A welcomed New Year.

A new year is upon us! I ended 2008 the way many did, surrounded by the familiarity of holiday aromas, traditions, and faces. Most of my break was spent celebrating Christmas, but I was also privileged to be a bridesmaid in my dearest and oldest friend's wedding-Holly Baker or now rather, Holly Tracy.Holly has always been a loyal and caring friend. God must have known I would need a friend like this, because she has always been such a source of inspiration to me and others for that matter. It was a beautiful wedding, and Holly was a radiant bride. The whole affair was very touching and a great reminder of how life has seems to drift by without the realization of its precious nature until moments such as these present themselves.

Shortly after the wedding, I returned to Austin refreshed and ready for the new challenges culinary school so willingly offered. The "offering" this time, being the most feared block thus far in my education- Restaurant block ( and believe me, I am not the only student that shivers at the mention of these words!). Restaurant block is "scary" because it is the first advanced block of the program in which students are expected to know procedures, methods, and use thier creativity. In addition, being efficient is a must and skill and speed become a factor in grading. While I was excited to finally allow my creative juices to flow, the intimidation of having mounds of culinary knowledge memorized and prepared for execution at the request of a master chef was swimming in my conscience. But the first day came and went with some reassurance that it would not be the mountain most of us were expecting but rather a steep mole hill.

Our Chef for this block, Chef Michelle , has been in the industry since she was in her late teens. She has worked for famous chefs such as Tom Colicchio , a well known chef and judge on the show "Top Chef". She has also worked in Chicago, New York and many other American Destination cities. Despite, her impressive resume, Chef Michelle is a very sincere and laid back Chef with a passion for food and helping others develop the same level of expectations for their own food. We all were are thankful to have such an experienced and willing teacher.

As Monday and Tuesday passed we prepared for the first "plate up" or test of the class. This first plate up had to consist of an infused custard dish, paired with at least two garnishes and perhaps an ice cream or sorbet depending on your choice of custard. Chef Michelle told us that this first test would allow her to see the level of sophistication our palates had and our creativity. I was shamelessly excited to prove myself worthy of the term "creative". For my dish I decided to create a refreshing combination of lemon mint infused Creme Brulee paired with a blueberry compote, some candied lemon zest, and finished with a honey tuile cookie. My dish turned out to be a strong one and Chef said I was very successful for my first plate up and had a good flavor combination! I was thrilled to do so well, and look forward to our next challenge - Chocolate Plate up!

So, with the first school week over, I have found that this year, 2009 has a lot of promise to it. I'm now down to 17 more weeks of classes and then I begin my externship where ever that may be! I have already started my search and have some good leads, but my hope is that my externship will be both an great experience as a chef and as a student of life. Please keep me in your prayers as I search for such an opportunity and to those of you that follow this blog I wish you a promising new year as well!

Custards and Chicago

So, as many of you have probably noticed, life in culinary school has kept me pretty busy! Maybe posting more frequently will be my new years resolution. Anyways, I wanted to post some pics of my most recent block, custards! Custards include many different types of desserts that include dairy and/or egg products for example, ice cream or the upper crust favorite -Creme Brulee. We also made a wonderful layered dessert called a Bavarian which is a chilled gelatin set dessert with a sponge base, fruit gelee and finally a fruit coulis (or sauce). The following are some of my bigger successes:

I also had a wonderful opportunity last month to spend the Thanksgiving holidays with my Friends Travis and Erin in Chicago! It was a great break from the ordinary and to see some of the sights America has to offer. We went down to the lake the day after my arrival , and this ritzy neighborhood full of gingerbread houses. We also went to a local shopping area that was holding a tree lighting ceremony and was handing out free roasted chestnuts (which Erin and I both agree are not the best choice in legumes despite the Christmas songs) and hot chocolate. Some ice sculptors were helping set the holiday mood with there toy soldiers and train sculptors that were forming before the public's eye. The whole scenery could make the grumpiest of people glad that it is now the special time of year.In addition to all this, we ventured down town to check out some of the famous architecture Chicago is known for and went to a German Christmas festival where we dined of bratwurst and other traditional holiday favorites from the Fatherland.

The last two days of my visit we had a chance to try some of the local cuisine-Old Style Chicago red hots (or hot dogs) and of course deep dish pizza! It was a wonderful trip, I got to enjoy good sights, good food, and especially good friends all the things I'm thankful for!

Chicago was such a friendly city it even sent me away with a special parting gift- 6 inches of snow and a 5 hour flight delay. Don't get me wrong, I love the snow and I even enjoyed people watching at the airport, but I am glad to be back in Texas, if only I could have taken a little snow back with me!

Just "Bearly" Made It!

So as you can tell from my lack of posting things have gotten pretty crazy! Two weekends ago my dear friends Linsday came to see me and we had a blast kayaking despite the crazy attacking geese and taking in the sights of Austin. That weekend was following by a busy week in class and work but ended nicely with a weekend in Lubbock. It was great to see all my friends and family and enjoy the cold weather for a change. Austin is still hitting the 80's so I welcomed the cool gray days that Lubbock had to offer. Although going home made me realize just how homesick I've been it was a great encouragement to see the people that care about me and their excitement for me as well.

