tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35162443740568657772024-03-14T00:17:18.401-04:00EClare in NYCClare Heeren Wilson,
blogging about life
as a pastry student at the French Culinary Institute in NYC.CHeerenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07319013215717477667noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3516244374056865777.post-56908732372545023912009-08-06T02:47:00.008-04:002009-08-06T03:16:25.396-04:00AureoleI went to a culinary demo at school with Chef Christopher Lee, executive chef at the new <a href="http://www.charliepalmer.com/Properties/Aureole/NY/">Aureole</a>. You might remember him from <a href="http://www.megavideo.com/?v=22CHB3FM">Top Chef Masters episode 1</a>. He was pretty cool. His style is American Classic. He puts cool spins on classics. And best of all he has a really awesome pastry chef, Jessica <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Yee</span>. I have my heart set on interning for her very very soon. Keeping my fingers crossed.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiObb3pyAI0V4aE4tFG5cWHs9B_0T_B9KM2zTXrhwc03-JFw9cziXnu6SaoDTRy0Ci8Wkeygr-GsZbU1OVIeZ4l0ckf2053jJrjXrSL7lGF4wM-MepkCZ6nJqiQSaQvziFX-FPL91WB-rw/s1600-h/P7290204.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiObb3pyAI0V4aE4tFG5cWHs9B_0T_B9KM2zTXrhwc03-JFw9cziXnu6SaoDTRy0Ci8Wkeygr-GsZbU1OVIeZ4l0ckf2053jJrjXrSL7lGF4wM-MepkCZ6nJqiQSaQvziFX-FPL91WB-rw/s400/P7290204.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366740949162774194" border="0" /></a>Tuna Tartar on <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Norri</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Toast</span><br /><br /></div></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPN8d3cPIbNML_DjXXj247qv06c45EY4y2DXz582KmS9e-xxbBaZBm_R9dCDu1N23rjJwLRvEfRTyudPzjmxUjOCP_9f4zdt8tSDjj0gbXadgg90lSC1ehzTWYxUa9yYbaUeIjf9EF5p4/s1600-h/P7290208.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPN8d3cPIbNML_DjXXj247qv06c45EY4y2DXz582KmS9e-xxbBaZBm_R9dCDu1N23rjJwLRvEfRTyudPzjmxUjOCP_9f4zdt8tSDjj0gbXadgg90lSC1ehzTWYxUa9yYbaUeIjf9EF5p4/s400/P7290208.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366743518542972354" border="0" /></a>The Veal Slider<br /><br /><br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdrZgi3pAPjinkFR-RH08Re2U4VKvzAYdeR5lIbg5Ei-smvqQANxRmOfUmdjzmNdx1iosRCe1lg7fQs_hwobcQ0ot8mf5Ft5i5KBo4r_2lngckHgzJhsRw6OB-fw4i6Ad6JptBeCcZuXM/s1600-h/P7290212.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdrZgi3pAPjinkFR-RH08Re2U4VKvzAYdeR5lIbg5Ei-smvqQANxRmOfUmdjzmNdx1iosRCe1lg7fQs_hwobcQ0ot8mf5Ft5i5KBo4r_2lngckHgzJhsRw6OB-fw4i6Ad6JptBeCcZuXM/s400/P7290212.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366745360894179714" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Braise Lamb with Peas and Carrots<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiABTcguDzYLG2rwD6DS09ejvhGIHkStxrmU4Nh7kqcj4JMOTn5D4M2t4ngOCYgbW8vmdl2P6UHk5Xyjej0qcM7D_wBSnIjVohN8795VfUXgPc7_TQKSqPLvMJ3I1riOHvukCVDPVTOWK8/s1600-h/P7290214.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiABTcguDzYLG2rwD6DS09ejvhGIHkStxrmU4Nh7kqcj4JMOTn5D4M2t4ngOCYgbW8vmdl2P6UHk5Xyjej0qcM7D_wBSnIjVohN8795VfUXgPc7_TQKSqPLvMJ3I1riOHvukCVDPVTOWK8/s400/P7290214.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366743101488520402" border="0" /></a></div>CHeerenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07319013215717477667noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3516244374056865777.post-22772196321217909872009-08-02T00:44:00.003-04:002009-08-02T00:55:32.028-04:00Only Semi-Important AnnouncementI've added a new link in my side tool bar. Yeah the tools on the right side of my page... scroll down (or up)..... "blogs to eat" yah you found it. ok great.<br /><br />It's a completely awesome blog <span style="font-weight: bold;">http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/</span><br /><br />I would highly highly recommend opening a bottle of wine, putting on your pj's, curling up in bed with your laptop and actually LOL-ing while you read the blog. I have spent the last two hours on a Saturday night doing just that.<br /><br />I really hope none of my cakes ever make it on this site, but I make no promises.<br /><br />July 30th's posting is about Cheesecakes and cheese wedding cakes. Read it immediately <span style="font-size:78%;">pretty pretty please with sugar on top. </span> I find the fact that people are actually making cheese wedding cakes completely ridiculous. It's not a Cheesecake.. .its cheese wheels staked like a cake and decorated with flowers to look like a cake. Why? Who are these people? Where do they live? If you love cheese that much why don't you marry it? Or better yet, marry whomever and put the cheese on a platter on the buffet table next to the wedding cake, the REAL wedding cake.CHeerenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07319013215717477667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3516244374056865777.post-36514827725799843882009-08-02T00:01:00.000-04:002009-08-02T00:12:06.009-04:00Crocquembouche<span style="font-size:85%;">About a week ago I posted a blog about Choux and I wasn't able to get all the pictures up I wanted. So this is a continuation of the post about Choux.</span><br /><br />Crocquembouche, pronounced like kroke -em- boosh, is traditionally made for weddings or baptisms.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1x2LSA8zIg8DlpcsbuGYLayO0Ajsux_olTgup9AeiyTMTBK2DznleyVIKm3Ni3_ecqOI44dwL3Bl_FO0HSgAVdWKIE_Qz-xw4pelsBdvcY_Yxtqb60a26pUN0nPSMwYz9OIFm0zNrYjo/s1600-h/P7220160.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 212px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1x2LSA8zIg8DlpcsbuGYLayO0Ajsux_olTgup9AeiyTMTBK2DznleyVIKm3Ni3_ecqOI44dwL3Bl_FO0HSgAVdWKIE_Qz-xw4pelsBdvcY_Yxtqb60a26pUN0nPSMwYz9OIFm0zNrYjo/s400/P7220160.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365203970121791490" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;">A crocquembouche is a giant cone made out of profiterols, choux balls filled with pastry creme that are decorated with various toppings.<br /><br />The one pictured about is Chef Toni's. She used the same choux dough to pipe out "FCI" for the top decoration. The base and stand is constructed out of nougatine (almonds and caramel). So the whole thing is edible... but I wouldn't recommend eating it cause it's nothing but sugar, sugar, sugar and a little bit of dough just to hold all the sugar together.<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitkI-ExFxLedebFrMWf0AZcGnUi91kiNLbYC311JIOE0ruu_IQoKIO4Zy4WkpNjpWsaGW3KZYZ3RDnszV9VvS594ThzTowfjF7VzDaBNPzzdr4uTv_ZQuvt1mkLXiDBdjh0U4c4rIW4F0/s1600-h/P7220174.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitkI-ExFxLedebFrMWf0AZcGnUi91kiNLbYC311JIOE0ruu_IQoKIO4Zy4WkpNjpWsaGW3KZYZ3RDnszV9VvS594ThzTowfjF7VzDaBNPzzdr4uTv_ZQuvt1mkLXiDBdjh0U4c4rIW4F0/s400/P7220174.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365204334868594770" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Each student made their own Croquembouche. It worked out perfectly for me cause I served mine at my wedding reception the following day. Another guy took his to his baptism but most everyone else just threw them in the compost.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikUNYnVG-x7wZztisVI6RqkArEeKlbPbmEzk2GLOlt9ETDCVqFTdk2CrV2qfpjirt-erbzrZPy15IaAunlZLvzsivZiYn0JNPWR29QuZbZoy0CxEe4euAeKCf76sy6ohJy-BKHm7-gMII/s1600-h/P7220185.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikUNYnVG-x7wZztisVI6RqkArEeKlbPbmEzk2GLOlt9ETDCVqFTdk2CrV2qfpjirt-erbzrZPy15IaAunlZLvzsivZiYn0JNPWR29QuZbZoy0CxEe4euAeKCf76sy6ohJy-BKHm7-gMII/s400/P7220185.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365205148353083842" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Some of them didn't survive the night but most of them looked great!<br /><br />To create the cone, each individual piece needs to be dipped into hot caramel. The caramel acts as a glue to hold the pieces together, but like any glue it has to dry first. The whole process is quite long and tedious because you have to hurry up and wait for the caramel to cool. It's also difficult to keep the caramel hot for a long period of time and there were several people who burned their fingers while dipping their profiterols in the caramel.<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfdiKVWwYOCOc7cawSAoh3LXIYRmRyBVr1zReQ3ylyniaUPKFupjW2rfVS4AJDlHsD8GlNlbUiALLJrA8UtocxxZPhSMmRDOE-Mp1kLg3eUH4y7y0QOuJ9H-RdFiN_1_BQy_5_jWHcLys/s1600-h/P7220182.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfdiKVWwYOCOc7cawSAoh3LXIYRmRyBVr1zReQ3ylyniaUPKFupjW2rfVS4AJDlHsD8GlNlbUiALLJrA8UtocxxZPhSMmRDOE-Mp1kLg3eUH4y7y0QOuJ9H-RdFiN_1_BQy_5_jWHcLys/s400/P7220182.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365209079337322130" border="0" /><span id="spellcheckMessage"></span></a><br />They can be decorated with roasted coconut, pearl sugar, pistachios, chocolate bits, caramel or even caramel swirls.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5hXSxW5bvzh19nf3zJDbm7_9dEw1aVjx23tTyoXut6RXNgWs45g1dCnU9GoUFeGtxL2y73NIXU8u_p71zCjyLLOHbJpyuKw3zPdRjFug5RB1deOdaR7dA4DGKWoiO8FzDcmQvc9HMa3w/s1600-h/P7220188.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5hXSxW5bvzh19nf3zJDbm7_9dEw1aVjx23tTyoXut6RXNgWs45g1dCnU9GoUFeGtxL2y73NIXU8u_p71zCjyLLOHbJpyuKw3zPdRjFug5RB1deOdaR7dA4DGKWoiO8FzDcmQvc9HMa3w/s400/P7220188.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365204794928385730" border="0" /></a></div>CHeerenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07319013215717477667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3516244374056865777.post-52565519257345713742009-08-01T20:02:00.001-04:002009-08-02T22:28:14.592-04:00Learn More Eat MoreToday marks two months of being in NYC and 21 days of class at FCI. In theory, according to my syllabus I have learned 46 different recipes. Is that true? Maybe, it sure feels like I've learned a lot. Needless to say, its a lot of work and I'm sweating constantly. I am becoming a regular at the laundry mat, so if you have any extra quarters you could send them my way : )<br /><br />But despite the work, or maybe because of it I still feel elated at having this opportunity. I'm trying to suck the blood out of every single opportunity I have. The school has so many different visiting guest come for demos, tours and field trips that I learn more and see more here in a week then I would months of being at home.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW16BW13hHygJ2R1vMIWAiDYDZZ07rIa_2bCQQwFEp_yFQt-vth1PGby0W8qn75juylok8GxMdKTll9o21WDaz965N8mpi4GjsNLCvUAPcv60obZErhgbDkPRxdgQ1U4c3t56_xiwHmvE/s1600-h/P7150028.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW16BW13hHygJ2R1vMIWAiDYDZZ07rIa_2bCQQwFEp_yFQt-vth1PGby0W8qn75juylok8GxMdKTll9o21WDaz965N8mpi4GjsNLCvUAPcv60obZErhgbDkPRxdgQ1U4c3t56_xiwHmvE/s400/P7150028.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365191752224412002" border="0" /></a><br />Most recently I was a student volunteer for <a href="http://www.weddingcakes.com/">Ron Ben Israel</a> (see link). When I was thinking about attending culinary school, Ron Ben Israel actually played a big part in deciding what school I wanted to attend. He is not only a regular at the school but temp teaches a few of the classes during the cake unit. He does cakes for Martha, Bride Magazine and has been on Oprah.<br /><br />As a student volunteer I was able to meet Chef Ron, visit and tour his studio, meet some of his staff including his current FCI interns and be his assistant while he's doing the demo at the school. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5dN00WoVVMFfHaX4teN1dly1JGMbD7kNqln_uRhuxEyttx3WwbG1G8B9t-eb_hN8h2xJBF2qouXQ-6UG_Q3HPqC-BNwPNwo7Yt_qH35uwBKoY8VZoyAOcn7Xcq5o1qrRj0ECmKBHTEdQ/s1600-h/2659641996_b3a9ef58b3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5dN00WoVVMFfHaX4teN1dly1JGMbD7kNqln_uRhuxEyttx3WwbG1G8B9t-eb_hN8h2xJBF2qouXQ-6UG_Q3HPqC-BNwPNwo7Yt_qH35uwBKoY8VZoyAOcn7Xcq5o1qrRj0ECmKBHTEdQ/s400/2659641996_b3a9ef58b3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365159793729437586" border="0" /></a><br />For the demo, Chef Ron made a three tiered s'moore cake which we (that includes me) decorated with gold metals (looks similar to the picture above). To make the edible metals we used real metals that Chef had won at various competitions, made a mold out of a food safe rubber, filled the mold with chocolate fondant, chilled the mold, took the chocolate out of the mold and covered with edible gold powder.The picture is just something i found online but it gives you a pretty good idea of the type of molds i'm talking about.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigtcqxCDTYxB0JlHE-LZIYLzWks5CGKQDxdBP9F4z3KPve4EV7BkYWLTHSDSJAVgjuld-fX9zIrRMQIuzzXdYqGJNSnVQbXTYN0PK6DsdhvTZ1XcGVBCPDt1oPK_AvA6UCucKmLC0oCnE/s1600-h/2489490695_45f6e262b0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigtcqxCDTYxB0JlHE-LZIYLzWks5CGKQDxdBP9F4z3KPve4EV7BkYWLTHSDSJAVgjuld-fX9zIrRMQIuzzXdYqGJNSnVQbXTYN0PK6DsdhvTZ1XcGVBCPDt1oPK_AvA6UCucKmLC0oCnE/s400/2489490695_45f6e262b0.