100 Pounds: Croissants, Ice Cream & Tables of Food

Since I'm attending a professional pastry program I knew I would be surrounded by desserts all the time. The good thing about this is I don't have much of a sweet tooth. However like most Americans, I can always make room for ice cream. And two weeks ago, we spent two days making the most delicious ice creams and sorbets. My group in particular made a coffee flavored ice cream, which sounds pretty simple. Except the fact that we put white & dark chocolate hazelnut chips in it that put Ben & Jerry's chip size to shame. One of the more interesting flavors in class was a Tomato Sorbet paired with a Pine Nut ice cream. Together the nutty-ness mixed with sweet tomato compliment each other so well. After a week of eating ice cream I was looking forward to hopefully taking a break ... and I had no such luck.

For the past two weeks it has been nothing but croissants. And if there is one weakness I have in this world, it is for croissants. How can someone not like them? They are pure butter (In a good way) and can be made into a variety of different flavors to please anyone. There is your basic rolled butter croissant which was extremely rich. Since we let the dough rest overnight, they developed a great flavor. An almond croissant which is oozing on the inside with almond cream and topped with sliced almonds & powdered sugar. And my personal favorite -- the chocolate croissant. We were lucky enough to be able to save some raw dough to freeze ... Therefore I can bring some to my family on Easter Sunday (And I am beyond excited for some family time!)


Between ice cream and croissants, I had the opportunity to work an awesome charity event through school called Taste of the Nation. It is an event put on by the Share Our Strength organization who dedicate their time to ending childhood hunger. The event was held at Hynes Convention Center and when we weren't busy working behind the pastry table to represent school, we were walking around table to table sampling food from hundreds of restaurants in the Boston area. It was great to be a part of such a cool event which raised a ton of money for a great organization. And of course, I felt fortunate to be eating all the amazing food prepared by Boston's finest.


I have been eating so horrible the past three weeks and I'm convinced I have gained at least 100 pounds. Oh well. I have to work on the whole exercise thing ... because the only form I've been getting is the effort it takes to lift up a piece of food and put it in my mouth.


My ice cream pictures wouldn't work, but below enjoy some images of various viennoiserie: croissants, danish & puff pastry.

Important Food Lessons I've Learned (And Who Taught Them To Me)

Someone recently asked me what my hobbies were and I didn't have an answer.

I thought about it some more. Do I really not have any hobbies? I certainly don't collect anything and ever since I was young various "hobby worthy" activities have come and gone. I never stuck with those guitar lessons or dance classes. Sometimes I read or workout but I don't consider those good hobbies and don't have any time to do much of either. I realized during my 23 years on this planet there is one thing I've always stuck with and loved.

And that's food.

Anyone who has met me is well aware of my obsession with food and throughout my life I've learned some important lessons from some valuable sources regarding this favorite subject of mine. 

Lesson #1: The Right Way to Cook Just About Everything

Taught by Aunty Alex (a.k.a. Dar) 

Dar was the first person who taught me everything I needed to know about food because, well ... she knows it all. Due to her knowledge and my obsession, together we have discovered a variety of interesting food through cooking, serving and eating it. Together, there is nothing we won't try and thanks to her there is nothing I can't cook (without her help/recipe)

When I was younger Dar owned a great deli and she told me I used to love to come in and knock on the deli case glass to wave to her. Now, I work behind a glass bakery case where I watch little kids do the same. 

Lesson #2: Don't Be Afraid to Try New Things

Taught by My Dog Gordy

Gordy is an extremely smart dog and I think there are a lot aspects of his lifestyle that we humans can learn from. One of these aspects would be Gordy's attitude towards food. We have fed the poor thing the exact same dog food since the day we got him, so when something drops on the ground to say he jumps at it is an understatement. And like any good dog, he's not afraid to work for his treats either.

What I really admire about the little guy is that he's not afraid to try anything. I truly have never seen him not like something. If I'm making a salad and he's begging, I'd toss him a piece of lettuce and he would eat it. He's eaten pears, tortilla chips, ice cream, cheese, etc -- there's nothing he won't try.

I like to think he's very open minded and I try to be just like him in this way.

Now only if I could take on his sleeping schedule ...

Lesson #3: The Worst We Can Have is Leftovers

Taught by My Friend Erica

I lived with Erica for two years, and we were often at the grocery store or liquor store together. Whenever we were stocking up the fridge with food or drink, I'd look at her and say "Are you sure we need to buy all that?" She'd just turn back and say "Well, the worst we can have is leftovers." And it's true. When preparing food or drinks one should NEVER under purchase. Whats the worse that can happen? We just have some leftover chicken we can throw in the freezer ... or maybe we have some extra beers in the fridge. We'll just drink them next week anyway. 

Lesson #4: Appreciate Sweets

Taught by Dad

When me my dad and my brother are eating a meal, they usually end with the two of them breaking out some sort of sweets. And anyone who's been to my house before knows which cabinet to open up & find the hidden stash of chocolate (90% of the time, peanut M&M's) While I am usually yelling at my Dad -- "You eat too many sweets,"You need to cut back, "Stop buying this junk!" I realize his love of all things sugary & chocolatey is really just an appreciation for these wonderful sweets. Desserts are served at the end of the meal for a reason -- we save the best for last!

