End of second week review

Hi everyone. I've been studying hard. I have a lot of reading to do. A migraine this week has put me behind a little. Not to worry. I have a Study Hall Monitor is keeping a close eye on me. That's really where he sits when I'm studying.


I finally got my new messenger bag today! Yay! It turned out really cute! I couldn't be happier with it. Like I said, the quality is great, the style is unique. If you're in the market for a new bag, give Holly Aiken a hollah.


The main color is called parchment, the stems are called olive and the inside is the same royal blue as the flowers. You can see the two pockets on the inside.


In Basic Culinary Skills lab on Tuesday, we started the class with an hour of knife cuts. We lay them out on a plate, label it with our name, and leave it out for Chef to look over. Here's what I have from the second lab.


The cuts are as follows, from the green stuff clockwise:
Spinach, chiffonade (shiff-uh-nod)-a thin, ribbon-like cut of a leafy green
Onion, julienne (julie-n)-a thin, usually matchstick-like cut, in the case of an onion, a thin straight cut following the shape of the onion
Potato, tournee (tour-nay)-a small, 7-sided, approximately 2" long, football-like cut of a firm vegetable, usually potatoes
Carrot, brunoise (broon-wahz)-a small dice measuring 1/8"x1/8"x1/8"
Carrot, rondelle (ron-del)-an 1/8" thick round cut
Orange, segment or supreme (like creme)

And finally, from Friday's Baking I lab....the moment you've all been waiting for.


I didn't get a photo of my challah knots (rolls), because I forgot my camera on Friday. They came out pretty good. I need some work with my braiding technique, as you can see the challah is a bit wonky. The baguettes came out great. This was an authentic baguette dough too. Flour, water, salt and yeast only. It was the first dough we made yesterday. The new instructor came by as I was kneading the baguette dough with the proper technique. She looked really surprised at what I was doing and asked me if I had done it before. I also figured out why my lean bread from last week and this week are too light when they are cooked. For one, the oven temperature is lower than it should be but that's not something I can change. Also, if I add a bit of egg wash before and after the proofing, it should help get some color on the crust.

In other news, we had a guest this week in our main culinary classroom. A very, very chirpy cricket. He didn't shut up all week. Hopefully someone finally killed him. You have no idea how difficult it is to concentrate on the instructor when there's a cricket echoing from the drain under the cabinet.

Elvis says I'm done procrastinating. See ya next week.