Oeuf!... I Did it Again

Day 53

Consomme was consuming my life before; now it's poached eggs.

I think I have the clear soup down. It no longer intimidates me like it did a few weeks ago. What is scary is poached eggs over cooked vegetables with hollandaise. Individually, all the components for the dish aren't too bad. Something changes, though, when they're all put together.

It's funny, because this seems to be the one dish with which the majority of the class has issues. For many, it's the hollandaise. I don't want to jinx myself, but I find the sauce enjoyable to make (besides the fact that I apparently over-salted it last week). I've never really had problems with it breaking like the others.

Today, the vegetables were my obstacle of all things. They were a runny mess and weren't seasoned properly. Hopefully it's an easy fix for Friday when we have to make the dish AGAIN.

Hit me baby, one more time.

Sugar High

Day 52

Who knew a classic culinary arts program would involve so much pastry?

When I signed up for the course, I knew we would at least cover it. In Level 2, there were two intense weeks. In this level, our rotations require that we make a dessert at least once—if not twice—a week.

So here's the thing: I like dessert when I can make it on my own

time. And most often, I prepare pastries that don't involve making a crust. I guess if anything, all this practice will make me more prone to bake tarts and pies without cheating by buying a pre-made shell.

Today I made the apple tart, which, like the chicken grandmother-style, seems like I've made it 40 times. It turned out OK—personally, I think it could have been a bit more caramelized on the top. I also made cream puffs with pate a choux dough and filled them with creme chantilly, and I was happy with the results.

Of course this won't be the last time I make pastries in culinary school; next week I'm bound to have at least one to tackle. It's also probable I'll have to make a pastry dish for the practical (lemon tart was the hint).

I need some sweet relief.

Having a Boeuf

Day 51

Red meat has entered the building. Thank the Lord.

I'm tired of chicken. I'm sick of fish. I could live without pork chops for awhile. My body is craving a big chunk of beef.

So I was beyond thrilled to learn boeuf bourguignon was in the lineup this week. I was even happier that I started as saucier Monday, so I'd be one of the first to cook the dish. If I might say so myself, my partner and I made a kick-ass version. Seriously, it was awesome. We cooked it for two hours in the oven until the meat was super-tender and the red wine sauce thickened to the perfect consistency. I will be making boeuf bourguignon at home in the near future.

In addition, we also made chicken grandmother-style for what seems like the 40th time. I'm beginning to wonder if the school has stock in a poultry farm somewhere.

Cooking so much chicken has definitely made me feel a lot more confident about getting it right, though. I never used to brown the chicken in a saute pan before I threw it in the oven. It makes such a huge difference in the color, and the sauce that can be made from the sucs (the little brown bits in the saute pan) is delicious.

I might have chicken fatigue, but there is one form of poultry I'm craving: turkey. It's not any turkey, though—it's my mom's deep-fried Thanksgiving bird with all the accoutrements.

Turkey Day couldn't come any faster.