Lesson #5 Desserts Don't Have to be Boring

Taught by The Cake Boss

Whether I'm willing to admit it or not Buddy Valastro also known as The Cake Boss had a big influence on why I decided to go to culinary school. As I started becoming more addicted to his show I started seriously debating my future in pastry. And one of my final convincing factors was when I realized how creative, fun and exciting making cakes and cupcakes can be. Thanks Buddy -- you're the BOSS

Lesson #6 Irish People CAN Cook

Taught by My Family

Things the Irish are known for: Drinking, Lord of the Dance, Leprechauns

Things the Irish are NOT known for: Their ability to cook

But anyone who believes this has never been to a holiday with my Irish side of the family. We defy the odds with amazing meals (And I'm not just talking corn beef, cabbage & potatoes -- thought we do make those damn good too) 

And the Final & Most Important Lesson:

The Food On The Table Isn't As Important As The People Around It

Learned this one all by myself!

As much as I dream about spending hundreds of dollars on fabulous meals prepared by world famous chefs .... at the end of the day I can't complain. Maybe I haven't been eating food made with the best ingredients (because those probably aren't found at Market Basket) but it doesn't mean I haven't been eating good food. And the best part of all-- my amazing friends & family who join me for these not so fancy meals.

So the most important lesson I've ever learned ... the food on the table isn't as important as the people sitting around the table. 

Long Time No Blog!

Due to some serious settling in and the stresses of a new job it has been almost a month since my last post. 

Work is crazy but I love it. It's difficult to try and learn in such a busy kitchen but I'm trying hard and hopefully it all pays off in the end. And I am now officially old. I've almost been out of college for a year and I just turned 23 --yikes! 

School is amazing. It's like a vacation and I'm surrounded with people who share the same obsession with food that I have. I am so extremely happy I decided to do this :) 

Since my bedtime is rapidly approaching this is going to be short and sweet.

And now for your visual entertainment .... everything we've made this month. Enjoy! (I sure did)

My very first successful folded pastry bag

It's difficult to understand, but we need to use these a lot and everyone is class struggles with them.

I did it though! 

Called "Cigarette" Batter and is used for decorating dishes

Mint Milano Cookies infused with Fresh Mint!

Decorated by yours truly

This was known as the "Inappropriate Cheesecake" I decorated. Oops.

Aw Honey Honey

In our binders for school we have all the recipes we will ever need labeled and neatly organized. In my opinion, the names of the classes never reflect what we're really creating. Tuesdays class was called "Custards & Bavarians" and while I was picturing a slab of custard on a plate, our finished products were delicious cakes with intricate details.

Presidents Cake

Inside the cake are layers of chocolate mousse and raspberry mouse with layers of ladyfingers, apricot glaze and a lot more chocolate. To decorate, we topped this cake off with simple melted chocolate. 

The mixture of rich chocolate and raspberries would satisfy any sweet tooth. 

Next, the cake everyone was buzzing about (Ha!) 

The Beehive Cake

This cake was based on two key components -- Lemon & Honey. 

It was layered on the inside with lemon mousse, lemon chibouste, honey mousse and lemon hazelnut dacquoise. The outsides of the cake were pure mousse just left to settle in the freezer. The amount of softness and rich mousse flavors made this cake easy to eat and plenty moist. The best part about making this -- decorating. Due to its honey theme, we put a beehive on top with some italian meringue which we blowtorched. Next we made bees out of almond paste and almond slices for wings. And for the honey-comb effect on the outer ring we poured melted chocolate into some bubblewrap and let it sit in the freezer for 20 minutes. 

The third and final cake was a Brazilian. 

This was my absolute favorite due to the combination of white chocolate mousse and coffee bavarian. I am a HUGE white chocolate fan and definitely put a generous amount in the mousse. This was topped off with a coffee glaze and some walnuts. An extremely simple decorative outside.

Not quite sure why it's called a Brazilian .... Brazilian nuts? Brazilian coffee? Oh well, Go Brazil!

Holy Crêpe !

These past few days I've found myself walking in my apartment, throwing myself on the couch and saying "Holy crap -- I'm stressed." And well, we made crepes in class last week, alas the title name Holy Crepe! I'm finally starting to settle down in the new apartment and found some time for a long overdue post.


Last week we had one of the simplest classes yet. We made those thin little guys called crepes. The only other time I have tried a crepe before was at a friends house and for some reason I thought they were complicated to produce. Yet when we were making them, following the recipes was one of the simplest things we have made in class yet. You just take the ingredients, throw them in a blender and voila you have crepe batter. In class we used small thing pans to produce the exact size and shape we needed and by my second time up I was flipping the crepe in the air and landing it in the pan. Simple and fun! 


Aside from crepe-ing we played around with Sabayon, a light foamy dessert made with either champagne or wine. Again, one of the simplest and most delicious recipes. And the presentation for this looks great.

Sabayon

Beautiful Sabayon with 

Blueberries & Raspberries

The Crepe Production

Different Crepes filled with Pastry Cream

The Crepes I Helped Make

We drizzled dark & white chocolate on them,

then let them harden in the fridge over a cup sooo ....

We could fill them with some Sabayon!

More Filled Crepe Cups!