Risotto and Rice

This was by far my favorite day because we made my favorite dish, Risotto. Today was focused on rice and grains, so we made rice pilaf, boiled rice, and risotto, as well as a vegetable medley. All three of my rice dishes turned out excellent. My risotto was sooo sooo good. The recipe did not call for white wine, but I added it in, cuz thats how I am used to making risotto. It "kicks it up a notch." Chef really liked it too, and I hope he didnt penalize me for using it, he didnt say anything, just that it was very very very good. I was very smart and bought tupperware over the weekend. I brought it to class to take home my rice, veggies, and risotto. Can you say, "healthy dinner?" So thats what I've been doing--taking my tupperware to class. I dont have a microwave though, so I just go down the hall to a friends room.

Skills 2---more than just the basics

I started Skills 2 on Tuesday, which is pretty much a continuation of cooking using the skills you learned in Skills 1. I have the same chef for Skills 1 and 2, thankfully. Now we are doing more than just making soups, stocks, and sauces. We still make stocks almost every day (of which I have been fortunate enough to not be on the stock team yet this rotation). The first day, we made Pommes Puree (a fancy name for mashed potatoes), Braised Red Cabbage (SSSOOOOOOO good), Glazed Beets (eeeeew I hate beets) and of course, tourne potatoes. It was so much fun because we cooked actual food, like, stuff that you can eat with a fork, like, side dishes! I really enjoyed it!
Over the weekend I bought a stick lighter, because I had been using a paper towel to light the burners, which takes too much time. Chef saw me using it and said it was the best purchase I made over the weekend and used it for his demo. He still keeps asking for it, and it has come to the point where I keep it in my back pocket and people say "stick lighter," and they come behind and grab it. It kind of irritates me because they dont always return it, so I have to ask who has it. I don't mind when chef uses it because he always returns it. Besides, by the time they have come to my station to get the lighter, they could have already done the paper towel trick. I dunno, I bought it for my use, so people should buy their own.

My first cooking practical

So last Friday was my cooking practical for skills class. We had to make an Espagnole (veal stock and brown roux simmered till thickened), Hollandaise, Mayonnaise, and Chicken Consomme (which really turned out to be beef consomme because there was no ground chicken). We will start off with the consomme. I had only made chicken consomme, so i did not know what to expect for making the "raft." I paid close attention to it so I didn't mess it up. In the end, I was very happy with it. It had great color and deep flavor (my consommes in the past were not as dark and not as richly flavored, but ground beef does have more than chicken, so that helped). My Hollandaise was a bit thick and I did not think of thinning it down. I was too worried it would break. It was also a bit grainy, and I didn't think to strain it to smooth it out, I was just flustered at that point I guess. My Mayo turned out excellent though, he really liked it! I did pretty well on the final, I was happy with my performance. I felt flustered most of the time though. I was food steward (so I had to get the food from the storeroom that morning and set everything up). Well while I was settting everything up, the person who was food steward with me was not helping, he was just working on his own stuff. So I found myself running around at the last minute to gather my equipemt (of which all the preferred bowls and pots were already taken). I was so ready for the practical, and it just did not flow as I hoped. But it was my first time doing something like that, you know, cooking for a grade, so it was a learning experience.

Grand Buffet (or BARFet as some people call it)

Just to clarify, I have no problem with Grand Buffet, so I think it is funny how people call it Grand BARFet. Every three weeks, a class graduates, so the Garde Manger class puts on Grand Buffet on Thursday for lunch and dinner. It consists of too much food to handle, but for the most part, the food is pretty darn good. It is basically 3 bites of tons of different foods from Fois (yuk) to dumplings(yummmm). And the desserts, oh man, dont get me started! It is soooo badddddd cuz there is so much food! I am going tonight with a friend, so she and I will monitor what we eat....or maybe not. It is okay to splurge, right? I was observing the buffet at lunch (which I didn't eat cuz I was saving room for tonight), and it looks really good--much better than in the past. We shall see. I would take photos, but I don't know if I am allowed to....

Whisk it, whisk it good!

