Fowl Taste

Day 16

I wish life was just ducky right now. It's not.

I'm writing Friday's post two days late, in the hopes that I would locate my Canon PowerShot that I've had by my side throughout this culinary adventure. (The camera is actually a gift my husband received from my parents, and we've used it on endless vacations and food-related jaunts.) Hopefully, I'll return to school Monday and the point-and-shoot will be waiting for me in the lost-and-found. I don't want to be a Debbie Downer, but I'm not so confident that is going to happen. In the meantime, my phone will serve as my replacement.

There is some good news, though: I've downloaded pretty much every photo on the camera. However, I am missing game bird day.

I'm on a duck hunt.

Speaking of ducks, my class prepared the Long Island variety (a descendent of the white Pekin, just for some random knowledge) with a classic orange sauce; we sauteed the breasts and braised the legs. Yum. The chef's demo dish was a roasted duck with the same sauce. Double

yum.

The final recipe was pan-roasted quail with rice and sausage stuffing. I have three words for that: good yet impractical. The tiny birds look cute on a plate but have virtually no meat. "You would need three of these for a meal," the chef commented. Apparently, he doesn't think big of the little ones either.

Next class will feature my protein of choice: beef. Just to get a head start, I ordered steak tartar for Sunday brunch at L'Ecole, the school's restaurant where I will spend the final two months of my program. It was totally worth the extra cholesterol. Ryan went for it, too, with a ratatouille burger.

Beef. It's what's for dinner—and sometimes for brunch.

Dirty Job

Day 2

I will no longer buy ground beef from a questionable source. In fact, I might just grind it myself.

Today was our class' introduction to ServSafe, a program designed to keep the food you cook safe to eat. The instructor was right: The information isn't as dull as one might think. Learning about food-borne illnesses, as well as other forms of contamination, is actually pretty interesting. Perhaps not for the weak stomach, though.

For example, did you know that a recent Consumer Reports study found that more than 80 percent of chickens in the U.S. harbor salmonella? The poor farm conditions Stateside have basically bred it into them. You'll need to head to Asia for your chicken sashimi, where it's perfectly safe.

Or what about the fact that pre-made hamburgers—which end up in fast food joints, school cafeterias or your local grocery—might contain ammonia? Shards of bone and E. coli-infested intestines are bad enough (yes, that ends up in them, too). But ammonia? Really?

I needed a drink after that lesson. Perfect timing: ServSafe day was also Sixpoint Craft Ales day.

Happily, I joined a crowd heading to Red Hook, Brooklyn, to tour the brewery and sample some beer. Our guides were unbelievably knowledgeable, especially considering they were only in their mid-20s. I'm not sure how old founder and

brewmaster Shane Welch is, but he can't be too much older.

Welch founded Sixpoint in 2004 and its product has become so popular the brewery can't keep up with demand. It's great to hear that people are still following their dreams—and that they can come true with hard work. Cheers to that.

Oh, and thank you for the road pop. I was sent home with a bottle of Dr. Klankenstein, an experimental medieval-style beer that was crafted earlier this year but is no longer available to the masses.

Lucky me.