End of Module 1!

Tuesday was my last day of module 1 and the day of our exam. We had a written test for the first hour and then the practical portion. For the written part, it was a lot of describing procedures (how to make this or that), differences in certain recipes (for example, between creme anglaise and pastry cream, 2 of the core cream sauces in pastry), definitions, matching, identifying fruits by category and sugar stages, etc. It was all covered VERY extensively in class, so I'm sure everyone did well on that part! (I got a 100 - yay!) The practical was a little scarier. We had to slice an apple into 1/4 inch slices, decorate a cake board with chocolate and finally, bake the perfect chocolate souffle. I was so glad to be done! And, because I was the first person to bake my souffles, I got out really early. My friend Gabriela was done shortly after I was, giving us both about 2 hours before our next class. It was a nice day, so we walked to the Chelsea Market and got lunch out at a little French cafe. For our management class on Tuesday afternoon, we had our last day with "Chef Ted," this time going through pork and poultry. The first pic below is of two chickens, one fed corn (the yellow one) and the other had a more free-roaming diet, which is healthier. The second pic is Jonathan with a squab (looks like a baby chicken, but it's really just small squab. The third pic is of a regular goose liver (on the left, the small one) and the one on the right is a fatty liver from a forcefed goose - otherwise known as fois gras. The geese were the same size goose, but check out how different their livers are! I am not sure that I agree with forcefeeding geese and don't really care much for fois gras, but I did think it was an interesting contrast. Pic 4 is a pork loin - about 19 pounds.




After class let out, I went with Gabby and Anastasia to this wonderful store called ABC Carpet and Home. It's about 7 stores full of international home decor, furniture, etc. What a fun house! Things were too expensive for me to really buy anything, but I did get some great ideas for my future business! The reason we were all hanging out in the city is because we're all signed up for a 6-week Wine Appreciation course on Tuesday nights that started this week. Ron Ciavolino is a certified sommolier and wine expert, and all-around funny guy who teaches our class. We learned about the origin of Champagnes (Champagne, as most of you know), tasted 2 of them, learned about the labelling of French wines, tasted 4 more whites (Poilly Fuse, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Gewertztraminer), as well as one tawny port. For the record, French and German Rieslings are not typically dessert wines, as they aren't as sweet as the Americans drink them. If you ever see a French/German riesling in the US that is sweet, rumor is that it's only in the US because the French won't drink it. The one we tasted was drier than most I've had, but it was still very good. I had a day OFF on Wednesday (our treat for ending Module 1 on time). I spent the morning doing school stuff (ha ha) - I practiced the sugar ribbons with my chef in the morning and then went for an interview for my externship at noon. I was done soon after, though, and spent the entire afternoon and evening enjoying myself. It was a beautiful day here in the BIG APPLE, so I really had a great time!