These past few days in the kitchen have been based on emulsions, which you are probably familiar with. They are two liquids that never actually combine, but by whisking, they are broken into little tiny droplets that appears like it is an emulsion. We studied vinaigrettes (those dont hold long at all=salad dressings), and Mayonnaise and Hollandaise (a mother sauce). Mayo and Hollandaise are easy to make, but they just require a lot of whisking to emulsify the ingredients. Bringing back a broken emulsion is a pain in the butt, and thankfully i haven't broken one yet (knock on wood). Mayo is much much easier to make than Hollandaise because it just requires whisking one egg yolk with mustard, vinegar, and water then drizzling in oil until the mixture is fully emulsified. I now have a much better appreciation for Mayo (not Hellman's, I'm talking about the REAL stuff here). Hollandaise is a bit more annoying to make. Hollandaise, aka Heart-Attack-in-a-Bowl, is one of those temperature sensitive emulsions, so it is made directly before using (it can't be stored). It starts off with whisking 3 egg yolks with a reduction of water, white wine vinegar, peppercorns, and shallots. The bowl is then put over a double boiler and whisked until the mixture is thick and leaves "trails" behind. It is then taken off the heat and the 6 oz. of clarified butter is whisked in, slowly. Sounds easy, right? No. When the eggs are over the heat, you have to make sure the bowl does not get too hott or else the eggs willl scramble, leaving you with scrambled eggs, not Hollandaise. That is the hardest part because once that emulsions is made, its pretty simple to drizzle in the butter. Its just kinda of tiring on the arms (Wheres the elbow grease when I need it?). I am pretty comfortable with making these emulsions, they just require patience.
Tomorrow is our cooking practical for Skills 1. We have to make a knife tray (with about 10 different knife cuts), consomme, Espagnole (brown veal stock thickened with brown roux), Hollandaise, and Mayonnaise. Shouldn't be that hard....we'll have to see. A lot of people in my class are worried and I'm not....so i don't know if i should be.

The cooking begins, FINALLY:

These are tales from the Skills kitchens. The "Skills" classes are divided into Skills 1, 2, 3. So naturally, Skills 1 covers the basics= knife cuts, soups, stocks, sauces. As of now, I am in Skills 1.

9-30-08

I have finished meat class. I started Skills 1 today, which is where we learn how to do a basic mise en place (put in place, having everything ready at your station), make stocks, soups, sauces....so the foundations of cooking. I have a French chef, Chef Le Roux. It is funny that his name is roux cuz we will be making roux in skills. I find it funny. He is so nice. Well, day one he is nice. I have heard nothing bad about him, so I am pretty sure I will be fine.

10-13-08

i LOVE LOVE LOVE my chef. One girl in my class and I want to adopt him as our Grandfather. I don't think I will ever have a chef like him again at this school. He originally was the chef at the Escoffier Restaurant (which is right before students graduate) and he was noticing that many students still did not have the proper techniques that they should have learned in the Skills classes. So he came back to Skills 1 to make sure we learn it the right way. He does not yell and he makes sure we always know what we are doing. He makes jokes a lot too, which is funny. He has a thick Fraanch accent, so sometimes it is hard to understand. He is very proud of our group because we get along so well.

In Skills, I have made French Onion soup, Consomme, Potato and Leek Soup, Lentil Puree, Cream of Broccoli (YUK), Whipped Potatoes, and LOTS and LOTS of stock.

So far everything I have brought to chef for him to try, he has really enjoyed. The first time we brought our food to him to grade, I was wicked nervous. It is especially hard during the soups because I had never made or eaten any of them! I just went on instinct and wallah, turned out maaahvalous! I have never had my food GRADED! I have only looked at my grades once in that class. I do not want to cook for a grade. I want to cook knowing I have pleased chef and that I have done my best. I asked him how my grades were doing and he told me that he would purposely show me if there was an issue. I don't want the number to psych me out.

We also have to do a knife tray on a daily basis. This consists of different cuts with potatoes, tomato concasse (peeled, seeded, chopped), sliced and diced onions, minced shallots, minced garlic, chopped parsley, and my least favorite: tourne potatoes. It is a football shaped vegetable, and we are learning on potatoes because they are easier to cut through. It is hard to get the motion down, but Chef says I am improving.

