The Good News....

Saturday and Sunday I laid around, relaxed and study.  We have a few projects that are due soon so I am trying to stay up on that.  This term will be over before I know it.  My last day will be Feb. 11 and that is when I take my final.  So not much longer before I get all new classes. 

Monday, I went to DoubleTree for my other interview and I thought it went great.  The gentleman that had to interview me is actually the front desk manager they are cross training him to manager housekeeping also.  So as of March he would be my direct boss.  We chatted for a while and it was really great.  After the interview I decided I was going to ride around town on all the public transportation.  It was a beautiful day on Monday the sun was shinning most of the day and it wasn't too chilly.  I was on the max (which is a train) and got all the way out to Hillsboro (which is the farthest end, in one direction, the max goes) and I got a call from the hotel.  They said they wanted to offer the position and if I could come back in and fill out paper work.  Well, hell yeah I can, I jumped off the max and jumped on the other one going back into town and about an hour later I was there filling out paper work.  YAY!!!!! 

Then I had to go take a drug test, so I got back on the max headed downtown and got off at the trimet help office.  I needed a map so I could find this place to pee.  I got so much information while I was there it was great!!  Mom, Dad, and Aunt Dolly I found out some really awesome things we can do while your here....I can't wait.  So then I had to get on a Streetcar (which is like a trolley) to get closer to the clinic.

  I was almost at my stop when a guy was walking around asking to see every ones fare.  I knew they did that randomly, but I had not seen it yet.  That was cool, I had my badge with me.  After I peed in a cup and left I headed back downtown, where I decided to walk around and enjoy the city.  I stopped at this little cafe to get a bite and I sat out on the street and watched these adults in business attire do double dutch jump rope.  It was awesome.  There was a man taking professional pictures and it was just really amazing because I was sitting there, downtown and they were jumping rope like no biggie.  AWESOME!!!  Another reason why I love this place. 

On to some more GOOD NEWS!!!  On Tuesday I got my test back and I did miss the 2 I thought I missed but it is ok I still made a 92 which is still an A.  I am really proud of myself.  Yesterday we learned how to make a stocks.  Chef showed us a fish stock, which was very yummy.  We get to do a lot a tasting at school it is wonderful.  He used halibut bones.  Frickin' yum!!!  We went over identifying dry herbs and spices, I feel like I will do pretty well identifying those. 

Ok on to today, WOW!!!!  Today was awesome, we had a cookie social.  Everyone made cookies or deserts of some sort and it was delicious.  Then we were invited over to the neighboring class to enjoy some food they had made.  I tried so much new stuff today it was crazy.  Those of you that read this that know me know that is a HUGE deal.  I have come along way.  I even wrote down what it was I was eating so I could share. 

First I tried: Foig gras (I think that is how you spell it) which is fat goose liver.  Suppose to be a real delicacy.  Umm, not my cup of tea.  It was on toasted bread with cranberry sauce then the liver.  I am not a fan of cranberry sauce, but they paired it for a reason so I tried it.  Then I tried just the liver to get the full affect of the taste.  It was definitely different.  I wouldn't go ordering it anytime soon.  However I did find out that PETA is trying to get it ban because it is really crude way to get the said delicacy.  First they over feed a goose to make him really fat and then they gut him to get his engorged liver.  It pretty sad and not very humane.  Second thing I tried was duck.  I believe they roasted it and it was on top of toasted bread and there was something else but I couldn't tell what it was.  It was very tender and in small portions, like the bite size servings we had, it would be ok.  I would not go order a full meal of duck.  Third was a puff pastry "thing" fill with eggplant and caviar.  That was NOT pleasant in the least.  I have eaten caviar before (on sushi), but the combo was just....not good.  Even our Chef thought it was not good, so I feel good about my comment.  Then I had smoked salmon on toasted bread and it was very salty but not bad.  I have tried salmon when I was in Alaska (salmon tacos).  There were a few other items that I had eaten but it was stuff I am already familiar with.  All in all today was a good, productive day.  We learned how to make a few sauces today.  One was Bechamel which is basically milk and roux and a few spices.  Let me just say, that stuff was DELICIOUS!!!! I would make that for sure.  It is one of the "Mother Sauces".  The other "mother sauce" he made was Veloute which is white stock and roux.  That also was very yummy.  I would probably make that as well.  Out of the two I favored the Bechamel. 
Tomorrow we are having a math test. I am actually excited about that.  I am going to go study for it and I will post again soon.  The pictures are from mostly Monday walking around town. 