Just before I left for Lubbock, my boss (at All in One Bake Shop) called me on friday afternoon with a great opportunity! A local group called Austin Cake Confectioners was flying in a Woman by the name of Loriane McKay from Scotland that is world famous for her edible sculptures and this group had a scholarship available for me to go to this work shope that would be the following friday!!! ( you can find videos of Mrs. McKay demos on youtube for those interested) Needless to say I was thrilled to take this opportunity! So after a great three day weekend in Lubbock and the completetion of Sweater Weather day (a mother -daughter holiday mom and I came up with when I was about 12)I headed back to a busy week in Austin. This week was particularlly busy because it was the end of my petit four block which meant a major project and final would be the upcoming friday (10/17) this also happened to be the day of the workshop that would last from 9am to 5pm and class starts at 5:30 and if you know anything about Austin getting from A to B in 30 minutes is almost impossible at this time so I was a bit nervous about how friday would play out.

The project I mentioned earlier was our biggest yet! We had to present a mock up petit four tray with descriptions of each item we had chosen to make for our final and why. On top of that we had to format this description paper as if we were writing to a client that was preparing for a banquet. This along with three days to prepare the 60 items (ten of each of the 6 items we had chosen) and a portfolio made this a very stressful week but I got through it with flying colors. I got an A on my project and Chef Emily said she really enjoyed the written portion of my paper, which is great coming from the chef responsible for the school newsletter club known as the Bleu Print. I also managed my time well enough to turn in my petit four tray 20 minutes before our time deadline and received an A on my tray as well!
I just realized that I have been telling you all about petit fours when some of you might not be familiar with the term. Allow me to explain: A petit four, which in French translates to little oven refers to pastry that is usually but not always sweet and is only one or two bites worth of food. There are many different kinds of petit fours including pecan diamonds which are a sweet pecan pie like treat and macaroons, an almond based cookie with a filling sandwiched in between two cookies. Needless to say they are delicious and beatiful to look at , but I think I have had my fill of them for a while!

Oh! I almost forgot to mention, I'm now writing an article for the school newsletter! I'm doing a review over a local restuarant called the Eastside cafe. Hopefully it will make the final cut and if it does you will be able to find the article at http://www.tca.edu/ by the end of next week! So cross your fingers for me.

Of course, I couldn't mention my great opportunity and not tell you how it went with my workshop Friday so here it goes! I arrived to the workshop on time, and met some very sweet people including Loriane and her husband ate free food and went to my final at 4:30 because we got out early .. the end.

OH OF COURSE THERE WAS MUCH MORE THAN THAT! I was teasing.. ;)

I have never really done sculpture work but I loved it! we did two projects that day a pair of wedding bears and single bear. The single bear was supposed to just be a bear holding a flower but I was having so much fun I ended up making a little chef bear! The instructor said I showed a lot of promise and couldn't believe I had never sculpted before and I told her I couldn't believe it either and if she needed an extern, I would work for free!

So this very busy week has come to pass and I passed with it in one piece thankfully. Monday we start laminated doughs which refers to breads like crossiants and puff pastry and I'm really looking forward to it. Thanks again to all that keep up with this blog, its was so encouraging seeing some of you this last weekend and your comments are always welcome and cherished. God bless!

BUSYYYYYYYY!

Let me start off with an apology! Things have been very busy here but I'm finally able to update you on the happenings of culinary school and life in general. Last week was fast and furious, we were in the middle of bread block creating our own starters for sourdough breads and writing historical reports of the bread of our choice. I chose Challah bread (the photo on the right is a traditional star braided challah), a religious bread for the jewish faith that is traditionally eaten on Sabbath and special holidays. Most of you know this bread as the braided bread found in most bakeries. It represents the sacrificial bread that used to be offered to the priest by the commoners, but was later used in home ceramonies after some sometime in the fifthteenth century. The bread is never to be cut because this bread represents peace and harmony. Cutting the bread would represent warfare and bloodshed which would be inappropriate for such a sacred food. The bread has also come to represent the manna God gave the Jews while wondering in the desert after their exodus from Egypt. I really enjoyed reading up on this bread not only for the cultural and historical contributions it has made to the world, but to remember the importance of food in religion and how my soon to be profession help contribute to the memories of a peoples culture.
Needless to say, we sent a lot of time making these saymbolic breads. I also got a chance to make two very special cakes for my roommate Jennifer's sister Shelley. The cakes were for her Aggie Ring day and her suprise Engagement! I had a lot of fun working on them in the wee hours of the morning and I loved that I got a chance to help make her special day an edible memory!

