I went to class last night without a second thought about the snow that is on the ground. Yes, there is some snow on the ground, maybe more in some places than others. I can imagine that the suburbs are worse than the actual city. When I had left the night before I had heard that all day classes were cancelled but there was no mention of evening classes. So I blithely traipsed along to class, and what did I find there? Half the class. We only had 8 people last night. Wimps! Making the walk down from therapy to class (from 33rd to 23rd sts) I was thinking that it was actually much warmer than it had been lately and I wasn't feeling bitten by the wind. I am guessing that my blood has thickened up nicely and I am ready mentally for a winter in Maine. We won't be moving until at least next winter, but it's nice to know I'm ready.
Class with just 8 people was delightful. More room to move around, less congestion at the sink/fridge/ovens. Less of a wait for various pieces of equipment. Boy would it be nice if half of my classmates dropped out.... Just kidding, but a girl can dream, no? We worked on more frozen desserts, this time sorbets and granitas. We had made the bases for the sorbets the night before, just sugar water and some sort of stabilizer (corn syrup or egg whites), so last night we mixed those with flavors. My partner and I made mango, yum. The flavor was mango puree with an equal part of water and a little squeeze of lemon juice. The whole shebang got churned in the machine for a short while, and there you have delicious sorbet. The other flavors made by my fellow students were equally tasty: banana; pineapple and strawberry/banana. The fresh flavor combined with the creamy texture created by the machine churning, makes for a very delicious refreshing dessert. But then I find it hard to believe there is anyone out there who has not gotten on the sorbet bandwagon yet. It's everywhere, including old faithful Haagen Daz.
To accompany the ice cream we had made the night before, which was ripening in the freezer overnight, we made tulipes (also known as tuiles) which are delicate paper thin cookies that can be shaped into flower type vessels for substances like ice cream or sorbet or mousse. The tulipes are pretty straightforward in the mixing process but then forming the cookies takes some doing. You need a very shallow template, something about 1/16th of an inch, and you have to spread the batter very thinly in the template with an offset spatula and bake it for about 3-4 minutes tops. You can only make a couple at a time as they are pliable only when hot, so you must work quickly to shape them as you like while they are fresh out of the oven. You can press them into mini brioche pans, or other smooth bowls, they can be small for one scoop, or larger to contain a trio (or more) of scoops. They are quite elegant, and appropriately perishable, so they lend an air of sophistication to a presentation, and a dessert menu. They can also be made in different flavors such as chocolate or nut, or I imagine even ginger or cinnamon or some such spice. We made one batch of chocolate batter, made cornets and piped chocolate onto the plain tulipes so they had patterns on them. Then we used the cookies to plate desserts using the ice creams made last night. I made an artful (I thought) arrangement of three cookies, one large and two small, with the smaller cookies sitting inside the large one and each cookie had a different flavored (caramel, coconut and vanilla) scoop of ice cream. Then I drizzled the whole thing with caramel sauce. Chef Gerri's criticism was that I had done too much drizzling, but otherwise she thought it was nice. It did taste good, I can vouch for that. As mentioned yesterday, our maple walnut flavor did not work, it was grainy because of the syrup not freezing properly, so that's why I did not use my own flavor in my presentation. Luckily there were many others to experiment with. Homemade ice cream, which does require the purchase of a machine (that varies in price from $50 to $1200) is SO good and SO easy that if one is an ice cream freak (as my darlin Don is) it is a worthwhile investment. I think we will use some of our Williams Sonoma gift certificates towards this purchase. Then I will be able to do some experimenting here at home. yeehaw!
Earlier in the night I had my first kitchen accident. No blood, and I must say if this is as bad as I am going to get I will be OK, but I managed to mangle the knuckles of two of my right hand fingers in a high powered citrus juicer. For the making of the granitas some of us needed fresh citrus juice (we made a margarita version). Chef Gerri did a demo with the machine with an orange and it seemed highly efficient, scraped all the insides out of the orange half. So I stepped up to the plate to take care of the 16oz of lime juice we needed. But juicing a little tough lime is quite different from an orange. I hate to admit it, but I was afraid of the juicer! The thing moved very fast and if you didn't get your vectors right the fruit you were clutching in your paw would fly off leaving flesh exposed to the head of the juicer. Oops. After a couple of trys where I had rarely seen my hands pull so fast off of anything, I asked for Chef Gerri's advice. She commiserated over the scariness of the contraption and said she would juice them for me if I liked. I said no, I needed to know how to use all the equipment in the kitchen. She said that's good, because other cooks will laugh at you if you are afraid of a piece of equipment. So she suggested I use a side towel to increase the surface area of the lime half. This seemed to work pretty well, so I set about juicing the limes, still somewhat scared, but determined. I did pretty well, except for the moment when I lost control of the fruit and juiced my knuckles. They are pretty bruised and sore today, but I feel more confident for having figured out how to work with that machine. Another skill under the belt.