Lemons....

Ok so I have been a little slack this week with both my blogs.  Well, Wednesday I took my first test and I think it went GREAT I still don't have my score yet, I should get it Tuesday.  I did breeze through and I knew the answers.  There were only 2 questions that I had to stop on and really think about.  I am hoping I got the right answer for those.  But if I did miss those 2 then I will still have an A because they grade on a 10 point scale!!  But that will affect me getting a gold star so we will see.  After our test we just had an open practice day.  Practice cutting anything we have learned thus far.

On Thursday we learned a lot of new cuts: julienne of carrot, zucchini, celery, leeks, and peppers.  Julienne basically means to cut into very fine strips. Not to be confused with Allumettes which also means very thin French fries.  But you only do Allumettes on potatoes and Julienne on vegetables.  Cool huh? 

Then we learned Paysanne of carrot which is thin triangular shaped (I love cutting these), Scallion Sifflet which is a long narrow cut at an angle, and tomato Concasse which is the process of Emondee and des.  Emondee is the process of skin and seed removal and Des is outer flesh cut into strips then diced.  So Cocasse is no seeds/skin, cut into strips and diced.  Perfect for making salsa!  These are pretty cool cuts and I need to do a lot of practice with them still.  Tomorrow afternoon I am going to a friends house to practice cutting and then we are going to make a stew with all these veggies.  YUM!! 

Then on Friday, we had a lecture on large and small kitchen equipment, equipment ID, and we got to play with fresh herbs.  He laid them all out a table and little labels next to them and encouraged us to taste, touch, smell them to help learn how to identify them.  This part was a lot of fun.  I took pictures so I could at least get to see them to study in live form and not just a book picture.  We are going to be tested on them soon I think so I want to get them down.  I felt like I knew a lot of herbs but then realized kind quickly that I know them as in jars and not fresh, most of them look very different in fresh form.  Then for our lab we got to play with lemons.  We did a "dent de Loup" which is a lemon crown and then just for fun Chef showed us how to make a basket out of a lemon to get awe factor and if we get an awe then we can charge more for that item haha sneaky. 

(My lemon basket is a little uneven and it got smashed in my bag)

The pictures through out this post are from the past few days walking home (which is was rainy and cold) and sites I see when walking around town and of course my Lemons. 

On Friday I also had an interview after school.  So I took extra clothes with me and tried do something nice with my hair but it was in cap all day so this was the best I could get it before I went to my interview. I think it went really well.  This interview was definitely the best interview I have ever been through.  She basically told me I more than likely had the job but I have to go back in on Monday and meet another manger.  I will hopefully be working at DoubleTree Hotel this week.  Keeping my fingers crossed!!   

Red Potatoes....

I love red potatoes.  They are so delicious and today we got to practice on red potatoes.  Our new cut for today is Tournes which is just a 7 facet oval shape.  Sound easy enough right?  NOPE!!!  Theses suckers were hard, I practiced on so many potatoes.   Lets just say I had a very nice dinner tonight.  (I forgot to take pictures before I ate them.)  Now you can cut those into 3 different sizes: cocotte (small), anglaises (medium), and chateau (large).  Mine were not consistant and they did not have 7 facets.  I will get there.  More practice. 

Guess what I am doing this weekend hahaha.  Again like with my knife holding skills I will get better.  I have already noticed an improvement on how I hold my knife, it is actually comfortable now.  YAY!! 
We started math yesterday and that went well.  Today we really got into the math and I think I got it!!  We converted recipes to larger servings and to smaller servings and it is not that bad.  Plus you have the help of a trusty calculator so that really helps.  We are having our first test tomorrow.  I was nervous about this, but I have been studying all evening, which is why I am posting so late.  I made flash cards and been going through them over and over.  I have found out that I retain more of the information if I use flash cards.  So this test tomorrow should be a breeze.  Today I also found out that some students walking around have stars on the collars and we asked about that. 