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365159403324794146" border="0" /></a><br />Being a volunteer for the Chef was pretty cool, especially because I got to paint the metals with GOLD! I'm gonna get some pictures from the actual demo up really soon. So look out for that.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZPpFxtKzJDEZ5Z3NswcrxTXniz2TdbJANe0mIbiy9GJRWC6DtOPCIiMvQafJzPSRNDY5QjvqCiI4B_mPRUxlDrCWJFq4BBFxZAKqsarYLvs1IT7FUBk1uVEPyIcO_x0XouHf-oukoepE/s1600-h/CIMG7426.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZPpFxtKzJDEZ5Z3NswcrxTXniz2TdbJANe0mIbiy9GJRWC6DtOPCIiMvQafJzPSRNDY5QjvqCiI4B_mPRUxlDrCWJFq4BBFxZAKqsarYLvs1IT7FUBk1uVEPyIcO_x0XouHf-oukoepE/s400/CIMG7426.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365557618716574978" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">LOOOOK OUTTT<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Here are those REAL pictures I promised. </span></span><br /></span></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC79GKl3nSTZK-EENdbC7Cv2Q7e862oeYQi7_67mn2InfbsvZdt_lPcPzvsUBJRcnhtDYFpYxi0tUHKGGttDTkELHkwfOHjV14o-vmDJZDVwlzKsiSnNL_zCzg_fej3NwqFmqZF0nlO14/s1600-h/CIMG7432.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC79GKl3nSTZK-EENdbC7Cv2Q7e862oeYQi7_67mn2InfbsvZdt_lPcPzvsUBJRcnhtDYFpYxi0tUHKGGttDTkELHkwfOHjV14o-vmDJZDVwlzKsiSnNL_zCzg_fej3NwqFmqZF0nlO14/s400/CIMG7432.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365557948039012082" border="0" /></a>CHeerenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07319013215717477667noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3516244374056865777.post-63433315117901046862009-07-30T20:58:00.000-04:002009-08-01T22:28:21.332-04:00Master Chef Jacques TorresYesterday I attended the demo of Master <span id="part1">Chef Jacques Torres, The FCI's Dean of Pa</span><span id="part1">stry an</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZPZLA15ndsaei2aB2rrKaRLuCbOx3ozaTycamoQ1OKVLAy9PRfyQqkwc73OIAqdQ3QgWOllT3E9P5ac-71tY_AoOKWZHiKTjsMoirY_2tsRaPDCoJ_8UhiVRpanBLeLravTBpPUUQo9w/s1600-h/jacque_torres.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 183px; height: 184px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZPZLA15ndsaei2aB2rrKaRLuCbOx3ozaTycamoQ1OKVLAy9PRfyQqkwc73OIAqdQ3QgWOllT3E9P5ac-71tY_AoOKWZHiKTjsMoirY_2tsRaPDCoJ_8UhiVRpanBLeLravTBpPUUQo9w/s400/jacque_torres.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365163769411852706" border="0" /></a><span id="part1">d Owner of<a href="http://www.mrchocolate.com/"> Jacques Torres Chocolate in NYC</a> (see link). </span><span id="part1">Chef Jacques is by far one of my favorite </span><span id="part1">people I've met in a long time and I completely admire him. He's a very accomplished business man, </span><span id="part1">engineer, chef and teacher. He's cooked for a lot of famous people, worked at <a href="http://www.lecirque.com/index2.htm">Le Cirqu</a><a href="http://www.lecirque.com/index2.htm">e</a> (see link) and now owns a chocolate shop. He has a great sense of humor and is very playful in his work.<br /><br />He told us about the time he cooked for the Pope and whil</span><span id="part1">e the Pope was away, and no one was </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYxl2GJ_1_LO6QiBp81Yl7X-RlXqMbEQQWu3vDPXVEfqtJ1hs26IHGKz_oTfjOB7v0jwA1pwSMJFqVZB0OyMdiPKIIC4RXVw03qjxVwdPp7_bKWXVPE6KENO2LlNzdAprpIrjxah6t3tk/s1600-h/baroq_bernini.throne.lg.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 183px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYxl2GJ_1_LO6QiBp81Yl7X-RlXqMbEQQWu3vDPXVEfqtJ1hs26IHGKz_oTfjOB7v0jwA1pwSMJFqVZB0OyMdiPKIIC4RXVw03qjxVwdPp7_bKWXVPE6KENO2LlNzdAprpIrjxah6t3tk/s320/baroq_bernini.throne.lg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365167967088564162" border="0" /></a><span id="part1">looking he sat in the Pope thrown.<br /><br />How cool is that!<br /><br />Have you seen what the Pope's thrown</span><span id="part1"> </span><span id="part1">looks like?<br /><br />No.<br /><br />OK. Here's a</span><span id="part1"> picture. ------------------------------><br /></span><br /><span id="part1">Seriously.<br /><br />See what I mean. That's pretty cool.<br /><br />Anyway, so at the demo, Chef Jacques initially explained some principles of how to be a successful restaurant pastry chef. " When you make a new dessert menu, make it the best one you ever wrote. Th</span><span id="part1">e last menu you wrote must always be the one you ever wr</span><span id="part1">ote. " He said that every menu needs to have contrasting temperatures, textures, flavors and weight. Creamy, crunchy, hot, cold, light and fruity, heavy and deep.<br /><br />For me, his ideas on creating dessert menus was especially interesting because I'm thinking that's what I want to do first when I'm out of school. There are a lot of different job opportunities for a pastry stud</span><span id="part1">ent an</span><span id="part1">d many of my fellow piers want to work in bakeries, cake shops, at catering companies or open their own shop. Initially I thought I would be interested in cakes. However, after finally having the opportunity to work in a restaurant I think, at least while I'm young and have the energy, the restaurant life will suit me well.<br /><br />At the Demo, Chef made a birds nest out of slivers of filo dough, resting on a creme brulee, topped with powder sugar covered egg almond slices. It was very cute and playful.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi86MYN4BFbs7265QKPMs3EEMIuE63KqT-MenaPqHaE7VtL3nDaLWNYD35IivB6Lkk7PjHCHvQyXTDbvHO3xHLoN8dzY32VXNzJql066gRIn7C1OUFI_PjoxvAWBbkvcl_wg7qlYc2tMHc/s1600-h/P7150041.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi86MYN4BFbs7265QKPMs3EEMIuE63KqT-MenaPqHaE7VtL3nDaLWNYD35IivB6Lkk7PjHCHvQyXTDbvHO3xHLoN8dzY32VXNzJql066gRIn7C1OUFI_PjoxvAWBbkvcl_wg7qlYc2tMHc/s400/P7150041.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365173871004425778" border="0" /></a>This was just my tasting portion but you could add multiple layer of filo which could sandwich chocolate or bananas or chocolate and bananas. Yum! The cool thing is, I know how to make every component of this recipe so I could make it at home.<br /><br />But just in case you wanted something a little easier... here is a video from Chef Jacques which I think most everyone could handle.<br /><br /><span id="part1"><br /></span><br /><br /><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-008810247378090885 visible ontop" href="http://www.howdini.com/flvplayer_lite.swf"></a><object border="0" width="450" height="253"><embed src="http://www.howdini.com/flvplayer_lite.swf" flashvars="file=http://howtoevery.vo.llnwd.net/o18/381_chocolate_corn_flakes_828-640x360.flv&autostart=false&showfsbutton=false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" border="0" width="450" height="253"></embed></object><br /><br /><a href="http://www.howdini.com/howdini-video-6677492.html">How to make chocolate covered corn flakes</a><br /><br /><br />I'd love to know if anyone does indeed try to make the chocolate corn flakes how it goes. (Honey I'm expecting you to try this, if you haven't already)CHeerenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07319013215717477667noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3516244374056865777.post-46335948178521569852009-07-23T20:05:00.001-04:002009-08-01T22:24:13.442-04:00Choux makes me sad<span style="font-weight: bold;">I'm feeling very lazy today so instead of exp</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">laining about what I've I'm been doing, I'm gonna keep the typing to the minimum and hope the pictures explain enough.</span><br /><br />We made Eclairs a couple days ago and I will have to make them tomorrow for my test. I feel...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSnyNb4kvY9dQHf9N3xZFRKTKsl47N8DnnEddzMkftiqj6MdPizsPqgKBwm05bq08nD_QrC69mJTGUKP3HiquXSunEsa5hNbPawrYcDXMMvEh8tcqQxg1JQTZOpv7bvu8Ji7kkXz80DVo/s1600-h/P7170054.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSnyNb4kvY9dQHf9N3xZFRKTKsl47N8DnnEddzMkftiqj6MdPizsPqgKBwm05bq08nD_QrC69mJTGUKP3HiquXSunEsa5hNbPawrYcDXMMvEh8tcqQxg1JQTZOpv7bvu8Ji7kkXz80DVo/s400/P7170054.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361811747770057730" border="0" /></a><br />Yah my Eclair were under baked meaning they fell flat (literally) and will never resided in some one's stomach. Instead they made it into the garbage. The ones picture below clearly aren't mine.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvG2Zq4KrjHqiMiLb6GATvrmySbnCcQYNz_mfBmOeOKmoVPU8en4J4rYkrOlpAdeCMdEL-rXXylAwu4VVcyYzImPH9ZSH_oSF7eXe8htJRy1zuQKfb8vPtNNpHBNIRiQI6JKjypMZRhL8/s1600-h/P7150046.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvG2Zq4KrjHqiMiLb6GATvrmySbnCcQYNz_mfBmOeOKmoVPU8en4J4rYkrOlpAdeCMdEL-rXXylAwu4VVcyYzImPH9ZSH_oSF7eXe8htJRy1zuQKfb8vPtNNpHBNIRiQI6JKjypMZRhL8/s400/P7150046.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361812664455406946" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgW_5ouVaZIkdsib8boXKXQMz16ViqEe7Y9niCcOr9j1VbBD_oyVzEGErgxPhAv73AS8tmVhqDxRZRD3d9jUu7vlEmanQ8MykS9ph0aQYqOzBuq-cM_uWtHyfioPv9Kv0NlEknwcpPMfA/s1600-h/P7150050.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgW_5ouVaZIkdsib8boXKXQMz16ViqEe7Y9niCcOr9j1VbBD_oyVzEGErgxPhAv73AS8tmVhqDxRZRD3d9jUu7vlEmanQ8MykS9ph0aQYqOzBuq-cM_uWtHyfioPv9Kv0NlEknwcpPMfA/s400/P7150050.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361813964672226786" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">They come in 3 flavors, chocolate, vanilla and coffee... horrah or something.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5QIKLOX55k7s0j-YzTeTrYxDQatGLnv9jskhumeSbqsKnCIGyKKmSV5c4O2JNY8cSqts4s8xAZ5Z3a-7DDCIskIpgNxODzIoTHPA0bEugn8qqRITkp0anB_QOELbHOEDu7uAz2bl_2pw/s1600-h/P7170059.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 330px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5QIKLOX55k7s0j-YzTeTrYxDQatGLnv9jskhumeSbqsKnCIGyKKmSV5c4O2JNY8cSqts4s8xAZ5Z3a-7DDCIskIpgNxODzIoTHPA0bEugn8qqRITkp0anB_QOELbHOEDu7uAz2bl_2pw/s400/P7170059.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361814527005730722" border="0" />....</a><br />The French love their bike races. This is a pastry that's suppose to look like a tire wheel and is called a Paris-Brest. I know bear with me here. It's a stretch. <br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgyWXCm81d1rjsvDMfmsXQCuctxEChCZaO3c8uaDC9FORdoDOugr9uRIKFwEc5AOkU1FyR30Zoj9mqsFQFeil4ZlkXsJzUctV0NXB9U0eY9I6zXkMGfTzdcX3q3QDcAO1O5urQ7M_qkP4/s1600-h/P7170071.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgyWXCm81d1rjsvDMfmsXQCuctxEChCZaO3c8uaDC9FORdoDOugr9uRIKFwEc5AOkU1FyR30Zoj9mqsFQFeil4ZlkXsJzUctV0NXB9U0eY9I6zXkMGfTzdcX3q3QDcAO1O5urQ7M_qkP4/s400/P7170071.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361813463961725602" border="0" /></a>OMG shoes...<br /></div><br />Questions?<br />Comments?<br />You know the box to put those in.CHeerenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07319013215717477667noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3516244374056865777.post-60662541946791841562009-07-21T12:04:00.000-04:002009-08-01T22:24:42.913-04:00SparlumOn a completely unrelated note, I just wanted to share a few random pictures of my apartment and neighborhood. So friends and family can have a better idea of exactly where it is I'm living.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqYbQrRyHx_Jr38W1kQowSNSRLWXX4q-I4hUUHI4bwXj6CEjzq-DwZuz8CQ0cbLkBAHyIBEZJ2tfIpoKj2KDwKtmW-qt0rybwbPENQZjW2Q1Rn61BiOX0OiFSMKeZSMzUes9p2i_RPxZY/s1600-h/P7140010.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqYbQrRyHx_Jr38W1kQowSNSRLWXX4q-I4hUUHI4bwXj6CEjzq-DwZuz8CQ0cbLkBAHyIBEZJ2tfIpoKj2KDwKtmW-qt0rybwbPENQZjW2Q1Rn61BiOX0OiFSMKeZSMzUes9p2i_RPxZY/s400/P7140010.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360945880520082898" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-size:100%;">This is my street, 117th, in East Harlem aka Sparlem</span>. </span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />The neighborhood is mostly 3 and 4 story apartment buildings. On every corner there is a bodega. The McDonald's by my house has a walk-up window instead of a drive through, an</span></span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">d there are tons of street </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">cart food ve</span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">ndors. </span><br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsBemhHiew8Sb7N6EqT2YmJ-oq_EWCHkJEzeR7aarc34-dYiG4Q99n0YjY0pltj9wDdsk5NHYTVNJ2lGVx1M7NqJ6ZZhIVTmY6HZAcuxLDgjYCSCpwo2oBvkt-1G5YQQ3aqkiawK0Oacs/s1600-h/P7040017.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsBemhHiew8Sb7N6EqT2YmJ-oq_EWCHkJEzeR7aarc34-dYiG4Q99n0YjY0pltj9wDdsk5NHYTVNJ2lGVx1M7NqJ6ZZhIVTmY6HZAcuxLDgjYCSCpwo2oBvkt-1G5YQQ3aqkiawK0Oacs/s400/P7040017.