One thing I've been meaning to mention but keep forgetting till I'm off post, is the tool issue. Seems that one's tools are like gold and to be treated as such, both by oneself and one's kitchen mates. This I have already encountered as well, but not, I think for the same motivation. Chef Gerri and Chef Kathryn (proper spelling) both say that you should keep an eye on your tools at all times, or they will disappear. Apparently the level and quantity of equipment varies greatly from restaurant to restaurant, and so you want to guard yours like precious cargo. Chef Kathryn was talking about how she had worked in a place where you would only take one tool out of your bag at a time and literally make sure it never left your hands. Stealing is common and rarely does anything get done about it, even if you mark your tools dramatically. Already I have found in class that my tools will wander. I think in this setting it is more from distraction than malice truly. Few of my fellow students have that hunting air about them. There is usually so much chaos going on in the classroom that things honestly get misplaced. By the end of the class they usually get returned. Although I now have some one else's bench scraper, mine has found a new home. I have one, it is in perfectly good shape, it has no markings on it, I imagine it's owner doesn't realize that the one she has has my markings on it, but I do not have the bench scraper I started with. Interesting. I have a tendency to think that people are basically good, Don thinks the opposite, I am hoping the truth lays somewhere in the middle.
Today is lunch at Montrachet....
a bientot,
Samantha
I feel as if I have stepped up a notch into the big(er) leagues. I got a virus sent to my pastry elf inbox this morning. That means I am out in the web world enough to be spammed. I know that in 15 minutes that will be a big hassle, but for right now it's kinda cool; to come out of the shadows of Blogger and into the spotlight of Pretty Posies.
I was also happy to see comments, yeehaw! Thanks to those who responded, nice to know that I have some lurkers. Feeling comfortable enough with this forum to start advertising, a little. Don is sending the link to some people and I am going to expand my list so we should have a larger party...
First things first. We had lunch at 11 Madison Park yesterday. Ummmm mmmm. Tasty. I had a warm leek and lentil salad plate followed by roasted brook trout with a grapefruit cream sauce and endive, capped off by a pineapple upside down almond cake with a caramel sauce. Don had a seafood borcht, tenderloin stroganoff and a mint chocolate ice cream cake. Both meals were superb: understated; elegant; perfectly prepared; not fussy in presentation; delicious and inventive without being contrived. I am not a reviewer or a critic therefore a certain amount of gushing is allowed. The service was lovely, friendly without being obsequious, present without being noticeable, efficient and knowledgable, even personable. The room is also delightful. The restaurant is in the Metropolitan Life building, a landmark that I have fond memories of from my days visiting an old boyfriend in Peter Cooper. It is a large space, ceilings somewhere around 20-25' high, but it was not loud or cold. There were wood banquettes with simple elegant inlays of leaf patterns in veneer. White tablecloths, but no stuffiness. Don had a tasty Gigondas with his stroganoff and we both had a simple but appropriate Muscadet. Over all it was a marvelous experience. We showed up at 2:00 and waited for about 5 minutes at the bar, which allowed us to case the joint. Then we had a leisurely late lunch as the dining room cleared out. The pacing was perfect, everything came at the right moment, not too soon or too late. Guess that's how things go when you are true professionals. We were both very impressed. The desserts were top notch, my almond cake was light and substantial at the same time, not mealy, not dry. The pineapple was cooked to just the right texture, there was some give but the integrity of the fruits flesh was maintaned. The caramel may have been the weakest part of the plate, and then only because it was plain overshadowed by its companions. Don's ice cream cake was made with fresh mint, not extract, and what a difference that small taste makes. Not a hint of ridiculous green food coloring, and the chocolate was strong enough to balance the mint flavor, but didn't overpower it. And to top it all off we had a lovely conversation, something about being in that beautiful space, eating fabulous food, brought about a lively and expansive exchange. sigh. I could get used to this.....
Tomorrow is Montrachet.
