we were required to make the cream of broccoli soup, a cream soup, and the lentil soup, a puree soup. We were also responsible for the garnishes, broccoli pieces for the broccoli soup and fresh sauteed croutons for the lentil soup. I love my team, but we can easily get frustrated with each other. We get mixed up on who is doing what. We disagree sometimes on seasoning. With us having to make two soups, which were not the easiest to make in the first place, and competing with the other teams for ingredients and equipment, it made for a tiring day.
After our two soups were simmering, the chef showed us how to puree the broccoli soup with a blender and how to use the immersion blender with the lentil soup. After he finished his soup, he allowed us to taste his. After the tasting, we had to finish our soups, season them, and be evaluated by the chef. I freaked out because our lentil soup was too light and not thick enough after we blended it. Jon added a slurry of cornstarch and water to thicken it. The chef liked both the broccoli and the lentil, but he thought our croutons were too soft. Once again, I accept his comments with a sigh of relief, especially with how that lentil soup first looked.
I was full of soup of course at dinner, and I could not even think about putting another bite of food in my mouth. Instead, I rested and talked. My cleanup job was sanitation again. I wiped down all of the tables and sinks, before taking out the trash. We try to be as earth-friendly here at the CIA as we possibly can. Each kitchen is equipped with three "trash" cans, one for trash, one for compost/food waste, and one for recyclables. Therefore, taking out the trash is an adventure, to put the trash where it is supposed to go and to rinse each can. I loved it! By the time Sam and I made it back to the kitchen, everything else was done, we reviewed the homework, and we were free to go.
My weekend was not too eventful, but with everything I have coming, I was more than okay with low-key. A few of us hung out on Friday night, including a late-night trip to McDonald's (I was hungry by then. McChicken or McDouble anyone?). On Saturday, I went to Sonic, did laundry (I only have chef clothes to wash now and it is kind of sad), and watched TV. Today, I worked on homework and went to an early dinner at Juliet's Cafe (Hawaiian Pizza, yum) near Vassar College. Now, I look at the clock, and I must go to bed asap. 5:30am is coming too quickly.
As an aside, can you believe it has been five years since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast? Though it does seem like forever since I watched the news, almost nightly, in my dorm room in Brumby Hall freshman year at UGA, it also feels like just yesterday. I have visited the Gulf Coast and New Orleans many times since then, and though a lot of work has been done, the evidence is still visible, both physically and emotionally. New Orleans is one of my favorite cities in the world, and despite a Category 3 storm almost destroying it, it is still a wonderful place.
As my sign off, I thought I would change things with a little CIA humor. Enjoy.
What did the Johnson and Wales graduate say to the CIA graduate?
"YES, CHEF!" :) (If you do not get it, I can explain it to you.)
Haley
Thursday, August 26, 2010
New Favorite Toy? The Knife.
Living through Culinary Skills once is bad enough, that I have a hard time forcing myself to relive it again to blog about it. I will try and do my best. Only two more weeks right? The fact that I have breads in two weeks makes me think that convincing myself to enjoy Skills while it lasts is virtually impossible. Okay, I do not HATE it, once again I say it, but I would rather be playing with dough.
Let me try and remember what I did yesterday, because yesterday seems like 923498127 million years ago. I AM CONNECTED WITH THE REAL WORLD AGAIN BECAUSE MY PHONE FINALLY ARRIVED on Monday but I could not actually go and get it until yesterday morning. (If you want me to have your number, seeing as I lost all of my contacts, which is annoying, then message me. :)) So, my day started out lovely! And, it probably does not help the Skills situation that my new phone is so fun to play with, when I should be studying and/or practicing how to hold a knife properly.
Class started around 1:45, as usual. Chef Klug started the day by showing us what knife cuts he wanted us to make: julienne potatoes, brunoise potatoes, batonnet potatoes, small dice potatoes, minced onion, sliced onion, chopped parsley, and chopped garlic. Knife skills are probably the most frustrating/ fun thing to do. It takes a good hour to actually do the cuts and have them evaluated by the chef. Brunoises are 1/8 inch cubes, and they should be perfect cubes. Small dice are the same thing but they are 1/4 inch cubes. Julienne are 1/8 inch strips, and batonnets are 1/4 inch strips. Yesterday, my eval was not the greatest; I need to work on my size and shape. You know it cannot be good when the chef asks if you own a ruler. Oops. It is a good thing that he is not too intimidating and that I will probably never have to do this again when I finish his class.
The main objectives we were to learn yesterday were how to prepare a mixed salad, make vinaigrette, make mayonnaise (your fav, Kristy), and different means of plating. There are several ways of preparing a salad, a tossed, simple salad and a composite salad. When prepping a salad, different greens should be used with different flavor profiles to form a more harmonious dish. For example, in our salad, we added arugula (spicy), frisee and radicchio (bitter), and Boston and red leaf lettuce (mild). A garnish should always accompany a salad, in an odd number, such as tomato slices. We were taught how to properly seer a chicken breast and how to roast it in the oven. Young chickens, not hens, are best for dry heat applications, such as seering and roasting. The chicken and the salad, with vinaigrette and garnish, made our composite salad, a salad with different elements positioned in a certain way on the plate. A composite salad can be a main dish or an appetizer.
After demo, as a team, we were required to make our own mayonnaise. After making the mayonnaise, our team had to taste it, to ensure it was properly seasoned. I do not mind mayo but I definitely do not enjoy eating spoonfuls of it. Once we were satisfied, the chef tasted our mayo. He approved. (If the emulsion begins to break when making homemade mayo, add water.)
Next, the chef showed us how to use the slicer (like the one you see in the Publix deli) to slice our swiss and ham. From there, Chef Klug sliced bread and made six sandwiches, five with ham, swiss, and mustard and one with just cheese and mustard. He then put butter on the outside, to allow them to take some color in the pan on the stove, before he put them in the oven. Once they were done, he showed us different ways to plate the sandwiches, to be pleasing to the eyes. Because you know, we eat with our eyes, first! The class was then welcome to eat the sandwiches before going to dinner.
I ordered Salmon with Celery Root Mash and Watercress Puree for din din. I did not like the celery root and therefore was not a big fan of the dish. The mash looked like potato but definitely did not taste like potato; it through me off a bit. I just took it to the dish room and went back to my room to play with my phone before we had to report back to class at 6:45.
My job in class was equipment steward, which meant I went to the dish room to get everything we needed for tasting before class and returned them after class. I also was required to clean the stove after dinner. I really like Chef Klug, but he is by far the messiest chef ever when he cooks. He will just pour stuff on the floor or slosh things around on the stove. Basically, cleaning the stove is not number one on my list of fun activities. It is a messy job and a hot job, as you can imagine. Yesterday was my only day with that job. PTL.
I did practice my knife skills last night and tried to do my homework. Practice does make perfect, or practice make for acceptable around here. (Seriously, my knife skills who pass anywhere except the CIA at this point in time.) I take potatoes home to cut them for homework. What do/did you do for homework? My college is better than your college. :) Just kidding of course, but just wait until I get to cookie class!
Today was busy in class. Baking students only have one culinary skills class for three weeks, but culinary students have three separate skills classes over a nine week period. We go much faster and into less detail. It is funny to know how to do some things ahead of the culinary students who are in the first skills class. For example, I made french onion soup two days ago, but the culinary students learned how today. Now granted, they will know more, but for now, bakers are holding their own.
We began the day with the same knife cuts as yesterday (see above). Chef Klug commented that I had improved much since yesterday but to still work on my size and shape. Slowly, slowly, I am learning. He thinks I get the technique but that I need to refine it. I will do these same cuts every day until Day 13 of the block, which is two weeks from today. I will be brunoising up a storm by then. Get excited for sticks of carrots when I come home as a side dish!
Chef demoed how to make a consomme first today, and after his demo, each team was required to make their own consomme. A consomme is a perfectly clear soup, made with an onion brule (an optional charred half of an onion), stock/broth, egg whites, lean ground meat, tomatoes (or other acidic ingredients), mirepoix, and herbs and spices. Consomme is clarified. The ingredients are heated until about 120*, the temperature at which the egg white proteins begin to coagulate. It is then brought to a boil and allowed to simmer. As it boils, the soup forms a raft, and the egg whites attract the impurities in the liquid to the top of the pot. The soup is strained to leave a clear soup, with pungency and flavor. We garnished our soup with parsnip and carrot brunoises. The consomme is named based on the garnish, and therefore, we made consomme brunoise. Chef Klug tasted ours and gave us a thumbs up (not literally).
Tomato sauce was the next item to be demoed and then made by each team. Tomato sauce is rather basic, with there being many, many different ways to make this "mother" sauce. What tomatoes are best to use in tomato sauce? Fresh, vine-ripened plum tomatoes are the best, as they have a high ratio of flesh and are low moisture; they bring a natural sweetness to the sauce. After the sauce simmered, fresh basil was added. The chef again approved our sauce.
A slurry is a mixture of a pure starch, such as cornstarch, and a liquid, most of the time water, used to thicken. Chef Klug demonstrated this, but we will not make one on our own until later in the course. He did show us how to make a roux, using flour and a fat, such as butter. There are different roux, based on color, white, pale (or blond), and brown roux. The lighter the roux, the more thickening power. The longer the roux is cooked, the darker the color, and the less thickening power it has, because the starch begins to break down with continued cooking. Team four made each color roux, and we succeeded except that our white looked exactly like our pale.
I ate a salad at dinner. I wanted to clean as quickly as possible to get out of class after dinner. (Seven hours is a long time to be in a tiny kitchen. No, it will not be like this when I get to the bake shops.) My job today was sanitation steward. I had to check temperatures of the refrigerators, fill out paperwork, wipe down the tables and sanitize the sinks, and take out the trash. Granted, I did not do all of this by myself; I had help from the other sani stewards. After reviewing our homework, our class was dismissed around 8.
Tonight has consisted basically of going to Target, Price Choppers, and more potatoes and more knife skills practice. I really can tell that I am improving, which is exciting. I bet I will not even mind this after a few more days, once I know what I am doing for reals. :) Oh, and I should mention that I have not cut myself, not once. Haley 4 (I am going by days). Knives 1. (This is a reference to a previous blog, if you do not understand me keeping score.)
Sorry this is such a long post. You know you love it.
In exactly a week, football season starts. Yippee, Skippy!
CALL ME NOW! :)
Haley
Let me try and remember what I did yesterday, because yesterday seems like 923498127 million years ago. I AM CONNECTED WITH THE REAL WORLD AGAIN BECAUSE MY PHONE FINALLY ARRIVED on Monday but I could not actually go and get it until yesterday morning. (If you want me to have your number, seeing as I lost all of my contacts, which is annoying, then message me. :)) So, my day started out lovely! And, it probably does not help the Skills situation that my new phone is so fun to play with, when I should be studying and/or practicing how to hold a knife properly.
