Veggies and Layer cakes

Last Wednesday we had a Test on vegetables which we had been studying for the previous three weeks. I know that sounds like a long time to do vegetables, but we did different styles of cooking like braising, roasting, and grilling. For the test we needed to make our own recipes for four dishes and we had two and a half hours to complete it versus the usual four hours that the class runs (a friend from Yeshiva was visiting that day and he said he felt like it was something out of a cooking show). We had to make a tomato antipasti, Braised pumpkin, braised carrot, and a pasta dish with vegetables.

(readers note: I saved my blog from the other night- what's written above- and no this is more)...

This week we did granitas in school (they are essentially ices). They're pretty easy to make, and it was more of something easier to do as a break between our test last week and purim break, which starts on thursday. Actually, we only did Granitas on sunday and monday... today the chef broke the class into two teams, with a head chef and sous chef on each team. Each team has to create a menu, which includes a theme, and a whole write up with ingredients that we will need and pricing and everything. Whichever menu the chef likes best, that team will cook the other team their menu when we get back next wednesday, and the following week the other team will cook their menu and the other chefs in the school are going to be judges on both teams dishes.

In pastry class today and tomorrow are a test on layer cakes, which is what we've been working on for the past few weeks. On sunday and monday we had more chilled out classes learning different purim pastry things.

Thats prety much all thats been going on in school lately. This week is Ta'nit Ester, and sunday is purim. I plan on buying a lot of wine and dressing up as Super Mario...

Apologies for this long overdue update

Since the last time I updated we did Pasta and Soups in class. The pasta section was very fun as every day when we would come into school we would be making our own dough and then use it for whatever the recipe would call for. At first we would make one big batch of dough for two recipes and then later on we started making two different types of dough, for example one thats richer and used two egg yolks instead of one egg, one infused with basil, one that had saffron in it... I think you get the idea. The past two weeks we were doing soups, but last week I was out with the Chicken pox so I missed the second week :( I know what alot you must be thinking "didn't you get chicken pox?" or "weren't you vaccinated?" No I never got chicken pox as a child but I was vaccinated and I found out the hard way that it is still possible (but rare) to get chicken pox a second time or after you've been vaccinated. Thankfully, the Greenbaums were generous enough to let me stay with them while I've been sick and I plan on going back to school tomorrow. (The up side is that we're starting a new section so even though I DID miss a week at least I'm starting a fresh subject with all the rest of the students, versus coming in on the second week and having to catch up.)

In baking we finished off breads the same time we finished the pasta. These past two weeks we were doing cream puffs, which is the same recipe for eclairs. I don't really know what they were doing in pastry class this past week as I wasn't there (chickenpox) but I do know it was continuing to deal with cream puffs. Again, when I go back to school tomorrow they will be doing a new section in the pastry class. Even though I can't actually MAKE UP the work I'm going to see if I can't at least get an overview of what I missed so I'll be up to speed and be able to do it on my own.