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360946257533269106" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">When I first moved in I spent a lot of ti</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">me decorating. We don't have a lot of money or nice things so I've had to do the best I can. This is the east wall of our giant living room.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkLFrVHJkWmGROWo2xFk6M9UgZTfVkYLJcaocAWmgemL_bOCF32-tiEl9l8W54sDWEQz9k7f-jwipe5qiUxPICM0nPtD7QgZp8Rsm0bgBEDuJ5pt1axh7zPvXr-d1KjgdRK_V3YDABnn4/s1600-h/P7040018.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkLFrVHJkWmGROWo2xFk6M9UgZTfVkYLJcaocAWmgemL_bOCF32-tiEl9l8W54sDWEQz9k7f-jwipe5qiUxPICM0nPtD7QgZp8Rsm0bgBEDuJ5pt1axh7zPvXr-d1KjgdRK_V3YDABnn4/s400/P7040018.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360947198341795954" border="0" /><img src="" width="1" height="1" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">The north area of our living room, that's my new couch! </span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpZj-6M0ON5Kc7zxnD4mQ-GYWoL13EGVk-tFF8uc5TtK1XQn8Q3o3Y78OxsWI0FzgOdiCvDxFUz2JUP46IUhdK_cFu2ecqB9P_rWC1ASFnQsm018f1tnWnVRvTAlhWAqgS39ABpKtJeyU/s1600-h/P7210102.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpZj-6M0ON5Kc7zxnD4mQ-GYWoL13EGVk-tFF8uc5TtK1XQn8Q3o3Y78OxsWI0FzgOdiCvDxFUz2JUP46IUhdK_cFu2ecqB9P_rWC1ASFnQsm018f1tnWnVRvTAlhWAqgS39ABpKtJeyU/s400/P7210102.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360956379862052114" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">My tomato plant is HUGE! Its started climbing the cable lines. In a few months I'm gonna be eating yummy</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> tomatoes.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR_IxMJLvrCLtwChfUn78paZV8C7J3lEXTXXzM7T6rpEtC1LM7peqGRoNW5U7R890DJ6QN9R-JtqDACEEPyD-FeNtdx60vJBX9AKvuYe0shEGyOM_qpbOmGIa21bBve3_QYiWtK4ew2_A/s1600-h/P7210110.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR_IxMJLvrCLtwChfUn78paZV8C7J3lEXTXXzM7T6rpEtC1LM7peqGRoNW5U7R890DJ6QN9R-JtqDACEEPyD-FeNtdx60vJBX9AKvuYe0shEGyOM_qpbOmGIa21bBve3_QYiWtK4ew2_A/s400/P7210110.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360956694248423202" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">This is our porch, it's pretty big. I spend most of my nights in that big red chair relaxing or talking on the phone. When the sky is clear I can see the big dipper. It's pretty awesome. </span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></div>CHeerenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07319013215717477667noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3516244374056865777.post-12437084738691408882009-07-18T22:29:00.000-04:002009-08-01T22:25:01.769-04:00Kiss MeWe've started our new unit which concentrates on Pate' a Choux, also called Choux for short. It sound really exotic but if you've ever had an eclair than you've had choux. It's the chewy crunchy, brown dough that's hollow on the inside.<br /><br />The dough is cooked 3 times, twice on a stove top and then finally in an oven. When in the oven, water inside the dough becomes steam, causing the dough to rise. The long gluten chains cause the dough to hold a shape and create a hollow middle.<br /><br />The items we've been making in this unit are much more playful and involve more plating,but more on those dishes later. For now I just wanted to show you my swans. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnnKkjBZ1w_Wtl0WmDfBf2_7w-DRDu3tMy1eQ5Ja6v36W7xa7JYrhbG_rLgUzhRa85n63O7mngMIQ3yYCluFqLnpE47EUQaRblWfRutLeM50gGC7xgyOs3pC4EogHC810QjO4FlhXnD_8/s1600-h/P7170076.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnnKkjBZ1w_Wtl0WmDfBf2_7w-DRDu3tMy1eQ5Ja6v36W7xa7JYrhbG_rLgUzhRa85n63O7mngMIQ3yYCluFqLnpE47EUQaRblWfRutLeM50gGC7xgyOs3pC4EogHC810QjO4FlhXnD_8/s400/P7170076.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360005506149613474" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHI9m8oOvof0oz1kGrN2MDaIzGDA2ivBMneKvbBkCZPBsmBM4QXsNMdUz_oxRhuyWHlOUvfnCNsPFcZh9xQnAmWIoMXcapptwS2qC5sRU3GVz0taF6GjnFm255fw_4Lpa4jxXX6237PpE/s1600-h/P7170066.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHI9m8oOvof0oz1kGrN2MDaIzGDA2ivBMneKvbBkCZPBsmBM4QXsNMdUz_oxRhuyWHlOUvfnCNsPFcZh9xQnAmWIoMXcapptwS2qC5sRU3GVz0taF6GjnFm255fw_4Lpa4jxXX6237PpE/s400/P7170066.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359996030355898530" border="0" /></a>Two swans, kissing, in a pool of chocolate.<br /><br />This is the most romantic dessert possible!!!CHeerenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07319013215717477667noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3516244374056865777.post-64720949033804119882009-07-17T20:38:00.000-04:002009-08-01T22:29:10.300-04:00Slight Sake Intoxication.There's something to be said for a school that serves its students alcohol. Most universities are "dry campuses" or have an alcohol policy (however strictly enforced) but clearly drinking during class is never permitted. However, culinary schools don't follow these same EtOH guidelines. Obviously alcohol education is a really big component of a good culinary education, but I'm not sure getting buzzed off sake at 4 pm is part of the normal curriculum. haha<br /><br />So here's what happened. I went to a chef demo on Sake food pairings. It's a common misconception that Sake is only appropriate with sushi, but that's completely wrong. In fact, Sake isn't the best thing to eat with sushi. Rather Sake can be paired with more 'traditional' foods.<br /><br />I love sake and this demo only made me appreciate it more. The brewing process is really unique because rice lacks natural sugars unlike wine grapes do, so a mold, Koji-kin, is used to convert starch into sugar. That sugar can then be turned into alcohol. The type of rice and type of mold are what traditionally control the various flavors of sake.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSxOfUEbEwNq_iLIdT5HZDPvaJvRAIuNySJEYJmSEThLD_ASIiLiDBsKqCFDvLPxpjQhCEbzONTb9cwOjnYDFmULKcs8x0ItNqGYlk_-oxA8kUNuT-GgvAkxx3RKSN0YwK9IH9_ZvH714/s1600-h/P7140002.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSxOfUEbEwNq_iLIdT5HZDPvaJvRAIuNySJEYJmSEThLD_ASIiLiDBsKqCFDvLPxpjQhCEbzONTb9cwOjnYDFmULKcs8x0ItNqGYlk_-oxA8kUNuT-GgvAkxx3RKSN0YwK9IH9_ZvH714/s400/P7140002.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359973845678935858" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQpHvMUDoWf3Pyh4j_Kf5sDmrM2d7dcngE_NBw7A6XCXbMQDYcW6beAX3MnpKg7aWTnaAt_SWeNqgwwiP4JSFfGBGGh0-m2r4SNMdsbfbqSMUIk_xdXXaKUaHxcOIezhO2dAPJjmcjVhM/s1600-h/P7140004.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQpHvMUDoWf3Pyh4j_Kf5sDmrM2d7dcngE_NBw7A6XCXbMQDYcW6beAX3MnpKg7aWTnaAt_SWeNqgwwiP4JSFfGBGGh0-m2r4SNMdsbfbqSMUIk_xdXXaKUaHxcOIezhO2dAPJjmcjVhM/s320/P7140004.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359991729274611426" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO1zkfOWW1lZESrnhbepT6bBYaEbyVLW5-7aYme9DaAXXnqNkpp5TwqfRs0fntk-Ee77uEtg8PhOekrTukrIHRywB5MGXREyHOL7Acbrj1nk1NUZ2_f2_BKLfs0YbY8XxIiyTJzNH47c0/s1600-h/P7140003.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO1zkfOWW1lZESrnhbepT6bBYaEbyVLW5-7aYme9DaAXXnqNkpp5TwqfRs0fntk-Ee77uEtg8PhOekrTukrIHRywB5MGXREyHOL7Acbrj1nk1NUZ2_f2_BKLfs0YbY8XxIiyTJzNH47c0/s320/P7140003.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359991196239949842" border="0" /></a><br />We tasted 5 different types of sake with a mini meal; raw tuna tar tar, raw oysters on the half shell, green beans and chocolate curry cake with creme chantilly. My favorite sake that we tried was a sweeter, more coconut flavored sake called Nigori Genshu. It was a hazy white color because it has small partials of the rice still in it. I tasted some premium sake including Daiginjo (pictured right).<br /><br />The sake was from one of the only American Brewers, <a href="http://www.sakeone.com/sakeone/index.jsp">Sake One </a>in Oregon. They make an organic sak<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.americaswineshop.com/images/bn/160/64470.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 160px; height: 389px;" src="http://www.americaswineshop.com/images/bn/160/64470.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>e, which I also tasted. Pretty good stuff.<br /><br />The process of brewing sake is rooted deeply in tradition, the basic premise is that the best sake in the world is that which taste like water. Personally I'd never drop a ton of cash on a bottle of sake that has no flavor! But that's how it's been done for hundreds of years in Japan.<br /><br />I don't wanna bore you with more details, but I will say everyone needs to go home and make this summer drink:<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 51, 153);">White Saki Sangria </span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(153, 51, 153); font-weight: bold;">Ingredients</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153); font-weight: bold;">- Honey Dew Melon (1/2" cubed)</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153); font-weight: bold;">- Strawberries (sliced)</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153); font-weight: bold;">- Blue Berries (whole)</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153); font-weight: bold;">- Raspberries (whole)</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153); font-weight: bold;">- Fresh Pinnacle ( 1" wedges)</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153); font-weight: bold;">- Kiwi Wedges</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153); font-weight: bold;">- 1 part white rum</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153); font-weight: bold;">- 3 parts sake</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153); font-weight: bold;">Mix fruit and rum in a jar. Cover. Let sit for 1-3 hours in a fridge so fruit can absorb the rum flavor. Add sake, LOTS of ice and maybe a mint to garnish. ENJOY!</span>CHeerenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07319013215717477667noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3516244374056865777.post-15575653705005388832009-07-14T09:21:00.001-04:002009-08-01T22:27:47.771-04:00Test of Tarts<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Yesterday I had my first culinary test. It was everything tests in college were not... fun, exciting, scary, crazy and rewarding. The tests are divided into two sections: written and practical.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The written part is about 40 minutes and goes by way, way, way to fast. I had studied, knew all the material and still almost ran out of time. I was scribbling like a mad person up to the last second. There was multiple choice, matching, T/F, conversion problems and essay questions. I know for sure I got one conversion wrong because I didn't know how many fluid oz. are in a cup, and I got another question wrong- wasn't sure what creme patisserie mixed with creme Chantilly makes. But aside from those two I feel I got everything right.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The practical is two and half hours, but it feel like it's 30 minutes long! It's open book, open note. Ever receipt is fair game and you draw out of a mixing bowl to see you're doing. Every student must present Chef with one large 8" tart, 2 tartlettes and 5 cookies. However if you're smart and fast, it's better to make extra and then only present Chef with the best.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The first and most important thing is to have well organized station initially. This is my drawer full of tools. I have a TON of tools (and these aren't even all of them). </span><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4fk2l5BfPi_KMIxAuDHZ2Wu7yZzH6NjBszkfV2-6Lf-C1ytkqyJL1T8uDb95ck9iMlXWZXNLV6euvqAvO-G7W8Mq1yt4C6_8LVTO3AggNb4_oILNxNh-5ICY-udbzJwN-brh6hk5ttl4/s1600-h/P7130004.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4fk2l5BfPi_KMIxAuDHZ2Wu7yZzH6NjBszkfV2-6Lf-C1ytkqyJL1T8uDb95ck9iMlXWZXNLV6euvqAvO-G7W8Mq1yt4C6_8LVTO3AggNb4_oILNxNh-5ICY-udbzJwN-brh6hk5ttl4/s400/P7130004.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358310219642491506" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I totally love my tools. I think during robotics I was told "With the right tool you can do anything" and that's exactly how I feel about my tools. They each have a very specific use and I'm trying to keep very good care of them. In case you're wondering, the purple and silver tape on all my tools is an identifying mark in case they get mixed up with someone else's tools.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Anyway back to the test. I was really happy with the 3 items I choose;</span><br /><ul style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><li>8" Tarte aux Pommes (traditional apple tart). It was the first thing recipe made in class.</li></ul><ul style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><li>2 Clafouti tartlettes. (a baked custard tart) Usually made with cherries but any berry can be substituted.</li></ul><ul style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><li>5 Spritzkakor (spritz cookies) A piped cookie with a chocolate, jam or nut topping.