Bug Off

Days 102-104

Slowly but surely, I'm feeling better.

I spent the majority of the weekend resting so that I would walk into class today revived. I'm not completely restored, but I do feel a helluva lot better than I did last week. Thank God for Z-Pak, muscle relaxants and 800 mg Motrin. Oh, and comfort food.

Yesterday, I made chicken paprikash with spaetzle—a family recipe that reminds me of my mom. I had hoped it would put a smile on my face. (It did.) It also put a smile on Ryan's; it's one of his favorite dishes. I knocked it out of the park. Of course, my mom's is still the best.

The decision to make the dish came to fruition after I inherited six chicken legs and six chicken thighs. On Friday, my chef allowed students to split up food that would likely spoil over the weekend. I jumped on the all-natural Murray's chicken as well as a freshly cooked (and killed) lobster. I'd say I fared well.

Friday marked the last day of garde manger; today, I re-entered poissonnier. I worked on the cod dish, which features chorizo, clams cooked in white wine, saffron potatoes and kale sauteed with garlic. Despite the fact that I'm somewhat turned off by cod (please refer to my Nov. 4 post about worms), the dish looks amazing. I'd like to try it at home with a different type of fish.

I'm gonna give it my all this four-day week. I know it's going to be a busy one, as people are in town for the holidays.

Time to spread some cheer.

Sea World

Days 83 and 84

The orders are coming in—finally!

I don't want to jinx myself, but the pace has been pretty good the last two days. Yesterday, I was in charge of the escargot appetizer and I plated at least 15 portions. Today, I moved to the poissonnier station and was on branzino duty; we sold all but one portion.

For me—never having worked the line in a restaurant—it was pretty exciting. I can see why people love a kitchen's atmosphere. It has so much energy.

Besides prepping the dish's elements for service, I spent today sauteing the branzino to order. I'm back on branzino tomorrow, but this time, I'll likely plate the dish. (We're rotating responsibilities among our team members.)

I never thought slaving over a hot stove could be so much fun. This deserves a cupcake from one of my favorite bakeries, Sugar Sweet Sunshine.

Oh, and some banana pudding, too.

Hill Yeah

Day 46

Dan is the man.

Dan Barber, that is. The chef, who opened restaurants Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns, is someone I truly admire. Not only is he an amazing chef (hello Michelin), he's also an

avid supporter of sustainability: The menus at both restaurants feature food straight from the farm in Westchester County, N.Y.

On Saturday, I was honored to have the chance to work with Barber and his team at Le Grand Fooding, a culinary extravaganza which pitted New York against San Francisco chefs. Each team highlighted one dish. The Blue Hill group made beet sausage grilled on carbonized pork bones; it was accompanied by an apple cider mustard, beet ketchup, yogurt, pickled vegetables and a beet puree. Perfect.

I helped plate the dish and then passed them to chef Barber to finish. I had to keep reminding myself that this was really happening. I know that probably sounds crazy to some, but it's true. I usually don't get star-struck—except when it comes to chefs. They'll stop me in my tracks.

Still smiling inside from Saturday, I walked into class today with my daily recipe in hand, hoping for the best. I was poissonnier again, so I was assigned the fillet of barramundi, American style. Looking at the number of steps involved, I was a little worried about completing everything in time. Turns out I had nothing to worry about: The sauce was perfect, and the fish and mussels were cooked well. Oddly, the shrimp—which should be the easiest part—were undercooked. Overall, though, a successful dish.

I'm making the dish again Friday. I'll be sure to check on that shrimp prawnto.