Day 2

We had another day of mostly lecture. Chef led us through spices, peppercorns, salts (I had never heard of curing salt-with nitrites added to it), cooking fats, and produce. I get REAL excited about produce so I was very chatty during that part of our class. I then felt insecure and annoying and was sure I might just be asked to never talk again during lecture. Its paranoid. I know. I'm trying to get over it. So then chef lectured about mirepoix and its variations, roux, and how to clarify butter (low heat, skim, ladle off pure butter, discard solids). He then moved on to stocks and the many variations of brown, chicken, veg and fish stocks. He explained demi glace and sauce espagnole. Then we got to move. The energy in the room picked up as we set up our stations for the first time. We laid out our knives and waited at the ready for our first hands on lesson. Then chef proceeded to chop an onion into pieces smaller than I have ever seen. They were like onion mist I tell you. I'm not kidding. Mine finished smaller than I started so I guess that is progress. I will need to practice cutting so fine. I like the french word he used for mincing: cisele. After our short knife lesson we clarified butter. Simple task that smelled nice. I always wondered how much butter you got after you removed the solids. We lost about 40 percent of the weight. Our last task was to make a quick slurry of cornstarch and water to the consistency of heavy cream. It was strange. The mixture went from seized and stiff to watery. I had to adjust it a good deal to work out the texture. By the time I finished I had a slurry big enough for the world's largest pot of soup. Meh. I can't wait to do more actual work, though. I am of course scared and intimidated too (what if I have no creativity and make paste everyday?). "What if" is a terrible game to play in one's head and I know better. I assume its just going to take time to adjust to a very regular routine and find a groove in it. I did make a kick ass green veg curry and Thai chicken thighs tonight for dinner. The chicken takes a short marinade in chile powder, brown sugar, fish sauce, garlic, and cilantro. Sounds real random but once sauteed tastes fantastic.

Due up tomorrow: Roux, Fish Fumet (stock), and more knife skills