Thrilling.

First day of finals....

Four classes into culinary school and I am still taking tests on knife cuts.... I guess because they are SUPER relevant in the culinary industry now a days.

That is what an "A" looks like my friends.

Day 10

More exams.
120 minutes. 3 soups. French Onion. Creme Dubarry and Consomme.

Consomme is a French technique in which chicken stock is clarified to the point that it is crystal clear and very flavorful.

It is made using egg whites which act as a raft to remove all of the impurities from the stock.
I just wanted to add veggies and noodles to it, but whatever. The French will be French.

Speaking (typing) of the French....

Boeuf Bourguignon

Don't you have the sudden urge to speak like Julia Child?

Mmmm. 

We were craving beef stew in tribute to the weekend's amazing rainy weather and what better than boeuf bourguignon? (I did have to google the spelling....)

Boeuf Bourguignon a la Julia Child

Now, this is no quick run to the market and whip something up kind of meal. It needs to be started about 6 hours before your stomach is eating itself. It takes a long time but is SO worth it. 

We used Julia Child's recipe (as you should) and followed it almost to a 'T.' Now that I actually understand French cooking it is so much fun to go back and cook French recipes with an understanding of what I am doing rather that powering through words on a page. 

The only problem was that the oven broke! We ended up cooking it stove top for 4 hours (covered) and it still turned out wonderful. It is very important to keep an eye on the heat and not let it boil. This was especially true on the stove, as the heat is direct rather than evenly surrounding the dutch oven. 

I did have to add a little bit of roux at the end and do quite a bit of reducing because our sauce did not thicken. I am not sure if this was because we did not braise it properly in the oven, or what, but either way- the meat was tender and the sauce delicious. 

You can find the recipe here: Boeuf Bourguignon a la Julia Child or in Mastering the Art of French Cooking, which everyone should have in their kitchen.

Day 7

Let me just say.... since I actually started cooking in culinary school (as opposed to sitting and being hungry for 4 hours) the amount of laundry I do on a weekly basis is really admirable.

Today we had our first written exam (yawn) and our first practical exam.

60 minutes. 4 sauces. Seemingly simple....

Really stressful.

Ok- mostly stressful for those around me. I did pretty awesome.

We had to make Merchant de Vin, Beurre Blanc, Hollandaise, and Bechamel.

My Merchant de Vin, Beurre Blanc, and Bechamel were all perfect. Duh.

Hollandaise still makes me want to slit my wrists (the proper way that actually kills you or puts you in the hospital with lots of flowers and balloons.) Seriously. I hate Hollandaise. I don't even enjoy eating it that much. Ugh.

My hollandaise was a little bit thick. Kind of like mayonnaise. Also gross.
Easy fix, though. I could have either added a little water, or made sure that my clarified butter was at a higher temperature as I added it to my egg yolk.

Eggs benedict? No thanks.