Class started around 1:45, as usual. Chef Klug started the day by showing us what knife cuts he wanted us to make: julienne potatoes, brunoise potatoes, batonnet potatoes, small dice potatoes, minced onion, sliced onion, chopped parsley, and chopped garlic. Knife skills are probably the most frustrating/ fun thing to do. It takes a good hour to actually do the cuts and have them evaluated by the chef. Brunoises are 1/8 inch cubes, and they should be perfect cubes. Small dice are the same thing but they are 1/4 inch cubes. Julienne are 1/8 inch strips, and batonnets are 1/4 inch strips. Yesterday, my eval was not the greatest; I need to work on my size and shape. You know it cannot be good when the chef asks if you own a ruler. Oops. It is a good thing that he is not too intimidating and that I will probably never have to do this again when I finish his class.
The main objectives we were to learn yesterday were how to prepare a mixed salad, make vinaigrette, make mayonnaise (your fav, Kristy), and different means of plating. There are several ways of preparing a salad, a tossed, simple salad and a composite salad. When prepping a salad, different greens should be used with different flavor profiles to form a more harmonious dish. For example, in our salad, we added arugula (spicy), frisee and radicchio (bitter), and Boston and red leaf lettuce (mild). A garnish should always accompany a salad, in an odd number, such as tomato slices. We were taught how to properly seer a chicken breast and how to roast it in the oven. Young chickens, not hens, are best for dry heat applications, such as seering and roasting. The chicken and the salad, with vinaigrette and garnish, made our composite salad, a salad with different elements positioned in a certain way on the plate. A composite salad can be a main dish or an appetizer.
After demo, as a team, we were required to make our own mayonnaise. After making the mayonnaise, our team had to taste it, to ensure it was properly seasoned. I do not mind mayo but I definitely do not enjoy eating spoonfuls of it. Once we were satisfied, the chef tasted our mayo. He approved. (If the emulsion begins to break when making homemade mayo, add water.)
Next, the chef showed us how to use the slicer (like the one you see in the Publix deli) to slice our swiss and ham. From there, Chef Klug sliced bread and made six sandwiches, five with ham, swiss, and mustard and one with just cheese and mustard. He then put butter on the outside, to allow them to take some color in the pan on the stove, before he put them in the oven. Once they were done, he showed us different ways to plate the sandwiches, to be pleasing to the eyes. Because you know, we eat with our eyes, first! The class was then welcome to eat the sandwiches before going to dinner.
I ordered Salmon with Celery Root Mash and Watercress Puree for din din. I did not like the celery root and therefore was not a big fan of the dish. The mash looked like potato but definitely did not taste like potato; it through me off a bit. I just took it to the dish room and went back to my room to play with my phone before we had to report back to class at 6:45.
My job in class was equipment steward, which meant I went to the dish room to get everything we needed for tasting before class and returned them after class. I also was required to clean the stove after dinner. I really like Chef Klug, but he is by far the messiest chef ever when he cooks. He will just pour stuff on the floor or slosh things around on the stove. Basically, cleaning the stove is not number one on my list of fun activities. It is a messy job and a hot job, as you can imagine. Yesterday was my only day with that job. PTL.
I did practice my knife skills last night and tried to do my homework. Practice does make perfect, or practice make for acceptable around here. (Seriously, my knife skills who pass anywhere except the CIA at this point in time.) I take potatoes home to cut them for homework. What do/did you do for homework? My college is better than your college. :) Just kidding of course, but just wait until I get to cookie class!
Today was busy in class. Baking students only have one culinary skills class for three weeks, but culinary students have three separate skills classes over a nine week period. We go much faster and into less detail. It is funny to know how to do some things ahead of the culinary students who are in the first skills class. For example, I made french onion soup two days ago, but the culinary students learned how today. Now granted, they will know more, but for now, bakers are holding their own.
We began the day with the same knife cuts as yesterday (see above). Chef Klug commented that I had improved much since yesterday but to still work on my size and shape. Slowly, slowly, I am learning. He thinks I get the technique but that I need to refine it. I will do these same cuts every day until Day 13 of the block, which is two weeks from today. I will be brunoising up a storm by then. Get excited for sticks of carrots when I come home as a side dish!
Chef demoed how to make a consomme first today, and after his demo, each team was required to make their own consomme. A consomme is a perfectly clear soup, made with an onion brule (an optional charred half of an onion), stock/broth, egg whites, lean ground meat, tomatoes (or other acidic ingredients), mirepoix, and herbs and spices. Consomme is clarified. The ingredients are heated until about 120*, the temperature at which the egg white proteins begin to coagulate. It is then brought to a boil and allowed to simmer. As it boils, the soup forms a raft, and the egg whites attract the impurities in the liquid to the top of the pot. The soup is strained to leave a clear soup, with pungency and flavor. We garnished our soup with parsnip and carrot brunoises. The consomme is named based on the garnish, and therefore, we made consomme brunoise. Chef Klug tasted ours and gave us a thumbs up (not literally).
Tomato sauce was the next item to be demoed and then made by each team. Tomato sauce is rather basic, with there being many, many different ways to make this "mother" sauce. What tomatoes are best to use in tomato sauce? Fresh, vine-ripened plum tomatoes are the best, as they have a high ratio of flesh and are low moisture; they bring a natural sweetness to the sauce. After the sauce simmered, fresh basil was added. The chef again approved our sauce.
A slurry is a mixture of a pure starch, such as cornstarch, and a liquid, most of the time water, used to thicken. Chef Klug demonstrated this, but we will not make one on our own until later in the course. He did show us how to make a roux, using flour and a fat, such as butter. There are different roux, based on color, white, pale (or blond), and brown roux. The lighter the roux, the more thickening power. The longer the roux is cooked, the darker the color, and the less thickening power it has, because the starch begins to break down with continued cooking. Team four made each color roux, and we succeeded except that our white looked exactly like our pale.
I ate a salad at dinner. I wanted to clean as quickly as possible to get out of class after dinner. (Seven hours is a long time to be in a tiny kitchen. No, it will not be like this when I get to the bake shops.) My job today was sanitation steward. I had to check temperatures of the refrigerators, fill out paperwork, wipe down the tables and sanitize the sinks, and take out the trash. Granted, I did not do all of this by myself; I had help from the other sani stewards. After reviewing our homework, our class was dismissed around 8.
Tonight has consisted basically of going to Target, Price Choppers, and more potatoes and more knife skills practice. I really can tell that I am improving, which is exciting. I bet I will not even mind this after a few more days, once I know what I am doing for reals. :) Oh, and I should mention that I have not cut myself, not once. Haley 4 (I am going by days). Knives 1. (This is a reference to a previous blog, if you do not understand me keeping score.)
Sorry this is such a long post. You know you love it.
In exactly a week, football season starts. Yippee, Skippy!
CALL ME NOW! :)
Haley
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Mirepoix. Brunoise. Do I live in France?
Technically, just FYI, this is my second post of the day. The post from yesterday, August 23, was posted this morning early! (For some faithful bloggers, you might be thinking that it was not in fact posted, as y'all have been checking all day today. My apologies for the minor error in posting.)
It is only 11:23, and yes, I woke up around 10:30. However, I feel like I have been awake doing manual labor for ten days straight. Culinary and the kitchen are killing me. AAHHHHH. This morning, I finished my homework and went to the library to print it off. I checked my mail multiple times before class, praying my package would come with my phone. Then, before I knew it, it was 1:45.
In Skills, we continued talking about stocks and broths. Ingredients in both stocks and broths include meat/bones, aromatics (such as mirepoix, with 2 parts onion, 1 part carrot, one part celery), and water. There are white stocks and brown stocks, with the bones for the brown being roasted before simmering to make the stock. Yesterday, as you may recall, we made a chicken stock with washed chicken bones. Today, Chef Klug placed a whole hen into water to simmer, to make a broth. After starting the broth, the chef demonstrated how to make clarified butter, or butter with the milk solids and water removed, leaving pure milk fat. Next, Chef Klug demoed our knife skills for the day. To start, you must know how to use a steel and a whetstone, to hone and sharpen your knives. Next, you have to properly hold a knife. From there, after demo, we had to slice two onions, mince half an onion, and brunoise parsnip and carrot. A brunoise cut is a 1/8 by 1/8 by 1/8 inch cube. Look it up, and then try to do it (yeah, you do not want to, do you?). After finishing, we had to take our tray of cuts to the chef for evaluation. I did okay, besides my brunoises being a little un-uniform.
After this, the chef demonstrated how to make onion soup. You start by caramelizing the onions in clarified butter. To the sauteed onions, white wine is added to deglaze the pan, aka scrape the bottom of all the oniony goodness. Chicken stock and a sachet (of herbs and spices) are added, and the soup is allowed to come to a boil, before simmering at a lower temperature for fifteen minutes. Apple Jack Brandy is the last ingredient added to the soup after simmering. To go with our soup, we made Gruyere croutons. The slices of baguette are placed in a hot pan with clarified butter to toast one side. Then, cheese is grated and placed on top of the toasted side, before putting the croutons in the oven to melt the cheese and toast the remaining side.
This is culinary school, and you cannot simply learn by just watching a seasoned (haha) chef cook in front of you, though that is important for technique. So, after the chef made soup, we made soup in our teams of four. Pete, Jon, Emily, and I are on the same team. I was in charge of measuring the onions and caramelizing them. After all the groups finished, we sampled the chef's soup, after he seasoned it properly with salt and pepper. We then were responsible for seasoning our own soup, as a team, before asking the chef to taste/ evaluate our soup. Chef Klug liked our soup but thought the color was a little light and our croutons were a little soft. Success. I thought it was delicious.
By the time dinner rolled around, I was full of onion soup. Therefore, I just chilled and had a glass of chocolate milk for dessert?! :) Each person in the class has a respective job each day. For the past two days, I have been an extra, responsible for doing anything extra the chef needs to be done. Basically, I have strained the stock and broth each day, cooled them down in an ice bath, covered them, labeled them, and put them away for the next day. When we come back from dinner, we clean and review our homework. Then, we are free. (Of course, we did not have a break before dinner today, and I did not check the mail room again until it was closed. My package did come between me checking before class and me checking after they closed. Darn it.)
Since 8:15, I have done nothing productive. I watched last night's episode of Bachelor Pad (so good). I visited with Melissa in her room because I have not seen her in 39472983741 years. It has been a low key night, and with how I feel (exhausted), I am okay with that!
IF YOU CAN'T TAKE THE HEAT, GET OUT OF THE KITCHEN
Hay Reh
It is only 11:23, and yes, I woke up around 10:30. However, I feel like I have been awake doing manual labor for ten days straight. Culinary and the kitchen are killing me. AAHHHHH. This morning, I finished my homework and went to the library to print it off. I checked my mail multiple times before class, praying my package would come with my phone. Then, before I knew it, it was 1:45.
In Skills, we continued talking about stocks and broths. Ingredients in both stocks and broths include meat/bones, aromatics (such as mirepoix, with 2 parts onion, 1 part carrot, one part celery), and water. There are white stocks and brown stocks, with the bones for the brown being roasted before simmering to make the stock. Yesterday, as you may recall, we made a chicken stock with washed chicken bones. Today, Chef Klug placed a whole hen into water to simmer, to make a broth. After starting the broth, the chef demonstrated how to make clarified butter, or butter with the milk solids and water removed, leaving pure milk fat. Next, Chef Klug demoed our knife skills for the day. To start, you must know how to use a steel and a whetstone, to hone and sharpen your knives. Next, you have to properly hold a knife. From there, after demo, we had to slice two onions, mince half an onion, and brunoise parsnip and carrot. A brunoise cut is a 1/8 by 1/8 by 1/8 inch cube. Look it up, and then try to do it (yeah, you do not want to, do you?). After finishing, we had to take our tray of cuts to the chef for evaluation. I did okay, besides my brunoises being a little un-uniform.