</li></ul><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikFtpfvMmfthKkJjKo6p0-Mqr_x_Vez8SLW4dhGnpcWlYTOJJ8siAjkj43kAQA9zviPZ7S6ndbIZ4WKi1y_hDULijykDQdtfStNlO-fYmY4oTm8dcD_FeFH8qixBCFbTm2MtjcIkBJitg/s1600-h/P7130007.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 274px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikFtpfvMmfthKkJjKo6p0-Mqr_x_Vez8SLW4dhGnpcWlYTOJJ8siAjkj43kAQA9zviPZ7S6ndbIZ4WKi1y_hDULijykDQdtfStNlO-fYmY4oTm8dcD_FeFH8qixBCFbTm2MtjcIkBJitg/s400/P7130007.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358313395429116498" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Ready for Chef's examination and tasting. </span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);">To do well on the practical test you must have good planning and timing skills. Tasks need to be completed in the correct manner, at the correct time and in the correct sequence. You need to have good knife and tool skills. Cleanliness and organization are cri</span><a style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAKm98DxZlhJH8f7PlvkNf3e2sN2vvi_4UhyphenhypheneOme89xHjr1DeYyA9Jkwy9NmvukoX4FjrseN_OSZrAkJNCrtVOIys1wD1XGwoXquqcoEmJtHD4O6Xwx0xnfopK04fqXcz71cnRzwXjWUM/s1600-h/P7130012.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAKm98DxZlhJH8f7PlvkNf3e2sN2vvi_4UhyphenhypheneOme89xHjr1DeYyA9Jkwy9NmvukoX4FjrseN_OSZrAkJNCrtVOIys1wD1XGwoXquqcoEmJtHD4O6Xwx0xnfopK04fqXcz71cnRzwXjWUM/s320/P7130012.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358307898830518066" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);">tical. You must follow the directions perfectly and the final product must be pretty, appetizing and of course taste GREAT. </span><br /></div></div><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Here's how I did: </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Spritz cookies</span><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"> (pictured left)- almost perfectly. The one mistake I made was in the piping of the cookies. I didn't tuck the end of the piping tail into the center of the cookie, I tucked it toward the bottom. Not a big mistake but one I will never make again. I only lost a point for that mistake : ) </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">Apple Tart</span><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);"> (picture above)- my weakest product. I made several mistakes, they are kinda technical so I'm just gonna briefly describe them. First I sliced my apples and didn't keep the apple as a unit. I allowed the apple pieces to fall apart. This mistake did not affect my final product but just made it hard and slower to assemble. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">The second mistake I made was I forgot to file down my tart crust, silly me. I remember when I did my tartlettes but forgot for my apple tart. Oh well... mistakes were made. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">The largest mist</span><a style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib70MwMJOIIhEsQ7_RW4dGDjvCiknyUO1bOxaRDSzmUQrJgCqpz6AXgD6tCjEPtBa1XClsf8M8irMU8jR2BJdbPPB2NC07RXVzAydrXgDMr8nUyRF0reANEGlpDPngv3lOanZVvUego4E/s1600-h/P7130008.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib70MwMJOIIhEsQ7_RW4dGDjvCiknyUO1bOxaRDSzmUQrJgCqpz6AXgD6tCjEPtBa1XClsf8M8irMU8jR2BJdbPPB2NC07RXVzAydrXgDMr8nUyRF0reANEGlpDPngv3lOanZVvUego4E/s320/P7130008.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358308460036983570" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 0);">ake I made was I forgot to glaze the apples with butter and dust with sugar BEFORE baking. This causes the apples to burn, and get a more grainy texture : ( Not a single person baked this tart remembered to do this though. We all forgot and scrambled to get a glaze on the apples after they were half baked. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Raspberry Clafouti</span> (pictured left)- Awesome. Basically kick ass. Chef could only think of one suggestion, make the sides of the crust slightly thinner. But she said "the custard is perfect". I was sooooo happy!<br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I have another test in ten days so I should probs go study : ) yah right. </span><br /></span>CHeerenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07319013215717477667noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3516244374056865777.post-47691069267018971002009-07-13T12:29:00.001-04:002009-08-01T22:25:20.354-04:00Sharon's TourSo my friend Sharon was in NYC with her family and spent 24 hours with me. She was at my mercy and I forced her to go all over NYC with me.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirP-wTnENS-TpLHHZKUsg-mxi6bN7HoyrjgMLJniaovXQeH_IcPexnEmxG5Pij98n1TC-CkgjXEMZ-mx_xwgSlpSWKls-iLyI-Yf9asZuo_5X9-oRXMUjeF78Zk2CHOYKnE1DXX6nOYaI/s1600-h/P7.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirP-wTnENS-TpLHHZKUsg-mxi6bN7HoyrjgMLJniaovXQeH_IcPexnEmxG5Pij98n1TC-CkgjXEMZ-mx_xwgSlpSWKls-iLyI-Yf9asZuo_5X9-oRXMUjeF78Zk2CHOYKnE1DXX6nOYaI/s320/P7.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357986660659152226" border="0" /></a>We went to Time Square<br />(which is the hardest spot to get to in Manhattan from my house)<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ7MCglGYEGcUuDiELwKnfwRP029JO7H61BHGj9Xqp0PdkJSoFbAsc3cA4MqysMWiIrIUV48g-APoDJ2-3jgr5HBF69B6VE44Be2NtOCIA_siCBKCzdVSvASxeQoXG5bQmva2kslorRpU/s1600-h/0.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ7MCglGYEGcUuDiELwKnfwRP029JO7H61BHGj9Xqp0PdkJSoFbAsc3cA4MqysMWiIrIUV48g-APoDJ2-3jgr5HBF69B6VE44Be2NtOCIA_siCBKCzdVSvASxeQoXG5bQmva2kslorRpU/s320/0.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357987227577629314" border="0" /></a>Drank some beer at a bar in Korean Town, made friends with the bar tender. Sharon proved to me once and for all that she really does know how to speak Korean : )<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT4JOg5plKK1H5PXEDuw7tp0ve76pXWm-mNINYRfbg1k9BI70T1HCyRndbYuiAbeq1BTymneZMQaF3Nr663GiXu1NPAAbmQxgL1SzWevALf93iwYBXI3UIQaqo8ngAV-PTI_5w5PcDCyk/s1600-h/P6.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT4JOg5plKK1H5PXEDuw7tp0ve76pXWm-mNINYRfbg1k9BI70T1HCyRndbYuiAbeq1BTymneZMQaF3Nr663GiXu1NPAAbmQxgL1SzWevALf93iwYBXI3UIQaqo8ngAV-PTI_5w5PcDCyk/s320/P6.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357987761135318546" border="0" /></a>We rode the subway (A LOT).<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdO55Ayp3idKmQfXq2YR25YH5csxdXEUszcCTxTy1hAVSGj1iT-sm3UOgrqa84-CERSa17z6XndBPkZ0pxEQFtNMO0ee-rvcwYU2oLpT6w9noJPvT6z-SQ8xhMY0JbroZbTqRQpcuVQoc/s1600-h/P72.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdO55Ayp3idKmQfXq2YR25YH5csxdXEUszcCTxTy1hAVSGj1iT-sm3UOgrqa84-CERSa17z6XndBPkZ0pxEQFtNMO0ee-rvcwYU2oLpT6w9noJPvT6z-SQ8xhMY0JbroZbTqRQpcuVQoc/s320/P72.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357988700026214514" border="0" /></a><br />Walked around Central Park. There is a wonderful garden on the north east corner of the park, right by my house. Had a nice little picnic there.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsfZYJE_RdEK_nqTN9kkVttQAGwRwud-TEdOYwAuZIL5qFQQWjSWqima4NSQQwfGsjFkwMX0bSIzLSN1folA4BFMPMxC6TDBrKjm7BUZDYf9PRemIFi0FMUdtg4bWX2To-fZnEXwSOQp4/s1600-h/P7060079.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsfZYJE_RdEK_nqTN9kkVttQAGwRwud-TEdOYwAuZIL5qFQQWjSWqima4NSQQwfGsjFkwMX0bSIzLSN1folA4BFMPMxC6TDBrKjm7BUZDYf9PRemIFi0FMUdtg4bWX2To-fZnEXwSOQp4/s320/P7060079.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357984821570717010" border="0" /></a>Almost got in trouble.... a couple times.<br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXsRn6zs8-iU0z5QhyphenhyphenyAbgyE1E7gAVZu44_GhfdjtPKP_lv4FP7UQCCrjMEVNrrzCFnVWs0wo2wps66QkReoLt3lYxrxqVJiK8jmdEipKH3G9YC4aZDJ7KW6Dh1WOiLmPC_gP3xdSxl8k/s1600-h/P7060070.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXsRn6zs8-iU0z5QhyphenhyphenyAbgyE1E7gAVZu44_GhfdjtPKP_lv4FP7UQCCrjMEVNrrzCFnVWs0wo2wps66QkReoLt3lYxrxqVJiK8jmdEipKH3G9YC4aZDJ7KW6Dh1WOiLmPC_gP3xdSxl8k/s320/P7060070.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357986123458526690" border="0" /></a>She got to see my school and the wall of fame.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Her hands are as big as Jacque Pepin!<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEmZv2mfs18AcA2Mz3nAVq8g1QB4XxqdUIcIJ9d4j-rUMaIq4NZHHQRhvpZuvjsfbBUoPt-gvUxg2IIwTX-d-gjXmV6CCWYetMvHRx98GQxmyVk8Lh10-1FR4pm9Gc1aT5FfqMosioFys/s1600-h/P7060082.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEmZv2mfs18AcA2Mz3nAVq8g1QB4XxqdUIcIJ9d4j-rUMaIq4NZHHQRhvpZuvjsfbBUoPt-gvUxg2IIwTX-d-gjXmV6CCWYetMvHRx98GQxmyVk8Lh10-1FR4pm9Gc1aT5FfqMosioFys/s320/P7060082.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357984557059307106" border="0" /></a><span style="text-decoration: underline;">I walked the Brooklyn Bridge for the first time a</span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">nd saw the city. </span><br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1YvjIlejq3sU6f6eG0s_Carhkns5-KVuRQ9JEmwQ-dk8_rfP2ncqf1iYFjEZVpnJ9WJws2iNeIb_EQyvvl68om_Yf7JrJTQrFlVFSHLqo0R6ZTGdC0P_DyqbxTBz6Obx8fCGzmvAYULY/s1600-h/P7060089.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1YvjIlejq3sU6f6eG0s_Carhkns5-KVuRQ9JEmwQ-dk8_rfP2ncqf1iYFjEZVpnJ9WJws2iNeIb_EQyvvl68om_Yf7JrJTQrFlVFSHLqo0R6ZTGdC0P_DyqbxTBz6Obx8fCGzmvAYULY/s320/P7060089.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357983956979530050" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Ls-8WlCV7j0rhw4Ckuj7kcrHYQdPU2Zy1cj_0ss-G2TfO71LGmhOPLerC8bQJVnO_FrOK8juaHbYg67SFriupfT_NS17goEkrLTMP6o-_PaLeuEpn4vrXBzGWGqIsR_yZg6RkL9L3BU/s1600-h/P4.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Ls-8WlCV7j0rhw4Ckuj7kcrHYQdPU2Zy1cj_0ss-G2TfO71LGmhOPLerC8bQJVnO_FrOK8juaHbYg67SFriupfT_NS17goEkrLTMP6o-_PaLeuEpn4vrXBzGWGqIsR_yZg6RkL9L3BU/s320/P4.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357989498322847170" border="0" /></a>We ate my favorite soft serve ice cream... tasty delight and hung out at Union Square.<br /><br />Totally the highlight of my week!<br /><br /></div>CHeerenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07319013215717477667noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3516244374056865777.post-43031290599029656592009-07-11T22:38:00.000-04:002009-08-01T22:25:50.481-04:00The End Of Tarts<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Today was the last day on our tart unit. I'm having my first exam in two days and I'm crazy nervous, but in a good way. The kinda nervous that forces me to study my butt off and get super organized. So right after I'm done with this blog I'm gonna go organize a bagillion flash cards... a typical fun filled Saturday night for me : )</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">So here are a few more things I've done in class since my last posting.</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center; color: rgb(102, 51, 102);"><span style="font-weight: bold;">My Tarte Bavaroise au </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Chocolat.<br /></span><table id="xpalettetable" style="width: 130px;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr></tr><tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(255, 255, 255);" unselectable="on" onmouseover="PaletteOver(this)" onmouseout="PaletteOut(this)" onclick="PaletteClick('#cc0000')" bgcolor="#cc0000"><img width="1" height="1" /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhauMFH_cmvktKG6LoqqY5JlZUuPhXiPY9_2Jqkkm_DctFmk7hdH-x4X8X-QSRzwmT7Y1z7_zXTLVFPc_1ucDpcnpfMQ3ZaMJ-xVN2Fbx6xMHr7val0p_t0_U7_BBXXu9025sK69jejzWo/s1600-h/P7060108.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhauMFH_cmvktKG6LoqqY5JlZUuPhXiPY9_2Jqkkm_DctFmk7hdH-x4X8X-QSRzwmT7Y1z7_zXTLVFPc_1ucDpcnpfMQ3ZaMJ-xVN2Fbx6xMHr7val0p_t0_U7_BBXXu9025sK69jejzWo/s400/P7060108.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357398426184981906" border="0" /></a> <span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);">The decorat</span><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);">ion is a cre'me chantilly which is piped on using a </span><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);font-size:100%;" >conique- a cone you make out of folded parchment paper. u</span><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);font-size:100%;" >sing a conique is about a billion times harder then a traditional piping bag</span><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);font-size:100%;" > and my 'thumbs up' is covering a monstrous decorative disaster in the middle : )<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7GxfO5KnpHV-IV7t8nRH9OjlAxsFL0qvatQrBIxm5QveydG2aPuU33KXKZg979fCBgmG92u8qliJaSw1Yv4OYy4ZBgaUI3_kFKQRKlqTPQndcS2uAexzZRsUOKnbQYM1B2zyrr-l9AQY/s1600-h/P7060112.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 279px; height: 372px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7GxfO5KnpHV-IV7t8nRH9OjlAxsFL0qvatQrBIxm5QveydG2aPuU33KXKZg979fCBgmG92u8qliJaSw1Yv4OYy4ZBgaUI3_kFKQRKlqTPQndcS2uAexzZRsUOKnbQYM1B2zyrr-l9AQY/s400/P7060112.