My First Week Of College

As for college, it’s pretty good! I’m still getting used to this whole living on my own thing without having people tell me what to do, or teachers nagging me to do homework and everything. It’s all on my own, and I’m responsible for everything I do…which is ok at times, but kinda scary otherwise! Unlike other college students, I didn’t have that “what if I don’t like my roommate” kind of feeling. My roommate is my friend Jessica Albrecht that I’ve known since Pioneer Girls at LaGrange Bible Church way back in the day! We’ve had two cooking classes in high school which reunited us and connected us in the sense that we were the only two students that actually wanted to cook…not just lazy students that wanted to take a foods class to get out of any sort of academic class. Here are a few of those high school memories!

It was funny because in class, when everyone else was gossiping about people or gambling in the back of the room, we were actually talking about food…and we loved it! It just makes sense that we are roommates at a culinary school and talking about things we love….FOOD! The only thing is we don’t even see each other too much because I have class from 12pm-6pm and Jessica has class from 6pm-12am! When I’m awake she’s asleep and when she gets back from class I’m asleep. So I guess the positive aspect is that we’ll never get sick of each other!

So classes started Tuesday. My first class is Traditional European Cuisine. The main cooking methods we are learning about and putting into practice are Braising and Stewing. The difference is when food is stewed the meat or vegetables are cut in small pieces and completely immersed in liquid when they are being cooked. Braising is similar except that the food isn’t in small pieces but rather in portion-sized pieces and only covered 1/2-2/3 with liquid when being cooked. Each entree we prepare includes those cooking methods along with appetizers, soups, salads, and side dishes.

Every day we prepare food for 40 people! Luckily, our class takes up half of the count because we have to make sure it tastes good….right? Some of the entrees we’ve prepared so far include Chicken Cacciatore, Traditional Beef Stew, Chicken Stew a la King, Irish Stew, Veal Osso Bucco, Chicken Fricassee and Lamb Stew. A lot of these items I didn’t help prepare because our class is split up in what food we prepare and such. I did help with little parts of some of these dishes but also helped in side dishes, salads, and soup! I was proud to make the tomato vinaigrette with another student in the class. I say it turned out tasty. On day 4 I was also pretty excited to make the Seafood Chowder with another student in the class. We did it on our own, but asked the Chef how he wanted it prepared so we wouldn’t get anything wrong. I was proud of our finished product and very happy people enjoyed it!

It was cool though because as we were finished with it and just letting it sit before serving, the chef came by with some kind of drink to give it that finishing touch. The alcohol diluted but it still had that final taste that made the dish so much better! The Chef doesn’t follow the recipes word for word, but that just shows he is a real Chef, making food by what he knows and learned throughout his experiences.

Besides making food and learning different cooking techniques, I’m also familiarizing myself with culinary terms I didn’t previously learn in Foods class in High school. I’m learning about different knife cuts such as the julienne, brunoise, batonnet, macedoine, paysanne, and tourné. Here are some of my knife cuts I practiced in a special knife cutting session my Chef held after class for those that wanted to familiarize themselves with basic cuts. We also practiced the tourné cut with potatoes. The cut looks like the potato is in the shape of a football. There is a certain shaped knife that is curved that helps you shape the potato in that way. As for me, I definitely need some practice on that one. The ones I made went into the scrap pieces of potato because they did not look presentable at all! :O I might listen to my chef and instead of buying a latte every once in a while, I should buy a bag of potatoes and practice my knife skills. If all else fails, I can use my butchered up potatoes and make mashed potatoes or something! Waste none!

I realized with this class that there are so many culinary terms I am unfamiliar with. I’m so glad I can study these terms and actually be interested in them. I feel like I have to in order not to be lost while the Chef is explaining how to prepare a dish. Here are some that are used pretty often in the kitchen…

Mirepoix- a combination of celery, carrots and onions used to flavor a liquid which is added into sauces for flavor. It can also be finely chopped and used as part of the meal.

Dredge- to coat foods through dry ingredients before cooking

Conduction-heat transfer through direct physical contact.

Convection-heat spread through heat and water.

Radiation- transferring energy through heat waves

Ragú- a cubed meat sauce without tomatoes, developed for lasagna and other pasta dishes

Blanquette- a rich and creamy white stew with veal, chicken, or lamb, mushrooms and onions

Coagulation- change to a solid from a liquid or semi-liquid state

Liaison-mixture of cream and egg yolks used to thicken sauces

Blanch- boiling foods briefly as a first step to other cooking processes

Sweat- using natural moisture of food allowing it to cook slowly without browning

Roux- a cooked thickening agent made by combining equal parts of flour and fat.

So those are some of the many terms I have to know. It’s been a long week! I’ve accumulated a lot of knowledge in only four days of class! I miss home but this is a nice change for the most part. Jessica and I want to continue decorating our dorm so I’ll keep you posted on that when it looks all nice and roomy! I think I’m really going to enjoy this blogging stuff! God Bless! ♥