After this, the chef demonstrated how to make onion soup. You start by caramelizing the onions in clarified butter. To the sauteed onions, white wine is added to deglaze the pan, aka scrape the bottom of all the oniony goodness. Chicken stock and a sachet (of herbs and spices) are added, and the soup is allowed to come to a boil, before simmering at a lower temperature for fifteen minutes. Apple Jack Brandy is the last ingredient added to the soup after simmering. To go with our soup, we made Gruyere croutons. The slices of baguette are placed in a hot pan with clarified butter to toast one side. Then, cheese is grated and placed on top of the toasted side, before putting the croutons in the oven to melt the cheese and toast the remaining side.
This is culinary school, and you cannot simply learn by just watching a seasoned (haha) chef cook in front of you, though that is important for technique. So, after the chef made soup, we made soup in our teams of four. Pete, Jon, Emily, and I are on the same team. I was in charge of measuring the onions and caramelizing them. After all the groups finished, we sampled the chef's soup, after he seasoned it properly with salt and pepper. We then were responsible for seasoning our own soup, as a team, before asking the chef to taste/ evaluate our soup. Chef Klug liked our soup but thought the color was a little light and our croutons were a little soft. Success. I thought it was delicious.
By the time dinner rolled around, I was full of onion soup. Therefore, I just chilled and had a glass of chocolate milk for dessert?! :) Each person in the class has a respective job each day. For the past two days, I have been an extra, responsible for doing anything extra the chef needs to be done. Basically, I have strained the stock and broth each day, cooled them down in an ice bath, covered them, labeled them, and put them away for the next day. When we come back from dinner, we clean and review our homework. Then, we are free. (Of course, we did not have a break before dinner today, and I did not check the mail room again until it was closed. My package did come between me checking before class and me checking after they closed. Darn it.)
Since 8:15, I have done nothing productive. I watched last night's episode of Bachelor Pad (so good). I visited with Melissa in her room because I have not seen her in 39472983741 years. It has been a low key night, and with how I feel (exhausted), I am okay with that!
IF YOU CAN'T TAKE THE HEAT, GET OUT OF THE KITCHEN
Hay Reh
Calling, NY?! Oh wait...
Well, the last time we chatted I had a Blackberry with a black screen. Contrary to its name, a Blackberry with a black screen is not a good thing. I woke up and headed to the Verizon store, hoping to return to campus with a functioning phone. No such luck. Apparently Verizon cannot send a phone to a campus mail room, where the recipient cannot sign for the package. Can they mail me a phone to the store? No, they cannot. (Really?) They could mail it to Thomasville. Um, do you see this phone, "can you hear me now" people? I live in NY and therefore need it to be at least sent to the state or REGION OF THE COUNTRY. My next stop was to walk to Tech Support. Unfortunately, my phone is no longer under warranty and they could not help me either. So, basically, Verizon, you cannot help me at all, period. Oh wait, they did give me a number to call the Service Center to explain my situation. ON WHAT PHONE WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO USE TO CALL THEM? I was on the verge of tears and all I wanted to do was call my mom. Here I am, forced to live in the Stone Age with no means of communicating with her. Good thing I have email and even better, a mother who can fix anything and make everything better. Thanks, Mom! I should have a phone in the next two days.
I came back to the CIA, phoneless, finished my homework, printed my homework, and ate lunch at K16 (pasta pomodoro with baked mozzarella and arugula). Then, with knife kit, apron, and side towel in tow, I walked downstairs to my Skills kitchen.
When I first came to the CIA, I was a little torn between Baking and Pastry and Culinary. Besides the fact that the first Culinary block after basic Block B is Meat and Fish, which completely turned me off, I thought I might like to be well-rounded and able to cook, not just bake. After only one day in Culinary Skills, Block D, I am 100% in the right major, if you can even call it that. My hands still smell like garlic and onions from class. It is super hot. My knife skills are lacking. Slicing, dicing, mincing, etc. is all the same to me. I do not really care about the difference between a stock and a broth. (A stock is made with meat bones, while a broth is made with meat. A broth can be served as a simple soup, and a stock is used as a base for other preparations.) Today, we spent the entire class for the most part, 1:45-8:45 making a chicken stock and cutting a few veggies. Okay, it is not THAT bad but I am ready to bake!
Here are a couple exciting things that happened in Culinary Skills today:
*What is "werter?" Chef Klug pronounces the liquid that forms ice and produces steam this word. H2O. Understand what I am talking about? It drives me absolutely insane.
*What is knife steeling? This was one of the terms we had to define for our homework. One of the students in my group, a good friend of mine, who will remain nameless, wrote, and submitted as a part of his homework, that knife steeling is when you take another person's knife. REALLY? So funny. A steel hones the blade of the knife. Unlike sharpening, the steel smooths the edge of the knife, which can become jagged during use. In fact, our mascot, or whatever it is, at the CIA is the steel. We are the CIA Steels. Be jealous.
Every night, we have a break from 6-6:45 for dinner. I went to K16 again and ordered the hummus. The hummus was good but it was not served with enough pita or veggies. I had to eat it with a fork by itself and that's no good.
After class, I was exhausted for some reason. I came back to the room and Skyped with my mom (it was almost like having a phone). I started my homework, which includes defining terms for the next day and answering several study questions every day. I tried to convince Nate, who is Culinary, to teach me everything he knows, which he agreed as long as I help him with Math. Sweet deal for me, because I heart Math. Done. Then, I watched the season finale of Army Wives (so good).
Now, time for bed. I hope I make it through the next three weeks of having the same class every day. I guess I better get used to it, as this is how it will be from now on (minus one block). Goodnight, friends!
MOM? MOM? MOM? MOM? MOM? WHHHHAAAATTTT? HI.
Baker Haley
I came back to the CIA, phoneless, finished my homework, printed my homework, and ate lunch at K16 (pasta pomodoro with baked mozzarella and arugula). Then, with knife kit, apron, and side towel in tow, I walked downstairs to my Skills kitchen.
When I first came to the CIA, I was a little torn between Baking and Pastry and Culinary. Besides the fact that the first Culinary block after basic Block B is Meat and Fish, which completely turned me off, I thought I might like to be well-rounded and able to cook, not just bake. After only one day in Culinary Skills, Block D, I am 100% in the right major, if you can even call it that. My hands still smell like garlic and onions from class. It is super hot. My knife skills are lacking. Slicing, dicing, mincing, etc. is all the same to me. I do not really care about the difference between a stock and a broth. (A stock is made with meat bones, while a broth is made with meat. A broth can be served as a simple soup, and a stock is used as a base for other preparations.) Today, we spent the entire class for the most part, 1:45-8:45 making a chicken stock and cutting a few veggies. Okay, it is not THAT bad but I am ready to bake!
Here are a couple exciting things that happened in Culinary Skills today:
*What is "werter?" Chef Klug pronounces the liquid that forms ice and produces steam this word. H2O. Understand what I am talking about? It drives me absolutely insane.
*What is knife steeling? This was one of the terms we had to define for our homework. One of the students in my group, a good friend of mine, who will remain nameless, wrote, and submitted as a part of his homework, that knife steeling is when you take another person's knife. REALLY? So funny. A steel hones the blade of the knife. Unlike sharpening, the steel smooths the edge of the knife, which can become jagged during use. In fact, our mascot, or whatever it is, at the CIA is the steel. We are the CIA Steels. Be jealous.
Every night, we have a break from 6-6:45 for dinner. I went to K16 again and ordered the hummus. The hummus was good but it was not served with enough pita or veggies. I had to eat it with a fork by itself and that's no good.
After class, I was exhausted for some reason. I came back to the room and Skyped with my mom (it was almost like having a phone). I started my homework, which includes defining terms for the next day and answering several study questions every day. I tried to convince Nate, who is Culinary, to teach me everything he knows, which he agreed as long as I help him with Math. Sweet deal for me, because I heart Math. Done. Then, I watched the season finale of Army Wives (so good).
Now, time for bed. I hope I make it through the next three weeks of having the same class every day. I guess I better get used to it, as this is how it will be from now on (minus one block). Goodnight, friends!
MOM? MOM? MOM? MOM? MOM? WHHHHAAAATTTT? HI.
Baker Haley
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Bright Lights, Big City
Where do I begin, really? I get so excited about the blog in general, when I think about the potential of having a day-by-day, almost, journal of my culinary school experience/ living in New York, that I live life in the shadows of the blog. Does that make sense? Things will happen, and I will think to myself about how I must include it on here. The blog is taking over my life? It is quite the opposite really. I am encouraged to try new things, take risks, check things off of my life bucket list, etc. because I need something to blog about. So, here I am, living life one cupcake, or sweet moment, at a time.
Yesterday, I got dressed and packed a few things. I stopped at Starbucks for my signature drink, iced these days because it is still so hot here. I caught the 1:45 train from Poughkeepsie and arrived at Grand Central around 3:30ish, I think. Well, I have a train pass for ten trips; it is cheaper to invest in a pass, as it makes each trip cheaper in the long run. Well, the conductor punched my pass and he looked at the address that was printed on it. He said something to the effect that I was not a tourist, living in Hyde Park. I did not have to say anything, opening my mouth being a dead giveaway that I am definitely not from around here. I just smiled and wondered what the heck he meant by that comment. You are right that I am not a tourist per se and that is why I have the pass, sir. Anyway, I giggled to myself thinking about how people view me as a New Yorker. I love being called Peaches and Georgia, but I feel like I have made it now, ya know? People ask me for directions in the City sometimes, and I can guarantee you it is not because I have the NYC avantgarde fashion look. I guess I do seem like I belong though, and to me, that is exciting. This is where I am supposed to be right now, and I am embracing the opportunity, knowing how incredibly blessed I am to have this chance. (I guess I should have prefaced the blog on the first post that I am not only corny but slightly sentimental, in general. I apologize if this post seems more perspectival than the others.)
I have had the privilege of riding the Metro North Hudson Line from Poughkeepsie to GCT/ Yankees Stadium (once) many, many times now. It takes a little under two hours to get from Poughkeepsie to GCT, but there are stops along the way, such as Garrison (WestPoint), Yonkers, etc. Well, I have noticed these glass areas at the stations, with two doors on each side. They remind me of the smoking rooms at the Atlanta airport, but there is a clear no smoking sign on both of the doors. I cannot tell you what all goes through my head on a given day, about the most random things, but I have been pondering these rooms for a while now. Light bulb went off yesterday. I finally figured out why they exist. They are heating rooms for the winter, equipped with heaters for people to stand in while they wait for their respective trains. Number one, I was so proud to discover this, and number two, IT REALLY GETS COLD ENOUGH TO HAVE HEAT ROOMS. Dear Lord...
