Another Mid-term

This one I was only mildly worried about as its a class I take great interest in. Its kinda like Good Eats where she goes into detail about types of food and why we do the things the way we do. Well that and I had done the review questions. So the test was 100 questions and all multiple choice I was comfortable with about 90% of my answers as the last 10 were a little iffy they were match the name to the job in the kitchen.What was funny was before the test was to start the 2 nit wits who sit behind me and goof off all class and joke about not studying tried to ask for special accommodations due to "learning disabilities" yeah like not doing the work or paying attention, the good thing was the teacher said nope since they had no documentation on file not to mention we have already taken 4 quizzes and they never said anything plus they were practically standing behind each other to tell the same story, and they sit in the back if you have learning issues you would sit in front. Stupids.
I also took in my Avocado Panna Cotta and it was good those who tried it really liked it. I was able to finish the test by noon so I went downstairs and registered. I dont remember what the times are but my classes are Nutrition Science, Sustainable Purchasing & Controlling Costs, and American Regional Cuisine (lab class). I need to keep my pace with TAPs that way I am all set for next semester.
Also before I forget I am going to be helping out my bro on his sammie truck to help me figure out what I want to do later on once I graduate and I am going to double major, I dont think I could wait to do more pastry.
-EGG

Day 2 The Mid-Term

Today was Day 2. The day we took our very 1st mid-term. Everyone looked calm but you could feel the urgency of people getting as much ingredients, bowls,  pots, and space as possible it was almost like an end of the world grab what you can. Chef had to keep stopping us to say slow down, think, your doing this/that wrong, etc. we also had to make more stock but everyone was so gung ho the whole class didnt need to prep for it but Chef wanted us to. Than it was time to start cooking (eekk) we got 2.25 hours to make consomme, mayo, buerre blanc (b.b), hollindaise, & show her our cuts. Thinking back on this that seems like more than enough time but with so many people also doing the same thing and getting in each others way, im glad we had that extra time. The 1st hour flew by and I felt like I hadnt done anything tho most if not all of my prep was done and I had shown her my cuts, I had to start the consomme so I followed the recipe and just did it, I did double check with Chef that it looked right and my "raft" was forming correctly (which it was). I than started my roux for the b.b. which did not come out as I wanted, it was a bit to runny still and I need more salt which is totally mu fault since the only thing I did taste was the consomme (i am just not a fan of cream sauces). So my b.b. and my hollindaise were a flop (h. my butter was to cold-a tip she never told us about she just said used clarified butter i'm just glad I wasnt the only one with the problem) but my mayo was fine and my consomme what i was really worried about she had for lunch (toot toot). So all in all im pretty sure I passed as it was a pass or fail type of test. Now I just need to prepare for next week which is my mid-terms in my other 2 classes.
-EGG

Where I have been

Last wednesday I went to sleep feeling just fine and ready for another day in Fundamentals, whelp I was wrong I woke up sick stuffy/runny nose, chills, headache the whole nine yards. As the time ticked slowly towards class time I kept willing myself to feel good enough to go to class, by 10 I had resigned myself to relax and that I was not going to make it to class that day but if I rested up I could go the next day. Wrong again I felt horrible and not just from the cold/flu whatever I had but because I was going to miss them making consomme ( a broth made extra clear and flavorful by using what is referred to as a "raft"). The next day which was Saturday and game day I made myself get everything together cause really there was no back-up team mom plus it was homecoming. I went to the game and felt a little better which was probably from the fresh air. But once home forget it I was wiped out I didnt even go to the dance to drop off my son.
By Monday I was well enough to go to school plus it was a lecture class so no fear of contaminating the food (the reason I didnt go to Fundamentals that and I couldnt stand w/o being dizzy). I asked L what we did in Fundamentals and she told me which soups they made and that we were having our mid-term that week. AHHHH!!! She helped my by giving me her notes and that Chef T gave out a study guide which I got from Chef A, and on that list of what we were going to be tested on what consomme. There was no way for me to make it up or anything so I just made sure to read the recipe real good and go for it.
Yesterday was Thursday Day 1 of Fundamentals for the week and none of us knows what to expect I am no longer nervous (since I talked to some guys who have already had it and said testing is usually day 2) we go in and set up and Chef asks us if we wanted to test that day or the next majority votes for Friday and we get started on making eggs.
Now one wouldnt think eggs to be all the complicated but we made 10 different kinds not much to them but still requiring more attention than one would think an egg would get. I did do good once Chef was looking at them so there is that. Now on to day 2...
-EGG