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357403101498568946" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);font-size:100%;" > </span> <span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);">L</span><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);">ook how lovely Chef Toni's Tartelettes loo</span><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);">ked.</span><br /></div></div><br />I've also made a yummy Quiche Loraine with real bacon, not something that came out of a package, but honest to goodness smoked bacon that came in huge strips as big as your forearm!<br /><br />We made Tartelettes Tatin Facon Rapide, aka apple tartlettes with carmel turned upside down. It is assembled with carmel on the bottom layer, then raw apples slices and pastry dough on top, bake it and when it comes out of the oven, while it's still hot, flip the little bugger upside down to plate it. Sound good right? Carmels and apples you're thinking... yummy. Chef was excited for this, she described it as a simple but classic dish. But I was completely unimpressed. It's the first tart we've done where I've been disappointed. The taste was just blah and it looked like a hot little mess. It's cool in theory, the flipping of a carmel tart, instead of applying a carmel glaze, but it needs some work.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">And Finally for the big finish... my Linzer Torte. A wonderful raspberry compote tarte. The raspberry compote is very labor in<span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">tensive and the lattice needs to be treated with tender love and care. It's the perfect raspberry tart in my opinion.</span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">I was so completely looking to taking this home and getting a slice. To bad the side walk ate it first. </span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">Before </span></span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjpsr4PVURUr3NVvihGvZXpbYfyESpIhWD4cbpGqwkLL1exASY874xsP3fFVsnK7GpfKRNVe6jf4awldF5vWIGmQgy2-U60-8c-YFs7FNWtfkmogs3ub7ZldCXi1QhyphenhyphenEmNVG2SRZtZIH0/s1600-h/P7100009.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjpsr4PVURUr3NVvihGvZXpbYfyESpIhWD4cbpGqwkLL1exASY874xsP3fFVsnK7GpfKRNVe6jf4awldF5vWIGmQgy2-U60-8c-YFs7FNWtfkmogs3ub7ZldCXi1QhyphenhyphenEmNVG2SRZtZIH0/s400/P7100009.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357399379848456034" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);font-size:180%;" ><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><br />After</span></span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilQHnQ_R0_y0HabSuDIdffBwbAyF1gI_NxJ71NgiW07ifqvvncTaHhkCm120TDw1e6mRmZnv6a3UrhDZThklKpZkoQalC-KPe3y0nqxxLUFkXHBw6wWkTOV95V26Q-rJqTO7Q_HNRo2F0/s1600-h/P7100015.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilQHnQ_R0_y0HabSuDIdffBwbAyF1gI_NxJ71NgiW07ifqvvncTaHhkCm120TDw1e6mRmZnv6a3UrhDZThklKpZkoQalC-KPe3y0nqxxLUFkXHBw6wWkTOV95V26Q-rJqTO7Q_HNRo2F0/s400/P7100015.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357399883571143250" border="0" /></a></div>CHeerenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07319013215717477667noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3516244374056865777.post-49665726037830744842009-07-09T22:04:00.000-04:002009-07-11T22:37:38.164-04:00Time Flies When You're Having Fun (or when your just really busy).Hey there, so quick little anecdote - a couple days ago I was trying to hurry around town. I ran out of my apartment, down 117th street, into the subway, had my metro card in hand, went to swipe into the turn style and my metro card didn't work. Meaning.... my card had expired and I've been here for over a MONTH! Had it not been for the fact I had to buy new metro card, I probably would have completely forgotten. Many times I still feel like I'm completely lost and have just moved here. For now I am taking it one day at a time and the days are whizzing past! Jealous right? hahah jk<br /><br />So I haven't written in a couple days but that's mostly because I've been CRAZY CRAZY BUSY!!!! Seriously, busy! my schedule is work for 6 or 7 hours, have a 2 hour break (during which I study), go to school for 7 hours, come home, try to sleep for 5 hours. Wake up and repeat. Today is actually the beginning of a short break for me : ) I have 2 days off from work... HOLLAH! Which gives me just enough time to study for my first exam on Monday.. Yikes<br /><br />Sorry I feel like this blog is really scattered but I have a lot of random crap to tell about. But this is it for now... I passed my servsafe exam! Servsafe is a national exam for food handlers. I think most every manager has to be Servsafe certified and most chefs do to. It was a pretty easy, mostly about how to properly store, handle, process, heat, reheat, and cool food, how to cross contamination and how to clean a kitchen.<br /><br />In perparation for the test we watched a lot of video's on food safetly, some really lame but a few pretty gross. Here is one to share... enjoy : )<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/FJr0C0mtNiA&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/FJr0C0mtNiA&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>CHeerenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07319013215717477667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3516244374056865777.post-86988754470543595292009-07-04T19:29:00.000-04:002009-07-04T20:19:56.463-04:00Crazy for ThaiI love pad thai... that's the most important thing you need to know.<br /><br /><ul><li>Vegetable with tofu</li></ul><ul><li>Extra peanuts</li></ul><ul><li>Medium plus spicy<br /></li></ul>Since coming to NYC I've been hesitant to eat out much and nervous to find a good, cheap thai restaurant that can fulfill my love of pad thai. However, yesterday I found the restaurant that will likely become my pad thai place, they serve an almost perfect pad thai dish.<br /><br />I stumbled upon this restaurant by complete accident. I had intended to return some books to the library but the library was closed and didn't have a drop box. That failed. I was gonna try to study at a park near NYU but couldn't keep my mind focused. That failed. So I just started to wander around the area aimlessly. I walked by this restaurant and the ONLY reason I even gave it a second look was because it had something very very few restaurants in NYC have.... outdoor seating.<br /><br />It's really very disappointing... all I want to do most of the time is get a good light meal outdoors, it's not that hard. But it just doesn't happen here for whatever reason. So anyway I see it, think "finally someone from michigan decided to open a restaurant with outdoor seating" and go look at the menu. I was happy to realize that yummm it's thai food and wow their pad thai is only $11 and because I was there before 7pm I get an extra 30% of my entire meal. No way was I gonna pass this by.<br /><br />So I sat outside and had the most wonderful, simple pad thai.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNnBaaFJ_lGoJzcQMi1xV7f-_wXCCyssB1E7Ocs3VGKkqHPexHWn9SnQOB63QZHaidyRuQThZ-a07ubclvHyko5NK44YYXdcWMALgnjxRHHOeYTIiabcKsrCZhSRUQ6Sjb4XlCFg7F4wE/s1600-h/P7030002.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNnBaaFJ_lGoJzcQMi1xV7f-_wXCCyssB1E7Ocs3VGKkqHPexHWn9SnQOB63QZHaidyRuQThZ-a07ubclvHyko5NK44YYXdcWMALgnjxRHHOeYTIiabcKsrCZhSRUQ6Sjb4XlCFg7F4wE/s400/P7030002.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354752895008336898" border="0" /></a><br /><br />It's amazing... the peanuts and spices were on the side and so were the sprouts! This has to make it so much easier on the patrons and chef. There is no guessing about how spicy, spicy is, just do it yourself. The presentation was beautiful, food delicious, portion was just right, waiter was really friendly and the price was excellent, including tip under $12. It was one of the best meals I've had in a while.CHeerenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07319013215717477667noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3516244374056865777.post-34007487816472299382009-07-02T22:11:00.000-04:002009-08-01T22:25:50.481-04:00Nothing But Taste Buds and MeOk so it's official, if it wasn't official before I'm making it completely official now: my life revolves completely around food. I'm either at work (being paid to work with food), at school (paying to work with food) or at home figuring out how I can get more involved in the NYC food culture.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">To do the math</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Work + Food = $</span>$<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">- $$$$ + School = food<br />$ + Food = (0 * social life) + building a career</span><br /><br /><br />Ok so granted today I did have time play the guitar for about an hour and go for a run in central park, but basically it's food all the time!<br /><br />Also: You can note the changes to my link bar... I've included a few new food blogs, which I need to start reading religiously, along with the new york times food section. I'm half way through The Soul of a Chef by Michael Ruhlman and my reading list has exploded since I now have access to the FCI's wonderful library. It's the only library I know of where you check out material and return it just whenever you're done. There is no due date, no late fees. Total honors system.<br /><br />I have Friday off for the holiday but in my normal fashion... here is what I accomplished yesterday in class.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153); font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Almond Meringue Cake </span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixY-gBeMCEqoIuLQPWF85v6_I6MNwA81OoFPCqQq1TdDGYwEspjv-HTShAX_NSRndzzdnp92NKN6AptgA6E7MDGnOJWmIfX_5y6qwc9Pl0jcTOvHWSTTyb03JRjayMWVW3RJZpQsqswlA/s1600-h/P7010283.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixY-gBeMCEqoIuLQPWF85v6_I6MNwA81OoFPCqQq1TdDGYwEspjv-HTShAX_NSRndzzdnp92NKN6AptgA6E7MDGnOJWmIfX_5y6qwc9Pl0jcTOvHWSTTyb03JRjayMWVW3RJZpQsqswlA/s400/P7010283.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354054842886314850" border="0" /></a>An almond meringue tart with raspberry jam and toasted almond layers with 10x powdered sugar dusting.<br /><br />Not the most beautiful tart to be sure. I'm not crazy about the deep brown color of the tart. Also, my powdered sugar design, while appropriately simple, wasn't executed properly. The sugar dusting was the very last thing I did in class and Chef was on our asses to get out of the kitchen before 11pm. But despite the sad exterior it tastes really great! I took it to work and it was devoured by my co-workers.<br /><br />The cake is made from French meringue folded into what amounts to almond cake mix (almond flour, hazelnut flour, sugar, salt). This strange brown cake mix is put atop the tart crust, jam and toasted almonds. The whole thing is then baked. The air bubbles in the meringue expand from the heat of the oven which causes the cake to rise almost double it's original size. The cake is much lighter in density then it may appear.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153); font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153); font-style: italic;"><br />Lemon Tartles </span><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIR1fZWhlIpWWpVLDFsVqYp4gu0kY4RqosJGb_1b6HRZLx2dGC9OUE9UBkdN0xzjBE0_7xWe0cof5lt9gXwNjJ8jU01Y0ZFEi9fdGoxxP6KSKacC8U3XpXO2FZprQPTO5mWXWIVSk388E/s1600-h/P7010289.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIR1fZWhlIpWWpVLDFsVqYp4gu0kY4RqosJGb_1b6HRZLx2dGC9OUE9UBkdN0xzjBE0_7xWe0cof5lt9gXwNjJ8jU01Y0ZFEi9fdGoxxP6KSKacC8U3XpXO2FZprQPTO5mWXWIVSk388E/s400/P7010289.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354071775042019858" border="0" /></a>Cutest little things ever. Lemon curd filling, Swiss Meringue is piped on top, caramelized with a torch and candied lemon peel to garnish A very very long process with a bazillion steps, but the finished product is so adorable.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAOTz9ln3XnSCv6JsJ_hW90nQIlD4bHT2TG_cQD7-wKNJjO-hsof-jL85i8XbwobPrsMUMWiRKDxH1Po45my623j9xIhvCzTyPImYAFi2YcNxhNsOFcQqOv2_TcXQ4OlLH5X3zsoYJWYE/s1600-h/P7010287.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAOTz9ln3XnSCv6JsJ_hW90nQIlD4bHT2TG_cQD7-wKNJjO-hsof-jL85i8XbwobPrsMUMWiRKDxH1Po45my623j9xIhvCzTyPImYAFi2YcNxhNsOFcQqOv2_TcXQ4OlLH5X3zsoYJWYE/s400/P7010287.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354070914426415970" border="0" /></a><br />Also I love to practice my piping skills! Pipping might be one of my favorite activities to do/learn to improve on. I can't wait to start doing cakes!!!! It's all piping all the time : )<br /></div></div>CHeerenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07319013215717477667noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3516244374056865777.post-89720749895109720232009-06-30T20:35:00.000-04:002009-08-01T22:20:25.801-04:00A Demo of Cool Kitchen Tricks.Part of my voluntary education at FCI includes attending chef demos. Chef demos happen all the time. There are two just this week alone! There is a huge amount of variety in the type of chefs who give the demos, some are current teachers, graduates, celebrity chefs, as well as the topic of the demo.