When the weekend got here I finally got to partake in an activity I've been wanting to do since I moved here, I got to go to the down town farmers market! My friends Katy and Gemma accompanied me on this little adventure and although the market was small it was very entertaining. I purchased a fresh scone, locally made goat cheese and some Texas wild flowers amongst the general splender of local venders and knick knacks. I would highly recommend that anyone that has a chance to spend some time in a farmers market should. There is somehting about the simplicity of the whole atmosphere that makes you feel content with lifes little pleasures...like a good scone and boquet of wildflowers.

This week was just plain crazy! We finished up bread block with our usual written test, but we also had to present our bread portfolio and our own original recipe for a yeast bread. I really enjoyed this assignment because it gave me a chance to stretch my creative muscles. I Ended up making what I call a Wassail Bread with a Brown Sugar glaze! It turned out to be very festive and not to sweet just how I wanted it! Chef was also complimentary of my bread, which always makes a soon to be chefs day!I think makes a great companion to Apple Cider or hot tea and to close my entry this week the following is the recipe for my wassail bread and I hope you will enjoy it!

Wassail Bread


8oz Flour

1/4oz Dry Active Yeast

2oz Eggs

.8oz butter

3.2oz Apple Cider

.65oz Brown Sugar

.2oz Orange Zest

.2oz Shredded Apple

Pinch of Ground Cloves

1/4t Cinnamon

1/8t Nutmeg

.3oz Salt

Swirl: Glaze: One part Apple Cider, One part Dark Brown Sugar

Zest of one orange

2T of Cinnamon Sugar

1t ground red hots

Yield: 1 loaf

Instructions: Disslove Yeast in Apple Cider (Apple Cider should be warm but not hot!Combine all dry ingredients in mixer with dough hook attatchment ( or in large bowl). Add all wet ingredients; Apple Cider- Yeast mixture, eggs, orange zest, shredded apple, and butter to dry ingredients. Mix on medium speed for 10 minutes ( or knead). Dough should be wet nd sticky. Place dough in greased bowl and cover. Allow dough to double in size at room temperature. Once dough has doubled in size punch down and dust with flour to roll dough out to for a rectangle. After dough has been shaped brush with eggwash, then apply swirl ingredients: Orange zest, crushed red hots, and cinnamon sugar * Make sure to leave a clean edge around rectangles sides. Press swirl mixture lightly then roll dough tightly to form a log, pinch seam together and place dough seam side down in a greased loaf pan and allow to double in size.Meanwhile heat oven to 375 and prepare glaze in a sauce pan by combining apple cider and dark brown sugar and brown sugar has melted and glaze is hot. Take the glaze off heat and set aside. Once dough has risen, place in heated oven. Remove bread when top of bread is brown and makes a hollow sound when tapped on top. Remove from pan and immediately glaze. Cool slightly and then enjoy!

An "Ikey" Week

Well another week has come and gone! I just finished our first week of bread block that included: ciabatta, focaccia, fougasse, milk bread, pizza, naan, pan de mie, pan de mais, and baguettes! I wasn't sure how I would feel about the bread block- so much of bread making is about being exact and having a good sense of time and attention to details, but I think over all my work speaks for itself and I have enjoyed the creativity of forming interesting shapes for the milk bread class (milk bread is basically a dinner roll dough, its very soft and tender.... mmmm). We also learned how to make yeast for breads this week! Oh yes I typed it..yeast making! It's a very interesting process that involves grapes, flour, water and lots of time.

Chef Cara went over the process of making yeast and told us that making yeast was like having a baby- we must feed it, love it, and take care of it. She then assigned our groups the task of naming our "babies". My partner and I named our yeast baby Kaisy Dimber, right now she is growing rapidly and smells like a mixture of wine and vomit... like parenting, no one said it was a pretty job but Chef assures us that it has its rewards!

We also had a bit of weather excitement with Hurricane Ike this week! Since Austin was at one point considered in the danger zone people began to prepare for the worst, grocery stores had no water or pop tarts, Austin ISD cancelled school for the afternoon on friday, evacuates were streaming in causing traffic to back up, and many places of business decided to close because of the drastic weather that was expected to hit Saturday. The 'drastic' weather we were expecting - power outtages, severe rain and wind turn out to be a cloudy day with a strong breeze. I find this a bit amusing, but it was a blessing that Austin was spared any severe weather. My heart does goes out to those in the Houston area and my prayers as well. May all of you have a safe and blessed week ahead!

A few pictures from my first week in my bread block course I thought I would share! ENJOY!!

The End of The First Block!

Already the end of my first course is complete! Baking 101 finished with a smashing exam this past friday! The practical was blueberry muffins and jellyrolls, both of which I received a perfect score on! Earlier in the week, we finally got to dabble in some cake work and chocolate ganache, both of which I got noticed for. Although being noticed for my technical skills was a great boost, I wish my writing skills were on the same level, btu they'll get there. But whoever said writing in chocolate was easy, if anyone has ever said that must have been a seasoned french chef and not an American that chooses lemon curd over chocolate most days.

Everything else is going great , my job is going very well and I'm making more friends with every class gone by!

P.S. The pics featured with this post are my chocolate chiffon cake!

P.P.S Thanks to all that are keeping up with my blog and all your encouraging comments!