Day 3

That my friends is a roux.

So we had very little lecture today. Almost all WORK! YEA! This is what I really enjoy. My classmates and I set up and began our first roux. Well, our first roux at school with a pro french man watching over our shoulder. I wish I could tell you that it was advanced and very professional. But not so much. Just 1 to 1 fat and flour. Heat fat. Add flour. Stir and simmer at least 3 min. Take off heat when desired color is reached. Meh. Now fish stock (fumet)- Thats way more exciting. Especially the part where you hack up the skeleton of an 80 pound halibut with a cleaver bigger than your head. I loved it. Felt real primitive like. So, after the hacking you just set up your mirepoix and then begin sweating the bones. Ratio of bones to mirepoix is 2/3 to 1/3. Let bones sweat and then add mirepoix. Sweat and then deglaze with white wine. Add water and bouquet garni and simmer for about 45 min. You must skim and degrease all the while. Chef said you have to treat the stock like you are making love to it. Would that be tender and sweet or rough and sweaty? My guess is the former. After the lovefest we worked very seriously on fancy cuts. These were done on a carrot. Have you tried cutting carrots into booger sized pieces? It fucking sucks. At first. My first carrots were mangled and awful and I was really concerned as I thought I was okay with knives. It was rough. By the end my bicep was tired and I was seeing double orange booger cubes. They were dancing around and laughing at me. Okay no but it was classic when I was stuck as to how to make one of the cuts and I look up at the girl in front of me and she was just staring at the carrot as well, waiting for it to tell her what to do next. She looked up and we just laughed at ourselves. Duuuuhhhhhhh.

I am assigned trash duty this week so I schlepped the bags and boxes out and that was day 3.

So my embarrasing moment of the day was at lunch. I brought my lunch and ate it with everyone else and used one of the forks from the school. I was finished and placed my tupperware back in my bag absentmindedly with the school fork. Chef asked me if I had brought that fork with me to school? I was immediately flustered and was like "no, I just didn't think". He sort of laughed? and then I was like, great he thinks I want old forks. I really can't do that again.

Tomorrow? A broccoli soup.