Middle of the Road

Days 59 and 60

I'm still M.I.A. For good reason.

Today was my midterm. Yes, I said that right—MIDTERM. That means I'm exactly halfway through culinary school. It's hard to believe.

For the big test, we had to draw a letter/number combination from a hat, which corresponded to a two-dish combination we had to make in a set amount of time. I drew the Nicoise salad and pork chops; the other possible combo was the grilled salmon and apple tart. (FYI: We didn't know what four dishes the chef would select for the exam.)

Before we prepared the dishes, we were allowed 10 minutes to write down notes about the recipes on a blank sheet of paper. It was to be our only form of reference during the cooking process. I scribbled furiously. Thankfully, a number of years of reporting helped me develop my own shorthand.

I have to say it was a bit overwhelming—OK, it was very overwhelming. I was so concerned about getting the dishes done in time that my execution wasn't top-notch. All in all, I don't feel the midterm was my best work. However, I can at least say that I finished on time and produced two complete dishes. Hopefully, chef realizes that I can do better. I know I can.

Either way, I'm halfway there. I'm livin' on a prayer.

Tapas & Vino

Days 57 and 58

My initials should be M.I.A. and not M.A.K.

I'm so consumed with everything food lately it seems as though I haven't had time to breathe. But that was the point of all this, right?

Tuesday I spent a good 12 hours at the school. It's not like I haven't worked shifts that long (or longer) before, but when you're on your feet all day, it can suck the life out of you. I know—I sound old.

After class, in which I spent the day making striped bass in parchment paper (papillotes), I helped one of my former instructors with his recreational tapas class. The four-hour session involved small plates from Spain, where the chef was born. We made gazpacho, tortilla espanola (a Spanish potato omelet), gambas al ajillo (garlic shrimp), and more. It was a good class, but I was exhausted by the time it came to an end.

Today, my partner and I were in charge of the farmer's-style soup and pot au feu; both came out well. Immediately after class ended, I headed to the school's theater to attend a French wine tasting. The selections—all from Chateauneuf-du-Pape—were excellent. It was a nice overview of a region about which I have little knowledge.

I made a long day even longer by meeting up with some friends for drinks, followed by a trip to The Meatball Shop.

Hope I don't drop the ball tomorrow—only one more day to go before the midterm.

Lemon Zest

Day 56

My lemon tart wasn't at all a lemon.

I think I finally have it down. The last few times I've made the citrus pastry, it's turned out fairly well. There's been one hang-up, though: the crust.

For the dessert, the ratio of custard to crust should be about 2:1—according to my chef, at least. I've had more of a 1:1 ratio, as I've been worried that rolling the crust too thin will cause it to melt. I have this mental picture of neon yellow goo seeping from the tart pan and ending up all over the oven.

I went for it this time, though, wanting to get it down before the midterm Friday. I'm glad I did, too: The pastry was pretty close to perfect.

Looks like I don't need anymore lemon aid.

In the Clear

Day 45

Phew—I made it.

Consomme was a breeze the second day; I had no problems whatsoever. Good thing, considering I had two dishes to make this time around.

Every Friday in Level 3 is a practice midterm where we have to complete two dishes in a certain amount of time. The only difference is that on test day, we draw random dishes out of a hat as opposed to knowing what we're making ahead of time.

Besides the consomme, we also prepared the center-cut pork chop with green peppercorn sauce. The pork was cooked perfectly, the sauce was superior and the pommes darphin had a crunchy/creamy contrast. One glitch, though: I was about a minute late plating. I think that's an easy fix.

Alright, I'm beat. I'm gonna kick up my feet, watch Barefoot Contessa finish her truffled mac 'n' cheese and wish I had a bowl of it in front of me.

TGIF.