Smart Cookie!

*NEWSFLASH: I HAVE AN EXTERNSHIP, which is kind of a big deal. I was offered a position in the Baking and Pastry Department at The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort on Kiawah Island, South Carolina, about 45 minutes from Charleston, where I will be living between February 1 and June 10, 2011! I AM VERY EXCITED. Come visit me people! "Carolina on My Mind" (even though James Taylor is really talking about North Carolina... nbd).

Cookies, Tarts, and Mignardises class. Where to begin? Cookie class is fun but can be a little tedious. I can scoop cookies for hours and hours. By the third sheet tray, however, I want to be done, with that particular cookie anyway. Each day, each team (Christie is my partner from WA this block) makes one or two new cookies. Once those are finished, we make additional cookies, or fondant petit fours (petit fours translates to "small oven"), or bake off cookies we have frozen, etc. As with breads when we made the bread for most of the restaurants, in this class, we fill cookie orders for the restaurants and other functions on campus. For example, we have been making tons of pie dough for a Continuing Education class on how to make holiday pies. I have learned a lot about bit-sized desserts (which is what a mignardise is), but I am excited to explore more next week about tarts, other desserts, and savory creations.

*All the starred items are products that Team 2, my team, made.

Monday, November 15 (Day 1)
*Peanut Butter Cookies
**Most nights we take cookies home to either evaluate (for homework) or to just enjoy. Check out my homework from the first day below.
**Piping happens every night, just like last block.
Tuesday, November 16 (Day 2)
*Shortbread
*Checkerboard Cookies

Wednesday, November 17 (Day 3)
*French Macaroon (Coffee)
*Coconut Macaroon (see below)
Thursday, November 18 (Day 4)
*Almond (Anise Biscotti)
*Snickerdoodle

Friday, November 19 (Day 5)
*Frangipan (for Petit Fours)
*Pate a Choux (for Eclairs)

Saturday, November 20 (Day 6)
We had class on Saturday to make up for one of the two days we get off for Thanksgiving break. Six days of classes is NOT an ideal week situation for me.
*Petit Fours
*Eclairs

Monday, November 22 (Day 7)
*Pecan Diamonds
*Cake Brownies

Tuesday, November 23 (Day 8)
*Sable Cookies (Sabl-a not sable... it's French!)
*Snickerdoodles

Wednesday, November 24 (Day 9)
*Pecan Pie (or pie/tart of choice to take home for Thanksgiving! See below. I will enjoy this with Nate and Fallon tomorrow.)
My sister came to visit this past weekend, the first weekend of her Thanksgiving week off from teaching. (Go Panthers.) I had class on Saturday, as mentioned, and I did not see her until Sunday. We made up for the lack of time together by packing in a full, chilly Sunday in New York City. Our day began, as usual, with Jessica not answering my calls or my texts. It is a good thing I miss her, or I would have been angry the whole day for her making me literally sit on some front steps in Harlem.

I did not make it to Harlem until about 11:20, but I was starving by this point. Jess and I walked to Dinosaur BBQ on 125th Street, near the Hudson. The BBQ was not the best BBQ I have ever tasted, but the fried green tomatoes were the best fried green tomatoes. Who knew? NYC could beat the South on fried green tomatoes. (I bet the chef in the kitchen is Southern.)

Jess and I enjoyed walking around Rockefeller Center (the tree will be lit next Tuesday) and seeing the Christmas spectacular-ness on Fifth Avenue. We ate dinner with Fallon, Morgan, and Kevin at the Eatery before Morgan, Jess, and I went to see Wintuk, the Cirque du Soleil show about winter. It was whimsical, as I had imagined it would be, and I experienced my first New York snow, tissue paper falling from the sky. (I hope I enjoy the real stuff just as much. :)) Jess and I then said our goodbyes. See you at Christmas, best friend.

Below: The tree getting all pretty-ified. I cannot wait to see it all sparkly and lit up.
Below: Jess and I in front of the star replica. Yes, we know we look like twins. To be fair, she is wearing my boots I gave her, and I bought the jacket first. (Sorry to call you out, Jess, but this is my blog. :))
Tonight, I am headed to the City with Nate to spend Thanksgiving with Fallon. Tomorrow, being Thanksgiving, is the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and we fully intend to be one in the crowd to experience possibly our one-and-only Macy's Parade. I am fairly excited about it. Then, our plan is to cook Thanksgiving dinner (this is Nate's job really) at Fallon's apartment. Maybe do a little Black Friday shopping on guess, Friday, and then Nate and I will head back to Hyde Park to enjoy a few days before class begins again on Monday. I will try to blog on these "few days" back in Hyde Park (when I am not watching UGA beat GA Tech, hopefully). This will be a different Thanksgiving holiday weekend for me, but I am looking to the positive of something new (without forgetting the old, however, Mom :):):)).

WELL, HOW DO YOU PRONOUNCE "ANISE" AND "SYRUP?"

Thankful Hay Reh

*HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I am most thankful for my irreplaceable family and friends. Barrett family, enjoy the Linzertart (pictured on the last post) and the Hudson Valley caramel apple from the Apple Pie Bakery Cafe. If I could have fit in Jessica's suitcase instead of these treats, I would be enjoying the day and my stomach would be enjoying the day with you. Though y'all do not believe me, tomorrow I will be a little homesick for our Thanksgiving traditions; I have never spent a Thanksgiving in 23 years away from y'all. Living my dream in New York does not make me miss y'all any less. I am thankful for y'all each and every day but especially tomorrow, from the Big City. Love you, family. (What is the count on how many times I used "y'all" in this paragraph?)