MEAT MEAT MEAT

So I don't have much information about what went down during meat class. But long story short, I learned soo much and I am no longer intimidated by walking up to the meat counter. I now know what cuts of beef to buy and how to cook them. I am comfortable fabricating the meats and I am not afraid to use some elbow grease! haha

9-17-08 Misc.

Tomorrow I start Meat ID and Fabrication. We had soooo much pre-day one assignments between reading a bagillion pages and watching a bagillion videos (which I never really got to because I am writing these journal entries, which I will try to be more faithful about from now on). I am excited for meat class because people say it is easier than Fish, and I get to sleep in!! When I sleep in, i mean to 5:45 am, but hey, its 1 ½ hours longer than before. I am looking forward to not smell like fish anymore. I will still probably wash my jackets and whites every day though cuz of the bloooooooood. Yum! Haha. I’ll report back tomorrow about how meats goes. I have Chef Sebald (the last remaining Master Butcher in the world!) Legend. German. Can’t get much better than that!

9-23-08

I have been in Meat class for four days now. I started last Thursday (today being Tuesday). I absolutely LOVE my chef (Sebald). I keep telling people he is like the German grandfather I never had. He is so adorable! Yea it is hard to understand him at times, but he makes a lot of jokes too! As for the actual class, I am still trying to decide if I like it better than fish at this point. I can tell you that I like it more because we are not wet and cold and do not smell like fish, but it is a bit harder because every cut of meat looks the same! (to me atleast). Its nice getting out of class and not feeling like I have to shower immediately. I do not smell when I am done! I also learned how to use a stone to sharpen knives, since sharp knives are crucial in this class. I am pretty good at it too! Sleeping in till 5:30 is diefinitely nice. I said earlier I get to sleep in till 5:45 only because that was assuming I wouldn’t eat breakfast, but now I meet some friends from the class at 6 am for breakfast. I eat oatmeal with a lot of toppings (nuts, dried fruit, chocolate chips) yumm. We have lecture at 6:30 am until 10:00 or so with a 10 minute break between, so it is kinda hard to stay awake. But it is nice because when we are done with lecture we go to the Fabrication room, cut our meat, then we are done for the day (1:00 pm). There is definitely a lot of homework, which is why I haven’t been writing journal entries for a while now.

Here Fishy Fishy Fishy.....

These next few entries are about life in the Fish Kitchen. You are lucky I am not telling you these stories in person because I sure did stink! It took three cycles of washing my clothes to get the smell out. I even washed my backpack and "Lysol"ed my shoes.

9-9-08 Seafood ID and Fab Day 1

Today I started the class, Seafood ID and Fabrication and waddya know, I had to get up at 4 am because the class started at 5 am! Sooo early! But in the long run, we get out at about 11:30 or 12, so then I have the rest of the day to do homework and laundry (because of course your whites smell like fish). So I was wicked prepared for class today because I read all of the handouts and pre-day one assignments, so I felt comfortable in the class. Because the fish room is refrigerated, I was told to wear a white long sleeve under my chef’s coat and I am sure happy I did! There were definitely people in my class that were freezing after just 20 minutes of class. We actually fabricated some fish today. We learned how to butterfly a trout and quarter fillet a flounder. I had wicked sharp knives because I brought them to a knife place this weekend (Warren’s) that sharpened CIA issued knives for free, so why not? My knives cut through the fish like butter, so it was helpful. I did not do that bad to be honest, but I know that I do want a different fillet knife...the ones that the CIA give us aren’t as flexible as I would want them to be. I really feel like I will get a lot out of this class.

9-11-08 Seafood ID and Fab Days 2 and 3

These past two days we have been fabricating more fish practicing the different techniques (Up and Over, Straight cut, and Flat cut). My favorite is probably the flat cut then the straight cut. I do not like the up and over because there are a lot of steps and its a bit confusing. I’m sure with practice I won’t mind it. I still have the daily ritual of throwing of my clothes at the end of the day into the washer and jumping in the shower. I do not want this fish smell fermenting on my body! Today I actually brought my camera to class so I could take pictures of the fish. We are allowed to have cameras, but no videotaping of the lessons because it is illegal. I really like my chef (Chef Viverito). He really knows a lot and makes class fun, mind you, he is a hard teacher, but it gives me a challenge. He really makes sure we understand everything before letting us off on our own, and he is more than willing to help us out if we don’t get it. Getting up at 4:15 am isn’t so bad anymore. I just go to bed early (9:30 pm ish). We get out of class still at 11:00 so it gives me plenty of time to shower and wash my clothes. Today the chef collected the homework, so I was very happy that I had done it last night. We never know when he will collect it.