Chef told us that every 12 weeks they look at your grades and if you have 4.0 you get a GOLD STAR, (I maybe off on these other numbers) 3.5-3.9 Silver, and 3.0-3.4 Bronze.  I want GOLD!!!! I want to fill my collar all the way around with these gold stars.  Now that I know what they are and they are in my face everyday I have set another goal.  Which is to try to get a gold star every 12 weeks.  I think I can do it!!! 

Demilune...

Ah, today at school we learned a new cut.  It is called a Demilune, which is just a half moon shape cut out of a root veggie.  We practiced on turnips.  I got the basic idea down I just need to keep practicing to get all of them to match in size.

A little rough right now, but just wait until I have practiced more, they will look AMAZING!!!!  If you can't tell, I am LOVIN' this.  This is probably one of the smartest moves I have made in my life. 
We also started the math part today.  Oy vey!!!  I can do it!!  Plenty of tutoring is available.  I have memorized 7 basic conversions so according to Chef I will be able to figure out any conversion by just knowing those.  We shall see on that one.  The neighboring class is a culinary class and they have to make buffet styles with themes.  Well, Their chef invited us over to there kitchen to eat what they had made.  AWESOME.....food!!!  I was so hungry today because I was running a little late and missed breakfast.  So luckily we got to do that and it was AMAZING!!  There were 6 different themed tables and so much food on each.  I tried a lot of new stuff.  The major things I tried was deep fried (must be good if it is deep fried right?) oyster!!  Hell NO!!  It was very fishy smelling and very soft.  I have never had oyster (unless in was in something like clam chowder or something).  I took a bite and was not sure if I liked it.  The first bite didn't make me want to vomit so it deserved a second bite to verify what I was tasting and sure enough not my cup of tea.  I am guessing it was cooked properly, but I just couldn't get down with the texture.  I also tried a Leek and Potato soup with a single shrimp on top which is served cold and it was surprising delicious!!  I really enjoyed it.   I tried a homemade tortilla chip that had all these little things on it, I don't really know what that was but with the combination of the salty chip and the stuff on top it VERY Yummy!!!  I would have had a second one of those.  I tried a few other things but none stuck out as much as those.  Definitely a fun day.  Then to top it off it was sunny outside so my walk home was alluring.  See for yourself:

 My view walking home

 Can't wait until those tree have leaves!!

soaking up the sun, the wind was chilly though.

I finally took some picture in my chef uniform so I figured I would go ahead and post them on here. 

 A little practice cutting

Getting ready to walk home

 hard to get the entire thing

 As close as I could get

I look GREAT!!!!  I will look even better once I lose some more weight. 

But hey you know what they say, You can't trust a skinny chef!!!



Time to cut...

