Danishes & Croissants

Today was danishes and croissants. I don’t think you need any extra explanation. Click on the photo below to see a couple more.

Chicken

Today’s class was all about chicken. The lecture part was interesting and we learned that our teacher, Chef Stephan, is extremely opinionated about the matter. :) We then got recipes and got to work. I was lucky enough to get a chicken recipe (instead of a salad, dessert, or side) as well as a potato dish. I made braised chicken drumsticks with lemon and garlic as well as a gratin dauphinoise. We were late putting the dish in the oven which delayed the class but it all got done eventually. I also got some new shiny shoes for class. :) They are clogs and I never thought I’d wear clogs but I guess I am now! Click on the braised chicken photo to see more of the goodies from class.

What my iTunes says about me

About this time last year I did this and thought I’d redo it with my iTunes since I have no clue where my iPod is or if it’s charged. :)

1.Put your iPod (itunes) on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!

IF SOMEONE SAYS “IS THIS OKAY” YOU SAY?
Something – The Beatles

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Last Goodbye – Jeff Buckley

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Can’t Buy Me Love – The Beatles

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE?
Money – Gary “Nesta” Pine & Dollarman (This is so funny because it’s one of Patrick’s songs)

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Oh Mother – Christina Aguilera

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
One (Blake’s Got A New Face) – Vampire Weekend (Not sure what this means about me…)

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Bone Broke – The White Stripes

WHAT IS 2+2?
Be True To Your School – The Beach Boys

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Jingle Bells – Jim Reeves (Elf Soundtrack)… Does this mean Santa is my best friend? :)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Silver Bells – Kate Smith (Polar Express Soundtrack)… This is what I think of Patrick? That lucky man!

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Your Embrace – Shakira

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Greystone Chapel – Johnny Cash (At Folsom Prison) Do you think this means I should be in prison?

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Red Ragtop – Tim McGraw

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
I Feel Fine – The Beatles

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Day Tripper – The Beatles (FYI, the first song on this entire list was our first dance. :)

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAl?
Sexy Ladies/ Let Me Talk To You Prelude – Justin Timberlake (I seriously hope this isn’t played at my funeral. I don’t even like Justin Timberlake!)

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Orphans – Beck Feat. Cat Power

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Twist and Shout – The Beatles

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
I Can’t Take It – Tegan & Sara

WHAT’S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Lonestar – Willie Nelson (Does this mean going back to Texas is the worst thing that could happen?)

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
Taxman – The Beatles (LOL I will seriously die broke… now it’s official!)

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
Un Dia Normal – Juanes (That’s right, I regret normal days.)

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Jolie Blond – Waylon Jennings

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
Traffic In The Sky – Jack Johnson

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
Here To Stay – Christina Aguilera (And I am here to stay with Patrick!)

WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
What Is This Thing Called Love – Frank Sinatra

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
I’ll Be Around – Frank Sinatra

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
Friends – Led Zeppelin

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
I’m Walking Behind You – Frank Sinatra

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Glory to God – University of Maryland Chorus (Handel: Messiah)… What a weird thing to come up last.

Puff Pastry

Yesterday’s lab was all about puff pastry. This made me very excited and happy as I love puff pastry. :) I volunteered to make the Mille Feuilles/Napoleons because they are my mother’s favorite and I also love them. They are also one of the only traditional French pastries that were on the recipe list so I wanted to be sure to make them. I definitely want to be AWESOME at French pastries. :) I made a white chocolate pastry cream for the inside and added strawberries to compliment it. Click on the photo of my mille feuilles to see the other goodies from class.

Stocks and Soups

Today’s class was all about stocks and soups. It was a very informative class but it was pretty boring. We started to pick our recipes and to my horror, I was assigned to work with the more annoying, slow, and ridiculously incompetent person in the class. This is the second time I’ve worked with this person and she makes me CRAZY. But I stayed nice and didn’t freak out like I wanted to. I made the mushroom soup and shut up. It was a hard day. Not to mention that I’ve been having these crazy headaches and I had one all day! Blah! Anyway, click on the photo of the mushroom soup to see other soups. Unfortunately, I missed the Borscht recipe because I had my initial placement meeting. Sad!

Fresh Tortillas

For my birthday (where I’ll be entering my late twenties), I asked Christine for a tortilla press… Actually, that’s a lie. First, I asked for a cookbook but then I changed my mind and asked for a deep fryer… and then I was told I was being ridiculous and insane and asked for a tortilla press. Miraculously, everyone thought it was a lovely idea!

So I ordered it pronto from Amazon and it came 2 days later. Yipee! It got here on Saturday while I was at work and the moment I got home, I made us some fresh tortillas with my new press.

9 inch tortilla press

I also got a new cast iron skillet with small edges (perfect for crêpes, omelettes, tortillas, and cornbread!) because I couldn’t have tortillas unless they were made in the appropriate skillet. Also, Patrick has been wanting one and who am I to say no to kitchen stuff? :)

Cast-iron skillet

I started by making the dough. I found a random recipe online and made it. It had shortening, water, flour, salt, and baking powder. Pretty simple. Then I rolled the dough into little balls and let them sit for 10 minutes. Of course, I thought the balls looked too big so I cut them into smaller pieces and realized that those pieces were too small. Duh. Maybe next time I should just follow the recipe?

Tiny dough balls

Once all my balls were ready and done sitting for 10 minutes, I got my ball crusher (sorry, I couldn’t help it) ready and also heated the skillet to medium-high heat. To get the press ready, I simply got some wax paper out and was using it so that the dough wouldn’t stick to the press. I heard from pretty much all websites that it would. So I used paper and it was amazingly easy to peel off.

Balls and their crusher

Pre-press

Post-press

I pressed a bunch of dough, Patrick pressed a bunch of dough. We had a fun time and cooked the tortillas on our new skillet (which is AMAZING!)

Cooking in the fancy skillet

Once they were all done, we stacked them in the tortilla warmer and ate them with butter like at Alamo Cafe. It was amazing… they weren’t as good as Alamo Cafe’s tortillas but it was so nice to have fresh tortillas instead of the crap in plastic bags from Stop & Shop.

Yummy fresh tortillas

Tortilla warmer

Now if anyone has a good corn or flour tortilla recipe, please be sure to forward it on to me because I have fresh tortilla fever and can’t wait to make more tortillas. Guess what we’re eating for dinner next week? Tortillas. Lucky Patrick!

Do I or Don’t I?

Pate Brisee

Yesterday’s baking class was on pate brisee (aka pie and tart crust). I made fruit tarts! They were delicious… the filling was an almond pastry creme and it was the best part of the entire tart! :) Click on the photo of the tart (which isn’t my finest photography work) to see more photos from class.

Jury Duty Update ‘n Stuff

So I called about jury duty, and the automated message said that all jurors for tomorrow’s jury duty were cancelled.  No reason was given as to why, not that I really care.  However, they said that I could be called back at a later date.  Hopefully, it won’t be to a city that takes over an hour to get to.

Thomas Ricks author of several books on the Iraq war and a wonderful blog over at Foreign Policy will be making his way to Boston next week.  He will be speaking at the Harvard Bookstore next Monday 1 February at 7:00 (his book The Gamble just went to paperback – the book is well worth a read).  I can’t wait to go.

Mad Men Season 4 Trailer

Check out this awesome trailer for season 4 of Mad Men. :) Looks promising and VERY educational!