So I went into last nights class with a little fear and trepidation just because I had such a nightmarish time with puff pastry. However, honestly last night wasn't too bad...it was a lot of show and tell...thankfully. And although I can't say that last night inspired me to run off to France and become a pastry chef it did give me an appreciation of the art behind the pastries we all consume. It also gave me an extra 5lbs just by looking at all the butter, sugar and flour. Last night was truly a butter explosion!!

Pastry Assortment from Class

So last night I was responsible for making Meringue Buttercream Frosting and Ice Cream. I had a blast with both assignments. The frosting was one that required you to boil the sugar and mix it in with the meringue. It truly looked like a cloud at the end. Loved it!


The ice cream was really easy and since I have had an ice cream maker sitting in my kitchen for the last year, in it's original box, it gave me the inspiration to bust it out.


I also learned how to shape a croissant. For some reason I thought it was going to be way more challenging. Basically cut the dough in an elongated triangle and roll from the fat side to the thin side...voila!

Croissant Dough

Cut dough into long triangles

Croissant Before Baking

Which one is mine?

Croissants

I also learned a cool general baking tip. If you have had baking powder that has been sitting around since the beginning of time, add a little water to it and if you see "activity," kind of looks like yeast bubbles, it is still good to use.

We also learned how to make Danishes. This is not going to surprise you in the least, but for some reason, based on my name, the class had a great deal of entertainment at my expense while making these. I will take it as a token of their love.

Danish w/Almond Paste and Chocolate

Before Baking

After Baking

Yum!

We also received a demo on cake decorating...I have some very talented class mates. Nice job KP!

I did not make this cake but isn't it beautiful!

As many of you know I have had an obsession with macarons for quite some time so learning how to make them was another highlight of the night. Did you know that the traditional way has the egg whites sit out for 72hours prior to making the cookies?

Macarons are piped out of a pastry bag

Once they are out of the oven they sit to harden

Chocolate Macaron w/Grenache Filling

We also learned how to make pastry knots:

Fill dough and fold over to make a square, cut into strips

Twist Dough and Wrap in a Circular Motion

Pastry Knots Before Baking

Pistachio and Chocolate Filling

Pastry braid stuffed with a cream and strawberry rhubarb filling:

Dough Braid

Pastry Braid After Baking

Strawberry Rhubarb and Cream Filling

Pastry wreaths stuffed with a walnut, sugar and cinnamon filling:

Dough Wreath

Wreath Before Baking

Perfectly Shaped Wreath

The end product. Beautiful!

Brioche Bread:

Brioche

Before Baking

Brioche Bread

And to end the night here is some incredible food porn. This cake has layers of meringue, a coffee buttercream custard and chocolate granache. Heaven!

Before Cutting

After Cutting

*** Warning animals were harmed in the making of this blog. Do not scroll down if you do not want to see photos. ***

Monkfish w/Yucca Chips

I have found that every time I think I have conquered my greatest culinary school fears another one crops up. Last night I had the extreme pleasure (read with sarcasm please) of butchering a live lobster. I thought butchering a chicken was going to be by far my greatest nemesis, however I survived that one with confidence and maybe even a bit of cockiness. Next I had to fillet a fish, nasty but doable. Then I had to cook with game, definitely a challenge to cook something that looks like the Easter bunny, but it was accomplished.

Before

However, last night taking a knife to an animal that was still moving and then realizing that you didn't have enough body strength or momentum to get the knife through the creature quickly, and that it was suffering, was pretty damn near gut wrenching...just being honest.

After-that is not parsley and butter in the center

Thank you to RM for throwing his body into my lobster and taking it out of it's misery.


I have 5 more weeks of culinary school and I fear what my next challenge may be...so help the poor creatures of the land and sea. However, I do have to say that even with the lobster torture I truly did learn a lot and I found the class to be very educational.

We had a guest speaker, John Wilson from Sea Fever Seafood come talk to us. He has several boats out of  Ventura, CA and Alaska and he sells his product at the Hollywood Farmers Market on Sundays from 0800-1300. He was truly an amazing wealth of fish knowledge.

I know this is a crappy pic but I didn't want to look like a stalker

My favorite quote of the night was,"I am on the ocean as much as people are on the freeway." -John Wilson

He brought in rock crabs from the Santa Barbara/Ventura area and although I am a crab snob due to my dungennes crab upbringing from Northern California, these were damn good.

Before

In the middle

After

Let me tell you what else I learned:

• The red king salmon is one of the most flavorful varieties of salmon as it has a diet that consists only of krill. Krill is the same creature that whales eat and it is one of the richest sources of protein, which enhances the marbling, flavor and oil content of the salmon. 
• The understandable version of sustainable is the ability to have enough of a resource for next season.
• Fish that is imported is often sprayed with brine ammonia which keeps it from spoiling, however it alters the flavor and isn't the best for you.
• If you squeeze the 2nd leg on a crab it should be hard. If it is soft it is not a good crab as it has water in it's leg. 

Now for some general food porn. This was a shrimp and sausage jambalaya:

Before

After

This is a random cake, but I don't remember what kind.


We also went on a Japanese Market field trip on Saturday, but I just haven't had a chance to write about it yet...wait for it. Cheers my friends!