<br /><br />Today I went to my first demo! It was awesome. The auditorium is small, holds about 40 people and you have to get there early if you want a seat otherwise there is some standing room. I went straight from work and was able to get a close spot in the second row.<br /><br />The demo was given by <span id="part1">Master Chef Nils Norén, Vice Preside</span><span id="part1">nt of Culinary Arts at FCI with his very enthusiastic sous chef </span><span id="part1">who's name I forgot. But anywho , Chef Nils has been on </span>Top Chef. <a href="http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef-masters/videos/meet-chef-nils-noren">See Video</a> He had a lot of fun stuff for the demo some of which I will briefly show you here.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Champagne Saber.</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">(</span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">take a knife and open up a champagne bottle, the top of the bottle is sliced off but if you have skill there is no shattering of the glass and very very little bubbling... observe)</span><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz7BqY-2B_CBva3gxvN7D8zq698wJpG8xMbRmibA0Hmmy1vSeTFz1smXf47v7iuwUpg3b7GKjubc7O4k7mvQg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">H</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">ere</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> i</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">s the video I took at the demo. That's m</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">e going 'oooooohhhh' in the background. It was completely impressive and now i'm gonna practice at home until I can do it too.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">We learned about the cutting edge techniques which involved using a centrifuges to separate nut oils and nut paste. I tasted the most delicious, clean, flavorful pistachio nut oil and hazelnut b</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">utter. It put everything else to shame!!! </span><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt3RC1gEGzzWCG4CJV90PZoyM2XtDlFx4hbkMF0IQFnT0Cd8UcIqNNhORMvXRnHapKIx1rH8a8EUNuY2RZFVXx5OrSVdUyej-p1zdjctCDP2TUwtdZC1Uf8k_s0XYyUk5o3ohEDmGyfoQ/s1600-h/P6300277.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 230px; height: 172px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt3RC1gEGzzWCG4CJV90PZoyM2XtDlFx4hbkMF0IQFnT0Cd8UcIqNNhORMvXRnHapKIx1rH8a8EUNuY2RZFVXx5OrSVdUyej-p1zdjctCDP2TUwtdZC1Uf8k_s0XYyUk5o3ohEDmGyfoQ/s400/P6300277.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353308033601697842" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Sorry this nex</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">t picture is off in color and doesn't look to appetizing but I wanted to post it anyway to show you another part of the demo. There is a specific type of enzyme, </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">humans have it in their bodies, and when used in cooking, it can bind together ANY two types of protein. So Chef Nils made u</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">s "fake ba</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">con". It was strips o</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl2KMDBnSLLcdohkWwo7FIbjgp_JMNIe57_HiEyaUoATNs5JcfZl_MgLq82tXem2IYFpWdBt2cZhaIPp7lKJ0T3N7VJH2wbXgYONDMaGKiFconTCnaYhBJlvgtG3RNRpQ5qAaOPPX1qUM/s1600-h/P6300269.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl2KMDBnSLLcdohkWwo7FIbjgp_JMNIe57_HiEyaUoATNs5JcfZl_MgLq82tXem2IYFpWdBt2cZhaIPp7lKJ0T3N7VJH2wbXgYONDMaGKiFconTCnaYhBJlvgtG3RNRpQ5qAaOPPX1qUM/s320/P6300269.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353317594395461346" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">f veil with strips of scallops so the veil looked like the meat of bacon and the scallops looked</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> like the fat in bacon.<br /><br /></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Here is another not so appetizing picture while it was being cooked, but at least you can clearly see the strips I'm trying (and failing) to describe. I wish I could remember the name of that protein he used. Starts with an A somethin</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">g... anyway it gets kinda technical and boring so enough. Tasted DELICIOUS!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">He spent some time using a vacuum, yeah like a vacuum that sucks air out. But obvs it looks a lot different then your normal Hoover Vac. The vacuum in conjunction with the centrifuge is used to make clarified sauces such as clarified strawberry sauce. Normally making a clarified fruit sauce is very time consuming and has a low product yield percentage. However this method is much faster and uses nearly 99 percent of each berry. I think it will be a while though before many restaurant kitchens have a centrifuge.<br /><br />But back to the food... Chef Nils took the clarified strawberry sauce, mixed it with some champagne, gave it a little </span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">extra carbonation and served it to us in champagne glasses which he had chilled using liquid nitrogen. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">Finally he made us an arrowroot sauce</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">, with scalliots infused with fresh apple juice and an urchin pate served with som</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">e pork tenderloin. Just your run of the mill boring stuff<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2_R969piHNACcruGMLbY0ujIkVnJNwg1rSz-g2ebfdFq48CTrqwAY4sjfj8uMc1D7iVc8ozbHUgqps9fdOmHnvaDcH_iwOFf5hpcLYt2z-d8nHlx0Ikdznk8J8chDT4nooZTeJV7mx3Y/s1600-h/P6300272.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2_R969piHNACcruGMLbY0ujIkVnJNwg1rSz-g2ebfdFq48CTrqwAY4sjfj8uMc1D7iVc8ozbHUgqps9fdOmHnvaDcH_iwOFf5hpcLYt2z-d8nHlx0Ikdznk8J8chDT4nooZTeJV7mx3Y/s400/P6300272.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353310858265053154" border="0" /></a><br />Oh yeah and for dessert... I almost forgot. Onion ice cream, eh I could live without it but still a pleasant surprise considering it was onions. And the most delicious, herb ice cream with more clarified strawberry sauce (pictured below). The herbs were chopped up and then pureed with liquid nitrogen before being folded into the ice cream. Heaven might exist.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirptqs_AtlscG6Jjr8jk8GA_B6gGYGoI_lEZ_fmoWDRJlwg69rZZGEhJ0DFfpxXhQvGQNh0h6m3uBk1-pNIgh31RlcwBv9befQEgdPEpgtlkGcGRCyCVse2w7n9QX3yclt5vpTZ2IighY/s1600-h/P6300282.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirptqs_AtlscG6Jjr8jk8GA_B6gGYGoI_lEZ_fmoWDRJlwg69rZZGEhJ0DFfpxXhQvGQNh0h6m3uBk1-pNIgh31RlcwBv9befQEgdPEpgtlkGcGRCyCVse2w7n9QX3yclt5vpTZ2IighY/s400/P6300282.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353318007468316178" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />A final note: I promise to learn how to use my camera so that these pictures stop looking off color. just keep in mind the plates the food is served on are white so everything is kinda rosey, but not in a good way. Anyway sorry I will do better.CHeerenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07319013215717477667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3516244374056865777.post-55664417180741855852009-06-29T13:01:00.000-04:002009-08-01T22:25:50.482-04:00Tartlets to HellUp to this point in my training I've been pretty confident and happy with my performance in the kitchen and with my final products. I have to work on my knife skills, speed and some technical skills but most of it seems within my grasp. I'm not struggling at least not until these stupid mini tartlets.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgefTlyaio_gZ0PT5z4YppL-Y1are4_PLFaAtIi8Yl93K0hhrujwfHdW5WCaU8qddQbI3_Tb2OkiS8yJ-7WDrnKYzqpXqaYEIi6TY72wzwMmPG114Kg9j5CPLUIE847BCOMysokL3Bg1iw/s1600-h/0624092018a.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgefTlyaio_gZ0PT5z4YppL-Y1are4_PLFaAtIi8Yl93K0hhrujwfHdW5WCaU8qddQbI3_Tb2OkiS8yJ-7WDrnKYzqpXqaYEIi6TY72wzwMmPG114Kg9j5CPLUIE847BCOMysokL3Bg1iw/s400/0624092018a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352792144622960162" border="0" /></a><br />Mini Tarts are so much harder then you might think. The platting and arranging of the fruit is a pain in the butt. No matter how many times you try to re-arrange the fruit, it still looks off. I was not to pleased with the outcome, although they tasted yummy and I learned some really great knife skills. I've learned the proper way to cut a mango, kiwi, orange and even strawberry, I'd been doing it all wrong! Side Note: Can't wait to show my mom how awesome I am at cutting a mango. When I'm done I basically have two perfect mango boobs. hahah<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDE-eg4pInIs-_ao4xwCLmcWkpnFH9P1QNTFO3sTpsRe9sw3zC3JySBN6shpf2QFm0y_jooeg1kWudB571Z54232fsEBNofTHmMVsXQPebSBukJTMEXVtipukSj_qC_AAwq_UJ8xRTs_o/s1600-h/0624092018.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 201px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDE-eg4pInIs-_ao4xwCLmcWkpnFH9P1QNTFO3sTpsRe9sw3zC3JySBN6shpf2QFm0y_jooeg1kWudB571Z54232fsEBNofTHmMVsXQPebSBukJTMEXVtipukSj_qC_AAwq_UJ8xRTs_o/s400/0624092018.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352790418218743058" border="0" /></a>A close up of more ugly tarts. And as Chef Toni says "I don't serve ugly food"<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4iyVVKRUZcPpUCl1RBYn2b64ZrHJPtwXsGyI9tGUctaweEkVM5yI_9QU12LOWyU8Hy2_vqgy_blRWcLsgkJ_qUUExwNNjZ-UOhjRM9DWUFE9G7eQrTBnbQcbGhTTWyWIImtc1RsDZRKo/s1600-h/P6260057.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4iyVVKRUZcPpUCl1RBYn2b64ZrHJPtwXsGyI9tGUctaweEkVM5yI_9QU12LOWyU8Hy2_vqgy_blRWcLsgkJ_qUUExwNNjZ-UOhjRM9DWUFE9G7eQrTBnbQcbGhTTWyWIImtc1RsDZRKo/s400/P6260057.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352791898556182866" border="0" /></a><br />That's Christopher, he's oustanding! He's holding our tray of our oh so yummy fig bars. When you chop them up, you have a fig puree surrounded by a sweet and crumbling shortbread dough, they complement each other perfectly! I wasn't about to let those tartlets ruin my day! I went home and nearly ate the entire half log of fig nuten. The fig nuiten is at the top of my list of favorite things I've made so far.<br /><br />And finally our first savory tart. It has onions which were sweated, then carmalized with a small amout of Saki, chopped walnuts, sliced tomatoes and blue cheese. OMG just thinking about it I'm getting hungry.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLS_01nvcsHzM_t4cy9L2EV3zU07ikNZpN3gbzLtXinZbSH0h2463jeMx7vFupUSlVYtMMPEvsS9ybi3TxRZy7m_8-5nqoCUv9SvTfqAFoRAq1tylql_YnwosV_4Q9EaFy_PmdG8KztcE/s1600-h/P6260052.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLS_01nvcsHzM_t4cy9L2EV3zU07ikNZpN3gbzLtXinZbSH0h2463jeMx7vFupUSlVYtMMPEvsS9ybi3TxRZy7m_8-5nqoCUv9SvTfqAFoRAq1tylql_YnwosV_4Q9EaFy_PmdG8KztcE/s400/P6260052.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352791346324119362" border="0" /></a>Good thing I have some left over in my fridge! Hello breakfast. : )CHeerenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07319013215717477667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3516244374056865777.post-50664350322006122342009-06-21T23:47:00.000-04:002009-08-01T22:25:50.482-04:00Tit for TartMe= awesome pastry chef. Enough said.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_YiUGhuCuRszXMqXe-APd1pJva5kGQgEa5gr3nhSLH3HDo1LlPIBbl-Y3Z2kPGzCA-z0wrLEBVVlzYc40lTkG8uKs06IbI2vt97nhvtBLOPtz2AIGOlbsyNiAc4TrMsi1YOLdlxck1BY/s1600-h/tarts.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_YiUGhuCuRszXMqXe-APd1pJva5kGQgEa5gr3nhSLH3HDo1LlPIBbl-Y3Z2kPGzCA-z0wrLEBVVlzYc40lTkG8uKs06IbI2vt97nhvtBLOPtz2AIGOlbsyNiAc4TrMsi1YOLdlxck1BY/s400/tarts.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349996155850748418" border="0" /></a>Mango, strawberry and Kiwi fresh fruit tart... it was yummy. I learned the proper way to cut all this fruit. My knife skills have improved 10 fold. I took this tart and an almond pear tart I made to Victor's 2nd birthday party, he's a friend from jersey. Victor wasn't very interested in the tarts (he had a shark cake) but Ted and Viki (his parents) were excited to eat some of my homework.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Ukfq2f1sB-MidkR_TrtZ5SAHYlcR6KBD-JZGb793Qud4kwnZOGeJK3KYzysGBV9H3czOKut1BLln-BT5CCuNbVn40wtij1miwGyztF8ugJnmz2_hHcdRMzap55Q70k7oyuI5-VGw1pY/s1600-h/P6170004.