When I made it to the City, I ventured around a bit and traveled to the Magnolia Bakery (from Sex and the City) to buy some cupcakes for Morgan (her favorite). I navigated, with only one error, on the subway to 110th, near where Fallon lives. (I get confused still with open circles and closed circles on the Subway map and the meaning of Local and Express trains.) Fallon and I decided to eat at a restaurant (with our coupon) called Zarela, a Mexican restaurant. Fallon ordered shrimp with black beans, and I had flautas with zucchini, corn, cheesy awesomeness. Seriously, I cannot really complain about anything at this place. The music was quite interesting, too, I must say. After dinner, I wanted to try PinkBerry (with the Yoguri in Athens; Yoforia in Atlanta, soon to be Athens; U Twirl in Destin; yogurt places in Tallahassee, I consider myself a yogurt connoisseur). I ordered the small original with strawberries and granola. I heart froyo.
Then, it was off to Plossers' new apartment in the City. Yay. Morgan and Kevin were wonderful hosts, and I enjoyed meeting their friends, people who know my sister. I do not think I moved except once from the couch, with food at my fingertips and Morgan continuing to fill my champagne glass. When Morgan told me that we were going out at 1am, I thought she was crazy. I am such a grandma, and I am only 23. Wowsers. I remember Morgan explaining a little bit about the bar we visited being an older NY bar, with such character and charm. I did not want to overstay my welcome in their new apartment, but, of course, Morgan, being one of the sweetest people I know, insisted I stay. Watching Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta, Gilmore Girls, and eating sausage rolls made for a perfect Sunday late morning/ early afternoon.
I left their apartment as it began to drizzle. I made it to the Subway, took the downtown 6 to GCT, and checked the schedule for the Metro North train at around 2:38. The next train left at 2:45, and I made it. I missed the rain, which began to pour as I rode the train, and I made the train. Perfect.
When I made it to Poughkeepsie, I drove to the CIA and picked up Danielle and Nate. We went to the EverReady Diner (which was featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives on the Food Network and is Zagat rated), and I ordered a large Coke and chocolate chip pancakes. Delicious. (I even saw Ms. Migoya, Chef Migoya, and their daughter, who literally sat in the booth next to us.) By the time we drove back to the CIA, it was pouring down rain again. As a resident on campus, I literally have to park a mile away from my hall. So, I rolled up my jeans, took off my flip flops, and walked barefoot in the torrential downpour. (Who wants wet leather rainbows?) The only casualty from the rain apparently is my phone. It may have gotten a little wet and now will not even turn on. Great.
I have since then cleaned up from being soaked. I have done my homework for tomorrow. Now, time to sleep to prepare for a new week and a new class. Block D starts tomorrows. Culinary Skills for Bakers. (My mom is super stoked about me knowing how to cook basic things, and not just baking.)
LIFE IS LIKE A BOX OF CHOCOLATES
Hay Reh
*Thank you, Morgan and Kevin, again, for making me feel like your (new) home is my home away from home.
*Congratulations, Evan, on your engagement! I wish I could be there to celebrate this exciting time. Love and miss you!
Yesterday, I got dressed and packed a few things. I stopped at Starbucks for my signature drink, iced these days because it is still so hot here. I caught the 1:45 train from Poughkeepsie and arrived at Grand Central around 3:30ish, I think. Well, I have a train pass for ten trips; it is cheaper to invest in a pass, as it makes each trip cheaper in the long run. Well, the conductor punched my pass and he looked at the address that was printed on it. He said something to the effect that I was not a tourist, living in Hyde Park. I did not have to say anything, opening my mouth being a dead giveaway that I am definitely not from around here. I just smiled and wondered what the heck he meant by that comment. You are right that I am not a tourist per se and that is why I have the pass, sir. Anyway, I giggled to myself thinking about how people view me as a New Yorker. I love being called Peaches and Georgia, but I feel like I have made it now, ya know? People ask me for directions in the City sometimes, and I can guarantee you it is not because I have the NYC avantgarde fashion look. I guess I do seem like I belong though, and to me, that is exciting. This is where I am supposed to be right now, and I am embracing the opportunity, knowing how incredibly blessed I am to have this chance. (I guess I should have prefaced the blog on the first post that I am not only corny but slightly sentimental, in general. I apologize if this post seems more perspectival than the others.)
I have had the privilege of riding the Metro North Hudson Line from Poughkeepsie to GCT/ Yankees Stadium (once) many, many times now. It takes a little under two hours to get from Poughkeepsie to GCT, but there are stops along the way, such as Garrison (WestPoint), Yonkers, etc. Well, I have noticed these glass areas at the stations, with two doors on each side. They remind me of the smoking rooms at the Atlanta airport, but there is a clear no smoking sign on both of the doors. I cannot tell you what all goes through my head on a given day, about the most random things, but I have been pondering these rooms for a while now. Light bulb went off yesterday. I finally figured out why they exist. They are heating rooms for the winter, equipped with heaters for people to stand in while they wait for their respective trains. Number one, I was so proud to discover this, and number two, IT REALLY GETS COLD ENOUGH TO HAVE HEAT ROOMS. Dear Lord...
When I made it to the City, I ventured around a bit and traveled to the Magnolia Bakery (from Sex and the City) to buy some cupcakes for Morgan (her favorite). I navigated, with only one error, on the subway to 110th, near where Fallon lives. (I get confused still with open circles and closed circles on the Subway map and the meaning of Local and Express trains.) Fallon and I decided to eat at a restaurant (with our coupon) called Zarela, a Mexican restaurant. Fallon ordered shrimp with black beans, and I had flautas with zucchini, corn, cheesy awesomeness. Seriously, I cannot really complain about anything at this place. The music was quite interesting, too, I must say. After dinner, I wanted to try PinkBerry (with the Yoguri in Athens; Yoforia in Atlanta, soon to be Athens; U Twirl in Destin; yogurt places in Tallahassee, I consider myself a yogurt connoisseur). I ordered the small original with strawberries and granola. I heart froyo.
Then, it was off to Plossers' new apartment in the City. Yay. Morgan and Kevin were wonderful hosts, and I enjoyed meeting their friends, people who know my sister. I do not think I moved except once from the couch, with food at my fingertips and Morgan continuing to fill my champagne glass. When Morgan told me that we were going out at 1am, I thought she was crazy. I am such a grandma, and I am only 23. Wowsers. I remember Morgan explaining a little bit about the bar we visited being an older NY bar, with such character and charm. I did not want to overstay my welcome in their new apartment, but, of course, Morgan, being one of the sweetest people I know, insisted I stay. Watching Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta, Gilmore Girls, and eating sausage rolls made for a perfect Sunday late morning/ early afternoon.
I left their apartment as it began to drizzle. I made it to the Subway, took the downtown 6 to GCT, and checked the schedule for the Metro North train at around 2:38. The next train left at 2:45, and I made it. I missed the rain, which began to pour as I rode the train, and I made the train. Perfect.
When I made it to Poughkeepsie, I drove to the CIA and picked up Danielle and Nate. We went to the EverReady Diner (which was featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives on the Food Network and is Zagat rated), and I ordered a large Coke and chocolate chip pancakes. Delicious. (I even saw Ms. Migoya, Chef Migoya, and their daughter, who literally sat in the booth next to us.) By the time we drove back to the CIA, it was pouring down rain again. As a resident on campus, I literally have to park a mile away from my hall. So, I rolled up my jeans, took off my flip flops, and walked barefoot in the torrential downpour. (Who wants wet leather rainbows?) The only casualty from the rain apparently is my phone. It may have gotten a little wet and now will not even turn on. Great.
I have since then cleaned up from being soaked. I have done my homework for tomorrow. Now, time to sleep to prepare for a new week and a new class. Block D starts tomorrows. Culinary Skills for Bakers. (My mom is super stoked about me knowing how to cook basic things, and not just baking.)
LIFE IS LIKE A BOX OF CHOCOLATES
Hay Reh
*Thank you, Morgan and Kevin, again, for making me feel like your (new) home is my home away from home.
*Congratulations, Evan, on your engagement! I wish I could be there to celebrate this exciting time. Love and miss you!
Friday, August 20, 2010
Short and sweet.
Front... a Ferris Wheel that spins!
Back... funnel cake doughnuts, chocolate chip cookie sandwiches, chocolate drizzle popcorn, caramel apple slices.Block C. Done. I am going to try and keep this post short and sweet, as the title suggests. I do not really have that much to say.
I woke up this morning to an A posted online for BIET. Yay. Danielle and I ate at the Meds kitchen, and we both ordered the Scallops with a Stuffed Tomato, Sweet Corn, and Sauce. It was maybe the best meal I have had the entire time I have been here. We watched them cook and plate the dish. The scallops were fresh, not gritty. You could see a few shuck strings, as I will call them, near the corn bowl, meaning the corn was also fresh. The student cooking the scallops made the sauce for every four plates ordered. Anyway, it was excellent. I really hate that y'all cannot fully experience the dish through my writing.
Speaking of writing, after lunch, I went to the library to print my comparative paper for Design. I walked from the library to Design class. We submitted our papers and had the entire class to finish our final project, the Dessert Menu. I am fairly satisfied with how it turned out (see above), and I think Professor Oswald liked it. I only stopped working to go to dinner with Jenn, and we went to the Asia kitchen downstairs. I ordered the Cauliflower Curry. I do not fully understand Indian cuisine, but I am trying really hard, again and again. I enjoyed it, but the flavors are so different from any other cuisine.
I finished my Ferris Wheel goodies around 6:30. Now, here I am. I am trying to get ready for the weekend and going to the City tomorrow. I also need to prepare for Block D, which starts on Monday. You barely have enough time to catch your breath here, but I rather enjoy the rotating classes. If you hate a class, which I have not yet, then you only have to survive three weeks of it. There is always something new to learn and something to look forward to.
DESSERT GO ROUND
Hay Reh
Thursday, August 19, 2010
One more class in Block C!
One class down, and one more to go!!!! I just, as in thirty minutes ago, finished my BIET Final. I know I will get an A in this class, unless the world comes to an end or something.
BUT, before I can talk about today, I guess I should fill you in on the uneventful, for the most part, yesterday. (Just FYI, I ate risotto with peas and broccoli rabe for lunch before walking upstairs to class.) Professor Ostwald asked us to come to class prepared, with a theme idea for our dessert menu, which is our final project in the class. From the theme, we were supposed to also sketch four, a minimum, desserts surrounding the theme to include on our menu. My theme is the fair or carnival, whichever you choose. My menu is a ferris wheel, with bright colors and a black background, that actually spins. (I should get extra points for the fact that it SPINS, just like a ferris wheel.) My four desserts, as of right now, are caramel apple, chocolate popcorn, cookie ice cream sandwiches, and funnel cake donuts. Gosh, I am getting hungry just thinking about this.
I went to class, prepared of course. The professor gave us pictures of our clay projects (we just took a picture and then disassembled the clay, for other classes to be able to reuse the clay), and I scored an 18. See what I mean about thinking he does not like it but then being pleasantly surprised? Enjoy the picture of a picture above.
We spent the remainder of the class, after he gave a brief overview of some example projects and resources that were available to us, working on our menu. I spent the majority of my time, after I cut out the three main circles, trying to get the spokes of my wheel to match, and they still do not. Oh well, I bet you will not even be able to tell when I am all done (and if you can, do not tell me).
