Recipe for Success

Yesterday, I was celebrating celery. Today, I'm celebrating me.

Yes, you read that correctly.

If you know me well enough, you're probably surprised to hear this. It's not too often that I talk at length about my accomplishments; I'd much rather hear about others'. But today is different.

I landed a job!

I'll soon be a food editor for a national women's magazine, which means I'll finally have the opportunity to combine two of my passions: journalism and the culinary arts. It's what I hoped for all along.

My new gig starts Monday. I'll be developing recipes in the test kitchen, writing pieces for the magazine, editing monthly content (plus copy for special interest publications), contributing to its website, and attending culinary events around the city—possibly beyond. I'm pumped.

Let me be honest for a minute: When I quit my full-time job last July to enroll in culinary school, I wasn't sure what was going to happen. The plan was that it would provide me with the credentials for a food-related writing job, but with the state of the economy and the demand for such a position, I wasn't sure how long it would take.

Turns out, my decision was a recipe for success.

Return of the M.A.K.

Thought I wasn't coming back?

Just because I completed culinary school doesn't mean I'm calling it quits on The Chopping Block. Obviously the blog's format will be a bit different than the first six months, but the concept will remain the same. The way I see it, the culinary arts is a never-ending educational opportunity; there's always some new knowledge to acquire. I plan to continue learning through recipe testing, restaurant hopping, book reading—and then relaying it all to you.

One of my goals is to amp up the recipe coverage. I'm always experimenting with new techniques, ingredients and flavor combinations, so why keep it all to myself? If you trust my palate, you won't have to do the dirty work. Friends and followers are always asking me to share recipes, so it's about time I get to it.

My immediate mission, however, is to land a full-time job. That's where I've been directing most of my energy. But it hasn't been all work and no play—I returned yesterday from an amazing 10-day vacation in Costa Rica with Ryan. It was well needed (and deserved, I might add). We did a lot of hiking, sunning and, of course, eating.

Now I'm back in bitter cold Manhattan, but I can't complain. As nice as it's been to have someone serve me for a week straight, I'm ready to return to cooking. Plus, I could do with something other than arroz y frijoles. My shoebox-size kitchen and miniature stove await.

New York, I've bean missing you.

Sprouting Up

Day 43

One student's description of the jump between levels in culinary school was perfect: Level 1 is like preschool, Level 2 is kindergarten and Level 3 is high school, she said.

It's amazing how much the pace has changed in the last three days. When times are written on the board, the class as a whole seems more focused on getting the job done. I'm guessing it has something to do with accountability.

For me, one of the most interesting things to observe is who is and isn't a team player. I'm all about helping others because of that little thing called karma. Who's gonna help you if you haven't lifted a finger for them?

Speaking of teamwork, my group had an awesome performance today with our amuse bouche. We toasted bread rounds and made tiny sandwiches with roasted brussels sprouts and red peppers, sauteed shiitake mushrooms, crisp bacon, and mascarpone with thyme. They were almost too cute to eat.

I was patissier for the rotation, so I made the apple tart. After all my freaking out about having to make the pate brisee dough, I was rather pleased. While my top apples could have used a bit more time in the oven, my whipped cream quenelles had a nice shape. Thank you Broadway Panhandler for your abundant supply of inexpensive tools. (FYI, there are so many things I want to buy there that I don't need, such as a ceramic dish with a photograph of a strip steak and a wooden meat and cheese board in the shape of a pig.)

The school hosted a career fair today after class, which I attended. It was a good opportunity to meet face to face with top restaurants, speciality markets and food-related magazines, nonprofits and more. I wasn't expecting a job out of it—at least not immediately—but I hoped to gather a small list of contacts for future reference.

The fair did its job.