Frontera Grill Internship

So the semester is coming to an end and now it's time to prepare for my internship at Frontera Grill. I met with Jean Marie Brownson last week and we worked out all the final details. I'll be working on Monday's upstairs in the test kitchen and working on projects then working Tuesday-Saturday at the restaurant. Yes I'm working 6 days a week! Yes I'll have no life but I'm really excited, I have a feeling I'll get a lot of valuable experience out of my time there. I was given all of Rick Bayless' cook books and DVDs and have already starting cooking out of them (so far they have all rocked). I was even able to talk to people who had their internship with Frontera and now work there. Everyone there seems amazing and I have a feeling this isn't going to be a "sit in the corner and chop onions" kind of internship. I'm already going in on the 3rd and helping with a tasting then the next week going and grilling for a trade show, so I have a feeling I'll have a bunch of interesting stories to tell once I start. So check back every once and a while because I swear I'll try to keep everyone updated on my adventures at Frontera Grill.  I hope everyone comes and visits me! =)

2 weeks off...better live it up while I can!! 

Just a thought...

So I was talking to John yesterday about this semester and how I seem to be a lot more stressed when it comes to classes and I think he's right. I do not feel that the classes are necessarily harder, actually I'm cooking a lot less this semester, and I think that is part of the problem. In a way I feel like I get "rusty" by not cooking everyday. With baking it was a completely different ball game. I didn't rely on my senses to tell if something was right, I had a recipe that had to be scaled out down to the ounce. I couldn't say "Ahh that's ABOUT a tablespoon..." So when I get into Advanced Skills on Saturday mornings I feel completely off my game and I think it shows. I know I can cook, but seriously sometimes I feel like I can't crack an egg. There are times where I think "I've been in culinary school for 15 weeks...and I'm preparing to go on an internship. Am I really ready?" I think that's the only downside with the advanced program; I need more time to build the confidence and the skills and that's just not time I have. So now that I am done with Baking and Pastry and have a ton more time on my hands I have a new goal; to cook for John and my family during the week. Honestly I feel I stress out the most when I cook for them. I want everything to work and taste delicious because com'on I'm spending how much money to be in culinary school? And when I cook at home and it doesn't turn out right I feel like it reflects on how I do in school. Like "God she can't cook that? Why are we paying for her to go to school?" And I don't believe that they truly feel that way but I put too much pressure on myself. I really just have to gain the confidence and say "Yes I can cook, I'm still learning and I'm going to make mistakes but hell I bet you can't _________" Get a little cocky with it and HAVE FUN! I feel like I've taken all the fun out of doing what I love. I make something and break it down to the point where I regret even making it and don't want to eat it. I NEVER use to be like that. So yes...my new goal is to cook a lot more at home, practice, and get a little cocky. I'll let you know how it's going =)

P.S. ~ I got a 98% on my Baking and Pastry mystery torte final!!! I kicked that cake's ass!! (Confidence in baking is growing)

Done with Baking and Pastry!! And Topolobombo =)

So tomorrow is my final day of baking and pastry!! WOOOOO! Part of me is going to miss that class but having a bunch more free time and not having cakes constantly in my house will be nice. Today was my practical which consisted of us drawing a cake out of a hat and making it. It's funny to think that at NIU finals consisted of tests with 100 or so questions but now I have a final where I make a cake. (Not bad haha) But everything went well, no crazy drama or mishaps. (Pictures under the new photos tab)
Now to the more exciting news. Last Saturday my mom, dad, John and I went to Topolo Bombo and it was sooo amazing. I've never been lucky enough to go to a restaurant like that and we had so much fun. We each got a different tasting menu (5 courses) with the matching wines (5 different wines)...Dinner took 4 hours! My mom and dad ordered the Oaxacan menu, I had the Celebration menu, and John had the Adventures menu. Here is the link so you can see what we ate Tasting Menu.
But it really everything was amazing, all the food was delicious and beautifully plated and the staff was so fantastic. Our waiter was so knowledgeable I could only imagine how long it took him to learn and remember all that information. Any time "John" had a question he always had an answer. On top of that any time the next wine or course came out he went around the table and explained to us what we were about to try. And the other great part is that I finally got to see Frontera Grill!! It was so weird to think that I'm going to get the opportunity to intern in such an amazing place...Now I just have to eat there =)

Pictures from Baking and Pastry

Pear and Hazelnut Tort
(I loved the way this came out)

Walnut and Raisin Bread
(My only bread picture =/ )

My first apple pie, I'm hooked!

Swan pastries

Piped butter tea cookies

Eclairs =)

Flour-less Chocolate Cake covered in Chocolate Ganash

Chocolate Lava Cake
(Honestly to me it tasted like raw cake batter...yuck!)

Cheesecake!! My top got so dark because it was
in such a big pan and had to bake awhile but it is yummy!!

Sorry but I'm back!