Class last night was more custard based concoctions. This time we took the creme anglaise base we had made the night before and used an industrial ice cream maker to churn it into that favorite of summer treats. My partner and I are making Maple Walnut, although I must say getting the Maple flavor strong enough to be recognizable is tricky. When the anglaise was warm it was prominent, but when we froze it down it was difficult to taste the Maple. Chef Gerri said that it probably had something to do with the fluid nature of the syrup. The flavor is less concentrated in Maple syrup because of it's state, crystalized sugar can maintain much more flavor in it's form. So to use enough Maple syrup to have a strong flavor you would have too much simple syrup which doesn't freeze as well as sugar which can be disssolved into it's fellow ingredients. In other words you would end up with tasty but soupy ice cream. I think this is one of those places where chemistry comes into play. Chef Gerri recomended using a maple concentrate (not an extract) next time.
As there was only one ice cream machine we had to take turns. While we were waiting to churn our creme anglaise we made Pizelles, which are thin crunchy waffle like cookies often served with ice cream, sometimes even made into cones. They are made from a basic pancake/waffle type batter that includes ground hazelnuts, and cooked in their very own pizelle maker which bears a strong resemblance to a waffle maker sized down. They cook for a brief minute or two and then you can leave them flat or quickly manipulate them into various shapes (cones, curves, baskets) while they are still warm. They become crunchy upon cooling and are quite tasty as a accompaniment to ice cream or some other loose dessert.
We also unmolded the cheesecakes from the night before. And then we had our first attempt at plating. We made sauces to drizzle on the plates (raspberry, cassis, chocolate, caramel) and put them in squeeze bottles, just like the pros do, and made designs on our plates. Having improved my eye to hand coordination with all the cornet practice I felt more comfortable that the sauce would end up where I wanted it to on the plate. My design skills, however, are limited so I stuck with some basic dots, lines and squiggles. I think I will have to start looking more closely at what decoration gets done to desserts in restaurants. I usually focus more on the flavor, but some rudimentary plating skills would be useful. Although I must say our desserts at 11 Madison Park showed up with just a dusting (mine was toasted coconut, Don's was cake crumbs) that I thought was perfectly tasteful. I am not going to stress too much about this area.
To address an aspect of the career changing element of this blog, I feel I must report on one sigificant change in my life. In my previous incarnation I was subject to many stress induced stomach problems, which I do not need to go into here. I would pop the pepcid on a regular basis and even went to the Dr. to discuss this phenomenon. She told me I could curtail my diet, increase my stress reducing activities, sleep with my bed inclined, but the last resort was a daily prescription pill. Unwilling to to restrict my diet or sleep with the bed on a tilt, I decided to wait and see what happened when I quit work. Well, guess what? I haven't had a pepcid, except for one moment during the holidays, since I've been in school. Hmmmm, how about that?
well, I've got to work on my module homework (a paper listing 10 fruits and all their specs, due in a week) so I'll sign off for now.
A bientot,
Samantha
Well, the day has arrived. I have joined the Pretty Posies party! For most of my readers (that tiny yet elite group) this situates us in a much larger more public forum. You will note the lovely design, and the new added features, including COMMENTS. I am hoping for plenty of comments. This is where you get to chime in, add your two cents, rant and rave (well, maybe we can play that one by ear, huh?) and generally engage. Hopefully we will all have good manners and be respectful of each other, and of me? I have been enjoying spewing my guts, but doing so in a vacuum is not really why I started this thing. I would like to know what others think about what I am writing, so let me know if you're out there.
This will be a shorter entry as I spent some of my usual blogging time getting the thing set up. I am not the most computer literate person you've ever met. I used to rely heavily on the IT guys at my last couple of jobs, they were very good, being in publishing and all. But on to pastry..
Thursday we worked with custards. We made Creme Brulee, Creme Renversee and Bread Pudding. This is true comfort food to me. Is this because Creme Brulee was my Father's favorite dessert growing up, he would always order it when we went out to dinnner (not that that was that often, but it left a big impression). Or was it the bread pudding that was on the menu at my Mom's restaurant? Can't really say but this concept of egg yolks cooked gently with cream (milk/half&half) has a very soothing effect on my nervous system. (In fact I could use some now to calm me down after wrangling with the computer...) Creme Brulee is really quite simple. Lightly beaten egg yolks are mixed with heated cream (which can be infused with any number of lovely flavorings) and then baked slowly in individual shallow ramekins in a bain marie in the oven just till they set. When they have cooled you sprinkle the top with granulated sugar and pull out the blow torch. Yes, we did have blow torches in class Thursday night and Yes, someone did burn themself (not me). So we have had our first injury, nothing major, though, all are fine. (I guess, will see tonight when we go back to class and we see what her arm looks like) The crucial element here is slow steady moist heat. You don't want brulee to cook too fast or you get scrambled eggs. We infused our brulees with grated fresh ginger by adding it directly to the cream when we heated it, and then straining it out before we put it in the ramekins. The ginger flavor was quite nice, some other suggestions might be lavender, cardamon, vanilla, orange zest etc. It is a subtle classic dessert, delicious and familiar on the dessert menu. Always a good choice.