A few of the people in my group left around 5:30 to go to dinner. I ordered eggplant pasta from K16. Unfortunately, the students in K16 did not take the skin off of the eggplant and it was really difficult to eat. I just, for the most part, ate around the eggplant. It was slightly disappointing. The chocolate cake the pastry students wheeled in about the time I was finishing my pasta was okay, but it had a lemon surprise under the icing, which was, surprising.
I spent a good hour after dinner working on my wheel before I just could not take it anymore. Hopefully, tonight I can at least finish the front of the wheel and just have my desserts to work on tomorrow in class.
I needed to be inspired to work on my ice cream paper last night, and so, I went to Dairy Queen and had an oreo blizzard. I remember one summer, my mom and I had blizzards all the time, and they were $2.21 with tax. Well, unfortunately or fortunately, this is not the case anymore (something I just noticed last night). I worked on my paper for a little while, but I did not completely finish it until this morning around 10:45.
Jen (NY), Michelle (Military), and I met at the library around 11 to finalize our presentation. Basically, each of us had a paper topic that had something to do with frozen desserts. My focus was the machinery, equipment, and tools (Pacojet, batch freezers, blast freezers, scoops, thermometers, strainers, refractometers, etc) used in making frozen desserts. Jen had the different varieties of frozen desserts, and Michelle wrote about the history of frozen desserts. I guess I should also mention that we were required to have one source from the library for our paper. My source was a book called Frozen Desserts (go figure) and it is by Francisco Migoya, Ms. Migoya's husband. That is the problem with going to the "premier culinary college;" you cannot find a source about food that was not written by someone here. Geez. Our papers are worth 10% of our grade; our presentation was simply to inform the class of what we had learned while researching and writing our paper.
After discussing our presentation, we walked from the library to get some lunch. Grand Buffet was today, but I did not eat it for lunch or dinner. I ordered the pasta (I know, I am on a pasta kick) and it was delicious. My only complaint is that I want a little more sauce; the students are so conservative with the sauces on the pasta. I walked back to the library to study for an hour or so for the final. I knew it was a thirty-five question multiple choice exam, and therefore, I did not concern myself with studying a ton, as I knew I grasped the material.
In BIET, we started the class by evaluating the course and Ms. Migoya. I enjoyed the class and feel better prepared to work in the bake shops, and I owe Ms. Migoya for a lot of that. Therefore, I gave her an excellent eval. Then, each team, and there are six, handed in their papers and gave their presentations. She let us have a ten minute break before we played BIET Jeopardy. It was fun, and I feel like I actually learned something from playing. After finishing the game, we immediately took our final. I feel very good about it. BIET. Done.
Now, I am full from eating, you guessed it, pasta with cream sauce and mozzarella (pronounced MOOzarella here, and it drives me bonkers). I guess I should think about working on my dessert menu and finishing my comparative paper (I am comparing the chocolate pyramid dessert from the Oncology Center gala and the Louvre pyramid). One more day and I will be done with "art." Let us pray for a B+, because I am rather enjoying these good grades (as opposed to UGA when I just wanted to pass, really).
JESS, DO NOT CRY ANYMORE AND ANSWER MY CALLS/EMAILS/TEXTS :)
Hay Reh
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Hello, Bryan!
Today was BIET day. Only one more day in that class, Thursday, a final, a paper, and a presentation to go, and I will be done! I swear that I am only actually in BIET class for four hours but it seems like four days. Granted, I like Ms. Migoya and I find what we talk about and learn to be interesting, but time goes by much more quickly in Design, when I am doing my own thing for six hours and forty-five minutes. I guess when I am actually in the bake shops, working with my hands, using these ingredients and equipment, I will not be complaining so much.
We started the day talking about eggs. And, as always, I try to impart some wisdom that I learned to you, hoping that maybe y'all will learn something new as well. (Sorry, Brittany, it is more baking lameness and no food talk, but I promise that will come soon enough.) Grading eggs is voluntary and is a representation of quality and appearance, NOT freshness. Now granted, if you select grade AA eggs that have a use-by date of thirty-two days from purchase, the eggs are probably going to be rather fresh. Over time, the porous shell releases carbon dioxide, the white inside thins out, the pH increases (becomes more basic), and the egg is less stable. Grade B is never sold in supermarkets but these eggs are used to make other ingredients or in egg products.
Next, we switched topics to milk and other dairy products. Once again, we separated into our teams to illustrate whipping and dairy products. Half and half, my team's milk product, does not whip, no matter how long you try and introduce air into it. Half cream and half whole milk (not half and half but actually mixing those two) creates a half-whipped product. The cream whips but the milk does not. There were four other different things we "whipped," but basically, in the end, we learned that products that have been ultra-pasteurized and homogenized will not whip. If cream has been ultra-pasteurized, additions must be made for the product to whip at all. Homogenization creates a stable emulsion between fat and liquid, thus preventing whipping.
Sweeteners and sugars were the next objectives. Did you know that light and dark brown sugar are actually the same thing? Manufacturers simply add a caramel coloring to the dark brown sugar for just that, added color. We tasted different sugars from granulated to baker's sugar to light and dark, etc. We also sampled different molasses, removed from points in the sugar refining process. Ms. Migoya gave us a sugar cane stick, if you will, to bite to taste the juice. I think I have done this before, at some point in my life, on a sugar cane farm, or did I dream this?!
Cacao and chocolate were maybe my favorite topics today. Our chocolate tasting consisted of everything from the cocoa bean, to cocoa butter, to cocoa nibs, to cocoa powder, to milk, white, and unsweetened chocolate. Some were gross. Some were amazing. Of course, we talked about the process of making chocolate from cacao pod to roasting to fermentation to tempering. Food Engineering I came back to me when we were talking about the two types of crystals in chocolate, alpha and beta, the "good" crystals; we made fudge at different temperatures to taste these crystals and understand them better.
We ended our very long day with fats. It was not so glamorous going from chocolate (which is considered "sexy," you know?) to fats. Shortening. Butter. Margarine. Oil. Blah. Blah. Blah. When talking about fats, of course, hydrogenation is discussed, as well, the process of adding hydrogen gas to form saturated fats. Each team performed an experiment to see how much water could be added to our creaming of sugar and our fat of interest. Water did not mix with Team Four's fat, margarine. Water did mix with one shortening, which had the addition of emulsifiers, and these emulsifiers formed an emulsion with the fat and added water.
In the downstairs Cuisines of the Americas kitchen, it was Mexico day at dinner time. I was pretty excited about this because I have not experienced Mexico day yet here at the Culinary. I ordered the Turkey Enchiladas, with soup and salad, and I was the last order for this dish. Phew. Sam (NJ) and I both thought they were delicious, but I think I would have enjoyed the stuffed pepper I keep hearing about from Mexico day, which was not on the menu tonight for some reason.
I worked on my homework for a bit in the student computer lab in the library, which is the room near the Danny Kaye Theater. I wanted to be close enough to the Theater to be able to hear what was happening in there, to ensure I was able to get a seat for tonight's presentation. Tonight, Bryan Voltaggio from Top Chef Season 6, who placed second to his brother, came and demonstrated a dish in the DKT. Bryan is a graduate of the Culinary ('99) and is now the owner of Volt in Frederick, Maryland. He prepared a caprese salad with his own spin, with savory dippin' dots, basil agar agar (gelatin-like), small tomatoes, etc. He used a lot of techniques that I, once again, learned in Food Science, using a dehydrator, liquid nitrogen, etc. He made enough for everyone in the Theater to sample. So, I can now say I have tasted a dish prepared by a Top Chef competitor. He was extremely gracious, and he mentioned several times that it was a great honor to cook for students at the CIA. He said that he always hoped to be considered "good enough" to show a demonstration, for which he saw many during his time here, back at the CIA, and he could now say he had made it. He was one of my favorites on the show, and now I like him even more. This industry is not the easiest, but he seems to have the heart and passion for food, the ultimate reason for working so hard in the hospitality business.
Design tomorrow. One more project, our final exam project. I can do this, right?
DROP IT LIKE IT'S HOT
Hay Reh
*I hope you had a great first day of your SENIOR year, Karen Swann. When did Baby Karen grow up? Stop it. :)
We started the day talking about eggs. And, as always, I try to impart some wisdom that I learned to you, hoping that maybe y'all will learn something new as well. (Sorry, Brittany, it is more baking lameness and no food talk, but I promise that will come soon enough.) Grading eggs is voluntary and is a representation of quality and appearance, NOT freshness. Now granted, if you select grade AA eggs that have a use-by date of thirty-two days from purchase, the eggs are probably going to be rather fresh. Over time, the porous shell releases carbon dioxide, the white inside thins out, the pH increases (becomes more basic), and the egg is less stable. Grade B is never sold in supermarkets but these eggs are used to make other ingredients or in egg products.
Next, we switched topics to milk and other dairy products. Once again, we separated into our teams to illustrate whipping and dairy products. Half and half, my team's milk product, does not whip, no matter how long you try and introduce air into it. Half cream and half whole milk (not half and half but actually mixing those two) creates a half-whipped product. The cream whips but the milk does not. There were four other different things we "whipped," but basically, in the end, we learned that products that have been ultra-pasteurized and homogenized will not whip. If cream has been ultra-pasteurized, additions must be made for the product to whip at all. Homogenization creates a stable emulsion between fat and liquid, thus preventing whipping.
Sweeteners and sugars were the next objectives. Did you know that light and dark brown sugar are actually the same thing? Manufacturers simply add a caramel coloring to the dark brown sugar for just that, added color. We tasted different sugars from granulated to baker's sugar to light and dark, etc. We also sampled different molasses, removed from points in the sugar refining process. Ms. Migoya gave us a sugar cane stick, if you will, to bite to taste the juice. I think I have done this before, at some point in my life, on a sugar cane farm, or did I dream this?!
Cacao and chocolate were maybe my favorite topics today. Our chocolate tasting consisted of everything from the cocoa bean, to cocoa butter, to cocoa nibs, to cocoa powder, to milk, white, and unsweetened chocolate. Some were gross. Some were amazing. Of course, we talked about the process of making chocolate from cacao pod to roasting to fermentation to tempering. Food Engineering I came back to me when we were talking about the two types of crystals in chocolate, alpha and beta, the "good" crystals; we made fudge at different temperatures to taste these crystals and understand them better.
We ended our very long day with fats. It was not so glamorous going from chocolate (which is considered "sexy," you know?) to fats. Shortening. Butter. Margarine. Oil. Blah. Blah. Blah. When talking about fats, of course, hydrogenation is discussed, as well, the process of adding hydrogen gas to form saturated fats. Each team performed an experiment to see how much water could be added to our creaming of sugar and our fat of interest. Water did not mix with Team Four's fat, margarine. Water did mix with one shortening, which had the addition of emulsifiers, and these emulsifiers formed an emulsion with the fat and added water.
In the downstairs Cuisines of the Americas kitchen, it was Mexico day at dinner time. I was pretty excited about this because I have not experienced Mexico day yet here at the Culinary. I ordered the Turkey Enchiladas, with soup and salad, and I was the last order for this dish. Phew. Sam (NJ) and I both thought they were delicious, but I think I would have enjoyed the stuffed pepper I keep hearing about from Mexico day, which was not on the menu tonight for some reason.