To everyone that follows my blog sorry it's been so long since my last post. This new semester has been oddly busy and hard to adjust to but I think by the end of week 3 I finally have it figured out. So here's pretty much what I've been up to:

Baking and Pastry: Pretty much the class that takes up majority of my time, everyday for 5 week from noon-6:00pm (I miss waking up at 6am and being done by noon). I'm finally enjoying it but at the same time I'm getting really sick of pastries/desserts. I am now beginning to understand how Chef Brooks (my instructor) does not really enjoy desserts. For the first week and a half we focused mainly on breads which was interesting but really time consuming. It is so true that you have to work on the bread's schedule, the second it's done proofing its ready to bake. If you want to work on your schedule you get a broken challah (ie my first practical). From there we moved on to cookies, brownies and tarts. I really enjoys this part of class since I've done this stuff before. What girl hasn't made cookies or brownies in her life? (Second practical went awesome!) And now were working on custards, cheesecakes, and ice cream. All I have to say is YUM! I love cheese cake and am so excited to have learned how to make it. I can see many cheesecakes in my future =)

Advanced Skills: This is my dreaded Saturday morning class (6am-1pm = bye bye friday nights). As much as a hate waking up super early on saturday mornings I can see how important this class is to take before my internship. On the first saturday we work in pairs and complete an entire menu (Soup, App, and Entree) stopping periodically to present our product to Chef Altieri and discuss what she's really looking for. Then the following Saturday we re-make the entire menu by ourselves and are timed. Stressful? I know. So pretty much every other saturday I am taking a practical and each class our time gets shorter and shorter. Hopefully we get faster and more efficient...So I'll let you know how that class is going but so far so good. I had my first practical last Saturday and did better then I thought I was going to. I figured I'd be a chicken without a head but it went well.

Then I have two other classes foodservice management and intro to business planning...not  much to say about either of those. Just classes I have to take...

Sorry it's been so long! I swear I'll keep up with my blog!!

Chicago Gourmet

So last weekend I volunteered to work the Chicago Gourmet show and all I can say is I am sooo glad I did. First off it was an amazing event. I did not really know what to expect going into it but I was blown away by all the different food/beverage companies and restaurants that were represented. Secondly I got to work with some amazing chefs.
First being Stephan and Nicole Outrequin Quaisser, husband and wife owners of LM Restaurant. They were such nice people they offered me a free dinner for two at their restaurant. I know me and John are going to take advantage of that very soon.
http://lmrestaurant.com/home.html
Next I worked with a bunch of different people from EPIC restaurant. Also amazing people and their food was amazing. I ended up getting their business cards, an offer to stage if I'd like, and a bunch of their left over food. Soo yummy =)
http://www.epicrestaurantchicago.com/index.html
And lastly with the Executive Chef of Red Light Chef Jackie Shen. She was so sweet and funny but such a hard worker. She had me and Erica plating so quickly while saying "Chip Chip Chip" "Plate Plate Plate" and just making it an overall fun experience. Her food was amazing and can not wait to visit her restaurant.
http://www.redlight-chicago.com/
And last but not least, I finally got to meet JeanMarie Brownson, culinary director of Frontera Foods. She is a close friend of a close family friend (everyone knows someone right?) and I've been in contact with her for some time now. But the best part is!! (I'm so scared to say it because I feel like it's too good to be true and something will go wrong but...) She offered me an internship with Frontera Grill & Frontera Foods!! I am so excited =) I sent her my resume and we're still working out the logistics of it all but AAAHH! I feel like this is an opportunity of a lifetime and I can not wait to start in January!
So pretty much this experience has given me a huge boost of confidence. Sounds silly but I was nervous to work it because I'm so new to all of this but I had a blast! I'm defiantly going to be volunteering at many more events. =)

Quick post in between classes

So finals week is officially over! Woooo! But I can't get too excited since I still have two next week =/
Monday - Cul 117 written and practical final (making mayo, french omletes, canapes, salad making, plate presentation...)
Tuesday- BLOCK I FINAL!! Bum Bum Bum!! The Big one!! So it consistes of 200 questions about everything I've learned in the past 10 weeks, and a 1 1/2 practical final testing us on everything from knife cuts, cooking methods, sauces, frabication...etc. So I have a feeling my weekend is going consist of a lot of review and hopefully some fabrication/knife cuts. Should go out and buy a bag of spuds and a few whole chickens/fish.
But wish me luck! The finals today seemed to go well even though I was so nervous during my Food Network pitch. I don't wanna be on TV! Why do you think I'm in culinary school?! I want to be back of the house, out of the public's eye haha. Oh well I offered to be the 1st one so I was super nervous and didn't talk about 1/2 the stuff I wanted to but it's in the past, not much I can do now. =)

Day 8: Aspic Day!!

First a definition:

Aspic - a savory jelly usually made with meat or fish stock and gelatin, chilled and used as a garnish and coating for meats, sea foods, eggs, etc.

The aspic product we used came in "sheets" that had to bloom in cold water, then melt in hot. Since it was a clear gel we could have colored it with different foods or dyes.  
The goal of today was to make a plate design using the aspic. This sort of stuff is mainly done in competitions or fine dining but it was something fun to try (Plus I'm going to have to do it again in a few months, as a final, so why not practice).  We first had to come up with a plate design, then cut and assemble our designs, then prepare the aspic, and then accomplish the incredibly daunting task of applying this stuff to our plates. Designing the plates and cutting out the shapes from various vegetables was fun. But the aspic...needless to say it was difficult. 

