October 15, 2007

I woke up at 7:30 and went to the gym. I came home and got dressed and then went grocery shopping like mad! I hadn’t done it in so long so I bought a lot! I want to start cooking! I then came home and actually fell asleep for about and hr when I started to read my book. Then I left for class! My first professional pastry class! From 3:30 til 9 pm we learned 10 recipes. However we saved some of the plating for the next day. I won’t explain everything, but it was REALLY cool some of the things, and very tasty. However ten recipes was a lot and by the end of the night I was exhausted! I walked home and still no internet so I read a little and then crashed!

McDonalds

Yes, my blog today is entitled McDonalds. Because...I woke up today and did my laundry and then went to Mcdonalds for 3 hrs so I could blog all of this. Well I did indeed TRY and blog...but it wasn't til 7:30 pm when I was stealing internet at my house that these blogs were posted. ARGH! so i wasted 3 hrs of my day at mcdonalds trying to blog and eating crappy food. What a waste! hahaha. However, the highlight of my day was when Manuel came over for a few hrs and we chatted. I hadn't seen him in a month...so it's SOOO nice to have my best friend back here! I missed him tremendously! Anyway...the rest of the night is up in the air. For now...going to get more stuff done on my stolen internet and then read! Have a great nite folks and thanx for being patient on my long lost blog! (oh...still have no internet btw, but i should get it back this week...you gotta understand these slow french people by now!!!)

And...i forgot to post all of my pictures from Professional Cuisine...so here they are! Enjoy!!!

Giverny

I woke up at 9:30 and got dressed. Asima and her friend Tyler, who goes to school also, came over at 10:30 because Asima is going to be my new roommate in January! Madame wanted to meet her and Asima wanted to look at the house. Then we left to go to Giverny which is Monet’s Gardens. They were beautiful. Of course not every flower was in bloom, but enough for us to enjoy the beauty. I took so many pictures, so you can enjoy it too! (and if you are lucky...my dad will respond to this post and explain what each flower is...ok dad?!?! Just joking! love you!) Right when we got there we had a crepe lunch and then walked around. We left around 5:30.

I went straight home at 7 and saved Liz because tonite at our house there was a huge party for Sophie’s Dad’s 60th birthday and the England/France Rugby Match. (England won) So, as we were leaving TONS of people were coming in. We went to dinner at a nice restaurant and then went to the movie The Waitress. It was really good despite the things I heard about it. However we had to go to some random movie theatre to see it. We got home around 12:30ish. People were JUST leaving and it was still pretty noisy however I went to bed shortly after.

October 12, 2007

I woke up at 7:30 and was awake so I decided to go home. On my way I picked up a baguette. I came home and crashed from 8 to 11:45 and then got dressed for my trainer. I went to the gym from 1 to 3. Came home and ate lunch. Isn’t this so exciting for you readers?!?! Then I did a bunch of nothing till I went out to buy pastries for my dinner party. I came home and talked with Monsieur, Greg and his wife Sophie. They were just chillin in the living room, so I sat with them and we chatted. After and hr I got up and went to Sarah’s house. There Abhi was cooking traditional Indian food and shortly after Amit arrived and cooked a dish, and then I brought dessert and Sarah was just relaxing. It was a GREAT evening with amazing food! I left around 11:30. I came home and fell asleep around 12:30. I love evenings like this!!!

October 11, 2007

I was SUPPOSED to go to the gym, but I woke up still feeling yucky. So I slept in til around 9:30 and then got dressed for my stage (internship) meeting! My mtg was at 11 and I can’t say much else. But I’ll keep you posted in the next week or so. After that I used the computer at school because AGAIN I still have no internet. France sux sometimes!!! Then I had my LAST class for cuisine!!!! We learned Tapioca flavored with anis seed and dill with shrimp and granny smith apples and caviar plus a horseradish cream, a fabulous fish bouillabaisse jelly with a light rouille, and then what we made was squab roasted with broccoli couscous, squab sausage and a jus with chick peas. I expected more out of our last day…BUT I’m never disappointed. Chef said he was really impressed with my plating. He thinks I have a talent for it. YAH! He also said it was a pleasure to work with me and he think I can actually cook. Wow…I think I may have a career! according to me, I think I do too as long as I have a recipe! Anyway, as far as today’s dish, he said my squab could have been cooked 3 min longer but overall everything was great. My plating, for me, was more tapas style…well that was the look I was going for!

After class we had a ceremony…HAHAHA….ok champagne and certificate acceptance. It was fun and relaxing. When school was over I went home to drop off my stuff and Madame was home. So I wound up staying at home for longer than I thought talking to her and her husband about household issues. Eventually I went to Fernando’s where a bunch of people were. We drank beer and just chilled. As usual, it got to late so I crashed at his place around 3ish or later.

October 10, 2007

I had my alarm set for 7:45 but I quickly went back to bed :) I woke up at 10 am and still no internet. I got dressed and left the house early to go pick up pain au chocolat for my class. Then went to school to use the internet and talk to people. Then from 12:30 to 4:45 we had practical “atelier” style in which we worked as a group. Chef assigned each of us a portion of a dish to complete. Chef then combined them all and plated the dishes. In total, we made 6 dishes. 1) Tuna Sashimi with aubergine puree and sour cherry coulis with vinegar 2) Rice wraps with fresh salmon, celery and mint, with a passion fruit and basil vinaigrette 3) marinated salmon on a bed of oven roasted tomato, and couscous with condiments 4) Fregola Sarda cooked in saffron bouillon with squid, mussels, langoustine, peas and chorizo 5) pork cheeks in a casserole with diced celery root and morel mushrooms 6) Confit duck parmentier with a duck bolognaise sauce
All of the dishes were AMAZING! I wasn’t feeling well today, but the food perked me up! Just unreal! I came home after sitting with some friends and chatting and relaxed for a bit til I had to leave for dinner with Alex. Dinner was at a nice Italian restaurant which happens to be one of his favorites. We had a nice time together. I went home and got to bed around 11.

October 9, 2007

I woke up at 9:30. I got dressed and went to my gym. I did my work out and rushed home because I had to make it to my bank before 1 pm. I showered and got dressed so quick and picked up my computer hoping I could steal some internet at school. I got to the bank before 1 and then picked up some lunch and then went to school. I sat at school trying to get the internet to work, which it wouldn’t, and eventually I gave up and just typed up my Amsterdam blog and will paste it on my blog when I get internet. I did however use the internet at school. At around 3:15 I got into my outfit. Today we learned a tomato mousse with lobster and an oil of mint and vanilla, terrine of sardines, foie gras and escabeche with pistachio oil, and the dish we prepared was veal rib roast with braised stuffed lettuce and breaded polenta fries. Everything was tasty, except I thought the polenta fries were a little bland, so in pratical I infused my milk with rosemary and they were WONDERFUL! Chef complimented me. He says I’m wonderful in the kitchen. He says everything I do is perfect. I don’t think he is making my ego bigger either…he is being honest. And he tells me when something needs work, like yesterday with the salt. But overall he is very impressed…as am I. I truly think it’s the environment and the people I am working with.

After class it was raining. The ONE day I forget my umbrella, so I had to walk home in the pouring rain. By the time I got home I was DRENTCHED! It was funny. I read a little and then went to bed at 11.