TAPS and youngsters

When did i become that lady? The lady who wants to yell at the youngsters in class for not paying attention and doing their homework. I mean our school cost $7.50 a MINUTE. Now the only thing I can think of is they arent the ones paying for their education. This isnt the school where everyone has to take english, math etc. You go to this school to pursue your passion in an artistic way if you love to cook/bake enough to do it as a career and go to school for it than you should be doing everything you can to do the best you can not messing around and flunking tests. OK venting over
Now the TAPs training is kinda kicking my butt. It is mandatory to take and pass the test which has about 18 hours of prep and online testing you have to complete before your allowed to take the real test and you have to do both to continue taking lab classes. UGG so not fun but necessary.
I made pumpkin donut muffins today they were alright this weekend im gonna make swedish cinnamon rolls using my pearl sugar.
-EGG

Basa with chili lime butter

Menu: Basa fillets with chili-lime butter, mushroom couscous and salad.

So each week Chef N. has challenged us to try something new. So I asked my family to choose a food category and I will get something from that to make. The categories are: cheese, fruit, veggie, meat (all fish, cow, pig, etc). They decided on meat, within that I chose fish so I looked for simple recipes and came across one for bass and off to the store I go. I start in the produce and gather shallots, limes, and a fresno chili for my butter along with normal weekly produce such as bananas, onions, tomatoes, and lettuce. As I round the corner I head straight for the fish area where I am greeted by a young man and tell him I am looking for some bass but alas he tells me he has none but he can order me some (good to know for the future) but I told him no I didnt have my heart set on it so I was game to try something else and after going over a few of the other fish he had I chose the Basa  as it had a firmer flesh like the cod but not as pricy and it didnt have a fishy taste so I got 2 fillets and went about the rest of my shopping.
I arrive home and get to work on the butter chopping, zesting, and juicing so the flavors have a chance to marry as I make the salad and get the water for the couscous boiling. Once everything else is done I turn my attention to the fish that I have washed and dried, I do a simple pan fry on it with a little salt. From start to finish the whole meal took maybe 10 minutes to make. I serve everyone and myself, the verdict eh he wasnt kidding when he said there was no fishy taste to me it didnt really have any taste. Now dont get me wrong I would buy it again if I was going to make like battered fish ala long johns but it wont be replacing my talapia or salmon.
-EGG

Sauces

Photo courtesy of C&C Dish

These past two days in Fundamentals we have been making sauces. 6 to be exact. Thursday we made Classic Tomato Sauce and Espanole Sauce which is apparently never used to sauce anything its a base for other sauces. Anywho it was our 1st real day of working in our teams, there are 3 of us and 1 didnt have her recipes so she just kinda got stuff and cleaned while me and the other girl preped and did the cooking. we did get told at one point we were behind in the prep, which yeah we could have gotten things together quickly had it not been our 1st day and we knew where stuff was. so we got the sauces together but class was over so he had to chill them and continue cooking today.
So after we walk into class we get our sauces back on the stove to finish simmering, my partner makes more roux for her sauce (the Espanole) since she didnt make enough the day before. as our sauces simmered we gathered the items so mayo and Beurre Blanc and we were much quicker today for 1 we kinda knew what to expect and 2 there weren't alot of ingredients but again the one chick didn't have her cards, and she left early which was fine with me than me and my partner each made a sauce. Next came time to make Double Cream Sauce and Hollindaise Sauce, so again we each took a sauce (I made the double cream) and in the mean time we finished our sauces from the day before and tasted them and had them tasted by Chef and they were good the only sucky part is we had to through them away we weren't allowed to take any home sad face. So again we made these rich sauces and I tasted each sauce which is big since I do not like mayo or cream sauces at all really and by the end of class i just felt like i was sweating mayo even though i maybe had a combined total of a teaspoon of sauce(s). But the best part is Chef said my sauce was good and well balanced and very nice and smooth happy face. She also told us in a few weeks as our mid term we will have to make the sauces all by ourselves which is fine with me i like working/cooking alone that way i know its done just how i want it done and no one is in my way.
I have been running only 2 days so far this week but hey its a start not to mention i know im not eating as much as i used to so hopefully it will net me a loss on Tuesday which will be my weigh in day since its my day off and i can do it in the a.m.
Next week we are making soups it is going to be soo frickin hot uggg and i need to buy inserts for my shoes i can stand on my feet for hours no problem so long as my shoes are comfy and these are not i dont know how people wear crocs all day. Well im sleepy and have 4 hours each of driving and football tomorrow so im gonna try and sleep and not dream of sauces like i did lastnight.
-EGG