I worked on my homework for a bit in the student computer lab in the library, which is the room near the Danny Kaye Theater. I wanted to be close enough to the Theater to be able to hear what was happening in there, to ensure I was able to get a seat for tonight's presentation. Tonight, Bryan Voltaggio from Top Chef Season 6, who placed second to his brother, came and demonstrated a dish in the DKT. Bryan is a graduate of the Culinary ('99) and is now the owner of Volt in Frederick, Maryland. He prepared a caprese salad with his own spin, with savory dippin' dots, basil agar agar (gelatin-like), small tomatoes, etc. He used a lot of techniques that I, once again, learned in Food Science, using a dehydrator, liquid nitrogen, etc. He made enough for everyone in the Theater to sample. So, I can now say I have tasted a dish prepared by a Top Chef competitor. He was extremely gracious, and he mentioned several times that it was a great honor to cook for students at the CIA. He said that he always hoped to be considered "good enough" to show a demonstration, for which he saw many during his time here, back at the CIA, and he could now say he had made it. He was one of my favorites on the show, and now I like him even more. This industry is not the easiest, but he seems to have the heart and passion for food, the ultimate reason for working so hard in the hospitality business.
Design tomorrow. One more project, our final exam project. I can do this, right?
DROP IT LIKE IT'S HOT
Hay Reh
*I hope you had a great first day of your SENIOR year, Karen Swann. When did Baby Karen grow up? Stop it. :)
Monday, August 16, 2010
Knives 1. Haley 0.
There is not much to report today. I went to class. I ate. I go to culinary school, so this all makes sense.
I actually slept in waaaayyyyy longer than I should have. Okay, I did not really have anything that was pressing that I should have been doing but I do feel a little guilty, sometimes, about waking up later than 10. I know, shocking. I got ready and headed to Roth around 1:30. Today was my third to the last day of Principles of Design, and I could not be more excited about finally being done with this class. I would enjoy it if my grades actually reflected the effort that I am putting forth. Professor Oswald says that it is not an art class; yet, I feel that his grading is very subjective. I scored my highest grade today, on my cupcake airbrush design, and I got a perfect score on my take-home quiz I turned in on Friday. I feel a little bit better but not much.
Today was clay day in Design. This proved to be second only to the contrast project as my least favorite thing we have done in this class so far. It is just hard to work with clay to build a dessert design on a plate. I took about an hour and a half break for dinner, and I ordered Veg Jambalaya from K16. It was really good, a little spicy with lots of squash and zucchini. I almost got a second helping with my second swipe, but I held myself back. Then, around 6:30, it was time to head back to class to finish my clay project. The drawing of what I was trying to sculpt looks nothing like how it turned out. I say that my final sculpture's theme is smores, with a graham cracker box, marshmallows, flame triangles, and sticks for wood. The professor did not seem too thrilled, but I never can tell with him. I hope for at least a 16 out of 20. I will try to take a picture of the picture he took of my clay.
I tried to Skype with Katy and Kristy tonight, but the internet here, especially at night, is terrible. It is extremely frustrating, for me and for the other people that are trying to talk to me. I apologize, and I miss you both.
Nate and I opened my baking kit, and he tried to show me how to use the steel, which looks more like a light saber to me, to sharpen my knives. I need to know how to sharpen my knives for Culinary Skills, which is the class I take in my next block that starts next week. Well, guess what? The knives are really sharp. I tried to clean a smudge (yes, a little OCD here) off of the chef knife and I totally cut myself. It is a small cut but it is ridiculous that I even cut myself in the first place. I might need a princess band-aid, just maybe.
Now, having finished my BIET homework already, I am thinking about working on my ice cream paper. Yes, be jealous. I write papers on ice cream and comparing desserts to structures in real life. Life is sweet! :)
DTR= DEFINE THE RELATIONSHIP People do not know this phrase here (or at home either I guess), and it is frustrating. Learn it. :)
Hay Reh
*Happy First Day of Fall Semester 2010, my UGA friends. Today is the first time in five years that I have not started back to school in Athens. Though I am loving life here, I am a little sad about this fact, and I think my sister is too. :)
I actually slept in waaaayyyyy longer than I should have. Okay, I did not really have anything that was pressing that I should have been doing but I do feel a little guilty, sometimes, about waking up later than 10. I know, shocking. I got ready and headed to Roth around 1:30. Today was my third to the last day of Principles of Design, and I could not be more excited about finally being done with this class. I would enjoy it if my grades actually reflected the effort that I am putting forth. Professor Oswald says that it is not an art class; yet, I feel that his grading is very subjective. I scored my highest grade today, on my cupcake airbrush design, and I got a perfect score on my take-home quiz I turned in on Friday. I feel a little bit better but not much.
Today was clay day in Design. This proved to be second only to the contrast project as my least favorite thing we have done in this class so far. It is just hard to work with clay to build a dessert design on a plate. I took about an hour and a half break for dinner, and I ordered Veg Jambalaya from K16. It was really good, a little spicy with lots of squash and zucchini. I almost got a second helping with my second swipe, but I held myself back. Then, around 6:30, it was time to head back to class to finish my clay project. The drawing of what I was trying to sculpt looks nothing like how it turned out. I say that my final sculpture's theme is smores, with a graham cracker box, marshmallows, flame triangles, and sticks for wood. The professor did not seem too thrilled, but I never can tell with him. I hope for at least a 16 out of 20. I will try to take a picture of the picture he took of my clay.
I tried to Skype with Katy and Kristy tonight, but the internet here, especially at night, is terrible. It is extremely frustrating, for me and for the other people that are trying to talk to me. I apologize, and I miss you both.
Nate and I opened my baking kit, and he tried to show me how to use the steel, which looks more like a light saber to me, to sharpen my knives. I need to know how to sharpen my knives for Culinary Skills, which is the class I take in my next block that starts next week. Well, guess what? The knives are really sharp. I tried to clean a smudge (yes, a little OCD here) off of the chef knife and I totally cut myself. It is a small cut but it is ridiculous that I even cut myself in the first place. I might need a princess band-aid, just maybe.
Now, having finished my BIET homework already, I am thinking about working on my ice cream paper. Yes, be jealous. I write papers on ice cream and comparing desserts to structures in real life. Life is sweet! :)
DTR= DEFINE THE RELATIONSHIP People do not know this phrase here (or at home either I guess), and it is frustrating. Learn it. :)
Hay Reh
*Happy First Day of Fall Semester 2010, my UGA friends. Today is the first time in five years that I have not started back to school in Athens. Though I am loving life here, I am a little sad about this fact, and I think my sister is too. :)
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Life Plan= Professional Student.
I can see the end of the weekend, but there is not much work done to show for it. This week is going to be crazy busy, but I think it will be a good crazy. You would think that being on the block system and changing classes every three weeks would mean that there are crazy hard finals every three weeks. I do not think this is the case for the most part, meaning there will be some times when this is in fact true. Granted, I am only really nearing the end of my first three week block, but I really cannot foresee the finals, presentations, and papers that I have to do this week being hard. I just need to get up off of my... butt and do them.
Saturday began with a trip to the roller skating rink. Yes, you just read that correctly. And, no, I am not twelve years old. It is (or was) Welcome Week here at the CIA; I am assuming they do this every year. The Student Rec Center offered free trips to Woodbury Commons, a mall type place, and free tickets to skating, including one free slice of pizza and a drink. Today, there is BBQ behind one of the residence halls and a comedian performing, along with games, such as cornhole, redneck golf (do they call it that up here?), etc. It is raining right now, and I do not know if this BBQ, outside game, funny man thing is happening, however. I took one picture of Danielle, Melissa, and I at the skating rink. Too bad I fell in my skates when I asked this guy to take the picture. Anyways, maybe one day in the near future, you will be so lucky to see this picture.
After skating, we went to the grocery store. Yay. Enter excitement here, right? I bought ziploc bags and granola. Woah, once again, contain yourself. Melissa does not have a car here, and Danielle needed to stop and get a few things, too. So, we stopped to shop.
Melissa, Mike, and I went to BabyCakes (same place my mom and I ate twice while she was here) for our 4 o'clock dinner. I ordered the Quinoa Salad with a Chocolate Cupcake and a Coke (seriously, no one sells Coke here). It was delicious, and the salad and cupcake were not too bad either. :)
Well, I came back to campus to research externships (again) and figure out my life. If you ask my mom and dad, I need to stop researching things and maybe live my life a little before "planning" the next step. The next step, for them, always involves more moolah, unfortunately. "Haley, you need to get a job." "Haley, that sounds great but..." My response is usually something about how grateful I am but that I could be in med school, etc. or having a quarter lifeish crisis, all things that are more expensive than what I want to do, right?! Peter Pan never grew up, and I do not understand why I have to grow up either. That is my life goal in fact, since we are on the topic, to never grow up. :) (I will let you know of the details surrounding potentially going to graduate school when the time comes for me to make decisions about that.)
Last night, I went to see Eat, Pray, Love, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I should read the book now. Maybe my next life plan, after I get tired of being a professional student, should be to just travel around the world. I can eat and pray and love.
Now, it is Sunday. I have done three loads of laundry. I have cleaned my room and made my bed. I have basically done everything except anything related to school. Maybe I should do that now?
PEACE OUT, GIRL SCOUT (get it?)
Hay Reh
Saturday began with a trip to the roller skating rink. Yes, you just read that correctly. And, no, I am not twelve years old. It is (or was) Welcome Week here at the CIA; I am assuming they do this every year. The Student Rec Center offered free trips to Woodbury Commons, a mall type place, and free tickets to skating, including one free slice of pizza and a drink. Today, there is BBQ behind one of the residence halls and a comedian performing, along with games, such as cornhole, redneck golf (do they call it that up here?), etc. It is raining right now, and I do not know if this BBQ, outside game, funny man thing is happening, however. I took one picture of Danielle, Melissa, and I at the skating rink. Too bad I fell in my skates when I asked this guy to take the picture. Anyways, maybe one day in the near future, you will be so lucky to see this picture.
After skating, we went to the grocery store. Yay. Enter excitement here, right? I bought ziploc bags and granola. Woah, once again, contain yourself. Melissa does not have a car here, and Danielle needed to stop and get a few things, too. So, we stopped to shop.
Melissa, Mike, and I went to BabyCakes (same place my mom and I ate twice while she was here) for our 4 o'clock dinner. I ordered the Quinoa Salad with a Chocolate Cupcake and a Coke (seriously, no one sells Coke here). It was delicious, and the salad and cupcake were not too bad either. :)
Well, I came back to campus to research externships (again) and figure out my life. If you ask my mom and dad, I need to stop researching things and maybe live my life a little before "planning" the next step. The next step, for them, always involves more moolah, unfortunately. "Haley, you need to get a job." "Haley, that sounds great but..." My response is usually something about how grateful I am but that I could be in med school, etc. or having a quarter lifeish crisis, all things that are more expensive than what I want to do, right?! Peter Pan never grew up, and I do not understand why I have to grow up either. That is my life goal in fact, since we are on the topic, to never grow up. :) (I will let you know of the details surrounding potentially going to graduate school when the time comes for me to make decisions about that.)