9-17-08 Seafood ID and Fab

Today was my last day of Seafood ID and Fabrication. We had our final today. It consisted of three parts-identification, fabrication, and a written part. But to my surprise, I found out that the fabrication portion of the test had been happening since day one. He was grading us on our progress, which I think I’ve done pretty well. For the identification portion, I identified all 10 fish correctly, but I missed a few of the minor details about each fish. Chef gives partial credit, so I’m not worried. The written part was sooo easy. It was fill in the blank, but I studied wicked hard for the test. I typed up all my notes, took pics of the fish, and re-read my homework assignments. I was not the least bit worried. I do not know how I did and will not know for a few days, so I just gotta wait.

Heres the daily schedule of fish class:

5 am: the Teachers Assistant arrives (TA, named Carlos, wicked nice and cool)

-we uncover the fish to expose the head and tails, take out the fish needed for demos, tastings, and fabrication.

6 am: Chef Viverito arrives and he does the demo of the fish then we fabricate fish until 8

8 am: we go into lecture until about 11 am

8:30: we do a tasting of some fish. I really like the fish we tasted, but its waaaay to early to be eating fish at 8:30 in the morning.

11:00: DONE for the day.

11:15: In the shower, whites in the washer machine getting “de-fished”

New York City: Take #1

I went into the city for what I’d like to call a “school project.” For Gastronomy class, we were assigned to research a chef and the chef that my group had has a restaurant right in the city. So we decided to go eat a meal there. Shea Gallante; Chef at Cru (9^th st. and 5^th Ave). We made reservations stating that we were from the CIA, because my friends had gone earlier and said that we would get “special treatment” since the chef went to the CIA for school. When we arrived (we were early, but they did not mind), the maitre’d poured us (3 of us all underage) champagne. We weren’t gonna stop him! Why would we? It was on the house, since we didnt order it and they didnt ask for ID’s. This champagne, oh my goodness (you will hear this a lot), was incredible! A nice palate cleanser. After looking over the menu (choice between a three course prix fixe, summer tasting menu, or chefs tasting menu), we decided to go with the chef’s tasting because we wanted the full experience, and we kind of tacked on the wine pairing for an even more incredible experience). The Chef’s tasting was 11 courses, and by the end, we were drunk and full, but a good full. We even ate Wagyu beef which is an incredibly tender beef originally from Japan (making its way to the US). The wines we drank were absolutely incredible and matched each course perfectly. The man who served us knew so much about each wine and we were treated like royalty. We were at the restaurant for four hours, but I am happy it took that long because we needed a lot of time in between courses so we did not get TOO drunk. Haha. I have included pictures of some of the incredible food we ate!

I'll call this the appetizer.

Here is a brief, well, actually quite long, idea of just general information about the Culinary Institute of America: Happy Reading!

B BLOCK

For the first 6 weeks of school, we do not take kitchen classes. Instead, we are in traditional classrooms taking classes like Food Safety, Intro to Gastronomy, Product Knowledge, Culinary Math, and Writing. What we learn from these classes will help us when we get to the kitchen. For example: In math, we are learning how to order food based on what yield we get from the food as well as costing forms, etc. It is very easy math that we learned back in middle school, but what we are learning is how to apply our previous math skills to the kitchen. Product Knowledge is essentially its name—we learn how to indentify produce and how to choose the best produce. I am really enjoying what they call B Block (these first 6 weeks) because we have 2-3 classes per day, so it leaves plenty of time for homework and the occasional Stop and Shop run to stock our dorms and mini fridges with food.