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Ukfq2f1sB-MidkR_TrtZ5SAHYlcR6KBD-JZGb793Qud4kwnZOGeJK3KYzysGBV9H3czOKut1BLln-BT5CCuNbVn40wtij1miwGyztF8ugJnmz2_hHcdRMzap55Q70k7oyuI5-VGw1pY/s400/P6170004.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349994374238049506" border="0" /></a>This is my banana cream tart made with fresh banana's so unlike most banana flavored things, it actually tasted pretty yummy, or as Rachel says "yumo". Also you get to see how dorky I look when I'm working.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0pi2fBD6ocgFRIlBbddPumXPp5KzSgrZV0SgWlGHQuRFyFzQtj-eHaXf6wK2uqUGRggxkEAC_R2QNO5da92zglFWUfzEG_HrlkC_my2gBqJgrR0k7zjAFawwQ1nO-gtPkNZxYkfV2BB8/s1600-h/fci"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0pi2fBD6ocgFRIlBbddPumXPp5KzSgrZV0SgWlGHQuRFyFzQtj-eHaXf6wK2uqUGRggxkEAC_R2QNO5da92zglFWUfzEG_HrlkC_my2gBqJgrR0k7zjAFawwQ1nO-gtPkNZxYkfV2BB8/s400/fci" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349993937172716642" border="0" /></a>Oh almost forgot to add... this is my school. In case anyone wanted to see a picture of the outside. The restaurant is below and the classroom kitchens are on the upper floors. The culinary students who are in the 5th and 6th moduale are in charge of cooking for the restaurant so they get a pretty great experience, and the food at<a href="http://www.frenchculinary.com/lecole.htm"> L'Ecole</a> is yummy/pricy.CHeerenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07319013215717477667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3516244374056865777.post-32482052284099989032009-06-18T16:58:00.001-04:002009-08-01T22:26:34.500-04:00A near missOk i'm sure you're all really sick of reading about how perfect and wonderful new york is. So just to include a little playful NYC bashing I'm going to explain what happened to me on the way back from work today.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Just a note that this blog does include some less then tasteful descriptions. Be a</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">dvised. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! </span><br /><br />My normal commute is about 40-50 minutes from the door of my work to my doorstep at home. This breaks down into about 10 minutes of walking and 30 minutes on the subway, so it's pretty easy and I get a lot of reading done on my commute. I can't complain about that. However New York has one GIANT flaw. There are NO <span style="font-size:130%;">NONE </span><span style="font-size:180%;">ZILCH <span style="font-weight: bold;">ZERO</span></span> public bathrooms! It's ridiculous.<br /><br />So anyway my story. I leave work, walk to the subway, hope on my train (the 6) headed uptown and away we go. About 3 or 4 stops down the line I suddenly come down with a really strong urge to go no. two. There's no kidding I have a pretty regular system (yeah I'm not likely to get colon cancer!!)<br /><br />I'm debating in my head how long can I last before I have an accident right there on the subway. There are tons of public safety announcements made constantly, about not falling off the platform, being lost in the gap, not holding on to the handrail etc.... But there is not one single public safety campaign about making sure you don't ruin yourself on the subway. In my view, who cares if you fall, just get up or get a new hip, but taking a leak or dump on yourself could ruin your entire week!<br /><br />So here I am thinking how long can I last.... when I decide "fuck this, I'll just get off at grand central station and use a bathroom there". GC was only 2 stops away, NBD. But just before the stop, the subway car stops. There is a problem. We sit, just seconds away from the platform. For TEN MINUTES!<br /><br />Ten minutes later (i'm dying by now) I get off the train and hurry to the nearest bathroom. There is a line longer then pete to get into the bathroom. So I hurry to the other bathroom. It's closed! I stand looking at the men's bathroom for five minutes, debating what to do. Wait in the long line with the ladies or just suck it up.<br /><br />What I finally ended up doing is irrelavent, because I made it home safely and without an accident. But that's not the point. The real point is that NYC needs public bathrooms and they need them now.<br /><br />It's change we need, it's change we can trust and change we can believe in.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYy3R8HwVl5QlDdM0SWVftuaHF1IgFr2AKa_hoPdglyIUyh8W2Aip4aZswRK7slC-PQbsDNG1F6dHSm1J9ndH5vVuKBRliSe50acjZ-zBa401qfpnLALjk3qKxLB_RUWkBUE6eB_rz_FQ/s1600-h/obama-toilet.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYy3R8HwVl5QlDdM0SWVftuaHF1IgFr2AKa_hoPdglyIUyh8W2Aip4aZswRK7slC-PQbsDNG1F6dHSm1J9ndH5vVuKBRliSe50acjZ-zBa401qfpnLALjk3qKxLB_RUWkBUE6eB_rz_FQ/s400/obama-toilet.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349993314875431698" border="0" /></a>CHeerenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07319013215717477667noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3516244374056865777.post-69863895597150117442009-06-17T16:13:00.000-04:002009-08-01T22:25:50.482-04:00First Week In Pastry Training.<span style="font-size:85%;">Sorry it's taken me a couple extra days for a new post. I didn't want to let it slide but things have been crazy here in nyc. I'm learning to juggle a whole new ti</span><span style="font-size:85%;">me table which is exciting and straining. Sorry without further a due....</span><br /><br />I am officially (as some of my facebook friends may have noticed) a culinary pastry student. I have typical chef's whites with my name embroidered on them, super 80's plaid paints and a very sexy tool kit (more to come on that). So there is no denying the fact that I'm on the wagon and on my way.<br /><br />The kitchen is set up much like a science lab, everyone at a work station with a partner and lot of tools. Typically there is a short lecture explaining the science behind what we are doing, followed by a demo and then we are sent to do our best to replicate what chef showed us. It's very straight forward and when everyone is on their A game, the class works like a well oiled machine.<br /><br />The first day of class we hit the ground running, Chef Toni (the head chef) gave us some basic instructions and then we were off to make our first dough, a french dough called Patee Sucree which translates to 'sand dough'. It's an ever so slight sweet dough that is crumbly not flaky. It's used for a lot of basic sweet tarts. Which leads me to our first big project which was making an Tarte aux Pommes, apple tart.<br /><br />This tart spanned the course of two classes and was relatively easy to make for yours truly although as a whole we had two causalities. The first being that an older gentleman in our class has already dropped out. I can't lie... I saw this coming from a mile away. He is a police detective with the NYPD and baking was something he "liked to do".<br /><br />The second causality was one of the ovens was 'accidentally' turned up to 500 degrees while the tarts were baking. So about half of the classes' tarts were burnt. It was generally agreed it was an accident but I suspect it was a vicious crime committed by the same apple trees that threw apples at Dorthy in the Wizard of Oz.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ2IlBeUCVsmypcbvTYRAlHWYDyOJ42wGWEn0sczcyb0kBz-bgMdGNzE_fRKN-I0bsLjErbZdXhcxgNOvD7jCDPxHRGMJew88okzqYbnAD7IX-O4MlfuhClX3OFnM8P2JRQRb_AKBNxqQ/s1600-h/Tree1.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ2IlBeUCVsmypcbvTYRAlHWYDyOJ42wGWEn0sczcyb0kBz-bgMdGNzE_fRKN-I0bsLjErbZdXhcxgNOvD7jCDPxHRGMJew88okzqYbnAD7IX-O4MlfuhClX3OFnM8P2JRQRb_AKBNxqQ/s320/Tree1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348767365022949714" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />However, I was lucky because I put my tart in the other oven. Yeah maybe I sabotaged the other oven but you can't prove anything!<br /><br />My tart came out wonderfully perfect! (or at least not uber burnt). I was able to take it home on the subway and shared it with my friend Ariella (shout out!) and my roomie.<br /><br />Even just through this first, relatively simple recipe I have already learned so many new techniques and tricks that a normal cook book (even the most detailed) could supply. My bench in right up at the very front of the room, right next to Chef's table to I get a great view of what she's doing and can ask her a billion questions all the time.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXIgUuRMpi1Bpb0Fa41Lusoj2f8oNRFG4XX68tVr4QbeOMOLi_A0NQyu_tetDO1PUMJTPa_AThxwMyiUDy1Ip-Cp7gqTbpYeWDbpGd6Q2saCgLHWJMzOx_Ky3VuxrC3A6eZ0mE66GEIAo/s1600-h/P6150002.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 356px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXIgUuRMpi1Bpb0Fa41Lusoj2f8oNRFG4XX68tVr4QbeOMOLi_A0NQyu_tetDO1PUMJTPa_AThxwMyiUDy1Ip-Cp7gqTbpYeWDbpGd6Q2saCgLHWJMzOx_Ky3VuxrC3A6eZ0mE66GEIAo/s400/P6150002.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348770964450209170" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">My Tarte aux Pommes with apricot nappage </span><br /></div>CHeerenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07319013215717477667noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3516244374056865777.post-11781817699253967912009-06-14T10:47:00.000-04:002009-08-01T22:23:40.180-04:00hola, yo no hablo español<span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Yesterday (saturday) was my first day here that I haven't been really busy/had some really important things to do such as painting my kitchen or scrubbing my floors. Typically when I'm given even a moment to relax I take it, there isn't always a ton going on in Royal Oak but not here! On my day off I went to the Puerto Rico Festival.</span><br /><br /></span> <div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">The Puerto Rico Festival is basically the equ</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">ivalent of a Pride Festival but for Puerto Ricans, (ridiculous costumes, booty dancing, wonderful food, live music, tons of cops keeping the peace, a big parade and lots & lots of pride).</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVIjy0KUETv4UNRmwx7-o_p2ggKgTJDfbcL9YcLX4t89kFXRNo9QTbs7LmlsbbzmnWcq_evsoEtswWX2sbcBzTb_mMkWJyZgQRSodeylt3zHWRPHrjXfCymHM2a_4TIJKCt88DYSx8Yp4/s1600-h/P6130815.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVIjy0KUETv4UNRmwx7-o_p2ggKgTJDfbcL9YcLX4t89kFXRNo9QTbs7LmlsbbzmnWcq_evsoEtswWX2sbcBzTb_mMkWJyZgQRSodeylt3zHWRPHrjXfCymHM2a_4TIJKCt88DYSx8Yp4/s400/P6130815.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347208077511419490" border="0" /></a></div><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="font-size:85%;">(corner of 117th and 2nd Ave)</span><br /><br /></span> </div> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">For the geographically inclined, I live on 117th between 1st and 2nd ave, and the festival ran from 114th- 125th along 2nd ave. So the party was literally on my door step. In fact here is the old man who was chillin on my corner. </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Zrfnr4nFlXqIiTbdsjak3h9erwKnEOuhqDX1TijRPPhHY-5zgl5M9fBLcWK1jUusb9niHcTSRqQYfFOtq3g4wkWYWB4olrtc1qxgA13z5O1oaQw3L7dQghLiG7sR6uIZtpxJbCTu4a8/s1600-h/P6130813.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 401px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Zrfnr4nFlXqIiTbdsjak3h9erwKnEOuhqDX1TijRPPhHY-5zgl5M9fBLcWK1jUusb9niHcTSRqQYfFOtq3g4wkWYWB4olrtc1qxgA13z5O1oaQw3L7dQghLiG7sR6uIZtpxJbCTu4a8/s400/P6130813.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347195898092522866" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">He had an entire switch board and randomly "honked" his bike-vehicle like a chicken or a cow. He scared a lot of passers by with his barn yard sounds and was clearly enjoying himself immensely!</span> <span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The food was awesome! (oh did I mention I like food/like trying new food) Unfortunately though I was alone and speak ZERO Spanish. I know how to count to ten and say 'hello' and 'my name is clare'. But that's it! All around me were signs and people with loud speakers all in Spanish. I felt like I had been transported to a different country. This was the menu at the food stands....</span></span> <br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDBQjf1lu7PTZcphN4iVlNoqOnpInoP8wZ7vcmf0xVau0ONFW0bYcYu8JUojFFYlIfgjkuh6gCjb5IidTzAmNmUzIq_u3D9nsG-Ko_XXctQHe6Q1d3e8KJRA1ZU22zYpjeadHa5sVoG0U/s1600-h/P6130816.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDBQjf1lu7PTZcphN4iVlNoqOnpInoP8wZ7vcmf0xVau0ONFW0bYcYu8JUojFFYlIfgjkuh6gCjb5IidTzAmNmUzIq_u3D9nsG-Ko_XXctQHe6Q1d3e8KJRA1ZU22zYpjeadHa5sVoG0U/s400/P6130816.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347209979815191042" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">I'm gonna guess that Mofongo is some sort of Mango drink and maybe Relleno de Papa roughly translates to "Dad's favorite dish" but like I said earlier, I'm not a linguistic expert.