My goal with blog is to post something everyday.  Everyday at school I am going to learn something new and days I am not at school or working I hope to be out in the city exploring so I should have something to write about. 
Today was day 2 of Culinary School and it just keeps getting better.  I got up extra early today so I could make sure I made it to the school as close to 6 AM as I could so I could iron my uniforms.  I actually left the house a little later than I wanted to by I was able to make up time with some serious power walking. Let me back track just a little.  Yesterday I walked to school and had my awesome pedometer on and I was planning on stopping at the store on the way home but since I was loaded down with new stuff from school I decided to just come home.  When I got home my pedometer said I had walked 6.54 miles.  I thought hell yeah!!!  I am kick ass!!  I unloaded all my stuff and washed my new set of tools.  Sad to admit I was so tired I actually took a nap for about an hour.  When I got up I told myself I really needed to walk to the store because I was running low on food and I needed a few small items for school.  Well, I looked up Fred Meyer and I thought I should walk there because that was the one I was trying to transfer too.  I grabbed my coat and pedometer and went on my voyage  to find Freddies.  I had finally made it down there and did my shopping.  When I got home which felt like it took me forever I looked at my pedometer (it keeps track of steps, miles, and aerobic steps from the entire day) it said I had walked 14.52 miles.  No wonder my legs were hurting.  This is why I wanted to back up so when I told you I powered walk this morning, it was not an easy task.
Today at school we got to start cutting potatos and all the cuts we are learning we have to know the French term for it.  What I think is hilarious is Chef says all of these words in French and he sounds like he has been speaking French forever and today when someone asked him about another non-cooking word in French he said I don't know, I don't speak French.  Ah, classic.  
While I was at school today I decided that I was going to buy an iron so that way I could sleep in a little longer in the mornings.  After class today me and 2 of the other girls that sit with me at my table went to the store to find an iron.  Then she was super nice enough to drop me off at home so I didn't have to walk this afternoon.  I have to admit I was very happy about that.  My legs are still a little soar, but not as bad as they would have been year ago if I tried to walk that far.  I feel like I have come along way thus far and it is only going to get better.  
After I got home I need to wash all my new uniforms so I started heading up stairs and I startled by unfamiliar face. Yes that is right I met another roommate today.  He is super awesome, we stood there and chatted for about an hour.  We talked about cooking and hiking.  He told me some really awesome places to go hiking so I am looking forward to do that in my spare time.  He is a talker too so we both agreed that every time we see each other we will chat.  I told him how I was starting to go a little bat crazy living in the garage and not having someone here to talk to when I got home.  However seeing how I have lived here a full week now and just now got to meet him I don't know how often we will be chatting.  He also told me he is moving in about 3 months out of state with his job.  But hey at least he told me some hiking trails to check out.
I am going to try to get some pictures tomorrow so I can spice up with blog with some photos instead me just chatting away. 

   

FIRST DAY......

Today was my first day at Le Cordon Bleu.  WOW!!!  This is going to be a GREAT year and a half.  I am really excited about this.   My instructor aka Chef is really awesome, he keeps it real and he is really funny!!  I know I am going to learn a lot from him.  The school has terms which is 28 days and there are 2 terms in a semester.  So every semester I will have had 6 classes.  1 of the classes, which is my College Success and Career class, I only have on Wednesdays. Today we got 4 of our books, tool kit, and a bag of tools.  Which is awesome, but I walk to and from school (which is just under 2 miles one way) loaded down with some heavy stuff.  Luckily Chef told us what we need to bring to class so that will lighten my load for sure.  Chef also showed us the proper way to wear our uniforms (I look damn good in mine, if you ask me) and pretty much all of us were wrong.  First we have a cap (has a french name too and that is what we are suppose to call it) all hair has to be completely tucked or stuffed in that hat.  If not then you must wear a hairnet under the cap, then we have a necc (is the fancy word for a sweat collector) which is similar to a bandana, which wraps around our neck and gets tied off like a neck tie.  Then we have a chef jacket, solid white with the school logo.  Then its white and black checkered pants and then the most uncomfortable shoes in the world.  On top of all that we wear a waist apron that is tapered and has to hit mid calf.  One more thing is 2 white hand towel one on each hip, tri-folded and tucked. All jewelry must be taken out. Everything HAS to be ironed and very neat.  Every morning we have to lined by 7AM for inspection.  If something is wrong Chef tells you to leave.  If it is something you can fix there, you have to go out of the room go fix it and come back and then you are tardy so that mean automatically 25% of your daily grade.  So, needless to say I am leaving my house at 515AM to make sure I get to the school early so I can use the school's iron.  After we went over uniforms and such we got to go through our kits to make sure we had everything.  That was awesome because we "purchased" some really amazing knives, tomorrow we get to start working with them. 

Finally, we met....

Today when I got home I went to my room to relax after a night of drinking and partying.  I was laying here and I got a text from my roomie.  He was asking me for my rent money.  Luckily on my way home I stopped at the ATM to pull it out.  I wrote him back and asked if he was here.  He was upstairs, so I went up to pay him and after four days of living here I finally got to meet Ryan.  He seems like a nice guy.  So I think our living arrangements will work out.  I also got to meet his son.  Which only comes over every now and then to stay the night.  He doesn't really have any rules here, the only one is to wipe down the shower doors after you shower.  He said he does the cleaning and he cleans it once a month so if we all wipe down the doors then the soap scum won't be too bad.  Other than that nothing.