MEAL PLAN

I am on the standard meal plan, which is two “swipes” or meals per day. We can upgrade to allow for more meals, but I just like to eat breakfast in my room. Therefore, I go to stop and shop and buy my own food to keep my room stocked with healthy food. Yes, I actually keep healthy food in my room...apples, sugar snap peas, grapes, yogurt. However, I do buy chips, like pita chips or root chips. Unfortunately, this standard meal plan does not include food on the weekends, so I must have food here since I do not want to have to go out for food every day. Its especially long weekends that kill me. I usually have to go out and buy some sort of actual meal because one cannot live off of chips and yogurt...well, if I had to I could.

CAR ON CAMPUS

So yes, I do have a car on campus. It is so helpful for these stop and shop runs, especially since there is a stop and shop not even a mile away. I could walk if I wanted to, but nah. I hate to say it, but almost none of my friends have cars, so I am pretty sure they are friends with me because of my car...terrible, I know, hahaha. However, they really are nice people, regardless of the fact that I have a car. The one thing that stinks about having a car is parking it. There is always parking available, but it is very far away. I am spoiled so I am complaining about having to walk 13 minutes to get to my car; I know other campuses it is at least a 20-minute walk. On the weekends, they open up the faculty lot to students, which is half the distance. We are allowed to park our car in there from 6 pm Friday until 6 pm Sunday. If it is not out by 6 pm Sunday, it is towed.

Here is a funny story. I made the mistake of not moving my car by 6 pm Sunday. Well, 6:15 rolls around and I realize that I had not moved my car. So I run to the lot, literally RUN. And it’s not there. So I go to campus safety and they say, “oh yea, the guy just took it. He has to come back for another car, so if you can get the money in 20 minutes, you can get it back tonight.” I had to pay 100 dollars, and I needed cash. Well, all the ATMs on campus were broken so how was I supposed to get it back??? I started running around campus trying to find friends to lend me money and right now I am so happy that people are nice. I did get the cash and my car that night. And I also paid my friends back. But I also learned an important lesson: make a note to move your car...it sucks getting it towed, I learned that the hard way.

DRESS CODE

An observation my parents had upon touring the campus for the first time was what the students were wearing. Either they are in the traditional chef whites (pants and jacket) or in business casual. It is actually a rule on campus that in order to go into any of the academic buildings, we must be wearing the above stated. This is to keep a professional environment. We are allowed to walk around campus in whatever we choose; it is just eating meals and going to classes that require a specific dress code. I really do like dressing up every day, as do many people I have talked to. My mom is probably thinking, “of course she likes wearing all these clothes because it meant her being able to go on a shopping spree before school!” I really do feel more professional dressing up every day. One thing I have noticed though is that once we get out whites, which is about 10 days into us being here, half the students wear those rather than the business casual....hmm I wonder why? Well, it is much easier to get dressed in the morning when all you have to do is pull on a pair of pants and slip on a jacket. I on the other hand continued to dress nicely because I want to save my whites for the kitchen.

THE FOOD

Everyone is probably wondering what the food is like here. It is absolutely incredible! The students cook everything and they do a great job at it too! Yes, I have had some not so great food, but its part of the learning process. There are a number of kitchens to eat from (Asias, Mediterranean, Americas, and Quantity Foods) as well as eating in the Banquets in Catering Kitchens. In the above listed kitchen, you go to the door of that kitchen and grab a tray of food of whatever they are serving that day. I have only eaten there once because of how my class schedule is set up (so I miss the serving times). You grab your food and go to Farquharson Hall, or Farq, which is the big dining room, to eat. Another option for eating is Banquets and Catering in which you actually sit in a dining room and are served by the students. It is to practice being a server. We get and endless supply of freshly baked breads and a choice between sparkling or still water. I like the still water. There are three courses—appetizer, entree, and dessert. It is a lot of food, so when I know I will be going to B&C for dinner (which is usually when I go) I don’t eat much during the day. The food has been excellent some times, and terrible other times. Its hit or miss. But I continue to go for the social aspect. I like to meet new people.

Welcome!

Hi everyone!
A lot of you have been asking what I've been up to at culinary school, so rather than sending out mass emails, I decided to start a blog. I will try to keep it as up to date at possible. Feel free to comment on anything at anytime! I have been at The Culinary Institute of America since July 29th 2008 and so far everything is incredible. Read away!