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">However, what I did manage to find was a very helpful and english speaking cook who showed me his incredible meat cooker! There is a wood fire below this thing and then huge slabs of meat are thrown onto this tee-pee like structure to cook. It's kinda gross to see so much raw meat but I got to taste a small sample and it was wonderful, really tender with a great smoky flavor. However I didn't feel up to eating an entire cow leg so instead I enjoyed a grilled plantain and some sort of fried meat pocket, which was all very yummy. </span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik1qBD4ZkwUyX0vbk-fe25miAysnuxWieM3bYd3jpjI-8OKcjN4PlcpPfRvu6hkL1DmjP1IqgFCWsj1SDMijWt9YeeBumq-TSxSQ-GjMMj23M7d2VFCLiBzWE0OElmDD2suvVIp7ONSp4/s1600-h/P6130803.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik1qBD4ZkwUyX0vbk-fe25miAysnuxWieM3bYd3jpjI-8OKcjN4PlcpPfRvu6hkL1DmjP1IqgFCWsj1SDMijWt9YeeBumq-TSxSQ-GjMMj23M7d2VFCLiBzWE0OElmDD2suvVIp7ONSp4/s400/P6130803.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347216295892251442" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">In short it was a very successful Puerto Rico Festival and next weekend I'm going to the Coney Island Mermaid Parade!!! </span>CHeerenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07319013215717477667noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3516244374056865777.post-70761004580388900602009-06-08T23:23:00.001-04:002009-06-08T23:53:33.931-04:00A Working Woman<span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);">I got a job praise the lord!!!! I might actually make it in the city so please ignore any rumors you have heard to the contrary. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);">So here is the play by play:</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);">Finding a job in NYC has proven to be just as easy as everyone says it is (it doesn't hurt that I'm absolutely god's gift to employers). I replying to about a gazillion adds on craig's list, all in vain but I went to my first interview and boom just like that I got a job.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);">The bakery is </span><a style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);" href="http://www.lepainquotidien.com/">Le pain Quotidein</a><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);"> at 801 Broadway. It's an organic bakery, just like Avalon, my old job in the D. So Hollahhh!!!</span><a style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiACYLddMp4fwXP4VClPlyksT3E5ottfRbea5qN4KhLYsNS-YJe6dx7R0YnaNieE4wiDKcMwzxLCVab4OLSJMT6-DaNWHQ5ybw2KNL-tc97c7XQje-OEvWGQMmvmOI86zbQ0BI9Pfc957s/s1600-h/034_1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 254px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiACYLddMp4fwXP4VClPlyksT3E5ottfRbea5qN4KhLYsNS-YJe6dx7R0YnaNieE4wiDKcMwzxLCVab4OLSJMT6-DaNWHQ5ybw2KNL-tc97c7XQje-OEvWGQMmvmOI86zbQ0BI9Pfc957s/s400/034_1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345165654875491906" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);">I'm gonna be working behind the counter, even though the bakery has a full menu and a wait staff. I have ZERO experience as a waitress so they hired me on as a counter person. Whateves I don't care. Money is green and it needs to be in my pocket. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);">I have my job orientation on Friday and then training every day next week. So I will start officially two weeks from today. The pay is pretty low but because it's a job in my desired career field i'm willing to take the financial hit for the time being. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);">I spent the afternoon roaming around 116th street between 2nd and Madison . Everyone in my neighborhood speaks Spanish and with my blond hair I stick out like a republican at a gay pride festival. But I love my neighborhood. I'm only slightly scared every time I leave my door step, (mostly because the step is pretty big and there is a good possibility I could trip). </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);">Anyway that's all from the big apple. I have my orientation for the </span><a style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);" href="http://www.frenchculinary.com/">French Culinary Institute</a><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);"> tomorrow : ) It's the first day of school but I still haven't picked out my outfit. I need to get on that ASAP! </span>CHeerenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07319013215717477667noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3516244374056865777.post-20246310259809680152009-06-06T21:13:00.000-04:002009-08-01T22:21:51.154-04:00New York Is Calling.First of all I'd like to say that im currently eating my way through an entire pound of bread. I've been nursing this loaf all day because I have nothing much else to eat and it's sooo delicious. I've got bread, wine and cheese in my apartment and then a crap ton of my roomies food. <div> <p>But i'm not too worried about the carbs because whatever... i've walked about 20 miles these last two days. </p> </div><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br />Ok so to continue on.....</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">here is a l</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">ist of shit i've done while in nyc</span><br /><br /><ul><li><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">saw a belly dancer while eating at a Moroccan di</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">nner</span></li></ul><ul><li>Seen part of the Berlin Wall at this ity bity park near Time Square <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ZOvNokK78pkKCDAWt8YrPbiUQiDFxlujepe8IlPgKRC2rb8cTj3KmXdwoOVp1i5zgK5sB_k4NYZ2kqGr5w_OIG2fu0jA8xQEQMTPE5u4UHLldzxJwbCFyJ7Q_naX6kH846CFyCmJ0sM/s1600-h/4480_605848432978_25706968_34461239_6091822_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ZOvNokK78pkKCDAWt8YrPbiUQiDFxlujepe8IlPgKRC2rb8cTj3KmXdwoOVp1i5zgK5sB_k4NYZ2kqGr5w_OIG2fu0jA8xQEQMTPE5u4UHLldzxJwbCFyJ7Q_naX6kH846CFyCmJ0sM/s400/4480_605848432978_25706968_34461239_6091822_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344759662954315218" border="0" /></a></li></ul><ul style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><li><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">been heckled by Latino construction men... "hey blondie, hey blondie" I do after all live in Sparlem<br /></span></li></ul><ul style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><li><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">visited the nyc public library which some of you will remember was the library that carrie was gonna marry big</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> in</span></li></ul><ul style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><li><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR_YvUdtfrOLx35UUV57IaG1Mmy_xZrCP6-UywOn2JPnwX53dFHOrdcWX8q59edSiNw-G27_gHv90Xz_QgYg5__pw9w2u0iMrZGU_U_DEJisoF_Jr33EKjbd6t_jKOW7bwzQB4lzcm2Y0/s1600-h/4480_605848552738_25706968_34461241_5678433_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR_YvUdtfrOLx35UUV57IaG1Mmy_xZrCP6-UywOn2JPnwX53dFHOrdcWX8q59edSiNw-G27_gHv90Xz_QgYg5__pw9w2u0iMrZGU_U_DEJisoF_Jr33EKjbd6t_jKOW7bwzQB4lzcm2Y0/s400/4480_605848552738_25706968_34461241_5678433_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344760116299727266" border="0" /></a></li></ul><div style="text-align: center;">"The good ones screw you, the bad ones screw you, and the rest don't know how to screw you"</div><ul style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><li><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">taken the ferry across to Jersey</span></li></ul><ul style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><li><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">visited a few art galleries on 24th street where all the cool galleries are, including the gagosian.... check out their <a href="http://www.gagosian.com/exhibitions/2009-04-16_yayoi-kusama/">webpage </a></span>This exhibit was absolutely fucking outstanding and totally free! I will be back ASAP<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPLRZY7WGNAowpKxbGuluXXK8wb20xwwNXQQsUj5xBgEGjyEavF0MubTBf43Ni76fC0pWmjulRb8er-YggMi_7HiuDJTI85uXn991tND_XGzvbyjzgnUJtfD3K5yK3bxZ6JO-5S3UWtqEf/s1600-h/2581627706_df42aa636a.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPLRZY7WGNAowpKxbGuluXXK8wb20xwwNXQQsUj5xBgEGjyEavF0MubTBf43Ni76fC0pWmjulRb8er-YggMi_7HiuDJTI85uXn991tND_XGzvbyjzgnUJtfD3K5yK3bxZ6JO-5S3UWtqEf/s320/2581627706_df42aa636a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344752925243677666" border="0" /></a></li></ul><ul style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><li>went to the whispering wall at grand central station where the architecture is such that you can stand in facing one corner and whisper into the wall and the person on standing in the corner kiddy corner to you can her you perfectly clear.</li></ul><br /><br /><ul style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><li>Walked by the park where JT and Andy Sandburg filmed "dick in a box" you will see them sitting in basketball hoops.. yeah i saw those hoops (and a lot of little kids playing basketball)</li></ul><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">-</span><br /><br /><object style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/WhwbxEfy7fg"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/WhwbxEfy7fg" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" href="http://www.ultimatemyspace.com/">myspace layouts</a><br /><br /><ul style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><li>I've rearranged the living room</li></ul><ul style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><li>Planted some pots for our patio</li></ul><ul style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><li>Started painting the kitchen a very wonderful chocolate color. I'm gonna eat nothing but chocolate cake and ice cream with chocolate syrup because our walls look so delicious.<br /></li></ul><ul style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><li>Oh yeah... UNPACKED ALL MY SHIT!</li></ul><ul style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><li>Answered a craig's list ad and got a free guitar lesson in exchange for an hour of teaching the guy how to read music</li></ul><ul style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><li>Visited the union square market at 8 am to get some fresh food... hey here is a picture of union square:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://curbed.com/uploads/2007_09_UnionSquare.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 528px; height: 396px;" src="http://curbed.com/uploads/2007_09_UnionSquare.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></li></ul><ul style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><li>Said goodbye to my family : (</li></ul><ul style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><li>Fallen madly in love with the city</li></ul><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br />(And that's just the reader's digest version)</span>CHeerenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07319013215717477667noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3516244374056865777.post-76155738501172714462009-05-03T16:17:00.000-04:002009-08-01T22:21:30.627-04:00So Long WSU<div><a href="http://www.thunderblogspot.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/real_detroit_final6.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 258px; float: left; height: 340px;" alt="" src="http://www.thunderblogspot.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/real_detroit_final6.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>Wow it's been FOREVER since I last posted. Mostly it's because I finally have a life now! I've been busy finishing up my degree at Wayne HOLLAH!!! But now I've got some time on my hands now to bring this blog up to speed. </div><br /><div>Today, I was walking on campus, going to clean out my gym locker, and campus looked beautiful. The sun was shinning, the trees are flowing, the grass is a healthy green and I think some birds were singing but I couldn't really hear over the gun shots and police sirens. </div><br /><div> </div><br /><div>This last month has been an emotional roller coaster. I've become so appreciative of my friends, so grateful to have such wonderful, loyal and fucking fun ass friends. But on the flip side, it's sad to know we are going to be torn apart. My parents always told me to be happy I was young, that growing up isn't as fun as it appears. Only now do I truly believe that they were right. If growing up means leaving my friends, then I wish I could stay 21 forever. But its too late now cause I'm already 22.<br /></div><br /><br /><div></div></div>CHeerenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07319013215717477667noreply@blogger.com2