Week 13 was a wash because I was sick for the week. (Of course it hits right as finals approach).

Week 14:

So I missed Basic since I was still pretty down and out from being sick. Luckily, it was only a practice day for our final presentations. So I didn't miss anything.

But I tell you....Basic Cookery has been a real test for me, of sorts. I appreciate our chef instructor's desire to make sure we learn. But wow...she is heading to CA for surgery...

Last week in basic we learned how to fabricate and make shell fish dishes. Not bad. We made Oysters Rockefeller. Another team made clams casino...which I was really interested in tasting since I saw George order it on one of the episodes of Seinfeld.

For Garde Manger last week, we made some more appetizer/hors d'oeuvre items. Our team made beef sate (beef skewers) and shrimp tempura. I don't know about you, but I have tried some pretty horrid tempura recipes in the past. In...

This week went well, but nothing too exciting.

For basic, we fabricated and cooked fish. No exciting stories here. But I have been practicing dishes for our final. We have a choice of chicken fricasee, chicken chasseur, and pan fried chicken (but we must use crumbs or panko--or else it is not considered fried chicken. Anyone else ever heard of that rule before?)

Anyways, I tried each of the recipes this past week. I really enjoyed the flavor of the fricasee, but...

Whoo-hoo! Back from spring break and back into classes.

I gotta share my food trip over spring break. I went to Napa Valley and had a BLAST! The food...the wine...the FOOD! Heaven! Tapas at Zuzu; foie gras at Bouchon; Fish and sake at Go Fish; and a tour of the Culinary (time to transfer?!) Time of my life! (and no...couldn't get into the French Laundry in case you were wondering! )

This week for basic, we did some tasty beef dishes. Our team made beef...

Another interesting week.

In Basic, we had a quiz, then a midterm, and then a pretty full kitchen day scheduled. Of note, is the fact that this was the first time in basic that we cooked any real dishes--so the idea of getting into the kitchen later than normal didn't seem very effective and seemed to place us all on edge. Would we get through everything AND our quiz and midterm on time? doubtful.

So far in basic, as far as cooking goes, we have only done sauces,...