Day nineteen: Lobster murderfest
February 4, 2010
Shortly before we moved here, a restaurant in the last city we lived in announced their newest special by hanging an enormous banner outside their establishment that proudly announced “Lobster Lovefest!”
When my husband and I saw the banner,I turned to him and said: “Not for the poor lobsters. For them, it is lobster murderfest.”
Welcome to lobster murderfest at culinary school. Read more
Day eighteen: A pretty plate of pale pink pork
February 1, 2010
Alliteration. I know. But it so works, don’t you think?
So there I was, with a mess of pork and cabbage and boiled potatoes and I had to make a plate out of it.
Let me tell you all about it.
Day seventeen: Pork, my arch enemy, returns
January 28, 2010
This, my last week of the first semester of my final term, is dedicated to pork. Sure, there is supposed to be a lobster finale. But the bulk of the remainder of this semester is all pork.
And not just any pork. Oh no! Pork in a million and one different ways, from pork butt to pork cheeks to my personal nightmare, pork sausages.
Actually, they were fascinating to make. But then I had to eat some. Read more
How much do you really know about restaurants?
January 25, 2010
In my last post I posted the questions from a third term test from school. If you ever eat in restaurants, this really highlighted some of the ways your friendly server tries to get you to spend more, more, more. Quite the eye-opener.
And if you ever dream of opening a restaurant, this test was also a real eye-opener on some of the issues you have to deal with.
If you haven’t taken the test, you might want to pop back and take it. If you have (or if you just want a behind-the-scene peek at the inner workings of restaurants), the answers are after the jump.
Day sixteen: Ever eat in a restaurant or dream of opening one?
January 21, 2010
The focus in our lecture has shifted (finally!) from food costing to other issues surrounding restaurant service, namely marketing, customer service, and menu design.
Today, there was a test on that knowledge. Below is the test (and, yes, the answers will follow).
If you ever eat in a restaurant, then this test will be an eye-opener on some of the ways restaurants get you to eat more than you may have been prepared to eat. And if you have ever dreams of opening a restaurant, this test will introduce you to some of the key issues in running a successful restaurant. Think of it as a touch base with reality.
Truly fascinating stuff.
Day fifteen: Where we revisit our old nemesis; pork
January 18, 2010
The sheer amount of information we learn at this school is incredible. So much so, that you can tell that a helluva lot of thought has been poured into all sorts of details surrounding our education.
Thought, yes, but execution?
We have yet to be given a syllabus for this, our third, and last, term. Now, we have been given some four-day syllabus’ periodically. But once those end, we have no idea what is coming up until the Chef gives us another four-day syllabus.
This morning, I am between four-day syllabus’. Which means I am flying blind. Read more
Culinary school student takes a holiday
January 14, 2010
You ever eat at a restaurant in the middle of nowhere and have an incredibly spectacular meal?
I did.
You ever throw caution to the wind and order a dish you’ve never had before only to be blown away by how amazing it was?
I did.
You ever yearn for a treat so badly you can taste it?
I did. And do.
Let me tell you about it. Read more
Day fourteen: Test your knowledge of beer and wine
January 11, 2010
Well, as I promised in my last post, there was a quiz today. It covered two topics: Beverages and labor. I won’t bother you with the labor portion (dry stuff, indeed) but I do have the first eleven questions of the quiz, the ones that focus on alcohol, below, so you can test your knowledge of beer and wine.
It’s a fairly simple quiz, so even if you don’t know that much about alcohol, as long as you know the minimum, you should probably do well.
And, yes, the answers are at the end. Read more
Day thirteen: Where we say “hello” and “good bye” to rabbit
January 7, 2010
Got home early, too early: The mail carrier hasn’t come yet. Ah, what price the stunning luck of catching my ride home exactly on time?
Of course, there was a minor mishap. I accidentally misdirected tourists who wanted to see a local landmark. I only sent them one stop out of their way, and it was through a much nicer part of town. But, still, I am sure they are cursing my name.
Or they would if they knew it.
Still, nothing can mar my mood because I have stuffed rabbit saddle, braised rabbit forelegs, and perfectly sauteed polenta in my bag.
I bought salad makings at the market yesterday, so can you say dinner is ready? I can! Read more
And welcome to another installment of a fun little cooking lesson I like to call: Culinary School Cooking Methods
January 4, 2010
(Okay, so the name is clumsy. Sigh. I’m busy cooking over here!)
We kicked this off with a fun segment on dry cooking methods, including grilling and sautéing (sautéing and other fat-based dry heat coking methods drove Asian Guy crazy because fat = liquid to him and he could not understand why they were not moist heat cooking methods and the chef had to spend forever explaining it to him, but all to no avail.)
Then, we delved into the ever-exciting world of moist (as in water and other liquids) heat cooking methods with a special exciting visit to my favorite and yours, poaching.
Today, we leave all that behind with a visit to combination methods. Or do we?
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