Last night, I went to see Eat, Pray, Love, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I should read the book now. Maybe my next life plan, after I get tired of being a professional student, should be to just travel around the world. I can eat and pray and love.
Now, it is Sunday. I have done three loads of laundry. I have cleaned my room and made my bed. I have basically done everything except anything related to school. Maybe I should do that now?
PEACE OUT, GIRL SCOUT (get it?)
Hay Reh
Friday, August 13, 2010
Friday the 13th Part 2
Today has been a great day. In fact, if you can believe it, this is my second blog of the day. Just as with the other day, when I could not think of a blog title, this is a first. So, I have been complaining about blogging and what not. Two for the price of one... you should be excited.The day started out great when I received my graded quiz that we took yesterday in BIET. 100. I do not think I have scored a 100 on a college test, well, EVER. I am definitely loving 90s and 100s over the 32s and 48s I received in Biology classes at UGA.
Also, I think Professor Ostwald actually liked my airbrush piece I did today. We were supposed to create a logo, such as incorporating our initials into something that looked like something other than initials. I created a cupcake, as you can see. (Can you find the H, N, and R?) Professor Ostwald even kept my two finished pieces on the board for others to see, while he took down the ones that were dry and completed AFTER mine. He said to me that most "great" pieces come about the time I placed mine on the board, and he was talking directly to me.
Enjoy my contrast, the one that looks like roads, and one of my stencil pieces, the gravity design, also.
Happy Weekend.I HEART CULINARY SCHOOL
Hay Reh
Friday the 13th
Friday the 13th is already on my nerves. No, I am not superstitious for the most part, but annoyances always happen on these types of days. I guess I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed, right? I should look on the bright side (get it?) and think about there only being one more week left in this block of classes.
I think I have figured out why I do not care about blogging much right now. It is this block. It is hard to write/type about what we do, specifically with BIET. Ms. Migoya packs so much into that four hour block of time that it is almost overwhelming to try and relive it for y'all with the blog. But as I mentioned above, I only have one more week; I will try and suck it up for y'all. :)
In most classes, especially in kitchen classes, each student is assigned a day to be "food steward." Yesterday was my day, and therefore, I had to get to class about half an hour early (woah, 1:30!). Each team (with there being six teams in the class) was set to perform three experiments, on acids, foaming, and yeast fermentation. I weighed the ingredients, which differed for each team, for the yeast and the egg white experiments. I weighed a little water, yeast, and sugar, and cracked three eggs for each team, separating the yolk from the white. (It is a good thing I am an expert when it comes to egg separation without those handy tools. Thank you, creme brulee, for all of the experience.)
Ms. Migoya started class with a quiz and then the yeast experiment. Each group added their yeast, sugar, water, and any other ingredients to a clean plastic bottle. After the ingredients were mixed, each team placed a balloon over the bottle opening. We then started lecture, keeping an eye on our balloon and yeast fermentation. Let's just say that there are three different types of yeast, with some being wild (used in starters) and others commercial: Fresh Compressed, Instant Dry, and Active. Each of these three have a different ratio percentage of moisture to yeast. We tasted sourdough bread, which is produced with wild yeast, and a baguette, which is produced with commercial yeast, to distinguish the differences. According to Ms. Migoya, Active is okay for the home baker but not to be used in commercial production. (Instant is the best to use in commercial bakeries.) We discussed the factors and ingredients that affect yeast: temperature, salt, sugar, water, eggs/fat. Each team brought their balloon bottles to the front with the following happening:
Team 1- control- balloon inflated
Team 2- twice as much yeast- balloon inflated more quickly, more living organisms
Team 3- twice as much sugar- balloon inflated more over time, more food
Team 4- added vinegar and baking soda- balloon slightly inflated over time, alkaline environment
Team 5- added vinegar- balloon slightly inflated over time, acidic environment
Team 6- added salt- no inflation- yeast does not like salt.
After a break, Ms. Migoya then lectured on chemical, mechanical, and physical leavening. Chemical leaveners include baking soda and baking powder, which should NEVER be substituted for the other in baking, as they react completely differently. Baking ammonia and potassium bicarbonate are sometimes used as chemical leaveners, though they are not as common. Each team performed the acid experiment, which showed how cream of tartar, baking soda, and baking powder react when combined with other ingredients, such as fruit. The class then had a tasting with three different chocolate chip cookies, one control, one with three times baking soda, and one with baking powder, to understand the taste, texture, and color change when using these ingredients.
We ended BIET with physical leavening, the egg white experiment, Each group was different, such as with the yeast, and we each used our whip to foam the egg whites. We brought our bowls to the front to discuss each team's whites: (I am on Team 4, by the way.)
Team 1- control- foamed, coagulation
Team 2- added sugar- foamed
Team 3- added salt- foamed
Team 4- added egg yolk- did not foam, addition of fat
Team 5- added vinegar- foamed
Team 6- added penny- to show how copper affects foaming
After class, Jon and I went downstairs to the Meds kitchen, as it was Italy day. I ordered the second to the last (Jon got the last) gnocchi with lamb and spinach. It was one of the best dishes I have had, especially since being back from break.
There is not too much to report from last night. There was tie-dying in Pick, one of the other residence halls, but it was crowded. I just tie-dyed before I left Athens anyway, even though you can never have too much tie-dye, I guess. I worked on my Design homework and cleaned my room a bit. It was a good night.
Today, I have Design, and then I really want to see Eat, Pray, Love with Julia Roberts. I need to find someone who wants to join me. :) Until tomorrow, friends.
BIRTHDAY CAKE
Hay Reh
*Happy Belated 22nd Birthday to my Cuzzy Buzzy, Kristy Swann. Your 22nd year has so much in store for you: hard work, a degree (please for Debbie and Gerry's sake :)), bittersweet endings and new beginnings, much success, and a year of fun in Auburn. I am so proud of you and am so thankful to have a best friend in my cousin. Love you!
*Happy Birthday, BT. I hope Kellee treats you extra special today (emphasis on the "extra"). I miss y'all.
I think I have figured out why I do not care about blogging much right now. It is this block. It is hard to write/type about what we do, specifically with BIET. Ms. Migoya packs so much into that four hour block of time that it is almost overwhelming to try and relive it for y'all with the blog. But as I mentioned above, I only have one more week; I will try and suck it up for y'all. :)
In most classes, especially in kitchen classes, each student is assigned a day to be "food steward." Yesterday was my day, and therefore, I had to get to class about half an hour early (woah, 1:30!). Each team (with there being six teams in the class) was set to perform three experiments, on acids, foaming, and yeast fermentation. I weighed the ingredients, which differed for each team, for the yeast and the egg white experiments. I weighed a little water, yeast, and sugar, and cracked three eggs for each team, separating the yolk from the white. (It is a good thing I am an expert when it comes to egg separation without those handy tools. Thank you, creme brulee, for all of the experience.)
Ms. Migoya started class with a quiz and then the yeast experiment. Each group added their yeast, sugar, water, and any other ingredients to a clean plastic bottle. After the ingredients were mixed, each team placed a balloon over the bottle opening. We then started lecture, keeping an eye on our balloon and yeast fermentation. Let's just say that there are three different types of yeast, with some being wild (used in starters) and others commercial: Fresh Compressed, Instant Dry, and Active. Each of these three have a different ratio percentage of moisture to yeast. We tasted sourdough bread, which is produced with wild yeast, and a baguette, which is produced with commercial yeast, to distinguish the differences. According to Ms. Migoya, Active is okay for the home baker but not to be used in commercial production. (Instant is the best to use in commercial bakeries.) We discussed the factors and ingredients that affect yeast: temperature, salt, sugar, water, eggs/fat. Each team brought their balloon bottles to the front with the following happening:
Team 1- control- balloon inflated
Team 2- twice as much yeast- balloon inflated more quickly, more living organisms
Team 3- twice as much sugar- balloon inflated more over time, more food
Team 4- added vinegar and baking soda- balloon slightly inflated over time, alkaline environment
Team 5- added vinegar- balloon slightly inflated over time, acidic environment
Team 6- added salt- no inflation- yeast does not like salt.
After a break, Ms. Migoya then lectured on chemical, mechanical, and physical leavening. Chemical leaveners include baking soda and baking powder, which should NEVER be substituted for the other in baking, as they react completely differently. Baking ammonia and potassium bicarbonate are sometimes used as chemical leaveners, though they are not as common. Each team performed the acid experiment, which showed how cream of tartar, baking soda, and baking powder react when combined with other ingredients, such as fruit. The class then had a tasting with three different chocolate chip cookies, one control, one with three times baking soda, and one with baking powder, to understand the taste, texture, and color change when using these ingredients.
We ended BIET with physical leavening, the egg white experiment, Each group was different, such as with the yeast, and we each used our whip to foam the egg whites. We brought our bowls to the front to discuss each team's whites: (I am on Team 4, by the way.)
Team 1- control- foamed, coagulation
Team 2- added sugar- foamed
Team 3- added salt- foamed
Team 4- added egg yolk- did not foam, addition of fat
Team 5- added vinegar- foamed
Team 6- added penny- to show how copper affects foaming
After class, Jon and I went downstairs to the Meds kitchen, as it was Italy day. I ordered the second to the last (Jon got the last) gnocchi with lamb and spinach. It was one of the best dishes I have had, especially since being back from break.
There is not too much to report from last night. There was tie-dying in Pick, one of the other residence halls, but it was crowded. I just tie-dyed before I left Athens anyway, even though you can never have too much tie-dye, I guess. I worked on my Design homework and cleaned my room a bit. It was a good night.
Today, I have Design, and then I really want to see Eat, Pray, Love with Julia Roberts. I need to find someone who wants to join me. :) Until tomorrow, friends.
BIRTHDAY CAKE
Hay Reh
*Happy Belated 22nd Birthday to my Cuzzy Buzzy, Kristy Swann. Your 22nd year has so much in store for you: hard work, a degree (please for Debbie and Gerry's sake :)), bittersweet endings and new beginnings, much success, and a year of fun in Auburn. I am so proud of you and am so thankful to have a best friend in my cousin. Love you!
*Happy Birthday, BT. I hope Kellee treats you extra special today (emphasis on the "extra"). I miss y'all.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Life gets in the way of blogging.
Tuesday and today. What happened? Hm, let me think.
I do not know if I have mentioned or discussed my externship, which falls between January 2011 and June 2011. After the first year, each CIA student, in baking and culinary, is expected to complete an 18-21 week externship, and it is the responsibility of the student to obtain an externship position. There was a Career Fair held on campus yesterday, giving me the opportunity to talk to several places where I might like to extern. I know I want to work back South (hello, it will be winter here), but I am fairly open to many different places (New Orleans, Charleston, the beach :)). After talking to several chefs and giving them my resume, I am feeling hopeful about finding a great extern site, where I can learn and become a better baker.
At 2, I had BIET, until 6. We began class by working with our scales, using a pre-weighed amount of dried beans, to make sure that our scales that we were issued work correctly. Ms. Migoya lectured on stabilizers and liquefiers; most recipes/formulas are a balance of stabilizers (flour, eggs) and liquefiers (water, fats, sugar). We discussed specific formulas that we are expected to know in the bake shops, such as the 3, 2, 1 pie dough. In Food Science, specifically Food Chem, I learned about Maillard Browning and Caramelization. Here, at the CIA, I am learning more about temperatures and flavor in terms of these chemical processes, though we do touch on the chemistry a fair bit. Proteins, starch, denaturation, coagulation were our next topics to cover.
