A year of Gastronomy

PFP II

As Brian is furiously baking and whipping up a storm at Big Red House, I am over here at little rainsoaked house baking and whipping up my own storm.  It's a damn good thing it rained all weekend because if it hadn't I'd have been out in the garden  and digging my patio and not in here cooking like I should be.  Sadly, making mud pies doesn't count.
Let's review my practice items.

No Anchovies Please

A hat tip to anyone who knows where that lyric comes from without googling it.
I started out the week with commercial baking.  Big quantities, the big hobart mixer and repetition, repetition, repetition.  When we started vollying for the recipes I stuck my hand up for the scones. I'm married to a Brit, how could I not?  Besides I have never made them and I would like to know with certainty that if called upon to make a high tea, I would be ready.

Shhhh, don't mention hollandaise to Brian

This week was our last week in basics, for me a bittersweet ending, for others, just bitter.
I had hoped we would see Chef Stephan again for our last class but a medical issue with a family member has seen us being taught by Chef Tony on and off over the last several weeks.  The differences between Stephan and Tony are vast in both their teaching styles as well as how they run the class.  Tony is a world weary, in the weeds hardened kind of guy.  A madman who is a below the knee amputee who broke his femur in a skiing accident this winter during a handicapped ski race, hobbles around the three story school on his crutches clutching a plastic container of iced coffee in his teeth to open the doors, is never seen without a baseball hat and still can't wait to get on his motorcycle again. 
Chef Stephan on the other hand is quiet, reserved, exacting, always seen with his chef hat on and an impeccable white coat and best of all for me he has a fabulously dry and wry sense of humour.

Gamegirl

What do you think of when you hear the word Game (related to food of course)?
My immediate thought is Venison or Rabbit or maybe Grouse and Pheasant but the list of game is quite long.  It includes: Elk, Moose, Caribou, Reindeer, Bear, Armadillo, Squirrel, Muscrat, Porcupine (?) and even Racoon.  Basically Chef Tony said any road kill qualifies as Game.  A charming visual isn't it?

Bunni Bunni

First: Consider this your obligatory warning that this entry contains formerly cute and furry creatures.
Second: I had a pet rabbit and his name was George.
Third: Rabbit tastes just like chicken.  No.  Really.

Now let us get on with it, shall we?

Looking towards the future

Like Brian's last post, this entry will not be full of pretty pictures, nor recipes, mainly because my spicy tuna recipe from Tuesday was not pretty when plated, although, I thought, quite yummy.  I personally would have seared the tuna in a really hot pan instead of grilling.  Yea, the grill marks are - um - sorta pretty, but the sear in a hot pan gives it a crust...ya know?

Raspberry Fool

There is a regular feature in the food blogging world called Sugar High Friday created by Jennifer of The Domestic Goddess, I'd like to officially rename it Sugar High Monday because my god are we baking sweet stuff lately.

Bad Karma

I know I have been quiet this week. I am still in mourning for the lobster I had to murder in basics class last week to make Paella. The lobster who received my 10" wide Wustoff through his cranium. The lobster that I then picked up in my hands, still thrashing and ripped in two. The lobster who was still one full hour later, kicking, when he went into the rondeau with some olive oil.

Here fishie fishie

This was one odd, scary week puncuated on one end with my first sucky day in school and closed with Doctor's appointments and flower shows all encased in the middle with a lot of sitting on really uncomforatble chairs (jury duty and emergency rooms) and getting covered in fish scales and guts.  Doesn't it sound fun?
Do come along for the ride...

Thank you Chef

It was another butter and egg filled week at good old CSCA.  As Brian mentioned, we would all love to know how much the school spends annually on butter and eggs.  Quite a few of the people in class only bite things to taste them and then spit the remainder out in the trash.  Some just don't really sample anything at all.
monday brought us in with Brioche.  For some odd reason I had always thought that I liked Brioche, I must have been sadly mistaken all these years.  Thankfully with 12 ounces of butter in a batch, it is something that I can happily live without.