SOS in need of structure

So I feel like I am already falling behind, im not, but I need to manage my time a little better. It seems like I am waiting til the last minute to do the work when I could easily get it done after each class if I just came home and did it just like I make my kid do. But I know my problem is i figure I have a week til its due so i'll do it later and I need to stop so right now I am making a vow:
I WILL DO THE HOMEWORK THE SAME NIGHT AS THE CLASS
I WILL WORK ON MY KNIFE TECHNIQUES EVERY TIME I COOK
I am taking school seriously most def. the only part i am not a fan of (other than all electronic books no paper) but every class wants to put people in groups and I have never been one to initiate a group so I am grouped with 2 dudes Morris and Karl so we'll see how it works out, the lab groups arent bad because Chef chose them tho i am grouped with 2 pastry students who dont know much about cooking so im the go to in the group which isnt bad but i also dont see learning much from them in the way of pastry skills/tips. Oh well. I guess this will let me work on my "people" skills. If you didnt know I really dont like people per se I have no patience for ignorance, stupidity and the like, and some are youngsters who dont seem to take it to seriously.
-EGG

800 Sandwiches

Today was day 1 of my lab class and we knocked out 800 sammies in about 2 hours not to shabby. we worked a little on knife skills by practicing on flour with our bowl scrapers. I also told Chef T that I would be interested in volunteering for catering assignments as I so miss catering. It was and wasnt a long 4.5 hours it was only long because i was hungry i still havent gotten the hang of eating enough to keep me full until im out of class so during lecture days im gonna be sure to take some snackies like grapes to eat during class but during labs since we cant eat im gonna take some water and just chug that and now i have some $$ in my bag to get something from the vending machines. Hopefully i may end up losing weight knock on wood.
tomorrow is day 2 of lab but we will have a sub and will actually get to make some stock so it should be at the least interesting since we will be working in groups i have no clue as to the people in my group (i know their names) i may have even talked to them today i guess i'll find out tomorrow.

-EGG

2nd day of school

Hello again today is my 2nd day of school and I had Management, Supervision & Career Development (M,S&CD) whew long name. Now before I get into my class let me tell you that I introduced myself to Chef T. I was walking to class and passed his office saw he was in and decided what the hell so I walked in said hi and said who i was, he asked what i was taking, where i was from i told him i worked at Morrisons and with Rebecca from Tazzinas he said on of the other Chefs knew her, then he showed me to my next class I'm not sure if he thought i was lost or what, oh well he at least knows of me now.
ok so (M,S&CD) was a fun class the teacher is real cool its her 1st time teaching but she knows what she is talking about. Im kinda nervous about how im gonna do in this class as i have no desire to manage anyone, but its a requirement so im gonna do my best. I again sat by the window and the people around me seem nice 1 is a young Marine and all have been at Ai for 3+ semesters so they helped fill me in on alot of stuff. Well i gotta go do my homework for tomorrows call Fundamentals so i'll "talk"to yuo later.

-EGG

1st Day of school

Well I forgot to post on my 1st day of school oh well lets pretend for awhile that i did...
Its my 1st day of school im a little early and find my class with no problem and take a seat by the window, i hope this is the type of class where everyone sits in the same spot everyday (yup im that person) anywho the class is called Concepts and is basically going into depth of recipes and why you do what you do etc. I like my teacher she actually invented some food products that are on the shelves i.e. Dennison's veggie chilli and turkey chilli. It took most of the class to go over the syllabus and we went over stocks which is what im told is what i will be working on in Fundamentals which I have Thursday and Friday (they said its a real big benefit to have both of these classes not only in the 1st semester but also in the same semester). So I left with homework of doing a journal and i can do an intro of myself for extra credit (yeah totally already did this). Tomorrow is my day off so see you on Wednesday..
-EGG