Next came creme renversee, which is the french name for creme caramel, although I believe the latter is made with condensed milk. But the basic concept is a custard with a loose caramel covering which happens as a result of cooking the custard on top of a caramel base in the ramekin. Another classic, upped a notch by the addition of the caramel. I have always been partial to caramel, these days I am finding my taste ranging more towards the french version which is darker and smokier, almost to the point of burned, sophisticated.
The third variation was bread pudding which I adore. How can you go wrong with bread and custard and flavorings, even if you stick with default vanilla? Yummy! but then add bourbon or nuts or orange zest or dried fruits or grand marnier or chocolate chips or pumpkin. Or try making it with brioche or pain de mie or croissants or pannetone and it jumps up another level. The possibilities are limitless and the whole concept starts with leftovers, as day old bread is the best vessel. Then if you want to really go to town, or if you over cooked it, you serve it with creme anglaise, the latter being a thinner custard sauce, or some sort of hard sauce (read alcohol). Yummmmmy!
Last class was also interesting for non cooking reasons. I was speaking with the externship coordinator about the possibility of switching from the evening class to the afternoon class (which I have decided against) and she told me that within a month or so I can start trailing, or doing 'stage', at restaurants. There are all these new terms and definitions that I am learning about the food world, that didn't seem to be in play I was last in the restaurant world. Doing a 'stage' means working in a restaurant without being paid in it's simplest terms. I will have to get back to you on the exact meaning of the term, I believe it's origins are French. But it is not as simple as it sounds, it's not just working for free. It's somewhere between apprenticing and trailing and guest starring. A chef will go do a 'stage' to learn another chef's way of doing things, or to learn another type of cuisine. A neophyte like myself will do something much lowlier, yet important in it's own way. We culinary students provide a somewhat trained labor force that allows restaurants like Le Cirque to put out ridiculously labor intensive desserts without charging what they would actually cost to make (in terms of labor). This in turn helps with the stature of the restaurant which makes people eat there, hence more success, better job opportunities. Now I do think there is plenty of room for abuse in this system, certainly some places will promise (or even just hint at) the possibility of employment to keep hopeful students making endless tuiles. But this is not just a phenomenon in the lower reaches of the world, established chefs will go work in each others kitchens to learn new techniques, different approaches and cuisines. I also believe that if there was wide spread abuse in the system people just wouldn't do these 'stages'. As Chef Catherine said you are not beholden to them because they are not paying you, if you are not being treated well, or if you are not learning enough, you can walk away. Seems like there are benefits for both sides of the equation. I am planning to try to do some 'stages' as soon as I am ready. Even if I am just making endless batches of brulee, I will be in a kitchen seeing how things operate. I was also told that this a common practice, that chefs at major restaurants are happy to see culinary students who want to work in their kitchens because we have better skills to begin with, and that some places will take any Tom, Dick or Harry off the street if they show a healthy interest. Sort of a microcosm of the American Dream, if you really want it and work really hard you can achieve success.
Other news: this week and next are restaurant week in NYC. The idea is that many places have special prix fixe menus that allow students and people on a budget to eat first class food at a lower cost. Many of the restaurants I am interested in working at are taking part in this NYC ritual. So Don and I are going to 11 Madison Park for lunch tomorrow, Montrachet on Thursday and Bolo next week. we are also going to try and go to the Tavern part of Grammercy Tavern at some point. We couldn't get reservations for Grammercy but the woman I spoke with said that the Tavern doesn't take reservations and they will be serving the prix fixe there all week so if we just show up we will be able to eat. I figure we have the added advantage of being able to eat a late lunch (on our schedules) which will make the likelihood of getting seated even better. So I will have much food to report on later this week in addition to class updates.
I am going to try and transfer all the archives from Blogger here in the next few days. In the meantime I am going to try and link the old blog here so anyone who wants to catch up can. Bear with me I am still VERY new to this stuff. Try going to http://pastryschoolelf.blogspot.com/ and see what happens... I'll figure this out soon, promise.
A bientot,
Samantha