Steps of aspic plate design:
First you lay a base of aspic on your plate and let it set (this way you had something for the pieces to "adhere" to). Then after laying your design on the plate with toothpicks (couldn't touch the plate because you'd get finger prints in the gel), you had to ladle on the first top layer. This is the point where everyone's designs began to move and float around the plate. You only had a few seconds to correct this mistake, and pop any air bubbles, before the gel began to set. From there you added maybe two or three more layers, each time trying to get it perfectly smooth and without air bubbles. Doesn't sound so difficult...but literally 2 seconds after you would pour a layer on it would set. So if something moved or you didn't have enough to cover the whole plate your design was basically screwed. 

But as much as I sound like I'm complaining, I actually enjoyed today. Everyone came up with some awesome designs and although the aspic application didn't always go smoothly (no pun intended haha), we all had some type of plate in the end. =)

My Under the Sea Plate

What is it made of!?!?

"Seaweed" = Blanched green onion
Purple Fish = Blanched turnip skin and eggplant skin eye
Yellow Fish = Lemon peel and eggplant skin eye
Orange Chef Fish = Blanched carrot shaving,eggplant eye, whites of radish for chef's hat
Cool Starfish = Blanched red pepper skin and his shades were eggplant
**All set in clear aspic**

Orange, Yellow, and Purple fish = Same as above
"Pink" Angry fish = Blanched radish shaving, eggplant eye, lemon skin teeth
Mr. Crabs = Eggplant eyes, blanched red pepper skin, and a lot of patience!!
**All set in clear aspic**

One more plate!!

One Paige and I made with odds and ends from our other plates

Last week of classes!

So I can't believe it but we are already on week 9 of my first quarter. I have half my finals on Friday then my Grande Manage and Block I final next week. I'm actually pretty nervous about my Block I final. I was able to practice my Hollandaise and French Omelets this weekend, but I'm hoping to practice my dices during the week. I feel like time has just flying by...I have some more pictures from Canape day so enjoy! But I just can't believe I'll be done with the program in a year. It's crazy to think that I really have to figure out where I want to internship and then work in such a short period of time. =)

Photos!

The ramblings of a discouraged student...

I'm not sure if it is just the kind of day I'm having or if I'm actually having some sort of awakening, but I'm thinking garde manger is not my thing. I know I can't be good at everything (it honestly doesn't really surprise me since I'm not that artistic), but it gets frustrating when it feels like other people are excelling in an area I'm not. The next two days are being devoted to finger sandwiches, hors d'oeuvres, canapes, etc...and although I'm not completely hopeless, it's not my strong suit. I feel like I'm not creative enough to figure out how to garnish a ham mousse. I took some pics of our final products so enjoy. I'm really hoping tomorrow is a different story...

One of my canapes
(Cucumber wedge, Dill cream cheese, lemon zest and dill garnish)

Far away view

Ham and cream cheese mouse garnished with a pickle

All of our final products

Another platter

Fruit Day!!

Today was fruit day!! 

So we learned how to cut up melons, kiwi, pineapple, strawberries, and cut supremes (little wedges) out of citrus fruits. From there we were all to make a fruit plate and present it to chef. After seeing the creativity in some of my classmates designs I'm not sure if fruit platters are my thing...Still fun though =) Enough talking...Picture time!!

My fruit plate

One of Steph's beautiful plates

Steph's other plate

Here is chef looking at all them. Overall he was pleased =)

Zach and chef's donkey

Chef made a donkey out of a watermelon. It was one of the funniest things I've ever seen =)

Pineapple Hat #1

Pineapple Hat #2 (Paige)

Intro to Garde Manger

I am now in the last 10 days of my Block I course!!! So really what that means is for the past two months I've taken three 10 day courses (Intro to Professional Cookery; Stocks, Sauces, and Soups; and Methods of Cooking) and I am finally on my last one; Into to Garde Manger. From what I understand, Garde Manger is the cold section of the kitchen so pates, sausage making, cold appetizers, etc (correct me if I'm wrong please). And who have I been learning all of these amazing things from?! My chef, Chef Frank Chlumsky. (Pictured Below =p )

He really is an amazing and knowledgeable teacher/chef and I know I'm going to miss him (and his mustache) when I'm done with Block I. Anyway! Today was all about eggs. Sunny side up, Poached, Flipped/Over easy, quiche cookery, french omelette folding...we did them all. Nothing crazy exciting but all things I have to learn. Tomorrow: Fruit Cutting!!

Bacon and Swiss Quiche
(Little brown on the one side but still good)

First Post!!

So like I mentioned before, this is really just a place for me to write about my time at Kendall. I figured it would be easier then contently answering the questions, "So how's school?" "What are you learning?!" I hope to blog as often as possible; adding photos, recipes, stories, restaurant reviews, and so on. I hope you all enjoy reading and learning about all the fascinating things I'm doing in school =)