We spent a large majority of our time yesterday talking about bread, gluten, and flour. We even watched a short video on flour milling and sampled six different types of bread (with rye being my new fav). What is the difference between cake and pastry flour? How can you tell which is which by simply looking at the colors of both flours? We mixed six different doughs together, and we learned how to distinguish each by the type of flour used. Crazy stuff, right? This is all in a days work in the life of a baker. It is all about the gluten network, people.
To end class, we talked about gelling agents, agar, pectin, and gelatin. (I cannot even begin to try and reproduce how Ms. Migoya says "agar.") We took sheet gelatin and powdered gelatin and melted/dissolved each to see the differences, specifically in clarity. Ms. Migoya also gave a demonstration on cornstarch and tapioca, being thickening agents. Cornstarch and tapioca respond very differently to water and heat, with cornstarch having a shortening texture and tapioca having a sticky quality.
I met Danielle for dinner. It was Japan day in the Asia kitchen, and I ordered the Udon Noodle Bowl with Miso Soup and Ginger Salad. It was not the greatest, but I ate it anyway.
Last night, I procrastinated and went to Target to get a few things, mostly snacks. I did not really need anything really from Target except for batteries, but I always manage to find a few other things I "need," such as sour gummy worms and pretty duct tape. While I was coming back to campus from Target, I talked to Fallon about what quite possibly could be the greatest day of her life (and that is purely my opinion). Law and Order: SVU, one of my all-time favorite shows and one of many things Fallon and I share as far as obsessions go, is filming in NYC, duh. Well, it is filming right near where Fallon works. She saw Mariska (Olivia Benson, but yes, I call her Mariska because I spend a lot of time with her) and Jennifer Love Hewitt. I threatened Fallon about ending our friendship because I was so jealous. Then I remembered what awesome seats she found for the Yankees-Red Sox game, and I am trying to get over it. Fizzy, why did you not ask Jennifer, all bloody with clothes torn, if she was okay?
I did finish my stencil last night, but I had to wake up this morning and finish my total contrast project. This total contrast project proved to be my least favorite thing we have done in Design. I understood the concept but I just could not come up with anything I wanted to do really. I figured something out that I thought was awesome, but after getting my grade today, I guess it was not. (My grade was not terrible, just not what I was expecting.)
I went to lunch with Danielle, where I had burnt paella from the Mediterranean kitchen. Boo. Then, I came back to the room to watch a little Bachelor Pad, my new guilty pleasure, before I had to be back at Roth at 1. I picked up my graded BIET homework and my ServSafe certificate before walking to Design.
In Design today, we spent the entire class, before and after dinner, creating four different pieces with our stencil. (My stencil theme was Georgia, complete with Olympic torch, a state outline, a Coke bottle, and a peach.) The four pieces were place mat, random, system/anomaly, and gravity designs. My favorite at the end of the day was gravity, with peaches flowing from the Coke bottle. Totally bril. (I will try and post some pictures tomorrow or Friday.)
Now, I am doing a whole lot of nothing. I do have a quiz tomorrow, but I am not worried about it at all. I should do some laundry. Maybe, I should think about weekend plans. Or, maybe I should just sit in my bed and watch TV. (Cut me some slack. I went to bed around 2. :))
I AM OFFICIALLY COMING HOME TO WATCH MY DAWGS KILL SOME VOLUNTEERS (hopefully)
Hay Reh
I do not know if I have mentioned or discussed my externship, which falls between January 2011 and June 2011. After the first year, each CIA student, in baking and culinary, is expected to complete an 18-21 week externship, and it is the responsibility of the student to obtain an externship position. There was a Career Fair held on campus yesterday, giving me the opportunity to talk to several places where I might like to extern. I know I want to work back South (hello, it will be winter here), but I am fairly open to many different places (New Orleans, Charleston, the beach :)). After talking to several chefs and giving them my resume, I am feeling hopeful about finding a great extern site, where I can learn and become a better baker.
At 2, I had BIET, until 6. We began class by working with our scales, using a pre-weighed amount of dried beans, to make sure that our scales that we were issued work correctly. Ms. Migoya lectured on stabilizers and liquefiers; most recipes/formulas are a balance of stabilizers (flour, eggs) and liquefiers (water, fats, sugar). We discussed specific formulas that we are expected to know in the bake shops, such as the 3, 2, 1 pie dough. In Food Science, specifically Food Chem, I learned about Maillard Browning and Caramelization. Here, at the CIA, I am learning more about temperatures and flavor in terms of these chemical processes, though we do touch on the chemistry a fair bit. Proteins, starch, denaturation, coagulation were our next topics to cover.
We spent a large majority of our time yesterday talking about bread, gluten, and flour. We even watched a short video on flour milling and sampled six different types of bread (with rye being my new fav). What is the difference between cake and pastry flour? How can you tell which is which by simply looking at the colors of both flours? We mixed six different doughs together, and we learned how to distinguish each by the type of flour used. Crazy stuff, right? This is all in a days work in the life of a baker. It is all about the gluten network, people.
To end class, we talked about gelling agents, agar, pectin, and gelatin. (I cannot even begin to try and reproduce how Ms. Migoya says "agar.") We took sheet gelatin and powdered gelatin and melted/dissolved each to see the differences, specifically in clarity. Ms. Migoya also gave a demonstration on cornstarch and tapioca, being thickening agents. Cornstarch and tapioca respond very differently to water and heat, with cornstarch having a shortening texture and tapioca having a sticky quality.
I met Danielle for dinner. It was Japan day in the Asia kitchen, and I ordered the Udon Noodle Bowl with Miso Soup and Ginger Salad. It was not the greatest, but I ate it anyway.
Last night, I procrastinated and went to Target to get a few things, mostly snacks. I did not really need anything really from Target except for batteries, but I always manage to find a few other things I "need," such as sour gummy worms and pretty duct tape. While I was coming back to campus from Target, I talked to Fallon about what quite possibly could be the greatest day of her life (and that is purely my opinion). Law and Order: SVU, one of my all-time favorite shows and one of many things Fallon and I share as far as obsessions go, is filming in NYC, duh. Well, it is filming right near where Fallon works. She saw Mariska (Olivia Benson, but yes, I call her Mariska because I spend a lot of time with her) and Jennifer Love Hewitt. I threatened Fallon about ending our friendship because I was so jealous. Then I remembered what awesome seats she found for the Yankees-Red Sox game, and I am trying to get over it. Fizzy, why did you not ask Jennifer, all bloody with clothes torn, if she was okay?
I did finish my stencil last night, but I had to wake up this morning and finish my total contrast project. This total contrast project proved to be my least favorite thing we have done in Design. I understood the concept but I just could not come up with anything I wanted to do really. I figured something out that I thought was awesome, but after getting my grade today, I guess it was not. (My grade was not terrible, just not what I was expecting.)
I went to lunch with Danielle, where I had burnt paella from the Mediterranean kitchen. Boo. Then, I came back to the room to watch a little Bachelor Pad, my new guilty pleasure, before I had to be back at Roth at 1. I picked up my graded BIET homework and my ServSafe certificate before walking to Design.
In Design today, we spent the entire class, before and after dinner, creating four different pieces with our stencil. (My stencil theme was Georgia, complete with Olympic torch, a state outline, a Coke bottle, and a peach.) The four pieces were place mat, random, system/anomaly, and gravity designs. My favorite at the end of the day was gravity, with peaches flowing from the Coke bottle. Totally bril. (I will try and post some pictures tomorrow or Friday.)
Now, I am doing a whole lot of nothing. I do have a quiz tomorrow, but I am not worried about it at all. I should do some laundry. Maybe, I should think about weekend plans. Or, maybe I should just sit in my bed and watch TV. (Cut me some slack. I went to bed around 2. :))
I AM OFFICIALLY COMING HOME TO WATCH MY DAWGS KILL SOME VOLUNTEERS (hopefully)
Hay Reh
Monday, August 9, 2010
#2, Derek Jeter, #2
Last night, drum roll please, I went to the third game of the Yankees- Red Sox four game series. This is the new stadium, in its second year, home of the 2009 World Series Champions, the New York Yankees. (The construction at the bottom is where the old stadium stood and they are now building Heritage Park.) It was almost surreal being there.I took the 3:45ish train from Poughkeepsie to a new stop on the Hudson Line, the Yankees -153rd Street stop (convenient, right?). By the time my train arrived, Fallon had made it from work in Manhattan to the Bronx. We waited in line for the doors to open at 6, and immediately after entering the stadium, we went to scope out our seats, which were amazing. (Section 118. Row 17. Seats 7-8. We were behind home plate to the right on the first base side.) After realizing we (or Fallon, really) had struck gold, we went to find food. Hot Dog for me. Sushi for Fallon. Garlic Fries to share (see below).
The Yankees won 7-2, with Derek Jeter breaking Babe Ruth's All-Time Hits Record. I can now check two things off of my Bucket List, seeing the Yankees, seeing the Yankees play the Red Sox. Now, though, I have sports fever, with the electrifying atmosphere of the game last night, and it is time for football season. Let the countdown begin.
Garlic fries are the greatest thing in the world. Large order with cheese, please. The only issue I have with the amazing food and beverage selection (a sports fan's/ culinarian's dream) at Yankees Stadium is the fact that they only sell PEPSI products. Not selling Coke products should be considered un-American, and at an "America's favorite pastime" game, it should be considered illegal. Hot dogs taste best at a baseball game (just as funnel cakes taste best at a fair), but I could not enjoy my dog to the fullest extent with a Pepsi in my commemorative cup and not COKE (the real thing, haven't you heard, Yankees?).
Yes, Fallon and I stood up and turned around for this picture. Meaning? Meaning, these were our seats. It was my first Yankees game and my first Yankees-Red Sox game; thus, I do it in style and go big. (Why not, right? I am a Rehberg girl, after all. :))It did take me a while to get back to Poughkeepsie on the train last night. I finally went to bed around 1:30. Therefore, I slept in this morning until about 10:30, if you can call that sleeping in. :) I finished my radiant image (see below) and went to class around 1:45. Today, I had my third Principles of Design class. Professor Ostwald collected our images and then gave a brief presentation on the block print project. Then, we spent the remainder of the class drawing, carving, and printing (again, see below), with a break for dinner and a brief presentation on stenciling (our project for next class). I really enjoyed Design today. I like how my prints turned out, and I could have done a million more of them in different ways!
Well, here is my completed radiant image. It almost looks like a Kristy Swann original, right? I did color outside of the lines once, but you cannot tell from this picture. Oops.
This is my block print. I did three others, with the same block, of course. You did not know I had it in me, did you?Now, I need to finish my BIET homework, which is due tomorrow in class. I also need to try and be creative with my contrast piece, which is due in Design on Wednesday, and I need to begin thinking about my stencil. Wowsers.
LOVE YA, MEAN IT
Hay Reh
*Thank you, Fallon, for sharing the Yankees-Red Sox experience with me, and the garlic fries!
*Yay, Jenny, for finally Skyping!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)