Good week & a great weekend

Well hello again readers! Seriously, thanks so much to everyone for reading and going on this adventure with me. I've gotten lots of good feedback on my blog and I could not be more grateful!


This week was a very short one. We got 3 days off because our kitchen was being used by another class. So it was a nice little break that just happened to be during my birthday week. But I'm not going to lie--I honestly missed going to class. Guess that means I'm in the right place, eh? (Dale, my Canadian friend, that was for you) 


Thursday we really didn't do any "real" baking, we spent a lot of time talking about our field trip last Friday which got us onto talking about what it takes to own a bakery, what's profitable in a business and lots of great things to consider when picking what to concentrate on in your career. We also did a nut tasting where we identified and tasted all different kinds from pecans to macadamia (my favorite). After that, we made a swiss meringue buttercream (we colored ours a pretty baby blue) and practiced piping rosettes and shells and borders. Honestly, this was the first thing we did that really frustrated me. I just couldn't get a grip on the little things. There's a certain motion and technique to both, and I had never even used a pastry bag until a few weeks ago. I practiced a little at home and I can tell I'm getting better, but it's definitely not there yet. I've got to agree with the age old saying--practice does indeed make perfect.


Friday was a fun day--we got to learn all about cooked sugar. There's certain stages in sugar cooking that you've got to be aware of, the most important being the soft ball stage, when the sugar is at 235-240 degrees. All of the stages determine how the product you put the sugar in will end up feeling and tasting. As we start to get comfortable with sugar, we will most likely be able to identify the stages simply by how the bubbles look and act. But another way to test it is by touch, and this is what we worked on in class. You've got to have a bowl of ice and water next to the pot, then you swipe your hand over the cooking sugar to grab some then immediately put your hand in the ice water. It's terrifying at first, but it's actually kind of fun. After that we made fudge which was the highlight of my day. It was a long process that ended by working the fudge on a marble with two bench scrapers until it was solid enough to put in a pan. It was so much fun and it tasted amazing! The last thing we did on Friday was to make an Italian meringue. The only difference is that this meringue is made with sugar that's been cooked to the soft ball stage. That sugar makes it the most stable meringue and it's the only one that can be frozen and used later. It's an extra step, but well worth the time if that's what you need to use.


So I'm really excited about this--I got an internship at a restaurant!! God is so good. It started two weeks ago when I volunteered at a book signing and tasting with amazing chefs all around the city. I got to assist Chef Emily from Veritas with her desserts--she let me help her plate them and serve them out to the guests. We got to talking and she told me to email her and come work in the kitchen with her, so this Saturday I went in. I was there all day and learned a lot! It was intimidating at first, but then I started to get more comfortable and really observed how the chefs were working. They let me make pate de fruit, which we made in class already! It was a different way to make it, but still, it was nice to do something familiar. Also I made banana bread, measured out lots of ingredients and helped cut and roll dough for other breads. At the end of the day I told Chef Emily how much I enjoyed the day and she told me I could come intern with her every Saturday. I am so very grateful for this and can't wait for next Saturday! Even though this means no Saturday afternoon college football, I think it's safe to say this is a good tradeoff! 




Sorry about the lack of pictures this week--my phone fell in water and is hopefully recovering in its bowl of dry rice as I type. If it does start working I'll be sure to post pictures!